# Modern India UPSC Prelims PYQ Topic Wise (2016–2026)

> Modern India UPSC Prelims PYQs: all 71 questions from 11 official papers (2016–2026), by concept with official answers. Asked in 11 of 11 years.

Source: https://previousyearquestions.app/upsc-cse/topics/modern-history/

Explore: <a href="/upsc-cse/topics/">All UPSC Prelims topics</a> · <a href="/upsc-cse/topics/history-and-culture/">UPSC Prelims History and Culture PYQs</a> · <a href="/upsc-cse/">UPSC CSE hub</a> · <a href="/upsc-cse/syllabus-pattern/">Syllabus & pattern</a> · <a href="/upsc-cse/2026/">UPSC 2026</a>

## Answer first

Modern India and the Freedom Struggle PYQs (previous year questions) for UPSC Prelims: Modern India and the Freedom Struggle (History and Culture) had **71 questions** across the 11 official UPSC Prelims papers we tagged (2016–2026), and appeared in 11 of them. Asked in 11 of 11 years. The concepts asked in the most papers: Gandhian Movements, Social Reform Movements, Swadeshi Movement.

## Year-wise question count

<ChapterQuestions exam="upsc-cse" chapter="modern-history" part="trend" />

## Most-asked concepts

Sorted by the number of papers a concept appeared in.

<ChapterQuestions exam="upsc-cse" chapter="modern-history" part="concepts" />

## How to practise Modern India and the Freedom Struggle PYQs

1. Start with the concepts at the top of the table. They have come back the most.
2. Solve one year's Modern India and the Freedom Struggle questions from the official PDF against the clock, then check the answer listed below.
3. Log every miss as a concept gap, a calculation slip or a misread. Each needs a different fix.
4. Once a concept is clean in two papers, move to the next. Then sit a full paper from the year pages.

## Questions by year

Each line gives the question number, type, concept, our one-line summary and the official answer, with a link to the official PDF.

<ChapterQuestions exam="upsc-cse" chapter="modern-history" part="questions" />

## Other History and Culture topics

- [Ancient India PYQs](/upsc-cse/topics/ancient-history/)
- [Medieval India PYQs](/upsc-cse/topics/medieval-history/)
- [Art and Culture PYQs](/upsc-cse/topics/art-culture/)

## FAQ

### How many Modern India and the Freedom Struggle questions come in UPSC Prelims?
In the official papers we tagged: 5 in 2026, 7 in 2025, 4 in 2024, 3 in 2023, 3 in 2022, 9 in 2021, 8 in 2020, 5 in 2019, 14 in 2018, 7 in 2017 and 6 in 2016. That is 71 questions in all, about 39% of History and Culture.

### Which Modern India and the Freedom Struggle topics repeat in UPSC Prelims?
Asked in the most papers: Gandhian Movements, Social Reform Movements, Swadeshi Movement. The concept table lists every one with its count.

### Are these official UPSC Prelims questions?
Yes. Every question is from an official UPSC Prelims paper hosted on our year pages. The one-line summaries are ours; open the PDF linked beside each question for the full text.