Lord Lytton organized the Grand Delhi Durbar of 1877 to proclaim:

Explanation

Lord Lytton organised the Delhi Durbar on 1 January 1877 to proclaim Queen Victoria as Kaiser-i-Hind, or Empress of India, under the Royal Titles Act 1876. Britannica describes a durbar in British India as a formal imperial assembly called to mark a state occasion, and lists the three best-known Delhi durbars as those of 1877, 1903 and 1911. It specifically connects the 1877 durbar with Queen Victoria's assumption of the title Empress of India. The point to remember is that this was a ceremonial assertion of imperial authority, not an administrative transfer or constitutional change. The event also took place during a devastating famine in South India.

Why the other options are wrong

• (B) The transfer of the capital to Delhi belongs to 1911, whereas the 1877 durbar marked Queen Victoria's assumption of the imperial title.
• (C) No new constitution was proclaimed at the 1877 durbar; the event was a formal imperial assembly for a state occasion.
• (D) The East India Company's rule had already ended in 1858, so the 1877 durbar could not have been organised to announce that change.

Concept

This tests the Modern Indian History theme of British imperial symbolism after 1858. RAS often asks such events because dates, titles and ceremonial announcements are easy to confuse with administrative changes.

Source

• Encyclopaedia Britannica

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