Modern History – UPSC Prelims PYQs

During the colonial period in India, what was the purpose of the Whitley Commission?

Assertion (A): In 1916, Maulana Mohammad Ali and Abul Kalam Azad resigned from the Legislative Council.

Reason (R): The Rowlatt Act was passed by the government in spite of being opposed by all Indian members of the Legislative Council.

Assertion (A): Shah Alam II spent the initial years as an Emperor far away from his capital.

Reason (R): There was always a lurking danger of foreign invasion from the north-west frontier.

Assertion (A): Marathas emerged as the strongest native power in India after the decline of Mughal empire.

Reason (R): Marathas were the first to have clear concept of a united Indian nation.

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

Which one of the following provisions was NOT made in the Charter Act of 1833?

With reference to colonial rule in India, what was sought by the Ilbert Bill in 1883?

An important aspect of the Cripps Mission of 1942 was

When Congress leaders condemned the Montagu-Chelmsford Report, many moderates left party to form the

Who headed the Interim Cabinet formed in the 1946?

The last opportunity to avoid the partition of India was lost with the rejection of

Which one of the following submitted in 1875 a petition to the House of Commons demanding India’s direct representation in the British Parliament?

The real intention of the British to include the princely states in the Federal Union proposed by the India Act of 1935 was to

Match List I (Acts of Colonial Government of India) with List II (Provisions) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

1. Set up a Board of Control in Britain to fully regulate the East India Company’s affairs in India
2. Company’s trade monopoly in India was ended
3. The power to govern was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown
4. The Company’s directors were asked to present to the British government all correspondence and documents pertaining to the administration of the company

List I (Acts) A. Charter Act, 1813 B. Regulating Act C. Act of 1858 D. Pitt’s India Act

List II (Provisions)

Codes:

Which one of the following Acts of British India strengthened the Viceroy’s authority over his executive council by substituting the “portfolio” or departmental system for corporate functioning?

The President of the Indian National Congress at the time of the partition of India was

With reference to the colonial period of Indian history, match List I (Person) with List II (Event) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

1. Doctrine of Lapse
2. Communal Award
3. August Offer
4. Dyarchy

List I (Person) A. MacDonald B. Linlithgow C. Dalhousie D. Chelmsford

List II (Event)

Codes:

With

which one of the following mountain tribes did the British first come into contact with after the grant of Diwani in the year 1765?

With reference to the period of extremist nationalist movement in India with its spirit of Swadeshi, which one of the following statements is correct?

With reference to the Indian freedom struggle, which one of the following statements is correct?

During the Indian freedom struggle, the Khudai Khidmatgars, also known as Red Shirts, called for

Assertion (A): The effect of labour participation in the Indian nationalist upsurge of the early 1930s was weak.

Reason (R): The labour leaders considered the ideology of Indian National Congress as bourgeois and reactionary.

Who among the following organised the famous Chittagong armoury raid?

A London branch of the All-India Muslim League was established in 1908 under the presidency of

Who among the following was the President of the All-India States’ Peoples’ Conference in 1939?

Who among the following Indian rulers established embassies in foreign countries on modern lines?

The Hunter Commission was appointed after the

Under the Permanent Settlement, 1793, the zamindars were required to issue pattas to the farmers which were not issued by many of the zamindars. The reason was

Consider the following statements: I. Arya Samaj was founded in 1835.

II. Lala Lajpat Rai opposed the appeal of Arya Samaj to the authority of Vedas in support of its social reform programmes. III. Under Keshab Chandra Sen, the Brahmo Samaj campaigned for women’s education. IV. Vinoba Bhave founded the Sarvodaya Samaj to work among refugees.

Which of these statements are correct?

Who among the following leaders proposed to adopt Complete Independence as the goal of the Congress in the Ahmedabad session of 1920?

While delivering the presidential address, the Congress President who advocated the introduction of Roman script for Hindi language was

At the time of partition of India,

which one of the following provinces of the British India came forward with a plan for a united and independent existence?

The Balkan Plan for fragmentation of India was the brain-child of

Consider the following statements about the Indian National Congress: I. Sarojini Naidu was the first woman to be the President of the Congress. II. C. R. Das was in prison when he functioned as the President of the Congress. III. The first Britisher to become the President of the Congress was Alan Octavian Hume. IV. Alfred Webb was the President of the Congress in 1894.

Which of these statements are correct?

“In this instance we could not play off the Mohammedans against the Hindus”. To which one of the following events did this remark of Aitchison relate?

Which one of the following is not a feature of the Government of India Act of 1935?

The Indian National Army (INA) came into existence in 1943 in

The last major extension of British Indian territory took place during the time of

As an alternative to the partition of India, Gandhiji suggested to Mountbatten that he

The native State of Tripura became involved in the Freedom Movement early in the 20th century because

That the per capita income in India was Rs. 20 in 1867-68, was ascertained for the first time by

After returning from South Africa, Gandhiji launched his first successful Satyagraha in

Match List I with List II

and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:

List I I. Chittagong Armoury Raid II. Abhinav Bharat III. Anushilan Samiti IV. Kuka Movement

List II A) Kalpana Dutt B) Guru Ram Singh C) Vikram Damodar Savarkar D) Aurobindo Ghosh

Codes:

Match List I with List II

and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:

List I – Land system I. Land allotted to big feudal landlords II. Land allotted to revenue farmers or rent collectors III. Land allotted to each peasant with the right to sublet, mortgage, transfer, gift or sell IV. Revenue settlements made at village level

List II A) Jagirdari System B) Ryotwari System C) Mahalwari System D) Zamindari System

Codes:

Assertion (A): Lord Linlithgow described the August Movement of 1942 as the most serious revolt after the Sepoy mutiny.

Reason (R): Peasants joined the movement in large number in some places.

Assertion (A): The basic weakness of the early nationalist movement lay in its narrow social base.

Reason (R): It fought for the narrow interests of the social groups which joined it.

The first venture of Gandhi in all-India politics was the

The Congress policy of pray and petition ultimately came to an end under the guidance of

Match List I with List II

and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:

List I (Persons) I. Shyamji Krishna Varma II. Madame Bhikaji Cama III. Annie Besant IV. Aurobindo Ghosh

List II (Journals) A. Bande Mataram B. Indian Sociologist C. The Talwar D. Commonweal

Codes:

There was no independent development of industries in India during British rule because of the