Test: Modern History - 2 - UPSC MCQ

Dadabhai Naoroji, R. C. Dutt, Ranade, Gokhale, G. Subramania Iyer, were among those who grounded Indian nationalism firmly on the foundation of anti-imperialism by fashioning the world's first economic critique of colonialism, before Hobson and Lenin.

A person became a vassal by pledging political allegiance and providing military, political, and financial service to a lord. A lord possessed complete sovereignty over land or acted in the service of another sovereign, usually a king. If a lord acted in the service of a king, the lord was considered a vassal of the king. As part of the feudal agreement, the lord promised to protect the vassal and provided the vassal with a plot of land. This land could be passed on to the vassal's heirs, giving the vassal tenure over the land.

The Ghadar Party was a revolution ary association founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to gaining India's independence from British rule. Key members included Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Kartar Singh Sarabha, and Rashbehari Bose.It had its headquarters at San Francisco.

Manganiyars–a tribal community from Rajasthan (North west) with a strong musical tradition.

The object/objects of Queen Victoria's Proclamation (1858) were to disclaim any intention to annex Indian States as the announcement reversed Lord Dalhousie's pre-war policy of political unification through princely state annexation.It was also to place the Indian administration under the British Crown Therefore, statement 1 & 2 are correct. However it was not to regulate East India Company's trade with India so statement 3 is wrong.

In 1911 King George V visited India. A durbar was held at Delhi and The capital of India was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi also Partition of Bengal was annulled.

The Radcliffe Line is a boundary demarcation line between India and Pakistan upon the Partition of India. The Radcliffe Line was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe.

Ilbert bill exempted British subjects from trial by Indian magistrates and in cases involving death or transportation they could only be tried by a high court. This proposal provoked furious protests by the Indians.

Raja Todarmal had introduced the assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the quality of crops, as Akbar's able minister. Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, employed firearms, gun carts and movable artillery in battle. In Battle of Panipat (1526) he used mobile canons to defeat the much larger forces of Ibrahim Lodhi. Tobacco was introduced in India by Portuguese in 16th or 17th century.

Statements 1 & 2 are correct.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded Brahmo Sabha in 1828, which was later renamed as Brahmo Samaj. Its chief aim was the worship of the eternal God. It was against priesthood, rituals and sacrifices. It focused on prayers, meditation and reading of the scriptures.

Statement1 is correct :

Brahmo samaj had no faith in any scripture as an authority. It rejects incarnation. It was against caste restrictions and propounded a mix of west-east religious qualities. It denounced polytheism and idol worship opposed idolatry.

Statement 2 is correct :  It denied the need for a priestly class for interpreting the religious texts.

Statement 3 is not correct :  It denied the need for a priestly class for interpreting the religious texts. It popularized the doctrine that the Vedas are infallible.

Ryotwari settlement, the rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government and the Government gave pattas to the Ryots.

On 28 December 1885, the Indian National Congress was founded at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay, with 72 delegates in attendance. A. O. Hume assumed office as the General Secretary. Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee of Calcutta was elected President. The additional British Members were William Wedderburn and Justice John Jardine. All others were the Hindus from Calcutta and Madras Presidency. Wedderburn had entered the parliament as a liberal member in 1893 and had sought to voice India’s grievances within the house.

It is clear from Economic History of India by RC Datt: “ The Indian Tribute whether weighted in the scales of justice or viewed in the light of our interest, will be found to be at variance with humanity, with the common sense and with the received maxims of economical science. It would be true wisdom then to provide for the future payment of such of the Home Charges of the Indian Government as really from the tribute out of Indian Exchequer. These charges would be probably found to be the dividends on East India Stock, interest in Home debt, the salaries of the officers, establishments of the and building connected with the Home Department of Indian Government, furlough and retired pay to members of the Indian Military and Civil Services when at Home, Charges of all descriptions paid in this country connected with the British troops serving in India and portion of the cost of transporting the British troops to and from India”.

The first option is rejected because it used the term “tribal products”. The second option is rejected because NOT in all areas, the impact of foreign missionaries was seen. The third option is also NOT correct, because not in all areas saw the rise of money lenders. The fourth option is correct and it includes everything what happened in that era. The most common thing was the foreign interference in the indigenous world of their own which dismantled the structure that existed since centuries.

That the reforms of Cornwallis had increased the litigation and the main reason for this was the Court Fee was removed and now every body could drag anybody to courts. The extension to right of appeal was also one of the reasons. Court fees were abolished by Cornwallis. Lawyers were to prescribe their fees. Ordinary people could sue the Government servants (Indians) if they committed mistakes. Inhuman punishments such as cutting limbs, cutting nose and ears were abolished. These are some of the reasons that led to increased litigation. The reasons given in the options don’t seem to fit in the criteria of the reforms of Cornwallis.

The Portuguese established a factory in Pondicherry at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The second Europeans who occupied it were Dutch. English also invaded it in 1793 and returned it to French in 1814 after the treaty of Paris. Thus statement 1 only is correct.

To avenge their expulsion of Timur Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India for the fifth time in Oct. 1759, and finally conquered Punjab.

Lord Cornwallis (1786-93) was the first to bring into existence and organize the civil services.

The judicial reforms undertaken by Lord Cornwallis laid a strong foundation in the British Indian administrative system in the year 1793. The judicial reforms of Cornwallis were documented in the famous Cornwallis Code. However the new judicial reforms of Lord Cornwallis were based on the principle of Separation of Powers. Cornwallis at first sought to separate the revenue administration from the administration of justice. The collector used to be the head of the Revenue Department in a district and also enjoyed extensive judicial and magisterial powers. However Cornwallis wanted Separation of Power and the Cornwallis Code divested the collector of all the judicial and the magisterial powers. Thus the Collectors were given only the power of the revenue administration according to the Cornwallis Code. A new class of officer called the District Judge was created to preside over the district Civil Court.
The district judge was also given the magisterial and the police function.

The first electric telegraph line in India was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour in 1850 and first export zone of India set up in Kandla in 1965.