VISIONIAS

www.visionias.in
ANSWERS & EXPLANATIONS
G.S. PRE. (2025) MINI TEST – 5508

Q 1.A
• Annie Besant founded her home rule league in September 1916. It had a much looser organization than
the Tialk's home rule league and three members could form a branch. While Tilak's league worked in
areas like Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central provinces, and Berar, Annie Besant's
league worked in the rest of India. The members of the Servants of India Society were not allowed to join
the movement. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• Almost two hundred branches of Besant's league were established in both town and village areas.
• It had a formal executive council of seven members elected for the period of three years by thirty-four'
founding branches'. However, most of the work was carried on by Annie Besant, Arundale, C. P.
Ramaswamy, and B. P. Wadia.
• Many leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru in Allahabad, B. Chakravarti, and J. Banerjea in Calcutta joined the
Home rule league of Annie Besant.
• When the Government of Madras kept Mrs. Besant and associates under arrest, many prominent members
like Surendranath Banerjea, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and M. A. Jinnah joined the league in
solidarity. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Q 2.C
• Although both Moderates and Extremists shared the common goal the idea of an independent India, how
they approached the matter was entirely different. Some of the difference include:
o Moderates believed in Liberalism and Moderate Politics. The moderates wanted the Indian nation to
develop through a modernistic course; but modernism being a Western concept, this meant advocacy
of the continuation of colonial rule. The extremists, on the other hand, sought to oppose the
colonial rule. They believed that the British had no interest of the Indian people in mind. Hence
statement 1 is correct.
o In contrast to the Moderates who were modernists and enlightened in matters of social reform, the
Extremists became revivalists and obscurantists in matters of social reforms. Extremists tried to
define the Indian nation in terms of distinctly Indian cultural idioms, which led them to religious
revivalism invoking a glorious past-sometimes even unquestioned acceptance and glorification of that
past Tilak's opposition to the Age of Consent Bill, his association with Anti-Cow-Killing societies, his
organisation of the Ganesh Festival (1893) as a national festival projects him as the leader of Hindu
orthodoxy and Hindu nationalism. Hence statement 2 is correct.
o The moderates found their support base in the Zamindars and the upper-middle-class. The extremists
found their support bases among the educated middle-class and lower classes.
o Through Prayer, Petition, Persuasion, and Philanthropy the demands of the moderates were
constitutional, and so was their agitation. On the other hand, Extremists were radical in terms of their
approach and employed new techniques such as Passive Resistance, a boycott of imported goods etc.
o Moderates held the view that the movement should be limited to middle-class intelligentsia as masses
are not yet ready for participation in political work. Extremists on the other hand had immense faith in
the capacity of masses to participate and to make sacrifices.

1 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

Q 3.D
• The revolt of 1857 began on 10 May 1857 when the sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke out in
mutiny. It began in the lines of the native infantry, spread very swiftly to the cavalry and then to the city.
• Before the Meerut incident, the 19th Native Infantry at Berhampur, which refused to use the newly
introduced Enfield rifle and broke out in mutiny in February 1857 was disbanded in March 1857.
• On May 11, 1857:The sepoys arrived at the gates of the Red Fort and declared the Mughal
Emperor Bahadur Shah II was proclaimed the Emperor of India.
• The Azamgarh Proclamation was issued by the rebels on 25 August 1857. It is one of the main sources
of our knowledge about what the rebels wanted. It had denouncements of the tyranny and oppression of
the English people. It's a democratic and secular document that aims to unite both Hindus and Muslims
against the tyranny of the East India company.
• Very soon the rebellion spread throughout Northern and Central India at Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur,
Bareilly, and Banaras in parts of Bihar, Jhansi and other places.
• Kanpur was lost to the British on 5th June 1857. Nana Sahib was proclaimed the Peshwa. At Kanpur,
Nana Sahib was joined by his able and experienced Lieutenant, Tantia Tope.
• The British captured Delhi on September 20, 1857 after prolonged and bitter fighting. John Nicholson,
the leader of the siege, was badly wounded and later succumbed to his injuries. Bahadur Shah was taken
prisoner. The royal princes were captured and butchered on the spot, publicly shot at point blank range by
Lieutenant Hudson himself. The emperor was exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862.
• Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Q 4.D
• The British government’s decision to partition Bengal had been made public in December 1903.
• Ignoring a loud public opinion against the partition proposal, the government announced the partition of
Bengal in July 1905.
• Within days, protest meetings were held in small towns all over Bengal. It was in these meetings that
the pledge to boycott foreign goods was first taken.
• On August 7, 1905, with the passage of the Boycott Resolution in a massive meeting held in the
Calcutta Townhall, the formal proclamation of Swadeshi Movement was made.
• After this, the leaders dispersed to other parts of Bengal to propagate the message of a boycott of
Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt.
• October 16, 1905, the day the partition formally came into force, was observed as a day of mourning
throughout Bengal.
• People fasted, bathed in the Ganga and walked barefoot in processions singing Bande Mataram
(which almost spontaneously became the theme song of the movement).
• ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, the national anthem of present-day Bangladesh, was composed by Rabindranath
Tagore, and was sung by huge crowds marching in the streets.
• People tied rakhis on each other’s hands as a symbol of unity of the two halves of Bengal. Hence
option (d) is correct.
• Later in the day, Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose addressed huge gatherings (perhaps the
largest till then under the nationalist banner). Within a few hours of the meeting, Rs 50,000 was raised for
the movement.
• Soon, the movement spread to other parts of the country—in Poona and Bombay under Tilak, in Punjab
under Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh, in Delhi under Syed Haider Raza, and in Madras under
Chidambaram Pillai.

Q 5.B
• Mahalwari system is one of the three main revenue systems of land tenure in British India, the other two
being the Zamindari and the Ryotwari.
• It was introduced by Holt Mackenzie and later improved by William Bentick and covered states like
Punjab, Awadh, and Agra, parts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, North-West Frontier etc. Hence,
statement 1 is correct.
2 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 • In this system, the land was divided into Mahals and each Mahal comprised of one or more villages.
• Revenue demand by the British was nearly two-thirds of land revenue and the settlement was to be made
for 30 years.
• British government encouraged farmers to pay in cash and not in kind.
• Some of the features of this system are :
o The revenue was determined on the basis of assessment of the produce of a Mahal.
o The village community had to distribute these tax collection targets among the cultivators
o Each individual farmer contributed his share in the revenue.
o Everyone was thus liable for the others' arrears.
o But still, the ownership rights were vested with the individual peasants thus farmers had the
right to sell or mortgage their property. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
o The village community did not necessarily mean the entire village population. It was a group of
elders, notables of high castes.
o A village inhabitant, called the Lambardar, collected the amounts and gave to the British
o British periodically revised tax rates.
• Like the other two revenue systems of Zamindari and Ryotwari, the revenue assessment was always
higher than the actual produce and impoverished the farmers. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Q 6.A
• The Lucknow Session of 1916 (held in December) presided by Ambica Charan Majumdar was a
significant event in the history of Indian freedom struggle for the following reasons:
o Firstly, this session brought the moderates and extremists in Congress on the common platform
again after nearly a decade, particularly due to efforts of Annie Besant. Tilak and his men were
welcomed back into the Congress. The Congress President in his address said that “if the congress
was buried at Surat, it is reborn in Lucknow in the garden of Wajid Ali Shah“. Hence statement 1 is
correct.
o Secondly, it was also significant for the famous Congress League Pact, popularly known as the
Lucknow Pact. With this Muslim League and congress sought for a sort of joint platform to put
constitutional pressure on the British Government towards making reforms. Both Tilak and
Annie Besant had played a leading role in bringing about this agreement between the Congress and
the League, much against the wishes of many important leaders, including Madan Mohan Malaviya.
o Thirdly, a very significant proposal made by Tilak at the Lucknow session— that the Congress should
appoint a small and cohesive Working Committee that would carry on the day to day affairs of
the Congress and be responsible for implementing the resolutions passed at the annual sessions,
a proposal by which he hoped to transform the Congress from a deliberative body into one
capable of leading a sustained movement — was unfortunately quashed by Moderate
opposition. Four years later, in 1920, when Mahatma Gandhi prepared a reformed ‘constitution for
the Congress, this was one of the major changes considered necessary if the Congress was to lead a
sustained movement. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• At the time of Lucknow Session 1916, Lord Chelmsford was the Governor General.

Q 7.B
• The English adopted three types of land tenures in India viz., the Zamindari tenure, the Mahalwari tenure,
and the Ryotwari tenure.
• Permanent zamindari settlement
o The Permanent Settlement of Bengal was brought into effect by the East India Company headed by
the Governor-General Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
o Introduced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Benaras Division of the U.P., Northern Carnatic, and
roughly covered 19% of the total area of British India.

3 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

 o Landlords or Zamindars were recognized as the owners of the land. They were given hereditary rights
of succession of the lands under them.
o The Zamindars could sell or transfer the land as they wished. The Zamindars’ proprietorship would
stay as long as he paid the fixed revenue at the said date to the government. If they failed to pay, their
rights would cease to exist and the land would be auctioned off.
o The amount to be paid by the landlords was fixed. It was agreed that this would not increase in the
future (permanent).
o The fixed amount was 10/11th portion of the revenue for the government and 1/10th was for the
Zamindar.
o The Zamindar also had to give the tenant a patta which described the area of the land given to him and
the rent he had to pay the landlord.
• Ryotwari Settlement
o Introduced in major portions of Bombay and Madras Presidencies, in Assam and some other parts of
British India covering roughly 51% of the area. The maximum area was under this system. Hence
statement 1 is not correct.
o Under this system, every 'registered' holder of land is recognized as a proprietor of land and is held
responsible for the direct payment of land revenue to the State.
o The rates were high and unlike the Permanent System, they were open to being increased. If they
failed to pay the taxes, they were evicted by the government.
o The two great evils of the Ryotwari system were over-assessment and uncertainty. Further, there
was no provision for an appeal to the court of law against over-assessment. The collector informed
the cultivator of the rate at which his land had been assessed in the future with the warning that if he
chose to retain it on the new terms, he could; if he did not choose, he could throw it up. Hence
statement 2 is correct.
• Mahalwari Settlement
o Introduced by Holt Mackenzie in 1822 and was reviewed under Lord William Bentinck in 1833.
o Introduced in major portions of the U.P., the Central Provinces, and the Panjab and covered
nearly 30% of the area.
o Under this system, the unit for revenue settlement is the village (mahal).
o The village land belongs jointly to the village community technically called 'the body of co-shares'.
They were jointly responsible for the payment of land revenue, though individual responsibility is also
there.

Q 8.C
• Prarthana Samaj was a Hindu reform society established in Bombay in 1867 by Atmaram
Pandurang. In purpose, it is similar to, but not affiliated with, the more widespread Brahmo Samaj and
had its greatest sphere of influence in and around Maharashtra state. Hence statement 1 is correct.
o Though less confrontational than Brahmo Samaj towards social issues Prarthana Samaj was
not a revivalist society.
• Though Atmaram Pandurang was the founder, M.G. Ranade was the real spirit behind Prarthana Samaj
and was assisted by Bhandarkar, N.G Chandavarkar, etc.
• The aim of the Prarthana Samaj is the promulgation of theistic worship and social reform, and its early
goals were in opposition to the caste system, the introduction of widow remarriage, the encouragement of
female education, and the abolition of child marriage.
• The immediate predecessor of the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay was the Paramahamsa Sabha, a secret
society formed in 1849 for discussion, the singing of hymns, and the sharing of a communal meal
prepared by a low-caste cook.
• The Prarthana Samaj differed from Brahmo Samaj by its greater reluctance to break with
orthodox Hindu tradition, and the Prarthana Samaj never required members to give up caste, idol
worship, or the traditional religious sacraments. Hence statement 2 is correct.
4 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 • Activities of the Prarthana Samaj include study groups, a journal, night schools for working people, free
libraries, women’s and student associations, and an orphanage. Its members were instrumental in the
organization of other important social-reform movements that arose at the turn of the century, including
the Depressed Classes Mission Society of India and the National Social Conference.

Q 9.C
• In the British territories in south India new system of land revenue known as the ryotwar (or
ryotwari) was introduced. It was tried on a small scale by Captain Alexander Read in some of the areas
that were taken over by the Company after the wars with Tipu Sultan. Subsequently developed
by Thomas Munro, this system was gradually extended all over south India.
• Read and Munro felt that in the south there were no traditional zamindars. The settlement, they argued,
had to be made directly with the cultivators (ryots) who had tilled the land for generations. Their fields
had to be carefully and separately surveyed before the revenue assessment was made. Munro thought
that the British should act as paternal father figures protecting the ryots under their charge.
• Under this system, every 'registered' holder of land is recognized as a proprietor of land is held
responsible for direct payment of land revenue to the State. He has the right to sublet his land holding,
to transfer, mortgage or sell it. He is not evicted from his holding by the Government so long as he pays
the State demand of land revenue.
• After the introduction of the ryotwari system, each peasant individually needed more credit, and the
creation of property rights in land and the courts protecting such rights created a land market and hence
there was now more demand for land. The moneylenders now lent money by mortgaging the peasants'
land at a high-interest rate and in case of failure to repay, he took possession of the land through a decree
of the court. Caste prejudices prevented the moneylenders from touch ing the plough; so the same land
was now leased out to their former owner-cultivators, who thus became tenants in their own land.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Q 10.C
• The Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanand Saraswati as an outcome of reaction to Western Influence. Its
ideal was to unite India religiously, socially and nationally with the Aryan religion to be the common
religion for all.
• The motto was to ’Go back to Vedas’. It gave its own interpretation of Vedas and disregarded the
authority of later Hindu scriptures like Puranas and described them as the work of lesser men and
responsible for the evil practices of idol worship and other superstitious beliefs. Hence statement 1 is not
correct.
• It condemned idol worship, polytheism, belief in charms and spells and preached unity of
Godhead. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• It rejected the popular Hindu philosophy which held that the physical world is an illusion
(Maya) and that man’s soul is merely a part of God. Against this, Dayanand held that God, soul and
matter (Prakriti) were distinct and eternal entities. Hence statement 4 is not correct.
• It strongly condemned the caste system based on birth, though the Vedic notion of the four-varna
system in which a person was not born in any Varuna (caste), but was identified as Brahmin, Kshatriya,
Vaishya or Shudra according to the occupation he followed was accepted. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Q 11.A
• In 1878, Keshab’s inexplicable act of getting his thirteen-year-old daughter married to the minor
Hindu Maharaja of Cooch-Behar with all the orthodox Hindu rituals caused another split in
Keshab’s Brahmo Samaj of India.
• Earlier, Keshab had begun to be considered an incarnation by some of his followers, much to the dislike
of his progressive followers. Further, Keshab had begun to be accused of authoritarianism.
• After 1878, the disgusted followers of Keshab set up a new organization, the Sadharan Brahmo
Samaj.

5 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

 • The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was started by Ananda Mohan Bose, Shibchandra Deb, and Umesh
Chandra Datta. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• It reiterated the Brahmo doctrines of faith in a Supreme being, one God, the belief that no scripture
or man is infallible, and belief in the dictates of reason, truth, and morality. Hence statement 2 is not
correct.

Q 12.C
• Young Bengal Movement:
o Henry Vivian Derozio was the principal inspiration for this movement in the late 1820s and the
1830s. He was a teacher at Hindu College, Calcutta from 1826 to 1831 and was inspired by the ideals
of French Revolution.
o „ He fiercely advocated the rational thinking, liberty, equality and freedom and inspired his students
to do the same. He was expelled from his college for his provocative ideas and died in 1831 of
Cholera.
o „ His students carried forward his ideas and came to be known as Derozians. They criticized irrational
orthodox practices and supported the rights of women, freedom of press, supported ryots against
Zamindars, and argued in favour of the Indian appointments to higher Government offices.
o In spite of its rational and vocal outlook, this movement could not garner much support. Yet, it was a
significant movement as it inspired and created an entire generation of reformers and activists.
• Tattvabodhini Sabha:
o Maharishi Debendranath Tagore was a scholar and a social reformer. He joined the Brahmo Samaj in
1842, which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy in 1828. Earlier, he headed the Tattvabodhini
Sabha, which was founded in 1839.
o He started a monthly theological journal named Tattvabodhini Patrika in Bengali. Tattvabodhini
Sabha and Tattvabodhini Patrika, both focused on the systematic study of India’s past with a rational.
o In 1859, the Tattwabodhini Saba was dissolved into the Brahmo Samaj by Debendranath Tagore.
• Satyashodhak Samaj:
o Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in Pune (Maharashtra) on 24 September 1873.
o It was a social reform society that promoted education and increased social rights, justice, and
political access for underprivileged groups.
o It was against Brahminical supremacy and primarily focused on the upliftment of Dalits, Shudras, and
women in Maharashtra.
o Jyotiba's wife, Savitribai, was the head of the women's section of the society.
o The famous Marathi Journal 'Deenbandhu', published from 1877 to 1897, served as an outlet for this
Movement.
• The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj:
o It was formed in a public meeting of Brahmos held in the Town Hall of Calcutta on 15th May
1878. A letter from the venerable Maharshi Devendranath Tagore communicating his blessings and
prayer for the success of the new Samaj was read in the meeting. At the time of its foundation the
Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was headed by three men universally esteemed in Brahmo society for their
high moral character. They were Ananda Mohan Bose, Shibchandra Deb and Umeshchandra Datta. Of
those three Ananda Mohan Bose was the youngest, scarcely more than 31 years at the time, yet he
was placed at the head of affairs. Thus the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was launched into existence with
these three distinguished men as its leaders.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Q 13.C
• Kol Uprising: The Kols were one of the tribes inhabiting the Chhotanagpur area and Singhbhum areas.
They lived in complete autonomy under their traditional chiefs but this changed when the British
came. Along with the British, came the moneylenders and the merchants. These outsiders were called
as "suds" by kols.
6 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 • The Kols then lost their lands to farmers from outside due to acts of the then raja of Chotanagpur, who for
the greed of high rents, evicted tribals form their traditional landholdings. They were also made to pay
huge amounts of money in taxes. This led to many becoming bonded laborers.
• The British judicial policies also caused resentment among the Kols.
• There was an insurrection in 1831-32 which saw the Kols organize themselves and revolt against the
British and the moneylenders.
• The main form of rebellion was plunder and arson. The properties of outsiders were aimed but not their
lives.
• This armed resistance went on for two years after which it was brutally suppressed by the British with
their superior weaponry. The Kol Rebellion was so intense that troops had to be called in from Calcutta
and Benares to crush it.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Q 14.B
• The Madras Native Association was established in 1852 as a platform for educated Indians to protest
against any injustice on the part of the British. It was the first Indian political organization in the Madras
Presidency.
• It was set up as a branch of the British Indian Association of Calcutta. The Madras Association also
sent a petition to the Parliament on the eve of the passing of the Charter Act of 1853 making demands
similar to that of the British Indian Association and the Bombay Association right from its inception was
worked by some officials, possessed very little vitality, had hardly any hold upon the public mind and
languished into obscurity after 1857.
• The British Indian Association of Calcutta was formed in 1851 through the merger of the Landholders’
Society and the Bengal British India Society.
• Other important political association in Madras was the Madras Mahajan Sabha founded in 1884 by M.
Viraraghavachari, B. Subramaniya Aiyer and P. Anandacharlu.
• Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

Q 15.A
• Permanent Settlement:
o It was introduced in Bengal and Bihar in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis through the Permanent
Settlement Act. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.
o Under the settlement, Zamindars were to give 10/11th of the rental they derived keeping only 1/11th
for themselves and the sums to be paid were fixed in perpetuity.
o It was later extended to Orissa, The Northern districts of Madras, and the Districts of Varanasi.
• Ryotwari system:
o The British introduced a new form of revenue settlement in Madras, Bombay, and Berar regions
called the Ryotwari system. Hence pair 3 is not correctly matched.
o Under the Ryotwari system, a direct tax contact was established between the ryot (the cultivator)
and the state.
o The cultivator was to be recognized as the owner of his plot of land subject to the payment of land
revenue. It was not permanent and was renegotiated periodically after 20 to 30 years.
• Mahalwari system:
o It was a modified version of the zamindari settlement introduced in the Gangetic valley, the
northwest Provinces, parts of central India, and Punjab. Hence pair 2 is not correctly matched.
o Cultivation of land was done on a co-sharing basis and the assessment was fixed for the entire village
or estate.
o The responsibility of paying taxes lay with landlords or heads of families who collectively claimed to
be the landlords of the village or the estate.
o The settlement was also periodically revised.
7 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
Q 16.C
• Birsa Munda's (Bhagwan Birsa Munda or Dharti Aaba) birth anniversary(15 Nov) is observed as
Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. He was born in Munda tribe Of Chotanagpur Plateau (Jharkhand).
• Contributions:
o He fought against exploitation of local tribes by British and Zamindars, called as Dikus.
o He started Birsait sect to end religious conversions and mobilised tribal community against British,
called 'Munda Rebellion’.
o He started a movement called 'Ulgulan', or 'The Great Tumult' against exploitation of tribals by
local authorities.
o The movement resulted in Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908, recognising tribal Khuntkatti
rights and banned beth begari.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Q 17.B
• The Chuars were adivasis (indigenous people) who lived in the Jungle Mahals. During the early period of
colonial rule, the Jungle Mahal extended from Midnapore to Ranchi, Bankura and parts of Purulia and
Birbhum district. The Chuars offered stiff resistance to the colonial rulers from the 1770s.
• Chuar rebellion or Chuar revolt, also known as the Jungle Mahal movement was a series of peasant
movements between 1771 to 1809 by the tribal inhabitants of the countryside surrounding the Jungle
Mahals settlements of Midnapore, Bankura and Manbhum against the rule of the East India
Company(EIC). Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.
o The introduction of a farming system in the Jungle Mahals brought misfortune to the traditional
Zamindars of that region. The Company was also trying to establish its monopoly over the production
of salt and as a result the Nimki Mahals too. The rebels rose in revolt in response to the East India
Company’s oppressive land revenue policy, which endangered their economic survival leading to the
Chuar rebellion.
• The most significant uprising was under Durjan (or Durjol) Singh in 1798. Durjan Singh was the
zamindar of Raipur from which he was dispossessed owing to the operations of Bengal Regulations. In
May 1798, his followers, a body of 1,500 Chuars, indulged in violent activities in Raipur to halt the
auction of the estate of Raipur. The revolt was brutally suppressed by the British.

Q 18.D
• The Bengal Government issued a circular on 10, October 1905 which came to be known as the “Carlyle
Circular”, instructing the District Magistrates and Collectors to take stern measures against political
activities by students during the Swadeshi movement.
• It condemned the use of school boys and students for political purpose as absolutely subversive and called
upon teachers to prevent boys from taking part in political activities. Withdrawal of the right of competing
for government scholarships was prescribed for activities as a penalty for disobedience.
• The District Officers were requested to report to heads of schools and colleges, names of the students who
took part in the Swadeshi Movement.
• Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Q 19.C
• Statement 1 is correct. The first session of the INC was held in Bombay in 1885.
• Statement 2 is incorrect. It was presided over by W. C. Banerjee. It was attended by 72 delegates.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. That time Muslim league was not formed. It was formed in 1906.

Q 20.B
• The Pagal Panthi was a religious order and mainly constituting the Hajong and Garo tribes of
Mymensingh district (earlier in Bengal). Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.
o It was founded by Karam Shah.

8 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

 o The philosophy was that of religious harmony and non-violence incorporating tenets of Sufism,
Hinduism and animism.
o But there was a heavy burden of taxes and restrictions put in place by East India Company.
o The tribal peasants organised themselves under Karam Shah’s son, Tipu, to fight the oppression of the
zamindars.
o Pagal Panthis were against the oppressive tax regime of the British.
o From 1825 to 1835, the Pagal Panthis refused to pay rent above a certain limit and attacked the houses
of zamindars.
o Under the leadership of Tipu Shah, the movement soon evolved into a popular, armed struggle
against British Raj and the zamindar (landlord) system.
o It was crushed with the help of the British army in 1833.
• Fairazi Movement: It was a religious reform movement started by Haji Shariatullah.
o The word “Faraizi” derives from the Arabic word “farz,” which refers to obligations imposed by
Allah. Therefore, the Faraizi are those who seek to enforce compulsory religious duties.
o The Faraizi movement called for social justice and expressed worry over the British influence on
Muslims.
o It aimed to purify Islam by eradicating all non-Islamic customs and beliefs and designating the
Koran as their only source of spiritual guidance.
o According to Haji Shariat Ullah, the Muslims’ ability to practice their religion was harmed by British
control in Bengal.
✓ He declared that numerous transgressions were polluting Islam and offered remedial suggestions.
✓ He criticized the corruptions and superstitions in Islam and strongly condemns the Muslim caste
system.
o The significance of this movement resided in its social foundations, as the rural Muslims of east
Bengal banded together under this religious group and rose up in revolt against landowners,
indigo planters, and the Britishers.
o After the death of Shariat Ullah in 1837, Dudu Miyan turned this movement from a socio-religious
to a socio-economic-political movement.
✓ Dudu Miyan organized the rural population around an egalitarian ideology.
• Moplah Rebellion took place in areas of the Malabar region.
o Moplahs (Mappillas) was the Muslim tenants and most of the landlords were Hindus.
o The grievances of tenants were centered around oppressive exactions of landlords such as high rents,
no security of tenure, renewal fees, etc.
o Initially, it was merged with the Khilafat movement but it took ugly turns after the arrest of national
leaders. The arrest of priest Ali Musaliar sparked large-scale riots. initially, the symbols of
government were targeted but later it took communal overtones as many Hindus were seen as helping
the authority.
o By December 1921 movement came to an end.
• Narkelberia Uprising (1782-1831) was led by Titu Mir/ Mir Nithar Ali in West Bengal.
o This uprising was against landlords, mainly Hindu, who imposed a beard-tax on the Faraizis, and
British indigo planters.
o It merged into the Wahabi movement

Q 21.B
• The Santhal, who lived in the area between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal hills, known as 'Daman-i-
koh', rose in revolt; made a determined attempt to expel the outsiders the dikus, and proclaimed the
complete ‘annihilation’ of the alien. In 1855, the Santhals gathered in the Bhagnadihi Village under the
leadership of the brothers - Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu - and declared themselves free from the colonial
rule. At the outset, the British rule was paralyzed in the area and the native agents were killed. The
rebellion covering the districts of Birbhum, Singbhum, Bankura, Hazaribagh, Bhagalpur, and Monghyr in
Orissa and Bihar was precipitated mainly by economic causes. This great insurrection is known as the
‘Hul’. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.
9 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 • The Ramosi's, the hill tribes of the Western ghats had not reconciled to the British Rule and the
British pattern of administration. They rose under Chittur Singh in 1822 and plundered the
country around Satara. Again, there were eruptions in 1825-26 and the disturbances continued till
1829. Hence pair 2 is not correctly matched.
• Munda Rebellion is one of the prominent 19th-century tribal rebellions in the subcontinent. Birsa
Munda led this movement in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region south of Ranchi from 1899-1900.
The ulgulan, meaning 'Great Tumult', sought to establish Munda Raj and independence. The
Mundas traditionally enjoyed a preferential rent rate as the khuntkattidar or the original clearer of
the forest. But in course of the 19th century, they had seen this khuntkatti land system being eroded by
the jagirdars and thikadars coming as merchants and moneylenders. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.
o The government attempted to redress the grievances of the Mundas through the survey and settlement
operations of 1902-10. The Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 provided some recognition to
their khuntkatti rights and banned beth begari. Chhotanagpur tribals won a degree of legal
protection for their land rights.
• The Koyas of the eastern Godavari track (now Andhra) revolted frequently against the
administration aided by Khonda Sara leaders. The revolt started against the 'Muttadars' (zamindars)
who formed a chain of rent collectors from the colonial rulers in the year 1862.
o The Britishers deprived the tribals of their traditional rights over the toddy trees -the most valuable
property of the tribals for they yielded drinks. The traders from the region took advantage of the
situation, by extending loans to the tribals they confiscated their produce and cattle.
o As a result, the tribals attacked the authorities under the leadership of Thamman-Dora in 1879. Their
grievances included police and moneylender persecution, new restrictions, and rejection of their
traditional rights to forest regions. Hence pair 4 is not correctly matched.

Q 22.D
Storm Centres and Leaders of the Revolt
• At Delhi the nominal and symbolic leadership belonged to the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, but
the real command lay with a court of soldiers headed by General Bakht Khan who had led the
revolt of Bareilly troops and brought them to Delhi.
• Emperor Bahadur Shah was perhaps the weakest link in the chain of leadership of the revolt. His weak
personality, old age and lack of leadership qualities created political weakness at the nerve centre of the
revolt and did incalculable damage to it.
• At Kanpur, the natural choice was Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the last peshwa, Baji Rao II. He was
refused the family title and banished from Poona, and was living near Kanpur. Nana Saheb expelled the
English from Kanpur, proclaimed himself the peshwa, acknowledged Bahadur Shah as the
Emperor of India and declared himself to be his governor. Sir Hugh Wheeler, commanding the
station, surrendered on June 27, 1857 and was killed on the same day.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal took over the reigns at Lucknow where the rebellion broke out on June 4,
1857 and popular sympathy was overwhelmingly in favour of the deposed nawab. Her son, Birjis
Qadir, was proclaimed the nawab and a regular administration was organised with important offices
shared equally by Muslims and Hindus.
• At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur, a descendant of the former ruler of Rohilkhand, was placed in
command. Not enthusiastic about the pension being granted by the British, he organised an army of
40,000 soldiers and offered stiff resistance to the British.
• In Bihar, the revolt was led by Kunwar Singh, the zamindar of Jagdishpur. An old man in his seventies, he
nursed a grudge against the British who had deprived him of his estates. He unhesitatingly joined the
sepoys when they reached Arrah from Dinapore (Danapur).Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Q 23.A
• The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded in 1885 in Bombay. The first session of the Indian
National Congress was attended by 72 delegates and presided over by Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee.
However, there emerged several theories regarding the formation of INC. W.C. Bonnerjee popularized
the view that the idea of the Indian National Congress was a product of Lord Dufferin's brain, that

10 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

 he suggested it to Mr Hume who undertook to work it out. Dufferin's idea was to have a political
organisation through which the Government could ascertain the real wishes of the people and thus save
the administration from any possible political outburst in the country. It is believed that such a view was
popularised to prevent the INC from attracting official wrath.
• The Safety Valve theory advocates that A. O. Hume a retired British official formed the
Congress with the idea that it would prove to be a ‘safety valve’ for releasing the growing discontent of
the Indians. To this end, he convinced Lord Dufferin not to obstruct the formation of the
Congress. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Many leaders including Lala Lajpat Rai believed in the Safety Valve theory. Lala Lajpat Rai
maintained that the Indian National Congress was organised to serve as a 'safety valve' for the
growing unrest in the country and strengthen the British Empire. According to him the redress of political
grievances and political advance of India was only a by-product and of secondary
importance. Hence statement 2 is not correct.

Q 24.B
• Statement 1 is correct. Arya samaj movement, a Hindu religious revivalist movement, was an
outcome against increasing western influence on Indian society. It was founded by Swami Dayanand
Saraswati in 1875. He regarded Vedas as Infallible and gave the slogan "go back to Vedas". For
him, there was a need for revival of Vedic learning and purity but not the revival of the Vedic
period.
• He defined 10 principles for Arya samaj including the supreme authority of Vedas, promoting material,
spiritual and social well being of masses, dispelling the ignorance, spread of education, and unity of God
who is immortal, creator of Universe, and having all the knowledge. The samaj launched a frontal attack
on practices such as idolatry, polytheism, animal sacrifices, belief in charms and spell, the domination of
the priestly class, untouchability, and the caste system. The samaj had inculcated the feeling of self-
respect and self-reliance among the people and promoted the sense of nationalism.
• Statement 2 is correct. Arya Samaj had strongly condemned the caste system based on birth but it
had subscribed the Vedic notion of four-varna system (Chaturvarna) in which a person was not born
in any of varna but was identified as Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Shudra according to the occupation
followed by him.
• Statement 3 is not correct. Though this movement was against the western influence on Hindu
society, it accepted the importance of studying western science. Perhaps the most important
achievement for the samaj came in the field of education. Dayanand Anglo Vedic schools were opened
across the country. The First DAV school was opened in 1886 in Lahore. The education imparted in
DAVs combines the best of modern science and classical Indian studies. The other important leaders of
the samaj were Lala Hansraj, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Pandit Guru Dutt. The orthodox stream of samaj setup
the Gurukul pathshala in Haridwar in 1902.

Q 25.D
• The Swadeshi Movement had its genesis in the anti-partition movement which was started to oppose the
British decision to partition Bengal.
o The attempt, at that time in the words of Lord Curzon, the Viceroy (1899-1905) was to
‘dethrone Calcutta’ from its position as the ‘centre from which the Congress Party is
manipulated throughout Bengal, and indeed which the Congress Party centre of successful
intrigue’ and ‘divide, the Bengali speaking population.’
o Risley, the Home Secretary to the Government of India, was more blunt. He said on 6 December
1904: ‘Bengal united, is power, Bengal divided, will pull several different ways.
• In December 1903, the partition proposals became publicly known, and immediate and spontaneous
protest followed. Surendranath Banerjea, Krishna Kumar Mitra, Prithwishchandra Ray and other leaders
launched a powerful press campaign against the partition proposals through journals and newspapers like
the Bengalee, Hitabadi and Sanjibani.
• Vast protest meetings were held in the town hail of Calcutta in March 1904 and January 1905, and
numerous petitions (sixty-nine memoranda from the Dacca division alone), some of them signed by as
11 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 many as 70,000 people were sent to the Government of India and the Secretary of State. Even, the big
zamindars who had hitherto been loyal to the Raj joined forces with the Congress leaders who were
mostly intellectuals and political workers drawn from journalism, law and other liberal
professions. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The day partition took effect — 16 October 1905 — was declared a day of mourning throughout Bengal.
People fasted and no fires were lit at the cooking hearth.
o In Calcutta, a hartal was declared. People took out processions and band after band walked barefoot,
bathed in the Ganges in the morning and then paraded the streets singing Bande Mataram which,
almost spontaneously, became the theme song of the movement.
• The Indian National Congress took up the Swadeshi call and the Banaras Session, 1905, presided
over by G.K. Gokhale, supported the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement for Bengal.
o The militant nationalists led by Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh were,
however, in favour of extending the movement to the rest of India and carrying it beyond the
programme of just Swadeshi and boycott to a full-fledged political mass struggle.
o The aim was now Swaraj and the abrogation of partition had become the ‘pettiest and narrowest of all
political objects” The Moderates, by and large, were not as yet willing to go that far. Hence
statement 2 is not correct.
• The differences between the Moderates and the Extremists, especially regarding the pace of the movement
and the techniques of struggle to be adopted, came to a head in the 1907 Surat session of the Congress
where the party split with serious consequences for the Swadeshi Movement.

Q 26.C
• When the Indian National Congress (INC) was formed in 1885, it was led by ardent social
reformers such as M.G.Ranade and R.Ragunath Rao who were under the impression that the
Congress would be concerned with social, economic, and political issues. However, it soon became
clear that a strong faction in Congress was opposed to including social reform as part of the procedure.
• The gist of the argument was that social reform was divisive and contentious, whereas Congress's goal
was political unity. As a result, social issues were omitted. M.G.Ranade and R.Ragunath Rao's
response to the INC's argument was the formation of the Indian Social Conference. Hence
statement 1 is correct.
• Indian Social Conference met for the first time in Madras in 1887. M.G.Ranade’s clear intention was
to bind the social reform movement as closely as possible to Congress, even if it remained
organizationally separate. It acts virtually as the social reform cell of the Indian National Congress. Later
Ranade arranged sessions of the conference every year, immediately following the session of Congress,
and at the same location. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• The Conference's goal was to bring together representatives of progressive Indian opinion on social
issues, much like the Indian National Congress did for politics.
• The Conference's mission was to stimulate and strengthen the forces of reform by bringing together every
year in mutual consultation representatives of the various associations and movements that, scattered
across India, were struggling with social evils.
• The Conference advocated intercaste marriages and opposed kulinism and polygamy. It launched
the famous “Pledge Movement” to inspire people to take an oath to prohibit child marriage. Hence
statement 3 is correct.

Q 27.D
• Bengal British India Society founded in Calcutta on 20 April 1843, was the second political public
association to be formed in British India, the first being the zamindari association (1837). Hence
statement 1 is correct.
• Unlike the introvert Zamindari Association, representing solely the interests of the landed aristocracy, the
Bengal British India Society was an organisation dominated by a section of the Bengal intellectuals,
particularly by the young Bengal group that boasted of their aristocracy of western education and
intelligence.
12 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 • Its membership was open to all adults not 'under instruction in any public institution', paying
subscription or donating to the society fund and 'conscientiously subscribing' to its aims and
objects. But the members of the landed aristocracy studiously kept themselves aloof from it because of its
open anti-landlord stance.
• Its Secretary had launched a trenchant attack on the permanent settlement and the zamindars and
indigo planters from its platform and in the press
• Its first 15-member executive committee consisted of four Europeans and eleven Indians with George
Thompson as President, GF Remfry and Ramgopal Ghosh as Vice-Presidents, Peary Chand Mitra
as Secretary. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• The Bengal British India Society sent petitions urging upon government for increasing employment
of Indians in public offices and for judicial reforms. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• It is said that the appointment of Indians as Deputy Magistrates and reforms in the Registration
Department were the results of these endeavours. But neither the Bengal British India Society nor the
Zamindari Association could achieve much, although in the growth of political parties in India they
played pioneering roles. Both became weak by 1850.

Q 28.D
• Ghadar means 'revolt' or rebellion. The Ghadar party (started in 1913) was a revolutionary group
organized to overthrow British rule in India. It was organized by overseas Indian immigrants to
Canada and the USA. It was clearly stated by the Ghadarites that their objective was the
establishment of the independent republic of India. Hence statement 1 is correct.
o The party was organized around a weekly newspaper 'The Ghadar' which was published from
its headquarters, the Yugantar Ashram in San Francisco.
o The founding president of the Ghadar party was Sohan Singh Bhakna and Lala Hardayal was a
co-founder of this party.
o The leadership also included Bhagwan Singh, Barkatullah, and Ram Chandra. The Ghadar militants
immediately began an extensive propaganda campaign against British rule.
o They toured extensively, visiting mills and farms where most of the Punjabi immigrant labour
worked.
• The Ghadarites were secular in outlook. The nationalist salute 'Bande Mataram' (and not any Sikh
religious greeting ) was urged upon and adopted as the rallying cry of the Ghadar Movement.
Hence statement 2 is correct.
o The Ghadarites sought to give a new meaning to religion as well. They urged that religion lay not in
observing the outward forms such as those signified by long hair and Kirpan (sword), but in
remaining true to the model of good behavior that was enjoined by all religious teachings.
• Ghadarites did not betray any narrow regional loyalties. Lokamanya Tilak, Aurobindo Ghose, Khudi Ram
Bose, Kanhia Lal Dutt, and Savarkar were all the heroes of the Ghadars. Rash Behari Bose was
importuned and accepted as the leader of the abortive Ghadar revolt in 1915.
• Far from dwelling on the greatness of the Sikhs or the Punjabis, the Ghadars constantly criticized
the loyalist role played by the Punjabis during 1857. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Q 29.C
• Paikas were essentially the peasant militias of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha who rendered military
service to the king during times of war while taking up cultivation during times of peace. They had
been recruited since the 16th century by kings in Odisha from a variety of social groups to render martial
services in return for rent-free land (nish-kar jagirs) and titles. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• After entering Odisha in 1803, the British introduced new revenue settlements, due to which many Odia
proprietors ended up losing their lands to absentee Bengali landlords. Changes in the currency and
revenue systems meant the Odias had to pay taxes in silver, which was more expensive for them and
resulted in their further marginalisation and oppression. In 1817, some 400 Kondhs, who belonged to
the state of Ghumsur, banded together to revolt against the British. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra Bharamarbar Rai, the highest-ranking military general
of King of Khorda Mukund Dev II, led the Paikas to join the uprising. Hence, statement 3 is
correct.
13 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
Q 30.C
• An alternative policy of weakening the nationalist movement was started by the British. Instead of
sneering at the Moderates, the policy was to be that of ‘rallying’ them as John Morley, the new Secretary
of State for India, put it in 1907. The new policy is known as the policy of the carrot and the stick. It may
be described as a policy of repression-conciliation-suppression. The entire objective of the new policy was
to isolate the Extremists. Hence option (a) is correct.
• The Government of India, headed by Lord Minto as Viceroy and John Morley as the Secretary of State,
offered a bait of fresh reforms in the Legislative Councils and in the beginning of 1906 began discussing
them with the Moderate leadership of the Congress. The Moderates agreed to cooperate with the
Government and discuss reforms even while a vigorous popular movement, which the Government was
trying to suppress, was going on in the country. The result was a total split in the nationalist ranks. Hence
option (b) is correct.
• The main public leaders of the two wings, Bal Gangadhar Tilak (of the Extremists) and Gokhale (of the
Moderates) were mature politicians who had a clear grasp of the dangers of disunity in the nationalist
ranks. When it came to the crunch, Tilak had to go with the more extreme leaders like Aurobindo
Ghosh. Hence option (c) is not correct.
• Matters nearly came to a head at the Calcutta Congress in 1906 over the question of its Presidentship. A
split was avoided by choosing Dadabhai Naoroji, who was respected by all the nationalists as a great
patriot. Four compromise resolutions on the Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education, and Self-
Government demands were passed. Hence option (d) is correct.

Q 31.D
• Some of the prominent Early Political Associations played very important role in arousing general will
and laying down a path towards modern Nationalism. These include:
o British Indian Association was created after amalgamating the “Landholders Society” and “British
India Society” on 31 October 1851. This was the first political organization that brought the Indians
together. The President of the first committee of this organization was Raja Radhakanta Deb, while
Debendranath Tagore was its secretary. The newspaper of this society was “Hindu patriot” which
adopted a strongly critical political tone.
o The earliest political organisation, the Madras Native Association was started in July
1852. Lakshminarasu Chetty and Srinivasa Pillai were the founders of this organization. The Madras
Native Association was sharply critical of the policies of the East India Company’s rule. Subsequently
in 1884, the Madras Mahajana Sabha was established by M. Veeraraghavachariar, G. Subramania Iyer
and P. Anandacharlu. The Madras Native Association was ultimately merged with this organization.
o The East India Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866, in collaboration with
Indians and retired British officials in London. It superseded the London Indian Society and was a
platform for discussing matters and ideas about India, and to provide representation for Indians to the
Government. Naoroji delivered the first lecture to the Association on 2 May 1867.
o Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was a sociopolitical organisation in British India that started with the aim
of working as a mediating body between the government and people of India and to popularise the
peasants' legal rights. It started as an elected body of 95 members elected by 6000 persons on
April 2, 1870. The organisation was a precursor to the Indian National Congress which started with
its first session from Maharashtra itself. In 1875 the Sabha sent a petition to the House of Commons
demanding India’s direct representation in the British Parliament.
o Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q 32.D
• Causes of the 1857 Revolt:
• Political Cause:
o Doctrine of Lapse: It caused suspicion and uneasiness in the minds of almost all ruling princes in
India. The right of succession was denied to the Hindu Princes. The guarantee of adoption to the
throne "did not extent to any person in whose veins the blood of the founder of the dynasty did not
run". In case of disputed interpretation, the decision of the East India Company was binding and that
of the Court of Directions final.
14 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 ✓ There was no Supreme Court to give an impartial verdict on questions of right and wrong. While
the Panjab, Pegu, Sikkim had been annexed by the 'Right of Conquest', Satara, Jaipur,
Sambhalpur, Baghat, Udaipur, Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed by the application of the Doctrine
of Lapse. Oudh was annexed on the pretext of " the good of the governed”.
o The 'absentee sovereigntyship' of the British rule in India was an equally important political factor
which worked on the minds of the Indian people against the British. The Pathans and the Mughals
who had conquered India had, in course of time, settled in India and become Indians. The revenues
collected from the people were spent this very country. In the case of the British, the Indians felt that
they were being ruled from England from a distance of thousands of miles and the country was being
drained of her wealth.
o The policy of Pax-Britanncia pursued by the British during the past four decades had led to the
disbanding of Pindaris, Thugs, and irregular soldiers who formed the bulk of the native armies. These
people had lived mostly on plunder, and when deprived of the means of livelihood by the British, they
formed the nucleus of antisocial elements in different areas. When in 1857, there occurred some
disturbances they swelled the ranks of the rebels.
• Administrative Cause:
o The administrative machinery of the East India Company was 'inefficient and insufficient.
o The land revenue police was most unpopular.
o Many districts in the newly annexed states were in permanent revolt and military had to be sent to
collect the land revenue.
• Socio-religious causes:
o The activities of Christian missionaries:
✓ One of the aims of the English in Indian was to convert the Indians to Christianity.
✓ Major Edwards had openly declared that “the Christianization of India was to be the ultimate end
of our continued possession of it."
o Religious Disabilities Act, 1856:
✓ It modified Hindu customs.
✓ It declared that a change of religion did not debar a son from inheriting the property of his heathen
father.
• Military causes:
o In 1856 Canning's government passed the General Service Enlistment Act which decreed that all
future recruits for the Bengal army would have to give an undertaking to serve anywhere their service
might be required by the Government.
✓ For Hindus crossing the seas meant loss of caste.
✓ Those soldiers who had been sent in the army of invasion of Afghanistan during 1839-42 had not
been taken back in the folds of the caste.
o The privilege of free postage so long enjoyed by the sepoys was withdrawn with the passing of
the Post Office Act of 1854.
• Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Q 33.B
• The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58against the rule of the British East
India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown.
• Though the revolt was formidable and widespread though the revolt was, it was yet to a great extent
localized, limited and ill-organized. The Mutiny was not universal.
• According to Dr. R.C Mazumdar, it was never an all-India character but was localized, restricted, and
poorly organised. The area affected was Punjab, the United Provinces, Rohilkhand, Oudh, the territory
between the Narmada and the Chambal, and the Western parts of Bengal and Bihar on the North-East.
Sindh was quite, and Rajputana was loyal. Under Dost Mohammad, Afghanistan was friendly to the
British. He refrained from assisting rebels. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
15 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 o At Bareilly, Khan Bahadur, a descendant of the former ruler of Rohilkhand, was placed in
command. Not enthusiastic about the pension being granted by the British, he organized an army of
40,000 soldiers and offered stiff resistance to the British. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• India South of the river Narmada made no movement of importance, though the native regiments mutinied
at Kolhapur in the Southern Marathan country and there were also many dangerous outbursts of feelings
at Hyderabad, the Nizam's Capital. Central and Eastern Bengal were undisturbed and Nepal rendered the
British valuable assistance in putting down the revolt. The Bombay and Madras armies remained loyal
to the British. Thus, the revolt was only local and not nation-wise. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Q 34.C
• The Permanent Settlement was introduced in Bengal and Bihar in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis through
the Permanent Settlement Act.
• The zamindars and revenue collectors were not only to act as agents of the Government in collecting land
revenue from the ryots but also became the owners of the land.
• Their right of ownership was made hereditary and transferable. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The initial fixation of revenue was made arbitrarily and without any consultation with the
zamindars which guaranteed the stability of income for Britishers.
• Zamindars were to give 10/11th of the rental they derived keeping only 1/11th for themselves and the
sums to be paid were fixed in perpetuity. If the Zamindar failed in giving the revenue to the company
for any reason, his land was to be sold. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• Permanent settlement settled the revenue beforehand and it was fixed and permanent in nature, that is
why the name permanent. The Land Revenue would not be increased in the future even if
Zamindar’s income went up. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• It was later extended to Orissa, The Northern districts of Madras, and the Districts of Varanasi.

Q 35.B
Surendranath Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose founded the Indian Association of Calcutta in
1876. This association was aimed to unify Indian people on a common political program and create a
strong public opinion on political questions. As a pre-congress association, the Indian Association of
Calcutta first took up the issue of reduction of the maximum age limit for the Indian Civil Services
examination from 21 years to 18 years. Led by Surendranath Banerjee who himself qualified for the
Indian Civil Services, the association organized an all India agitation against this reactionary policy of
reducing maximum age by Lord Lytton. This agitation is popularly known as the Indian Civil Service
agitation. Hence option (b) is the correct answer

Q 36.C
• The Khond locally known as 'Kui' is an aboriginal tribe of India predominantly residing in the tribal areas
of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. They are the largest tribal groups of Orissa and are characterized by
strength and symmetry. Khond Uprising took place in Orissa in 1846 and 1855 and mutiny included
tribals from Ghumsar, China ki Medi, Kalahandi, etc
• Statement 1 is correct: There were many causes of the revolt including the stopping of the Mariah
System traditional human sacrifice practiced by the Khonds). Other causes of the revolts were the
introduction of the new taxes by the British Government, the convergence of Zamindars and
Moneylenders into tribal areas, etc.
• Statement 2 is correct: The Khond uprising movement was led by the young Raja Chakra
Bishnoi. They were joined by other tribals from Kalahandi, Ghumsar, etc to oppose the entry of
zamindars into their areas and suppression of human sacrifice.
• The Khonds fought with Tangi, a kind of battle-ax, bows, arrows, and swords against the British
government formed Mariah Agency. It was later joined by some other militia clans led by Radhakrishna
Dandasena. The movement ends after the disappearance of Chakra Bisoi in 1855.

16 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

Q 37.D
• Atmiya Sabha was founded in 1814. Arya Samaj was founded in 1875. Ramkrishna Movement was
founded in 1897. Prathna Samaj was founded in 1867. Hence, option (d) is correct. Arya Samaj
Movement: It was a revivalist in form though not in content, was the result of a reaction to Western
influences. Its founder, Dayananda Saraswati, or Mulshankar (1824-1883) was born in the old Morvi
state in Gujarat in a brahmin family. The first Arya Samaj unit was formally set up by him at Bombay in
1875 and later the headquarters of the Samaj was established at Lahore. Dayananda’s views were
published in his famous work, Satyarth Prakash (The True Exposition).
• Ramakrishna Mission: In 1897 Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission. Vivekananda was a
great humanist and used the Ramakrishna Mission for humanitarian relief and social work. The Mission
stands for religious and social reform. Vivekananda advocated the doctrine of service—the service of all
beings.
• Prarthana Samaj: In 1867, Keshab Chandra Sen helped Atmaram Pandurang found the Prarthana
Samaj in Bombay. A precursor of the Prarthana Samaj was the Paramahansa Sabha, something like a
secret society to spread liberal ideas and encourage the breakdown of caste and communal barriers.
Mahadeo Govind Ranade (1842-1901), joined the samaj in 1870, and much of the popularity of and work
done by the society was due to his efforts. His efforts made the samaj gain an all-India character. Other
leaders of the samaj were R.G. Bhandarkar (1837-1925) and N.G. Chandavarkar (1855-1923).
• Atmiya Sabha: In 1814, Rajamohan Roy set up the Atmiya Sabha (or Society of Friends) in Calcutta to
propagate the monotheistic ideals of the Vedanta and to campaign against idolatry, caste rigidities,
meaningless rituals and other social ills. Strongly influenced by rationalist ideas, he declared that Vedanta
is based on reason and that, if reason demanded it, even a departure from the scriptures is justified.

Q 38.B
• The period after 1858 witnessed a gradual widening of the gulf between the educated Indians and the
British Indian administration. As the educated Indians studied the character of British rule and its
consequences for the Indians, they became more and more critical of British policies in India. The
discontent gradually found expression in political activity, The existing associations no longer satisfied
the politically conscious Indians. As a result, several prominent associations/organizations were
established to mobilize the discontent on a greater level.
• In 1866, Dadabhai Naoroji organized the East India Association in London to discuss the Indian
question and to influence British public men to promote Indian welfare. Later he organized branches of
the Association in prominent Indian cities. Hence, pair 1 is not correctly matched.
• Justice Ranade and others organized the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha in the 1870's. The Madras Mahajan
Sabha was started in 1881 by M. Veeraraghavachariar, G. Subramania Iyer and P.
Anandacharlu and the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885 by K.T. Telang and Pherozeshah
Mehta. Hence, pair 2 is correctly matched and 3 is not correctly matched.
o These organizations were mainly devoted to criticism of important administrative and legislative
measures. The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha brought out a quarterly journal under the guidance of Justice
Ranade. This journal became the intellectual guide of new India, particularly on economic questions.
• Led by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose, the younger nationalists of Bengal
founded the Indian Association in July 1876. The Indian Association set before itself the aims of
creating a strong public opinion in the country on political questions and the unification of the Indian
people on a common political program. In order to attract large numbers of people to its banner, it fixed a
low membership fee for the poorer classes.

Q 39.A
• Raja Rammohan Roy (1772–1833), often called the the father of Indian Renaissance and the maker of
Modern India, was a man of versatile genius.
• In 1814, he set up the Atmiya Sabha (or Society of Friends) in Calcutta to propagate the monotheistic
ideals of the Vedanta and to campaign against idolatry, caste rigidities, meaningless rituals, and other
social ills.

17 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

 • As a bold supporter of freedom of the Press and as a pioneer in Indian journalism, Roy brought out
journals in Bengali, Hindi, English, Persian to educate and inform the public and represent their
grievances before the government.
• In his Precepts of Jesus (1820), he tried to separate the moral and philosophical message of the New
Testament, which he praised, from its miracle stories. He earned the wrath of missionaries over his
advocacy to incorporate the message of Christ into Hinduism.
• Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in August 1828; it was later renamed Brahmo Samaj.
• Rammohan was a determined crusader against the inhuman practice of sati. He started his anti-sati
struggle in 1818, and he cited sacred texts to prove his contention that no religion sanctioned the burning
alive of widows.
o His efforts were rewarded by the Government Regulation in 1829, which declared the practice of sati
a crime.
• Rammohan Roy did much to disseminate the benefits of modern education to his countrymen. He
supported David Hare’s efforts to found the Hindu College in 1817.
• In 1825, he established a Vedanta college where courses in both Indian learning and Western social
and physical sciences were offered.
• As a political activist, Roy condemned oppressive practices of Bengali zamindars and demanded fixation
of maximum rents. He also demanded abolition of taxes on taxfree lands.
• Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge was formed a group known as Young Bengal in
1838 where they discussed various aspects of Western sciences, and stood for a number of social reforms,
such as the prohibition of caste taboos, child marriage, kulin polygamy or the ban on widow
remarriage. Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

Q 40.C
• Soon after the annexation of Bengal, in 1776-77 a group of wandering Muslim religious mendicants
known as Faqirs, commenced against the British ascendancy an agitation which came to be known
as Faqir Uprising of Bengal. They were led by Manjum Shah. He defied the British authority and
began to levy taxes on the farmers and zamindars in Bengal.
• They looted English factories acquiring cash, arms and ammunitions. Manjum Shah was supported by
Rajputs, Pathans and disbanded Indian soldiers. After Majnu Shah’s death, his brother Chirag Shah
led the operations and under his leadership the uprising spread to the northern districts of Bengal.
• The Hindus also actively participated in the faqirs uprising. Bhawani Pathak and Devi Chaudhurani
were among the prominent Hindu leaders who lent their support to this movement.
• The faqirs, led by Chirag Ali Shah, gained considerable strength and attacked the English factories and
succeeding in seizing their goods, cash and ammunition. The faqirs and the company’s troops entered into
a number of skirmishes. The faqirs uprising was finally crushed at the beginning of the 19th century.
Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Q 41.B
• The Vellore Mutiny broke out in 1806. Vellore was the capital of the erstwhile North Arcot district in
Tamil Nadu. Several causes are attributed to the Vellore Mutiny. Indian sepoys had to experience
numerous difficulties when they went to serve in the Company’s army. The sepoys were forced to
serve under the Company since their earlier patrons (the native chieftains) were all disappearing from the
scene. Sir John Cradock, the commander-in-chief, with the approval of Lord William Bentinck, the
Governor of Madras, introduced a new form of a turban, resembling a European hat. Wearing earrings and
caste marks were also prohibited.
• On July 10th in the early morning, the native sepoys of the 1st and 23rd Regiments started the revolt.
Colonel Fancourt, who commanded the garrison, was their first victim.
• On the eve of the Mutiny at Vellore, Fettah Hyder, the first son of Tipu, tried to form an alliance
against the English to regain the kingdom of Mysore and sought the help of the Marathas and the
French. The rebels proclaimed Futteh Hyder as their new ruler and hoisted a tiger-striped flag of
Tipu Sultan. But the uprising was swiftly crushed by Col. Gillespie. Hence, option (b) is the correct
answer.
18 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
Q 42.D
• The Zamindari Association, more popularly known as the 'Landholders' Society', was founded to
safeguard the interests of the landlords.
• The Bengal British India Society was founded in 1843 with the object of the collection and dissemination
of information relating to the actual condition of the people of British India and to employ such other
means, of peaceful and lawful character as may appear calculated to secure the welfare, extend the just
rights and advance the interests of all classes of our fellow subjects.
• Statement 1 and 2 are correct: The British Indian Association was established in October 1851. The
President of the first committee of this organization was Raja Radhakanta Deb,
while Debendranath Tagore was its secretary. The newspaper of this society was “Hindu patriot”
which adopted a strongly critical political tone. It was formed by the amalgamation of the
Landholders’ Society and the Bengal British India Society. It sent a petition to the British Parliament
demanding inclusion of some of its suggestions in the renewed Charter of the Company, such as
(i) establishment of a separate legislature of a popular Character
(iii) separation of executive from judicial functions
(iv) reduction in salaries of higher officers
(iv) abolition of salt duty, abkari and stamp duties.
• Statement 3 is correct: The Indian Association of Calcutta, which superseded the Indian League, was
founded in 1876 by younger nationalists of Bengal led by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan
Bose, who were getting discontented with the conservative and pro-landlord policies of the British Indian
Association. The Indian Association of Calcutta was the most important of pre-Congress associations and
aimed to
(i) create a strong public opinion on political questions, and
(ii) unify Indian people on a common political programme.

Q 43.C
• The battle of Chinhat was fought on June 30, 1857, in Chinhat, near Lucknow during the revolt of
1857. The East India Company’s army led by Sir Henry Lawrence, the Chief Commissioner of Oudh, had
obtained intelligence of a small troop of rebels led by sepoy mutineer Barkat Ahmad heading towards
Lucknow. Sir Henry Lawrence was killed and British forces retreated and took shelter at the British
Residency at Lucknow. For the coming five months, the British residency saw a siege. It ended only in
November after a relief mission led by the new commander-in-chief in India Sir Colin Campbell was able
to take back control of the city and evacuate the defendants and civilians from the residency. Hence,
option (c) is the correct answer.
• Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah played an important part in the revolt of 1857. In 1856, he was seen moving
from village to village preaching jehad (religious war) against the British and urging people to rebel. He
moved in a palanquin, with drumbeaters in front and followers at the rear. He was therefore popularly
called Danka Shah – the maulvi with the drum (danka). Subsequently, in 1857, he was jailed in Faizabad.
When released, he was elected by the mutinous 22nd Native Infantry as their leader. He fought in the
famous Battle of Chinhat in which the British forces under Henry Lawrence were defeated.

Q 44.C
• The Santhal uprising was the most massive uprising among the numerous tribal revolts. Santhals lived in
the area between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal, known as Daman-i-Koh. They rose in revolt and made
a determined attempt to expel the outsiders and proclaimed the complete ‘annihilation’ of the alien
regime. They started to revolt against zamindars who have the support of moneylenders, police among
revenue officers and courts.
• Peasants were subject to a combined system of extortion, oppressive exactions, forcible dispossession of
property, abuse and personal violence. The rebellion later turned into an anti-British movement. Under the
leadership of Sidhu and Kanhu, they proclaimed to end the company's rule.
• Once the Government realizing the scale of the rebellion, Government organized a major military
campaign against the rebels. The rebellion was crushed ruthlessly as more than 15,000 Santhals were
killed and many villages were destroyed. Sidhu was captured and killed in August 1855 while Kanhu was
arrested by accident. The rebellion was suppressed by 1866.

19 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS

Q 45.D
• The major changes introduced after 1857 were:
o The Army Amalgamation Scheme, 1861 moved the Company’s European troops to the services
of the Crown. Hence statement 1 is correct.
o Further, the European troops in India were constantly revamped by periodical visits to England,
sometimes termed the ‘linked-battalion’ scheme. The proportion of Europeans to Indians in the
army was raised and fixed at one to two in the Bengal army and two to five in the Madras and
Bombay armies. Hence statement 2 is correct.
o All Indian artillery units, except a few mountain batteries, were made defunct.
o All higher posts in the army and the artillery departments were reserved for the Europeans.
Hence statement 3 is correct.
o Until the first decade of the twentieth century, no Indian was considered fit to deserve the king’s
commission. A new English recruit was considered superior to an Indian officer holding the viceroy’s
commission.
o In the wake of the transfer of power from the British East India Company to the British Crown,
a section of European forces employed under the Company resented the move that required the
three Presidency Armies to transfer their allegiance from the defunct Company to the Queen, as
in the British Army. This resentment resulted in some unrest termed White Mutiny.

Q 46.B
• The Swadeshi movement was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the
development of Indian nationalism. After the Partition of Bengal Swadeshi movement was formally
started from Town Hall Calcutta on 7 August 1905 to curb foreign goods by relying on domestic
production.Many New Forms of Struggle were seen during the Swadeshi Movement.
• Samitis such as the Swadesh Bandhab Samiti of Ashwini Kumar Dutta (in Barisal) emerged as a very
popular and powerful means of mass mobilization. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• In Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, Subramania Siva, and some lawyers formed
the Swadeshi Sangam which inspired the local masses.
• These samitis generated political consciousness among the masses through magic lantern lectures,
swadeshi songs, providing physical and moral training to their members, social work during famines and
epidemics, organization of schools, training in swadeshi crafts, and arbitration courts.
• Bengal National College, inspired by Tagore’s Shantiniketan, was set up with Aurobindo Ghosh as its
principal. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Soon national schools and colleges sprang up in various parts of the country.
• On August 15, 1906, the National Council of Education was set up to organise a system of education,
literary, scientific and technical, on national lines and under national control.
• Education was to be imparted through the vernacular medium.
• A Bengal Institute of Technology was set up for technical education and funds were raised to send
students to Japan for advanced learning.

Q 47.C
• Owing to mass political protests since 1905, the partition of Bengal, which was done in 1905 was
annulled in 1911. The capital of British India was moved to Delhi from Calcutta in 1911.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded the first home rule league at the Bombay provincial congress at
Belgaum in April 1916.
• On 20th August 1917, Montagu presented the historic Montagu Declaration (August Declaration) in
the British Parliament. This declaration proposed the increased participation of Indians in the
administration and the development of self-governing institutions in India.
• Annie Besant was arrested by the government in June 1917 for her Home Rule demands. This led to a
significant ruckus in the political circles with both the INC and the Muslim League demanding her
release. Besant was finally released in September 1917 and was welcomed by people all over the country.
In December that year, she became the Congress President.
• Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
20 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
Q 48.C
• In the introduction of the permanent settlement (1793) Sir John Shore played an important role as the
President of the Board of Revenue. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• In 1822, Holt Mackenzie devised a revenue system known as the Mahalwari System in the North-
Western Provinces of the Bengal Presidency (most of this area is now in Uttar Pradesh).
o Under the Mahalwari system, the land revenue was collected from the farmers by the village headmen
on behalf of the whole village (and not the zamindar).
o The entire village was converted into one bigger unit called ‘Mahal’ and was treated as one unit for
the payment of land revenue.
o However, it was R. M. Bird, the Lt. Governor of North-Western Provinces, who implemented the
Mahalwari settlement, is rightly known as 'the father of land settlement in northern India'. Hence
statement 2 is not correct.
✓ Bird's work on land revenue was recorded in a report which he laid before the government in
1842. In the report, he explained that the work had not been confined to an accurate assessment of
what could be taxed. It also included the decision and demarcation of boundaries, the defining and
recording of the separate possession, rights, privileges, and liabilities of the members of those
communities who hold their land in severalty, etc.
• In the British territories in southern India, there was a move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement.
o A system that came to be known as the Ryotwari System, was devised by Captain Alexander Read
and Sir Thomas Munro at the end of the 18th century and introduced by the latter when he was
governor of Madras Presidency (1819–26). Lord William Bentinck served as Governor of Madras
from 1803 to 1807 and later became Governor-general of Bengal (1828–33) and of India (1833–
35). Hence statement 3 is not correct.
o Under the Ryotwari system, the land revenue was paid by the farmers directly to the state.

Q 49.D
• The Revolt of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India
Company.
• It began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the Company's army in the garrison town of
Meerut.
• It was fed by resentments born of diverse perceptions, including invasive British-style social reforms,
harsh land taxes, summary treatment of some rich landowners and princes, as well as skepticism about the
improvements brought about by British rule.
• Causes of The Revolt:
o Political and Administrative Causes:
✓ British policy of expansion through the Doctrine of Lapse and direct annexation.
✓ A large number of Indian rulers and chiefs were dethroned which raised suspicion and fuelled
resentment in the minds of ruling families. For egRani Lakshmi Bai’s adopted son was not
permitted to sit on the throne of Jhansi. Satara, Nagpur, and Jhansi were annexed under the
Doctrine of Lapse. Awadh was annexed on the pretext of maladministration.
✓ Common people were hard hit by the prevalence of corruption at the lower levels of
administration.
✓ The middle and upper classes of Indian society, particularly in the North were hard hit by their
exclusion from the well-paid higher posts in the administration.
o Social and Religious Cause:
✓ Western Civilisation was gradually spreading all over the country.
✓ Hindu law of inheritance enables Christian converts to inherit their ancestral properties.
✓ The abolition of practices like sati and female infanticide, and the legislation legalizing widow
remarriage, was believed as threats to the established social structure.
✓ Western education system posed a threat to the orthodox section of Hindu as well as Muslim
communities.
21 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
 o Economic Cause:
✓ Peasants and zamindars were explored through the imposition of heavy taxes on land and harsh
consequences in case of failure to do so including confiscation of landholdings.
✓ The influx of British manufactured goods into India ruined local industries, particularly the textile
industry of India.
o Military Causes:
✓ Indian sepoys were paid less than a European sepoy of the same rank.
✓ They were required to serve in areas far away from their homes.
✓ Sepoys would not be given the foreign service allowance (batta) when serving in Sind or in
Punjab.
✓ General Services Enlistment Act required the sepoys must be ready to serve even in British
land across the sea.
✓ Military authorities forbade the sepoys to wear caste and sectarian marks.
✓ Use of greased cartridges which were rumored to contain animal fat hurt the religious sentiment
of Indian Sepoys.
• Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Q 50.D
• The establishment of British rule in South and South Western India brought new problems of land
settlement. While framing land revenue policies for these areas British officials believed that in these
regions, there were no Zamindars with large estates with whom settlement of land revenue could be
made and the introduction of the zamindari system would upset the existing state of affairs. Hence
statement 1 is correct.
• Many Madras officials led by Reed and Thomas Munro recommended that settlement should therefore be
made directly with actual cultivators.
• They also pointed out that under the Permanent settlement the Company was a financial loser as it
had to share the revenues with the zamindars and could not claim a share of the growing income
from land. Moreover, the cultivator was left at the mercy of the zamindar who could oppress him at
will. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Munro claimed that it is the system that has always prevailed in India. The supporters of the
Ryotwari system also claimed that it was a continuation of the state of affairs that had existed in the
past. Due to these factors, Munro introduced the Ryotwari system in the parts of Bombay and Madras
presidency in the beginning of the 19th Century. Hence statement 3 is correct.

Copyright © by Vision IAS

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior permission of Vision IAS.

22 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS