British India | MCQs

Explanation

The capital of British India was transferred from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi in the year 1911.

The announcement to shift the capital was made during the Delhi Durbar  held in December 1911 to commemorate the coronation of King George V.

The new capital in Delhi was known as New Delhi and was designed by the architect Edwin Lutyens.

It became the center of British colonial administration in India.

Explanation

The Indian Council Act of 1861 established legislative councils in the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras.

These presidencies were given the power to make laws for their respective regions.

The act restored the legislative powers that had been taken away by the Charter Act of 1833.

Explanation

• Lord Lytton, who was the Governor-General of India from 1876 to 1880, followed a spirited "Forward" policy towards Afghanistan.
• He believed that the British should pursue an aggressive policy towards Afghanistan, which led to the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
• Lytton was appointed by Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and purportedly feared the spread of Russian influence in Central Asia.

Explanation

• The third Delhi Durbar was held in 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V.
• The Delhi Durbar was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India.
• The Durbar was held three times, in 1877, 1903 and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. 
• The 1911 Durbar was the only one that a sovereign, George V, attended.

Explanation

• The Cabinet Mission was formed at the initiative of Prime Minister Clement Attlee.
• The Cabinet Mission was a three-person delegation sent to India in 1946 to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership, with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting its independence.

Explanation

Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of British India, arrived in India in March 1947 with the primary objective of transferring power from British rule to Indian hands.

His instructions from the British government were to:

• Try to preserve India's unity if possible.
• If unity was not possible, to divide India into separate countries (which ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan).
• Ensure a smooth transfer of power.

Explanation

• The Viceroy of India when the Rowlatt Act was passed was Lord Chelmsford.
• The Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919, and Lord Chelmsford served as the Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921.

Explanation

• The Durand Commission was established in 1893, during the viceroyship of Lord Lansdowne. The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Indian Empire by Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat of the Indian Civil Service, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan.

Explanation

• The Battle of Buxar took place on October 22, 1764, between the forces of the British East India Company and the combined armies of the Mughal Empire, Bengal and Awadh.
• This battle is considered a turning point in Indian history, marking the beginning of British rule in India.
• The Mughals were defeated, and their power began to decline rapidly.

Explanation

Awadh (also known as Oudh) was annexed by the British East India Company in 1856, during the reign of Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor-General of India at the time.