Medieval and Modern Indian History

The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10^th February, 1846, between the forces of the British East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the decisive battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War.

The ‘Seven Years' War’ started in 1757. France supported Austria and Britain supported Prussia. Count de Lally arrived in India to retrieve the position of the French. Chandranagore was captured by Clive. The Third Carnatic War started. Finally, it led to the Battle of Wandiwash, which ended with the collapse of the French empire in India.

Correct Answer: Second Anglo-Maratha War

The Marathas were from the WESTERN Deccan (present-day Maharashtra), not eastern. This makes statement A false - it's the 'not true' statement as asked. Statements B, C, and D are true: Marathas did end Mughal rule, Shivaji founded the empire with Raigad as capital, and the 27-year war (1681-1707) is indeed India's longest war.

Following the disintegration of the Maratha Empire after the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), the Holkar dynasty established control over the Indore and Malwa regions. Malhar Rao Holkar and later his successors consolidated their power in this area, making it their primary domain.

In the wake of the Afghan withdrawal after Ahmed Shah Abdali's plunder of Delhi in 1756, Delhi was captured by the Maratha army under Raghunath Rao in August 1757 defeating Afghan Garrison in the Battle of Delhi. This laid the foundation for the Maratha conquest of Northwest India.

Lord Hastings was determined to proclaim British paramountary in India. His moves against the Pindaris transgressed the sovereignty of the Maratha chief and the third Anglo-Maratha war began in 1817.

The Scindias of Gwalior were the last major Maratha state to accept the British Subsidiary Alliance, doing so in 1803 after the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon following the Second Anglo-Maratha War. The Bhonsles (Nagpur) and Holkars (Indore) had accepted earlier. Gaekwads of Baroda accepted in 1802. Scindia's resistance under Daulat Rao Scindia continued longest until military defeat forced acceptance.

The Treaty of Salbai was signed on May 17, 1782, by representatives of the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company after long negotiations to settle the outcome of the first Anglo-Maratha War.

The statement about forcing prisoners of war to become slaves is incorrect because Shivaji was known for his humane treatment of prisoners. Historical records show he treated captured prisoners with respect and did not force them into slavery. Options A, B, and D are all true - Shivaji was simple and religious, tolerated other religions, and organized the Marathas against the Mughal empire.

The British proclaimed 'Now India is ours' after the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805) because this war destroyed the major Maratha power centers. The defeat of the Scindias, Bhonsles, and Holkars left the British as the dominant power in India with no significant Indian rival remaining. The First Anglo-Maratha War was actually a British defeat.

Medley, a British historian, characterized the 1857 revolt as a 'war of races' - meaning a racial conflict between the British and Indians. This terminology reflected the colonial view of the uprising as fundamentally about racial tension and hierarchy rather than political grievances. Other historians like S. N. Sen used different descriptors.

The 1857 revolt began on March 29, 1857, at Barrackpore when Mangal Pandey revolted. However, Berhampur (in Bengal) witnessed the very first sparks in late February 1857 when the 19th Native Infantry refused to use the new Enfield cartridges, even before Mangal Pandey's famous rebellion. This makes Berhampur the earliest site of unrest, though Barrackpore is more famous as the starting point.

General Bakht Khan, a veteran of the Anglo-Afghan Wars, led the rebel forces in Delhi during the 1857 revolt. He brought soldiers from Bareilly and became the commander-in-chief of the rebel army in Delhi after arriving there in July 1857. Lucknow had Begum Hazrat Mahal, Kanpur had Nana Saheb, and Bareilly had Khan Bahadur Khan.

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Battle of Longewala (4–7 December 1971) was one of the first major engagements in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pak War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistani forces and Indian defenders at the Indian border post of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan state in India. The Battle of Hilli or the Battle of Bogra was another major battle fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War. It is generally regarded as the most pitched battle that took place in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The Battle of Basantar or the Battle of Barapind (December 4–16, 1971) was one of the vital battles fought as part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 in the western sector of India. The Indian troops won a hard fought battle that secured this area in the Punjab/Jammu sector.