75 Topic-wise MCQs with Answers & Explanations
1. Dharamshastra Tradition
1. The central concept in Dharmashastra texts is:
A) Niti
B) Dharma
C) Karma
D) Artha
✅ Answer: B
📘 Dharma means moral duty — it governs both personal and political conduct.
2. According to Dharmashastra, the primary duty of the king is to:
A) Conquer territories
B) Accumulate wealth
C) Uphold Dharma and protect people
D) Promote trade
✅ Answer: C
3. In Dharmashastra, law is derived from:
A) Popular consent
B) Vedas and Smritis
C) King’s will
D) Military power
✅ Answer: B
📘 The Vedas and Smritis were sources of law and moral order.
4. The idea “even the ruler must obey Dharma” reflects:
A) Theocracy
B) Rule of Law
C) Divine Monarchy
D) Democracy
✅ Answer: B
5. Dharma in politics ensures:
A) Unlimited power
B) Moral restraint on authority
C) Religious dominance
D) Personal gain
✅ Answer: B
🦅 2. Kautilya (Chanakya)
6. Kautilya’s Arthashastra mainly deals with:
A) Spiritual liberation
B) Economic planning
C) Statecraft and administration
D) Religious duties
✅ Answer: C
7. According to Kautilya, the seven elements of the state are called:
A) Navaratnas
B) Saptanga
C) Panchsheel
D) Trivarga
✅ Answer: B
8. “Matsyanyaya” means:
A) Justice of the fish
B) Law of the jungle
C) Rule of Dharma
D) Moral politics
✅ Answer: B
📘 Without state power, the strong devour the weak — hence, the need for authority.
9. Kautilya’s approach to politics is:
A) Idealist
B) Realist and pragmatic
C) Religious
D) Socialist
✅ Answer: B
10. According to Kautilya, the ruler’s happiness lies in:
A) Wealth
B) His subjects’ happiness
C) Expansion of empire
D) Self-interest
✅ Answer: B
🪶 3. Agganna Sutta (Buddhist Political Thought)
11. The Agganna Sutta explains:
A) Origin of the Vedas
B) Origin of the state
C) Origin of war
D) Origin of religion
✅ Answer: B
12. According to Agganna Sutta, the state arises through:
A) Divine creation
B) Social contract
C) Violence
D) Heredity
✅ Answer: B
13. The moral law in Buddhism is called:
A) Dhamma
B) Karma
C) Niti
D) Nyaya
✅ Answer: A
14. The ideal Buddhist ruler is called:
A) Kshatriya
B) Chakravartin
C) Samrat
D) Raja
✅ Answer: B
15. Buddhist political thought promotes:
A) Material prosperity
B) Moral leadership and equality
C) Caste hierarchy
D) Militarism
✅ Answer: B
🕌 4. Ziauddin Barani
16. Barani’s Fatwa-i-Jahandari is about:
A) Islamic theology
B) Principles of state and governance
C) Economics
D) Art and culture
✅ Answer: B
17. Barani believed the king should rule according to:
A) His will
B) People’s consent
C) Sharia and justice
D) Aristocracy
✅ Answer: C
18. Barani divided society into:
A) Ashraf and Ajlaf
B) Brahmins and Shudras
C) Rulers and ruled
D) Rich and poor
✅ Answer: A
19. Barani’s ideal ruler is guided by:
A) Sharia (divine law)
B) Economic motives
C) Military power
D) Personal ambition
✅ Answer: A
20. Barani’s political theory is a blend of:
A) Realism and ethics
B) Islam and democracy
C) Marxism and faith
D) Capitalism and religion
✅ Answer: A
🌺 5. Kabir
21. Kabir emphasized:
A) Rituals and caste
B) Love and unity of God
C) Religious orthodoxy
D) Idol worship
✅ Answer: B
22. Kabir’s philosophy is rooted in:
A) Rationalism
B) Bhakti and Sufi traditions
C) Feudalism
D) Liberalism
✅ Answer: B
23. Kabir rejected:
A) God
B) Social equality
C) Caste system and ritualism
D) Humanism
✅ Answer: C
24. Kabir’s political thought promotes:
A) Religious harmony and equality
B) Sectarianism
C) Violence
D) Authoritarianism
✅ Answer: A
25. Kabir’s teachings influenced:
A) Marxism
B) Sikhism and Indian humanism
C) Islamism
D) Western liberalism
✅ Answer: B
👩🏫 6. Pandita Ramabai
26. Pandita Ramabai is known for:
A) Economic reforms
B) Women’s education and rights
C) Political revolution
D) Religious orthodoxy
✅ Answer: B
27. Her key demand was:
A) Right to vote
B) Access to education for women
C) Abolition of marriage
D) Secularism
✅ Answer: B
28. She criticized:
A) Colonial government
B) Patriarchal interpretation of scriptures
C) Buddhism
D) Socialism
✅ Answer: B
29. Pandita Ramabai’s thought represents:
A) Liberal feminism in India
B) Socialism
C) Conservatism
D) Marxism
✅ Answer: A
30. She was among the earliest:
A) Political leaders
B) Feminist reformers in India
C) Philosophers of realism
D) Economists
✅ Answer: B
🇮🇳 7. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
31. Tilak’s slogan was:
A) Jai Hind
B) Swaraj is my birthright
C) Quit India
D) Inquilab Zindabad
✅ Answer: B
32. Tilak represented:
A) Moderate nationalism
B) Militant nationalism
C) Social reform
D) Western liberalism
✅ Answer: B
33. Tilak used festivals like Ganesh Utsav for:
A) Religious revival
B) Political mobilization
C) Education
D) Trade promotion
✅ Answer: B
34. His idea of Swaraj means:
A) Individual freedom only
B) Self-rule and national independence
C) Economic liberalization
D) Administrative reform
✅ Answer: B
35. Tilak’s political philosophy combined:
A) Religion and politics for national awakening
B) Socialism
C) Western secularism
D) Marxism
✅ Answer: A
🕉️ 8. Swami Vivekananda
36. Vivekananda emphasized:
A) Material prosperity
B) Spiritual strength and service
C) Violence for freedom
D) State control
✅ Answer: B
37. His motto:
A) “Be rich and powerful”
B) “Service to man is service to God”
C) “Reform through revolt”
D) “Politics before religion”
✅ Answer: B
38. Vivekananda’s nationalism was based on:
A) Race
B) Religion
C) Spiritual and cultural unity
D) Language
✅ Answer: C
39. He believed education should:
A) Focus on exams
B) Build character and strength
C) Promote obedience
D) Create elites
✅ Answer: B
40. Vivekananda inspired:
A) Indian youth and freedom movement
B) Industrial revolution
C) Bureaucratic reforms
D) Colonial loyalty
✅ Answer: A
🕊️ 9. Rabindranath Tagore
41. Tagore opposed:
A) Freedom
B) Aggressive nationalism
C) Humanism
D) Education
✅ Answer: B
42. Tagore’s nationalism was:
A) Militaristic
B) Spiritual and universal
C) Regional
D) Authoritarian
✅ Answer: B
43. Tagore’s ideal society is based on:
A) Competition
B) Harmony and creativity
C) Discipline and order
D) Industrialization
✅ Answer: B
44. Tagore valued:
A) Scientific nationalism
B) Spiritual freedom
C) Economic growth
D) Bureaucracy
✅ Answer: B
45. He criticized:
A) Western materialism
B) Indian culture
C) Global unity
D) Literature
✅ Answer: A
✋ 10. M.K. Gandhi
46. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence is known as:
A) Satyagraha
B) Ahimsa
C) Dharma
D) Danda
✅ Answer: B
47. Satyagraha means:
A) Force of truth
B) Force of arms
C) Force of fear
D) Political power
✅ Answer: A
48. Gandhi’s economic philosophy:
A) Capitalist
B) Trusteeship
C) Socialist
D) Industrialist
✅ Answer: B
49. Sarvodaya means:
A) Uplift of all
B) Rule of few
C) Economic prosperity only
D) Spiritual isolation
✅ Answer: A
50. Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj criticized:
A) Industrial civilization and Western modernity
B) Religion
C) Peasantry
D) Democracy
✅ Answer: A
🪔 11. Sri Aurobindo
51. Aurobindo saw nationalism as:
A) Material progress
B) Spiritual mission
C) Political instrument
D) Western idea
✅ Answer: B
52. His concept of Integral Yoga aims at:
A) Economic growth
B) Political unity
C) Human spiritual evolution
D) Rationalism
✅ Answer: C
53. Aurobindo’s goal was:
A) World peace through spiritual unity
B) Military strength
C) Industrial revolution
D) Cultural isolation
✅ Answer: A
54. Aurobindo believed India’s freedom would:
A) Lead global spiritual awakening
B) Isolate India
C) End religion
D) Promote capitalism
✅ Answer: A
55. He combined:
A) Politics and spiritualism
B) Marxism and atheism
C) Nationalism and capitalism
D) Education and economics
✅ Answer: A
⚖️ 12. Periyar E.V. Ramasamy
56. Periyar led the:
A) Quit India Movement
B) Self-Respect Movement
C) Non-Cooperation Movement
D) Swadeshi Movement
✅ Answer: B
57. He fought against:
A) Caste and superstition
B) Education
C) Industry
D) Parliament
✅ Answer: A
58. Periyar promoted:
A) Rationalism and equality
B) Monarchy
C) Priesthood
D) Nationalism only
✅ Answer: A
59. He advocated:
A) Women’s equality
B) Child marriage
C) Slavery
D) Idol worship
✅ Answer: A
60. His ideas laid the foundation of:
A) Dravidian movement
B) Industrial capitalism
C) Religious orthodoxy
D) Centralized power
✅ Answer: A
🌙 13. Muhammad Iqbal
61. Iqbal’s philosophy of Khudi means:
A) Self-denial
B) Self-realization
C) Collective identity only
D) Individualism
✅ Answer: B
62. Iqbal advocated:
A) Pan-Islamic unity and moral democracy
B) Communism
C) Atheism
D) Capitalism
✅ Answer: A
63. He is known as:
A) Poet of freedom
B) Spiritual father of Pakistan
C) Founder of Congress
D) Indian liberal
✅ Answer: B
64. Iqbal combined:
A) Islam and modernity
B) Religion and caste
C) Tradition and monarchy
D) Spiritualism and atheism
✅ Answer: A
65. Iqbal’s political ideal was:
A) Islamic democracy
B) Monarchy
C) Socialism
D) Secularism
✅ Answer: A
🔨 14. M.N. Roy
66. M.N. Roy began as a:
A) Liberal
B) Marxist revolutionary
C) Theist
D) Socialist democrat
✅ Answer: B
67. His later philosophy is known as:
A) Rational Humanism
B) Radical Humanism
C) Realism
D) Materialism
✅ Answer: B
68. Roy emphasized:
A) Human freedom and reason
B) Party dictatorship
C) Religion
D) Monarchy
✅ Answer: A
69. Roy rejected:
A) Democracy
B) Marxist determinism
C) Rationality
D) Secularism
✅ Answer: B
70. Roy believed man’s salvation lies in:
A) Faith
B) Reason and ethical living
C) Rituals
D) Revolution
✅ Answer: B
🔱 15. V.D. Savarkar
71. Savarkar’s ideology is known as:
A) Liberalism
B) Hindutva
C) Communism
D) Federalism
✅ Answer: B
72. His book Hindutva defined:
A) Political citizenship
B) Cultural nationalism based on common civilization
C) Religious supremacy
D) Democracy
✅ Answer: B
73. Savarkar supported:
A) Violent revolution against colonialism
B) Passive resistance
C) Communal harmony
D) Pacifism
✅ Answer: A
74. He also advocated:
A) Gender equality and social reform
B) Feudalism
C) Isolation
D) Monarchy
✅ Answer: A
75. Savarkar’s nationalism was rooted in:
A) Religion
B) Culture and common heritage
C) Language
D) Region
✅ Answer: B
⚖️ Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956)
76. Dr. Ambedkar’s political philosophy centered on:
A) Caste system
B) Social justice and equality
C) Revolution
D) Capitalism
✅ Answer: B
📘 He aimed to build a society based on liberty, equality, and fraternity.
77. The book Annihilation of Caste was written by:
A) Gandhi
B) Nehru
C) Ambedkar
D) Lohia
✅ Answer: C
📘 A scathing critique of Hindu caste hierarchy and Brahminism.
78. Ambedkar defined democracy as:
A) A political arrangement
B) A way of life based on social ethics
C) Majority rule
D) Dictatorship of numbers
✅ Answer: B
📘 For Ambedkar, democracy meant a moral and social ideal, not just a political form.
79. Ambedkar’s idea of fraternity came from:
A) Marx
B) Buddha
C) Rousseau
D) Tilak
✅ Answer: B
📘 He drew from Buddhism, emphasizing compassion and equality.
80. Ambedkar’s ideal society was:
A) Hierarchical
B) Caste-based
C) Casteless and equal
D) Religious
✅ Answer: C
📘 His lifelong goal was social transformation through equality and education.
81. Which of the following was central to Ambedkar’s philosophy of justice?
A) Equality before God
B) Social and economic equality
C) Economic liberty only
D) Religious morality
✅ Answer: B
82. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in:
A) 1947
B) 1950
C) 1956
D) 1952
✅ Answer: C
📘 A symbolic act of liberation for Dalits — the Navayana (New Buddhism).
83. Ambedkar viewed the Indian Constitution as a tool for:
A) Maintaining status quo
B) Social revolution and reform
C) Strengthening caste
D) Centralized rule
✅ Answer: B
🇮🇳 Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964)
84. Nehru’s concept of socialism aimed at:
A) Classless society through revolution
B) Democratic planning and industrial growth
C) Peasant revolution
D) Military socialism
✅ Answer: B
📘 He advocated democratic socialism, combining democracy with planned development.
85. Nehru’s idea of secularism meant:
A) Atheism
B) Equal respect for all religions
C) Religious uniformity
D) Westernization
✅ Answer: B
📘 Nehru’s secularism was inclusive and pluralist, not anti-religious.
86. Nehru’s Discovery of India promotes:
A) Cultural nationalism
B) Scientific humanism and unity in diversity
C) Western modernity
D) Theocracy
✅ Answer: B
87. Nehru’s concept of Non-Alignment was:
A) Isolation from world affairs
B) Strategic independence in foreign policy
C) Alliance with the West
D) Military neutrality
✅ Answer: B
📘 Aimed at independent judgment in global politics during the Cold War.
88. Nehru’s “Scientific Temper” means:
A) Faith in technology only
B) Rational, questioning attitude in life and governance
C) Western materialism
D) Academic curiosity
✅ Answer: B
89. Nehru viewed democracy as:
A) Political mechanism
B) A way of life and social ethos
C) Temporary arrangement
D) Party rule
✅ Answer: B
90. Nehru’s socialism was distinct from Marxism because it:
A) Rejected democracy
B) Emphasized gradual reform and planning
C) Advocated dictatorship
D) Denied religion
✅ Answer: B
🟣 Ram Manohar Lohia (1910–1967)
91. Lohia’s political ideology combined:
A) Marxism and Hinduism
B) Socialism and Gandhian thought
C) Liberalism and conservatism
D) Militarism and monarchy
✅ Answer: B
92. Lohia’s Sapt Kranti (Seven Revolutions) included revolts against:
A) Colonialism, caste, gender inequality, and capitalism
B) Foreign policy only
C) Industrialization
D) Rationalism
✅ Answer: A
93. Lohia’s Four-Pillar State proposed:
A) Decentralized power among village, district, province, and centre
B) Strong central authority
C) Corporate control
D) Monarchical rule
✅ Answer: A
📘 Early model of grassroots democracy.
94. Lohia emphasized socialism that is:
A) European in style
B) Indian in context and practice
C) Religious
D) Marxist
✅ Answer: B
95. For Lohia, equality required:
A) Caste revolution and gender justice
B) Economic growth only
C) Religious unity
D) Political uniformity
✅ Answer: A
🟢 Jayaprakash Narayan (1902–1979)
96. Jayaprakash Narayan’s Total Revolution means:
A) Economic reform only
B) Comprehensive transformation of society
C) Violent revolution
D) Bureaucratic reform
✅ Answer: B
📘 Sampoorna Kranti includes political, social, economic, and moral change.
97. JP’s movement in the 1970s aimed at:
A) Military rule
B) Restoring democracy and moral politics
C) Centralization of power
D) Religious unity
✅ Answer: B
98. JP was influenced by:
A) Marx and Lenin
B) Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave
C) Savarkar and Tilak
D) Periyar
✅ Answer: B
99. JP emphasized:
A) Centralized administration
B) Decentralized, people-based governance
C) Authoritarian leadership
D) Military intervention
✅ Answer: B
100. The core of JP’s political philosophy is:
A) Party politics
B) People’s power and participatory democracy
C) Bureaucratic efficiency
D) Religious nationalism
✅ Answer: B
🟠 Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916–1968)
101. Deendayal Upadhyaya’s philosophy is known as:
A) Integral Humanism
B) Democratic Socialism
C) Rational Humanism
D) Idealism
✅ Answer: A
102. Integral Humanism aims to integrate:
A) Body, mind, intellect, and soul
B) Religion and state
C) Capitalism and socialism
D) Individual and state
✅ Answer: A
📘 Harmonizing material and spiritual dimensions of human life.
103. According to Upadhyaya, Indian development should be:
A) Westernized
B) Rooted in Bharatiya culture and self-reliance
C) Militarized
D) Capitalist
✅ Answer: B
104. Upadhyaya emphasized:
A) Centralization
B) Decentralized village-based economy
C) Bureaucratic planning
D) State monopoly
✅ Answer: B
105. For Deendayal Upadhyaya, the ideal political order is based on:
A) Dharma and human unity
B) Secularism
C) Market forces
D) Monarchy
✅ Answer: A
106. Integral Humanism opposes:
A) Both capitalism and communism
B) Nationalism
C) Religion
D) Family values
✅ Answer: A
📘 Because both neglect spiritual and ethical dimensions.
107. Upadhyaya’s political vision inspired:
A) BJP’s ideology
B) Communist Party of India
C) Congress Socialism
D) Dravidian politics
✅ Answer: A
108. His core principle of development was:
A) Human-centric and ethical
B) Profit-centric
C) Industrialist
D) Westernized
✅ Answer: A
109. Upadhyaya’s philosophy is distinct for integrating:
A) Spiritual and material well-being
B) Economy and politics only
C) Religion and science
D) East and West
✅ Answer: A
110. According to Upadhyaya, democracy succeeds only if:
A) It is rooted in Indian values and moral culture
B) People are educated in Western ideas
C) Bureaucracy dominates
D) It is secularized completely
✅ Answer: A