CUET 2024 History Question Paper with Answers & Solutions

Correct answer: C

Statements A, B and E are correct. The seal was the most distinctive artifact of the Harappan civilization, motifs on seals conveyed meaning to those who could not read, and some seals show wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left (suggesting right-to-left writing). Harappan script was NOT Sanskrit (C wrong) and NOT Pali/Prakrit (D wrong); the script is still undeciphered. So the correct combination is A, B and E only = option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: A

Correct matches: Kushanas adopted the title 'Devputra' (II); Ashoka was known as Piyadassi/Devanampiya Piyadassi (I); Samudragupta was the patron whose achievements are recorded (Prayaga Prashasti, IV); Harisena was the court-poet (III) who composed the Prayaga Prashasti. So A-II, B-I, C-IV, D-III, which is option (1), labelled A.

Correct answer: A

Harappa, in present-day Pakistan (Punjab), was the first site discovered (1920s), which is why the civilization is called the Harappan Civilization.

Correct answer: B

Alexander Greenlaw produced detailed photographs of Hampi (IV); John Marshall, as Director-General of ASI, was associated with conservation work at Vijayanagara (III); J.F. Fleet documented the inscriptions on the temple walls (I); Colin Mackenzie surveyed/visited Vijayanagara in 1800 (II). So A-IV, B-III, C-I, D-II = option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: B

Duarte Barbosa was Portuguese (III); Marco Polo was Italian/from Venice (IV); Ibn Battuta was from Morocco (I); Antonio Monserrate was a Spanish Jesuit (II). So A-III, B-IV, C-I, D-II = option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: A

Pataliputra is present-day Patna (III); Rajgaha (Rajagriha) is the Prakrit name of Rajgir, Bihar (I); Kalinga is present-day coastal Odisha (II); Arthasastra was authored by Kautilya (IV). So A-III, B-I, C-II, D-IV = option (1), labelled A.

Correct answer: C

(A) Mahabharata has over 1,00,000 verses - correct. (C) V.S. Sukthankar led/is associated with the critical edition - correct. (D) The critical edition took 47 years - correct. (E) The critical edition ran into over 13,000 pages - correct. (B) is wrong: Mahabharata is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, not Valmiki (who wrote Ramayana). So A, C, D and E only = option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: C

Kula = families (II); Jati = larger network of kinfolk (I); Vamsha = lineage (IV); Jana = people (III). So A-II, B-I, C-IV, D-III = option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: B

Meghe Dhaka Tara - Ritwik Ghatak (III); Garam Hawa - M.S. Sathyu (IV); Tamas - Govind Nihalani (I); Jis Lahore Nahin Vekhya O Jamya-e-nai - Habib Tanvir (II). So A-III, B-IV, C-I, D-II = option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: C

Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha's foster mother, was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni (Buddhist nun).

Correct answer: C

In the Rigvedic/Vedic pantheon, Agni (fire), Indra (war/rain), and Soma (the sacred plant/drink) were among the principal deities to whom the largest number of hymns were addressed. As per NCERT, Agni, Indra and Soma are named as the principal deities.

Correct answer: B

Statements that are NOT correct: (A) Vinay Pitaka DOES describe the rules for monks, so saying it does not is incorrect; (B) Buddhism did not grow only after the death of the Buddha - it grew during his lifetime too, so this is incorrect; (D) Punna was an enslaved woman/servant, not a rich land-lady, so incorrect. (C) Sutta Pitaka being verses composed by bhikkunis is part of Therigatha tradition (broadly true) and (E) Chaitya derived from chita is true. So the NOT-correct ones are A, B and D only = option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: B

Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were anglicised names of small fishing or weaving villages where the British East India Company first established its trading posts/factories.

Correct answer: D

(A) Guru Arjan compiled Guru Nanak's hymns in the Adi Granth Sahib - correct. (E) Mirabai was a Rajput princess - correct. (B) is wrong (Guru Gobind Singh, not Guru Tegh Bahadur, founded the Khalsa Panth). (C) is wrong (the Granth was compiled by Guru Arjan, not composed by Guru Nanak as the Guru Granth Sahib). (D) is wrong (Mirabai was Rajput, not Maratha). So correct = A and E only = option (4), labelled D.

Correct answer: B

Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer was popularly known as 'Gharib Nawaz' (benefactor of the poor).

Correct answer: B

Jagannatha ('Lord of the World') of Puri is a form of Vishnu/Krishna.

Correct answer: A

Travellers who visited Vijayanagara in the 15th century: (B) Abdur Razzaq (Persian, c.1440s), (C) Afanasii Nikitin (Russian, 15th century), (E) Nicolo de Conti (Italian, early 15th century). Domingo Paes (A) and Fernao Nuniz (D) were Portuguese travellers of the 16th century. So B, C and E only = option (1), labelled A.

Correct answer: A

Terracotta models of the plough come from Cholistan (and Banawali) - (IV); a ploughed field was found at Kalibangan (I); traces of canals were found at Shortughai in Afghanistan (II); water reservoirs are a famous feature of Dholavira (III). So A-IV, B-I, C-II, D-III = option (1), labelled A.

Correct answer: B

The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka (Sangama dynasty).

Correct answer: B

Shell was obtained from Nageshwar (coastal, II); Lapis-Lazuli from Shortughai (Afghanistan, I); Carnelian from Lothal (IV); Steatite from South Rajasthan (III). So A-II, B-I, C-IV, D-III = option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: B

Mahals = estates (IV); Paharias and Santhals = associated with the Rajmahal hills (III); 1793 = year the Permanent Settlement was introduced (II); Taluq = territorial unit (I). So A-IV, B-III, C-II, D-I = option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: C

(A) Moneylenders were called 'dikus' - correct. (B) Zamindars hired the Santhals to reclaim land and expand cultivation - correct. (D) Land of the Santhals was demarcated as 'Damin-i-Koh' - correct. (C) is wrong (Santhals were cultivators/settlers, not merchants); (E) is wrong (it was the dikus/moneylenders who charged heavy rates from the Santhals, not the reverse). So A, B and D only = option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: D

(B) Zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage the milkiyat (personal/private) lands - true. (D) Most zamindars had fortresses as well as armed contingents - true. (E) Control over military resources was another source of zamindar power - true. (A) is wrong (milkiyat lands were for the zamindar's personal use, not general public use); (C) is wrong (zamindars collected revenue on behalf of the state, not themselves). So B, D and E only = option (4), labelled D.

Correct answer: A

The Kauravas and Pandavas of the Mahabharata belonged to the Kuru dynasty/ruling family.

Correct answer: D

The Fifth Report (submitted to the British Parliament in 1813) reproduced petitions of zamindars and ryots as appendices, along with reports of collectors and districts.

Correct answer: B

During the 1857 revolt, rebel leaders issued proclamations and ishtahars (notifications/handbills) to propagate their ideas and appeal to all sections of the population.

Correct answer: B

When Awadh was annexed in 1856, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's exile led to the famous lament that 'the life has gone out of the body' - a reference to Awadh (Lucknow).

Correct answer: C

(A) Bell of arms was a store room in which weapons were kept - correct. (C) Firangi is a Persian-origin term applied to the British by the rebels - correct. (E) Local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt - correct. (B) is wrong (the army of Awadh largely revolted against, not supported, the British); (D) is wrong (sepoys, including Awadh cavalry, refused the new cartridges). So A, C and E only = option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: C

Nana Sahib led the revolt at Kanpur (III); Rani Lakshmi Bai at Jhansi (IV); Kunwar Singh at Arrah, Bihar (II); Birjis Qadr was proclaimed at Lucknow/Awadh (I). So A-III, B-IV, C-II, D-I = option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: C

The Santhal Rebellion (Hul) of 1855-56 was led by the brothers Sidhu (Manjhi) and Kanhu Murmu.

Correct answer: B

Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah (the Maulvi of Faizabad) led the rebel forces at the Battle of Chinhat (June 1857), where British forces under Henry Lawrence were defeated.

Correct answer: B

Henry Lawrence was the Chief Commissioner of Awadh at Lucknow during the 1857 siege; he was mortally wounded in the Residency.

Correct answer: A

Under the Permanent Settlement (Zamindari System), the 'Sunset Law' required zamindars to pay the fixed revenue by sunset of a specified date, failing which their estates could be auctioned.

Correct answer: B

Gandhi began the Salt March/Dandi March in March 1930 from the Sabarmati Ashram (near Ahmedabad) walking to Dandi on the coast.

Correct answer: A

As noted in NCERT, the Salt March was notable as the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers.

Correct answer: B

'Purna Swaraj' meant complete independence, adopted as the Congress goal in the Lahore session (1929).

Correct answer: D

At the BHU opening (1916), Gandhi (A) charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor; (D) emphasised that salvation/India's freedom would come through farmers/peasants; (E) told the privileged invitees to strip off their jewellery and hold it in trust for their countrymen. (B) is false (he WAS worried about the contrast) and (C) is false (he said salvation can NOT come through lawyers, doctors and rich landlords). So A, D and E only = option (4), labelled D.

Correct answer: D

Khilafat Movement - 1919-1920 (IV); Jallianwala Bagh Massacre - 1919 (III); Kemal Ataturk - Turkish ruler (II); Louis Fisher - Mahatma Gandhi's biographer (I). So A-IV, B-III, C-II, D-I = option (4), labelled D.

Correct answer: A

Gandhi's 1922 trial at Ahmedabad (after the withdrawal of Non-Cooperation following Chauri Chaura) was presided over by Justice C.N. Broomfield.

Correct answer: C

Separate electorates (for Muslims) were first introduced by the Indian Councils Act of 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms).

Correct answer: B

The passage states the chronicles bequeathed 'a vision of empire in which agency rests almost solely with the emperor', i.e. the emperor was viewed as the sole ruler. So option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: C

The passage ends: 'One important pillar of the Mughal State was the nobility.' Hence the nobility was the significant section. Option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: C

The passage names the Akbar Nama (by Abu'l Fazl) as the chronicle portraying the kingdom as following the emperor's orders. Option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: B

The passage states one important pillar of the Mughal State was the nobility; thus the administrative apparatus depended on the nobles. Option (2), labelled B.

Correct answer: D

The passage explicitly states the Akbar Nama was 'written by Abu'l Fazl'. Option (4), labelled D.

Correct answer: A

The passage states the Constitution 'came into effect on 26 January, 1950'. Option (1), labelled A.

Correct answer: D

The passage says its 'length and complexity are perhaps understandable when one considers the country's size and diversity'. Option (4), labelled D.

Correct answer: C

The passage says the Constitution sought 'to make Indians of different classes, castes and communities come together', i.e. it was designed to keep the divided groups together. Option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: C

The passage opens: 'The Constituent Assembly deliberated upon the Indian Constitution'. Option (3), labelled C.

Correct answer: C

The passage stresses bringing together different classes, castes and communities in a shared political experiment - reflecting the right to Equality. Of the given options, Equality best fits the unifying, non-hierarchical nature described. Option (3), labelled C.