MCQ Questions: Constitutional Development of India
Section A: Early Acts (1773-1853)
1. In which year was the Municipal Corporation established in Calcutta by a royal charter?
a) 1687 AD
b) 1726 AD
c) 1773 AD
d) 1857 AD
2. Which was the first Act passed by the British Parliament to regulate the affairs of the East
India Company in India?
a) Pitt's India Act, 1784
b) Charter Act, 1813
c) Regulating Act, 1773
d) Government of India Act, 1858
3. Who was made the first Governor-General of Bengal under the provisions of the Regulating
Act of 1773?
a) Lord Cornwallis
b) Warren Hastings
c) Lord Wellesley
d) Robert Clive
4. Which institution was established in Calcutta in 1774 as a result of the Regulating Act, 1773?
a) High Court
b) Board of Control
c) Supreme Court
d) Council of India
5. Which practice was declared illegal in India by the Charter Act of 1833?
a) Sati
b) Child Marriage
c) Slavery
d) Untouchability
6. The introduction of competitive examinations for the selection of civil servants was brought
about by which Act?
a) Charter Act of 1833
b) Charter Act of 1853
c) Indian Councils Act of 1861
d) Government of India Act, 1858
7. Which Act is known as the 'Magna Carta' of Indian people's independence?
a) Regulating Act, 1773
b) Charter Act, 1813
c) Queen's Proclamation, 1858
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
8. Which post was created by abolishing the 'Court of Directors' and the 'Board of Control' under
the Government of India Act, 1858?
a) Viceroy
b) Governor-General
c) Secretary of State for India
d) Commander-in-Chief
Section B: Acts from 1858 Onwards
1. Which Act formally transferred governance of India from the East India Company to the British
Crown?
a) Government of India Act, 1858
b) Indian Councils Act, 1861
c) Charter Act, 1853
d) Regulating Act, 1773
2. Under which Act were Indian representatives included in the law-making process for the first
time?
a) Indian Councils Act, 1892
b) Indian Councils Act, 1861
c) Government of India Act, 1919
d) Indian Councils Act, 1909
3. Which power was given to the Governor-General for emergencies under the Indian Councils
Act of 1861?
a) Power to declare war
b) Power to issue ordinances
c) Power to veto all legislation
d) Power to dissolve the council
4. Which system was introduced in India for the first time by the Indian Councils Act of 1892?
a) Dyarchy System
b) Provincial Autonomy
c) Electoral System
d) Federal System
5. Through which Act did the Indian Legislative Council gain the power to debate the budget?
a) Indian Councils Act, 1861
b) Indian Councils Act, 1892
c) Indian Councils Act, 1909
d) Government of India Act, 1919
6. The early nationalists opposed the Indian Councils Act of 1892 primarily because:
a) It did not grant self-government.
b) Indians had no control over public funds.
c) It increased the number of British members.
d) It introduced communal representation.
7. Under Pitt's India Act of 1784, which functions of the East India Company were separated?
a) Administrative and Military
b) Judicial and Revenue
c) Commercial and Political
d) Legislative and Executive
8. What was established in Britain by Pitt's India Act of 1784 to control the Company's political
affairs?
a) Court of Proprietors
b) Board of Control
c) Secretary of State
d) Council of India
9. By which Charter Act was the Company's trade monopoly with India abolished (except for
trade in tea and with China)?
a) Charter Act of 1793
b) Charter Act of 1813
c) Charter Act of 1833
d) Charter Act of 1853
10. Whose sovereignty over Indian territories was explicitly asserted under the Charter Act of
1813?
a) The Mughal Emperor
b) The East India Company
c) The British Crown
d) The Governor-General
11. Which rights of the East India Company were completely abolished under the Charter Act of
1833?
a) Administrative rights
b) Judicial rights
c) Territorial rights
d) Commercial rights
12. Who was the Governor-General of India at the time of the Charter Act of 1833?
a) Lord Dalhousie
b) Lord William Bentinck
c) Lord Cornwallis
d) Lord Hastings
13. By which Act was the system of communal representation established in British India?
a) Indian Councils Act, 1892
b) Indian Councils Act, 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms)
c) Government of India Act, 1919
d) Government of India Act, 1935
Section C: Government of India Acts (1919, 1935)
1. By which Act was the Chamber of Princes, consisting of 120 members, formed?
a) Government of India Act, 1909
b) Government of India Act, 1919
c) Government of India Act, 1935
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
2. Which commission was formed to review the Government of India Act, 1919?
a) Butler Commission
b) Simon Commission
c) Cripps Mission
d) Cabinet Mission
3. The Government of India Act, 1935 was based on the outcomes of which conference?
a) First Round Table Conference
b) Second Round Table Conference
c) Third Round Table Conference
d) Simla Conference
4. How many articles and schedules were there in the Government of India Act, 1935?
a) 395 Articles and 8 Schedules
b) 298 Articles and 7 Schedules
c) 321 Articles and 10 Schedules
d) 448 Articles and 12 Schedules
5. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, to whom was the right to make laws on residuary
subjects given?
a) Federal Legislature
b) Provincial Legislatures
c) The Viceroy/Governor-General
d) The Secretary of State
6. Which system of government was introduced at the provincial level by the Government of India
Act, 1919?
a) Provincial Autonomy
b) Diarchy (Dyarchy)
c) FederalGovernment
d) Unitary Government
7. Who is considered the 'father of dyarchy' in the provinces?
a) Lord Chelmsford
b) Edwin Montagu
c) Sir Lionel Curtis
d) Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
8. Which Act first provided for the establishment of a Public Service Commission in India?
a) Indian Councils Act, 1909
b) Government of India Act, 1919
c) Government of India Act, 1935
d) Charter Act of 1853
9. Which Act created a bicameral legislature at the centre for the first time?
a) Indian Councils Act, 1861
b) Government of India Act, 1919
c) Government of India Act, 1935
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
10. On the basis of which report was the Government of India Act, 1919 passed?
a) Simon Commission Report
b) Nehru Report
c) Montague-Chelmsford Reforms
d) Cripps Mission Proposals
11. Which Act abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced provincial autonomy?
a) Government of India Act, 1919
b) Government of India Act, 1935
c) Indian Councils Act, 1909
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
12. For the first time, the system of separate electorates for Dalits, women, and the working class
was introduced by which Act?
a) Government of India Act, 1919
b) Indian Councils Act, 1909
c) Government of India Act, 1935
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
13. The establishment of the Federal Court in India was provided for by which Act?
a) Government of India Act, 1919
b) Government of India Act, 1935
c) Indian Independence Act, 1947
d) Charter Act of 1833
14. Which Act is considered the main source of the Indian Constitution?
a) Government of India Act, 1858
b) Government of India Act, 1919
c) Government of India Act, 1935
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
15. Jawaharlal Nehru described which Act as a "Charter of Slavery"?
a) Government of India Act, 1919
b) Government of India Act, 1935
c) Indian Councils Act, 1909
d) Regulating Act, 1773
16. Which Act provided for the establishment of an All India Federation?
a) Government of India Act, 1919
b) Government of India Act, 1935
c) Indian Councils Act, 1861
d) Indian Independence Act, 1947
17. The principles of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Indian Constitution are sourced
from which part of the Government of India Act, 1935?
a) Preamble
b) Fundamental Rights
c) Instrument of Instructions
d) Federal Scheme
Section D: Towards Independence (1946-1947)
1. When did the Cabinet Mission arrive in India?
a) March 1942
b) March 1946
c) August 1946
d) February 1947
2. Who among the following was NOT a member of the Cabinet Mission (1946)?
a) Pethick Lawrence
b) Stafford Cripps
c) A.V. Alexander
d) Lord Wavell
3. According to the Cabinet Mission Plan, what was the ratio for electing representatives from
the provinces to the Constituent Assembly?
a) 1 member per 5 lakh population
b) 1 member per 10 lakh population
c) 1 member per 15 lakh population
d) 1 member per 20 lakh population
4. Under which plan was the Interim Government of India formed in August 1946?
a) Cripps Mission Plan
b) Wavell Plan
c) Cabinet Mission Plan
d) Mountbatten Plan
5. Who was the Vice-President of the Executive Council (de facto Prime Minister) in the Interim
Government of 1946?
a) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
b) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
c) Jawaharlal Nehru
d) Liaquat Ali Khan
6. Which section of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, recognized the Constituent Assembly as a
sovereign body?
a) Section 5
b) Section 6
c) Section 8 (1)
d) Section 10
7. Until 1949, laws in independent India were made under the provisions of which section of the
Government of India Act, 1935?
a) Section 93
b) Section 100
c) Section 126
d) Section 311
8. When did Lord Mountbatten arrive in India as the new Viceroy?
a) 15th August 1947
b) 24th March 1947
c) 3rd June 1947
d) 18th July 1947
9. What was the core solution to the Indian problem suggested in the Mountbatten Plan?
a) A loose federation
b) Complete independence as a single nation
c) Dominion Status
d) Partition of India
10. On which date did the Indian Independence Act, 1947, receive royal assent?
a) 15th August 1947
b) 18th July 1947
c) 3rd June 1947
d) 26th January 1950
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Answer Key
1. b
2. c
3. b
4. c
5. c
6. b
7. c
8. c
9. a
10. b
11. b
12. c
13. b
14. b
15. c
16. b
17. b
18. c
19. d
20. b
21. b
22. b
23. b
24. c
25. c
26. c
27. b
28. c
29. b
30. b
31. c
32. b
33. c
34. b
35. c
36. b
37. b
38. c
39. b
40. d
41. b
42. c
43. c
44. c
45. b
46. b
47. d
48. b