History of the Emergence of Bangladesh Final Summer 2026 Question Paper

Each question carries 8 marks. 1. A multinational trading company enters a foreign market with the objective of expanding trade and increasing commercial returns. Initially, it operates through trading posts and negotiates privileges with local authorities. Over time, however, the company begins to establish fortified settlements, maintain its own military forces, influence local political decisions, and acquire control over territories and revenue systems. The transformation raises an important question about how commercial organizations can evolve into instruments of political power. Using the experience of the British East India Company in South Asia, show why the Company entered the region. (CLO1, Level-2) 2. By the mid-nineteenth century, the East India Company had significantly expanded its territorial control over British India. However, its expansion was accompanied by changes in land administration, taxation, military practices, social policies, and the political position of traditional rulers. Within the Company's army, native soldiers also experienced grievances concerning service conditions, religious sensitivities, and unequal treatment. These accumulated tensions eventually contributed to the widespread uprising of 1857. The events of 1857 were not caused by a single incident. Identify the political, economic, military, social, and immediate causes of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and which factor do you consider the most significant in transforming military dissatisfaction into a wider challenge to British authority? Justify your argument with historical evidence. (CLO2, Level-3) 3. In 1905, the British colonial government divided Bengal into two administrative units. The government presented the decision as an administrative measure intended to improve the governance of a very large province. However, many political leaders and sections of the population interpreted