UPSC Prelims 2023 Q81: Rea, Longhurst, Sewell, Burgess, Elliot
With reference to the Indian History, Alexander Rea, A. H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Walter Elliot were associated with
- archaeological excavations
- establishment of English Press in Colonial India
- establishment of Churches in Princely States
- construction of railways in Colonial India
Answer: (a) archaeological excavations
Statement-wise explanation
- a: correct — All five men worked on digging and recording India's ancient sites. Walter Elliot dug at the Amaravati stupa in 1845, and Robert Sewell dug there in 1877. James Burgess was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1886 to 1889. Alexander Rea dug the Iron Age burial site at Adichanallur from 1899 to 1904, and A. H. Longhurst led the digging at Nagarjunakonda from 1927 to 1931.
- b: incorrect — None of these men founded a newspaper or press in colonial India. The early English press is linked to names like James Augustus Hicky, whose Bengal Gazette began in 1780, and James Silk Buckingham. Burgess did start a journal, the Indian Antiquary, in 1872. But it was a research journal on Indian history and antiquities, not part of the English newspaper press.
- c: incorrect — None of the five was a missionary or a church-builder in the princely states. Elliot and Sewell were Madras civil servants. Rea and Longhurst were officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, and Burgess was its Director-General. Their published work is reports on ancient sites, not on missions.
- d: incorrect — None of these names belongs to the history of Indian railways. That history centres on Lord Dalhousie's railway minute of 1853 and the first passenger train from Bombay to Thane in April 1853. These five men surveyed and dug ancient sites. They did not build railway lines.
How to eliminate
A list of names like this is solved mainly by recognising one or two of them. One name is enough here. Robert Sewell wrote 'A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar' (1900), and A. H. Longhurst wrote the first guidebook to the ruins at Hampi. Both point to monuments and ruins. James Burgess is the easiest name: he was Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (1886–89). The options also help. Five people spread across the 1840s to the 1930s fit a long-running field like archaeology better than one-time events like starting a press or churches. And the press and railway options have famous names of their own (Hicky, Buckingham, Dalhousie), none of which appears here. A pattern to remember: UPSC likes to list Madras Presidency officials and archaeologists linked to Amaravati, Adichanallur, Nagarjunakonda and Hampi.
Know more
Colonial archaeology in South India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was set up in 1861, with Alexander Cunningham as its first head. Much of the early digging in South India came first. Madras Presidency officials did it, often in a hurry and without careful records. This 'antiquarian' phase later gave way to a professional survey.
| Person | Role | Key work |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Elliot | Commissioner of Guntur (Madras civil service) | Dug at the Amaravati stupa in 1845. His finds, the 'Elliot Marbles', are now in the British Museum |
| Robert Sewell | Madras civil servant | Dug at Amaravati in 1877 (report 1880). Lists of antiquarian remains in Madras Presidency. 'A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar' (1900) |
| James Burgess | Director-General, ASI (1886–89) | Founded the Indian Antiquary (1872). Surveyed western and southern India, including Amaravati |
| Alexander Rea | Superintendent, ASI (South India) | Adichanallur Iron Age urn burials (1899–1904). Catalogue published in 1915 |
| A. H. Longhurst | Superintendent, ASI Southern Circle (from 1913) | Nagarjunakonda (1927–31). Guidebook to the Hampi ruins |
Why these sites matter
- Amaravati (Guntur, Andhra Pradesh): a great Buddhist stupa and the centre of the Amaravati school of sculpture. Colin Mackenzie first reported it in 1797. Elliot, Sewell, Burgess and Rea all dug there one after another, and the site was badly damaged along the way.
- Adichanallur (Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu): an Iron Age urn-burial site on the Tamirabarani river. Rea's finds are in the Government Museum, Chennai. ASI has dug there again in recent years, and an on-site museum has been planned.
- Nagarjunakonda: the Ikshvaku capital and a Buddhist centre. Most of it was flooded by the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, and its monuments were moved to an island.
- Hampi: the capital of the Vijayanagara empire, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Amaravati stupa: Three of the five names, Elliot, Sewell and Burgess, appear in this stupa's nineteenth-century history, so knowing it decodes the list.
- Archaeological Survey of India: Burgess, Rea and Longhurst held posts in this body, so knowing its history places these names.
- Alexander Cunningham: Cunningham, the founding head, is the best-known name of this same group of colonial figures, which helps you place the five listed here.
- Colin Mackenzie: Mackenzie first reported Amaravati in 1797, before the officials named in this question worked at the same site.