Daily Prelims MCQs —History and Culture – 28th June 2025
- TPP
- Jun 28
- 6 min read
Welcome to today’s handpicked set of Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) from the History and Culture — crafted specially for the UPSC Prelims! These questions aren’t just a quiz — they’re a smart way to see how current affairs connect with core concepts, just like UPSC asks in the exam.
Each question is based on recent news and backed by clear explanations to help you build strong links between dynamic events and static knowledge.
Today’s topics include: Indian temple architecture, terms from Buddhism, August Offer, Aruna Asaf Ali, vevanniyanti in Buddhism, philosophical sects of Hinayāna and Mahāyāna and more…
Click Here to read the Monthly Current Affairs Pointers (CAP).
QUESTION 1
In ancient Indian temple architecture, what does the term Bālapañjara specifically refer to?
(a) The inner sanctum (garbhagriha)
(b) An arch shaped like a horseshoe
(c) A typical South Indian temple tower
(d) None of the above
Answer (d)
Explanation:
The architectural element known as Bālapañjara refers to a small shrine-like structure, often resembling a miniature pavilion with a nāsi-shaped (gable or pointed) roof, supported by slender columns or pillars. It is commonly seen as a decorative aedicule within temple superstructures. In the northern Nāgara style, Bālapañjara appears alongside other elements like the āmalaka (ribbed circular stone) and the gavākṣa (arched motif resembling a cow’s eye or a horseshoe arch). Similarly, in the southern Drāviḍa style, it features along with the kūṭa (square domed pavilions) and śālā (oblong barrel-vaulted structures). Thus, it doesn't refer directly to the sanctum, an arch, or a complete shrine tower.
QUESTION 2
In the question given below, there are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark your answer as per the codes provided:
Assertion (A): The presiding deity of Chalukya king Vijayāditya at Pattadakal Sangamesvara was called Śrī-Vijayēśvara-Bhaṭṭāraka.
Reason (R): Rulers named the presiding deities after themselves to assert their divine kingship.
(a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
(c) A is true, but R is false
(d) A is false, but R is true
Answer (a)
Explanation:
Temples were often patronised by powerful kings to revere their favourite deity as well as assert, consolidate, and legitimise their overlordship over an existing or new domain. For example, Rajaraja Cola built the Thanjavur Brihadesvara temple to assert his supremacy over the region. Rulers also named the presiding deities after themselves to assert their divine kingship. For example, the presiding deity of Chalukya king Vijayāditya at Pattadakal Sangamesvara was called Śrī-Vijayēśvara-Bhaṭṭāraka.
QUESTION 3
At which location did Mahatma Gandhi give his iconic "Do or Die" call during the Quit India Movement?
(a) Ahmedabad
(b) Mumbai
(c) Sevagram
(d) Johannesburg
Answer (b)
Explanation:
Mahatma Gandhi delivered his powerful "Do or Die" speech on August 8, 1942, during a historic public gathering at Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay, which is today known as August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai. This address marked the beginning of the Quit India Movement, urging Indians to wage a non-violent struggle for independence, and symbolized a decisive moment in India’s freedom struggle.
QUESTION 4
Which British Viceroy of India was responsible for introducing the ‘August Offer’?
(a) Lord Linlithgow
(b) Lord Mountbatten
(c) Lord Irwin
(d) Lord Dufferin
Answer (a)
Explanation:
In the year 1940, amidst growing pressure for Indian participation in World War II, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow put forth a proposal known as the ‘August Offer’. This policy aimed to garner Indian cooperation in the war by promising dominion status in the future and expanding the role of Indians in governance. However, it also allowed minority communities, such as the Muslim League, a form of veto power over constitutional decisions. Although it was rejected by the Indian National Congress, the offer played a significant role in shaping the dialogue between Indian leaders and the British government, preceding the Cripps Mission of 1942.
QUESTION 5
She co-edited a newspaper called Inquilab with Lohia. Post-independence, she left the Congress for the Communist Party of India. There, she founded the National Federation of Indian Women – the women’s wing of the Communist Party of India.
Who is she referred to in the above lines?
(a) Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani
(b) Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
(c) Aruna Asaf Ali
(d) Purnima Banerjee
Answer (c)
Explanation:
Aruna co-edited a newspaper called ‘Inquilab’ with Lohia and continued to struggle till 1946. Gandhi, particularly moved by her determination, wanted her to surrender. He wrote, “I have been filled with admiration for your courage and heroism. You are reduced to a skeleton. Do come out and surrender yourself and win the prize offered for your arrest. Reserve the prize money for the Harijan (untouchables’) cause.”
Aruna, determined towards her socialist training only surrendered after the prize money over her was removed. Even after resurfacing and courting arrest, Aruna continued to voice her political opinions by supporting the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of HMIS (His Majesty’s Indian Ship) Talwar.
Post-independence, Aruna left the Congress for the Communist Party of India. There she created the ‘National Federation of Indian Women’- women’s wing of Communist Party of India. Aruna lost her husband in 1953. Asaf Ali by this time was the first ambassador to the United States from India. Although this role would have taken Aruna close to the Capitalist camp in the Cold War world, she chose to remain close to her ideological moorings.
QUESTION 6
Who used the term ‘Pakistan’ for the first time in 1933?
(a) Muhammad Ali Jinnah
(b) Allama Iqbal
(c) Choudhary Rehmat Ali
(d) None of the above
Answer (c)
Explanation:
Muhammad Ali Jinnah is remembered as the founder of Pakistan, its “Qaid e Azam”, or the “Great Leader.” He led a movement that transformed a weak idea of a sovereign Islamic state in British India’s north western provinces into reality, thus shaping the subcontinent’s politics for generations to come. But he was not the first to come up with the idea of Pakistan, nor was he its original champion.
Instead, the man who did, is today relegated to a footnote in the history of the subcontinent.
Choudhary Rehmat Ali can be credited with coining the “term” Pakistan, styling himself as the “Founder of the Pakistan National Movement”. On January 28, 1933, he released a pamphlet titled “Now or Never: Are we to live or perish forever”. In it he made a vehement “appeal on behalf of the thirty million Muslims of PAKISTAN, who live in the five Northern Units of India… for the recognition of their national status, as distinct from the other inhabitants of India, by the grant to Pakistan of a separate Federal Constitution on religious, social and historical grounds.”
According to many historians, this can be seen as the genesis of the very idea of Pakistan; an idea which would become mainstream by the 1940s.
QUESTION 7
What does the term vevanniyanti, as seen in Buddhism, refer to?
(a) working for the benefit of others
(b) the process whereby suffering arises and how it can be brought to cessation
(c) intentions and actions have consequences
(d) one who is devoid of varna
Answer (d)
Explanation:
The Buddha’s dream of four birds of different types and colours flying in from four directions and sitting at his feet is often interpreted as symbolically showing that all varnas were part of Buddhism. Buddha also stated that anyone who joins the Sangha or the Buddhist monastic order becomes a vevanniyanti – one who is devoid of varna.
QUESTION 8
Consider the following statements:
1. Vaibhāsika and Sautrāntika are the philosophical sects of Hinayāna.
2. Yogācāra and Mādhyamika are the philosophical sects of Mahāyāna.
Which of the statements given above is/are true?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer (C)
Explanation:
Theravada Buddhism
It is the conservative and orthodox form of Buddhism. Notably, followers of the older tradition described themselves as Theravadins, that is, those who followed the path of old, respected teachers, the theras.
It is spread in south and south-east Asia. Vaibhāsika and Sautrāntika are the philosophical sects of Hinayāna.
It emphasizes the historical existence of a single Buddha, Gautama Shakyamuni and upholds Buddha’s original doctrines and disciplines. It believes in individual salvation through self-discipline and meditation.
Scriptures were written in the Pali language. Emperor Ashoka played a significant role in spreading Theravada Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism emerged around the 1st century CE, and its doctrines were further developed during the Fourth Buddhist Council convened by Kanishka in Kashmir.
It emphasises the concept of Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated merit through their efforts but used this not to attain nibbana and thereby abandon the world but to help others.
Mahāyāna is prevalent in north and north-east Asia. Yogācāra and Mādhyamika are the philosophical sects of Mahāyāna.
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