Modern Indian History GK

Multiple Choice Questions on Modern Indian History GK & Freedom Struggle for General Studies and GK preparation of SSC, NDA, CDS, UPSC, UPPSC and State PSC Examinations.

1. Who of the following showed a tribute to Rani Laxmibai by his words “Here lay the woman who was the only man among the rebels”?

[A] Hugh Rose
[B] Stanley Wolpert
[C] Collin Campbell
[D] Colonel Neill

Answer: A [Hugh Rose]

Notes:

Rani Laxmibai led the great revolt of 1857 from Jhansi. She was defeated by Hugh Rose. As a tribute, Hugh Rose quoted ” Here lay the woman who was the only man among the rebels”.

2. Who of the following was the viceroy of India when the First Round Table Conference took place?

[A] Lord Willingdon
[B] Lord Linlithgow
[C] Lord Reading
[D] Lord Irwin

Answer: D [Lord Irwin]

Notes:

The First Round Table Conference took place in the year 1930 (November). Lord Irwin was the then Viceroy of India.

3. Who among the following were the members of the Governor General’s council of Warren Hastings?

1. John Clavering

2. George Monson

3. Philip Francis

4. Richard Barewell

Choose the correct option from the codes given below :

[A] 1 & 2
[B] 2 & 4
[C] 1, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4

Answer: D [1, 2, 3 & 4]

Notes:

Warren Hastings was appointed as the first governor-general of Bengal. His council consisted of four members viz., John Clavering, George Monson, Philip Francis, Richard Barewell. Their term was five years.

4. The first Pre-independence Law Commission was presided by who of the following?

[A] Lord Stanley
[B] Lord Macaulay
[C] Sir Charles Wood
[D] None of the above

Answer: B [Lord Macaulay]

Notes:

The first Pre-independence Law Commission was established in the year 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833. Lord Macaulay was the first Chairman of the Law Commission. The first Post-independence law commission was established in the year 1955.

5. Which among the following recommendation of the Royal Commission on Decentralization is correct?

1. The intervention of the Governor-General was not allowed on the matter of revenues of the provinces

2. The needs of the provinces should be taken into account

3. The residual part of the revenue should be taken in the shape of a fixed fractional share

Choose the correct option from the codes given below :

[A] 1 only
[B] 1 & 2
[C] 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3

Answer: D [1, 2 & 3]

Notes:

In the year 1907, the Royal Commission on Decentralization was constituted by the British Government. As per the report of the commission published in 1909, the intervention of the Governor-General was not allowed on the matter of revenues of the provinces. The needs of the provinces should be taken into account. The residual part of the revenue should be taken in the shape of a fixed fractional share. The recommendations were accepted and the Government passed a resolution in the year 1912.

6. Which of the following was the first newspaper in India?

[A] Bengal Gazette
[B] Samachar Darpan
[C] The Gazette of India
[D] Bombay Herald

Answer: A [Bengal Gazette]

Notes:

Hicky’s Bengal Gazette was the first newspaper in India. It was published in the year 1780. It was an English newspaper (weekly) published in Kolkata. James Augustus Hicky (Irish) was the publisher of the Newspaper. It was banned in 1782.

7. Which among the following about the Vernacular Press Act are correct?

1. It was enacted in the year 1878

2. It was inspired by the Irish press act

3. Regular monitoring of newspapers was done by the Governments

4. When a newspaper was declared as seditious, it was warned

Choose the correct option from the codes given below :

[A] 1 & 2
[B] 1 & 3
[C] 1, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4

Answer: D [1, 2, 3 & 4]

Notes:

Vernacular Press Act of 1878 is also known as “The Gagging Act”. It was enacted during the time of Lord Lytton. It was inspired by the Irish press act. Regular monitoring of newspapers was done by the Governments. When a newspaper was declared as seditious, it was warned.

8. Who among the following said, “Indian learning was inferior to European learning”?

[A] Lord Macaulay
[B] Drinkwater Bethune
[C] Jonathan Duncan
[D] Lord Wellesley

Answer: A [Lord Macaulay]

Notes:

Lord Macaulay’s personal opinion was that “Indian learning was inferior to European learning”.

9. Which among the following was the real name of Dudu Miyan?

[A] Farhat Hussain
[B] Md. Shah
[C] Abdul Wahab ali
[D] Muhsinuddin Ahmad

Answer: D [Muhsinuddin Ahmad]

Notes:

Dudu Mian was the son of Haji Shariat- Allah. The real name of Dudu Miyan was Muhsinuddin Ahmad. He was associated with the Faraizi Movement and peasant uprising in Bengal.

10. Which among the following statement about the “Guarantee system” are correct?

1. The government provided free land to the companies involved

2. The government provided 5 percent interest on the invested amount of the companies

3. It was decided to divide the profit equally between the government and the companies

Choose the correct option from the codes given below :

[A] 1 & 2
[B] 1 & 3
[C] 2 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3

Answer: D [1, 2 & 3]

Notes:

The “Guarantee system” for Rail Network development in India was started in 1849. As per the terms the government provided free land to the companies involved. The government provided a 5 percent interest on the invested amount of the companies and it was decided to divide the profit equally between the government and the companies after paying the amount of interest.

Modern Indian History GK

11. Who among the following was nominated as first Satyagrahi by Mahatma Gandhi for the Individual Satyagarha of 1940?

[A] Vinoba Bhave
[B] Jawarharlal Nehru
[C] Lal Bahadur Shastri
[D] S. Satyamurti

Answer: A [Vinoba Bhave]

Notes:

The Congress was in a confused state again after the August Offer. The radicals and leftists wanted to launch a mass Civil Disobedience Movement, but here Gandhi insisted on Individual Satyagraha. The Individual Satyagraha was not to seek independence but to affirm the right of speech.

The first Satyagrahi selected was Acharya Vinoba Bhave, who was sent to Jail when he spoke against the war. Second Satyagrahi was Jawahar Lal Nehru. Third was Brahma Datt, one of the inmates of the Gandhi’s Ashram

12. Curzon Wyllie, who was murdered by Madan Lal Dhingra in London, was___?

[A] Secretary of State for India
[B] Adviser to the Secretary of State of India
[C] Law Member
[D] Governor of Bengal

Answer: B [Adviser to the Secretary of State of India]

Notes:

Madan Lal Dhingra was a great revolutionary from Punjab,associated with the Indian Home Rule Society, The Abhinav Bharat Society and the Indian House in London. On July 1, 1909 he shot dead Curzon Wyllie an adviser to the secretary of state of India, and Cowas Lolcaca at the meeting of the Indian National Association in London to avenge the atrocities committed by the British in India.

13. Gol Ghar, a beehive shaped structure built in 1786 to store grains for the British Army, is located in which city ?

[A] Bhopal
[B] Patna
[C] Varnasi
[D] Lucknow

Answer: B [Patna]

Notes:

The Golghar is a large granarywhich is situated iin Patna (Gandhi Maidan). The structure was designed by Captain John Garstin of the Bengal Engineers and built in 1786. In 1784, the then Governor-General of India Warren Hastings declared its inclusion for the prevention of famine.

14. For reforms in which among the following, Hartog Commission was established?

[A] Society
[B] Education
[C] Civil services
[D] Economic reforms

Answer: B [Education]

Notes:

The British Indian government appointed a committee under Sir Philip Joseph Hartog to inspect the matter of the growth of education in India. In the year 1929, the committee submitted its report. It mainly focused its attention towards mass education.

15. In 1956 during the Reorganization of the Indian States, the state of Hyderabad was split up between ?

[A] Andhra Pradesh & Maharastra
[B] Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka
[C] Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra & Karnataka
[D] Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra, Goa & Karnataka

Answer: C [Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra & Karnataka]

16. Which among the following suspended the Non cooperation movement?

[A] Jallianwala Bagh Incident
[B] Chauri Chaura Incident
[C] Peterloo massacre of 1819,
[D] None of the above

Answer: B [Chauri Chaura Incident]

Notes:

The Chauri Chaura incident took place in the year 1922 (5th February) at Chauri Chaura, United Province (Present Uttar Pradesh). A large group of protesters clashed with police, attacked and set fire to a police station. Three civilians and 22 policemen were killed. Gandhiji called off the non-cooperation movement on 25th February. Later he was arrested.

17. James Augustus Hickey is also known as?

[A] Father of Indian media
[B] Father of Indian Press
[C] Father of Indian Television
[D] Pioneer of Photography in India

Answer: B [Father of Indian Press]

Notes:

James Augustus Hickey started the first Indian newspaper from Calcutta, the Calcutta General Advertise or the Bengal Gazette in January, 1780.

18. which among the following Viceroy’s tenure, Simon Commission was appointed?

[A] Lord Wellington
[B] Lord Irwin
[C] Lord Reading
[D] Lord Chelmsford

Answer: B [Lord Irwin]

Notes:

Simon Commission was appointed in the year 1927 during the tenure of the the then Viceroy Lord Irwin. The commission had seven members. On 3rd February, 1928, it reached Bombay and that time “Simon Go Back” slogan was raised. The report of the commission was published in 1930. As per the report of the commission the Government of India Act was passed in 1935.

19. At which among the following places, Jayaprakash Narayan had convened the first All India Congress Socialists Conference in 1934?

[A] Lucknow
[B] Patna
[C] Gaya
[D] Kolkata

Answer: B [Patna]

Notes:

Jayaprakash Narayan (The People’s Leader or Lok Nayak) was an independence activist, socialist and political leader of India. He organized a meeting in Patna on 17th May 1934. Bihar Congress Socialist Party was founded in that meeting.

20. The earliest name of Chennai is Chennaipattinam, which referred to the town around the Fort St George in 1639-40. The place was acquired by the British from ___?

[A] Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu
[B] Peda Venkata Rayalu
[C] Padma Velama Nayak
[D] Chennappa Nayakudu

Answer: D [ Chennappa Nayakudu ]

Modern Indian History GK

21. Which among the following matches of the peasants’ movement with their leaders are correct?

• 1. Indigo revolt- Bishnucharan Biswas
• 2. Moplah rebellion- Kunhammad Haji
• 3. Eka movement- Madari Pasi
• 4. Rampa rebellion- Alluri Sitarama Raju

Choose the correct option from the codes given below :

[A] 1 & 2
[B] 1, 2 & 4
[C] 2, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4

Answer: D [1, 2, 3 & 4]

Notes:

Some of the peasants’ movements and their leaders are Indigo revolt- Bishnucharan Biswas, Moplah rebellion- Kunhammad Haji, Eka movement- Madari Pasi, Rampa rebellion- Alluri Sitarama Raju.

22. Who among the following Indian leaders was/ were interested in Communism in the early twenties?

• 1. Mahatma Gandhi
• 2. Lala Lajpat Rai
• 3. M. N. Roy
• 4. Virendra Chattopadhyaya

Choose the correct option from the codes given below :

[A] 3 only
[B] 3 & 4
[C] 2, 3 & 4
[D] 1, 2, 3 & 4

Answer: B [3 & 4]

Notes:

The name of the two Indian leaders who were interested in Communism- Manabendra Nath Roy and Virendra Chattopadhyaya.

23. Who among the following was the founder of the “Indian Society of Oriental Art”?

[A] Rabindranath Tagore
[B] Aurobindo Ghosh
[C] Abanindranath Tagore
[D] Debendranath Tagore

Answer: C [Abanindranath Tagore]

Notes:

In the year 1907, the Indian Society of Oriental Art was founded by Abanindranath Tagore. The name of the journal of the society was Rupam.

24. Which of the following founded the kingdom of Kapurthala?

[A] Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
[B] Banda Bahadur
[C] Kapur Singh
[D] None of the above

Answer: A [Jassa Singh Ahluwalia]

Notes:

After the death of Zakariya Khan in 1745 CE, the balance shifted more further in favour of the Sikh warrior leaders, such as Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. Jassa Singh founded the kingdom of Kapurthala.

25. Which of the following European trading companies adopted the “Blue Water Policy” in India?

[A] Dutch company
[B] French company
[C] Portuguese company
[D] British East India company

Answer: C [Portuguese company]

Portuguese trading company adopted the ‘Blue Water Policy’ in India. Francisco de Almeida who became the 1st Portuguese viceroy in India initiated the Blue Water Policy. The policy aimed at Portuguese Mastery of the Sea and confined Portuguese relationship with India only for the purpose of trade and commerce.

26. Siraj-ud-daulah attacked which of the following British factory?

[A] Dhaka
[B] Calcutta
[C] Kasimbazar
[D] Murshidabad

Answer: C [Kasimbazar]

Notes:

Siraj- ud- daulah attacked the British factory at Kasimbazar in 1757. Siraj- ud- daulah asked the Company to stop meddling in the political affairs of his dominion, stop fortification, and also to pay the revenues.

27. Which of the following was the leader of Munda Revolt?

[A] Chakra Bisoi
[B] Bir Singh
[C] Birsa Munda
[D] Daji Krishna Pandit

Answer: C [Birsa Munda]

Notes:

Birsa Munda was the leader of Munda Revolt. Munda sardars of the Chotanagpur region were struggling against the intrusion of jagirdars, thikadars and traders.

28. Khasis, Garos, Khamptis and Singhpos organised themselves under which of the following in Khasi Uprising?

[A] Birsa Munda
[B] Siddhu and Khanu
[C] Tirath Singh
[D] Phond Sawant

Answer: C [Tirath Singh]

Notes:

Khasis, Garos, Khamptis and Singhpos organised themselves under Tirath Singh in Khasi Uprising. The Company was building a road linking the Brahmaputra valley with Sylhet therefore a large number of outsiders were brought to these regions.

29. At which of the following places was the ‘Jatiya Sarkar’ formed during the Quit India Movement?

[A] Ballia
[B] Nagpur
[C] Satara
[D] Tamluk

Answer: D [Tamluk]

Notes:

Satish Chandra Samanta became the president of Tamluk Congress Committee and remained an active Congress member for decades. He was known for his leadership qualities and other constructive work. His leadership qualities could be observed during the formation of a parallel government named Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar (Tamrlipta National Government) in Tamluk during the Quit India Movement.

30. Which of the following statement is correct about the Tinkathia system?

[A] Cultivation of Indigo on the 3/20 area of land.
[B] Cultivation of Indigo on the 3/19 area of land.

[C] Cultivation of Indigo on the 3/18 area of land.

[D] Cultivation of Indigo on the 3/17 area of land.

Answer: A [Cultivation of Indigo on the 3/20 area of land.]

Notes:

The Tinkathia system was a system where European planters forced peasants to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land. The name Tinkathia means “teen kattha”. The peasants were required to sell the entire crop to the planters at a fixed price.

The Tinkathia system was abolished a decade after the Champaran Satyagraha, when the planters left the area. The Satyagraha was led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. The peasants organized the Satyagraha with the help of Rajendra Prasad and Gandhiji.

The Champaran Satyagraha was the first Satyagraha movement led by Gandhi in India. The movement resulted in the authorities returning all the money taken from the peasants.

Modern Indian History GK

31. Two independent states of India and Pakistan were created by which of the following?

[A] The Shimla Conference
[B] The Crips Proposal
[C] The Cabinet Mission Plan
[D] The Indian Independence Act

Answer: D [The Indian Independence Act]

Notes:

The British Parliament ratified the Mountbatten Plan as the “Independence of India Act – 1947” on July 18, 1947. The Act provided for the creation of two independent dominions of India and Pakistan with effect from August 15, 1947.

32. Who among the following invited the princely states to join India “to make laws sitting together as friends than to make treaties as aliens”?

[A] B.V. Patel
[B] Mahatma Gandhi
[C] Jawaharlal Nehru
[D] Lord Mountbatten

Answer: A [B.V. Patel]

Notes:

Sardar Patel invited the princely states to join India “to make laws sitting together as friends than to make treaties as aliens”. He ensured the state department would not impose domination over the princely states.

33. Hamidullah Khan was the last sovereign Nawabs of which of the following princely states?

[A] Gwalior
[B] Jodhpur
[C] Travancore
[D] Bhopal

Answer: D [Bhopal]

Notes:

In the year 1818, Bhopal became a princely state. Hamidullah Khan was the last sovereign Nawabs of Bhopal. On 1 June 1949, the state of Bhopal was taken over by the Union Government of India.

34. Which amendment of the Indian constitution withdrew official recognition of all official symbols of princely India?

[A] 7th Amendment
[B] 26th amendment
[C] 42nd mendment
[D] 44th Amendment

Answer: B [26th amendment]

Notes:

The official recognition of all official symbols of princely India was withdrawn by the 26th Amendment of 1971. Titles, privileges were also withdrawn and it abolished the remuneration of the princes by the privy purses.

35. Bihar famine happened during which of the following period?

[A] 1873–74
[B] 1783–84
[C] 1837–38
[D] 1750-55

Answer: A [1873–74]

Notes:

The Bihar famine of 1873–1874 was a famine in British India that followed a drought in the province of Bihar, the neighboring provinces of Bengal, the North-Western Provinces, and Oudh. It affected a population of 21.5 million.

36. Which one of the following statements is not true in respect of A.O. Hume?

[A] He was a member of the Indian Civil Service
[B] He presided over the Congress Annual Sessions twice
[C] He was an ornithologist
[D] He founded the Indian National Congress

Answer: B [He presided over the Congress Annual Sessions twice]

Notes:

Allan Octavian Hume was a civil servant, political reformer and amateur ornithologist and horticulturalist in British India. He was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress. Though it was he who emerged as the founder of the Congress, it had somehow never happened to Hume to preside over a plenary session even once.

37. Which British Governor General introduced Postage Stamp in India?

[A] Lord Auckland
[B] Lord Canning
[C] Lord Dalhousie
[D] Lord William Bentinck

Answer: C [Lord Dalhousie]

Notes:

Although the Indian Post Office was established in 1837, Asia’s first adhesive stamp, the Scinde Dawk, was introduced in 1852 by Sir Bartle Frere, the British East India Company’s administrator of the province of Sind. The first stamps valid for postage throughout India were placed on sale in October, 1854 with four values: 1/2 anna, 1 anna, 2 annas, and 4 annas. These stamps were issued following a Commission of Inquiry which had carefully studied the postal systems of Europe and America. The new system was recommended by the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie and adopted by the East India Company’s Court of Directors. It introduced “low and uniform” rates for sending mail efficiently throughout the country within the jurisdiction of the East India Company.

38. French established their first factory at Surat and second factory at _____:

[A] Mumbai
[B] Masulipatnam
[C] Calcutta
[D] Banaras

Answer: B [Masulipatnam]

Notes:

The French East India Company was established in 1664. In 1667, an expedition was sent under the command of François Caron, which upon reaching Surat came up with the first French factory in India in 1668. In 1669, a Persian named Marcara, part of the expedition in 1667, established another factory at Machilipatnam, also known as Masulipatam.

39. Who was the Indian women president of the United Nations General Assembly?

[A] Golda Mayer
[B] Sarojini Naidu
[C] Margret Thatcher
[D] Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Answer: D [Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit]

Notes:

India’s Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit was, on 18 September 1953, elected President of the eighth session of the U.N. General Assembly, becoming the first woman accorded that honour. A sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, she was also the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post in 1937 when she was made the minister of local self-government and public health.

40. In 1917 Mahatma Gandhi travelled to ____ to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system:

[A] Sabarmati
[B] Dandi
[C] Champaran
[D] Chauri Chaura

Answer: C [Champaran]

Notes:

Gandhiji travelled to Champaran in Bihar in 1917 to know about the plight of indigo peasants under the oppressive ‘Tinkathia’ plantation system. Under this system, the peasants were forced by the British to plant 3 out of 20 parts of his land with indigo. Gandhiji launched Champaran Satyagraha in support of their cause.

Modern Indian History GK

41. The All India Kisan Sabha was founded by whom in 1936 at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress?

[A] N. G. Ranga
[B] Sahajanand Saraswati
[C] E. M. S. Namboodiripad
[D] Both 1 & 2

Answer: B [Sahajanand Saraswati]

Notes:

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1936.

42. Who published the newspaper “Bombay Samachar” in 1822?

[A] Lala Jagat Narayan
[B] Raja Ram Mohan Roy
[C] James Augustus Hickey
[D] Fardunjee Marzban

Answer: D [Fardunjee Marzban]

Notes:

The Bombay Samachar is the oldest continuously published newspaper in India. It was established in 1822 by Fardunjee Marzban, it is published in Gujarati and English.

43. Who was the founder of the newspaper “Hindustan Times”?

[A] Motilal Nehru
[B] Sardar Jagat Singh
[C] K.M.Pannikar
[D] S. Sadanand

Answer: C [K.M.Pannikar]

Notes:

In 1922, K.M.Pannikar founded the newspaper “Hindustan Times” (an English daily) in Delhi.

44. The Pabna revolt was led by cultivators of __?

[A] Indigo
[B] Tea
[C] Jute
[D] Cotton

Answer: C [Jute]

Notes:

Pabna unrest was led by Jute Cultivators

45. Consider the following statements about the Indian National Association of Calcutta:

1. It was founded by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose
2. It was formed with a view to develop a strong public opinion on political question and to unite Indian people

  Which of the above statements is/are correct?

[A] 1 Only
[B] 2 Only
[C] Both 1 & 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: C [Both 1 & 2]

Notes:

The Indian National Association was formed in Calcutta on July 26 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee along with Anand Monah Bose. The main purpose of the organization was to develop a strong public opinion on political question and to unite Indian people. The organization was merged with the Indian National Congress. Both are correct statements.

46. Who was the person behind conversion of East India Company from a trading company into a regional power?

[A] Lord Warren Hastings
[B] Lord Clive
[C] Lord Dalhousie
[D] Lord Wellesley

Answer: B [Lord Clive]

Notes:

The person behind conversion of East India Company from a trading company into a regional power was Lord Clive.

47. In which of the following years the Swaraj Party was founded by Motilal Nehru?

[A] 1947
[B] 1952
[C] 1923
[D] 1929

Answer: C [1923]

Notes:

In 1923 Motilal helped found the Swaraj Party , the policy of which was to win election to the Central Legislative Assembly and obstruct its proceedings from within. In 1928 he wrote the Congress Party’s Nehru Report, a future constitution for independent India based on the granting of dominion status.

48. Match the columns correctly:

[A] 2 4 5 1
[B] 3 1 4 2
[C] 3 4 2 1
[D] 4 5 2 3

49. Who among the following led the Sepoys at Kanpur in the 1857 uprising?

[A] Tantia Tope
[B] Laxmibai
[C] Nana Sahib
[D] Kunwar Singh

Answer: C [Nana Sahib]

Notes:

Nana Sahib was born as Dhondu Pant.He was an Indian Peshwa of the Maratha empire, aristocrat and fighter, who led the rebellion in Kanpur during the 1857 uprising.

50. The All India Muslim League was formed in 1906 at which of the following cities?

[A] Aligarh
[B] Dhaka
[C] Delhi
[D] Karachi

Answer: B [Dhaka]

Notes:

The AIME Conference in 1906, held at the Ahsan Manzil palace of the Dhaka Nawab Family, laid the foundation of the Muslim League.