Q 1) Match the following.
| Column I | Column II |
| Diwani | Tipu Sultan |
| “Tiger of Mysore” | Right to collect land revenue |
| Faujdari Adalat | Sepoy |
| Rani Channamma | Criminal Court |
| Sipahi | Led an anti-British movement in Kitoor |
Answer:
Diwani – Right to collect land revenue
“Tiger of Mysore” – Tipu Sultan
Faujdari Adalat – Criminal Court
Rani Channamma – Led an anti-British movement in Kitoor
Sipahi – Sepoy
Q 2) Fill in the blanks.
a) The British conquest of Bengal began with the Battle of ___________.
Answer: Plassey
b) Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan were the rulers of ___________.
Answer: Mysore
c) Dalhousie implemented the Doctrine of ___________.
Answer: Lapse
d) Maratha kingdoms were located mainly in the ___________ part of India.
Answer: South-western
Q 3) State whether true or false.
a) The Mughal empire became stronger in the eighteenth century.
Answer: False
b) The English East India Company was the only European company that traded with India.
Answer: False
c) Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Punjab.
Answer: True
d) The British did not introduce administrative changes in the territories they conquered.
Answer: False
Q 4) What attracted European trading companies to India?
Answer:
- European trading companies were looking for new lands from which they could buy goods at a cheap price and carry them back to Europe to sell at higher prices.
- The fine qualities of cotton and silk produced in India had a big market in Europe.
- Spices like pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon too were in great demand.
These were the reasons that attracted European trading companies to India.
Q 5) What were the areas of conflict between the Bengal nawabs and the East India Company?
Answer: The reasons that caused the conflicts between Bengal nawabs and East India Company:
- Nawabs denied concessions to the East India Company on many occasions
- Nawabs demanded large tributes from the company for their right to trade
- Nawabs denied the company any right to mint the coins and stopped it from extending its fortifications
- Nawabs claimed that the Company was depriving the Bengal government of huge amounts of revenue and undermining the authority of the nawab
- The company denied paying taxes
- The company officials wrote disrespectful letters to humiliate the nawabs and his officials
Q 6) How did the assumption of Diwani benefit the East India Company?
Answer: Diwani rights are the rights that allowed the British to collect taxes and have the authority to take administrative decisions in Bengal region. This right benefited the East India Company in several ways:
- It allowed the Company to use the vast revenue resources of Bengal to finance its expenses.
- Company used this money to purchase cotton and silk textiles in India. Thus it no longer needed to import gold and silver from Britain for the trade.
- These revenues were also used to maintain the Company troops and meet the cost of building the Company fort and offices at Calcutta.
Q 7) Explain the system of “subsidiary alliance”.
Answer:
- After the Battle of Buxar (1764), the Company appointed Residents in Indian states. They were political or commercial agents and their job was to serve and further the interests of the Company.
- Through the Residents, the Company officials began interfering in the internal affairs of Indian states. They tried to decide who was to be the successor to the throne, and who was to be appointed in administrative posts.
- Sometimes the Company forced the states into a “subsidiary alliance”. According to the terms of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.
- They were to be protected by the Company, but had to pay for the “subsidiary forces” that the Company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of this protection.
- If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment, then part of their territory was taken away as penalty.
Q 8) In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers?
Answer:
- Under British administration, territories were broadly divided into administrative units called Presidencies. Each was ruled by a Governor.
- The supreme head of the administration was the Governor-General.
- A new system of justice was established. Each district had two courts – a criminal court and a civil court. Also a new Supreme Court was established.
- A collector was appointed in each district to collect revenue and taxes and maintain law and order in his district with the help of judges, police officers and darogas.
Q 9) Describe the changes that occurred in the composition of the Company’s army.
Answer:
- The Company army was known as Sepoy Army. The main participants of the army were the peasants of India.
- The major change in the Company army was the domination of infantry over cavalry.
- Also the infantry soldiers were trained by the Company to become professional soldiers with the introduction of muskets and matchlocks as their main weapons.
- The company also introduced a uniform military culture where soldiers were given European training through drills and other exercises.