History Optional Question Paper -2024: Paper-1
SECTION ‘A’
Q1. Identify the following places marked on the map supplied to you and write a short note of about 30 words on each of them in your Question-cum-Answer Booklet. Locational hints for each of the places marked on the map are given below seriatim:
- (i) Prehistoric site
- (ii) Area of petroglyphs
- (iii) Neolithic site
- (iv) Harappan site
- (v) Buddhist monastery
- (vi) Chalcolithic site
- (vii) Neo-Chalcolithic site
- (viii) Megalithic site with rock art
- (ix) One of the Mahajanapadas’ capital and associated with Buddha’s miracle
- (x) Hominid fossil find site
- (xi) Major rock edict of Ashoka
- (xii) Ancient trade centre
- (xiii) Stone inscription recording land grants with tax exemptions
- (xiv) Shiva temples named after family relationships
- (xv) Place of art-related inscription
- (xvi) Place of inscription of three languages
- (xvii) Temple site where three styles of temple architecture are found
- (xviii) Jain pilgrimage site
- (xix) Shiva temple of Gupta period
- (xx) Megalithic monumental site
Q2.
a). Harappan art contributes to our understanding of their aesthetic sensibilities in addition to spiritual and ritualistic life. Comment.
b). Discuss different types of Megalithic burial practices in India. How far does the archaeological evidence from it help us to know the religious beliefs and cultural practices?
c). Western Kshatrapas are known for their socio-economic contribution, particularly in trade, agriculture, and urbanization. Examine the statement.
Q3.
a). Symbiotic relationships between Buddhist establishments, traders, artisan guilds, and royal support led to a close proximity of religion, economy, and polity in the Mauryan and post-Mauryan periods. Examine the statement.
b). Discuss the role of Buddhism in shaping the socio-religious landscape of the Mauryan empire.
c). Discuss the evolution of the State institution and taxation system from the Rigvedic period to the later Vedic period.
Q4.
a). Highlight the contributions of Aryabhatta, Varahamihira, and Brahmagupta in the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics.
b). Examine the course of Pallava-Chalukya conflicts between the sixth and eighth centuries CE.
c). Examine the role played by Agraharas in the promotion of education in early medieval India.
SECTION ‘B’
Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:
a). Illustrate the main features of Vesara style temple architecture.
b). Evaluate Firuz Shah Tughluq’s economic policies.
c). Evaluate the contribution of Qalandariyyah to medieval Indian culture.
d). Discuss the main features of the Malwa school of painting with examples.
e). Highlight the features of the Portuguese colonial enterprise.
Q6.
a). Analyze the contributions of Acharya Triumvirate to Indian Vedanta.
b). Compare and contrast the position of Hindu and Muslim women in 13th and 14th century India.
c). Examine the causes and consequences of peasant uprisings during the reign of Aurangzeb.
Q7.
a). “Instead of bringing credit, the Ibadat Khana brought growing discredit to Akbar.” Comment.
b). How did the Maratha guerilla warfare tactics contribute to their military successes against larger and more established armies?
c). Examine the role of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty in the political transformation of the State of Hyderabad.
Q8.
a). Discuss the contributions of Bahmani Sultans to the development of Indo-Islamic architecture.
b). Evaluate the impact of the Third Battle of Panipat on the political economy of 18th-century India.
c). Examine the process of urbanization caused by the establishment of European trading companies in India.
History Optional Question Paper -2024: Paper-2
SECTION ‘A’
Q1. Critically examine the following statements in about 150 words:
a). After the battle of Plassey, the mercenary became the Kingmaker.
b). The values of utilitarianism prompted the Company administration to attempt reform of Indian society.
c). In course of the 19th century, the agenda of social reform was gradually replaced by revivalism.
d). The federal provisions of the Government of India Act of 1935 foundered on the rock of princely intransigence.
e). The strength of the Pakistan programme was its vagueness. It meant everything to everyone.
Q2.
a). The pace of commercialisation of agriculture increased as a result of British revenue policies in India. — Critically examine.
b). Why was the Great Revolt of 1857 confined only to North India? How did it change the character of British rule in the subcontinent? Explain.
c). Why did the demand for land reform never become an agenda in national politics after 1947? Elucidate.
Q3.
a). Political extremism in colonial India often converged with cultural nationalism but not always. – Comment.
b). Regionalism in India after 1947 was occasioned by developmental imperatives as much as linguistic particularism. – Elucidate.
c). Twenty years of peace secured by the treaty of Salbai proved very costly to the Marathas in strategic terms. — Elucidate.
Q4.
a). The Swadeshi movement of 1905 anticipated many of the tactics that were later developed during the Gandhian mass movement. — Critically examine.
b). The trade union movement joined forces with the mainstream of nationalist politics to strengthen each other in their struggle against colonial rule. – Comment.
c). India’s developmental strategy after independence was influenced by economic imperatives, not ideological considerations. – Comment.
SECTION ‘B’
Q5. Critically examine the following statements in about 150 words:
a). The ideas raised by Enlightenment thinkers were profoundly unsettling and challenging to old regime society and political order.
b). The American Civil War was a result of the disparity of needs of industrial north and agrarian south.
c). The unification of Germany was as much a product of coal and iron as it was of blood and iron.
d). The new regime in China addressed the peasant question by instituting widespread land distribution, which was carried out swiftly and ruthlessly.
e). The revolutions of 1989 did not simply destroy governments; they also ended an ideology.
Q6.
a). The course of the English industrialization was too long drawn to be considered a revolution. Comment.
b). The social and political landscape of Europe after the first world war was uniquely suited to the rise of Fascism. Discuss.
c). The state was the most important factor in the industrialization of Russia. Comment.
Q7.
a). The second world war was a truly global conflict. Discuss.
b). Trace the different stages of European economic integration.
c). The nature of apartheid regime undermined South Africa’s claim of being a democratic polity.
Q8.
a). The emergence of two power blocs not only symbolised two competing ideologies but also two alternative models of economic growth. Explain.
b). To what extent underdevelopment in Latin America is caused by neo-imperialism?
c). How did Ho Chi Minh emerge as the central figure in the Vietnamese independence movement?