Day-676 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: C
Explanation:
Cause of Bengal Famine, 1943:
● Series of crop failures in Bengal, particularly of rice, which was the staple food of the region. (So, only 1st reason is incorrect)
● Cyclone and excessive rainfall
● Japanese occupation of Burma (present-day Myanmar) disrupted rice imports into Bengal.
● Promotion of cash crops like indigo and opium
● During some famines, the British authorities continued to export food grains from India to Britain, exacerbating food scarcity in the affected regions.
Additional information:
● The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine that struck the Bengal region of British India during the World War II period.
● In modern times, the Bengal region is divided between the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal; however, during the era of British rule, it was an important area of British operations.
● While estimates of the total number of deaths to result from the famine vary, it is generally accepted that around three million perished, making the Bengal famine in 1943 one of the worst disasters of the 20th century in South Asia.
● The Bengal region did see some disruption to its production of food in the lead-up to the famine, primarily as a result of factors relating to World War II.
Other causes which aggravated the intensity of the famines were:
● Land Revenue System: The British introduced a land revenue system that imposed a heavy tax burden on Indian peasants. This led to land overexploitation and indebtedness, making them vulnerable to crop failures.
● Inadequate Relief: The British colonial government’s response to famines was often criticized for being inadequate. Relief measures were introduced, but they were often delayed and insufficient in scale. Many people suffering from famine received little or no assistance.
● The economic interests of British merchants and the colonial administration often took precedence over the welfare of the Indian population.
● Price Inflation: As food became scarce due to crop failures, the prices of essential food items, especially rice, rose significantly. This made it increasingly difficult for the poor and vulnerable populations to afford basic sustenance.
● Hoarding and Black Market: Speculation, hoarding, and the emergence of a black market exacerbated the food crisis. Some traders and businesses sought to profit from the shortage, driving up prices and making food even scarcer for the general population.

Answer: C
Explanation:
The Rajagopalachari formula did not include a proposal of a new Executive Council with all Indian members, including separate representation for Muslims and other religious groups.
The formulae stated that India would be partitioned and that the Muslims would be given their own country based on the predominance of Muslims in the state. It was proposed to break the political impasse between the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League.
Proposals of Rajagopalachari Formula
● The Muslim League and the INC would join forces to demand British independence.
● Both parties would work together at the center to construct a transitional government.
● Following the conflict, a committee would be tasked with demarcating those territories with an absolute majority of Muslims, and a referendum would be held in those areas, in which all residents (Muslims and non-Muslims) would vote on whether or not to form a separate independent nation based on adult suffrage.
● In the event of a partition, mutual agreements for the protection of defense, communications, and trade will be created.
● Only if Britain passes entire power to India will the aforementioned terms become a reality.
Additional information:
Rajagopalachari Formula – Background
● The British government announced during the Second World War, under the Viceroyalty of Lord Linlinthglow, that any decision for the Indian State would only be implemented if both parties, the All India Muslims League and the Indian National Congress, agreed unanimously on the decision; otherwise, the decision would be barred.
● The All-Indian Muslim League was increasingly calling for a separate nation – Pakistan–for the sake of Muslims, while the Indian National Congress was adamantly opposed to splitting the Indian nation.
● C Rajagopalachari, a member of the Indian National Congress who was also Gandhi’s close aide, proposed a set of plans that became known as the C R Formula or the Rajaji Formula.
● The formulae stated that India would be partitioned and that the Muslims would be given their own country based on the predominance of Muslims in the state.
● Members of the Indian National Congress disagreed with the formula and were opposed to it.
● Gandhi attempted to talk to Jinnah about it, but it was in vain because Jinnah had rejected the plans.
Causes of Failure
● The formulas/proposals aimed primarily at establishing a separate nation – Pakistan–but the population that was to be present consisted primarily of non-Muslims.
● Jinnah feared that if the vote was cast, he would be forced to partition Punjab and Bengal.
● The referendum vote was to be held for the entire population, which could have led to disagreements over the nation’s partition, so Jinnah objected, stating that the referendum vote should only be held for the Muslim population.
● Jinnah claimed that the formulas were primarily concerned with services, whereas he desired full partition.
● The proposals dealt with partitioning Punjab, which meant that the Sikh community in Punjab would be divided, and Sikhs would not have a majority in any of the districts.
● If partitioning Punjab were to be agreed upon, many people would be forced to live on both sides of the dividing line. The proposals failed primarily because neither Gandhi nor Jinnah firmly believed in the formulas.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The All India States Peoples’ Conference (AISPC) was the association of the Praja Mandals in the princely states under the British Raj.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Praja Mandals, which were set up all over the nation, aimed to establish a responsible government. The first Praja Mandals (State Peoples’ Conferences) were established in a number of Princely States, including Mysore, Baroda, Hyderabad, the Deccan States, Indore, Kathiawad, Jamnagar, and Nawanagar.
Statement 3 is incorrect: The first session of AISPC was held in Bombay in 1927 which brought together representatives from various Indian princely states and was presided by Dewan Bahadur Ram Chandra Rao. In 1939, The Indian National Congress amended its policy to lend support to the AISPC in view of the rising tide of nationalism and political mobilization in the Princely States. Thus, in the Ludhiana Session of the AISPC, Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as its president, and he continued to hold this position till 1946.
Additional information:
● The princes ruled about two-fifths of the Indian sub-continent, having one-third of the population of the British Empire.
● Some of these states, such as Mysore, Hyderabad, and Kashmir, were the size of many European countries, while others had very small feudal estates.
● All of these states shared the recognition of the British Crown’s supremacy.
● The British shielded the Princes from any threat to their autocratic power, whether internal or external.
● Most of the Princely states were administered as absolute autocracies. All of these ‘absolute’ rulers walked with all their grandeur and dignity under the protection of the British.
● Thus, the princes served as useful tools in the overall imperial plan.
● They were natural allies of the British rulers and were always willing to help their patrons in times of crisis, such as war and intense nationalist mobilisation.
● These “bulwarks of reaction” provided the British with constant security.
Congress Policy towards Princely States
● In the starting phase, the Indian National Congress had consciously distanced itself from the princes as well as from the political mobilisation in the princely states.
● Even when the early Gandhian phase’s spectacular mass mobilisation arrived, the strategy of non-interference continued.
● The problems that led to this policy of not meddling in the politics of princely states included
● The nationalist leadership did not want to fight simultaneously on two fronts because it was aware that princes existed only due to the protection of the paramount power of the British.
● Congress leadership was aware that the movements in princely states were linked to the appeals based on class, religious and linguistic identities and could result in more regional and religious fragmentation.
● However, Gandhian leadership permitted ‘constructive work’ such as anti-untouchability for certain social groups in the states.
● Gandhi actively supported the Vaikom Satyagraha in Travancore in 1925, where the demand for the opening of the road around Vaikom temple for the use of ‘untouchables’ was raised.
● In 1920, at Nagpur, a resolution urging the Princes to grant full responsible government in their States had been passed. This was the first time the Indian National Congress had expressed its policy towards the Indian states.
● The Congress also allowed persons from states to join the Congress organisation as its primary members.
● Congress also made it conditional that Congress members in the states could not take part in any political activity in the states as Congressmen or in the name of Congress but only in their private capacity.
● Gandhiji supported the Congress resolution. Congress reaffirmed its resolution of 1920 in 1927. Later, the Congress sought that the Princes guarantee their people’s fundamental rights.
● In the Lahore Session of the Congress (1929), Nehru, who stood for a leftward shift in the priorities of Congress, stated that the fate of the states was intertwined with the fate of the rest of India.
● But as late as 1934, Gandhiji reiterated the 1920 non-intervention stand. He argued that any movement started from the outside could not succeed and that the people of the states should learn self-reliance.
● The Congress, at its Tripuri Session (1939), passed a resolution enunciating new tactics. It removed the earlier restraint on the Congress activities in the states.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● The term “Gumasthas” denotes Agents.
● During the 17th and 18th centuries, there was growth of the putting out system, which was also called the dadni system.
● It meant that the traders/ entrepreneurs bought raw materials like cotton, indigo, silk, etc. from the countryside and supplied it to the artisans/ craftsmen, who had to return the finished goods at predetermined rates.
● Gumasthas (agents) played an important role in these arrangements. There were contracts signed between traders and artisans, which included price details, quantity and timing related details.
● This system increased the production but it made the artisans more and more dependent on the merchants- Indian and foreign. In fact, this was a popular mode of production for the European companies that exported finished goods out of India.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● Ahilyabai Holkar (1725 -1795) was one of the women rulers of Medieval India who belongs to the Holkar dynasty of the Maratha Empire. She was married to Khanderao Holkar in 1733 at the tender age of 8. Her husband was killed in the battle of Kumbher in 1754.
● Her philanthropy was reflected in the construction of several temples, ghats, wells, tanks and rest houses stretching across the length of the country. She had been an acute observer of the wider political scene.
● She is famous for having built numerous forts and roads in the Malwa region, sponsoring festivals and offering donations to many Hindu temples. She welcomed stalwarts such as Marathi poet Moropant, Shahir Ananta Gandhi, and Sanskrit scholar Khushali Ram into her capital. John Keay, the British historian, gave the queen the title of ‘The Philosopher Queen’.
Additional information:
● Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. She belonged to the Chowta dynasty, an indigenous Tuluva dynasty who ruled over parts of coastal Karnataka, India. Their capital was Puttige. Rani Abbakka, a 16th-century fighter, is renowned for her unwavering resistance to the Portuguese as they started colonising the regions near the Indian Ocean. Little Abbakka learned about this as she grew older. She was determined to fight the Portuguese when she was crowned queen. Angered by her brazenness, the latter declared war on the palace where she resided. These assaults started in 1556 and persisted for some years after that. The queen, on the other hand, was a fighter and always came out on top. She was wounded and taken prisoner by the enemy in one of these crossfires, but fate had other intentions. She is also regarded as the first woman ‘freedom fighter.’
● Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bai was born in Kerala’s Kottayam region. She succeeded to the throne of Travancore in 1924 after Mulam Tirunal Maharaja passed away on behalf of young Chithira Tirunal, the future Maharaja. Her community saw her as a supporter of women’s rights. Because she believed in women’s ability to work and pursue higher education, she had a promotion placed in place. She invited college-educated girls to join her for tea at her palace. She even instructed the Women’s College in Trivandrum to begin offering courses in history, natural science, languages, and mathematics when she first allowed female students to pursue legal studies in 1927. She promoted women from local to governmental roles during her rule, ensuring that they had an equal voice in making choices about the administration.
● Rani Durgavati heard tales of bravery and pride as a young princess growing up in the royal family. She was therefore ready when it was time for her to take the throne. Many saw her as a threat because of her army of 1,000 war elephants and 20,000 cavalrymen, but she was brave because of this support. Since she knew Akbar’s army was coveting the fort, she didn’t back down when she moved her capital from Singorgarh Fort to Chauragarh in the east. Durgavati was struck by two arrows during the battles the Mughal army fought to take the fort. She chose to commit suicide by stabbing herself in the stomach as opposed to choosing a long, torturous death by the enemy.