80. Which Company officer commanded the British side in the Battle of Plassey?
[SSC CHSL 2022 paper, held 9 March 2023]
(A) Robert Clive
(B) Warren Hastings
(C) John Shore
(D) Charles Cornwallis
Answer: (A) Robert Clive
Explanation: Robert Clive led the Company army in 1757 against Bengal nawab Siraj ud-Daulah. The engagement was brief but politically consequential because the nawab’s commanders failed to coordinate effective resistance. This episode helped shape the transfer of influence from Bengal’s court to Company officials and allied merchants.
79. Which battle is often described as the first decisive Company victory in Bengal?
[SSC MTS, 13 September 2023]
(A) Battle of Plassey
(B) Battle of Assaye
(C) Battle of Sobraon
(D) Battle of Bhima Koregaon
Answer: (A) Battle of Plassey
Explanation: Plassey in 1757 provided the East India Company an influential position in Bengal. Military triumph combined with court intrigue, financial arrangements and replacement of the ruling nawab. This episode helped shape the transfer of influence from Bengal’s court to Company officials and allied merchants.
78. Which displaced nawab of Bengal joined the coalition against the Company at Buxar?
[SSC CHSL, 3 August 2023]
(A) Mir Qasim
(B) Mir Jafar
(C) Alivardi Khan
(D) Siraj ud-Daulah
Answer: (A) Mir Qasim
Explanation: Mir Qasim challenged Company duty exemptions and interference, then allied with Awadh’s Shuja ud-Daulah and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Their combined forces lost the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Its consequences are best understood through the treaty negotiations and Company revenue arrangements that followed.
77. In which year did Warren Hastings end the Dual Government in Bengal?
[SSC CHSL, 11 August 2023]
(A) 1757
(B) 1765
(C) 1772
(D) 1784
Answer: (C) 1772
Explanation: Warren Hastings discontinued the dual arrangement in 1772, bringing revenue administration more directly under the Company. The system had separated nominal nawabi responsibility from Company fiscal power and proved ineffective. This division of financial and governing duties became a major controversy in early colonial administration.
76. During whose Peshwaship did the Maratha polity reach a particularly extensive territorial position?
[SSC CGL, 2023]
(A) Balaji Baji Rao
(B) Moropant Pingle
(C) Nana Phadnavis
(D) Ramchandra Pant Amatya
Answer: (A) Balaji Baji Rao
Explanation: Under Balaji Baji Rao, also called Nana Saheb Peshwa, Maratha influence spread widely across the subcontinent. The defeat at Panipat in 1761 was a decisive military setback during the final year of his leadership. The episode illustrates shifting political alliances as the Company advanced against powerful regional Indian states.
75. Which treaty of 1775 involving Raghunath Rao helped trigger the First Anglo-Maratha War?
[SSC CGL, 2023]
(A) Treaty of Surat
(B) Treaty of Salbai
(C) Treaty of Bassein
(D) Treaty of Purandar, 1665
Answer: (A) Treaty of Surat
Explanation: Raghunath Rao sought Bombay Presidency support through the Treaty of Surat in 1775 to secure the Peshwaship. The resulting intervention contributed to the First Anglo-Maratha War, resolved eventually by Salbai. The episode illustrates shifting political alliances as the Company advanced against powerful regional Indian states.
74. Which Governor-General asserted British paramountcy while expanding Company power after 1813?
[SSC MTS, 13 September 2023]
(A) Lord Hastings
(B) Lord Curzon
(C) Lord Ripon
(D) Lord Mayo
Answer: (A) Lord Hastings
Explanation: Francis Rawdon-Hastings served as Governor-General from 1813 to 1823. His administration fought the Anglo-Nepal War, the Pindaris and the final Anglo-Maratha conflict, reinforcing Company supremacy. The episode illustrates shifting political alliances as the Company advanced against powerful regional Indian states.
73. Which Peshwa was the adoptive father of Nana Sahib, a leader during the uprising of 1857?
[SSC CGL, 17 July 2023, Shift 4]
(A) Baji Rao II
(B) Balaji Vishwanath
(C) Madhav Rao I
(D) Baji Rao I
Answer: (A) Baji Rao II
Explanation: Nana Sahib was adopted by the former Peshwa Baji Rao II, who lived on a British pension at Bithur. Disputes relating to succession and pension arrangements helped deepen dissatisfaction with Company rule. The legislation illustrates expanding parliamentary involvement in the structures and powers of colonial government.
72. What share of assessed revenue was typically claimed as Chauth?
[CRPF Constable, 5 July 2023]
(A) One-tenth
(B) One-fourth
(C) One-third
(D) One-half
Answer: (B) One-fourth
Explanation: Chauth literally meant one-fourth and was levied by Maratha authorities in various territories. It operated alongside Sardeshmukhi, an additional ten per cent claim, although actual collection varied with circumstances and political power. The episode illustrates shifting political alliances as the Company advanced against powerful regional Indian states.
71. Which of the following was not a regular designation for a levy in the Maratha revenue system?
[UGC NET History, 28 February 2023]
(A) Chauth
(B) Sardeshmukhi
(C) Nagabhaga
(D) Land revenue
Answer: (C) Nagabhaga
Explanation: Chauth and Sardeshmukhi were important claims associated with Maratha finance. Nagabhaga does not correspond to those standard levies. Understanding these terms prevents confusion between agrarian assessments and political tribute. The episode illustrates shifting political alliances as the Company advanced against powerful regional Indian states.
