20. Who was described in the paper as the first Governor-General of British India from 1773 to 1785?
[SSC MTS 2020 Paper (26 Oct 2021, Shift 2)]
A. Lord Cornwallis
B. Warren Hastings
C. Sir John Shore
D. Lord Wellesley
Answer: B. Warren Hastings
Explanation: Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773, serving formally from 1774 to 1785. The examination uses the broader expression British India for that early Bengal office.
19. Which Viceroy is described as a catalyst of Indian nationalism?
[Punjab Police Jail Warder (27 Aug 2021, Shift 2)]
A. Lord Canning
B. Lord Dalhousie
C. Lord Curzon
D. Warren Hastings
Answer: C. Lord Curzon
Explanation: Curzon’s 1905 partition of Bengal generated a powerful nationalist response, including Swadeshi campaigns and boycotts of foreign goods. His attempted administrative reorganization unintentionally helped spread organized political resistance.
18. Who devised the Ryotwari system during British rule?
[SSC GD Constable (3 Dec 2021, Shift 3)]
A. Lord Minto
B. Captain Alexander Read
C. Lord Dalhousie
D. Warren Hastings
Answer: B. Captain Alexander Read
Explanation: Alexander Read made pioneering Ryotwari experiments in South India, and Thomas Munro later developed and extended them. The central principle was direct settlement between the government and individual peasant cultivators.
17. In which year was the Cornwallis Code enacted?
[SSC CHSL 2020 Paper (4 Aug 2021, Shift 3)]
A. 1723
B. 1857
C. 1793
D. 1805
Answer: C. 1793
Explanation: The Cornwallis Code of 1793 organized administrative, judicial and revenue procedures for Company territories. It formed part of Cornwallis’s efforts to professionalize government while preserving European dominance over higher offices.
16. Which historical statement is correct?
[SSC CHSL 2020 Paper (5 Aug 2021, Shift 3)]
A. Siraj-ud-Daulah lost Plassey in 1775
B. India’s first Bombay–Thane railway opened in 1776
C. William Jones founded the Asiatic Society in 1774
D. The Cornwallis Code was enacted in 1793
Answer: D. The Cornwallis Code was enacted in 1793
Explanation: The Cornwallis Code was enacted in 1793. Plassey occurred in 1757, the Bombay–Thane railway began in 1853, and William Jones founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.
15. In which year was Bengal partitioned by Viceroy Lord Curzon?
[SSC MTS 2020 Paper (5 Oct 2021, Shift 2)1]
A. 1905
B. 1901
C. 1907
D. 1911
Answer: A. 1905
Explanation: Bengal’s partition took effect in 1905 under Curzon and triggered extensive nationalist protests. The British annulled it in 1911, but by then the Swadeshi campaign had reshaped anti-colonial politics.
14. Which Act was passed in British India in 1878?
[SSC MTS 2020 Paper (5 Oct 2021, Shift 1)]
A. Indian Contract Act
B. East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act
C. Transfer of Property Act
D. Vernacular Press Act
Answer: D. Vernacular Press Act
Explanation: The Vernacular Press Act was enacted in 1878 under Lord Lytton. The law restricted Indian-language newspapers and sought to suppress adverse reporting on British policy, attracting condemnation from Indian editors and associations.
13. Which educational report led to the establishment of Calcutta University?
[WBCS Prelims 2020 ]
A. Macaulay’s Minute
B. Hunter Commission
C. Charter Act
D. Wood’s Despatch
Answer: D. Wood’s Despatch
Explanation: Wood’s Despatch of 1854 recommended universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras modelled on the University of London. All three were established in 1857, marking an important phase in the institutional development of modern higher education.
12. Which Viceroy was associated with the Ilbert Bill controversy?
[WBCS Prelims 2020]
A. Lord Curzon
B. Lord Lytton
C. Lord Ripon
D. Lord Hardinge
Answer: C. Lord Ripon
Explanation: Lord Ripon’s government introduced the Ilbert Bill in 1883 to enable qualified Indian judges to try European British subjects. Fierce European opposition forced compromises and exposed racial inequality within the colonial judicial system.
11. Under whose viceroyalty was the first Indian Factory Act introduced?
[Karnataka State Police Civil SI 2020 Official Paper II]
A. Lord Dufferin
B. Lord Curzon
C. Lord Ripon
D. Lord Canning
Answer: C. Lord Ripon
Explanation: The Indian Factories Act of 1881 was enacted under Lord Ripon. It sought to regulate certain conditions of industrial labour, particularly child employment and working hours, although its initial reach and protections were limited.
