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UPSC civil Services IAS Hisotry of India Indian National Movement questions with answers, UPSC Civil Services examination notifications and all details
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago.
The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan and northwest India, was the first major civilization in South Asia.
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE.
This Bronze Age civilization collapsed before the end of the second millennium BCE and was followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plain and which witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapadas. In one of these kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE and propagated their ?ramanic philosophies.
Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years.
This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which time India has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, with its huge population generating between one fourth and one third of the world's income up to the 18th century. Much of northern and central India was united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two centuries, under the Gupta Empire.
This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the "Golden Age of India".
From this time, and for several centuries afterwards, southern India, under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas, experienced its own golden age. During this period, aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to much of Asia.
Kingdoms in southern India had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE.
Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 8th century CE when the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab in modern day Pakistan,setting the stage for several successive invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 15th centuries CE, leading to the formation of Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent such as the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Mughal rule came from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced Central Asian art and architecture to India. In addition to the Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms, several independent Hindu states, such as the Vijayanagara Empire, the Maratha Empire, Eastern Ganga Empire and the Ahom Kingdom, flourished contemporaneously in southern, western, eastern and northeastern India respectively. The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for the Afghans, Balochis, Sikhs, and Marathas to exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until the British East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.
Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, large areas of India were annexed by the British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which the British provinces of India were directly administered by the British Crown and witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructure and economic decline. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the princely states all acceded to one of the new states.
UPSC civil Services IAS Hisotry of India Indian National Movement questions with answers
1. Where is the Indus Civilization city Lothal ?
(A) Gujarat
(B) Rajasthan
(C) Punjab
(D) Haryana
Ans : (A)
2. Mohenjo Daro is situated in—
(A) Sindh Province of Pakistan
(B) Gujarat
(C) Punjab
(D) Afghanistan
Ans : (A)
3. Which deity was not worshipped by the Vedic Aryans ?
(A) Indra
(B) Marut
(C) Varun
(D) Pashupati
Ans : (D)
4. The Vedanga consists of the—
(A) Kalp, Shiksha, Nirukta, Vyakaran, Chhanda, Jyotish
(B) Kalp, Shiksha, Brahman, Vyakaran, Chhanda, Jyotish
(C) Kalp, Shiksha, Nirukta, Aranyak, Chhanda, Jyotish
(D) Kalp, Upanishad, Nirukta, Vyakaran, Chhanda
Ans : (A)
5. The earliest available work of the Sangam Tamils is—
(A) Pattinappalai
(B) Tirumurugarruppadai
(C) Maduraikanchi
(D) Tolkappiyam
Ans : (D)
6. The Mahavir belonged to the clan—
(A) Kalams
(B) Bhaggas
(C) Lichhivis
(D) Bulis
Ans : (C)
7. The Jain text which contains the biographies of the Tirthankaras is known as—
(A) Bhagwatisutra
(B) Uvasagadasao
(C) Adi Purana
(D) Kalpasutra
Ans : (D)
8. The first Buddhist Sangeeti (conference) was held at—
(A) Vaishali
(B) Pataliputra
(C) Rajgriha
(D) Ujjain
Ans : (C)
9. The propounder of the Madhyamika Philosophy was—
(A) Bhadrabahu
(B) Parshwanath
(C) Sheelbhadra
(D) Nagarjuna
Ans : (D)
10. The rules of Buddhist monistic life are laid down, primarily, in—
(A) Tripitaka
(B) Vinayapitaka
(C) Abhidhammapitaka
(D) Suttapitaka
Ans : (B)
11. The battle between Alexander and Porus took place on the bank of river—
(A) Sutlej
(B) Ravi
(C) Jhelum
(D) Ganga
Ans : (C)
12. The first Persian ruler who occupied part of Indian Territory was—
(A) Cyrus
(B) Darius I
(C) Cambyses
(D) Xerxes
Ans : (B)
13. Alexander remained in India for—
(A) 29 months
(B) 39 months
(C) 19 months
(D) 10 months
Ans : (C)
14. Gedrosia corresponds to modern—
(A) Baluchistan
(B) Lahore
(C) Multan
(D) Peshawar
Ans : (A)
15. Which of the following statements is not true ?
(A) Formal accession of Asoka was very probably delayed
(B) The fifth rock edict proves the existence of Harems of Asoka’s brothers
(C) Asoka held the viceroyalty of Taxila and Ujjain in the reign of Bindusara
(D) Asoka was the younger brother of Bindusara
Ans : (D)
16. The nirvasita (excluded) and anirvasita (not excluded) Shudras have been referred to—
(A) in the Nirukta of Yaska
(B) in the Ashtadhyayi of Panini
(C) in the Arthashastra of Kautilya
(D) None of the above
Ans : (D)
17. The first translator of Mahabharata into Tamil was—
(A) Perundevanar
(B) Kamban
(C) Sundaramurthi
(D) Bharavi
Ans : (A)
18 Which one of the following inscriptions of Asoka refers to the grant of concession in land revenue to a village ?
(A) Lumbini Pillar edict
(B) Sarnath Pillar edict
(C) Girnar Rock edict
(D) Sanchi Pillar edict
Ans : (A)
19. Who of the following was not a patron of Jainism ?
(A) Bimbisara
(B) Kharvela
(C) Kanishka
(D) Chandragupta Maurya
Ans : (A)
20. Who was the ambassador in the Court of Bindusara ?
(A) Machiavelli
(B) Megasthenes
(C) Deimachus
(D) Antiochus I
Ans : (C)
21. To propagate his Dhamma, Asoka used the services of—
(A) Rajukas
(B) Pradeshikas
(C) Yuktas
(D) All of these
Ans : (D)
