Modern Indian History Gk Questions

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151.  The Indian National Congress had passed the famous resolution on ‘Non-Cooperation’ in 1920 at its session held at

A.  Lucknow
B.  Delhi
C.  Bombay
D.  Calcutta

Correct Answer:-D ( Calcutta )
Description:-  Gandhi urged the Congress to launch a Non-Cooperation Movement on three issues, which were; redressal of the wrongs committed in Punjab that entailed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the atrocities related to the marital laws, the Khilafat wrong and accomplishment of swaraj. In September, 1920, a special session of the Congress, presided by Lala Lajpat Rai was convened at Calcutta that sought to approve the scheme. In December 1920, at the Nagpur Congress, the resolution on Non-Cooperation was repeated again. The programme and policies of the Non-Cooperation Movement that was adopted at the special session of the Congress in Calcutta and restated at the Nagpur session included; promotion of swadeshi and boycott of foreign made articles, surrender of honorary posts and titles, rejection of official Durbars, progressive rejection by lawyers of British courts, boycott of elections appointing new Councils, refusal by clerks and soldiers to serve in Mesopotamia and boycott of Government run and state assisted schools.


152.  Who is known as the ‘Grand Old Man of India’?

A.  Dadabhai Naoroji
B.  Gopal Krishna Gokhale
C.  Bal Gangadhar Tilak
D.  Surendranath Banerjee

Correct Answer:-A ( Dadabhai Naoroji )
Description:-  Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political and social leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India’s wealth into Britain. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom House of Commons between 1892 and 1895, and the first Asian to be a British MP. He is also credited with the founding of the Indian National Congress, along with A.O. Hume and Dinshaw Edulji Wacha.


153.  Which of the following can be considered as the most useful and outstanding reforms made by Lord Curzon, especially in respect of the people living in the undivided province of Punjab?

A.  Educational Reforms
B.  Police Reforms
C.  Industrial Reforms
D.  Agricultural Reforms

Correct Answer:-D ( Agricultural Reforms )
Description:-  Curzon introduced some reforms in agriculture. He passed the Punjab Land alienation Act of 1902. Under this act Curzon declared the land of agriculture will not be transferred to non-agriculturist. In this way he protected the farmers from money lander class.


154.  ‘Dyarchy’ was introduced in the Government of India Act of

A.  1909
B.  1919
C.  1935
D.  None of these

Correct Answer:-B ( 1919)
Description:-  Dyarchy was the system of double government introduced by the Government of India Act (1919) for the provinces of British India. It marked the first introduction of the democratic principle into the executive branch of the British administration of India. Though much-criticized, it signified a breakthrough in British Indian government and was the forerunner of India’s full provincial autonomy (1935) and independence (1947). Dyarchy was introduced as a constitutional reform by Edwin Samuel Montagu (secretary of state for India, 1917–22) and Lord Chelmsford (viceroy of India, 1916–21).


155.  The transfer of Government from the ‘Company’ to the ‘Crown’ was pronounced by Lord Canning (November 1, 1858) at

A.  Calcutta
B.  Delhi
C.  Patna
D.  Allahabad

Correct Answer:-D ( Allahabad )
Description:-  The first Viceroy of India Lord Canning organized a Durbar at Allahabad on in November 1, 1858, in which he legally declared the assumption of power by Queen Victoria. It was in this durbar that authority was transferred from the East India Company to the Crown. On that occasion Lord Canning also had read out the Queen‘s proclamation to the princes and people of India. The British Government ordered its servants in India not to interfere in the religious affairs of the Indians. In framing and administering law in India, due regard was to be shown to the customs, ancient rites and usages of the Indians.


156.  The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League came closer to each other in 1916 at

A.  Lahore
B.  Amritsar
C.  Lucknow
D.  Haripura

Correct Answer:-C ( Lucknow )
Description:-  Lucknow Pact, (December 1916) refers to an agreement made by the Indian National Congress headed by Maratha leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the All- India Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah; it was adopted by the Congress at its Lucknow session on December 29 and by the league on December 31, 1916. The meeting at Lucknow marked the reunion of the moderate and radical wings of the Congress. The pact dealt both with the structure of the government of India and with the relation of the Hindu and Muslim communities.


157.  Permanent Revenue Settlement of Bengal was introduced by

A.  Clive
B.  Hastings
C.  Wellesley
D.  Cornwallis

Correct Answer:-D ( Cornwallis )
Description:-  Cornwallis’s greatest achievement in India was the reorganization of the land taxation, known as the Permanent Settlement of 1793. Agricultural land in Bengal was cultivated by a large number of small farmers, who paid rent to a group of Zamindars (landowners). Under the Mughals, the government had collected taxes from the Zamindars. The East India Company, however, had tried to set aside the Zamindars, and collect land taxes either directly through company officials, or through revenue-farmers, who collected the rent from peasants and paid a lump sum to the government. The new system led to widespread corruption, and the peasants suffered severely. Cornwallis decided to go back to the old Mughal system. He granted legal ownership of their land to the Zamindars. In return, they had to pay the government 90 per cent of the rent which they collected from the farmers. These arrangements were to last for ever, hence the title ‘permanent settlement.’


158.  Who propounded the theory of ‘Economic Drain of India’ during British imperialism?

A.  W.C. Bannerji
B.  Dadabhai Naoroji
C.  Gopalkrishna Gokhale
D.  Gandhiji

Correct Answer:-B ( Dadabhai Naoroji )
Description:-  The acknowledged high priest of the drain theory was Dadabhai Naoroji. It was in may 1867 that Dadabhai Naoroji put forward the idea that Britain was draining India. From then on for nearly half a century he launched a raging campaign against the drain, hammering at the theme through every possible form of public communication. The drain he declared, was the basic cause of India’s poverty and the fundamental evil of British rule in India.


159.  Which is the oldest trade union organisation in India?

A.  Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)
B.  Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)
C.  All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
D.  Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS)

Correct Answer:-C ( All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) )
Description:-  The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federations in India and one of the five largest. It was founded on 31 October, 1920 in Bombay by Lala Lajpat Rai and a few others and, until 1945 when unions became organised on party lines; it was the primary trade union organisation in India. Since then it has been associated with the Communist Party of India.


160.  Sarvodaya stands for

A.  Total revolution
B.  Non-cooperation
C.  Upliftment of all
D.  Non-violence

Correct Answer:-C ( Upliftment of all )
Description:-  Sarvodaya is a term meaning ‘universal uplift’ or ‘progress of all’. The term was first coined by Mahatma Gandhi as the title of his 1908 translation of John Ruskin’s tract on political economy, Unto This Last, and Gandhi came to use the term for the ideal of his own political philosophy. Later Gandhians, like the Indian nonviolence activist Vinoba Bhave, embraced the term as a name for the social movement in postindependence India


161.  In which city of South Africa was Gandhi beaten up and thrown off the pavement by the white people?

A.  Cape Town
B.  Durban
C.  Johannesburg
D.  Pretoria

Correct Answer:-B ( Durban )
Description:-  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was 24 when he arrived in South Africa in 1893 to work as a legal representative for the Muslim Indian Traders based in the city of Pretoria. In January 1897, when Gandhi landed in Durban, a mob of white settlers attacked him and he escaped only through the efforts of the wife of the police superintendent. He, however, refused to press charges against any member of the mob, stating it was one of his principles not to seek redress for a personal wrong in a court of law


162.  Who attended the Congress of Oppressed Nationalists at Brussels in 1927, on behalf of the National Congress ?

A.  Jawaharlal Nehru
B.  Mahatma Gandhi
C.  Dr. Ansari
D.  Motilal Nehru

Correct Answer:-A ( Jawaharlal Nehru )
Description:-  In February 1927, Jawaharlal Nehru on behalf of the National Congress attended the Congress of Oppressed Nationalities at Brussels organised by political exiles and revolutionaries from the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America suffering from economic or political imperialism. The Congress was called to coordinate and plan their common struggle against imperialism. Many left wing intellectuals and political leaders of Europe also joined the Congress.


163.  Who amongst the following made it possible for the Indians to enter the Indian Civil Service through an open competitive examination?

A.  William Bentinck
B.  Dalhousie
C.  Mayo
D.  Ripon

Correct Answer:-B ( Dalhousie )
Description:-  For a long time, only British officers were appointed to all covenanted posts. In 1832, the posts of musif and sadar amin were created and opened to Indians. In 1833, the posts of deputy magistrate and deputy collector were created and opened to Indians. The ICS Act of 1861 established the Indian Civil Service. The Act of 1853 had already established the practice of recruiting covenanted civilians through competitive examinations. Till then, the Civil Servants were nominated by the Directors of the East India Company.


164.  In which year Lala Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay for organising the agrarian movement in Punjab?

A.  1905
B.  1907
C.  1909
D.  1911

Correct Answer:-B ( 1907)
Description:-  After joining the Congress Party and taking part in political agitation in the Punjab, Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), without trial, in May 1907. In November, however, he was allowed to return when the viceroy, Lord Minto, decided that there was insufficient evidence to hold him for subversion.


165.  Which Governor General had entertained Ranjit Singh with great honour at Ropar?

A.  Minto I
B.  William Bentinck
C.  Hastings
D.  Auckland

Correct Answer:-B ( William Bentinck )
Description:-  Lord William Bentinck met with Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Ropar, on the bank of the Sutlej, in the spring of 1831. It was an occasion of a impressive ceremony and display. Both sides met on the either side of Sutlej with their full forces.


166.  The ‘Arya Samaj’ was founded by

A.  Swami Dayananda Saraswati
B.  Swami Vivekananda
C.  Keshav Chandra Sen
D.  Ishwar Chandra Vidya-sagar

Correct Answer:-A ( Swami Dayananda Saraswati )
Description:-  Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. On the 24th of June, 1877, the second major Arya Samaj was established at Lahore.


167.  Maulana Abul Kalam Azad started an Urdu Weekly, The Al-Hilal in 1912, but, on its being banned by the Government, he founded at Al-Balagh in

A.  1913
B.  1914
C.  1915
D.  1916

Correct Answer:-C ( 1915)
Description:-  With the onset of World War I, the British stiffened censorship and restrictions on political activity. Azad’s Al-Hilal was consequently banned in 1914 under the Press Act for spreading extremist views. From November 12, 1915, Azad started a new journal, the Al-Balagh, which increased its active support for nationalist causes and communal unity. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad again srarted propagating revolutionary ideas and nationalism through this paper. During that time he supported the Khilafat movement. In 1916 the government banned Al-Balagh under Defence of India Regulations Act.


168.  High Courts were established in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in

A.  1935
B.  1919
C.  1892
D.  1861

Correct Answer:-D ( 1861)
Description:-  British India’s three presidency towns of Madras (Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai), and Calcutta (Kolkata) were each granted a High Court by letters patent dated 26 June, 1862. The letters patent were issued by Queen Victoria under the authority of the British parliament’s Indian High Courts Act 1861. The three courts remain unique in modern India, having been established under British royal charter; this is in contrast with the country’s other high courts, which have been directly established under Indian legislation.


169.  Who was the first Women President of Indian National Congress?

A.  Sarojini Naidu
B.  Sucheta Kripalani
C.  Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
D.  Annie Besant

Correct Answer:-D ( Annie Besant )
Description:-  Annie Besant was the first woman President of Indian National Congress. She presided over the 1917 Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. Annie Besant was of Irish origin and was one of the few foreigners who played a significant role in the Indian freedom movement.


170.  Which of the following reform movements was the first to be started in the 19th century?

A.  Prarthana Samaj
B.  Brahmo Samaj
C.  Arya Samaj
D.  Rama Krishna Mission

Correct Answer:-B ( Brahmo Samaj )
Description:-  The Brahmo Samaj was the first modern Hindu reform movement. It was founded in Calcutta in 1828 by Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833). As an expression of the social and religious views of a small but influential group of westernized Indians, the Brahmo Samaj sought to create a purified form of Hinduism, a Hindu dharma free of all Puranic elements such as temple rituals and image worship. Led by a series of prominent Bengali intellectuals, the movement was a major factor in shaping Hindu responses to both secular and Christian influence from the West and thus helped pave the way for the so-called Hindu Renaissance in the late 1800s.


171.  Who was the President of Indian National Congress when the Mountbatten Plan of independence was accepted ?

A.  Jawaharlal Nehru
B.  Sardar Patel
C.  Maulana Azad
D.  Acharya J. B. Kripalani

Correct Answer:-D ( Acharya J. B. Kripalani )
Description:-  Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1947. During the election for the post of the future Prime Minister of India held by the Congress party, he had the second highest number of votes after Sardar Patel. However, on Gandhi’s insistence, both Patel and Kripalani backed out to allow Jawahar Lal Nehru to become the first Prime Minister of India.


172.  Who developed the idea that ‘means justify the ends’ ?

A.  Kautilya
B.  Raja Ram Mohan Roy
C.  Swami Dayanand Saraswati
D.  Mahatma Gandhi

Correct Answer:-D ( Mahatma Gandhi )
Description:-  Gandhi firmly believed that the means always justify the end. So he chose only good means to drive away the British from India. He never resorted to violence. He said, ‘For me it is enough to know the means. Means and end are convertible terms in my philosophy of life’.


173.  Who said that ‘the real seat of taste is not the tongue, but the mind’?

A.  Aurobindo Ghosh
B.  Mahatma Gandhi
C.  Bal Gangadhar Tilak
D.  Swami Vivekananda

Correct Answer:-B ( Mahatma Gandhi )
Description:-  ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth An Autobiography’ brings out that all of his life, experiments with food were to be part of Gandhi’s experiments with truth. While in England, where food is sometimes tasteless anyway, he decided he could do without condiments, for ‘the real seat of taste [is] not the tongue but the mind.’


174.  Provincial Autonomy was one of the important features of the Act of

A.  1935
B.  1919
C.  1909
D.  1858

Correct Answer:-A ( 1935)
Description:-  The Act of 1935 provided for the establishment of an All India Federation and a new system of government for the provinces on the basis of provincial autonomy. The federation was to be based on union of the provinces of British India and the princely states. There was to be a bicameral federal legislature in which the states were given disproportionate weight age. Moreover, the representatives of the states were not to be elected by the people, but appointed directly by the rulers.


175.  Who was the Governor-general of India during the Revolt of 1857?

A.  Lord Dalhousie
B.  Lord Canning
C.  Lord Mayo
D.  Lord Ripon

Correct Answer:-B ( Lord Canning )
Description:-  In consequence of the departure of Lord Dalhousie in 1855 and a vacancy in the governor-generalship of India, Lord Canning was selected by Lord Palmerston to succeed to that great position. The most significant event during his administration was the outbreak of the Sepoy Revolt, 1857. Lord Canning suppressed it and the Parliamentary Act of 1858 followed this great event. By the Proclamation of the Queen, the East India Company‘s rule ended and the Crown of England took over the government of India.


176.  When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, who said, ‘None will believe that a man like this in body and soul ever walked on this earth’ ?

A.  Bertrand Russell
B.  Leo Tolstoy
C.  Albert Einstein
D.  Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Correct Answer:-C ( Albert Einstein )
Description:-  In 1931, Albert Einstein wrote a short letter of admiration to another of the world’s greatest minds, Mohandas Gandhi. Despite their intentions, the pair never met in person. After Gandhi’s death, Einstein said: ‘Generations to come will find it difficult to believe that a man such as Gandhi ever walked the face of this earth.’


177.  In violation of the Salt Laws, Gandhiji started a movement called

A.  Non-Cooperation move-ment
B.  Swadeshi Movement
C.  Civil Disobedience Move-ment
D.  None of the above

Correct Answer:-C ( Civil Disobedience Move-ment )
Description:-  The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, began with the Dandi March on March 12, 1930. The Salt Satyagraha was the next significant non-violent protest against the British, after the Non-Cooperation movement of 1920-22 and India’s First War of Independence 1857. It was a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in colonial India, and triggered the wider Civil Disobedience Movement. This was the most significant organized challenge to British authority since the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22, and directly followed the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence by the Indian National Congress on January 26, 1930.


178.  The Cabinet Mission came to India in

A.  1943
B.  1944
C.  1945
D.  1946

Correct Answer:-D ( 1946)
Description:-  The British Cabinet Mission of 1946 to India aimed to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Government to Indian leadership, providing India with independence. The Mission held talks with the representatives of the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League, the two largest political parties in the Constituent Assembly of India.


179.  The first to come and last to leave India were

A.  the Portuguese
B.  the French
C.  the English
D.  the Dutch

Correct Answer:-A ( the Portuguese )
Description:-  The first Portuguese encounter with India was on May 20, 1498 when Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on Malabar Coast. The Portuguese State of India was established in 1505 as a viceroyalty of the Kingdom of Portugal, six years after the discovery of a sea route between Portugal and India, to serve as the plenipotentiary governing body of a string of Portuguese fortresses and colonies overseas. At the time of British India’s independence in 1947, Portuguese India included a number of enclaves on India’s western coast, including Goa proper, as well as the coastal enclaves of Daman and Diu, and the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which lie inland from Daman. The territories of Portuguese India were sometimes referred to collectively as Goa. Portugal lost the last two enclaves in 1954, and finally the remaining three in December 1961, when they were taken by India after military action


180.  Who was the first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress ?

A.  Muhammed Ali Jinnah
B.  Badruddin Tyabji
C.  Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
D.  Abul Kalam Azad

Correct Answer:-B ( Badruddin Tyabji )
Description:-  Badruddin Tyabji was a Indian lawyer who served as the third President of the Indian National Congress. In 1902, he became the first Indian to hold the post of Chief Justice in Mumbai. He is considered to be one of the most moderate Muslims during the freedom movement of India.


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