UPSC Prelims 2014 · Question 32 of 100
UPSC Prelims 2014 question on Queen Victorias Proclamation
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2014
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectModern History
- TopicEconomic Policies of British
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
What was/were the object/objects of Queen Victoria's Proclamation (1858)?
1. To disclaim any intention to annex Indian States
2. To place the Indian administration under the British Crown.
3. To regulate East India Company's trade with India
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer: A. 1 and 2 only
Verdict
The answer is 1 and 2 only. Queen Victoria's Proclamation disclaimed further annexation and placed Indian administration under the Crown, but had nothing to do with regulating Company trade.
Analysis
Statement 1 is CORRECT. The Proclamation assured Indian princes that their territories would be respected and that the policy of annexation, including the doctrine of lapse, was abandoned. Statement 2 is CORRECT. The Proclamation gave effect to the Government of India Act of 1858 by transferring authority from the East India Company to the Crown. Statement 3 is INCORRECT. The Company's commercial monopoly and trading role had already been dismantled by the Charter Acts of 1813 and 1833, decades before 1858.
Source
Modern India, old NCERT Class XII by Bipan Chandra.
How to crack it
Date the sub topic, not just the event. Company trade was a Charter Act question of 1813 and 1833; Crown rule was an 1858 question. Once you place statement 3 in the wrong decade, only one option survives. This chronological sorting move works across the whole constitutional development chapter, where UPSC routinely inserts a provision from an adjacent Act into a list.