Individual Satyagraha (1940)

1. Who was the third Satyagrahi of Individual Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1940? [67th B.P.S.C. (Pre) (Re-Exam)202]

Correct Answer: (d) Brahma Dutt

Solution:Although Gandhi, in principle, was opposed to Indian participation in the world war, he waited for a more acceptable offer from the British. However, the August Offer made Gandhi and Congress members frustrated. Against this backdrop, he made the decision to organise a small-scale Individual Satyagraha in each locality, led by a few carefully chosen individuals. On October 17, 1940, Vinobha Bhave began the Satyagraha movement near his Paunar ashram in Maharashtra. Jawaharlal Nehru followed him soon. Brahma Dutt was the third satyagrahi. Gandhi called a halt to the Satyagraha in December 1941. In January 1941, it was revived with some changes, and groups offered satyagrahas, and it was eventually withdrawn in August 1941. It was started mainly to protest peacefully against the war, express people's feelings and give another opportunity to the government to accept Congress' demands peacefully.

2. Who was the first Satyagrahi of the Individual Satyagraha Movement? [65th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2019]

Correct Answer: (c) Vinoba Bhave

Solution:Although Gandhi, in principle, was opposed to Indian participation in the world war, he waited for a more acceptable offer from the British. However, the August Offer made Gandhi and Congress members frustrated. Against this backdrop, he made the decision to organise a small-scale Individual Satyagraha in each locality, led by a few carefully chosen individuals. On October 17, 1940, Vinobha Bhave began the Satyagraha movement near his Paunar ashram in Maharashtra. Jawaharlal Nehru followed him soon. Brahma Dutt was the third satyagrahi. Gandhi called a halt to the Satyagraha in December 1941. In January 1941, it was revived with some changes, and groups offered satyagrahas, and it was eventually withdrawn in August 1941. It was started mainly to protest peacefully against the war, express people's feelings and give another opportunity to the government to accept Congress' demands peacefully.

3. Who started the Individual Civil Disobedience? [44th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2000 U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2007]

(a) Vinoba Bhave
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) Sardar Patel
(d) Shaukat Ali

Correct Answer: (a) Vinoba Bhave

Solution:Although Gandhi, in principle, was opposed to Indian participation in the world war, he waited for a more acceptable offer from the British. However, the August Offer made Gandhi and Congress members frustrated. Against this backdrop, he made the decision to organise a small-scale Individual Satyagraha in each locality, led by a few carefully chosen individuals. On October 17, 1940, Vinobha Bhave began the Satyagraha movement near his Paunar ashram in Maharashtra. Jawaharlal Nehru followed him soon. Brahma Dutt was the third satyagrahi. Gandhi called a halt to the Satyagraha in December 1941. In January 1941, it was revived with some changes, and groups offered satyagrahas, and it was eventually withdrawn in August 1941. It was started mainly to protest peacefully against the war, express people's feelings and give another opportunity to the government to accept Congress' demands peacefully.

4. In the ‘Individual Satyagraha,’ Vinoba Bhave was chosen as the first Satyagrahi. Who was the second? [I.A.S. (Pre) 2009]

(a) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
(b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) C. Rajagopalachari
(d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Correct Answer: (b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Solution:Although Gandhi, in principle, was opposed to Indian participation in the world war, he waited for a more acceptable offer from the British. However, the August Offer made Gandhi and Congress members frustrated. Against this backdrop, he made the decision to organise a small-scale Individual Satyagraha in each locality, led by a few carefully chosen individuals. On October 17, 1940, Vinobha Bhave began the Satyagraha movement near his Paunar ashram in Maharashtra. Jawaharlal Nehru followed him soon. Brahma Dutt was the third satyagrahi. Gandhi called a halt to the Satyagraha in December 1941. In January 1941, it was revived with some changes, and groups offered satyagrahas, and it was eventually withdrawn in August 1941. It was started mainly to protest peacefully against the war, express people's feelings and give another opportunity to the government to accept Congress' demands peacefully.

5. Who was selected as the first Satyagrahi in the Individual Satyagraha Movement by Mahatma Gandhi? [Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Mains) 2006 U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2002 U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1995]

(a) Jawaharlal Nehru
(b) Sardar Patel
(c) Sarojini Naidu
(d) Vinoba Bhave

Correct Answer: (d) Vinoba Bhave

Solution:After completely rejecting the August Proposal, Congress initiated Individual Satyagraha under the leadership of Gandhiji. The Satyagraha was a symbolic statement of moral protest against the British Government's policy for India. On October 17, 1940, Mahatma Gandhi selected Acharya Vinoba Bhave as the first Satyagrahi, Jawaharlal Nehru as the second, and Brahmadutt as the third.

6. Given below are two statements, in which one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R): [U.P.R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023]

Assertion (A): In October 1940, Gandhiji gave a call for a limited Satyagraha by a few selected individuals.
Reason (R): The Satyagraha was kept limited so as to embrace Britain's war efforts.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) (A) is false but (R) is true.
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(d) (A) is true but (R) is false.

Correct Answer: (c) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Solution:After refusing the August Offer completely, Gandhiji on 17 October 1940 called for a limited Satyagraha (Individual Satyagraha) by a few selected individuals. The limited individual Satyagraha had two aims: to show the displeasure of people of India with British India's participation in the war and to give another chance to the British government to accept the demands of the Indian people. Gandhiji and Congress did not want to disrupt British war efforts by starting a mass movement due to their anti-Nazi stand.

7. In 1940, Vinoba Bhave started individual Satyagraha from: [68th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2022]

Correct Answer: (c) Pavnar, Maharashtra

Solution:After rejecting the August Proposal, individual Satyagraha was started under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. He chose Vinoba Bhave in 1940 as his first Satyagrahi. Vinoba Bhave started his individual Satyagraha from Pavnar, Maharashtra.

8. The word 'Sarvodaya' was primarily used by: [46th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2004]

(a) Mahatma Gandhi
(b) Pandit Nehru
(c) Vinoba Bhave
(d) Jai Prakash Narayan

Correct Answer: (a) Mahatma Gandhi

Solution:The word 'Sarvodaya' was primarily used by Mahatma Gandhi. Vinoba Bhave established the 'Sarvodaya Samaj' to promote the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi.