HISTORY

2015

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 1

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 2

Mains – 2015 Challenge – 3 Sept 07

Mains – 2015 Challenge -4: Sept 08

Mains – 2015 Challenge -5: Sept 09

Mains – 2015- Challenge – 6: Septe 10

Mains – 2015- Challenge – 7: Sept 11

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 8: Sept 14

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 9: Sept 15

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 10: Sept 16

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 11: Sept 17

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 12: Sept 18

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 13: Sept 21

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 14: Sept 22

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 15: Sept 23

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 16: Sept 26

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 17: Sept 27

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 18: Sept 29

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 19: Sept 30

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 20: Oct 06

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 21: Oct 07

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 22: Oct 08

Mains – 2015 – Challenge – 23: Oct 09

Mains -2015- Challenge-24: Oct 12

Mains -2015- Challenge-25: Oct 14

Mains -2015- Challenge-26: Oct 15

Mains -2015- Challenge-27: Oct 16

Mains -2015- Challenge-28: Oct 19

Mains -2015- Challenge-29: Oct 20

Mains -2015- Challenge-30: Oct 21

Mains -2015- Challenge-31: Oct 22

Mains -2015- Challenge-32: Oct 26

Mains -2015- Challenge-33: Oct 27

Mains -2015- Challenge-34: Oct 29

Mains -2015- Challenge-35: Oct 31

 

 

 

CHALLENGES – 2013 (ARCHIVES)

2014

Mains – 2014 – Challenge – 1

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 2

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 3

Mains -2014 Challenge – 4

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 5

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 6

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 7

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 8

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 9

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 10

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 11

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 12

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 13

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 14

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 15

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 16

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 17

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 18

Mains – 2014 Challenge – 19

…………………………………………………………………………………..

JANUARY

 Challenge 1

  1. “Ancient Indians had no taste for historiography; their scholars cared more for  religious, spiritual and philosophical studies. Indian historiography is essentially an Islamic heritage..“ Comment upon this statement with special reference to the contemporary writers and their works which help us in the reconstruction of history of the early medieval period of Indian history. (200 Words)
  2. Examine the information of Fahien about the political, religious, social and economic conditions of India. Make a comparative study of his account with that of Huen Tsang. (200 Words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 2

  1. ”Reconstruction of Early Indian history is hardly possible without the help of      inscriptions and coins.” Discuss. (200 Words)
  2. In what ways are the accounts of the Greeco-Romans and the Chinese helpful  in reconstructing the social history of India ? How far is their information corroborated by other Contemporary sources. (200 Words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 3

  1. To what extent archaeological materials are useful in understanding the progress of neolithic man in India? (200 Words)

                                                      2. SITES

                                              (Ancient India) – 50 Words Each

1. Khyber pass

2. Jalalabad

3. Kapisa

4. Bamiyan

5. Manshera

ANSWERS

Challenge 4

Sites (50 Words)

  1. Shahbajgir
  2.  Pushkalavati
  3.  Purushapura
  4.  Quetta
  5.  Mehrgarh
  6.  Kili Gul Mohammad

1. Give an appraisal of town planning of the Indus cities and evaluate the various reasons for their decline. (200 Words)

2. Discuss the trade, cultural contacts and the extent of the Indus Civilization     within and outside India and describe in detail any one of the Indus sites within India. (200 Words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 5

3. Was India civilized before the advent of the Aryans? State briefly the extent and striking features of the earlier civilization, if any. (200 Words)

  1. How do you account for the decline of the major cities of the Indus Valley Civilization? (200 Words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 6

5. ‘On circumstantial evidence Indra stands convicted’. Explain, and discuss briefly different views about a sudden end of the Indus Valley civilization. How would you explain the presence of those elements in Indian culture and civilization which are found to have existed in the Indus Valley period? (200 Words)

6. “The Indus Civilization had an abrupt end.” Discuss the statement and explain how the Indus Civilization could influence Indian culture in its later history.(200 Words)

7. ‘The Indus civilization did not have an abrupt appearance.’ Discuss the statement. How does the Indus civilization stand, in view of its geographical expansion and chronology, in relations to the Vedic civilization? (200 Words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 7

1.  Write a brief essay on burial customs in the Indus Civilization. (200 Words)

2. Discuss the pattern of trade during the Indus Valley civilization. How for did it affect the nature of contemporary settlements in the Indian sub-continent? (200 Words)

  1.  Write a short essay on the religion of the Indus Civilization. (200 Words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 8

  1. “The continuity of the Indus Civilization into later ages was not confined to the religious and spiritual fields alone.” Analyze the statement. (200 words)
  2. Discuss salient features of the Indus Valley Civilization. Mention important places from where relics of civilization have been recovered so far. Examine causes of its decline.  (200 words)
  3. Analyze the elements of urban civilization in the harappan Culture. What factors were responsible for its decline?  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 9

Question 1

Evaluate the significance of seals and in the reconstruction of socio-economic and religious life of Harappans.

Question 2

 Sites (50 words each)

  1. Sialkot
  2. Sutkejendaro
  3. Kotdiji
  4. Mohenjodaro
  5. Chanhudaro
  6. Amri
  7. Harappa
  8. Taxila
  9. Burzahom
  10. Gufkral
  11. Manda
  12. Ropar
  13. Indraprasta

ANSWERS

Challenge 10

 Question 1.

Give an account of the Geography of the Vedic texts and describe the social life during the Vedic times.

Question 2.

Discuss the political pattern and the major religious ideas and rituals of the Vedic age.

ANSWERS

Challenge 11

Question 1

Examine the contribution of Vedic culture in the sphere of social institutions and religion. Was there any continuity between the Indus and the Vedic cultures in this respect?

Question 2

What was the position of Varuna in the Vedic system of Gods?

ANSWERS

Challenge 12

Question 1

 Discuss the geographical area known to the Rigvedic people. Were they familiar with the sea? (200 words)

Question 2

 Write a short notes on democratic elements in the political system of the early Vedic period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 13

Question 1.

Compare the economic, social and religious life of the Indus Valley people with that of the early Vedic people and discuss the relative chronology of the Indus and the early Vedic cultures. (200 words)

Question 2.

Position of women in the Rigvedic society. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 14

Question 1

Discuss briefly the development of religious ideas and rituals in the Vedic age. Do they show any parallelism with the religion of the Indus Civilization? (200 words)

Question 2

Analyze the differences and similarities between Indus Valley and Vedic Cultures. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 15

Question 1

Write notes on the Vedic Gods of the terrestrial region. (200 words)

Question 2

Short notes on Vedic literature. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 16

Question 1

Give a brief account of the social and economic conditions of the Later Vedic Aryans. What role did iron play in changing their political and economic life ?

Question 2

Describe the social life of the later Vedic people. How was it different from the Rig-Vedic life?

ANSWERS

Challenge 17

Question 1

Evaluate the various approaches to the understanding of vedic religion.

Question 2

Examine the view that sacrifice was a ritual and a form of social exchange in Vedic India.

ANSWERS

Challenge 18

Question 1

 Evaluate the conceptual basis of the vedic deities. (200 words)

Question 2

 Evaluate the introduction of iron technology in the development of human history of ancient India. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 19

Sites

  1. Alamghirpur
  2. Topra
  3. Hastinapur
  4. Kurukshetra
  5. Banawali
  6. Staneshwar
  7. Kalibangan
  8. Kapilavastu
  9. Lumbini/Rummendai
  10. Nigalisagar/Nigliva
  11. Pava
  12. Rampurva
  13. Lauriya Nandangarh
  14. Lauriya Araraj

ANSWERS

Challenge 20

Question 1

What were the causes of the origin of the heterodox sects in the sixth century B.C? (200 words)

Question 2

 Discuss the social & economic factors for the rise of Buddhism How far was it influenced by Upanishadic thought? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 21

Question 1

Trace the rise of Magadhan imperialism up to the times of the Nandas with particular reference to its policy towards the non-monarchical state. Discuss the factors that contributed to its success. (200 words)

Question 2

Give an account of the republics in the pre-Maurya period. Discuss the factors which contributed to their decline. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 22

Question 1

Essence of -Early Jainism. (200 words)

Question 2

Social and economic conditions of North India during the Pre-Mauryan period (600-325 B.C).  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 23

Question 1

Analyze the causes of the success of the Magadhan imperialism upto the reign of Ashoka the Great. (200 words)

Question 2

“The sixth century B.C. was a period of religious and economic unrest in India.” Comment. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 24

Question 1

Explain the social aspects of Buddhism and account for its decline in India. (200 words)

Question 2

Write what you know of the rise and spread of Buddhism before the first century A.D. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 25

Question 1

Assess the importance of Jain tenets and their relevance to humanity. (200 words)

Question 2

Sites (50 words Each)

  1. Chirand
  2. Vaishali
  3. Sravasti
  4. Ayodhya
  5. champa
  6. Nalanda
  7. Pataliputra
  8. Rajagriha/Girivraja
  9. Gaya
  10. Saketa
  11. Kasi
  12. Prayaga
  13. Kausambi
  14. Kusinara

ANSWERS

Challenge 26

Question 1

Discuss the nature of Ashoka’s Dhamma. Was it responsible for the downfall of his empire? (200 words)

Question 2

Critically examine the sources for the study of Mauryan dynasty. How are they useful in understanding the Mauryan administration? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 27

Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question 1

Bring out the elements of change and continuity in the domestic and foreign policies of Ashoka.  (200 words)

Question 2

Do you think that the economic factors were alone responsible for the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire?  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 28

Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question 1

Examine the administrative system of the Mauryas and discuss briefly the causes of disintegration of the Mauryan Empire. (200 words)

Question 2

Discuss critically the relative importance of the different source for the history of the Mauryan period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 29

Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question

Short notes on Mauryan court art as an alien grafting. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 30

 Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question

Discuss the comparative merit of the Arthasastra, the Indica and Ashoka Inscriptions as sources for the administration, socio-economic conditions and religious life in the Mauryan period. (400 words/20 marks)

ANSWERS

Challenge 31

 Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question

Short essay on contents of Asoka’s dhamma and reasons for Asoka’s keenness to propagate dhamma. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 32

 Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question 

Examine the importance of Asoka’s Rock Edit XIII for determining the extent of the Maurya Empire. Did Asoka’s policies and reforms contribute to the fall of the empire? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 33

 Topic:Mauryan Empire

 Question

Determine the veracity of Megasthenes’ descriptions of Indian society and economy with the help of other contemporary evidences. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 34

 Topic:Mauryan Empire

Question 1

 Short notes on Inscriptions of Asoka. (200 words)

Question 2

Short notes on Mauryan municipal administration. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 35

 Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question 

How did Asoka contribute to the moral and administrative welfare of his people ? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 36

 Topic: Mauryan Empire

Question

Determine the extent of the Mauryan empire. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 37

Topic: Mauryan Empire

Sites ( 40 words each)

1. Tamralipti

2. Jyotishyapura

3. Vidisha

4. Sanchi

5. Ujjain

6. Mahishmati

7. Eran

8. Tripuri

9. Mandasore

10. Ahar

11. Ahichchatra

12. Kampilya

ANSWERS

Challenge 38

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question

How was overseas trade organized in South India up to 300 A. D.? Discuss this with special reference to Roman trade and point out its impact on Indian economy. (200words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 39

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Short notes on the role of guilds in the economic life of India from c. 200 B.C. to c. A.D 300. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 40

Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Brief out the salient features of the religious development in the Post-Maurya period. How was contemporary art influenced by it? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 41

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Short notes on Indian participation in the silk trade through Central Asia. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 42

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question

Origins, chronology, characteristics and geographical spread of Gandhara art.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 43

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question

Short notes on Buddhist writing in Sanskrit in the post-Maurya period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 44

Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question

“The centuries between c. 200 B.C. and-c. AD. 300 constitute a landmark in the socio-religious history of India.” Analyses the proposition. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 45

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Furnish a critical and comparative account of various schools of art in the Post-Mauryan period (c. 200 B.C. – c. 300 A.D.).  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 46

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question

How justified are we in characterizing the post-Mauryan five centuries as the “Dark Period” of Indian History? Give reasons in support of your answer. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 47

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

How do recent archaeological findings and Sangam literary texts enlighten us about the early state and society in South India? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 48

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Examine the significance of the deities depicted on coins of the Kushanas. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 49

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Justify Pliny’s statement that Rome was being drained out of its gold by India during 1st century of christian era. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 50

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

Question 

Discuss the military activities of Kharavela of Kalinga. Do you think that his reign is significant for military expeditions alone? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 51

 Topic: Post- Mauryan Period

        SITES (50 Words Each)

1. Kanauj

2. Mathura

3. Desalpur

4. Dholavira

5. Surkotada

6. Ayodhya

7. Somanath

8. Girnar/Junagarh

9. Lothal

10. Rangpur

11. Vallabhi

12. Broach

13. Bhagatrav

ANSWERS

Challenge 52

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

Describe the expansion of the Gupta empire under Samudragupta with the help of the Allahabad pillar inscription. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 53

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

Examine the development of religion, literature and fine arts under the Guptas. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 54

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

How far do the coins of the Gupta’s provide clues regarding trends in economy, polity, religion and arts? Discuss them in the light of corroborating evidence from archaeology and literature. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 55

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question

 Discuss the conditions of economic life in the age of the Guptas. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 56

Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

‘The Gupta period stands at the center of Indian history.’ Discuss the development of arts and literature in that Gupta period in the light of this statement.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 57

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

The significance of the policy of matrimonial alliances for the expansion and consolidation of the Gupta empire.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 58

Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

In what ways does religion as reflected in the Vedic texts differ from the religion of the Gupta period? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 59

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

Analyze the characteristics features of the Gupta art and compare them with those of the Mauryan art.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 60

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

Short notes on factors that led to the Rise and Fall of the Gupta Empire. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 61

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

Highlight the achievements of the Gupta period in the field of literature, science and technology. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 62

 Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question 

Assess the status of women in India from c. 4th century BC to AD 6th century.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 63

Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Question

Throw light on the condition of common man in the Gupta period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 64

Topic: GUPTAN ERA

Sites (40 words each)

1. Surat

 2. Elephanta

 3. Sopara

 4. Kanheri

 5. Karle

 6. Bhoj

 7. Junnar

 8. Nelcynda

 9. Muziris

 10. Tyndis

 11. Naura

 12. Banavasi/Vaijayanti

 13. Comari

 14. Korkai

 15. Madurai

ANSWERS

Challenge 65

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Discuss the contribution of the Pallavas to South Indian art. Was this art wholly indigenous? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 66

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Discuss critically the main aspects of polity and society under the Pallavas? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 67

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Trace the origin and development of the political authority of the Chalukyas of Badami and discuss their contribution to religion and architecture. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 68

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Critically examine the sources of information for the study of Harshavardhan and discuss his religious policy. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 69

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Trace briefly the history of the struggle between the Chalukyas and the Pallavas. Analyze its causes and bring out its importance.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 70

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Harsha is described as ‘the lord of the whole of north India’. Determine the extent of his empire and discuss his political relations with Sasanka, Bhaskaravarman and Pulakesin II. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 71

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

‘Harsha owes his greatness largely not to any real achievements but to formulate descriptions by two famous men.’ Discuss. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 72

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Short notes on the Maukharis paving the way for the glory of Harshavardhana. (200 words)

 ANSWERS

Challenge 73

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Discuss critically the role Harsha played in the history of his times. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 74

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Make a comparative study of the administrative system and development of art under the Pallavas of Kanchi and the Chalukyas of Vatapi. (200 words)

 ANSWERS

Challenge 75

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

In what ways would the period of the Pallavas of the Kanchi and that of the Chalukyas of Badami mark the beginning of a new historical phase in peninsular India? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 76

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

How far is it true to say that the strength and vigour of Indian history during c. A.D. 500-750 lay in the south of the Vindhyas?  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 77

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

“Of all the events that had a singular being on the history of India, Harsha’s death in 647 A.D. is significant.” Why? Explain. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 78

Topic:  POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Give a account of the Society in Northern and Central India since the death of Harsha to the Muslim conquest of North India. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 79

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Assess the achievements of the Pallavas in administration and art. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 80

Topic:  POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Who were the Maukharis ? Discuss their political relations with the Later Guptas of Magadha. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 81

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Give an account of the struggle for supremacy in South India between the Chalukyas of Badami and the Pallavas. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 82

 Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

 Question 

Give an account of the rise of the Chalukyas of Vatapi and their struggle with other rulers. Write a note on their patronage of arts. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 83

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question

Analyze the vibrant cultural activities in Peninsular India during 550-750 A.D. Compare and contrast it with the situation in contemporary North India. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 84

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

Examine the information of Fahien about the political, religious, social and economic conditions of India. Make a comparative study of his account with that of Hsuen-Tsang. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 85

Topic: POST GUPTA & REGIONAL KINGDOMS

Question 

 Sites – 50 words each

1. Anuradhapura

2. Sigira

3.Nagapatnam

4. Kaveripatnam

5. Arikamedu

6. Mahabalipuram

7. Tanjavur

8. Gangaikonda Cholapuram

9. Uraiyur

10. Uttaramerur

11. Kanchi

12. Masolia

13. Ghantasala

14. Amaravati

15. Nagarjunakonda

16. Vengi

ANSWERS

Challenge 86

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question 

Discuss the ancient Indian contacts with South-East Asia with reference to causes, chronology and original home of the migrators. What was the impact of these contacts on the art of Kambuja and Java? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 87

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question 

How far is it correct to say that the Indians of the ancient period indulged only metaphysical things and not in the development of pure sciences? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 88

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question 

Examine the role of guilds in the economic life of ancient India. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 89

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question 

Discuss the cultural impact of India of the South-East Asia during the ancient period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 90

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

Origins and meaning of the samanta system. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 91

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

Discuss the scientific and technological developments in ancient India. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 92

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

Short notes on the architectural and artistic features of the great stupa at Sanchi. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 93

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

How did Indian culture spread in the South-east Asiatic countries during the Gupta Age ? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 94

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

Examine the proficiency of the ancient Indians in various crafts, science and mathematics. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 95

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

Discuss the major stages in the evolution of architecture during the ancient period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 96

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

Bring out the regional variations in the early South Indian Temple’s architectural styles. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 97

Topic:  Themes in Ancient period

Question 

Assess the educational system in early India and identify important educational institutions of the period. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 98

Topic: Themes in Ancient period

Question

 Sites (50 words each)

1. Puri

2. Konark

3. Toshali

4. Bhuvaneshwar

5. Cuttack

6. Pistapura

7. Erandapalli

8. Devarastra

9. Jaughada

10. Sisupalgarh

11. Rajulamandagiri

12. Yerragudi

13. Suvarnagiri

14. Maski

15. Ihole

16. Vatapi

17. Pattadakkal

18. Shringeri

19. Belur/Halebedu

20. shravana Belagola

21. Manyakheta

22. Nasik

23. Daimabad

ANSWERS

Challenge 99

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

The period 1500 to 1700 in Europe has been called ‘the heyday of the Commercial Revolution.’ Explain the causes that led to this Revolution & examine its impact on society. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 100

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

Give an account of the revolutionary developments in agriculture in western Europe between 16th and 18th centuries. How far were they affected by the Commercial Revolution? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 101

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

Explain the main features of the Technological Revolution and discuss its impact on society.  (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 102

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

Trace the growth of Capitalism in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. How did it affect the Wage System in the country? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 103

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question 

Give a critical account of the Agricultural Revolution in Western Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. How did it affect the social and economic life of the people? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 104

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

Trace the growth of capitalism in Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Why was France, as compared to Britain, late in developing the capitalist spirit and the institutional framework of capitalism? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 105

Topic:  WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

“Attempts to put mercantilist doctrine into practice characterized the history of most of the nations of Western European in the 16th and 17th centuries”. Comment. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 106

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

‘The Industrial Revolution put mobility in the place of stability’. ELaborate. (200 words)

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Challenge 107

Topic:  WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question 

“Protestantism contributed substantially to the rise of capitalism”. Explain. (200 words)

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Challenge 108

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

To what extent were the advances in scientific knowledge in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a product of the needs of a changing society? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 109

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

The Industrial Revolution “Changed England in character and culture”. Explain. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 110

Topic:  WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes in the social and economic life of Europe. Explain. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 111

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

“The capitalism which gave the European empires their apparent solidarity and permanence also hastened their downfall”. Comment (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 112

Topic:  WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

What was the extent of industrialization in western Europe by the end of the nineteenth century? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 113

Topic:  WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

“Whoever says Industrial Revolution, says cotton.” Comment. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 114

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Industrial Revolution

Question

Give a critical account of the progress of mercantalism in the 17th century. How far is it correct to say that it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 115

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

What do you understand by Imperialism? How did it affect the people of Asia in the nineteenth century? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 116

 Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

“Holland was engaged in a systematic exploitation of Indonesia in the nineteenth century.” Elucidate. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 117

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

Theory of ‘The New imperialism’ after 1870. Comment. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 118

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

Effect of British liberalism on the social or economic life of the people of England. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 119

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

What was the culture system in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) during the 19th century? Why was it dismantled? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 120

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

‘Imperialism and Colonialism have long employed as instruments of national policy’. Explain. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 121

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

‘If imperialism is viewed as a phase of the struggle for power between States, its result must be judged in terms of its role in power politics’. Explain. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 122

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

‘By 1861, China may be said to have been fully though grudgingly opened to the Westerner’. Explain. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 123

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

Why is the period from 1842 to 1900 considered as half a century of humiliations in the history of China? What was the reaction of China? (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 124

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

Write a critique on the partition of Africa from 1870 to 1914, with particular reference to Germany’s imperial designs in the Continent. (200 words)

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Challenge 125

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

‘The sponsors of the overseas expansion of Europe were national monarchies’. Comment. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 126

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

Question

Trace the distinct phases of the Sino-Japanese War. Assess its political economic and cultural impact on China, both ‘occupied and free’. (200 words)

ANSWERS

Challenge 127

Topic: WORLD HISTORY – Imperialism and colonialism

 Question

Show how the presence of a weak and helpless China next door brought about the rise of militarism and collapse of democracy in Japan. (200 words)

ANSWERS