Q.7 (c) “The Battle of Plassey that decided the fate of Bengal was won by Clive through intrigues.” Explain. Ans: The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal, Sirajudaullah on 23 June 1757. The Battle of Plassey decided fate of Bengal. The battle made the position of the company de jure…

Q.1 (a) The battle of Plassey was “not a great battle but a great betrayal.” Comment. Ans: The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal, Sirajudaullah on 23 June 1757. Before the battle, British, worried about being outnumbered and also French help to Nawab, formed a conspiracy mainly with Siraj-ud-Daulah’s…

Q.1 (a) “Plassey did not complete the British conquest of India. Had the English been convincingly defeated in any subsequent battle in India, then (the battle of) Plassey would have remained as a minor episode in the history of India.” Critically examine. Ans: The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab…

Q.5 (d) Write a critical note on: Importance of the Opium War in the history of China. Ans: Untill well into the nineteenth century China was almost closed to European. Having one of the oldest civilization, Chinese were proud of their culture and despised all foreigners as barbarians. But due to lack of contact with…

Q.10 ​The socio-religious reform movements of the 19th century did not fundamentally challenge the caste and gender hierarchies of the Indian Society. Evaluate. Ans: The social reform movements of 19th century can be broadly categorised as those which frontally challenged the prevalent caste and gender hierarchies on one hand, like the Young Bengal group of…

Q.9 ​“The decline and fall of empires are not affairs of greased cartridges. Such results are occasioned by adequate causes and by the accumulation of adequate causes.” Comment on this statement made by Benjamin Disraeli in the context of 1857 revolt. Ans: The official British explanation for 1857 was that only the Bengal army had…

Q.8 Rediscovery of India’s past was a mixed blessing for the nationalist movement. Examine. Ans: In the 19th century many Indians realized that social and religious reformation was an essential condition for the all round development of the country on modern line and for the growth of national unity and solidarity. Most of these reformation…

Q.7 ​“The 1906 Simla conference was the beginning of an explicit British policy of divide and rule in India”. Analyze. Ans: The 1906 Simla conference as the beginning of an explicit British policy of “divide and rule” in India. By encouraging Muslims to see themselves as a separate political entity – one defined in opposition…

Q.6 World War – I had far reaching consequences for the Indian National Movement. Comment. Ans: World War – I was the war fought between Great Britain, France, Russia and Japan on one side (Later joined by Italy & USA) and Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey on the other. In India the years of war marked…

Q.5 Mahatma Gandhi was neither a Moderate nor an Extremist but influenced by both. Discuss.  Ans: Gandhi’s political thoughts were inspired by to both the Moderates and the Extremists and he used the techniques of both in a more practical and dynamic way. He adopted the goal of moderates, i.e. self-rule via non-violent techniques and…

Q.5 (b) Write a short essay on: “Significance of the arrival of the Portuguese in India.” [20m] The landing of Vasco-da-gama at Calicut in 1498 is considered as the beginning of a new phase during which the control of the ocean passed into the hands of Europeans. Economic Significance Indian trade and traders received a…

Q.4 ​Portugal’s refusal to give up Goa inspite of India’s repeated requests, led to a two-fold struggle. Elaborate.  Ans: At the time of Union of India’s independence from the British Empire in 1947, Portugal held a handful of exclaves in the Indian subcontinent – the districts of Goa, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar…