80. In which year was Hindu widow remarriage declared legal?
[SSC MTS (8 Oct 2024, Shift 2)]
A. 1893
B. 1856
C. 1899
D. 1872
Answer: B. 1856
Explanation: Hindu widow remarriage received legal recognition through Act XV of 1856. The reform was advanced by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and enacted during Canning’s term, representing a notable legislative intervention in social custom.
79. How many are correct: Mill criticized Indian religion; Bentinck replaced Persian in courts with English in 1835; Wood’s Despatch led to universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi?
[HPSC Prelims General Studies (11 Feb 2024)]
A. Only one
B. Only two
C. All three
D. None
Answer: B. Only two
Explanation: The first two propositions are correct according to the examination key. Wood’s Despatch supported universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, not Delhi. Confusing Madras with Delhi makes the third assertion incorrect.
78. Who devised the Subsidiary Alliance system?
[SSC CGL Tier-I (9 Sep 2024, Shift 3)]
A. Lord Wellesley
B. Lord Canning
C. Lord William Bentinck
D. Lord Dalhousie
Answer: A. Lord Wellesley
Explanation: Lord Wellesley developed the Subsidiary Alliance into a central method of Company expansion. Allied states housed British forces, paid their costs and surrendered independent foreign relations, thereby reducing sovereignty without outright annexation.
77. Which 1883 proposal sought to allow Indian judges to try Europeans?
[SSC Selection Post Matriculation (24 Jun 2024, Shift 1)]
A. Christian Personal Law
B. Ilbert Bill
C. Indian Penal Code
D. Murderous Outrage Regulation
Answer: B. Ilbert Bill
Explanation: The Ilbert Bill sought to end racial restrictions on criminal jurisdiction under Lord Ripon. European residents mounted strong resistance, and the eventual compromise fell short of the proposal’s original promise of judicial equality.
76. Match Pitt’s India Act, Permanent Settlement, Subsidiary Alliance and abolition of Sati with 1784, 1793, 1798 and 1829.
[SSC CHSL 2023 Tier-II (10 Jan 2024, Shift 1)]
A. A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1
B. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
C. A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
D. A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
Answer: D. A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
Explanation: Pitt’s India Act belongs to 1784, Cornwallis’s Permanent Settlement to 1793, Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance to 1798, and Bentinck’s Sati abolition to 1829. The sequence spans successive phases of Company government.
75. Whose efforts most helped secure passage of the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856?
[SSC CHSL Tier-I (5 Jul 2024, Shift 2)]
A. Atmaram Pandurang
B. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
C. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
D. Radhakant Deb
Answer: B. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Explanation: Vidyasagar advocated widow remarriage through petitions, publications and references to Hindu legal texts. The 1856 legislation reflected years of reformist pressure and opened a legal path for widows to remarry.
74. Who devised the policy known as the Doctrine of Lapse?
[SSC CGL Tier-I (27 Jul 2023, Shift 2)]
A. Lord Ellenborough
B. Lord William Bentinck
C. Lord Dalhousie
D. Lord Canning
Answer: C. Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: Lord Dalhousie employed the Doctrine of Lapse to absorb princely territories lacking a successor accepted by the Company. The policy supported territorial expansion and intensified mistrust between Indian rulers and British administrators.
73. Who devised the Doctrine of Lapse?
[SSC CHSL 2022 Paper (9 Mar 2023, Shift 3)]
A. Lord Dalhousie
B. Lord Hastings
C. Lord Cornwallis
D. Lord Minto
Answer: A. Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: Dalhousie is closely associated with the annexation doctrine applied between 1848 and 1856. In certain subordinate states, adopted heirs were denied sovereign succession, providing the Company a pretext for annexation.
72. Which Viceroy, as described in the question, formulated the Doctrine of Lapse?
[Kolkata Police Constable Mains 2022 Paper (3 Dec 2023) — 2023]
A. Lord Curzon
B. Lord Hastings
C. Lord Dalhousie
D. Lord Wellesley
Answer: C. Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: Though Dalhousie was technically Governor-General rather than Viceroy, the expected answer is Dalhousie. His expansionist policy was used to annex states when the Company refused recognition to an adopted successor.
71. Who devised the Subsidiary Alliance system in 1798?
[SSC MTS 2022 Paper (19 Jun 2023, Shift 3)]
A. Lord Wellesley
B. Lord Bentinck
C. Lord Dalhousie
D. Lord Hastings
Answer: A. Lord Wellesley
Explanation: Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance required Indian rulers to accept British forces and restrictions on independent diplomacy. The arrangement advanced Company dominance while obliging allied courts to fund the stationed troops.
