Day-790 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: D

Explanation:

Along with the decline of the Mughal Empire, broadly there were three kinds of states which came into prominence:

• • the states which broke away from the Mughal empire, (successor states).
  • the new states set up by the rebels against the Mughal, and
  • the independent states.

Bengal, Hyderabad and Awadh were the three successor states of the Mughal empire, in the sense that they were founded by Mughal provincial governors who never formally severed their links with the centre, but virtually exercised autonomy in matters of execution of power at the local level.

Awadh and Hyderabad came to the help of the Mughals when Nadir Shah invaded Delhi. Through their links with factions of nobles, the provincial chiefs were often strong enough to control the centre. Hence, the changes in polity in this period is appropriately characterised as transformation rather than collapse. A new political order was constructed within the Mughal institutional framework.

The collapse of the all India polity did not lead to generalised economic decline. The regional picture was very varied. Punjab’s economy was disrupted by foreign invasions but Awadh experienced economic growth. Safdar Jang, Nawab of Awadh, on his accession paid Rs. 3 crores to Nadir Shah. A stable polity developed in Awadh on the basis of economic prosperity while the states set up in Punjab collapsed.

Answer: A

Explanation:

The third battle of Panipat commenced on 14th January 1761. But the conflict and its outcome were brewing since 1752 when Maratha forces overran North India and established their influence at the Delhi court. The Marathas were not content with their acquisitions and looked greedily towards the Punjab, which was ruled by a tributary of Abdali. He left behind trusted followers in charge of certain areas, but decided to return to challenge the ambitious Maratha Powers.

• • The conflict inevitably became a multifaceted one as the major and minor north Indian powers got drawn in. Here the Afghans were at an advantage as the Marathas had acquired many enemies in the process of conquering and administering this core area of the empire. The Rohilkhand chief and the Awadh Nawabs, whose area had been overrun by the Marathas, even went to the extent of joining hands with Abdali. The Maratha armies marched alone to the battlefield of Panipat to confront Abdali. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
  • The Maratha army was no match for the Afghans though it boasted of troops trained along Western lines. 28,000 Marathas died on the battlefield, along with the commanders of the army, the Peshwa, minor son Vishwas Rao and the latter’s cousin, Sadashiv Rao Bhau. The Peshwa, Balaji Baji Rao did not survive for long, after hearing the tragic news of the defeat. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • The third battle of Panipat proved significant in the struggle for mastery over India. The Marathas’ ambition of replacing the Mughals as the imperial power was checked at a strategic point by this defeat. The beneficiaries were the British rather than the Afghas. The British got a tremendous opportunity to expand their influence in Bengal and India. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: B

Explanation:

The Jats were an agriculturist caste inhabiting the Delhi-Agra belt. Churaman and Badan Singh founded the Jat State at Bharatpur but it was Suraj Mal who consolidated Jat power during his rule from 1756 to 1763.

• • The states of Rohilkhand and the kingdom of the Bangash Pathans were all fallout of the Afghan migration from the 17th century. Large scale immigration of Afghans into India took place in the mid-18th century because of political and economic disruption in Afghanistan.
  • Ali Muhammad Khan took advantage of the collapse of authority in north India following Nadir Shah’s invasion, to set up a petty kingdom, This was the area of the Himalayan foothills located between Kumaon in the north and the Ganga in the south.
  • Mohammad Khan Bangash, an Afghan, had set up an independent kingdom to the east of Delhi in the area around Farrukhabad.

Answer: D

Explanation:

• • The First Carnatic War was provoked by the outbreak of hostilities in Europe in 1742 between the two countries. By 1745 the war spread to India where French and English East India Companies were rivals in trade and political influence. At this juncture the Nawab of Carnatic responded to an English appeal to protect Madras and his armies were defeated by the small French army at St. Thomas near Madras. The Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle brought an end to the first round of Anglo-French conflicts. Hence, statements 1 and 3 are incorrect.
  • Political complexities arising from dynastic feuds in India provided the context for the second round of Anglo-French conflict in the south. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • The most decisive battle of the Third Carnatic War was the battle of Wandiwash in January 1760. The French were completely defeated. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 reduced the French company to a pure trading body without any political privileges.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• • Bengal was the first province where the British established political control. The Nawab, Siraj-ud-daula, was defeated at the battle of Plassey in 1757. The grant of the Zamindari of 24 Parganas by Mir Jafar in 1757 and then of the Burdwan, Midanpore and Chittagong in 1760 by Mir Kasim gave the Company the political status. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
  • The treaty of Bengal in 1765 (Battle of Buxar) inaugurated the Dual Government of Bengal. Clive became Governor of Bengal and Company the virtual ruler. The Nawab was the ruler merely in name as his army had been disbanded. The administration was handed over to a Deputy Subadar, who would function on behalf of the Nawab, but would be nominated through the Deputy diwan. As the offices of diwan and subedar were held by the same person, the company’s control was total. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • The company was essentially a trading corporation, ill equipped to administer territory. Changes were necessary in the constitution to enable it to wield political power and for the British Government to regulate the functioning of the company. This was affected by the Regulating Act of 1773. The significance of the Regulating Act lies in its introduction of the British mode of governance. British style institutions were introduced. The Supreme Court of justice was set up at Calcutta to administer justice according to British percepts. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: C

Explanation:

• • During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the towns built by the Mughals were famous for their concentration of populations, their monumental buildings and their imperial grandeur and wealth.
  • Mediaeval towns were places where everybody was expected to know their position in the social order dominated by the ruling elite. In North India, maintaining this order was the work of the imperial officer called the kotwal who oversaw the internal affairs and policing of the town.

Answer: C

Explanation:

• • The Puranas are supposed to have five characteristics (pancha-lakshanas),e., they are supposed to discuss five topics—the creation of the world (sarga); re-creation (pratisarga); the periods of the various Manus (manvantaras); the genealogies of gods and rishis (vamsha); and an account of royal dynasties (vamshanucharita).
  • Bhavishya is an example of Puranas. There are 18 Mahapuranas (great Puranas), and many more Upapuranas (secondary Puranas). The standard list of the 18 Mahapuranas includes the Vishnu, Narada, Bhagavata, Garuda, Padma, Varaha, Matsya, Kurma, Linga, Shiva, Skanda, Agni, Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavishya, Vamana, and Brahma.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• • Later Vedic texts contain certain types of compositions that reflect a historical consciousness. These include the dana-stutis, gathas, narashamsis, and akhyanas.
  • The dana-stutis are hymns praising the generosity and exploits of kings.
  • The gathas are songs in praise of kings, sung on the occasion of certain sacrifices.
  • Narashamsis were used in rituals and are preserved in texts such as the Brahmanas and Grihya Sutras.
  • Akhyanas are narrative hymns in dialogue form, referring to mythical and possibly historical events.
  • All these types of compositions were directly connected with the performance of sacrifices (yajnas).

Answer: B

Explanation:

• • A special group of Sanskrit texts dealing specifically with dharma are collectively known as the Dharmashastra.
  • Dharmashastra recognizes three sources of dharma—shruti (i.e., the Vedas), smriti (i.e., the Smriti texts), and sadachara or shishtachara (good custom or the practices of the learned, cultured people).
  • A person’s dharma depends on gender, age, marital status, varna, and ashrama. The four varnas are—Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra.
  • The ashrama system- brahmacharya (celibate studenthood), grihastha (the householder stage), vanaprastha (partial renunciation), and sannyasa (complete renunciation).

Answer: D

Explanation:

• • The hymns of the Nayanmar saints (Shaiva saints) were compiled in the 10th century by Nambi Andar Nambi and this compilation formed the core of the Shaiva canon, the Nambi also wrote a work called the Tiruttondar Tiruvantati about the saints. In the 12th century, the accounts of the Shaiva saints were collected in a text called the Periyapuranam.
  • In the 10th century, Nathamuni collected the Alvar hymns (Vaishnava saints) into the canon known as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• • The Revolt of 1857 did not encompass the whole of India. There were certain regions which remained aloof from the uprising. South India remained quiet and Punjab and Bengal were marginally affected. The main centres of the revolt were almost the whole of north India, central and western India. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
  • Mangal Pandey, a young sepoy of the 34th Native Infantry, Barrackpore, killed his senior. He was overpowered and executed and his regiment was disbanded. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • The conditions of service in the Company’s army and cantonments increasingly came into conflict with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys, who were predominantly drawn from the upper caste Hindus of the North Western Provinces and Oudh. With the extension of the Army’s operation not only to various parts of India but also to countries outside, caste distinctions and segregation within a regiment were not conducive to the cohesiveness of a fighting unit. To the religious Hindu, crossing the sea meant loss of caste. The sepoys, therefore, refused to comply. The rumours about the Government’s secret designs to promote conversions to Christianity further angered the sepoys. So, all these contributed to arousing the feeling of discontent and the sepoys revolted. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: A

Explanation:

The correct matches are given below:

Answer: C

Explanation:

Nearly all the tribal revolts were continuous in nature and were massive in their totality. At the same time these revolts were wholly local in their spread and isolated from each other. They were the result of local causes and grievances, and were also localised in their effects.

• • They often bore the same character not because they represented national or common efforts but because they represented common conditions though separated in time and space.

So, these revolts didn’t have common national efforts, but rather common conditions generated due to British policies.

Answer: D

Explanation:

The Harappan culture was actually a long and complex cultural process consisting of at least three phases—the early Harappan, mature Harappan, and late Harappan. The early Harappan phase was the formative, proto-urban phase of the culture. The mature Harappan phase was the urban phase, the full-fledged stage of civilization. The late Harappan phase was the post-urban phase, when the cities declined.

• • In terms of craft production, early Harappan phase witnessed ‘regionalisation’ which means craft production was limited to certain regions and their trade was also regional (limited to one region).
  • Mature Harappan phase witnessed an ‘era of integration’, where production was not limited to one region and trade was widespread.
  • Late Harappan phase witnessed ‘localisation era’, where decline in trade was witnessed and there were few centres of production.

Answer: B

Explanation:

All the above-mentioned sites are examples of the early Harappan phase.

• • Kunal, Banwali and Rakhigarhi are in Hisar district of Haryana.
  • Padri and Kuntasi are in Saurashtra, Gujarat.

Answer: A

Explanation:

The essence of British imperialism lay in the subordination of the Indian economy to the British economy which was highlighted by some leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade and Romesh Chandra Dutt.

• • They highlighted that, while in the eighteenth century, the British mode of exploitation was largely based on the idea of plunder (capturing Indian territories), tribute (subordination through various treaties) and mercantilism (policy of free- trade), in the nineteenth century they adopted a more disguised and complex mechanism of free trade and foreign capital investment. While the British goods were imported in India freely, there were restrictions in the import of Indian goods in England. Also, with the establishment of colonial towns and railways, foreign capitals were employed and its dividend was not invested for the development of India.
  • The essence of 19th century colonialism lay in the transformation of India into a supplier of foodstuffs and raw materials to the metropolis, a market for the metropolitan manufacturers, and a field for the investment of British capital.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• • The early nationalists leaders raised basic questions regarding the nature and purpose of British rule. Eventually, they were able to trace the process of the colonisation of the Indian economy and conclude that colonialism was the main obstacle to India’s economic development. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
  • The early Indian national leaders were simultaneously learners and teachers. They advocated the severance of India’s economic subservience to Britain in every sphere of life and agitated for an alternative path of development which would lead to an independent economy. Economic development was seen above all as the rapid development of modern industry. The early nationalists accepted with remarkable unanimity that the complete economic transformation of the country on the basis of modern technology and capitalist enterprise was the primary goal of all their economic policies. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • At the same time, nearly all the early nationalists were clear on one question- however great the need of India for industrialization, it had to be based on Indian capital and not foreign capital. They saw foreign capital as an unmitigated evil which did not develop a country but exploited and impoverished it. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: C

Explanation:

All the given pairs are correctly matched.

All these statements were made in criticism of British rule.

• • Dadabhai Naoroji- ‘The face of beneficence’. The British used a mask of beneficence behind which they carried the task of economic exploitation of the country.
  • Sachidanand Sinha- ‘White Man’s Burden’. That the government of India was carried with the dictates of the Chamber of Commerce.
  • Bal Gangadhar Tilak- ‘ Decorating another’s wife’. Benefit of railway construction was reaped by Britian and not India.

Answer: A

Explanation:

• • The Vernacular Press Act of 1878, directed only against Indian language newspapers, provided for the confiscation of the printing press, paper and other materials of a newspaper if the Government believed that it was publishing seditious materials and had flouted an official warning. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • According to Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code according to which ‘whoever attempts to excite feelings of disaffection to the Government established by law in British India’ was to be punished with transportation for life or for any term or with imprisonment upto three years. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
  • Indian nationalist opinion firmly opposed the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. The first great demonstration on an issue of public importance was organised in Calcutta on this question when a large meeting was held in the Town Hall. Various public bodies and the Press also campaigned against the Act. Consequently, it was repealed in 1881 by Lord Ripon. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: C

Explanation:

• • The British conquest and the consequent dissemination of colonial culture and ideology had led to an inevitable introspection about the strengths and weaknesses of indigenous culture and institutions. The response, indeed, was varied but the need to reform social and religious life was a commonly shared conviction. The social base of this quest which has generally, but not altogether appropriately been called the renaissance, was the newly emerging middle class and the traditional as well as western educated intellectuals. The socio-cultural regeneration in nineteenth century India was occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it.