UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — A chance to retreat
Q1. Consider the following statements comparing Greenland's Home Rule arrangement of 1979 with the expanded self-government arrangement that took effect in 2009:
1. Under the 1979 arrangement, Denmark retained control of Greenland's constitutional affairs, foreign relations and defence, while Greenland took charge of taxation, education and social welfare.
2. Under the 2009 arrangement, Greenlandic replaced Danish as the official language of government.
3. Rights over the island's hydrocarbon and mineral resources were transferred to Greenland by the 1979 arrangement, the 2009 arrangement being confined to municipal regulation and cultural affairs.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Under the 1979 arrangement, Denmark retained control of Greenland's constitutional affairs, foreign relations and defence, while Greenland took charge of taxation, education and social welfare.
- Under the 2009 arrangement, Greenlandic replaced Danish as the official language of government.
- Rights over the island's hydrocarbon and mineral resources were transferred to Greenland by the 1979 arrangement, the 2009 arrangement being confined to municipal regulation and cultural affairs.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q2. With reference to the division of competences between the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland's self-rule authorities as it stands today, consider the following subjects:
1. Defence of the island and its security policy
2. Constitutional affairs of the realm
3. Administration of criminal justice within Greenland
4. Licensing of subsoil hydrocarbon and mineral resources
Which of the above are correctly identified as subjects that remain with Denmark rather than Greenland's self-rule authorities?
- Defence of the island and its security policy
- Constitutional affairs of the realm
- Administration of criminal justice within Greenland
- Licensing of subsoil hydrocarbon and mineral resources
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q3. Which one of the following settlements in Greenland is the seat of the island's executive council, the Naalakkersuisut, and its largest town?
- A. Qaanaaq, on the north-western coast facing Baffin Bay
- B. Narsarsuaq, in the south, the site of a Second World War airfield
- C. Mestersvig, in the east, on the Norwegian Sea side of the island
- D. Nuuk, on the south-western coast facing the Labrador Sea
Q4. Which one of the following statements about the Greenland Ice Sheet is correct?
- A. It is the largest ice mass on earth, the Antarctic ice being a collection of separate ice caps rather than a single sheet
- B. It covers about 80 percent of the island, with an average depth of roughly 500 metres over the covered area
- C. It is the largest ice mass in the Northern Hemisphere and is globally second in size only to the Antarctic ice mass
- D. It covers roughly two-fifths of Greenland's area, the rest being ice-free tundra and coastal highland
Q5. The principal United States military installation in Greenland — an intermediate stop on the transpolar air route, where a ballistic missile early warning station was completed in 1961 and which was renamed in 2023 — is:
- A. Narsarsuaq, the wartime airfield in southern Greenland
- B. Pituffik Space Base, earlier known as Thule Air Base
- C. Mestersvig, the eastern station on the Norwegian Sea
- D. Kangerlussuaq, the former west-coast airfield facility
Q6. Consider the following statements about the evolution of the United States' military presence in Greenland:
1. The United States took responsibility for Greenland's defence during the Second World War after Germany invaded Denmark, and Denmark and the United States later signed an agreement for the common defence of the island in 1951.
2. The installation established as Thule Air Base in 1951–52 was accompanied by the forcible relocation of the local indigenous population, particularly to Qaanaaq.
3. The base's ballistic missile early warning station was completed in 1961, and the base itself was renamed Pituffik Space Base in that same year, when the 1951 agreement came into force.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The United States took responsibility for Greenland's defence during the Second World War after Germany invaded Denmark, and Denmark and the United States later signed an agreement for the common defence of the island in 1951.
- The installation established as Thule Air Base in 1951–52 was accompanied by the forcible relocation of the local indigenous population, particularly to Qaanaaq.
- The base's ballistic missile early warning station was completed in 1961, and the base itself was renamed Pituffik Space Base in that same year, when the 1951 agreement came into force.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 2 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. With reference to the security agreement concluded by the United States, Denmark and Greenland in September 2026, consider the following:
1. Greenland ceases to be Danish territory and passes to the United States as an unincorporated territory.
2. The agreement bars the establishment of any non-NATO military base on the island.
3. Parliamentary action in both Denmark and Greenland is required before the agreement can be enforced.
4. The agreement abrogates the 1951 United States–Denmark defence agreement, which ceases to have effect.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Greenland ceases to be Danish territory and passes to the United States as an unincorporated territory.
- The agreement bars the establishment of any non-NATO military base on the island.
- Parliamentary action in both Denmark and Greenland is required before the agreement can be enforced.
- The agreement abrogates the 1951 United States–Denmark defence agreement, which ceases to have effect.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 4
- D. 3 and 4
Q8. The expansion of the United States' military footprint in Greenland agreed to in September 2026 builds upon which pre-existing legal instrument that already grants Washington broad rights to build bases on the island?
- A. The 1941 wartime understanding with Denmark's minister in Washington, by which the defence of the island passed to the United States
- B. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949, which extends collective defence to the island through Denmark's membership
- C. The agreement for the common defence of the island signed by Denmark and the United States in 1951
- D. The self-government arrangement of 2009, which transferred security policy from Copenhagen to Greenland's authorities
Q9. The North Atlantic Treaty signed at Washington in April 1949, to which Denmark was a party from the outset, was concluded by how many original member states?
- A. Ten
- B. Twelve
- C. Sixteen
- D. Nineteen
Q10. Which one of the following is India's first permanent research station in the Arctic, functioning at Ny-Alesund in Svalbard since 2008?
- A. Maitri, India's station established in the Schirmacher Oasis region
- B. IndARC, India's multi-sensor moored observatory in Kongsfjorden
- C. Bharati, India's station commissioned at Larsemann Hills
- D. Himadri, India's station operated under the polar research programme
Q11. Consider the following instances relating to United States attempts at territorial acquisition connected with Denmark or the Arctic:
1. The purchase of the Danish West Indies from Denmark in 1917 for about $25 million
2. President Harry Truman's offer of about $100 million to Denmark for Greenland in 1946
3. The purchase of Alaska from Denmark in 1867 for about $7.2 million
4. The proposal to buy Greenland made during Donald Trump's first term in 2019, rejected by Denmark
Which of the above are correctly identified?
- The purchase of the Danish West Indies from Denmark in 1917 for about $25 million
- President Harry Truman's offer of about $100 million to Denmark for Greenland in 1946
- The purchase of Alaska from Denmark in 1867 for about $7.2 million
- The proposal to buy Greenland made during Donald Trump's first term in 2019, rejected by Denmark
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q12. Consider the following statements on sovereignty and security guarantees in international law:
1. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter requires members to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
2. The International Court of Justice has stated the illegality of any territorial acquisition brought about by the threat or use of force.
3. Since Article 2(4) covers the threat of force and not merely its use, any arrangement that permits a foreign state to expand military bases on another state's territory necessarily amounts to a transfer of sovereignty over that territory.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter requires members to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
- The International Court of Justice has stated the illegality of any territorial acquisition brought about by the threat or use of force.
- Since Article 2(4) covers the threat of force and not merely its use, any arrangement that permits a foreign state to expand military bases on another state's territory necessarily amounts to a transfer of sovereignty over that territory.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3