🔹 Chapter 1: How, When and Where (25 MCQs)

1. Who was the first Governor-General of India?

a) William Bentinck

b) Warren Hastings

c) Lord Dalhousie

d) Lord Canning

✅ Answer: b) Warren Hastings

2. The National Archives of India is located in:

a) Kolkata

b) Delhi

c) Mumbai

d) Hyderabad

✅ Answer: b) Delhi

3. What type of sources do historians use to write history?

a) Manuscripts

b) Official records

c) Letters and diaries

d) All of the above

✅ Answer: d) All of the above

4. Which of the following is an official record?

a) Diaries

b) Memoirs

c) Census reports
d) Paintings

✅ Answer: c) Census reports

5. British historians divided Indian history into:

a) Hindu, Muslim, Modern

b) Ancient, Medieval, Modern

c) Vedic, Mughal, British

d) Harappan, Maurya, Gupta

✅ Answer: a) Hindu, Muslim, Modern

6. Historians today believe periodisation should be based on:

a) Religion of rulers

b) Economic and social factors

c) Wars

d) Dynasties

✅ Answer: b) Economic and social factors

7. The practice of surveying became common under:

a) Akbar

b) British rule

c) Mughals

d) Sultanate

✅ Answer: b) British rule

8. Census is taken every:

a) 5 years

b) 10 years
c) 15 years

d) 20 years

✅ Answer: b) 10 years

9. What was the purpose of conducting surveys by the British?

a) Entertainment

b) Cultural development

c) Administrative convenience

d) Trade

✅ Answer: c) Administrative convenience

10. The British thought that history was about the:

a) Common people

b) Culture

c) Rule of kings

d) Geography

✅ Answer: c) Rule of kings

11. Which institution collects official records in India?

a) National Library

b) National Archives

c) National Museum

d) Indian Museum

✅ Answer: b) National Archives

12. Historians use the term ‘Colonial’ to refer to:

a) Freedom struggle
b) British rule

c) Modern age

d) Portuguese rule

✅ Answer: b) British rule

13. British introduced census first in the year:

a) 1857

b) 1871

c) 1860

d) 1890

✅ Answer: b) 1871

14. Which among the following is NOT a source of history?

a) Monuments

b) Textbooks

c) Paintings

d) Folk tales

✅ Answer: b) Textbooks

15. Who wrote the book 'A History of British India'?

a) James Mill

b) Lord Mountbatten

c) Warren Hastings

d) William Bentinck

✅ Answer: a) James Mill

16. James Mill divided Indian history into:

b) Vedic, Mughal, British

c) Hindu, Muslim, Christian

d) Ancient, Medieval, Modern

✅ Answer: a) Hindu, Muslim, British

17. The term 'colonialism' refers to:

a) Development of industries

b) Rule by local rulers

c) Rule by foreign power

d) Rule of Mughal empire

✅ Answer: c) Rule by foreign power

18. Why are official records not enough to understand history?

a) They are biased

b) They do not include people's voices

c) They are written by British

d) All of the above

✅ Answer: d) All of the above

19. Which of these is NOT a British record?

a) Reports

b) Diaries

c) Census

d) Paintings

✅ Answer: d) Paintings
20. Historians now write about:

a) Only kings

b) Common people, their culture

c) Only wars

d) Foreigners

✅ Answer: b) Common people, their culture

21. What was preserved in the National Archives?

a) Newspapers

b) Government letters

c) Ancient texts

d) Books

✅ Answer: b) Government letters

22. What is the meaning of 'colonial rule'?

a) Rule of locals

b) Rule of kings

c) Rule of outsiders over the natives

d) Religious rule

✅ Answer: c) Rule of outsiders over the natives

23. Which source helps us understand administration under British rule?

a) Songs

b) Newspapers

c) Official records

d) Oral stories

✅ Answer: c) Official records

a) Economy

b) Religion

c) Mapping and administration

d) Education

✅ Answer: c) Mapping and administration

25. Which of these was a reason British preserved official records?

a) Personal interest

b) For historians

c) For posterity and administration

d) For cultural heritage

✅ Answer: c) For posterity and administration

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🔹 Chapter 2: From Trade to Territory (25 MCQs)

1. The Battle of Plassey was fought in:

a) 1757

b) 1764

c) 1857

d) 1804

✅ Answer: a) 1757
2. The last powerful Mughal emperor was:

a) Akbar

b) Bahadur Shah Zafar

c) Aurangzeb

d) Shah Jahan

✅ Answer: c) Aurangzeb

3. Who was the Nawab of Bengal during the Battle of Plassey?

a) Sirajuddaulah

b) Mir Qasim

c) Shuja-ud-Daula

d) Tipu Sultan

✅ Answer: a) Sirajuddaulah

4. The Battle of Buxar was fought in:

a) 1761

b) 1757

c) 1764

d) 1857

✅ Answer: c) 1764

5. The Treaty of Allahabad was signed in:

a) 1765

b) 1764

c) 1757

d) 1804

✅ Answer: a) 1765
6. The British got Diwani rights of Bengal in:

a) 1757

b) 1765

c) 1764

d) 1773

✅ Answer: b) 1765

7. Who was the ruler of Mysore who fought against the British?

a) Ranjit Singh

b) Hyder Ali

c) Tipu Sultan

d) Both b and c

✅ Answer: d) Both b and c

8. Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by:

a) Lord Dalhousie

b) Lord Clive

c) Lord Wellesley

d) Lord Canning

✅ Answer: c) Lord Wellesley

9. Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by:

a) Lord Wellesley

b) Lord Hastings

c) Lord Dalhousie

d) Lord Mountbatten

✅ Answer: c) Lord Dalhousie

a) Awadh

b) Punjab

c) Satara

d) Bengal

✅ Answer: c) Satara

11. The company defeated the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat in:

a) 1761

b) 1764

c) 1818

d) 1803

✅ Answer: c) 1818

12. Tipu Sultan died in the battle of:

a) Plassey

b) Buxar

c) Seringapatam

d) Mysore

✅ Answer: c) Seringapatam

13. Awadh was annexed in:

a) 1845

b) 1856

c) 1857

d) 1805
✅ Answer: b) 1856

14. Who introduced the Dual Government in Bengal?

a) Robert Clive

b) Warren Hastings

c) Lord Dalhousie

d) Lord Cornwallis

✅ Answer: a) Robert Clive

15. After the Battle of Buxar, who gave Diwani rights to the British?

a) Nawab of Awadh

b) Shah Alam II

c) Sirajuddaulah

d) Tipu Sultan

✅ Answer: b) Shah Alam II

16. Who built a modern army in Mysore?

a) Hyder Ali

b) Tipu Sultan

c) Ranjit Singh

d) Nana Saheb

✅ Answer: b) Tipu Sultan

17. Which European power came first to India for trade?

a) Dutch

b) French

c) British
d) Portuguese

✅ Answer: d) Portuguese

18. Who allowed the East India Company to trade in India?

a) Aurangzeb

b) Shah Jahan

c) Jahangir

d) Babur

✅ Answer: c) Jahangir

19. Which Mughal ruler issued the Farman in 1717 to the British?

a) Aurangzeb

b) Bahadur Shah

c) Farrukhsiyar

d) Shah Alam II

✅ Answer: c) Farrukhsiyar

20. Which region was the first to be annexed by the British?

a) Bengal

b) Awadh

c) Mysore

d) Punjab

✅ Answer: a) Bengal

21. Who was appointed the first Governor-General of India?

a) Lord Dalhousie

b) Lord Mountbatten
c) Warren Hastings

d) Robert Clive

✅ Answer: c) Warren Hastings

22. East India Company was set up in:

a) 1600

b) 1700

c) 1800

d) 1857

✅ Answer: a) 1600

23. The first Carnatic War was fought between:

a) British and Mughals

b) British and Marathas

c) British and French

d) British and Portuguese

✅ Answer: c) British and French

24. In 1765, Diwani of which areas was given to Company?

a) Bengal, Bihar, Orissa

b) Awadh, Bengal, Punjab

c) Mysore, Awadh, Bengal

d) Delhi, Bengal, Punjab

✅ Answer: a) Bengal, Bihar, Orissa

25. Who was the ruler of Punjab before it was annexed?

a) Tipu Sultan
b) Hyder Ali

c) Ranjit Singh

d) Mir Qasim

✅ Answer: c) Ranjit Singh