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UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 · GS Paper I · Question 18 · Music, dance & theatre

प्रथम गन्धर्व महाविद्यालय, जो एक संगीत प्रशिक्षण विद्यालय था, विष्णु दिगंबर पलुस्कर द्वारा 1901…

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, General Studies Paper I, Question 18 — Music, dance & theatre.

Prelims 2025 · Q18

Music, dance & theatre Medium

प्रथम गन्धर्व महाविद्यालय, जो एक संगीत प्रशिक्षण विद्यालय था, विष्णु दिगंबर पलुस्कर द्वारा 1901 में कहाँ स्थापित किया गया था?

Read this question in English

The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music training school, was set up in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in

(a) Delhi · (b) Gwalior · (c) Ujjain · (d) Lahore

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (d) लाहौर

Paluskar opened the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901 and went on to open many schools across India; after his death in 1931 his disciples formed the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal. NCERT names him, with V.N. Bhatkhande, as a reformer who set up music institutions.

  • ✓ (d) The Mandal's own account says Paluskar established the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901, the seed of the later organisation.
  • ✗ (b) The first school was in Lahore, not Gwalior; Paluskar opened further schools across India only afterwards.
  • ✗ (a) The first school was in Lahore, not Delhi; Paluskar opened further schools across India only afterwards.

Remember · V.D. Paluskar: Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Lahore, 1901; his disciples formed the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal in 1931. V.N. Bhatkhande: the other great reformer of Hindustani music (NCERT).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE Prelims 2025, Q18 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/prelims/2025/q18

In the UPSC syllabus: Music, dance & theatre › Classical music: Hindustani & Carnatic See it and tick it covered →

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