CUET 2023 History Question Paper with Answers & Solutions

Correct answer: C

'The Story of Indian Archaeology' (1961) was written by S. N. Roy.

Correct answer: B

Kalibangan is in Rajasthan (III), Shortughai in Afghanistan (IV), Dholavira in Gujarat (II), Banawali in Haryana (I). So A-III, B-IV, C-II, D-I.

Correct answer: D

Harappan settlements were divided into Citadel and Lower Town (A correct); roads/streets followed an approximate grid pattern (B correct). There were no windows at ground level (C wrong); the Great Bath was rectangular, not square (D wrong); drainage was well-planned (E wrong). Hence A, B only.

Correct answer: D

Allchins wrote 'The Rise of Civilization / Origins of a Civilisation' (IV); Wheeler wrote 'Harappa 1946' in Ancient India (III); John Marshall wrote 'Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation' (I); G.F. Dales wrote 'The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjodaro' (II). Hence A-IV, B-III, C-I, D-II.

Correct answer: C

Terracotta models of the plough have been found at Cholistan and at Banawali (Haryana).

Correct answer: A

The Shaka ruler Rudradaman I rebuilt the Sudarshana lake (Junagadh inscription, 2nd century CE).

Correct answer: D

The 6th century BCE is associated with the rise of mahajanapadas (A), early coinage (B) and growing use of iron (E). Temple architecture/idol worship and golden age of painting belong to later (Gupta) times. Hence A, B, E only.

Correct answer: C

From West to East: Gandhara (NW), Matsya (Rajasthan), Koshala, Magadha, Anga (easternmost, Bihar). So E, D, A, C, B.

Correct answer: D

Mahabharata contents are narrative and didactic (A); narrative section contains stories (B); didactic section contains social norms (C); it is described as itihasa (E). The didactic (not narrative) section is thought to have been added later, so D is wrong. Hence A, B, C, E only.

Correct answer: A

This statement against looting/removal of original works of ancient art was made by H.H. Cole, who advocated preserving monuments in situ.

Correct answer: C

James Fergusson, an early art historian unfamiliar with Buddhist literature, considered Sanchi a centre of tree and serpent worship.

Correct answer: C

Uttaradhyayana Sutta contains teachings of Mahavira (A correct); ancient Jain works are in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil (D correct). Dipavamsa, Abhidhamma Pitaka and Tipitaka are Buddhist, not Jaina. Hence A, D only.

Correct answer: C

Buddhism grew rapidly (A), appealed to those dissatisfied with existing practices (C) and to people confused by social change (E). It stressed conduct/values (so B wrong) and rejected birth-based superiority (so D wrong). Hence A, C, E only.

Correct answer: B

Chronological order: Early Vedic Tradition (C) > Early Upanishads (B) > First Stupa (A) > Mahayana Buddhism (E) > Earliest Temples (D). Hence C, B, A, E, D.

Correct answer: B

Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveller from Tangier, Morocco.

Correct answer: A

Francois Bernier argued that a fundamental difference between Mughal India and Europe was the absence of private property in land in India.

Correct answer: A

The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka.

Correct answer: D

Colin Mackenzie, an engineer and antiquarian, brought the ruins of Hampi to light in 1800.

Correct answer: A

The Amara-nayaka system was similar to the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.

Correct answer: C

The group of monuments at Hampi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

Correct answer: C

The four ruling dynasties of Vijayanagara were Sangama, Saluva (Suluva), Tuluva and Aravidu. Hoysala was a predecessor dynasty, not a Vijayanagara ruling line. Hence A, B, C, D only.

Correct answer: B

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly of India.

Correct answer: D

The two civil servants who prepared background papers studying other countries' political systems were B.N. Rau (Constitutional Advisor) and S.N. Mukherjee (Chief Draughtsman).

Correct answer: C

Ambedkar was a lawyer (A true), joined as Law Minister (B true) and chaired the Drafting Committee (D true). After partition violence, separate electorates were abandoned; Ambedkar did not argue in support of them. Hence C is NOT correct.

Correct answer: C

Order: Labour Govt in Britain (July 1945, A) > Direct Action Day (16 Aug 1946, C) > Last meeting of Interim Govt (1947, B) > India's Independence (15 Aug 1947, D) > Constitution signed (1950, E). Hence A, C, B, D, E.

Correct answer: B

Order: Quit India Movement (1942, B) > Great Calcutta Killing (Aug 1946, D) > Objectives Resolution (Dec 1946, A) > B. Pocker Bahadur's plea for separate electorates (1947, C) > R.V. Dhulekar's language speech (1949, E). Hence B, D, A, C, E.

Correct answer: C

Badshah Nama by Abdul Hamid Lahori (IV); Char Chaman by Chandrabhan Barahman/Brahman (III); Humayun Nama by Gulbadan Begum (I); Jahangir Nama (Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri) by Jahangir (II). Hence A-IV, B-III, C-I, D-II.

Correct answer: D

Amil-guzar was the revenue collector (II); Mandal was the village headman (III); Patwari was the accountant (I); Diwan was the supervisor of the fiscal system (IV). Hence A-II, B-III, C-I, D-IV.

Correct answer: D

Satyajit Ray's 'Jalsaghar' (The Music Room) depicts the decline of the aristocratic zamindari way of life.

Correct answer: C

Before the railway age, Mirzapur was a collection centre for cotton brought from the Deccan.

Correct answer: A

The Paharias were the hill folk who lived in and around the Rajmahal Hills.

Correct answer: D

The Santhal rebellion (1855-56) was led by Sidhu and Kanhu Manjhi.

Correct answer: C

Paharias lived in the Rajmahal Hills (IV); Santhals were settled in Damin-i-Koh (I); David Ricardo was an economist (II); Francis Buchanan was a physician who served in the Bengal Medical Service (III). Hence A-IV, B-I, C-II, D-III.

Correct answer: B

Lord Dalhousie described Awadh as a cherry that would drop into the British mouth one day.

Correct answer: A

These famous lines about Rani of Jhansi were composed by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan in her poem 'Jhansi ki Rani'.

Correct answer: B

Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals.

Correct answer: D

Under the Subsidiary Alliance, the British protected the ally (A), stationed an armed contingent in the ally's territory (B), and the ally bore its maintenance cost (C). The ally could NOT enter agreements without British permission (D wrong); the system was devised by Lord Wellesley, not Warren Hastings (E wrong). Hence A, B, C.

Correct answer: C

Kunwar Singh was a leader from Arrah, Bihar (B); Rani Lakshmi Bai was killed in June 1858 (C); the Revolt of 1857 began at Meerut (D). Bentinck abolished Sati in 1829, not 1839 (A wrong); the British were defeated at Chinhat (E wrong). Hence B, C, D only.

Correct answer: C

Dubashes (from 'do bhasha') were Indians who could speak two languages - the local language and English - and acted as intermediaries for the British.

Correct answer: A

Gandhi addressed a meeting of Sikhs at Gurdwara Sisganj on the occasion of Guru Nanak's birthday.

Correct answer: B

The pilgrimage to Ajmer described in the passage is to the tomb (dargah) of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti, to whom Jahanara showed devotion.

Correct answer: D

The narrator of the passage, the Mughal princess Jahanara (daughter of Shah Jahan), wrote the biography of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti (Munis al-Arwah).

Correct answer: C

The passage states: 'On Thursday, the fourth of the blessed month of Ramzan, I attained the happiness of pilgrimage.'

Correct answer: C

The passage says she put 'the finest quality of itar on the perfumed tomb' as a gesture of devotion. She went barefoot (not in footwear), circled the tomb seven times, and the pilgrimage was during Ramzan. Hence C.

Correct answer: A

Jahanara's biography of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti is titled 'Munis al-Arwah' (The Confidant of Spirits).

Correct answer: C

Gandhi's idea of Satyagraha was based on truth and non-violence (ahimsa).

Correct answer: A

The passage describes the salt monopoly of the colonial Government, which taxed salt and prevented people from manufacturing it. Hence the British Government held the monopoly.

Correct answer: B

The Salt Satyagraha (1930) marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Correct answer: C

Per the passage, salt officers were posted 'for the sole purpose of carrying on destruction' of natural salt that nature manufactures, so that people could not use it free. Thus the salt (a natural resource/national property) was destroyed. Hence C.

Correct answer: A

Salt tax was oppressive because it exposed the most oppressive side of colonial rule (A) and because salt was a necessity consumed by rich and poor alike (B). The tax was over 1,000 percent (not twenty times), and salt was a national property that should NOT be destroyed. Hence A, B only.