Subject-wise Art and Culture Questions in UPSC Mains (2022 – 2013)

The Art and Culture syllabus covers a wide range of topics, from ancient sculptures and paintings to modern-day performing arts. To help students prepare better, we have compiled a list of Art and Culture mains questions from the years 2013 to 2022.

These questions will not only give you an idea of the type of questions asked in the exam but also help you evaluate your preparation level.

2022

• How will you explain that medieval Indian temple sculptures represent the social life of those days?
• Discuss the significance of the lion and bull figures in Indian mythology, art and architecture.

2021

• Evaluate the nature of the Bhakti Movement and its contribution to Indian culture.

2020

• The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss.
• Pala period is the most significant phase in the history of Buddhism in India. Enumerate.
• Indian Philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss.
• Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment.

2019

• Highlight the Central Asian and Greco-Bactrian elements in Gandhara art.

2018

• Safeguarding the Indian Art Heritage is the need of the moment. Discuss.
• Assess the importance of the accounts of the Chinese and Arab Travellers in the reconstruction of the history of India.
• The Bhakti movement received a remarkable re-orientation with the advent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Discuss

2017

• How do you justify the view that the level of excellence of the Gupta numismatic art is not at all noticeable in later times?
• Examine how the decline of the traditional artisanal industry in colonial India crippled the rural economy.

2016

• Early Buddhist Stupa-art, while depicting folk motifs and narratives successfully expounds Buddhist ideals. Elucidate.
• Krishnadeva Raya, the King of Vijayanagar, was not only an accomplished scholar himself but was also a great patron of learning and literature. Discuss.

2015

• The ancient civilization in the Indian sub-continent differed from those of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece in that its culture and traditions have been preserved without a breakdown to the present day. Comment.
• Mesolithic rock-cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modem painting. Critically evaluate this comment.

2014

• To what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization provided inputs to the present-day urbanization? Discuss.
• Gandhara sculpture owed as much to the Romans as to the Greeks. Explain.
• Taxila university was one of the oldest universities of the world with which were associated with a number of renowned learned personalities of different disciplines. Its strategic location caused its fame to flourish, but unlike Nalanda, it is not considered as a university in the modern sense. Discuss.
• Sufis and medieval mystic saints failed to modify either the religious ideas and practices or the outward structure of Hindu / Muslim societies to any appreciable extent. Comment.

2013

• Though not very useful from the point of view of a connected political history of South India, the Sangam literature portrays the social and economic conditions of its time with remarkable vividness. Comment.
• Discuss the Tandava dance as recorded in the early Indian inscriptions.
• Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the evolution of temple architecture. Discuss.

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