Question

Q. With reference to the Lord Ripon (1880-84), which of the following statements is/are incorrect?

1. The Vernacular Press Act and the Arms Act were repealed by him to eliminate the undesirable racial exemptions.
2. He introduced Provincial Civil Service by abolishing Statutory Civil Service.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

• A.
  1 only
• B.
  2 only
• C.
  Both 1 and 2
• D.
  Neither 1 and 2

Answer 1

The correct option is C

Both 1 and 2
Explanation:

• Lord Lytton who came to India as viceroy in 1876. He passed in 1878, against the advice of his own law member, the Vernacular Press Act, designed basically to gag the Indian press, which had become critical of the colonial policies. In 1878, Lytton also passed a new Arms Act, which introduced a licensing system throughout India for possessing firearms, but exempted the Europeans and Eurasians from its coverage.
• Statement 1 is incorrect: Though Ripon proceeded cautiously, some of his early measures restored faith among the Indians in the liberal tradition of England. In 1882 the Vernacular Press Act was repealed and the Arms Act was modified to eliminate the undesirable racial exemptions.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The structure of the civil service was ultimately reformed in 1892, on the basis of the recommendations of a Public Service Commission submitted five years ago. The new regulations retained the exclusive status of the covenanted civil service and called it the Indian Civil Service (ICS). The Uncovenanted Civil Service, on the other hand, was to shed its derogatory epithet and was to be called the Provincial Civil Service. The Statutory Civil Service was abolished, and in its place certain higher positions which were previously preserved for the ICS were now to be filled in through promotion from the Provincial Civil Service.