Thinker

A. R. Desai

A. R. Desai is central to 24 previous-year questions, spanning 2009 to 2025 across Paper II. Everything below is drawn from the official papers — the questions themselves, the concepts they test, and where they sit in the syllabus.

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24Questions

2009–25Years tested

IIPaper

7Syllabus topics

Concepts asked alongside A. R. Desai

What the examiner actually wants you to know when this name appears.

agrarian distress 4dialectical materialism 3peasant mobilisation 3agrarian class structure 2bourgeois leadership 2colonial mode of production 2commercialisation of agriculture 2de-peasantisation 2dialectical historical materialism 2differentiation of peasantry 2historical materialism 2material conditions of nationalism 2national movement as class struggle 2nationalism as bourgeois movement 2new farmers movements 2relative deprivation 2uneven development 2agrarian class conflict

Where A. R. Desai appears in the syllabus

Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society8
Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India5
Impact of Colonial Rule on Indian Society3
Social Movements in Modern India3
Industrialization and Urbanisation in India2
Social Classes in India2
Challenges of Social Transformation1

Every question on A. R. Desai

Each links to a full breakdown — how to approach it, a model answer, and the examiner’s perspective.

2025

Do you think that new economic reforms of British rule have disrupted the old economic system of India? Substantiate your answer with suitable examples.Paper II · 20 marks · Impact of Colonial Rule on Indian Society

2024

2023

Highlight the significant features of A.R. Desai's 'Dialectical Perspective' to study Indian Society.Paper II · 10 marks · Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society

2022

Examine the social background of growth of Indian nationalism.Paper II · 20 marks · Impact of Colonial Rule on Indian Society

2021

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2016