Hard

The Colonial Era in India — Hard

15 questions 18 min PYQ-grade reasoning

Q1. Arrange the following events from the chapter's timeline in correct chronological order: I. Battle of Colachel II. Vasco da Gama's arrival at Kappad III. Macaulay's Minute on Indian Education IV. French East India Company's trading post at Pondicherry
- A. II, IV, I, III
- B. II, I, IV, III
- C. IV, II, I, III
- D. II, IV, III, I
Q2. Consider the following statements about the Portuguese cartaz system on the Arabian Sea: Statement A: All ships sailing on the Arabian Sea were required to purchase Portuguese permits for navigation. Statement B: Ships sailing without these permits were seized by the Portuguese navy. Which of the above is/are correct?
- A. Only Statement A
- B. Only Statement B
- C. Both A and B
- D. Neither A nor B
Q3. Assertion (A): After the Carnatic Wars, French colonial presence in India was reduced to Pondicherry and a few smaller enclaves. Reason (R): The Carnatic Wars (1746-1763) were a series of conflicts between Britain and France in which the French ultimately lost ground to the British. Choose the correct option
- A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- B. Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
- C. A is true, R is false.
- D. A is false, R is true.
Q4. Which of the following was NOT one of the early 17th-century trading posts established by the English East India Company on India's coast, according to?
- A. Surat
- B. Madras
- C. Pondicherry
- D. Calcutta
Q5. Consider the following statements about princely states at the time of India's Independence: I. There were over 500 princely states. II. They covered about 40 per cent of the Subcontinent. III. All princely states were of the same size. Which of the above is/are correct?
- A. I and II only
- B. II and III only
- C. I and III only
- D. All three
Q6. Match the following thinkers with the works they authored on the drain of India's wealth: I. Dadabhai Naoroji — A. Economic History of India II. R.C. Dutt — B. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India III. Brooks Adams — C. 1895 observation on Bengal plunder funding the Industrial Revolution Choose the correct match
- A. I-A, II-B, III-C
- B. I-B, II-A, III-C
- C. I-C, II-A, III-B
- D. I-B, II-C, III-A
Q7. According to a more recent estimate by Utsa Patnaik, the total wealth drained from India for the period 1765 to 1938 amounts to about 45 trillion U.S. dollars — which is approximately
- A. Equal to Britain's GDP in 2023
- B. 13 times Britain's GDP in 2023
- C. One-half of Britain's GDP in 2023
- D. Three times Britain's GDP in 2023
Q8. Consider the following two statements about India's economy under colonial rule: Statement A: Before the 16th century, India contributed at least one-fourth of the world GDP. Statement B: India's share of the world GDP reached hardly 5 per cent at the time of Independence. Which of the above is/are correct?
- A. Only Statement A
- B. Only Statement B
- C. Both A and B
- D. Neither A nor B
Q9. Charles Metcalfe, an acting Governor-General of British India in the 1830s, described Indian village communities as
- A. 'Despotic monarchies'
- B. 'Little republics, having nearly everything they want within themselves'
- C. 'Centralised bureaucracies serving the Mughals'
- D. 'Caste councils incapable of self-governance'
Q10. Assertion (A): Macaulay's 1835 Minute argued that European knowledge was vastly superior to India's. Reason (R): He claimed that 'a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.' Choose the correct option
- A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- B. Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
- C. A is true, R is false.
- D. A is false, R is true.
Q11. The so-called 'Vellore Mutiny' of 1806 erupted when the British introduced new uniform regulations. Which of the following was NOT among the regulations that violated the sepoys' religious practices?
- A. They were forbidden from wearing religious marks on their foreheads.
- B. They were required to shave their beards.
- C. They were forced to bite cartridges greased with cow and pig fat.
- D. The regulations affected both Hindu and Muslim sepoys.
Q12. Consider the following statements about Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi during the Great Rebellion of 1857: I. She was assisted by the Maratha Tatia Tope, who was Nana Saheb's military adviser. II. She escaped a besieged Jhansi and captured the Gwalior fort. III. She was killed on the battlefield on 18 June 1858. Which of the above is/are correct?
- A. I and II only
- B. II and III only
- C. I and III only
- D. All three
Q13. Match the 1857 rebel leader with the action / place associated with that leader of the chapter: I. Begum Hazrat Mahal — A. Led the defence of Lucknow against British recapture II. Tatia Tope — B. Issued a counter-proclamation against Queen Victoria's 1858 proclamation III. Queen Victoria — C. Continued fighting until early 1859 but was betrayed and hanged Choose the correct match
- A. I-A, II-C, III-B
- B. I-B, II-C, III-A
- C. I-B, II-A, III-C
- D. I-C, II-B, III-A
Q14. Assertion (A): According to some historians, the Great Rebellion of 1857 failed despite having several heroic leaders. Reason (R): The sepoys lacked a unified command and a consistent strategy. Choose the correct option
- A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- B. Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
- C. A is true, R is false.
- D. A is false, R is true.
Q15. Arrange the following events of 1857–1858 in the correct chronological order, based of the chapter: I. Sepoys at Meerut march to Delhi and proclaim Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader II. Mangal Pandey attacks British officers at Barrackpore III. British forces recapture Delhi IV. The British Crown takes direct control of India from the East India Company
- A. II, I, III, IV
- B. I, II, III, IV
- C. II, III, I, IV
- D. I, III, II, IV

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