UPSC Mains Answer Practice GS 1: Tribal art forms in India and influence of British Indian Empire in the Middle East | Week 146

QUESTION 2

“Colonial boundaries and administrative structures often extended beyond officially recognized territorial limits.” In this context, examine how the British Indian Empire exercised political and strategic influence over the Middle East.

QUESTION 1: “Tribal art forms in India are not merely aesthetic expressions but reflections of socio-cultural life.” Discuss with examples.

Relevance: The topic is linked directly to GS-1 syllabus: Indian culture – art forms, literature, and traditions of different regions. It reflects current focus on tribal identity, cultural preservation, and inclusive development. It can be useful for enriching answers with examples like Warli, Gond, Bhil in culture questions.

Note: This is not a model UPSC answer. It only provides you with a thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Tribes Art Fest 2026 brings together over 75 tribal artists, more than 1,000 artworks and 30 art traditions under one roof. It was inaugurated on March 2 at Travancore Palace by the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs.

— The tribal festival is one of the largest concentrated showcases of India’s tribal visual culture, featuring traditions such as Warli, Gond, Bhil, Dokra, Sohrai, Saura, Bodo and Koya and more.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

According to the pib.gov.in,

— The Tribes Art Fest moved beyond symbolic celebration to build structured market ecosystems.

— It connected artists directly with collectors, galleries, corporates, design institutions and citizens. This ensured fair value for their work, transforming cultural heritage into sustainable livelihoods.

— The exhibition showcased a wide range of tribal creative styles from around India. It featured Warli from Maharashtra, Gond from Madhya Pradesh, Bhil from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, Dokra metal craft from West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, Sohrai from Jharkhand, Koya art from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Kurumba art from Tamil Nadu, Saura painting from Odisha, Bodo art from Assam and the North-East, and Oraon art from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The festival also showcased Mandana from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Godna from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, bamboo crafts from the North East, and a variety of other local customs. It highlighted India’s great regional diversity as well as a shared cultural continuity based on nature, ritual, and communal memory.

— Across many tribal communities in India, women have long played a central role in sustaining visual traditions. From decorating the mud walls of homes during festivals to narrating stories of nature, harvests and rituals through art, women have been custodians of cultural memory and creativity.

Artwork of Kingson Swargiary, a Boro artist based in Assam showcasing how their community lives in harmony with nature (Photo: PR handout)

Examples

— Koya from the Godavari Belt of Telangana: They works largely in brownish-red paint, which is symbolic of the colour that was once extracted from forest stone and red soil. “My ancestors used red colour, white colour; that’s why we are using red and white only,” he says, though he now paints with acrylic on canvas.

— A participatory installation called Project Khum, “khum” meaning flower in Kokborok, the language of Tripura, sees tribal women artists collectively building a shared artwork.

— Warli Art: The art is not merely a form of expression but a reflection of the deep spiritual relationship between tribal communities and nature.

— Gond painting: They are known for their vibrant colours and intricate patterns that bring animals, forests and mythological narratives to life.

Conclusion:

— The Tribes Art Fest went well beyond a conventional exhibition. The 12-day programme included thematic panel discussions on Tribal Art Revival and Sustainable Futures, Tribal Art in Contemporary Spaces, and Livelihoods and Market Linkages.

(Source: An art festival at Travancore Palace celebrates tribal art, http://www.pib.gov.in)

Points to Ponder

How does tribal art function as a medium of storytelling and knowledge transmission?

In what ways do art forms reflect social structure?

Related Previous Year Questions

How did the colonial rule affect the tribals in India and what was the tribal response to the colonial oppression? (2023)

Does tribal development in India centre around two axes, those of displacement and of rehabilitation ? Give your opinion. (2025)

QUESTION 2: “Colonial boundaries and administrative structures often extended beyond officially recognized territorial limits.” In this context, examine how the British Indian Empire exercised political and strategic influence over the Middle East.

Relevance:The topics fall under GS-1: Modern Indian history + world history (colonialism and imperialism). It highlights the concept of informal empire and strategic geography, increasingly asked by UPSC. It will also help in understanding how power operates beyond formal borders.

Note: This is not a model UPSC answer. It only provides you with a thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Indian subcontinent had been connected to the Gulf region through trade and migration for centuries, a reality that was built upon by the British when they established their empire in India.

— Contrary to what modern maps of British India might make us believe, the territory of influence of the British Raj expanded far beyond the contours of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As Sam Dalrymple points out in his book, The Shattered Lands (2025), “As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia–India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait– were bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the Indian empire, or more simply as the Raj.”

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— The British in India expanded their influence over the Gulf region for strategic, economic and geopolitical reasons. The expansion, though, was not done through direct colonisation, but rather by establishing indirect control through treaties, often referred to as the “system of protection”. They were legally a part of India, under the Interpretation Act of 1889.

— In his book, Dalrymple notes that “they were run by the Indian Political Service, defended by the Indian Army, and subservient to the Viceroy of India.” Interestingly, the official list of princely states in India is known to have begun alphabetically with Abu Dhabi, while Lord Curzon is known to have argued that Oman was as much a native state of the Indian Empire as Lus Beyla or Kelat.

— Britain’s original interest in Bahrain and Trucial Oman emerged out of strategic concerns for the protection of British shipping between Persia, Iraq, Muscat (Oman) and India.

— Historian of Middle Eastern Studies, James Onley, notes in his book, The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj’ (2007), that between 1797 and 1819, the British were extremely concerned by the Arab maritime raiders who had their base of operations at the ‘Pirate coast’ (as the Gulf coast of present day UAE was called).

— The British embarked upon a policy of increased interventions in the affairs of the Arab region, which they maintained till as recent as 1971. Accordingly, the British first established their residency at Bushire in Persia in 1763.

— The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 further increased the strategic importance of the region, cutting down the shipping time between Britain and India.

— This sphere of influence in the Gulf region was maintained through the collaboration among actors in London, on the Indian subcontinent and the Gulf region itself. Until 1858, operations in the Gulf territories were being conducted under the auspices of the Bombay presidency and thereafter by the government of India.

Conclusion:

— Up until as late as March 1947, the territories of the Persian Gulf were administered by the Indian Political Service. A decade ago, Aden in Yemen had undergone separation from British India. It was turned into a crown colony under the terms of the Government of India Act of 1935. During the Aden separation debates, it was decided that India would not be allowed to govern the Persian Gulf after Independence.

(Source: The Middle East was once part of British India — just not on official maps)

Points to Ponder

How did geography shape imperial priorities? – sea lanes, chokepoints, and buffer zones

How did British India exercise control through treaties, residencies, and political agents?

Related Previous Year Question

Why did the armies of the British East India Company – mostly comprising of Indian Soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better equipped armies of the then Indian rulers? Give reasons. (2022)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 146)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 145)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 146)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 145)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 144)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 145)

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