A commission of enquiry was set up in the 1870s to investigate the causes of the riots in the Deccan villages. How did this commission come to be set up?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The Government of India, recalling the revolt of 1857, pressed the Government of Bombay to set it up
Option (1) The district collectors of Poona and Ahmednagar jointly asked the Government of Bombay to set it up — Incorrect. District collectors sent reports that the commission later collated. The push for the commission came from the Government of India.
Option (2) The Government of Bombay, fearing a fall in its revenue collection, set it up on its own — Incorrect. The Bombay government was initially unwilling to treat the revolt as serious. It acted only under pressure from the Government of India.
Option (3) The British Parliament, after a debate on the riots, directed the Government of India to set it up — Incorrect. Parliament came in only at the end. The commission's report was presented to the British Parliament in 1878; Parliament did not order the enquiry.
Option (4) The Government of India, recalling the revolt of 1857, pressed the Government of Bombay to set it up — Correct. The Government of Bombay at first did not see the revolt as serious. The Government of India, worried by the memory of 1857, pushed it to set up the commission.
NCERT (2026-27): “4. The Deccan Riots Commission |