Theme T9 · Modern India & Freedom Struggle

British expansion: fragmented polity, Panipat, why the Company won, Dalhousie

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What UPSC asks

UPSC asks why the East India Company won against larger Indian armies, how 18th-century India was politically fragmented, why Panipat saw repeated battles, and Dalhousie's role.

Prepare these

• Decline of Mughals and rise of regional states
• Plassey, Buxar, Anglo-Mysore, Anglo-Maratha, Anglo-Sikh wars
• Reasons for British success: discipline, finance, diplomacy, divisions among rulers
• Panipat: geography and strategic location
• Dalhousie: doctrine of lapse, railways, telegraph, postal reforms

Answer writing

• Group reasons into military, economic, political and organisational
• Use specific battles as evidence

Directive words in these PYQs: Why (2), Elaborate (1).

On the map

Syllabus lines covered

• GS1-L2 — Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

All 4 PYQs, newest first

1. GS1202210 marks · 150 wordsGS1-HIS-01-M2022-Q02

   Why did the armies of the British East India company – mostly comprising of Indian soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better equipped armies of then Indian rulers? Give reasons.

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2. GS12017GS1-HIS-01-M2017-S01

   Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity?

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3. GS12014GS1-HIS-01-M2014-S01

   The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why were so many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat?

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4. GS12013GS1-HIS-01-M2013-S01

   “In many ways, Lord Dalhousie was the founder of modern India.” Elaborate.

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