Minimalist IAS
Art & culture

Prelims · Art & culture · 10 questions

Festivals, UNESCO heritage & miscellany

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Festivals, UNESCO heritage & miscellany questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 1, 2018: 1, 2019: 0, 2020: 0, 2021: 1, 2022: 0, 2023: 0, 2024: 2, 2025: 0, 2026: 1 Asked in 5 of 11 years · most in 2024 (2)

UPSC syllabus: “History of India and Indian National Movement.” See the full syllabus →

Consider the following pairs:

TraditionState
1.Chapchar Kut festivalMizoram
2.Khongjom Parba balladManipur
3.Thang-Ta danceSikkim

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 1 and 2

Chapchar Kut belongs to Mizoram and Khongjom Parba to Manipur, so pairs 1 and 2 are right. Thang-Ta is a martial art of Manipur, not of Sikkim.

  • ✓ 1. Chapchar Kut is Mizoram's spring festival, held in March after the jungle-clearing work of jhum (shifting) cultivation is over.
  • ✓ 2. Khongjom Parba is a ballad tradition of Manipur, sung to the dholak. It narrates the Battle of Khongjom fought between the Manipuris and the British in April 1891.
  • ✗ 3. Thang-Ta (thang means sword, ta means spear) is the martial art of the Meitei people of Manipur. It has no link with Sikkim.

Remember · Chapchar Kut: Mizoram. Khongjom Parba: Manipur (the 1891 Anglo-Manipuri battle). Thang-Ta: Manipur's sword-and-spear martial art.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The same topic in Mains