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Question 88 of 108 · Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule
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The foundation stone of the new imperial capital, New Delhi, was laid in December 1911 by:

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Answer: Option D — King George V

Detailed Solution

The foundation stone of the new imperial capital, New Delhi, was laid by King George V on 15 December 1911, during the Delhi Durbar.

Background:

  • King George V and Queen Mary visited India in December 1911 for the Delhi Durbar, held to celebrate their coronation as Emperor and Empress of India.
  • At the Durbar on 12 December 1911, the King announced the transfer of the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi.

The foundation stone:

  • On 15 December 1911, King George V and Queen Mary laid the foundation stones of the new capital at Kingsway Camp (Coronation Park), in north Delhi.
  • Later, the site was found unsuitable, and the new city was built further south, at Raisina Hill.
  • The foundation stones were moved to the new site.

Building New Delhi:

  • The planning and design of the new city were entrusted to the British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker.
  • The main buildings included Viceroy's House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan), the Secretariat buildings (North and South Blocks), the Council House (later Parliament House) and the All-India War Memorial (India Gate).
  • The city was built with wide avenues, gardens and grand buildings, to display the power of the British Empire.
  • Construction took about two decades.

The inauguration:

New Delhi was formally inaugurated as the capital on 13 February 1931, by the Viceroy, Lord Irwin.

Coronation Park today:

The site of the 1911 Durbar, Coronation Park in north Delhi, now has statues of British kings and officials, which were moved there after Independence.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Lord Hardinge was the Viceroy at the time; Curzon had been Viceroy earlier; Queen Victoria had died in 1901.

Quick tip

Remember: foundation stone of New Delhi laid by King George V on 15 December 1911 (Delhi Durbar); planned by Lutyens and Baker; inaugurated 13 February 1931.

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Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Arrival of Europeans & Expansion of British Rule, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danes and French in India, the growth of the East India Company, and the battles, wars and treaties through which British power expanded, including the Battles of Plassey and Buxar, the Anglo-Mysore, Anglo-Maratha and Anglo-Sikh wars, and policies such as subsidiary alliance and the doctrine of lapse. Typical questions ask which battle was fought in which year and between whom, which treaty ended which war, and which Governor-General introduced a policy. For example, the Battle of Plassey (1757) was fought between Robert Clive and Siraj-ud-Daulah, and the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave the Company the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Practise the arrival of Europeans and expansion of British rule questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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