UPSC Prelims 2015 - General Studies (Paper I)

Explanation

The Cabinet Mission came to India in 1946. It came to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership. It had an aim of preserving India’s unity and granting its independence. The mission was formed at the initiative of Clement Attlee (the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom). Lord Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State for India), Sir Stafford Cripps (President of the Board of Trade), and A.V. Alexander (First Lord of the Admiralty) were the members of the Cabinet Mission to India. Recommendations of Cabinet Mission: The solidarity of India must be held. It proposed a free association of all the Indian domains under a middle that would control and safeguard, the Foreign Affairs and communication. All subjects other than Union subjects and residuary force would vest in the regions of British India. The Princely Legislatures would then choose a Constituent Assembly or a Constitution-making body with every territory being dispensed a predefined number of seats proportionate to its populace. The proposed Constituent Assembly was to comprise 292 parts from British India and 93 from the Indian States. The Mission proposed a prompt development of the Interim Government in the middle with the Indians holding all the portfolios.

Explanation

Khangchendzonga and Nandadevi National park do not have tropical vegetation. Namdapha National Park is the largest protected area in the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. It is located in Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. Namdapha National Park is also known for extensive Dipterocarp forests. It comprises the northwestern parts of the ecoregion of Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests.

Explanation

Amnesty International is a London based Non-Governmental Organisation founded in 1961. It aims to create a world where every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It conducts research, generates action to prevent grave abuses of human rights and demands justice for those whose rights have been violated. The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for its “Defence of human dignity against torture” and the United Nations Prize in the field of Human Rights in 1978.

Explanation

Figure: Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar Figure: Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli Figure: Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram Figure: Varaha Image at Udayagiri Restructure all the temples chronologically Rock-cut Elephant: It is the earliest Buddhist sculpture of Odisha and the earliest among the four options. Lingaraja Temple: Lingaraj Temple was created in the 11th century AD. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is considered as the largest temple of the city Bhubaneswar. It was built by the Somvanshi King Yayati I. Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram These monuments were built by the King Pallava Narsimha in the 7th and 8th centuries. Varaha Image at Udayagiri is located in the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh. It was the personal temple of King Chandra Gupta II. He ruled from 376-415 C.E around 5th century AD.

Explanation

The terms feudalism and feudal system were generally applied to the early and central Middle Ages—the period from the 5th century, when central political authority in the Western empire disappeared, to the 12th century, when kingdoms began to emerge as effective centralized units of government . Feudalism was a way of structuring society around relationships. The relationship is derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour (lord-vassal relationship). It is a European concept where the landed nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles. The peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord’s land and give him homage, labour, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection. Feudalism emerged as a result of the decentralization of an empire.