Modern History: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Prelims)

Explanation

The Government of India Act was passed by the British parliament in 1935 and came into effect in 1937. It was based on a report by a Joint Select Committee, led by Lord Linlithgow, set up the two houses of the British parliament. Some of the key features of the Act were:

The creation of a ‘Federation of India’ that consisted of two levels: a central executive and parliament, and below it, provinces and princely states. Hence, Statement 1 is correct. It discarded the ‘dyarchy’ system at the provincial level and allowed for the emergence of popularly elected provincial legislatures. Dyarchy was introduced at the central level, key subjects like defence and foreign affairs were under the direct control of the Governor General. Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect. A federal court was established. The franchise was expanded to 14% of the population from 3%. Separate electorates were provided for Muslims, Sikhs and others, but not to Depressed Classes. The governor enjoyed critical emergency powers.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect: In Ryotwari system the government revenue was a fixed amount, irrespective of crop output, and was to be paid in cash. Thus during periods of bad crops or low prices the peasants were forced to pay the land revenue, even if it required borrowing from moneylenders.

Statement 2 is correct: In the Zamindari system the revenue was invariable, regardless of the harvest, and had to be paid punctually. According to the Sunset Law, if payment did not come in by sunset of the specified date, the zamindari was liable to be auctioned.

Explanation

Statement-I is correct: The Government of India decided to designate the 7th August every year as the National Handloom Day, and it was inaugurated on 7 August 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai.

Statement II is correct: The Swadeshi Movement was launched on 7th August 1905. It had encouraged indigenous industries (in particular handloom weavers). Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I: As 7th August was the day when movements to promote indigenous industries (in particular handloom weavers) were brought into the country. Hence, the Government of India decided to designate the 7th of August every year as the National Handloom Day.

Explanation

With reference to Indian History, Alexander Rea, A. H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Walter Elliot were all associated with archaeological excavations. Alexander Rea (1858-1924) was an archaeologist who worked mainly in South British India and is known for unearthing a sarcophagus from the hillocks of Pallavaram in Tamil Nadu. He arrived in India in 1882 and became assistant of Burgess in the Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.), Madras Division. He went on to become Superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of Southern India (1902). Albert Henry Longhurst (1876-1955) was an archaeologist and art historian who worked in India and Ceylon. He was in charge of the systematic digging of Nagarjunakonda (1927-1931). Robert Sewell (1845-1925) was a civil servant in the Madras Presidency in colonial India. He undertook archaeological work at the Amaravati stupa. The site had previously been surveyed by Colin Mackenzie and Walter Elliot (1803-1887). James Burgess (1832-1916) was the founder of the Indian Antiquary in 1872 and an important archaeologist of British India in the 19th century. From 1886-89 he was Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Explanation

Ghadar Party was a revolutionary group organised around a weekly newspaper "The Ghadar" with its headquarters at San Francisco and branches along the US coast and in the Far East.

Option (d) is correct: The moving spirits behind the Ghadar Party were Lala Hardayal, Ramchandra, Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Barkatullah and Bhai Parmanand, Rash Behari Bose, etc. Barindra Kumar Ghosh was associated with a revolutionary group called Jugantar and Jogesh Chatterjee was associated with the Hindustan Republican Association/ Army (HRA).

Explanation

Cripps Mission (1942) headed by Stafford Cripps was sent to India with constitutional proposals to seek Indian support for World War II. Because of the reverses suffered by Britain in South-East Asia, the Japanese threat to invade India seemed real now and Indian support became crucial.

Statement (1) is incorrect: After the war the Constituent Assembly would be formed with members from Provinces (elected through proportional representation and not nominated) and Princely states (nominated). A new Constitution making body and the Government would negotiate a treaty for transfer of Power.

Statement (2) is correct: The proposal allowed any Province unwilling to accept the new Constitution to have the right to remain outside the Indian Union and negotiate a separate arrangement with Britain regarding its future. This provision was later seen as a precursor to the partition of India.

Explanation

Option (a) is correct: The Quit India Resolution was passed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on 8th August 1942 at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now August Kranti Maidan) in Bombay, marking the launch of the Quit India Movement against British rule. Key Features of the Resolution:

Demanded immediate end to British rule in India.

Proposed the formation of a provisional government after British withdrawal. Declared that India would not support Britain in World War II unless granted independence. Gandhi’s famous call: "Do or Die" encouraged mass civil disobedience.

Explanation

In November 1945 officers of the Indian National Army (INA) were court-martialed at the Red Fort in Delhi. Among the senior officers tried were Major General Shah Nawaz Khan, Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal, and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, trusted allies of Subhas Chandra Bose. Amid widespread protests and unrest across India, the British eventually released them. Jawaharlal Nehru, along with Bhulabhai Desai and Tej Bahadur Sapru, were part of the defence team of the INA officers in court.

Explanation

Statement (1) is incorrect: The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 introduced a diarchy system in provincial governments, where key areas like finance and law & order remained under British control, while other departments were transferred to Indian ministers. It also paved the way for the creation of a bicameral legislature at the centre. It recommended the voting rights to women in limited numbers to be extended on the basis of property, tax or education.

Statement (2) is correct: Government of India Act, 1935 divided the powers between the Centre and provinces. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place, while adopting the dyarchy at the Centre. It further extended the principle of communal representation to the depressed classes (Scheduled Castes), women and labour (workers).

Explanation

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) was appointed as the secretary of the governing body of Bethune School/ College. The Bethune Female School, established in 1849 in Kolkata (then Calcutta) was one of the first schools in India dedicated to the education of girls. It was founded by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune, a prominent social reformer and advocate for women’s education in India. Vidyasagar was a strong advocate for women’s rights and education, and his involvement with the Bethune School was part of his broader efforts to reform Indian society, including his campaigns for widow remarriage and the abolition of child marriage. It was mainly due to his efforts that the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856 was passed.