140. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal?
[70th BPSC Re-examination (4 Jan 2025) — 2025]
A. Holt Mackenzie
B. Lord Cornwallis
C. Warren Hastings
D. None of these
Answer: B. Lord Cornwallis
Explanation: Cornwallis made the Bengal revenue assessment permanent in 1793 through settlement with zamindars. Fixing the government share was expected to ensure reliable collections, though tenants did not receive similar permanent safeguards against landlord demands.
139. From whom was land revenue collected under the Mahalwari system?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (13 Jun 2025, Shift 1) — 2025]
A. Religious institutions
B. Village head
C. Landlords
D. Individual peasants
Answer: B. Village head
Explanation: Under Mahalwari, the revenue obligation was linked to a mahal, often a village or group of villages. A village headman or representative collected contributions and remitted the assessed demand, rather than negotiating solely with a single cultivator.
138. What was a major consequence for Indian states entering Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance?
[SSC CPO (12 Dec 2025, Shift 1) — 2025]
A. Greater independent control of foreign affairs
B. British influence with diminished diplomatic independence
C. Rapid growth through guaranteed British investment
D. A united military front against Britain
Answer: B. British influence with diminished diplomatic independence
Explanation: An allied ruler had to maintain British troops and accept restrictions on external diplomacy. By controlling defense and foreign contacts, the Company gained substantial political leverage even where the Indian ruler retained nominal internal authority.
137. Who introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal in 1793?
[OSSSC CRE Preliminary Exam (8 Oct 2025, Shift 3) — 2025]
A. Lord Hastings
B. Lord Dalhousie
C. Lord Cornwallis
D. Lord Curzon
Answer: C. Lord Cornwallis
Explanation: Lord Cornwallis implemented the Permanent Settlement to stabilize East India Company revenue collections. Zamindars received hereditary rights subject to punctual payment of a fixed demand, while peasants often encountered heightened landlord power.
136. When was the Permanent Settlement implemented?
[DSSSB TGT Social Science (7 Nov 2025, Shift 3) — 2025]
A. 1821
B. 1793
C. 1852
D. 1805
Answer: B. 1793
Explanation: The Permanent Settlement dates to 1793, during Lord Cornwallis’s administration. The assessment payable by zamindars to the state was permanently fixed, unlike later systems that periodically reassessed land revenue based on cultivated holdings or village estates.
135. At which city did Lord Canning hold a Durbar following the Revolt of 1857?
[RPF Constable (6 Mar 2025, Shift 3) — 2025]
A. Agra
B. Lucknow
C. Delhi
D. Allahabad
Answer: D. Allahabad
Explanation: Canning organized the Allahabad ceremony associated with Queen Victoria’s Proclamation in November 1858. It symbolized the end of East India Company government and the transfer of political authority over British India to the Crown.
134. Who was identified in this examination as making the official demand for Bengal’s partition?
[RPF Constable (11 Mar 2025, Shift 3) — 2025]
A. Lala Lajpat Rai
B. A. O. Hume
C. Lord Curzon
D. Lord Dufferin
Answer: C. Lord Curzon
Explanation: Lord Curzon publicly advanced the proposal that led to Bengal’s division in 1905. The reorganization was defended as an administrative necessity but became a rallying point for the Swadeshi movement and criticism of imperial policy.
133. In which year did Awadh accept the Subsidiary Alliance arrangement?
[RPF Constable (12 Mar 2025, Shift 3) — 2025]
A. 1856 AD
B. 1801 AD
C. 1855 AD
D. 1851 AD
Answer: B. 1801 AD
Explanation: The Treaty of Lucknow brought Awadh under Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance in 1801. The much later annexation of Awadh in 1856 was justified by claims of maladministration; the two events should not be confused.
132. Which Governor-General oversaw the British annexation of Odisha?
[OPSC OAS Preliminary GS (12 Oct 2025) — 2025]
A. Warren Hastings
B. Lord Cornwallis
C. Lord Wellesley
D. Lord Dalhousie
Answer: C. Lord Wellesley
Explanation: During Lord Wellesley’s administration, British forces took control of Odisha in 1803 amid the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Its acquisition was connected to military victories over the Maratha authorities and the Company’s expanding eastern territory.
131. Match the policies: Warren Hastings, Dalhousie and Wellesley with Ring Fence, Doctrine of Lapse and Subsidiary Alliance.
[SSC Selection Post Matriculation (1 Aug 2025, Shift 3) — 2025]
A. Hastings–Ring Fence, Dalhousie–Lapse, Wellesley–Subsidiary Alliance
B. Hastings–Subsidiary Alliance, Dalhousie–Lapse, Wellesley–Ring Fence
C. Hastings–Lapse, Dalhousie–Ring Fence, Wellesley–Subsidiary Alliance
D. Hastings–Lapse, Dalhousie–Subsidiary Alliance, Wellesley–Ring Fence
Answer: A. Hastings–Ring Fence, Dalhousie–Lapse, Wellesley–Subsidiary Alliance
Explanation: Hastings used buffer-state protection approaches generally described as Ring Fence; Wellesley made Subsidiary Alliance central to imperial expansion; Dalhousie applied the Doctrine of Lapse. Distinguishing these three policies helps establish the chronological development of Company expansion.
