Overview
Previous Year UPSC-CSE Questions By the end you will be able to draft model answers for the following UPSC questions. Each question carries a collapsible framework showing how to approach it in the exam.
- UPSC Prelims 1995 GS-IThe Mughal School of Painting formed the spinal column of the various schools of Indian miniature art. Which one of the following painting styles was not affected by Mughal painting?
How to approach this Prelims question
Approach: Recall which schools drew from Mughal painting (Pahari, Rajasthani, Kangra) and which did not; the Kalighat painting of Bengal was a separate, later popular art.
Trap to watch: Pahari, Rajasthani and Kangra were all shaped by the Mughal school; the odd one out is Kalighat.
Key facts to recall:
- The Mughal school shaped the Rajput and Pahari painting.
- The painters spread it after leaving the court under Aurangzeb.
- Kalighat (Bengal, 19th c.) was not affected by Mughal painting.
Answer signal: Kalighata.
- UPSC Prelims 2018 GS-IWith reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following statements:
- White marble was used in making Buland Darwaza and Khanqah at Fatehpur Sikri.
- Red sandstone and marble were used in making Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza at Lucknow.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
How to approach this Prelims question
Approach: Test each statement: (1) the Buland Darwaza is RED SANDSTONE, not white marble, so statement 1 is false; (2) the Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza at Lucknow are later Nawabi works of brick and plaster, not red sandstone and marble, so statement 2 is false. Both false, so neither.
Trap to watch: The Buland Darwaza is of red sandstone, NOT white marble; the white-marble age is Shah Jahan's. The Lucknow buildings are post-Mughal Nawabi works of brick.
Key facts to recall:
- Buland Darwaza (Fatehpur Sikri) = red sandstone, not white marble.
- White marble belongs to Shah Jahan and the Taj Mahal.
- The Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza at Lucknow are later Nawabi brick buildings.
Answer signal: Neither 1 nor 2.
The art and architecture of the Mughals are among the highest achievements of Indian civilisation. In architecture the line runs from Humayun's Tomb, the first great Mughal building, through the red sandstone of Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri and the Buland Darwaza, to the white marble of Shah Jahan and the Taj Mahal. In painting, the Mughal school, a blend of Persia and India, flourished in the illustrated manuscripts of Akbar and reached its zenith under Jahangir, before its decline under Aurangzeb scattered the painters to the regional courts. The age was rich too in calligraphy, in the Nastaliq script, in music and in the decorative arts. This part covers the architecture, the painting, the other arts, and the exam focus.
Mughal Architecture
From the Red Sandstone of Akbar to the Marble of Shah Jahan
What is the significance of Mughal architecture: it gave India some of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and traced, over a century, a clear line of growth from bold red sandstone to perfect white marble.
It began with Humayun's Tomb. The first great Mughal building was the tomb of Humayun at Delhi, a garden-tomb set in a formal char-bagh, of red sandstone and marble, with a high dome. It was the model from which the later Mughal tombs, and at last the Taj Mahal, were to grow.
Akbar built in red sandstone. The age of Akbar was the age of red sandstone: his new capital of Fatehpur Sikri, with the towering Buland Darwaza raised in red sandstone, with marble inlay, to mark the conquest of Gujarat; and the great Agra Fort. The figure below sets out the line of growth.
Then came the marble age. Under Jahangir, his queen Nur Jahan built the tomb of her father, Itimad-ud-Daula, at Agra, the 'Baby Taj', the first wholly-marble Mughal tomb and the first in full pietra dura. Under Shah Jahan the marble age reached its height, in the Taj Mahal at Agra and the Red Fort and Jama Masjid at Delhi. The buildings of each reign are set out in the table below.
The Chief Buildings of the Mughals
The chief buildings of the Mughals can be set out reign by reign. Each emperor left his own mark, from the garden-tomb of Humayun, through the red sandstone forts and gates of Akbar, to the marble tombs and mosques of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, so that the whole line of growth can be read at a glance.
| Emperor | Chief buildings |
|---|---|
| Humayun (and Akbar's reign) | Humayun's Tomb at Delhi, the first great Mughal garden-tomb. |
| Akbar | Fatehpur Sikri, the Buland Darwaza (red sandstone), and the Agra Fort. |
| Jahangir | The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula at Agra, the 'Baby Taj' (marble, pietra dura). |
| Shah Jahan | The Taj Mahal at Agra; the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid and Shahjahanabad at Delhi. |
A point worth holding for the examination is that the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri is of red sandstone, with marble inlay, and not of white marble; the white marble belongs to the later age of Shah Jahan and the Taj Mahal.
Mughal Painting
The Mughal School, its Zenith and its Decline
What is the significance of Mughal painting: it was a new and brilliant school, born of the meeting of Persia and India, which gave the miniature art of the country a fresh life and shaped the regional schools that came after.
The Mughal school was a fusion. It grew from the meeting of the Persian art that Humayun brought back with him with the older Indian painting, a rich new blend of the two. Under Akbar it flourished in the great illustrated manuscripts, the Hamzanama and the Akbarnama, made by a large workshop of painters, among them Daswanth and Basawan.
It reached its zenith under Jahangir. Jahangir, a true lover and judge of painting, turned the school towards the album and the single portrait, and his studios made exact and lovely studies of birds, beasts and flowers, the work of masters like Mansur. The figure below sets out the school.
Under Aurangzeb it declined. Aurangzeb cared little for painting and withdrew the favour of the court; the painters left the capital and scattered to the courts of Rajasthan and the hills, where their art took root and the Rajput and Pahari schools rose. So the Mughal school, even in its decline, gave life to the painting of the regions.
Calligraphy, Music and the Decorative Arts
The Other Arts of the Mughal Court
What is the significance of the other arts: beyond the building and the painting, the Mughal court was a home of many arts, of fine writing, of music and of rich craft, that together made its civilisation.
Calligraphy was held in high honour. The art of fine writing was prized above almost all others, and the favoured script was the Nastaliq, a flowing Persian hand in which the books and the documents of the court were written. In music the greatest name was Tansen, the singer of Akbar's court.
The decorative arts were rich. The age produced fine carpets, jewellery and inlaid metalwork, and above all the pietra dura, the inlay of precious and coloured stones in white marble, the craft that adorns the walls of the Taj Mahal. The Mughals loved too the formal garden, the char-bagh, laid out in four quarters by channels of water. The figure below sets out the other arts.
UPSC Relevance and Exam Focus
Where Mughal Art and Architecture Fit in the UPSC-CSE Syllabus
This topic belongs to General Studies Paper I: art and culture and medieval history, and Mughal architecture, painting and the decorative arts are a regular ground for questions.
The questions most often test the buildings and their materials, the school of painting and its zenith under Jahangir, the script Nastaliq, and the influence of Mughal art on the regional schools.
Several linked points recur and are worth holding in working memory:
- Humayun’s Tomb: the first great Mughal building, the garden-tomb, the prototype of the Taj.
- The Buland Darwaza: at Fatehpur Sikri; of red sandstone, not white marble.
- The marble age: Shah Jahan, the Taj Mahal and the pietra dura inlay.
- Painting: the Mughal school reached its zenith under Jahangir; declined under Aurangzeb.
- Nastaliq: a Persian script used in Mughal India.
A 1995 question noted that the Mughal school formed the spine of Indian miniature art, and asked which style was not affected by it; the answer was the Kalighat painting of Bengal, while the Pahari, Rajasthani and Kangra schools all drew from the Mughal tradition.
A 2018 question tested the materials of the buildings, and turned on the point that the Buland Darwaza is of red sandstone, not white marble; the white marble belongs to the later age of Shah Jahan, while the buildings of Lucknow named in the question are later Nawabi works of brick, so that neither statement was correct.
Prelims MCQ practice
Each question below tests one specific concept on the topic. Click to reveal the answer and a full option-wise explanation.
Q1. The first great building of the Mughals, a garden-tomb at Delhi that served as the prototype of the Taj Mahal, was which one of the following?
- Humayun's Tomb
- The Agra Fort
- The Buland Darwaza
- The Jama Masjid
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Humayun's Tomb
Explanation.
Option (a) is correct. Humayun's Tomb at Delhi, a garden-tomb in a char-bagh, was the first great Mughal building and the model for the Taj Mahal. Hence option (a).
Q2. The Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri, built to mark Akbar's conquest of Gujarat, is made chiefly of which one of the following?
- White marble
- Red sandstone
- Granite
- Brick and plaster
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Red sandstone
Explanation.
Option (b) is correct. The Buland Darwaza is of red sandstone, with marble inlay; white marble belongs to the later age of Shah Jahan. Hence option (b).
Q3. The Mughal school of painting is generally held to have reached its zenith under which one of the following emperors?
- Akbar
- Jahangir
- Shah Jahan
- Aurangzeb
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Jahangir
Explanation.
Option (b) is correct. Mughal painting reached its zenith under Jahangir, who favoured the album and the individual portrait; it declined under Aurangzeb. Hence option (b).
Q4. The 'Baby Taj', the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula at Agra, is notable as which one of the following?
- The largest Mughal mosque
- A fort of red sandstone
- A garden of the char-bagh type only
- The first wholly-marble Mughal tomb, with pietra dura
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The first wholly-marble Mughal tomb, with pietra dura
Explanation.
Option (d) is correct. The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula, built under Jahangir, was the first wholly-marble Mughal tomb and the first in full pietra dura, a forerunner of the Taj. Hence option (d).
Q5. With reference to Mughal art, consider the following statements:
- Under Aurangzeb the patronage of painting declined, and the painters spread to the regional courts.
- Nastaliq was a Persian script used at the Mughal court.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Both 1 and 2
Explanation.
Both statements are correct. Under Aurangzeb painting lost the court's favour and the painters dispersed to the regional courts; Nastaliq was the favoured Persian script of the Mughals. Hence option (c).
Q6. Pietra dura, the craft famous from the walls of the Taj Mahal, is which one of the following?
- A style of Mughal painting
- A Persian script
- The inlay of coloured stones in marble
- A kind of garden
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The inlay of coloured stones in marble
Explanation.
Option (c) is correct. Pietra dura is the inlay of precious and coloured stones in white marble, the craft that adorns the Taj Mahal. Hence option (c).
Sources and Further Reading
Editorial Disclaimer
This article is for UPSC preparation. The account of Mughal art and architecture rests on the surviving monuments, the imperial chronicles, and the standard scholarship on Indian art.
