UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Bhojshala: SC asks M.P. to consider land allocation

Q1. The arrangement of 7 April 2003 permitting weekly Tuesday puja and Friday namaz at the Bhojshala–Kamal Maula complex in Dhar was framed by which one of the following?

  • A. The National Monuments Authority, constituted under the Ministry of Culture
  • B. The Madhya Pradesh State Waqf Board, functioning under the Ministry of Minority Affairs
  • C. The Archaeological Survey of India, functioning under the Ministry of Culture
  • D. The Dhar district administration, acting under the Madhya Pradesh Home Department

Q2. In its judgment of 15 May 2026 on the Bhojshala complex, the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the Central Government and the Archaeological Survey of India to settle the management of the site under which one of the following enactments?

  • A. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991
  • B. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958
  • C. The Waqf Act, 1995, read with its State-level rules
  • D. The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972

Q3. Which one of the following correctly describes the operative direction issued by the Supreme Court on 30 July 2026 in the Bhojshala matter?

  • A. It conclusively determined the religious character of the complex and permanently barred Friday prayers anywhere near it.
  • B. It permanently vested the entire complex in the State Government, wholly ending the Archaeological Survey of India's control over it.
  • C. It directed that Khasra No. 596 be allotted forthwith and prohibited the State from ever proposing any alternative plot.
  • D. It directed the State to consider allotting Khasra No. 596 near the dargah, leaving it free to propose a better-located alternative.

Q4. Under the Supreme Court's 30 July 2026 order, the duty of identifying and allotting a plot for Friday namaz near the Bhojshala complex was placed upon which one of the following?

  • A. The Government of Madhya Pradesh, which retains the liberty to propose a different plot
  • B. The Archaeological Survey of India, which alone may allot any land lying in a regulated area
  • C. The National Monuments Authority, whose prior sanction is invariably needed for such allotment
  • D. The Dhar district administration, acting entirely without any reference to the State Government

Q5. Consider the following statements about the Paramaras of Malwa and their capitals: 1. The Paramaras began their political career as feudatories of the Rashtrakutas, and their capital shifted from Ujjain to Dhar. 2. Dhar became a celebrated centre of Sanskrit learning under Bhoja, whose reign falls in the first half of the eleventh century. 3. Paramara rule over Malwa is placed between about 800 and 1200 CE, and ended with the kingdom's absorption into the Gurjara-Pratihara empire. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Paramaras began their political career as feudatories of the Rashtrakutas, and their capital shifted from Ujjain to Dhar.
  2. Dhar became a celebrated centre of Sanskrit learning under Bhoja, whose reign falls in the first half of the eleventh century.
  3. Paramara rule over Malwa is placed between about 800 and 1200 CE, and ended with the kingdom's absorption into the Gurjara-Pratihara empire.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. Consider the following statements about Dhar, the Paramaras and their neighbourhood: 1. Dhar served as a Paramara capital and was a centre of learning under Raja Bhoja. 2. The structure at Dhar popularly called 'Raja Bhoja's school' takes its name from paved slabs bearing inscriptions of Sanskrit grammatical rules. 3. The Paramaras began as feudatories of the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kannauj. 4. Mandu, near Dhar, was the 14th-15th-century capital of the Malwa kingdom and was captured by the Marathas in 1632. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Dhar served as a Paramara capital and was a centre of learning under Raja Bhoja.
  2. The structure at Dhar popularly called 'Raja Bhoja's school' takes its name from paved slabs bearing inscriptions of Sanskrit grammatical rules.
  3. The Paramaras began as feudatories of the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kannauj.
  4. Mandu, near Dhar, was the 14th-15th-century capital of the Malwa kingdom and was captured by the Marathas in 1632.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. Consider the following statements regarding the Archaeological Survey of India and the regime of the AMASR Act, 1958: 1. The ASI was established in 1861 and functions under the Ministry of Culture. 2. An area extending to 100 metres from the protected limit of a centrally protected monument is a prohibited area. 3. An area extending to a further 200 metres beyond the prohibited area is a regulated area. 4. Permission for new construction in a regulated area is granted by the Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI Circle concerned. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The ASI was established in 1861 and functions under the Ministry of Culture.
  2. An area extending to 100 metres from the protected limit of a centrally protected monument is a prohibited area.
  3. An area extending to a further 200 metres beyond the prohibited area is a regulated area.
  4. Permission for new construction in a regulated area is granted by the Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI Circle concerned.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q8. The institutional mechanism for deciding applications to undertake repair, renovation or construction in the prohibited and regulated areas around centrally protected monuments was created by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, as adapted after independence
  • B. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, as originally enacted
  • C. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010
  • D. The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, read with the Rules made under it

Q9. Subject to public order, morality and health, how many distinct rights are enumerated in the clauses of Article 26 of the Constitution of India for every religious denomination or section thereof?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q10. Consider the following statements about Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India: 1. Article 25(1) makes freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health. 2. Article 26 confers on every religious denomination the right to own and acquire movable and immovable property. 3. Article 26 confers the right to administer denominational property free from any law made by the State. 4. Article 25 extends its guarantee only to citizens of India. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Article 25(1) makes freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health.
  2. Article 26 confers on every religious denomination the right to own and acquire movable and immovable property.
  3. Article 26 confers the right to administer denominational property free from any law made by the State.
  4. Article 25 extends its guarantee only to citizens of India.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q11. The Malwa Agency, created in 1895 as a subdivision of the British Central India Agency, comprised a defined group of princely states. Consider the following: 1. Rewa 2. Barwani 3. Datia 4. Jaora Which of the above is/are NOT correctly listed as constituent states of the Malwa Agency?

  1. Rewa
  2. Barwani
  3. Datia
  4. Jaora
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q12. Consider the following statements about the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 and the litigation over contested religious sites: 1. The Act seeks to preserve the religious character of places of worship as it existed at independence, the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi dispute being expressly excluded from its operation. 2. The survey of the Shahi Idgah complex adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi at Mathura was approved in December 2023 by the Supreme Court. 3. In December 2024 the Supreme Court directed that no fresh suits be registered and no survey be ordered by courts in such disputes pending its hearing on the 1991 Act. 4. The scientific survey of the Bhojshala complex was ordered by the National Monuments Authority, and the Supreme Court declined to stay it in April 2024. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The Act seeks to preserve the religious character of places of worship as it existed at independence, the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi dispute being expressly excluded from its operation.
  2. The survey of the Shahi Idgah complex adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi at Mathura was approved in December 2023 by the Supreme Court.
  3. In December 2024 the Supreme Court directed that no fresh suits be registered and no survey be ordered by courts in such disputes pending its hearing on the 1991 Act.
  4. The scientific survey of the Bhojshala complex was ordered by the National Monuments Authority, and the Supreme Court declined to stay it in April 2024.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 4 only