CGPSE Prelims Paper 1 Mock Test - 9 - CGPSC (Chhattisgarh) MCQ

• A Sutra in Panini’s Ashtadhyayi refers to the worshippers of Vasudeva (Krishna).

• The Chhandogya Upanishad also speaks of Krishna, the son of Devaki, a pupil of the sage Ghora Angirasa, who was a sun-worshipping priest.

• A large number of people worshipped Vasudeva Krishna exclusively as their personal God and they were at first known as Bhagavatas.

• The Vasudeva-Bhagavata cult grew steadily, absorbing within its fold other Vedic and Brahminic divinities, like Vishnu (primarily an aspect of the Sun) and Narayana (a cosmic God).

• From the late Gupta period the name mostly used to designate this Bhakti cult was Vaishnava, indicating the predominance of the Vedic Vishnu element in it with emphasis on the doctrine of incarnations (Avataras).

The primary aim of the rehabilitation policy for Naxalites proposed by the Chhattisgarh government is to encourage individuals involved in Naxal activities to join the mainstream society. By creating an environment of development and equality, the government hopes to facilitate a peaceful transition for those willing to surrender and reintegrate into their communities.

The discovery of a leopard carcass, particularly one with missing body parts, triggered speculation about poaching activities in the area. Leopards are often targeted for their skins and other body parts, making them vulnerable to illegal hunting.

The scientific name of the leopard is Panthera pardus. This classification places it within the genus Panthera, which includes other big cats like tigers and lions.

Chhattisgarh, along with several other states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has been identified as having a significant issue with poaching. This highlights the ongoing challenges of wildlife conservation in India.

The floating solar project aims to improve the carbon footprint of the Bhilai Steel Plant by generating renewable energy. This initiative is part of broader efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable practices.

The study revealed that patients utilizing PMJAY faced high out-of-pocket costs, especially in private hospitals, due to issues such as dual billing. This points to a significant gap in the effectiveness of the health insurance scheme.

NHA stands for National Health Agency, which is responsible for the implementation of the PMJAY health insurance scheme in collaboration with state governments. It plays a crucial role in managing the program's operations.

Melanism is a genetic condition that results in the leopard's skin appearing entirely black, including its spots. This condition can lead to confusion with other species, often referred to as "black panthers."

The Lon Varratu campaign, meaning "Come back home," encouraged Naxalites to leave their insurgent activities and reintegrate into society. This initiative aims to provide support and rehabilitation for those who wish to abandon violence.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is involved in the implementation of the floating solar project through a joint venture with SAIL. This collaboration emphasizes the importance of renewable energy in industrial operations.

The solar project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 28,330 tonnes annually. This significant reduction aligns with efforts to combat climate change and promote cleaner energy sources.

Women's self-help groups are actively going door-to-door to meet with voters and encourage participation in the electoral process. Their grassroots efforts are crucial for fostering community engagement and democratic values.

PMJAY aims to reduce out-of-pocket health expenses for families, particularly during hospital stays, making healthcare more accessible and affordable for economically disadvantaged populations.

The conviction rate for poaching cases in India is alarmingly low at just 2%. This statistic highlights the challenges law enforcement faces in effectively prosecuting wildlife crimes and the need for improved legal frameworks and conservation efforts.

The financial burden for patients often stems from dual billing practices in private hospitals, where patients are charged for services that should be covered under PMJAY, leading to significant out-of-pocket expenses.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The caves of Bhimbetka were discovered in 1957–58 by eminent archaeologist V. S. Wakankar. The first discovery of rock paintings, not Bhimbetka caves, was made in India in 1867–68 by an archaeologist, Archibold Carlleyle, twelve years before the discovery of Altamira in Spain. Cockburn, Anderson, Mitra and Ghosh were the early archaeologists who discovered a large number of sites in the Indian subcontinent.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The rock art of Bhimbetka has been classified into various groups on the bases of style, technique and superimposition. The drawings and paintings can be categorised into seven historical periods. Period I, Upper Palaeolithic; Period II, Mesolithic; and Period III, Chalcolithic. After Period III there are four successive periods. In India the earliest paintings have been reported from the Upper Palaeolithic times.

Statement 3 is correct. The themes of paintings found here are of great variety, ranging from mundane events of daily life in those times to sacred and royal images. These include hunting, dancing, Music, horse and elephant riders, animal fighting, honey collection, decoration of bodies, and other household scenes. About Bhimbetka Caves: The largest and most spectacular rock-shelter is located in the Vindhya hills at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh. Bhimbetka is located 45 kilometres south of Bhopal, in an area of ten square kilometres, having about eight hundred rock shelters, five hundred of which bear paintings.

Explanation:

1. The Brahmo Sabha was indeed formed with the purpose of purifying Hinduism and preaching theism. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Sabha, sought to reform Hinduism by removing practices like idolatry, caste system, and sati. He believed in monotheism and wanted to promote a rational understanding of religion.

2. Tarachand Chakravarti was the first secretary of the Brahmo Sabha. He was a close associate of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and played a crucial role in the early development of the organization.

3. The Brahmo Sabha was opposed to idolatry, as Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed that worshiping idols was a corrupt practice that had no basis in the original Hindu scriptures. He advocated for a more spiritual and rational understanding of religion.

4. The statement that the new society was to be based on the Vedas only is incorrect. Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed in the essential unity of all religions and did not want to restrict the Brahmo Sabha to a single religious scripture. He encouraged the study of various religious texts and promoted religious tolerance and understanding. In fact, the Brahmo Samaj, which evolved from the Brahmo Sabha, considered the Upanishads, Vedas, and other religious texts as important sources of spiritual knowledge, but not as infallible authorities.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The rules made for the Buddhist sangha were written down in a book called the Vinaya Pitaka. According to the rules written in the Vinaya Pitaka, all men, women and children could join the sangha.

However, children had to take the permission of their parents and slaves of their masters. Those who worked for the king had to take his permission and debtors that of creditors. Women had to take their husbands’ permission.

• Rise of Social Classes: Income from trade, war booty, and agricultural produce enabled the king to maintain groups of professional warriors and also to pay the bards and priests who were largely brahmanas.
• The Brahmanas first appear in the Tamil land in the Sangam age. An ideal king was one who never hurt the Brahmanas. Many Brahmanas functioned as poets, and in this role they were generously rewarded by the king. Karikala is said to have given one poet 1,600,000 gold pieces, but this seems to be an exaggeration.
• Besides gold, the poets or bards also received cash, land, chariots, horses, and even elephants. The Tamil brahmanas partook of meat and wine. The Kshatriyas and vaishyas appear as regular varnas in the Sangam texts. The warrior class was an important element in the polity and society.
• The captains of the army were invested with the title of enadi at a formal ceremony. However, we have no clear idea about the vaishyas. Civil and military offices were held under both the Cholas and Pandyas by vellalas or rich peasants. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The ruling class was called arasar, and its members had marriage relations with the vellalas, who formed the fourth caste. They held the bulk of the land and thus constituted the cultivating class, divided into the rich and the poor. The rich did not plough the land themselves but employed labourers to undertake this.
• Agricultural operations were generally the task of members of the lowest class (kadaisiyar), whose status appears to have differed little from that of slaves. Some artisans were not differentiated from agricultural labourers. The pariyars were agricultural labourers who also worked with animal skins and used them as mats. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Several outcastes and forest tribes suffered from extreme poverty and lived from hand to mouth.
• We notice sharp social inequalities in the Sangam age. The rich lived in houses of brick and mortar, and the poor in huts and humbler dwellings. Hence statement 3 is correct.
• In the cities, rich merchants lived in the upper storey of their houses. It is not however clear whether rites and religion were used to maintain social inequalities. We notice the emergence of the Brahmanas and the ruling caste, but the acute caste distinctions of later times did not exist in the early Sangam age.

• Matki is performed by the women of Malwa region on the occasions of wedding and other festivities. It is mainly performed solo, while balancing a number of earthen pots on the head. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• Paika is a martial folk dance performed in the southern parts of Odisha. Paika is a form of long spear. The dancers are armed with wooden spears and shields, and show off their skills and agility in infantry like formations. It has a martial art character. The word Paika signifies battle. Hence Statement 2 is correct.
• Gaur Maria is an important ritualistic dance form of the Bison Horn Maria tribes who live in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. The dance imitates the movements of a bison and is performed in group by both men and women. Hence Statement 3 is correct.
• Paika is a martial folk dance performed in the southern parts of Odisha. Paika is a form of long spear. The dancers are armed with wooden spears and shields, and show off their skills and agility in infantry like formations. It has a martial art character. The word Paika signifies battle.

• Mauryan Empire consisted of various political formations and ecological zones like forest peoples and nomads, chieftaincies and oligarchies like the gana–sangha confederacies of chiefs. It contained smaller kingdoms with a range of administrative structures not necessarily similar to that in Magadha. Different parts of the Empire, like the core, the metropolis and the peripheries, were administered differently. Thus, there was no uniform method of administration in the whole of the Mauryan Empire. So, Statement 1 is not correct.
• The organization of the Mauryan empire was in line with the extensive bureaucracy described by Kautilya in the Arthashastra: a sophisticated civil service governed everything from municipal hygiene to international trade. The expansion and defense of the Empire were made possible by what appears to have been the largest standing army of its time. According to Megasthenes, the possessed wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants. A vast espionage system collected intelligence for both internal and external security purposes. Having renounced offensive warfare and expansionism, Ashoka maintained this large army to protect the Empire and instill stability and peace across West and South Asia. So, Statement 2 is correct.
• The Empire was divided into four provinces, with the royal capital at Pataliputra. From Ashokan edicts, the names of the four provincial capitals are Tosali (in the East), Ujjain (in the west), Suvarnagiri (in the south), and Taxila (in the north). The head of the provincial administration was the Kumara (royal prince), who governed the provinces as the king’s representative. Mahamatyas and the council of ministers assisted the Kumara. So, Statement 3 is correct.

• Vajrapani, or Sakra, has a twofold role. In the Hinayana texts, he is an attendant of Buddha; in the Mahayana iconography, he is a Dhyani Bodhisattva and an emanation of Akshobhya, with his Sakti being Lochana. With his thunderbolt, he appears as a constant attendant of Buddha to crust every enemy. Vajrapani is contemplated to manifest all the powers of Buddha and the power of all five tathagatas, namely Vairocana, Akshobhya, Amitabha, Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi. So, Option (a) is correct.
• Manjusri, one of the most important Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana pantheon, bears a sword for destroying ignorance and holds the Prajnaparamita book that symbolizes transcendental knowledge. Manjusri is best known for his wisdom and intellect, and he frequently occurs in the Dunhuang Art. So, Option (b) is correct.
• The origin of the Samantabhadra cult is not known. The Chinese pilgrims visiting various Buddhist countries seldom mention him. He became prominent in the fifth century after translating the Cheng F-Hua-Ching (Dharmaraksha’s version of the Lotus). In iconography, he wears not only a crown but is also dressed up in princely attire. In Japan, he is known as Fu-gen. He is a very popular figure in Chinese and Japanese art. Samantabhadra, a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. So, Option (c) is correct.
• Vasudhara is a Sanskrit word that means the stream of gems. The Buddhist deity, Vasudhara, is a female bodhisattva of wealth, prosperity, and abundance. She has strong followers among the Buddhist Newars of Kathmandu valley. Sometimes she is related to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. So, Option (d) is not correct.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The manuscripts dealt with all kinds of subjects like religious beliefs and practices, lives of kings, medicine and science, epics, poems, plays, etc.

Statement 2 is correct. They were written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Tamil. Manuscripts are writings on soft surfaces such as palm leaf, or on the specially prepared bark of a tree known as the birch. The word manuscript comes from the Latin word ‘manu’ meaning hand.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Inscriptions are writings on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal. Kings used to get their orders inscribed so that people could see, read and obey them. They often kept records of victories in battle through inscriptions. There are other kinds of inscriptions as well, where men and women, including kings and queens, recorded what they did.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The roots of the poligars or Palayakkars date back to 14th century to the beginning of Vijayanagar empire in south India who established a unique three tier administrative system thereby creating an administrative class called the ‘ Palayakkars’.

• This three-tier set up consisted of the emperor at Vijayanagar at the top of pyramid; the Nayakas or viceroys forming the second tier and the Palayakkars or polygars comprising the grassroot leaders in the hierarchy. This system allowed for an efficient revenue administration as well as created a mechanism to help raise an army, besides keeping generals, warriors, courtiers etc.

• Statement 2 and 3 are correct: By the 18th century While the Northern Polygars fell under the kingdom of Mysore, those in southern Tamil Nadu had to deal with the revenue demands of the British East India company. Between 1803 and 1805, the poligars of North Arcot rose in rebellion against the company as they were deprived of their right to collect the kawal fees(Kawal or ‘watch’ was an ancient institution of Tamil Nadu. It was a hereditary village police office with specified rights and responsibilities.

• After the withdrawal of the Non-cooperation movement, disintegration set in Congress. A group of leaders led by Chittaranjan Das (C.R. Das) and Motilal Nehru advocated the end of the boycott of Legislative Councils. Sardar Patel, Dr. Ansari, Rajendra Prasad, and others are known as 'no changers opposed Council entry.

• In 1922, in the Gaya session of the Congress, C R Das (who was presiding over the session) moved a proposal to enter the legislatures but it was defeated. Das and other leaders broke away from Congress and formed the Swaraj Party on 1 January 1923. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party with Das as president and Motilal Nehru as one of the secretaries. The new party was to function as a group within the Congress. It accepted the Congress programme except in one respect - it would take part in Council elections. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct.

• The Swarajists and the no-changers engaged in fierce political controversy. On Gandhiji's advice, the two groups agreed to remain in the Congress though they would work in separate ways.

• Swarajists won 42 seats out of the 101 elected seats in the Central Legislative Assembly. With the cooperation of other Indian groups, they repeatedly outvoted the Government in the Central Assembly. In March 1925, they succeeded in electing Vithalbhai J. Patel, a leading nationalist leader, as the speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• The All India Muslim League, annoyed with the Congress for not sharing power with them,  established the Pirpur Committee in 1938 to prepare a detailed report on the atrocities supposedly committed by the Congress ministries.
• In the report, the committee charged the Congress with interference in the religious rites, suppression of Urdu in favor of Hindi, denial of proper representation, and oppression of Muslims in the economic sphere. So, Option (a) is correct.

Swami Viveknanda – 

• Born in Kolkata in 1863, he was known as Narendra Nath Datta in his pre-monastic life. He was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Parmahansa and a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India. He pushed for national integration in colonial India, and his famous speech remains as the one that he gave in Chicago in 1893 (Parliament of the World Religions). 
• He established a new monastic order in Baranagar in Kolkata and went to explore India. During his travels, he was deeply moved by appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. He was the first religious leader who highlighted that real cause of India’s downfall was the neglect of masses and highlighted the immediate need to provide food and other necessities. He emphasised on improved methods of agriculture, village industries etc. 
• According to him, the crux of problem of poverty in India was because of centuries of oppression, downtrodden masses had lost faith in their capacity to improve their lot. Therefore, it was necessary to infuse faith in their own capacities. 
• Vivekanand believed that principle of Atman i.e. doctrine of potential divinity of soul, taught in Vedanta could ameliorate the condition of the poor people. Thus, the masses needed two kinds of knowledge: secular knowledge to improve their economic condition and spiritual knowledge to infuse in them faith in themselves. He formed the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.” 
• In 1899, he established the Belur Math, which became his permanent abode. He also wrote books like Karma yoga, Jnana yoga, Raja Yoga etc.

• Wellesley did not invent the Subsidiary System. The System existed long before him and was of an evolutionary growth. Dupleix (French) was perhaps the first who had lent European troops to the Indian princes at the expense of the latter. The English also adopted this System. Ever since the governorship of Clive, the System had been applied with more or less insight by almost every Governor and Governor-General of India.
• Wellesley's special contribution was that he greatly developed and elaborated the System and applied it in the case of almost every Indian state A typical Subsidiary Treaty was negotiated on the following terms and conditions: The Indian state was to surrender its external relations to the care of the Company and was to make no wars. It was to conduct negotiations with other states through the Company.
• A bigger state was to maintain an army within its territories commanded by the British officers for the 'preservation of public peace' and the ruler was to cede territory in full sovereignty for the upkeep of that force; a smaller state was required to pay tribute in cash to the Company. The state was to accept a British Resident at its head-quarters. The state was not to employ Europeans in its service without the consultation of the Company. The Company was not to interfere in the internal affairs of the state. The Company was to protect the Indian state against foreign enemies of 'every sort or kind'.