Political Science · India's Foreign Policy
UGC NET Jan 2026 Political Science
Given below are two statements, one labelled as Assertion A and the other as Reason R. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.
Assertion (A): British Viceroy Lord Curzon stated in 1901 that it would be madness for the British to cross the Himalayas and occupy Tibet.
Reason (R): This British policy in a very big way helped the Chinese to re-establish their hold over Tibet during 1905-1911.
ABoth A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A ✓ Correct
BBoth A and R are correct but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
CA is correct but R is not correct
DA is not correct but R is correct
Correct answer: (A) Both A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A — Both A and R are correct and R correctly explains A.
Explanation
★Both A and R are correct and R correctly explains A.
★In 1901 Lord Curzon judged a full Himalayan crossing and occupation of Tibet to be strategically unwise.
★He preferred to keep Tibet as a buffer state rather than absorb it into British India.
★Britain therefore followed a policy of non-occupation and non-interference, later formalised in the 1906 and 1907 treaties.
★This restraint left a power vacuum in Tibet that an outside force could fill.
★The Qing Dynasty used the opening to launch expeditions between 1905 and 1911 and reassert direct Chinese control.
★Because the British refusal to occupy is the very reason China could move in, R is the correct explanation of A.
Want more like this? Create a free account to practise a full test, track your progress, and get spaced-repetition review.
Shared by Mcqkart · via Mcqkart.in