1. The First Factory Act in India to improve labor conditions was introduced under the Viceroy-ship of?
A. Lord Dufferin
B. Lord Curzon
C. Lord Ripon
D. Lord Canning
Solution
The correct answer is Lord Ripon
Key Points
- The following events took place in the Viceroy-ship of
- Lord Ripon (1880-1884):
- The first factory Act of 1881 was passed.
- In order to review the progress of education, William Hunter Commission was appointed in 1882.
- The IIbert Bill 1883 was passed.
- The age of entry in civil services was increased to 21 years.
Additional Information
- Lord Dufferin (1884-1888):
- The Indian National Congress (INC) was formed (1885).
- Panjdeh Incident occurred in which a diplomatic crisis took place between Russia and Great Britain but the war was averted by the diplomatic efforts of Lord Dufferin.
- Third Anglo Burmese war 1886.
- Lord Curzon (1899-1905):
- Partition of Bengal took place on 16th October 1905.
- The famine commission was formed under Sir Anthony McDonnel in 1901 to fight back the famine which took place in 1899-1900.
- Irrigation Commission was established in 1901.
- The Police Commission has formed under sir Andrew Frazer.
- Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900 was passed.
- Indian Universities Act 1904 was passed.
- Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 was passed.
- Calcutta Corporation Act 1899 was passed.
- Lord Canning (1856-1862):
- Lord Canning was the last Governor-General (1856-1857) and the first Viceroy (1858-1862) of India.
- The first three modern Universities were established i.e the University of Calcutta, the University of Madras, and the University of Bombay.
2. Who was the Viceroy of India at the times of the Dandi March initiated by Gandhiji?
A. Lord Willingdon
B. Lord Reading
C. Lord Irwin
D. Lord Linlithgow
Solution
The correct answer is Lord Irwin.
Important Points
- Lord Irwin was the Viceroy of India at the time of the Dandi March initiated by Gandhiji.
- On 12 March Gandhi began his historic Dandi March to the Gujarat seashore where on 6 April he publicly violated the salt law.
- The march attracted enormous publicity both in India and overseas, and was followed by wholesale illegal manufacture and sale of salt, accompanied by the boycott of foreign clothes and liquor.
- Gandhiji’s arrest came on May 4, 1930 (Dandi march ended on 6th April 1930) when he had announced that he would proceed to continue his defiance of the salt laws by leading a raid on the Dharasana Salt Works on the west coast.
Additional Information
Lord Irwin was the Viceroy of India from 1926-1931.
- Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
- In 1928, Simon’s commission came to India.
- The incidence of Dandi took place in 1930.
- The Civil Disobedience movement was started in 1930.
- Gandhi signed the Irwin pact. From November 1930 to January 1931, First Round Table Conference was held.
Lord Willingdon
- He was the Viceroy of India from 1931-1936.
- Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
- In his reign, Poona Pact was signed.
- During his time, the Second and Third Round Table Conference was held.
- British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald started Communal Award.
- Government of India Act (1935) was passed.
Lord Linlithgow
- He was the Viceroy of India from 1936-1944.
- Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
- In provinces, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced.
- In 1942, Cripps Mission visited India.
- In 1942, the Quit India movement was started.
- In 1939, the Second World war took place.
Lord Reading
- He was the Viceroy of India from 1921-1926.
- Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
- The incidence of Chauri – Chaura took place during his time.
- Swaraj Party was formed at his time.
- In 1921, the Ahmedabad session of INC was held.
3. Who introduced the dual government system?
A. Robert Clive
B. Warren Hastings
C. Lord Cornwallis
D. Lord Wellesley
Solution
The correct answer is Robert Clive.
Key Points
- Robert Clive was the governor of Bengal during 1757-1760 and again during 1765-1767.
- He led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at Plassey in 1757.
- The dual government system in India was introduced by Robert Clive.
- He introduced the dual government system in Bengal in 1765.
- It was continued till 1772.
- The administration of Bengal was divided into Diwani and Nizamat as a result of the dual government system.
- Robert Clive is known as the ‘Babur of British India’.
Additional Information
- Warren Hastings is the only governor who was impeached by the British government in India.
- Warren Hastings abolished the dual government system in 1772.
- The system of Permanent Settlement and civil services were introduced by Lord Cornwallis.
- The Subsidiary Alliance System in India was introduced by Lord Wellesley.
4. Who proposed the Vernacular Press Act?
A. Lord Canning
B. Lord Lytton
C. Lord Dufferin
D. Lord Lawrence
Solution
Option 2 is correct, i.e. Lord Lytton.
Key Points
Lord Lytton(1876-1880):
- The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 by Viceroy Lord Lytton (1876-1880).
- This Act allowed Magistrates to collect security deposits from Regional Language/Native language/Vernacular newspapers and confiscate their printing press if they published anything against the crown.
- However, these same rules are not applied to English Language Printing Press.
Additional Information
Lord Dufferin (1884-1888):
- He was the Viceroy of India when the Third Anglo-Burmese war (1885-1886) took place.
- The Second Anglo-Burmese (1852-1853) took place during the tenure of Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856).
- The Second Anglo-Burmese war ended with the British occupation of Lower Burma.
- During the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the British occupied entire Burma and annexed it as a province of Indian.
- Burma became a separate crown colony in 1935.
Lord Canning(1856 – 1862):
- Lord Canning was the first Viceroy of India. His tenure lasted for 6 years from 1856-62.
- After 1858, the post of the Governor-General came to be known as the Viceroy.
- Lord Canning was the Governor-General of India during the Revolt of 1857 and he is admired for his calm demeanor and for ensuring that the various government departments and the administration worked smoothly even during the revolt.
- He succeeded Lord Dalhousie as the Governor-general.
5. The railway line was established during the reign of which Governor-General in India?
A. Lord Curzon
B. Lord Mountbatten
C. Lord Dalhousie
D. Lord Lytton
Solution
The correct answer is Lord Dalhousie.
- About Indian Railway:
- Lord Dalhousie is known as the father of Indian Railways.
- The first railway minister of India was John Mathai.
- The first railway on the Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane.
- The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan, and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats inclines first occurred to Mr. George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843.
- The first formal inauguration ceremony was performed in 1853.
- In the South, the first line was opened in 1856.
Key Points
- The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the first and is still the most outstanding, an example of a hill passenger railway in India, which opened in 1881.
- It got UNESCO recognition in the year 1999.
- Bholu the guard elephant is the mascot of the Indian Railways.
- Fairy Queen is the world’s oldest working locomotive that is still in use, interestingly it was given heritage status in 1972 by the Indian government.
- Manufactured way back in 1855, the Fairy Queen was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest steam locomotive in regular service.
- This museum is also the largest rail museum in Asia.
- Fairy Queen is the world’s oldest working locomotive that is still in use, interestingly it was given heritage status in 1972 by the Indian government.
- India has 8 Railway Museums in Delhi, Pune, Kanpur, Mysore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ghum, and Tiruchirappalli.
- The railway budget was separated from the general budget in 1924.
- The separation of the railway budget from the general budget was based on the recommendation of the Acworth Committee.
Additional Information
| India’s First Train | Red Hill Railway, which ran from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in 1837 |
| India’s Fastest Train | Vande Bharat Express is the fastest train in India with a speed of 180 km/hr, followed by Gatimaan express with a speed of 160km/hr. |
| Train with Longest Route | Vivek Express, running between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, covers 4,286 km in around 82 hours and 30 minutes |
| Largest Railway Junction in India | Hubballi Junction |
| First Railway Station in India | Bori Bunder, located in Mumbai was the first railway station in India |
6. In which year did Warren Hastings become the first Governor-General in India (of Bengal)?
A. 1780
B. 1770
C. 1773
D. 1775
Solution
The correct answer is 1773.
Key Points
- The first governor-general in India (of Bengal) was Warren Hastings in 1773.
- He started his career as a writer (clerk) in the East India Company at Calcutta in 1750.
- Established revenue board in 1772.
- He Abolished the dual system of governance.
- He Founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal with William Jones in 1784 in Calcutta.
- Warren Hastings laid the foundation of civil service and Lord Cornwallis reformed, modernized, and rationalized it.
Additional Informational
- The first governor-general in India (of Bengal) was Warren Hastings.
- The first official governor-general of British India was Lord William Bentinck.
- The first governor-general of the Dominion of India was Lord Mountbatten.
- The first and last governor-general of free India was Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.
7. Who was the first British Viceroy of India?
A. Lord Canning
B. Lord Wellesley
C. William Bentinck
D. Robert Clive
Solution
Correct Answer Lord Canning
Key Points:
- Lord Canning (1856-1862) was the first viceroy of India.
- Viceroy is the British crown representative of the princely states of India.
- Lord Canning became first the Viceroy and governor-general of India through the government of India Act 1858.
- He was the Governor-General of India during the Indian Sepoy Mutiny in 1857.
8. Which British Viceroy in India carried out the partition of Bengal?
A. Lord Canning
B. Lord Lytton
C. Lord Dalhousie
D. Lord Curzon
Solution
The correct answer is Lord Curzon.
Important Points
- Bengal was partitioned by the British viceroy Lord Curzon.
- Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal on 20th July 1905.
- The partition came into effect on 16th October 1905.
- At that time of partition, Bengal was the biggest province of British India that included Bihar and parts of Orissa.
- The British argued that the division was for administrative convenience.
- The partition of the Bengal is an example of the British policy of divide and rule.
- The main reason for the partition of Bengal was to destroy the political influence of the educated middle class among whom the Bengali intelligentsia was the most prominent.
- The swadeshi movement was started to protest against the partition of Bengal.
- Bengal partition was finally cancelled by Lord Hardinge in 1911.
Additional Information
- Lord Lytton was the viceroy who passed the vernacular press act in 1878.
- Lord Canning was the first viceroy and the last governor-general of India.
- Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India who started the first railway line in India in 1853(connecting Bombay to Thane).
9. Who was the Viceroy at the time of Quit India Movement?
A. Lord Mountbatten
B. Lord Wavell
C. Lord Linlithgow43% answered correctly
D. Lord Irwin
Solution
After the revolt of 1857, the company rule was abolished and India came under the direct control of the British crown.
- Government of India Act 1858 passed which changed the name of the post-Governor General of India to Viceroy of India.
- The Viceroy was appointed directly by the British government.
Lord Linlithgow was Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1944 and this eight years period was the longest reign as Viceroy of India.
- During this period, parts of the Government of India Act 1935 came into force in 1937.
- Other events included –
- Resignation of Congress Ministries to Protest the Involvement of Indians in World war-II
- Start of World War II (1939).
- Resignation of Subhash Chandra Bose and foundation of “Forward Block”.
- Escape of SC Bose from India, Jinnah’s two nations theory.
- Atlanta Charter; August Offer (1940).
- Foundation of Indian National Army.
- Cripps Mission (1942).
- Launch of Quit India Movement.
- The demand of divide and quit.
- Bengal Famine of 1943.
Additional Information
- Lord Irwin (1926-1931)
- Simon Commission to India (1927).
- Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission (1927).
- Nehru Report (1928).
- Deepavali Declaration (1929).
- Lahore session of the Congress (Purna Swaraj Resolution) 1929.
- Dandi March and the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930).
- First Round Table Conference (1930).
- Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931).
- Lord Wavell (1944-1947)
- C. Rajagopalachari’s CR Formula (1944).
- Wavell Plan and the Simla Conference (1945).
- Cabinet Mission (1946).
- Direct Action Day (1946).
- Announcement of end of British rule in India by Clement Attlee (1947).
- Lord Mountbatten (1947-1948)
- June Third Plan (1947).
- Redcliff Commission (1947).
- India’s Independence (15 August 1947).
10. During which of the following Viceroy Widow Remarriage Act was introduced?
A. Lord Amherst
B. Lord Dalhousie
C. Lord Hardinge-I
D. William Bentinck
Solution
The correct answer is Lord Dalhousie.
Key Points
- Lord Dalhousie served as Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856.
- Governor-General known as the ‘maker of modern India‘.
- The widow remarriage act was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in 1855.
- He abolished the titles and pensions in British India.
- He introduced the doctrine of lapse.
- Public Works Department in India was founded by Dalhousie.
- Passenger trains in railways, electric telegraph, and uniform postage in India were introduced during his tenure.
- Lord Dalhousie was the viceroy who started the first railway line in India in 1853(connecting Bombay to Thane).
- He is the Governor-General who appointed ‘Wood’s education commission‘.
Additional Information
| Hindu Widow Remarriage Act Long Title | Hindu Remarriage Act, 1856 or Act XV, 1856 |
| Territorial Extent | Territories under East India Company rule |
| Passed by | Lord Canning |
| Drafted by | Lord Dalhousie |
| Enacted and Commencement date | 26th July 1856 |
