Following are 65 questions on GS Paper 1 MAINS syllabus.
General Studies Paper I
1.
“Folk
art and folk painting have remained woefully unexplored in the Indian context
and their impact on tourism has hardly been measured.” Examine.
2.
Literature
of Indians writing in English have had a boom in the last two decades. What
could be the possible reasons?
3.
Try to extract an order out of the apparent chaos in the 18th
century sub-continent.
4.
Can it be said that Indian independence was chiefly due to the
contribution of the Gandhian strand of national movement? Critically opine.
5.
How did India
manage the issue of linguistic minorities immediately after independence?
6.
Did the Industrial revolution in any way influence the ideology of
Communism and impact the two world wars? Explain.
7.
Can it be said that decolonisation would never have taken place if Cold
War did not exist?
8.
Suggest innovative methods to control population growth in India.
9.
Does India face a threat of
regionalism? Suggest ways and means to control societal fissures based on
communal disharmony.
10. Throw light on the geology of the Ural mountains.
11. Is the western-styled city culture coupled with
globalisation the cause of decay of Indian culture in our cities?
12. The Himalayas are also
believed to play an important part in the formation of Central Asian deserts,
such as the Taklamakan and Gobi. Discuss.
13. Using a schematic
map, discuss the distribution of key natural resources across South Asia and
the Indian subcontinent.
14. The Barren Island volcano, India’s only active volcano, began
to spew lava in late 2018. Geologists observe this eruption could be linked to
a recent earthquake in Indonesia. Critically evaluate,
15. How
flora and fauna of the Arctic region has been affected by global warming?
16. Should
India have multiple time-zones? Examine
17. Using
a schematic map, deliberate on the issue of dust storms in India.
18. Can
it be said that the historical narrative of India’s national movement has a
gendered approach? Give details.
19. What
has been the contribution of Indian culture in shaping the minds of Indians in
a free country?
20. Correlate
the change in pattern of the monsoon in India with that of India’s evolving socio-economic
history post-2000.
21.
Discuss the factors responsible for the changing
structure of Indian family in the 21st century.
22.
What are ‘ghotuls’? Is there any exploitation of
women in tribal society?
23.
Is
prostitution a natural corollary of urbanisation ? Critically analyse.
24.
“Safe
Cities, Smart Cities and the like are neo-concepts which at the end of the day
would fade away, only to leave the remnants of properly governed cities.” Do
you agree?
25.
Has higher education and health
facilities in India been a failure? Comment
26.
‘Marital
Rape’ has turned out to be a contentious issue of late. Opine on the pros and
cons of enacting a law to term it as an offence punishable under the Indian
Penal Code.
27.
Present
a brief on the concept of ‘Caste’ among Muslims and Christians in India
28.
Discuss
some important poverty alleviation programmes in India undertaken by the
government in the last financial year. How can those be improved further?
29.
“In the courts of Babur and Humayun, the
Timurid style of Persian painting continued. Akbar, however, started a new
style.” Explain with illustrations.
30.
Evaluate
the contributions of Raja Man Singh of Gwalior and Amir Khusraw as far as
Indian Music is concerned.
31.
Could
the megaliths of South India be considered an engineering feat or cultural
epitaphs?
32.
How
did the Temple Women in Chola inscriptions differ from the Devadasis? Write a short
note on ‘architecture at Aihole’.
33.
Is
it true that in the early 20th century, the Bengal school of
painting acted as an avante-garde?
34.
In
what manner are the Stupas found in Andhra Pradesh region different from that
in North India?
35.
Bring
out the features of architectural styles implemented by the Britishers in
India.
36.
Elucidate
the common origin of Crater Lake in Oregon and Lake Toba in Sumatra.
37.
What
are ‘de-notified’ tribes? Write a note on Jarawas and Sentenelese.
38.
What
is/are the reason(s) for sheep rearing being the chief occupation of New
Zealand?
39.
Why is
Savanna termed as the ‘big game country’? What is an Ox-Bow Lake?
40. Why do rivers meander? Compare
‘El Nino’ with ‘La Nina’
41.
“A
Savanna landscape cannot just be called tropical grassland”. Opine
42. Do Aravallis act as a divide between Mewar and
Marwar? Discuss.
43. “Ice caps have significant effects on the geomorphology of the area they occupy”. Explain.
44. What do you know about the “Maghreb”? Can East
Africa split from the African mainland?
45. Why is Kutch an earthquake-prone region? Explain.
46. Discuss the contribution of the Azad Hind Fauj to the
cause of India’s independence.
47. Assess the
education system during the British colonial period of India.
48. Map the Indian national movement from the perspective
of the contribution of non-Gandhian leadership.
49. Account
for the commercialisation of agriculture during the British rule.
50. “The
common folk participated truly and spontaneously in the revolt of 1857.”
Critically analyse.
51. “The
history of India's fight for Independence has somehow undermined the sacrifice
made by the women of India.” Do you agree?
52. Gandhian
thoughts, no doubt still hold relevance in the 21st century
India. Do you agree with this
assessment?
53. Somehow, the contributions of Lala Lajpat Rai, V D
Savarkar & Dr Shyamaprasad Mookerjea to India’s freedom struggle have been
suppressed in historical narrative – by terming them as Right-wingers. Tender
your opinion.
54. Surendranatha Banerjea should be credited with the
formation of the Congress. Is it correct?
55. The
principles and the ethics which the leaders of the Indian national movement espoused
are terribly missing in today’s political ambience. Examine.
56. How did
the Indian government negotiate tribal-based insurgencies post-independence? Discuss.
57. “Equitable
land distribution failed in post-1947 India, even though Zamindari system was
abolished.” Critically examine.
58. Evaluate the
contribution of Sardar Patel in India’s territorial unification.
59. How did Lenin and Mao tweak the concept of Marxism to suit
their indigenous demands?
60. The Third
World and Cold War : bring out the relationship.
61. Name two
statesmen/politicians/bureaucrats who contributed to the shaping of the modern
world in the 19th and 20th centuries. Assess their
contribution.
62. Could the first World War been avoided? Why is it
called a total war?
63. How did
the rise of Japan in the late 19th & early 20th
century affect developments in India? Discuss.
64. In the current scenario, what do you suggest for India to
become a superpower?
65. Discuss the impact of American Revolution on the world.
