WBCS.LIVE practice question

Which British official founded the 'Fort William College' at Calcutta in 1800 to train civil servants in Indian languages?

Solve this multiple-choice question and check the correct answer with its explanation below.

Answer options

  1. Lord Cornwallis
  2. Lord Wellesley
  3. Lord Minto
  4. Warren Hastings

Correct answer and explanation

Correct answer: Lord Wellesley

Explanation: āœ… Correct Answer: B) Lord Wellesley šŸ“š Explanation: Lord Wellesley established Fort William College to ensure that the Company's young civil servants (the 'writers') were well-versed in the languages, laws, and customs of the people they were to govern. The college became a significant center for the development of modern Indian languages like Bengali and Urdu. However, the Court of Directors later ordered its closure, preferring training to be conducted at Haileybury in England.