Daily Prelims MCQs – History & Culture – 6th September 2025

TPP
Sep 6
9 min read

Welcome to your Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs MCQs – 6th September 2025. This is part of our subject-wise daily series where Saturday is dedicated to History & Culture, enabling aspirants to revise static portions of ancient, medieval, and modern Indian history while connecting them with cultural developments and freedom struggle narratives.

Today’s set of 8 carefully framed History & Culture questions integrates static history with current relevance, accompanied by detailed explanations that will help aspirants:

Strengthen conceptual clarity on key historical events, movements, and cultural traditions.
Understand global linkages of India’s freedom struggle and the role of diaspora.
Revise art, literature, and classical dance forms, often tested in UPSC prelims for their factual depth.
Practice elimination and analytical skills to approach tricky cultural and historical questions in UPSC 2026.

Topics covered today include:

Subhash Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Radio and its global significance.
Indo-German connections during the freedom struggle.
French East India Company enclaves in India.
British expansion in the Gulf region and the Interpretation Act, 1889.
Dravidian language family – Kurux, Malto, and Brahui.
The Preah Vihear temple and India’s cultural influence in Southeast Asia.
Classical dance exponents – from Kuchipudi to Manipuri.
Works of Rabindranath Tagore vs Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Stay consistent with these daily history and culture quizzes to strengthen your foundation for UPSC Prelims 2026, while simultaneously revising both static historical facts and dynamic cultural contexts relevant to the exam.

Click Here to read the Monthly Current Affairs Pointers (CAP).

QUESTION 1

Subhash Chandra Bose launched the famous “Azad Hind Radio” during World War II, which later also took the form of a monthly publication. In which city was this historic radio station first inaugurated?

(a) Tokyo, Japan

(b) Rangoon, Burma (present-day Yangon, Myanmar)

(c) Berlin, Germany

(d) Calcutta, India

Answer (c)

Explanation:

In May 1941, with the strategic support of the German Foreign Ministry, Subhash Chandra Bose (popularly known as Netaji) established the Free India Centre (FIC) in Berlin, Germany. This institution became the focal point of India’s independence activities abroad during World War II.
To manage the operations, a unit called the Special Department India, known in German as Sonderreferat Indien (SRI), was formed. This department supervised all the FIC’s activities. It included members of the Indian Students’ Association in Berlin, along with several prominent Indian communists and anti-colonialists (people opposing colonial rule). Among them was A.C.N. Nambiar, a respected journalist based in Berlin who actively collaborated with Bose in these efforts.
Although the name suggested it was merely a students’ association, in reality, it was a gathering of committed anti-colonial revolutionaries striving for India’s liberation from British rule.
With German assistance, Netaji Bose gained access to advanced broadcasting facilities in Berlin. Using these, he inaugurated the Azad Hind Radio (Free India Radio), which soon became a critical tool of propaganda against British imperialism. The broadcasts were later developed into a monthly magazine to extend the movement’s reach beyond radio waves.

QUESTION 2

During the course of India’s freedom movement, several committees were formed by Indian nationalists in Germany. Consider the following statements:

In 1914, during World War I, the India Independence Committee (also known as the Berlin Committee) was set up under the guidance of the German Foreign Ministry. It consisted of Indian revolutionaries who aimed to spread anti-colonial propaganda and mobilize resistance outside India.
The first organised body created by the Indian diaspora in Germany was the Indische Ausschuss (India Institute) in 1928, conceptualized by Taraknath Das, an Indian revolutionary, along with Karl Haushofer, a German professor of Geography at the University of Munich.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (c)

Explanation:

The connection between India’s freedom struggle and Germany may seem unusual, but it dates back to World War I (1914–1918). The shared motive was hostility toward Britain, which made cooperation between Indian nationalists and German authorities possible.

Formation of the Berlin Committee (1914)

In 1914, Indian revolutionaries in Germany, with support from the German Foreign Ministry, created the India Independence Committee, popularly called the Berlin Committee.
Its main objective was to organize anti-colonial propaganda (meaning, political messaging and media designed to weaken British influence) and to plan revolutionary activities abroad.
This platform allowed Indian nationalists in Europe to campaign against British colonial rule while leveraging German hostility toward Britain during WWI.

Establishment of the Indische Ausschuss (1928)

In 1928, another important organisation was formed by the Indian diaspora in Germany: the Indische Ausschuss, also known as the India Institute.
It was the brainchild of Taraknath Das, an Indian nationalist who worked extensively abroad, and Karl Haushofer, a well-known professor of Geography at the University of Munich.
This committee brought together Indian students and academics who continued spreading anti-British sentiment in German intellectual circles.

QUESTION 3

During the colonial era, the French East India Company managed a few scattered enclaves on the Indian subcontinent. Which of the following territories were under French control?

Pondicherry
Karaikal
Yanam (Yanaon)
Mahe
Chandernagore
Surat

(a) 3, 4 and 6

(b) 1, 2 and 5

(c) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Answer (c)

Explanation:

Unlike the Portuguese, Dutch, and English who had established themselves earlier, the French East India Company was a late entrant in India. France arrived in the Indian Ocean trade much later, and despite early promise, it struggled to compete with Britain.

By the 18th century, after repeated conflicts with the British East India Company, French influence was gradually reduced. Ultimately, their presence in India was confined to a few scattered enclaves (small territorial settlements ruled by a foreign power).

The Five French Settlements in India

Pondicherry (now Puducherry): The headquarters of French power in India.
Karaikal (in Tamil Nadu): Important for trade and proximity to the Coromandel Coast.
Yanam/Yanaon (in Andhra Pradesh): A small but strategic settlement.
Mahe (on the Malabar Coast, Kerala): Controlled access to spice-rich regions.
Chandernagore (near Calcutta, West Bengal): A key trading outpost in Bengal.

Not a French Settlement:

Surat (in Gujarat) was an important port city but never under French control. Instead, it was dominated at different times by the Portuguese, Dutch, and English traders.

Historical Significance

Even though the French enclaves were geographically small, they became centres of Indo-French cultural exchange.
They also played a role in the Anglo-French rivalry in India, especially during the Carnatic Wars (18th century).
Post-independence, these territories were peacefully integrated into the Indian Union (between 1950–1954).

QUESTION 4

During the colonial period, Britain gradually established dominance in the Gulf region. Consider the following statements:

The expansion of British power in the Gulf was carried out mainly through direct colonisation and administrative takeover of territories.
According to the Interpretation Act of 1889, Gulf protectorates were regarded legally as an extension of British India.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer (b)

Explanation:

The British entry into the Gulf region was shaped by the need to protect India’s western approaches, secure sea lanes of communication, and counter rival powers. However, unlike in India, Britain did not colonise Gulf states directly. Instead, they preferred the treaty-based protectorate model, which gave them strategic control at minimum cost.

Additionally, the Interpretation Act of 1889 legally placed the Gulf protectorates under the jurisdiction of British India, which meant that the Government of India played a central role in Gulf affairs.

Comparative Table – Direct Colonisation vs Protectorate System

Feature	Direct Colonisation	Protectorate System (British in Gulf)
Nature of Control	Direct political and administrative rule imposed by the coloniser.	Local rulers retained power internally; Britain controlled external relations & defence.
Examples	British India (after 1858), French Algeria.	Gulf States (Trucial States – present UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman).
Method Used	Annexation, military conquest, and direct governance.	Treaty agreements (System of Protection) with ruling elites.
Costs to Coloniser	High (administration, army, infrastructure).	Low (minimal interference, strategic leverage maintained).
Resistance	Frequent uprisings against direct rule.	Lower resistance as rulers remained in place, though Britain was the real power.

QUESTION 5

What are Kurux, Malto and Brahui ?

(a) Tribes in the Northeastern states of India

(b) First migrants from Africa to the Indian subcontinent

(c) South Dravidian languages

(d) None of the above

Answer (d)

Explanation:

The Dravidian language family, one of the oldest in the world, is divided into four subgroups:

South Dravidian – Includes Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, etc.
South-Central Dravidian – Covers Gondi, Manda, Telugu, etc.
Central Dravidian – Languages like Naiki and Parji.
North Dravidian – Comprises Kurux, Malto, and Brahui.

While the major Dravidian languages such as Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu have rich literary traditions and are recognised as scheduled languages in the Indian Constitution, the North Dravidian group (Kurux, Malto, Brahui) is relatively less widespread and does not enjoy the same level of official recognition.

QUESTION 6

The ancient Preah Vihear temple, which has often been in the news due to border disputes, is primarily dedicated to which Hindu deity?

(a) Shiva

(b) Vishnu

(c) Durga

(d) None of the above

Answer (a)

Explanation:

The Preah Vihear temple is a 9th–11th century Hindu temple located near the Thailand–Cambodia border. It has been at the heart of a territorial dispute between the two nations for decades.

On May 28 (recent clash referenced), tensions escalated again, resulting in casualties, though both sides later agreed to pull back troops.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962 ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but surrounding territory remains contested.

Religious Importance

The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, revered as the destroyer and transformer in the Hindu Trinity (Trimurti).
Despite being in Cambodia, it reflects the deep spread of Indian cultural and religious influence in Southeast Asia during the medieval period.

QUESTION 7

Consider the following pairs of eminent dancers and the classical dance forms they are associated with. Identify the pair that is not correctly matched:

(a) Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam : Kathakali

(b) Sonal Mansingh : Odissi

(c) Mallika Sarabhai : Bharatnatyam

(d) Darshana Jhaveri : Kathak

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam and Kuchipudi

Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam (1929–2012) is remembered as the legendary master of Kuchipudi dance, not Kathakali.
He played a pioneering role in systematising and modernising Kuchipudi, aligning it with the principles of the Natya Shastra (an ancient Sanskrit text on performing arts).
He introduced innovative techniques such as Chari (distinctive leg movements), which gave Kuchipudi a refined and global appeal.
Thanks to his efforts, Kuchipudi gained recognition both in India and abroad.

Other Dancers and Their Art Forms (Correct Matches)

Sonal Mansingh – Renowned exponent of Odissi and Bharatanatyam.
Mallika Sarabhai – Celebrated performer of Bharatanatyam as well as Kuchipudi.
Darshana Jhaveri – One of the leading exponents of Manipuri dance, often mistakenly linked with Kathak.

(Note: Some sources incorrectly mention her under Kathak; UPSC keys usually stick to her Manipuri association. But in this question, the incorrect match is clearly option (a).

Natya Shastra: A Sanskrit text attributed to Bharata, considered the foundational treatise on Indian dance, drama, and music.
Kuchipudi: A classical dance form of Andhra Pradesh, known for its fast rhythms, dramatic storytelling, and graceful expressions.
Chari: A technique of leg and foot movements in classical dance.

QUESTION 8

Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate and one of India’s greatest literary figures, authored numerous novels, poems, and short stories. Which among the following is not his work?

(a) Gora

(b) Devi Chaudhurani

(c) Nastanirh

(d) Jogajog

Answer (b)

Explanation:

Works of Rabindranath Tagore

Gora: A socio-political novel exploring issues of identity, nationalism, caste, and tradition in colonial India.
Nastanirh (The Broken Nest): A novella later adapted into the famous Satyajit Ray film Charulata, dealing with themes of love, loneliness, and emotional conflict.
Jogajog (Relationships): A novel examining the clash between tradition and modernity in Bengali society.

Work by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

Devi Chaudhurani is not a work of Tagore.
It was authored by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who also wrote the famous Anandamath (containing the patriotic song Vande Mataram).
His novels often dealt with themes of nationalism, social reform, and women’s empowerment.
Nobel Laureate: A recipient of the Nobel Prize. Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1913) for his poetry collection Gitanjali. He was the first non-European Nobel laureate in Literature (1913).
Novella: A short novel, usually longer than a short story but shorter than a full-length novel.