Which of the following statements about town planning in British India in early 19th century is/are correct? 1. The funds for town improvement were also raised through public lotteries. 2. The threats of epidemics gave an impetus to town planning in the early decades of 19th century. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Both 1 and 2. In early nineteenth-century Calcutta, lotteries paid for town improvement, and the fear of disease pushed the British towards planning.
After Lord Wellesley's Minute of 1803 on the need for town planning in Calcutta, many committees were set up to improve the city. One of them, the Lottery Committee formed in 1817, raised money for town improvement through public lotteries. It built new roads, cleared the river bank and moved hutments out of the centre. Fears of diseases such as cholera, which broke out in 1817, and later plague, made officials want to remove crowded and dirty settlements and open up the city. This concern for health and hygiene gave a strong push to planning, and later to a clear division between the White Town and the Black Town.
A is wrong: Statement 2 is also correct, as epidemics drove the planning drive.
B is wrong: Statement 1 is also correct, as the Lottery Committee raised funds by lotteries.
D is wrong: both statements are correct.
Exam tip: Calcutta town planning: Wellesley's Minute 1803, Lottery Committee 1817, cholera 1817, plague 1896.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following statements about the Bhakti Movement in South India is NOT correct?
- A.The Nalayira Divyaprabandham was also known as the Tamil Veda
- B.Andal was an Alvar
- C.Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a devotee of Vishnu
- D.Metal images of the saints Appar and Sundarar were made and then consecrated in a Shiva temple
Show answer
Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a Nayanar, one of the Tamil saints devoted to Shiva, so this statement is not correct. The early Bhakti movement of Tamil Nadu, from about the sixth century, was led by two groups of poet-saints: the Alvars, devotees of Vishnu, and the Nayanars, devotees of Shiva.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about Mahanavami dibba, a massive platform:
1. It is situated on one of the highest points in the city of Vijayanagara.
2. Virupaksha temple is located on it.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
The Mahanavami dibba stands on one of the highest points of Vijayanagara (Hampi), but the Virupaksha temple is not on it; the temple stands in the sacred centre of the city near the Tungabhadra.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, consider the following statements :
1. It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation based on the union of the British Indian Provinces and Princely States.
2. Defence and Foreign Affairs were kept under the control of the federal legislature.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
The Act of 1935 proposed an All India Federation of provinces and princely states, but kept defence and foreign affairs with the Governor-General, not the legislature.
Read the full explanation →With reference to Indian history, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The Nizamat of Arcot emerged out of Hyderabad State.
2. The Mysore Kingdom emerged out of Vijayanagara Empire.
3. Rohilkhand Kingdom was formed out of the territories occupied by Ahmad Shah Durrani.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 and 2
- B.2 only
- C.2 and 3
- D.3 only
Show answer
Arcot grew out of the Nizam's Deccan dominion and Mysore out of the Vijayanagara Empire, but Rohilkhand was carved out of Mughal land, not Durrani's. The Nawabs of Arcot, or of the Carnatic, began as deputies of the Nizam of Hyderabad, who governed the Deccan for the Mughals; Saadatullah Khan…
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements :
1. There are no parables in Upanishads.
2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
The Upanishads are full of stories and parables, and they belong to the late Vedic period, well before the Puranas took shape.
Read the full explanation →