Art & Culture MCQs for UPSC Prelims

Q1. A survey team in a Trans-Himalayan valley records figures of ibex and human hunters on boulders. The figures were made by repeatedly striking the boulders' dark, weathered surface with a harder stone, exposing lighter rock beneath. No pigment was used. How should these figures be classified?

  • A. Geoglyphs
  • B. Petroforms
  • C. Pictographs
  • D. Petroglyphs

Q2. A publisher brings out a new book in India. Under the Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954, which one of the following correctly describes the publisher's obligation?

  • A. Deliver a copy to the National Library and to other libraries specified by the Centre
  • B. Deliver a copy to the Copyright Office, which then distributes it among libraries
  • C. Deposit a copy voluntarily, since delivery is encouraged only through library grants
  • D. Deliver a copy to the State Central Library of every State and Union Territory

Q3. With reference to Article 49 and Article 51A(f) of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Article 49 places an obligation on the State, while Article 51A(f) places a duty on citizens.
  2. Article 49 extends to every object of artistic or historic interest, whether or not it has been declared by or under a law of Parliament to be of national importance.
  3. Article 49 covers protection from spoliation, removal, disposal or export, and not merely from physical destruction.
  4. Article 51A(f) was part of the Constitution as originally adopted.
  • A. 4 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 2 and 4 only

Q4. With reference to the distribution of legislative subjects in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Historical records other than those declared by or under a law of Parliament to be of national importance are a Union List subject.
  2. Libraries and museums controlled or financed by a State are a State List subject.
  3. Ancient and historical monuments declared by Parliament by law to be of national importance are a Union List subject.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q5. Consider the following facts: The Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954 defines 'public library' as the National Library at Calcutta and any three other libraries that the Central Government may specify by notification, and requires publishers to deliver copies of books to these libraries at their own expense. In 1955, the Connemara Public Library, Chennai, and the State Central Library, Mumbai, were designated as depositories under the Act. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. The list of depository libraries other than the National Library can be changed by executive notification without amending the Act.
  2. The depository status of the Connemara Public Library comes from a government notification rather than from the text of the Act itself.
  3. A library becomes a depository under the Act because of its age and the size of its collection.
  4. Publishers' obligation towards the three notified libraries is voluntary, because those libraries are not named in the Act.
  • A. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q6. With reference to Article 49 and Article 51A(f) of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Article 49 places an obligation on the State, whereas Article 51A(f) places a duty on every citizen.
  2. The protection under Article 49 covers every object of historic interest, whether or not it has been declared to be of national importance.
  3. Article 51A(f) entered the Constitution through a later amendment, whereas Article 49 was part of the Constitution as originally adopted.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q7. Consider the following: The Charyapadas are mystic songs composed by Buddhist Siddhacharyas between roughly the 8th and 12th centuries. They are claimed as the earliest literary specimens of both Assamese and Bengali, and they are closely related to the Magadhan group of languages. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. Assamese and Bengali passed through a common early stage of development.
  2. Buddhist religious communities contributed to early literary production in the eastern vernaculars.
  3. By the 8th century, Assamese and Bengali had already become fully distinct, separately standardised languages.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 only

Q8. A State seeks Classical status for a language. Its earliest inscriptions are about 1,800 years old, and it has a rich ancient body of poetry and prose treatises that its speakers value as heritage. However, the ancient form is largely unintelligible to the language's modern speakers. Under the criteria revised in 2024, which one of the following is correct?

  • A. It can qualify, as a break between the ancient and modern forms is no bar.
  • B. It cannot qualify, as its antiquity falls short of a 2,000-year minimum.
  • C. It cannot qualify, as the ancient form must be continuous with the modern language.
  • D. It can qualify, but only after Parliament adds it to the Eighth Schedule.

Q9. With reference to the criteria for declaring a language 'Classical', as revised in 2024, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The required antiquity of early texts or recorded history is higher than the threshold used when the category was first created in 2004.
  2. The classical form of the language must be continuous with the language as spoken today.
  3. A body of ancient poetry and inscriptions, without any knowledge texts, satisfies the literary requirement.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q10. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Pali and Prakrit have been accorded Classical Language status even though neither is listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
  2. Classical Language status is assessed on a language's antiquity and ancient literary heritage, not on its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule or its present-day official use.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q11. With reference to 'Classical Language' status and the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A language can be granted Classical Language status by a decision of the Union executive, without any amendment to the Constitution.
  2. Every language that holds Classical Language status as of 2026 is also listed in the Eighth Schedule.
  3. A language can be listed in the Eighth Schedule without holding Classical Language status.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q12. Consider the following statements about the 'Madras on Stage' photo-archives exhibition: 1. It was the fourth edition of the 'Made of Chennai' series and was mounted at Kasturi Buildings, the newspaper's corporate head office. 2. Its curator's plan devoted the display entirely to drama and stage photographs, cinema and the performing arts being excluded from this edition. 3. The photographs on show spanned the 1920s to the 2010s. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was the fourth edition of the 'Made of Chennai' series and was mounted at Kasturi Buildings, the newspaper's corporate head office.
  2. Its curator's plan devoted the display entirely to drama and stage photographs, cinema and the performing arts being excluded from this edition.
  3. The photographs on show spanned the 1920s to the 2010s.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q13. Consider the following statements comparing public archives with a private newspaper photo archive in India: 1. Under the Public Records Act, 1993, unclassified public records more than thirty years old that have been transferred to the National Archives of India may be made available to bona fide research scholars, subject to prescribed exceptions. 2. Abhilekh Patal, the online access portal of the National Archives of India, offers its digitised documents free of charge to the public, and the records hosted on it run to several crore pages. 3. Unlike public records, in The Hindu's photo archive the entire body of physical prints, negatives and transparencies was already available in digital form, so no manual searching was needed while assembling the recent 'Madras on Stage' display. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under the Public Records Act, 1993, unclassified public records more than thirty years old that have been transferred to the National Archives of India may be made available to bona fide research scholars, subject to prescribed exceptions.
  2. Abhilekh Patal, the online access portal of the National Archives of India, offers its digitised documents free of charge to the public, and the records hosted on it run to several crore pages.
  3. Unlike public records, in The Hindu's photo archive the entire body of physical prints, negatives and transparencies was already available in digital form, so no manual searching was needed while assembling the recent 'Madras on Stage' display.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q14. Sport & Pastime, the magazine brought out by The Hindu Group and used by its Library Department to cross-check dates of cultural events in Madras, ran for approximately how many years before it ceased publication?

  • A. About 11 years
  • B. About 21 years
  • C. About 31 years
  • D. About 41 years

Q15. M.G. Ramachandran, who made his screen debut in Sathi Leelavathi (1936) playing a dishonest police officer, appeared in approximately how many films in the course of his career?

  • A. More than 50
  • B. More than 130
  • C. More than 300
  • D. More than 500

Q16. In accounts of Tamil performance traditions such as Therukoothu, the triad 'Eyal, Isai and Natakam' denotes

  • A. the three hereditary performer roles of narrator, drummer and impersonator in a koothu troupe
  • B. the three branches of Tamil - literature, music and drama - on which the tradition draws
  • C. the three successive watches into which an all-night koothu performance is divided
  • D. the three district clusters - Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram - where the form survives

Q17. Therukoothu is treated as pre-eminent among Tamil Nadu's folk performance traditions chiefly because

  • A. it is the only Tamil performing tradition in which the characters sing and dance at the same time
  • B. it is performed exclusively by hereditary temple servants attached to Mahabharata shrines
  • C. it carries, layer upon layer, the cultural history of the Tamil country from ancient times and ranks among South Asia's most crystallised folk theatre forms
  • D. it is the sole Indian folk theatre form to have taken shape entirely after the decline of Sanskrit drama

Q18. The stated institutional purpose of the Kalakshetra Foundation is best defined as that of

  • A. a State academy that confers fellowships and national honours on senior performing artists
  • B. a documentation centre that builds audio-visual archives of classical performance traditions
  • C. a teachers' training college attached to the annual conference of the Madras Music Academy
  • D. a centre for artistic education devoted to the study and performance of the fine arts free from commercialism

Q19. Which one of the following organisations under the Ministry of Culture, founded at Madras in 1936, is designated an institution of national importance for the preservation of the classical arts?

  • A. The National School of Drama, the Ministry's premier theatre-training institution
  • B. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the Ministry's centre for the arts
  • C. The Kalakshetra Foundation, on nearly 100 acres by the Chennai seashore
  • D. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy of music, dance and drama

Q20. Which one of the following autonomous bodies of the Ministry of Culture is the country's apex institution for music, dance and drama, and administers Kathak Kendra and the Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy?

  • A. The Sahitya Akademi, set up in 1954 for letters
  • B. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, set up in 1953 for the performing arts
  • C. The Lalit Kala Akademi, set up in 1954 for the visual arts
  • D. The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, set up in 1979 for cultural education

Q21. Consider the following in the context of Carnatic music and Chennai's music traditions: 1. Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri constitute the 'Trinity' of Carnatic composers of the early nineteenth century. 2. Chennai entered the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Gastronomy. 3. Musical knowledge in the city has traditionally been transmitted by the Gurukulam method, in which teachers host students in their own homes. 4. The city's Music Season extends over about two months and features roughly 1,500 performances across public spaces. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri constitute the 'Trinity' of Carnatic composers of the early nineteenth century.
  2. Chennai entered the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Gastronomy.
  3. Musical knowledge in the city has traditionally been transmitted by the Gurukulam method, in which teachers host students in their own homes.
  4. The city's Music Season extends over about two months and features roughly 1,500 performances across public spaces.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2 and 4

Q22. Consider the following statements regarding the early history of Madras and Fort St George: 1. Permission to build a fort at Madraspatnam was obtained by the English East India Company from the raja of Chandragiri in 1639. 2. Fort St George was recognised as a Presidency by 1652. 3. The site was preferred largely because it lay nearer the weaving centres from which goods were obtained for export to Persia and the East Indies. 4. The city's name was officially changed from Madras to Chennai by the Government of India in 1947. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Permission to build a fort at Madraspatnam was obtained by the English East India Company from the raja of Chandragiri in 1639.
  2. Fort St George was recognised as a Presidency by 1652.
  3. The site was preferred largely because it lay nearer the weaving centres from which goods were obtained for export to Persia and the East Indies.
  4. The city's name was officially changed from Madras to Chennai by the Government of India in 1947.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q23. Consider the following statements about the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act: 1. The Act was enacted in 1958. 2. Construction in a regulated area without the previous permission of the competent authority is punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both. 3. The prohibited area extends to 100 metres from the boundary of a protected monument, and the regulated area extends to a further 200 metres beyond the prohibited area. 4. The uniform prohibited-area and regulated-area limits were introduced into the Act by its amendment of 1972. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Act was enacted in 1958.
  2. Construction in a regulated area without the previous permission of the competent authority is punishable with imprisonment not exceeding two years, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.
  3. The prohibited area extends to 100 metres from the boundary of a protected monument, and the regulated area extends to a further 200 metres beyond the prohibited area.
  4. The uniform prohibited-area and regulated-area limits were introduced into the Act by its amendment of 1972.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q24. Consider the following pairs of function and the authority that discharges it in relation to centrally protected monuments: 1. Administrative control of the National Monuments Authority — Ministry of Culture 2. Grant of permission for construction or repair in a regulated area around a protected monument — competent authority under the AMASR Act 3. Sealing of an illegal construction site situated within a prohibited area — Archaeological Survey of India 4. Eviction of an unauthorised occupant from a protected monument or protected area — District Magistrate/Collector Which of the pairs given above is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Administrative control of the National Monuments Authority — Ministry of Culture
  2. Grant of permission for construction or repair in a regulated area around a protected monument — competent authority under the AMASR Act
  3. Sealing of an illegal construction site situated within a prohibited area — Archaeological Survey of India
  4. Eviction of an unauthorised occupant from a protected monument or protected area — District Magistrate/Collector
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4

Q25. Which one of the following correctly states a criterion for conferment of Classical Language status as revised by the Linguistics Experts Committee in July 2024?

  • A. The language must have been listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution for a continuous period of at least twenty-five years preceding the proposal
  • B. The language must show an unbroken literary continuity, its classical form being indistinguishable from the language spoken by its present-day users
  • C. The language must be returned as the mother tongue by at least five crore speakers in the most recent decennial Census of India
  • D. The language must show high antiquity of its early texts or recorded history over a period of 1500 to 2000 years

Q26. Before the batch of languages granted Classical Language status in October 2024, which one of the following was the most recent language to receive that status?

  • A. Odia
  • B. Malayalam
  • C. Telugu
  • D. Kannada

Q27. Tulu was traditionally written in which one of the following scripts, before the Kannada script came into common use for writing it?

  • A. Vatteluttu
  • B. Tigalari
  • C. Grantha
  • D. Modi

Q28. Bhasha Samman, instituted in 1996 to honour contributions to unrecognised languages such as Tulu, is conferred by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The Central Institute of Indian Languages, an institution under the Ministry of Education
  • B. The National Book Trust, India, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education
  • C. The Sahitya Akademi, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture
  • D. The Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education

Q29. Consider the following pairs relating to Kerala's boat-racing calendar: 1. Aranmula Uthrittathi Vallamkali — held on the Pampa 2. Nehru Trophy Boat Race — held at Punnamada, Alappuzha 3. President's Trophy Boat Race — held at Kottayam 4. Champions Boat League — concludes on the State Formation Day, 1 November Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Aranmula Uthrittathi Vallamkali — held on the Pampa
  2. Nehru Trophy Boat Race — held at Punnamada, Alappuzha
  3. President's Trophy Boat Race — held at Kottayam
  4. Champions Boat League — concludes on the State Formation Day, 1 November
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q30. Under the 1976 scheme to equalise the length and rower strength of snake boats, how much was proposed as a loan to each boat to meet the cost of the modifications?

  • A. Rs. 5,000
  • B. Rs. 7,500
  • C. Rs. 10,000
  • D. Rs. 25,000