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Constitutional Developments & British Plans (1909-1947)

51 questions in Modern History.

Asked in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996

Assertion (A): According to the Wavell Plan, the number of Hindu and Muslim members in the Executive Council were to be equal. Reason (R): Wavell thought that this arrangement would have avoided the partition of India.

  1. (a)Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
  2. (b)Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
  3. (c)A is true but R is false
  4. (d)A is false but R is true
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Official answer(c) A is true but R is false

Consider the following statements: 1. The Charter Act 1853 abolished East India Company’s monopoly of Indian trade. 2. Under the Government of India Act, 1858, the British Parliament abolished the East India Company altogether and undertook the responsibility of ruling India directly. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a)1 only
  2. (b)2 only
  3. (c)Both 1 and 2
  4. (d)Neither 1 nor 2
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Official answer(b) 2 only

Consider the following statements : 1. In the First Round Table Conference Dr. Ambedkar demanded electorates for the depressed classes. 2. In the Poona Pact, special provisions for representation of the depressed people in the local bodies and civil services were made. 3. The Indian National Congress did not take part in the Third Round Table Conference. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a)1 and 2
  2. (b)2 and 3
  3. (c)1 and 3
  4. (d)1, 2 and 3
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Official answer(c) 1 and 3

Consider the following statements: Some of the main features of the Government of India Act, 1935 were the 1. Abolition of diarchy in the Governor's provinces. 2. Power of the Governors to veto legislative action and to legislate on their own. 3. Abolition of the principle of communal representation. Which of these statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a)1 only
  2. (b)1 and 2
  3. (c)2 and 3
  4. (d)1, 2 and 3
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Official answer(b) 1 and 2

Which one of the following provisions was NOT made in the Charter Act of 1833?

  1. (a)The trading activities of the East India Company were to be abolished
  2. (b)The designation of the supreme authority was to be changed as the Governor General of India in Council
  3. (c)All law-making powers to be conferred on Governor General in Council
  4. (d)An Indian was to be appointed as a Law Member in the Governor-General’s Council
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Official answer(d) An Indian was to be appointed as a Law Member in the Governor-General’s Council

An important aspect of the Cripps Mission of 1942 was

  1. (a)that all Indian States should join the Indian Union as a condition to consider any degree of autonomy for India
  2. (b)the creation of an Indian Union with Dominion status very soon after the Second World War
  3. (c)the active participation and cooperation of the Indian people, communities and political parties in the British war effort as a condition for granting independence with full sovereign status to India after war
  4. (d)the framing of a constitution for the entire Indian Union, with no separate constitution for any province, and a Union Constitution to be accepted by all provinces
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Official answer(b) the creation of an Indian Union with Dominion status very soon after the Second World War

The real intention of the British to include the princely states in the Federal Union proposed by the India Act of 1935 was to

  1. (a)exercise more and direct political and administrative control over the princely states
  2. (b)involve the princes actively in the administration of the colony
  3. (c)finally effect the complete political and administrative take-over of all the princely states by the British
  4. (d)use the princes to counter-balance the anti-imperialist doctrines of the nationalist leaders
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Official answer(d) use the princes to counter-balance the anti-imperialist doctrines of the nationalist leaders

Match List I (Acts of Colonial Government of India) with List II (Provisions) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists: List I (Acts) A. Charter Act, 1813 B. Regulating Act C. Act of 1858 D. Pitt’s India Act List II (Provisions) 1. Set up a Board of Control in Britain to fully regulate the East India Company’s affairs in India 2. Company’s trade monopoly in India was ended 3. The power to govern was transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown 4. The Company’s directors were asked to present to the British government all correspondence and documents pertaining to the administration of the company Codes:

  1. (a)A-2 B-4 C-3 D-1
  2. (b)A-1 B-3 C-4 D-2
  3. (c)A-2 B-3 C-4 D-1
  4. (d)A-1 B-4 C-3 D-2
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Official answer(a) A-2 B-4 C-3 D-1

With reference to the colonial period of Indian history, match List I (Person) with List II (Event) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists: List I (Person) A. MacDonald B. Linlithgow C. Dalhousie D. Chelmsford List II (Event) 1. Doctrine of Lapse 2. Communal Award 3. August Offer 4. Dyarchy Codes:

  1. (a)A-3 B-2 C-1 D-4
  2. (b)A-3 B-2 C-4 D-1
  3. (c)A-2 B-3 C-1 D-4
  4. (d)A-2 B-3 C-4 D-1
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Official answer(c) A-2 B-3 C-1 D-4

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists: List I I. Butler Committee II. Hurtog Committee Report III. Hunter Inquiry Committee Report IV. Muddiman Committee Report List II A) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Report B) Relationship between the Indian States and Paramount Power C) Working of Dyarchy as laid down in the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms D) The growth of education in British India and potentialities of its further progress Codes:

  1. (a)I-C, II-B, III-A, IV-D
  2. (b)I-A, II-D, III-B, IV-C
  3. (c)I-B, II-A, III-C, IV-D
  4. (d)I-B, II-D, III-A, IV-C
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Official answer(d) I-B, II-D, III-A, IV-C

The meeting of Indian and British political leaders during 1930-32 in London has often been referred to as the First, Second and Third Round Table Conferences. It would be incorrect to refer to them as such because

  1. (a)the Indian National Congress did not take part in two of them
  2. (b)Indian parties other than the Indian National Congress participating in the Conference represented sectional interests and not the whole of India
  3. (c)the British Labour Party had withdrawn from the Conference, thereby making the proceedings of the Conference partisan
  4. (d)it was an instance of Conference held in three sessions and not that of three separate conferences
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Official answer(d) it was an instance of Conference held in three sessions and not that of three separate conferences

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists: List I I. Governor General of Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (under Regulating Act, 1773) II. Governor General of India (under Charter Act, 1833) III. Governor General and Viceroy of India (under Indian Councils Act, 1858) IV. Governor General and Crown Representative (under Government of India Act, 1935) List II A. Archibald Percival Wavell, Viscount and Earl Wavell B. James Andrew Broun Ramsay, Earl and Marquess of Dalhousie C. Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Earl and first Marquess of Cornwallis D. Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmond, Earl of Minto E. Louis Mountbatten, Earl Mountbatten of Burma Codes:

  1. (a)I-C, II-B, III-D, IV-A
  2. (b)I-C, II-D, III-A, IV-E
  3. (c)I-B, II-C, III-D, IV-E
  4. (d)I-D, II-B, III-C, IV-A
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Official answer(a) I-C, II-B, III-D, IV-A