INDIAN SOCIETY

GENERAL STUDIES – I
PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTIONS
1. Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
2. Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and
developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.
3. Effects of globalization on Indian society.
4. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS (MAINS)

2016

1. To what extent globalization has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India? Explain.
12.5
2. “An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from the process of
deprivation” substantiate this statement with suitable examples. 12.5
3. Why are the tribals in India referred to as “the Scheduled Tribes”? Indicate the major
provisions enshrined in the constitution of India for their upliftment. 12.5
4. With a brief background of quality of urban life in India, introduce the objectives and
strategy of the ‘Smart City Programme’. 12.5
5. What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of development on
regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer. 12.5
2015

1. Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in
building a national identity. 12.5
2. Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the
main cause of population increase in India. 12.5
3. How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more
favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes? 12.5
4. Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last
four decades. 12.5
5. Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India 12.5
6. Debate the issue of whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit
identity work towards annihilation of caste. 12.5
2014

1. How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle class working woman in India?
2. Why do some of the most prosperous regions of India have an adverse sex ratio for
women? Give your arguments.
3. The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values.
Discuss.
4. Discuss the various economic and social cultural forces that are driving increasing
feminization of agriculture in India.
5. How do the Indian debates on secularism differ from the debates in the west?

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 2013

1. Discuss the various social problems which originated out of the speedy process of
urbanization in India. (200 words) 10
2. “Male membership needs to be encouraged in order to make women’s organization free
from gender bias.” Comment (200 Words) 10
3. Critically examine the effect of globalization on the aged population in India. 10
4. Growing feeling of regionalism is an important factor in generation of demand for a separate
State. Discuss. (200 words) 10

PRELIMS TOPICWISE ANALYSIS

No. Topics 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

1 Weaker Sections 1 1 2 1 - 1
2 Health 1 - - - - -
3 Education 1 - - - - -
4 Development 1 - - - - -
5 Social thinkers - - - - - 1
Total 4 1 2 1 - 2

INDIAN SOCIETY & SOCIAL JUSTICE (PRELIMS)

2016
1. ‘Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is a national campaign to
(a) Rehabilitate the homeless and destitute persons and provide them with suitable sources of
livelihood
(b) Release the sex workers form their practice and provide them with alternative sources of
livelihood
(c) Eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavengers
(d) Release the bonded labourers from their bondage and rehabilitate them

2. ‘Mission Indradhanush’ launched by the Government of India pertains to

(a) Immunization of children and pregnant women
(b) Construction of smart cities across the country
(c) India’s own search for the Earth-like planets in outer space
(d) New Educational policy

3. ‘SWAYAM’, an initiative of the Government of India, aims at

(a) Promoting the Self Help Groups in rural areas
(b) Providing financial and technical assistance to young start-up entrepreneurs
(c) Promoting the education and health of adolescent girls
(d) Providing affordable and quality education to the citizens for free

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4. Consider the following statements :
1. The Sustainable Development Goals were first proposed in 1972 by a global think tank
called the ‘Club of Rome’
2. The sustainable Development Goals have to be achieved by 2030
Which of the following statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

2015

1. In a particular region in India, the local people train the roots of the living trees into robust
bridges across the streams. As the time passes, these bridges become stronger. These unique
‘living roots bridges’ are found in
(a) Meghalaya (b) Himachal Pradesh
(c) Jharkhand (d) Tamil Nadu

2014

1. Every year, a month long ecologically important campaign/festival is held during which certain
communities/tribes plant saplings of fruit-bearing trees. Which of the following are such
communities/tribes?
(a) Bhutia and Lepcha (b) Gond and Korku
(c) Irula and Toda (d) Sahariya and Agariya

2. With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statements:

1. They live mainly in the stae of Uttarakhand.
2. They rear the pashmina goats that yield a fine wool
3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 3 only (d) 1,2 and 3 only

2013

1. Consider the following pairs:

Tribe State
1. Limboo(Limbu) : Sikkim
2. Karbi : Himachal Pradesh
3. Dongaria Kondh : Odisha
4. Bonda : Tamil Nadu
Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 3 only (b) 2 and 4 only (c) 1, 3,and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3,and 4 only

2011

1. Karl Marx explained the process of class struggle with the help of which one of the following
theories?
(a) Empirical liberialism (b) Existentialism
(c) Darwin’s theory of evolution (d) Dialectical Materialism
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2. India is home to lakhs of persons with disabilities. What are the benefits available to them
under law?
1. Free schooling till the age of 18 years on government run school.
2. Preferential allotment of land for setting up business.
3. Ramps in public buildings.
Which of the statements given above is\are correct?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1, 2 and 3 only (d) 1 and 3 only

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