Mains Practice Questions

Q.“Examine the role of folk traditions in preserving collective memory and transmitting social values across generations.” (150 words).

Q. The growth of nationalism in India was conditioned by social differentiation rather than uniform political consciousness. Discuss. (250 words).

Q. The French Revolution was both a political and social revolution. Critically analyse. (150 words)

Q. Examine the role of the Himalayan mountain system in determining the climate, drainage, and population distribution of the Indian subcontinent. (250 words)

Q. Discuss the impact of the declining joint family system on social security, care economy, and inter-generational relations in India. (250 words)

Q. Indian temple architecture reflects regional diversity within a shared civilisational framework. Discuss with suitable examples from Nagara, Dravida, and Vesara styles. ( 250 words)

Q. The Treaty of Versailles and subsequent post–World War I settlements sowed the seeds of long-term instability. Analyze how boundary reconfigurations contributed to political and social tensions in Europe.(250 words)

Q. Population growth in India is no longer a uniform challenge but a region-specific phenomenon. Discuss the demographic diversity across states and its implications for governance and federal policy planning. (250 words)

Q. Bhakti and Sufi traditions played a transformative role in shaping India’s socio-cultural landscape.Discuss their contributions to religious harmony, vernacular literature, and popular culture. (250 words)

Q. Urbanisation in India has increasingly ignored geomorphological and hydrological constraints. Discuss how this has contributed to urban floods and environmental degradation. (250 words)

Q. Discuss how social media has transformed patterns of communication, mobilisation, and identity formation in contemporary Indian society. (150 words)

Q. Discuss the role of the Swadeshi Movement in promoting economic nationalism and indigenous industries in colonial India.(150 words)

Q. Assess the role of Buddhism and Jainism in challenging the socio-religious order of early historic India. To what extent were they reformist rather than revolutionary movements? (150 words)

Q. Explain how changes in the cryosphere, particularly the retreat of Himalayan glaciers, affect river systems, disaster risks, and long-term water security in India. (250 words)

Q. The Indian national movement transcended the demand for political freedom and simultaneously functioned as a powerful instrument of social transformation. Discuss (150 words)

Q. Indian society has witnessed a shift from joint family structures to nuclear and single-person households. Examine the social, economic, and cultural factors driving this transformation and its implications for social security and care systems. (250 words)

Q. “The challenge is not only to remove colonial residues but to avoid creating new forms of intellectual dependence.” In the context of debates on decolonising education, analyse how India can strike a balance between indigenous ethos and scientific-temporal modernity. (250 words)

Q. “Contrast the bronze sculptural traditions of the Pala and Chola periods. How do these artistic divergences reflect the differing socio-religious environments of the two empires?” (150 words)

Q. “Indian urbanisation is not merely a demographic shift but a civilizational transformation.” Analyse how this transformation is reshaping identities, social relations, and spatial inequalities. (250 words)

Q. Discuss the significance of the Gupta period in shaping the foundations of classical Indian culture. How far can it be considered a “Golden Age”? (150 words)

Q. Dead zones are expanding rapidly in world oceans due to a combination of anthropogenic and climate-related factors. Examine the causes, assess their impact on marine ecology and coastal economies, and propose policy-level solutions. (250 words)

Q. The 1920s marked a shift from a single-stream nationalist struggle to a multi-ideological movement. Examine how diverse ideological currents shaped the character of India’s freedom struggle during this decade. (150 words)

Q. Evaluate the impact of displacement and rehabilitation on tribal communities in India and suggest measures for inclusive and sustainable development. (250 words)

Q. Discuss the representation of Shiva’s Tandava in early Indian inscriptions and its symbolic meaning in religious and artistic traditions. (150 words)

Q. Discuss how the Quit India Movement marked a decisive shift in India’s freedom struggle, both politically and psychologically. (150 words)

Q. How is digital technology transforming the nature of women’s participation in education and employment in India? (250 words)

Q. A strong emphasis on state-led industrialisation and centralised planning marked the early years of independent India. Evaluate the influence of Lenin’s New Economic Policy (1921) on India’s approach to economic development and state intervention. (250 words)

Q. The Mughal era witnessed an unprecedented synthesis of Persian, Central Asian, and Indian art traditions. Examine how Mughal patronage influenced the development of the visual and performing arts in India. (150 words)

Q. The proposed Demographic Mission aims to shift focus from population control to population optimisation in India. Critically analyse its prospects and policy imperatives. (250 words)

Q. Trace the spatial distribution of the world’s offshore petroleum basins and explain the geological and environmental factors influencing their formation. (150 words)