Modern History Set 101 | MROY Class

Modern History Set 101 Questions & Answers

The Permanent Settlement of land revenue, introduced in 1793, recognized zamindars as the absolute owners of the land. Which British Governor-General introduced this system? – Lord Cornwallis
The Ryotwari system, under which the land revenue settlement was made directly with the peasant cultivators, was heavily implemented in the Madras Presidency by whom? – Thomas Munro
The Mahalwari system, which made the village community collectively responsible for the payment of land revenue, was primarily introduced in which region? – North-Western Provinces and Punjab
The ‘Drain of Wealth’ theory, which systematically highlighted the economic exploitation of India by British policies, was first propounded by whom? – Dadabhai Naoroji
The first successful mechanized textile mill in India, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, was established in 1854 by which Parsi entrepreneur? – Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar
A landmark in India’s indigenous industrial development occurred in 1907 with the establishment of the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) in which city? – Jamshedpur (Sakchi)
To regulate the working conditions of child laborers, the First Indian Factory Act was passed in 1881 during the viceroyalty of whom? – Lord Ripon
The Santhal Rebellion of 1855–56 was a massive tribal uprising against British revenue officials and local moneylenders. It was led by which two brothers? – Sidhu and Kanhu
The Munda Ulgulan (Great Tumult) of 1899–1900 took place in the Chotanagpur region to establish a ‘Munda Raj’. Who was its charismatic leader? – Birsa Munda
The historic Indigo Revolt (1859-60) in Bengal was initiated by Digambar Biswas and Bishnucharan Biswas. The plight of these cultivators was vividly portrayed in which famous play? – Nil Darpan
The Pabna Agrarian Leagues emerged in the 1870s in Bengal as a peaceful, legalistic peasant movement against the oppressive exactions of whom? – Local Zamindars
The Deccan Riots of 1875 were an agrarian revolt by the peasants of Maharashtra directed primarily against which specific group? – Marwari and Gujarati moneylenders
The Moplah Rebellion of 1921 occurred in the Malabar region of Kerala. It was primarily an uprising of Muslim tenants against whom? – Hindu landlords (jenmis) and the British administration
In 1928, the peasants of Bardoli in Gujarat launched a highly successful no-tax campaign against a 22% increase in land revenue. Who masterminded this Satyagraha? – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
The Eka Movement (1921–22) was a major peasant uprising demanding the conversion of produce rent into cash rent. In which region did this take place? – Awadh (Uttar Pradesh)
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was established in 1936 to coordinate peasant movements across India. Who was elected as its first President? – Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
The Tebhaga Movement of 1946 in Bengal was a militant campaign by sharecroppers demanding a larger share of the harvest. What was their specific demand? – A two-thirds share of the crop for themselves
The Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1828 to purge Hinduism of idol worship and caste abuses. Who was its founder? – Raja Rammohan Roy
The Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 with the motto “Go back to the Vedas.” Who established this movement? – Swami Dayanand Saraswati
The Ramakrishna Mission was established in 1897 to propagate Vedanta philosophy and carry out social service. Who was its founder? – Swami Vivekananda
To secure human rights and social justice for low-caste people, the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth Seekers’ Society) was founded in Maharashtra in 1873 by whom? – Jyotiba Phule
The Aligarh Movement was initiated to bring modern education and social reform to the Muslim community in India. Who was its principal founder? – Syed Ahmed Khan
Wood’s Despatch, famously known as the “Magna Carta of English Education in India,” laid out a comprehensive plan for an educational system. In which year was it issued? – 1854
Which commission was appointed in 1882 by Lord Ripon to evaluate the progress of education in India since Wood’s Despatch, with a special focus on primary and secondary education? – Hunter Commission
Which commission was appointed in 1917 specifically to investigate the affairs and problems of the Calcutta University, leading to structural recommendations for higher education? – Sadler Commission
The highly unpopular Vernacular Press Act of 1878, which aimed to curtail the freedom of the Indian-language press, was enacted by which Viceroy? – Lord Lytton
Which British Governor-General systematically utilized the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ to annex several Indian princely states? – Lord Dalhousie
Which British Governor-General introduced the ‘Subsidiary Alliance’ system, effectively bringing Indian states under British control without direct annexation? – Lord Wellesley
The Regulating Act of 1773 designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’. Who was the first person to hold this office? – Warren Hastings
The Charter Act of 1833 centralized the administration in India by redesignating the Governor-General of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of India’. Who was the first to hold this title? – Lord William Bentinck

MROY Class

Modern History Set 101

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📌 Modern History • Land Revenue System

Q.1) The Permanent Settlement of land revenue, introduced in 1793, recognized zamindars as the absolute owners of the land. Which British Governor-General introduced this system?

Ans > Lord Cornwallis

Proprietary Rights Granted: The Permanent Settlement, enacted by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 primarily in Bengal and Bihar, completely transformed the traditional agrarian structure. It officially recognized zamindars (who were previously just revenue collectors) as the absolute, hereditary proprietors of the land, heavily stripping millions of peasants of their customary land ownership rights.
Fixed Revenue and the Sunset Law: The British fixed the land revenue demand in perpetuity, meaning it could never be increased. The government claimed 10/11th of the gross rent, leaving merely 1/11th for the zamindar. This was strictly enforced through the infamous ‘Sunset Clause’—if a zamindar failed to deposit the revenue by sunset on a pre-determined date, his entire estate was immediately confiscated and ruthlessly auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Agrarian Impact and Absentee Landlordism: This rigid system led to the immediate ruin of many traditional zamindari families who couldn’t meet the high demands during droughts. Wealthy urban merchants from Calcutta bought these auctioned lands, creating a new class of “absentee landlords.” These new owners had absolutely zero interest in agricultural development; their sole focus was extracting maximum rent, plunging rural Bengal into generations of extreme poverty and stagnation.

📌 Modern History • Land Revenue System

Q.2) The Ryotwari system, under which the land revenue settlement was made directly with the peasant cultivators, was heavily implemented in the Madras Presidency by whom?

Ans > Thomas Munro

Direct Settlement Mechanism: First introduced by Alexander Read in 1792 and later extensively implemented by Thomas Munro in the Madras Presidency (and later in Bombay by Mountstuart Elphinstone), the Ryotwari system eliminated all middlemen. The revenue settlement was made directly with the ‘ryot’ (peasant cultivator), who was recognized as the owner of the land as long as they paid the government tax.
High Assessment and Rigidity: Unlike the Permanent Settlement, the land revenue under the Ryotwari system was not fixed permanently but was revised periodically (usually every 20 to 30 years). The major flaw was the exorbitantly high rate of assessment, often fixed at 50% of the gross produce. The collection was extremely rigid, with officials often resorting to coercion and torture, forcing peasants to sell their cattle or land to pay the cash demand.
The Rise of the Moneylender: Because the British strictly demanded the revenue in cash regardless of crop failure or drought, peasants were frequently forced to take high-interest loans from local sahukars (moneylenders). If the peasant defaulted, the moneylender would seize the land through the British legal courts. Ironically, while the system aimed to remove zamindars, it inadvertently created a new class of exploitative rural moneylenders.

📌 Modern History • Land Revenue System

Q.3) The Mahalwari system, which made the village community collectively responsible for the payment of land revenue, was primarily introduced in which region?

Ans > North-Western Provinces and Punjab

Concept and Implementation: Conceived by Holt Mackenzie in 1822 and later reformed under Lord William Bentinck in 1833, the Mahalwari system was primarily introduced in the North-Western Provinces, parts of Central India, and the Punjab. The core principle was that the basic unit of revenue assessment was not individual holdings, but the entire ‘Mahal’ (which could be a single village or a group of villages).
Collective Responsibility: Under this system, the land was considered the joint property of the village community. The village headman (Lambardar) was legally responsible for collecting the revenue from individual farmers and depositing it into the British treasury. The state demand was initially set brutally high (up to 80% of the rental value) but was later reduced to around 66% and then 50% under Bentinck to prevent mass agrarian collapse.
Erosion of Village Autonomy: While it theoretically preserved the traditional village community structure, the heavy revenue burden completely destroyed their economic self-sufficiency. The periodic revision of assessments created immense uncertainty. Just like the Ryotwari areas, the inflexible cash demands heavily forced cultivators into the vicious trap of rural indebtedness, leading to the massive transfer of land from cultivating peasants to non-cultivating urban moneylenders.

📌 Modern History • Economic Drain

Q.4) The ‘Drain of Wealth’ theory, which systematically highlighted the economic exploitation of India by British policies, was first propounded by whom?

Ans > Dadabhai Naoroji

Foundation of Economic Nationalism: Dadabhai Naoroji, affectionately known as the ‘Grand Old Man of India’, became the very first Indian to deeply analyze and expose the colonial economic exploitation. He systematically propounded the ‘Drain of Wealth’ theory in his groundbreaking book, ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’, published in 1901. This concept became the absolute intellectual foundation of the Indian national movement.
Mechanisms of the Drain: Naoroji meticulously detailed how Indian wealth was being siphoned off to Britain without any equivalent economic, commercial, or material return. The primary mechanisms of this massive drain included the ‘Home Charges’ (paying for the East India Company’s dividends, interest on public debt raised abroad, and the massive civil and military charges of the Secretary of State), as well as the remittance of savings and huge pensions by British officials back to England.
Devastating Economic Impact: He successfully argued that this continuous, unilateral transfer of wealth was the fundamental cause of India’s abject poverty and frequent, devastating famines. Capital that should have been heavily invested in India’s industrialization and agriculture was instead completely drained away to fuel the British Industrial Revolution, deeply convincing early nationalists that political self-government was essential for economic survival.

📌 Modern History • Industrialization

Q.5) The first successful mechanized textile mill in India, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, was established in 1854 by which Parsi entrepreneur?

Ans > Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar

Pioneering Indigenous Industry: In a monumental shift from traditional handloom weaving to modern factory production, the visionary Parsi entrepreneur Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar established the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company in 1854. This historic event marked the absolute beginning of the mechanized cotton textile industry in India, heavily funded by indigenous capital accumulated through the China trade.
Breaking British Monopoly: Setting up a factory in India was incredibly difficult because the British colonial government actively discouraged Indian industrialization to ensure India remained merely an exporter of raw cotton and an importer of finished Manchester cloth. Davar successfully overcame massive hurdles, including importing heavy steam machinery from Britain and hiring skilled European engineers to train the local Indian workforce.
Catalyst for Urbanization: The massive success of Davar’s mill triggered a rapid industrial boom in western India. By the late 19th century, dozens of new mills completely transformed Bombay into a massive industrial hub. This sparked huge waves of rural-to-urban migration as impoverished peasants from the hinterlands flocked to the city seeking factory employment, fundamentally altering the demographic and labor landscape of Maharashtra.

📌 Modern History • Industrialization

Q.6) A landmark in India’s indigenous industrial development occurred in 1907 with the establishment of the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) in which city?

Ans > Jamshedpur (Sakchi)

Realizing Jamsetji’s Vision: The establishment of the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) in 1907 was the realization of the massive, lifelong dream of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, although the plant was actually set up by his son, Dorabji Tata. Located in the small village of Sakchi (later renamed Jamshedpur by Lord Chelmsford), it represented a monumental leap for heavy industry in colonial India.
Swadeshi Capital and Self-Reliance: TISCO was uniquely established during the peak of the Swadeshi Movement. When European bankers completely refused to fund the project, the Tatas boldly appealed directly to the Indian public. In a massive display of economic nationalism, thousands of ordinary Indians rapidly purchased shares, ensuring the entire capital for the massive steel plant was raised entirely from domestic sources within three weeks.
Strategic Importance during WW1: The plant began producing commercial pig iron in 1911 and high-quality steel in 1912. It proved to be absolutely vital for the British Empire during World War I, supplying thousands of miles of steel rails for military campaigns in Mesopotamia and Egypt. This massive success completely shattered the racist colonial myth that Indians were fundamentally incapable of managing highly complex metallurgical industries.

📌 Modern History • British Administration

Q.7) To regulate the working conditions of child laborers, the First Indian Factory Act was passed in 1881 during the viceroyalty of whom?

Ans > Lord Ripon

Liberal Viceroyalty: Lord Ripon, often remembered as one of the most liberal and sympathetic British Viceroys, enacted the First Indian Factory Act in 1881. The rapid growth of the textile industry in Bombay and jute in Bengal had led to horrific labor conditions, with factories exploiting women and extremely young children for 14-16 hours a day in poorly ventilated, incredibly dangerous sheds.
Key Provisions for Child Labor: The 1881 Act was specifically targeted at improving the plight of child laborers. It strictly prohibited the employment of children under the age of seven. For children between the ages of 7 and 12, their maximum working hours were legally capped at nine hours per day, and they were mandated to receive four holidays per month.
Safety and Limitations: The Act also made it legally mandatory to properly fence off dangerous heavy machinery to prevent horrific industrial accidents. While it was a highly significant first step towards formal labor legislation in India, it was heavily criticized by Indian labor leaders like N.M. Lokhande because it completely ignored adult male and female workers, and applied only to large factories employing more than 100 people using mechanical power.

📌 Modern History • Tribal Uprisings

Q.8) The Santhal Rebellion of 1855–56 was a massive tribal uprising against British revenue officials and local moneylenders. It was led by which two brothers?

Ans > Sidhu and Kanhu

Exploitation in Damin-i-Koh: The Santhals had migrated to the Damin-i-Koh region (Rajmahal Hills) seeking peace, clearing dense forests to practice agriculture. However, they soon faced extreme exploitation from ‘Dikus’—a term they used for outsiders, which included corrupt British revenue officials, brutal local police, and heavily exploitative Hindu and Muslim moneylenders (mahajans) who charged interest rates ranging from 50% to 500%.
Divine Revelation and Mass Mobilization: Driven to absolute desperation, two charismatic brothers, Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, claimed they had received a direct divine revelation from their supreme deity, ‘Thakur’. They sent out Sal tree branches across villages as a massive call to arms. In 1855, over 30,000 Santhals fiercely mobilized, completely cutting off postal and railway communications, and began violently attacking the houses of moneylenders and British outposts.
Brutal Suppression and Aftermath: The rebellion was characterized by incredible bravery; Santhals fought modern British muskets and artillery heavily relying only on bows, arrows, and axes. The British East India Company deployed massive military force, declaring martial law and slaughtering an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Santhals. Despite the crushing defeat, it forced the British to officially create a separate, heavily protected administrative district known as the Santhal Pargana to pacify the region.

📌 Modern History • Tribal Uprisings