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Q88 (IAS/2014) History & Culture › Culture, Literature, Religion & Philosophy › Indian dance traditions Official Key

Consider the following pairs: 1. Garba - Gujarat 2. Mohiniattam - Odisha 3. Yakshagana - Karnataka Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

Result
Your answer:  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

Garba is a folk dance form of Gujarat[2], making pair 1 correctly matched.

Mohiniattam is a classical dance form from Kerala[5], not Odisha. Therefore, pair 2 is incorrectly matched.

Yakshagana is a traditional form of dance-drama[6] associated with Karnataka, as evidenced by its connection to the region's history. The Vijayanagar kings patronized yakshagana[7], a kingdom centered in Karnataka. Thus, pair 3 is correctly matched.

Since only pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched, the answer is option C. This question tests knowledge of Indian dance forms and their regional origins, which is important for understanding India's cultural diversity—a recurring theme in UPSC Prelims.

Sources
  1. [1] https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/keks103.pdf
  2. [2] https://universalinstitutions.com/indian-dance/
  3. [3] https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/keks103.pdf
  4. [5] https://amritkaal.nic.in/blogdetail?106
  5. [6] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science, Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 4: The Colonial Era in India > GDP: > p. 88
  6. [7] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.6 Art and Architecture > p. 187
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PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following pairs: 1. Garba - Gujarat 2. Mohiniattam - Odisha 3. Yakshagana - Karnataka Which of the pairs given abov…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 3.3/10 · 6.7/10
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This is a quintessential 'Sitter' question from the Static Culture module. While the provenance skeleton cites specific NCERT pages, every serious aspirant knows the 8 Classical Dances and major Folk Theatres by heart. If you missed this, your static foundation is shaky.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is Garba a traditional folk dance originating from the state of Gujarat in India?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Dances of this category are the Bihu of Assam, the Dandiya Raas and Garba of Gujarat, the Bhangra of Punjab, the Chari of Rajasthan, etc."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly lists Garba alongside other regional folk dances and identifies it with Gujarat.
  • From an educational (NCERT) source categorizing tribal and folk dances by state of origin.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Garba (Gujarat):Garba is a lively folk dance form that originated in Gujarat but is popular in many parts of Northern India, especially"
Why this source?
  • Directly states Garba is a folk dance that originated in Gujarat.
  • Notes Garba's wider popularity but attributes its origin to Gujarat.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 13: Cultural Setting > Fig. 13.16 Christian Population (2011) > p. 59
Strength: 5/5
“customs (folk dance, folk lore, folk medicine, etc.) are also important indicators. Cultural regions of India based on Language, Religion and Customs: The cultural regions of India based on language, religion, and traditions have been plotted in (Fig. 13.20). It may be seen from (Fig. 13.20) that on the basis of language, religion, customs, and traditions, India may be divided into the following ten cultural regions: • 1. The Ladakhi-Buddhist Cultural Region• 2. The Kashmiri-Muslim Cultural Region• 3. The Sikh-Gurumukhi Cultural Region• 4. The Kinnauri-Dev-Bhumi Cultural Region (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand)• 5. The Hindu-Hindi Cultural Region• 6. The Mixed Cultural Region of north east India• 7.”
Why relevant

Notes that 'customs (folk dance, folk lore...)' are key markers of cultural regions and that India can be divided by language, religion and customs.

How to extend

A student could use this rule to check whether Gujarat (a distinct cultural/linguistic region) has specific named folk dances associated with it, which would support Garba being regionally rooted.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 6: Union and Its Territory > New States and Union Territories Created After 1956 > p. 54
Strength: 4/5
“After the large-scale reorganisation of the states in 1956, the political map of India underwent continuous changes due to the pressure of popular agitations and political conditions. The demand for the creation of some more states on the basis of language or cultural homogeneity resulted in the bifurcation of existing states. Maharashtra and Gujarat In 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was divided into two separate states-Maharashtra for Marathi-speaking people and Gujarat for Gujarati-speaking people. Gujarat was established as the 15th state of the Indian Union. Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Portuguese ruled this territory until its liberation in 1954.”
Why relevant

States that Gujarat was created as a separate state for Gujarati-speaking people, implying a distinct linguistic/cultural region where unique folk customs could originate.

How to extend

A student could look up folk practices tied to Gujarati-speaking regions (e.g., lists of folk dances from Gujarat) to see if Garba appears as a regional tradition.

Exploring Society:India and Beyond. Social Science-Class VI . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 7: India's Cultural Roots > Folk and Tribal Roots > p. 120
Strength: 4/5
“The cultural roots we have seen so far are well documented in many texts. India has also had rich 'oral traditions', that is, teachings or practices transmitted through everyday practice, without written texts (this is the case of the Vedas). Among them are numerous folk traditions, that is, transmitted by common people, and tribal traditions, transmitted by tribes.”
Why relevant

Defines 'folk traditions' as practices transmitted by common people (oral/everyday practice), specifying the kind of cultural category Garba would belong to if it is a folk dance.

How to extend

A student could test whether Garba fits that definition (oral transmission, community practice) and then check its geographic prevalence to infer origin.

Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 12: Era of Militant Nationalism (1905-1909) > New Forms of Struggle and Impact > p. 266
Strength: 3/5
“became a medium of swadeshi propaganda not only in western India, but also in Bengal. In Bengal also, the traditional folk theatre forms were used for this purpose.”
Why relevant

Notes that traditional folk theatre and cultural forms were active in western India (explicit mention of 'western India'), indicating the region has folk performance traditions.

How to extend

A student might narrow investigation to western Indian states (including Gujarat) to see if Garba is cited among their folk performance forms.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 9: Cultural Development in South India > Bhakti and the Arts > p. 130
Strength: 3/5
“Originating with folk dancing, the choreography of temple dancing became highly sophisticated and complex renderings. 130 | Cultural Development in South India of religious themes as apparent in the final form. From the Pallava period onwards, trained groups of dancers were maintained by more prosperous temples. Classic scenes from puranas and itihasas were sculpted on the walls of the temples, in bronze and stone. Subsequently, artists were attached to the temples with state patronage in order to promote the fine arts like music, dance and others.”
Why relevant

States that many classical temple dance forms originated from folk dancing, showing a general pattern of locality-based folk dances evolving in religious/community contexts.

How to extend

A student could apply this pattern to ask whether Garba has community/religious associations in a particular locale (e.g., Gujarat) that indicate local origin.

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