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ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE IN INDIA MCQs

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From the 100 in PrepShark’s ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE IN INDIA set (Indian History). Pick an answer, then open the explanation.

Question 01
The commercial functions of the East India Company were brought to an end altogether by which one of the following?
1. Option A: Pitt's India Act, 1784
2. Option B: Charter Act, 1813
3. Option C: Charter Act, 1853
4. Option D: Charter Act, 1833
Answer and explanation
Answer: D. Charter Act, 1833
**Why D is correct.** The **Charter Act of 1833** ended the Company's **trading activities altogether**, including the China and tea monopoly, leaving it a purely **administrative body**. **Why B is incorrect.** The **1813** Act did not end the Company's trading role **entirely**. **Why A and C are incorrect.** **Pitt's India Act** created the **Board of Control**; the **1853** Act introduced open competition for the civil services — neither concerned the end of trade.
Question 02
A classic work of the drain theory described British rule in India as 'un-British' because, in its author's view, that rule:
1. Option A: was carried on by Indian officials rather than British ones
2. Option B: was not authorised by the British Parliament
3. Option C: violated the principles of justice and fair play that Britain professed at home
4. Option D: had been established by a trading company rather than the Crown
Answer and explanation
Answer: C. violated the principles of justice and fair play that Britain professed at home
**Why C is correct.** The author appealed to British **liberal principles**: the economic exploitation of India contradicted the **justice and fair play** Britain claimed to stand for — hence 'un-British'. **Why A is incorrect.** Senior administration was overwhelmingly British. **Why B is incorrect.** Parliament legislated for India throughout. **Why D is incorrect.** Crown rule began in 1858; the critique concerned **economic policy**, not its legal origin.
Question 03
Under the Permanent Settlement, the share of the rent collected by the zamindar that was fixed as the government's revenue demand was approximately:
1. Option A: one-half
2. Option B: two-thirds
3. Option C: ten-elevenths
4. Option D: one-third
Answer and explanation
Answer: C. ten-elevenths
**Why C is correct.** The state claimed about **10/11 (around 89%)** of the rental; the zamindar kept roughly **1/11** as remuneration. **Why A, B and D are incorrect.** These are plausible fractions from other revenue traditions, but the **Bengal** demand was fixed far higher, at about **ten-elevenths**. The very high initial demand is why so many estates were sold for arrears in the first decades.
Question 04
Consider the following statements about the tea industry in colonial India: 1. The Assam Company was formed in 1839 to develop tea cultivation. 2. Labour for the Assam gardens was largely recruited from outside the province, including Chotanagpur. 3. Tea plantations were also developed in the hill regions of south India, such as the Nilgiris. Which of the statements given above are correct?
1. Option A: 1 only
2. Option B: 1 and 2 only
3. Option C: 2 and 3 only
4. Option D: 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3
**Statement 1 is correct.** The **Assam Company** was formed in **1839**. **Statement 2 is correct.** Local labour was scarce, so workers were brought from **Chotanagpur**, Bihar, Bengal and central India through contractors. **Statement 3 is correct.** Tea also spread to the **Nilgiris** and the hills of **Travancore**, alongside coffee.
Question 05
Consider the following statements about Indian agriculture under colonial rule in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: 1. Productivity per acre, especially of food crops, largely stagnated. 2. Absentee landlords in the zamindari areas invested heavily in irrigation and improved seeds. 3. Public expenditure on irrigation was small compared with military expenditure. Which of the statements given above are correct?
1. Option A: 1 only
2. Option B: 2 and 3 only
3. Option C: 1 and 3 only
4. Option D: 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
Answer: C. 1 and 3 only
**Statement 1 is correct.** Yields of food crops showed **little or no growth**, and per capita food output declined in the decades before independence. **Statement 2 is incorrect.** Zamindars and intermediaries typically lived off **rent** and showed little interest in **investment**; rack-renting was more profitable than improvement. **Statement 3 is correct.** **Military spending** absorbed a large share of the budget, while irrigation and agricultural improvement received **meagre** outlays.

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