Indian National Movement (Part-III)

Total Questions: 50

41. What was the immediate cause for the launch of the Swadeshi movement? [2010]

Correct Answer: (a) The partition of Bengal done by Lord Curzon
Solution:The government's decision to partition Bengal was made public in December, 1903. The official reason given was that Bengal with a population of 78 million was too big to be administered. The government announced partition in July 1905. To boycott this, on Aug 7, 1905, formal proclamation of Swadeshi movement was made from the Calcutta townhall.

The leading role in spreading the Swadeshi movement to the rest of the country was played by Tilak.

42. Consider the following statements: [2010]

1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad persuaded Mahatma Gandhi to come to Champaran to investigate the problem of the peasants.

2. Acharya J.B. Kriplani was one of Mahatma Gandhi's colleagues in his Champaran investigation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: (b) 2 only
Solution:Statement 1 is incorrect as it was Raj Kumar Shukla who requested Gandhi to come to Champaran to investigate the problems of peasants. Gandhi's colleagues in this movement were JB Kriplani, Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mahadeo Desai, and Narhari Parekh.

43. For the Karachi session of Indian National Congress in 1931 presided over by Sardar Patel, who drafted the Resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Programme? [2010]

Correct Answer: (b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Solution:The Karachi session was presided by Sardar Patel. The congress adopted a resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policywhichrepresentedthe Party'sSocial, Economic and Political programme. It was later known as Karachi Resolution. Nehru had originally drafted it, but some Congress leaders thought it was too radical and it was redrafted.

44. Who among the following were official Congress negotiators with Cripps Mission? [2010]

Correct Answer: (c) Pandit Nehru and Maulana Azad
Solution:In March 1942, a mission headed by Stafford Cripps was sent to India with constitutional proposals to seek Indian support for the war by British PM, Winston Churchill.
Cripps Mission (1942): The falling of Singapore and Rangoon in the Second World War compelled Winston Churchill and the British war cabinet to send a high-powered mission to India under the supervision of Stafford Cripps. Churchill was against his own stance while signing the Atlantic Charter, 1941, proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then-American President. The aim of the Mission was to win the cooperation of India with Britain vis-a-vis the War. The Mission was formulated on 30 March 1942 with the offer of ‘Dominion Status’ for India.
The Mission was a complete failure, which angered the Indian nationalists, leading to the establishment of the Quit India Movement.

45. Consider the following statements: [2010]

1. The "Bombay Manifesto" signed in 1936 openly opposed the preaching of socialist ideals.

2. It evoked support from a large section of business community from all across India.

Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?

Correct Answer: (a) 1 only
Solution:The "Bombay Manifesto" signed in 1936 by twenty-one Bombay businessmen, contained an open indictment of Nehru's preaching of socialist ideals, which were deemed prejudicial to private property and to the peace and prosperity of the country.

Business Class Contribution to National Movement

  • Strategic, issue-based and even pragmatic relationship with Congress.
  • Divide among the business groups- Merchants/traders and Industrialists due to varied impacts on the two sections.
  • Neither loyalists of government nor unpatriotic despite reservations agreed with many of the aspects of the congress program.
  • Initially, they followed the policy of cooperation and opposition, which can call as a policy of equidistance between Congress and the government, so as not to antagonise either.
  • The capitalist was not averse to nationalism but feared insurrectionary revolution, hence preferred constitutionalism. Their commitment to nationalism was not above business interests.

46. Which one of the following observation is not true about the Quit India Movement of 1942? [2011-1]

Correct Answer: (b) It was led by Mahatma Gandhi
Solution:The Quit India Movement also known as India August Movement or Bharat Chodo Andolan was launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee(AICC)by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8, 1942.

Mumbai's Gowalia Tank Maidan also known as August Kranti Maidan is the place where Mahatma Gandhi delivered his speech marking the beginning of the Quit India Movement.

In his speech Gandhiji called the nation to 'Do or Die'. Within hours of the speech, almost the entire INC was imprisoned without trial.

Several national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Abdul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were arrested. However this movement continued without a proper leadership.

47. What was the reason for Mahatma Gandhi to organize a satyagraha on behalf of the peasants off Kheda? [2011-1]

1. The administration did not suspend the land revenue collection in spite of a drought

2. The administration proposed to introduce permanent settlement in Gujarat

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: (a) 1 only
Solution:However, a famine had struck the district and a large part of Gujarat, and virtually destroyed the agrarian economy. The poor peasants had barely enough to feed themselves, but the British government of the Bombay Presidency insisted that the farmers not only pay full taxes, but also pay the 23% increase stated to take effect that year.
Kheda Satyagraha was launched on March 11, 1918, in Kheda District of Gujarat (the then Bombay province). The movement was initially started by the peasants themselves with the help of a local leader, Mohanlal Pandya. It mainly involved the peasant-Patidar community of Kheda, which later involved the leadership of Gandhi. Their demand was the non-payment of the revenue against the backdrop of crop failure, a rise in prices, and the government’s insensitive increase in the tax rate.
Along with Champaran Satyagraha and the Ahmedabad Mill Strike, Kheda Satyagraha is usually credited as the launch of Gandhi’s political career in India and his emergence as a mass leader in the freedom struggle. Kheda Satyagraha was the first time when Gandhi adopted a non-cooperation movement in India.

48. Mahatma Gandhi said that some of his deepest convictions were reflected in a book titled, "Unto this Last" and the book transformed his life. What was the message from the book that transformed Mahatma Gandhi? [2011-1]

Correct Answer: (b) The good of individual is contained in the good of all
Solution:The statement a is incorrect because from Ruskin's writing Gandhi derived the message that "the job of a lawyer is equal to a job of a barber, and both have right to earn their livelihood".

Statement b is correct because Gandhi clearly mentioned in one of his writing that The good of individual is contained in the good of all, this is something which inspired him to translate the book into "Sarvodaya".

Statement c is incorrect, what Gandhi derived from this book was of a "life of labour" and not life of celibacy. Celibacy or Brahamcharya was something which actually came out of his own guilt beginning as early as the days of death of his father".

49. With reference to Indian freedom struggle, Usha Mehta is well-known for? [2011-1]

Correct Answer: (a) running the secret congress radio in the wake of quit India movement
Solution:Usha Mehta (March 25, 1920-August 11, 2000) was a renowned Gandhian and freedom fighter of India. She is also remembered for operationalizing the Congress Radio, also called the Secret Congress Radio, an underground radio station, which functioned for few months during the Quit India Movement of 1942.

50. With reference to the period of Indian freedom struggle, which of the following was/were recommended by the Nehru report? [2011-1]

1. Complete Independence for India.

2. Joint electorates for reservation of seats for minorities.

3. Provision of fundamental rights for the people of India in the Constitution.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below

Correct Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Solution:Nehru Report did not provide for separate electorates for any community or weightage for minorities, but yes it talks of Joint electorates. It also talks for Bills of Rights.
  • The Nehru Report was a significant development in the Indian freedom struggle that emerged as a response to the British-imposed Simon Commission, which was criticised for excluding Indian representatives.
  • With no Indian participation in the Commission, Indian leaders took the initiative to present a unified framework for constitutional reforms that would reflect Indian aspirations.
  • This led to the formation of a committee under Motilal Nehru’s chairmanship in 1928, and the subsequent proposal became known as the Nehru Report.
  • The report outlined the way forward for India’s constitutional future, considering the Indian populace’s demands for self-governance and political representation.