Answer Writing Practice

This week, there is only one question as I would be more occupied in the discussion of the 2022 History Optional Paper and more so in the beginning of the DAMP on 3rd October.

Question 31: Medieval India
Assess the development of Science and Technology in the Mughal period. (2013, 20m)

PS0: This topic, mentioned in the syllabus, is not touched by UPSC for one decade now. They have asked questions on science in ancient time, technology in during Delhi sultanate, science in colonial era but the Mughal topic is amiss for 10 years. Try to write excellent answer to this question.

PS1: Submit your answers by the end of 5th October.
PS2: Reply here in the comment section with your answers (scanned image) for evaluation.

#AnswerWritingPractice
@nikhilhistoryoptional

I have received this question again and again over last few days, so here is again the answer:

Question: Will DAMP be useful for those who have just finished the reading of the syllabus and who are just starting answer writing, the ones who don’t have much experience?

Answer: Yes. DAMP is designed for following nine categories of students:

1. If you have just finished the Foundation course and now want to just start answer writing.
2. Even after doing some Foundation course, you realize that you are not Mains-ready and need support
3. If you have done complete self-study and now want to get into Exam ready environment
4. If you have given previous attempts, written multiple Main Examinations but the score in History Optional is not improving
5. If you have finished the syllabus properly but still confused with latest historiography and its exact application in answers
6. If you need disciplined and time-bound revision of the entire syllabus in 4 months before switching completely to Prelims preparation
7. If you are just looking for good amount of answer writing practice and are not comfortable with run-of-the-mill test series which are available around
8. If you have BA or MA in History but want to switch from the University exam mode to the Civil Service Exam mode
9. If you have taken a gap of an year and now want to come upto the speed with History optional pace very quickly

If you fall in any of these categories, DAMP will be useful.

@nikhilhistoryoptional

Starting tomorrow.
Register here:

www.levelupias.com/course/upsc-damp-history-optional/

@nikhilhistoryoptional

Hello students,

I have been away from the group for last 4-5 days due to some sudden family emergency. I even had to postpone the DAMP by one week. However, things are coming back to normal gradually.

I will come back to Delhi in next 3 days. We will begin the DAMP on Monday. After it takes pace, we can convert a few weekends into active days to compensate for the lost first week, so that the entire schedule comes back on time.

About our activity here, why are people silent? How is the preparation going on? Only two people submitted the answers by the deadline this time. I will review them today and then post a new question for the next week.

Nikhil

Okay Madhu. Then in that case, let me elaborate it little further here. It will be useful to all of you also.

In medieval era, there are two generic questions on science and technology that can be asked.

One on Delhi Sultanate and other on Mughal era. In our normal study material, write a similar answer to both of them by just changing the examples specifics. To remember that, I even suggest that you make a table - military tech in DS vs Mughal, building tech in DS vs Mughal... etc This will help in easy memorization of facts and avoid any confusion.

However, you should also know that we are not interested, as students of history optional, in pure history of science in medieval era. We are interested in the prevailing socio-economic context more. So, whenever such question is asked, be sure of the premise:

Premise of Delhi sultanate science question - impact of Turkish invasion positive or negative, socio-economic changes in 13th-15th century (crafts, castes, labour, urbanization, bhakti etc), did it lead to the end of feudalism

Premise of Mughal era science question - why did we lag behind Europe by 17th century and who all were responsible for it, How did we respond to European exposure, was there potential for industrial revolution and capitalism?

If the question directly asks it, it is good. Even if it doesn't, awareness of this context gives proper perspective and intro/conclusion. I hope this gives you requisite perspective to read/write the topic properly.

There could also be other questions specifically on individuals like on Akbar or Sawai Jai Singh, but those are for later time.

Answer Writing Practice

Question 32: Modern India
How did industrialization in England give rise to the process of deindustrialization in India? (10m)

PS0: It is a simple question technically but to be able to bring out its essence in the word limit holistically is a challenge. Lets try that one out. Answer writing is not only about more content, you also need to work on your expression. So, it is a straightforward question. Do not go into the debate of deindustrialization (whether, why, how and to what extent it happened) in this question. That part, the whole detailed debate on deindustrialization we shall cover separately in DAMP. In this question, assume that deindustrialization is a reality. And just try to write as fluently as possible within the word limit, and see if your answer stands out as impressive and distinctive.

PS1: Submit your answers by the end of 9th October.
PS2: Reply here in the comment section with your answers (scanned image) for evaluation.

#AnswerWritingPractice
@nikhilhistoryoptional

Pax Britannica, Tax Britannica, Axe Britannica. For reference.

Don't work on all the things at the same time while practicing answer writing. It evolves gradually.

1. First objective: right/good content in the answer
2. Second stage: Word limit, better presentation, language quality etc.
3. Third stage: time limit

Shivam Yadav.:
WHY does most of architecture in ancient and medieval related to religion?

Sir is ques k ly patronage hai ek point to.. iske alawa ar 2 4 POINT ky likh skte h ?

History Optional (UPSC):
Most architecture in ancient Medieval does not belong to religion. There are palaces, variety of forts, common people houses, sarais, bridges, administrative buildings. We don't study them for our syllabus. Historians do study these things. (Selection bias)

However, there are two other points too. Religious structures being sacred are not generally demolished easily. Other architecture types get renovated, replaced, demolished, decayed, rebuilt etc. So relatively less number of other specimens survive today. (Survival bias)

Secondly, religious architecture, which recieve Political and Other kinds of patronage are more important for us because they represent dominant ideas, ideologies and socio-cultural aspects. So, we study all those things by using religious architecture as a means.

Announcement

Today is the first date of DAMP. Everyone is provided a login to the portal and the questions of the Day 1 were made live at noon. You have 24 hours to study the chapter and submit the answer. You will be able to watch the discussion video, download the evaluated copy and also other readings/handouts from the same portal after next 24 hours.

We will also make a dedicated whatsapp group by tomorrow of the students who have enrolled. All the doubts related to the program, schedule and other will be resolved there. I will also be part of the group.

From this weekend, we will also start weekly Zoom sessions to discuss any doubt related to the questions and related topics. These zoom sessions recordings will also remain available on the student portal for later reference.

Keep writing every day. I am looking forward to read your answers.
Nikhil

Answer Writing Practice

Question 33: World History
“The French Revolution attacked privileges and not property.” Comment. (20m, 2003)

PS0: It appears to be a simple PYQ but once you start thinking about it, there are a lot of dimensions underneath. Also, in 2021 and 2022, UPSC has asked questions on Napoleon but not French Revolution, so it automatically becomes a very important topic for 2023.

PS1: Submit your answers by the end of 15th October.
PS2: Reply here in the comment section with your answers (scanned image) for evaluation. Or join the discussion group @nikhilhistorydiscussion for commenting and posting.

#AnswerWritingPractice
@nikhilhistoryoptional

https://youtu.be/cIovn-blbIU

This is the first day video of the DAMP program wherein we have discussed how to study coins as a source of history, how to generate dimensions, detailed discussion one question on coinage and a brief discussion of one question on Prashasti inscriptions.

To know more about the program, visit: https://www.levelupias.com/course/upsc-damp-history-optional/

Here is the handout displayed on the screen for the day 1 discussion.

Condition of women in Later Vedic period.

https://youtu.be/ObzA5cSwHQ4

Second day of Daily Answer Writing Program for History Optional

@nikhilhistoryoptional

Was there a Neolithic Revolution? Is it may not be entirely correct to call it Evolution? Was it even a good thing that we ended up with?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL3e4hnqVvs

@nikhilhistoryoptional

So far, I have discovered that there were 5 questions in this years History Optional Paper II Section A (Modern India) that came directly from the books published in the recent past (within a few months before the exam). Treaty of Amritsar, Famines in colonial India, Santhal revolt, Indian scientists in the colonial era, MaMohan line and India-China relations in 1950s/60s. Of these five, three were unusual questions never asked before, not covered by UPSC in PYQs.

There may be some more questions matching likewise but these are the five that I found when I compared my notes on the list of latest books published on history-related topics and the question paper. All these books were in discussion on various public forums and its reviews appeared in various newspapers.

This year, I have already started keeping a close eye on all the published books on history by reputed authors/publishers post Main Examination 2022. I will come up with relevant data a few weeks before the Main Examination in 2023, so that we cover our grounds well.

@nikhilhistoryoptional