Question

Who abolished dual Government in Bengal?
A)Robert Clive
B)Cornwallis
C)Warren Hastings
D)Lord Minto

Answer 1

HINT: Historically tracing the “Dual Government “ rule, leads us to the period 1765-1772. The concept of Dual Government means double system of administration.

Step by step answer:
Option A- Robert Clive, was the first British Governor of Bengal Presidency, he is also known as Clive of India he laid the foundation for Dual Government; Hence this is an incorrect option.
Option B- Cornwallis, served as both Governor of the Presidency of Fort William and Commander-in-chief of British India. This is not a correct option.
Option C- The ruling authority of Bengal was theoretically divided into two fold divisions. One section of authority was given to the Nawab and the other was attributed to the Company. In 1765, the company got the rights to collect revenue and this concept was introduced by Robert Clive in 1765 and continued till 1772.
Dual government damaged both revenue and trade. The biggest setback of this system was that Indian merchants were to pay around 40% of the revenue while British enjoyed duty free trade. The company’s aim was to maximize the revenue and turn the merchants into beggars.
Warren Hastings, was considered as the significant colonial administrator; he was also the first governor-general of Bengal. By making profound changes in administration he abolished the “system of dastaks”, which was exploited by company officials and traders earlier. He further restricted the private trade by company officials and introduced a uniform tariff of 2.5% for Indian and Foreign goods. The annual tribute paid to the Mughal Emperor was also shunned.
Option D- Lord Minto, under his tenure various important legislation in the British India was passed such as granting of separate electorates to Muslims and Establishment of Muslim League.

NOTE: The battle of Buxar was won by British and was fought between the Nawab of Awadh ( Siraj-ud-daulah) , British forces with forces of Mir Qasim and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam. The result of this battle was that the company got dispensation of civil justice for Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from the Mughal Emperor. On the other hand, the Nawab had to shoulder all military and political power along with administrative responsibilities with no real power