Question 78 from UPSC CSE 2018 - Modern History

Question

Which among the following events happened earliest?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: B. Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neeldarpan.

Strategy: To determine which event occurred first, recall or estimate the chronology of social reformers, literary works, and administrative milestones from 19th-century India. Arya Samaj's foundation (1875) and Anandmath publication (1882) are later. Satyendranath Tagore's ICS success was in the 1860s. Neeldarpan, written in the context of the Indigo Rebellion, came even earlier, just after 1857. This sequencing leads directly to Neeldarpan as the earliest event.

Key Info: Neeldarpan is a Bengali play written by Dinabandhu Mitra in 1858-59, depicting the plight of indigo farmers in Bengal during the Indigo Revolt (Indigo Rebellion, 1859-60). Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement focused on Vedic ideologies and social reform, was founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875. Anandmath is a Bengali novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay published in 1882, famous for 'Vande Mataram', and set during the Sannyasi Rebellion. Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to clear the Indian Civil Services Examination in 1863, breaking colonial administrative barriers. These milestones reflect formative episodes in India's socio-cultural and administrative evolution in the 19th century.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option A: Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: Satyendranath Tagore became the first Indian to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination.