4-MARK QUESTIONS

(From 1600 to 1939)

1. What was the East India Company?

It was a trading company. In 1600, Queen Elizabeth I had granted Charter to this company. They
landed at Surat in 1608 and were given permission to trade in 1612. It moved its headquarters
to Bombay in 1664. It grew in power during 18th Century.
Describe the achievements of Shah Wali Ullah in reviving Islam.
2. He promoted his message through writings. He also translated the Holy Quran into Persian,
which would enable more people read it. He emphasised traditional values of the Muslim faith
and stressed the importance of following teachings of Quran. Future developments were built
upon his teachings.
3. Describe what the Marathas did.
Lived in the Deccan, Aurangzeb had failed to crush them, known for skills as guerrilla fighters
and devotion to Hinduism, 1737 defeated a Mughal army outside Delhi which they occupied in
1760, defeated by Afghans in 1761 at Panipat.
4. Who was Ranjit Singh?
Ranjit Singh annexed Punjab, Kashmir and most of Afghanistan. In Sindh he signed a treaty with
Great Britain in 1809. Great Britain worried about Russian expansion into Afghanistan, agreed
with Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab, that Afghanistan should be independent. Ranjit Singh
defeated Syed Ahmed Shaheed in the battle of Balakot.
5. Describe the Jizya tax.
Jizya was a tax on non-Muslims as an alternative to joining the Muslim army. It was introduced
in 1679 by the Mughals. It was used as a tax for protection or defence. Akbar abolished this tax
and Aurangzeb re-introduced it. People protested against this tax, but Aurangzeb ignored the
protests and persevered with the tax.
6. Describe the battle of Plassey.
1757, French encouraged Siraj-ud-Daulah to attack EIC base at Calcutta. He captured the city,
but couldn’t keep hold of it. Clive arrived with EIC soldiers and bribed Jafar who was one of
Siraj’s key men. Clive made him Nawab of Bengal as a reward for turning against. Siraj was
defeated by Clive Plassey and his body found in a river after the battle. Consequently, EIC
controlled trade in Bengal and Clive was made Governor of Bengal.
7. Who was Robert Clive?
He became a general in EIC armed forces in India, defeated the French and Plassey 1757. He
showed qualities as a soldier and leader by defeating Nawab of Bengal. After becoming the
Governor of Bengal he enabled British supremacy there, increased power of merchants and
established Oudh as a buffer state between Bengal and the Marathas. He introduced dual
system government, civil reforms, abolition of private trade system, Society of Trade, military
reforms etc. He was made Lord Clive and was accused of ‘plundering India’ but found not guilty.
He became addicted to opium and in 1773 committed suicide.
8. Who was Mir Qasim?
 He was the Nawab of Bengal in 1760, succeeding Mir Jafar. With the support of EIC, he
confiscated lands and wealth of people in Bengal to give to the British. Eventually he tried to
stop British influence in Bengal. In 1764, Mir Qasim fought Clive at Buxar, but was defeated.
9. Who was Warren Hastings?
In 1782, he was the first Viceroy of India. English statesman, he introduced a number of reforms
in administration, revenue, finance, commerce and the judiciary. He developed policies relating
to Oudh and Rohilla. He was involved in several wars including the Anglo-Maratha and the
Anglo-Mysore. He was a patron of the arts.
10. Who were Zamindars?
They were landlords/tax collectors. They were wealthy and influential and some had private
armies. After the death of Aurangzeb, they were increasingly unwilling to accept rule of any new
emperor or to make payments to government in Delhi. Beard tax was imposed, which annoyed
Muslims. Muslims were oppressed by Zamindars from the 1800’s onwards, especially in East
Bengal.
11. Who was Tipu Sultan?
Son of Haider Ali of Mysore, and known as the Tiger of Mysore, he ruled there from 1782 to
1799 and won important victories against the British in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. He
negotiated the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore with them after his father died the previous year. An
enemy of the British, he attacked on Travancore in 1789. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War, he was
forced into a humiliating treaty and in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, forces of the British and
the Nizam of Hyderabad defeated Tipu and he was killed on 4 May 1799 in Srirangapatna.
12. Describe the events of the War of Independence, 1857-1858.
In March 1857, a sepoy Mangal Pandey was executed. In May, sepoys in Meerut refused to
touch the greased cartridges, were imprisoned and broke out. Meerut was sacked and British
officers were killed. Soldiers marched to Delhi and captured it. The revolt spread and British lost
control of a number of towns (Mathura, Kanpur, Jhansi and Allahabad). In September British
took Delhi back, Bahadur Shah II surrendered and his sons were murdered. Lucknow was taken
back, but Jhansi held out until Rani was killed in 1858.
13. Who was Lakshmibai?
Known as Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmibai led the rebel sepoys and opposed British after they
regained control of Lucknow in 1857 during War of Independence. Tatya Topee who was an
Indian general assisted her. In June 1858, she dressed as a man and was killed by the British in
the battle for Gwalior. The war quickly came to an end after her death.
14. Who was Nana Sahib?
During the War of Independence at Kanpur, he led the revolt that killed British officers and
other Europeans. He had a personal grievance against the British for stopping his pension. A
British force surrendered to him and his force, having been given a promise of safe passage out
of the area. Nana Sahib fired on the British on barges killing 300 women and children and the
soldiers. He escaped and was never captured.
15. Who was Titu Mir?
Syed Mir Nisar was a Bengali leader who reinforced traditional Muslim values. He was
determined to free Bengal from British rule. He organised a stand against Zamindars and set up
 his own rule near Calcutta with a small army. He built a bamboo fort at Narkelbaria in 1831 and
defeated the British troops sent to destroy it. He was killed in battle in 1831.
16. Who were the Thuggee?
Involved in ritual murder, they were armed robbers who terrified people. Present in central and
upper India, they claimed they were serving a goddess, Kali. East India Company (EIC) used
force to destroy them in 1830 and stamped out the practice of Indians (Hindus and Muslims)
concealment or a secret society.
17. What happened at the battle of Kanpur? What happened at Cawnpore in 1857?
Led by Nana Sahib, the local troops joined the revolt and killed their officers. British held out for
3 weeks and then they surrendered. Soldiers and 300 women and children were slaughtered
and the remainder kept as prisoners. Reinforcements arrived, but the prisoners were killed.
British carried out acts of revenge, but Nana Sahib escaped.
18. Describe ‘The Loyal Mohammedans of India’.
It was written by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Its aims were to bring about better relations between
the British and the Muslim community. It also aimed to enable the British to understand and
respect Muslim beliefs. This document encouraged consultation with the Indian people.
19. What was the Simla Deputation?
1906, led by Aga Khan, visited Minto the Viceroy to make some requests – Muslims to have own
representatives elected by Muslim voters, in councils Muslims to have higher percentage of
seats than their percentage of population. Minto agreed to these proposals. Showed Great
Britain prepared to work with Muslims, persuaded Muslims that they were a separate
community to Hindus and the idea grew of a separate political party.
20. What was the Swadeshi Movement?
It was a boycott of British goods by Hindus because of the Partition of Bengal, 1905–11. British
cloth was thrown onto bonfires and Hindu community wore locally produced clothes. There
were a series of strikes by Indian workers, e.g. in Calcutta.
21. What were the terms of the Indian Councils Act of 1909?
Also known as the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909. The Imperial Council increased to 60
members by adding more non-official members. The British retained control. The Central
Executive Council increased by 60 members and could discuss matters of importance and advise
on government policies including the budget. Provincial Councils also increased to 50 members
in larger provinces and 30 members in smaller provinces. Muslim representatives to the
Councils were to be elected by a separate Muslim-only electorate.
22. Describe what happened at Lucknow in 1916. What was the Lucknow Pact?
Congress agreed to concessions with Muslim League – right to separate electorates, 1/3 of seats
in Councils. They both wanted more seats in Councils, protection of minorities, provinces to
have autonomy, proposals to be binding on British. It was the first time joint agreement, and
Congress accepted some form of partition needed. Home Rule seemed a possibility and Muslim
League realised they needed to work with Congress
23. Describe the Rowlatt Act.
 1919, people could be tried in private by 3 High Court Judges, no right of appeal, people could
be ordered to live in a particular place, stopped from holding meetings or arrested without
warrant and kept in prison without trial, fear of a communist style revolution, Indian protests.
24. Who was General Dyer?
He was a British commander. Following demonstrations in Amritsar in early 1919, he moved
troops there to restore order following riots. On April 13th, he ordered the troops to confront a
peaceful gathering of thousands of people in the Jallianwala Bagh. The troops opened fire killing
many people. Dyer was later removed from command because of his cruel actions.
25. What was the Amritsar Massacre?
Following demonstrations in Amritsar in early 1919, a crowd of 20000 people gathered at
Jallianwala Bagh on April 13th. General Dyer ordered the troops to confront a peaceful gathering
of thousands of people at Jallianwala Bagh. The troops opened fire killing 400 people and
wounding more than 1200.
26. What was the All India Khilafat Conference?
It was held in Delhi in November 1919 and led by Ali brothers who hoped to try and persuade
the British to keep their promises about maintaining the Turkish Empire. A.K. Azad and Gandhi
represented Congress. Gandhi hoped to unite Hindus and Muslims in his non-violent campaign
against the British. Azad warned the Conference that Lloyd George intended to punish Turkey
for fighting against Britain in the war. The Conference passed a resolution agreeing to send a
delegation to Britain, ensuring the British the strength of Muslim support for the Khalifa.
27. Describe the Hijrat Movement.
It was a religious protest against the British government. Islamic leaders told their followers to
leave India (dar-ul-harb) and move to an Islamic state. It took place in (August) 1920 during the
Khilafat Movement. It involved 18000–20000 people migrating to Afghanistan. Muslims sold
their homes/farms and packed up their possessions and emigrated were to Afghanistan. Afghan
government was not welcoming. The migrants were refused entry and were forcibly sent back.
Many migrants died on the return journey.
28. What was Satyagraha?
It is a Hindu word meaning truth force/holding onto truth. So, it is a form of non-violent
resistance. It was Gandhi’s idea in 1919 and he saw it as having a strong spiritual force. It
involved sit-down strikes and hunger strikes, petitions, protest marches and boycotts.
Sometimes, it resulted in aggression directed at the Muslim community
29. What was the Simon Report?
Sir John Simon had chaired a commission in 1927 to consider further political reforms in India.
There was no Indian representation on the commission and this was opposed especially as its
membership had been carefully selected to oppose self-government. It was unacceptable to
both Congress and ML, so they boycotted it.

30. Describe the Nehru Report.

1928, constitutional guarantee of fundamental rights including freedom of conscience and
liberty, central government responsible for peace and order, Dominion Status, India to become
 a federation with a 2 chamber parliament, protection of minorities, vote for all men and
women.
31. Who was Rahmat Ali?
In 1930 he left India to study law at Cambridge and attended conferences in London on the
position of the Hindu and Muslim communities in India. He believed in a separate Muslim
homeland. In 1933 he produced a pamphlet, ‘Now or Never’, which argued in favour of
partition. He became popular amongst most Muslim groups during the 1930s and formed the
Pakistan National Movement. He developed the name of Pakistan. He was considered less
important than Allama Iqbal, so Jinnah refused to meet him.
32. How did the name ‘Pakistan’ originate?
Chaudhry Rahmat Ali devised this name. He stated it in the pamphlet ‘Now or Never’ in 1933. By
the end of this year most Muslims within India knew the name and its importance. Pakistan
comprises Punjab, Afghania (NWFP), Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan. Muslim League thought his
ideas were impractical and they were ignored by Jinnah.
33. What was the Communal Award?
In 1932, it was announced by Ramsey MacDonald after the Second Round Table Conference
Right of separate electorate was recognised for all minorities Principle of weightage was
applied. It was unpopular with Muslim community as it reduced their majority in Punjab and
Bengal. However, the Muslim community accepted it. Congress rejected it and Gandhi protested
by fasting. Untouchables were recognised as a mainstream member of Hindu society.
34. What was the Wardha Scheme?
It was a basic education scheme, which was introduced by Gandhi. Hindi was made the sole
language India and religious education was removed. Cotton spinning by hand was made a part
of curriculum. Students were expected to bow before picture of Gandhi.
35. What was the ‘Day of Deliverance’?
On 22 December 1939 Jinnah called on the Muslim community to celebrate the end of Congress
rule. Jinnah appealed to all local and provincial district Muslim Leagues to hold public meetings
to support this declaration and appealed for these gatherings to be held calmly and with
humility. Congress objected to this celebration.