30 Days Revision Module Day 10 - Modern India II (UPSC Prelims 2021)
1) In 1883 he had started a newspaper called the Voice of India. In 1887 he gave evidence before the Public Service Commission. In 1902 he was elected as a Member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons, representing Central Finsbury. He was a firm believer in parliamentary democracy and he thought that he should espouse the cause of Indian freedom on the floor of the Commons. Who is 'He' in the above context?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
DadabhaiNaoroji is an Indian nationalist and critic of British economic policy in India.
Educated at Elphinstone College, Bombay (now Mumbai), he was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy there before turning to politics and a career in commerce that took him to England, where he spent much of his life.
In 1892 he was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Central Finsbury, London.
He became widely known for his unfavourable opinion of the economic consequences of British rule in India and was appointed a member of the royal commission on Indian expenditure in 1895.
In 1886, 1893, and 1906 he also presided over the annual sessions of the Indian National Congress.
2) Consider the following statements regarding Lord Ripon
Lord Rippon resigned before the term of his Viceroyalty was over.
The British Government was not satisfied with his Ilbert bill and forced him to resign.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Lord Ripon was a staunch Liberal democrat with faith in self government.
He was appointed as the Viceroy of India by Gladstone, the Liberal Party Prime Minister of England.
Ripon was instructed to reverse the Afghan policy of Lytton, in which he made peace with Afghanistan.
He was also responsible for the rendition of Mysore to its Hindu ruler.
Moreover, he repealed the Vernacular Press Act and earned much popularity among Indians. Then, he devoted himself to task of liberalising the Indian administration.
Lord Ripon wanted to remove discrimination in Judiciary. C.P. Ilbert, Law Member, introduced a bill in 1883 to abolish this which was opposed by Europeans vehemently.
Hence, Ripon amended the bill to satisfy the English in India and England.
The Ilbert Bill Controversy is a high watermark in the history of Indian National Movement.
Ripon was totally disillusioned and heartbroken and he tendered his resignation and left for England.
The immediate result of this awakening of India was the birth of the Indian National Congress in 1885, the very next year of Ripon’s departure.
3) Consider the following statements
Pherozeshah Mehta was one of the founders of the Bombay Presidency Association.
When Pherozeshah Mehta retired from Imperial Legislative Council in 1901, G.K. Gokhale was elected in his place.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
Both Pherozeshah Mehta and G.K. Gokahale were political Moderates.
Born in 1845 in Bombay, Pherozeshah Mehta came under DadabhaiNaoroji’s influence while studying law in London during the 1860s.
He was one of the founders of the Bombay Presidency Association as also the Indian National Congress.
Pherozeshah Mehta retired from the Imperial Legislative Council in 1901 due to bad health.
Gokhale was elected in his place, who had already made his mark as the Secretary of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and the editor of the Sudharak.
In 1897, as a witness in London before the Royal Commission on Expenditure in India, Gokhale had outshone veterans like SurendranathBanerjea, D.E. Wacha, G. SubramaniyaIyer and DadabhaiNaoroji. Gokhale was to prove a more than worthy successor to Mehta.
4) Which one of the following was the main reason behind the introduction of local bodies in India after 1858?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
It was decided to decentralise administration by promoting local government through municipalities and district boards which would administer local services like education, health, sanitation, water supply, roads and other basic amenities financed through local taxes.
There were many factors which made it necessary for the British Government in India to work towards establishing local bodies.
Firstly, financial difficulties faced by the Government due to over centralisation made decentralisation imperative.
Secondly, it became necessary that modern advances in civic amenities in Europe be transplanted in India, considering India's increasing economic contacts with Europe.
Thirdly, the rising tide of nationalism had improvement in basic facilities as a point on its agenda.
Fourthly, a section of British policy makers saw association of Indians with the administration as an instrument to check the increasing politicisation of Indians.
Fifthly, the utilisation of, local taxes for local welfare could be used to counter any public criticism of British reluctance to draw upon an already overburdened treasury or to tax the rich upper classes.
5) Which one of the following acted as a model of peasant combination at a time when there is not political party to organise the peasantry and as a non communal?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Pabna Agrarian Uprising led by Shah Chandra Roy, Shambhu Pal, KhoodiMollah.
During the 1870s and 1880s, large parts of Eastern Bengal witnessed agrarian unrest caused by oppressive practices of the zamindars.
Though the peasant discontent continued to linger on till 1885, most of the cases had been solved, partially through official persuasion and partially because of zamindars' fears.
Many peasants were able to acquire occupancy rights and resist enhanced rents. The Government also passedthe Bengal Tenancy Act in 1885.
A number of young Indian intellectuals including Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, R.C. Dutt and the Indian Association under Surendranath Banerjee supported the peasants' cause.
6) Consider the following Pairs
Newspaper Founder
1. The Socialist - Narendra Dev
2. Modern review - Ramanand Chatterjee
3. Commonweal - S.N. Bannerjee
Which of the pairs given above is/are not correctly matched?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The Socialist was published by S.A. Dange. It was the first socialist weekly in India.
Commonweal - Annie Besant, a weekly dealing with issues of national reform and New India, a daily newspaper which for 15 years was a powerful instrument promoting Home Rule and revolutionizing Indian journalism.
7) Consider the following statements
The ‘Nil Darban’ is a Bengali play written by Dinabandhu Mitra.
Nil Darban portrays the oppression of the local artisans by the British.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Din Bandhu Mitra’s play, Neel Darpan, got great fame for vividly portraying the oppression of indigo growers in Bengal by the planters (better known as Indigo revolt of 1859-60)
8) Who among the following organised the first walk out in India’s legislative history?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
It was in 1901 and a Bill was brought in the Bombay Legislative to take away the peasant’s right of ownership of land to prevent him from bartering it away because of his thriftlessness.
The officials were fond of blaming the Indian peasant’s poverty and indebtedness on his propensity to spend recklessly on marriages and festivals.
Denying this charge and opposing the bill, Pherozeshah Mehta defended the right of the peasant to have some joy, colour, and moments of brightness in his life.
But when the Government insisted on using its official majority to push through the Bill, Mehta along with Gokhale, G.K. Parekh, Balachandra Krishna and D.A. Khare took the unprecedented step of organizing the first walk-out in India’s legislative history
9) The Satnami Movement in Central India was organised to
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Satnami movement was launched by Ghasidas who worked with the leather workers. They started the movement to improve their social status.
10) Who among the following Governor General followed the policy of non interference in the affairs native states?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
John Shore has served as Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1797.
He played an important role in the introduction of the permanent settlement of 1793. He was famous for his policy of non-interference.
11) Consider the following statements about N.M. Lokhande
He was an associate of Gopala Krishna Gokhale.
He started the weekly Journal “Dinabandhu”.
He started Bombay Mill-hands’ association in 1890.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
The emergence of middle-class philanthrophic efforts to improve labour conditions began with N. M. Lokhande.
He was an associate of Jyotirao Phule.
He started his weekly journal “Dinabandhu” in 1880.
He organized labour meetings to demand shorter hours in 1884.
He started a Bombay mill-hands’ Association in 1890. It was not a trade union, it merely involved okhande setting up an office to give free advice to mill-hands who came to him.
12) With respect to the Sanyasi Revolt, consider the following statements:
It was led by religious monks in Bengal, supported by demobilized soldiers and zamindars.
Lord Cornwallis was the Governor-in-General responsible for crushing the revolt.
Anandmath by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee set in the backdrop of this rebellion.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The Sanyasi Revolt (1772) - It was the practice of the Sanyasis to collect alms and contributions from zamindars during their religious travels.
This was stopped when the zamindars found it too difficult to provide alms, since after paying the British their due, they were left with almost nothing.
The British considered the Sanyasis looters and imposed restrictions on them. The Sanyasis rose in rebellion against the British and raided English factories and government treasuries.
This rebellion was centred in the forests of Murshidabad and Baikunthupur, Bengal.
In 1771, 150 unarmed sanyasis were killed under the orders of Warren Hastings.
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel Anandamath, written in 1882, was set in the backdrop of the Sanyasi Rebellion.
This book was banned by the British. India’s National Song ‘VandeMataram’ was taken from this novel.
13) Consider the following facts about a pioneer social reformer
He is widely considered to be the first journalist and editor in Marathi Language.
He started a weekly Bombay Darpan in 1832 and Digdarshan in 1840.
His many works include the books in history and math for children
Identify the personality
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
BalshastriJambhekar - known as the "Father of Marathi Journalism".
He is renowned for his contributions in the field of print media and social awareness.
He was one of those social activists who made continuous effort in generating useful and healthy consciousness amongst the common masses and attempted to educate the uneducated.
14) With reference to the Intelligentsia in the latter half of the 19th century, consider the following statements
They actively participated in the Revolt of 1857.
They believed the British’s economic policies are the cause of poverty in India.
They aspired to make a secular and socialist Independent India.
They never believed in the ability of the masses to achieve Independence through non-violent struggles.
They actively tried to reform cultural practices on the western standard.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Indian Intelligentsia earlier believed British’s policies are good for India. But later realised that Britishers are exploiting India. Thus, they actively participated in later half of 19th century.
Many Moderates including DadabhaiNaoroji wrote books about how British’s policies are causing poverty in India.
Moderates only wanted reforms within the existing constitutional setup. Never aspired for Independence. They never believed in Mass movement.
They didn’t concentrate much one social reform. They focused mainly on political reforms.
15) With reference to the political associations during British India, consider the following statements
It was one of the important pre-congress associations aimed at unifying people on a common political program.
It was mainly against the pro-landlord policies of British rule in India.
It organised the first all-India agitations in 1877-78 on the civil service and the press act issues
It campaigned for the rights of tenants in Pabna Agrarian unrest.
Which one of the following associations is described by the above statements?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
The Indian Association was formed in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee and A.M. Bose in Calcutta.
It was set out to create a strong public opinion on political questions, and unify Indian people in a common political programme.
It organized the first all-India agitations in 1877-78 on the civil service and the press act issues.
It protested against the reduction of age limit in 1877 for candidates of the Indian Civil Service examination.
The association demanded simultaneous holding of civil service examination in England and India and Indianisation of higher administrative posts.
It also organized two ‘National Conferences’ in Calcutta in 1883 and 1885.
It campaigned for the rights of tenants in Pabna Agrarian unrest in East Bengal.
It also supported local self government for Indians.
16) Consider the following statements about the plantation labourers during British rule
The plantation labourers in tea gardens of Assam were generally referred to as Coolie.
The Inland Emigration act of 1859 did not allow the plantation workers to leave the tea gardens without permission from authorities.
The early nationalists were indifferent to the plight of these workers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Assam tea plantations were mainly based on the labour of so-called migrant ‘coolies’ recruited on indentured contracts.
Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission, and in fact they were rarely given such permission.
The early nationalists agitated for the improvement in the conditions of work of the plantation labourers.
17) With reference to various political organisations formed in the second half of 19th century, consider the following pairs:
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
In 1838, to protect the interests of the landlords, the Zamindari Association (popularly known as the Landholders' Society) was established by Dwarkanath Tagore in Bengal. Debendranath Tagore was his son.
British Indian Association, was founded on October 29, 1851 at Calcutta with Raja radhakanta dev and debendranathtagore as its President and Secretary respectively.
The Indian League was started in 1875 by Sisir Kumar Ghosh with the object of “stimulating the sense of nationalism amongst the people” and of encouraging political education.
The Madras Mahajan Sabha was founded in 1884 by M. Viraraghavachari, B. Subramaniya Aiyer and P. Anandacharlu.
18) Consider the following statements about the “Lottery committee” formed in 1817
It was formed to raise funds for town planning and development in British India.
The recommendations of the committee led to the removal of huts and poor residing in Calcutta.
The funds were raised through a lottery method.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The Lottery Committee was set up in 1817 after the departure of Lord Wellesley. It carried on the work of town planning with the help of the government.
In its drive to make the Indian areas of Calcutta cleaner, the committee removed many huts and displaced the labouring poor, who were now pushed to the outskirts of Calcutta.
It was named as the Lottery Committee because it raised funds through public lotteries.
19) The first Famine Commission of British India under Sir Richard Strachey was appointed during the administration of
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Richard Strachey commission of 1880 was created to develop a general strategy and principles to deal with famines.
It was the first Famine Commission and was constituted during the period of Lord Lytton.
20) Match List I and List II and select the correct answer using the codes below:
