Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) on Indian History for UPSC Exams

1. Which one of the following adumbrated principles and constitutional provisions which were later incorporated in the MontaguChelmsford Reforms?
(A) Nehru Report
(B) Wavel Plan
(C) Lucknow Pact
(D) Poona Pact
Ans. (C)


2. Nagarjuna's Shunyavada is expounded in—
(A) Yogachara
(B) Vaibhashika
(C) Madhyamika
(D) Sautrantilca
Ans. (C)


3. The High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras to replace the Sadar Courts of Diwali and Nizamat were established in the year—
(A) 1793
(B) 1831
(C) 1833
(D) 1865
Ans. (D)


4. The celebrated author Kshemendra lived in—
(A) Bengal
(B) Kashmir
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Gujarat
Ans. (B)


5. The earliest-Indian coins are not earlier than—
(A) 7th century B.C.
(B) 5thcentury B.C.
(C) 3rdcenturyl3.C.
(D) 2nd century A. D.
Ans. (B)


6. Given below are two statements — One labelled as Assertion (A) : and the other labelled as Reason (R):
Assertion (A) : There are instances of rural resistance in early medieval Deccan and South India.
Reason (R) : Grants of agrahara and devadana rights to brahmanas and temples respectively undermined the rights of villagers.
In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following correct?
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(B) Both (A) and (k) are true but R is not the correct explanation of (A)
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true
Ans. (A)


7. In ancient Indian social structure the term aniravasita related to—
(A) BraInnanas and Kshatriyas
(B) Vaisyas and Sudras
(C) Sudras only
(D) People outside the Varna classification
Ans. (C)


8. Which of the following pair is not correctly matched?
(A) Udiyanjeral : Cheraking
(B) Nedunjeliyan : Pandya king
(C) Senganan : Chola king
(D) Pan : Pallava king
Ans. (D)

9. Biographies of Jaina Tirthankaras are found in—
(A) Bhagavati Sutra
(B) Kalpa Sutra
(C) Niryavali Sutra
(D) Uvasagadasao
Ans. (A)

10. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists:
List-I List-II
(Sources) (Information about Chandragupta Maurya, correct or incorrect, given sources mentioned in List-Il)
(a) Greek source 1. He was born in humble family
(b) Jam source 2. He was the sort of a Kshatriya chief
(c) Buddhist source 3. He was a Sudra
(d) Brahmanical source 4. He was the son of a village head man's daughter
Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 4 5 3 1
(B) 1 3 4 2
(C) 1 4 2 3
(D) 3 5 2 4
Ans. (C)


11. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists:
List-I List-II
(Books) (Authors)
(a) Iyar Danish 1. Abdul Hamid Lahori
(b) Humayunnama 2. Khwafi Khan
(c) Badshahnama 3. Gulbadan Begum
(d) Muntakhab-ul Luhab 4. Abul Fazl
Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 1 2 4 3
(B) 4 3 1 2
(C) 4 1 3 2
(D) 1 4 3 2
Ans. (B)


12. The Polygars were—
(A) Horse-traders from Afghanistan during the Mughal period
(B) A famous caste of bankers of Marwar
(C) Chiefs subordinate to the nayakas in the Vijayanagar kingdom
(D) Agents of the European companies for purchase of silk and muslin in Bengal
Ans. (C)


13. Which one of the following Sultans extended agricultural loans called sondhars to the poor peasants for promoting cultivation?
(A) Balban
(B) Alauddin Khalji
(C) Mohd. Bin Tughlaq
(D) Firoze Tughlaq
Ans. (C)

14. This site was granted to French East-India Company in 1674 by Shaista Khan, a governor under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, During the Seven Years" War (1756—63) this town was captured (1757) by the John Company but later (1763) restored to the French. Recaptured by the English in 1778, after the outbreak of the American war of Independence (1776—84) it was restored to the French by the Treaty of Pairs '1785). Wrested again by the British in 1793, on the outbreak of the revolutionary wars in Europe, it was finally restored to the French in I15 and remained part of their overseas empire until its transfer to the Indian republic in 1951".
The reference here is to—
(A) Pondicherry
(B) Karaikkal
(C) Chandernagore
(D) Mahe
Ans. (C)

15. The East-India Company began to use the term 'Investments in India' for—
(A) Their bullion imports to purchase Indian goods
(B) The loot from Buxar for purchasing Indian goods
(C) The profits made from duty free inland trade and the surplus from Diwani revenue
(D) The borrowed money from India moneylenders for purchases in India
Ans. (C)


16. The Theosophists advocated the revival and strengthening of—
(A) Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism
(B) Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam
(C) Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
(D) Hinduism and Buddhism only
Ans. (D)


17. The Swaraj Party decided to take part in the Reforms Scheme under the Government of India Act, 1919 because—
(A) It wanted to gain political experience by forming government
(B) It wanted to expose the hallow ness of the reforms provided in the Act
(C) It wanted to co-operate with the government
(D) It wanted to curtail the influence of 'No changers'
Ans. (B)


18. Which of the following newspapers advocated revolutionary terrorism during the freedom struggle?
1. The Sandhya
2. The Yugantar
3. The Kal
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
(A) 1 and 2
(B) 1 and 3
(C) 2 and 3
(D) 1, 2 and 3
Ans. (D)

19. What was considered as Varna Samkara?
(A) Illegitimate birth
(B) Revolt against the Varna system
(C) Transgression of Varna boundaries for marriage
(D) Championing the Varnasrama dharma
Ans. (A)

20. Which one of the following rebellions began in 1816 and lasted till 1832?
(A) Kol uprising
(B) Khasi uprising
(C) Kutch rebellion
(D) Naikada rising
Ans. (C)

21. The Factory Act of 1881 was passed with a view to—
(A) Prohibit the employment of children below the age of 7 in any factory
(B) Allow the workers to trade unions
(C) Fix the wages of industrial workers
(D) Reduce the working hours for women employees
Ans. (A)

22. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists:
List-I List-II
(a) Merchants 1. Jithhaka
(b) Craftsmen 2. Setthis
(c) Federation of guilds 3. Satthavaha
(d) Caravan chief 4. Bhandagarika
Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 2 1 4 3
(B) 2 1 3 4
(C) 1 2 3 4
(D) 1 2 4 3
Ans. (A)

23. The system of Itlaq a sort of draft enabling a royal soldier to collect his salary from the state revenue officials was introduced by—
(A) Iltutmish
(B) Balban
(C) Alauddin Khalji
(D) Feroze Shah Tughlaq
Ans. (D)

24. The Vijayanagar rulers are remembered for promoting agriculture by—
(A) Building dams, tanks, wells, etc.
(B) Reducing tax on cultivated land
(C) Providing market facilities for agricultural products
(D) Purchasing food grains for the army
Ans. (A)


25. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists:
List-I List-II
(Nationalist Authors) (Works)
(a) Krishnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar 1. Jhansi ki Rani
(b) Subhadra Kumari Chauhan 2. Kichaka Vadh
(c) Saadat Husan 3. Kali Salwar
(d) Vallathol Narayana Menon 4. Enpe Gurunathan
Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 4 1 3 2
(B) 3 4 2 1
(C) 2 1 3 4
(D) 2 3 1 4
Ans. (A)


26. Of the four events mentioned below, which one was chronologically the last to take place?
(A) Simla conference
(B) Election of July 1946
(C) The offer of the Cabinet Mission Plan
(D) Muslim League joining the Interim Government
Ans. (D)

27. In the committee which prepared the Nehru Report (1928) the Liberal Federation was by—
(A) M.R.Jayakar
(B) Tej Bahadur Sapru
(C) V. S. Srinivasa Sastri
(D) M.S.Aney
Ans. (B)



28. Which one of the following was the most westerly outpost of the Harappan culture?
(A) Lothal
(B) Sutkagen Dor
(C) Rangpur
(D) Manda
Ans. (B)


29. Which one of the following places on the Western Coast of India had an English factory?
(A) Cochin
(B) Tellicherry
(C) Cannanore
(D) Calicut
Ans. (C)

30. Which one of the following statements is correct?
(A) The Permanent Settlement of Bengal, concluded in 1793 by Cornwallis, provided proprietary rights in the soil to class of aristocratic Zamindars
(B) The Zamindars emerged from the Permanent Settlement operations in a weaker position
(C) Thomas Munro developed a system of settlement under which the government did not deal directly with the individual peasant cultivator '
(D) The land policy and settlements did not lead to structural changes in control over land aid in the relations among classes associated with land-cultivation
Ans. (A)

31. The bill to cancel the exemption given to the European community from the jurisdiction of the Magistrates and the Criminal Courts established by the East-India Company was proposed in—
(A) 1849
(B) 1861
(C) 1879
(D) 1882
Ans. (D)


32. The term Nadukal mentioned in the Sangam literature—
(A) Is a reference to a velir chief
(B) Means memorial stone
(C) Was a tax on nadus
(D) Was an item of export in Indo-Roman trade
Ans. (A)


33. According to the Mahasanghikas, a being is composed of—
(A). Five Dharmas
(B) Seven Dharmas
(C) Nine Dharmas
(D) Eighteen Dharmas
Ans. (A)

34. Which of the following were important characteristics of early Bhagavatism?
1. Devotion
2. Action
3. Knowledge
4. Social rigidity
5. Self-sacrifice (Tyaga)
(A) 1 and3
(B) 1, 2,3and5
(C) 1, 2, 4 and 5
(D) 2,3and5
Ans. (A)

35. During the reign of Bind Sara there was unrest at—
(A) Ujjayani
(B) Pushkalavati
(C) Takshasila
(D) Rajagriha
Ans. (C)

36. During the Mauryan period Lakshanadhyaksha was
(A) An officer possessing knowledge of the characteristics of animals
(B) A professional astrologer
(C) An official in charge of road marks
(D) An official in charge of mint
Ans. (D)

37. Which one of following denoted a series of coins?
(A) Gajasataka
(B) Gadhiya
(C) Hiranyadama
(D) Katisama
Ans. (B)


38. Which one of the following statements correctly describes the - Dual Government arrangement made by the East-India Company in Bengal?
(A) Executive and judicial authority were separated
(B) Revenue collection was entrusted to the Deputy Nawab, while military affairs were retained by the Company
(C) Revenue administration and the administration of criminal justice were separated and were with the British and the Nawab respectively
(D) The new arrangement was made to encourage agriculture
Ans. (B)

39. Foreign capitalists were attracted by Indian industry for a variety of reasons. Which one of the following reasons was not one of them?
(A) Labour was extremely cheap
(B) Raw materials were readily and cheaply available
(C) Indian capitalist class wars well developed but unable to compete
(D) For many Indian products there was a ready demand the world over
Ans. (C)

40. The author who described the Revolt of 1857 as the 'First War of Independence' was—
(A) Ashok Mehta
(B) R.C. Mazumdar
(C) S. N. Sen
(D) V. D. Savarkar
Ans. (D)

41. The three methods of land revenue assessment-batai, khet batai and long batai-were related to—
(A) Ghallabakshi
(B) Masaq
(C) Kankut
(D) Zabt
Ans. (A)

42. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists
List-I List-II
(Royal personages) (Tombs at)
(a) Babur 1. Lahore
(b) Prince Khusrau 2. Kabul
(c) Nur Jahan 3. Allahabad
(d) Rabia-ud-Dauran 4. Aurangabad

Codes:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 2 3 1 4
(B) 2 1 4 3
(C) 4 2 3 1
(D) 1 4 2 3
Ans. (A)
43. The Mughal emperor who issued a firman to the English East-India Company in 1717 to trade freely in Bengal was —
(A) Bahadur Shah
(B) Shah Alam
(C) Farrukh Siyar
(D) Jahandar Shah
Ans. (C)

44. Who among the following were among those who caused major uprisings against Murshid Quli Khan?
1. Sitaram Ray
2. Udai Narayan
3. Ghulam Muhammad
4. Saadat Khan
Choose the correct answer from the codes given below—
(A) 1 and 2
(B) 2 and 4
(C) 1, 2 and 3
(D) 1 and 4
Ans. (A)


45. With whom was the Rayotwari settlement a made?
(A) Zamindars
(B) Cultivators
(C) Muqqadams
(D) Village Panchayats
Ans. (B)

46. Which of the following is Correct?
(A) The permanent zamindari settlement of Lord Cornwallis vested the ownership of land in the zamindars
(B) The permanent zamindari settlement of Lord Cornwallis vested the ownership of land in the individual pents
(C) The permanent zamindari settlement of Lord Cornwallis vested the ownership of land in the villages communities
(D) The permanent zamindari settlement of Lord Cornwallis vested the ownership of land in the state
Ans. (A)

47. Which agricultural product did not attract the British people?
(A) Indigo
(B) Tea
(C) Cotton
(D) Coffee
Ans. (C)


48. Which one was not a pioneer industry in India during British rule?
(A) Cotton
(B) Iron
(C) Jute
(D) Coal
Ans. (B)

49. Industrial Revolution was started in which country did—
(A) England
(B) France
(C) Germany
(D) U.S.A.
Ans. (A)

50. The First census in India was held in—
(A) 1861
(B) 1871
(C) 1881
(D) 1891
Ans. (C)