Are you preparing for UPSC CSE Prelims 2025? UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of daily subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Attempt today’s subject quiz on History and Culture to check your progress. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for March 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨 QUESTION 1 With reference to the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree, consider the following statements: 1. It is believed to have grown from a branch of the tree in Bodhgaya under which Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. 2. It is associated with the Mauryan king Ashoka’s daughter and Buddhist nun. Which of the above given statements is/are true? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Explanation As part of his trip to Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (April 6) visited the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple at the historic city of Anuradhapura. Posting pictures of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree, Modi wrote on X, “It is a living symbol of peace, enlightenment and spiritual continuity. May the teachings of Lord Buddha always guide us.” The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree is considered the oldest living cultivated plant in the world, and is believed to have grown from a branch that an Indian princess carried to Sri Lanka. What is the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree? This Bo (Ficus religiosa, Pipal in Hindi) tree is believed to have grown from a branch of the tree in Bodhgaya (in present-day Bihar) under which Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment. The branch was carried to Sri Lanka by Sanghamitta (or Sanghamitra), the Mauryan king Ashoka’s daughter and Buddhist nun. Therefore, c is the correct answer. (Refer: PM Modi at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi - All about the ‘oldest living tree’, linked to an Indian princess) QUESTION 2 Harichand Thakur, Guruchand Thakur, Mahendranath Karan, Rajendranath Sarkar, and Mahendranath Mallabarman are associated with: (a) Science and technology in British India (b) Anti-caste movements from Colonial Bengal (c) Bureaucracy in the colonial India (d) Movements of the Bengal School of Art in the 19th Century Explanation Mahitosh Mandal in his research paper Dalit resistance during the Bengal renaissance: Five anti-caste thinkers from colonial Bengal, India (2022), writes, “Whereas there are hundreds of pages written by the Dalits in the vernacular Bengali language that document Dalit history, hardly any professional historian has referred to these.” One example he cites is the Poundra Mahasangha, produced by the Poundra community containing autobiographies, literary writings, and political pamphlets, which can give a fair idea of the anti-caste struggle of this group. Mandal cites five other Dalit leaders: Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur of the Namasudra community, Mahendranath Karan and Rajendranath Sarkar of the Pundra community, and Mahendranath Mallabarman of the Malos, whose intellectual output was committed to the anti-caste and self-respect movements. Therefore, b is the correct answer. (Refer: Caste in West Bengal: Invisible or ‘unrecognised’?) QUESTION 3 With reference to the temple in Bodh Gaya, consider the following statements: 1. It is in Bodh Gaya that Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment to become the Buddha. 2. A simple shrine was constructed to mark the site in during the Shunga period, of which only the Vajrasana (Diamond Throne), a stone slab under the Bodhi tree next to the temple, remains. 3. Fifth-century Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang wrote that there were three Buddhist monasteries around the temple in Gaya. Which of the above given statements is/are true? (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 3 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Explanation Over the past two months, large-scale demonstrations have erupted across India demanding that the control over the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, be handed over to Buddhists. These protests are the latest chapter in a decades-old dispute over who controls one of the holiest sites in Buddhism. Buddhists want the repeal of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949 (BGTA), under which the temple is currently governed. The temple in Bodh Gaya It is in Bodh Gaya, while meditating under the Bo tree, that Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment to become the Buddha (literally, “the Enlightened One”) in 589 BCE. A simple shrine was constructed to mark the site by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, of which only the Vajrasana (Diamond Throne), a stone slab under the Bodhi tree next to the temple, remains. Additional structures were built during the Shunga period (2nd to 1st century BCE). Fifth-century Chinese traveller Faxian (also known as Fa Hien) wrote that there were three Buddhist monasteries around the temple in Gaya. But the current pyramidal structure can be dated to the reign of the Guptas in the 6th century CE. The Palas (8th-12th century CE) were the last major royal patrons of the Mahabodhi temple. By the 11th-12th centuries, Buddhism was gradually declining in the subcontinent, and so were its many centres, including in Gaya. Therefore, a is the correct answer. (Refer: The decades old dispute over who controls Mahabodhi temple in Gaya) QUESTION 4 Depicting the diverse and rich cultural heritage of India, are the group of monuments that are known for their Chalukya style of architecture who ruled during seventh century BC. Including eight temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Jain and Shaivite sanctuaries, the site hosting temples like Sangameshwara Temple, Chandrashekhara Temple, Mallikarju Temple and Virupaksha Temple has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1987. The above given lines refer to: (a) Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana (b) Great Living Temples, Tamil Nadu (c) Group of Monuments at Hampi (d) Group of Monuments, Pattadakal, Karnataka d is the correct answer. QUESTION 5 A virangana of the 1857 gadar, she was a member of the women’s battalion of Begum Hazrat Mahal, the queen of what was then Awadh, who led a spirited fight against the British, killing more than half-a-dozen soldiers in the battle of Sikandar Bagh. Who is referred to in the above lines? (a) Mahaviri Devi (b) Uda Devi (c) Jhalkari Bai (d) None of the above Explanation Most of these heroes that we documented were related to the 1857 uprising, now known as the First War of Independence. The memories of Gangu Baba of Bithoor who belonged to the Balmiki community, Banke Beer (Jatav), Beera Pasee, Matadin Bhangi are commemorated by marginal communities in various parts of Uttar Pradesh. The four bodyguards of revolutionary leader Amar Singh, younger brother of Babu Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur (1777-1858), Bihar, were his war strategists. They, too, came from marginal communities of the region. It is interesting to note that most of these Dalit icons were also women. These include Jhalkari Bai, Uda Devi, and Mahaviri Devi. Jhalkari Bai, a brave woman born in the Koree community, was a member of the women’s army organised by Rani Lakshmi Bai and the queen’s close ally, chief strategist and advisor. When the queen of Jhansi escaped with her son, Jhalkari Bai foxed the British by pretending to be the queen, whom she closely resembled, and put up a valiant fight against the invaders. Uda Devi, another virangana of the 1857 gadar, was a member of the women’s battalion of Begum Hazrat Mahal, the queen of what was then Awadh, who led a spirited fight against the British, killing more than half-a-dozen soldiers in the battle of Sikandar Bagh. These heroes are revered not just within their caste communities but among a larger Dalit community as well. Therefore, b is the correct answer. (Refer: Remembering the forgotten heroes from India’s freedom struggle ) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
