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UGC NET History UNIT-7 Sources of Modern Indian History & Rise of British Power (16th–20th Century) MCQs

🧾 SECTION A — SOURCES OF MODERN INDIAN HISTORY (1–15)

  1. The Imperial Record Department, precursor of the National Archives of India, was founded in—
    (A) 1861 (B) 1881 (C) 1891 (D) 1901
    Answer: (C) 1891
    Explanation: Established in Calcutta, later shifted to Delhi (1911), to preserve official records.

  1. The India Office Records in London mainly contain—
    (A) Mughal court chronicles (B) East India Company papers (C) Buddhist texts (D) Persian manuscripts
    Answer: (B) East India Company papers.

  1. Which of the following is the earliest English newspaper in India?
    (A) The Hindu (B) Bombay Chronicle (C) Bengal Gazette (D) Madras Courier
    Answer: (C) Bengal Gazette
    Explanation: Started by James Augustus Hickey in 1780 at Calcutta.

  1. Who is considered the “Father of the Indian Press”?
    (A) Raja Rammohan Roy (B) James Hickey (C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak (D) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
    Answer: (B) James Hickey.

  1. ‘Neel Darpan’ by Dinabandhu Mitra deals with—
    (A) Sati (B) Indigo cultivation (C) Widow Remarriage (D) Education reform
    Answer: (B) Indigo cultivation
    Explanation: Highlighted exploitation of peasants by indigo planters.

  1. ‘Anandamath’ was written by—
    (A) Rabindranath Tagore (B) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (C) Dinabandhu Mitra (D) Bipin Chandra Pal
    Answer: (B) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

  1. Who wrote “My Experiments with Truth”?
    (A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak (B) Mahatma Gandhi (C) Jawaharlal Nehru (D) Rabindranath Tagore
    Answer: (B) Mahatma Gandhi.

  1. Which archive holds documents relating to East India Company’s administration?
    (A) National Archives, Delhi (B) State Archives (C) India Office Records, London (D) British Library
    Answer: (C) India Office Records, London.

  1. Company Paintings represent—
    (A) Mughal style (B) Indo-European hybrid art (C) Persian art (D) Dravidian temple murals
    Answer: (B) Indo-European hybrid art.

  1. Oral sources are particularly useful for studying—
    (A) Dynastic politics (B) Folk traditions and local movements (C) Parliamentary debates (D) British bureaucracy
    Answer: (B) Folk traditions and local movements.

  1. Raja Ravi Varma is famous for—
    (A) Miniature painting (B) Classical dance (C) Mythological oil paintings (D) Landscape art
    Answer: (C) Mythological oil paintings.

  1. Which of the following periodicals was associated with Bal Gangadhar Tilak?
    (A) Young India (B) Kesari (C) Indian Mirror (D) The Hindu
    Answer: (B) Kesari.

  1. The ‘National Archives of India’ was shifted to Delhi in—
    (A) 1911 (B) 1917 (C) 1920 (D) 1930
    Answer: (A) 1911.

  1. The first vernacular newspaper banned by the British under the Vernacular Press Act (1878) was—
    (A) Kesari (B) Amrita Bazar Patrika (C) Calcutta Chronicle (D) Mahratta
    Answer: (B) Amrita Bazar Patrika.

  1. Which of these is not a source for modern Indian history?
    (A) Inscriptions (B) Archival records (C) Newspapers (D) Biographies
    Answer: (A) Inscriptions
    Explanation: Inscriptions mainly belong to ancient/medieval periods.

⚓ SECTION B — EUROPEAN POWERS & BRITISH EXPANSION (16–40)

  1. The first European to reach India by sea was—
    (A) Columbus (B) Vasco da Gama (C) Magellan (D) Cabral
    Answer: (B) Vasco da Gama (1498).

  1. The Portuguese established their first factory in India at—
    (A) Goa (B) Cochin (C) Calicut (D) Diu
    Answer: (B) Cochin.

  1. Which European power established Pulicat as its early capital in India?
    (A) French (B) Portuguese (C) Dutch (D) British
    Answer: (C) Dutch.

  1. The English East India Company was founded in—
    (A) 1599 (B) 1600 (C) 1601 (D) 1602
    Answer: (B) 1600
    Explanation: Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I.

  1. The first English factory in India was established at—
    (A) Bombay (B) Calcutta (C) Surat (D) Madras
    Answer: (C) Surat (1613).

  1. The French East India Company was established in—
    (A) 1600 (B) 1615 (C) 1664 (D) 1707
    Answer: (C) 1664.

  1. The decisive Anglo–French conflict in India was the—
    (A) Battle of Wandiwash (B) Battle of Buxar (C) Battle of Plassey (D) Battle of Panipat
    Answer: (A) Battle of Wandiwash (1760).

  1. French Governor Dupleix was defeated by—
    (A) Robert Clive (B) Warren Hastings (C) Lord Cornwallis (D) Wellesley
    Answer: (A) Robert Clive.

  1. The English acquired Bombay from the Portuguese as—
    (A) War spoil (B) Royal dowry (C) Purchase (D) Military treaty
    Answer: (B) Royal dowry (1661, marriage of Charles II & Catherine of Braganza).

  1. Battle of Plassey was fought in—
    (A) 1756 (B) 1757 (C) 1764 (D) 1772
    Answer: (B) 1757.

  1. Siraj-ud-Daulah was defeated at Plassey by—
    (A) Clive (B) Wellesley (C) Cornwallis (D) Hastings
    Answer: (A) Robert Clive.

  1. The Battle of Buxar (1764) was fought between—
    (A) British & Marathas (B) British & French (C) British & Bengal–Oudh–Mughal coalition (D) British & Mysore
    Answer: (C) British & Bengal–Oudh–Mughal coalition.

  1. The Treaty of Allahabad (1765) granted—
    (A) Military control (B) Diwani rights of Bengal to British (C) Judicial authority (D) Monopoly of trade
    Answer: (B) Diwani rights of Bengal to British.

  1. The Mysore ruler who died fighting the British in 1799 was—
    (A) Hyder Ali (B) Tipu Sultan (C) Krishnadevaraya (D) Haidar Jung
    Answer: (B) Tipu Sultan.

  1. The policy of Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by—
    (A) Wellesley (B) Hastings (C) Cornwallis (D) Dalhousie
    Answer: (A) Lord Wellesley.

  1. The main aim of Subsidiary Alliance was—
    (A) Revenue collection (B) Expansion of trade (C) Political domination (D) Religious conversion
    Answer: (C) Political domination.

  1. Doctrine of Lapse was formulated by—
    (A) Wellesley (B) Dalhousie (C) Bentinck (D) Curzon
    Answer: (B) Lord Dalhousie.

  1. Jhansi was annexed under—
    (A) Subsidiary Alliance (B) Doctrine of Lapse (C) Partition of Bengal (D) Direct annexation
    Answer: (B) Doctrine of Lapse.

  1. Punjab was annexed in—
    (A) 1843 (B) 1846 (C) 1849 (D) 1856
    Answer: (C) 1849.

  1. Who was the Governor-General during the annexation of Punjab?
    (A) Wellesley (B) Dalhousie (C) Canning (D) Hastings
    Answer: (B) Lord Dalhousie.

  1. Oudh was annexed by the British in—
    (A) 1843 (B) 1856 (C) 1857 (D) 1860
    Answer: (B) 1856.

  1. The first Indian state to sign the Subsidiary Alliance was—
    (A) Hyderabad (B) Mysore (C) Awadh (D) Gwalior
    Answer: (A) Hyderabad (1798).

  1. Tipu Sultan’s capital was—
    (A) Mysore (B) Srirangapatna (C) Bangalore (D) Arcot
    Answer: (B) Srirangapatna.

  1. The British Residency system was meant to—
    (A) Collect taxes (B) Supervise princely states (C) Promote education (D) Conduct trade fairs
    Answer: (B) Supervise princely states.

  1. Who among the following called the East India Company’s rule “a great robbery”?
    (A) Dadabhai Naoroji (B) Tilak (C) Marx (D) Gandhi
    Answer: (C) Karl Marx.

⚔️ SECTION C — REVOLT OF 1857 (41–55)

  1. The immediate cause of the Revolt of 1857 was—
    (A) Doctrine of Lapse (B) Greased cartridges (C) Annexation of Oudh (D) Social reforms
    Answer: (B) Greased cartridges.

  1. The Revolt of 1857 began at—
    (A) Delhi (B) Meerut (C) Kanpur (D) Jhansi
    Answer: (B) Meerut.

  1. Bahadur Shah II was proclaimed Emperor by rebels at—
    (A) Delhi (B) Kanpur (C) Lucknow (D) Jhansi
    Answer: (A) Delhi.

  1. Rani Lakshmibai was ruler of—
    (A) Oudh (B) Jhansi (C) Gwalior (D) Satara
    Answer: (B) Jhansi.

  1. Tantia Tope was associated with—
    (A) Jhansi (B) Kanpur (C) Bihar (D) Delhi
    Answer: (B) Kanpur.

  1. Kunwar Singh led the revolt in—
    (A) Delhi (B) Bihar (C) Lucknow (D) Punjab
    Answer: (B) Bihar.

  1. Begum Hazrat Mahal led the revolt in—
    (A) Lucknow (B) Delhi (C) Kanpur (D) Gwalior
    Answer: (A) Lucknow.

  1. The Revolt of 1857 was described as the “First War of Indian Independence” by—
    (A) Savarkar (B) R.C. Majumdar (C) Marx (D) Nehru
    Answer: (A) V.D. Savarkar.

  1. Who was the Governor-General during the Revolt of 1857?
    (A) Dalhousie (B) Canning (C) Curzon (D) Hastings
    Answer: (B) Lord Canning.

  1. Queen Victoria’s Proclamation of 1858 promised—
    (A) Freedom (B) Religious neutrality & equality (C) Economic reforms (D) End of monarchy
    Answer: (B) Religious neutrality & equality.

  1. After 1858, India came directly under—
    (A) British Parliament (B) East India Company (C) Queen of Britain (D) Governor-General
    Answer: (C) Queen of Britain.

  1. The Revolt of 1857 ended with—
    (A) Capture of Delhi (B) Death of Bahadur Shah (C) Capture of Gwalior (D) Queen’s Proclamation
    Answer: (D) Queen’s Proclamation (1858).

  1. Main cause of failure of the Revolt was—
    (A) Lack of leadership & coordination (B) Lack of arms (C) British diplomacy (D) All of these
    Answer: (D) All of these.

  1. Post-1857, the ratio of European to Indian soldiers was fixed at—
    (A) 1:2 (B) 1:3 (C) 1:5 (D) 2:3
    Answer: (A) 1:2.

  1. Which Governor-General abolished the East India Company?
    (A) Canning (B) Dalhousie (C) Curzon (D) Ripon
    Answer: (A) Lord Canning.

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