QUESTION PYQ 20
GS1
10 marks
Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
For Colonial Famines, the core task is to explain the exact proposition ‘Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons.’. Organise the answer around its qualifier and evidence burden, not around a generic syllabus note.
ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.
Demand-wise check
- 1Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons≈55 words
- 2Use named historical evidence for Colonial Famines and connect it to significance, causation or continuity/change rather than listing facts≈55 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Frame Colonial FaminesCausal drivers/mechanismQuestion-specific evidenceEffects or second limbRelative-weight/balanced conclusion
Where marks usually go
- Turning this into a broad note on Colonial Famines instead of answering the question’s operative wording: ‘Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons.’
- Adding correct but adjacent facts on Colonial Famines that do not advance the exact causal, comparative or evaluative task in this PYQ
Value addition
- Colonial Famines: compact timeline or evidence→significance table; use a monument/site sketch only where architecture is central
→ Draw it in the body, next to the point it supports.
Official source anchors
These are authoritative sources selected for this exact PYQ. Where a card is an official-domain anchor rather than a fact-level citation, verify the precise provision, definition or data point on the linked source before using it.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.