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TNPSC modern India history practice questions

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Modern India covers British expansion and rule, the reforms and policies of the Governors-General, the social reform movements and the Revolt of 1857, which together lead to the freedom movement. It belongs to the same unit as the national movement and carries a share of about 10 of the 75 General Studies questions in the Group 4 paper. The five questions below ask for the dates, the people and the policies that TNPSC repeats. The matching subject guide is TNPSC History and Indian National Movement.

What this topic covers

• British expansion: the Battles of Plassey and Buxar, the Carnatic Wars and the policies of annexation.
• Governors-General and Viceroys: key reforms and wars.
• Economic policies: land revenue settlements and the effect on agriculture and crafts.
• Social reforms: the abolition of sati, widow remarriage and education.
• The Revolt of 1857: causes, centres and consequences.

Sample questions

Question 1

The Battle of Plassey was fought in:

• A. 1764
• B. 1857
• C. 1717
• D. 1757

Question 2

The Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by:

• A. Lord Cornwallis
• B. Lord Wellesley
• C. Lord Dalhousie
• D. Lord Curzon

Question 3

The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was introduced by:

• A. Warren Hastings
• B. Lord Cornwallis
• C. Lord Dalhousie
• D. Lord William Bentinck

Question 4

Sati was declared illegal in 1829 during the Governor-Generalship of:

• A. Lord William Bentinck
• B. Lord Wellesley
• C. Lord Hastings
• D. Lord Ripon

Question 5

The Revolt of 1857 began at:

• A. Delhi
• B. Meerut
• C. Kanpur
• D. Lucknow

Answers and explanations

1. D. At Plassey in 1757, Robert Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, which marks the beginning of British political power in India. Buxar was fought in 1764.
2. C. Lord Dalhousie (1848 to 1856) annexed states such as Satara, Jhansi and Nagpur by saying that a ruler without a natural heir could not adopt one without British consent. Wellesley is known for the Subsidiary Alliance.
3. B. Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal in 1793, which fixed the land revenue permanently and made zamindars the owners of the land.
4. A. Lord William Bentinck passed the Bengal Sati Regulation in 1829, helped by the campaign of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The act made the practice a punishable offence.
5. B. The sepoys at Meerut revolted on 10 May 1857 and marched to Delhi, where they declared Bahadur Shah Zafar their leader. Kanpur and Lucknow joined soon after.

How to prepare modern India

Learn the Governors-General and Viceroys as a table of name, years and one policy, and then practise matching them. The commonest mistake is mixing Cornwallis (Permanent Settlement), Wellesley (Subsidiary Alliance) and Dalhousie (Doctrine of Lapse), so write the three in a row and test yourself.

Add the three land revenue systems with their regions: Permanent Settlement (Bengal and Bihar), Ryotwari (Madras and Bombay) and Mahalwari (north-west). The Ryotwari system is the one relevant to Tamil Nadu, which is a good reason to learn it well.

Cover the Revolt of 1857 with a map: Meerut, Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi and Arrah, each with its leader. Add the consequences, which are the transfer of power from the Company to the Crown in 1858 and the Queen's Proclamation. The Tamil Nadu thread begins earlier, with the poligar wars and the Vellore Revolt of 1806, in TNPSC Tamil Nadu freedom struggle practice.

Move on to TNPSC Indian National Movement practice for the political movement that follows.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

History is best retained by repeated short tests, because the facts are many and the connections few. A PrepMatic topic test (about 15 questions in 30 minutes) gives you one sitting per chapter. The result screen then points to the subject that cost you the most marks, so you can adjust your week around it.

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