Specified under the syllabus of General Studies I for UPSC Civil Services Mains, Indian Art and Culture is one of the important topics in the Civil Services preparation. The UPSC syllabus mentions the Indian art and culture syllabus in just one line “Salient features of Literature, Art Forms, and Architecture from ancient to modern times”. However, after carefully analyzing the UPSC past year papers, we have listed down important micro-topics that should be studied for Art and Culture syllabus for UPSC preparation.
The syllabus for Indian Art & Culture has been specified under the GS Paper 1 of UPSC Mains Exams. Following is the list of micro topics that have been covered in Indian Art & Culture
Indian Art Forms |
Indian Paintings Classical Dance Forms Folk Dance Forms Classical Music Puppetry Pottery Drama/Theatre Martial Arts |
Literature |
Ancient Indian Literature Classical Sanskrit Literature Literature in Pali and Prakrit Early Dravidian Literature Medieval Literature Women Poets of Bhakti Trends in Medieval Literature Modern Indian Literature |
Architecture |
Harappan Architecture Temple Architecture Cave Architecture Indo-Islamic Architecture Medieval Architecture Modern Architecture Contribution of Buddhism & Jainism to the Development of Indian Architecture Rock Cut Architecture Colonial Architecture & the Modern Period |
Indian Art & Culture is a very wide topic and hence it is important that you stick to the syllabus and study only the relevant portions. Here’re some of the main components of art and culture preparation for UPSC:
History textbooks of Class VI and VII and XI and XII (NCERTs) cover ancient and medieval history that should be studied for building a strong foundation. Apart from that fine arts textbook of Class XI should be studied in detail for the art-forms specifically.
Next, read Indian Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania and revise it multiple times to have the names at your fingertips. Rote learning is an important part of the preparation strategy for Art & Culture.
Follow the official website of CCRT(Centre for Cultural Resources & Training) for all the important updates, pib website for information on GI tags, and other important information on recent cultural festivals and programs.
First, let us begin with the weightage of Art & Culture in the previous year:
Year |
Marks (Prelims) |
2012 |
16 |
2013 |
16 |
2014 |
30 |
2015 |
10 |
2016 |
22 |
2017 |
12 |
2018 |
14 |
2019 |
14 |
NCERT History- Class VI and VII and Class XI and Class XII
NCERT Fine Arts - Class XI
Indian Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania
Newspapers (The Hindu), Monthly Current Affairs, India Year Book
Website - ccrt.gov.in
Art and Culture Questions from UPSC Mains 2020
The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss.
Pala period is the most significant phase in the history of Buddhism in India. Enumerate.
Indian Philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss.
Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment.
Art and Culture Questions from UPSC Mains 2019
Highlight the Central Asian and Greco-Bactrian elements in Gandhara art.
Art and Culture Questions from UPSC Mains 2018
Safeguarding the Indian Art Heritage is the need of the moment. Discuss.
Assess the importance of the accounts of the Chinese and Arab Travellers in the reconstruction of the history of India.
The Bhakti movement received a remarkable re-orientation with the advent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Discuss
This was a detailed preparation strategy for Art and Culture for UPSC. Check out the weightage of all the subjects in Prelims here.
A pioneer in test-prep, Career Launcher has launched several online courses for UPSC CSE preparation keeping the current situation in mind. You can check our entire course range for UPSC CSE preparation here. Get in touch with our course counselors for additional information about the course deliverables.
NCERT textbooks of History of Class VI-VII and XI-XII as well as Fine Arts textbook for Class XI is a must-read for preparing Art and Culture for UPSC. In addition to it, you can also glance through Indian Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania.
Yes, descriptive questions are asked from Art and Culture. In the most recent UPSC Mains 2020, the following questions were asked:
The rock-cut architecture represents one of the most important sources of our knowledge of early Indian art and history. Discuss.
Pala period is the most significant phase in the history of Buddhism in India. Enumerate.
Indian Philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss.
Persian literary sources of medieval India reflect the spirit of the age. Comment.
The best way to prepare for Art and Culture is through NCERTs and Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania. In addition to that, make sure to practice all the previous year’s questions.
Yes. It is a comprehensive book and is sufficient for this paper. In addition to it, practice all the previous years’ questions that are asked in Prelims or Mains.
We’ve discussed the year-by-year weightage of Art and Culture for UPSC in the above article.