(Sample Paper) General Studies Paper - 1 : History of India and Indian National Movement

CSAT Paper - 1 Sample Paper

History of India and
Indian National Movement

1. Which of the following text contains the famous Gayatri Mantra, addressed to the solar deity  Savitri?
(a) Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
(b) Rig Veda Samhita
(c) Atharva Veda Samhita
(d) Yajur Veda Samhita
Answer (B)

2. Which of the following was not a feature of the later vedic society ?
(a) A monetary economy
(b) Taxes were collected in kind
(c) Increae in sacrifies and rituals
(d) Kinship-based
Answer (A)

3. Which of the following route was the stop-over of the Indo-European orAryans before enetering India ?
(a) Bacteria and the Northern Iranian plateau
(b) Central Europe
(c) Makran
(d) None of the above
Answer (A)

4. Which one of the following statements regarding Purusa-sukata is incorrect ?
(a) It occurs in the seventh Mandala of Rigveda
(b) It mentions the Brahmans as emanating from the mouth of the Primeval being
(c) It shows the rise of hierarchy
(d) It accords religiious sanctions to the ten emerging social structure
Answer (A)

5. The Society as known from the later Vedic texts is agricultural. This is known by
(a) A large number of agricultural rituals mentioned in Atharvaveda and Brahmanas.
(b) The Chandogya Upanishad emphasised importance of cereals.
(c) 4-6-8-24 oxen being yoked to the plough suggest expansion of agriculture
(d) All the above
Answer (D)

Direction: The following questions consists of two statements, one labelled a ‘Assertion (A)’ and the other as ‘Reason (R)’. You have to examine these two statements carefully and decide if the assertion A and the Reason R and individually true and If so, whether the Reason is a correct explanation of the Assertion. Select your answer to these items using the codes given below.

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation for A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation for A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.

6. Assertion (A): The Indo-Aryans come to India from somewhere in central Asia, possible from the region south of the Urais and east of the Caspian sea.
Reason (R): They had been defeated by the Indo-European neighbours.
Answer (C)

7. Assertion (A): Evidence for agriculture is much more limited in the early Vedic period.
Reason (R): Land or grain do not figuers a objects of dispute and there are no prayers to obtain land, nor are chiefs expected to protect it.
Answer (A)

8. Assertion (A): The growth of Upanishadic philosophy has been viewed as a manifestation of the protest of the Kshatriyas against the excessive ritualism which was proving costly for the rajas.
Reason(R): Wars in the later vedic period was fought for territory other than cattle.
Answer (B)

9. The third Buddhist council in the reign Ashoka is mainly known for
1. Rise of Mahayanism
2. Putting all the doctrines into writing
3. Making Buddhism known international
4. Gandhara school of art originated choose the correct code:
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 3 and 1
(c) 2 and 4 (d) 3 and 2
Answer (D)

10. Mahayanist sutra, offering a discourse delivered By Buddha to Buddhiattavasis best known work and is the most popular in China and Japan. It is named as
(a) Saddharma Pundarika
(b) Prajana-Paramita
(c) Lalitavisara
(d) Sarvartivadins
Answer (A)

11. Vagbhatalankara(12th century A. D.) is a popular Jain work which in the first commentary on sanskrit poetics. The 260 verses are in anushtubh metre. The work has been composed by
(a) Srigaea (b) Vaghbhata
(c) Natyadarpan (d) Hemchandra
Answer (B)

12. Which of the following was not a feature of the espionage system established under the Mauryas?
(a) The government had secially designated official who carried out the task of spying
(b) The purpose behind this elaborate system was to be informed about the working of every branch of administration.
(c) The spies worked in the guise of recluses, houesholders, merchants, prostitues, etc.
(d) None of the above
Answer (A)

13. Ashoka mainained largely the bureacuratic system that he inherited. the administration was carried on by a large body of graded officials. Which of the following was not an innovation he made ?
(a) Institution of periodical tours to prevent miscarriage of justice and establishment of a new department for the spread of Dhamma or the law of piety.
(b) Introductioin of the espionage system.
(c) Creation of a new class of officers called Rajukas to manage land revenue and judical functions
(d) Establishment of Sarais.
Answer (D)

14. Which of the following feature does not pertain to the principles of kingship as adopted in the Mauryan period ?
(a) Kingship in this Maruyan epoch claimed divine origin for itself. Hence the use of titles like Devanampiya
(b) The wide-embracing power restricted by shastric injunctions.
(c) The king wielded extensive powers due to his status as head of the state, commander in chief of the army and as head of the judicary.
(d) None of the above.
Answer (A)

15. What motive led Ashoka to the Kalinga War ?
(a) Kalinga controlled all main routes to South India by land and sea, hence Ashoka found it to his advantage to include it in his empire.
(b) Kalinga had at some point of time refuted Allegiance to the Mauryas. This enraged King Ashoka.
(c) Kalinga king refused to accept Buddhism.
(d) None of the above.
Answer (A)

16. The Archa (auspicious body of the lord) was the god himself in one of his aspects and was thus, the object of the greatest venenation'. This aspect of image worship was propounded by which sect?
(a) Hinduism
(b) Bhagavates or Panharatrins
(c) Saivism
(d) None of the above
Answer (D)

17. In Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra sixty four arts and crafts were mentioned. The Mahavatsu mentioned also more than a hundred occu­pations, mostly of artisans and merchants. What does all this evidence not suggest ?
(a) Growth in the volume of trade and commerce
(b) Greater specialisation through division labour
(c) Rigidity of caste system
(d) None of the above
Answer (C)

18. Mahmud of Ghazni targeted his attacks on temples and temple towns because
(a) They were vast depositories of wealth
(b) He wanted to please the Caliph
(c) He was driven by Islamic zeal
(d) He wanted to show superiority of Islam.
Answer (A)

19. Who of the following received the Caliph’s confirmation of the royal title and thus recognition of the independent status of the Sultanate of Delhi?
(a) Qutbuddin Aibak (b) Balban
(c) Iltutmish (d) None of the above
Answer (C)

20. Alauddin Khilji became the Sultan of Delhi in 1296 after treacherously murdering his uncle
(a) Nasiruddin Khusrau Shah
(b) Balban
(c) Jalaluddin
(d) None of these
Answer (C)

21. Alauddin Khilji forbade his nobles to settle marriages between members of their families without his permission because
(a) He wanted marriage between close relations to be forbidden
(b) He wanted to control rebellions
(c) It was an Islamic custom
(d) All the above
Answer (B)

22. During the last twenty-five years of his reign, Aurangzeb was mainly involved in long-drawn wars against
(a) Bijapur (b) Central Asia
(c) Marathas (d) North-East
Answer (C)

23. Which of the following is not a step taken by Sher Shah Suri to promote trade and commerce in the country ?
(a) Building ‘sarais’ for travellers and merchants
(b) renovating the Grand Trunk Road
(c) Ensuring the protection of travellers by making provincial governors responsible for any harm caused to those passing through their territory
(d) Opening a new highway between Delhi and Warangal
Answer (D)

24. Which of the following was not one of the characteristics of a Sultan during this period ?
(a) There was no law of succession during the period of the Sultanate
(b) He had a highly centralised despotic rule
(c) He held legislative, judicial and executives of powers, etc.
(d) The ulema had a strict control over the policies of all Sultans
Answer (D)
 

25. Which of the following statements regarding the Arabs conquest of Sind is/are true ?
1. In 644 A.D. an expedition under Abdullahbi-Amar was sent by Khalifa Osman to conquer Sind.
2. The denial of Dahr, the ruler of sind, for reparation on account of the looting of the presents by the pirates was used as the pretext for the Khalifa to invade Sind.
3. Muhammad-bin-Qasim succeeded in 712 A.D. in his conquest of Sind.
4. Muhammad-bin-Qasim defeated Jaising, the son of Dahir and captured the city of Brahmanabad.
(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3 (d) All of the above
Answer (B)

26. How did the prevalence of various currencies in Bengal (namely the English, the Mughal and the Provincial) add to the worsening problems of merchants, peasants and tax-payers ?
(a) The value of various currencies were widely fluctuated
(b) The native currencies were accepted on batta or rebate
(c) The English always insisted on the payment of revenue in their own currency
(d) None of the above
Answer (B)

27. After 1858 the Drain of Wealth from India increased and India’s burden of British debt increased because
(a) More remittances had to be made account of the British capital investment in India
(b) The cost of maintaining British civil military administrative set up in India had increased
(c) The Home charges had greatly increased
(d) All the above
Answer (D)

28. Which of the following statements correctly speaks of the aim of the Servants of India Society?
(a) Under the influence of Marxist ideology, it undertook to unite the labour force for the betterment of its living conditions
(b) It was a society formed with the object of organising a struggle for the independence of the motherland
(c) Its main object was to carry the message of modern education to the rural masses
(d) It consisted of a group of men who were trained and equipped for some farm of service to the motherland
Answer (D)

29. Which of the following was not one of the reasons why Emperor Bahadur Shah is regarded as the weakest link in the chain of leadership of the Revolt of 1857 ?
(a) He vacillated between the desire to rule and the apprehensions of British success
(b) He had little genuine sympathy for the humble sepoys who, in turn, did not trust him fully
(c) The British offer of monetary reward in case he agreed to dissociate himself from the Revolt was a destabilising factor
(d) All of the above
Answer (A)

30. What was the objective behind the formation of the Indian National Congress?
(a) To make the power of British presence felt amongst the Indian masses.
(b) Creation of a small group of educated Indians who would support the British cause.
(c) A medium through which the Indians could be convinced about positive effects of British rule in India.
(d) A platform for Indians to voice their grievances regarding the government.
Answer (D)

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