Essence of Indian Traditional Knowledge Unit 1 – Society, State and Polity in India: AKTU previous year questions
44 AKTU questions from Unit 1 (Society, State and Polity in India) asked in 2022–2026, tagged by marks, year and topic. In short: about 31 marks of every paper come from this unit; the most asked topic is State in Ancient India (25 times); 41 questions came back in a later year. The latest ones are listed below; on the page you can filter them by 2-mark or long questions, topic and repeats.
Unit 1 previous year questions
- Explain the Purusārtha concept and discuss its role in shaping ancient Indian social life. (2 marks, 2026, Society in Ancient India)
- Discuss the role of slavery and four-class classification in ancient Indian society. (2 marks, 2026, Society in Ancient India)
- Describe the stages of state formation in Ancient India. (7 marks, 2026, State in Ancient India)
- Explain the major challenges faced by women in ancient Indian society. How did social customs and religious norms contribute to these challenges? (7 marks, 2026, Society in Ancient India)
- Explain the Seven Limbs of the State as described in ancient Indian political theory. How do these components collectively ensure effective governance? (7 marks, 2026, State in Ancient India)
- What is the concept of Purusārtha in Ancient India? (2 marks, 2025, Society in Ancient India)
- Define evolutionary theory. (2 marks, 2025, State in Ancient India)
- What is Varnashrama System? (2 marks, 2025, Society in Ancient India)
- What do you mean by Purusartha? (2 marks, 2025, Society in Ancient India)
- Describe the role of the Council of Ministers in Ancient Indian kingship and its impact on governance. (7 marks, 2025, State in Ancient India)
- Analyze the role of the Varnāshrama system and its relevance to social hierarchy in Ancient India. (7 marks, 2025, Society in Ancient India)
- Describe seven limbs of the state given by Chanakya. (7 marks, 2025, State in Ancient India)
Most asked Unit 1 topics
- State in Ancient India – asked 25 times
- Society in Ancient India – asked 19 times
- Welfare of Societies
Unit 1 question pattern
- 2-mark questions: 17 asked in 2022–2026
- 7-mark questions: 11 asked in 2022–2026
- 10-mark questions: 12 asked in 2022–2026
- About 31 marks from Unit 1 in every paper
- 41 questions were asked again in a later year
Unit 1 questions year by year
- 2026: 5 Unit 1 questions asked (25 marks across that year's papers)
- 2025: 9 Unit 1 questions asked (43 marks across that year's papers)
- 2024: 11 Unit 1 questions asked (49 marks across that year's papers)
- 2023: 14 Unit 1 questions asked (92 marks across that year's papers)
- 2022: 5 Unit 1 questions asked (42 marks across that year's papers)