CUET History Question Paper 2026 PDF, Download Previous Year Papers Link

CUET History 2026 Exam Pattern

Developing an understanding of the CUET 2026 exam pattern is crucial for candidates appearing in CUET 2026 to optimise their study plan accordingly and practise time management. Given below is the exam pattern for the CUET History exam.

CUET History Previous Year Question Papers

CUET aspirants are recommended by experts and toppers to make sure to practice the CUET 2025 History Question paper and other previous year question papers well to ensure a good score. The previous year's Question Paper will give you a comprehensive view of the paper and its difficulty level.

CUET History Previous Year Question Paper - Questions with Solutions

The previous year's question paper will help you get familiar with the types of questions asked and the CUET exam pattern. Students demand history CUET previous year question papers to boost their performance and score well for their desired colleges. Here are some of the CUET previous year questions:

Q. 1. The Harappans procured Lapis Lazuli, a blue stone, from :

(1) Nageshwar

(2) Shortughai

(3) Balakot

(4) Lothal

Correct Option - 2
Solution - The Harappans acquired materials for craft manufacturing in various ways. Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan, is near the best supply of lapis lazuli, a blue stone that was reportedly highly prized.

Q. 2. Identify the first Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India :

(1) R.E.M. Wheeler

(2) Alexander Cunningham

(3) John Marshall

(4) Daya Ram Sahni

Correct Option - 2

Solution - Alexander Cunningham became the Archaeological Survey of India's first Director General in 1871.

Q. 3. The evidence is NOT considered as proof of the agricultural technology of the Harappan culture:

(1) Terracotta Bull

(2) Terracotta Models of Plough

(3) Grid Patterned streets

(4) Traces of canals at Shortughai

Correct Option - 3

Solution - The Harappans developed a grid-based town planning system in which roadways and alleyways intersected at right angles to partition the city into rectangular blocks. Harappan culture is not known for its grid-patterned streets.

Q. 4. Archaeologists have unearthed several thousand copper coins issued by :

(1) Kushanas

(2) Romans

(3) Yaudhayas

(4) Mauryas

Correct Option - 3

Solution - The Gupta kings produced some of the most stunning gold coins. Archaeologists unearthed copper coins minted by the Yaudheyas, who were interested in and engaged in commercial activities.

Q. 5. Who among the following rulers adopted the title "Devaputra" or 'Son of god'?

(1) Chola Rulers

(2) Maurya Rulers

(3) Gupta Rulers

(4) Kushana Rulers

Correct Option - 4

Solution - Kanishka was Kushan's greatest ruler. He made gold and copper coins featuring Greek and Indian deities. Many Kushana emperors adopted the title Devaputra, or "son of god," inspired by Chinese monarchs.

Q. 6. Name the Chinese traveller/scholar who visited the city of Patliputra in the 7th Century CE. He found it in ruins and with a small population.

(1) Fia-Xian

(2) Xuan Zang

(3) O-Sing

(4) It-Sing

Correct Option - 2

Solution - Hiuen Tsang was a Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar who visited India during the reign of King Harsha Vardhan in the seventh century A.D. When Hiuen Tsang visited Pataliputra in 637 CE, he discovered mounds of ruins, which may now lie beneath the foundations of the contemporary city of Patna.

Q. 7. According to Manusmriti, which among the following is NOT one of the means for men to acquire wealth?

(1) Conquest

(2) Investment

(3) Stealing

(4) Inheritance

Correct Option - 3

Solution - Manusmriti is the world's first book on the law, dealing with a person's social and moral conduct. As per the Manusmriti, there are seven ways to acquire wealth. These are inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work, and acceptance of gifts from good people. Therefore, stealing is not one of the means of acquiring wealth for men.

Q. 8. According to Manusmriti, Endogamy refers to marriage :

(1) Outside the kin or caste group

(2) Within the kin and caste group

(3) The practice of a man having several wives

(4) The practice of women having several husbands

Correct Option - 2

Solution - The marriage of members of the same group is called Endogamy. It only shows the marriage patterns of people of the same caste. The primary goal of endogamy is to sustain societal cohesion by conserving cultural traditions and values.

Q. 9. Select the strategies adopted by Brahmanas to enforce the norm of 'right' occupation:

(A) They asserted through hymns in the RigVeda that Varna was of divine origin.

(B) They advised kings to ensure these norms were followed within their kingdoms.

(C) They attempted to persuade people that their merit determined their status

(D) They never attempted to enforce anything; just that people chose their occupation.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A) and (C)

(2) (B) and (C)

(3) (D) and (A)

(4) (A) and (B)

Correct Option - 1

Solution - The Brahmanas relied on their religious authority, arguing that Varna, or caste, was divinely determined. They also tried to change public opinion by spreading the notion that an individual's rank was determined by talent rather than birth. They attempted to legitimise and improve the occupational social hierarchy by spreading the idea of meritocracy.

Q. 10. Who among the following visited Amravati, collected several sculpture panels, and took them to Madras?

(1) Marco Polo

(2) John Marshall

(3) Walter Elliot

(4) John Robinson

Correct Option - 3

Solution - Walter Elliot visited the Amaravati site and acquired many sculptural panels in 1854, which he took to Madras. The Amaravati statues in the British Museum are sometimes known as the 'Elliot Marbles' since Sir Walter Elliot excavated them in the 1840s.

Q. 11. Match List - I with List - II

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A) - (I), (B) - (III), (C) - (IV), (D) - (II)

(2) (A) - (II), (B) - (III), (C) - (I), (D) - (IV)

(3) (A) - (III), (B) - (II), (C) - (IV), (D) - (I)

(4) (A) - (IV), (B) - (III), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

Correct Option - 4

Solution -

• The empty seat represents the Buddha's concentration.

• In Tibet, the dharma wheel is a Buddhist symbol depicting the Buddha's first sermon at the deer park. The dharma chakra is shown to be located between two deer.

• The Shalabhanjika Yakshi is a fertility symbol representing the tree's spirit and the land, indicating that the stupa's location is auspicious.

• The elephant symbolises wisdom and understanding. The elephant possesses greater inner strength and intelligence. Elephants symbolise wisdom in both Eastern and Western cultures.

Q. 12. The Sanchi Stupa complex has survived due to :

(A) The decisions of Shahjahan Begum and Sultan Jehan Begum

(B) The good luck in escaping the eyes of railway contractors and builders

(C) The good luck in escaping the eyes of those looking for finds to carry away to the museums of Europe

(D) The steps taken by the British government to conserve the Stupa

(E) The steps taken to demarcate it as a residential building.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A), (B), (D), and (E) only

(2) (B), (C), (D), and (E) only

(3) (A), (C), (D), and (E) only

(4) (A), (B), (C) only

Correct Option - 4

Solution -

1. Sanchi's Stupa complex would not have survived without the assistance of Bhopal's monarchs, Shahjehan Begum and Sultan-jehan Begum. The Sanchi Stupa persisted because the Maharaja of Bhopal offered financial aid and prevented its removal from the location.

2. So, if the stupa complex has survived, it is mainly owing to wise decisions and good fortune in evading the attention of railway contractors, builders, and treasure hunters looking for artefacts to bring to European museums.

Q. 13. Who among the following has written in detail about the unique communication or the postal system of the Delhi Sultanate?

(1) Al-Biruni

(2) Abdul - Razzaq Samarqandi

(3) Ibn Battuta

(4) Peter Mundi

Correct Option - 3

Solution - The effectiveness of India's communication infrastructure in the fourteenth century impressed Ibn Battuta. He described the postal system as allowing merchants to convey information, remit credit over long distances, and ship things on short notice.

Q. 14. Match List - I with List - II.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A) - (III), (B) - (I), (C) - (II), (D) - (IV)

(2) (A) - (I), (B) - (II), (C) - (III), (D) - (IV)

(3) (A) - (IV), (B) - (III), (C) - (II), (D) - (I)

(4) (A) - (III), (B) - (IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

Correct Option - 1

Solution -

• Hazrat Nizam-ud-din Auliya, a man of exceptional ability and honesty, was also known as Sultan-ul-Hind and Sultan-ul-Mashaikh (the King of Saints).

• Hazrat Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishty (R.A.), also known as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz (R.A.), is "the founder of the Chishty Order of Sufis" in India.

• Fariduddin Ganjshakar was one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the medieval period. He is also called ' Farid al-Din Masʿud Ganj-i-Shakar Baba' or Sheikh Farid.

• Nasiruddin Mahmud Chirag-Dehlavi Dehlavi's fans dubbed him "Roshan Chirag-i-Delhi," which means "Illuminated Lamp of Delhi" in Persian.

Q. 15. Andal, a woman, Alvar, saw herself as beloved of :

(1) Krishna

(2) Vishnu

(3) Shiva

(A) Ganesh

Correct Option - 2

Solution - Andal, also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godhadevi, was the sole female among South India's twelve Hindu poet-saints. She saw herself as Vishnu's adored one, and her poems expressed her devotion to the deity. She was seen as a manifestation of the goddess Lakshmi. She adhered to the Sri Vaishnava Hindu religion, as did the Alvar saints.

Q. 16. Match List - I with List - II.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A) - (II), (B) - (IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (III)

(2) (A) - (III), (B) - (IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

(3) (A) - (II), (B) - (I), (C) - (IV), (D) - (III)

(4) (A) - (II), (B) - (III), (C) - (I), (D) - (IV)

Correct Option - 1

Solution -

1. The Shahada is a profession of faith that asserts that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is God's messenger.

2. Salah (salat) is the Arabic phrase for the ritual prayer that Muslims must do five times daily. It is a cornerstone of Islam.

3. In Islam, Ṣawm refers to any religious fast, particularly during Ramadan. During this fast, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from sunrise (fajr) until sunset.

4. Almsgiving is known as Zakat, which comes from an Arabic phrase that means "to purify" and "to grow." It is known as Zakat because the word derives from Zakaa, which means to multiply, purify, and bless.

Q. 17. Match List - I with List - II.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
(1) (A) - (I), (B) - (II), (C) - (III), (D) - (IV)
(2) (A) - (II), (B) - (III), (C) - (IV), (D) - (I)
(3) (A) - (III), (B) - (II), (C) - (I), (D) - (IV)
(4) (A) - (IV), (B) - (III), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

Correct Option - 4
Solution -

• Domingo Paes was a Portuguese traveller who visited the Vijayanagara Empire, located on the southern part of the Deccan Plateau, around 1520.

• Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi was a Persian traveller, a diplomat for Persia's Shah Rukh, and one of the most notable foreign visitors to India.

• Afanasy Nikitin, who lived in the second part of the fifteenth century, was the first Russian to write about his remarkable experiences in India.

• Niccolo di Conti was an Italian adventurer and merchant. He landed in India by crossing the Arabian Sea to Cambay, Gujarat, between 1420 and 1421 AD.

Q 18. Arrange the following in ascending order :

(A) Aravidu dynasty

(B) Saluvas dynasty

(C) Tuluvas dynasty

(D) Sangama dynasty

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A), (B), (C), (D)

(2) (D), (A), (B), (C)

(3) (D), (B), (C), (A)

(4) (D), (C), (B), (A)

Correct Option - 3

Solution -

1. Vijayanagara's first dynasty was named Sangama. It was the first dynasty to rule the Vijaynagar Empire.

2. The Saluva dynasty was the second to rule the Vijayanagara Empire.

3. The Vijayanagara Empire's third dynasty was named Tuluva.

4. The Aravidu dynasty was the fourth and final dynasty of the Hindu Empire of Vijayanagar in southern India.

Q. 19. Abdur Razzaq was greatly impressed by the unique features of Vijayanaga's fortification. Choose the features of Vijayanagara's fort :

(A) Eight lines of forts were constructed

(B) No mortar was used in construction

(C) The stone blocks were wedge-shaped

(D) Circular bastions and pyramids were present in forts

(E) The fortification did not enclose agricultural tracts

Choose the correct answer from the options given below :

(1) (A), (B), (C), and (E) only

(2) (B) and (C) only

(3) (B), (C), (D), and (E) only

(4) (A), (D), and (E) only

Correct Option - 2

Solution - The Vijayanagara Empire's defences pleased the Persian ambassador, Abdur Razzaq, for several reasons:

1. He mentioned seven lines of the fort surrounding the primary areas, the agricultural hinterland, and the forests.

2. The enormous stone structure was gently tapered. There was no mortar or cementing agent used anywhere during the building.

3. They ringed the city, as well as the agricultural hinterland and woodlands.

4. The stone blocks were wedge-shaped, which helped them stay in place.

Q. 20. Most peasants during the Mughal rule in India produced a minimum of ________ crops.

(1) 7

(2) 4

(3) 3

(4) 2

Correct Option - 4
Solution - Most locations generate at least two crops per year. Rainfall or irrigation provided a steady source of water. Over the two seasons, the Mughal province of Agra produced 39 different crop kinds, while Delhi produced 43. Bengal produced 50 different types of rice.

CUET History Official Previous Year Question Papers PDF

We, at Careers360, have compiled official previous year question papers for History, allowing students to examine past trends and exam styles closely. The table given below provides the links to download CUET History question papers from past years from the official NTA website.

Chapter-wise MCQs for History

Students can practice selected chapter-wise questions from each CUET 2026 History syllabus topic, from the Stories of first cities - Harappan archaeology to the Making of the Constitution. They will make your concepts more transparent and better.

Benefits of Practising CUET History Previous Year Papers

Practising CUET History Previous Year Papers offers numerous benefits, especially for students preparing for the CUET 2026 exam. Here are some key advantages:

1. Familiarity with Question Format: Regularly solving previous year’s CUET History papers allows students to become comfortable with the exam's structure and question formats. This helps reduce exam anxiety and improves confidence when tackling similar questions in the actual test.

2. Improved Time Management: By practicing under timed conditions, students develop a better sense of how to allocate their time during exams. This is crucial for managing the limited time effectively and ensuring all questions are answered within the stipulated time.

3. Better Understanding of Important Topics: Practising previous papers helps in identifying recurring topics and themes that are frequently asked in the CUET History exam. This insight allows candidates to focus their preparation on high-priority areas, ensuring they are well-prepared for key subjects like Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History.

4. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: By working through diverse question types, students can enhance their problem-solving skills. They learn how to analyse and approach different question formats such as multiple choice, short answer, and long answer questions, improving their overall performance.

5. Boosted Confidence: The more students practise, the more confident they become in their ability to handle the actual exam. Familiarity with the types of questions, the exam's pacing, and the common pitfalls helps in reducing nervousness.

6. Identification of Knowledge Gaps: Practising past papers exposes areas of weakness or gaps in knowledge. This allows students to focus their revision on these specific areas, ensuring they are fully prepared for all aspects of the exam.

7. Better Retention and Recall: Solving previous year papers reinforces the learning process. Repeated exposure to the types of questions enhances memory retention, making it easier to recall facts and key concepts during the actual exam.

8. Realistic Practice: Previous year papers provide students with a clear picture of the level of difficulty of the exam. Practising with these papers gives them a realistic idea of what to expect, helping them stay calm and composed on the exam day.