GS PAPER - 1
To
what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization
provided UPSC
Books to the present day urbanization? Discuss.
Indus valley civilization was an advance urban civilization
and its urban planning and culture has following elements which provided inputs
to modern day urbanization –
a. Wide roads for
easy commutation like modern cities
b. Rectangular
intersecting streets for better commutation and planning
c. Covered
drainage, which is also a hallmark of modern sanitation systems.
d. Double storied
buildings were also there which is similar to modern urban buildings where
space is at a premium
e. Bathrooms were also built insides homes and
were connected to drains unlike earlier community bathing systems. Modern day
houses also have inbuilt bathrooms.
f. Warehouses – UPSC Books granaries
– like modern urban godowns for storage of grains for contingency
Hence, many features of the Indus Valley were adopted by the
modern day urban settlements.
Gandhara sculpture owed as much to the Romans as to the
Greeks. Explain.
Kushan kings had Greeko-Roman lineage and it had a
significant influence on their art also as Kanishka maintained good relations
with Greeko-Roman rulers. Following features were borrowed from the two schools
–
a. Buddha’s face
was depicted as Greek god Apllonius
b. Buddha’s
drapery was similar to the Roman toga
c. Hairs of
Buddha were wavy like Roman sculptures
d. Buddha’s body
was made in a masculine manner similar to Greek gods
e. Many artists
were brought from both Greece and Rome
Hence, Gandhara sculpture was a mix of the two traditions.
Taxila university was one of the oldest universities of the
world with which were associated a number of renowned learned personalities of
different disciplines. Its strategic location caused its fame to flourish, but
unlike Nalanda, it is not considered as a university in the modern sense.
Discuss.
(I didn’t have a great idea of Taxila and hence, instead of
writing about those features of Taxila which were not in line of modern
universities I focused on those features of Nalanda which made it a modern
university)
Though Taxila was on a strategic location and for this
reason, it also gained fame as well, but Nalanda had following features which
made it the first truly global modern university of the world –
a. First of all,
like modern universities it had a big campus and more than 3000 students
studied there
b. Secondly, it
promoted inter-disciplinary study like modern universities and all the three
streams of Buddhism viz – Thervada, Mahavana and Vajrayana were taught here.
Further, other philosophical traditions were also taught here.
c. Thirdly,
scholars from far and wide used to come here – from Sri Lanka, Malya, China
etc. Hein Tsang and I-Tsing are some noted examples
d. Fourthly, the
university also promoted humanities disciplines actively and Nalanda school of
Art was the famous school that developed around here.
Hence, Nalanda was a true modern university, while Taxila had
a more conservative outlook due to which it fails to qualify as a university in
modern sense.
The third battle of UPSC Book Shop fought in 1761. Why were so
many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat?
Apart from the third battle UPSC Book Shop Panipat (1761), other empire
shaking battles like First Battle (1526), Second Battle (1556) and many other
were also fought here for the following reasons –
a. First of all,
It had a strategic location and was the last frontier before one could claim
the throne of Delhi and hence of India.
b. Secondly, all
the major attackers from outside – Afghan, Mongols, Turks etc used to come from
the central Asian route and Panipat was the meeting point of Indian forces and
foreign invaders.
c. Thirdly,
Panipat had a significant of psychological gains for the attackers. Once, it
was won, it was a big moral booster.
d. Finally,
Panipat was also a geographically conducive location. In North, Himalayas
guarded India, In West, deserts of Rajasthan discouraged invaders and Arab Sea
was also not a route of choice. Due to these reasons, the forces used to
converge at this point. (I drew a map also showing this)
Hence, due to strategic, geographic and political reasons, so
many empire shaking battles took place here.
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