Day-596 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Sardeshmukhi was an additional tax levied by the Maratha Empire on territories within its domain. The primary purpose of Sardeshmukhi was to provide an additional source of income for the Maratha rulers and nobility. It also served as a means of asserting the Maratha Empire’s authority over its territories and maintaining control.
Statement 2 is incorrect: It was equal to one-tenth (10%) of the land revenue collected from the territories.
Statement 3 is correct: Sardeshmukhi was collected by Maratha officials directly from the landowners and cultivators in the empire’s territories. The collected revenue was distributed among the Maratha rulers, nobility, and officials, with a portion also used for the empire’s administration and public works.
Additional information:
• The economic condition of Marathas was good in the 17th and 18th centuries because they were powerful in those days, so they could do whatever they wanted to, and their administration was stable.
• Most people accepted them as rulers, and they did not have to face any problems during this period because people accepted them as rulers. Their motto was ‘freedom from fear,’ which they had proved strong.
• Maratha state was a strong and well-organized government. So, they had ordered their administration properly, and every common person was satisfied with the administration’s work. They did not have any problems because the rules were clear to them. Maratha’s rule was very different from the other British-style rule.
• Marathas were good administrators and had a different way of enforcing their control. They took good care of their subjects’ well-being by giving education to every person. They encouraged freedom of speech, press, religion, and expression.
• They also controlled the trade in grains, salt, and sugar. They also had a very good system of medical treatment.

Answer: B
Explanation:
• Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahadev Govind Ranade were related to Deccan Education Society.
• Deccan Education Society was an influential social reform and political organisation formed in the Pune district in Maharashtra.
• The establishment of the New English School in Pune resulted in the foundation of the Deccan Education Society by Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
• It was an unprecedented move because the only organisations involved in mass education were governmental institutions and Christian missionaries.
• As a fervent reformist, Agarkar took a keen interest in social reform initiatives.
• Tilak was a Puritan when it came to social reforms. Once political freedom was attained, he thought, laws could implement such social reform measures.
• Other leaders of the Society: Vishnushastri Chiplunkar,Mahadev Ballal,Namjoshi,V S Apte,V B Kelkar, M S Gole and N K Dharap
• Society established Fergusson College, Pune’s first higher education institution.

Answer: C
Explanation:
Effects of de industrialisation:
1) Ruralisation of India
2) As international trade reshaped the domestic structure of the economy, India became one of the major markets for the British made cotton yarns and cloths.
3) Overcrowding of agriculture and Such overcrowding of agriculture badly affected its efficiency. Present problems of subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings, over-cultivation or cultivation of inferior and unproductive land, etc., are the direct effects of the British rule.
4) Artisans were displaced from traditional occupations and with no other alternative source of livelihood, the artisans adopted agriculture.
5) Trade to GDP ratio declined
Additional information:
• De-industrialisation is the process of destruction of a nation’s industrial capacity. Before the advent of the Europeans in India, India was the industrial hub. Indian economy was characterised by the agriculture and handicrafts.
• But this internal balance of the village economy was systematically destroyed by the British policies. In the process, traditional handicraft industries started declining in the 18th century and proceeded rapidly almost to the beginning of the 19th century.
• This process is called as de-industrialisation. The large scale de-industrialisation brought far reaching impacts on the economy with loss to traditional economy, which was earlier considered as a blend of agriculture and handicrafts.
• The de-industrialisation of India played an important role in the underdevelopment and increasing poverty of the country. Thus the process of de-industrialisation proved to be a disaster for the several million persons.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM) was the first nationwide movement launched by Gandhiji as a response to a culmination of grievances against colonial rule. Gandhi’s call for non-cooperation movement aimed to challenge the colonial economic and power structure against the Rowlatt Act.
Statement 2 is correct: Rowlatt act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
Additional information:
Rowlatt Satyagraha
• The seeds of the Rowlatt Act were sown in 1915 when the repressive Defense of India Act was imposed to curb anti-colonial activities during World War I.
• Sedition Committee: While the Defense of India Act was meant to be a temporary wartime measure, a committee (called Sedition Committee) headed by British judge Sydney Rowlatt recommended the continuation of such suppressive powers.
• It can be considered as an instrument of British Carrot (GOI Act,1919) and Stick (Rowlatt Act) policy.
Non-Cooperation Movement
• The Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM) was the first nationwide movement launched by Gandhiji in 1920 during British rule.
• It emerged as a powerful and fervent response to a culmination of grievances and disillusionment that had been building up among the Indian populace. Rowlatt Act and the brutal Jaliawala Bagh Massacre were the immediate causes for launching the movement.
• Congress, at its special session of Calcutta in September 1920, approved the Non-Cooperation movement, which was later endorsed by the Nagpur session of Congress in December 1920.
• The movement saw tremendous participation of masses throughout the country. However, the movement was called off by Gandhi on February 11, 1922, following the Churi Chaura incident in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Answer: B
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: The parallel government which developed in Satara during quit India movement was the longest and most successful.
Statement 2 is correct: Nana Patil was the leader of the Satara parallel government.
Statement 3 is correct: The model of the parallel government in Satara was based on the “Gramrajya” of Aundh, which was a progressive policy of decentralization of power which was implemented by the Raja of Aundh, Shrimant Bhavanrao Pant-Pratinidhi in 1937.
Additional information:
• Quit India Movement was officially launched by the Indian National Congress (INC) led by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942.
• The movement gave the slogans ‘Quit India’ or ‘Bharat Chodo’. Gandhi gave the slogan to the people – ‘Do or die’.
• In line with the Congress ideology, it was supposed to be a peaceful non-violent movement aimed at urging the British to grant India independence.
• The Quit India Resolution was passed by the Congress Working Committee on 8 August 1942 in Bombay. Gandhi was named the movement’s leader.