[Topic wise IAS Modern Indian History Question Bank (1979-2015)]: (1) European Penetration into India

European Penetration into India: The Early European Settlements; The Portuguese and the Dutch; The English and the French East India Companies; Their struggle for supremacy; Carnatic Wars; Bengal -The conflict between the English and the Nawabs of Bengal; Siraj and the English; The Battle of Plassey; Significance of Plassey.
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1. “On 23 June 1757, the middle ages of India ended and her modern age began.” Comment. [1992, 20m]

2. How did the British conquer Bengal in the 18th century? What circumstances helped them? [1998, 60m]

3. The battle of Plassey was “not a great battle but a great betrayal.” Comment. [2000, 20m]

4. Discuss the causes that led to the ‘economic drain’ in Bengal following the Battle of Plassey. [2004, 60m]

5. “Neither Alexender the Great nor Napoleon could have won the empire of India by starting from Pondicherry as a base and contending with a power which held Bengal and command of the Sea.” Comment. [2006, 20m]

6. “Compared to their English counterpart, the French East India Company enjoyed little discretionary power and had to always look up to Paris for all major decisions. This partly explains the failure of the French in India.” Evaluate Critically. [2012, 10m]

7. “The forces of free trade and the British determination to create a political and administrative environment conductive to trade and investment had shaped the British policy towards India in the first half of the nineteenth century”. Elucidate. [2012, 10m]

8. “Dupleix made a cardinal blunder in looking for the key of India in madras: Clive sought and found it in Bengal.” Critically examine. [2013, 10m]

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