Question 1

Which of the following factors contributed to the formation of the Forward Bloc by Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939?
1. Bose failed to win the confidence of Mahatma Gandhi.
2. The Congress Left was disunited and failed to support Bose.
3. The Communists did not support Bose in his endeavours.
4. The supporters of M.N. Roy and socialist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan preferred Congress unity to supporting Bose.

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3. * Statement 1 is correct: Subhas Chandra Bose failed to win the confidence of Mahatma Gandhi. After Bose's re-election as INC President in 1939, Gandhi declared the defeat of his candidate, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, as his own defeat. * Statement 2 is correct: The Congress Left was disunited; the Congress Socialist Party, Communists, and Royists were fragmented and failed to present a united front behind Bose during the Tripuri Crisis. * Statement 3 is incorrect: While the Communists did not support Bose's radical approach, they did support the Left Consolidation Committee initiated by the Forward Bloc in June 1939; their stance was more about keeping unity under Gandhi rather than a direct trigger for creating the Bloc. * Statement 4 is correct: Supporters of M.N. Roy and socialist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan preferred Congress unity over supporting Bose. They abstained from voting on the Govind Ballabh Pant resolution, which effectively withdrew their support from Bose to prevent a split in the Congress.

Question 2

Consider the following statements regarding the British policy in Awadh immediately after its annexation in 1856:
1. The taluqdars were dispossessed of their estates but allowed to retain their arms and forts.
2. A Summary Revenue Settlement was made in 1856 assuming that the taluqdars were outsiders.
3. The British believed in taking revenue directly from the peasants by removing the taluqdars.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 3 only. * Statement 1 is incorrect: In 1856, Awadh was annexed under Lord Dalhousie. Immediately after the annexation, the taluqdars were completely disarmed and their forts were destroyed. * Statement 2 is correct: The Summary Settlement of 1856 was based on the assumption that the taluqdars were interlopers with no permanent stakes in the land, who had established their hold through force and fraud. * Statement 3 is correct: British land revenue officers believed that by removing taluqdars, they would reduce the level of exploitation of peasants while increasing revenue returns for the state.

Question 3

Consider the following assertion :
The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.
Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?
1. Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates.
2. Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger.
3. Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates.

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only. * Statement 1 is correct: The 1919 reforms further extended the 1909 communal separate electorates and gave communal representation to additional groups such as Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans in certain provinces. * Statement 2 is correct: The British policy of separate electorates formed part of the broader strategy of "divide and rule." The British believed that dividing political interests along communal lines would reduce the possibility of a consolidated anti-colonial struggle. * Statement 3 is correct: Over time, several socially and politically marginalized groups began viewing separate electorates and reserved political representation as instruments for securing political safeguards and access to power (e.g., Communal Award).

Question 4

Consider the following statements about Raja Ram Mohan Roy:
I. He possessed great love and respect for the traditional philosophical systems of the East.
II. He desired his countrymen to accept the rational and scientific approach and the principle of human dignity and social equality of all men and women.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

II only. * Statement I is correct: Raja Ram Mohan Roy, often called the "Father of the Indian Renaissance," possessed a deep love and respect for the traditional philosophical systems of the East, notably setting up the Atmiya Sabha to propagate the monotheistic ideals of the Vedanta. * Statement II is correct: At the same time, he strongly advocated for his countrymen to accept a rational and scientific approach, pushing for the synthesis of Eastern and Western thought, modern education, and the values of human dignity and social equality for all men and women. Therefore, both statements are correct.

Question 5

Consider the following statements in respect of the Non-Cooperation Movement:
I. The Congress declared the attainment of 'Swaraj' by all legitimate and peaceful means to be its objective.
II. It was to be implemented in stages with civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes for the next stage only if 'Swaraj' did not come within a year and the Government resorted to repression.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

II only. * Both statements are correct: In December 1920, at the regular annual session of the Congress in Nagpur, the resolution of the Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM) was officially adopted. * Gandhiji declared that if within a year Swaraj is not achieved or if the government resorted to suppression, a civil disobedience movement along with the non-payment of taxes would be launched as the next stage.

Question 6

With reference to revenue collection by Cornwallis, consider the following statements:
1. Under the Ryotwari Settlement of revenue collection, the peasants were exempted from revenue payment in case of bad harvests or natural calamities.
2. Under the Permanent Settlement in Bengal, if the Zamindar failed to pay his revenues to the state, on or before the fixed date, he would be removed from his Zamindari.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 only. * Statement 1 is incorrect: Under the Ryotwari system, individual ryots were directly liable to pay revenue assessments to the state. However, there was no baseline provision for revenue remission or exemptions during crop failure; cultivators were harshly forced to pay even during severe droughts or famines. * Statement 2 is correct: The Permanent Settlement rules of 1793 included the strict "Sunset Law". If a Zamindar failed to remit the state's fixed revenue share to the treasury on or before sunset of the specified date, their land rights were stripped and auctioned off by the administration.

Modern Indian History: Multi-statement (Traditional Style) PYQ.

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