History Quiz: Modern History – II |13 Apr, 2021

Two classes shared the power of the State with the emperor during the medieval period—the zamindars and the nobles. During the reign of Aurangzeb itself, there was a marked increase in the power and influence of the zamindars.

• The biggest fallout of this was that regional loyalties were encouraged. Many local zamindars helped the nobility, the other powerful class within the empire, to take advantage of the weakness of the empire and carve out independent kingdoms for themselves.
• Mutual rivalry, jealousy and contest for power among the various groups during the rule of the later Mughals, not only reduced the prestige of the emperor, but also contributed to the decline of the empire.
• The number of amirs and their ranks or mansabs had increased sharply over time; there was little land left to be distributed among them as jagirs.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 70 – 74.

Even though the agricultural produce supported the rest of the society, a peasant’s own reward was miserably inadequate.

• They were forced to pay exorbitant amounts to the state, the zamindars, the jagirdars, and the revenue-farmers. But this worsened under British rule.
• On account of being self-sufficient in handicrafts and agricultural products, India did not import foreign goods on a large scale.
• On the other hand, its industrial and agricultural products were in good demand in foreign markets.
• Hence its exports were more than its imports; trade was balanced by import of silver and gold. India was known as a sink of precious metals.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 80.

Siraj-ud-daula is believed to have imprisoned 146 English persons (black hole tragedy) who were lodged in a very tiny room due to which 123 of them died of suffocation.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 95.

The Indian princes who accepted the subsidiary system were: the Nizam of Hyderabad (September 1798 and 1800), the ruler of Mysore (1799), the ruler of Tanjore (October 1799), the Nawab of Awadh (November 1801), the Peshwa (December 1801), the Bhonsle Raja of Berar (December 1803), the Sindhia (February 1804), the Rajput states of Jodhpur, Jaipur, Macheri, Bundi and the ruler of Bharatpur (1818).

The Holkars were the last Maratha confederation to accept the Subsidiary Alliance in 1818.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 134.

Lord Dalhousie directed Sleeman, the Resident in Awadh, to make a tour throughout the state and ascertain the actual situation by personal inspection.

• The resident submitted a report describing the anarchical condition in the state.
• He was succeeded as resident in 1854 by Outram who submitted a report supporting that of his predecessor.
• Lord Dalhousie annexed Awadh in 1856 after deposing Nawab Wajid Ali Shah on grounds of misgovernment.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 134.

The Indian Association of Calcutta (also known as the Indian National Association) was founded in 1876 by younger nationalists of Bengal led by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose, who were getting discontented with the conservative and pro-landlord policies of the British Indian Association.

It protested against the reduction of age limit in 1877 for candidates of the Indian Civil Service examination.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 271.

Poona Sarvajanik Sabha: It was founded in 1867 by Mahadeo Govind Ranade and others, with the object of serving as a bridge between the government and the people.

• Bombay Presidency Association: It was started by Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozshah Mehta and K.T. Telang in 1885.
• Madras Mahajan Sabha: It was founded in 1884 by M. Viraraghavachari, B. Subramaniya Aiyer and P. Anandacharlu.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 272.

The Moamarias were low-caste peasants who followed the teachings of Aniruddhadeva (1553-1624), and their rise was similar to that of other low-caste groups in north India.

Their revolts weakened the Ahoms of Assam and opened the doors for others to attack the region, for instance, in 1792, the King of Darrang (Krishnanarayan), assisted by his band of burkandazes (the demobilised soldiers of the Muslim armies and zamindars) revolted.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 153

The Paiks of Odisha were the traditional landed militia (‘foot soldiers’ literally) and enjoyed rent free land tenures for their military service and policing functions on a hereditary basis.

• Common masses were affected by the rise in prices of salt due to taxes imposed on it, abolition of cowrie currency and the requirement of payment of taxes in silver, etc.
• Cowrie shells, found abundantly in the Indian Ocean, were among the earliest forms of currency used in the world. In India, they were colloquially referred to as kaudi and were used in certain areas like Odisha even until the early 1800s.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 162 – 163.

Karsandas Mulji, a contemporary of Dadabhai Naoroji, was one of the pioneer Indian social reformers working for the cause of women emancipation.

• In 1850s-60s, Mulji was a prominent member of the “Bombay intelligentsia” in conflict with the “merchant aristocracy” over social issues.
• Mulji’s place in Indian history as a reformer is due to the Maharaj libel case in 1862 which earned him the title of “a Reformer, a Martin Luther of the Banian Cast”.
• He started the Satya Prakash in Gujarati in 1852 to advocate widow remarriage.

Source: Spectrum Modern India page no, 218.