UPHESC Assistant Professor Asian Culture 2025 PYQs

Concept: Kandyan dance (Uda Rata Natum) from the hill country around Kandy is Sri Lanka's best-known traditional/national dance.

1. Other Sri Lankan forms: Low-country (Pahatha Rata) and Sabaragamuwa dances; 'Vannam' are songs/dance pieces within the Kandyan repertoire.
2. Jhumar is a folk dance of Punjab/Jharkhand.

Short trick: Kandy → Kandyan dance (Ves dancers).

Concept: Rudaki (c. 858–941) was born at Panjrud (Rudak) in the Samarkand region (now in Tajikistan, near Panjakent).

1. He later became court poet of the Samanid ruler Nasr II at Bukhara – so Bukhara is where he worked, not where he hailed from.
2. He is called 'Adam of poets' / father of New Persian poetry.

Short trick: Born near Samarkand, sang at Bukhara.

Concept: Rahul Sankrityayan wrote 'Madhya Asia ka Itihas' (History of Central Asia), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award (1958).

1. He travelled widely in Tibet and Soviet Central Asia and taught at Leningrad.
2. V. S. Wakankar discovered Bhimbetka; R. S. Sharma wrote on ancient Indian history.

Short trick: Rahul Sankrityayan – Madhya Asia ka Itihas – 1958 Akademi.

Concept: Uzbekistan adopted its constitution on 8 December 1992 (Constitution Day).

1. Independence was declared on 31 August 1991 after the USSR's collapse.
2. A new constitution was adopted by referendum in 2023.

Short trick: Independence 1991 → Constitution 8-12-1992.

Concept: Kazakh (a Turkic language) is the state language of Kazakhstan.

1. Russian has official status for inter-ethnic communication, but the state/national language is Kazakh.
2. Tajik is Persian-based (Tajikistan); Uzbek is the language of Uzbekistan.

Short trick: Country-stan → its own language: Kazakh-stan → Kazakh.

Concept: In this list ‘Koryo’ stands for the old northern kingdom Koguryo (Goguryeo), which itself used the shortened name Koryo/Goryeo from the 5th century; the later Koryo dynasty (918–1392) took its name from it. Arrange by traditional founding dates.

1. Silla – 57 BC (i).
2. Koguryo/Koryo – 37 BC (iii).
3. Paekche (Baekje) – 18 BC (iv).
4. Karak (Geumgwan Gaya) – AD 42 (ii).
5. Order: i, iii, iv, ii. (If Koryo were read as the 918 dynasty, no option would fit at all – so the Three-Kingdoms reading is the intended one.)

Short trick: Founding years 57 – 37 – 18 BC – AD 42: Silla, Koguryo, Paekche, Karak.

Concept: Shahr-i-Sokhta ('Burnt City', Bronze Age) is in Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran.

1. Ai-Khanoum – Greco-Bactrian city on the Oxus (Takhar, Afghanistan).
2. Shortugai – Harappan trading outpost on the Amu Darya (Afghanistan).
3. Mir Zakah – huge coin hoard site in Paktia (Afghanistan).

Short trick: 'Burnt City' = Iran.

Concept: The Jesuit St. Francis Xavier landed at Kagoshima in 1549 and began Christian missions in Japan.

1. Boethius, Jerome and Eusebius were late-Roman writers/church fathers (4th–6th century).

Short trick: 1549 Kagoshima – Francis Xavier.

Concept: Soviet-Afghan excavations at Dilberjin (Delverjin) Tepe in northern Afghanistan (ancient Bactria) found a Kushan-period wall painting of Shiva and Parvati seated on Nandi.

1. It shows Shaivism in Kushan Bactria.
2. Darunta is known for Buddhist stupas near Jalalabad.

Short trick: Dilberjin – Bactria – Shiva-Parvati on Nandi.

Concept: ‘Chunga’ is taken here as the Afghan form of the choga/chugha – the long, loose, long-sleeved outer robe of traditional Afghan (Pashtun) dress, worn over the perahan-tunban.

1. Of the options it is the only item of dress; it is not a tribe/caste, a dish or a dance.
2. For contrast: the Afghan national dance is the Attan; a typical dish is Kabuli pulao.

Short trick: Chunga ≈ choga = Afghan robe.

Concept: The Buddha was born at Lumbini (now in Nepal), marked by Ashoka's Rummindei pillar.

1. Bodhgaya – enlightenment; Sarnath – first sermon; Kushinagar – mahaparinirvana.

Short trick: Born–Lumbini, Bodhi–Gaya, Sermon–Sarnath, Death–Kushinagar.

Concept: The Licchavis of Vaishali (a famous gana-sangha) later established the Licchavi dynasty of Nepal (c. 4th–9th century AD).

1. Manadeva's Changu Narayan inscription (464 AD) is Nepal's earliest dated record.
2. Kshudrakas and Yaudheyas were republics of Punjab–Haryana; Videha was a monarchy (Mithila).

Short trick: Vaishali Licchavis → Nepal's Licchavi kings.

Concept: Tagore's short story 'Kabuliwala' (1892) portrays the bond between an Afghan dry-fruit seller, Rahmat, and a little Bengali girl, Mini.

1. It became a famous film (Bengali 1957, Hindi 1961 with Balraj Sahni).

Short trick: Kabuliwala = man from Kabul.

Concept: Dr. Mohammad Yusuf, the first commoner Prime Minister (1963–65) under King Zahir Shah, steered the liberal 1964 Constitution that began Afghanistan's 'decade of democracy'.

1. The 1964 constitution created an elected parliament and separated the royal family from government.
2. Maiwandwal (1965–67) and Etemadi (1967–71) were later PMs of the same experiment.

Short trick: 1964 constitution – PM Mohammad Yusuf.

Concept: Bhutan became a parliamentary constitutional monarchy in 2008: first general elections (March 2008) and adoption of the Constitution on 18 July 2008.

1. The process was initiated by the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck; the 5th King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck signed the Constitution.

Short trick: Bhutan democracy = 2008.

Concept: After the 2006 People's Movement (Jana Andolan II), the restored House of Representatives declared Nepal a secular state on 18 May 2006.

1. The Interim Constitution (2007) confirmed it; Nepal became a republic in May 2008.
2. The 2015 Constitution retains secularism.

Short trick: Secular 2006 → Republic 2008 → Constitution 2015.

Concept: Under Bhutan's Marriage Act (as amended 2009), the minimum age of marriage is 18 years for both women and men.

1. Earlier the limit was 16; it was raised to 18 in line with the Child Care and Protection norms.

Short trick: Bhutan: 18 for both.

Concept: In traditional Newar dress of Nepal, Misālan (मिसालं) is the women's blouse fastened with cloth ties, worn with the sari.

1. Haku patasi = black sari with red border; Gā = shawl wrapped over the upper body.
2. Tapālan = men's long shirt; Suruwā = trousers.

Short trick: Misa = woman (Newari) + lan = garment → woman's blouse.

Concept: In the Indian-language (Prakrit) vocabulary that spread to Central Asia, bharya means ‘wife’ and matu (Skt. mata) means ‘mother’ – both are words for women.

1. Slaves would be dasa/dasi, servants bhrtya, and monks bhikshu/shramana – none of these fits ‘bharya’ or ‘matu’.
2. Such words show how Indian language and social vocabulary travelled along the Silk Road.

Short trick: Bharya = wife, Matu = mother → women.

Concept: The colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan (about 55 m and 38 m, 6th century AD) were carved into the cliff of the Bamiyan valley.

1. They were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001; the valley is a UNESCO site.
2. Begram (ancient Kapisa) is famous for the ivory hoard.

Short trick: Bamiyan – 55 m Buddha – destroyed 2001.