Constitutional, Administrative and Judicial Developments

VidyaarOctober 12, 20260196 views

Q220. Which Act introduced the principle of elections in India for the first time?

[OSSC CGLRE 2025 Mains Paper II (8 July 2026)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(D) Government of India Act, 1919

Answer: (B) Indian Councils Act, 1892

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1892 introduced an indirect elective element by providing nominations on recommendations from selected bodies. Although the word election was absent and participation remained severely limited, it marked an early stage in representative colonial legislation.

Q219. Which British concern directly shaped the reorganization of the Indian Army following the Revolt of 1857?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (20 June 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Preventing a unified rebellion by Indian soldiers

(B) Restricting military literacy alone

(D) Reducing cavalry influence in military policy

Answer: (A) Preventing a unified rebellion by Indian soldiers

Explanation: The British reorganized army recruitment and deployment to prevent another coordinated uprising. They increased the relative European military presence and sought to separate Indian regiments by region and community, weakening possibilities of common action against colonial authority.

Q218. Which demand of the Muslim League was accepted by the British in 1909?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (19 June 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Partition of India

(B) Universal adult franchise

(D) Complete independence

Answer: (C) Separate electorates for Muslims

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1909 accepted the Muslim League demand for separate electorates. Muslim voters elected Muslim representatives in designated constituencies. This expanded communal representation within colonial legislatures without providing universal suffrage or responsible government.

Q217. Which outcome resulted from the Indian Councils Act of 1909?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (18 June 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Provincial autonomy and autonomous ministries

(B) Reduction in the size of legislative councils

(D) Abolition of nominated seats and official majorities

Answer: (C) Expanded councils, Indian executive representation and deliberative powers

Explanation: The Morley–Minto reforms enlarged central and provincial legislative councils, widened their limited deliberative powers and enabled an Indian member to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council. They did not establish provincial autonomy or remove British executive supremacy.

Q216. Which provision was introduced through the Indian Councils Act of 1909?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (16 June 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Separate electorates for Muslims

(B) Establishment of the Supreme Court

(D) Abolition of the Viceroy

Answer: (A) Separate electorates for Muslims

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1909 introduced separate electorates for Muslims. This meant Muslim voters elected their own representatives to designated constituencies. The reform increased political participation in a restricted form while preserving colonial executive control.

Q215. In which year did the British introduce the Morley–Minto Reforms?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (16 June 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) 1909

(B) 1905

(D) 1935

Answer: (A) 1909

Explanation: The reforms were enacted through the Indian Councils Act of 1909, named for Secretary of State John Morley and Viceroy Lord Minto. They enlarged legislative councils and established separate electorates for Muslims, but did not create responsible government.

Q214. Which Act targeted newspapers critical of the colonial government?

[SSC GD Constable (31 May 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Vernacular Press Act, 1878

(B) Vernacular Press Act, 1858

(D) Charter Act, 1813

Answer: (A) Vernacular Press Act, 1878

Explanation: The Vernacular Press Act was passed under Lord Lytton in 1878. It restricted Indian-language publications considered hostile to colonial authority. By distinguishing between English-language and vernacular journalism, it became an emblem of racial discrimination in press regulation.

Q213. Which Act provided for provincial autonomy in British India?

[SSC GD Constable (30 May 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1935

(B) Government of India Act, 1919

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Answer: (A) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 ended dyarchy in the provinces and introduced provincial autonomy. Elected ministries received wider responsibilities, but governors retained important discretionary powers. The proposed all-India federation never came fully into operation.

Q212. Which Act first permitted discussion of budgets in Indian legislative councils?

[SSC GD Constable (22 May 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(D) Government of India Act, 1919

Answer: (A) Indian Councils Act, 1892

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1892 permitted members of legislative councils to discuss the annual financial statement and ask certain questions. Members still could not vote on the budget. The limited concession responded partly to early nationalist demands.

Q211. Which Act formally ended East India Company rule in India?

[SSC GD Constable (22 May 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Regulating Act, 1773

(B) Government of India Act, 1858

(D) Charter Act, 1833

Answer: (B) Government of India Act, 1858

Explanation: After the Revolt of 1857, Parliament enacted the Government of India Act, 1858. Authority passed from the Company to the British Crown. A Secretary of State for India replaced the earlier system of Company–government dual control.

Q210. Which colonial reform is often regarded as a blueprint for India’s Constitution?

[SSC GD Constable (20 May 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Morley–Minto Reforms, 1909

(B) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, 1919

(D) Indian Independence Act, 1947

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 provided a detailed framework for federal legislative lists, provincial autonomy, public service commissions and a federal court. Several institutional features influenced the Constitution, although India’s Constitution established full democratic sovereignty.

Q209. The Charter Act of 1813 ended the Company’s monopoly over which trade?

[SSC GD Constable (20 May 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Opium trade

(B) Trade with China

(D) Indian trade, except tea and China trade

Answer: (D) Indian trade, except tea and China trade

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1813 opened most trade with India to private British merchants. The East India Company retained important monopoly privileges concerning tea and China trade. The legislation also renewed its territorial authority for another twenty years.

Q208. Which Act introduced open competition for recruitment to the Indian civil services?

[SSC GD Constable (19 May 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Charter Act of 1813

(B) Charter Act of 1833

(D) Indian Councils Act of 1861

Answer: (C) Charter Act of 1853

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1853 ended the Company’s patronage-based system for civil-service appointments and authorized open competitive recruitment. Examinations were subsequently held in London, making access theoretically competitive but practically difficult for many Indian candidates.

Q207. Arrange chronologically: (a) merit-based recruitment to the modern civil service; (b) establishment of Fort William College; (c) first Indian qualifying for ICS; (d) adoption of Mission Karmayogi.

[UP PGT Civics (10 May 2026)]

(A) c, b, d, a

(B) b, a, c, d

(D) a, c, b, d

Answer: (B) b, a, c, d

Explanation: Fort William College dates to 1800, followed by competitive civil-service recruitment after the Charter Act of 1853 and the Macaulay Committee. Satyendranath Tagore qualified for the ICS in 1863. Mission Karmayogi was approved in 2020.

Q206. What did the Government of India Act of 1935 provide?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (9 May 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Provincial autonomy and a proposed federation

(B) Separate electorates for all communities

(D) Dyarchy in the provinces

Answer: (A) Provincial autonomy and a proposed federation

Explanation: The 1935 Act abolished provincial dyarchy and introduced a more autonomous provincial system. It also envisaged an all-India federation comprising provinces and princely states, although that proposed federation was not implemented before independence.

Q205. What was an immediate political and administrative consequence of the Partition of India in 1947?

[UP PGT History (9 May 2026)]

(A) All colonial institutions disappeared without replacement

(B) Power transferred without disruption

(D) Civil administration remained wholly unaffected

Answer: (C) Mass displacement, administrative breakdown and reorganization of both dominions

Explanation: Partition triggered large-scale displacement and communal violence while India and Pakistan divided government departments, armed forces, assets and administrative personnel. Both dominions had to reorganize state institutions rapidly; thus independence did not produce an entirely smooth transition in governance.

Q204. Why was the Simon Commission of 1927 boycotted in India?

[SSC GD Constable (8 May 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) No Indian members were included

(B) It recommended provincial autonomy

(D) It abolished separate electorates

Answer: (A) No Indian members were included

Explanation: The seven-member Simon Commission, appointed in 1927 to examine constitutional reforms, contained no Indian member. Political leaders considered this exclusion unacceptable because the commission was deciding India’s constitutional future. Widespread protests greeted its 1928 arrival.

Q203. Why is the Charter Act of 1813 significant?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (3 May 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) It established India’s first legislative council

(B) It ended every Company trade monopoly

(D) It ended the Company’s general monopoly over Indian trade

Answer: (D) It ended the Company’s general monopoly over Indian trade

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1813 opened Indian commerce to private British traders, with exceptions for tea and trade with China. It therefore altered the Company’s commercial position while continuing its governing responsibilities for another twenty years.

Q202. Which Act let legislative councils discuss budgets and question the executive?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (30 April 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Charter Act of 1853

(B) Indian Councils Act of 1861

(D) Indian Councils Act of 1892

Answer: (D) Indian Councils Act of 1892

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1892 conferred limited rights to discuss the budget and ask questions under specified rules. It expanded participation modestly but withheld the right to vote on financial proposals and severely restricted legislative accountability.

Q201. Which Act first introduced a bicameral central legislature?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (30 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Charter Act, 1833

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(D) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1919

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1919 replaced the earlier single central legislative council with the Legislative Assembly and Council of State. Both operated within a restricted franchise and remained subordinate to significant powers exercised by the Viceroy.

Q200. Which Indian Councils Act recognized the portfolio system and empowered the Viceroy to issue ordinances?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (30 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) 1869

(B) 1861

(D) 1872

Answer: (B) 1861

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1861 gave statutory recognition to the portfolio system and authorized emergency ordinances for limited periods. It also restored legislative functions to the Madras and Bombay presidencies, reversing part of the 1833 centralization.

Q199. What was the main purpose of the Regulating Act of 1773?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (29 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Abolition of slavery

(B) Government oversight of the Company

(D) Introduction of Indian railways

Answer: (B) Government oversight of the Company

Explanation: Parliament enacted the Regulating Act to supervise the Company’s administration following serious financial and political difficulties. It established the Governor-General of Bengal with a council and paved the way for the Supreme Court at Calcutta.

Q198. Which Act is associated with the Morley–Minto Reforms?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (28 April 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1909

(B) Government of India Act, 1919

(D) Government of India Act, 1935

Answer: (A) Indian Councils Act, 1909

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1909 is known as the Morley–Minto Reforms. It enlarged legislative councils and brought in separate Muslim electorates. Its concessions were carefully limited and did not establish executive responsibility to elected representatives.

Q197. Under the Indian Councils Act of 1892, what was the principal effect of increasing the number of council members?

[DSSSB MTS (27 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Indians could participate through nominated members

(B) Only officials could dominate all proceedings completely

(D) Legislative councils obtained unlimited authority

Answer: (A) Indians could participate through nominated members

Explanation: The 1892 Act expanded the size of legislative councils and enabled a limited increase in Indian participation through nominations influenced by recommended candidates. It did not establish responsible ministries, provide independent provincial government, or allow unrestricted legislative powers.

Q196. Which event directly influenced the passage of the Government of India Act, 1858?

[OSSSC Forester/Forest Guard/Excise Constable (27 April 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Arrival of Lord Mountbatten

(B) Formation of Indian National Congress

(D) The Regulating Act of 1773

Answer: (C) The Revolt of 1857

Explanation: The rebellion of 1857 exposed serious weaknesses in East India Company governance. Parliament consequently enacted the 1858 legislation transferring political power to the British Crown, abolishing the Company’s governing arrangements and creating the Secretary of State for India.

Q195. Which change was introduced in 1858 to the office of Governor-General?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (25 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Power to issue ordinances without a council

(B) Designation as Viceroy

(D) Restoration of Bombay’s legislative powers

Answer: (B) Designation as Viceroy

Explanation: With the Crown taking over administration in 1858, the Governor-General also represented the British monarch as Viceroy. The terminology reflected changed sovereignty, while the Governor-General’s executive functions continued under the new imperial framework.

Q194. What did Queen Victoria’s Proclamation of 1858 promise Indians?

[DSSSB MTS (25 April 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Universal suffrage

(B) Abolition of princely states

(D) Immediate independence

Answer: (C) Religious non-interference and equal treatment

Explanation: The 1858 Proclamation announced that Crown rule would respect religious beliefs and promised impartial protection under law. Its language sought political reconciliation after the uprising, but racial discrimination and unequal access to power persisted in practice.

Q193. Which Act changed the title of Governor-General to Viceroy?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (24 April 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Government of India Act, 1919

(D) Charter Act, 1833

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1858

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1858 ended Company government and placed India directly under the British Crown. Lord Canning, already Governor-General, became the first Viceroy, representing the monarch in the new administrative arrangement.

Q192. Why did Indian political leaders oppose the 1927 Simon Commission?

[DSSSB MTS (23 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) It demanded complete independence

(B) It supported partition

(D) It abolished provincial councils

Answer: (C) It included no Indian member

Explanation: The British-appointed Simon Commission contained only British parliamentarians. Indian political leaders opposed exclusion from a body tasked with evaluating India’s constitutional progress. The commission arrived in 1928 amid large demonstrations and demands for self-government.

Q191. The Public Accounts Committee was set up under the provisions of which Act?

[DSSSB MTS (22 April 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Independence Act, 1947

(B) Government of India Act, 1935

(D) Government of India Act, 1858

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1919

Explanation: India’s legislative Public Accounts Committee traces its establishment to reforms associated with the Government of India Act of 1919. The committee was formed in 1921 to examine government expenditure and accounts, representing an early institutional mechanism for financial scrutiny.

Q190. How many legislative lists were created under the Government of India Act, 1935?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (21 April 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Five

(B) Two

(D) Four

Answer: (C) Three

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 distinguished Federal, Provincial and Concurrent Lists for legislative subjects. These divisions were a significant precursor to the Union, State and Concurrent Lists under the Constitution of independent India.

Q189. How did the divide-and-rule policy affect the structure of the Indian Army after 1857?

[OSSSC Forester/Forest Guard/Excise Constable (21 April 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) It improved technical training

(B) It discouraged unity among Indian soldiers

(D) It promoted interfaith military solidarity

Answer: (B) It discouraged unity among Indian soldiers

Explanation: After 1857, British authorities sought to divide Indian troops along regional, religious and caste lines. This strategy discouraged solidarity among regiments and served colonial security objectives, while British units retained disproportionate control over key military functions.

Q188. Which combination correctly illustrates early colonial administrative, military and judicial reforms?

[UPHESC Assistant Professor History (19 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Cornwallis Code, army reorganization and civil courts

(B) Permanent Settlement, Vernacular Press Act and Ilbert Bill

(D) Ryotwari Settlement, Government of India Act and Simon Commission

Answer: (A) Cornwallis Code, army reorganization and civil courts

Explanation: The Cornwallis Code of 1793 systematized revenue, judicial and administrative functions, while the colonial military and civil-court arrangements underwent substantial reorganization. The other combinations combine reforms from widely separated periods and do not describe one integrated programme.

Q187. Assertion (A): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established because of the Charter Act of 1833. Reason (R): The East India Company established a Foreign Department in 1783. Choose the correct option.

[UPHESC Assistant Professor Political Science (19 April 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) A true; R false

(B) Both true; R does not explain A

(D) Both true; R correctly explains A

Answer: (C) A false; R true

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1833 centralized Company government but did not establish a modern Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Company’s Foreign Department had earlier roots in 1783, making the reason true while the assertion incorrectly attributes departmental creation to the Act.

Q186. How did Lord William Bentinck’s resumption of rent-free tenures contribute to the economic grievances preceding the Revolt of 1857?

[DSSSB MTS (18 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) It reduced taxes on cultivators

(B) It impoverished landholders through confiscation of tax-free land

(D) It guaranteed land ownership to every peasant

Answer: (B) It impoverished landholders through confiscation of tax-free land

Explanation: The colonial government investigated and resumed many revenue-free land grants, undermining established rights and incomes among traditional landholders. Such measures created economic resentment and hostility to Company administration, contributing to a wider accumulation of grievances before 1857.

Q185. Which Act arose during Montagu’s tenure as Secretary of State and Chelmsford’s viceroyalty?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (17 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1919

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1909

Answer: (A) Government of India Act, 1919

Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1919 reflected recommendations associated with Edwin Montagu and Lord Chelmsford. It introduced provincial dyarchy, created a bicameral central legislature and cautiously enlarged Indian participation while keeping the main levers of imperial authority intact.

Q184. Who was Viceroy when the Government of India Act, 1919, was enacted?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (16 April 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Lord Montagu

(B) Lord Chelmsford

(D) Lord Canning

Answer: (B) Lord Chelmsford

Explanation: Lord Chelmsford was Viceroy from 1916 to 1921. Together with Secretary of State Edwin Montagu, his name became associated with the 1919 constitutional reforms. Those reforms introduced dyarchy at the provincial level and expanded legislatures.

Q183. Which Act marked the change from Governor-General to Viceroy?

[OSSSC Forest Guard/Forester/Excise Constable (16 April 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(B) Charter Act, 1793

(D) Government of India Act, 1919

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1858

Explanation: Following the 1857 uprising, the Government of India Act of 1858 transferred Company territories and government to the Crown. The Governor-General was thereafter also styled Viceroy as representative of the British sovereign in India.

Q182. Which statement about the Government of India Act, 1935, is incorrect?

[Rajasthan Police SI, GK & GS (6 April 2026, Paper II)]

(A) The Governor-General represented the monarch in the federal legislature

(B) The upper federal chamber was called the Council of State

(D) The Governor-General could preside over federal ministerial meetings

Answer: (C) Provincial governors were appointed by the Governor-General

Explanation: Under the 1935 Act, a provincial governor was appointed by the British monarch, not by the Governor-General. The Act’s proposed federal arrangements also retained considerable authority for the Governor-General and other representatives of the Crown.

Q181. What major administrative change followed the uprising of 1857?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (27 March 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Queen Victoria’s Proclamation alone

(D) Permanent Settlement in Bengal

Answer: (C) Transfer of governance from Company to Crown

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1858 shifted administration from the East India Company to the British Crown. The Board of Control and Court of Directors were abolished, and a Secretary of State for India became the principal British minister responsible.

Q180. Under whose administration was the Doctrine of Lapse extensively applied to annex Indian states between 1848 and 1856?

[DSSSB MTS (25 March 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Dalhousie

(B) Lord Canning

(D) Lord Cornwallis

Answer: (A) Lord Dalhousie

Explanation: Lord Dalhousie used the Doctrine of Lapse as a major instrument of territorial annexation. The policy permitted Company takeover of certain dependent states where a ruler died without an accepted natural successor, deepening resentment among princely families.

Q179. Which Act first regulated Company government in Bengal through Parliament?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (24 March 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(B) Government of India Act, 1858

(D) Charter Act, 1813

Answer: (C) Regulating Act, 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 was Parliament’s first comprehensive intervention in the Company’s territorial administration. It created the office of Governor-General of Bengal and placed the Company’s Indian affairs within an emerging British supervisory framework.

Q178. Which law provided for a Supreme Court at Calcutta in 1774?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (22 March 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1858

(B) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(D) Charter Act, 1813

Answer: (C) Regulating Act, 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 authorized the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, Calcutta. It began functioning in 1774 with a chief justice and three puisne judges. Jurisdictional conflicts subsequently led to the amending Act of 1781.

Q177. Which statements on colonial local government are correct: Mayo’s 1870 resolution encouraged local bodies; Hobhouse chaired the Decentralization Commission; local government became a reserved subject in 1919?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (22 March 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Statements 2 and 3

(B) All three statements

(D) Statements 1 and 3

Answer: (C) Statements 1 and 2

Explanation: Mayo’s 1870 financial decentralization helped encourage local institutions, and Charles Hobhouse chaired the Royal Commission on Decentralization. Under the 1919 constitutional arrangement, local self-government was a transferred provincial subject, so the third statement is incorrect.

Q176. Which Act first provided for Indian participation in the legislative process through nominated non-official members?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (22 March 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(D) Government of India Act, 1858

Answer: (A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1861 permitted the Governor-General to nominate non-official members, including Indians, for legislative business. This initiated limited Indian participation in lawmaking but did not establish popular elections, full parliamentary representation, or executive responsibility.

Q175. Which Act divided provincial subjects into reserved and transferred categories?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (16 March 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(B) Government of India Act, 1919

(D) Government of India Act, 1935

Answer: (B) Government of India Act, 1919

Explanation: Dyarchy in provinces was introduced by the Government of India Act of 1919. Ministers administered transferred subjects such as education and local government, while governors retained control of reserved subjects such as police and finance.

Q174. Which Act first separated provincial budgets from the central budget?

[RRB Technician Grade III (6 March 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1909

(B) Government of India Act, 1935

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1892

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1919

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1919 established a clearer separation of provincial and central financial administration. The change supported provincial functions under dyarchy but did not confer full fiscal independence, since British officials retained decisive supervisory powers.

Q173. Which Act provided for a Calcutta Supreme Court with one chief justice and three judges?

[RRB Technician Grade III (6 March 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Regulating Act, 1773

(B) Charter Act, 1793

(D) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

Answer: (A) Regulating Act, 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 authorized creation of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William. Established in 1774, it comprised the chief justice and three additional judges. Early disputes over its jurisdiction prompted later legislative clarification.

Q172. Which statement correctly describes the Government of India Act, 1858?

[DSSSB MTS (24 February 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) It ended British rule in India

(B) It gave Indian princes sovereign control over British territories

(D) It initiated the East India Company’s territorial government

Answer: (C) It placed Indian administration under the British Crown

Explanation: The 1858 Act transferred governing authority from the East India Company to the British Crown. It established a Secretary of State for India supported by a council, while the Governor-General continued as the Crown’s representative in India.

Q171. Who died after being injured in protests against the Simon Commission?

[DSSSB PRT (17 February 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Motilal Nehru

(B) Lala Lajpat Rai

(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Answer: (B) Lala Lajpat Rai

Explanation: Lala Lajpat Rai led a demonstration against the Simon Commission in Lahore on 30 October 1928. Police assaulted protesters, and Rai died on 17 November. His death became an important rallying point for the anti-colonial movement.

Q170. Which law ended dual Company administration and transferred governance to the Crown?

[DSSSB PRT (16 February 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(B) Government of India Act, 1858

(D) Regulating Act, 1773

Answer: (B) Government of India Act, 1858

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1858 replaced Company government with direct Crown administration. It dissolved the Board of Control and Court of Directors and created the office of Secretary of State for India, assisted by an advisory council.

Q169. Which Act empowered colonial authorities to detain political suspects without trial for up to two years?

[SSC MTS 2025 Official Paper (10 February 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(D) Rowlatt Act, 1919

Answer: (D) Rowlatt Act, 1919

Explanation: The Rowlatt Act of 1919 extended exceptional wartime-style powers into peacetime, including detention without ordinary trial safeguards. Indian leaders opposed these measures as repressive, and Gandhi organized a nationwide satyagraha against the legislation during 1919.

Q168. Why is the Government of India Act, 1935, a constitutional milestone?

[Delhi Police Head Constable Ministerial (12 January 2026, Shift 1; 2025 exam cycle)]

(A) It provided universal adult franchise

(B) It introduced provincial dyarchy

(D) It guaranteed fundamental rights to everyone

Answer: (C) It proposed an all-India federation and provincial autonomy

Explanation: The Act proposed a federation of provinces and princely states and introduced provincial autonomy in place of provincial dyarchy. However, full responsible government and universal adult voting rights remained absent, while governors and the Viceroy retained substantial authority.

Q167. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793, fixing land revenue through landlords?

[Delhi Police Head Constable Ministerial 2025 Paper (9 January 2026, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Hastings

(B) Lord Wellesley

(D) Lord Curzon

Answer: (C) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793, fixing the Company’s land-revenue demand from zamindars. The arrangement strengthened landlord property rights but often exposed cultivators to insecurity and helped consolidate a hierarchical colonial revenue administration.

Q166. Which Act provided for a Federal Railway Authority?

[UGC NET Political Science (6 January 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Charter Act of 1813

(B) Indian Councils Act of 1909

(D) Government of India Act of 1935

Answer: (D) Government of India Act of 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 contemplated a Federal Railway Authority for the administration of the railway system. It reflected the proposed federal framework in which certain technical and strategic services required centralized management.

Q165. In which year did the Viceroy issue the resolution that strengthened democratic forms of municipal self-government in British India?

[UGC NET Political Science (6 January 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) 1882

(B) 1879

(D) 1885

Answer: (A) 1882

Explanation: Lord Ripon’s Resolution on Local Self-Government was issued in 1882. It supported district and municipal boards and encouraged non-official participation in local administration. Though operating within colonial constraints, the initiative became influential in the development of Indian local government.

Q164. Which Act first provided for a Federal Court in India?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (5 January 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Cabinet Mission Plan

(B) Government of India Act, 1935

(D) Government of India Act, 1919

Answer: (B) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 authorized a Federal Court to interpret the Act and adjudicate federal disputes. The court started functioning in 1937, with Sir Maurice Gwyer as its first Chief Justice, before being superseded in 1950.

Q163. What issue triggered the Ilbert Bill controversy?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (5 January 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Vernacular education

(B) Indian Civil Service recruitment

(D) Freedom of the press

Answer: (C) Criminal jurisdiction of Indian judges over Europeans

Explanation: Introduced in 1883 during Lord Ripon’s viceroyalty, the Ilbert Bill proposed allowing qualified Indian judges to try European British defendants. Fierce European opposition forced a compromise, revealing racial inequality within British India’s legal institutions.

Q162. Who became the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (5 January 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Robert Clive

(B) Warren Hastings

(D) Lord Wellesley

Answer: (B) Warren Hastings

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 established the office of Governor-General of Bengal, first held by Warren Hastings. He was assisted by a four-member council and supervised the Bombay and Madras presidencies in important matters of war and diplomacy.

Q161. Local self-government was strengthened by the Resolution of 1882. Which Viceroy was associated with it?

[UGC NET History (5 January 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Lord Canning

(B) Lord Ripon

(D) Lord Dufferin

Answer: (B) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon championed the 1882 Resolution as a measure for administrative decentralization and local participation. His proposals promoted local boards, non-official membership and greater practical involvement in civic affairs, earning him recognition as a pioneer of local self-government.

Q160. Which Secretary of State for India stated in 1861 that even the mildest government of one dominant race over another is a despotism?

[UGC NET History (5 January 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Lord Stanley

(B) Charles Wood

(D) Sir John Lawrence

Answer: (B) Charles Wood

Explanation: Charles Wood served as Secretary of State for India from 1859 to 1866 after the transfer of power to the Crown. The attributed 1861 observation reflected his awareness that colonial government rested on unequal power rather than representative consent.

Q159. The Kitchener Test was associated with proposed improvements in which sphere of British Indian administration?

[UGC NET History (5 January 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Colonial health systems

(B) Foreign affairs

(D) Military administration

Answer: (D) Military administration

Explanation: Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief in India, pursued measures to reorganize military commands and strengthen operational effectiveness. The named test belongs to military administration rather than civic, diplomatic or healthcare reform, illustrating the changing organization of Britain’s Indian armed forces.

Q158. Who was the first Indian to enter the Indian Civil Service?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (3 January 2026, Shift 2)]

(A) Satyendranath Tagore

(B) Subramania Iyer

(D) Romesh Chandra Dutt

Answer: (A) Satyendranath Tagore

Explanation: Satyendranath Tagore qualified through the competitive Indian Civil Service examination in 1863, becoming the first Indian successful entrant. The exam took place in Britain, and distance, expense and age requirements sharply limited opportunities for other Indians.

Q157. The Indian Universities Act of 1904 was passed under which Viceroy?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (3 January 2026, Shift 1)]

(A) Lord Curzon

(B) Lord Minto

(D) Lord Dufferin

Answer: (A) Lord Curzon

Explanation: Lord Curzon sponsored the Indian Universities Act of 1904 to reshape university administration, affiliations and official supervision. Its provisions increased government influence over higher education, generating criticism from Indian nationalists concerned about restrictions on institutional independence.

Q156. Which Act provided for the establishment of a Law Commission for India?

[DDA MTS (19 December 2025, Shift 2)]

(A) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(B) Charter Act, 1833

(D) Charter Act, 1853

Answer: (B) Charter Act, 1833

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1833 provided for a Law Commission to consolidate and codify Indian laws. The first commission was established in 1834 with Thomas Babington Macaulay as chair, contributing to the later development of statutory criminal law.

Q155. What is another name for the Indian Councils Act of 1909?

[MP Police Constable (11 December 2025, Shift 2)]

(A) Simon Commission

(B) Ilbert Bill

(D) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

Answer: (C) Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: The 1909 legislation is known as the Morley–Minto Reforms after the then Secretary of State and Viceroy. It enlarged legislative councils and introduced separate electorates for Muslims, while preserving decisive British executive powers.

Q154. What selection mechanism was associated with the Indian Councils Act, 1892?

[SSC CPO (9 December 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) Universal adult suffrage

(B) Direct election of most central members

(D) Equal communal quotas

Answer: (C) Limited nomination and indirect recommendation

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1892 allowed limited indirect selection through recommendations from local bodies and other organizations, although members were technically nominated. It enlarged legislative councils without establishing democratic elections or representative government in the modern sense.

Q153. Arrange chronologically: I Charter Act, II Pitt’s India Act, III Indian Councils Act, IV Regulating Act.

[UPPSC LT Grade Assistant Teacher Maths (6 December 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) IV, I, II, III

(B) IV, III, II, I

(D) I, II, III, IV

Answer: (C) IV, II, I, III

Explanation: The Regulating Act came in 1773, Pitt’s India Act in 1784, relevant Charter legislation followed, and the Indian Councils Acts arose later. Chronological ordering helps trace movement from Company regulation toward legislative participation under the Crown.

Q152. Arrange chronologically: I. Charter Act; II. Pitt’s India Act; III. Indian Councils Act; IV. Regulating Act.

[UPPSC LT Grade Assistant Teacher Mathematics (6 December 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) IV, I, II, III

(B) IV, III, II, I

(D) I, II, III, IV

Answer: (C) IV, II, I, III

Explanation: The Regulating Act was passed in 1773, Pitt’s India Act in 1784, the relevant Charter Act in 1813, and the Indian Councils Act in 1861. Together, these laws show the growth of parliamentary oversight and colonial councils.

Q151. The Charter Act of 1813 marked a major change in East India Company policy by doing what?

[SSC JE Mechanical (4 December 2025, Shift 2)]

(A) Granting the Company a monopoly of all Indian trade

(B) Ending the Indian trade monopoly except tea and China trade

(D) Establishing the first Supreme Court at Calcutta

Answer: (B) Ending the Indian trade monopoly except tea and China trade

Explanation: The 1813 renewal opened most trade with India to other British merchants while protecting Company privileges in tea and trade with China. The Company continued governing its possessions. The Calcutta Supreme Court had been provided for much earlier.

Q150. What was the principal objective of Pitt’s India Act, 1784?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (8 September 2025, Shift 3)]

(A) Strengthen provincial councils

(B) Extend Company’s trade monopoly

(D) Create dual governmental control

Answer: (D) Create dual governmental control

Explanation: Pitt’s India Act established a Board of Control for the Company’s political and administrative affairs while the Court of Directors continued overseeing commerce. This arrangement created a system of dual control that lasted until Crown rule began in 1858.

Q149. Which of the following Acts aimed to establish a federal polity in India?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (20 August 2025, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(B) Rowlatt Act, 1919

(D) Government of India Act, 1858

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1935 proposed an All-India Federation comprising British provinces and princely states. The plan required sufficient princely-state accessions and never came into operation. Provincial autonomy, however, was introduced under the same statute.

Q148. When were the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms introduced?

[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (13 August 2025, Shift 3)]

(A) 1931

(B) 1919

(D) 1923

Answer: (B) 1919

Explanation: The Montagu–Chelmsford proposals were enacted through the Government of India Act, 1919. They introduced dyarchy in provincial administration, divided subjects between reserved and transferred departments, and established a bicameral legislature at the centre.

Q147. Concerning the Indian Councils Act, 1892, consider: 1. It significantly increased official members. 2. Councils could discuss the budget and question the executive. 3. It introduced direct elections. Which are correct?

[SSC Stenographer (8 August 2025, Shift 3)]

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(D) 2 and 3 only

Answer: (B) 2 only

Explanation: The 1892 Act expanded legislative councils and first permitted discussion of the budget and questions within limits. Its method of filling some seats involved indirect recommendations rather than direct elections. It did not primarily enlarge official membership.

Q146. Two claims: the Simon Commission had an all-Indian membership; the Nehru Report sought immediate complete independence. Which is correct?

[SSC Stenographer (7 August 2025, Shift 3)]

(A) Neither statement

(B) First statement only

(D) Both statements

Answer: (A) Neither statement

Explanation: The Simon Commission had exclusively British members, prompting its boycott. The 1928 Nehru Report advocated dominion status within the Commonwealth rather than immediate complete independence. Therefore both claims in the question are incorrect.

Q145. In which year did the Governor-General become known as Viceroy?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (21 June 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) 1857

(B) 1935

(D) 1858

Answer: (D) 1858

Explanation: The 1858 transfer from Company government to the Crown was accompanied by the Governor-General’s new role as Viceroy, representing the British sovereign. Lord Canning held the position first, having already served as Governor-General.

Q144. After which revolt did the British alter army composition by increasing the relative number of European soldiers?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (18 June 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) Revolt of 1874

(B) Revolt of 1857

(D) Revolt of 1806

Answer: (B) Revolt of 1857

Explanation: The uprising of 1857 prompted major changes in the British Indian Army. Authorities increased European troop proportions and restructured recruitment to limit coordinated resistance. Military control became a central concern of Crown rule after the Company’s government ended.

Q143. For how many years did the Charter Act of 1793 renew the East India Company’s charter?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (17 June 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) 20 years

(B) 18 years

(D) 15 years

Answer: (A) 20 years

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1793 renewed the Company’s privileges for twenty years, continuing its trading monopoly and political administration under parliamentary oversight. Later Charter Acts further modified commerce and governing powers, especially in 1813, 1833 and 1853.

Q142. Which Act subordinated Bombay and Madras to Bengal regarding war, diplomacy and revenue?

[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (14 June 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) Charter Act, 1793

(B) Charter Act, 1833

(D) Charter Act, 1813

Answer: (C) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

Explanation: Pitt’s India Act strengthened imperial oversight by establishing a Board of Control. It reinforced Bengal’s supervisory position over other presidencies in important political and strategic matters, although the East India Company continued to manage commercial concerns through its directors.

Q141. What happened to Lala Lajpat Rai following protests against the Simon Commission?

[Punjab Police Constable (30 May 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) He led the commission

(B) He was injured and later died

(D) He received an official honour

Answer: (B) He was injured and later died

Explanation: Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten in a police lathi charge while protesting the Simon Commission’s arrival in Lahore in October 1928. He died weeks later. His death intensified nationalist anger at colonial repression.

Q140. Which of these is another name for the Indian Councils Act, 1909?

[RPF Constable 2024 Exam (9 March 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) Morley–Minto Reforms

(B) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

(D) Pitt’s India Act

Answer: (A) Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: Named after John Morley and Lord Minto, the Indian Councils Act of 1909 expanded legislative representation and established separate Muslim electorates. It differed from the 1919 Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, which introduced provincial dyarchy.

Q139. Which Act designated the Governor-General as Viceroy?

[RPF Constable 2024 Exam (9 March 2025, Shift 3)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Regulating Act, 1773

(D) Government of India Act, 1833

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1858

Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1858 abolished East India Company rule. Under Crown administration, the Governor-General was styled Viceroy as the British monarch’s representative. Lord Canning became the first person to serve in that capacity.

Q138. Which Act transferred government in India from the East India Company to the British Crown?

[RPF Constable (5 March 2025, Shift 1)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1858

(B) Government of India Act, 1935

(D) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

Answer: (A) Government of India Act, 1858

Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1858, also known as the Act for the Better Government of India, ended the East India Company’s governmental authority. It vested rule in the Crown and created the Secretary of State for India.

Q137. In which city was the court first presided over by Elijah Impey established?

[OPSC OAS Prelims GS (15 December 2024, Paper I)]

(A) Murshidabad

(B) Patna

(D) Dhaka

Answer: (C) Kolkata

Explanation: Elijah Impey became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court established at Fort William, Calcutta, in 1774. The court’s creation followed the Regulating Act of 1773, which introduced major judicial and administrative changes.

Q136. In which year was Pitt’s India Act enacted?

[SSC Stenographer (10 December 2024, Shift 1)]

(A) 1781

(B) 1784

(D) 1780

Answer: (B) 1784

Explanation: Pitt’s India Act, passed in 1784, created the Board of Control to supervise political affairs and left commercial management with the Company’s Court of Directors. It followed Parliament’s earlier attempt to regulate the Company in 1773.

Q135. Under which Act did Executive Council members receive separate departmental portfolios?

[SSC Stenographer (10 December 2024, Shift 1)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1858

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1892

Answer: (B) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Explanation: The portfolio system was associated with Lord Canning and received formal recognition under the Indian Councils Act of 1861. Individual council members were made responsible for specified departments, facilitating administrative specialization within colonial government.

Q134. When and for what purpose was the Simon Commission appointed?

[SSC Stenographer (10 December 2024, Shift 3)]

(A) In 1927 to recommend further constitutional reforms

(B) In 1924 to reform Swaraj

(D) In 1942 to improve troop movements

Answer: (A) In 1927 to recommend further constitutional reforms

Explanation: Britain appointed the Simon Commission in November 1927 to assess the functioning of the Government of India Act, 1919 and recommend changes. Its exclusion of Indians made it politically controversial even before arrival in February 1928.

Q133. Who founded Fort William College to train Company civil servants?

[RPF SI CBT I (2 December 2024, Shift 3)]

(A) Warren Hastings

(B) Lord Wellesley

(D) Lord Dalhousie

Answer: (B) Lord Wellesley

Explanation: Lord Wellesley founded Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800 to train newly appointed Company officers in Indian languages, laws and customs. British authorities soon shifted much formal training to institutions in Britain.

Q132. Consider: A. The Charter Act of 1833 changed Governor-General of Bengal to Governor-General of India. B. William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India. Which statements are incorrect?

[SSC MTS (30 October 2024, Shift 2)]

(A) Neither A nor B

(B) Only B

(D) Both A and B

Answer: (A) Neither A nor B

Explanation: Both statements are historically correct. The Charter Act of 1833 redesignated the office and centralized legislative power. Lord William Bentinck held the post when the change occurred, making him the first Governor-General of India under this arrangement.

Q131. Who introduced the Daroga system in 1792 as part of police reform?

[SSC CGL Tier I (18 September 2024, Shift 2)]

(A) Lord Cornwallis

(B) Lord Minto

(D) Lord William Bentinck

Answer: (A) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis reorganized policing through designated thanas and darogas, reducing the previous police functions of zamindars. The reforms attempted to introduce salaried and supervised policing but remained principally designed to protect revenue collection and colonial order.

Q130. Who was the first Viceroy of India?

[WBCS 2023 Mains History (18 August 2024, Paper III)]

(A) Lord Canning

(B) Lord Mountbatten

(D) Lord Auckland

Answer: (A) Lord Canning

Explanation: Lord Canning, Governor-General during the 1857 uprising, became the first Viceroy after government passed to the Crown in 1858. His administration oversaw the transition from the Company’s territorial rule to formal imperial government.

Q129. Which 1773 law led to the establishment of the Supreme Court at Calcutta?

[SSC CHSL Tier I (3 July 2024, Shift 3)]

(A) Regulating Act

(B) Pitt’s India Act

(D) Charter Act

Answer: (A) Regulating Act

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 authorized a Supreme Court in Calcutta, set up in 1774. The court had one chief justice and three other judges. Conflicts with Company administration eventually necessitated jurisdictional clarification in 1781.

Q128. Under the Charter Act of 1833, the East India Company’s monopoly of trade with which country ended?

[SSC CPO Paper I (27 June 2024, Shift 2)]

(A) Nepal

(B) China

(D) Sri Lanka

Answer: (B) China

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1833 ended the remaining commercial monopoly, including the Company’s privileged trade with China and tea. It made the Company a governing rather than trading agency and centralized legislative authority under the Governor-General of India.

Q127. Which Act abolished the East India Company’s monopoly on trade with China?

[SSC Selection Post Higher Secondary (20 June 2024, Shift 2)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1858

(B) Charter Act, 1853

(D) Charter Act, 1833

Answer: (D) Charter Act, 1833

Explanation: Although the 1813 Charter Act opened much of Indian trade, the exceptions concerning tea and China remained. The 1833 Charter Act removed these residual privileges, ending the Company’s commercial role and further centralizing imperial government.

Q126. In what year did district-level civil and criminal courts first form part of Warren Hastings’ reorganized judicial system?

[SSC JE Civil (5 June 2024, Shift 1)]

(A) 1773

(B) 1756

(D) 1774

Answer: (C) 1772

Explanation: Warren Hastings’ 1772 judicial plan established district Diwani Adalats for civil matters and Faujdari Adalats for criminal matters. These arrangements helped replace older overlapping systems with a more structured framework subject to Company’s revenue and judicial objectives.

Q125. The Simon Commission arrived in India in which year?

[SSC GD Constable (22 February 2024, Shift 1)]

(A) 1931

(B) 1919

(D) 1928

Answer: (D) 1928

Explanation: The Indian Statutory Commission was appointed in 1927 and arrived in February 1928 to review the 1919 constitutional reforms. Its exclusively British membership prompted widespread opposition and demonstrations under the slogan Simon Go Back.

Q124. Under Section 44 of the Police Act, 1861, who may inspect a police-station general diary?

[UP Police Assistant Operator (5 February 2024, Shift 2)]

(A) Director General of Police

(B) Prime Minister

(D) District Magistrate

Answer: (D) District Magistrate

Explanation: Section 44 required officers in charge to maintain a diary recording complaints, arrests and related particulars. The district magistrate could call for and inspect the diary, reflecting the administrative supervision of police stations established under colonial legislation.

Q123. With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935: 1. It proposed a federation of provinces and princely states. 2. It placed defence and foreign affairs under the federal legislature. Which statements are correct?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS Paper I (2024)]

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(D) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (A) 1 only

Explanation: The 1935 Act proposed an All-India Federation of British Indian provinces and princely states, but the federation never commenced. Defence and external affairs remained reserved under the Governor-General, not under a responsible federal legislature.

Q122. Which Viceroy promoted local self-government for municipalities and repealed the Vernacular Press Act?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (29 November 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Ripon

(B) Lord Ilbert

(D) Lord Lytton

Answer: (A) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon introduced his local self-government resolution in 1882 and repealed the Vernacular Press Act during his tenure. These measures promoted limited decentralization and a freer press while executive power remained firmly with colonial authorities.

Q121. Which Viceroy initiated the creation of local government bodies in British India?

[Delhi Police Constable Executive (16 November 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Hardinge II

(B) Lord Mayo

(D) Lord Minto

Answer: (C) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution sought to expand local boards and municipalities, particularly non-official participation. Although earlier administrators introduced fiscal decentralization, Ripon became especially associated with local representative government and political training for Indians.

Q120. Of the following claims on the 1935 Act, which are true: enacted by Parliament; distinguished India from Burma; began on 1 April 1935?

[SSC MTS (4 September 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) First and second only

(B) All three

(D) First and third only

Answer: (A) First and second only

Explanation: The 1935 Act was enacted by Britain’s Parliament and included provision for separating Burma from British India. Its principal provincial provisions came into effect in 1937, so the claim that the Act commenced on 1 April 1935 is false.

Q119. The Morley–Minto Reforms are associated with the Indian Councils Act of which year?

[SSC CHSL Tier I (14 August 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) 1909

(B) 1919

(D) 1935

Answer: (A) 1909

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act, 1909 is the Morley–Minto legislation. It enlarged legislatures and instituted separate electorates for Muslims. In contrast, the Government of India Act of 1919 incorporated the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms and provincial dyarchy.

Q118. Who introduced a resolution on local self-government to promote political education at the local level?

[SSC CGL Tier I (25 July 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Ripon

(B) Lord Mayo

(D) Lord Lytton

Answer: (A) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Ripon emphasized political education through elected local institutions in 1882. The measure promoted the participation of non-official members in municipal and district boards. Its importance was representative training rather than mere administrative savings or revenue collection.

Q117. In what year did the British Parliament pass the Regulating Act?

[SSC MTS (14 June 2023, Shift 2)]

(A) 1775

(B) 1876

(D) 1773

Answer: (D) 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act was passed in 1773 to address the Company’s financial troubles and regulate its territorial administration. It created the office of Governor-General of Bengal and provided for a Supreme Court at Calcutta.

Q116. Which committee was associated with reform of Indian public services in 1886?

[MP Forest Guard/Jail Prahari (6 June 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) Raleigh Commission

(B) Campbell Commission

(D) Hunter Committee

Answer: (C) Aitchison Committee

Explanation: The 1886 Public Service Commission was headed by Sir Charles Aitchison. Its proposals addressed the classification of services and greater provincial recruitment, differentiating imperial, provincial and subordinate branches while leaving important inequalities between British and Indian candidates.

Q115. Which civil-service statement is correct: a Public Service Commission was provided by an Act of 1809, or by the 1919 Government of India Act?

[MP Forest Guard/Jail Prahari (6 June 2023, Shift 2)]

(A) Only the 1809 claim

(B) Only the 1919 claim

(D) Neither claim

Answer: (B) Only the 1919 claim

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1919 provided for a Public Service Commission. An earlier supposed Council of India Act of 1809 made no such provision. India’s first Public Service Commission was subsequently constituted in 1926.

Q114. Which Act redesignated the Governor-General of Bengal as Governor-General of India?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (28 May 2023)]

(A) Regulating Act

(B) Pitt’s India Act

(D) Charter Act of 1833

Answer: (D) Charter Act of 1833

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1833 made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India, with broader authority across Company territories. Lord William Bentinck was the first to hold the redesignated office, marking a major step toward administrative centralization.

Q113. Which was the first High Court established under the Indian High Courts Act, 1861?

[SSC MTS (3 May 2023, Shift 1; memory-based paper)]

(A) Allahabad High Court

(B) Bombay High Court

(D) Madras High Court

Answer: (C) Calcutta High Court

Explanation: The Calcutta High Court began functioning in July 1862 under the Indian High Courts Act of 1861. The law authorized consolidation of existing superior courts into new High Courts in presidency towns, an important development in colonial judicial organization.

Q112. Wood’s Despatch of 1854 was related to which sector in British India?

[SSC MTS (2 May 2023, Shift 3)]

(A) Famine relief

(B) Military organization

(D) Education

Answer: (D) Education

Explanation: Sir Charles Wood’s Despatch of 1854 laid out a comprehensive system for education in colonial India. It recommended departments of public instruction, universities and teacher training, helping shape the provincial administration of schooling under British rule.

Q111. From which year did a new system of one civil court and one criminal court in each district operate under Company rule?

[DDA Junior Engineer Civil (1 April 2023, Shift 1)]

(A) 1772

(B) 1773

(D) 1770

Answer: (A) 1772

Explanation: The 1772 judicial plan introduced district Diwani and Faujdari Adalats as parallel civil and criminal institutions. Warren Hastings’ government developed the arrangement to administer local disputes and criminal justice under increasing East India Company supervision.

Q110. Pitt’s India Act of which year distinguished the East India Company’s commercial and political functions?

[SSC CHSL Tier-I (21 March 2023, Shift 2)]

(A) 1818

(B) 1792

(D) 1802

Answer: (C) 1784

Explanation: Pitt’s India Act was passed in 1784. By creating a Board of Control for political matters while leaving commercial business with Company directors, it institutionalized a dual system of supervision over British rule in India.

Q109. Which institutions were provided for or reconstituted under the Government of India Act, 1935: I. Federal Public Service Commission; II. Federal Court?

[RPSC Senior Teacher Grade II Sanskrit Education GK (12 February 2023, Shift 1)]

(A) Only II

(B) Both I and II

(D) Neither I nor II

Answer: (B) Both I and II

Explanation: The 1935 Act provided for federal and provincial public service commissions and a Federal Court. The Federal Court started functioning in 1937. These institutions reflected an expanded administrative and judicial design under the proposed constitutional federation.

Q108. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, what was the proposed federal legislature’s upper chamber called?

[RPSC Senior Teacher Grade II GK (29 January 2023, Shift 1)]

(A) Federal Chamber of Provinces

(B) Council of State

(D) Chamber of Princes

Answer: (B) Council of State

Explanation: The proposed federal legislature under the 1935 Act had the Council of State as its upper chamber and the Federal Assembly as its lower chamber. The federation never operated because sufficient princely states did not accede.

Q107. Which system did the Government of India Act, 1935, abolish?

[RPSC Senior Teacher Grade II GK (29 January 2023, Shift 2)]

(A) Communal elections

(B) Provincial autonomy

(D) Office of Secretary of State for India

Answer: (C) Dyarchy in the provinces

Explanation: Provincial dyarchy under the 1919 Act divided administrative subjects into reserved and transferred categories. The 1935 Act replaced this with provincial autonomy, while separately proposing dyarchy at the centre. It did not abolish communal representation.

Q106. Which Act first provided for Indians to be appointed to the Governor-General’s enlarged legislative council?

[Rajasthan CET Graduate Level (7 January 2023, Shift 2)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1919

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1909

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1896

Answer: (C) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1861 allowed nomination of additional non-official council members, including Indians, for legislative work. Participation was restricted and appointment-based, but the measure was an early formal opening of colonial lawmaking to selected Indians.

Q105. Under Cornwallis’ policing arrangements, consider: (1) districts were divided into thanas, (2) darogas headed them, (3) the daroga system entered Madras in 1812, (4) district magistrates nominated darogas. Which are correct?

[UPSC EPFO EO/AO (2023)]

(A) 1 and 2 only

(B) 2, 3 and 4

(D) 1, 2 and 4

Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 4

Explanation: The Cornwallis system divided districts into police jurisdictions headed by darogas, with appointment and supervision linked to district magistrates. The third proposition incorrectly dates its extension to Madras. Hence statements one, two and four alone are accepted.

Q104. Which commission was not connected with Indian public-service reforms?

[UPSC CAPF Assistant Commandant (2023, Paper I)]

(A) Aitchison Commission

(B) Islington Commission

(D) Radhakrishnan Commission

Answer: (D) Radhakrishnan Commission

Explanation: Aitchison, Islington and Lee examined recruitment or administration of India’s colonial civil services. The Radhakrishnan Commission was instead appointed in independent India in 1948 to review university education, so it is the exception in this comparison.

Q103. Which British Act is considered an early foundation of parliamentary government in India?

[WBCS Executive Prelims 2023]

(A) Charter Act of 1793

(B) Charter Act of 1813

(D) Charter Act of 1833

Answer: (C) Charter Act of 1853

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1853 distinguished legislative activity from the executive functions of the Governor-General’s Council and introduced additional legislative councillors. Although far from democratic self-government, this institutional separation anticipated later legislative developments.

Q102. Which statement is NOT true of the Charter Act of 1813?

[CGPSC State Services Prelims GS (2023)]

(A) It allowed Christian missionaries to enter India

(B) It asserted Crown sovereignty over Company territories

(D) None of the above

Answer: (C) It ended the Company monopoly, including the tea trade

Explanation: The 1813 Act relaxed the Company monopoly on Indian commerce but reserved tea and China trade. It also recognized Crown sovereignty over Company territory and allowed greater missionary access. Therefore, the statement about abolishing the tea monopoly is incorrect.

Q101. In which year was the Cornwallis Code introduced?

[SSC JE Civil (14 November 2022, Shift 1)]

(A) 1793

(B) 1794

(D) 1792

Answer: (A) 1793

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis consolidated regulations on administrative service, justice, policing and revenue in 1793. The Code sought to define officials’ duties and separate judicial work from revenue collection, shaping the Company’s formal machinery of government in Bengal.

Q100. Who chaired the Public Service Commission that recommended raising the maximum age for competitive civil-service examinations?

[UGC NET History (10 October 2022, Shift 2)]

(A) William Digby

(B) Charles Aitchison

(D) Valentine Chirol

Answer: (B) Charles Aitchison

Explanation: The Aitchison Public Service Commission was appointed in 1886 under Viceroy Dufferin. Sir Charles Aitchison chaired it. The commission considered greater Indian entry, service classification and age limits, although the colonial system continued to favour European recruits.

Q99. By what other name is the Indian Councils Act, 1909, known?

[RRB Group D (7 October 2022, Shift 1)]

(A) Simon Commission

(B) Quit India Movement

(D) Morley–Minto Reforms

Answer: (D) Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: The Morley–Minto reforms were legislated through the Indian Councils Act of 1909. They expanded legislative councils and provided separate Muslim electorates, but neither established provincial dyarchy nor produced a popularly accountable central executive.

Q98. Which enactment permitted the East India Company to retain its Indian territories and revenues in trust for the Crown without fixing another twenty-year renewal?

[RRB Group D (29 September 2022, Shift 2)]

(A) Regulating Act, 1773

(B) Charter Act, 1853

(D) Government of India Act, 1935

Answer: (B) Charter Act, 1853

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1853 did not renew Company administration for the usual fixed twenty-year period. Territories and revenues continued to be held in trust for the Crown, while Parliament reserved the possibility of ending Company government.

Q97. In which year was the Regulating Act passed by the British Parliament?

[RRB Group D (22 September 2022, Shift 3)]

(A) 1773

(B) 1861

(D) 1793

Answer: (A) 1773

Explanation: Parliament enacted the Regulating Act in 1773 as an early attempt to supervise Company rule in India. It created the Governor-General of Bengal with a council and authorized a Supreme Court at Fort William in Calcutta.

Q96. Who is regarded as the Father of Local Self-Government in India?

[RRB Group D (6 September 2022, Shift 1)]

(A) Warren Hastings

(B) Robert Clive

(D) Lord Ripon

Answer: (D) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution sought representative local administration through municipal and district boards. It advocated greater non-official participation and local responsibility, earning Ripon the conventional title Father of Local Self-Government in India.

Q95. The East India Company Act, 1813 is also known by which name?

[RRB Group D (24 August 2022, Shift 1)]

(A) Charter Act

(B) British Parliament Act

(D) Indian Independence Act

Answer: (A) Charter Act

Explanation: The East India Company Act of 1813 was a Charter Act renewing the Company’s authority while ending its exclusive right over most commerce with India. The privileged tea and China trades remained exceptions until 1833.

Q94. Which British law defined powers and responsibilities of the governing organs of the East India Company?

[RRB Group D (23 August 2022, Shift 1)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(B) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(D) Government of India Act, 1858

Answer: (C) Regulating Act, 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act, 1773 gave statutory definition to important Company governing offices and imposed Parliament’s initial controls. It created a Governor-General and council in Bengal while requiring Company authorities to report on administrative matters.

Q93. Assess statements on local government: (i) Ripon’s 1882 resolution formally established a two-tier system for administrative efficiency. (ii) Under the 1919 reforms, local self-government became a transferred provincial subject. Which is correct?

[DSSSB Patwari (21 August 2022, Shift 3)]

(A) Neither statement

(B) Only (i)

(D) Both statements

Answer: (C) Only (ii)

Explanation: Ripon’s 1882 resolution encouraged participatory municipal and district boards, not the stated rigid two-tier scheme. The Montagu–Chelmsford changes made local self-government a transferred subject under provincial dyarchy, handled by ministers responsible to legislatures.

Q92. Who introduced the Daroga system in place of policing by zamindari thanedars?

[SSC Selection Post Graduation Level (5 August 2022, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Hastings

(B) Lord Wellesley

(D) Lord Cornwallis

Answer: (D) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Cornwallis reduced zamindari control over policing by establishing an official daroga-led police structure. The new thanas were intended to improve supervision and policing across districts, though coercive colonial priorities and local abuses frequently remained.

Q91. Under the Indian Councils Act of 1861, how long was the term of the six to twelve nominated additional legislative members?

[SSC Selection Post Graduation Level (4 August 2022, Shift 2)]

(A) Two years

(B) Six years

(D) Three years

Answer: (A) Two years

Explanation: The Act of 1861 provided for six to twelve additional members of the Governor-General’s council for legislative purposes, serving two-year terms. It distinguished lawmaking business from executive work and permitted limited non-official participation without popular parliamentary control.

Q90. Which Act established the Board of Control to supervise Company affairs?

[Odisha Police SI (6 July 2022, Paper II)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1858

(B) Regulating Act, 1773

(D) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

Answer: (D) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

Explanation: Pitt’s India Act of 1784 established the Board of Control, separating supervision of political affairs from the commercial responsibilities of the Company’s directors. This structure strengthened British government authority while Company rule continued.

Q89. Which Act marked the culmination of centralization under the East India Company?

[Odisha Police SI (6 July 2022, Paper II)]

(A) Charter Act of 1833

(B) Charter Act of 1793

(D) Charter Act of 1853

Answer: (A) Charter Act of 1833

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1833 concentrated lawmaking authority for British India in the Governor-General of India and deprived Bombay and Madras of separate legislative powers. The resulting centralized scheme was later moderated through subsequent councils legislation.

Q88. The earliest significant recommendation for merit-based recruitment to the Indian civil services is associated with which committee?

[Odisha Police Sub-Inspector Paper II (6 July 2022)]

(A) Lee Commission

(B) Islington Commission

(D) Maxwell Committee

Answer: (C) Macaulay Committee

Explanation: After the Charter Act of 1853 opened a route to competitive recruitment, the Macaulay Committee of 1854 worked out its implementation. Subsequent commissions considered Indianization, classification and representation rather than initiating the principle of open competition.

Q87. Who introduced significant local self-government reforms in India in 1882?

[TNUSRB SI (25 June 2022, General Studies)]

(A) Lord Curzon

(B) Lord Wellesley

(D) Lord Hastings

Answer: (C) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution promoted local boards with greater non-official and elected participation. He became known as the father of local self-government in India, though colonial financial constraints and official supervision remained extensive.

Q86. Who was the first Indian admitted to the Indian Civil Service?

[RRB NTPC CBT II Level 5 (12 June 2022, Shift 2)]

(A) Surendranath Banerjee

(B) Romesh Chandra Dutt

(D) Satyendranath Tagore

Answer: (D) Satyendranath Tagore

Explanation: Satyendranath Tagore succeeded in the open Indian Civil Service examination in 1863 and joined the service following training. The recruitment process was formally competitive but concentrated in London, limiting access for Indian aspirants.

Q85. In which year were district civil and criminal courts first established under Warren Hastings’ judicial reforms?

[DSSSB Junior Secretariat Assistant (9 April 2022, Shift 3)]

(A) 1786

(B) 1765

(D) 1772

Answer: (D) 1772

Explanation: In 1772, Hastings introduced Diwani Adalats for civil disputes and Faujdari Adalats for criminal cases at district level. The arrangement was a key stage in the judicial institutionalization of East India Company rule in Bengal.

Q84. In which year was Pitt’s India Act enacted?

[DSSSB Assistant Teacher (Primary) (30 March 2022, Shift 2)]

(A) 1819

(B) 1901

(D) 1857

Answer: (C) 1784

Explanation: The Act was passed in 1784 under Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. It established a government-appointed Board of Control and maintained a Court of Directors, creating a dual arrangement for governing the East India Company’s affairs.

Q83. For the Indian Councils Act, 1892, evaluate: (i) It came into effect on 20 June 1892; (ii) of 24 members, five were non-government members; (iii) it allowed supplementary questions. Which are correct?

[CGPSC State Services 2021 Prelims GS (13 February 2022)]

(A) (i), (ii), (iii)

(B) (i) and (ii)

(D) Only (i)

Answer: (D) Only (i)

Explanation: The examined key treats the commencement date as correct. The stated membership figure is inaccurate, and the Act permitted questions under restrictions rather than supplementary questions. Additional legislative powers remained narrow until later reforms.

Q82. Which Act provided for establishing the Supreme Court at Calcutta in 1774?

[WBCS 2021 Mains Polity (May 2022, Paper V)]

(A) Carriers Act, 1865

(B) Coroners Act, 1871

(D) Regulating Act, 1773

Answer: (D) Regulating Act, 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 empowered the Crown to establish a Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William. The court opened in Calcutta in 1774 under Chief Justice Elijah Impey and three other judges.

Q81. Which local official was viewed as the Company government’s representative of authority in the late eighteenth century?

[UPPSC Review Officer/Assistant Review Officer (5 December 2021)]

(A) Kotwal

(B) Daroga

(D) Zamindar

Answer: (B) Daroga

Explanation: The daroga was a police officer appointed under Cornwallis’ reorganization of district policing. Controlling thana jurisdictions, darogas became visible representatives of Company authority in rural areas, though local power relationships frequently compromised fair and impartial enforcement.

Q80. Regarding the ICS, consider:
(1) the 1919 reforms provided for examinations in India;
(2) Indians outnumbered Europeans within the ICS by 1941.

Which statements are correct?

[UPPSC RO/ARO General Studies (5 December 2021)]

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(D) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2

Explanation: The Montagu–Chelmsford reforms facilitated later ICS examinations in India, which began in 1922. Indian recruitment grew in the interwar years and surpassed European representation by 1941. Both developments indicate gradual Indianization of a once overwhelmingly European service.

Q79. Under the Police Act of 1861, whose written authorization was required for a police officer to take employment outside police duty?

[UP Police Sub-Inspector (27 November 2021, Shift 3)]

(A) Governor

(B) Chief Minister

(D) Inspector-General of Police

Answer: (D) Inspector-General of Police

Explanation: The Police Act of 1861 restricted outside employment by police personnel without prescribed written permission of the Inspector-General. Such provisions reflected a disciplined, hierarchical police bureaucracy developed under colonial administration following the Revolt of 1857.

Q78. Which Act of the British Parliament provided for the Supreme Court at Calcutta?

[UP Police Sub-Inspector (25 November 2021, Shift 3)]

(A) Regulating Act, 1773

(B) Pitt’s India Act, 1784

(D) Charter Act, 1813

Answer: (A) Regulating Act, 1773

Explanation: The Regulating Act of 1773 authorized establishment of the Calcutta Supreme Court, which opened in 1774. This was an early parliamentary intervention in Company government and introduced a new royal judicial institution in Bengal.

Q77. Which Act ended the East India Company’s monopoly of trade in India?

[UP Police Sub-Inspector (16 November 2021, Shift 1)]

(A) Charter Act, 1853

(B) Charter Act, 1833

(D) Charter Act, 1813

Answer: (D) Charter Act, 1813

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1813 ended the Company’s exclusive control over most trade with India but preserved its tea and China trade monopoly. The latter privileges ended with the Charter Act of 1833, when commercial business ceased.

Q76. Regarding the Indian Councils Act of 1861, which is correct:
(1) it enlarged the Governor-General’s Council for legislation;
(2) the Governor-General could not increase its membership?

[UPSC NDA II GAT (14 November 2021)]

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(D) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (A) 1 only

Explanation: The 1861 Act enlarged the council with additional legislative members while permitting appointments within the statutory range. The second statement misstates the Governor-General’s powers. Lawmaking nevertheless remained tightly controlled by the colonial executive rather than elected representatives.

Q75. Who is called the father of local self-government in India?

[UP Police SI (13 November 2021, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Dalhousie

(B) Lord Canning

(D) Lord Mayo

Answer: (C) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution laid the groundwork for more representative municipal and district boards. His approach sought to encourage participation by Indian non-official members, although local bodies remained subject to extensive colonial oversight.

Q74. Which Act strengthened the Viceroy’s authority over his council by replacing collective functioning with a departmental portfolio system?

[UPPSC PCS Prelims General Studies (24 October 2021)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Government of India Act, 1858

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1909

Answer: (A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1861 recognized departmental portfolios and authorized rules for transacting Executive Council business. Individual members assumed charge of specific departments, enabling more streamlined decisions while retaining the Viceroy’s overriding authority.

Q73. Which statute first made indirect election of Indian representatives to legislative councils possible?

[SSC MTS 2020 (13 October 2021, Shift 3)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1833

(B) Indian Councils Act, 1892

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Answer: (B) Indian Councils Act, 1892

Explanation: The 1892 Act introduced limited indirect selection of non-official council members through recommendations by local bodies and institutions. It did not establish democratic elections or responsible government, but it was an important stage in legislative representation.

Q72. Consider:
(1) The 1919 reforms gave voting rights to all women above 21;
(2) the 1935 Act reserved legislative seats for women.

Which is correct?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (10 October 2021)]

(A) Statement 1 only

(B) Statement 2 only

(D) Neither statement

Answer: (B) Statement 2 only

Explanation: The 1919 reforms did not establish universal women’s suffrage. The Government of India Act of 1935, however, provided reserved legislative seats for women and widened the restricted electorate. Full adult franchise arrived only after independence.

Q71. Under which Charter Act was provision made for India’s first Law Commission?

[MH SET History (26 September 2021)]

(A) Charter Act, 1793

(B) Charter Act, 1813

(D) Charter Act, 1853

Answer: (C) Charter Act, 1833

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1833 authorized a Law Commission to examine and codify Indian law. The first commission began work under T. B. Macaulay in 1834, eventually contributing to major colonial legislative codification initiatives, including criminal law reform.

Q70. Which of the following introduced provincial autonomy in British India?

[JPSC Civil Services Prelims Paper I (19 September 2021)]

(A) Cabinet Mission

(B) Simon Commission

(D) Government of India Act, 1919

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1935 ended provincial dyarchy and introduced a greater degree of provincial autonomy. Governors retained important discretionary and reserve powers, so the reform did not establish completely independent provincial governments.

Q69. Which historical statement is correct?

[SSC CHSL Tier I (5 August 2021, Shift 3)]

(A) Siraj-ud-Daulah was defeated at Plassey in 1775

(B) The first Bombay–Thane railway ran in 1776

(D) The Cornwallis Code was enacted in 1793

Answer: (D) The Cornwallis Code was enacted in 1793

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis issued regulations collectively known as the Cornwallis Code in 1793. Plassey occurred in 1757, the first passenger railway ran in 1853, and William Jones founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.

Q68. In which year was the Cornwallis Code enacted?

[SSC CHSL Tier I (4 August 2021, Shift 3)]

(A) 1723

(B) 1857

(D) 1805

Answer: (C) 1793

Explanation: The 1793 Cornwallis Code formalized a comprehensive system of colonial administrative, judicial, police and revenue regulations in Bengal. It is especially associated with reorganized courts, clearer official jurisdictions and the Permanent Settlement of land revenue.

Q67. Which Viceroy encouraged elected local government bodies?

[RRB NTPC CBT I (7 April 2021, Shift 1)]

(A) Lord Ripon

(B) Lord Reading

(D) Lord Wavell

Answer: (A) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon advanced local self-government through his 1882 resolution, which supported larger non-official representation and elected elements in local boards. The measure was an important, although limited, step toward decentralizing municipal and district administration.

Q66. Which principle underlay the Government of India Act, 1935?

[RRB NTPC CBT I (8 February 2021, Shift 2)]

(A) Federation and parliamentary institutions

(B) An immediate constituent assembly

(D) Immediate independence

Answer: (A) Federation and parliamentary institutions

Explanation: The 1935 statute envisioned an All-India Federation and extended representative legislative institutions. Its proposed federation was never established, and imperial safeguards remained extensive. The Act did not itself recognize Indian independence or create a constituent assembly.

Q65. In which year did the Governor-General of India acquire the title of Viceroy?

[RRB NTPC CBT I (3 February 2021, Shift 2)]

(A) 1857

(B) 1905

(D) 1858

Answer: (D) 1858

Explanation: The 1858 Government of India Act transferred governing power from the East India Company to the Crown. Lord Canning became the first Viceroy, representing the British monarch while continuing as Governor-General of India.

Q64. What major form of provincial government was introduced by the Government of India Act, 1935?

[RRB NTPC CBT I (5 January 2021, Shift 2)]

(A) Provincial autonomy

(B) Complete self-rule

(D) Provincial dyarchy

Answer: (A) Provincial autonomy

Explanation: The Act of 1935 abolished dyarchy within provinces and introduced elected ministries responsible to provincial legislatures. Governors retained extensive discretionary and emergency powers, so provincial autonomy was significant but still constrained by British control.

Q63. Who was Viceroy when the Indian Councils Act of 1909 was enacted?

[SSC Selection Post Higher Secondary (6 November 2020, Shift 3)]

(A) Lord Chelmsford

(B) Edwin Montagu

(D) Lord Minto

Answer: (D) Lord Minto

Explanation: Lord Minto served as Viceroy while John Morley was Secretary of State for India. The 1909 Councils Act, known as the Morley–Minto Reforms, enlarged councils and introduced separate electorates for Muslim representatives.

Q62. What was the Government of India Act, 1919, commonly known as?

[SSC JE Civil (29 October 2020, Morning)]

(A) Nehru Report

(B) Morley–Minto Reforms

(D) Communal Award

Answer: (C) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

Explanation: The Act implemented the constitutional programme formulated by Secretary of State Edwin Montagu and Viceroy Lord Chelmsford. It introduced provincial dyarchy, divided central and provincial functions, and reorganized the central legislature into two chambers.

Q61. About Calcutta’s Supreme Court:
(1) the Regulating Act of 1773 provided for it;
(2) Le Maistre was its first Chief Justice.

Which statements are correct?

[UPPSC RO/ARO GS Paper I (20 September 2020)]

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(D) Both

Answer: (A) 1 only

Explanation: The 1773 Regulating Act authorized the Supreme Court, which began work in 1774. Sir Elijah Impey was its first Chief Justice. Stephen Caesar Le Maistre was one of the other early judges, not the chief justice.

Q60. Which Act or commission provided for the creation of India’s Federal Court?

[UPSC CDS General Knowledge (2 February 2020)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1919

(B) Lee Commission, 1923

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1909

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 provided for a Federal Court, which began functioning in 1937. It exercised original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction in defined matters, forming an important predecessor to the Supreme Court established in 1950.

Q59. Match commissions with recommendations:
(a) Macaulay,
(b) Aitchison,
(c) Islington,
(d) Lee;

(i) abolish Statutory Civil Service recruitment,
(ii) competitive recruitment,
(iii) establish Public Service Commission,
(iv) two-year probation. Choose the matching.

[MPSC State Service Mains General Studies II (2020)]

(A) a-iv, b-iii, c-ii, d-i

(B) a-i, b-ii, c-iii, d-iv

(D) a-ii, b-i, c-iv, d-iii

Answer: (D) a-ii, b-i, c-iv, d-iii

Explanation: Macaulay promoted open competitive recruitment, Aitchison recommended ending the Statutory Civil Service arrangement, Islington addressed probation and recruitment, and Lee supported a Public Service Commission. The matching traces successive attempts to reorganize elite services during British rule.

Q58. Which Act earmarked an annual grant of one lakh rupees for education?

[WBCS Prelims 2020]

(A) Charter Act of 1813

(B) Regulating Act of 1773

(D) Charter Act of 1833

Answer: (A) Charter Act of 1813

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1813 allocated an annual sum of one lakh rupees for education in India. It reflected growing state involvement in educational policy while also renewing Company rule and opening most Indian commerce to private traders.

Q57. On which date was Queen Victoria’s Proclamation issued?

[WBCS Prelims 2020]

(A) 1 November 1858

(B) 10 May 1857

(D) 11 February 1860

Answer: (A) 1 November 1858

Explanation: Queen Victoria’s Proclamation was issued on 1 November 1858 and announced the new system of Crown rule. It promised religious non-interference, respect for princely treaties and equal protection, though colonial administration remained deeply unequal.

Q56. Match each Act with its year:
A. Indian Arms Act;
B. Royal Titles Act;
C. Indian High Courts Act;
D. Indian Divorce Act.

Years:
1. 1876,
2. 1878,
3. 1869,
4. 1861.

[UPPSC PCS Prelims GS Paper I (2020)]

(A) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4

(B) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

(D) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3

Answer: (D) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3

Explanation: The Arms Act dates to 1878, the Royal Titles Act to 1876, the Indian High Courts Act to 1861 and the Indian Divorce Act to 1869. The matching illustrates legislative development across colonial judicial, administrative and imperial institutions.

Q55. Which educational report led to the establishment of Calcutta University?

[WBCS Prelims (2020)]

(A) Macaulay’s Minute

(B) Hunter Commission

(D) Wood’s Despatch

Answer: (D) Wood’s Despatch

Explanation: Wood’s Despatch of 1854 recommended universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras modeled on London University. Universities at these three centres were created in 1857, expanding the institutional framework for education under colonial administration.

Q54. In which year was the Indian Councils Act popularly called the Morley–Minto Reforms passed?

[Coal India Limited Management Trainee Mechanical (2020)]

(A) 1912

(B) 1906

(D) 1909

Answer: (D) 1909

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act, 1909 followed reforms associated with Secretary of State John Morley and Viceroy Lord Minto. It enlarged legislative councils and introduced separate electorates for Muslims, embedding communal representation within colonial constitutional arrangements.

Q53. The Aitchison Commission of 1886 was appointed to recommend reforms in which field?

[SSC CPO (12 December 2019, Shift 2)]

(A) Armed forces

(B) Judiciary

(D) Princely-state administration

Answer: (C) Indian civil services

Explanation: The Aitchison Commission, appointed during Lord Dufferin’s viceroyalty, reviewed public-service organization and Indian recruitment. Its work contributed to distinctions among imperial, provincial and subordinate services, though access to senior colonial employment remained unequal.

Q52. Which Governor-General introduced a code separating revenue administration from judicial administration?

[SSC CPO (11 December 2019, Shift 1)]

(A) Lord Wellesley

(B) Lord Cornwallis

(D) Lord William Bentinck

Answer: (B) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: The Cornwallis Code of 1793 separated revenue-collecting and judicial functions to reduce conflicts of interest. Cornwallis reorganized civil courts and district administration, creating a more formal system whose independence nevertheless remained limited by colonial executive authority.

Q51. Who established district Faujdari Adalats and Diwani Adalats through the judicial plan of 1772?

[SSC CPO (9 December 2019, Shift 1)]

(A) Robert Clive

(B) Warren Hastings

(D) Lord Dalhousie

Answer: (B) Warren Hastings

Explanation: Warren Hastings’ 1772 reforms created two types of district courts: criminal Faujdari Adalats and civil Diwani Adalats. The institutions expanded Company oversight over justice and connected local adjudication with its broader administrative reforms.

Q50. In which year did the Governor-General first acquire the title Viceroy?

[SSC CPO (9 December 2019, Shift 2)]

(A) 1857

(B) 1856

(D) 1859

Answer: (C) 1858

Explanation: The title Viceroy began to be used after Crown rule was established in 1858. Lord Canning, Governor-General during the Revolt of 1857, was the first to represent the Crown in that capacity.

Q49. Why was the Simon Commission sent by the British Government boycotted?

[SSC GD Constable (18 February 2019, Shift 3)]

(A) It reduced India’s financial independence

(B) It had no Indian members

(D) It gave new powers to princely states

Answer: (B) It had no Indian members

Explanation: Every member of the 1927 Simon Commission was British, provoking widespread opposition to excluding Indians from decisions about India’s constitutional future. The commission reached India in 1928 to review the reforms introduced under the 1919 Act.

Q48. In what year was Pitt’s India Act passed?

[RPF Constable (15 February 2019)]

(A) 1784

(B) 1857

(D) 1773

Answer: (A) 1784

Explanation: Passed in 1784, Pitt’s India Act created a Board of Control for political oversight of the East India Company while its Court of Directors handled commercial matters. This institutionalized a dual system of control from Britain.

Q47. Who was described as the Father of Local Self-Government in colonial India?

[RPF Constable (6 February 2019)]

(A) Lord Lytton

(B) Lord Wellesley

(D) Lord Curzon

Answer: (C) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon introduced the 1882 resolution encouraging elected non-official participation in local bodies, including municipalities and district boards. He viewed local government as political education for Indians, hence his enduring association with representative decentralization.

Q46. In which year was India’s Federal Court established?

[RPF Constable (20 January 2019, Shift 3)]

(A) 1937

(B) 1947

(D) 1935

Answer: (A) 1937

Explanation: The Federal Court of India began functioning in 1937 under the Government of India Act of 1935. It heard constitutional disputes and certain appeals. Sir Maurice Gwyer served as its first chief justice before its replacement by the Supreme Court.

Q45. Concerning the Diwani Adalat established in 1772: (A) it was a criminal court; (B) European district collectors presided over it. Which is correct?

[CTET Social Studies Paper II (July 2019)]

(A) A true, B false

(B) A false, B true

(D) Both false

Answer: (B) A false, B true

Explanation: The Diwani Adalat handled civil, not criminal, matters. In Hastings’ system, European collectors presided over such courts with assistance from local legal specialists. Criminal disputes were directed to the separately organized Faujdari Adalat system.

Q44. Who declared that the Simon Commission Report should be thrown on a heap of rubbish?

[WBCS Prelims (2019)]

(A) M. K. Gandhi

(B) Sivaswami Aiyar

(D) Jawaharlal Nehru

Answer: (B) Sivaswami Aiyar

Explanation: Sir P. S. Sivaswami Aiyar, an Indian jurist and statesman, was associated with this sharp criticism of the Simon Commission Report. The commission had been appointed without Indian members and became a major focus of nationalist protest.

Q43. Which reform provided for separate electorates for Muslim representatives?

[WBCS Prelims (2019)]

(A) Government of India Act, 1935

(B) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

(D) Mountbatten Plan

Answer: (C) Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1909, popularly called the Morley–Minto Reforms, introduced separate electorates for Muslims. This institutionalized distinct electoral rolls and constituencies for Muslim representatives, becoming a consequential feature of colonial representative politics.

Q42. Which statements about the Indian Councils Act, 1861, are correct? (1) non-official nominees introduced limited participation, (2) their work concerned proposed laws, (3) the Governor-General lost effective legislative power.

[UPSC CDS General Knowledge (18 November 2018)]

(A) 1 and 2 only

(B) 2 and 3 only

(D) 1 only

Answer: (A) 1 and 2 only

Explanation: The Act included nominated non-official participants in the legislative process, but their role was confined to legislation introduced within the colonial framework. The Governor-General retained effective legislative authority, so the third assertion incorrectly suggests executive control disappeared.

Q41. Who first organized a regular police system for maintaining law and order in colonial India?

[TSPSC Hostel Welfare Officer (29 July 2018)]

(A) Lord Wellesley

(B) Warren Hastings

(D) Lord Cornwallis

Answer: (D) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis reorganized policing in the late eighteenth century through daroga-led thanas and official supervision. His reforms weakened zamindar policing powers and laid important institutional foundations for later British police organization.

Q40. Which Governor-General earned the title Father of Local Self-Government in India?

[UPSSSC Lower PCS Prelims (15 July 2018)]

(A) Lord Wellesley

(B) Lord Canning

(D) Lord Ripon

Answer: (D) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon’s resolution of 1882 emphasized the expansion of local representative institutions. It sought stronger roles for elected and non-official participants in municipal and district boards, though colonial officials retained substantial supervisory authority.

Q39. Which reform is another name for the Indian Councils Act, 1909?

[DSSSB PGT Chemistry (6 July 2018, Shift 1)]

(A) Regulating Act

(B) Pitt’s India Act

(D) Morley–Minto Reforms

Answer: (D) Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: The 1909 Act is called the Morley–Minto Reforms. It expanded the membership of colonial councils and provided separate electorates for Muslims, while withholding full parliamentary accountability from the government of British India.

Q38. Who held residuary legislative powers under the proposed federation of the 1935 Act?

[UPSC CSE Prelims 2018]

(A) Federal legislature

(B) Governor-General

(D) Provincial governors

Answer: (B) Governor-General

Explanation: Under the Government of India Act of 1935, residuary legislative powers were assigned to the Governor-General, not automatically to either legislature. This reflected the strong supervisory authority retained by the British executive in the proposed federal constitutional structure.

Q37. Why was the Simon Commission of 1927 boycotted?

[WBCS Prelims (2018)]

(A) It had no Indian member

(B) It supported the Muslim League

(D) None of the above

Answer: (A) It had no Indian member

Explanation: The Simon Commission comprised seven British parliamentarians and no Indians. Formed to examine the Government of India Act of 1919, its membership was regarded as an insult and triggered broad protests when it arrived in 1928.

[RPSC RAS Prelims (2018)]

(A) A only

(B) B and C

(D) A, B and C

Answer: (C) A and C

Explanation: The 1926 and 1945 elections to the central legislature were conducted under the 1919 framework. The 1937 elections were provincial elections associated with implementing provincial autonomy under the Government of India Act of 1935.

Q35. Which reforms are associated with the Indian Councils Act, 1909?

[MP Patwari (12 December 2017, Shift 1)]

(A) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms

(B) Morley–Minto Reforms

(D) Cripps Mission Plan

Answer: (B) Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1909 is commonly called the Morley–Minto Reforms. Its defining features included expanded legislative councils and separate Muslim electorates. Montagu–Chelmsford refers instead to the 1919 constitutional settlement.

Q34. Which Governor-General was associated with appointing Indians as munsiff judges in the late eighteenth century?

[Allahabad High Court Group D (23 July 2017)]

(A) Lord Cornwallis

(B) Warren Hastings

(D) Lord Dalhousie

Answer: (A) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Under Cornwallis’ 1793 judicial plan, Indian judicial officers could serve as munsiffs in lower civil courts. This provided a limited role for Indian adjudicators while higher judicial authority remained concentrated among Company officials.

Q33. Who was Viceroy when the Indian National Congress was founded?

[RPSC Senior Teacher Grade II Social Science (2 July 2017)]

(A) Lord Ripon

(B) Lord Lytton

(D) Lord Curzon

Answer: (C) Lord Dufferin

Explanation: The first Indian National Congress session was convened in 1885, during Lord Dufferin’s viceroyalty. A growing Indian public sphere emerged alongside restrictive colonial administrative institutions, and Congress began seeking changes in political representation.

Q32. Who was Governor-General when the Revolt of 1857 began?

[WBCS Prelims 2017]

(A) William Bentinck

(B) Lord Cornwallis

(D) Lord Dalhousie

Answer: (C) Lord Canning

Explanation: Lord Canning served as Governor-General from 1856 and was in office when the uprising began in 1857. After the transfer of government in 1858, he became the first Viceroy of British India.

Q31. Which law abolished the East India Company’s trade monopoly within India?

[CGPSC State Services Prelims (2017)]

(A) Charter Act, 1793

(B) Charter Act, 1813

(D) Charter Act, 1853

Answer: (B) Charter Act, 1813

Explanation: The Charter Act of 1813 opened trade with India to private British merchants, except the Company’s remaining monopolies in tea and China trade. The Charter Act of 1833 subsequently abolished those remaining privileges.

Q30. Which of these commissions or missions visited India in 1946?

[WBCS Prelims (2017)]

(A) Cripps Mission

(B) Cabinet Mission

(D) Hunter Commission

Answer: (B) Cabinet Mission

Explanation: The three-member Cabinet Mission came to India in 1946 to negotiate a constitutional settlement and transfer of power. Its proposals covered an Indian Constituent Assembly and a union framework, but political disagreement ultimately prevented agreement.

Q29. Who described the East India Company as an anomaly but part of a system where everything was anomalous?

[UPPSC PCS Prelims (2017)]

(A) Warren Hastings

(B) Thomas Babington Macaulay

(D) Henry Dundas

Answer: (B) Thomas Babington Macaulay

Explanation: Thomas Babington Macaulay criticized the Company’s unusual position as both commercial corporation and territorial government. He became the first Law Member of the Governor-General’s Council under the 1833 reforms and influenced Indian legal codification.

Q28. After the Revolt of 1857:
(A) authority transferred to the Crown by the Act of 1858;
(B) British authorities increased Indian troop proportion and reduced Europeans.

Which is correct?

[CTET Social Studies Paper II (September 2016)]

(A) Both A and B

(B) Neither A nor B

(D) A false, B true

Answer: (C) A true, B false

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1858 transferred authority from the Company to the Crown. Military reorganization moved in the opposite direction to statement B: Britain strengthened European troop proportions while seeking to prevent unified military revolt.

Q27. Who presided over the district Diwani Adalat civil courts introduced in 1772?

[CTET Social Studies Paper II (May 2016)]

(A) Presidency governors

(B) Governor-General

(D) European district collectors

Answer: (D) European district collectors

Explanation: European district collectors presided over the civil Diwani Adalats established in Hastings’ 1772 plan. Hindu pandits and Muslim legal specialists supplied interpretations of personal law, while criminal matters came under separate Faujdari courts.

Q26. Which Governor-General is most associated with organizing the Indian Civil Service?

[WBCS Prelims 2016]

(A) Lord Dalhousie

(B) Lord Curzon

(D) Lord Cornwallis

Answer: (D) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis is popularly called the father of the Indian Civil Service because his reforms organized official salaries, conduct and administrative responsibilities. His model also excluded most Indians from senior appointments, revealing the service’s colonial character.

Q25. Which was NOT a feature of the Government of India Act, 1935?

[RPSC RAS Prelims (2016)]

(A) Beginning of provincial autonomy

(B) Proposal for an All-India Federation

(D) Allocation of residuary powers to provincial legislatures

Answer: (D) Allocation of residuary powers to provincial legislatures

Explanation: The 1935 Act proposed federation and central dyarchy and established provincial autonomy. Residuary authority was not transferred to provincial legislatures; the Governor-General held discretion over residual matters, underscoring the limitations of the proposed federal system.

Q24. Identify the INCORRECT statement regarding the Government of India Act, 1919.

[RPSC RAS Prelims (2016)]

(A) It came into effect in 1921

(B) It is also called the Morley–Minto Reforms

(D) It separated central and provincial subjects

Answer: (B) It is also called the Morley–Minto Reforms

Explanation: The 1919 Act gave effect to Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, not the Morley–Minto reforms of 1909. It introduced provincial dyarchy and distinguished central from provincial subjects, with its main constitutional arrangements operating from 1921.

Q23. Which statute was popularly called the Montford Reforms?

[RPSC AEN DLB Civil (2016, Shift 3)]

(A) Act of 1934

(B) Act of 1909

(D) Act of 1857

Answer: (C) Act of 1919

Explanation: Montford is an abbreviation of the Montagu–Chelmsford constitutional reforms, enacted through the Government of India Act of 1919. The changes reorganized the central legislature and introduced dyarchy in provincial administration beginning in 1921.

Q22. During which Viceroy’s tenure did the Ilbert Bill controversy occur?

[RPSC AEN DLB Civil (2016, Shift 1)]

(A) Lord Willingdon

(B) Lord Wavell

(D) Lord Ripon

Answer: (D) Lord Ripon

Explanation: Lord Ripon supported the Ilbert Bill in 1883, which proposed allowing qualified Indian district judges to try European British subjects. Racially motivated European resistance forced amendments, revealing inequalities embedded in the colonial judicial system.

Q21. Which British official recognized the traditional Munda–Manki system of administration?

[JPSC Civil Services Paper II (2016)]

(A) Thomason

(B) Carlyle

(D) Thomas Wilkinson

Answer: (D) Thomas Wilkinson

Explanation: Thomas Wilkinson was associated with colonial recognition of the Manki–Munda traditional governance institutions in the Kolhan region. The arrangement illustrates how British frontier administration sometimes retained customary village authority while asserting wider imperial control.

Q20. The Deepavali Declaration of 1929 concerned which issue?

[UPPSC PCS Prelims GS (10 May 2015)]

(A) Communal representation

(B) Dominion status

(D) Untouchability

Answer: (B) Dominion status

Explanation: Lord Irwin’s October 1929 declaration clarified that Dominion status was the intended direction of India’s constitutional evolution. It did not specify a timetable, and Indian leaders continued to press for more definite commitments on self-government.

Q19. In which year was the Regulating Act passed?

[MPPSC General Studies 2015]

(A) 1753

(B) 1757

(D) 1773

Answer: (D) 1773

Explanation: The British Parliament passed the Regulating Act in 1773 to supervise the East India Company’s Indian government. It established a Governor-General in Bengal and made arrangements leading to the creation of the Supreme Court at Calcutta.

Q18. In what year was Pitt’s India Act enacted?

[WBCS Prelims 2015]

(A) 1773

(B) 1781

(D) 1858

Answer: (C) 1784

Explanation: Pitt’s India Act was passed in 1784. It established the Board of Control, giving the British government a more direct supervisory role in territorial and political affairs while the Company’s directors continued to control commercial matters.

Q17. Who earned the title ‘Liberator of the Press’ in colonial India?

[WBCS Prelims 2015]

(A) Lord Bentinck

(B) Macaulay

(D) Charles Metcalfe

Answer: (D) Charles Metcalfe

Explanation: Charles Metcalfe is remembered as the Liberator of the Indian Press for liberalizing press regulations in 1835. His measure reduced restrictions on newspapers and marked a notable change in Company-era press policy.

Q16. Who removed judicial powers from the District Collector under British rule?

[MPSC Prelims 2015]

(A) Lord Cornwallis

(B) Warren Hastings

(D) William Hunter

Answer: (A) Lord Cornwallis

Explanation: Lord Cornwallis separated revenue collection from judicial functions through reforms culminating in the Cornwallis Code of 1793. This restructuring aimed to reduce conflicts of interest, although justice still operated within an authoritarian colonial system.

Q15. For what purpose was the Simon Commission appointed?

[WBCS Prelims (2015)]

(A) Indian constitutional reforms

(B) Administrative reforms

(D) Jail-code reforms

Answer: (A) Indian constitutional reforms

Explanation: The Simon Commission was appointed in 1927 to review the operation of constitutional changes under the 1919 Act and recommend future reforms. It lacked Indian members, provoking broad political boycott and demonstrations in 1928.

Q14. Who introduced the system of civil service under East India Company rule?

[WBCS Prelims (2015)]

(A) Lord Hardinge

(B) William Bentinck

(D) Lord Dalhousie

Answer: (C) Warren Hastings

Explanation: Warren Hastings laid important foundations for Company civil administration. Lord Cornwallis later reorganized and professionalized its service structure, earning the separate epithet Father of Civil Services in India. The question distinguishes beginnings from subsequent institutional reform.

Q13. Who organized the Public Works Department during the mid-nineteenth century (1845–1855)?

[JPSC Civil Services Paper I (2015)]

(A) Lord Dalhousie

(B) Lord Cornwallis

(D) Warren Hastings

Answer: (A) Lord Dalhousie

Explanation: Lord Dalhousie strengthened colonial public works administration during his governorship from 1848 to 1856. His tenure also saw railway, telegraph and postal expansion. The department became important for infrastructure, communications and imperial administrative integration.

Q12. With which administrator is the British policy of Ring Fence associated?

[JPSC Civil Services Paper I (2015)]

(A) Henry Lawrence

(B) Lord Dalhousie

(D) Lord Clive

Answer: (C) Warren Hastings

Explanation: Warren Hastings employed the Ring Fence approach to create protected buffer states adjacent to Company territory. The states received military support, often at their own expense, while the Company used the arrangement to guard strategic frontiers.

Q11. In which year was the legislation establishing High Courts for Calcutta, Bombay and Madras enacted?

[UPPSC PCS Prelims General Studies (2013)]

(A) 1861

(B) 1851

(D) 1881

Answer: (A) 1861

Explanation: The Indian High Courts Act received passage in 1861, authorizing High Courts in the presidency towns. These courts began functioning in 1862 and replaced earlier Supreme Courts and Sadar Adalats, unifying important strands of colonial judicature.

Q10. Under which Viceroy did the Ilbert Bill controversy arise?

[RPSC AEN General Knowledge & General Science (2013)]

(A) Lord Lytton

(B) Lord Curzon

(D) Lord Dufferin

Answer: (C) Lord Ripon

Explanation: The Ilbert Bill proposal arose in 1883 during Lord Ripon’s rule and challenged racial exemptions protecting Europeans from Indian judicial authority. European opposition led to a compromise, exposing unequal treatment under British judicial arrangements.

Q9. Which Act first permitted some Indians to participate in the administration through legislative council nominations?

[UPPSC Civil Services Prelims (2012, Paper I)]

(A) Charter Act, 1833

(B) Charter Act, 1853

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Answer: (D) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Explanation: The Indian Councils Act of 1861 authorized nomination of non-official members, including Indians, to the enlarged lawmaking council. This allowed restricted participation without transferring government responsibility from the Crown’s executive to an elected legislature.

Q8. The Constitution’s division of powers between Centre and states derives mainly from which colonial Act?

[UPSC CSE Prelims 2012]

(A) Morley–Minto Reforms, 1909

(B) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, 1919

(D) Indian Independence Act, 1947

Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1935

Explanation: The Government of India Act of 1935 divided legislative subjects into federal, provincial and concurrent categories. The Constitution adopted and revised this arrangement through its Union, State and Concurrent Lists, combined with democratic constitutional safeguards.

Q7. The 1935 Act’s ‘Instrument of Instructions’ influenced which feature of India’s Constitution?

[UPSC CSE Prelims 2010]

(A) Fundamental Rights

(B) Directive Principles of State Policy

(D) Conduct of Union government business

Answer: (B) Directive Principles of State Policy

Explanation: Instruments of Instructions under the 1935 constitutional framework guided colonial executives in performing certain functions. Their non-justiciable guiding character influenced the Directive Principles of State Policy, although the Constitution greatly expanded their social and economic purpose.

Q6. Consider:
1. The Charter Act of 1853 abolished the Company’s monopoly of Indian trade.
2. The Government of India Act, 1858 ended Company rule and established direct Crown government.

Which are correct?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (2006)]

(A) 1 only

(B) 2 only

(D) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (B) 2 only

Explanation: The Company’s trade monopolies ended in stages under the Charter Acts of 1813 and 1833, not 1853. The Government of India Act of 1858 transferred governance from the Company to the British Crown following the 1857 uprising.

Q5. Which statements describe the Government of India Act, 1935?
1. It abolished provincial dyarchy.
2. Governors could veto legislation and legislate themselves.
3. It abolished communal representation.

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (2004)]

(A) 1 only

(B) 1 and 2

(D) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (B) 1 and 2

Explanation: The Act abolished dyarchy in the provinces while retaining extensive powers for governors, including extraordinary legislative authority. It did not abolish separate communal representation, which continued under the colonial electoral system.

Q4. The Montagu–Chelmsford Report formed the basis for which law?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (2004)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1909

(B) Government of India Act, 1919

(D) Indian Independence Act, 1947

Answer: (B) Government of India Act, 1919

Explanation: The 1918 Montagu–Chelmsford Report proposed constitutional changes that became the Government of India Act, 1919. It introduced provincial dyarchy and expanded legislative participation while preserving British supremacy over major administrative departments.

Q3. Match Acts with provisions:
A. Charter Act 1813;
B. Regulating Act;
C. Act of 1858;
D. Pitt’s India Act.

Provisions:
1. Board of Control;
2. Ended monopoly of Indian trade;
3. Transferred government to Crown;
4. Mandatory reports to British government.

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (2002)]

(A) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1

(B) A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2

(D) A-1, B-4, C-3, D-2

Answer: (A) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1

Explanation: The 1813 charter opened most Indian trade, the 1773 Act required greater reporting by Company directors, the 1858 Act transferred rule to the Crown, and Pitt’s India Act of 1784 established the Board of Control.

Q2. Which Act strengthened the Viceroy’s control over his Executive Council through a portfolio or departmental system?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (2002)]

(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

(B) Government of India Act, 1858

(D) Indian Councils Act, 1909

Answer: (A) Indian Councils Act, 1861

Explanation: The 1861 Act gave legislative recognition to arrangements assigning distinct departments to members of the Executive Council. The portfolio system streamlined administration and enhanced the Viceroy’s ability to manage the work of government.

Q1. Why did the British propose including the princely states in the 1935 Act’s projected Indian Federation?

[UPSC CSE Prelims GS (2002)]

(A) To exercise direct administrative rule over them

(B) To involve rulers in ordinary provincial administration

(D) To use rulers as a counterweight to nationalist leaders

Answer: (D) To use rulers as a counterweight to nationalist leaders

Explanation: British policymakers viewed princely rulers as a potentially conservative counterweight to elected Indian nationalists. The proposed federation under the 1935 Act never materialized because the necessary number of states did not join.

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