Later Mughals and Early Modern India: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Modern History)
1 previous year UPSC Prelims question on Later Mughals and Early Modern India (Modern History). Choose an option to see the answer and explanation.
Explanations state facts as of the year each question was asked; words like “recently” refer to that year.
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UPSC 2007Modern History · Later Mughals and Early Modern India
Q1. The ruler of which one of the following States was removed from power by the British on the pretext of misgovernance?
Explanation
Lord Dalhousie is considered "the creator of the map of India". Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie. This policy allowed the British to annex any Indian princely state if the ruler died without a natural heir or was deemed incompetent. The doctrine was based on the idea that the British, as the paramount power, had the right to decide the succession of Indian states. States annexed under this policy:
Satara (1848): The first state to be annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse. Jhansi (1853): Annexed after the death of Raja Gangadhar Rao without a male heir. Nagpur (1854): Annexed after the death of Raghoji III without a natural heir. Annexation of Awadh (1856):
Awadh (or Oudh) was a wealthy and strategically important state in northern India, ruled by the Nawabs of Awadh. Unlike the states annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse, Awadh had a legitimate ruler, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who had a natural heir. Therefore, the Doctrine of Lapse could not be applied here. To justify the annexation, the British accused Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of misgovernance and claimed that the people of Awadh were suffering under his rule. This was largely a pretext to annex the state, as Awadh was a fertile and revenue-rich region.
Answer key for these questions
Q
UPSC year
Correct answer
1
2007
(a) Awadh
Frequently asked questions
How many previous year UPSC questions are there on Later Mughals and Early Modern India?
This page covers 1 previous year UPSC Prelims GS Paper-I questions on Later Mughals and Early Modern India (Modern History), asked from 2007 to 2010. Each has the correct answer and an explanation.
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Attempt each question first, then open the answer and read the explanation for every option. Repeat by chapter, and track which statements UPSC reuses across years. Previous year questions show the exam pattern and difficulty level.
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Questions on Later Mughals and Early Modern India (Modern History) are available for 2 years, from 2007 to 2010. Use the Year filter to practise a single paper.
