Modern Indian History MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Modern Indian History - Download Free PDF

Answer: C) Ayilyam Thirunal

🔑 Key Points:
Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma ruled Travancore from 1860 to 1880.

He is credited with modernizing Travancore's administration and infrastructure.

He commissioned the construction of the Secretariat building, then known as the Huzur Cutchery, in 1869.

The building is now the Kerala Government Secretariat, the nerve centre of the state administration.

He introduced various reforms in education, public health, and civil services.

Ayilyam Thirunal was also a patron of modern medicine and supported the establishment of hospitals and Western medical practices.

📌 Additional Information:
The Secretariat building is an iconic colonial structure in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, reflecting European and traditional Kerala architecture.

Ayilyam Thirunal also supported missionary education, and his reign marked the foundation of higher education in the princely state.

He encouraged scientific land surveys, improved roads, and helped standardize tax and revenue systems.

The correct answer is A. O. Hume.

Key Points

• On December 28, 1885, the Indian National Congress was founded in Bombay by Scottish resident "Alan Octavian Hume".
• The first president of the Congress was "Vyomesh Chandra Banerjee".
• The youngest president of the Congress was "Abdul Kalam Azad", who presided over the special session of Delhi in 1925.
• The 1888 session of the Congress was presided over by the first Englishman "George Yule".
• "Motilal Nehru" presided over the 1919 Amritsar session of the Congress.

The correct answer is the Battle of Buxar.

Key Points

• The battle of Buxar was fought in 1764.
• The Battle of Buxar (1764) was the battle which was fought between English Forces, and a combined army of Mir Qasim.
• The battle was the outcome of the misuse of Farman and Dastak, and also the trade expansionist aspiration of English, Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal, Nawab of Oudh Shah Alam II, and Mughal Emperor.
• The battle of Buxar proved itself to be a turning point in the history of India.
• In 1765, Shuja-ud-daulah and Shah Alam signed treaty at Allahabad with Clive who had become the Governor of the company.
• Under these treaties, the English company secured the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha, which gave the company the right to collect revenue from these territories.

Additional Information

Key Points

• Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic university situated in the town of Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, India.
• It was established in 1866 by the prominent Islamic scholar Muhammad Qasim Nanautawi.
• The university is known for being the birthplace of the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement.
• Darul Uloom Deoband has played a significant role in the Islamic education and religious reform in India and globally.

Additional Information

• Deobandi Movement:
  • The Deobandi movement is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that started in India at the Darul Uloom Deoband.
  • It emphasizes the return to the foundational texts of Islam, advocating for a strict adherence to the Quran and Hadith.
  • The movement has had a significant influence on Islamic education and jurisprudence in South Asia and beyond.
• Islamic Education:
  • Islamic education in traditional Islamic institutions like Darul Uloom Deoband focuses on the study of classical Islamic sciences, including theology, jurisprudence, and the Arabic language.
  • These institutions often produce scholars who serve as religious leaders, teachers, and legal experts in their communities.
• Darul Uloom Deoband's Global Influence:
  • Graduates of Darul Uloom Deoband have established similar institutions around the world, spreading the Deobandi teachings globally.
  • The network of Deobandi madrasas has a significant presence in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa.

The Correct answer is Subhas Chandra Bose.

Key Points

• Subhas Chandra Bose was a prominent leader in the Indian freedom struggle.
• He was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress in the year 1938 and again in 1939.
• Bose is known for his role in establishing the Azad Hind Fauj or Indian National Army (INA).
• He was a strong advocate for complete independence from British rule and sought international support for India's freedom struggle.
• He had differences with Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders of the Congress due to his militant approach and resigned from the President's post in 1939.

 Additional Information

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak
  • Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a prominent Indian nationalist and freedom fighter.
  • He was known as the "Father of Indian Unrest" due to his fierce advocacy for Swaraj (self-rule).
  • Tilak was one of the first leaders of the Indian independence movement and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress.
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale
  • Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and a social reformer.
  • He was a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi and advocated for moderate political reforms and social development.
  • Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society to promote education and social welfare.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
  • Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was an Indian scholar, independence activist, and senior leader of the Indian National Congress.
  • He served as the first Minister of Education in independent India and played a crucial role in promoting education and culture.
  • Azad was a proponent of Hindu-Muslim unity and opposed the partition of India.

The correct answer is Civil Disobedience.

Key Points

• The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was associated with the civil disobedience movement of India.
  • The agreement was signed by Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin.
  • The pact was signed on 5^th March 1931.
  • Arranged before the second round table conference in London.
  • As per Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhiji discontinued the Civil Disobedience movement and agreed to attend the second round table conference.
• Proposed conditions of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact are:
  1. Participation by the Indian National Congress in the Second Round Table Conference.
  2. Removal of the tax on salt.
  3. Withdrawal of all ordinances imposing curbs on the activities of the Indian National Congress issued by the Government of India.
  4. Discontinuation of Salt March.
• Non-Co-operation movement was the first mass political movement led by Gandhiji.
  • Started in 1920.
  • Main goal: The attainment of Swaraj.
• Rowlatt Act was passed on 6^th February 1919.
  • Gandhiji called this act as 'The Black Act'.
  • Lord Chelmsford was the British viceroy during the Rowlatt Act.
• Quit India resolution was passed on 8^th August 1942.
  • The failure of the Crips mission was the immediate cause of the Quit India movement.
  • "Quit India" was the famous slogan raised during this movement.

The correct answer is Durgabhai Deshmukh. 

Key Points

• Durgabhai Deshmukh was the founder of the Andhra Mahila Sabha.
• She was popularly known as “Iron Lady”.
• She organized Salt Satyagrah during the Civil disobedience movement in Madras and was imprisoned.
• She was the founder of AMS (Andhra Mahila Sabha) institutions and other important social welfare organizations. he, with the help of two other prominent nationalists (A. K. Prakasam and Desodharaka Nageswararao), started the movement in Madras.
• She was arrested and imprisoned for her involvement in a movement that had been banned.
• She also edited a journal known as Andhra Mahila and inspired women to rebel against meaning­less social constraints imposed on them.
• She was a member of the Constituent Assembly.
• She was awarded the Tamrapatra and Paul Hoffman Award after independence in recognition of her service to society.

Additional Information

• Sarojini Naidu:
  • Popularly known as the “Nightingale of India”, was a nationalist and poetess.
  • She was married to Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu in 1898​.
  • Under the guidance of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, she became the first woman to participate in India's struggle for independence.
  • She participated in the Dandi March with Gandhiji and presided over the Kanpur Session of Congress in 1925.
  • She was the first woman to become the Governor of Uttar Pradesh State.

The correct answer is Relation to soil and prosperity.

Key PointsNational Flag:

• The national flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron at the top, white in the middle, and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion.
  • Saffron stands for courage.
  • White stands for truth and purity.
  • Green is the symbol of life, abundance, relation to soil, and prosperity.
• The ratio of the width of the flag to its length is 2:3.
• Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.
• Its diameter approximates the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes.
• The design was given by Pingali Venkaiya.
• The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947.
• It is our Fundamental Duty to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.

The correct answer is Robert Clive.

Key Points

• Robert Clive was the governor of Bengal during 1757-1760 and again during 1765-1767.
• He led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at Plassey in 1757.
• The dual government system in India was introduced by Robert Clive.
• He introduced the dual government system in Bengal in 1765.
  • It was continued till 1772.
• The administration of Bengal was divided into Diwani and Nizamat as a result of the dual government system.
• Robert Clive is known as the 'Babur of British India'.

Additional Information

• Warren Hastings is the only governor who was impeached by the British government in India.
  • Warren Hastings abolished the dual government system in 1772.
• The system of Permanent Settlement and civil services were introduced by Lord Cornwallis.
• The Subsidiary Alliance System in India was introduced by Lord Wellesley.

The correct answer is Annie Besant.

Key Points

• Annie Besant was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress.
• She presided over the Indian National Congress at the Calcutta session of 1917.
• She was a leading member of INC.
• She established the Home Rule League in 1916 at Madras.
• She first visited India in 1893 and was involved in the Indian National Movement.

Additional Information

• Sarojini Naidu:
  • She was the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Congress.
  • She became the president of the Indian National Congress in the Kanpur session in 1925.
  • She was given the title of "Nightingale of India" for her contributions in the field of poetry writing.
  • She was called 'Bharat Kokila'.
  • She is the first woman to hold the office of governor in the dominion of India.
  • She became the governor of the United Provinces in 1947.

Important Points

• Chittaranjan Das became the president of the Indian National Congress in the Gaya session in 1922.
• Motilal Nehru became the president of the Indian National Congress in the Calcutta session in 1928.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the president of the Indian National Congress in the Karachi session in 1931.

The correct answer is option Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Key Points

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy established the “Atmiya Sabha” a precursor organization in the socio-religious reforms in Bengal in the year 1814 in Kolkata.
• It was a philosophical discussion circle where debates and discussions were held leading to the ideas for social reforms. 

The correct answer is Sabarmati.

Key Points

Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha was started by Mahatma Gandhi in Sabarmati launched on March 12, 1930, and it lasted till April 5, 1930, in Dandi (Navsari).

• It was a part of Non-violent Civil Disobedience.
• It was against the tax collected by the British Raj on salt and Gandhi opposed this by producing salt through evaporation.
• This significantly influenced American activist's Martin Luther King, James Bevel, and others.
• It is also known as the White Flowing River as all people took part in the march by wearing White Khadi.
• Gandhi called it “Poor Man’s Struggle”.
• Due to this, mass civil disobedience was observed and Indians boycotted British clothes and goods.
• International Walk for Justice and Freedom – Mahatma Gandhi Foundation re-framed and cast the Salt March in 2005 on the 75^th anniversary of Dandi March
• National Salt Satyagraha Memorial – Dandi (inaugurated Jan 30, 2019)

Mistake Points

• C Rajgopalachari, Gandhi’s associate organized Vedaranyam Salt March along the east coast while Gandhi launched along the west coast.
• C Rajgopalachari was the 1^st Governor-General of India after Independence.
• 1^st women arrested in Salt March – Sarojini Naidu
• To commemorate the 50^th and 75^th anniversary of Dandi March in 1980 and 2005 respectively, stamps were also released by the government.

(Stamp released in 2005 on the 75^th anniversary of Dandi Satyagraha)

The correct answer is 1773.

Key Points

• The first governor-general in India (of Bengal) was Warren Hastings in 1773.
• He started his career as a writer (clerk) in the East India Company at Calcutta in 1750.
• Established revenue board in 1772.
• He Abolished the dual system of governance.
• He Founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal with William Jones in 1784 in Calcutta.
• Warren Hastings laid the foundation of civil service and Lord Cornwallis reformed, modernized, and rationalized it.

• The first governor-general in India (of Bengal) was Warren Hastings.
• The first official governor-general of British India was Lord William Bentinck.
• The first governor-general of the Dominion of India was Lord Mountbatten.
• The first and last governor-general of free India was Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.

The correct answer is C A B D.

Key Points

• Hunter commission - 1882
  • It was constituted to look into the status of elementary education of India.
  • Its another objective was to look into the failure in implementation of Wood's Despatch.
  • William Wilson Hunter was the chairman of this commission who was a member of Indian Civil Services.
  • Its another name was Higher Education Commission.
  • It was appointed by Lord Rippon, Viceroy of India.
  • Recommendations-
    1. Encourage primary education
    2. Progress in Secondary education.
    3.  Grant-in aid for schools
    4. Moral and Physical education were emphasized.
• Saddler Commission - 1917
  • Dr Michael Sadler was the chairman of this committee.
  • It recommended 10+2+3 pattern of education.
  • Purdah schools were established for Muslim girls.
  • It recommended separate board for secondary and intermediate education.
• Wood's Despatch - 1854
  • ​Charles Wood, who was the president of Board of control of English education in EIC, sent a despatch to Lord Dalhousie.
  • This laid down the foundation of education in India.
  • He emphasized on Art, science, literature and philosophy of Europe, in his recommendations. 
• Sargent Plan - 1944
  • ​Sir John Sargeant was asked to prepare a comprehensive plan for education in India in the year 1944.
  • It recommended promotion of pre-primary education.
  • Secondary schools were intended to provide education to those students who were above average and had excellent aptitude for higher education.

The correct answer is Kisan Kanya.

Key Points

• Kisan Kanya was a 1937 Hindi Cinecolor feature film which was directed by Moti Gidwani and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Pictures.
• It is largely remembered by the Indian public on account of it being India's first indigenously made colour film

 Important Points

• Dadasaheb Phalke's silent Raja Harishchandra (1913) is the first feature film made in India.
• The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931), was commercially successful.
• By the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per year.