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The correct answer is The Indian Councils Act, 1909.

Important Points

• The Indian Councils Act,1909 commonly known as the “Morley- Minto reforms” was passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to widen the scope of the legislative councils, increase the participation of Indians in governance, and formally introduced the principle of elections in India for the very first time.

Key Points

• The Indian Councils Act, 1909 
• The act was formulated by John Morley, secretary of state for India (1905–10).
• Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India at that time.
• It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and provincial.
• It retained an official majority in the Central Legislative Council but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have a non-official majority.
• It provided for the first time for the association of Indians with the executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors.
• It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of a separate electorate.
• Some constituencies were earmarked for Muslims and only Muslims could vote their representatives.

Additional Information

• Government of India Act of 1919 
• It was the codified version of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms – named after Edwin Charles Montague and Lord Chelmsford.
• It demarcated and separated the central and provincial subjects.
• It introduced dyarchy by dividing the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved.
• It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism in the central legislature and direct elections in the country.
• The Government of India Act 1935
• It was passed by British Parliament in August 1935.
• With 321 sections and 10 schedules, this was the longest act passed by British Parliament so far.
• This act was passed after the Third Round Table Conference.
• This act ended the system of dyarchy introduced by the GOI Act 1919 and provided for the establishment of a Federation of India to be made up of provinces of British India and some or all of the Princely states.
• The Indian Independence Act. 1947
• The act was implemented on 15 August 1947.
• The act provided two dominion status i.e India and Pakistan.
• The authority of the British crown over princely states ceased to exist and they were free to join either of the dominions.

The correct answer is Value of votes of members of all the states legislative assemblies and the elected members of the Houses of the Parliament.

Key Points

• The Indian President is the head of the state.
• He is the first citizen of India and is a symbol of solidarity, unity, and integrity of the nation.
• He is a part of the Union Executive along with the Vice-President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, and Attorney-General of India.
• There is no direct election for the Indian President. An electoral college elects him.
• The electoral college responsible for President’s elections comprises elected members of:
• Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• Legislative Assemblies of the states
• Legislative Assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry
• The following group of people is not involved in electing the President of India:
• Nominated Members of Lok Sabha (2) and Rajya Sabha (12)
• Nominated Members of State Legislative Assemblies
• Members of Legislative Councils (Both elected and nominated) in bicameral legislatures
• Nominated Members of union territories of Delhi and Puducherry
• The President holds office for five years.

Additional Information

• Qualifications to become President in India
• He should be an Indian Citizen.
• His age should be a minimum of 35 years.
• He should qualify the conditions to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha.
• He should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority.

The correct answer is Governor.

Key Points

• The Contingency Fund of India established under Article 267 (1) of the Constitution is the money maintained for a specific purpose which is placed at the disposal of the President to enable him/her to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the Parliament.
• It was added into the Indian Constitution through the Contingency Fund of India Act, 1950 Contingency fund refers to a fund that is set aside for emergencies and economic crises.
• The fund is held by the Finance Secretary on behalf of the President.
• In 2005, it was raised from 50 Cr to 500 Cr and requires the approval of the Parliament to withdraw the money out of the Contingency Fund of India.
• The Contingency Fund of each State Government is established under Article 267(2) of the Constitution.
• The Contingency Fund of State fund shall be placed at the disposal of the Governor of the State to enable advances to be made by him out of such Fund for the purposes of meeting unforeseen expenditure pending authorization of such expenditure by the Legislature of the State by law under Article 205 or Article 206 Distribution of Revenues between the Union and the States

Additional Information

• Other funds of the Indian government are
• Consolidated Fund of India
• Public Accounts of India
• Consolidated Fund of India is the most important among them.
• The government needs parliamentary approval to withdraw money from this fund.

The correct answer is President or Governor of a State.

Key Points

• Article 361 is an exception to Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Indian Constitution.
• Exceptions under Equality Before Law in the Indian Constitution
• President or Governor of the state is not answerable to the court of law for exercising their executive powers.
• No criminal proceeding against the President or Governor of state can be instituted or continued during their tenure in office.
• No civil proceeding in which there is a claim of compensation can be instituted against the President or Governor of the state except after the expiry of 2-month notice issued against them.
• No process for the arrest or imprisonment of the President, or the Governor of a State, shall issue from any court during his term of office.

Additional Information

• The Right to Equality is mentioned in Articles 14 to18.
• Article 14: The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India, on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• Article 15: The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
• Article 16: There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.
• Article 17: Abolition of untouchability.
• Article 18: Abolition of all titles except military and academic.

The correct answer is A, B, D, C.

Key Points

• The Battle of Plassey
• The Battle of Plassey was fought in the year 1757.
• It was fought between Siraj-Ud-Daulah (Nawab of Bengal) and East India Company lead by Robert Clive.
• The Battle of Plassey become famous because it was the first major victory the Company won in India.
• Another reason for the defeat was that Clive had managed to secure the support of Mir Jafar by promising to make him the Nawab after crushing Siraj-Ud-Daulah.
• The Third Battle of Panipat
• The Third Battle of Panipat was fought between The Maratha Empire and The Afghan Army took place on 14 January 1761 at Panipat.
• The Battle was fought between Sadashiv Rao Bhau(The Maratha Empire) and Ahmad Shah Durrani (The Afghan Army).
• In this Battle, Three Indian allies were supported by The Afgan Army, The Rohilla of (Najib-Ud-Daulah), the Afghans of (Doab Region), and Shuja-Ud-Daula (The Nawab of Awadh).
• It is considered one of the largest and most fiercely fought battles in the 18^th century.
• The Third Anglo-Mysore War
• The third Anglo- Mysore War was fought between Tipu Sultan and the then Governor-General of Bengal Lord Cornwallis from 1790 to 1792.
• Treaty of Seringapatnam was signed by Tipu in 1792 through which he surrendered half the territory of his kingdom to the allies.
• The Third Anglo-Maratha War
• The Third Anglo-Maratha War ended in 1818 with the surrender of the Marathas to the British.
• The Third Anglo-Maratha War took place in Maharashtra and its neighbouring areas from 1817 to 1818.
• The main reasons for the loss of Marathas were lack of unity among the Maratha chiefs themselves, lack of good relations with other Indian princes and ruling dynasties, and failure to understand the British political and diplomatic strengths.
• Lord Hastings was the Governor-General of Bengal during The Third Anglo-Maratha war.

The correct answer is A-iii, B-iv, C-i, D-ii.

Key Points

• ​Poona Sarvajanik Sabha:
• It was founded on April 2, 1870, by S. H. Chiplunkar, Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi, and Mahadev Govind Ranade in Pune.
• It was formed to represent the rights of peasants.
• It is a precursor to the Indian National Congress.
• Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the ruler of Aundh State was the first president. He held the post till 1897.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Hari Deshmukh also served as presidents.
• Indian Association:
• Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Bose founded the Indian association.
• The objectives of this Association were "promoting by every legitimate means the political, intellectual and material advancement of the people".
• The Association attracted educated Indians and civic leaders from all parts of the country and became an important forum for India's aspirations for independence.
• It later merged with the Indian National Congress.
• Madras Mahajana Sabha:
• It was established by M. Veeraraghavachariar, S. Ramaswami Mudaliar, and P. Anandacharlu.
• The Madras Mahajan Sabha was formed in May 1884 to coordinate the activities of the local association and to ‘provide a focus for the non-official intelligence spread up through the Presidency’.
• It held its first conference between 29 December 1884 and 2 January 1885.
• Palavai Rangaiah Naidu and R. Balaji Rao were elected as President and Secretary in their inception.
• Bombay Presidency Association:
• It was established by Pherozshah Mehta, K.T Telang, and Badruddin Tyabji.
• It was founded in 1885.
• The reactionary policies of Lytton and the Ilbert Bill controversy led to the formation of The Bombay Presidency Association.
• The Association championed Indian interests and hosted the first meeting of the Indian National Congress in Bombay at the end of 1885.
• Pherozshah Mehta was knighted by the British Government in India for his service to the law.

The correct answer is A-iii, B-i, C-iv, D-ii.

Key Points

• Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Meaning of the Truth or The Light of Truth)
• It is written by Dayanand Saraswati in 1875.
• It is considered one of his major scholarly works.
• The book was originally written in Hindi and subsequently revised by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1882.
• This book is now translated into more than 20 languages including Sanskrit and several foreign languages like English, French, German, Swahili, Arabic, and Chinese.
• The major portion of the book is dedicated to laying down the reformist advocacy of Swami Dayanand with the last three chapters making a case for the comparative study of different religious faiths.
• Kapalkundala
• It is a painful love story, full of intrigue and suspense, penned by one of the most iconic Bengali writers, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
• Our National Song Vande Matram was written by him.
• Other notable works of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya:
• Durgesh Nandini, Komalakanter Doptor, Mrinalini, Krishnakanter Will, Bishbrikhsha, Rajsingho, Sitaram, Devi Chaudhurani.
• The wants and means of India
• It throws light on the Drain theory Put forward by Dadabhai Naoroji. British government exploited India in every way the could from 1757 to 1947.
• Dadabhai Nauroji raised his voice against the drain of wealth from India to Britain in 1870 and ensured that British rule will not last long in India.
• Major writings of Dada Bhai Naroji were as follows:
• Poverty and Unbritish rule in India
• The manners and customs of the Parsees
• Condition of India
• Admission of educated natives into the ICS
• The wants and means of India
• Gita Rahasya
• ​It was written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
• He wrote it when he was in prison at Mandalay in Burma.
• He is known as the "father of Indian Unrest”.
• He also earned the title “Lokamanya” which means 'the person who is respected by people and favourite of all.

Given:

(A) : The Indian Freedom struggle gained mass during the Non-co-operation Movement in 1920 → True

(R) : A large number of peasants and workers participated in the movement led by Gandhiji → True (This is the reason that abundant people were present in the non-co-operation movement)

Thus, Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Hence, Option 1 is correct.

The correct answer is Enlarged the Central and Provincial Legislative Councils.

Key Points

• The Indian Councils Act of 1909 introduced reforms that are commonly known as Morley-Minto reforms after the Secretary of State for India John Morley and the Viceroy of India, Lord Minto.
• Provisions of the Act:
• The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces increased in size. Hence the Statement 4 is correct.
• Central Legislative Council – from 16 to 60 members
• Legislative Councils of Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and United Provinces – 50 members each
• Legislative Councils of Punjab, Burma, and Assam – 30 members each
• The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces were to have four categories of members as follows:
• Ex officio members: Governor-General and members of the executive council.
• Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by the Governor-General.
• Nominated non-official members: nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials.
• Elected members: elected by different categories of Indians.
• The elected members were from the local bodies, the chambers of commerce, landlords, universities, traders’ communities, and Muslims.
• Indians were given membership to the Imperial Legislative Council for the first time.
• It introduced separate electorates for the Muslims. Some constituencies were earmarked for Muslims and only Muslims could vote their representatives.
• The members could discuss the budget and move resolutions. They could also discuss matters of public interest.
• Lord Minto appointed Satyendra P Sinha as the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council.

The correct answer is v, ii, iii, i, iv.

Key Points

• Lord Reading
• He was the Viceroy of India from 1921-1926.
• Major Incidents took place in India under him:
• The incidence of Chauri -Chaura took place during his time.
• Swaraj Party was formed at his time.
• In 1921, the Ahmedabad session of INC was being held
• Lord Irwin
• He was the Viceroy of India from 1926-1931.
• Major Incidents took place in India under him:
• In 1928, Simon's commission came to India.
• The incidence of Dandi took in 1930.
• The Civil Disobedience movement was started in 1930.
• Gandhi signed the Irwin pact. In 1931, First Round Table Conference was held.
• Lord Willingdon
• He was the Viceroy of India from 1931-1936.
• Major Incidents took place in India under him:
• In his reign, Poona Pact was signed.
• During his time, the Second and Third Round Table Conference was held.
• British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald started Communal Award.
• Government of India Act (1935) was passed.
• Lord Linlithgow
• He was the Viceroy of India from 1936-1944.
• Major Incidents took place in India under him:
• In provinces, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced.
• In 1942, Cripps Mission visited India.
• In 1942, the Quit India movement was started.
• In 1939, the Second World war took place.
• Lord Wavell
• He was the Viceroy of India from 1944-1947.
• Major Incidents took place in India under him:
• Shimla Conference between Muslim League and Indian National Congress failed which was held on June 25, 1945.
• In 1946, Cabinet Mission Plan was launched.
• The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on December 09, 1946.