Modern History MCQs: 50 Important quiz for Competitive Exams

Modern Indian History, spanning from the mid-18th century to India's independence in 1947 and beyond, is a crucial topic for competitive exams like UPSC Civil Services, SSC CGL, State PCS, and banking exams. This period covers the rise of British colonial rule, key reforms, freedom struggles, socio-economic changes, and the path to nation-building.
To help you test and strengthen your knowledge, we've compiled 50 important MCQs on Modern Indian History. These questions cover pivotal events, policies, leaders, and movements, from the East India Company's dominance to the framing of the Indian Constitution.

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Modern History Mcq: practice set (50)

1. The office of the Governor-General of Bengal was created by :
   A) Pitt’s India Act, 1784
   B) Regulating Act, 1773
   C) Charter Act, 1813
   D) Charter Act, 1833
   Show Answer

   Answer: B) Regulating Act, 1773

2. Which battle decisively established the Company’s political supremacy in North India?
   A) Plassey (1757)
   B) Buxar (1764)
   C) Seringapatam (1799)
   D) Assaye (1803)
   Show Answer

   Answer: B) Buxar (1764)

3. The Permanent Settlement (Zamindari system) was introduced by:
   A) Lord Wellesley
   B) Lord Cornwallis
   C) Warren Hastings
   D) Lord Dalhousie
   Show Answer

   Answer: B) Lord Cornwallis

4. The Ryotwari system was introduced mainly in Madras by:
   A) Thomas Munro
   B) John Shore
   C) Charles Metcalfe
   D) Henry Lawrence
   Show Answer

   Answer: A) Thomas Munro

5. The Subsidiary Alliance system in India is associated with:
   A) Lord Wellesley
   B) Lord Hastings
   C) Lord Cornwallis
   D) Sir John Shore
   Show Answer

   Answer: A) Lord Wellesley

6. The Doctrine of Lapse was rigorously pursued by:
   A) Lord Canning
   B) Lord Dalhousie
   C) Lord Lytton
   D) Lord Curzon
   Show Answer

   Answer: B) Lord Dalhousie

7. The immediate cause of the Revolt of 1857 was:
   A) Annexation of Awadh
   B) Introduction of greased cartridges
   C) Heavy land revenue
   D) Dissolution of the Mughal Empire
   Show Answer

   Answer: B) Introduction of greased cartridges

8. The Queen’s Proclamation (1858) announcing Crown rule was publicly read in India by:
   A) Lord Canning
   B) Lord Mayo
   C) Lord Ripon
   D) Lord Lytton
   Show Answer

   Answer: A) Lord Canning

9. Which movement exposed the oppression of indigo planters in Bengal?
   A) Deccan Riots (1875)
   B) Moplah Rebellion
   C) Indigo Revolt (Nil Bidroha)
   D) Pabna Agrarian Uprisings
   Show Answer

   Answer: C) Indigo Revolt (Nil Bidroha)

10. The Vernacular Press Act (1878) was enacted under:
    A) Lord Ripon
    B) Lord Curzon
    C) Lord Lytton
    D) Lord Hardinge II
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) Lord Lytton

11. The Ilbert Bill controversy (1883) occurred during the tenure of:
    A) Lord Ripon
    B) Lord Dufferin
    C) Lord Curzon
    D) Lord Lansdowne
    Show Answer

    Answer: A) Lord Ripon

12. The first session of the Indian National Congress (1885) was presided over by:
    A) Dadabhai Naoroji
    B) W. C. Bonnerjee
    C) Badruddin Tyabji
    D) Surendranath Banerjee
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) W. C. Bonnerjee

13. The Moderate–Extremist split of the Congress took place at:
    A) Calcutta (1906)
    B) Surat (1907)
    C) Bombay (1904)
    D) Lucknow (1916)
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Surat (1907)

14. The Partition of Bengal was announced in:
    A) 1903
    B) 1904
    C) 1905
    D) 1906
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) 1905

15. The transfer of India’s capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911) took place under:
    A) Lord Curzon
    B) Lord Hardinge II
    C) Lord Minto II
    D) Lord Chelmsford
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Lord Hardinge II

16. “Poverty and Un-British Rule in India” was authored by:
    A) R. C. Dutt
    B) Dadabhai Naoroji
    C) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
    D) M. G. Ranade
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Dadabhai Naoroji

17. The Morley–Minto Reforms (1909) introduced:
    A) Dyarchy in provinces
    B) Separate electorates for Muslims
    C) Provincial autonomy
    D) A federal court
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Separate electorates for Muslims

18. The Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the Muslim League was concluded in:
    A) 1915
    B) 1916
    C) 1917
    D) 1918
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) 1916

19. The Home Rule Leagues (1916) were launched by:
    A) Tilak and Gokhale
    B) Tilak and Annie Besant
    C) Besant and Lajpat Rai
    D) Besant and Subramania Bharati
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Tilak and Annie Besant

20. The Rowlatt Act was passed in:
    A) 1917
    B) 1918
    C) 1919
    D) 1920
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) 1919

21. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in:
    A) Lahore
    B) Amritsar
    C) Delhi
    D) Kanpur
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Amritsar

22. Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement (1922) following the:
    A) Jallianwala Bagh massacre
    B) Chauri Chaura incident
    C) Nagpur session decision
    D) Arrest of Ali brothers
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Chauri Chaura incident

23. The Congress was reorganized on linguistic basis at the:
    A) Calcutta Session (1906)
    B) Nagpur Session (1920)
    C) Lahore Session (1929)
    D) Karachi Session (1931)
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Nagpur Session (1920)

24. The Swaraj Party (1923) was founded by:
    A) C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru
    B) Lala Lajpat Rai and Tilak
    C) Subhas Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru
    D) Gandhi and Rajendra Prasad
    Show Answer

    Answer: A) C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru

25. The Simon Commission (appointed in 1927) was boycotted because:
    A) It proposed Partition
    B) It had no Indian member
    C) It sought to abolish provinces
    D) It supported communal electorates
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) It had no Indian member

26. The Nehru Report (1928) recommended:
    A) Complete independence
    B) Dominion Status
    C) Continuing diarchy at Centre
    D) Separate electorates for Depressed Classes
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Dominion Status

27. The resolution of Purna Swaraj was adopted at the Congress Session held at:
    A) Karachi (1931)
    B) Madras (1927)
    C) Lahore (1929)
    D) Faizpur (1936)
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) Lahore (1929)

28. The Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) was led by:
    A) Mahatma Gandhi
    B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
    C) Rajendra Prasad
    D) C. Rajagopalachari
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

29. Gandhi’s Salt March (Dandi March) began on:
    A) 26 January 1930
    B) 12 March 1930
    C) 6 April 1930
    D) 2 October 1930
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) 12 March 1930

30. The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was concluded in:
    A) 1930
    B) 1931
    C) 1932
    D) 1933
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) 1931

31. Gandhi attended which Round Table Conference?
    A) First (1930)
    B) Second (1931)
    C) Third (1932)
    D) All three
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Second (1931)

32. The Communal Award (1932) was announced by:
    A) Winston Churchill
    B) Ramsay MacDonald
    C) Clement Attlee
    D) Lord Linlithgow
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Ramsay MacDonald

33. The Poona Pact (1932) was an agreement between:
    A) Gandhi and Ambedkar
    B) Gandhi and Irwin
    C) Nehru and Jinnah
    D) Bose and Savarkar
    Show Answer

    Answer: A) Gandhi and Ambedkar

34. A key feature of the Government of India Act, 1935, was:
    A) Separate electorates abolished
    B) Provincial autonomy introduced
    C) Complete responsible government at Centre
    D) Indian veto over defence
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Provincial autonomy introduced

35. The Reserve Bank of India was established in:
    A) 1934
    B) 1935
    C) 1936
    D) 1937
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) 1935

36. The August Offer (1940) was made by:
    A) Lord Linlithgow
    B) Lord Wavell
    C) Lord Irwin
    D) Lord Mountbatten
    Show Answer

    Answer: A) Lord Linlithgow

37. The first Satyagrahi of Individual Satyagraha (1940) was:
    A) Jawaharlal Nehru
    B) Sardar Patel
    C) Vinoba Bhave
    D) Rajendra Prasad
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) Vinoba Bhave

38. The Cripps Mission (1942) was headed by:
    A) Stafford Cripps
    B) John Simon
    C) Pethick-Lawrence
    D) A. V. Alexander
    Show Answer

    Answer: A) Stafford Cripps

39. The Quit India Resolution (1942) was adopted at:
    A) Lahore
    B) Karachi
    C) Bombay (Gowalia Tank Maidan)
    D) Allahabad
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) Bombay (Gowalia Tank Maidan)

40. The Wavell Plan was discussed at the Shimla Conference in:
    A) 1943
    B) 1944
    C) 1945
    D) 1946
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) 1945

41. The INA trials (1945–46) were held at:
    A) Fort William, Calcutta
    B) Red Fort, Delhi
    C) Fort St. George, Madras
    D) Aga Khan Palace, Pune
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) Red Fort, Delhi

42. The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny took place in:
    A) 1942
    B) 1944
    C) 1945
    D) 1946
    Show Answer

    Answer: D) 1946

43. The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) proposed:
    A) Immediate Partition
    B) A unitary Centre with residuary powers
    C) A federal union with a weak Centre and provincial groupings
    D) Dominion status for princely states only
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) A federal union with a weak Centre and provincial groupings

44. The Interim Government formed in September 1946 was headed (as Vice-President of the Executive Council) by:
    A) Sardar Patel
    B) C. Rajagopalachari
    C) Jawaharlal Nehru
    D) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) Jawaharlal Nehru

45. The Muslim League declared Direct Action Day on:
    A) 16 August 1946
    B) 3 June 1947
    C) 18 July 1947
    D) 15 August 1947
    Show Answer

    Answer: A) 16 August 1946

46. The date of the Mountbatten Plan is:
    A) 16 August 1946
    B) 3 June 1947
    C) 18 July 1947
    D) 15 August 1947
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) 3 June 1947

47. The Indian Independence Act received Royal Assent on:
    A) 26 January 1950
    B) 3 June 1947
    C) 18 July 1947
    D) 15 August 1947
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) 18 July 1947

48. The last Viceroy of British India was:
    A) Lord Wavell
    B) Lord Linlithgow
    C) Lord Mountbatten
    D) Lord Irwin
    Show Answer

    Answer: C) Lord Mountbatten

49. The first Indian Governor-General of independent India was:
    A) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
    B) C. Rajagopalachari
    C) Jawaharlal Nehru
    D) Vallabhbhai Patel
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) C. Rajagopalachari

50. The Constitution of India came into force on:
    A) 26 November 1949
    B) 26 January 1950
    C) 15 August 1947
    D) 9 December 1946
    Show Answer

    Answer: B) 26 January 1950

     

     

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