Modern History Set 150 | MROY Class

Modern History Set 150 – Questions & Answers

The ‘Cornwallis Code’ of 1793 was a landmark because it was primarily based on which principle? – The separation of revenue administration from judicial administration
Which British Governor-General is credited with the suppression of the ‘Thuggee’ cult? – Lord William Bentinck
Who was the Governor-General of India when the British annexed Sindh in 1843? – Lord Ellenborough
The policy of “Masterly Inactivity” is most closely associated with which Viceroy? – Sir John Lawrence
Which Viceroy organized the grand Delhi Durbar in 1877? – Lord Lytton
The controversial ‘Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act’ (1899) was passed during the viceroyalty of whom? – Lord Curzon
The Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885) took place under which Viceroy? – Lord Dufferin
The actual planning and revenue assessment of the Permanent Settlement were guided by whom? – John Shore
The Ryotwari System was initially experimented with in the Baramahal region by whom? – Captain Alexander Read
Who was the primary architect of the Mahalwari System? – Holt Mackenzie
Which city served as the main operational base for the Wahabi Movement in India? – Patna
Who was the leader of the Kuka Movement deported to Rangoon in 1872? – Baba Ram Singh
Who led the Rampa Rebellion of 1922? – Alluri Sitarama Raju
The Sanyasi Rebellion was immortalized in which classic Bengali novel? – Anandamath
The historic Indigo Revolt (1859-60) was initiated by which two leaders? – Digambar Biswas and Bishnucharan Biswas
Who were the primary targets of the Deccan Riots of 1875? – Marwari and Gujarati moneylenders
In which region did the Eka Movement (1921–22) take place? – Awadh (Uttar Pradesh)
Who was elected as the first President of the All India Kisan Sabha in 1936? – Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
What was the specific demand of the Tebhaga Movement (1946)? – A two-thirds share of the crop for themselves
The Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle was directed against the Nizam and which class of landlords? – Deshmukhs
Where was the second passenger railway line opened in 1854? – Howrah to Hooghly
The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was established in 1907 in which city? – Jamshedpur (Sakchi)
The first successful mechanized cotton textile mill was established in 1854 by whom? – Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar
The first modern Jute mill in India was established in 1855 at which location? – Rishra
Which early nationalist leader systematically propounded the “Drain of Wealth” theory? – Dadabhai Naoroji
Which prominent Indian authored the seminal work The Economic History of India (1901)? – Romesh Chandra Dutt
The First Indian Factory Act (1881) prohibited the employment of children below what age? – 7 years
The Second Indian Factory Act of 1891 was passed during the viceroyalty of whom? – Lord Lansdowne
The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 made which of the following illegal? – Sympathetic strikes and strikes meant to coerce the government
Who was the first President of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) founded in 1920? – Lala Lajpat Rai

MROY Class

Modern History Set 150

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📌 Administration • British Policies

Q.1) The ‘Cornwallis Code’ of 1793 was a landmark in British Indian administration because it was primarily based on which principle?

Ans > The separation of revenue administration from judicial administration

Separation of Powers: Lord Cornwallis firmly believed that if revenue collectors were also given judicial powers, peasant exploitation would be inevitable. Therefore, the Cornwallis Code of 1793 fundamentally separated the revenue collection duties from the administration of civil justice, ensuring that collectors only collected taxes and had no magisterial powers.
Establishment of a Hierarchy of Courts: The code effectively set up a structural hierarchy of civil and criminal courts. It established Diwani Adalats at the district level, presided over by European judges, significantly formalizing the rule of law under the East India Company’s rapidly expanding territory in India.
Europeanization of Administration: Another major hallmark of the Cornwallis Code was the systematic exclusion of Indians from higher posts in the administration. Cornwallis harbored deep distrust towards Indian officials, leading to a highly Europeanized civil service which formed the steel frame of British colonial rule for decades to come.
Rule of Law and Sovereignty: The Code established the principle of the sovereignty of law, making government officials answerable to the civil courts for actions done in their official capacity. This was a novel concept in Indian governance at the time, replacing arbitrary despotic rule with a formalized, albeit colonial, legal framework.

📌 Social Reforms • British Governors

Q.2) Which British Governor-General is credited with the suppression of the ‘Thuggee’ cult in central and northern India with the help of Captain William Sleeman?

Ans > Lord William Bentinck

Eradication of the Thuggee Cult: Lord William Bentinck took uncompromising measures against the Thuggee cult—organized gangs of professional robbers and murderers who strangled travelers across central and northern India. He recognized that traditional policing was entirely insufficient to dismantle this highly secretive network.
Sleeman’s Systematic Campaign: Bentinck assigned Captain (later Major-General) William Henry Sleeman, who established the Thuggee and Dacoity Department in 1835. Using extensive intelligence networks, approvers (informants), and systematic profiling, Sleeman successfully captured and prosecuted thousands of Thugs, effectively eradicating the cult by the 1840s.
Socio-Cultural Reforms (Abolition of Sati): Beyond establishing crucial law and order, Bentinck is heavily celebrated for his progressive social reforms. Guided by enlightened Indian reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, he officially made the regressive practice of Sati illegal and punishable as culpable homicide in 1829.
Introduction of English Education: Bentinck’s tenure also witnessed the highly consequential passing of the English Education Act of 1835. Heavily influenced by Lord Macaulay’s famous Minute, this act decisively made English the sole medium of higher education in India, profoundly shaping the nation’s future intellectual and political landscape.

📌 Annexation • British Governors

Q.3) In 1843, the British annexed Sindh into the British Empire following a military campaign led by Sir Charles Napier. Who was the Governor-General of India at that time?

Ans > Lord Ellenborough

The Strategic Annexation of Sindh: The largely unprovoked annexation of Sindh in 1843 was primarily executed to secure complete British control over the crucial, navigable Indus River. It was also driven by the paranoid desire to counter the perceived threat of potential Russian influence expanding through Central Asia toward British India.
The Role of Sir Charles Napier: The military campaign was ruthlessly commanded by Major General Sir Charles Napier. He deliberately forced a highly unequal treaty upon the Amirs of Sindh, deliberately provoked a military conflict, and decisively defeated them at the battles of Miani and Dubba, absorbing the prosperous territory into the Bombay Presidency.
A Morally Condemned Conquest: Even among British officials and the public back in England, the annexation was widely criticized as an act of pure imperial greed and blatant aggression. Sir Charles Napier famously telegraphed “Peccavi” (Latin for “I have sinned”), punning on “I have Sindh”, openly acknowledging the moral ambiguity and the lack of justifiable cause.
Compensation for Afghan Disaster: Modern historians frequently argue that the annexation of Sindh was a direct psychological and political compensation for the humiliating, devastating British defeat in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842), aiming to forcefully restore the shattered prestige of the East India Company’s military might.

📌 Foreign Policy • British Viceroys

Q.4) The policy of “Masterly Inactivity” regarding Afghanistan, which aimed to avoid unnecessary interference in Afghan internal affairs, is most closely associated with which Viceroy?

Ans > Sir John Lawrence

Defining ‘Masterly Inactivity’: Following the incredibly disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War, Sir John Lawrence firmly adopted a highly pragmatic policy of strict non-interference, famously termed “Masterly Inactivity.” This policy deliberately avoided any British military involvement in the incredibly volatile internal succession struggles and civil wars raging in Afghanistan.
Conditions for Non-Interference: This strategic prudence rested heavily on two absolute conditions being met: first, that the peace on the sensitive Indian frontier should remain completely undisturbed, and second, that absolutely no foreign power (most notably Tsarist Russia) should be allowed to intervene or establish influence in Afghan political affairs.
Consolidation Over Expansion: Lawrence believed that a strong, secure, and internally well-governed India was a far better defense against Russian expansionism than aggressive forward policies. He focused heavily on consolidating the recently conquered Punjab, improving internal communications, and strengthening military readiness rather than squandering resources on Afghan adventures.
Eventual Abandonment of the Policy: The incredibly wise policy of Masterly Inactivity was eventually abandoned by later Viceroys, particularly Lord Lytton, who actively pursued an aggressive “Forward Policy.” Lytton’s provocative stance directly triggered the bloody Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880), violently proving Lawrence’s fears about the immense costs and absolute futility of Afghan intervention.

📌 Administration • British Viceroys

Q.5) Which Viceroy organized the grand Delhi Durbar in 1877 to proclaim Queen Victoria as the “Empress of India” (Kaiser-i-Hind) while a severe famine raged in the country?

Ans > Lord Lytton

The Famine and the Imperial Festivity: Lord Lytton faced intense, bitter, and entirely justified criticism from early Indian nationalists for aggressively organizing a lavish, incredibly expensive imperial Durbar in Delhi in 1877. This grand spectacle occurred while millions of Indian peasants were agonizingly starving to death during the catastrophic Great Famine of 1876–1878.
Proclaiming the Empress of India: The primary political purpose of this specific Durbar was the formal proclamation of Queen Victoria as the “Empress of India” (Kaiser-i-Hind). This elaborate political theater was heavily orchestrated to formally transfer absolute sovereign allegiance from the defunct Mughal dynasty directly to the British Crown, aiming to awe the native princes.
Reactionary and Repressive Policies: Lord Lytton’s tenure was marked by deeply reactionary policies designed specifically to crush rising Indian political consciousness. He is infamous for passing the draconian Vernacular Press Act (1878), which effectively gagged the Indian-language press, and the heavily biased Arms Act (1878), which disarmed the Indian population while completely exempting Europeans.
Catalyst for Organized Nationalism: The stark, horrifying contrast between the obscene wealth displayed at the Delhi Durbar and the agonizing starvation of the Indian peasantry acted as a massive catalyst for early Indian nationalism. It profoundly alienated the educated Indian middle class, directly accelerating the rapid formation of regional political associations that eventually birthed the Indian National Congress.

📌 Economic Policy • British Viceroys

Q.6) The controversial ‘Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act’ (1899), which put India on a gold standard, was passed during the viceroyalty of whom?

Ans > Lord Curzon

Imposition of the Gold Standard: Lord Curzon, renowned for his relentless imperial efficiency and sweeping administrative overhauls, passed the Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act in 1899. This highly controversial macroeconomic reform artificially pegged the value of the Indian silver rupee to the British gold standard, fixing the exchange rate strictly at 1 shilling and 4 pence per rupee.
Making British Gold Legal Tender: The act officially declared the British gold sovereign and half-sovereign as legal tender throughout the vast Indian subcontinent. This deliberate monetary tightening was entirely designed to heavily favor British commercial interests, reassure foreign investors, and significantly ease the colonial government’s ability to remit “Home Charges” back to London without exchange losses.
Economic Strain on Indian Agriculture: This strict currency manipulation actively worsened the economic conditions for the vast majority of Indian agriculturalists and local manufacturers. By artificially overvaluing the rupee, it effectively deflated the prices of Indian cash crops on the competitive international export market, severely reducing the income of Indian peasants while their colonial revenue demands remained completely fixed.
Widespread Nationalist Critique: Early Indian economic nationalists, including prominent figures like Dadabhai Naoroji and Romesh Chandra Dutt, fiercely criticized Curzon’s currency policies. They correctly argued that manipulating the exchange rate was yet another highly sophisticated imperial mechanism utilized to aggressively accelerate the “Drain of Wealth” from India to Britain, further impoverishing the colonized nation.

📌 Military Campaigns • British Viceroys

Q.7) The Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885), which resulted in the complete annexation of Upper Burma into the British Indian Empire, took place under which Viceroy?

Ans > Lord Dufferin

Imperial Expansion and French Paranoia: Prompted heavily by the intense fear of growing French commercial and diplomatic influence expanding rapidly from Indochina into the region, Viceroy Lord Dufferin swiftly launched the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. The British were desperate to permanently secure their vulnerable eastern frontiers and absolutely monopolize the lucrative overland trade routes to China.
The Teak Logging Dispute: The immediate pretext for the unprovoked military invasion was a heavy fine imposed by King Thibaw of Burma on the British-owned Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation. The British deliberately used this relatively minor commercial dispute over teak logging operations in the dense forests of Toungoo as a highly convenient casus belli for total conquest.
The Rapid End of the Konbaung Dynasty: The military campaign was incredibly brief, lasting only a few weeks. The deeply outgunned and poorly organized Burmese forces were rapidly overwhelmed by the highly disciplined British Indian Army. The war resulted in the immediate deposition and humiliating exile of King Thibaw and Queen Supayalat to Ratnagiri, India.
Total Annexation into British India: Following the rapid victory, Upper Burma was formally annexed on January 1, 1886, completely absorbing the last remnants of the independent Konbaung kingdom into the massive British Indian Empire as a direct province. This marked the total political pacification of the entire Burmese territory, although massive, brutal anti-colonial guerrilla resistance continued in the region for nearly a decade afterward.

📌 Land Revenue • British Policies

Q.8) The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was introduced by Lord Cornwallis, but the actual planning and revenue assessment were heavily guided by which British official?

Ans > John Shore

The Architect of the Settlement: While Governor-General Lord Cornwallis gets the historical credit for officially implementing it, Sir John Shore (then President of the Board of Revenue) was fundamentally responsible for the exhaustive detailed planning, massive historical research, and core policy recommendations that ultimately formed the complex basis of the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793.
Creation of a New Landlord Class: The system radically transformed local zamindars (who were historically just temporary revenue collectors) into absolute, permanent, hereditary owners of the land. This massive transfer of property rights was strictly conditional on them paying a fixed, unalterable revenue demand to the colonial state, forever changing the agrarian structure of eastern India.
The Brutal Sunset Clause: A highly critical and draconian feature of the settlement was the notorious ‘Sunset Clause’. If a zamindar failed to pay the precise revenue amount by sunset on a rigidly specified date, their entire estate was immediately confiscated by the British administration and mercilessly auctioned off to the highest bidder, leading to the massive displacement of traditional aristocracies by urban speculators.
Devastation of the Peasantry: While the revenue was permanently fixed for the zamindars, guaranteeing them immense future profits as agriculture expanded, the colonial government provided absolutely no legal protection for the actual cultivators (ryots). The peasants were brutally reduced to mere tenants-at-will, subjected to illegal exactions, severe rack-renting, and extreme exploitation, leading to widespread and structural agrarian impoverishment.

📌 Land Revenue • British Policies

Q.9) The Ryotwari System, under which land revenue was settled directly with the peasant (ryot), was initially experimented with in the Baramahal region by whom?

Ans > Captain Alexander Read

Origin and Direct Settlement: Recognizing the massive revenue flaws and administrative chaos inherent in the Zamindari system of Bengal, Captain Alexander Read first successfully experimented with the Ryotwari system in the Baramahal region in 1792. It was later heavily expanded, refined, and formally institutionalized across the vast Madras Presidency by his famous protege, Thomas Munro.
Eliminating Middlemen: Under this revolutionary agrarian system, the British government bypassed intermediate landlords entirely and collected land revenue directly from the individual cultivator (the Ryot). The ryot was legally recognized as the absolute owner of the land, possessing the right to sublet, mortgage, or legally transfer it, as long as the state revenue was promptly paid.
Exorbitant Revenue Demands: Despite the theoretical benefits of eliminating parasitic middlemen, the system proved incredibly oppressive in brutal practice. The British revenue assessments were typically fixed at incredibly exorbitant rates (often up to 50% of the gross produce), completely ignoring the harsh, unpredictable realities of severe droughts, frequent crop failures, or sudden market fluctuations.
Rigid Collection and Peasant Debt: The British revenue machinery collected taxes with ruthless, highly inflexible efficiency. To meet these incredibly harsh cash demands in an underdeveloped economy, peasants were frequently forced directly into the hands of predatory rural moneylenders (Sahukars), ultimately losing their lands to unbreakable debt traps, which completely defeated the system’s original intent of protecting the cultivator.

📌 Land Revenue • British Policies

Q.10) In 1822, the Mahalwari System was introduced in the North-Western Provinces and parts of Central India. Who was the primary architect of this system?

Ans > Holt Mackenzie

Community-Based Ownership: Designed primarily by British official Holt Mackenzie in 1822, the Mahalwari system was widely introduced in the North-Western Provinces, parts of Central India, and eventually the Punjab. It uniquely recognized the entire village community (the Mahal or estate) as a joint, collective unit for revenue assessment, rather than relying on individual isolated peasants or distant absentee landlords.
The Role of the Lambardar: Under this specific system, the village headman (Lambardar) or a designated committee of respected village elders was made strictly responsible for collecting the revenue from all the individual cultivators within the village and remitting it collectively to the colonial state. It operated essentially as a highly modified, pragmatic hybrid of both the Zamindari and Ryotwari systems.
Periodic Revision of Revenue: Unlike the incredibly rigid Permanent Settlement in Bengal, the state revenue demand under the Mahalwari system was explicitly not fixed in perpetuity. The colonial government retained the legal right to periodically revise and invariably aggressively enhance the revenue assessments, typically every 20 to 30 years, preventing the state from losing out on long-term agricultural growth.
Destruction of Village Communities: While theoretically meant to preserve traditional village structures and collective responsibility, the incredibly heavy, highly inflexible revenue demands and the introduction of strict, alien British property laws fundamentally eroded the ancient cooperative structure of Indian villages. It predictably led to massive land fragmentation, rising internal rural inequality, and the steady, unchecked rise of a highly powerful money-lending class.

📌 Socio-Religious • Movements

Q.11) The Wahabi Movement in India was a militant Islamic revivalist campaign that sought to restore Islamic supremacy. Which city served as its main operational base in India?

Ans > Patna

Center of Operations: Founded by the highly charismatic Syed Ahmed of Rae Bareli, the Wahabi movement was heavily inspired by the teachings of Shah Waliullah. While the military campaigns occurred in the northwest, Patna emerged as its incredibly crucial, highly secretive nerve center for logistics, fundraising, and continuous recruitment across India.
Anti-Sikh to Anti-British: The movement was initially directed violently against the Sikh kingdom in Punjab, viewed by the Wahabis as oppressors of Muslims in the region. However, following the total British annexation of Punjab in 1849, the Wahabi fury and well-organized militant network was entirely redirected against the colonial British government.
Sophisticated Network: The Wahabis maintained a remarkably sophisticated and heavily disciplined underground network. They organized a highly efficient system of spiritual leaders (Khalifas) who covertly traveled across Bengal, Bihar, and the United Provinces to secretly collect taxes and fanaticize the rural Muslim peasantry for an impending holy war (Jihad) against the British.
British Suppression and Trials: The British correctly viewed the Wahabis as a massive, existential security threat, especially in the wake of the 1857 revolt. The colonial government brutally suppressed the movement through sweeping military operations and the infamous Ambala (1864) and Patna (1871) sedition trials, which resulted in the execution or life imprisonment (at Kala Pani) of its core leadership.

📌 Socio-Religious • Movements

Q.12) The Kuka Movement in Punjab started as a religious purification campaign but transformed into a political struggle. Its leader was deported to Rangoon in 1872. Who was he?

Ans > Baba Ram Singh

Namdhari Sect Origins: The Kuka Movement, formally known as the Namdhari movement, was initially founded by Bhagat Jawahar Mal but was fiercely organized and led by Baba Ram Singh. It began strictly as a puritanical religious campaign aiming to cleanse Sikhism of caste rigidities, idol worship, and the widespread consumption of meat and alcohol.
Proto-Swadeshi Tactics: Long before the formal Swadeshi movement was adopted by the Indian National Congress, Baba Ram Singh directed his followers to actively boycott all things British. The Kukas refused to attend British educational institutions, boycotted British courts and laws, and completely rejected imported foreign clothing in favor of hand-spun Khadi.
Violent Escalation over Cow Protection: The movement rapidly transformed from religious reform to a violent political struggle against the British administration. The flashpoint was the Kuka insistence on absolute cow protection, leading to highly organized, violent attacks by radical Kuka factions on Muslim butchers in Amritsar and Raikot, which openly defied British law and order.
Brutal Crackdown and Deportation: Following a massive, violent Kuka uprising in Malerkotla in 1872, the British responded with overwhelming, horrifying force. They famously executed dozens of captured Kukas without trial by blowing them directly from the mouths of cannons. To completely decapitate the movement, Baba Ram Singh was arrested and permanently exiled to Rangoon, Burma, where he eventually died.

📌 Tribal Uprisings • Rebellions

Q.13) The Rampa Rebellion of 1922 was a major tribal uprising against the oppressive British forest laws in the Godavari Agency. Who led this charismatic rebellion?

Ans > Alluri Sitarama Raju

Grievances against Forest Laws: The Rampa Rebellion erupted primarily due to the incredibly oppressive Madras Forest Act of 1882. This colonial law aggressively restricted the traditional movement of tribal communities, completely preventing them from practicing their traditional ‘Podu’ (shifting) agriculture and foraging for minor forest produce, deliberately forcing them into low-wage labor for British contractors.
Charismatic Leadership: Alluri Sitarama Raju, a highly charismatic ascetic who was remarkably not a tribal himself, deeply united the fragmented local tribal populations. Leveraging his immense spiritual authority and deep understanding of local grievances, he organized a highly disciplined, heavily armed tribal militia to directly challenge British sovereignty in the Godavari Agency.
Brilliant Guerilla Warfare: Raju led a brilliant, sustained guerilla campaign spanning over two years. His forces repeatedly executed highly coordinated, daring raids on heavily fortified British police stations (such as Chintapalle and Krishnadevipeta) specifically to loot modern firearms and ammunition, severely humiliating the colonial police force and establishing complete control over the jungle terrain.
Martyrdom and Legacy: Known locally and affectionately as ‘Manyam Veerudu’ (Hero of the Jungle), the British were forced to deploy the specialized Malabar Special Police to hunt him down. He was eventually captured, tied directly to a tree, and extrajudicially executed by a British firing squad in 1924, effectively ending the violent phase of the rebellion but cementing his status as a legendary folk hero.

📌 Literature • Rebellions

Q.14) The Sanyasi Rebellion, one of the earliest uprisings against British rule, was immortalized in which classic Bengali novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee?

Ans > Anandamath

Historical Context of the Rebellion: The incredibly fierce Sanyasi Rebellion occurred primarily in Bengal immediately following the devastating, catastrophic famine of 1770. Displaced, starving peasants joined forces with wandering ascetics (Sanyasis and Fakirs) who were infuriated by the East India Company’s harsh restrictions on their traditional pilgrimage routes and their aggressive, unyielding revenue collections.
Clashing with the East India Company: These groups formed highly mobile, surprisingly effective guerrilla armies that fiercely clashed with East India Company forces. They routinely raided Company factories, aggressively looted colonial treasuries, and successfully established parallel administrations in regions like Bogra and Mymensingh, severely challenging early British authority before being suppressed by Warren Hastings.
Literary Legacy of Anandamath: Published much later in 1882, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s masterpiece ‘Anandamath’ heavily romanticized this historical rebellion. The novel brilliantly reframed the wandering ascetics as highly disciplined, intensely patriotic warrior-monks who were utterly dedicated to violently liberating their motherland from foreign exploitation and misrule.
Birth of a National Anthem: Crucially, the novel introduced the iconic, fiercely patriotic poem “Vande Mataram” (I bow to thee, Mother). This deeply emotional song quickly transcended its literary origins, becoming the ultimate, unifying rallying cry of the entire Indian independence movement, sung passionately by revolutionaries and moderate nationalists alike for decades.

📌 Peasant Uprisings • Rebellions

Q.15) The historic Indigo Revolt (1859-60) in Bengal, protesting the coercive cultivation of indigo, was initiated by which two leaders in the Nadia district?

Ans > Digambar Biswas and Bishnucharan Biswas

The Agony of Indigo Cultivation: Facing incredibly brutal, systemic exploitation by European planters, Bengali peasants were completely trapped. Planters forced them to sign fraudulent contracts and provided tiny, inescapable cash advances, compelling them to plant highly unprofitable indigo on their most fertile lands instead of desperately needed food crops like rice.
The Blue Mutiny Spark: Driven to absolute desperation, the historic Indigo Revolt (often called the Blue Mutiny) was fiercely initiated by Digambar Biswas and Bishnucharan Biswas in the Nadia district. They organized a massive, highly disciplined peasant strike, successfully persuading thousands of cultivators to absolutely refuse to sow indigo seeds, despite the severe threat of violent physical retaliation by the planters’ thugs.
Unprecedented Intellectual Support: Unlike earlier, isolated agrarian revolts, the Indigo rebellion received massive, highly active, and vocal support from the educated Bengali intelligentsia and Christian missionaries. Dinabandhu Mitra’s powerful play ‘Nil Darpan’ vividly exposed the horrifying atrocities committed by the European planters, creating a massive political uproar both in India and back in England.
A Rare Peasant Victory: The sheer scale of the incredibly disciplined, non-violent resistance forced the colonial government to quickly appoint the Indigo Commission in 1860. The commission heavily condemned the planters’ deeply coercive methods, eventually leading to a government notification that peasants could not be legally compelled to grow indigo, marking a massive, rare victory for Indian peasant resistance.

📌 Peasant Uprisings • Rebellions

Q.16) The Deccan Riots of 1875 were an agrarian revolt by the peasants of Maharashtra. Who were the primary targets of this uprising?

Ans > Marwari and Gujarati moneylenders

The Crushing Debt Trap: Driven into massive, unpayable debt by oppressively high British land revenue rates (under the Ryotwari system) and a sudden, catastrophic crash in global cotton prices following the end of the American Civil War, Maharashtrian peasants were hopelessly trapped. They were utterly dependent on the exorbitant, compound interest rates charged by immigrant Sahukars (moneylenders).
Highly Specific Targeting: The riots were incredibly highly specific in their anger. The peasants primarily and systematically targeted the ‘outsider’ Marwari and Gujarati moneylenders. Unlike traditional revolts aimed at the state, the anger here was directed entirely at the immediate agents of financial ruin within the village economy.
Destroying the Documents: The primary objective of the rioting peasants was not widespread bloodshed, but financial liberation. They aggressively attacked the moneylenders’ houses and shops specifically to forcibly seize and completely destroy the oppressive debt bonds, legal decrees, and manipulated account books that legally bound them to generations of severe debt slavery.
Government Response and Legislation: Fearing another massive uprising so soon after 1857, the British quickly deployed the military to restore order. However, acknowledging the severe underlying distress, the colonial government passed the Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act of 1879, which provided some minor legal protections to peasants against arbitrary arrest and the forced auction of their lands for debt recovery.

📌 Peasant Uprisings • Movements

Q.17) 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?

Ans > Awadh (Uttar Pradesh)

Unity in Deep Grievance: Erupting primarily in the northern districts of Awadh, the Eka (Unity) movement was a massive grassroots peasant struggle. The heavily oppressed peasants were fighting against local Taluqdars (landlords) who frequently and illegally extracted rents that were up to 50% higher than the officially recorded rates, alongside numerous arbitrary cesses.
Grassroots Leadership: While initially supported by the Congress and Khilafat leaders, the movement quickly passed into the hands of grassroots, lower-caste leaders, most notably Madari Pasi. This leadership shift deeply united the historically marginalized Pasi and Ahir castes, giving the movement an incredibly militant, uncompromising, and highly organized character.
Sacred Ritual Oaths: The movement was heavily characterized by deeply binding religious rituals. Tens of thousands of peasants gathered at local rivers or temples, where a priest would tie a sacred thread. They took solemn oaths not to pay any excess rent, completely refuse forced unpaid labor (begar), and fiercely resist eviction from their lands at any cost.
Severe State Repression: Because the movement rapidly turned violent and heavily targeted both the landlord class and the local British administrative apparatus, the colonial government responded with overwhelming brutality. By early 1922, the movement was completely crushed through severe state repression, mass arrests, and the aggressive deployment of armed police battalions across Awadh.

📌 Peasant Movements • Organizations

Q.18) The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was established in 1936 in Lucknow to coordinate peasant movements across India. Who was elected as its first President?

Ans > Swami Sahajanand Saraswati

Creating a National Peasant Platform: Before 1936, peasant struggles in India were highly localized and deeply fragmented. The formation of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) during the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress represented a monumental shift, providing a massive, unified, and highly militant national platform specifically dedicated to addressing structural agrarian issues.
The Leadership of Swami Sahajanand: Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, an incredibly powerful and immensely popular peasant leader from Bihar, was the absolute natural choice for its first President. His deep, ascetic dedication and unmatched organizational skills had already built the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha into the most formidable agrarian organization in the country.
Radical Core Demands: The organization moved far beyond simply asking for rent reductions. Under Sahajanand’s leadership, the AIKS heavily campaigned for the total, uncompensated abolition of the parasitic Zamindari system, the radical reduction of land revenue by half, and the complete institutionalization of fair credit for rural farmers.
Bridging Class and Nation: The AIKS successfully integrated the massive, raw energy of the rural class struggle directly into the broader anti-imperialist movement. While they frequently clashed with the conservative, landlord-friendly right wing of the Congress, their massive rallies forced the national leadership to adopt radically pro-peasant economic manifestos in the late 1930s.

📌 Peasant Uprisings • Movements

Q.19) The Tebhaga Movement (1946) was a militant campaign by sharecroppers demanding a larger share of the harvest. What was their specific demand?

Ans > A two-thirds share of the crop for themselves

The Core “Tebhaga” Struggle: Initiated by the incredibly organized Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha in late 1946, the sharecroppers (Bargadars) initiated a massive revolt. They firmly demanded that they retain two-thirds (Tebhaga) of the crop they physically produced, leaving only one-third for the wealthy, highly parasitic absentee landlords (Jotedars).
Challenging the Feudal Status Quo: Historically, the harvested crop was split 50/50, but the peasants bore all the massive costs of seeds, cattle, and labor, leaving them perpetually starving. The movement’s demands were heavily backed by the official recommendations of the British-appointed Land Revenue Commission (Floud Commission), giving their struggle immense legal and moral legitimacy.
Militant Defiance and Action: The movement was characterized by incredible, highly militant defiance. Previously, peasants had to deliver the entire harvest to the landlord’s compound for division. During the movement, peasants militantly harvested the paddy together and brought it directly to their own village threshing floors (Kholans), openly defying the deeply entrenched power of the Jotedars.
Violent State Crackdown: The rallying cry “Tebhaga chai” (We want two-thirds) echoed across rural Bengal. The deeply terrified landlords called upon the colonial police, resulting in violent, highly brutal state crackdowns. Despite massive police firings and thousands of arrests, the movement successfully forced many landlords to temporarily accept the two-thirds demand before the chaos of Partition engulfed the region.

📌 Peasant Uprisings • Rebellions

Q.20) The massive Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle (1946–1951) was directed against the autocratic rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad and which class of oppressive landlords?

Ans > Deshmukhs

Extreme Feudal Exploitation: The Telangana movement was a massive, highly organized armed revolt against the brutally oppressive, deeply archaic feudal system of the princely state of Hyderabad. The primary targets were the ‘Deshmukhs’ and ‘Jagirdars’—immensely powerful local landlords who owned thousands of acres and mercilessly extracted forced, unpaid labor (Vetti) from the lower castes.
Communist Leadership and Organization: The deeply aggrieved peasantry found highly disciplined, ideological leadership in the Communist Party of India (CPI) operating through the Andhra Mahasabha. The communists expertly organized the peasants into highly effective armed guerrilla squads (Dalams) to aggressively resist the landlords’ private armies and the deeply corrupt Nizam’s police.
Massive Land Redistribution: The struggle was incredibly successful on the ground before 1948. The armed peasant rebels actively liberated over 3,000 villages across Telangana. In these liberated zones, they established people’s committees, cancelled all rural debt, abolished forced labor entirely, and aggressively redistributed over a million acres of landlord land to desperately poor, landless peasants.
Suppression by the Indian Army: Following the successful integration of Hyderabad into India via the Indian Army’s “Operation Polo” in 1948, the army’s guns were shockingly turned against the communist-led peasant rebels who refused to surrender the lands they had seized. The movement was eventually suppressed through massive military force and officially called off by the CPI in 1951.

📌 Infrastructure • Railways

Q.21) The first passenger railway line in India ran from Bombay to Thane in 1853. Where was the second passenger railway line opened in 1854?

Ans > Howrah to Hooghly

Eastern India’s First Train: Exactly one year after the highly publicized, historic Bombay-Thane run, the East Indian Railway (EIR) company successfully opened the second commercial passenger line in India. This highly crucial broad-gauge line ran a distance of exactly 24 miles from Howrah to Hooghly in Bengal on August 15, 1854.
The Economic Core Motive: These incredibly expensive early railway lines were not built for the convenience of Indian passengers. They were strategically designed and heavily financed by British capitalists primarily to rapidly extract bulk raw materials (like cotton, coal, and jute) from the deep interior and transport them efficiently to major ports for export to British factories.
Facilitating Imperial Control: Beyond pure economics, the rapidly expanding railway network served a massive strategic purpose. It allowed the colonial government to quickly and decisively deploy troops and military supplies across the vast subcontinent to crush internal rebellions, a capability that proved absolutely critical for the British survival during the massive revolt of 1857.
The Guarantee System: The massive capital for these railways was raised in London through the highly controversial “Guarantee System.” The colonial government guaranteed a risk-free, minimum return of 5% on all British investments, absolutely regardless of whether the railway lines actually made a profit, forcing Indian taxpayers to essentially subsidize British industrial expansion.

📌 Industry • Economy

Q.22) A major milestone 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)

The Vision of Indigenous Heavy Industry: Originally conceptualized by the legendary visionary Jamsetji Tata (though actualized after his death by his son Dorabji Tata), TISCO represented a massive, unprecedented leap for Indian self-reliance. Establishing a highly complex, capital-intensive steel plant proved that Indians were fully capable of mastering modern heavy industry independently.
Strategic Location: The massive steel works were deliberately established in the deeply obscure, forested village of Sakchi in the Chota Nagpur plateau. This specific location was chosen after exhaustive geological surveys because of its perfect, immediate proximity to incredibly rich deposits of iron ore, massive coalfields, and highly necessary water sources from the Subarnarekha River.
Triumph of Swadeshi Capital: Crucially, when arrogant British investors and London financial markets flatly refused to back the ambitious project, TISCO was entirely funded by massive amounts of indigenous capital. Millions of rupees were raised directly from thousands of ordinary Indian citizens in just three weeks, aligning perfectly with the ongoing, fierce Swadeshi movement.
Critical Role in World War I: TISCO rapidly became incredibly successful, and ironically, proved to be an absolute lifeline for the British Empire during World War I. The plant continuously supplied hundreds of thousands of tons of high-grade steel rails and vital munitions for the brutal Mesopotamian campaign, forcing the British to finally acknowledge India’s massive industrial potential.

📌 Industry • Economy

Q.23) The first successful mechanized cotton textile mill in India, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, was established in 1854 by which Parsi entrepreneur?

Ans > Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar

Birth of the Indian Mill Sector: Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar, a highly visionary and wealthy Parsi merchant, achieved a monumental milestone by successfully establishing the first commercially viable, steam-powered cotton mill in Bombay in 1854. This event marked the absolute true beginning of India’s incredibly massive, modern factory-based textile industry.
Leveraging British Technology: Unlike earlier failed attempts, Davar succeeded by heavily utilizing modern British machinery imported directly from Lancashire and employing highly skilled British engineers to set up and manage the initial operations. This perfectly demonstrated how early Indian industrialists pragmatically utilized colonial technology to build highly competitive domestic enterprises.
A Massive Industrial Shift: The success of Davar’s mill triggered a massive industrial revolution in western India. It permanently shifted India’s ancient cotton economy away from deeply decentralized, highly uncompetitive rural handloom weaving and forcefully toward massive, centralized factory production, completely disrupting traditional artisanal livelihoods.
Catalyst for Bombay’s Boom: The rapid proliferation of cotton mills directly following Davar’s success transformed Bombay from a modest trading port into the undisputed industrial powerhouse of Asia. This massive boom drew hundreds of thousands of desperately poor rural migrants into the city, radically changing its demographics and eventually giving birth to a highly militant industrial working class.

📌 Industry • Economy

Q.24) The first modern Jute mill in India was established in 1855 at which location on the banks of the Hooghly River?

Ans > Rishra

Scottish Enterprise in Bengal: The first fully mechanized, modern jute mill was established at Rishra (near Serampore in Bengal) by George Acland, a deeply ambitious Scottish entrepreneur, in 1855. He correctly identified the massive global potential for cheap, highly durable packaging materials driven by the expanding international trade in agricultural commodities.
European Monopoly on Capital: Unlike the incredibly vibrant cotton industry in Bombay, which was almost entirely driven by indigenous Indian (Parsi and Gujarati) capital, the massive jute industry in Bengal remained heavily under absolute European (mostly Scottish) ownership, management, and fierce financial control for nearly a century.
The Hooghly River’s Advantage: The vast Hooghly river basin provided the absolutely perfect, unparalleled ecological conditions for growing immense quantities of raw jute. Furthermore, the river itself provided incredibly cheap, highly efficient logistical transport directly to the massive port of Calcutta for massive international export.
A Global Packaging Monopoly: Following the massive success of the Rishra mill, dozens of massive factories sprouted along the Hooghly. By the late 19th century, the Bengal jute industry achieved a near-absolute global monopoly, becoming the undisputed primary supplier of heavily demanded sacks, bags, and hessian cloth to the entire world, generating immense wealth strictly for British managing agencies.

📌 Economic Critique • Nationalism

Q.25) Which early nationalist leader systematically propounded the “Drain of Wealth” theory in his seminal book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India?

Ans > Dadabhai Naoroji

The Grand Old Man of India: Dadabhai Naoroji was the absolute intellectual pioneer in statistically and methodically proving exactly how British rule was actively and systematically impoverishing India. He spent decades researching and widely lecturing on the highly devastating economic consequences of colonial exploitation before publishing his masterpiece.
Defining the “Drain of Wealth”: Through meticulous, incredibly detailed statistical analysis, Naoroji documented the “Drain of Wealth”—the massive, unilateral transfer of Indian national wealth to Britain without any adequate economic, commercial, or material return to India. He proved that India was essentially bleeding capital that should have been used for its own internal development.
Mechanisms of the Economic Drain: He explicitly and highly effectively highlighted the massive “Home Charges” as the primary tools of this devastating economic bleeding. These charges included the exorbitant pensions of British officials, massive military expenditures incurred outside India for imperial wars, and the highly unjust guaranteed interest payments to British railway investors.
Fueling the Nationalist Movement: Naoroji’s deeply profound economic critique completely shattered the enduring colonial myth that British rule was a benevolent, civilizing force. His deeply intellectual arguments provided the absolute foundational economic justification for the Indian independence movement, intensely inspiring generations of future leaders to demand total self-government (Swaraj).

📌 Literature • Economy

Q.26) Which prominent Indian nationalist and economic historian authored the two-volume seminal work The Economic History of India (1901)?

Ans > Romesh Chandra Dutt

An Insider’s Scholarly Critique: Romesh Chandra (R.C.) Dutt, a highly distinguished retired Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer, utilized his massive insider knowledge of the colonial administration to write this incredibly influential, academically rigorous two-volume masterpiece, deeply dissecting the highly devastating impacts of British economic policies over a century.
Blaming Land Revenue for Famines: Dutt vehemently and highly effectively argued that the primary, root cause of the recurrent, catastrophic famines that killed millions in India was absolutely not drought or overpopulation, but the oppressively high, deeply inflexible rate of land revenue assessment which constantly kept the entire peasantry entirely destitute and utterly incapable of saving grain for bad years.
Deindustrialization and Tariffs: His work brilliantly and systematically documented the deliberate, total destruction of indigenous Indian handicrafts and highly advanced textile industries. He proved how the British aggressively used highly unequal, one-way tariff policies to heavily flood the massive Indian market with cheap, machine-made goods from Lancashire while blocking Indian exports.
Demanding Agrarian Reform: Dutt’s incredibly powerful historical analysis was not just an academic exercise; it was a deeply urgent political plea. He aggressively championed the absolute necessity of extending the Permanent Settlement to all of India in order to strictly limit the colonial state’s revenue demands and finally provide some measure of desperately needed economic security to the struggling Indian farmer.

📌 Labor Laws • British Policies

Q.27) To regulate the working conditions of child laborers, the First Indian Factory Act was passed in 1881. It prohibited the employment of children below what age?

Ans > 7 years

The First Steps in Labor Protection: Passed during the highly progressive tenure of Viceroy Lord Ripon, the First Indian Factory Act of 1881 represented the colonial government’s very first, hesitant attempt to intervene in the incredibly horrific working conditions prevalent in early Indian industries. It primarily dealt with the highly sensitive issue of extreme child labor.
Strict Age and Hour Limitations: The Act explicitly and strictly prohibited the employment of children below 7 years of age in all factories. Furthermore, it heavily regulated the working hours for children between the ages of 7 and 12 years, capping their labor at a maximum of exactly 9 hours a day, and mandating four holidays per month for them.
An Incredibly Narrow Scope: The Act was incredibly narrow in its actual application. It applied strictly only to larger factories employing more than 100 workers and utilizing mechanical power. It completely, deliberately ignored the desperate plight of the vast majority of adult male and female workers who continued to suffer incredibly long hours without any legal protection.
Driven by British Self-Interest: Ironically, this early labor legislation was largely passed not out of genuine British humanitarian sympathy for Indian labor, but due to massive, aggressive lobbying by powerful British textile manufacturers in Lancashire. They urgently wanted to legally force Indian mills to reduce hours to slowly eliminate the massive competitive advantage of cheap, unregulated Indian labor.

📌 Labor Laws • British Viceroys

Q.28) The Second Indian Factory Act of 1891, which provided a weekly holiday for all workers and regulated women’s working hours, was passed during the viceroyalty of whom?

Ans > Lord Lansdowne

Expanding Labor Protections: Passed under the administration of Viceroy Lord Lansdowne, this act significantly expanded the deeply flawed legal definition of a factory. The regulations were heavily broadened to apply to all factories employing 50 or more workers, bringing thousands of previously unprotected laborers under the extremely limited umbrella of colonial labor law.
Mandating a Weekly Holiday: The most highly significant and universally welcomed provision of the 1891 Act was the official, legal mandate of a weekly holiday (typically Sunday) for all industrial workers, providing desperately needed, albeit minimal, relief from continuous, highly exhausting physical toil in poorly ventilated mills.
Regulating Female Labor: For the very first time, the act actively intervened to regulate women’s working hours, strictly limiting their labor to a maximum of 11 hours per day with a mandatory 1.5-hour rest interval. It also explicitly banned the incredibly dangerous practice of employing women during the night shifts.
Raising the Child Labor Age: Responding to continuous pressure and investigative commissions, the act raised the absolute minimum age for employing children from 7 years to 9 years. Furthermore, it strictly limited the daily working hours of older children (between 9 and 14 years) to a maximum of 7 hours per day.

📌 Labor Laws • British Policies

Q.29) The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 severely restricted the working-class movement by making which of the following illegal?

Ans > Sympathetic strikes and strikes meant to coerce the government

Suppressing Militant Unions: Deeply terrified by the rapidly rising tide of communist influence and highly militant organization within the Indian labor movement during the late 1920s (highlighted by massive, paralyzing strikes in Bombay and railways), the colonial government aggressively passed this deeply repressive, anti-labor act.
Criminalizing Political Strikes: The Act explicitly and broadly criminalized any strikes that did not strictly relate to a specific, immediate trade dispute between workers and their direct employers. This deliberately made all sympathetic strikes and massive political strikes directed against the British government entirely illegal and punishable by severe imprisonment.
Mandatory Notice for Utilities: To fiercely protect colonial infrastructure, the Act mandated compulsory, long prior notice (usually 14 days) before initiating any strikes in highly essential public utility services, such as the railways, postal services, water, and electricity supply, effectively crippling the sudden bargaining power of organized labor in these critical sectors.
Establishing Tribunals: While deeply repressive, the act did formally establish a system of Courts of Inquiry and Boards of Conciliation to legally investigate and theoretically settle industrial disputes. However, these boards were widely viewed by nationalist leaders as highly biased, toothless mechanisms designed solely to delay and diffuse legitimate worker anger.

📌 Labor Movements • Organizations

Q.30) To provide a consolidated national platform for the growing labor movement, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded in Bombay in 1920. Who was its first President?

Ans > Lala Lajpat Rai

The Need for National Integration: Following the massive economic disruptions and highly intense labor unrest immediately following World War I, Indian labor leaders realized the absolute necessity of a single, central body. The immediate catalyst for forming the AITUC was the urgent need to officially nominate a recognized Indian delegate to the newly formed International Labour Organization (ILO).
Congress Leadership and Synergy: Lala Lajpat Rai, a massive, highly respected heavyweight of the Indian National Congress (the ‘Lion of Punjab’), was unanimously elected to preside over its massive inaugural session in Bombay. This prominently showcased the deep early ideological synergy and incredibly close ties between the mainstream national independence struggle and the rapidly organizing working-class movement.
Foundational Demands: In its very first session, the AITUC aggressively demanded highly standardized, humane working conditions. They fought fiercely for an eight-hour workday, the right to form protected trade unions, medical aid, and a living wage, setting the absolute foundational manifesto for the Indian labor movement for decades to come.
Ideological Evolution: While initially led by prominent moderate nationalists and Congress stalwarts (including figures like C.R. Das and Jawaharlal Nehru in subsequent years), the AITUC eventually became the massive focal point of an intense, highly ideological struggle between moderate reformists and highly militant communists, profoundly shaping the complex trajectory of Indian left-wing politics.

📌 Quick Summary — Modern History Set 150

Cornwallis Code (1793): Separated revenue & judicial administration to limit abuses.
Thuggee Suppression: Ruthlessly executed under Governor-General Lord William Bentinck.
Sindh Annexation (1843): Occurred under the controversial tenure of Lord Ellenborough.
Masterly Inactivity: Cautious foreign policy approach associated with Sir John Lawrence.
Delhi Durbar (1877): Organized by Lord Lytton during a catastrophic, deadly famine.
Currency Act (1899): Lord Curzon forced India onto the highly unequal gold standard.
Third Anglo-Burmese War: Annexation of Upper Burma completed rapidly under Lord Dufferin.
Permanent Settlement: Revenue assessment planned fundamentally by Sir John Shore.
Ryotwari System: Initially experimented in Baramahal by Captain Alexander Read.
Mahalwari System: Architected heavily by British official Holt Mackenzie in 1822.
Wahabi Movement: Kept Patna as its central operational and logistics nerve center.
Kuka Movement: Led by Baba Ram Singh, who was later deported to Rangoon.
Rampa Rebellion (1922): Fierce forest law resistance led by Alluri Sitarama Raju.
Sanyasi Rebellion: Famously immortalized in Bankim Chandra’s classic ‘Anandamath’.
Indigo Revolt: Sparked in Nadia by Digambar and Bishnucharan Biswas.
Deccan Riots (1875): Targeted oppressive Marwari and Gujarati moneylenders’ debt bonds.
Eka Movement (1921): Massive rent-related peasant uprising in Awadh led by Madari Pasi.
All India Kisan Sabha: Swami Sahajanand Saraswati elected first President in 1936.
Tebhaga Movement: Bengal sharecroppers fiercely demanded a two-thirds crop share.
Telangana Struggle: Massive armed rebellion directed against feudal Deshmukh landlords.
Early Railways: The second passenger line ran from Howrah to Hooghly (1854).
Industrial Milestones: TISCO founded with Swadeshi capital in Jamshedpur in 1907.
First Cotton Mill: Bombay Spinning and Weaving Co. set up by Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar.
First Jute Mill: Established at Rishra on the Hooghly by George Acland in 1855.
Drain of Wealth Theory: Heavily propounded by early nationalist Dadabhai Naoroji.
Economic History of India: Seminal two-volume critique authored by ICS officer R.C. Dutt.
First Factory Act (1881): Strictly prohibited employing children below 7 years of age.
Second Factory Act (1891): Passed during the viceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne.
Trade Disputes Act (1929): Outlawed sympathetic and political anti-government strikes entirely.
AITUC Foundation: Lala Lajpat Rai presided over its historic first session in 1920.

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Modern History Set 150

Q.1) The ‘Cornwallis Code’ of 1793 was a landmark in British Indian administration because it was primarily based on which principle?

Q.2) Which British Governor-General is credited with the suppression of the ‘Thuggee’ cult in central and northern India with the help of Captain William Sleeman?

Q.3) In 1843, the British annexed Sindh into the British Empire following a military campaign led by Sir Charles Napier. Who was the Governor-General of India at that time?

Q.4) The policy of “Masterly Inactivity” regarding Afghanistan, which aimed to avoid unnecessary interference in Afghan internal affairs, is most closely associated with which Viceroy?

Q.5) Which Viceroy organized the grand Delhi Durbar in 1877 to proclaim Queen Victoria as the “Empress of India” (Kaiser-i-Hind) while a severe famine raged in the country?

Q.6) The controversial ‘Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act’ (1899), which put India on a gold standard, was passed during the viceroyalty of whom?

Q.7) The Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885), which resulted in the complete annexation of Upper Burma into the British Indian Empire, took place under which Viceroy?

Q.8) The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was introduced by Lord Cornwallis, but the actual planning and revenue assessment were heavily guided by which British official?

Q.9) The Ryotwari System, under which land revenue was settled directly with the peasant (ryot), was initially experimented with in the Baramahal region by whom?

Q.10) In 1822, the Mahalwari System was introduced in the North-Western Provinces and parts of Central India. Who was the primary architect of this system?

Q.11) The Wahabi Movement in India was a militant Islamic revivalist campaign that sought to restore Islamic supremacy. Which city served as its main operational base in India?

Q.12) The Kuka Movement in Punjab started as a religious purification campaign but transformed into a political struggle. Its leader was deported to Rangoon in 1872. Who was he?

Q.13) The Rampa Rebellion of 1922 was a major tribal uprising against the oppressive British forest laws in the Godavari Agency. Who led this charismatic rebellion?

Q.14) The Sanyasi Rebellion, one of the earliest uprisings against British rule, was immortalized in which classic Bengali novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee?

Q.15) The historic Indigo Revolt (1859-60) in Bengal, protesting the coercive cultivation of indigo, was initiated by which two leaders in the Nadia district?

Q.16) The Deccan Riots of 1875 were an agrarian revolt by the peasants of Maharashtra. Who were the primary targets of this uprising?

Q.17) 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?

Q.18) The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was established in 1936 in Lucknow to coordinate peasant movements across India. Who was elected as its first President?

Q.19) The Tebhaga Movement (1946) was a militant campaign by sharecroppers demanding a larger share of the harvest. What was their specific demand?

Q.20) The massive Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle (1946–1951) was directed against the autocratic rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad and which class of oppressive landlords?

Q.21) The first passenger railway line in India ran from Bombay to Thane in 1853. Where was the second passenger railway line opened in 1854?

Q.22) A major milestone in India’s indigenous industrial development occurred in 1907 with the establishment of the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) in which city?

Q.23) The first successful mechanized cotton textile mill in India, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, was established in 1854 by which Parsi entrepreneur?

Q.24) The first modern Jute mill in India was established in 1855 at which location on the banks of the Hooghly River?

Q.25) Which early nationalist leader systematically propounded the “Drain of Wealth” theory in his seminal book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India?

Q.26) Which prominent Indian nationalist and economic historian authored the two-volume seminal work The Economic History of India (1901)?

Q.27) To regulate the working conditions of child laborers, the First Indian Factory Act was passed in 1881. It prohibited the employment of children below what age?

Q.28) The Second Indian Factory Act of 1891, which provided a weekly holiday for all workers and regulated women’s working hours, was passed during the viceroyalty of whom?

Q.29) The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 severely restricted the working-class movement by making which of the following illegal?

Q.30) To provide a consolidated national platform for the growing labor movement, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded in Bombay in 1920. Who was its first President?

📌 Quick Summary — Modern History Set 150

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Q.1) The ‘Cornwallis Code’ of 1793 was a landmark in British Indian administration because it was primarily based on which principle?

Q.2) Which British Governor-General is credited with the suppression of the ‘Thuggee’ cult in central and northern India with the help of Captain William Sleeman?

Q.3) In 1843, the British annexed Sindh into the British Empire following a military campaign led by Sir Charles Napier. Who was the Governor-General of India at that time?

Q.4) The policy of “Masterly Inactivity” regarding Afghanistan, which aimed to avoid unnecessary interference in Afghan internal affairs, is most closely associated with which Viceroy?

Q.5) Which Viceroy organized the grand Delhi Durbar in 1877 to proclaim Queen Victoria as the “Empress of India” (Kaiser-i-Hind) while a severe famine raged in the country?

Q.6) The controversial ‘Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act’ (1899), which put India on a gold standard, was passed during the viceroyalty of whom?

Q.7) The Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885), which resulted in the complete annexation of Upper Burma into the British Indian Empire, took place under which Viceroy?

Q.8) The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was introduced by Lord Cornwallis, but the actual planning and revenue assessment were heavily guided by which British official?

Q.9) The Ryotwari System, under which land revenue was settled directly with the peasant (ryot), was initially experimented with in the Baramahal region by whom?

Q.10) In 1822, the Mahalwari System was introduced in the North-Western Provinces and parts of Central India. Who was the primary architect of this system?

Q.11) The Wahabi Movement in India was a militant Islamic revivalist campaign that sought to restore Islamic supremacy. Which city served as its main operational base in India?

Q.12) The Kuka Movement in Punjab started as a religious purification campaign but transformed into a political struggle. Its leader was deported to Rangoon in 1872. Who was he?

Q.13) The Rampa Rebellion of 1922 was a major tribal uprising against the oppressive British forest laws in the Godavari Agency. Who led this charismatic rebellion?

Q.14) The Sanyasi Rebellion, one of the earliest uprisings against British rule, was immortalized in which classic Bengali novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee?

Q.15) The historic Indigo Revolt (1859-60) in Bengal, protesting the coercive cultivation of indigo, was initiated by which two leaders in the Nadia district?

Q.16) The Deccan Riots of 1875 were an agrarian revolt by the peasants of Maharashtra. Who were the primary targets of this uprising?

Q.17) 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?

Q.18) The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was established in 1936 in Lucknow to coordinate peasant movements across India. Who was elected as its first President?

Q.19) The Tebhaga Movement (1946) was a militant campaign by sharecroppers demanding a larger share of the harvest. What was their specific demand?

Q.20) The massive Telangana Peasant Armed Struggle (1946–1951) was directed against the autocratic rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad and which class of oppressive landlords?

Q.21) The first passenger railway line in India ran from Bombay to Thane in 1853. Where was the second passenger railway line opened in 1854?

Q.22) A major milestone in India’s indigenous industrial development occurred in 1907 with the establishment of the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) in which city?

Q.23) The first successful mechanized cotton textile mill in India, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, was established in 1854 by which Parsi entrepreneur?

Q.24) The first modern Jute mill in India was established in 1855 at which location on the banks of the Hooghly River?

Q.25) Which early nationalist leader systematically propounded the “Drain of Wealth” theory in his seminal book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India?

Q.26) Which prominent Indian nationalist and economic historian authored the two-volume seminal work The Economic History of India (1901)?

Q.27) To regulate the working conditions of child laborers, the First Indian Factory Act was passed in 1881. It prohibited the employment of children below what age?

Q.28) The Second Indian Factory Act of 1891, which provided a weekly holiday for all workers and regulated women’s working hours, was passed during the viceroyalty of whom?

Q.29) The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 severely restricted the working-class movement by making which of the following illegal?

Q.30) To provide a consolidated national platform for the growing labor movement, the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was founded in Bombay in 1920. Who was its first President?

📌 Quick Summary — Modern History Set 150

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

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