Modern Sources and British Expansion Questions and Answers

Answer: A

Burma gave up Manipur under the Treaty of Yandabo, 1826.

The Treaty of Yandabo ended the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826). Burma ceded Assam, Arakan and Tenasserim, recognised the independence of Manipur, and gave up its claims over Cachar and Jaintia.

1852 was the Second Anglo-Burmese War, after which the British annexed Pegu without a formal treaty, and the 'treaties' of Arakan and Mandala in the other options do not refer to the surrender of Manipur.

Answer: A

The key gives The rebel attacks on the British were disorganised.

From June to September 1857 the rebel army in Delhi launched repeated assaults on the British force on the Ridge, which was small and outnumbered for much of the siege. The rebels lacked a single command: regiments fought under their own leaders and attacks were made without coordination, so the British held on until reinforcements arrived and they stormed the city in September.

The British did not have numerical superiority for most of the siege, so the last option is wrong, and the emperor's role and the city's mixed attitude were not the main reason the attacks failed.

Answer: A

The French colony was Chandra Nagar.

In March 1757, shortly before Plassey, Clive and Admiral Watson captured Chandernagore, the French settlement on the Hooghly above Calcutta, removing a possible French ally of Siraj-ud-daulah.

Pondicherry fell to the British only in 1761, in the Third Carnatic War, and Mahe and Karikal were also taken later.

Answer: C

The right was the Diwani.

By the grant of August 1765, after the battle of Buxar, the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II gave the East India Company the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa: the right to collect revenue and, with it, to administer civil justice, since the diwan's office covered civil cases. Criminal justice (nizamat) stayed formally with the Nawab.

Kotwali was the police office of a town, and the other terms are not the name of this grant.

Answer: A

The Third Carnatic War was linked to the Seven Years' War.

The Third Carnatic War (1756-1763) was the Indian theatre of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) between Britain and France. It ended with the British victory at Wandiwash (1760) and the fall of Pondicherry, and the Treaty of Paris (1763) returned Pondicherry to France only as a trading post.

The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) was linked to the First Carnatic War. The Wars of the Roses were English civil wars of the fifteenth century, and the Austro-Prussian War was fought in 1866.

Answer: C

The Panchatantra is the book that guided the Poligar confederacy, whose maxim was to pretend submission and delay surrender before a formidable enemy. The key follows the pen tick on the booklet.

The Mahabharata, Ramayana and Silappathikaram are epics, and none of them is the source of the maxim as printed in the question. The pairing is taken from the key because this is a regional history detail.

The Panchatantra is a collection of animal fables in Sanskrit that teaches statecraft and practical wisdom, including how a weak ruler should behave before a strong enemy, which is the idea of the maxim. The Mahabharata and Ramayana are epics of dharma and war, and the Silappathikaram is a Tamil epic of Kannagi, none of which is known as a handbook of this kind of political advice.

Answer: C

Balaji Viswanath, the first Peshwa, is called the second founder of the Maratha kingdom, as he restored the power of Shahu, option C.

Bajirao and Balaji Bajirao were later Peshwas, and Madhavrao was a Peshwa of the later period.

Shivaji is called the first founder of the Maratha kingdom. Balaji Viswanath, who became Peshwa in 1713, strengthened the position of Shahu and made the Peshwa the real head of the state, and he is therefore called the second founder. His son Bajirao I and grandson Balaji Bajirao came after him.

Answer: A

General Hugh Rose remarked that here lay the woman who was the only man among the rebels, about Rani Lakshmi Bai, option A.

John Lawrence, Colonel Smyth and Colonel Wheeler were other British officers of 1857.

Sir Hugh Rose, who commanded the Central India Field Force and defeated her at Gwalior in June 1858, wrote that the Rani of Jhansi was the best and bravest of the rebel leaders. The other names are British officers of 1857, but the remark is attributed to Rose.

Answer: C

Statements (1) and (3) are true: Mangal Pandey was martyred before the revolt broke out, and Kunwar Singh was the chief organiser of the revolt in Bihar.

The Kanpur revolt was led by Nana Sahib, not Zeenat Mahal, and Rani Lakshmi Bai died in June 1858, not 1859. So option C.

Mangal Pandey of the 34th Native Infantry attacked British officers at Barrackpore in March 1857 and was hanged in April, before the main revolt. Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur led the revolt in Bihar. Nana Sahib led the revolt at Kanpur, and Rani Lakshmi Bai died in 1858, so (2) and (4) are wrong.

Answer: C

The Ashtapradhan posts match as Peshwa with Chief Minister (2), Amatya with Finance Minister (3), Sachiva with Superintendent (4) and Sumant with Foreign Secretary (1), the code 2 3 4 1.

This is the council of eight ministers of the Maratha ruler Shivaji, in which the Peshwa was the head, the Amatya looked after accounts, the Sachiva handled royal correspondence and the Sumant dealt with foreign affairs.

The Ashtapradhan system of eight ministers was the council of Shivaji, and the titles are Sanskrit: Peshwa (prime minister), Amatya (finance), Sachiva (secretary or superintendent of records) and Sumant (foreign affairs).