Monday, April 1, 2013

History - Previously Asked Questions



1. The Indus Valley Civilization was discovered in

(a) 1902 (c) 1922 (b) 1912 (d) 1932

2. The spread of the Harappa civilization is coterminous with the

(a) Irrigation facilities
(b) Soil fertility
(c) Wheat producing zone
(d) Availability of raw materials and minerals

3. Traces of which of the following has not been found in the Indus Civilization?

(a) Barley                     (b) Sesamum                (c) Mustard                  (d) Sugarcane

4. The Lothal civilization was known for

(a) Art and architecture (b) Agriculture (c) Trade and commerce (d) Drainage system

5. The tools and weapons of Harappan civilization were mostly made of

(I.F.S. 1990)

(a) Stone only (b) Stone and copper   (c) Copper, bronze and iron (d) Copper, tin and bronze


6. Mohenjodaro is also known as

(a) Mound of the Great (b) Mound of the Survivors (c) Mound of the Living (d) Mound of the Dead

7. Rice cultivation is associated with the Harappan site of

(a) Harappa                  (b) Mohenjodaro          (c) Kalibangan                         (d) Lothal

8. The Indus Valley Civilization was spread over

(a) Indo-Gangetic divide and upper Gangetic plain
(b) Punjab, Sind, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Baluchistan
(c) U.P., Haryana and neighboring parts of Punjab and Rajasthan
(d) Banks of river Indus, Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan

9. Indications of pre- Harappan civilization have come from the archaeo­logical excavations at (C.D.S.1995)

(a) Ropar         (b) Kalibangan             (c) Lothal         (d) Kunal

10. Which of the following elements of Hinduism were practised in the Indus Valley Civilization?

(a) Cult of Shiva          (b) Idol worship                       (c) Worshipping cows (d) Wearing sacred threads



11. Which of the following archaeologists initially discovered the Mohen­jodaro site of Indus Valley Civilization? (G.I.C.AAO. 1992)

(a) Daya Ram Sahni (b) Rakhal Das Banerjee (c) Sir John Marshall (d) Sir Martimer Wheeler

12. The source of the blue gem stone, lapis lazuli, for the people of Harappan culture was

(a) Gujarat                   (b) Maharashtra                       (c) Western U.P.                      (d) Afghanistan

13. Which of the following is not an Indus Valley Civilization site?

(a) Alamgirpur                         (b) Lothal         (c) Kaushambi                         (d) Balakot

14. Which of the following statements regarding the characteristic features of the Indus Valley people is true?

(a) The people were largely rural.
(b) They knew of iron and defensive armour.
(c) The horse played an eminent part in their life,
(d) The worship of images was familiar to the people.

15. The latest Harappan site discovered in Gujarat is

(a) Dwaraka                 (b) Kuntasi                   (c) Manda                    (d) Khandia



16. At which Harappan site have traces of a horse been found?

(a) Lothal                     (b) Suktagen Dor                     (c) Kalibangan                                     (d) Surkotda

17. Who among the following was a Brahmavadini who composed some hymns of the Vedas? (IA-S. 1995)

(a) Savitri                     (b) Gargi                      (c) Leelavati                 (d) Lopamudra

18. Which of the following rivers is not mentioned frequently in Rig Vedic hymns?

(a) Ganges                   (b) Brahmaputra                     (c) Sindhu                    (d) Saraswati

19. Who among the following popularized the theory of 'Arctic Region' as the original home of Aryans?

(a) Macdonell              (b) Max Muller                        (c) B.G. Tilak               (d) Keith

20. Which of the following statements is not correct? (UJ).C. 1995)

(a) The Rig Vedic people worshipped nature.
(b) The Rig Vedic Aryans were by and large urban people.
(c) The Rig Vedic family comprised parents and other kith and kin apart from husband and wife.
(d) The Rig Vedic women were highly respected and that most of the religious ceremonies were considered incomplete unless wives joined their husbands.



21. Which of the following were the yajnas that were performed during the Vedic age? (CJXS. 1992)

1. Vratyastama yajna 2. Asvamedha yajna 3. Rajasuya yajna

(a) 1 and 2                   (b) 2 and 3                   (c) 1 and 3                   (d) 1, 2 and 3

22. Codes of conduct of the Vedic Society are laid down in

(a) Puranas                   (b) Vedas                     (c) Brahamanas                        (d) Smritis

23. The famous Vedic saying "War begins in the minds of men", is stated in

(a) Rig Veda                (b) Atharva Veda                     (c) Sama Veda                         (d) Mundaka Upnishad

24. Which of the following was not one of the distinguished tribes of the later Vedic period?

(a) Videhas                  (b) Bharatas                 (c) Panchalas               (d) Kurus

25. Upanishads also known as the Vedantas are……. in number

(a) 96               (b) 105             (c) 108                         (d) 112

26. Which of the following Vedangas contains the Srautra, the Grihya and the Dharma Sutras?

(a) Nirukta                   (b) Shiksha                  (c) Chhandas               (d) Kalpa

27. In the Vedic society, the term used to denote a group of families was

(a) Gotra                      (b) Jana                                    (c) Vish                        (d) Grama

28. The tax which the kings used to collect from the people in the Vedic period was called

(a) Kara 1                    (b) Varman                  (c) Bali                         (d) Vidatha

29. In Rig Vedic period, the most important functionary after the king was

(a) Purohita                  (b) Senani                    (c) Law Officer                        (d) Tax Collector

30. The Puranas are……. in number.

(a) 18               (b) 25               (c) 52               (d) 108

31. 'The world is God and God is my soul' is the philosophy contained in the

(a) Vedas                     (b) Puranas                  (c) Brahamanas                        (d) Upanishads

32. The religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily one of (C.D.S.1995)

(a) Worship of nature and bhakti
(b) Bhakti
(c) Image worship and yajnas
(d) Yajnas and worship of nature

33. Which one of the following is the earliest school of Indian philosophy?

(Assistant Grade, 1995)

(a) Vaisesika                (b) Samkhya                (c) Yoga           (d) Karma mimamsa

34. Which color was commonly used in Harappan pottery?

(a) Blue                        (b) Red                        (c) Blue-green              (d) Buff

35. Svetambaras and Digambaras were two sects of (I.F.S. 1993)

(a) Jainism                   (b) Buddhism               (c) Saivism                   (d) Vaishnavism

36. Which of the following was common both to the Harappan society and the Rig Vedic society? (I.F.S.1990)

(a) Iron implements     (b) "Female deities                   (c) Urban centres                     (d) Horses

37. The Granary at Harappa was made of

(a) Bricks only                         (b) Bricks and timber               (c) Bricks and stones              
(d) none of these



38. Which of the following was one of the ingredients of 'Middle Path' advocated by Buddha?

(a) Abandonment of killing                 (b) Right effort                        (c) Speak no falsehood
(d) Giving up hankering for wealth

39. During the Neolithic age in India, the only metal known to the people was

(a) Iron                        (b) Copper                   (c) Gold                       (d) Silver

40. The great Indian philosopher Sankara advocated

(a) Advaita                   (b) Dvaita                   (c) Vishistadvaita                     (d) None of these

41. Barabar caves were used for shelter by (P.C.S. 1995)

(a) Tantrics                  (b) Jainas                     (c) Ajiyikas                  (d) Tharus

42. According to the Mimamsa system of philosophy, liberation is possible by means of (I.A.S. 1995)

(a) Karma                    (b) Bhakti                    (c) Yoga                       (d) Jnana

43. Which of the following was not practised in the Rig Vedic society?

(a) Widow remarriage              (b) Polyandry               (c) Child marriage                    (d) Levi rate


44. The distinguishing feature of Upnishadic thought is

(a) Faith in idol worship
(b) Belief in karma and rebirth
(c) Belief in practising Veda for attaining moksha
(d) All the above

45. Which of the following is the correct statement regarding the Buddha's attitude on the subject of entry of women into the Buddhist Sangha? (I.F.S. 1991)

(a) He was indifferent on this subject.
(b) He gladly accepted women into the Sangha.
(c) He did not allow women into the Sangha.
(d) None of these

46. 'When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were preshistoric; they seemed so completely to upset all established ideas about early art". This was an observation of Sir John Marshall on objects found at

(a) Lothal                     (b) Mohenjodaro                      (c) Ropar                     (d) Harappa

47. According to Jain literature, the first Tirthankara was

(a) Rishabhadeva                     (b) Parsvanatha                        (c) Neminatha                          (d) Mahavira

48. The triratnas were stressed by (C.D.S. 1993)

(a) Buddha                   (b) Mahavira                (c) Manu                      (d) Gaudapada

49. The school of philosophy that Ramanuja established in the 12th century A.D. was known as

(a) Saivism                   (b) Bhagavatism                       (c) Advaita                   (d) Vishishtadvaita

50. What was the rate of land revenue as given in the dharma shastras?

(P.C.S.1995)

(a) 1/3              (b) ¼                (c) 1/6              (d) 1/8


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