History of Modern India MCQ questions for Competitive Exams. Important MCQs from the previous year exam question paper of SSC, UPSSSC and other govt jobs examinations.
Modern Indian History MCQs
European Companies
Q.1 What is the name of the fort built by the British in Calcutta?
a) Fort St. David
b) Fort St. Andrew
c) Fort William
d) Fort Victoria
Q.2 Which was the first trading center established by the British?
a) Calcutta
b) Surat
c) Madras
d) Bombay
Q.3 Which of the following is not a French settlement in India?
a) Pondicherry
b) Mahe
c) Goa
d) Chandernagore
Q.4 In 1651, where did the Mughal rulers allow the East India Company to trade and build a factory in Bengal?
a) Calcutta
b) Kasim Bazar
c) Singur
d) Bardhaman
Q.5 Who introduced the cultivation of potatoes in India?
a) The British
b) The Dutch
c) The Portuguese
d) The French
Q.6 Which of the following was the main headquarters of the Portuguese in India?
a) Cochin
b) Goa
c) Calicut
d) Kannur
Q.7 When was the French East India Company founded?
a) 1600 AD
b) 1620 AD
c) 1664 AD
d) 1604 AD
Q.8 Which European nation was the first to establish and influence trade in India?
a) British
b) French
c) Dutch
d) Portuguese
Q.9 Who discovered the sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope?
a) Vasco da Gama
b) Amundsen
c) Christopher Columbus
d) John Cabot
Q.10 Who was the greatest Portuguese governor who laid the real foundation of Portuguese power in India?
a) Almeida
b) Francis Drake
c) Albuquerque
d) Vasco da Gama
Regional State
Q.11 Which of the following treaties did Tipu Sultan sign with the British to end the Third Anglo-Mysore War?
a) Treaty of Mangalore
b) Treaty of Srirangapatnam
c) Treaty of Mysore
d) Treaty of Bidnur
Q.12 Who founded the ‘Khalsa’?
a) Guru Gobind Singh
b) Guru Ramdas
c) Guru Nanak
d) Arjun Dev
Q.13 The Baisakhi festival of 1999 holds special historical significance for Punjab because –
a) It marks the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa
b) It is the last festival of the 20th century
c) A large number of non-resident Indians are participating
d) None of the above
Q.14 Who initiated the military sect of Sikhs known as ‘Khalsa’?
a) Har Rai
b) Har Kishan
c) Gobind Singh
d) Tegh Bahadur
Q.15 Where was Guru Nanak born?
a) Gurdaspur
b) Amritsar
c) Lahore
d) Talwandi
Q.16 Lahore was Ranjit Singh’s political capital. Which city was known as his religious capital?
a) Amritsar
b) Anandpur Sahib
c) Gujranwala
d) Peshawar
Q.17 Which Governor-General greeted Ranjit Singh with great honor at Ropar?
a) Minto I
b) William Bentinck
c) Hastings
d) Auckland
Q.18 Which Mughal emperor among the following overthrew the Sayyid Brothers?
a) Bahadur Shah I
b) Rafi-ud-Daulah
c) Shah Jahan II
d) Muhammad Shah
Q.19 In which of the following battles did Nadir Shah defeat Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah?
a) Delhi
b) Karnal
c) Panipat
d) Kanpur
Q.20 Which Governor fought against Tipu Sultan in the Third Mysore War?
a) Lord Wellesley
b) Lord Dalhousie
c) Lord Cornwallis
d) Lord Wellington
Q.21 In which year did the British annex Punjab?
a) 1828
b) 1831
c) 1849
d) 1856
Q.22 Who among the following was the Portuguese who captured Goa?
a) Francisco de Almeida
b) Afonso de Albuquerque
c) Vasco da Gama
d) Roberto de Nobili
Q.23 Which of the following countries was Indonesia a colony of?
a) Dutch
b) Spain
c) Portugal
d) Belgium
Q.24 In which of the following battles did the British completely defeat the French?
a) Battle of Wandiwash
b) Battle of Buxar
c) Battle of Plassey
d) Battle of Adyar
Cultural and Social Reform Movements
Q.25 Arya Samaj is against which of the following?
a) The existence of God
b) Religious rituals and idol worship
c) Hinduism
d) Islam
Q.26 Who founded the Ramakrishna Mission?
a) Vivekananda
b) Ramakrishna
c) M.G. Ranade
d) Keshavchandra Sen
Q.27 Who was the first to propose the concept of Basic Education?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Raja Rammohan Roy
c) Mahatma Gandhi
d) Dayanand Saraswati
Q.28 Who founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh?
a) Muhammad Ali Jinnah
b) Muhammad Ali
c) Shaukat Ali
d) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Q.29 Who is called the ‘Prophet of New India’?
a) Dayanand Saraswati
b) Sri Ramakrishna
c) Raja Rammohan Roy
d) Swami Vivekananda
Q.30 Who among the following was a pioneer in social reform movements in 19th century India?
a) Aurobindo Ghosh
b) Raja Rammohan Roy
c) Devendranath Tagore
d) Keshavchandra Sen
Q.31 Who was the founder of ‘Prarthana Samaj’?
a) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
b) Swami Vivekananda
c) Atmaram Pandurang
d) Dayanand Saraswati
Q.32 Whose main efforts led to the abolition of the Sati practice?
a) British Viceroy
b) Raja Rammohan Roy
c) Religious preachers
d) Maharshi Karve
Q.33 Raja Rammohan Roy organized a historic movement against which of the following?
a) Caste system
b) The evil practice of Sati
c) The degrading status of women in society
d) Following unnecessary religious rituals
Q.34 Why did Gandhi oppose the Communal Award, and what was the reason behind it?
a) Communal bias
b) It would create differences within Hindu society
c) Economic deterioration of India
d) Destruction of handicrafts
Q.35 Which among the following was the first commission to focus on primary and secondary education in India?
a) Macaulay Commission
b) Charles Commission
c) Hunter Commission
d) Bentinck Commission
Q.36 ‘Sarvodaya’ means:
a) Complete revolution
b) Non-cooperation
c) Upliftment of all
d) Non-violence
Q.37 Who was the founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (established in 1784)?
a) Warren Hastings
b) Sir William Jones
c) Sir James Mackintosh
d) James Prinsep
Q.38 The 19th-century Indian Renaissance was limited to which of the following classes?
a) Royal class
b) Upper middle class
c) Wealthy farmers
d) Urban landlords (landowners)
Q.39 The Indian Universities Act of 1904 was passed under the dominion of which Viceroy?
a) Lord Lytton
b) Lord Curzon
c) Lord Ripon
d) Lord Hardinge-I
Nicknames, Statements, and Books
Q.40 Who composed Gandhiji’s favorite song “Vaishnav Jan To…”?
a) Narsi Mehta
b) Premanand
c) Chunilal
d) Dharmik Lal
Q.41 Who is the author of the book “The Indian War of Independence”?
a) Krishna Varma
b) Madal Kamma
c) B.G. Tilak
d) V.D. Savarkar
Q.42 Who developed the idea that “means justify the ends”?
a) Kautilya
b) Raja Rammohan Roy
c) Swami Dayanand Saraswati
d) Mahatma Gandhi
Q.43 Who is referred to as the ‘Nightingale of India’?
a) Vijayalakshmi Pandit
b) Sarojini Naidu
c) Aruna Asaf Ali
d) Sucheta Kriplani
Q.44 Who is known as the ‘Bismarck of India’?
a) Vallabhbhai Patel
b) Subhas Chandra Bose
c) Bhagat Singh
d) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Q.45 Who first estimated the national income of India?
a) Mahalanobis
b) Dadabhai Naoroji
c) V.K.R.V. Rao
d) Sardar Patel
Q.46 Who was the first Indian to be elected to the British House of Commons?
a) Lord Sinha
b) S.N. Tagore
c) W.C. Banerjee
d) Dadabhai Naoroji
Q.47 Who propounded the theory of ‘Drain of Wealth’ from India to Britain?
a) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
b) Dadabhai Naoroji
c) Surendranath Banerjee
d) Lala Lajpat Rai
Q.48 Gandhi is considered as –
a) Philosophical Anarchist
b) Original Anarchist
c) Marxist
d) Fabian
Q.49 Who is the author of the book ‘Anandmath’?
a) Rabindranath Tagore
b) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
c) Sarojini Naidu
d) Sri Aurobindo
Q.50 Who referred to Mahatma Gandhi as the “Half-naked Fakir”?
a) Winston Churchill
b) Lord Mountbatten
c) Lord Wavell
d) Lord Linlithgow
Q.51 During which movement did Gandhi give the slogan “Do or Die” to the nation?
a) Rowlatt Satyagraha
b) Salt Satyagraha
c) Quit India Movement
d) Non-Cooperation Movement
Q.52 Who gave the famous slogan “Do or Die”?
a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Vallabhbhai Patel
c) Jawaharlal Nehru
d) Rajiv Gandhi
Q.53 Who called for a return to the Vedas?
a) Swami Vivekananda
b) Swami Dayanand Saraswati
c) Aurobindo Ghosh
d) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Q.54 Who was the first European to translate the Bhagavad Gita into English?
a) Sir Alexander Cunningham
b) William Jones
c) Charles Wilkins
d) James Prinsep
Q.55 Who compiled the holy book of the Sikhs, the ‘Adi Granth’?
a) Guru Tegh Bahadur
b) Guru Nanak
c) Guru Arjun Dev
d) Guru Angad
Q.56 What was the main goal of Jyotiba Phule’s ‘Satyashodhak Samaj’ in the last century?
a) To protect lower castes from the exploitative Brahmins and their opportunistic religious texts
b) To attack the caste system
c) To lead the anti-landlord and anti-moneylender rebellion in Satara
d) To demand separate representation for untouchables
Q.57 After the Urdu weekly ‘Al-Hilal’ started by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in 1912 was banned by the government, when did he establish ‘Al-Balagh’?
a) In 1913
b) In 1914
c) In 1915
d) In 1916
Q.58 Who is associated with the title ‘Deshbandhu’?
a) B.R. Ambedkar
b) C.R. Das
c) V.C. Pal
d) Rabindranath Tagore
Q.59 Whose famous statement is “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”?
a) Mahatma Gandhi
b) Bhagat Singh
c) Lokmanya Tilak
d) Jawaharlal Nehru
Q.60 Who was the editor of ‘Young India’ and ‘Harijan’?
a) Nehru
b) Ambedkar
c) Mahatma Gandhi
d) Subhas Chandra Bose
Q.61 Who composed the famous national song ‘Vande Mataram’?
a) Rabindranath Tagore
b) Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
d) Surendranath Bandopadhyay
Q.62 Who is associated with the title “Frontier Gandhi”?
a) Mohandas K. Gandhi
b) Abdul Wali Khan
c) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
d) Lala Lajpat Rai
Q.63 Who is famously known as the “Lady with the Lamp”?
a) Sarojini Naidu
b) Florence Nightingale
c) Indira Gandhi
d) Mayawati
Q.64 Who wrote the patriotic song “Sare Jahan Se Achha”?
a) Mohammad Iqbal
b) Bahadur Shah Zafar
c) Amir Khusro
d) Mirza Ghalib
Q.65 Which of the following works is not associated with Mahatma Gandhi?
a) My Experiments with Truth
b) Harijan
c) The Holy Family
d) Hind Swaraj
Q.66 What was the name of the first newspaper published in India?
a) The Calcutta Chronicle
b) The Calcutta Gazette
c) The Oriental Magazine of Calcutta
d) The Bengal Gazette
Q.67 Who said, “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom”?
a) Subhas Chandra Bose
b) Lala Lajpat Rai
c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Q.68 Match the following:
| (A) Abdul Ghaffar Khan | 1. Mahatma |
| (B) Dadabhai Naoroji | 2. Frontier Gandhi |
| (C) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | 3. Grand Old Man of India |
| (D) Rabindranath Tagore | 4. Gurudev |
a) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
b) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4
c) A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
d) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
Q.69 Under what name was the song ‘Jana Gana Mana,’ written by Rabindranath Tagore, first published in January 1912?
a) Rashtra Jagriti
b) Tatva Bodhini
c) Bharat Bhagya Vidhata
d) None of the above
Revolutionary Activities: History of Modern India MCQ
Q.70 Which of the following revolutionaries was sentenced to death by the British?
a) Jatin Das
b) Chandrashekhar Azad
c) Rajguru
d) Kalpana Dutt
Q.71 Who was the author of the play ‘Neel Darpan,’ which depicted the revolt of indigo farmers?
a) Dinabandhu Mitra
b) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
c) Rabindranath Tagore
d) Nabin Chandra Sen
Q.72 Which of the following novels became a source of inspiration for Indian freedom fighters?
a) Pariksha Guru
b) Anandamath
c) Rangbhoomi
d) Padmarag
Q.73 Who was the leader of the armed attack on the Chittagong government armory in 1930?
a) Chandrashekhar Azad
b) Bhagat Singh
c) Surya Sen
d) Sukhdev
Q.74 Which of the following British personalities acknowledged that the revolt of 1857 was a national uprising?
a) Lord Dalhousie
b) Lord Canning
c) Lord Ellenborough
d) Disraeli
Q.75 Where is ‘India House’ located?
a) New Delhi
b) Kolkata
c) London
d) New York
Q.76 Against whom was the Lahore Conspiracy Case registered?
a) V.D. Savarkar
b) Bhagat Singh
c) Chandrashekhar Azad
d) Aurobindo Ghosh
Q.77 Who was a prominent leader of the Ghadar Party?
a) P. Mitra
b) Lala Har Dayal
c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
d) Bipin Chandra Pal
Q.78 Har Dayal, a great intellectual, was associated with:
a) Home Rule Movement
b) Ghadar Movement
c) Swadeshi Movement
d) Non-Cooperation Movement
Q.79 Who founded the Indian National Party in Berlin in 1914?
a) Subhash Chandra Bose
b) W.C. Bonnerjee
c) Surendranath Banerjee
d) Champakaraman Pillai
Q.80 In which region was Birsa Munda’s movement against the British taking place?
a) Punjab
b) Chota Nagpur
c) Terai
d) Manipur
1857 Revolution
Q.81 Who among the following leaders was the first to sacrifice his life in 1857?
a) Kunwar Singh
b) Tatya Tope
c) Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi
d) Mangal Pandey
Q.82 When did the British government start directly ruling India?
a) After the Battle of Plassey
b) After the Battle of Panipat
c) After the Mysore Wars
d) After the Sepoy Mutiny
Q.83 The administrative outcome of the 1857 rebellion was the transfer of power from:
a) East India Company to the British Crown
b) British Crown to the East India Company
c) East India Company to the Governor-General
d) British Crown to the Board of Directors
Q.84 Who was the Governor-General of India during the 1857 rebellion?
a) Lord Dalhousie
b) Lord Canning
c) Lord Mayo
d) Lord Ripon
Q.85 Arrange the following places where the 1857 rebellion took place in the correct order:
1)Jhansi
2)Meerut
3)Delhi
4)Barrackpore
a) 1, 2, 3, 4
b) 1, 2, 4, 3
c) 2, 3, 4, 1
d) 4, 2, 3, 1
Q.86 Who among the following advocated reconciliation between the British and Muslims while analyzing the causes of the 1857 revolt?
a) Syed Ahmad Barelvi
b) Shah Waliullah
c) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
d) Syed Amir Ali
Q.87 Who led the 1857 rebellion in Lucknow?
a) Kunwar Singh
b) Tatya Tope
c) Rani Lakshmibai
d) Hazrat Mahal
Q.88 Where was the royal court held on 1st November 1858 to issue the Queen’s Proclamation?
a) Lucknow
b) Kanpur
c) Delhi
d) Allahabad
Q.89 What was Nana Sahib’s second name?
a) Ramchandra Panduranga
b) Dhondu Pant
c) Tatya Tope
d) Kunwar Singh
Q.90 Which of the following events inspired the British monarch to take control of Indian administration?
a) Battle of Plassey
b) Battle of Buxar
c) Violent War
d) Sepoy Mutiny
Governor General
Q.91 Who attended the Imperial Durbar of 1877 wearing hand-spun Khadi clothes?
a) M.K. Gandhi
b) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
c) Bipin Chandra Pal
d) G.V. Joshi
Q.92 Who among the following introduced the Permanent Settlement of Bengal?
a) Clive
b) Hastings
c) Wellesley
d) Cornwallis
Q.93 Who introduced the ‘Ryotwari System’ in the then Madras Presidency during British rule?
a) Macartney
b) Elphinstone
c) Thomas Munro
d) John Lawrence
Q.94 Who was the first Governor-General of Bengal?
a) Lord Clive
b) Warren Hastings
c) Lord John Shore
d) Lord Cornwallis
Q.95 Why did the British introduce railways in India?
a) To promote heavy industries in India
b) To facilitate British commerce and administrative control
c) To transport food grains during famines
d) So that Indians could travel freely within the country
Q.96 In which year was the first telegraph line between Calcutta and Agra opened?
a) 1852
b) 1853
c) 1854
d) 1855
Q.97 Which Indian state was not annexed by the “Doctrine of Lapse”?
a) Satara
b) Nagpur
c) Jhansi
d) Punjab
Q.98 Who was the first Indian selected for the Indian Civil Service?
a) Satyendranath Tagore
b) Sarojini Naidu
c) Lala Lajpat Rai
d) C.R. Das
Q.99 Which Governor introduced civil services in India for the first time?
a) Lord Cornwallis
b) Lord Dalhousie
c) Lord Wellesley
d) Lord Hastings
Q.100 Match the following:
| (A) Lord Clive | 1. Subsidiary Alliance |
| (B) Lord Wellesley | 2. Indian Universities Act |
| (C) Lord Dalhousie | 3. Doctrine of Lapse |
| (D) Lord Curzon | 4. Dual Government in Bengal |
A B C D
a) 2 3 4 1
b) 4 1 3 2
c) 4 3 2 1
d) 1 4 2 3
Q.101 Who was the first Viceroy of India?
a) Lord Cornwallis
b) Pitt
c) Lord Canning
d) Robert Clive
Q.103 Who was the last Viceroy of India?
a) Lord Linlithgow
b) Lord Mountbatten
c) Lord Wavell
d) Clement Attlee
Q.104 Who was the first Governor-General of independent India?
a) Lord Attlee
b) Lord Mountbatten
c) C. Rajagopalachari
d) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Q.105 Who was the first Governor-General of independent India?
a) C. Rajagopalachari
b) S. Radhakrishnan
c) Lord Mountbatten
d) Lord Wavell
Q.106 During which Governor-General’s tenure was the Indian National Congress formed?
a) Lord Ripon
b) William Bentinck
c) Lord Dufferin
d) Lord Curzon
Q.107 Which of the following can be considered Lord Curzon’s most useful and important reform, especially concerning the people of undivided Punjab province?
a) Educational reforms
b) Police reforms
c) Industrial reforms
d) Agricultural reforms
Q.108 Which British Viceroy is associated with the partition of Bengal?
a) Lord Canning
b) Lord Curzon
c) Lord Hardinge
d) Lord Wellesley
Q.109 During Lord Curzon’s viceroyalty, which of the following events did not occur? a) Partition of Bengal
b) Establishment of the Archaeological Department
c) Second Delhi Durbar
d) Formation of the Indian National Congress
Q.110 Who is referred to as the “Father of Local Self-Government” in India?
a) Lord Ripon
b) Lord Hardinge
c) Lord Dalhousie
d) Lord Lytton
Constitutional Development
Q.111 Under the ‘Pitt’s India Act,’ which of the following was established?
a) Foreigners’ Court
b) Board of Control
c) Board of Revenue
d) Permanent Council
Q.112 Which Charter Act ended the East India Company’s trade monopoly with China? a) Charter Act, 1793
b) Charter Act, 1813
c) Charter Act, 1833
d) Charter Act, 1853
Q.113 In India, who introduced the system of communal electorates?
a) Indian Councils Act of 1892
b) Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909
c) Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919
d) Government of India Act, 1935
Q.114 The popular name of the Indian Councils Act of 1909 is:
a) Parliament Act
b) Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
c) Minto-Morley Reforms
d) Judiciary Act
Q.115 Which Act’s important feature was provincial autonomy?
a) 1935
b) 1919
c) 1909
d) 1858
Q.116 Who introduced the concept of ‘Dyarchy’ in the 1919 Act?
a) Montagu
b) Tej Bahadur Sapru
c) Lionel Curtis
d) Chelmsford
Q.117 Who inaugurated the Chamber of Princes (Narendra Mandal) in 1921?
a) Lord Curzon
b) Lord Wellesley
c) Duke of Connaught
d) Duke of Wellington
Q.118 During whose tenure was the Rowlatt Act of 1919 implemented? a) Lord Chelmsford
b) Lord William
c) Lord Minto
d) Lord Bentinck
Q.119 The Government of India Act, 1935 was based on:
a) Simon Commission
b) Lord Curzon Commission
c) Dimitrov Thesis
d) Lord Clive’s Report
Economic Condition
Q.120 Who was the President of the Indian National Congress during 1940-46?
a) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
d) Maulana Azad
Q.121 Which system relates to the Ryotwari system of land tenure?
a) The ryot is the landowner who pays land revenue directly to the government for the land he occupies.
b) The ryot is a tenant farmer who pays land revenue to the landlord.
c) The person cultivates the land leased by the landlord and pays rent to the landlord.
d) The land is collectively owned and cultivated on a cooperative basis.
Q.122 Who benefitted the most from the British land revenue system in India?
a) Sharecroppers
b) Farmers
c) Zamindars
d) Agricultural laborers
National Movement : History of Modern India MCQs
Q.123 What was the aim of Gandhiji’s movement to boycott foreign goods?
a) Complete independence
b) To create anti-British sentiment
c) To promote a welfare state
d) To encourage cottage industries
Q.124 What was meant by ‘Secretary of State for India’ during British rule?
a) The officer who worked like the secretary of the Viceroy of India
b) A secretary-level officer appointed for each presidency region of India
c) A British minister under whose control the Government of India worked
d) A senior officer appointed by the Viceroy to oversee the internal administration of India
Q.125 Which of the following are the most important teachings of Gandhiji?
1. Truth
2. Non-violence
3. Religion
4. Satyagraha
a) Only 1 and 3
b) Only 2 and 4
c) Only 1 and 2
d) Only 1, 2, and 3
Q.126 Who among the following were members of the Swaraj Party?
1. Motilal Nehru
2. Sardar Patel
3. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
a) 1 and 2
b) Only 1
c) 2 and 3
d) 1, 2, and 3
Q.127 C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the ‘Swaraj Party’ after-
a) The Swadeshi Movement
b) The Non-cooperation Movement
c) The Civil Disobedience Movement
d) The Quit India Movement
Q.128 In which zodiac sign was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru born?
a) Leo
b) Capricorn
c) Taurus
d) Scorpio
Q.129 Who represented the Indian National Congress at the Congress of Oppressed Nationalities in Brussels in 1927?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Mahatma Gandhi
c) Dr. Ansari
d) Motilal Nehru
Q.130 Who was the first woman president of the Indian National Congress?
a) Sarojini Naidu
b) Bhikaiji Cama
c) Annie Besant
d) Vijayalakshmi Pandit