Modern Indian History Gk Questions

Correct Answer:-C ( Non-cooperation )
Description:-  Satyagraha and sarvodaya were Mahatma Gandhi’s most significant and revolutionary contributions to contemporary political thought. He felt that the exercise of satyagraha could be carried out through noncooperation. Civil disobedience and non-cooperation as practised under Satyagraha are based on the ‘law of suffering’, a doctrine that the endurance of suffering is a means to an end. This end usually implies a moral upliftment or progress of an individual or society. Therefore, non-cooperation in Satyagraha is in fact a means to secure the cooperation of the opponent consistently with truth and justice.

Correct Answer:-D ( At the Lahore Session of 1940 )
Description:-  In 1940 at the Lahore session of the Muslim League, the demand for a separate state of Pakistan was made. The resolution was presented by A. K. Fazlul Huq. It was based on the two-nation theory. The Muslim League demanded that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North-Western and Eastern Zones of India should be grouped to constitute Independent States in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.

Correct Answer:-A ( Narsinh Mehta )
Description:-  Narsingh Mehta was a poet-saint of Gujarat, India, and a member of the Nagar Brahmins community, notable as a bhakta, an exponent of Vaishnava poetry. He is especially revered in Gujarati literature, where he is acclaimed as its Adi Kavi (Sanskrit for ‘first among poets’). His bhajan, Vaishnav Jan To was Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite and had become synonymous to him. The bhajan tells us about the life, ideals and mentality of a Vaishnav Jana (A follower of Vishnu or Krishna).

Correct Answer:-B ( A.C. Wadia )
Description:-  Ardaseer Cursetjee Wadia was the first Indian to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society on May 27, 1841 which credited him with both the introduction of gas lighting to Bombay, as well as having ‘built a [seagoing] vessel of 60 tons to which he adapted a Steam Engine. He was an Indian shipbuilder and engineer.

Correct Answer:-A ( Battle of Wandiwash )
Description:-  Battle of Wandiawash, (January 22, 1760), in the history of India, was a confrontation between the French, under the comte de Lally, and the British, under Sir Eyre Coote. It was the decisive battle in the Anglo-French struggle in southern India during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). This was the Third Carnatic War fought between the French and the British.

Correct Answer:-A ( Mahatma Gandhi )
Description:-  In 1942, although still committed in his efforts to ‘launch a non-violent movement’, Gandhi clarified that the Quit India Movement would not be stopped by individual acts of violence, saying that the ‘ordered anarchy’ of ‘the present system of administration’ was ‘worse than real anarchy.’ He called on all Congressmen and Indians to maintain discipline via ahimsa, and Karo ya maro (‘Do or die’) in the cause of ultimate freedom

Correct Answer:-B ( Surat )
Description:-  The British presence in India dates back to the early part of the seventeenth century. On 31 December, 1600, Elizabeth, then the monarch of the United Kingdom, acceded to the demand of a large body of merchants that a royal charter be given to a new trading company, ‘The Governor and Company of Merchants of London, Trading into the East-Indies.’ Between 1601 and 1613, merchants of the East India Company took twelve voyages to India, and in 1609 William Hawkins arrived at the court of Jahangir to seek permission to establish a British presence in India. Hawkins was rebuffed by Jahangir, but Sir Thomas Roe, who presented himself before the Mughal Emperor in 1617, was rather more successful. Two years later, Roe gained Jahangir’s permission to build a British factory in Surat, and in 1639, this was followed by the founding of Fort St. George (Madras).

Correct Answer:-A ( 1930)
Description:-  The Purna Swaraj declaration, or Declaration of the Independence of India was promulgated by the Indian National Congress on January 26, 1930, resolving the Congress and Indian nationalists to fight for Purna Swaraj, or complete self-rule independent of the British Empire. The flag of India had been hoisted by Congress President Jawaharlal Nehru on December 31, 1929, on the banks of the Ravi River in Lahore, modern-day Pakistan. The Congress asked the people of India to observe January 26 as Independence Day.

Correct Answer:-D ( Cornwallis )
Description:-  In 1784 British Prime Minister Pitt the Younger tried to alter the Calcutta Administration with Pitt‘s India Act and in the year 1786 Charles Cornwallis was sent out to India to supervise the alteration. In 1786 the Court of Directors of East India Company first proposed The Permanent Settlement Act for Bengal. Between 1786 and 1790 the Governor General Lord Cornwallis and Sir John Shore (the later Governor General himself) debated over whether or not to introduce Permanent settlement Act in Bengal. Shore‘s point of argument was that the native Zamindars could not trust the permanent Settlement and it would take a long time for them to realize the genuineness of this act. But Cornwallis believed that they would immediately accept Permanent Settlement Act and start investing in improving their land. In 1790 the Court of Directors passed a ten-year (Decennial) Settlement Act to the Zamindars, which was later changed to Permanent Settlement Act on 1793.

Correct Answer:-C ( Jawaharlal Nehru )
Description:-  Jawaharlal Nehru, gave this following speech as India’s first Prime Minister to the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi at midnight on August 14, 1947: ‘At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, then an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.’

Correct Answer:-C ( J.A. Hickey )
Description:-  The first major newspaper in India—The Bengal Gazette—was started in 1780 under the British Raj by James Augustus Hickey. Other newspapers such as The India Gazette, The Calcutta Gazette, The Madras Courier (1785), The Bombay Herald (1789) etc. soon followed. These newspapers carried news of the areas under the British rule. James Augustus Hicky was a highly eccentric Irishman. The paper ceased publication on March 23, 1782.

Correct Answer:-B ( Indian mill owners and non government officials )
Description:-  A dispute between the textile mill-owners and the labourers at Ahmedabad arose in 1918, about the grant of bonus and dearness allowance. The labourers wanted 50% increase allowance due to steep rise in prices. The mill-owners were ready to give only 20% increase. Gandhi was approached to find a solution. He persuaded both the parties to agree to arbitration. But after a few days, some misunderstanding led to a strike. The mill-owners seized the opportunity and declared lock-out. Gandhi studied the case. He thought that 35% increase would be reasonable. He advised the labourers to demand the same. Regular strike began on the 26th February 1918. This campaign attracted less publicity because it was directed against Indian employers, not government officials. During this episode, the mill-owners was led by Shri Ambalal Sarabhai. His sister Ansuyaben led the labourers.

Correct Answer:-D ( Himachal Pradesh )
Description:-  Nahan is a town in Himachal Pradesh in India and is the headquarters of the Sirmaur District. A welllaid out picturesque town, Nahan is situated on a hill top in the Shiwalik Hills, overlooking green hills. Traditionally, saints and princes are linked with the origin of Nahan. The city was founded as a capital by Raja Karan Prakash in 1621. He was very fond of flying kites and he started a tradition of flying kites on rakshabandhan day – a tradition followed till today.

Correct Answer:-D ( Guntur )
Description:-  A tower in memory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Father of Pakistan, stands at Mahatma Gandhi Road in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

Correct Answer:-B ( Ramprasad Bismil )
Description:-  Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna is a patriotic poem in Urdu, written by Pandit Ram Prasad, ( pen name: Bismil ) he was an Indian Independence Movement leader, known popularly with Kakori Train Robbery, during British Raj in India. The poem was written as an ode to young freedom fighters of the Indian independence movement. It has also been associated with the younger generation of inter-war freedom fighters such as Ashfaqullah Khan, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad.

Correct Answer:-A ( Indian Councils Act, 1909 )
Description:-  The Indian Councils Act 1909, commonly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brought about a limited increase in the involvement of Indians in the governance of British India. It effectively allowed the election of Indians to the various legislative councils in India for the first time. Previously some Indians had been appointed to legislative councils. The majorities of the councils remained British government appointments. Moreover the electorate was limited to specific classes of Indian nationals. The introduction of the electoral principle laid the groundwork for a parliamentary system even though this was contrary to the intent of Morley.

Correct Answer:-B ( Lord Dalhousie )
Description:-  The Marquis of Dalhousie, the new governor-general, who arrived in India in January 1848 scarcely approved of Hardinge’s ‘annexation without encumbrances. ‘ In April 1848 Diwan Mul Raj’s revolt at Multan opened the prospect of a fresh war in the Punjab. On the very day (4 May) Dalhousie received Resident Frederick Currie’s report of the incident at Multan, he wrote to the Home government: ‘I shall feel it my duty as the servant of the Company and Crown to exact national reparation from the State of Lahore. The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.

Correct Answer:-A ( Henry David Thoreau )
Description:-  Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience) is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi (a.k.a. Mahatma Gandhi) was impressed by Thoreau’s arguments.

Correct Answer:-C ( Muhammed Ali Jinnah )
Description:-  Muhammad Ali Jinnah died at age 71 in September 1948, just over a year after Pakistan gained independence from the British Raj. He died from tuberculosis.

Correct Answer:-D ( Dr. B. R. Ambedkar )
Description:-  After publishing a series of books and articles arguing that Buddhism was the only way for the Untouchables to gain equality, Ambedkar publicly converted on October 14, 1956, at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur. He took the three refuges and the Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk, Bhadant U Chandramani, in the traditional manner, and in his turn administered them to the 600,000 of his followers who were present. After receiving ordination, Ambedkar gave dhamma diksha to his followers. The ceremony included 22 vows given to all new converts after Three Jewels and Five Precepts. On 16 October, 1956, Ambedkar performed another mass religious conversion ceremony at Chanda.

Correct Answer:-B ( Montague – Chelmsford Reforms )
Description:-  The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were reforms introduced by the British Government in India to introduce self-governing institutions gradually to India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Samuel Montagu, the Secretary of State for India during the latter parts of World War I and Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India between 1916 and 1921. The reforms were outlined in the Montagu-Chelmsford Report prepared in 1918 and formed the basis of the Government of India Act 1919.

Correct Answer:-B ( A.O. Hume )
Description:-  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 for which he is known as the ‘Father of the Indian National Congress’. A notable ornithologist, Hume has also been called ‘the Father of Indian Ornithology.’

Correct Answer:-D ( Mrs. Annie Besant )
Description:-  The All India Home Rule League was a national political organization founded in 1916 to lead the national demand for self-government, termed Home Rule, and to obtain the status of a Dominion within the British Empire as enjoyed by Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Newfoundland at the time. On April 23, 1916 Bal Gangadhar Tilak formed The Home Rule League in Bombay. Six months later Mrs. Annie Besant founded the league in Madras. While Tilak’s Home Rule League was confined to Maharashtra, Home Rule Leagues were started in the rest of the country under the guidance of Annie Besant.

Correct Answer:-A ( Thoreau )
Description:-  It was from Thoreau’s essay, Civil Disobedience, that Gandhi borrowed the phrase used widely to describe his program. Thoreau himself was influenced by the writings of the forest wise men of India who wrote the Upanishads. These ancient Hindu writings were translated into English in the early 1800s. Thoreau read and pondered them in the Harvard College library. Thus this political technique of boycott and non-violent protest has already crossed and re-crossed the ocean to strengthen hearts and to influence minds in South Asia, South Africa and in Alabama, U.S.A.

Correct Answer:-A ( The last effort of the old political order to regain power. )
Description:-  Till the end of the 19th century, the British officials continued to look upon the rebellion primarily as a ‘sepoy mutiny’. But, another British tendency was to look upon the event as a ‘Muslim’ reaction. Upon this view, British had taken over power from the Muslims who made the last consolidated effort to regain their lost power and glory through the revolt of 1857. Thus ‘sepoy mutiny’ and ‘Muslim reaction’ were the main components of the way in which the British chose to understand the reality of 1857.

Correct Answer:-C ( 1906)
Description:-  The All-India Muslim League was a political party during the period of the British Rule which advocated the creation of a separate Muslim-majority nation. It was founded by the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference at Dhaka (now Bangladesh), in 1906, in the context of the circumstances that were generated over the partition of Bengal in 1905

Correct Answer:-B ( was mainly collected by Government officials appointed by Tipu )
Description:-  Tipu Sultan while managing his land revenue system introduced the system of collecting the rent in cash. Farming out the land was abolished and the state undertook the task of collecting the tax directly from the peasants. State officers were strictly instructed not to harass the ryots (peasants or cultivators of the soil). They were not to interfere in their daily affairs except at the time of collecting taxes when they should adopt peaceful methods of collection.

Correct Answer:-A ( Bhulabhai Desai )
Description:-  Bhulabhai Desai was an Indian freedom fighter and acclaimed lawyer. He is well-remembered for his defense of the three Indian National Army soldiers accused of treason during World War II, and for attempting to negotiate a secret power-sharing agreement with Liaquat Ali Khan of the Muslim League. When three captured Indian National Army (INA) officers, Shahnawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sahgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon were put on trial for treason, the Congress formed a Defence committee composed of 17 advocates including Bhulabhai Desai. The courtmartial hearing began in October 1945 at the Red Fort. Bhulabhai was the leading counsel for the defense.

Correct Answer:-C ( 1882)
Description:-  Anandamath (The Abbey of Bliss) is a Bengali novel, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji and published in 1882. Set in the background of the Sanyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century, it is considered one of the most important novels in the history of Bengali and Indian literature. Its importance is heightened by the fact that it became synonymous with the struggle for Indian independence from the British Empire. The national song of India, Vande Mataram was first published in this novel.

Correct Answer:-C ( Lord Bentinck )
Description:-  English education was officially introduced in India in 1835 by Governor-General William Bentinck. The English Education Act was a legislative Act of the Council of India in 1835 giving effect to a decision in 1835 by William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland, the then Governor-General of British India to reallocate funds the East India Company was required by the British Parliament to spend on education and literature in India.