Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Lord Cornwallis was alarmed at the .extent of power concentrated in the District Collector and felt that such - absolute power was undesirable in one person.

Key Points

• Provisions of Charter Act 1793
  • This Act continued the company’s rule over the British territories in India.
  • It continued the company’s trade monopoly in India for another 20 years.
  • The Act established that “acquisition of sovereignty by the subjects of the Crown is on behalf of the Crown and not in its own right,” which clearly stated that the company’s political functions were on behalf of the British government.
  • The company’s dividends were allowed to be raised to 10%.
  • The Governor-General was given more powers.
  • He could override his council’s decision under certain circumstances.
  • He was also given authority over the governors of Madras and Bombay.
  • When the Governor-General was present in Madras or Bombay, he would supersede in authority over the governors of Madras and Bombay.

​Additional Information

• In the Governor-General’s absence from Bengal, he could appoint a Vice President from among the civilian members of his Council.
• The composition of the Board of Control changed.
• It was to have a President and two junior members, who were not necessarily members of the Privy Council.
• The salaries of the staff and the Board of Control were also now charged to the company.
• After all expenses, the company had to pay the British government Rs.5 Lakhs from the Indian revenue annually.
• Senior company officials were barred from leaving India without permission.
• If they did so, it would be considered as a resignation.
• The company was granted the authority to grant licenses to individuals and company employees to carry on trade in India.
• This was known as ‘privilege’ or ‘country trade’.
• This led to shipments of opium to China.
• This Act separated the revenue administration and the judiciary functions of the company leading to the disappearance of Maal Adalats (revenue courts).

The correct answer is W.C. Bannerjee.

Key Points

•  W.C. Bonnerjee
  • W.C. Banerjee was born on 29th December 1844 at Calcutta. He finished his schooling at Oriental Seminary and Hindu School.
  • In 1862, he joined a law firm in Calcutta as a clerk from where he got acquainted with the law.
  • In 1882, he became the first Indian to be appointed as a Standing Counsel.
  • He famously defended Surendranath Banerjee in contempt of court case in the High Court of Calcutta.
  • In the first session of the INC in December 1885 at Bombay, Bonnerjee was the President. This session was attended by 72 members.
  • Although he was defeated, he became the first Indian to stand for election for the British Parliament.
  • He passed away at Calcutta in 1906 aged 61.

Additional Information

•  Motilal Nehru 
  • Motilal Nehru was a leader of the Indian independence movement, cofounder of the Swaraj Party, and the father of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • The massacre of hundreds of Indians by the British at Amritsar in 1919 prompted Motilal to join Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, giving up his career in law and changing to a simpler, non-Anglicized style of life.
  • In 1923 Motilal helped found the Swaraj Party (1923–27), the policy of which was to win election to the Central Legislative Assembly and obstruct its proceedings from within.
• Jawaharlal Nehru
  • On 14 November 1889, Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allahabad to parents with Kashmiri Pandit lineage.
  • He played a prominent role in the freedom struggle and became the first prime minister of independent India.
  • He became the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee in September 1923. He was the party president in the Lahore session in 1929 when the declaration of complete independence as the goal of the freedom movement was passed.
  • He became the president of the All India States Peoples Conference in 1935. He threw open its membership to people across the political spectrum. This organisation would play an important part in the integration of the princely states into India.
• Mahatma Gandhi
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist.
  • He was known as the Father of the Nation and commonly called Bapu.
  • His birthday on 2 October is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.
  • He was a prolific writer. One of Gandhi's publications Hind Swaraj published in Gujrati in 1909.
  • He was the leader of various movements (Satyagraha, Champaran Movement, Kheda Movement, Quit India Movement).

The correct answer is Tripuri.

Key Points

• In the 1939 Tripuri Session, Subhash Chandra Bose Won the elections for the Indian National Congress (INC) president at Tripuri Session by defeating Pattabhi Sitaramayya.
• Gandhi Ji and other members supported Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and Subhash Chandra Bose couldn't work efficiently, therefore, he resigned from the post of Congress president.
• Later, He formed the Forward Bloc in Calcutta in 1939

​Important Points

• The First session of the Indian National Congress was held at Bombay in 1885, and the president was WC Bonnerji.
• 72 delegates from all over India attended the first session.
• The Second session of the Indian National Congress was held at Calcutta in 1886 under the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji.
• The Third session of the Indian National Congress was held at Madras in 1887 under the chairmanship of Syed Badruddin Tyabji, the first Muslim President.
• The fourth session of the Indian National Congress was held at Allahabad in 1888 under the presidentship of George Yule, the first English President.

Additional Information

The correct answer is 1156 AD.

Key Points

• The fort and city of Jaisalmer were founded by Maharawal Jaisal in the year 1156 AD after shifting his capital from Ludharwa (18 km from Jaisalmer) to a safer place.
• The ruling family of the erstwhile Jaisalmer State belongs to the Bhati clan of the Yadu Rajputs of the Chandravanshi (Chandra) caste, who claim the lineage of Lord Krishna, the disobedient hero who ruled in Dwarka. 

​
Additional Information

• The present district is largely carved out of the former Jaisalmer state, which was one of the Rajputana states under British protection.
• The treaty between Maharaja Mulraj-II and the British government on 12 December 1818 guaranteed the princely state of Jaisalmer to the ruler and his descendants.
  • Under this treaty, the ruler of the state was required to act in subordinate cooperation with the British government.
• During the Afghan War in 1938–39, the then ruler of the state, Maharawal Gaj Singh, made excellent foolproof arrangements for the transport of British troops, for which the British government felt grateful to the ruler for his timely assistance and cooperation.
• In 1844, after the capture of Sindh by the British, the forts of Shahgarh and Ghotaru, which previously belonged to Jaisalmer, were restored to the state.
• When Jaisalmer was merged with the state of Rajasthan in 1949, there was no significant change in the territory of the state.
• On 6 October 1949, this area was given the status of an independent district in the Jodhpur division.

The correct answer is the Neemuchana massacre.

• Neemuchana is situated near Alwar where the armies of the princely state and the Britishers open fire on innocent people.

Key Points

• At the time of settlement in 1924, taxes on farmers were increased by 25%.
• This aroused a spirit of rebellion among the peasants and Shekhawati Rajputs.
• 'Kisan Sabha' was organized on 16 May 1925 in Neemuchana where armies of princely states and Britishers open fire on innocent people.

 Mangarhdham massacre is known as the 'Jallianwala Bagh tragedy of Rajasthan' but it took place in 1908 and Mahatma Gandhi did not address it as mentioned in the question.