10. Which Indian ruler first accepted Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance?
[OSSTET TGT Arts 2019]
A. Peshwa Bajirao
B. Nana Saheb
C. Kunwar Singh
D. Nizam of Hyderabad
Answer: D. Nizam of Hyderabad
Explanation: The Nizam of Hyderabad concluded a subsidiary alliance with the East India Company in 1798. Such treaties required rulers to maintain British troops, restrict independent foreign relations and accept growing British interference in their affairs.
9. Who was the Viceroy of India when Bengal was partitioned in 1905?
[Delhi Police Constable (8 Dec 2020, Shift 1)]
A. Lord Irwin
B. Lord Curzon
C. Lord Hardinge
D. Lord Chelmsford
Answer: B. Lord Curzon
Explanation: Curzon announced and implemented the Partition of Bengal in 1905, creating Eastern Bengal and Assam. Protesters saw it as an attempt to divide nationalist opinion, leading to Swadeshi, boycott movements and wider political mobilization.
8. Who was appointed as the first Governor-General of Bengal?
[RPF Constable 2018]
A. William Bentinck
B. Warren Hastings
C. Lord Mayo
D. Robert Clive
Answer: B. Warren Hastings
Explanation: Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act framework, formally assuming the title in 1774. He had earlier governed Bengal and pursued revenue, judicial and administrative restructuring for the Company.
7. Arrange these Governors-General chronologically: (i) Wellesley, (ii) William Bentinck, (iii) Warren Hastings, (iv) Cornwallis.
[APPSC Group I Prelims 2018]
A. (iii), (iv), (i), (ii)
B. (ii), (i), (iv), (iii)
C. (i), (iii), (ii), (iv)
D. (iv), (ii), (iii), (i)
Answer: A. (iii), (iv), (i), (ii)
Explanation: Warren Hastings held office first, followed by Cornwallis, then Wellesley and finally William Bentinck. Their principal tenures began in 1774, 1786, 1798 and 1828 respectively, illustrating successive phases of British expansion and administration.
6. Which statement about Warren Hastings is incorrect?
[TNTET Social Studies Paper II 2019]
A. Warren Hastings introduced the Dual Government system
B. Calcutta became Bengal’s administrative centre in 1772
C. The Rohilla War occurred during Hastings’s administration
D. Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Fort William
Answer: A. Warren Hastings introduced the Dual Government system
Explanation: Robert Clive established the Dual Government in Bengal in 1765, separating nominal Indian administration from Company revenue control. Warren Hastings ended that arrangement in 1772 and brought the Company into more direct control of provincial administration.
5. In which two presidencies was the Ryotwari land-revenue system chiefly introduced?
[MPSC Group C 2019]
A. Madras and Bombay
B. Bengal and Punjab
C. Calcutta and Nagpur
D. Delhi and Himachal Pradesh
Answer: A. Madras and Bombay
Explanation: Ryotwari settlements were developed chiefly in Madras and Bombay, where land revenue was assessed directly on cultivators rather than collected through hereditary zamindars. Alexander Read and Thomas Munro were important early architects of its implementation.
4. Which princely state was the first annexed under Lord Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse?
[UPPSC Civil Services Prelims 2016]
A. Jhansi
B. Satara
C. Karauli
D. Sambalpur
Answer: B. Satara
Explanation: Satara was annexed in 1848 under Dalhousie after the colonial government refused to recognize succession through adoption. The doctrine later affected other states, notably Jhansi and Nagpur, and contributed to resentment toward Company expansion.
3. During whose administration did the Vellore Mutiny of 1806 occur?
[CGPSC State Service Prelims General Studies 2016]
A. Lord Wellesley
B. Lord Minto
C. Lord Cornwallis
D. Sir George Barlow
E. None of these
Answer: D. Sir George Barlow
Explanation: The Vellore Mutiny erupted in July 1806 during Sir George Barlow’s acting governor-generalship. Lord William Bentinck was then Governor of Madras, rather than Governor-General; administrative controversies in the Madras army contributed to the uprising.
2. Under which Viceroy did the Ilbert Bill dispute arise?
[RPSC Assistant Engineer General Knowledge and Science 2013]
A. Lord Lytton
B. Lord Curzon
C. Lord Ripon
D. Lord Dufferin
Answer: C. Lord Ripon
Explanation: The controversy broke out in 1883 under Lord Ripon. The measure sought to remove racial restrictions on Indian judicial officers trying Europeans, but resistance from European residents forced the administration to dilute its original proposal.
1. Which Governor-General created the Covenanted Civil Service of India, the predecessor of the Indian Civil Service?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2010]
A. Warren Hastings
B. Lord Wellesley
C. Lord Cornwallis
D. Lord William Bentinck
Answer: C. Lord Cornwallis
Explanation: Lord Cornwallis restructured the Company’s higher civil service by improving salaries and imposing stricter service rules. The Covenanted Civil Service became a precursor of the Indian Civil Service, although senior positions were effectively reserved for Europeans.
