Q. Consider the following events:

  1. The first democratically elected communist party government formed in a State in India.
  2. India’s then largest bank, ‘Imperial Bank of India’, was renamed ‘State Bank of India’.
  3. Air India was nationalised and became the national carrier.
  4. Goa became a part of independent India.

Which of the following is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?

(a) 4 – 1 – 2 – 3
(b) 3 – 2 – 1 – 4
(c) 4 – 2 – 1 – 3
(d) 3 – 1 – 2 – 4

Answer: (b) 3 – 2 – 1 – 4

Notes:
  • The first democratically elected communist party government formed in a state in India in 1957.
    • In the first general election held to the Kerala State Legislative Assembly in 1957, the Communist Party of India won sixty seats out of 126.
  • Imperial Bank of India was nationalized by the Government of India in the year 1955 with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60% stake and the name was changed to State Bank of India.
    • The Imperial Bank of India came into existence on 27 January 1921 by J.M. Keynes. When the three Presidency Banks of colonial India, were reorganised and amalgamated to form a single banking entity.
  • In 1946, Tata Airlines became a public company and was renamed Air India. Air India was nationalized in 1953. The government of India passed the Air Corporations Act in 1953 and purchased a majority stake in the carrier from Tata Sons.
  • Goa became an independent state of India on 18 December 1961 and Goa was freed from the Portuguese.
    • On December 18, 1961, Operation Vijay was launched by the Indian Government to bring back the Goa into India.

Q. In the Federation established by The Government of India Act of 1935, residuary powers were given to the

(a) Federal Legislature

(b) Governor General

(c) Provincial Legislature

(d) Provincial Governors

Answer: (b) Governor General

Government of India Act, 1935:
Federal Government Reforms
  • Governor-General’s Role: The Governor-General was the linchpin of the constitution, holding powers to act independently on matters of national security.
  • Three Legislative Lists: The Act proposed Federal, Provincial, and Concurrent legislative lists, but the federal structure still needs to materialize.
  • Dyarchy at the Centre: Dyarchy was introduced at the Centre, dividing responsibilities between the executive and legislature, though it has yet to come into operation.
  • Direct Elections: Direct elections were introduced for the first time, extending the franchise to 37 million people from the previous 5 million.
  • Legislative Structure: The Council of States became a permanent body with a third of its members retiring every three years, while the Federal Assembly had a five-year tenure.
  • Residuary Powers: The Governor-General retained significant powers, including veto rights, ordinance issuance, and financial authority.
Provincial Government Reforms
  • Provincial Autonomy: Dyarchy at the provincial level was abolished, and greater autonomy was granted. Provinces derived authority directly from the Crown.
  • Governors’ Powers: Governors were Crown nominees with extensive powers, including overriding provincial governments when deemed necessary.
  • Separate Electorates: The communal award of separate electorates for minorities was implemented.
  • Bicameral Legislatures: Six provinces—Assam, Bengal, Bombay, Bihar, Madras, and the United Provinces—adopted bicameral legislatures.
  • Direct Elections: All provincial assembly members were directly elected, enhancing the role of Indian representatives in governance.
Institutional Developments
  • Federal Court: The Act provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which began functioning in 1937.
  • Abolition of the Council of India: The advisory body to the Secretary of State for India was abolished.
  • Creation of the Reserve Bank of India: The RBI was established in 1935 to manage India’s monetary policy.
  • Public Service Commissions: The Act led to the creation of Provincial Public Service Commissions and a Joint Public Service Commission.

Q. Which of the following led to the introduction of English Education in India?

  1. Charter Act of 1813
  2. General Committee of Public Instruction, 1823
  3. Orientalist and Anglicist Controversy

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Notes:
  • Charter Act of 1813:
    • The monopoly of EIC was abolished in terms of trade with India.
    • The company still enjoyed the monopoly in terms of tea and china trade for 20 more years.
    • This act provided a grant of one lakh rupees per annum for the promotion of education in India.
    • This act gave power to local governments to impose and collect taxes.
    • It included a clause asserting the Crown’s undoubted sovereignty over all of the Company’s territories and required it to open up India to Christian missionaries.
    • The Charter Act 1813 created a controversy between the anglicist and classicist on the medium of instruction and so the fund was kept unspent till 1823 due to the controversy.
  • General Committee of Public Instruction:
    • In 1823, the Governor-General-in Council appointed a “General Committee of Public Instruction”, which had the responsibility to grant the one lakh of rupees for education.
    • That committee was headed by Lord Macaulay consisting of ten European members.
    • The committee decided to spend major portions from the grant for the improvement of oriental literature.
    • Even, the General Committee of Public Instruction also was not able to decide the medium of instruction by vote; because out of ten members, five were supporters of the English language as the medium of instruction and the rest were supporters of oriental or classic language as a medium of instruction.
    • As a President of the General Committee of Public Instruction, Lord Macaulay wrote a minute on 2nd February 1835, where he made the conclusion regarding the controversy.
    • Lord Macaulay stressed the implementation of the English language as a medium of instruction through his minute.

Q. In 1920, which of the following changed its name to “Swarajya Sabha”?

(a) All India Home Rule League

(b) Hindu Mahasabha

(c) South Indian Liberal Federation

(d) The Servants of India Society

Answer: (a) All India Home Rule League

Indian Home Rule movement:
  • The Indian Home Rule movement was a movement in British India on the lines of the Irish Home Rule movement and other home rule movements.
  • The movement lasted around two years between 1916–1918 and is believed to have set the stage for the Indian independence movement under the leadership of Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak to the educated English speaking upper class Indians.
  • In this context, two Home Rule Leagues were formed in 1916. Lokamanya Tilak led the first, covering Maharashtra, Bombay, Karnataka, and parts of the Central Provinces, while Annie Besant and S. Subramaniya Iyer led the second, which focused on areas across India, particularly Madras Presidency.
    • Their shared aim was to promote the demand for Home Rule or self-government for India after the war, with Tilak’s famous slogan, “Home Rule is my birthright, and I will have it,” galvanising supporters nationwide.
  • In 1920, All India Home Rule League changed its name to Swarajya Sabha.

Reasons for movement to fade out:

  • The movement was not a mass movement. It was restricted to educated people and college students.
  • The leagues did not find a lot of support among Muslims, Anglo-Indians and non-Brahmins from Southern India as they thought home rule would mean a rule of the upper caste Hindu majority.
  • Many of the moderates were satisfied with the government’s assurance of reforms (as preluded in the Montague Declaration). They did not take the movement further.
  • Annie Besant kept oscillating between being satisfied with the government talk of reforms and pushing the home rule movement forward. She was not able to provide firm leadership to her followers. Although ultimately she did call the reforms ‘unworthy of Indian acceptance’.
  • In September 1918, Tilak went to England to pursue a libel case against Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol, British journalist and author of the book ‘Indian Unrest’. The book contained deprecatory comments and had called Tilak the ‘Father of Indian Unrest.’
  • The Government made use of Defence of India Act, 1915 to curb the activities of the agitators.
  • Students were prohibited from attending Home Rule meetings.
  • Tilak was prosecuted and his entry in Punjab and Delhi was banned.
  • Indian Press Act of 1910 was imposed on the press and restrictions were enforced.
  • Tilak’s absence and Besant’s inability to lead the people led to the movement’s fizzing out.
  • The movement was left leaderless with Tilak going abroad and Besant unable to give a positive lead.
  • After the war, Mahatma Gandhi gained prominence as a leader of the masses and the Home Rule Leagues merged with the Congress Party in 1920.

Hindu Mahasabha:

  • It was established in 1915 to protect the rights of the Hindu community.
  • It was known previously as the Sarvadeshak Hindu Sabha.
  • In April 1921 it changed its name to Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.
  • Founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of Orthodox Hindus before the British Raj from within the Indian National Congress.
  • In the 1930s, it emerged as a distinct party under the leadership of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who developed the concept of Hindutva and became a fierce opponent of the western, secular nationalism espoused by the Congress.
  • During the Second World War, the Mahasabha supported the British war effort and briefly entered coalitions with the Muslim League in provincial and central councils.
  • It opposed the Quit India Movement and supported the British.
  • The party opposed the 1947 partition of India and sought the establishment of a secular and united state named Hindustan with same rights for citizens without regards to religion
  • The Eminent personalities who founded this Organisation and who presided over the All India Sessions held include Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lal Lajpat Rai, Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, etc.

​ Servants of India Society:

  • The Servants of India Society was formed in 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Pune, Maharashtra.
  • Along with him were a small group of educated Indians, as Natesh Appaji Dravid, Gopal Krishna Deodhar, Surendra Nath Banerjee, and Anant Patwardhan who wanted to promote social and human development and overthrow the British rule in India.
  • Its aim is to build a dedicated group of people for social service and reforms. It focused on nation-building through education, social welfare, and uplifting the downtrodden, particularly the underprivileged, rural, and tribal populations.
  • The society also worked to unite people of different ethnicities and religions for welfare purposes, contributing to the integration of the masses during the Indian Independence movement.

​South Indian Liberal Federation (Justice Party):

  • It was popularly known as the Justice Party.
  • It was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India.
  • It was established on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Memorial Hall in Madras by Dr. C. Natesa Mudaliar and co-founded by T. M. Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetty and Alamelu Mangai Thayarammal as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency.
  • When a diarchial system of administration was established due to the 1919 Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, the Justice Party took part in presidential governance.
    • In 1920, it won the first direct elections in the presidency and formed the government.
  • It was the main political alternative to the nationalist Indian National Congress in Madras. After it lost to the Congress in the 1937 election, it never recovered.
  • It came under the leadership of Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy and his Self-Respect Movement. In 1944, Periyar transformed the Justice Party into the social organisation Dravidar Kazhagam and withdrew it from electoral politics.

Q. Which among the following events happened earliest?

(a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj.

(b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neel Darpan.

(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath.

(d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination.

Answer: (b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neel Darpan.

Notes:
  • Neel Darpan:
    • Neel Darpan was a Bengali play written by Dinabandhu Mitra in 1858-1859 and published in Dhaka in 1860.
    • The play was based on Nil-bidroho or Indigo revolt of February–March 1859 in Bengal. The Indigo Revolt was a peasant uprising in Bengal where farmers protested against being forced to cultivate indigo, a crop demanded by the British textile industry, under exploitative conditions.
  • Arya Samaj:
    • It was founded in 1875 at Bombay by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
    • Swami Dayanand Saraswati gave the slogan ‘Go back to the Vedas‘ and ‘the Vedas are the source of all knowledge’
    • It believes in one God having no physical existence.
    • Arya Samaj emphasized education for girls but was against co-education.
    • Introduced the Shuddhi movement or mass purification and later in 1882 the Arya Samaj formed a ‘Cow Protection Association’.
  • Anandmath:
    • ‘Anandmath’ is a Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and was published in the year 1882.
      • The national song of India ‘Vande Mataram’ was published in this book.
    • It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century.
    • It is considered one of the most important novels in the history of Bengali and Indian literature.
    • Its first English publication was titled The Abbey of Bliss (literally Ananda=Bliss and Math=Abbey).
    • The book is set in the years during the famine in Bengal in 1770.
  • Satyendranath Tagore:
    • Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination in 1864.
      • Satyendranath Tagore was allotted Bombay Presidency Cadre.
    • He was a member of Bramho Samaj.
    • His patriotic Bengali language song “Mile Sabe Bharat Santan, Ektan Gago Gaan” (unite, India’s children, sing in unison), which was hailed as the first national anthem of India.

Q. With reference to educational institutions during colonial rule in India, consider the following pairs:

Institution      –        Founder

  1. Sanskrit College at Benaras      —     William Jones
  2. Calcutta Madarsa                     —       Warren Hastings
  3. Fort William College                 —       Arthur Wellesley

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 3 only

Answer: (b) 2 only

Sanskrit College at Benaras:
  • The Benaras Sanskrit College, now known as Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, is a historic institution in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
  • Jonathan Duncan established Sanskrit College at Varanasi to study Hindu law and philosophy in the year 1791.
    • He was Governor of Bombay.
  • In 1958, the college was upgraded to a university status, and in 1974, it was renamed Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya after the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Sampurnanand.
Calcutta Madrasah:
  • The Calcutta Madrasah, now known as Aliah University, was the first government-established educational institution in British India, founded by Warren Hastings in 1780.
  • Its initial purpose was to educate Muslim children in Arabic, Persian, and Islamic law, preparing them for government jobs, particularly in revenue administration and the judiciary.
    • The Madrasah eventually expanded its curriculum to include modern subjects like arithmetic, geometry, and natural sciences.
Fort William College:
  • Fort William College was an academy in Calcutta (Kolkata) that taught Indian languages, literature, and culture to British officials and civilians.
  • It was founded in 1800 by Lord Richard Wellesley, the Governor-General of India at the time.
  • The college was a center of learning and a hub of the Bengal Renaissance.
William Jones:
  • Established the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 to encourage Oriental studies.
    • Its primary focus is on the history, civilization, antiquities, laws, arts, sciences, and literature of Asia, particularly India.
  • For roughly fifty years, it served as a significant academic hub and a unique institution that translated significant Sanskrit works.
  • Warren Hastings believed that Hindus had laws that had not changed for thousands of years. Therefore, if the British wanted to establish their rule in the nation, they had to learn these laws and the Sanskrit language in which they were written.
Arthur Wellesley:
  • Arthur Wellesley, later the 1st Duke of Wellington, spent eight years in India (1797-1805), where he developed his military skills, particularly during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
    • He was one of the British commanders who ended the Anglo-Mysore wars by defeating Tipu Sultan in 1799.
  • His time in India included notable campaigns and a period as the Governor of Mysore.

Q. The staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were:

(a) Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium

(b) Sugar, salt, zinc and lead

(c) Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea

(d) Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium

Answer: (d) Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium

Notes:
  • During the period 1780–1860 India changed from an exporter of processed goods paid for in bullion to an exporter of raw materials and a buyer of manufactured goods.
  • In the 1750s fine cotton and silk was exported from India to markets in Europe, Asia, and Africa, while by the second quarter of the 19th century, raw materials, which chiefly consisted of raw cotton, opium, and indigo, accounted for most of India’s exports.
    • Opium was a very important staple from Bengal that found a ready market in China.
    • Bengal also supplied rice, butter, vegetable oils and saltpetre. 
    • Saltpetere was another staple of export which was abundantly produced in the Patna district.
    • Cotton and silk are the other staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century.

Q. Which one of the following is a very significant aspect of the Champaran Satyagraha?

(a) Active all-India participation of lawyers, students and women in the National Movement

(b) Active involvement of Dalit and Tribal communities of India in the National Movement

(c) Joining of peasant unrest to India’s National Movement

(d) Drastic decrease in the cultivation of plantation crops and commercial crops

Answer: (c) Joining of peasant unrest to India’s National Movement

Champaran Satyagraha of 1917:
  • The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917, led by Mahatma Gandhi, was India’s first Satyagraha movement, initiated to address the plight of indigo farmers in the Champaran district of Bihar, who were forced to cultivate indigo under the “tinkathia” system with little compensation.
    • With worsening conditions and economic distress, Gandhi was invited by Rajkumar Shukla to investigate their plight.
      • Tinkathia system was the most prevalent system in Champaran. According to it, the factory owners convinced the tenant to grow indigo in a specific area of his holding for which a fixed price was paid. During 1860, the portion reserved for indigo used to be 5 Kathas per bigha or one-fourth of the tenant’s holding. Later, around 1867, this area was reduced from 5 Kathas to 3 Kathas per bigha. Since then, the system came to be known as Tinkathia.
  • Gandhiji continued his investigation after receiving permission from the Lieutenant Governor, first in Motihari and then in Bettiah. Throughout the investigation, he was assisted by personalities like Rajendra Prasad, Brajkishore Prasad, Mazharul Haq, J.B. Kriplani, Ramnavami Prasad, and others. Thousands of ryots from various villages came to express their dissatisfaction with the indigo cultivation system.
  • The British government, initially dismissive of Gandhi’s involvement, was compelled to address the growing discontent surrounding the exploitation of indigo farmers in Champaran. The authorities, under pressure from both the local populace and Gandhi’s leadership, set up an inquiry to assess the situation.
    • Formation of Committee of Inquiry: The Lieutenant Governor established a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the agrarian conditions in Champaran, with Gandhi being appointed as one of its members.
    • Committee’s Findings and Recommendations: On October 4, 1917, the Committee submitted its report to the Government, making the following recommendations: 
      • The Tinkathia system should be abolished. 
      • The ryots who paid Tawan to the factories would receive one-fourth of it back. 
      • The realization of abwab (illegal cesses) should be stopped.
      • If someone agrees to grow indigo, it should be voluntary; the term should not be longer than three years, and the decision to select the field where indigo will be grown should be made by the ryots. 
    • Government’s Acceptance of Recommendations: The British government accepted almost all of the Committee’s recommendations, which led to the passing of the Champaran Agrarian Act in 1918.
    • Abolition of Tinkathia System: As a result, the tinkathia system, which had exploited farmers for over a century, was officially abolished.

Q. Who among the following were the founders of the “Hind Mazdoor Sabha” established in 1948?

(a) B. Krishna Pillai, E.M.S. Namboodiripad and K.C. George

(b) Jayaprakash Narayan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay and M.N. Roy

(c) C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, K. Kamaraj and Veeresalingam Pantulu

(d) Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam and G.G. Mehta

Answer: (d) Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam and G.G. Mehta

Hind Mazdoor Sabha:
  • The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
  • The HMS was founded in Howrah in west Bengal on 29 December 1948, by socialists, Forward Bloc followers and independent unionists.
  • Its founders included Basawon Singh (Sinha), Ashok Mehta, R.S. Ruikar, Maniben Kara, Shibnath Banerjee, R.A. Khedgikar, T.S. Ramanujam, V.S. Mathur, G.G. Mehta.
    • R.S. Ruikar was elected president and Ashok Mehta general secretary.
  • HMS absorbed the Royist Indian Federation of Labour and the Hind Mazdoor Panchayat, which was formed in 1948 by socialists leaving the increasingly communist dominated AITUC.

Q. Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley?

(a) To maintain a large standing army at others expense

(b) To keep India safe from Napoleonic danger

(c) To secure a fixed income for the Company

(d) To establish British paramountcy over the Indian States

Answer: (c) To secure a fixed income for the Company

Subsidiary Alliance:
  • It was “Non-Intervention Policy” used by Lord Wellesley to bring Princely states under the control of the British.
  • To counter the intrigues of Napoleon and any further development of French Power in India, Wellesley, introduced Subsidiary Alliance to eliminate the French Power from India and to maintain British Supremacy in India.
  • An Indian ruler entering into a subsidiary alliance with the British had to accept British forces in his territory and also agreed to pay for their maintenance. If they couldn’t afford it, they had to cede some territory.
  • Rulers were required to seek British approval before engaging in any foreign relations or warfare with other Indian states.
  • A British resident was stationed at the court of the allied state to oversee and influence local governance and policies.
  • The Indian ruler would not recruit any Europeans other than the British, and if he were already doing so, he would dismiss them.
  • Major states under subsidiary alliance include Hyderabad, Mysore, Awadh, Tanjore, Bharatpur and others.
    • Nizam of Hyderabad (1798): First to accept the Subsidiary Alliance, in September 1798 and again in 1800, securing British military support.
    • Ruler of Mysore (1799): Accepted the alliance in 1799 after the defeat of Tipu Sultan, placing Mysore under British protection.
    • Ruler of Tanjore (1799): Entered the alliance in October 1799, leading to increased British influence in Southern India.
    • Nawab of Awadh (1801): Accepted in November 1801, which marked the beginning of Awadh’s gradual decline under British control.
    • Peshwa (1801): Signed the alliance in December 1801, significantly weakening Maratha’s power and sovereignty.
    • Bhonsle Raja of Berar (1803): Agreed to the terms in December 1803, furthering British dominance in Central India.
    • Sindhia (1804): Accepted in February 1804, consolidating British influence in the Maratha Empire.
    • Rajput States (Jodhpur, Jaipur, Macheri, Bundi): Accepted in 1818, bringing much of Rajasthan under British control.
    • Ruler of Bharatpur: Also accepted in 1818, ending significant resistance in the region.
    • Holkars (1818): The last Maratha confederation to accept the alliance in 1818, marking the end of Maratha’s independence and solidifying British supremacy in India.

Q. After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what was/were the measure/measures taken by the colonial government?

  1. The territories called ‘Santhal Parganas’ were created.
  2. It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Santhal Uprising:
  • The Santhal Rebellion, also known as the Santhal Hul, was a major uprising by the Santhal people against British rule in India that took place from 1855–1856.
    • The Santals lived in a territory that stretched from Hazaribagh to Medinipur, spanning the Subarnarekha River, along with other Munda ethnolinguistic tribals, and they engaged on agriculture.
  • The rebellion was a response to decades of exploitation by the British, moneylenders, and landlords.
  • The rebellion was led by the four sibling brothers, Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, Bhairav and Rohansai who was the main leader of the Santhal Tribe and their two sisters Phoolo and Jhano, who were killed in the cause.
Outcomes of the Santhal Rebellion:
  • Establishment of Santhal Parganas:
    • In response to the rebellion, the British created the Santhal Parganas as a separate district, with a Deputy Commissioner and four Assistant Commissioners to oversee the region. This district was exempted from general laws and regulations, and a new police system was introduced to encourage tribal participation in maintaining law and order.
  • Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act of 1876:
    • This Act was enacted to protect Santhal land rights and prevent their transfer to non-tribals, acknowledging their traditional land tenure system.
  • Heightened Awareness of Tribal Grievances:
    • The rebellion brought to light the plight of the Santhal people and the exploitative practices of the zamindari system and moneylenders.
  • Impact on Santhali Identity and Resistance:
    • The rebellion strengthened Santhali identity and fueled resistance against oppression, playing a role in the later formation of the state of Jharkhand.
  • Suppression and Devastation:
    • While the rebellion did lead to reforms, it also resulted in the deaths of thousands of Santhals and the destruction of countless villages.
  • Legal Reforms:
    • The Santhal Rebellion spurred the development of the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, which aimed to protect tribal land rights.

Q. Economically one of the results of the British rule in India in the 19th century was the

(a) increase in the export of Indian handicrafts

(b) growth in the number of Indian owned factories

(c) commercialization of Indian agriculture

(d) rapid increase in the urban population

Answer: (c) commercialization of Indian agriculture

Notes:
  • Economically, one of the results of British rule in India in the 19th century was the growth of commercial crops and the raw materials for the industries in Britain. 
  • Different kinds of commercial crops such as tea, coffee, indigo, opium, cotton, jute, sugarcane, and oilseeds were introduced with different intentions.
  • Colonial rule negatively affected Indian industries and handicrafts.
  • The import of a large amount of products manufactured by mechanical looms in England led to an increasing threat for the handicraft industries as the British goods were sold at a much cheaper price.
  • There was no rapid increase in the urban population.

Q. Regarding Wood’s Dispatch, which of the following statements are true?

  1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduced.
  2. Establishment of universities was recommended.
  3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Notes:
  • Wood’s Dispatch, also known as the “Magna Carta of English Education in India,” was a landmark document that outlined educational reforms for India in 1854.
  • It was sent by Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control for India, to Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India.
  • The dispatch aimed to establish a systematic, modern education system in India, influencing the development of education for many years to come.
  • Sir Charles supported the use of regional languages in primary education, the Anglo-vernacular in secondary education, and English as the primary language of teaching in higher education.
  • The aim of education was stated as diffusion of European Arts, Science, Philosophy and Literature through English. Promotion of Indian languages was also to be encouraged. “Creation of a class of public servants”, was the important objective. For this purpose, expansion of mass education was given priority.
  • The Wood’s Dispatch, for the first time, recommended the creation of a Department of Public Instruction in each of the five provinces of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Punjab and the North Western province.
  • For higher education, a scheme to establish universities was formulated along with total organizational set up. They were to conduct examinations and offer degrees in various subjects and languages. This led to the establishment of the first three universities in 1857, at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
  • The Dispatch made important recommendations on most of the aspects of education like establishing network of graded schools all over the country such as elementary schools, high schools, intermediate, colleges and university, etc., grant in aid system for financial support to schools, provision for women education, training and professional development of teachers, establishment of medical, engineering law and other institutes of professional education to develop vocational efficiency of people.

Q. He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna ; stayed in America for some time; and was also elected to the Central Assembly. He was

(a) Aurobindo Ghosh

(b) Bipin Chandra Pal

(c) Lala Lajpat Rai

(d) Motilal Nehru

Answer: (c) Lala Lajpat Rai

Notes:
  • Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian revolutionary, politician, and author, popularly known as Punjab Kesari (Lion of Punjab), he was a prolific writer and authored several works like – “Unhappy India”, “Young India: An Interpretation”, “History of Arya Samaj”, “England’s Debt to India” and a series of popular biographies.
  • His biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, and Shivaji were published in 1896 and those of Dayanand and Shri Krishna in 1898.
  • His purpose in selecting Mazzini and Garibaldi was to infuse patriotic sentiment in the youth of Punjab, who had no access to books in English.
  • He wanted his countrymen to become acquainted with the teachings of Italian leaders who had so impressed his own mind.
  • He traveled to the US in 1907 and noted sociological similarities between the notion of ‘color-caste‘ there and within castes in India.
  • He joined the Swaraj Party in 1926 and was elected as its Deputy Leader in the Central Legislative Assembly.
  • He later resigned from the Swaraj Party in August 1926.