UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice Test 2

10. Trade relations during the ancient period has resulted in the inculcation of multiple ideas and cultures into Indian society. Explain (15 Marks)

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Answer Key

1.How unification of India is different from the German unification under Bismark? (10 Marks)

Answer: Although German and Indian unification happened in two different centuries, they have certain similarities:
• Both countries had a large geographical area. Unifying them together was a huge challenge in the initial stages.
• Both countries were unified by the charisma and leadership of a single leader.
• The unification process was mainly followed by the progress and development of the nation.

Criteria	German unification	Indian Unification
Language	Germany people shared the common language  and history which united them.	India has multiple languages and wide diversity.
Nationalism	Napoleon sparked nationalism and liberalism in  Germany was the underlying reason  for nationalism. This united the people in Germany.	Nationalism was developed by freedom fighters transcending cultural diversity.
Leaders	Bismarck was the most influential figure. He used  Realpolitik in conducting his foreign policy.His  policy was  termed “Policy of Blood and Iron”	Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the crucial figure in India’s unification. He adopteddemocratic principles  mainly to unify the nation. His prompt actions helped to prevent Balkanisation of India.
		He mainly used Instruments of Accession and the promise of a wide-

		ranging autonomy to unify the small princely states into the Union.
Leading State	All the states were unified under  Prussia which had the strongest military power.	The provinces got integrated quite easily.  The unified provinces acted as a leading state.
		Integration of Princely States was a tough process. The princes were diplomatically persuaded to join the Union of India with the central government retaining the powers of Defence, External Affairs, communication and Railways.
Economic Factor	Zollverein, the economic	Economic unification of
	and customs  union  of	the country by the
	Germany helped  people	Britishers through
	to realize  the  economic	nationwide trade,
	benefits after unification	development of railways
	and paved the way for the unity in Germany.	eased the process.

 

Consequences

The unification process later on caused further  issues in the region resulting in the First and Second World War.

Unification of India brought in a sense of calm in the country although it was preceded by partition.

2.The cold war has made a unipolar world and new world order. Analyse (10 Marks)

Answer: Cold War was a period of intense proxy conflicts between the Soviet Union and the United States with its allies after World War II. It began to de- escalate after the Revolutions of 1989 and ultimately led to the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

The disintegration of the USSR paved the way for the emergence of capitalism as the major force in the world. The capitalist Western countries were led by the United States. The emergence of the USA as the major force in the world laid down the construction of a unipolar world.

The USA began to influence the internal affairs of other countries through neo- imperialist policies like globalisation became the order of the day. The previously non aligned countries like India, Indonesia etc. also give importance to structural reforms and accepted the philosophy of capitalism. The success of the USA post-Cold War can be seen in the fact that they are the most determining factor in international relations.

Yet, the emergence of unipolar world has been recently in threats due to the emergence of developing countries like China, India into the global arena. China through its economic policies like the One Belt One Road tries to expand its soft power into the Western European countries as well.

The end of the proxy Cold War gave hope to establish a new world order that has the time of non-violence and the principles of peaceful coexistence. It includes the possibility of sustained peace, dismantling of nuclear weapons systems, significant cuts in strategic arms and eventually general and complete disarmament as well.

The new world order also ideally exist in such a way that the strong must demonstrate restraint toward the weak. As a result, developing and least developed countries were given adequate protection by the developed countries.

3.World war II was a continuation of world war I. Evaluate (10 Marks)

Answer: World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world’s countries including all the great powers eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. World War II was a continuation of World War I because:

Failure of the treaties such as the Versailles Treaty caused resentment among the European countries particularly Germany.

Germany lost territory in Europe as the disputed Alsace-Lorraine
was given to France. Germany was disarmed as it was barred from introducing conscription and also Rhineland was made a buffer zone by demilitarising the area between France and Germany permanently.
○Germany was blamed for the war and the treaty included the war guilt clause as well.
○Germany was made responsible to pay war reparations as well. This enraged the population of Germany in general.
• The political vacuum in Germany and the popular discontent against the Allies aided the growth of Fascist ideologies led by Hitler and Mussolini
• The failure of the League of Nations and the concept of ‘Collective Security’. The League of Nations was created to settle international disputes and to prevent war in future.

However, it failed in its objectives.
○League of Nations came to be viewed as an organization of the Allied Powers set up for implementation of biased peace treaties.
○The League failed to convince other major powers to disarm their military power. Britain and France did not want self- disarmament and this was opposed by Germany. League of Nations was unable to solve the issue.
○The League of Nations failed to check any violations of the frontiers established after the WWI through the peace treaties. Thus Collective Security remained a mere idea and not made a reality.

● The Dawes Plan which was initially formulated in the aftermath of WW-I has successfully resolved the issue of World War I reparations that Germany had to pay. However, the success was short-lived and it ended in a global economic crisis spurred by the Great Depression in America and it eventually led to the rise of Hitler and other Fascist powers.

In addition to the issues unresolved by World War I, World War II has its own reasons as well as the rise of newly industrialised countries like Japan who became a key stakeholder in the World War II.

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4. Elaborate on the features of Mauryan Stupa Architecture in India. (10 Marks)

Answer : The stupa is an important form of Buddhist architecture, though it predates Buddhism. It is generally considered to be a sepulchral monument—a place of burial or a receptacle for religious objects.

In the Mauryan period, mainly in the period of Ashoka numerous stupas were constructed and scattered all over the country.

The stupas has some features in common. They are
●The stupas of solid domes were constructed of brick or stone with different sizes.
●The Ashoka stupas were constructed to celebrate the achievements of Gautama Buddha.
●The inner wall of the stupa was built either by terracotta bricks or by sun- burnt bricks.
●The top of the dome was decorated by a wooden or stone umbrella which denotes the universal supremacy of Dharma. Parikrama was also there by encircling the stupa.
The stupa was crowned by an umbrella of wooden fence enclosing a path for pradakshina. Pradakshina paths are circular pathways constructed around the dome. 

Even though the stupa was not unknown in India before the time of Ashoka, from the time Ashoka divided up the existing body relics of the Buddha and erected monuments to enshrine them, the stupas became objects of cult worship.

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5. Why the Gupta period is known and represented as the golden age of Indian history? Substantiate (10 Marks)
Answer : The prosperity in the Gupta Empire initiated a period known as the Golden Age of India, marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy.

The Gupta Empire, which covered much of the Indian subcontinent from approximately 320-550 CE, enabled the wide pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors. This period became known as the Golden Age of India because it was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries. These discoveries crystallized elements of what is generally considered Hindu culture.
● Architecture – Nagara style of architecture started to evolve during this period of time. There was a progressive evolution from the rock cut temples to the structural temples. Eg: Dashavatara temple at Deogarh during Gupta period.

● Education – The famous Nalanda university was constructed during the age of Guptas. The university was a hub of Buddhist learning and teachings. It attracted foreigners across the world. Hiuen Tsang visited the university during the period of Harsha as well.

● Science – Guptan age witnessed great scholars like Aryabhatta who is believed to have envisioned the concept of zero, as well as working on the approximation for the long-form number Pi.
Varahamihira was an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician, whose main work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy.
Vagbhata composed a book about medicine namely Ashtanga Samgraha which has extensive details about Ayurvedic treatments.
Other scholars of the Golden Age helped create the first Indian numeral systems with a base of ten.

● Literature – Kalidasa also belonged primarily to this period.
The Indian scholar and Hindu philosopher Vatsyayana, authored the Kama Sutra, which became a standard work on human sexual behavior, while Vishnu Sharma was thought to be the author of the Panchatantra fables, one of the most widely-translated, non-religious books in history.

● Art – The cultural creativity of the Golden Age of India produced magnificent architecture, including palaces and temples, as well as sculptures and paintings of the highest quality. They patronaged the Mathura shool of Art. The walls of Buddhist shrines and monasteries were decorated with colorful frescoes, a type of wall paintings.
The Gupta Dynasty promoted Hinduism, but supported Buddhist and Jain cultures as well. Gupta Buddhist art influenced East and Southeast Asia as trade between regions increased.
The Gupta Empire became an important cultural center and influenced nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Classical forms of Indian music and dance, created under the Guptas, are still practiced all over Asia today. 

The level of prosperity achieved by the Golden age under the Guptas was reflected even in the works of Chinese traveler Fa Hian visited India from 399- 405 CE, during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta II. He recorded all of his observations in a journal that was later published.

6. Explain how the foundations of the modern world were laid by the American and French Revolutions. (15 Marks)

The French Revolution as well as the American Revolution are both remembered for their far reaching impacts in not only their domestic politics but also on the international stage. The post revolution era witnessed a shift from society based on privileges to society based on merits.
The contributions of the American Revolution:
Secularism- American constitution was the first to separate the state and the church at national level. Today, majority of modern democracies have secularism as their defining feature.
Republicanism- American constitution was one of the first to confer adult suffrage, limit the powers of state to constitutional provisions.
Inspiration to all colonies- To fight for democracy has become the rallying cry of all the remaining colonies of the world. Newly independent countries have embraced the ideology of “no representation without taxation”, given by the American revolutionaries.
Women- more liberal conditions for the women, a change in attitude towards
women’s role in politics was inspired from American Revolution.

Emphasize was given to the idea of freedom of thought.
Human rights and Fundamental rights were given due recognition.
The contributions of the French Revolution:
Ideology- Ideologies of liberty, equality, and fraternity are inspired from the French revolution, where all citizens promised individual freedoms, equality in status, and brotherhood.
Economic- the revolution abolished the old feudal order, removed all the privileges enjoyed by the church and the feudal lords. Abolished tax collection by private individuals and made tax the privilege of state.

Constitutionalism- Ending the arbitrary royal rule, the revolution paved way for rule by law under a constitutional order.
French philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu also laid down the foundation for Renaissance in Europe. They also proclaimed ideas like social contract, separation of power which became the bedrock of the modern world polity.  All people were given right to vote and the right of Insurrection. French revolution for the first time gave Equal political right to workers, peasants and non proprietary classes.
Importance of Division of power was recognized. Thus, the many modern ideals which today’s democracies take for granted are laid down by the American and French revolutions. Indian constitution too incorporated in the preamble, the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.

7. The industrial revolution led to the transportation revolution and resulted in colonisation. Evaluate (15 Marks)

The Industrial Revolution was a period of major industrialization and innovation that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and quickly spread throughout the world. The American Industrial Revolution commonly referred to as the second Industrial Revolution, started sometime between 1820 and 1870. This period saw the mechanization of agriculture and textile manufacturing as well as a revolution in power, including steamships and rail-roads, that affected social, cultural, and economic conditions.

Industrial Revolution induced a rapid change in mode of production from household to factory based production. In addition to it, the target for production was shifted from consumption to that of sale in the markets. The advancements in industrial

revolution necessitated the demands for more labour power, procurement of raw materials from further locations, sale of processed goods to farther markets. These factors caused a necessity of transportation revolution.

Industrial revolution : Transportation revolution

In 1814, James Watt developed steam engine to haul coal– from mines to ports by railways. In 1830,the first railway train began to carry passengers and freight from Liverpool to Manchester. These event were followed by a great wave of railroad construction in England and United States . As early as 1853, in Lord Dalhousie’s time, the first railroad was laid in India.

The need to transport raw materials and manufactured products led to the improvement of roads and digging of canals in England and other countries. Newly devised method of Macademanized (A Scottish engineer John McAdam developed a new process for road construction. His technique, which became known as macadam, resulted in roads that were smoother, more durable and less muddy) roads to expand facilities for transport by water much cheaper than overland England began connecting rivers and lakes with canals. Canal building spread to Europe and America was big helping providing cheaper transportation especially after steam boats came into use. Improved transportation helped in carrying messages as well as people and goods.

Transportation revolution : Colonization

The transportation industry also underwent significant transformation during the industrial revolution. Before the advent of the steam engine, raw materials and finished goods were hauled and distributed via horse-drawn wagons and by boats along canals and rivers.

With the expansion of railways, in England from the1840s and in the colonies from 1860s, the demand for iron and steel increased rapidly. The improved transportation helped England to gain almost a complete control over world markets. The search for markets and sources of raw materials end up in colonization.

First England and later other, western countries began to look for new sources of raw materials and markets for their manufactures. Towards the end of 19th century Japan was industrialized and joined the race, almost the entire non-industrialized world was carved up into colonies for economic and political domination by the industrialized countries.

8. Compare and contrast the architectural styles of Nagara and Dravida temples with examples. (15 Marks)

Answer: Hindu temple architecture reflects a synthesis of arts, the ideals of dharma, beliefs, values and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. Influenced by early Buddhist structures such as the stupa, the first Hindu temples were built from rock-cut caves. Then, with the arrival of Gupta architecture in the 4th to 5th century CE Nagara style of architecture evolved, whereas the Dravida style of architecture evolved by the 7th and 8th centuries in South India led by Pallavas.

Nagara Style							Dravida Style
It is characterized by a beehive-shaped curvilinear tower called Shikhara which is made up of layer upon layer of architectural elements and a cruciform ground plan. In this style, there is a multiple Shikharas							It has a pyramidical shaped central tower called Vimana.
North Indian temples are commonly built in Nagara style.							The temples built around the southern parts of India are built in  Dravida style.
In Nagara style, the Shikhara remains the most prominent element of the temple and the gateway is usually modest or even absent in such temples.							Gopuram is the most prominent. It is stylized and big in size.
Ganga and Yamuna rivers are depicted in the personified form at the entrance of Garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum.							Dwarpalas are present on the entrance protecting the deity in garbhagriha.
Most of the temples in the Nagara style had only religious purpose.							Temples in South have not only been religious centres but were also used foradministrative activities, controlling vast areas of land and were also centres of education.
Originated during the time period of Guptas. Eg: Dashavatara temple in Deogarh.							Originated during the medieval period. Came into prominence  during Pallavas. It grew its peak during the period of Cholas. Eg: Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur.
						This style of the temple has emphasis on the boundary	When the population and the size of the town associated with the temple increased, it would have become necessary to make a new boundary wall around the temple

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9. Indian Rock-cut temples of the ancient period are the finest example of craftsmanship. Illustrate with examples (15 Marks)

Answer: The Rock-cut structures are one of the most ancient Indian art specimens. Most of the rock-cut structures in the ancient period were closely associated with various religions and religious activities.

Rock-cut structures: the role of craftsmanship

• In the beginning, remarkable Buddhist and Jain rock-cut structures were built in areas such as Bihar in the east and Maharashtra in the west. Eg: Barabar caves donated by King Ashoka to the Ajivika sect.

• Numerous caves were excavated by the Buddhist monks for prayer and residence purposes when they moved from one place to another as sangas. The best example of this is Chaityas (prayer halls) and viharas (monasteries). Inside these rock-cut structures, windows and balconies and gates were carved as huge arch shaped openings.

• Ellora caves: A major example of the Indian art is in the Kailasa temple at Ellora. It was built out of a hill and solid monolithic rock. The bold and magnificent carving in this temple shows the Rashtrakuta style of tall and powerfully built figures.

• The beautiful architectural rock sculpture from at Ellora shows the marriage of Siva and Parvati where Siva holds the hand of the Parvati which occupies the centre of the composition. it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its grandeur size, detailed architecture and sculptural works.

• Elephanta Caves: The cave-shrine at Elephanta is built by the Rashtrakutas which contains the famous Mahishamurti. The three heads emanating from one and the same body represent three different aspects of Lord Shiva.

• Ajanta Caves: The first Buddhist monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st B.C. During the Gupta period many more richly decorated caves were added to the original group. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta are considered as the masterpieces of Buddhist religious art. They have had a considerable artistic influence.
• The caves represent paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha, pictorial tales from Jataka tales and rock-cut sculptures of Buddhist deities etc.

The famous works of the ancient period were carried through the medieval period as well. This can be observed in the evolution of rock-cut temple by the Pallavas, construction of Dravida style structural temples like the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, Brihadeswara temple etc. as well. It was later intermixed with the arcuate style of architecture of the Indo Islamic school as well.

10.Trade relations during the ancient period has resulted in the inculcation of multiple ideas and cultures into Indian society. Explain (15 Marks)

Answer: The ancient period in India has witnessed extensive trade relations all the way from the beginning of the Indus Valley Civilisation period itself. The trade relations helped to inculcate the multiple ideas and cultures into Indian society itself such as:

• Numerous Indus seals have been found in ancient Mesopotamian cities. Also, evidence for settlements of Indus valley traders is found in ancient Mesopotamia, in the form of Mesopotamian seals with Indus language characters.

• The trading relations of Rome with India in the ancient period has seen the expansion of trading settlements especially in the northwestern parts of India.

• The rule of Indo-Greeks cover from 2nd century BCE to the beginning of the 1st century AD, this period has been marked by the evidence of punch- marked coins which had the evidences of Greek Gods and kings during the time period.

• The expanding trading settlements brought with it several new ideas and culture such as:
○Gandhara school of Art flourished at the crossroads of Asia connecting trade routes and absorbing cultural influences from diverse civilizations.
○It had several Greco-Roman influences such as halo around the head of Lord Buddha, Buddha’s wavy hair, the forehead lines and protuberance, thick drapery etc.
○The evolution of satrapian administration was after the influence of Greeks. Post Mauryas, the Saks and the Guptas actively pursued this type of administration.
○Mauryan pillars have an extensive influence from the Achaemenian pillars that were in existence in the Persia which has rectangular bases and polished pillars.
○The pillars of Mauryan palaces and temples harnessed Achaemenid Persian and Hellenistic Greek sources to communicate the message of a cosmopolitan empire.
○Ashokan pillars have been found to have the influences of Greek and Aramian scripts.
• The influence of the Chinese and South-East Asian countries in daily lifestyle changes etc. can also be accounted for as well. The trade through the ancient Silk route enhanced the people to people contacts.