1. The first President of the All India Trade Union Congress was ____.
A. C Rajagopalachari
B. Lala Lajpat Rai
C. Chandra Shekhar Azad
D. Motilal Nehru
Solution
The correct answer is Lala Lajpat Rai.
Key Points
All India Trade Union Congress:
- The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India.
- It is associated with the Communist Party of India.
- According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AITUC had a membership of 14.2 million in 2013.
- It was founded on 31 October 1920 with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first president.
- Until 1945 when unions became organised on party lines, it was the primary trade union organisation in India.
- The main purpose of labour unions is to give workers the power to negotiate for more favourable working conditions and other benefits through collective bargaining.
- The following are the objectives of a trade union:
- To improve the economic lot of workers by securing them better wages.
- To secure workers better working conditions.
- To secure bonuses for the workers from the profits of the enterprise/organization.
Additional Information
- C Rajagopalachari
- C. Rajagopalachari (1878-1972) was an Indian lawyer, writer and independence activist.
- He was popular as Rajaji, C.R. and Mootharignar Rajaji.
- He was the last Governor-General before India became a republic.
- He is remembered for his contribution to the independence struggle as well as his intellectual and administrative prowess.
- In 1954, he was honoured with India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna.
- Chandra Shekhar Azad
- Azad was born on 23rd July 1906 in the Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
- Chandra Shekhar, then a 15-year-old student, joined a Non-Cooperation Movement in December 1921. As a result, he was arrested.
- On being presented before a magistrate, he gave his name as “Azad” (The Free), his father’s name as “Swatantrata” (Independence) and his residence as “Jail”. Therefore, he came to be known as Chandra Shekhar Azad.
- After the suspension of the non-cooperation movement in 1922 by Gandhi, Azad joined Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).
- Most of the fund collection for revolutionary activities was done through robberies of government property. In line with the same, Kakori Train Robbery near Kakori, Lucknow was done in 1925 by HRA.
- He died at Azad Park in Allahabad on 27th February 1931.
- Motilal Nehru
- Pandit Motilal Nehru was a lawyer and politician who was born in the year 1861.
- He was elected to United Provinces Council in 1909.
- He was contemporary of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.
- He attended the Delhi Durbar in 1911 in honour of the visit of King George V.
- Motilal was elected President of the United Province Congress in the year 1911.
2. Which of the following movements immediately followed the partition of Bengal?
A. Civil Disobedience Movement
B. Non-cooperation Movement
C. Swadeshi Movement
D. Ghadar Movement
Solution
The correct answer is Swadeshi movement.
Key Points
- The Swadeshi Movement, proclaimed on August 7, 1905, at the Calcutta Town Hall, in Bengal.
- When Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, announced the partition of Bengal in July 1905.
- Indian National Congress, initiated the Swadeshi movement in Bengal.
- Swadeshi movement was launched as a protest movement which also gave a lead to the Boycott movement in the country.
- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai are the key people in the swadeshi movement.
- It was in the 1906 Calcutta session, headed by Dada Bhai Naoroji, the resolution of Swadeshi was adopted.
Additional Information
Notes:
Lord Curzon (1899-1905):
- He formed a Police commission in 1902 under the leadership of Sir Andrew Fraser.
- It recommended a separate Training centre for officers and constables.
- It introduced provincial police service and also at the same time to make Indian Army modern fighting force then Commander-in-chief Lord Kitchener made reform in the Indian Military.
- He passed the Calcutta Corporation Act in the year 1899.
- According to the act, it increased the number of official members and decreased the strength of elected official members.
- As official members were mostly British Subjects it caused resentment in the Indian public.
- He was the Viceroy who passed a law for protecting Ancient Indian monuments.
- He passed the law in 1904 made the destruction of Ancient Monuments as an offence and directed officials to collect and preserve ancient monuments.
- British viceroy in India, Lord Curzon, carried out Partition of Bengal, (1905) despite strong Indian nationalist opposition.
- The government announced the partition in January 1904.
- Bengal was divided into two new provinces ‘Bengal’ (which comprises western Bengal and the province of Bihar and Orissa) and Eastern Bengal and Assam, with Dacca as the capital of the latter.
3. Who among the following was called the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’ by Britishers?
A. Lokmanya Tilak
B. Jawaharlal Nehru
C. Mahatma Gandhi
D. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Solution
The correct answer is Lokmanya Tilak.
Key Points
- Lokmanya Tilak
- Tilak was born in Ratnagiri, present-day Maharashtra, in 1856 under the name Keshav Gangadhar Tilak.
- He was called the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’ by Britishers
- Born into a Hindu middle-class family, he graduated from Pune with a bachelor’s degree.
- He worked as a math teacher at first. thereafter began a career in journalism and became involved in the liberation movement.
- The Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav as popularised by him since 1894 is still one of the biggest festivals of Maharashtra.
- He was among the founding members of Pune’s Fergusson College.
- At 64, he passed away in 1920.
Additional Information
- Jawaharlal Nehru
- He was the first prime minister of India and was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement.
- He had succeeded his father as president of the Congress in 1929.
- Motilal Nehru was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress.
- He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929.
- He was a patriarch of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the father of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Gandhiji is known as the Father of our Nation.
- He returned to India from South Africa on 9th January 1915 and celebrated it as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day).
- The first satyagraha of Gandhiji is Champaran Satyagraha (1917) also known as the first civil disobedience movement.
- He gave the famous ‘Do or Die’ slogan during the Quit India Movement.
- The Quit India Movement was a significant movement launched by the Indian National Congress on August 8, 1942, demanding an end to British rule in India.
- The ‘Do or Die’ slogan emphasized the urgency and determination of the Indian people to achieve independence.
- The first hunger strike of Gandhiji is Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918).
- The first non-cooperation movement of Gandhiji is Kheda Satyagraha (1918).
- He was the president of the INC session in Belgaum (1924).
- In 1931, Gandhiji participated in the Second Round Table Conference in London.
- Gandhiji was assassinated on 30 January 1948 by Nathuram Godse and observed as ‘Martyrs Day’.
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was an Indian politician who held the positions of first Deputy Prime Minister and first Home Minister
- In addition to being an active member of the Indian National Congress, he practiced law. His birthdate was never officially documented. However, according to his matriculation exam documents, he was born on October 31, 1875.
- He was born in Gujarat, in Nadiad. Jhaverbhai Patel was his father, and Ladba was his mother. Siblings of Vallabhbhai Patel numbered five.
- The nonviolent stance of Mahatma Gandhi had a great impact on him. He was a passionate adherent of Gandhi’s teachings.
- He placed a great emphasis on the Indian people’s need to unite in order to free themselves from British domination.
4. Kheda Satyagraha was happened in _______.
A. Calcutta
B. Gujarat
C. Malabar
D. Thana
Solution
The correct answer is Gujarat
Key Points
- In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi organized a satyagraha for the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat.
- The satyagraha was for the demand for relaxation in revenue collection.
- After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi successfully organized satyagraha movements in various places.
- In 1917, he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
- Then in 1918, he organized a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat.
- Gandhiji in 1918 launched Satyagraha at Kheda in Gujarat in support of the peasants who were not able to pay the land tax due to the failure of crops.
- During this struggle, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel emerged as one of the trusted followers of Gandhi.
5. The reformer Henry Vivian Derozio was associated with _______.
A. Akali Movement
B. Ahmadiya Movement
C. Young Bengal Movement
D. Suddhi Movement
Solution
The correct answer is Young Bengal Movement.
Key Points
- The leader and inspirer of the Young Bengal Movement was the young Anglo-Indian Henry Vivian Derozio.
- A radical trend arose among the Bengali intellectuals during the late 1820s and 1830s.
- This trend was more modern than Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s ideology and is known as the “Young Bengal Movement”.
- Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was an Indian poet from the 19th century.
- He was also the assistant headmaster of “Hindu College” in Kolkata.
- He is the influencer of the social movement called the “Bengal Renaissance”.
Important Points
- The Theosophical Society was founded by Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott in 1875 in New York. The movement was popularised by Annie Besant in India.
- Asiatic Society of Bengal, the scholarly society founded on January 15, 1784, by Sir William Jones.
- The objective is to initiate and enlighten the oriental knowledge available in history, scriptures, or regional texts in India or the Indian subcontinent.
- Allan Octavian Hume is the father of the Indian National Congress (1829 to 1912).
- Womesh Chandra Banerjee was elected as the first president of the first meeting of the Congress.
- The Indian National Congress, on 19 December 1929, passed the historic ‘Purna Swaraj’ – (total independence) resolution – at its Lahore session.
- A public declaration was made on 26 January 1930 – a day which the Congress Party urged Indians to celebrate as ‘Independence Day’.
- Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as President of the Indian National Congress in December 1929 at its annual session in the city of Lahore.
6. Who founded the ‘Indian Home Rule Society’ in London?
A. Shyamji Krishna Verma
B. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
C. Lala Lajpath Rai
D. Annie Besant
Solution
The correct answer is Shyamji Krishna Verma.
Key Points
- Shyamji Krishna Varma was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, and journalist.
- Shyamji Krishna Varma founded the ‘Indian Home Rule Society’ in London.
- He came to Britain in 1879 as a Sanskrit scholar.
- Indian Home Rule Society in London was established in 1905.
- He also established India House in Highgate (at 65 Cromwell Avenue) in London in 1905.
- India House in Highgate was established as a hostel for Indian students, which became a meeting place for Indian revolutionaries in London.
- The journal “the Indian sociologist” was founded by Shyamji Krishna Varma.
- He moved to Paris in 1907 to escape from arrest and censure by the British Government in relation to his published inflammatory material.
- He died in Geneva in 1930.
Additional Information
| Gopal Krishna Gokhale | He is popularly known as the Socrates of Maharashtra.He is the founder of “Servants of India Society“.M.G Ranade is the political guru of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. |
| Lala Lajpat Rai | He is popularly known as the lion of Punjab.He is the founder of Punjab National Bank.He was the first president of AITUC. |
| Annie Besant | She was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress.The theosophical movement in India became popular under the leadership of Annie Besant.New India and Commonwheel were published by Annie Besant. |
7. Who among the following had resigned from the Viceroy’s Executive Council protesting Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?
A. Rabindranath Tagore
B. Madan Mohan Malviya
C. Sir Shankar Nair
D. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru
Solution
The correct answer is Sir Shankar Nair.
Key Points
- Sir Shankar Nair:
- Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair was an Indian jurist and statesman who, despite his independent views and outspokenness, attained high government positions rarely open to Indians in his time.
- He simultaneously opposed the extreme Indian nationalist movement led by Mohandas K. Gandhi and its forcible suppression by the British Indian government.
- Sankaran Nair was appointed public prosecutor (1899) and advocate general (1907) for Madras State and a judge of the Madras High Court (1908).
- In his best-known judgment, he upheld conversion to Hinduism and ruled that such converts were not outcasts.
- For some years he was a delegate to the Indian National Congress, and he presided at its Amraoti session (1897).
- He founded and edited the Madras Review and the Madras Law Journal.
- Sir Shankar Nair had resigned from the Viceroy’s Executive Council protesting Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
Additional Information
- Rabindranath Tagore:
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore.
- He was a leader of the Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect in nineteenth-century Bengal and which attempted a revival of the ultimate monistic basis of Hinduism as laid down in the Upanishads.
- He was educated at home; and although at seventeen he was sent to England for formal schooling, he did not finish his studies there.
- In his mature years, in addition to his many-sided literary activities, he managed the family estates, a project which brought him into close touch with common humanity and increased his interest in social reforms.
- Madan Mohan Malviya:
- Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), has been conferred the Bharat Ratna along with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- However, unlike Vajpayee, whose life and work are widely known and admired, not much is known about Malaviya, who died in 1946, a year before India’s Independence.
- Malaviya was born on December 25, 1861, in Allahabad and studied at Calcutta University.
- He then became a school teacher and later a lawyer and even a newspaper editor, before creating the BHU in 1915.
- He is also the founder of the Hindu Mahasabha.
- Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was a prominent Indian freedom fighter, Jurist. and politician.
- He was trusted both by the British government and by Indian intellectual and political leaders for his integrity and wisdom.
- He was a member of the United Provinces Legislative Council and of the Imperial Legislative Council, a law member of the Viceroy’s Council.
- He was a delegate to the three Round Table Conference sessions in London (1930–32) concerning the government of India.
- His mediation helped to bring about the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931), by which Gandhi Ji terminated a civil disobedience campaign and was allowed to attend the second session of the Round Table Conference.
8. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in ______.
A. January 1915
B. January 1912
C. January 1914
D. January 1913
Solution
The correct answer is January 1915.
Key Points
- Mahatma Gandhi returned back to India in January 1915.
- He returned from South Africa, where he fought the racist regime through the method of mass agitation.
- He called the method of mass agitation- Satyagraha.
- After arriving in India, he led various Satyagrahas in different states of the country.
Additional Information
- Important years related to Mahatma Gandhi:-
- 1869: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India.
- 1888: Gandhi travelled to England to study law at University College London and was admitted to the inner Temple with the intention of becoming a barrister.
- 1893-1914: Gandhi spent twenty-one years in South Africa, where he developed his political views, ethics, and political leadership skills. He experienced and witnessed racial discrimination, which was instrumental in developing his social activism.
- 1915: Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.
- 1919: Gandhi launched his first large-scale protest, the Satyagraha campaign against the proposed Rowlatt Act.
- 1920-1922: Gandhi led the Non-Cooperation Movement against the British rule.
- 1930: Gandhi led the Salt March, also known as the Dandi March, a 240-mile march to the Arabian sea to protest against the British salt tax.
- 1942: Gandhi launched his last major campaign against British rule, the Quit India Movement.
- 1947: India gained independence from British rule on August 15.
- 1948: Gandhi was assassinated on January 30 in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist.
9. Lucknow Pact was signed between __________.
A. the Muslim League and Mahatma Gandhi
B. the Indian National Congress and Arya Samaj
C. the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League
D. the Indian National Congress and Sayyid Ahmed Khan
Solution
The correct answer is the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League.
Key Points
- The Lucknow Pact was an agreement reached by the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League in the year 1916 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
- This pact marked a significant milestone in the Indian freedom struggle, as it was one of the first instances of Hindu-Muslim unity against British rule.
- The two major political parties of India at that time, the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League, had divergent views and goals.
Additional Information
- The key features of the Lucknow Pact were as follows:
- Provincial Autonomy: The pact advocated for greater provincial autonomy, which was a shift from the demand for mere administrative reforms.
- Separate Electorates: One of the significant concessions made by the Indian National Congress was the acceptance of separate electorates for Muslims.
- Weightage to Minorities: The pact also provided for weightage for minority communities in representative institutions.
- Unaltered Representation in Provinces: The pact provided for an unchanged representation of Muslims in the provinces where they were in minority, but their representation could be increased in provinces where they were in majority.
10. In which place Khudiram Bose tried to kill Kingsford?
A. Darbhanga
B. Muzaffarpur
C. Gaya
D. Patna
Solution
The correct answer is Muzaffarpur.
Key Points
- Khudiram Bose, along with Prafulla Chaki, decided to murder the Magistrate of Muzaffarpur, Bihar named Kingsford.
- Kingsford was very unpopular as he was known to pronounce harsh sentences even for mild offences.
- Khudiram was hanged on August 11, 1908, on charges of bombing the carriage of Kingsford, in the attack of which barrister Pringle Kennedy’s wife and daughter were killed.
- He sacrificed his life on the altar of freedom struggle at the very young age of 18.
- The Muzaffarpur Jail, where he was executed on August 11, 1908, was renamed Khudiram Bose Memorial Central Jail.
