European Penetration into India: History Optional PYQs

The Early European Settlements; The Portuguese and the Dutch; The English and the French East India Companies; Their struggle for supremacy; Carnatic Wars; Bengal – The conflict between the English and the Nawabs of Bengal; Siraj and the English; The Battle of Plassey; Significance of Plassey.

PYQs: European Penetration into India [1985-2024]

1. ‘On 23 June 1757, the middle-ages of India ended and her modern age began.’ Comment. (1992)
2. “By certain of his actions Clive has marred both the glory and usefulness of his work.” Comment. (1995)
3. How did the British conquer Bengal in the 18th century? What circumstances helped them? (1998)
4. After 1757 there grew up a State of Bengal which was a “sponsored state” as well as a “plundered state”. Comment. (1999)
5. The battle of Plassey was “not a great battle but a great betrayal.” Comment. (2000)
6. “Neither Alexander the Great nor Napoleon could have won the empire of India by starting from Pondicherry as a base and contending with a power which held Bengal and the command of the Sea.” Comment. (2006)
7. “Compared to their English counterpart, the French East India Company enjoyed little discretionary power and had to always look up to Paris for all major decisions. This partly explains the failure of the French in India.” Critically examine in 150 words. (2012)
8. “Dupleix made a cardinal blunder in looking for the key of India in Madras: Clive sought and found it in Bengal.” Critically examine in 150 words. (2013)
9. “Plassey did not complete the British conquest of India. Had the English been convincingly defeated in any subsequent battle in India, then (the battle of) Plassey would have remained as a minor episode in the history of India.” Critically examine in 150 words. (2014)
10. “The Battle of Plassey that decided the fate of Bengal was won by Clive through intrigues.” Explain. (2014)
11. Comment on the French ambition of building a territorial empire in India. (2016)
12. After the Battle of Plassey, how did India transit from the medieval to the modern age? (2016)
13. Critically examine: “The Battle of Plassey (1757) thus marked the beginning of political supremacy of the English East India Company in India.” (2018)
14. “It was Dupleix who had first showed the way of intervening in disputes of the Indian rulers and thereby acquiring political control over vast territories- a technique which was later perfected by the English East India Company.” Elaborate. (2020)
15. ‘The Battle of Plassey (1757) was a skirmish while the Battle of Buxar (1764) was a real war.’ Critically examine. (2022)
16. The Carnatic Wars, the Anglo-Mysore Wars and the Anglo-Maratha Wars had virtually eliminated the French front the contest of supremacy in South India. Discuss. (2023)
17. After the battle of Plassey, the mercenary became the Kingmaker. (2024)