Which Portuguese explorer reached Calicut in 1498?
A Pedro Álvares Cabral
B Christopher Columbus
C Vasco da Gama
D Afonso de Albuquerque
Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on the Malabar Coast in 1498.
The Battle of Plassey in 1757 was fought between the East India Company and which ruler of Bengal?
A Siraj-ud-Daulah
B Mir Qasim
C Shuja-ud-Daula
D Tipu Sultan
Company forces led by Robert Clive defeated Bengal’s Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah at Plassey in 1757.
Which battle in 1764 strengthened Company power after the Battle of Plassey?
A Battle of Wandiwash
B Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
C Battle of Talikota
D Battle of Buxar
The Company’s victory at Buxar in 1764 helped it gain greater political power in eastern India.
In 1765, the Mughal emperor granted the East India Company the right to collect revenue in which region?
A Punjab, Sindh and Kashmir
B Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
C Awadh, Delhi and Agra
D Madras, Mysore and Travancore
The Company received the Diwani, or revenue-collection rights, for Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765.
Who became the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773?
A Lord Cornwallis
B Warren Hastings
C Lord Wellesley
D Lord Dalhousie
Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1773.
Which body was created by Pitt’s India Act of 1784 to supervise the Company’s political affairs?
A Federal Court
B Supreme Council of India
C Public Service Commission
D Board of Control
Pitt’s India Act established a Board of Control in Britain to oversee the Company’s political administration.
The Permanent Settlement of 1793 is most closely associated with which Governor-General?
A Lord Cornwallis
B Lord Wellesley
C Lord Hastings
D Lord Canning
Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal in 1793.
Which Governor-General expanded the Subsidiary Alliance system in India?
A Lord Ripon
B Lord Curzon
C Lord Wellesley
D Lord Lytton
Lord Wellesley used the Subsidiary Alliance to extend Company influence over Indian states.
Who was the Mysore ruler killed during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799?
A Tipu Sultan
B Hyder Ali
C Peshwa Baji Rao II
D Nana Saheb
Tipu Sultan died defending Seringapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799.
The Doctrine of Lapse is associated with which Governor-General?
A Lord William Bentinck
B Lord Canning
C Lord Dalhousie
D Lord Minto
Lord Dalhousie applied the Doctrine of Lapse to annex some princely states without an accepted natural heir.
Which Charter Act ended most of the East India Company’s trade monopoly in India in 1813?
A Charter Act of 1793
B Charter Act of 1813
C Charter Act of 1833
D Government of India Act of 1858
The Charter Act of 1813 ended most of the Company’s trade monopoly in India, while some exceptions remained.
What major change did the Charter Act of 1833 make to the East India Company?
A It made the Company ruler of France
B It transferred India to the Crown immediately
C It created the Indian National Congress
D It ended the Company’s commercial activities
The Charter Act of 1833 ended the Company’s commercial role and made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India.
Who was Governor-General when the practice of sati was prohibited in 1829?
A Lord Dalhousie
B Lord Curzon
C Warren Hastings
D Lord William Bentinck
Lord William Bentinck’s government prohibited sati in 1829; Raja Rammohan Roy had campaigned against the practice.
Who founded the Brahmo Sabha, later known as the Brahmo Samaj, in 1828?
A Swami Dayanand Saraswati
B Raja Rammohan Roy
C Jyotirao Phule
D Swami Vivekananda
Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in 1828 to promote religious and social reform.
The Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act was passed in which year?
A 1829
B 1848
C 1856
D 1875
The Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act was passed in 1856 after sustained reform efforts, including those of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
Who founded the Arya Samaj in 1875?
A Swami Dayanand Saraswati
B Raja Rammohan Roy
C Swami Vivekananda
D Keshab Chandra Sen
Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in 1875.
Who founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897?
A Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
B Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
C Swami Vivekananda
D Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897, inspired by the teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
Who founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873?
A Gopal Krishna Gokhale
B M. G. Ranade
C Dadabhai Naoroji
D Jyotirao Phule
Jyotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj to challenge caste inequality and promote social reform.
The Aligarh Movement is closely associated with which reformer?
A Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
B Muhammad Iqbal
C Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
D Hasrat Mohani
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan promoted modern education among Indian Muslims through the Aligarh Movement.
Who led the Young Bengal group of students in nineteenth-century Calcutta?
A Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
B Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
C Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
D Swami Dayanand Saraswati
Henry Derozio taught at Hindu College and inspired the group later called Young Bengal.
Who were the two best-known leaders of the Santhal rebellion of 1855–56?
A Tantia Tope and Nana Saheb
B Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu
C Birsa Munda and Jatra Bhagat
D Kunwar Singh and Bakht Khan
The Santhal rebellion was led by the brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, along with other community leaders.
The Indigo revolt of 1859–60 took place mainly in which region?
A Punjab
B Mysore
C Bengal
D Rajputana
The Indigo revolt was a protest by cultivators in Bengal against coercive indigo cultivation.
The Deccan riots of 1875 were directed mainly against which group?
A Railway workers
B European sailors
C Forest guards
D Moneylenders
In the Deccan, indebted peasants attacked moneylenders’ records and property during the 1875 riots.
Which law transferred the East India Company’s governing powers in India to the British Crown in 1858?
A Government of India Act, 1858
B Regulating Act, 1773
C Charter Act, 1833
D Indian Councils Act, 1861
The Government of India Act, 1858 ended Company rule and placed India under the British Crown.
Rani Lakshmibai was the ruler of which princely state?
A Jhansi
B Awadh
C Satara
D Nagpur
Rani Lakshmibai was the queen of Jhansi and became a prominent leader in the 1857 uprising.
Which law allowed the Viceroy to nominate Indians to his legislative council in 1861?
A Charter Act, 1813
B Pitt’s India Act, 1784
C Indian Councils Act, 1909
D Indian Councils Act, 1861
The Indian Councils Act of 1861 allowed the Viceroy to nominate some Indians to the legislative council.
Who introduced the Vernacular Press Act in 1878?
A Lord Ripon
B Lord Lytton
C Lord Curzon
D Lord Canning
Lord Lytton’s government passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 to restrict certain Indian-language publications.
What issue did the Ilbert Bill controversy of 1883 concern?
A The partition of Bengal
B The abolition of the salt tax
C The authority of Indian judges to try European British subjects in criminal cases
D The transfer of Indian troops to France
The Ilbert Bill proposed greater criminal jurisdiction for senior Indian judges over European British subjects, prompting strong opposition.
Where was the first session of the Indian National Congress held in 1885?
A Calcutta
B Madras
C Bombay
D Allahabad
The first Indian National Congress session met in Bombay in December 1885.
Who presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress?
A Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
B Dadabhai Naoroji
C Surendranath Banerjee
D A. O. Hume
Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee was the first president of the Indian National Congress in 1885.