Questions on British Rule in India

1. Why did the British come to India?

To find raw materials for their industries in Britain and markets for their finished goods.

2. The British came to India as

  1. conquerors
  2. travellers
  3. invaders
  4. traders

(iv) traders

3. Mir Jafar was the nawab of

  1. Mysore
  2. Punjab
  3. Bengal
  4. Berar

(iii) Bengal

4. What were the two main methods that the British used to annex the native states?

Doctrine of Lapse and Subsidiary Alliance.

5. Justify: Duty free entry of foreign goods was good for Indian economy.

No. Because the cheap foreign goods were a threat to Indian handloom. Also, Indian weavers suffered much loss.

6. Justify: All land settlements benefit the British.

No. Because the high revenue rates led many peasants to revolt against the British rule. Though the British Empire benefited economically, it had to suffer politically in the long run.

7. Justify: Indigo, rice, wheat, tea and opium were the five major commercial crops introduced by the British.

No. Because rice and wheat are food crops.

8. Justify: Some of the money lending class became the new landowners.

Yes. Because when the peasants failed to pay back their loan their lands passed into the hands of the money lending class.

9. Provide any two reasons why the British built an extensive network of railways in India?

The main purpose was to connect trading ports and industrial towns to villages from where they got their raw materials, that is, cash crops. It ensured its easy and fast transport. Also, finished goods from the trading ports could be taken to various markets.

10. Name at least two centers of Indian culture and languages founded by the British?

  1. Asiatic Society of Bengal founded by William Jones in 1784.
  2. Fort William College founded by Lord Wellesley in 1800.

11. Briefly explain at least two legal measures which helped improve the status of women in British India?

The practice of sati, wherein the wife had to jump at her husband’s funeral fire, was banned in 1829.

Sharda Act, which raised the marriageable age of girls to 14 and boys to 18 thereby preventing child marriage, was passed in 1929.

12. Identify two reasons for protest movements by peasants and tribal groups in India?

  1. The exploitative nature of the British with their heavy taxation and high revenue rates on the peasants.
  2. Various extortion policies and extension of British authority to tribal lands.

13. How did the British policy of Divide and Rule affect the national interest of the country?

The British policy of Divide and Rule led to the division of the country on the basis of religion. The relationship between the Hindus and the Muslims suffered with the British pitching native against native to continue their rule.