Modern Indian Historical Figures

Edwin Samuel Montagu served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922. On 20 August 1917, he made a historic declaration in the House of Commons defining the goal of British policies in India. In the previous month, he had made a scathing attack on the whole system by which India was being administered in a debate in British House of Commons. It is also known as August Declaration of 1917.

Duke Memorandum is associated with Sir William Duke, a member of the English Round Table Group and he had formulated a scheme which eventually became the basis of Joint Report of Montague and Chelmsford. “The Duke Memorandum” became the basis of Mont-Ford Reforms.

On 20 February l947, Prime Minister Atlee announced in the House of Commons the definite intention of the British Government to transfer power to responsible Indian hands by a date not later than June 1948. Thus, to effect the transference of that power Atlee decided to send Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy to India. Lord Mountbatten armed with vast powers became India's Viceroy on 24 March 1947. The partition of India and the creation of Pakistan appeared inevitable to him. After extensive consultation, Lord Mountbatten put forth the plan of partition of India on 3 June 1947. The Congress and the Muslim League ultimately approved the Mountbatten Plan.

In June 1947, Britain commissioned Sir Cyril Radcliffe to head the two Boundary Commissions (one for Punjab and the other for Bengal), to determine which territories will be assigned to which nation. Hence, Option A is correct. Among the rest of the options, Mc Mohan Commission set down the Indo-Tibetan Boundary, General Campbell inspected the aftermath of the Orissa famine in 1865. Hence, these options are incorrect.

The Third Carnatic war was an end to the French ambitions to create a colonial empire in India. The French forces in the south were led by Conte De Lally.

Joseph François Dupleix was appointed as  Governor-General of the French East India Company, who pursued an aggresive policy towards the English. He led the French during the First Carnatic War.

The Battle of Wandiwash was fought between the French, under the comte de Lally, and the British, under Sir Eyre Coote. This was the Third Carnatic War fought between the French and the British. It was the decisive battle in the Anglo-French struggle in southern India during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). The French were then restricted to Pondichéry, where they surrendered on 16 January 1761.

Though a state of war did not exist in Europe, the proxy war continued in India. On one side was Nasir Jung, the Nizam and his protege Muhammad Ali, supported by the English, and on the other was Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung, supported by the French, vying for the Nawabship of Arcot. Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib were able to capture Arcot while Nasir Jung's subsequent death allowed Muzaffar Jung to take control of Hyderabad. Muzaffar's reign was short as he was soon killed, and Salabat Jung became Nawab. In 1751, however, Robert Clive led British troops to capture Arcot, and successfully defend it.

On 3 August 1749, the allied forces of Dupleix, Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung met those of Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan at Ambur. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's forces managed to create a formidable stance by gathering around their howdahs despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, but it was the disciplined French infantry forces led by De Bussy that completely reversed the course of the battle against Khan.

Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan was shot and killed in a fierce confrontation while commanding his forces from a howdah. The next day Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib victoriously entered Arcot and Chanda Sahib became the next Nawab of the Carnatic. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's son, Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, fled south to Trichinopoly, where he hid and sought the assistance of the British.

The First Carnatic War (1744-48) was triggered by the War of the Austrian Succession. Dupleix was the french Governor-General of Pondicherry during the war. In September 1746, the French captured the Madras almost without any opposition and the British were made prisoners of war. The war finally ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Lord Curzon ordered partition of Bengal for the first time. The order was made public in 1903 and the official reason given was that Bengal with a population of 78 million had become too big to be administered. The reason was true to an extent but the real motive was to weaken the nerve centre of the movement by dividing it on the lines of religion. The decision met with wide opposition in the form of Swadeshi movement. It was decided to annul the partition of Bengal in 1911 mainly to control the danger of revolutionary terrorism.

Edwin Samuel Montagu served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922. After becoming Secretary of State, he began work on a British policy to provide for “progressive realization of responsible government” in India. He played an important role in introducing the Government of India Act of 1919, a legislative measure that marked a decisive stage in India’s constitutional development. 

• Lord Curzon was the viceroy of India between 1898-1905
• Announcement of partition of Bengal was made by British in 1903
• On October 16, 1905 Bengal was partitioned into West Bengal and East Bengal.
• This partition of Bengal was done during Curzon period.
  

Tilak was charged with the seditious writings and was deported to Mandalay prison in Burma. After Tilak's deportation, Lala Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar) without trial in May 1907. Along with him, Bipin Chandra Pal was also sent to Mandalay.