Test: Historical Background - UPSC MCQ

ANSWER: Only 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:
In 1765, the East India Company, which till now had purely trading functions obtained the ‘Diwani’ (i.e., rights over revenue and civil justice) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

• Regulating Act of 1773 is of great constitutional importance as it was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India.
• Also, it recognized, the political and administrative functions of the Company.
• And it laid the foundations of central administration in India.


• Features of the Act are -
  
  1. It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’. First Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings.
  2. It created an Executive Council of four members to assist him.
  3. It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the Governor General of Bengal (earlier the 3 presidencies were independent of one another).
  4. It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) having one chief justice and three other judges.
  5. It prohibited any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the ‘natives’ for the servants of the Company.
  6. The Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) were to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India to the British Government, thus strengthening the control of the British Government over the Company.

 

ANSWER: 1, 2

Explanation:
The first cabinet was as follows -

The statement B is not true - Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first chairman (temporary) of Constituent Assembly. Later Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the president not BR Ambedker.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:

• In November 1927, itself (i.e., 2 years before the schedule), the British Government announced the appointment of a 7-member statutory commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon.
• It was to report on the condition of India under its new Constitution.
• All the members of the commission were British. This led to its boycott by all the parties.
• The commission submitted its report in 1930.


• It recommended -
  1. abolition of dyarchy,
  2. extension of responsible government in the provinces,
  3. establishment of a federation of British India and princely states,
  4. continuation of communal electorate, etc.
• The British Government convened 3 round table conferences of the representatives of the British Government, British India and Indian princely states to consider the proposals of the commission.
• Based on these discussions, a ‘White Paper on Constitutional Reforms’ was prepared.
• It was submitted for consideration of the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament.
• The recommendations of this committee were incorporated(with certain changes) in the next Government of India Act , 1935.
• In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, announced the Communal Award which was a scheme of representation of the minorities.
• The award continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
• It also extended it to the depressed classes (scheduled castes).
• Gandhiji was distressed over this and undertook fast unto death in Yeravada Jail (Poona) to force the award to be modified.
• To break the fast, there was ‘Poona Pact’ between leaders of the Congress and the depressed classes.
• The Pact kept the Hindu joint electorate and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes.

The Cabinet Mission Plan was a statement made by the Cabinet Mission and the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, on May 16, 1946, that contained proposals regarding the constitutional future of India in the wake of Indian political parties and representatives not coming to an agreement.
The recommendations of the Cabinet Mission Plan regarding Princely States were that they would not be under the direct control of the Union and they would themselves decide as to what powers they were to surrender.
 

An idea for a Constituent Assembly was proposed in 1934 by M. N. Roy, a pioneer of the Communist movement in India and an advocate of radical democracy. It became an official demand of the Indian National Congress in 1935, C. Rajagopalachari voiced the demand for a Constituent Assembly on 15 November 1939 based on adult franchise, and was accepted by the British in August 1940.

A is the correct option.The Constituent Assembly appointed a total of 22 committees to deal with different tasks of constitution-making. Out of these, eight were major committees and the others were minor committees. JB Kriplani was appointed as the chairman of the subcommittee on fundamental rights in the Constituent Assembly of India.
Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1947 and the husband of Sucheta Kripalani.

Explanation:
The correct statements regarding the Cripps Mission are:
- (ii) It provided provinces the option to stay out of the Union of India.
- (iii) It provided India with membership of Commonwealth Nations.
Reasoning:
- Statement (i) is incorrect because the Cripps Mission did not provide complete independence to India. Instead, it proposed the formation of an executive council with a majority of Indians and the possibility of Dominion status after the war.
- Statement (ii) is correct. The Cripps Mission offered the provinces the choice to either join the proposed Union of India or remain outside it.
- Statement (iii) is correct. The Cripps Mission offered India membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, allowing it to maintain a relationship with the British Empire.
- Statement (iv) is not mentioned in the given information, so we cannot determine its correctness.
Therefore, the correct answer is option C: (ii) and (iii).

 

A is the correct option.The August Offer was a offer made by Viceroy Linlithgow in 1940 promising the expansion of the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India to include more Indians, the establishment of an advisory war council, giving full weight to minority opinion, and the recognition of Indians' right to frame their own constitution.
August offer 1940 let Indians to draft their separate constitution after war. Also Muslim leaders accepted this after assurance that a separate country would be made for them.... Hence option a is not correct regarding august offer 1940.