CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Which event occurred first?
A. Urdu–Hindi Controversy
B. Establishment of MAO College
C. Formation of Indian National Congress
D. Formation of All-India Muslim League
Correct Answer: A
The controversy occurred in 1867; MAO College was established in 1875, Congress in 1885, and the Muslim League in 1906.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The immediate method used by Hindi supporters in 1867 was primarily:
A. A petition and public campaign
B. An armed rebellion
C. A general strike across India
D. A military coup
Correct Answer: A
The movement relied mainly on petitions, public pressure and organized advocacy for official recognition of Hindi and Devanagari.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Which of the following was NOT an immediate demand of the 1867 Hindi movement?
A. Use Hindi in courts
B. Adopt Devanagari script
C. Replace Urdu’s official position
D. Create Pakistan immediately
Correct Answer: D
The controversy concerned language and script. It did not contain a demand for Pakistan, which emerged many decades later.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The Urdu–Hindi Controversy transformed language into a symbol of:
A. Climate and geography
B. Communal and political identity
C. Agricultural production
D. Maritime trade only
Correct Answer: B
The dispute showed how language and script could become markers of religious community, political interests and cultural identity.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Which statement best describes spoken Hindi and Urdu in nineteenth-century North India?
A. They had no linguistic relationship
B. Their everyday spoken forms were often closely related
C. Urdu was a European language
D. Hindi was spoken only in Bengal
Correct Answer: B
Hindi and Urdu developed as standardized registers of Hindustani; everyday speech was often mutually intelligible, while scripts and formal vocabularies diverged.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The Hindi movement increasingly preferred vocabulary derived from:
A. Sanskrit
B. Turkish
C. Portuguese
D. Pashto
Correct Answer: A
Modern formal Hindi became increasingly Sanskritized, while formal Urdu drew more heavily on Persian and Arabic vocabulary.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Urdu became an important symbol for many Muslims mainly because it was associated with:
A. Portuguese colonial culture
B. Indo-Muslim literary and cultural heritage
C. South Indian temple administration
D. French political thought
Correct Answer: B
Although Urdu was used by people of different communities, Muslim leaders increasingly viewed it as a major carrier of Indo-Muslim culture.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Why did the language issue become politically important under British rule?
A. Official-language knowledge influenced education and government employment
B. The British banned all Indian languages
C. It decided military recruitment alone
D. It concerned only poetry competitions
Correct Answer: A
Recognition of a language and script affected schooling, examinations, clerical work, court access and government jobs.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Which pair correctly matches the language with the script promoted by its supporters?
A. Urdu—Devanagari; Hindi—Nastaʿliq
B. Urdu—Nastaʿliq; Hindi—Devanagari
C. Urdu—Gurmukhi; Hindi—Roman
D. Urdu—Bengali; Hindi—Arabic
Correct Answer: B
Urdu proponents defended the Perso-Arabic Nastaʿliq script, while Hindi proponents promoted Devanagari.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The controversy first became prominent in the North-Western Provinces, an area later associated with:
A. United Provinces
B. Bombay Presidency
C. Madras Presidency
D. Sindh
Correct Answer: A
Banaras lay in the North-Western Provinces, later reorganized as the United Provinces.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The main administrative arena of the 1867 language dispute was:
A. Military commands
B. Courts and government offices
C. Railway stations
D. Religious seminaries only
Correct Answer: B
The controversy concerned the language and script used in courts, education and public administration, which also affected access to government employment.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The Urdu–Hindi Controversy is commonly regarded in Pakistan Studies as an early milestone in the development of:
A. The Khilafat Movement
B. The Two-Nation Theory
C. The Swadeshi Movement
D. The Cabinet Mission Plan
Correct Answer: B
It is treated as an important ideological turning point that strengthened Muslim separate identity and later Two-Nation thinking.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
What conclusion did Sir Syed increasingly draw after the Urdu–Hindi Controversy?
A. Language had no political importance
B. Hindus and Muslims had identical political interests
C. Hindus and Muslims possessed distinct communal interests
D. British rule would immediately end
Correct Answer: C
He came to believe that cultural and political differences between Hindus and Muslims were too significant to ignore.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Before the controversy, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan generally emphasized:
A. Immediate partition of India
B. Hindu–Muslim cooperation
C. Armed revolt against Britain
D. A separate Muslim state
Correct Answer: B
Before 1867, Sir Syed often promoted cooperation and common civic interests between Hindus and Muslims.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Which Muslim reformer was most deeply affected by the Urdu–Hindi Controversy of 1867?
A. Allama Iqbal
B. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
C. Nawab Salimullah
D. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar
Correct Answer: B
The controversy became a major turning point in Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s political thinking and his view of Hindu–Muslim relations.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Urdu was commonly written in which script during the Urdu–Hindi Controversy?
A. Devanagari
B. Perso-Arabic/Nastaʿliq
C. Roman
D. Bengali
Correct Answer: B
Urdu was written in a modified Perso-Arabic script, commonly in the Nastaʿliq style.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
Which script was demanded for Hindi by the supporters of the 1867 movement?
A. Roman
B. Gurmukhi
C. Devanagari
D. Perso-Arabic
Correct Answer: C
The Hindi movement demanded the Devanagari, or Nagari, script for official and court work.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
What was the central demand of the Hindi supporters in the controversy of 1867?
A. Replace English with Persian
B. Replace Urdu with Hindi in official and court use
C. Make Bengali the national language
D. End all vernacular education
Correct Answer: B
Hindi supporters petitioned for Hindi written in Devanagari to replace, or receive preference over, Urdu in courts and public administration.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
The Urdu–Hindi Controversy of 1867 began primarily in which city?
A. Aligarh
B. Delhi
C. Banaras
D. Lahore
Correct Answer: C
The organized demand that triggered the controversy arose in Banaras, also known today as Varanasi.
CSS - PMS - CCE - PCS - Pakistan Affairs (P.A)
1867 - Muslim Political Awakening - Urdu Hindi Controversy
In which year did the Urdu–Hindi Controversy begin in Banaras?
A. 1857
B. 1867
C. 1875
D. 1885
Correct Answer: B
The controversy began in 1867 when Hindu leaders in Banaras demanded official recognition of Hindi in the Devanagari script in place of Urdu written in the Persian script.