Question 19 from UPSC CSE 2025 - Art & Culture

Question

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

Accepted Answer

Correct Option: D. Lahore

Strategy: Focus on the founder—Vishnu Digambar Paluskar—whose early pioneering work was centered in pre-Partition Punjab. Options like Delhi and New Delhi are often mistaken due to later offshoots of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, but the original was in Lahore in 1901. Familiarity with Indian music history helps rule out Gwalior or Ujjain for this institution.

Key Info: Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was founded on 5 May 1901 in Lahore (now in Pakistan, then part of British India) by Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, a prominent Hindustani classical musician and social reformer. The Mahavidyalaya was the first institution to systematize and democratize music education in India, making it accessible to the public beyond palace musicians or hereditary artists. Pandit Paluskar was instrumental in institutionalizing Indian classical music and popularizing patriotic and devotional songs, including arranging 'Vande Mātaram' and singing 'Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram.' Following Partition, branches of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya were re-established across India, including the notable one in New Delhi (founded in 1939), but the original was in Lahore. The institution contributed to bringing Hindustani music to a wider audience and set a precedent for public music education in India.

Answer

Option A: Delhi

Answer

Option B: Gwalior

Answer

Option C: Ujjain