Modern History · Chapter 4 of 52

Governor / Governor-General / Viceroy: BPSC Prelims PYQs

28 previous-year questions on Governor / Governor-General / Viceroy, asked 1996–2025. Each one opens to its answer and explanation.

1. 1. 66th BPSC Prelims Re-exam 2020

   Who was the first Governor General of India?

   1. ALord Mayo
   2. BLord Lytton
   3. CLord Canning
   4. DLord Dufferin
   5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
   Answer and explanation →

2. 2. 66th BPSC Prelims Re-exam 2020

   Who was the founder of the Empire in India?

   1. AC. Sleeman
   2. BLord Minto
   3. CLord Clive
   4. DLord Mayo
   5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
   Answer and explanation →

3. 3. BPSC CDPO Prelims 2005

   Who among the following is considered the founder of the British Empire in India?

   1. ALord Cornwallis
   2. BWarren Hastings
   3. CLord Clive
   4. DSir Thomas Roe
   Answer and explanation →

4. 4. 64th BPSC Prelims 2018

   Who is considered the Father of Dyarchy?

   1. ALord Clive
   2. BHector Munro
   3. CLord Macaulay
   4. DSir Lionel Curtis
   5. ENone of the above / More than one of the above
   Answer and explanation →

5. 5. 41st BPSC Prelims 1996 · 47th BPSC Prelims 2005

   Who among the following abolished ‘Dual Government’ system in Bengal?

   1. ARobert Clive
   2. BLord Cornwallis
   3. CWarren Hastings
   4. DNone of the above
   Answer and explanation →

6. 6. 64th BPSC Prelims 2018 · 65th BPSC Prelims 2019

   Under whose leadership was the suppression of Thugs achieved?

   1. ALord Clive
   2. BCaptain Sleeman
   3. CLord Minto
   4. DAlexander Burnes
   5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
   Answer and explanation →

7. 7. BPSC CDPO Prelims 2018

   Who is credited with the suppression of Thugs in India?

   1. AEarl of Dalhousie
   2. BCharles Metcalfe
   3. CW.T. Denison
   4. DW.H. Sleeman
   5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
   Answer and explanation →

8. 8. 48th–52nd BPSC Prelims 2008

   The first railway in India was laid down during the period of-

   1. ALord Dalhousie
   2. BLord Curzon
   3. CLord Wellesley
   4. DLord Lytton
   Answer and explanation →

9. 9. 67th BPSC Prelims Re-exam 2022

   Which of the following social reforms were started by William Bentinck?

   • 1. Abolition of Sati Pratha
   • 2. Abolition of slavery
   • 3. Removal of the provision of disqualification due to religious conversion
   • 4. Suppression of organized gangs of thugs

   Select the correct answer from the code given below-

   1. A1 and 2 only
   2. BOnly 1, 3 and 4
   3. COnly 1, 2 and 4
   4. DOnly 1, 2, 3 and 4
   5. ENone of the above
   Answer and explanation →

10. 10. 63rd BPSC Prelims 2017

    Who declared ‘Sati Pratha’ illegal?

    1. AWarren Hastings
    2. BWilliam Bentinck
    3. CCornwallis
    4. DCurzon
    5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

11. 11. 56th–59th BPSC Prelims 2014

    Who was the Governor-General of India in 1857?

    1. AWellesley
    2. BDalhousie
    3. CCanning
    4. DMinto
    Answer and explanation →

12. 12. 63rd BPSC Prelims 2017

    Which Viceroy adopted an aggressive policy towards Afghanistan?

    1. ALord Mayo
    2. BLord Lytton
    3. CLord Dufferin
    4. DLord Canning
    5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

13. 13. 69th BPSC Prelims 2023

    Lord Lytton is not associated with which of the following?

    1. AThe Strachey Commission
    2. BThe Arms Act
    3. CThe Vernacular Press Act
    4. DThe Ilbert Bill
    Answer and explanation →

14. 14. 70th BPSC Prelims Re-exam 2024

    Which Viceroy decentralized the colonial economic structure in India?

    1. AMayo
    2. BCurzon
    3. CRipon
    4. DMore than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

15. 15. 67th BPSC Prelims Re-exam 2022

    Sind was conquered and annexed by

    1. AWellington
    2. BSleeman
    3. CNapier
    4. DLawrence
    5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

16. 16. BPSC Assistant 2019

    In the context of the colonial period of Indian history, match List-I (Person) with List-II (Subject):

    List-I (Person)	List-II (Subject)
    A. Macdonald	1. Doctrine of Lapse
    B. Linlithgow	2. Communal Award
    C. Dalhousie	3. August Offer
    D. Chelmsford	4. Dyarchy

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    1. A3 2 1 4
    2. B3 2 4 1
    3. C2 3 1 4
    4. D2 3 4 1
    Answer and explanation →

17. 17. 70th BPSC Prelims Re-exam 2024

    Which of the following States was not annexed under Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse?

    1. ANagpur
    2. BJaipur
    3. CSambalpur
    4. DSatara
    Answer and explanation →

18. 18. 47th BPSC Prelims 2005

    The policy of 'Security Cell' is related to-

    1. AWarren Hastings
    2. BLord Dalhousie
    3. CHenry Lawrence
    4. DLord Hastings
    Answer and explanation →

19. 19. 41st BPSC Prelims 1996

    First Maratha Sardar to accept the subsidiary alliance of Lord Wellesley was-

    1. APeshwa Bajirao- II
    2. BRaghuji Bhosle
    3. CDaulat Rao Scindia
    4. DNone of the above
    Answer and explanation →

20. 20. 69th BPSC Prelims 2023

    Which of the following statements about Lord Mayo’s Resolution of 1870 are correct?

    • 1. It was the first step that bifurcated Central and Provincial finances.
    • 2. Provincial Governments were empowered to administer certain services.
    • 3. It attempted to rectify existing imparity.
    • 4. It focused on the actual needs of the Provinces.

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

    1. AOnly 1 and 2
    2. BOnly 1, 3 and 4
    3. COnly 2, 3 and 4
    4. D1, 2, 3 and 4
    Answer and explanation →

21. 21. 63rd BPSC Prelims 2017

    Which of the following Princely States was not annexed by the British?

    1. ASind
    2. BGwalior
    3. CAwadh
    4. DSatara
    5. ENone of the above/ More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

22. 22. 71st BPSC Prelims 2025

    At which Viceroy was a bomb thrown on the occasion of his state entry into Delhi?

    1. ALord Minto
    2. BLord Curzon
    3. CLord Hardinge
    4. DLord Wavell
    Answer and explanation →

23. 23. BPSC Assistant 2019

    In whose tenure as the Viceroy of India were the great martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged?

    1. ALord Curzon
    2. BLord Irwin
    3. CLord Minto
    4. DLord Chelmsford
    Answer and explanation →

24. 24. 63rd BPSC Prelims 2017

    Who established Imperial Cadet Corps?

    1. ALord Minto
    2. BLord Curzon
    3. CLord Lytton
    4. DLord Ripon
    5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

25. 25. BPSC CDPO Prelims 2022

    Who hailed free India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as an outstanding leader of courage and vision?

    1. AMaulana Abul Kalam Azad
    2. BLord Mountbatten
    3. CSardar Patel
    4. DClement Attlee
    5. ENone of the above / More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

26. 26. 60th–62nd BPSC Prelims 2016

    Which among the following viceroy’s period the title of ‘Rai Bahadur’ and ‘Khan Bahadur’ began to confer to Indian?

    1. ALord Ripon
    2. BLord Lytton
    3. CLord Mayo
    4. DLord Dufferin
    5. ENone of the above/More than one of the above
    Answer and explanation →

27. 27. 46th BPSC Prelims 2004

    The first Indian who assumed the office of Governor General in independent India was—

    1. AJamnalal Bajaj
    2. BC. Rajagopalachari
    3. CDr. Rajendra Prasad
    4. DM.A. Ansari
    Answer and explanation →

28. 28. 53rd–55th BPSC Prelims 2011

    The first Indian Governor-General of independent India was-

    1. ARajagopalachari
    2. BSurendra Nath
    3. CRajendra Prasad
    4. DB.R. Ambedkar
    Answer and explanation →