UPSC Previous Year Questions (Prelims): Introduction to Modern India | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Q.1. Consider the following statements:       (2021)

1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age 21.
2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in legislature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer is Option (b)

• Mont-Ford Reforms- Also known as Government of India Act, 1919- didn’t gave voting rights to ’’all’’ women. Only limited franchise was given during this time, viz. voters qualification/criteria was the reason behind not giving universal adult suffrage
• Government of India Act, 1935- reservation of seats – system of weightage to Women Members.

Q.2. Consider the following statements about 'the Charter Act of 1813':      (2019-I)

1. It ended the trade monopoly of the East In dia Company in India except for trade in tea and trade with China.
2. It asserted the sovereignty of the British Crown over the Indian territories held by the Company.
3. The revenues of India were now controlled by the British Parliament.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (a)

• The Company's monopoly over trade in India ended, but the Company retained the trade with China and the trade-in tea.  So #1 is right. 
• The Company was to retain the possession of territories and the revenue for 20 years more, without prejudice to the sovereignty of the Crown. So, #2 is right but #3 is wrong. Hence answer (a): 1 and 2 only.

Q.4. Which of the following led to the introduction of English Education in India?     (2018-I) 

1. Charter Act of 1813 
2. General Committee of Public Instruction, 1823 
3. Orientalist and Anglicist Controversy 

Select the correct answer using the code given below
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (d)
All three were responsible for the introduction of English education in India

Q.5. Regarding Wood's Dispatch, which of the following statements are true?     (2018-I) 

1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduce(d) 
2. Establishment of universities was recommended 
3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended 

Select the correct answer using the code given below: 
(a) 1 and 2 only 
(b) 2 and 3 only 
(c) 1 and 3 only 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (a)
Wood's dispatch recommended that Primary and secondary education should be in Vernacular language.*" so statement#3 is wrong, and by elimination, we are left with Answer A: only 1 and 2.

Q.6. The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals were related to     (2016-I)
(a) social reforms  
(b) educational reforms 
(c) reforms in police administration
(d) constitutional reforms

Correct Answer is Option (d)
(i) The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were reforms introduced by the British Government in India to introduce selfgoverning institutions gradually to India. The reforms were outlined in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report prepared in 1918 and formed the basis of the Government of India Act 1919.
(ii) They’re related to Constitutional reforms.

Q.7. The Government of India Act of 1919 clearly defined      (2015-1) 
(a) the separation of power between thejudiciary and the legislature 
(b) the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments 
(c) the powers of the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy
(d) None of the above

Correct Answer is Option (b)
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms which became the Government of India Act in 1919 clearly defined the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments.

Q.8. By a regulation in 1793, the District Collector was deprived of hisjudicial powers and made the collecting agent only. What was the reason for such a regulation?      (2010)
(a) Lord Cornwallis felt that the District Collector's efficiency of revenue collection would enormously increase without the burden of additional work.
(b) Lord Cornwallis felt that judicial power should compulsorily be in the hands of Europeans while Indians can be given thejob of revenue collection in the districts.
(c) Lord Cornwallis was alarmed at the extent of power concentrated in the District Collector and felt that such absolute power was undesirable in one person.
(d) Thejudicial work demanded a deep knowledge of India and a good training in law and Lord Cornwallis felt that District Collector should be only a revenue collector.

Correct Answer is Option (c)
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.

Q.9. Consider the following statements:     (2006)

1. The Charter Act, 1853 abolished the East India Company's monopoly of Indian trade. 
2. Under the Government of India Act, 1858 the British Parliament abolished the rule of East India Company and undertook the responsibility of ruling India directly.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 
(a) 1 only 
(b) 2 only 
(c) Both 1 and 2 
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer is Option (b)
The Charter Act, 1813 (not 1853) abolished the East India Company's monopoly of Indian trade.

Q.10. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?      (2004)
(a) Pitt's India Act: Warren Hastings
(b) Doctrine of Lapse: Dalhousie
(c) Vernacular Press Act: Curzon
(d) Ilbert Bill: Ripon

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Vernacular Press Act was passed by Lord Lytton in 1878 and it was repealed by Ripon in 1882.