UPSC Prelims 2007 · General Studies
Question 61: History and Culture
Consider the following statements:
- 1.Robert Clive was the first Governor-General of Bengal.
- 2.William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
AnswerThe answer is (b).
Robert Clive was Governor of Bengal. The first Governor-General of Bengal was Warren Hastings (Regulating Act, 1773), so statement 1 is false. By the Charter Act of 1833 the Governor-General of Bengal became Governor-General of India, and William Bentinck was the first to hold it, so statement 2 is true.
- 1. Clive was Governor of Bengal; Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General.
- 2. Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India after the 1833 Act.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is not correct, (a) and (c) go: each of them includes 1.
What you needed to know: Clive was Governor of Bengal; Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General.
- Then, if you were sure statement 2 is correct, (d) goes: it leaves 2 out.
What you needed to know: Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India after the 1833 Act.
Only (b) is left. This one needs every statement.
This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Statement 1 is false; Warren Hastings was first Governor-General of Bengal.
- (b) Correct: only statement 2 holds.
- (c) Statement 1 is false, so both cannot hold.
- (d) Statement 2 is true, so this is wrong.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2007, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.