UPSC 2021 Prelims MODERN HISTORY Answer Key with Explanation

Question Bank 4 Pages

Union Public Service Commission (Prelims)

Modern History

Contributed by

Abhishek Kaul

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UPSC 2021 Prelims
MODERN HISTORY Answer Key with Explanation

1. With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following
statements is correct?
(a) Pingali Venkayya designed the tricolour Indian National Flag here.
(b) Pattabhi Sitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of Andhra region from here.
(c) Rabindhranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here
(d) Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society
first here.
Answer: C
Explanation
● Rabindranath Tagore sang one of his Sanskritised Bengali compositions, dating back to
1911, and his youthful audience joined in the rousing refrain.
● When asked for an English rendition, Tagore complied and the gifted Margaret set down
the musical notation for the melody.
● From Madanapalle, where James Cousins used the lyric as a college prayer that he dubbed
the “Morning Song of India”, “Jana Gana Mana” garnered widespread acclaim, eventually
attaining the supreme status of our National Anthem.
https://www.deccanherald.com/content/483330/going-search-tagore.html
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/150817/andhra-pradesh-
national-anthem-tune-was-composed-in-madanapalle.html

2. Consider the following statements:
1. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all
the women above the age of 21.
2. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in the legislature.
Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: B
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Explanation
● Despite petitions presented by women and men to the British commissions sent to
evaluate Indian voting regulations, women's demands were ignored in the Montagu–
Chelmsford Reforms.
● Though they were not granted voting rights, nor the right to stand in elections, the
Government of India Act 1919 allowed Provincial Councils to determine if women could
vote, provided they met stringent property, income, or educational levels.
● Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
Spectrum - Pg. 575 and GOI Act 1935, Schedule 1

3. With reference to 8
th
August, 1942 in Indian history, which one of the following
statements is correct?
(a) The Quit India Resolution was adopted by the AICC.
(b) The Viceroy’s Executive Council war expanded to include more Indians.
(c) The Congress ministries resigned in seven provinces
(d) Cripps proposed an Indian Union with full Dominion Status once the Second World
War was over.
Answer: A
Explanation
● The Quit India Movement (translated into several Indian languages as the Leave India
Movement), also known as the August Movement, was a movement launched at the
Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August
1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in India.

4. Who among the following is associated with ‘Songs from Prison’, a translation of
ancient Indian religious lyrics in English?
(a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(d) Sarojini Naidu
Answer: C
Explanation
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‘Songs from Prison’ is the First American edition of a collection of songs and lyrics
by Gandhi, written during his imprisonment in Yerwada Jail, Poona.

5. In the first quarter of seventeenth century, in which of the following was/were
the factory/factories of the English East India Company located?
1. Broach
2. Chicacole
3. Trichinopoly
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 3 only
(d) 2 and 3
Answer: A
Explanation
● By the 1st quarter of the 17th century , the English East India Company had established
factories at Surat, Broach, Ahmedabad, Agra, and Masulipatam and not at Chicacole and
Trichinopoly.

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6. Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School
which later came to be known as Bethune Female School?
(a) Annie Besant
(b) Debendranath Tagore
(c) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(d) Sarojini Naidu
Answer: C
Explanation
● Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was the secretary of Bethune school established in 1849 also
known as Hindu female school. He was one of the pioneers of higher education for women
in India.
http://www.bethunecollege.ac.in/BethuneCollege.htm#aboutBethuneCollege

7. In the context of Colonial India, Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and
Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as
(a) leaders of Swadeshi and Boycott Movement
(b) members of the Interim Government in 1946
(c) members of the Drafting Committee in the Constituent Assembly
(d) officers of the Indian National Army
Answer: D
● Lieutenant colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal (25 March 1917 – 17 October 1992) was an
officer of the British Indian Army. After becoming a Japanese prisoner of war, he served
as an officer in the Indian National Army, which was led by Subhas Chandra Bose and had
been set up by the Japanese ostensibly to fight against British rule in India.
● Shah Nawaz Khan (January 1914 – 9 December 1983) was an Indian politician who
served as an officer in the Indian National Army (INA) during World War II.
● Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (18 March 1914 – 6 February 2006) was an officer in
the Indian National Army (INA) who was charged with "waging war against His Majesty
the King Emperor".
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/INA_trials

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