Modern Indian History - 75 Important MCQs
1. Which of the following newspapers/journals was from Maharashtra?
(A) Sarathi
(B) Sandhya
(C) Kranti
(D) Atmashakti
Correct Answer: [C] Kranti
(A) Sarathi
(B) Sandhya
(C) Kranti
(D) Atmashakti
Correct Answer: [C] Kranti
2. Who among the following was not a member of the Congress Socialist Party, although he
encouraged and blessed its formation?
(A) Jayaprakash Narayan
(B) Acharya Narendra Dev
(C) Achyuta Patwardhan
(D) Jawaharlal Nehru
Correct Answer: [D] Jawaharlal Nehru
3. Who designed the National Flag of India, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on July 21,
1947?
(A) Abanindranath Tagore
(B) Abul Kalam Azad
(C) Badr-ud-din-Tyabji
(D) Rabindranath Tagore
Correct Answer: [C] Badr-ud-din-Tyabji
4. All the established political parties and groups, except two, boycotted Simon commission,
which was those two?
(i) Hindu Mahasabha
(ii) Justice Party
(iii) Muslim League
(iv) Punjab Unionists
Choose the correct answer from the codes given below:-
(A) iv and ii
(B) iii and iv
(C) ii and iii
(D) i and ii
Correct Answer: [A] iv and ii
5. Which of the following books was not written by Swami Dayanand Saraswati?
(A) Satyartha Bhumika
(B) Veda Bhashya Bhumika
(C) Satyartha Prakash
(D) Veda Prakash
Correct Answer: [D] Veda Prakash
6. The British officer who defeated Mir. Qusim in a series of battles of 1763 was?
(A) Colonel Malleson
(B) Colonel Holwell
(C) Major Hector Munro
(D) Major Adams
Correct Answer: [D] Major Adams
7. Which of the following is correctly paired?
(A) Krishna Patrika - M.G Ranade
(B) Quarterly Journal - Lajpat Rai
(C) Panjbee - T. Prakasam and M. Krishna Rao
(D) Bharata Mats - Ajit Singh
Correct Answer: [D] Bharata Mats - Ajit Singh
8. Who said 'the congress movement was neither inspired by the people not devised or
planned by them?'
(A) Lord Curzon
(B) Lord Dufferin
(C) Lala Lajpat Rai
(D) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Correct Answer: [C] Lala Lajpat Rai
9. What is the name of the Bengali monthly founded and edited by Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee in 1873?
(A) Bangadarshana
(B) Bengalee
(C) Soma Prakasha
(D) Bangaduta
Correct Answer: [A] Bangadarshana
10. During which period Gandhiji remained aloof from direct politics and concentrated his
energies on constructive programmes?
(A) 1924-1927
(B) 1928-1932
(C) 1919-1922
(D) 1922-1924
Correct Answer: [D] 1922-1924
11. Which of the following statements is/are correct about the Civil Disobedience
Movement?
(i) There was a discernible absence of Hindu- Muslim unity.
(ii) The movement received massive business support.
(iii) There was large scale women's participation.
(iv) From September 1930 onwards the movement began to decline.
Choose the answer from codes given below
(A) (ii) and (iii)
(B) (ii) and (iv)
(C) (i) and (ii)
(D) All of the above
Correct Answer: [B] All of the above.
12. At the time of which of the following events/ movements Jawaharlal Nehru admitted
that: "Never before in history had such unified sentiments been manifested by various
divergent sections of the population"?
(A) INA Trial
(B) REN mutiny
(C) Quit India Movement
(D) Imphal campaign of the INA
Correct Answer: [A] INA Trial.
13. Which of the following organizations/persons did not approve of the Quit India
Movement?
(A) B.R. Ambedkar
(B) Hindu Mahasabha
(C) Muslim League
(D) All of the above
Correct Answer: [B] All of the above.
14. On the basis of which formula/plan Gandhiji, in April 1944 proposed talks with Jinnah
which Jinnah
refused to accept?
(A) Rajaji formula
(B) 3rd June Plan
(C) August offer
(D) Wavel plan
Correct Answer: [A] Rajaji formula.
15. Who of the following founded the Independent Labour Party In 1936?
(A) Jagjiban Ram
(B) Jayaprakash Narayan
(C) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
(D) M. C. Rajah
Correct Answer: [C] Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
16. Lord Macaulay was associated with
(A) Codification of Laws
(B) Permanent settlement
(C) Reforms in the army
(D) Abolition of Sati
Correct Answer: [A] Codification of Laws.
17. The British Government introduced the portfolio system for the first time in
(A) 1861
(B) 1892
(C) 1853
(D) 1858
Correct Answer: [A] 1861.
(A) 1861
(B) 1892
(C) 1853
(D) 1858
Correct Answer: [A] 1861.
18. Which region in India provided the best quality saltpeter and opium to the Europeans?
(A) Bihar
(B) Malabar
(C) Coromandel
(D) Gujrat
Correct Answer: [C] Coromandel.
19. When and by whom was the Portuguese driven out of Hugli in Bengal?
(A) 1650-Prince Murad
(B) 1666-Prince Shuja
(C) 1625-Shaista Khan
(D) 1631-Qasim Khan
Correct Answer: [D] 1631-Qasim Khan.
20. what was the early capital of the Portuguese in India?
(A) Culient
(B) Cannanore
(C) Goa
(D) Cochin
Correct Answer: [D] Cochin.
21. Who among the following Britishers were associated with the introduction of the
Mahalwari System?
(A) William Karey
(B) Sir Alexandar Cunningham
(C) R.M. Bird
(D) Sir John Lawrence
Correct Answer: [C] R.M. Bird
22. Which of the following is correctly paired
(A) Establishment of an agricultural Research Institution at Pusa - Lord Minto
(B) Rowlatt Act - Lord Chelmsford
(C) Antipartition and Swadeshi Movements -Lord Lansdowne
(D) Factory Act of 1891-Lord Curzon
Correct Answer: [B] Rowlatt Act - Lord Chelmsford
23. Who made the 'Dipawali Declaration' and when
(A) Gandhi 1930
(B) Subhas Bose in 1941
(C) Lord Irwin in 1929
(D) Lord Linlithgow in 1940
Correct Answer: [C] Lord Irwin in 1929
24. Indian National Congress Which session of the Congress had 1889 Delegates?
(A) Fifth Session at Bombay
(B) Sixth Session at Calcutta
(C) Third Session of Madras
(D) Fourth Session of Allahabad
Correct Answer: [A] Fifth Session at Bombay
25. Who founded the Indian Reforms Association in 1870?
(A) Keshab Chandra Sen
(B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(C) Ram Mohan Roy
(D) Debendranath Tagore
Correct Answer: [A] Keshab Chandra Sen
26. When and by whom was the 'Nair Service Society' founded?
(A) 1914 - M. Padmanabha Pillai
(B) 1916 - K. Ramakrishna Pillai
(C) 1905 - Narayana Guru
(D) 1910 - T.M. Nair
Correct Answer: [A] 1914 - M. Padmanabha Pillai
27. Keshab Chandra Sen
(i) Adopted a radical and comprehensive scheme of social reforms.
(ii) Infused the concept of Bhakti into Brahmoism
(iii) Influenced the socio-religious reformers in Bombay and Madras
(iv) Opposed the introduction of western education in India.
Which one is correct
(A) i, iii and iv
(B) ii, iii and iv
(C) i, ii and iii
(D) All of them
Correct Answer: [C] i, ii and iii
28. Which of the following sections remained at a distance during Swadeshi Movement of
1905?
(A) Students
(B) Intelligentsia
(C) Women
(D) Peasantry
Correct Answer: [D] Peasantry
29. Who said on Gandhiji's death "The light has gone out of our lives"?
(A) S. Radha Krishnan
(B) Bidhan Chandra Roy
(C) J. L. Nehru
(D) Rajendra Prasad
Correct Answer: [C] J. L. Nehru
30. Who was the last Governor-General in India?
(A) Lord Mountbatten
(B) Chakraborty Raja Gopalachari
(C) Lord William Bentinck
(D) Lord Canning
Correct Answer: [B] Chakraborty Raja Gopalachari
31. Who led the peasant movement in Oudh during the Non-cooperation movement?
(A) Madari Pasi
(B) Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) Baba Ramchandra
Correct Answer: [D] Baba Ramchandra.
(A) Madari Pasi
(B) Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) Baba Ramchandra
Correct Answer: [D] Baba Ramchandra.
32. The Editor of the paper, the Hindu was
(A) S. Satyamurti
(B) T. K. Madhavan
(C) S. Subramania
(D) Kasturi Ranga Iyengar
Correct Answer: [D] Kasturi Ranga Iyengar.
33. Tamil journal, Kudi Arasu was founded by whom?
(A) T.M. Nair
(B) E.V. Ramaswamy Periyar
(C) Anna Durai
(D) P. Tyagaraja Ehetti
Correct Answer: [B] E.V. Ramaswamy Periyar.
34. Who was the founder of 'Gajapati Dynasty' of Orissa?
(A) Prataparudra
(B) Vidyadhara
(C) Purushottam
(D) Kapilendra
Correct Answer: [D] Kapilendra.
35. What was the primary aim of the Akali movement which rose in Punjab in the 1920s?
(A) To streamline the management of the gurudwara of Sikh Shrines
(B) To purge Sikhism of its superstitious accretions and irrational incrustations
(C) To voice the political grievances of the Sikhs
(D) To bring about modernization int he Sikh social customs
Correct Answer: [A] To streamline the management of the gurudwara of Sikh Shrines.
36. The first tribal leader who was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and his ideology was
(A) Alluri Sitaram Raju
(B) Thakkar Bapa
(C) Jadonang
(D) Rani Gaidinliu
Correct Answer: Jadonang
37. Party or Association When was the All-India Kisan Sabha formed?
(A) 1928
(B) 1936
(C) 1991
(D) 1920
Correct Answer: [B] 1936.
38. The Justice Party movement in Madras merged with the:
(A) Dravida Kazxhagam
(B) Self-respect League
(C) Both (A) and (B) above
(D) Depresses Classes League
Correct Answer: [C] Both (A) and (B) above.
39. The first free university in India, completely independent of the Government and
receiving no grant from it was
(A) Women's University, Pune
(B) Benaras Hindu University
(C) Vishva Bharati, Shantiniketan
(D) Aligarh Muslim University
Correct Answer: [C] Vishva Bharati, Shantiniketan.
40. The first venture of Gandhi in all-India politics was the
(A) Rowlat Satyagraha
(B) Non-Cooperation Movement
(C) Dandi March
(D) Champaran Movement
Correct Answer: [A] Rowlat Satyagraha.
(A) Rowlat Satyagraha
(B) Non-Cooperation Movement
(C) Dandi March
(D) Champaran Movement
Correct Answer: [A] Rowlat Satyagraha.
41. Who was the Governor-General when Sind was annexed?
(A) Lord Dalhousie
(B) Lord Hardinge-I
(C) Lord Auckland
(D) Lord Ellenborough
Correct Answer: [D] Lord Ellenborough.
42. Growth of Nationalism and struggle for Independence The Indian Association played an
important role in arousing national consciousness through the formation of the
(A) Indian National Conference
(B) British India Association
(C) Indian National Congress
(D) Bengal British Indian Society
Correct Answer: [A] Indian National Conference.
43. Who was the founder of secret society Abhinav Bharat?
(A) Ganesh Savarkar
(B) Damodar Chapek
(C) Naren Bhattacharji
(D) Jatin Mukherji
Correct Answer: [A] Ganesh Savarkar.
44. Which, of the following is correctly matched?
(A) Foundation of the Forward Block-1936
(B) Foundation of the Communist Party of India-1939
(C) Formation of the All India Kisan Sabha-1935
(D) Foundation of the Congress Socialist party-1934
Correct Answer: [D] Foundation of the Congress Socialist party-1934.
(A) Foundation of the Forward Block-1936
(B) Foundation of the Communist Party of India-1939
(C) Formation of the All India Kisan Sabha-1935
(D) Foundation of the Congress Socialist party-1934
Correct Answer: [D] Foundation of the Congress Socialist party-1934.
45. Who is generally acknowledged as the pioneer of local self-Government in modern
India?
(A) M.K.Gandlii
(B) Curzon
(C) Ripon
(D) Hardinge-I
Correct Answer: [C] Ripon.
46. Who was the first to attempt decentralization of financial administration?
(A) Curzon
(B) Lytton
(C) Ripon
(D) Mayo
Correct Answer: [D] Mayo.
47. Who confessed the following way? 'We have no right to seize Sind. Yet we shall do so
and a very big advantageous, useful, human piece of rascality it will be"".
(A) Sir Charles Napier
(B) Major James Outr
(C) Lord Auckland'
(D) Lord Ellenborough
Correct Answer: [A] Sir Charles Napier.
48. Which of the following were the original founders of the Theosophical society?
(i) Madam H.P. Blavatsky
(ii) Mrs. Annie Besant
(iii) Colonel H.S. Olcott
(iv) Colonel O.P. Walburn
Choose the answer from the codes given below
(A) i and iii
(B) iii and iv
(C) i and ii
(D) ii and iii
Correct Answer: [A] i and iii.
(i) Madam H.P. Blavatsky
(ii) Mrs. Annie Besant
(iii) Colonel H.S. Olcott
(iv) Colonel O.P. Walburn
Choose the answer from the codes given below
(A) i and iii
(B) iii and iv
(C) i and ii
(D) ii and iii
Correct Answer: [A] i and iii.
49. Subhas Chandra Bose fought the presidential elections in 1939 on the ground that
(A) He was opposed to Gandhiji
(B) He favored an aggressive policy which was opposed by the Congress Leaders
(C) He did not like the nomination of Sitaramayya
(D) He pleaded for elections instead of nominations
Correct Answer: [D] He pleaded for elections instead of nominations.
50. Who among the following capitalists served as an AICC treasurer for many years and
went to jail in 1930?
(A) J.R.D Tata
(B) Walchand Hirachand
(C) G. D. Birla
(D) Jamunalal Bajaj
Correct Answer: [D] Jamunalal Bajaj.
51. Who among the following played an important role in the signing of the Gandhi Irwin
pact?
(i) Motilal Nehru
(ii) Tej Bahadur Sapru
(iii) Madanmohan Malaviya.
(iv) Jayakar
(v) Chintamani.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:-(A) ii and iii
(B) iv and v
(C) i and ii
(D) ii and iv.
Correct Answer: [D] ii and iv.
52. Which of the following is not one of the causes responsible for the rise of money lenders
in British India?
(A) New educational system.
(B) Commercialization of agriculture.
(C) New revenue policy
(D) New legal system.
Correct Answer: [A] New educational system.
53. Who described Bal Gangadhar Tilak as the 'father of Indian unrest'
(A) Minto-II
(B) Chelmsford
(C) Valentine Chirol
(D) Disrachi.
Correct Answer: [C] Valentine Chirol.
54. Who was mainly responsible for introducing the Ryotwari system in Madras?
(A) Thomas Munro
(B) John Lawrence
(C) Macartney
(D) Elphinstone.
Correct Answer: [A] Thomas Munro.
55. Which of the following statements is/are true about the Vernacular Press Act, 1878?
(i) It was passed by Lord Mayo.
(ii) It comes to be known as the "Gagging Act".
(iii) It liberated the Indian Press from restrictions.
(iv) It was repealed in 1882 by the Ripon Govt.
Select the answer from codes given below.(A) (i) and (iii)
(B) (iii) and (iv)
(C) (ii) and (iv)
(D) (i) and (ii).
Correct Answer: [C] (ii) and (iv).
56. Indenture regulations which bound the artisans of Eastern India to sell their products
exclusively to
the English company from the Late 18th Century were known as
(A) Khatbandi
(B) Kamiya
(C) Dadni
(D) Damdupat.
Correct Answer: [C] Dadni.
57. Governor General & Viceroy During whose period did the European soldiers stage the so-
called
'White-Mutiny' in India?
(A) Mayo
(B) Ripon
(C) Dalhousie
(D) Canning.
Correct Answer: [D] Canning.
58. Who said: 'This orderly disciplined anarchy should go, and if as a result there is complete
lawlessness I would risk it'?
(A) Rajagopalachari
(B) Vallab Bhai Patel
(C) Jawaharlal Nehru
(D) Mahatma Gandhi.
Correct Answer: [D] Mahatma Gandhi.
59. Which of the following manuscripts, containing miniature paintings, reveals a sense of
realism and authenticity witnessed or experienced by the painters themselves
(A) Jamiut-Tawarikh
(B) Tariqi-Alfi
(C) Timur Namah
(D) Akbar Namah.
Correct Answer: [B] Tariqi-Alfi.
realism and authenticity witnessed or experienced by the painters themselves
(A) Jamiut-Tawarikh
(B) Tariqi-Alfi
(C) Timur Namah
(D) Akbar Namah.
Correct Answer: [B] Tariqi-Alfi.
60. Who was the founder of the Sultanate of Madurai?
(A) Nusrat Shah
(B) Dilwar Khan
(C) Jalaluddin Ahsan
(D) Hussain Shah.
Correct Answer: [C] Jalaluddin Ahsan.
61. What is `Asthavana'
(A) One-third of the produce of the land
(B) House-tax
(C) Land revenue department
(D) A type of rice
Correct Answer: [C] Land revenue department.
62. The lower castes tried to assert themselves by borrowing and imitating customs and
manners of the upper castes. This was termed as Sanskritisation by
(A) B.R. Ambedkar
(B) M.N. Srinivas
(C) M.K. Gandhi
(D) Bernard Cohn
Correct Answer: [B] M.N. Srinivas.
63. The Whitley Commission was concerned with
(A) Public Health
(B) Reorganization of Civil Service
(C) Labour
(D) Education
Correct Answer: [C] Labour.
(A) Public Health
(B) Reorganization of Civil Service
(C) Labour
(D) Education
Correct Answer: [C] Labour.
64. Which of the following results of the Zamindari System was not an advantage to the
British?
(A) Permanent fixation of revenue demand
(B) Provision of financial security
(C) Creation of political allies
(D) Minimization of revenue administrative expenditure
Correct Answer: [A] Permanent fixation of revenue demand.
65. Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?
(A) Kanpur - Brigadier General Neil
(B) Lucknow - Major General Havelock
(C) Banaras - Sir Colin Campbell
(D) Jhansi - Sir Hugh Rose
Correct Answer: [D] Jhansi - Sir Hugh Rose.
66. Which of the following groups did not get separate electorates by the Act of 1935?
(A) Europeans
(B) Depressed Classes
(C) Anglo-Indians
(D) Indian Christians
Correct Answer: [B] Depressed Classes.
67. When and where the song Tande Mataram' was first sung, (by Rabindranath Tagore)?
(A) At Santiniketan Ashrams in 1901.
(B) On July 19,1905 at Calcutta when the partition of Bengal was formally announced.
(C) At Calcutta Session of the I.N. Congress in 1896.
(D) At Calcutta Town Hall on August 07,1905.Correct Answer: [C] At Calcutta Session of the I.N. Congress in 1896.
68. The First National Planning Committee was constituted by the Congress in 1938 under
the Presidency of
(A) Subhas Chandra Bose
(B) Dr. Rajeridra Prasad
(C) Ambalal Sarabhai
(D) Jawahar Lal Nehru
Correct Answer: [A] Subhas Chandra Bose.
69. The historic Lucknow session (1916) of the I.N.C. was presided over by
(A) Madan Mohan Malaviya
(B) Rasbehari Bose
(C) Ambika Charan Mozumdar
(D) R.N. Madhukar
Correct Answer: [C] Ambika Charan Mozumdar.
70. Who moved a resolution at the Congress session in 1918 demanding equal eligibility for
voting rights for both men and women?
(A) Annie Besant
(B) Basanti Devi
(C) Sarala Debi Choudhurani
(D) Sarojini Naidu
Correct Answer: [A] Annie Besant.
71. Who observed: "The Congress (INC) is, in reality, a civil war without arms"?
(A) M. Ali Jinnah
(B) Lord Curzon
(C) Lord Dufferin
(D) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
Correct Answer: [D] Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
Modern Indian History - 75 Important MCQs