UPSC Prelims 2025 · GS Paper I
Question 18: History and Culture
The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music training school, was set up in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in
AnswerThe answer is (d).
Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901 to teach Hindustani classical music in an organised way, with a syllabus, examinations and graded textbooks. This took music training out of the hereditary ustad-shishya system and gave it a public, middle-class setting. He moved the school to Bombay in 1908. Remember: Paluskar, Lahore, 1901; he is also known for his notated music collections.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Wrong: the first school was in Lahore, not Delhi.
- (b) Wrong: Gwalior is a famous music centre, but Paluskar's school began elsewhere.
- (c) Wrong: Ujjain was not the site of the school.
- (d) Right: the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was set up in Lahore in 1901.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.