Q50. Which British delegation visited India in 1946 to discuss a constitutional settlement?
[UPPSC PCS Prelims, 2008]
(A) Cripps Mission
(B) Cabinet Mission
(C) Wavell Mission
(D) Simon Commission
Answer: (B) Cabinet Mission
Explanation: The Cabinet Mission reached India in March 1946. It sought an agreed constitutional framework and transfer of power while initially rejecting a separate Pakistan, proposing a weak central Union with provincial groups.
Q49. Assertion: The Wavell Plan provided parity for Hindu and Muslim members in the Executive Council.
Reason: Wavell believed this would necessarily prevent partition.
Choose the correct assessment.
[UPSC CSE Prelims, 2007]
(A) Both correct, and reason explains
(B) Both correct, but reason does not explain
(C) Assertion correct, reason incorrect
(D) Assertion incorrect, reason correct
Answer: (C) Assertion correct, reason incorrect
Explanation: The Wavell Plan proposed equal representation for caste Hindus and Muslims within the reconstituted Executive Council. The assertion about this parity is accepted, but preventing partition was not established by the stated reasoning.
Q48. Who presided over the Congress deliberations in Delhi that approved the division of India in June 1947?
[UPPSC PCS Prelims, 2007]
(A) Rajendra Prasad
(B) Vallabhbhai Patel
(C) J. B. Kripalani
(D) Jawaharlal Nehru
Answer: (C) J. B. Kripalani
Explanation: J. B. Kripalani was Congress president when the All India Congress Committee considered the partition plan in June 1947. The acceptance was deeply controversial, reflecting the collapse of hopes for an undivided transfer of power.
Q47. Which Viceroy described Gandhi’s political movements as “political blackmail”?
[UPPSC PCS Mains, 2007]
(A) Lord Chelmsford
(B) Lord Wavell
(C) Lord Linlithgow
(D) Lord Montagu
Answer: (C) Lord Linlithgow
Explanation: Lord Linlithgow, Viceroy from 1936 to 1943, used highly critical language about Gandhi’s methods. The expression reflects the colonial administration’s hostility toward pressure tactics employed by the nationalist movement.
Q46. In which year did the Muslim League formally adopt its demand for separate Muslim-majority homelands?
[WBCS Prelims, 2007]
(A) 1937
(B) 1940
(C) 1942
(D) 1946
Answer: (B) 1940
Explanation: The Muslim League adopted the Lahore Resolution in March 1940. Though its wording evolved in later political debates, the resolution became a milestone in the campaign that culminated in Pakistan’s formation in 1947.
Q45. In which month did the British Parliament enact the Indian Independence Act?
[Uttarakhand UDA/LDA Prelims, 2007]
(A) January 1947
(B) July 1947
(C) August 1947
(D) August 1946
Answer: (B) July 1947
Explanation: The Indian Independence Act received Royal Assent on 18 July 1947. It established the legislative basis for creating the two independent dominions and for the transfer of British authority in August.
Q44. Identify the first—and also last—Indian who served as Governor-General.
[Uttarakhand UDA/LDA Prelims, 2007]
(A) R. M. Gopala
(B) S. Radhakrishnan
(C) C. Rajagopalachari
(D) Ramanuja Acharya
Answer: (C) C. Rajagopalachari
Explanation: C. Rajagopalachari succeeded Mountbatten in 1948. He was the sole Indian to serve as Governor-General before the institution disappeared on 26 January 1950, when India became a republic.
Q43. Which portfolio was held by Rajendra Prasad in the Interim Government formed in 1946?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, 2006]
(A) Defence
(B) External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations
(C) Food and Agriculture
(D) No portfolio
Answer: (C) Food and Agriculture
Explanation: Rajendra Prasad served as Minister for Food and Agriculture in the Interim Government. This administration, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, began functioning in September 1946 during negotiations over the transfer of power.
Q42. In which month of 1942 was the Quit India Movement launched?
[Uttarakhand PCS Mains, 2006]
(A) July
(B) August
(C) September
(D) October
Answer: (B) August
Explanation: The Congress adopted the Quit India resolution on 8 August, and major leaders were arrested the next day. The August uprising soon involved demonstrations, strikes and underground activities across numerous regions.
Q41. In which year did Stafford Cripps come to India with British constitutional proposals?
[Uttarakhand PCS Mains, 2006]
(A) 1940
(B) 1942
(C) 1944
(D) 1946
Answer: (B) 1942
Explanation: Cripps arrived in March 1942 while the Second World War threatened British positions in Asia. His proposals for postwar Dominion status and constitution-making failed to bridge differences with Indian political leaders.
