Great Mutiny 1857, Social and religious reform movements in nineteenth century India, Indian national movement, Constitutional development in India from 1858 to 1947 - Question Bank

1. The 'Vande Mataram' movement, which became a rallying cry during the Swadeshi agitation, was associated with the novel of the same name by which author?
A) Rabindranath Tagore
B) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
C) Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
D) Sarat Chandra Bose
2. Who played a crucial role in the abolition of the slave trade in India and advocated for the education of women?
A) Mahadev Govind Ranade
B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
C) Kandukuri Veeresalingam
D) Jyotiba Phule
3. The 'Permanent Settlement' of Bengal, introduced by Lord Cornwallis, was a land revenue system that:
A) Allowed peasants to own land directly
B) Made Zamindars the owners of land
C) Abolished land revenue
D) Established collective farming
4. Which socio-religious reform movement aimed at purifying Hinduism and restoring Vedic values, and was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati?
A) Brahmo Samaj
B) Prarthana Samaj
C) Arya Samaj
D) Ramakrishna Mission
5. The famous 'Poona Pact' of 1932 was an agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and whom regarding the representation of depressed classes?
A) B.R. Ambedkar
B) Madan Mohan Malaviya
C) Jawaharlal Nehru
D) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
6. Who was the leader of the Indian National Army (INA) during World War II?
A) Mahatma Gandhi
B) Jawaharlal Nehru
C) Subhas Chandra Bose
D) Bhagat Singh
7. The Muslim League, advocating for a separate Muslim state, was founded in which year?
A) 1905
B) 1906
C) 1907
D) 1909
8. The 'Drain Theory' of wealth, explaining the economic exploitation of India by Britain, was propounded by:
A) Mahadev Govind Ranade
B) Dadabhai Naoroji
C) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
D) R.C. Dutt
9. Who was the first Indian Governor-General of independent India?
A) C. Rajagopalachari
B) Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
D) Jawaharlal Nehru
10. The idea of a Constituent Assembly to frame India's constitution was first officially proposed by which mission sent by the British government?
A) Cripps Mission
B) Cabinet Mission
C) Simon Commission
D) Attlee Mission
11. Which constitutional development provided for the direct election of members to legislative bodies for the first time in India?
A) Indian Councils Act, 1892
B) Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909
C) Government of India Act, 1919
D) Government of India Act, 1935
12. The 'Two-Nation Theory', which advocated for separate Muslim and Hindu states, was primarily championed by:
A) Mahatma Gandhi
B) Jawaharlal Nehru
C) Muhammad Ali Jinnah
D) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
13. Who was the founder of the Servants of India Society, dedicated to social service and the upliftment of the poor?
A) Mahadev Govind Ranade
B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
C) B.R. Ambedkar
D) Jyotiba Phule
14. The Rowlatt Act of 1919 authorized the government to do what?
A) Impose censorship on newspapers
B) Arrest and detain individuals without trial
C) Collect taxes without legislative approval
D) Ban all political gatherings
15. The Home Rule Movement, advocating for self-governance, was initiated in India by:
A) Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru
B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant
C) Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh
D) Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal
16. Who is considered the 'Grand Old Man of India' for his long service to the nationalist cause and his theories on the economic drain of India?
A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
B) Surendranath Banerjee
C) Dadabhai Naoroji
D) Pherozeshah Mehta
17. The Indian Councils Act of 1861 is significant for introducing which principle in Indian administration?
A) Introduction of Dyarchy
B) Expansion of legislative councils and restoration of legislative powers to Bombay and Madras Presidencies
C) Establishment of a federal system
D) Granting of provincial autonomy
18. The Partition of India into India and Pakistan was a direct consequence of which policy or event?
A) Cabinet Mission Plan
B) Mountbatten Plan
C) Cripps Mission
D) Simla Conference
19. Who was the last Viceroy of India, overseeing the transition to independence?
A) Lord Mountbatten
B) Lord Wavell
C) Lord Linlithgow
D) Lord Willingdon
20. The Indian Independence Act, which formally granted independence to India, was passed by the British Parliament in which year?
A) 1945
B) 1946
C) 1947
D) 1948
21. Who coined the famous slogan 'Do or Die' during the Quit India Movement?
A) Jawaharlal Nehru
B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
C) Mahatma Gandhi
D) Subhas Chandra Bose
22. The Quit India Movement was launched by the Indian National Congress in which year?
A) 1940
B) 1941
C) 1942
D) 1943
23. Who founded the Forward Bloc, a political party aiming for complete independence from British rule?
A) Jawaharlal Nehru
B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
C) Subhas Chandra Bose
D) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
24. The Government of India Act of 1935 laid the foundation for which form of government in independent India?
A) Unitary government
B) Federal government
C) Confederation
D) Oligarchy
25. Who was the leader of the Simon Commission, which visited India in 1928 to inquire into the working of the Indian constitution?
A) Sir John Simon
B) Lord Irwin
C) Lord Curzon
D) Clement Attlee
26. The Civil Disobedience Movement, famously featuring the Dandi March, was initiated in protest against which British policy?
A) High taxes on salt
B) Imposition of English as the official language
C) Discrimination in employment
D) Suppression of Indian industries
27. Which event marked the end of the Non-Cooperation Movement?
A) Chauri Chaura incident
B) Dandi March
C) Gandhi-Irwin Pact
D) Round Table Conference
28. The Non-Cooperation Movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi, was launched in response to which event?
A) Simon Commission
B) Rowlatt Act
C) Partition of Bengal
D) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
29. Who was the Viceroy of India during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919?
A) Lord Curzon
B) Lord Chelmsford
C) Lord Lytton
D) Lord Irwin
30. The Government of India Act of 1919, also known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, introduced which system of governance at the provincial level?
A) Dyarchy
B) Autonomy
C) Federalism
D) Direct rule
31. Who is known as the 'Father of the Indian Unrest' for his role in mobilizing the masses during the early nationalist movement?
A) Mahatma Gandhi
B) Jawaharlal Nehru
C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
D) Lala Lajpat Rai
32. The Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 introduced which significant, albeit controversial, feature into Indian governance?
A) Provincial autonomy
B) Separate electorates for Muslims
C) Dyarchy
D) Universal adult suffrage
33. Who among the following was a prominent leader of the extremist faction of the Indian National Congress during the Swadeshi Movement era?
A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
B) Surendranath Banerjee
C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
D) Ferozeshah Mehta
34. The Swadeshi Movement, launched in response to the partition of Bengal, encouraged the use of Indian-made goods and the boycott of foreign goods. In which year did it begin?
A) 1905
B) 1906
C) 1907
D) 1908
35. Who was the first President of the Indian National Congress?
A) A.O. Hume
B) W.C. Bonnerjee
C) Mahatma Gandhi
D) Jawaharlal Nehru
36. The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by whom, with the initial aim of creating a platform for educated Indians to voice their grievances?
A) A.O. Hume
B) W.C. Bonnerjee
C) Dadabhai Naoroji
D) Surendranath Banerjee
37. Swami Vivekananda's famous speech at the Parliament of Religions in which city is a landmark event in India's cultural history?
A) London
B) New York
C) Chicago
D) Paris
38. Jyotiba Phule founded the Satya Shodhak Samaj to advocate for the rights of which group?
A) Upper-caste Brahmins
B) Landlords
C) Peasants and the untouchables
D) Industrial workers
39. The 'Young Bengal Movement', which advocated for rationalism and modern ideas, was associated with which social reformer?
A) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
B) Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
C) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
D) Kandukuri Veeresalingam
40. Who was the pioneer of the Widow Remarriage movement and a strong advocate for women's education?
A) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
B) Keshab Chandra Sen
C) Debendranath Tagore
D) Mahadev Govind Ranade
41. The Arya Samaj, which aimed at the revival of Vedic religion and challenged the prevailing superstitions, was founded by whom?
A) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
B) Swami Vivekananda
C) Swami Dayanand Saraswati
D) Jyotiba Phule
42. Who founded the Brahmo Samaj, a socio-religious reform movement, in 1828?
A) Swami Dayanand Saraswati
B) Swami Vivekananda
C) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
D) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
43. The 'Sati Pratha' was abolished in 1829 by the efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and which Governor-General?
A) Lord Dalhousie
B) Lord William Bentinck
C) Lord Lytton
D) Lord Canning
44. The Doctrine of Lapse, which contributed to discontent among Indian rulers, was associated with which Governor-General?
A) Lord Canning
B) Lord Dalhousie
C) Lord William Bentinck
D) Lord Hardinge
45. The British Crown took over the administration of India from the East India Company after which event?
A) Battle of Plassey
B) Sepoy Mutiny of 1857
C) First Anglo-Sikh War
D) Establishment of the Indian National Congress
46. Who among the following was a prominent leader of the revolt in Jhansi?
A) Rani Lakshmibai
B) Begum Hazrat Mahal
C) Nana Saheb
D) Tantia Tope
47. Which of the following was NOT a major center of the 1857 revolt?
A) Kanpur
B) Gwalior
C) Patna
D) Arrah
48. The immediate cause of the Great Mutiny of 1857 is often attributed to the introduction of which type of rifle cartridges?
A) Enfield rifle cartridges greased with animal fat
B) Brown Bess rifle cartridges
C) Lee-Enfield rifle cartridges
D) Martini-Henry rifle cartridges
49. Who was the Governor-General of India at the time of the Great Mutiny of 1857?
A) Lord Dalhousie
B) Lord Canning
C) Lord Lytton
D) Lord Curzon
50. The Great Mutiny of 1857 began with an uprising at which location?
A) Lucknow
B) Meerut
C) Jhansi
D) Delhi