Railway
The Royal Commission on the Public Services in India (Islington Commission) was appointed in 1912, during the viceroyalty of:
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Answer: Option D — Lord Hardinge II
Detailed Solution
The Royal Commission on the Public Services in India, headed by Lord Islington, was appointed in 1912, during the viceroyalty of Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916).
About the Islington Commission:
- It was appointed to examine the organisation, recruitment and conditions of the public services in India, and the employment of Indians in them.
- Its members included Indians such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Abdur Rahim.
- It submitted its report in 1915, but it was published only in 1917, because of the First World War.
- It recommended that some of the higher posts should be filled by Indians, and suggested a larger share for Indians (about 25 per cent of the superior posts).
- Indian opinion felt that the recommendations were inadequate.
About Lord Hardinge II:
He was the grandson of an earlier Governor-General of the same name.
Important events of his time:
- The visit of King George V and Queen Mary to India, and the Delhi Durbar, where the King was crowned Emperor of India.
- The annulment of the Partition of Bengal.
An attempt on his life: a bomb was thrown at him in Delhi during his state entry into the new capital (December 1912); he was injured. The revolutionaries Rash Behari Bose and Basant Kumar Biswas were involved.
The outbreak of the First World War (1914); India sent large numbers of troops and resources.
Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.
The Ghadar movement and the Komagata Maru incident (1914).
The founding of the Banaras Hindu University was approved (1915-16).
The Hindu Mahasabha was founded (1915).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Minto II and Curzon came earlier; Chelmsford came later.
Quick tip
Remember: Islington Commission on the Public Services (1912) = Lord Hardinge II (1910-16); bomb attack on Hardinge in Delhi (December 1912; Rash Behari Bose).
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Governors-General & Viceroys — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Governors-General & Viceroys, 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 Governors of Bengal, the Governors-General and the Viceroys of India from Warren Hastings to Lord Mountbatten, and the major reforms, policies, acts and events of each tenure. Questions almost always link a Governor-General or Viceroy to an event or reform: the Permanent Settlement under Cornwallis, the abolition of sati under William Bentinck, the doctrine of lapse under Dalhousie, the partition of Bengal under Curzon, and the Vernacular Press Act under Lytton. Revise the list in chronological order, with one or two key events for each. Practise the Governors-General and Viceroys 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.