GS paper I

 Our ATS 2020 Questions on GS I topics. 60 questions as below.

Tomorrow on 9th January, we will see how these questions aided the aspirants for the GS I Mains paper. 

1.    What is your opinion on the Adivasi movements in colonial India? Cite examples

2.    Discuss the contribution of the subaltern in the 1857 uprising.

3.    What kind of historians were Jadunath Sarkar and R C Majumdar? Analyse.

4.    Elaborate on Tagore’s concept of nationalism. How does it differ from the present perceptions?

5.    Critically opine on Amartya Sen’s construct of the ‘Argumentative Indian’.

6.    Do you think that the British empire created chaos in the sub-continent from 1757 to 1947? Establish your point of view.

7.    How did gunpowder shape up the history of the modern world? Discuss.

8.    Why do you think monarchy as a form of government was razed to the ground in the world? Why do you think it still exists in some parts in the 21^st century?

9.    Did the two world wars fundamentally originate due to the greed and lust for power by the European states? Argue.

10.           What do you envisage of globalisation? Will it be successful in the 22^nd century?

 

11.           Paint a comparative picture of Gandhi vis-à-vis Mandela. What are the metrics in which Gandhi’s contribution to India and world at large could be measured?

 

12.           Indians seem to have followed the philosophies of anarchism and Bolshevism during their freedom struggle. Discuss. Thereafter, state any philosophy which was apparently followed by some other nation(s) in its/their political emancipation. Cite example(s).

 

13.           Tipu Sultan’s eventual capitulation to the British East India company was more due to economic factors rather than political and military reasons. Do you agree? Would you consider Tipu to be a statesman who thought ahead of his times?

 

14.            Would you agree that the rise of insurgency and terrorism in India after 1947 is due to international factors? Explain? What were the domestic factors?

 

15.           Can it be said that peasants and tribal have continued to suffer in India, even after the demise of the British Raj? In what way the Indian constitution attempted to ameliorate their problems?

 

16.           What were the causative factors for the partition of Indian sub-continent on religious lines? Could the partition have been avoided?

 

17.           Why did a series of empires/large states fall during 1945-1991? Discuss.

 

18.           Is it a correct thesis that modern world history is eurocentric? Or, has it been wrongly interpreted in that way?

 

19.           Trace the points of intersection between the evolution of world history and Indian history in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

 

20.           Do you agree that History as a discipline has been used as a tool by state authorities (from 19^th century onward) to engineer the minds of its people? How? 

1.      Explain ‘Love waves’ and ‘Rayleigh waves’. Why the north-eastern part of India is in the Very High Risk Earthquake Zone?

2.      Citing 5 major dams in India and showing them in the Indian map, discuss their utility.
 

3.      How does the pattern of wildlife in north India differ with that in the south? Critically discuss.

4.      According to the IUCN Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature there are 48 critically endangered plant species in India, as of 05 September 2019. What has been India’s role in this context?

5.      Discuss various erosional and depositional landforms due to glaciers.

6.      With diagram, explain the oceanic currents in the Atlantic Ocean

7.      How has globalisation affected Indian society?

8.      How has COVID-19 affected societal interaction across the globe?

9.      In what way mainstream Indian culture has influenced tribal culture, post-independence? Discuss.

10. Indian forts could be better developed as tourism cites. Do you agree?

11. Is India well equipped to manage land slides? Argue.

12. India’s traditional methods of water conservation have emerged as pioneer in today’s world. Deliberate.

13. Sensitisation of women toward family planning is directly related to women empowerment at the Panchayat level. Do you agree?

14. Articulate on temple architecture in India in the 21^st century. How does it compare with that of pre-medieval forms?

15. Explain the cloud classification as enunciated in the International Cloud Atlas (2017)?

16. What is a geographical indication (GI)? Bring out the recent issues related to GI in India.

17. What has the Indian government done on the gender equality front in the last five years? Would you suggest any further measures?

18. Comment on the cultural pattern of the Vedic period (1500 BCE to 600 BCE) and how does it differ with the Harappan civilisation?

19. What is your opinion on the decline of jute industries in India? Why India has to import oil in heavy amounts?

20. How did the geographical movement of the migrant labourers due to the COVID pandemic affect the socio-cultural fabric of India? 

1.       Do you think that overseas political and military activities contributed more to the cause of India’s independence rather than in-house activities, post-1885?

2.       Assess the education system during the British period in India and contrast it with that during the Mughal period.

3.       Map the tribal and peasant insurrections in India from 1800 to 1967.

4.       Trace the contribution of women in the 1857 uprising. 

5.       Nehru was a great admirer of Gandhi, no doubt – yet at times his critic but on crucial occasions became his ‘political son’. Do you agree with this assessment?

6.       Somehow, the contributions of many stalwarts to India’s freedom struggle have been suppressed in historical narrative – by terming them as Right-wingers. Tender your opinion.

7.       Do you think that Hindi is being imposed upon on the non-Hindi zones in the country? Opine.

 

8.       Have the Muslim women been liberated in the last few years through legislations? Analyse.

 

9.       Don’t you think India should stress more on the Sufi variety of Islam? Discuss the pros and cons.

10.    Why is casteism still extant in India? Suggest methods to eliminate it.

11.    Explain the nature of urban climates. Assess their impact on global environmental change.

12.    Discuss the methods of measuring earthquakes. In the context of ocean waves, distinguish between wave of oscillation and wave of tranlsation.

13.    Why the Indian monsoon is not always predictable? Discuss the spatial distribution of natural vegetation in India.

14.    Citing instances, discuss the perilous lives of tribes living in India’s island territories.

15.    Analyse the attempts of the government to conserve the Western Ghats. Would you suggest any further amendments in approach?

16.    Deliberate on the use of data obtained from satellites to understand our knowledge of forests and climate. Cite examples.

17.    Why did India face a series of insurgencies and internal security issues even after independence? Critically analyse.

18.    Do you believe that Indian cultural ethos and its societal fabric influence each other? Discuss.

19.    Somehow ideologies have shaped up global wars and those in turn have influenced ideologies. In the context of human history from 1900 to 2020, deliberate on the issue. 

20. How has geo-economics evolved as an important instrument of foreign policy making? Has it displaced geo-politics? Cite instances and discuss in the context of India.