📘 IAS Prelims 2025 — GS-I Q.18 | Classroom Explanation

(Art & Culture)

📌 Question

Q.18) The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music training school, was set up in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in:

(a) Delhi
(b) Gwalior
(c) Ujjain
(d) Lahore

---

✅ Correct Answer: (d)

---

🧑‍🏫 Classroom Explanation

This question tests knowledge of institutions of Indian classical music and the role of cultural reformers in the modern period, a recurring UPSC theme under Art & Culture.

---

🔍 Key Concept: Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Music Revival

• Vishnu Digambar Paluskar (1872–1931) was a pioneering figure in the revival and popularisation of Hindustani classical music
• He sought to:

• Democratise classical music
• Take it beyond royal courts and elite patronage
• Institutionalise music education

---

🔍 Why Lahore?

✅ Statement Validation

• The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was established on 5 May 1901
• Location: Lahore (then part of British India)

• This marked:

• One of the earliest efforts to formalise music education
• A shift from guru–shishya exclusivity to public institutions

➡️ Hence, option (d) is correct.

---

🔍 Related Developments

• Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi:

• Established later in 1939
• Aimed to perpetuate Paluskar’s ideals
• Became a major centre for Indian classical music and dance

• Paluskar also:

• Popularised Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram
• Arranged Vande Mataram in its widely recognised musical form
• Emphasised nationalism through music

---

🧮 Logical Elimination (UPSC Style)

• Delhi → Institution came later (1939)
• Gwalior → Known for Gwalior Gharana, not Gandharva Mahavidyalaya origin
• Ujjain → No such institution in 1901
• Lahore → First Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (1901) ✅

➡️ Correct option: (d)

---

🎯 Final Answer

✅ Correct Answer: (d) Lahore

---

📦 Info Box — Extra Points (Prelims Value Add)

• Gandharva Mahavidyalaya played a key role in:

• Preserving Hindustani classical traditions
• Training generations of musicians

• Paluskar was instrumental in:

• Introducing music education to the masses
• Linking cultural revival with national movement ideals

• UPSC Trap Alert:

• Lahore (1901) vs New Delhi (1939)
• Founder (Paluskar) vs institutional expansion later

---

📍 GS Mapping

GS Paper I
Subject: Art & Culture
Theme: Indian Music Institutions
Nature: Factual + Cultural History

---