MPPSC 2020 Prelims Q52: Who was the Correspondent of the Newspaper 'Times'

Q: What is the answer to MPPSC 2020 Prelims Q52?

A. Correct — A, W. H. Russell. William Howard Russell, the London 'Times' war correspondent, covered the 1857 revolt and its aftermath and recorded it in 'My Diary in India'. He wrote of the deep hostility towards the British across North India at the time.

MPPSC 2020 Prelims Paper-I · Question 52 of 100

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official MPPSC answer key.

Who was the Correspondent of the Newspaper 'Times' published from London in 1857 wrote that "Nobody in the North India looks at white man's car with friendly view"?

(a)W. H. Russel
(b)Robert Peel
(c)Gladoston
(d)Palmerston

Answer

Why

Correct — A, W. H. Russell. William Howard Russell, the London 'Times' war correspondent, covered the 1857 revolt and its aftermath and recorded it in 'My Diary in India'. He wrote of the deep hostility towards the British across North India at the time.

Why the others are wrong

(b)Robert Peel — Robert Peel was a British Prime Minister/statesman, not the Times correspondent in India.
(c)Gladoston — Gladstone (printed 'Gladoston') was a British Prime Minister, not a war correspondent reporting from India.
(d)Palmerston — Lord Palmerston was the British Prime Minister during 1857, not a newspaper correspondent.

Concept

W. H. Russell pioneered modern war reporting (first for the Crimean War, then India). His eyewitness dispatches to the 'Times' and his 'My Diary in India' are valuable contemporary sources on the mood of North India during and after 1857.

The trap offers three famous British politicians against one journalist. The word 'Correspondent of the Times' fixes the answer on Russell, the reporter — not on any Prime Minister.

Key facts

William Howard Russell — 'Times' (London) war correspondent.
Author of 'My Diary in India' on the 1857 revolt's aftermath.
Earlier famed for reporting the Crimean War (1850s).
Peel, Gladstone and Palmerston were British statesmen, not correspondents.

Study next

Contemporary European accounts of 1857The press and the Revolt of 1857Aftermath of 1857 and Crown rule (1858)British public opinion on the revolt

Common traps

Picking a famous Prime Minister (Peel/Gladstone/Palmerston) instead of the correspondent Russell
Confusing the reporter with the policy-makers of the time

'Who was the correspondent / who wrote' about 1857 — separate the journalist from the politicians.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
'My Diary in India', an eyewitness account of the 1857 revolt's aftermath, was written by:
- (a)W. H. Russell
- (b)Lord Palmerston
- (c)Charles Dickens
- (d)Robert Peel
Answer(a) W. H. Russell, the Times correspondent.
practice — not a real PYQ
W. H. Russell first won fame as a war correspondent reporting which conflict?
- (a)The Crimean War
- (b)The Anglo-Sikh Wars
- (c)The Boer War
- (d)The Opium Wars
Answer(a) The Crimean War.