MCQ on British Policies and Peasants, Tribal and Trade Union Movements

🟢 Easy (1–20)

1. The Permanent Settlement was introduced by:
   a) Lord Canning
   b) Lord Ripon
   c) Lord Cornwallis ✅
   d) Lord Wellesley
   Explanation: Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793 in Bengal.
2. The Ryotwari System was primarily implemented in:
   a) Bengal
   b) Bombay and Madras ✅
   c) Punjab
   d) Awadh
   Explanation: The Ryotwari System was used mainly in the Bombay and Madras Presidencies.
3. The Indigo Revolt of 1859 was led by:
   a) Mangal Pandey
   b) Digambar Biswas and Bishnu Biswas ✅
   c) Rani Gaidinliu
   d) Birsa Munda
   Explanation: Indigo farmers protested against European planters; the Biswas brothers were key leaders.
4. The Santhal Rebellion took place in:
   a) 1757
   b) 1855 ✅
   c) 1865
   d) 1905
   Explanation: Santhals rebelled against British policies and moneylenders in 1855.
5. The leader of the Munda Rebellion was:
   a) Kunwar Singh
   b) Sidhu Murmu
   c) Birsa Munda ✅
   d) Tantia Tope
   Explanation: Birsa Munda led the Munda Ulgulan against British rule in Chotanagpur.
6. Which system made zamindars the owners of the land?
   a) Mahalwari
   b) Ryotwari
   c) Permanent Settlement ✅
   d) Revenue Farming
   Explanation: Under Permanent Settlement, zamindars were recognized as landowners.
7. Who led the Deccan Riots of 1875?
   a) Peasants of Pune and Ahmednagar ✅
   b) British soldiers
   c) Santhals
   d) Bhils
   Explanation: Peasants of Maharashtra revolted against moneylenders in 1875.
8. Which act legalized trade unions in India?
   a) Trade Union Act of 1926 ✅
   b) Factory Act of 1911
   c) Rowlatt Act
   d) Indian Councils Act of 1909
   Explanation: The Trade Union Act of 1926 granted legal status to trade unions.
9. The Tebhaga Movement was related to:
   a) Santhal tribes
   b) Sharecroppers in Bengal ✅
   c) Indigo planters
   d) Factory workers
   Explanation: It was a movement by sharecroppers demanding two-thirds share of produce.
10. The Tana Bhagat Movement was associated with:
    a) Bhils
    b) Mundas
    c) Oraons ✅
    d) Santhals
    Explanation: A religious and tribal movement among the Oraons in Bihar.
11. Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was launched to support:
    a) Salt producers
    b) Indigo farmers ✅
    c) Mill workers
    d) Zamindars
    Explanation: Gandhi supported indigo farmers against European planters in Champaran.
12. Which movement is associated with “no rent” campaigns?
    a) Indigo Movement
    b) Deccan Riots
    c) Eka Movement ✅
    d) Santhal Rebellion
    Explanation: The Eka Movement in UP included “no rent” calls by peasants.
13. Who introduced the Mahalwari system?
    a) Lord Canning
    b) Holt Mackenzie ✅
    c) Warren Hastings
    d) Lord Wellesley
    Explanation: Holt Mackenzie introduced it in North-West Provinces.
14. The Chuar Rebellion was led by:
    a) Tribal peasants of Bengal ✅
    b) Peshwas
    c) Mughals
    d) Indigo planters
    Explanation: The Chuars were tribal communities who resisted British land revenue policies.
15. Which peasant revolt took place in the 1920s in Awadh?
    a) Bardoli Satyagraha
    b) Eka Movement ✅
    c) Moplah Rebellion
    d) Tebhaga Movement
    Explanation: The Eka Movement arose in UP due to rent and land issues.
16. Which British policy destroyed traditional Indian handicrafts?
    a) Subsidiary Alliance
    b) Deindustrialization policy ✅
    c) Doctrine of Lapse
    d) Ryotwari System
    Explanation: British imported machine goods, hurting Indian crafts.
17. The Bardoli Satyagraha was led by:
    a) Jawaharlal Nehru
    b) Sardar Patel ✅
    c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
    d) Lala Lajpat Rai
    Explanation: Patel led this successful peasant movement in Gujarat in 1928.
18. Which community led the Koya Revolt?
    a) Gonds
    b) Bhils
    c) Koyas ✅
    d) Santhals
    Explanation: The Koyas of Andhra Pradesh revolted under leaders like Alluri Sitarama Raju.
19. Which movement led to the slogan “Land to the Tiller”?
    a) Moplah Rebellion
    b) Tebhaga Movement ✅
    c) Bardoli Satyagraha
    d) Champaran Satyagraha
    Explanation: Tebhaga Movement emphasized giving land to actual cultivators.
20. The Eka Movement mainly consisted of:
    a) Urban workers
    b) Big landlords
    c) Small farmers and tenants ✅
    d) British officials
    Explanation: It involved poor peasants protesting unfair revenue demands.

🟡 Moderate (21–40)

21. Who led the Moplah Rebellion of 1921?
    a) Khilafat leaders
    b) Muslim peasants in Malabar ✅
    c) Congress volunteers
    d) Santhals
    Explanation: Moplah Muslims rose against landlords and British in Malabar.
22. The Trade Union Congress was founded in:
    a) 1917
    b) 1920 ✅
    c) 1930
    d) 1942
    Explanation: All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was formed in 1920.
23. Who was the first president of AITUC?
    a) Lala Lajpat Rai ✅
    b) Sardar Patel
    c) Subhas Chandra Bose
    d) Motilal Nehru
    Explanation: Lajpat Rai was the first AITUC president.
24. Which tribe was involved in the Kol Rebellion (1831–32)?
    a) Bhils
    b) Santhals
    c) Kols ✅
    d) Oraons
    Explanation: The Kols of Chotanagpur revolted against exploitative landlords.
25. The Bhil Rebellion occurred mainly in:
    a) Assam
    b) Gujarat and MP ✅
    c) Bengal
    d) Tamil Nadu
    Explanation: The Bhils revolted in western India due to land encroachments.
26. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (1908) aimed to:
    a) Collect more tax
    b) Promote British trade
    c) Protect tribal land rights ✅
    d) Recruit tribal soldiers
    Explanation: It restricted land transfer from tribal to non-tribal people.
27. Who wrote Peepli Live, inspired by farmers’ issues?
    a) Anusha Rizvi ✅
    b) Arundhati Roy
    c) Kiran Desai
    d) Shyam Benegal
    Explanation: Film directed by Anusha Rizvi highlighting farmer suicides.
28. Which movement began in 1946 among Telangana peasants?
    a) Tebhaga
    b) Telangana Armed Struggle ✅
    c) Eka
    d) Bardoli
    Explanation: A major peasant rebellion against the Nizam’s rule.
29. Which British policy forced peasants to grow commercial crops?
    a) Forest Laws
    b) Permanent Settlement
    c) Economic Drain
    d) Commercialization of agriculture ✅
    Explanation: British compelled farmers to grow indigo, cotton, etc., for export.
30. The main reason behind Deccan Riots was:
    a) High revenue
    b) Military recruitment
    c) Exploitation by moneylenders ✅
    d) Tribal encroachment
    Explanation: Peasants attacked moneylenders who seized land.
31. Which tribal revolt was connected with forest laws?
    a) Munda
    b) Santhal
    c) Bhil
    d) Alluri Sitarama Raju Revolt ✅
    Explanation: He opposed British restrictions on tribal forest use.
32. The Ulgulan was a:
    a) Worker’s protest
    b) Munda rebellion ✅
    c) Military campaign
    d) Zamindari meeting
    Explanation: It means “great tumult” and was the Munda revolt.
33. The first textile strike in Bombay was in:
    a) 1857
    b) 1865
    c) 1881 ✅
    d) 1920
    Explanation: Workers demanded better wages and conditions.
34. Which law banned tribal shifting cultivation?
    a) Criminal Tribes Act
    b) Forest Act of 1865 ✅
    c) Arms Act
    d) Indian Councils Act
    Explanation: The Forest Act restricted traditional tribal activities.
35. The slogan “Simon Go Back” is associated with:
    a) Indigo Revolt
    b) Peasant Movement
    c) Trade Union Movement
    d) Civil Disobedience Movement ✅
    Explanation: It was raised during Simon Commission protests.
36. Who were known as “middlemen” under British agrarian policies?
    a) British officers
    b) Zamindars ✅
    c) Peasants
    d) Artisans
    Explanation: Zamindars collected rent but often exploited peasants.
37. The Moplah Rebellion was largely:
    a) Religious
    b) Economic ✅
    c) Tribal
    d) Military
    Explanation: It stemmed from agrarian oppression and British interference.
38. The Santhal Rebellion took place in present-day:
    a) Jharkhand ✅
    b) Bihar
    c) West Bengal
    d) Assam
    Explanation: It occurred in the Rajmahal Hills region, now in Jharkhand.
39. Which movement was NOT tribal in nature?
    a) Munda
    b) Santhal
    c) Bardoli ✅
    d) Bhil
    Explanation: Bardoli was a peasant movement, not tribal.
40. The First Factory Act was passed in:
    a) 1881 ✅
    b) 1850
    c) 1900
    d) 1895
    Explanation: It regulated working hours and child labor in factories.

🔴 Hard (41–50)

41. Which peasant leader was called the “Gandhi of Bihar”?
    a) Rajendra Prasad
    b) Sahajanand Saraswati ✅
    c) Jagjivan Ram
    d) Jayaprakash Narayan
    Explanation: He led the All India Kisan Sabha and Bihar peasant movements.
42. The Central Labour Institute was established in:
    a) Delhi
    b) Mumbai ✅
    c) Chennai
    d) Kolkata
    Explanation: It was set up in Mumbai in 1954 for labor welfare.
43. The Kheda Satyagraha occurred in which year?
    a) 1917
    b) 1918 ✅
    c) 1920
    d) 1921
    Explanation: Gandhi and Patel led it against revenue collection during famine.
44. Who authored India and the Destiny of Peasants?
    a) D.D. Kosambi
    b) R.C. Dutt
    c) D.N. Dhanagare ✅
    d) Bipan Chandra
    Explanation: A sociological analysis of peasant movements.
45. Which commission reviewed labor conditions in India in 1929?
    a) Hilton Young Commission
    b) Royal Labour Commission ✅
    c) Simon Commission
    d) Hunter Commission
    Explanation: It examined industrial labor conditions.
46. The Bhil Revolt under Govind Guru was connected to which fair?
    a) Kumbh Mela
    b) Dussehra Fair
    c) Mangarh Hill gathering ✅
    d) Pushkar Fair
    Explanation: The revolt culminated at Mangarh Hill in 1913.
47. Which movement is connected with the slogan “Pagri Sambhal Jatta”?
    a) Bardoli
    b) Punjab Peasant Movement ✅
    c) Eka
    d) Tebhaga
    Explanation: A 1907 slogan encouraging farmers to defend their rights.
48. Who founded the Self-Respect Movement in South India?
    a) Periyar E.V. Ramasamy ✅
    b) C.R. Das
    c) Subhas Chandra Bose
    d) Nehru
    Explanation: It also addressed caste and labor rights.
49. Who led the tribal revolt in Bastar during 1910?
    a) Gopinath Sahu
    b) Gunda Dhur ✅
    c) Birsa Munda
    d) Sidhu Murmu
    Explanation: Gunda Dhur led the revolt against forest laws.
50. Which peasant movement influenced Indian Communist ideology?
    a) Kheda
    b) Moplah
    c) Telangana Rebellion ✅
    d) Champaran
    Explanation: The Telangana struggle shaped early communist strategy in India.