Skip to content
GK24
Indian HistoryHardAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2019, GK

The Limitation Law, which was passed by the British in 1859, addressed which one of the following issues?

  1. A.Loan bonds would not have any legal validity.
  2. B.Loan bonds signed between money-lender and Ryots would have validity only for three years.
  3. C.Land bonds could not be executed by moneylenders.
  4. D.Loan bonds would have validity for ten years.

Correct answer

B. Loan bonds signed between money-lender and Ryots would have validity only for three years.

Explanation

The correct answer is B, Loan bonds signed between money-lender and Ryots would have validity only for three years. The Limitation Law of 1859 was meant to stop debts from piling up over many years.

In the Deccan, ryots borrowed from moneylenders (sahukars) and signed bonds. The British passed the Limitation Law in 1859 so that such a bond would lapse after three years, hoping to check the endless growth of interest. Moneylenders got round it by making ryots sign a fresh bond every three years, adding the unpaid interest to the principal. Anger over such debts fed the Deccan Riots of 1875, when ryots attacked sahukars and burnt their account books. The Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act followed in 1879.

A is wrong: the law did not cancel loan bonds; it limited how long they stayed valid.

C is wrong: the law said nothing about moneylenders being barred from executing bonds.

D is wrong: the period of validity was three years, not ten.

Exam tip: Limitation Law 1859 = loan bonds valid three years; Deccan Riots 1875; Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act 1879.

View all
Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IMedium

Which of the following statements about Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar is/are NOT correct ? 1. Vidyasagar's writings significantly helped to develop the Bengali language 2. He received the title 'Vidyasagar' from Presidency College, Kolkata 3. He was enthusiastic about the spread of women's education 4. Vidyasagar defended widow marriage without being convinced about scriptural support Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.2 and 4
  2. B.1 and 2
  3. C.4 only
  4. D.3
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 2 and 4

Explanation

The correct answer is A, 2 and 4. He got the title Vidyasagar from the Sanskrit College, Calcutta, and he argued for widow remarriage precisely on the basis of the scriptures.

Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (1820–1891) earned the title Vidyasagar, "ocean of learning", from the Sanskrit College in Calcutta in 1839 and later became its principal. He set out to show that the shastras themselves allowed widows to remarry, quoting the Parashara Samhita, and his campaign led to the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856. He worked with Drinkwater Bethune for girls' schools and opened many schools for girls in Bengal. His Bengali primer Barna Parichay and his simplified prose shaped modern Bengali.

Option B is wrong because statement 1 is correct. Option C is wrong because it leaves out statement 2, which is also incorrect. Option D is wrong because statement 3 is correct; he was a strong supporter of women's education.

Exam tip: Vidyasagar = Sanskrit College title, Parashara Samhita, Widow Remarriage Act 1856, Barna Parichay.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IEasy

Which of the following statements about Bhagat Singh is/are NOT true ? 1. Bhagat Singh was influenced by socialist ideas 2. He was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association 3. Bhagat Singh threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1929 with the objective to kill as many people as possible Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 and 3
  2. B.2 and 3
  3. C.2 only
  4. D.3 only
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 3 only

Explanation

The correct answer is D, 3 only. The bombs thrown in the Central Legislative Assembly were meant to make a noise and be heard, not to kill anyone.

On 8 April 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two low-intensity bombs into an empty part of the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to protest against the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill. Nobody was killed. They threw leaflets saying that "it takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear", shouted "Inquilab Zindabad" and courted arrest so that the trial would spread their message. Bhagat Singh read Marx and Lenin and was drawn to socialism, and he was a leading member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, renamed from the HRA at Feroz Shah Kotla in 1928.

Option A is wrong because statement 1 is true. Option B is wrong because statement 2 is true. Option C is wrong because it marks a true statement as untrue and leaves out statement 3, which is the false one.

Exam tip: Assembly bomb 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and B. K. Dutt; HRA became HSRA in 1928.

Q3.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2025, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements in respect of the Non-Cooperation Movement :

I. The Congress declared the attainment of 'Swaraj' by all legitimate and peaceful means to be its objective.

II. It was to be implemented in stages with civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes for the next stage only if 'Swaraj' did not come within a year and the Government resorted to repression.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A.I only
  2. B.II only
  3. C.Both I and II
  4. D.Neither I nor II
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Both I and II

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Both I and II. Both statements are correct about the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920-22.

The special Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920 accepted Gandhi's programme of non-cooperation, and the Nagpur session in December 1920 confirmed it and changed the Congress creed: its goal became the attainment of Swaraj by all peaceful and legitimate means, replacing the earlier aim of self-government within the Empire by constitutional means. The movement was planned in stages: first the boycott of titles, councils, courts, schools and foreign cloth, and later, if Swaraj did not come within a year and the government turned to repression, civil disobedience including non-payment of taxes. Gandhi withdrew it after the Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922.

A is wrong: statement II is also correct.

B is wrong: statement I is also correct.

D is wrong: both statements are true.

Exam tip: Calcutta (Sept 1920) adopted non-cooperation; Nagpur (Dec 1920) made Swaraj by peaceful and legitimate means the goal.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

The Trade Disputes Act of 1929 provided for

  1. A.the participation of workers in the management of industries.
  2. B.arbitrary powers to the management to quell industrial disputes.
  3. C.an intervention by the British Court in the event of a trade dispute.
  4. D.a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes.

Explanation

The correct answer is D, a system of tribunals and a ban on strikes.. The Trade Disputes Act, 1929 set up machinery of courts of inquiry and boards of conciliation and banned certain strikes.

The colonial government passed the Act in response to the wave of strikes of 1928 led by communist-led unions such as the Girni Kamgar Union in Bombay. It created courts of inquiry and boards of conciliation to settle industrial disputes, and it made strikes in public utility services illegal without prior notice, while also banning strikes and lock-outs meant to coerce the government. Along with the Public Safety Ordinance and the Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929), it was part of the British attack on the rising labour movement.

A is wrong: the Act did not give workers any share in managing industries.

B is wrong: it did not hand arbitrary powers to employers; disputes went to official tribunals.

C is wrong: disputes were not referred to any British court.

Exam tip: 1929 = Trade Disputes Act, Public Safety Ordinance and Meerut Conspiracy Case, all aimed at the labour and communist movement.

Q5.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

1. Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.

2. Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

The correct answer is D, Neither 1 nor 2. Neither statement is correct; both mismatch saints of very different centuries.

Nimbarka was a Vaishnava philosopher of about the twelfth or thirteenth century who taught Dvaitadvaita (dualistic non-dualism) and devotion to Radha and Krishna. Akbar ruled from 1556 to 1605, several centuries later. Kabir lived in the fifteenth century in Varanasi and taught devotion to a formless God, rejecting both Hindu and Muslim rituals. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a Naqshbandi Sufi of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, who opposed Akbar's liberal religious policy, so he could not have influenced Kabir, who died long before him.

A is wrong: Nimbarka lived centuries before Akbar.

B is wrong: Sirhindi came about a century after Kabir.

C is wrong: both statements are false.

Exam tip: Nimbarka = Dvaitadvaita; Ramanuja = Vishishtadvaita; Madhva = Dvaita; Sirhindi = Naqshbandi, time of Akbar and Jahangir.