In which one of the following years was the first telegraphic connection established between Europe and India ?
- A.1851
- B.1854
- C.1865
- D.1871
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, 1865. In 1865 the overland line through the Ottoman Empire and Persia was joined to a submarine cable in the Persian Gulf, and messages could pass between Britain and India for the first time.
Telegraph lines inside India began earlier: an experimental line near Calcutta ran in 1851, and from 1853 to 1854, under Lord Dalhousie and W. B. O'Shaughnessy, lines linked Calcutta, Agra, Bombay, Madras and Peshawar. The Revolt of 1857 showed the British how slow messages to London were, and this led to the Indo-European link. The cable from Karachi up the Persian Gulf to Fao completed the route in 1865. A faster all-British line through Prussia and Russia followed in 1870.
A is wrong because 1851 is the year of the first experimental line within India, near Calcutta. B is wrong because 1854 is when the first long inland lines, such as Calcutta to Agra, were completed. D is wrong because by 1871 the link with Europe had already been working for six years.
Exam tip: inland telegraph 1851 to 1854 under Dalhousie; India linked to Europe in 1865.
Practice Questions
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- A.Colonel Colin Mackenzie
- B.James Prinsep
- C.William Jones
- D.James Rennell
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2. The inscription records the restoration of a reservoir called Sudarshana Lake.
3. It is an undated inscription.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.1 and 2 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
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- B.Ram Manohar Lohia
- C.Raja Ram Mohan Roy
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2. Aurobindo Ghosh was in favour of extending the movement to the rest of India and carrying it beyond the programme of just Swadeshi and Boycott to a full-fledged political mass struggle.
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- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
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- B.Jamnalal Bajaj
- C.Ambalal Sarabhai
- D.C. N. Davar
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