Prelims · Modern India & the freedom struggle · 14 questions

Constitutional development & the transfer of power

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Asked in 9 of 11 years · most in 2022 (2)

UPSC syllabus: “History of India and Indian National Movement.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2026 · Q18

Medium Provisional key

Consider the following assertion:

The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.

Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

1.Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates.
2.Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger.
3.Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates.

Select the answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

All three statements explain why the 1919 reforms pushed politics along community lines. They kept the Muslim separate electorates of 1909 and widened them to other communities, the British hoped such formulas would undercut the Congress claim to speak for a united nationalist movement, and groups that gained reserved seats organised around those benefits.

✓ 1. The Government of India Act, 1919 kept separate electorates for Muslims and extended them to other communities, such as the Sikhs and Christians, earmarking constituencies by community.
✓ 2. Britannica notes that the British hoped these elaborate minority formulas would win minority support and undermine the Congress claim to speak for a united nationalist movement.
✓ 3. The separate electoral system was expanded for Sikhs in Punjab, non-Brahmins in Madras and Marathas in Bombay; once seats were tied to community, groups that stood to gain organised politically as communities to claim those benefits.

Remember · Separate electorates: Muslims 1909 (Minto-Morley); expanded to Sikhs, Christians and others in 1919; separate electorates for the Depressed Classes were the issue of the Round Table Conferences.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Haryana Gazetteers: Panipat District Gazetteer, Ch XVIII, Public Life and Voluntary Social Service Organisations ↗ “The Government of India Act, 1919 did sow the seeds of communal representation in the country by earmarking constituencies for the Muslims, Sikhs etc.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 4 “Edwin Montague (left) was the author of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 which allowed some form of representation in provincial legislative assemblies.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, India: Constitutional reforms (Romila Thapar) ↗ · reference work “The separate electorate formula introduced for Muslims in the Government of India Act of 1909 (the Morley-Minto Reforms) was expanded and applied to other minorities in the Government of India Acts (1919 and 1935). … to undermine the arguments of Congress’s radical leadership that they alone spoke for India’s “united nationalist movement.””
The Government of India Act, 1919 (Abha Trivedi), University of Lucknow study material ↗ · reference work “Separate electoral system was expanded for Sikhs in Punjab, non-Brahmins in Madras and Marathas in Bombay.”

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2024 · Q62

Medium

With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, consider the following statements:

1.It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation based on the union of the British Indian Provinces and Princely States.
2.Defence and Foreign Affairs were kept under the control of the federal legislature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 only

The 1935 Act did provide for an All-India Federation of the British Indian provinces and the princely states willing to join, although the federal part never came into operation. Defence and foreign affairs, however, were not placed under the federal legislature: the colonial power kept control of foreign affairs, defence and internal security.

✓ 1. The Act envisaged a 'federation of all-India' made up of the British provinces and the Indian states willing to join it. The federal part never came into operation, so only the provincial part of the Act worked.
✗ 2. Under the 1935 reform the colonial power kept control of foreign affairs, defence and internal security; they were not handed to a federal legislature.

Remember · 1935 Act: an All-India Federation of provinces and willing princely states was proposed, but the federal part never came into operation; the British kept foreign affairs, defence and internal security.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

PIB (President's Secretariat), 15 May 2017: President Pranab Mukherjee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat memorial lecture on the History of Parliamentary Democracy in India ↗ “envisaged a 'federation of all-India', consisting of the British provinces and the Indian states willing to join it. … The federal part of the 1935 Act never came into operation.”
NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “In 1935, the British conceded some degree of provincial autonomy. The reform allowed for elected governments at the provincial level, although the colonial powers retained much control, including foreign affairs, defence, and internal security.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q34

Medium Dropped by UPSC

In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to overcome the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights?

Why UPSC dropped it · explanation

UPSC dropped this question from evaluation in its final answer key.

UPSC dropped this question from evaluation in its final answer key. The classic answer is the 1st Amendment (1951): its own Statement of Objects says difficulties had surfaced from court rulings on Fundamental Rights, and it added Articles 31A and 31B and the Ninth Schedule to protect land-reform laws.

• (a) The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 was brought in because judicial decisions on Fundamental Rights, especially on free speech, trade and property, were blocking social and land-reform laws. It inserted Article 31B, which protects Acts in the Ninth Schedule from being struck down for violating Part III.
• (b) The 42nd Amendment (1976) also asserted parliamentary supremacy after the Kesavananda Bharati ruling, but the Court repeated its stand in Minerva Mills (1980). This overlap may be why the question was contested.
• (c) The 44th Amendment (1978) went the other way: it undid many changes made by the 38th, 39th and 42nd Amendments, and removed the right to property from the Fundamental Rights.

Remember · 1st Amendment (1951): a response to court rulings on Fundamental Rights; added Articles 31A, 31B and the Ninth Schedule.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 9 (practise this chapter)

Sources

The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951: Statement of Objects and Reasons (Legislative Department) ↗ “During the last fifteen months of the working of the Constitution, certain difficulties have been brought to light by judicial decisions and pronouncements specially in regard to the chapter on fundamental rights. … none of the Acts and Regulations specified in the Ninth Schedule nor any of the provisions thereof shall be deemed to be void, or ever to have become void, on the ground that such Act, Regulation or provision is inconsistent with”
NCERT Class 11 · Indian Constitution at Work, Chapter 9 “When these failed, the 42nd amendment was made and parliamentary supremacy was asserted. But the Court again repeated its earlier stand in the Minerva Mills case (1980).”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q50

Easy

By which one of the following Acts was the Governor General of Bengal designated as the Governor General of India?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) The Charter Act of 1833

The Charter Act of 1833 turned the Governor General of Bengal into the Governor General of India. It gave one authority, the Governor General in Council, charge of the whole of British India and vested law-making power in it.

✓ (d) The Charter Act of 1833 changed the title from Governor General of Fort William in Bengal to Governor General of India (William Bentinck was in office). It also vested legislative power for the first time in a single authority, the Governor General in Council.
✗ (a) The Regulating Act (1773) is earlier. Before 1833 the top post still carried the Bengal title, so no earlier Act could have created the all-India title.
✗ (c) The Charter Act of 1793 only renewed the Company's charter; it also predates 1833 and left the Bengal title unchanged.

Remember · Charter Act of 1833: Governor General of Bengal became Governor General of India; one all-India legislative authority, the Governor General in Council.

Sources

Governors from 1834 to 1854, Raj Bhavan West Bengal ↗ “which altered the title from Governor General of Fort William in Bengal to Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal and Governor General of India”
Early Beginnings, Law Commission of India ↗ “The Charter Act, 1833 enacted by the British Parliament, vested for the first-time legislative power in a single authority, namely, the Governor-General in Council.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q51

Medium

In the Government of India Act 1919, the functions of Provincial Government were divided into "Reserved" and "Transferred" subjects. Which of the following were treated as "Reserved" subjects?

1.Administration of Justice
2.Local Self-Government
3.Land Revenue
4.Police

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 1, 3 and 4

Administration of justice, land revenue and police were reserved subjects, kept with the Governor and his Executive Council. Local self-government was a transferred subject, handed to Indian ministers answerable to the provincial legislature.

✓ 1. Administration of justice was not on the transferred list, so it stayed with the Governor and his Executive Council as a reserved subject.
✗ 2. Local self-government headed the list of transferred subjects, along with medical administration, public health, education, public works and agriculture.
✓ 3. Land revenue was a core reserved subject; even a provincial Bill touching land revenue had to be reserved for the Governor-General's assent.
✓ 4. Police, like other matters of law and order, was not transferred to ministers and remained reserved.

Remember · Dyarchy in the provinces (1919): law and order, justice, police and land revenue were reserved; local self-government, health, education and agriculture were transferred to Indian ministers.

Sources

A. B. Keith, A Constitutional History of India 1600-1935 (e-book hosted by Delhi High Court), on the Government of India Act 1919 ↗ “The transferred sub- jects' were declared to be local self-government; medical administration;”
EAC-PM Working Paper, Enumeration of Legislative Powers in India ↗ “While the transferred subjects were given to the Indian ministers responsible to the elected state legislatures, the reserved subjects were retained by the provincial governor and his executive council.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2022 · Q54

Hard

With reference to the proposals of Cripps Mission, consider the following statements:

1.The Constituent Assembly would have members nominated by the Provincial Assemblies as well as the Princely States.
2.Any Province, which is not prepared to accept the new Constitution would have the right to sign a separate agreement with Britain regarding its future status.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 only

Statement 2 is correct and statement 1 is not: the Cripps draft let a non-acceding province keep its position and settle its own future status with Britain, but the Constituent Assembly's British Indian members were to be elected, not nominated.

✗ 1. Under the draft declaration of March 1942 the members from British India were elected by the lower houses of the provincial legislatures, sitting as one electoral college, by proportional representation. Only the Indian States named their members by other means, being represented by their Ruling Princes rather than by elected representatives.
✓ 2. Any province of British India not ready to accept the new constitution could stay out and keep its present position, with the option to accede later. Britain was ready to agree a new constitution with such provinces, on the same full status as the Indian Union.

Remember · Cripps Mission (March 1942): post-war Constituent Assembly, British India's members elected by provincial lower houses, States' members appointed, and provinces free to stay out.

Sources

Draft Declaration and Other Papers Relating to Negotiations with Sir Stafford Cripps (1942 official papers; copy in the University of North Bengal repository) ↗ · reference work “the entire membership of the Lower Houses of Provincial legislatures shall as a single electoral college proceed to the election of the constitution-making body by the system of pro- portional representation. … With such non-acceding provinces, should they so desire, His Majesty's Government will be prepared to agree upon a new constitution giving them the same full status as the Indian Union”
UK Parliament, House of Lords debate on India (Hansard, 29 April 1942) ↗ · reference work “Well, the Draft Declaration contained provisions by which the States should be represented, but they were to be represented by the Ruling Princes and not by elected representatives of the people. … To Congress the plan is faulty because, amongst other things, it provides for the possible contracting out of Provinces of British India.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2021 · Q42

Medium

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 legislature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct. The 1935 Act reserved seats for women in provincial legislatures. The 1919 Act did not give all women over 21 the vote: it let the provincial councils decide who could vote, and the franchise stayed tied to property qualifications.

✗ 1. Under the 1919 Act women could not vote in elections to the Council of State, and the provincial councils could decide on their vote by resolution; the franchise also depended on property qualifications that varied by province. There was no vote for all women above 21.
✓ 2. The Government of India Act, 1935 gave women 41 reserved seats in the provincial legislatures, with restricted reservations in the federal legislature, and widened the vote to more women.

Remember · 1919: women's vote left to provincial councils, property-based. 1935: more women voters and reserved seats (41 in provincial legislatures). Universal adult franchise came only with the Constitution (1950).

Sources

Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Rajya Sabha at Work, Ch 1 (origin and history) ↗ “Women are not entitled to vote at elections to the Council of State, or to offer themselves for election, though it is in the power of the Council of State to pass a resolution which would remove both these barriers.”
Government gazetteer chapter — Public Life and Voluntary Social Service Organisations (s3waas.gov.in) ↗ “The franchise of Legislative Assembly was also based on property qualification and varied from province to province.”
Patna High Court — Gender Equality and Women Empowerment: a critical perspective (women's reservation in India) ↗ “The Government of India Act of 1935 extended their dedication to group-based politics by granting women 41 reserved seats in provincial legislatures and restricted reservations in federal legislatures.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2019 · Q4

Medium

Consider the following statements about 'the Charter Act of 1813':

1.It ended the trade monopoly of the East India Company in India except for trade in tea and trade with China.
2.It asserted the sovereignty of the British Crown over the Indian territories held by the Company.
3.The revenues of India were now controlled by the British Parliament.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

The 1813 charter opened the India trade to private British merchants while the Company kept its China (tea) trade monopoly, and it declared the Crown's sovereignty over the Company's territories. It did not hand India's revenues to Parliament: the Company went on governing and collecting revenue until the Crown took over in 1858.

✓ 1. In 1813 the Company's exclusive right to trade with India was removed and private traders were admitted, but its exclusive right to the China trade (chiefly tea) was retained until 1833.
✓ 2. The 1813 charter contained a clause asserting the Crown's undoubted sovereignty over all the Company's territories in India.
✗ 3. The Company kept its political and administrative role, including revenue administration; direct Crown control of Indian government came only in 1858.

Remember · Charter Act 1813: India trade opened to all British merchants (China/tea monopoly kept till 1833), Crown sovereignty asserted, missionaries allowed. Company rule itself ended only in 1858.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

UK Parliament, Hansard (House of Commons, 19 April 1852): East India Company's Charter ↗ · reference work “private traders were admitted to a full and complete competition with them in regard to the trade with India. At the same time, the exclusive right of trading with China was retained by the Company.”
UK Parliament, Living Heritage: East India Company and Raj 1785-1858 ↗ · reference work “Parliament allowed the Company to maintain its political and administrative duties in India, but the charter of 1813 included a clause asserting the Crown's undoubted sovereignty over all of the Company's territories”
NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 4 “in 1858, the British Crown took direct control of India from the East India Company, initiating the period of the British Raj.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2019 · Q15

Medium

With reference to Indian National Movement, consider the following pairs:

	Person	Position held
1.	Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru	President, All India Liberal Federation
2.	K. C. Neogy	Member, The Constituent Assembly
3.	P. C. Joshi	General Secretary, Communist Party of India

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

All three pairs are correct in UPSC's key. K. C. Neogy was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal; the other two details are not explained here because we could not confirm them from an official source.

✓ 1. Moderates who left the Congress formed the (Indian) National Liberal Federation in 1918-19. UPSC's official key treats this pair as correct; we could not confirm the detail about its presidency from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
✓ 2. Kshitish Chandra Neogy was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal on a Congress ticket; he later sat in Nehru's first cabinet and chaired the First Finance Commission (1951).
✓ 3. UPSC's official key treats this pair as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.

Remember · Liberal Federation (1919, moderates); K. C. Neogy - Constituent Assembly member, 1st Finance Commission chairman.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Politics in India since Independence, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Constitution of India (CLPR): Constituent Assembly Members – K.C. Neogy ↗ · reference work “Neogy was elected to the Indian Constituent Assembly from the Bengal province as a member of the Indian National Congress.”
People's Democracy (CPI(M) weekly), 15 April 2007: Birth Centenary of P.C. Joshi ↗ · reference work “APRIL 14, 2007 marks the birth centenary of P. C. Joshi who was the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, after the all-India Party Centre was set-up in 1934-35.”
NCERT Class 12 · Politics in India since Independence, Chapter 2 “A. K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh and P. Sundarraya were among the notable leaders of the CPI.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q38

Medium

In the Federation established by The Government of India Act of 1935, residuary powers were given to the

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Governor General

Under the Government of India Act, 1935 the residuary powers went to the Governor-General, not to the Federal or the Provincial Legislature. Section 104 let him, acting in his own discretion, authorise either legislature to make a law on a matter not listed in the Seventh Schedule.

✓ (b) Section 104(1) says the Governor-General may by public notification empower either the Federal Legislature or a Provincial Legislature to legislate on a matter not enumerated in any list of the Seventh Schedule, and Section 104(2) says he acts in his discretion.
✗ (a) The Federal Legislature had only the powers given in the Federal List and the Concurrent List. It could make a law on an unlisted matter only if the Governor-General empowered it.
✗ (c) The Provincial Legislature likewise held only the Provincial and Concurrent Lists and had no residuary power of its own.

Remember · 1935 Act: residuary powers with the Governor-General (Section 104). The Constitution of India changed this: Article 248 gives them to Parliament.

Sources

Government of India Act 1935, Section 104(1) (original text as enacted, legislation.gov.uk, King's Printer; Internet Archive copy) ↗ “The Governor-General may by public notification empower either the Federal Legislature or a Provincial Legislature to enact a law with respect to any matter not enumerated in any of the Lists in the Seventh Schedule to this Act … In the discharge of his functions under this section the Governor-General shall act in his discretion.”
Constitution of India, Article 248 (Legislative Department, Government of India) ↗ “has exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or State List.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2017 · Q26

Medium

The object of the Butler Committee of 1927 was to

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Improve the relationship between the Government of India and the Indian States.

The Butler Committee was the Indian States Committee, set up in 1927 under Sir Harcourt Butler to examine the relationship between the Paramount Power (the British Crown acting through the Government of India) and the princely states, including their financial and economic relations with British India.

✓ (d) Its brief was the relationship between the Paramount Power and the Indian (princely) States; its 1929 report held that paramountcy must remain supreme and that the states could not be handed over to an Indian government without their consent.
✗ (a) Dividing jurisdiction between the Centre and the provinces was the subject of the 1919 and 1935 Government of India Acts and the Simon Commission, not the Butler Committee.
✗ (b) The Secretary of State's powers were fixed by Acts of the British Parliament; the Butler Committee dealt only with the princely states.

Remember · Butler Committee = Indian States Committee (1927–29), chaired by Sir Harcourt Butler: relations between the Paramount Power and the princely states.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Politics in India since Independence, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Raj Bhavan (Jan Bhavan), Uttar Pradesh: Sir Harcourt Butler ↗ “Governor of U.P. (1921–22); Governor of Burma (1923–27); Chairman, Indian States Committee (1928)”
NCERT Class 12 · Politics in India since Independence, Chapter 1 “enjoyed some form of control over their internal affairs as long as they accepted British supremacy. This was called paramountcy or suzerainty of the British crown.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2017 · Q62

Easy

In the context of Indian history, the principle of ‘Dyarchy (diarchy)’ refers to

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Division of the subjects delegated to the provinces into two categories.

Dyarchy, introduced in the provinces by the Government of India Act, 1919, divided provincial subjects into two lists: ‘reserved’ subjects run by the Governor with his executive council, and ‘transferred’ subjects run by Indian ministers answerable to the elected provincial legislature.

✓ (d) Provincial subjects were split into reserved and transferred categories, and each was administered by a different set of authorities under the same Governor.
✗ (a) The 1919 Act did make the central legislature bicameral (a Legislative Assembly and a Council of State), but that was a separate reform. Dyarchy was confined to the provinces.
✗ (b) A division of powers between the Centre and the provinces is a federal arrangement, not dyarchy. Dyarchy worked inside each province; the 1919 Act classified subjects as Central and Provincial and split only the provincial ones.
✗ (c) Dyarchy was not about rulers in London and Delhi. It concerned the division of authority within a provincial government.

Remember · Dyarchy (1919 Act): provincial subjects split into reserved (Governor and executive council) and transferred (ministers from the elected legislature); no dyarchy at the Centre.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (Government of Tamil Nadu): History of the State Legislature ↗ “in regard to provincial matters a further division was made into "transferred subjects" administered by the Governor and his ministers responsible to the Legislative Council and "reserved subjects" administered by the Governor and his Executive Council.”
PIB, President's Secretariat: Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Memorial Lecture on the History of Parliamentary Democracy in India (15 May 2017) ↗ “The Government of India Act 1919 introduced the system of ‘dyarchy’ in eight major Provinces known as Governors Provinces. This system established a dual form of government in each province. … Under the 1919 Act, the Imperial Legislative Council was enlarged and a bicameral legislature introduced.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 4 “The executive was made partly responsible to the provincial legislature in 1919, and almost entirely so under the Government of India Act of 1935.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q64

Easy

The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals were related to

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) constitutional reforms

The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals produced the constitutional reforms of 1919, which allowed some form of representation in provincial legislative assemblies and made the provincial executive partly responsible to the provincial legislature.

✓ (d) NCERT calls Edwin Montagu the author of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, which allowed some representation in provincial legislative assemblies, and records that the executive was made partly responsible to the provincial legislature in 1919.
✗ (a) The proposals changed how India was governed, not its social customs.
✗ (c) They did not deal with police administration or with education; they were about the structure of provincial government.

Remember · Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919): constitutional reform that made the provincial executive partly responsible to elected provincial legislatures.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 4 “Edwin Montague (left) was the author of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 which allowed some form of representation in provincial legislative assemblies.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part III, Chapter 4 “The executive was made partly responsible to the provincial legislature in 1919, and almost entirely so under the Government of India Act of 1935.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q93

Easy

The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) India should be given Dominion status

The Cripps Mission of 1942 offered India Dominion status once the Second World War ended. Indian leaders rejected the offer, and its failure led Gandhi to launch the Quit India Movement in August 1942.

✓ (d) NCERT's timeline records that the Cripps Mission in 1942 proposed post-war dominion status, and that Indian leaders rejected it.
✗ (a) Complete independence was not on offer. Dominion status, a lower position within the British Empire, was what the Mission proposed, which is why it was rejected.
✗ (b) The Cripps proposal did not promise partition of India into two before independence; that idea came up in the later 1946-47 negotiations.
✗ (c) The offer was of Dominion status, not of a republic bound by a condition to join the Commonwealth.

Remember · Cripps Mission, March 1942: post-war Dominion status; rejected by Indian leaders; followed by the Quit India Movement in August 1942.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 10 India and the Contemporary World – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “1942: Cripps Mission proposes post-war dominion status; rejected by Indian leaders; Quit India Movement launched; mass arrests and repression”
NCERT Class 10 · India and the Contemporary World – II, Chapter 2 “The failure of the Cripps Mission and the effects of World War II created widespread discontentment in India.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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