[DAY 3] 60 DAY RAPID REVISION (RaRe) SERIES for UPSC Prelims 2022 – HISTORY, CURRENT AFFAIRS & CSAT; Test Series, Videos & Notes!

Solution(c)

Statement Analysis:

Of all the European nations who came as traders to India after new sea routes were discovered, England emerged as the most powerful and successful by the end of the eighteenth century.

The major factors which can be attributed to the success of the English against other European powers – Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Denmark—in the world in general and in India, in particular, were as follows:

Solution(a)

Statement Analysis:

Causes of the battle:

• The Company had secured valuable privileges in 1717 ‘under a royal farman by the Mughal Emperor, which had granted the Company the freedom to export and import their goods in Bengal without paying taxes and the right to issue passes or dastaks for the movement of such goods. The Company’s servants were also permitted to trade but were not covered by this Farman and were required to pay the same taxes as Indian merchants.

• Siraj-ud-Daulah interpreted this as an attack on his sovereignty and ordered both the English and French to demolish their fortifications.
• While the French obliged, English refused to do so. This set the stage for a battle that took place on the fi eld of Plassey on 23rd June 1757.
• The fateful battle of Plassey was a battle only in name. In all, the English lost 29 men while the Nawab lost nearly 500. The major part of the Nawab’s army, led by the traitors Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh, took no part in the fighting.
• After the battle, Mir Jafar was proclaimed the Nawab of Bengal and the company was granted undisputed right to free trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It also received the zamindari of the 24 Parganas near Calcutta.

Solution(b)

Statement Analysis:

Faced with enemies on all sides, an efficient army was a necessity for Ranjit Singh. He realised the essential weakness of Indian armies. Irregular levies, poorly equipped and without proper training could hardly meet the challenges of the times.

Solution(c)

Statement Analysis:

Solution(c)

Statement Analysis:

Most of the Indian princes had not only remained loyal to the British but had actively aided the latter in suppressing the Revolt. Moreover, the experience of the Revolt had convinced the British authorities that the princely states could serve as useful allies and supporters in case of popular opposition or revolt. The Revolt of 1857 led the British to reverse some aspects of their policy towards the Indian States.

Solution(a)

Statement Analysis:

Solution(d)

Statement Analysis:

Why the Maratha’s Lost: There were several reasons for the Marathas’ defeat by the English. The main reasons were as follows:

Extra Notes:

Defective Nature of Maratha State: The cohesion of the people of the Maratha state was not organic but artificial and accidental, and hence precarious. There was no effort, right from the days of Shivaji, for a well thought out organized communal improvement, the spread of education, or unification of the people. The rise of the Maratha state was based on the religion-national movement. This defect of the Maratha state became glaring when they had to contend with a European power organized on the best pattern of the West.

Loose Political Set-up: The Maratha empire was a loose confederation under the leadership of the Chhatrapati and later the Peshwa. Powerful chiefs such as the Gaikwad, the Holkar, the Sindhia, and the Bhonsle carved out semi-independent kingdoms for themselves and paid lip service to the authority of the Peshwa. Further, there existed irreconcilable hostility between different units of the confederacy. The Maratha chief often took sides with one or the other. The lack of a cooperative spirit among the Maratha chiefs proved detrimental to the Maratha state.

Inferior Military System: Though full of personal prowess and valor, the Marathas were inferior to the English in the organization of the forces, in war weapons, in disciplined action, and ineffective leadership. The centrifugal tendencies of divided command accounted for much of the Maratha failures. Treachery in the ranks was instrumental in weakening the Maratha forces. The adoption of the modern techniques of warfare by the Marathas was inadequate. The Marathas neglected the paramount importance of artillery. Though the Poona government set up an artillery department, it hardly functioned effectively.

Progressive English Outlook: The English were rejuvenated by the forces of the Renaissance, emancipating them from the shackles of the Church. They were devoting their energies to scientific inventions, extensive ocean voyages, and the acquisition of colonies. Indians, on the other hand, were still steeped in medievalism marked by old dogmas and notions. The Maratha leaders paid very little attention to mundane matters of the state. Insistence on maintenance of traditional social hierarchy based on the dominance of the priestly class made the union of an empire difficult.

Solution(c)

Explanation-

The Doctrine of Lapse stated that the adopted son could be the heir to his foster father‘s private property, but not the state; it was for the paramount power (the British) to decide whether to bestow the state on the adopted son or to annex it. Though this policy is attributed to Lord Dalhousie (1848-56), he was not its originator. It was a coincidence that during his governor-generalship several important cases arose in which the ‘Doctrine’ could be applied.

Annexed Lapsed States: It was a matter of chance that during Lord Dalhousie‘s term many rulers of states died without a male issue and seven states were annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse. The most important of these were Satara (1848), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853), and Jhansi (1854). The other small states included Jaitpur (Bundelkhand), Sambalpur (Orissa), and Baghat (Madhya Pradesh). Hence option (c) is the correct answer.

Solution(c)

Statement Analysis:

The evolution of relations between the British authority and states can be traced under the following broad stages:

The Company’s Struggle for Equality from a Position of Subordination (1740-1765):

Starting with Anglo-French rivalry with the coming of Dupleix in 1751, the East India Company asserted political identity with the capture of Arcot (1751).

The policy of Ring Fence (1765-1813):

This policy was reflected in Warren Hastings’ wars against the Marathas and Mysore, and aimed at creating buffer zones to defend the Company’s frontiers.

Wellesley’s policy of subsidiary alliance:

It was an extension of ring-fence—which sought to reduce states to a position of dependence on the British Government in India. Major powers such as Hyderabad, Awadh, and the Marathas accepted subsidiary alliances.

The policy of Subordinate Isolation (1813-1857):

In 1833, the Charter Act ended the Company’s commercial functions even as it retained political functions. It adopted the practice of insisting on prior approval/sanction for all matters of succession. In 1834, the Board of Directors issued guidelines to annex states wherever and whenever possible. This policy of annexation culminated in the usurpation of eight states by Dalhousie including some big states such as Satara and Nagpur.

The policy of Equal Federation (1935-1947): A Non-Starter: The Government of India Act, 1935 proposed a Federal Assembly with 125 out of 375 seats for the princes and the Council of States with 104 out of 160 seats for the princes, under its scheme of an all-India federation, which was subject to ratification by states representing more than half of the population and entitled to more than half of the seats in the Council of States. This scheme never came into existence and after the outbreak of World War II (September 1939) it was dropped altogether.

Solution(d)

Explanation-

The vernacular press, which had developed and grown on an unprecedent scale since 1857 became more vocal and increasingly critical of governmental policies. This in turn created a strong public opinion critical of the imperialist acts of Lord Lytton. The terrible famine of 1876-71 which took a toll of over six million souls and the lavish expenditure on the Imperial Darbar at Delhi in January 1877 made the public opinion and the press restive. Lytton on his part considered the newly rising intellectual class in-India as ‘a deadly legacy from Macaulay and Metcalfe’ and tried to stifle their views.

The Vernacular Press Act 1878 was designed to ‘better control’ the vernacular press and to empower the Government with more effective means of punishing and repressing seditious writings. The Act empowered:

• A District Magistrate with the previous permission of a Local Government to call upon the printer and publisher of any vernacular newspaper to enter into a bond undertaking not to publish anything likely to excite feelings of disaffection against the government or antipathy between persons of different races, castes and religions among Her Majesty’s subjects.
• The magistrate could further require a publisher to deposit security and to forfeit it if the newspaper contravened the regulation. If the offence reoccurred, the press equipment could seized.
• The magistrate’s action was final no appeal could be made to a court of law.
• A vernacular newspaper could get exemption from the operation of the Act by submitting proofs of the paper to a government censor.
• The act came to be nicknamed Gagging Act.
• The worst feature of the Act was that it discriminated between the English press and the Vernacular press and no right of appeal to a court of law was given.
• Under the Act, proceedings were instituted against The Som Prakash, The Bharat Mihir, The Dacca Prakash, The Sahachar and a few other newspapers.
• The Act succeeded in its objective and the tone of the vernacular press became submissive and the vernacular newspapers of the period showed very little originality in thinking and more often largely borrowed from the English press.
• Lord Cranbrook, the new Secretary of State, objected to the pre-censorship clause of the Act on the ground that the censors would have to be Indians and that they would have to, in point of fact, re-write the newspapers. Consequently, in September 1878 the pre-censorship clause was deleted. At the suggestion of the Secretary of State, a Press Commissioner was appointed charged with the duty of supplying authentic and accurate news to the press.

The Vernacular Press Act was repealed in 1882 by the Government of Lord Ripon. Ripon, the nominee of the Liberal Government of Gladstone, held the view that the circumstances which justified the Act of 1878 no longer existed. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

Solution(d)

Statement Analysis:

Main Provisions of Charter Act, 1813:

• The Government and the revenues of India continued to be in the hands of the Company. The Company also continued to appoint its officials in India.
• The Charter Act of 1813 provided one lakh of rupees annually for the promotion of Indian education. It also extended the Companys charter for another twenty years.

Solution(b)

Statement Analysis:

The Subsidiary Alliance System was used by Lord Wellesley, who was the GovernorGeneral from 1798-1805, to build an empire in India.

Solution(a)

Statement Analysis:

The Act of 1773 (also known as the Regulating Act) –

• In Bengal, the administration was to be carried out by the Governor General and a Council consisting of 4 members, representing civil and military government. They were required to function according to the majority rule. Warren Hastings and four others were named in the Act, the later ones were to be appointed by the Company.
• A Supreme Court of Judicature was to be established in Bengal with original and appellate jurisdictions, where all subjects could seek redressal. In practice, however, the Supreme Court had a debatable jurisdiction vis-a-vis the Council, which created various problems.
• The Governor-General could exercise some powers over Bombay and Madras–again, a vague provision which created many problems.
• Under the Regulating Act of 1773, Hastings became the Governor General of Fort William in Bengal, with powers of superintendence over Madras and Bombay

Solution(d)

Explanation-

Important Events during the reign of Governor General Bentinck –

1. Abolition of Sati and other cruel rites
2. Suppression of Thugi
3. The Charter Act of 1833
4. The Resolution of 1835, and educational reforms and introduction of English as the official language
5. Treaty of perpetual friendship with Ranjeet Singh
6. Abolition of the Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit set up by Cornwallis, the appointment of the Commissioners of Revenue and Circuit.

Solution(b)

Statement Analysis:

Solution(a)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (b)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (d)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (d)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (d)

Statement Analysis:

Solution (b)

The European Commission adopted a proposal for a new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism which will put a carbon price on imports (Carbon Border Tax) of a targeted selection of products so that ambitious climate action in Europe does not lead to ‘carbon leakage’.

Context- European Union’s recent proposal on the first of its kind carbon border tax.

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Context: Recently, the Union Cabinet approved some modifications in the Central Sector Scheme of Financing Facility under ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’

Solution (b)

Statement Analysis:

Context- Maharashtra had been without a Speaker since February, 2021 while Lok Sabha and several State Assemblies are without a Deputy Speaker.

Solution (c)

Statement Analysis:

Context- Recently, the Pacific Northwest and some parts of Canada recorded temperatures around 47 degrees, causing a “historic” heat wave.

Solution (d)

Statement Analysis:

Context- Recently, the UAE’s Hope spacecraft has captured images of glowing atmospheric lights in the Mars night sky, known as discrete auroras

Solution (c)

The least possible number of planks would occur when we divide each plank into a length equal to the HCF of 35,42 and 56. The HCF of these numbers is 7. This should be the size of each plank. Number of planks in this would be : 35/7 + 42/7 + 56/7 = 5+7+8 = 19 planks.

Solution (c)

• Taking 9 , we get 0 and 1 as remainder

• Taking 8, we get 3, 2 and 4 as remainder

• Taking 7 , we get 3 as the remainder

• Taking 6, we get 3, 0 and 4 as the remainder

So, the answer is 7 

Solution (d)

Finding the HCF of 57 and 95 gives us the answer. It is 19. Hence, option(d) is right

Solution (a)

Adding all the numbers we get 514. Dividing it by 33, gives us 19. Hence, Option(a) is right.

Solution (c)

The passage states that an abnormally low neural regulation of aggressive impulses (not testosterone) in humans accounts for hostile behaviours.

Other statements are implied from the line “Sigmund Freud (1930) proposed that all individuals are born with a death instinct that predisposes us to a variety of aggressive behaviours, including suicide (self-directed aggression)…”