UPSC Mains Modern Indian History Previous Year Questions

Last Updated on February 28, 2024 by Mayur

Modern Indian History Topic Wise PYQs (2018-2023)

2.1] 18TH CENTURY AND ESTABLISHMENT OF EIC

1. Why did the armies of the British East India Company – mostly comprising of Indian soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better equipped armies of the then Indian rulers? Give reasons. [2022/Q2/10m/150w]
2. Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons. [2022/Q3/10m/150w]

2.2] EIC TO BRITISH RAJ

1. Trace the rise and growth of socio-religious reform movements with special reference to Young Bengal and Brahmo Samaj. [2021/Q2/10m/150w]
2. The 1857 Uprising was the culmination the recurrent big and small local rebellions that had occurred in the preceding hundred years of British rule. Elucidate   [2019/Q2/10m/150w]
3. Examine the linkages between 19th centuries ‘Indian Renaissance’ and the emergence of national identity.   [2019/Q3/10m/150w]

2.3] EARLY FREEDOM STRUGGLE

1. The political and administrative reorganization of states and territories has been a continuous ongoing process since the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss with examples. [2022/Q11/15m/250w]
2. To what extent did the role of the moderates prepare a base for the wider freedom movement? Comment. [2021/Q11/15m/250w]
3. Evaluate the policies of Lord Curzon and their long term implications on the national movements.   [2020/Q3/10m/150w]

2.4] GANDHIAN PHASE TO INDEPENDENCE

1. What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism? [2023/Q2/10m/150w]
2. Bring out the constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi during Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement. [2021/Q12/15m/250w]
3. Since the decade of the 1920s, the national movement acquired various ideological strands and thereby expanded its social base. Discuss.   [2020/Q13/15m/200w]
4. Many voices had strengthened and enriched the nationalist movement during the Gandhian phase. Elaborate  [2019/Q11/15m/200w]
5. Assess the role of British imperial power in complicating the process of transfer of power during the 1940s.  [2019/Q12/15m/200w]
6. Throw light on the significance of the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi in the present times. [2018/Q3/10m/150w]

2.5] PEASANTS/ TRIBAL/ WOMEN/ FOREIGNERS ETC.

1. How did the colonial rule affect the tribals in India and what was the tribal response to the colonial oppression?  [2023/Q13/15m/200w]