इंग्रजी राजवट ही एक प्रकारे वरदान आहे असे मवाळवादी नेत्यांना का वाटू लागले ?

The correct answer is Option A (British Government had unified the Princely States.).

Key Points:
• Moderate Ideology and the British Rule:
• Early nationalist leaders (Moderates like Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee) held an initial faith in British providential justice.
• They appreciated that British rule brought modern administrative unity, common rule of law, and modern communication (railways, telegraph, uniform penal code) across hundreds of divided princely states and diverse provinces.
• For centuries, the subcontinent was politically fragmented into feuding princely kingdoms; British territorial integration forged a unified geopolitical and national entity.
• Moderates believed this political and administrative unification paved the foundational path for the emergence of modern Indian nationhood and democratic consciousness.
• Key Takeaway: Moderates viewed British rule as a blessing primarily because it politically and administratively unified a fragmented subcontinent.