Modern History (UPSC Prelims) [2013-2022] – Previous Year Questions

In the Government of India Act 1919, the functions of Provincial Government were divided into “Reserved” and “Transferred” subjects. Which of the following were treated as “Reserved” subjects?

1. Administration of Justice
2. Local Self-Government
3. Land Revenue
4. Police

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Consider the following freedom fighters:

1. Barindra Kumar Ghosh
2. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee
3. Rash Behari Bose

Who of the above was/were actively associated with the Ghadar Party?

With reference to the proposals of Cripps Mission, consider the following statements:

1. The Constituent Assembly would have members nominated by the Provincial Assemblies as well as the Princely States.
2. Any Province, which is not prepared to accept the new Constitution would have the right to sign a separate agreement with Britain regarding its future status.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements :

1. The Dutch established their factories/warehouses on the east coast on lands granted to them by Gajapati rulers.
2. Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate.
3. The English East India. Company established a factory at Madras on a plot of land leased from a representative of the Vijayanagara empire.

Which of the statements given above are correct ?

With reference to medieval India, which one of the following is the correct sequence in ascending order in terms of size?

Consider the following statements:

1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age of 21.
2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in legislature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to 8th August, 1942 in Indian history, which one of the following statements is correct?

In the context of Colonial India, Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as

Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School which later came to be known as Bethune Female School?

Consider the following statements:

1. 21^st February is declared to be the International Mother Language Day by UNICEF.
2. The demand that Bangla has to be one of the national languages was raised in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

In the first quarter of seventeenth century, in which of the following was/were the factory/factories of the English East India Company located?

1. Broach
2. Chicacole
3. Trichinopoly

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Consider the following statements:

1. St. Francis Xavier was one of the founding members of the Jesuit Order.
2. St. Francis Xavier died in Goa and a church is dedicated to him there.
3. The Feast of St. Francis Xavier is celebrated in Goa each year.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Who among the following is associated with ‘Songs from Prison’, a translation of ancient Indian religious lyrics in English?

The Vital-Vidhvansak, the first monthly journal to have the untouchable people as its target audience was published by

In the context of Indian history, the Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around

1. women’s right to gain education
2. age of consent
3. restitution of conjugal rights

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Indigo cultivation in India declined by the beginning of the 20^th century because of

With reference to the history of India, “Ulgulan” or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events?

Wellesley established the Fort William College at Calcutta because

Which of the following statements correctly explains the impact of Industrial Revolution on India during the first half of the nineteenth century?

With reference to the book “Desher Katha” written by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar during the freedom struggle, consider the following statements:

1. It warned against the Colonial State’s hypnotic conquest of the mind.
2. It inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs.
3. The use of ‘desh’ by Deuskar was in the specific context of the region of Bengal.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact included which of the following?

1. Invitation to Congress to participate in the Round Table Conference
2. Withdrawal of Ordinances promulgated in connection with the Civil Disobedience Movement
3. Acceptance of Gandhiji’s suggestion for enquiry into police excesses
4. Release of only those prisoners who were not charged with violence

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

With reference to the British colonial rule in India, consider the following statements:

1. Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in the abolition of the system of Indentured labour’.
2. In Lord Chelmsford’s War Conference’, Mahatma Gandhi did not support the resolution on recruiting Indians for World War.
3. Consequent upon the breaking of Salt Law by Indian people, the Indian National Congress was declared illegal by the colonial rulers.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following statements about ‘the Charter Act of 1813’:

1. It ended the trade monopoly of the East India Company in India except for trade in tea and trade with China.
2. It asserted the sovereignty of the British Crown over the Indian territories held by the Company
3. The revenues of India were now controlled by the British Parliament.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to Indian National Movement, consider the following pairs:

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

With reference to Swadesh Movement consider the following statements:

1. It contributed to the revival of the indigenous artisan crafts and industries.
2. The National Council of Education was established as a part of Swadeshi Movement.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following pairs:

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

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

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

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

Which among the following events happened earliest?

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

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

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

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

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

Consider the following events :

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

The object of the Butler Committee of 1927 was to

Who among the following was/were associated with the introduction of Ryotwari Settlement in India during the British rule?

1. Lord Cornwallis
2. Alexander Read
3. Thomas Munro

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

Consider the following statements :

1. The Factories Act, 1881 was passed with a view to fix the wages of industrial workers and to allow the workers to form trade unions.
2. N.M. Lokhande was a pioneer in organizing the labour movement in British India.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Consider the following pairs :

1. Radhakanta Deb — First President of the’ British Indian Association

2. Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty — Founder of the Madras Mahajana Sabha

3. Surendranath Banerjee — Founder of the Indian Association.

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

In the context of Indian history, the principle of ‘Dyarchy (diarchy)’ refers to

With reference to” Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events :

1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy
2. Quit India Movement launched
3. Second Round Table Conference

What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?

Who of the following had first deciphered the edicts of Emperor Ashoka?

The ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott’ were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the

Consider the following :

1. Calcutta Unitarian Committee
2. Tabernacle of New Dispensation
3. Indian Reform Association

Keshab Chandra Sen is associated with the establishment of which of the above?

The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals were related to

Satya Shodhak Samaj organized

What was the main reason for the split in the Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907?

The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War

Which of the following kingdoms were associated with the life of the Buddha?

1. Avanti
2. Gandhara
3. Kosala
4. Magadha

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

The Government of India Act of 1919 clearly defined

Who of the following organized a march on the Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930?

Consider the following statements

1. The first woman President of the Indian National Congress was Sarojini Naidu.
2. The first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress was Badruddin Tyabji.

Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?

With reference to the Cabinet Mission, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It recommended a federal government.
2. It enlarged the powers of the Indian courts.
3. It provided for more Indians in the ICS.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

With reference to the cart and archeological history of India, which one among the following was made earliest?

With reference to Indian history, which of the following is/are the essential element/ elements of the feudal system?

1. A very strong centralized political authority and a very weak provincial or local political authority
2. Emergence of administrative structure based on control and possession of land
3. Creation of lord-vassal relationship between the feudal lord and his overlord

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Which one of the following movements has contributed to a split in the Indian National Congress resulting in the emergence of ‘moderates’ and ‘extremists’?

Who of the following was/were economic critic/ critics of colonialism in India?

1. Dadabhai Naoroji
2. G. Subramania Iyer
3. R. C. Dutt

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

With reference to Rowlat Satyagraha, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The Rowlatt Act was based on the recommendations of the ‘Sedition Committee’.
2. In Rowlatt Satyagraha, Gandhiji tried to Utilize the Home Rule League.
3. Demonstrations against the arrival of Simon Commission coincided with Rowlatt Satyagraha.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

With reference to Congress Socialist Party, consider the following statements:

1. It advocated the boycott of British goods and evasion of taxes.
2. It wanted to establish the dictatorship of proletariat.
3. It advocated, separate electorate for minorities and oppressed classes.

Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?

The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a

What was/were the object/objects of Queen Victoria’s Proclamation (1858)?

1. To disclaim any intention to annex Indian States
2. To place the Indian administration under the British Crown
3. To regulate East India Company’s trade with India

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

The Radcliffe Committee was appointed to

The Partition of Bengal made by Lord Curzon in 1905 lasted until

The 1929 Session of Indian National Congress is of significance in the history of the Freedom Movement because the

The people of India agitated against the arrival of Simon Commission because

Quit India Movement was launched in response to

Which of the following characterizes/ characterize the people of Indus Civilization?

1. They possessed great palaces and temples.
2. They worshipped both male and female deities.
3. They employed horse-drawn chariots in warfare.

Select the correct statement/statements using the codes given below.

With reference to Indian History, the Members of the Constituent Assembly from the Provinces were

The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for

Annie Besant was

1. responsible for starting the Home Rule Movement
2. the founder of the Theosophical Society
3. once the President of the Indian National Congress

Select the correct statement / statements using the codes given below.

The Ilbert Bill controversy was related to the