Previous Year Question

The correct chronological order is Death of Nana Fadnavis (1800) → Recall of Wellesley (1805) → Vellore Mutiny (1806) → Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816).

The earliest among these events was the death of Nana Fadnavis on 13 March 1800. Nana Fadnavis was a major Maratha statesman and diplomat of the later Peshwa period and remained influential in the politics of the Maratha Confederacy for a long period.

After his death, internal instability in Maratha politics increased during the period of Peshwa Baji Rao II. Within a few years, the Treaty of Bassein of 1802 and the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805 greatly increased British influence.

Next, Lord Wellesley was recalled in 1805. He served as Governor-General from 1798 to 1805, and his administration pursued the Subsidiary Alliance and an extensive policy of territorial expansion. His tenure ended after criticism of his expansionist policy and the heavy expenditure caused by wars, and Lord Cornwallis succeeded him.

The third event was the Vellore Mutiny on 10 July 1806. Indian sepoys at Vellore Fort rebelled against the East India Company. New military dress regulations and fears of interference with religious customs had increased discontent among the soldiers.

Members of Tipu Sultan's family were also confined at Vellore. The uprising was suppressed by British military action within a few hours, but it remained an important episode of sepoy discontent nearly half a century before 1857.

The latest event was the Anglo-Nepalese War, which began in 1814. The war started during the administration of Governor-General Lord Hastings after disputes between the East India Company and Nepal over frontier territories intensified.

The war was followed by the Treaty of Sugauli, and the conflict ended in 1816. As a result, Nepal relinquished control over certain territories including Kumaon and Garhwal, and provision was made for a British Resident at Kathmandu.