Q52. Who signed the Treaty of Bassein (1802) with the English East India Company?
[WBPSC WBCS Mains (History), 2024]
(A) The Sikh ruler
(B) Peshwa Baji Rao II
(C) Tipu Sultan
(D) Nizam-ul-Mulk
Answer: (B) Peshwa Baji Rao II
Explanation: Peshwa Baji Rao II sought British assistance after losing power at Pune and accepted the Treaty of Bassein in December 1802. Its subsidiary-alliance terms curtailed his independence and alarmed other Maratha chiefs, helping precipitate the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
Q51. In which year did the Third Battle of Panipat occur?
[WBPSC WBCS Mains (History), 2023]
(A) 1761
(B) 1740
(C) 1770
(D) 1707
Answer: (A) 1761
Explanation: The Third Battle of Panipat occurred on 14 January 1761 between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Durrani’s coalition. The Marathas lost heavily, but their regional power did not disappear immediately. Subsequent leadership, especially Madhavrao I, enabled partial recovery.
Q50. Which Mughal emperor faced a major and sustained Maratha challenge in the Deccan?
[SSC Selection Post (Graduate), 2024]
(A) Humayun
(B) Aurangzeb
(C) Jahangir
(D) Babur
Answer: (B) Aurangzeb
Explanation: Aurangzeb’s long Deccan campaigns brought the Mughal state into direct confrontation with Shivaji and later Maratha leaders. Attempts to contain Maratha resistance were costly and protracted. Continued conflict contributed to imperial overstretch even after Shivaji’s death.
Q49. Which treaty concluded the First Anglo-Maratha War?
[UPSC CDS, 2023]
(A) Treaty of Bassein
(B) Treaty of Salbai
(C) Treaty of Deogaon
(D) Treaty of Mandsaur
Answer: (B) Treaty of Salbai
Explanation: The Treaty of Salbai, signed in 1782 and ratified subsequently, ended the First Anglo-Maratha War. The settlement restored a measure of peace between the East India Company and the Maratha leadership, enabling both sides to focus on other political challenges.
Q48. Arrange these events in order: (1) Afzal Khan encounter; (2) capture of Torna; (3) attack on Shaista Khan; (4) annexation of Javli.
[UPSC CDS, 2023]
(A) 2, 4, 1, 3
(B) 4, 2, 1, 3
(C) 1, 2, 3, 4
(D) 3, 1, 2, 4
Answer: (A) 2, 4, 1, 3
Explanation: Torna was captured in the 1640s, Javli was taken in 1656, Afzal Khan was killed at Pratapgad in 1659, and Shaista Khan was attacked at Pune in 1663. This sequence traces Shivaji’s transition from regional consolidation to major confrontation.
Q47. The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in which year?
[SSC MTS, 2023]
(A) 1761
(B) 1707
(C) 1786
(D) 1751
Answer: (A) 1761
Explanation: The encounter on 14 January 1761 pitted a Maratha army commanded by Sadashivrao Bhau against Ahmad Shah Durrani and his allies. Maratha casualties were severe, and the result reshaped northern Indian politics while leaving surviving Maratha states active.
Q46. Who was the adoptive father of Nana Sahib, a leader of the Kanpur uprising of 1857?
[SSC CGL, 2023]
(A) Baji Rao I
(B) Balaji Baji Rao
(C) Baji Rao II
(D) Balaji Vishwanath
Answer: (C) Baji Rao II
Explanation: Nana Sahib, also known as Dhondu Pant, was adopted by Baji Rao II, the last ruling Peshwa. After the British ended the Peshwaship in 1818, the family retained its connection to Bithoor. Nana Sahib later became prominent in 1857.
Q45. To which polity did the Saranjam system of military revenue assignments belong?
[UGC NET (History), 2023]
(A) Mughal Empire
(B) Vijayanagara Empire
(C) Maratha Empire
(D) Bahmani Sultanate
Answer: (C) Maratha Empire
Explanation: Saranjam referred to revenue assignments used to support military or administrative service, especially under the Maratha political system. Recipients could collect revenues from specified lands. The practice influenced the autonomy of military chiefs as the confederacy expanded.
Q44. Which Maratha claimant concluded the Treaty of Surat with the British in 1775?
(A) Narayan Rao
(B) Raghunathrao
(C) Madhavrao II
(D) Nana Phadnavis
Answer: (B) Raghunathrao
Explanation: Raghunathrao sought Company assistance in his struggle for the Peshwaship. The Treaty of Surat of 1775 tied British intervention to internal Maratha succession politics and became a central trigger of the First Anglo-Maratha War.
Q43. Under which Peshwa did eighteenth-century Maratha influence attain its widest reach before Panipat?
(A) Shivaji
(B) Balaji Vishwanath
(C) Baji Rao I
(D) Balaji Baji Rao
Answer: (D) Balaji Baji Rao
Explanation: The territorial reach of Maratha power became especially extensive under Balaji Baji Rao, also called Nanasaheb, between 1740 and 1761. Expansion involved semi-autonomous chiefs and claims extending far from Maharashtra, but such influence was uneven and difficult to coordinate.
Q42. Which territory passed to the East India Company through the Treaty of Deogaon in 1803?
[UPSC NDA II, 2022]
(A) Cuttack
(B) Murshidabad
(C) Surat
(D) Calicut
Answer: (A) Cuttack
Explanation: The Treaty of Deogaon followed the defeat of the Nagpur Bhonsle ruler during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. The Company gained territories including Cuttack and coastal Odisha. The settlement significantly weakened Maratha influence along important eastern routes.
Q41. Arrange the following agreements from earliest to latest: (1) Salbai; (2) Purandar of 1776; (3) Wadgaon; (4) Surat.
[UPSC CDS, 2021]
(A) 4, 2, 3, 1
(B) 2, 4, 1, 3
(C) 1, 3, 2, 4
(D) 3, 2, 4, 1
Answer: (A) 4, 2, 3, 1
Explanation: Surat was concluded in 1775, the Anglo-Maratha Treaty of Purandar in 1776, the Convention of Wadgaon in 1779, and Salbai in 1782. This question refers to the 1776 Purandar agreement, not Shivaji’s 1665 treaty with Jai Singh.
