UPSC Prelims 2004 — solved PYQs

Jainism was spread in South India under the leadership of Bhadrabahu, not Sthalabahu. Bhadrabahu led a migration of Jain monks to Karnataka during a famine in Magadha.

Those who remained at Pataliputra under Sthulabhadra were called Shvetambaras. Those who followed Bhadrabahu to the south became Digambaras. The statement reverses the association.

In the initial stage, Jainism did not emphasise image worship. Like early Buddhism, early Jainism focused more on philosophical teachings and ascetic practice rather than idol worship.

Forests were transferred to the Concurrent List from the State List by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976). This pairing is correct.

Post Office Savings Banks fall under the Union List (Entry 45 covers banking and related subjects controlled by the Union). This pairing is correct.

Public health and sanitation, hospitals, and dispensaries fall under the State List (Entry 6). This pairing is correct.

Sahyadri (Western Ghats) extends further south than the Satpura Range, so placing Sahyadri between Mahadeo and Satpura is incorrect.

Sahyadri is not the northernmost; the Mahadeo Hills (part of the Satpura system) in central MP are further north.

This places Sahyadri furthest north, which is incorrect since the Mahadeo Hills in MP are at a higher latitude.

Debu Choudhuri is a renowned sitar player, not a flautist. He received the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to sitar music.

Madhup Mudgal is a Hindustani classical vocalist associated with the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya tradition in Delhi.

Shafaat Ahmad Khan is known as a sarangi player in the Hindustani classical tradition, not as a flautist.

This is a correct statement. Tidal currents are generated when water moves through narrow channels connecting gulfs to the open sea.

This is a correct statement. Tidal bores form when incoming tides are funnelled into narrow, shallow river estuaries, creating a wave that travels upstream.

This is a correct statement. The tidal rise at the Hooghly mouth helps maintain navigable depth for ships reaching Kolkata port.

This pair is essentially correct in timeline. Pitt's India Act of 1784 was passed during Warren Hastings' tenure as Governor-General.

This pair is correctly matched. Lord Dalhousie systematically applied the Doctrine of Lapse to annex princely states between 1848 and 1856.

This pair is correctly matched. The Ilbert Bill was introduced in 1883 during Lord Ripon's viceroyalty.

Mazharul Haque was a Congress leader from Bihar but did not propose this specific definition of Swaraj.

Hakim Ajmal Khan was a prominent leader of the Khilafat movement but did not make this specific proposal about defining Swaraj.

Abul Kalam Azad was a major Congress leader but the specific proposal to define Swaraj as complete independence came from Hasrat Mohani.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Fa-Hien (Faxian) visited India during the Gupta period (c. 399-414 CE), long after Kanishka's Fourth Buddhist Council (c. 1st-2nd century CE).

Statement 2 is incorrect. Xuanzang (Huan-Tsang) found Harsha to be a great patron of Buddhism, not antagonistic. Harsha organised the Prayag Assembly and supported Mahayana Buddhism.

Both statements are factually incorrect. Fa-Hien was not contemporary with Kanishka, and Xuanzang described Harsha as a supporter of Buddhism.

This sequence is incorrect. Chelmsford preceded Irwin, and Curzon preceded all of them.

This sequence is incorrect. Irwin did not come immediately after Curzon.

This sequence is incorrect. Chelmsford was not the earliest among these four.

Daulatabad fort was not destroyed. It was besieged and eventually fell to the Mughals, but the end of the Nizam Shahi dynasty came through the imprisonment of Husain Shah, not the killing of a ruler named Nizam-ul-Mulk.

Fateh Khan did not usurp the Nizam Shahi throne in the manner described. The dynasty ended through Mughal annexation.

Malik Ambar died of natural causes in 1626, before the final Mughal conquest. The entire royal family was not massacred; the last ruler was imprisoned.

Statement 1 is correct, but statement 2 is also correct. The Governors did have veto and legislative powers under the 1935 Act.

Statement 2 is correct, but statement 3 is incorrect. The 1935 Act continued communal representation through separate electorates based on the Communal Award.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The 1935 Act retained communal representation and separate electorates.

The Attorney General does not rank above Supreme Court judges in the warrant of precedence. Supreme Court judges hold a higher position.

This ordering is incorrect. The Attorney General does not precede both the Deputy Chairman and Supreme Court judges.

While Supreme Court judges are correctly placed first, the Attorney General does not rank above the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the warrant of precedence.

The Agra–Mumbai route, while long, is shorter than the Kolkata–Hajira route.

The Chennai–Thane (old NH4) route covers about 1,290 km, shorter than Kolkata–Hajira.

The Pune–Machilipatnam route is considerably shorter than the Kolkata–Hajira route.

This is incomplete. Statements 3 and 4 are also correct as per the constitutional and criminal-procedure framework.

This is incomplete. Statement 1 is also correct as the Court of Session is the highest criminal court at the district level.

This is incomplete. Statements 1 and 2 are also correct as per Articles 233 and 236 and the CrPC framework.

This is incorrect because M.A. Jinnah was not a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly. The Muslim League boycotted the Assembly and its members later formed the Pakistan Constituent Assembly.

The first session of the Constituent Assembly was held on 9 December 1946, not in January 1947.

The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949, not 26 January 1950. January 26, 1950 was when the Constitution came into effect (Republic Day).

Incorrect. Shankaracharya preceded Ramanuja by about three centuries.

Incorrect. All three are in the wrong order here. Shankaracharya came first.

Incorrect. Ramanuja came before Chaitanya, not after.

A serving Supreme Court judge is not eligible for the chairpersonship. Under the original 1993 Act, the position was reserved for a retired Chief Justice of India.

A serving High Court judge is not eligible for the NHRC chairpersonship. The Act specified a retired Chief Justice of India for the role.

A retired Chief Justice of a High Court could serve as a member of the NHRC, not as its Chairperson. The chairpersonship required a former CJI.

Zinc burns with a bluish-white light and sulphur produces blue flame, but they are not the primary colour-producing agents in fireworks.

Mercury compounds are toxic and not used in modern fireworks; potassium is used as an oxidiser, not primarily for colour.

Chromium and nickel are not standard colouring agents in fireworks.

The removal resolution for the Vice-President cannot be moved in the Lok Sabha alone. The Constitution specifically requires it to originate in the Rajya Sabha.

The resolution is not movable in either House. Article 67(b) specifically requires that the resolution must be initiated in the Rajya Sabha.

A joint sitting is a mechanism under Article 108 for resolving deadlocks on ordinary bills, not for removing the Vice-President.

This excludes statement 4, which is also correct. Achyuta Raya, Krishnadeva Raya's half-brother, did succeed him on the Vijayanagara throne.

This excludes statement 1, which is correct. Narasimha Saluva did overthrow the Sangama dynasty around 1485 CE.

This excludes statements 2 and 3, both of which are historically verified transitions in the Vijayanagara dynasty succession.

This describes cumulus clouds, not cirrus. Cumulus clouds have flat bases and dome-like or cauliflower tops from convective updrafts.

This describes cirrus clouds, not cumulus. Cirrus clouds are the thin, wispy, fibrous clouds at high altitudes.

Cumulus clouds are typically low to middle-level clouds, not high clouds. Cirrus clouds are classified as high clouds.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The first session of the INC was held in Bombay in 1885, not Calcutta.

Statement 2 is correct — Dadabhai Naoroji presided over the second session at Calcutta in 1886 — but statement 3 is also correct.

Statement 3 is correct, but statement 2 is also correct. Dadabhai Naoroji did preside over the second Congress session.

While both statements are true, R does not correctly explain A because the body can synthesize many fatty acids but not essential fatty acids, which is the actual reason for dietary inclusion.

R is substantially true since the body cannot make all required fatty acids, particularly the essential ones.

Assertion A is true; fatty acids are indeed essential components of a balanced diet.

Incorrect. Article 45 is a Directive Principle that originally dealt with free and compulsory education for children and now deals with early childhood care and education.

Incorrect. Article 330 deals with reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha.

Incorrect. Article 368 deals with the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and the procedure for such amendments.

The reason is directly connected to the assertion — the absence of significant alluvial sediment is why no delta forms.

The reason is broadly true, not false. These rivers carry significantly less alluvial material.

The assertion is true — west-flowing peninsular rivers form estuaries, not deltas.