110. Who described the Permanent Settlement as a ‘sad blunder’?
[HTET PGT History 2024 Paper (held 2025) — 2025]
A. T. R. Holmes
B. Ishwari Prasad
C. R. C. Majumdar
D. Setton Carr
Answer: A. T. R. Holmes
Explanation: Historian T. R. Holmes criticized the Permanent Settlement as a grave policy error. Critics contended that permanent landlord rights neglected cultivators’ welfare, entrenched unequal rural relations and did not guarantee agricultural improvement.
109. What is T. B. Macaulay particularly associated with in British India?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I (18 Jun 2025, Shift 2) — 2025]
A. Drafting the Penal Code and supporting English education
B. Framing the Government of India Act 1858
C. Introducing the Vernacular Press Act
D. Leading the Revolt of 1857
Answer: A. Drafting the Penal Code and supporting English education
Explanation: Macaulay wrote the 1835 Minute that influenced Bentinck’s promotion of English education and chaired the first Law Commission, which prepared a draft Penal Code. These roles linked education policy with colonial legal codification.
108. Who introduced the 1882 resolution described as the Magna Carta of Local Self-Government in India?
[UPSC NDA-I General Ability Test (13 Apr 2025) — 2025]
A. Lord Macaulay
B. Lord Canning
C. Lord Ripon
D. Lord William Bentinck
Answer: C. Lord Ripon
Explanation: Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution encouraged local boards and municipal bodies, with greater Indian participation in managing civic affairs. It became a landmark of administrative decentralization, earning Ripon the title Father of Local Self-Government in India.
107. Which Governor-General devised the Doctrine of Lapse for annexation of states?
[SSC CGL Tier-I (13 Sep 2024, Shift 1) — 2024]
A. Lord Wellesley
B. Lord Dalhousie
C. Lord Mayo
D. Lord Canning
Answer: B. Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: Dalhousie systematically applied the Doctrine of Lapse to selected princely states during 1848–1856. Where succession through adoption was rejected, the state was absorbed by the Company, provoking resentment among ruling families.
106. The Doctrine of Lapse was associated with which Governor-General?
[SSC GD Constable (1 Mar 2024, Shift 2) — 2024]
A. Lord Wellesley
B. Lord Hastings
C. Lord Clive
D. Lord Dalhousie
Answer: D. Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: Lord Dalhousie’s annexation policy undermined inherited and adopted succession in several dependent princely states. Its application to Satara, Jhansi and Nagpur became a widely cited grievance against East India Company rule.
105. Who introduced the Doctrine of Lapse?
[WBCS 2023 Mains History Paper III (18 Aug 2024) — 2024]
A. Lord Cornwallis
B. Lord Dalhousie
C. Lord Wellesley
D. Lord Ripon
Answer: B. Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: The doctrine was linked with Dalhousie’s administration between 1848 and 1856. The Company could claim dependent states when no approved successor inherited the throne, expanding its territories and unsettling established dynastic expectations.
104. Where was the Ryotwari revenue system first introduced?
[WBCS 2023 Mains History Paper III (18 Aug 2024) — 2024]
A. Bengal
B. Delhi
C. Madras
D. Gujarat
Answer: C. Madras
Explanation: Ryotwari revenue arrangements were first trialed by Alexander Read and developed further by Thomas Munro in southern India. Madras became their chief arena, with settlements negotiated directly with cultivators rather than zamindars.
103. Which Viceroy enacted the Vernacular Press Act?
[WBCS 2023 Mains History Paper III (18 Aug 2024) — 2024]
A. Lord Curzon
B. Lord Ripon
C. Lord Lytton
D. None of these
Answer: C. Lord Lytton
Explanation: Lord Lytton’s government enacted the Vernacular Press Act in March 1878. It restricted Indian-language newspapers viewed as critical of the colonial government; the measure was later repealed during Lord Ripon’s tenure.
102. Under which Viceroy was Bengal’s partition announced in 1905?
[WBCS 2023 Mains History Paper III (18 Aug 2024) — 2024]
A. Lord Curzon
B. Lord Wellesley
C. Lord Amherst
D. Lord William Bentinck
Answer: A. Lord Curzon
Explanation: Lord Curzon, who served from 1899 to 1905, was responsible for Bengal’s 1905 partition. Opponents argued that the rearrangement weakened nationalist unity; boycott and Swadeshi campaigns intensified after its implementation.
101. In which year did Lord Curzon announce the Partition of Bengal?
[SSC MTS (22 Oct 2024, Shift 3) — 2024]
A. 1905
B. 1914
C. 1900
D. 1909
Answer: A. 1905
Explanation: The Partition of Bengal was announced in 1905 and took effect on 16 October that year. Curzon’s decision ignited widespread protest and gave powerful impetus to Swadeshi politics and economic boycott campaigns.
