British Policy MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for British Policy - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Bombay (now Mumbai).

Key Points

• The East India Company started establishing post offices in India.
• The East India Company opened its first post office in 1727. 
• The first post office in India was established by the British East India Company in Bombay in 1764.
• Chronology- 
  • In 1766 - Robert Clive sets up a regular postal system.
  • In 1774- Warren Hastings organizes the Post Office. 
  • In 1774 - Calcutta GPO was established.
  • In 1786 - Madras GPO was established.
  • In 1794 - Bombay GPO was established.

Additional Information

• India Post is the trade name for the Department of Posts (DoP), a government-operated postal system in India under the Ministry of Communications.
• With 1, 55,531 Post Offices, the DoP has the most widely distributed postal network in the world.
• National Postal Week
  • ​ It is celebrated from 9th to 15th October every year.
• World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9th October.

The correct answer is Mahalwari system.

Important Points

•  The Permanent Settlement( Zamindari System), however, created problems.
• Company officials soon discovered that the zamindars were in fact not investing in the improvement of land.
• The revenue that had been fixed was so high that the zamindars found it difficult to pay. Anyone who failed to pay the revenue lost his zamindari. Numerous zamindaris were sold off at auctions organised by the Company. 
• By the early nineteenth century many of the Company officials were convinced that the system of revenue had to be changed again.

Key Points

•  In the North Western Provinces of the Bengal Presidency (most of this area is now in Uttar Pradesh), an Englishman called Holt Mackenzie devised the new system which came into effect in 1822.
• He felt that the village was an important social institution in north Indian society and needed to be preserved.
• Under his directions, collectors went from village to village, inspecting the land, measuring the fields, and recording the customs and rights of different groups.
• The estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each village (mahal) had to pay. This demand was to be revised periodically, not permanently fixed.
• The charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the Company was given to the village headman, rather than the zamindar. This system came to be known as the Mahalwari settlement.

Additional Information

•  In the British territories in the south there was a similar move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement. The new system that was devised came to be known as the Ryotwar (or Ryotwari/Munro System).
• It was tried on a small scale by Captain Alexander Read in some of the areas that were taken over by the Company after the wars with Tipu Sultan. Subsequently developed by Thomas Munro, this system was gradually extended all over south India.
• Read and Munro felt that in the south there were no traditional zamindars. The settlement, they argued, had to be made directly with the cultivators (ryots) who had tilled the land for generations. Their fields had to be carefully and separately surveyed before the revenue assessment was made. Munro thought that the British should act as paternal father figures protecting the ryots under their charge.

The correct answer is Indian council act, 1909.

Key Points

•  Indian Council Act, 1909
  • ​It was also known as Morley-Minto Reforms where Lord Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India.
  • It increased the involvement of Indians in the governance of British India.
  • It introduced a separate electorate for Muslims for the first time.
  • For the first time, Indians were given membership to the Imperial Legislative Council.

Additional Information

• Indian Council Act, 1892 
  • It was an Amendment Act increasing the number of members of the Central Legislative Assembly to 16 members.
  • It increased the functions of legislative councils and gave them the power of discussing the budget and addressing questions to the executive.
  • It was repealed by the Government of India Act 1915.
• Communal Award, 1932
  • ​The Communal Award was created by the British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932.
  • It was announced after the Round Table Conference and extended the separate electorate to depressed Classes and other minorities.
• Government of India Act, 1919
  • ​It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects.
  • It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the country. The Indian legislative council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly).
  • It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans.

The correct answer is Government of India Act, 1919.

• Government of India Act, 1919 was based on Montagu-Chelmsford Report.

Key Points

Government of India Act, 1919

• Government of India Act, 1919 is popularly known as Montagu-Chelmsford Report.
• The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, and the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford. 
• The Government of India Act 1919 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
• It was passed to expand the participation of Indians in the government of India.
• The Act received royal assent on 23 December 1919. 
• The act came into force in 1921.
• The Act covered ten years, from 1919 to 1929.
• It was set to be reviewed by the Simon Commission in 10 years.
• This Act represented the end of benevolent despotism (the act of authorities enhancing themselves) and began the genesis of responsible government in India.

Additional Information

Government of India Act, 1892

• The Indian Council Act of 1892 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that empowered legislative councils in British India by increasing their size which laid the foundation of the Parliamentary system in India.
• The Act received royal assent on 20^th June 1892.

Government of India Act, 1909

• Government of India Act, 1909 is popularly known as Minto - Morley Reforms.
• The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Morley, and the Viceroy, Lord Minto.
• Government of India Act, 1909 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
• It was instituted to placate the Moderates (Congress) and introduces separate electorates on the basis of religion.
• Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate in India.

Government of India Act, 1935

• The Government of India Act 1935 derived material from four key sources.
• Report of the Simon Commission, discussions at the Third Round Table Conference, the White Paper of 1933, and the reports of the Joint select committees.
• In August 1935, the Government of India passed the longest act Government of India Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament.
• This act also included the Government of Burma Act 1935.
• The Act received royal assent in August 1935.
• The features of the act.
  • Abolition of provincial dyarchy and introduction of dyarchy at the center.
  • Abolition of Indian Council and introduction of an advisory body in its place.
  • Provision for an All India Federation with British India territories and princely states.
  • Elaborate safeguards and protective instruments for minorities.
  • Supremacy of British Parliament.
  • Increase in size of legislatures, an extension of the franchise, division of subjects into three lists, and retention of the communal electorate.
  • Separation of Burma from India.

Important Points

• The chief architect of Government of India Act, 1935 - Sir Samuel Hoare

The Correct Answer is Kolkata.

 Key Points

• The regulating act of 1773 established a supreme court at Fort William, Calcutta.
• This Supreme Court consisted of one Chief Justice and three other regular judges or Puisne Judges.
• Sir Elijah Imphey was the first Chief Justice of this Supreme Court.

 Important Points

The regulating act of 1773 

• It was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India.
• It recognized, for the first time, the political and administrative functions of the Company.
• It designated the Governor of Bengal as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him.
• The first such Governor-General was Lord Warren Hastings.

The correct answer is 1853.

Key Points

• Jhansi was an independent princely state ruled by the Maratha Newalkar dynasty under the suzerainty of British India from 1804 to 1853 when the Britishers took over the state under the terms of the Doctrine of Lapse.
• Before that, Jhansi was under the Peshwas from 1728 to 1804.
• Jhansi fell to the Marathas in 1732 and was acquired by the British in 1853.
• A massacre of British officers and civilians occurred at Jhansi during the Indian Mutiny (1857-58).
• In 1886, Jhansi came under British rule in exchange for the British execution of Gwalior.

Additional Information

• The doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy adopted by the British In India.
• It was devised by Lord Dalhousie, the governor-general of India from 1848 to 1856.
• The doctrine declared that if any Indian ruler died without a male heir, his kingdom would lapse.
• It meant that his kingdom would become part of the Company's territory.
• Kingdoms were annexed one after the other by simply applying the policy.

• States Annexed by Doctrine of Lapse:
  • Satara- 1848
  • Jaitpur- 1849
  • Sambalpur- 1849
  • Baghat- 1850
  • Udaipur- 1852
  • Jhansi- 1853
  • Nagpur- 1854

The correct answer is 1858.

Key Points

• The ‘Crown Rule’ or the ‘Direct Rule’ by the British on the Indian subcontinent remained from 1858 to 1947.
• The area under British control was called British India and the area under indigenous rulers was known as Princely states.
• After the Indian rebellion of 1857, the control of the British India Company was transferred to the Crown of Queen Victoria.
• In 1858, lower Burma was part of British India while upper Burma became a part of it in 1886.
• Imperial Entities of India – British India (1612 – 1947)
  • East India Company (1612 – 1757)
  • Company Rule in India (1757 – 1858)
  • British Raj (1858 – 1947)
  • Princely States (1721 – 1949)
  • Partition of India (1947)

Key Points

History of British Raj (Crown Rule)

• 1858: Direct Rule of the British Crown came into force
• 1860 – 1890: Rise of INC
• 1905 – 1911: Bengal Partition and Rise of Muslim League
• 1914 – 1918: 1^st World War and Lucknow Pact
• 1915 – 1918: Return of Gandhiji to India from South Africa
• 1916 – 1919: Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
• 1917 – 1919: Rowlatt Act
• 1919 – 1939: Jalliawala Bagh Massacre, Non-Cooperation movement and Government of India Act
• 1939 – 1945: 2^nd World War
• 1946 – 1947: Independence and Partition into India and Pakistan

The correct answer is Government of India Act, 1919.

• Government of India Act, 1919 was based on Montagu-Chelmsford Report.

Key Points

Government of India Act, 1919

• Government of India Act, 1919 is popularly known as Montagu-Chelmsford Report.
• The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, and the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford. 
• The Government of India Act 1919 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
• It was passed to expand the participation of Indians in the government of India.
• The Act received royal assent on 23 December 1919. 
• The act came into force in 1921.
• The Act covered ten years, from 1919 to 1929.
• It was set to be reviewed by the Simon Commission in 10 years.
• This Act represented the end of benevolent despotism (the act of authorities enhancing themselves) and began the genesis of responsible government in India.

Additional Information

Government of India Act, 1892

• The Indian Council Act of 1892 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that empowered legislative councils in British India by increasing their size which laid the foundation of the Parliamentary system in India.
• The Act received royal assent on 20^th June 1892.

Government of India Act, 1909

• Government of India Act, 1909 is popularly known as Minto - Morley Reforms.
• The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of the Secretary of State for India, Morley, and the Viceroy, Lord Minto.
• Government of India Act, 1909 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
• It was instituted to placate the Moderates (Congress) and introduces separate electorates on the basis of religion.
• Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate in India.

Government of India Act, 1935

• The Government of India Act 1935 derived material from four key sources.
• Report of the Simon Commission, discussions at the Third Round Table Conference, the White Paper of 1933, and the reports of the Joint select committees.
• In August 1935, the Government of India passed the longest act Government of India Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament.
• This act also included the Government of Burma Act 1935.
• The Act received royal assent in August 1935.
• The features of the act.
  • Abolition of provincial dyarchy and introduction of dyarchy at the center.
  • Abolition of Indian Council and introduction of an advisory body in its place.
  • Provision for an All India Federation with British India territories and princely states.
  • Elaborate safeguards and protective instruments for minorities.
  • Supremacy of British Parliament.
  • Increase in size of legislatures, an extension of the franchise, division of subjects into three lists, and retention of the communal electorate.
  • Separation of Burma from India.

Important Points

• The chief architect of Government of India Act, 1935 - Sir Samuel Hoare

The correct answer is Ricardian theory of rent.Key Points

• Ryotwari system:-
  • The Ryotwari system​ of revenue collection in India was introduced by the British during their colonial rule.
  • This system was based on the Ricardian theory of rent, which states that rent is the surplus income earned by landowners due to the differential fertility of land.
  • Under the Ryotwari system, individual farmers or ryots were directly responsible for paying land revenue to the government.
  • This system was prevalent in areas where landownership was fragmented and there were no intermediaries between the government and the farmers.

Additional Information

• Smith's theory :-
  • It​ is based on the idea that rent is paid for the use of land that has a fixed supply and is immobile.
• Malthusian theory :-
  • It suggests that as population growth increases, land becomes scarce and rents increase, leading to a decline in living standards.
• Marx's theory :-
  • It​ is based on the idea that rent is a form of exploitation of the labor of tenant farmers by landowners who hold a monopoly on land. 

The correct answer is 1878.

• The Vernacular Press Act was passed in British India in the year 1878.

Key Points

• Vernacular Press Act 1878 (VPA 1878) was enacted to better control and repress the seditious writing in vernacular language.
• The provisions of the act were:
  • The district magistrate was empowered to call upon the printer and publisher of any vernacular newspaper to enter into a bond with the government.
  • The action of the magistrate was final and no appeal could be made against it.
• The act was given the nickname “the gagging Act”.

The correct answer is Vernacular Press Act.

Key Points

• Vernacular Press Act was enacted in British India in the year 1878.
  • In British India, the Vernacular Press Act (1878) was enacted to curtail the freedom of the Indian press and prevent the expression of criticism toward British policies—notably, the opposition that had grown with the outset of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80).
  •  The Act was proposed by Lytton, then Viceroy of India, and was unanimously passed by the Viceroy's Council on 14 March 1878.

Additional Information

• The Indian Contract Act, 1872 prescribes the law relating to contracts in India and is the key act regulating Indian contract law.
  • The Act is based on the principles of English Common Law.
  • It is applicable to all the states of India.
  • The East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act 1873 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1873, that formally dissolved the British East India Company. The Act was one of the East India Loans Acts 1859 to 1893. 
• The Transfer of Property Act 1882 is Indian legislation that regulates the transfer of property in India.
  •   It contains specific provisions regarding what constitutes a transfer and the conditions attached to it. It came into force on 1 July 1882.   

The correct answer is 1909.

• In 1909, the British Government announced certain reforms in the structure of the Government in India, which were known as the Morley-Minto Reforms.
• Indian Councils Act of 1909, also called Morley-Minto Reforms, series of reform measures enacted in 1909 by the British Parliament, the main component of which directly introduced the elective principle to membership in the imperial and local legislative councils in India.
• The act was formulated by John Morley, secretary of state for India (1905–10).

Additional Information

• It was instituted to placate the Moderates (Congress) and introduces separate electorates on the basis of religion.
• Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate in India.

The correct answer is 1905.Key Points

• Lord Curzon was the Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905 and he announced the partition of Bengal in 1905.
• The partition of Bengal was a British colonial policy that aimed to weaken the nationalist movement in India by dividing Bengal into two provinces, one Hindu-majority and the other Muslim-majority.
• The partition was widely opposed by Indian nationalists, who saw it as a deliberate attempt to divide and rule the country.
• The partition was eventually revoked in 1911, due to sustained protests and political pressure from Indian nationalists.

Additional Information

• In order to deny Indians the right to self-governance, the Lord Curzon's Calcutta Corporation Act of 1899 increased the number of nominated officials while decreasing the number of elected legislatures.
• After 28 Corporation members quit in protest, the Corporation was reorganized as a government department, with the majority of its employees being English and Anglo-Indian.

The correct answer is Bombay (now Mumbai).

Key Points

• The East India Company started establishing post offices in India.
• The East India Company opened its first post office in 1727. 
• The first post office in India was established by the British East India Company in Bombay in 1764.
• Chronology- 
  • In 1766 - Robert Clive sets up a regular postal system.
  • In 1774- Warren Hastings organizes the Post Office. 
  • In 1774 - Calcutta GPO was established.
  • In 1786 - Madras GPO was established.
  • In 1794 - Bombay GPO was established.

Additional Information

• India Post is the trade name for the Department of Posts (DoP), a government-operated postal system in India under the Ministry of Communications.
• With 1, 55,531 Post Offices, the DoP has the most widely distributed postal network in the world.
• National Postal Week
  • ​ It is celebrated from 9th to 15th October every year.
• World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9th October.