UPSC 2004 Modern History Questions with Answers

Explanation

The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by a series of wars between the British and various Indian powers as part of the British East India Company’s efforts to consolidate control.

Pair 1 is incorrectly matched: AD 1767-69 marks the First Anglo-Mysore War, not the First Anglo-Maratha War. The First Anglo-Maratha War occurred later, from 1775 to 1782.

Pair 2 is correctly matched: AD 1790-92 corresponds to the Third Mysore War, fought between the British East India Company and Tipu Sultan.

Pair 3 is correctly matched: AD 1824-26 corresponds to the First Anglo-Burmese War, which resulted in British territorial expansion in Burma.

Pair 4 is incorrectly matched: AD 1845-46 marks the First Sikh War, not the Second Sikh War. The Second Sikh War occurred in 1848-49.

Explanation

The Indian National Congress (INC), founded in 1885, initially aimed to promote political dialogue between Indians and the British government. Early sessions focused on constitutional reforms, Indian rights, and critique of economic impact of British rule.

Statement 1 is incorrect: The first session of the Indian National Congress (INC) was held in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1885, not in Calcutta.

Statement 2 is correct: The Second Session of the Indian National Congress (1886) was indeed presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji.

Statement 3 is correct: The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League held their sessions in Lucknow in 1916, where they concluded the Lucknow Pact. The Lucknow Pact was a historic agreement, marking a significant step towards Hindu-Muslim unity and paving the way for joint political efforts in the struggle for self-rule.

Explanation

The Montagu-Chelmsford Report, published in 1918, proposed constitutional reforms for India, recommending the introduction of dyarchy in provinces and expanding the legislative councils. These recommendations formed the basis for the Government of India Act, 1919.

Explanation

Minto-Morley Reforms (1909) were constitutional reforms introduced by the British government to expand the legislative councils and include elected Indian representatives. The recommendations of the Montagu-Chelmsford Report (1919) led to the Government of India Act, 1919, and introduced dyarchy in the provinces. Chauri-Chaura Outrage (1922) occurred during the Non-Cooperation Movement. It was a violent incident where a police station was attacked by a mob, leading to a significant shift in Gandhi’s strategy. Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement across the country, as he felt that it had deviated from its non-violent goal. Dandi March (1930) led by Mahatma Gandhi, this was a major event in the Civil Disobedience Movement, aimed at protesting the British salt tax.

Explanation

Statements 1 and 2 are correct:

Act Provided for abolition of diarchy in the Governor’s provinces, transferring more power to the provincial governments. The Act granted the Governors the power to veto legislative action and allowed them to enact laws without the consent of the legislative bodies in certain circumstances.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The Government of India Act, 1935 retained separate electorates based on communal representation, allowing distinct voting rights for communities like Muslims, Sikhs, and other minorities.

Explanation

The Constituent Assembly of India was a group formed to write the Indian Constitution. It was set up in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Option (a) is correct: The Constituent Assembly of India was elected by the Provincial Assemblies in the year 1946. Members were chosen by the Provincial Assemblies, with seats given to represent different communities. However, it is important to note that the Princely States were represented through nominees rather than elected members. Options (b), (c) and (d) are incorrect:

M.A. Jinnah was not a member of the Constituent Assembly as he chose to focus on the creation of Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel were members. The first session of the Constituent Assembly took place on 9th December 1946, not in January 1947. The Constitution was adopted on 26th November 1949, but came into effect on 26th January 1950.

Explanation

Pair (a) is correctly matched: Pitt’s India Act (1784) was introduced during Warren Hastings’ tenure as the Governor-General of India. Pair (b) is correctly matched: The Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie, the British Governor-General of India, as a policy to annex Indian states whose rulers died without a male heir. Pair (c) is incorrectly matched: The Vernacular Press Act (1878) was passed by Lord Lytton, not Lord Curzon. It was aimed at curbing nationalist sentiments expressed in vernacular language newspapers. Pair (d) is correctly matched: The Ilbert Bill (1883), introduced by Lord Ripon, was an attempt to allow Indian judges to try European criminals in India. It faced strong opposition from the British community in India and was later modified, but marked a significant step towards equality in the judicial system.

Explanation

Lord Curzon served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905. He is known for Partition of Bengal, 1905 - divided Bengal into two provinces, igniting widespread nationalist protests and the Swadeshi Movement. Lord Hardinge served as the Viceroy from 1910 to 1916. He was responsible for the shift of the British Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, symbolizing British imperial authority. Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy from 1916 to 1921. He is known for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919 happening during his tenure - British troops fired on unarmed civilians in Amritsar, leading to national outrage and intensified independence demands. Lord Irwin’s tenure as Viceroy lasted from 1926 to 1931. He is known for Gandhi-Irwin Pact(1931), which was an agreement between Gandhi and Irwin that ended the Civil Disobedience Movement’s first phase and facilitated Gandhi’s participation in the Round Table Conference.

Explanation

Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate and poet was knighted by the British Crown in 1915. However, in 1919 following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the repressive Rowlatt Act he renounced his Knighthood in a letter to the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford as an act of powerful protest against British atrocities. His act was widely celebrated as a bold statement of defiance.

Explanation

Maulana Hasrat Mohani, a prominent figure in the Indian freedom movement, was a strong advocate for complete independence from British rule. He was one of the key leaders who pushed for the idea that Swaraj, or self-rule, should be interpreted as absolute freedom, devoid of any foreign influence or control. His stance was a significant departure from the moderate demands for self-governance and paved the way for more radical calls for full sovereignty during the independence struggle. Hasrat Mohani started bringing out a magazine in the name of ‘Urdu-e-Mualla’ in 1903.