UPSC Prelims 1998 — solved PYQs

Bhagat Singh was a prominent revolutionary associated with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), not the Ghadar Party.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a prominent nationalist leader and advocate of Swaraj, but he was not associated with the Ghadar Party.

V. D. Savarkar founded the Abhinav Bharat Society and was active in London-based revolutionary circles, but was not the leader of the Ghadar Party.

Incorrect. The Second Schedule deals with salaries and emoluments of various constitutional office-holders.

Incorrect. The Fifth Schedule deals with the administration of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes.

Incorrect. The Eighth Schedule lists the languages recognised by the Constitution.

Lord Dufferin was initially sympathetic to the Congress but later became critical. However, this specific quote is not attributed to him.

Lord Lytton served as Viceroy from 1876-1880, before the Congress was founded in 1885, making this attribution impossible.

The statement is attributed to Lord Curzon, so this option is incorrect.

The RBI publishes monetary and banking reports, not the Economic Survey.

NITI Aayog prepares policy documents but does not publish the Economic Survey.

MOSPI publishes statistical reports, not the Economic Survey.

While Qandahar had some trade importance, its loss was not primarily about natural resources. The region's significance was overwhelmingly military and strategic.

Although Qandahar did serve as a buffer between Mughal and Safavid territories, the UPSC key identifies its primary importance as a strategic stronghold controlling the routes between India, Persia and Central Asia.

Communication was a secondary concern. The primary blow was the loss of a fortified position that commanded key passes and trade routes linking the subcontinent to western and central Asia.

R does explain A because Ashoka's promotion of equity and social ethics over sectarian religion is precisely why his edicts prioritise social harmony over religious devotion.

R is not false. Ashoka's edicts demonstrate that he spread ideas of social equity and mutual respect rather than promoting any particular religious sect.

A is not false. Multiple rock edicts and pillar edicts of Ashoka explicitly place social harmony, respect for elders, and ethical behaviour above ritualistic religious devotion.

The reason directly explains why phenyl is germicidal — because it derives its disinfectant action from phenol.

R is true; phenyl is indeed a phenol derivative and phenol is a well-known germicide.

A is true; phenyl is commonly used in Indian households for floor cleaning and disinfection.

Gandhi was not a member of the Congress Working Committee at the time of independence. He had not held any formal organisational position in the Congress for years.

Gandhi was not the President of the Congress at the time of independence. J.B. Kripalani held the position of Congress President in 1947.

Gandhi never served as the General Secretary of the Congress. His influence over the party was exercised through moral authority rather than formal organisational positions.

Both starch and cellulose are synthesized by plants, so this statement is correct.

Both are polysaccharide polymers of glucose, so this statement is correct.

Both starch and cellulose are polymers of glucose, though linked differently (alpha vs beta glycosidic bonds).

Living comfortably is a vague subjective assessment. Consumer equilibrium is a precise economic concept based on utility maximization under a budget constraint, not a measure of comfort.

Consumer equilibrium does not mean the absence of desire. Consumers always have unlimited wants; equilibrium means they have optimally allocated their limited resources.

Discovering new income sources changes the budget constraint and could shift the equilibrium point. It is not the definition of consumer equilibrium.

A is false. The moderates continued to play a role even after 1905, and R does not explain A since A itself is incorrect.

A is false. The moderates did not disappear from Indian politics after 1905. They remained active, albeit with reduced influence.

A is false. The Partition of Bengal did not end the moderates' role — they continued to participate in Congress politics and British institutions.

While the global economy matters, supply-side economics specifically focuses on domestic production incentives — tax reduction, deregulation, and improving business conditions — rather than international factors.

Consumer-driven demand is the focus of Keynesian economics, not supply-side economics. Supply-side theory argues that improving conditions for producers will naturally expand output and employment.

Middlemen play a role in distribution but are not the focus of supply-side economics, which is concerned with production incentives and factor productivity.

Fawazil did not refer to extra payments to nobles. It was a fiscal term related to the surplus revenue collected by iqta holders.

Revenue assigned in lieu of salary describes the concept of iqta itself, not fawazil. Fawazil specifically referred to the surplus beyond the iqtadar's entitlement.

Illegal exactions from peasants were termed abwabs, not fawazil. Fawazil was a legitimate fiscal category representing surplus revenue.

The INA trials were much later and unrelated to Montagu's characterisation.

The shooting of Gandhi occurred in 1948, long after Montagu's time as Secretary of State.

The shooting of Curzon-Wyllie was a 1909 assassination by Madan Lal Dhingra and was not characterised by Montagu in this manner.

R does explain A because the colonial fear of educated cultivators becoming discontented was a key reason for rejecting the compulsory education bill.

R is not false. The colonial administration explicitly feared that literate peasants would become politically aware and challenge British authority.

A is not false. Gokhale's Bill for compulsory primary education was indeed rejected in 1911 by the Imperial Legislative Council.

Not all four are correct. Pair II is wrong because Buddhacharita was written by Ashvaghosha, not Vasuvandhu (who was a Buddhist philosopher).

This is incomplete. Pair III (Mudrarakshasha-Vishakhadatta) is also correctly matched.

Pair II is incorrect because Buddhacharita is by Ashvaghosha, not Vasuvandhu.

Marathi belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family, not the Austric group.

Ladakhi belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.

Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language family, not the Austric group.

This is incorrect because pair IV is wrong. Badruddin Tyabji was the third president of the Indian National Congress (1887), not associated with the Muslim League which was founded much later in 1906.

This omits correct pairs I and III. Theodore Beck was indeed the principal of MAO College, and Pherozesha Mehta was a prominent Congress leader.

Pair IV is incorrect. Badruddin Tyabji was associated with the Indian National Congress, not the Muslim League.

This sequence incorrectly places gold coins before punch-marked silver coins. Silver punch-marked coins appeared earlier.

This incorrectly places punch-marked silver coins before gold coins, but also places iron plough before urban culture, which is wrong.

This places gold coins before punch-marked silver coins, which is chronologically incorrect.

Statement 3 is wrong; acetylene is made from calcium carbide (CaC₂), not silicon carbide (SiC), which is an abrasive.

Statement 1 is correct; acetylene welding is a major industrial application.

Statement 3 is incorrect because silicon carbide does not produce acetylene when mixed with water.

Incorrect. The Quit India Movement (1942) did not precede the August Offer (1940). The August Offer was an earlier attempt by the British to secure Indian cooperation during World War II.

Incorrect. The Royal Indian Navy Revolt (February 1946) took place before the INA trial had fully concluded, but the INA trial (November 1945) began earlier than the Naval Revolt.

Incorrect. This sequence incorrectly places the Quit India Movement before the August Offer. The August Offer came first in 1940.

The reason is directly connected to the assertion. The Chauri Chaura violence was the specific trigger for Gandhi's decision to withdraw the movement.

The reason is true. The Chauri Chaura violence was the cause of the withdrawal.

The assertion is also true. Gandhi did stop the movement in 1922.

Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan did oppose Congress participation, but the specific reason Muslims were not attracted to the extremists was their use of Hindu religious symbolism.

The extremist leaders were not explicitly anti-Muslim, but their use of Hindu symbols and idioms created a perception of exclusion.

While Muslim aspirations were not always addressed, the specific reason for alienation was the Hindu revivalist character of the extremist movement.

The ionosphere is not between the stratosphere and mesosphere. The mesosphere (50-80 km) comes before the ionosphere/thermosphere (above 80 km).

The troposphere is the lowest layer, not the stratosphere. The sequence starting from the surface begins with the troposphere.

The troposphere is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere, not the stratosphere.

R does explain A in the sense that the Hellenistic artistic heritage in the northwest was absorbed by Buddhist artists serving the Hinayana tradition, which is why Buddhist art bears those marks.

R is not false. Hinayana (Theravada) Buddhism was indeed the dominant form in the Gandhara region during the peak of the school's development.

A is not false. Gandhara art's Hellenistic character is one of the most documented features in the study of Indian art history.