The correct answer is 1, 2 and 4 only.

Key Points

• Simon Commission, a group appointed in November 1927 by the British Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin to report on the working of the Indian constitution established by the Government of India Act of 1919.
• The Indian response to the Simon Commission was immediate and nearly unanimous.
• What angered the Indians most was the exclusion of Indians from the commission and the basic notion behind the exclusion that foreigners would discuss and decide upon India's fitness for self-government.
  • This notion was seen as a violation of the principle of self-determination, and as a deliberate insult to the self-respect of Indians.
• The Congress session in Madras (December 1927) meeting under the presidency of M.A. Ansari decided to boycott the commission "at every stage and in every form". Hence, 1 is correct.
• Those who decided to support the Congress call of a boycott of the Simon Commission included the liberals of the Hindu Mahasabha and the majority faction of the Muslim League under Jinnah. Hence, 2 is correct.
• The Muslim league had two sessions in 1927 one under Jinnah at Calcutta where it was decided to oppose, the Simon Commission, and another at Lahore under Muhammad Shafi, who supported the government. Hence, 4 is correct.
• Some others, such as the Unionists in Punjab and the Justice Party in the south, decided not to boycott the commission. Hence, 3 and 5 are incorrect.

The correct answer is ​Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Key Points

• The Government of India Act 1919 was the codified version of the Montag-Chelmsford reforms – named after Edwin Charles Montague and Lord Chelmsford, who held positions of the Secretary of State and Viceroy of British India respectively.
• According to the British government, the Act was a step in the progressive realisation of responsible government in India as an integral part of empire’.
• The Indian National Congress rejected the Act because of the following reasons:
  • The franchise offered was very limited.
  • At the centre, the legislature had no control over the Viceroy and his executive council.
  • At the provincial level, the division of subjects was unworkable.
  • The provincial ministers had no control over finances and bureaucrats which often led to friction between the two.
• Annie Besant termed the Act as ‘unworthy of England to offer and India to accept'.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak termed the reforms as "unworthy and disappointing- a sunless dawn". Hence, Option 3 is the correct answer.
• The Government of India Act 1919
  • It was an act of the British Parliament that sought to increase the participation of Indians in the administration of their country.
  • Dyarchy was introduced, i.e., there were two classes of administrators – Executive councillors and ministers.
  • The Governor was the executive head of the province.
  • The subjects were divided into two lists – reserved and transferred.
  • The governor was in charge of the reserved list along with his executive councillors.
  • The subjects under this list were law and order, irrigation, finance, land revenue, etc.
  • The ministers were in charge of subjects under the transferred list. 
  • The subjects included were education, local government, health, excise, industry, public works, religious endowments, etc.
  • The ministers were responsible to the people who elected them through the legislature.
  • These ministers were nominated from among the elected members of the legislative council. 
  • The executive councillors were not responsible to the legislature, unlike the ministers. 
  • The Secretary of State and the Governor-General could interfere in matters under the reserved list but this interference was restricted for the transferred list.
  • The size of the provincial legislative assemblies was increased. Now about 70% of the members were elected. 
  • There were communal and class electorates.
  • The governor’s assent was required to pass any bill. He also had veto power and could issue ordinances also.

The correct answer is ​2, 4 and 5 only.

Key Points

• The historic Dandi March, marking the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement, began on March 12, and Gandhi broke the salt law by picking up a lump of salt at Dandi on April 6.
• The violation of the law was seen as a symbol of the Indian people's resolve not to live under British-made laws and therefore under British rule.
• Once the way was cleared by Gandhi's ritual at Dandi, defiance of the salt laws started all over the country.
  • Nehru's arrest in April 1930 for defiance of the salt law evoked huge demonstrations in Madras, Calcutta and Karachi.
  • Gandhi's arrest came on May 4, 1930, when he had announced that he would lead a raid on Dharasana Salt Works on the west coast.
  • Gandhi's arrest was followed by massive protests in Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and in Sholapur, where the response was the most fierce.
• After Gandhi's arrest, the Congress Working Committee sanctioned:
  • Non-payment of revenue in ryotwari areas. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • No-chowkidar tax campaign in zamindari areas. Hence, statement 5 is correct.
  • Violation of forest laws in the Central Provinces. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Additional Information

• On March 2, 1930, Gandhi informed the viceroy of his plan of action.
  • Gandhi, along with a band of seventy-eight members of Sabarmati Ashram, was to march from his headquarters in Ahmedabad through the villages of Gujarat for 240 miles.
• On reaching the coast at Dandi, the salt law was to be violated by collecting salt from the beach. 
• Gandhi gave the following directions for future action(Before Gandhi Ji's arrest):
  • Wherever possible civil disobedience of the salt law should be started. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • Foreign liquor and cloth shops can be picketed.
  • We can refuse to pay taxes if we have the requisite strength.
  • Lawyers can give up the practice.
  • The public can boycott law courts by refraining from litigation.
  • Government servants can resign from their posts. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • All these should be subject to one condition-truth and non-violence as means to attain swaraj should be faithfully adhered to.
  • Local leaders should be obeyed after Gandhi's arrest. 

The correct answer is ​Government of India Act, 1919.

Key Points

• In line with the government policy contained in Montagu's statement of August 1917, the government announced further constitutional reforms in July 1918, known as Montagu-Chelmsford or Montford Reforms.
• Based on these, the Government of India Act, 1919 was enacted.
• The main features of the Montford Reforms were as follows:
  • The Act introduced dyarchy for the executive at the level of the provincial government.
    • Dyarchy, i.e., the rule of two-executive councillors and popular ministers was introduced.
    • The governor was to be the executive head in the province.
  • Subjects were divided into two lists: 'reserved' which included subjects such as law and order, finance, land revenue, irrigation, etc., and 'transferred' subjects such as education, health, local government, industry, agriculture, excise, etc.
  • The ministers were to be responsible to the legislature and had to resign if a no-confidence motion was passed against them by the legislature while the executive councillors were not to be responsible to the legislature.
  • Extensive powers to governor, governor-general and secretary of state for interference.
  • Provincial councils were further expanded and 70 per cent of the members were to be elected.
  • The system of communal and class electorates was further consolidated.
  • Women were also given the right to vote.
  • The legislative councils could initiate legislation but the governor's assent was required. The governor could veto bills and issue ordinances.
    • The legislative councils could reject the budget but the governor could restore it, if necessary.
  • Two lists of administration- central and provincial.
  • In Viceroys executive council of eight, three were to be Indians.
  • A bicameral legislature was introduced at the central level.
  • On the home government (in Britain) front, the Government of India Act, 1919 made an important change- the Secretary of State for India was henceforth to be paid out of the British exchequer.

The correct answer is Jyotirao Phule.

Key Points

• Jyotiba Phule (1827-1890), born in Satara, Maharashtra, belonged to the mali (gardener) community and organised a powerful movement against upper caste domination and brahminical supremacy.
• He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth Seekers' Society) in 1873, with the leadership of the samaj coming from the backward classes, malis, telis, kunbis, saris and dhangars.
  • The main aims of the movement were:
    • social service.
    • spread of education among women and lower caste people.
• Jyotiba Phule's works, Sarvajanik Satyadharma and Gulamgiri, became sources of inspiration for the common masses.
• Jyotiba Phule used the symbol of Rajah Bali as opposed to the brahmins' symbol of Rama.
• Jyotiba Phule aimed at the complete abolition of the caste system and socio-economic inequalities; he was against Sanskritic Hinduism.
• This movement gave a sense of identity to the depressed communities as a class against those brahmins who used religion and the blind faith of the masses to exploit the masses for personal monetary gain.

Additional Information

• Sree Narayana Guru (1856–1928), also known as Shree Narayana Guru Swami, was a Hindu saint & social reformer of India.
  • The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, considered a backward community.
  • He started the Sree Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana movement in Kerala. 
    • The movement was born out of the conflict between the depressed classes and upper castes.
  • He gave the famous slogan “One Caste, One Religion, One God for All” (Oru Jathi, Oru Matham, Oru Daivam, Manushyanu).
• E.V. Ramasamy Naicker, revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam.
  • He is known as the 'Father of the Dravidian movement.
  • He rebelled against Brahminical dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu.

The correct answer is ​1 and 3 only.

Key Points

• On 1 September 1939, Germany attacked Poland - the action that led to the Second World War.
• On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war against Germany and the British Government of India declared India's support for the war without consulting Indian opinion.
• The official Congress position was adopted at the Wardha session of the Congress Working Committee, but before that different opinions were voiced on the question of Indian support to British war efforts.
• Gandhi Ji, who had all sympathy for Britain in this war because of his total dislike of the fascist ideology, advocated unconditional support to the Allied powers. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • He made a clear distinction between the democratic nations of western Europe and the totalitarian Nazis and fascists.
  • He said that he was not willing to embarrass the British government during the war.
• Subhas Chandra Bose and other socialists, such as Acharya Narendra Dev and Jayaprakash Narayan, who had been invited by the Congress to attend the Wardha meeting so that different opinions could be discussed, had no sympathy for either side in the war. Hence, statement 3 is correct. 
  • They thought it was the ideal time to launch a civil disobedience movement, to thus take advantage of the situation and snatch freedom from Britain.
• Jawaharlal Nehru was not ready to accept the opinion of either Gandhi or of the socialists.
  • He was clear in his mind about the difference between democratic values and fascism.
  • He believed that justice was on the side of Britain, France and Poland, but he also believed that Britain and France were imperialist powers, and that "the war was the result of the inner contradictions of capitalism maturing since the end of World War I.
  • He, therefore, advocated no Indian participation till India itself was free.
    • However, at the same time, no advantage was to be taken of Britain's by starting an immediate civil disobedience movement. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Gandhi was more or less isolated in his stand. In the end, he decided to go with Nehru's position, which was adopted by the Congress Working Committee.

Additional Information

• The CWC resolution at Wardha, condemned Fascist aggression It said that:
  • India could not be a party to a war being fought on the face of it, for democratic freedom, while that freedom was being denied to India.
  • If Britain was fighting for democracy and freedom, it should be proved by ending imperialism in its colonies and establishing full democracy in India.
  • The government should declare its war aims soon and, also, as to how the principles of democracy were to be applied to India after the war.
• The Congress leadership wanted to give every chance to the viceroy and the British Government.

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3.

Key Points

• Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, (9 September 1872 – 18 August 1945) was an educationist and political activist.
• She founded Bharat Stree Mahamandal in Allahabad in 1910.
• It was the first major Indian women's organisation set up by a woman. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Its objectives included promotion of education for women, abolition of the purdah system and improvement in the socio-economic and political status of women all over India.
• The organization opened several offices in Lahore (then part of unpartitioned India), Allahabad, Delhi, Karachi, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Bankura, Hazaribagh, Midnapur, and Kolkata to improve the situation of women all over India.
• Sarla Devi believed that the man working for women's upliftment lived under the shade of 'Manu'. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  • ​Manu is the author of an important Sanskrit law code, the Manusmriti (Laws of Manu); which offers a derogatory perspective on women's rights.
• On top of being a prolific writer, Sarala Devi also edited various journals including the prestigious journal Bharati, founded by her uncle Rabindranath Tagore. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

The correct answer is ​2 only.

Key Points

• Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), an international organization dedicated to representing the interests and aspirations of developing countries.
• In the early 21st century the Non-Aligned Movement counted 120 member states.
• The Non-Aligned Movement emerged in the context of the wave of decolonization that followed World War II.
• It derives its origin from the Bandung Conference held in 1955. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
  • At the 1955 Bandung Conference (the Asian-African Conference), the attendees, many of whose countries had recently gained their independence, called for “abstention from the use of arrangements of collective defence to serve the particular interests of any of the big powers.”
  • In the context of the Cold War, they argued, countries of the developing world should abstain from allying with either of the two superpowers (the United States and the U.S.S.R.) and should instead join together in support of national self-determination against all forms of colonialism and imperialism.
• The Non-Aligned Movement was founded and held its first conference (the Belgrade Conference) in 1961 under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sukarno of Indonesia. 
• As a condition for membership, the states of the Non-Aligned Movement cannot be part of a multilateral military alliance (such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]) or have signed a bilateral military agreement with one of the “big powers” if it was “deliberately concluded in the context of Great Power conflicts.” Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• However, the idea of non-alignment does not signify that a state ought to remain passive or even neutral in international politics.
  • On the contrary, from the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, its stated aim has been to give a voice to developing countries and to encourage their concerted action in world affairs.
• Unlike the United Nations (UN) or the Organization of American States, the Non-Aligned Movement has no formal constitution or permanent secretariat.
• All members of the Non-Aligned Movement have equal weight within its organization.

The correct answer is ​1 - 3 - 2.

Key Points

• Forward Bloc (1939) is a political party set up by Subhas Chandra Bose.
  • On his resignation from the Congress presidentship, he formed it in 1939 as a radical faction within the framework of the Congress.
  • He declared that the object behind the formation of the new party was 'to rally all radical and anti-imperialist progressive elements in the country on the basis of a minimum programme representing the greatest common measure of agreement among radicals of all shades of opinion'.
  • He, however, hoped that all radicals- socialists, communists and Kisan Sabhaits etc would respond to his call.
  • The first All-India Forward Bloc conference was held in Bombay in July 1939.
  • The conference approved the formation of a 'Left Consolidation Committee'.
  • In July 1939 Subhas Bose announced the Committee of the Forward Bloc.
  • The party was re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India.
• Provisional Government of Free India (1943):
  • The Provisional Government of Free India was founded in October 1943 by Subhas Chandra Bose.
  • The Provisional Government of Free India is also known as the Azad Hind Government.
  • It was influenced by Neta Ji Subhash Chandra Bose, who was the chief of the Azad Hind government and also the head of state of this Provisional Indian exile government.
  • It was part of the free movement, which originated outside India in the 1940s with the aim of allying with Axis powers to liberate India from British rule.
  • The Azad Hind government's presence has given greater credibility to the struggle for independence against the British.
• Indian National Army (1942):
  • The first division of the Indian National Army was formed in September 1942 with the help of Japan.
  • The Indian National Army was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942.
  • The main aim of this Force is to secure Indian independence from British rule.
  • The First Indian National Army was formed under Mohan Singh.
  • Mohan Singh himself had suggested Subhas Chandra Bose as the leader of the nationalist Indian army. 

The correct answer is ​​Hind Swaraj.

Key Points

• Sermon on the Sea, sometimes entitled Indian Home Rule or Hind Swaraj, written by Mohandas K. Gandhi in South Africa in 1909 reveals Gandhi's views on civilization and on soul force.
• In Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, Gandhi expresses his views on Swaraj, modern civilization, mechanisation etc.
• Mohandas Gandhi wrote this book in his native language, Gujarati, while travelling from London to South Africa onboard SS Kildonan Castle.
• Gandhi's Hind Swaraj takes the form of a dialogue between two characters, The Reader and The Editor.
  • The Reader (specifically identified by the historian S. R. Mehrotra as Dr Pranjivan Mehta) essentially serves as the typical Indian countryman whom Gandhi would have been addressing with Hind Swaraj.
    • The Reader voices the common beliefs and arguments of the time concerning Indian Independence.
  • Gandhi, the Editor, explains why those arguments are flawed and interject his own arguments.
    • As 'The Editor' Gandhi puts it, "it is my duty patiently to try to remove your prejudice."
• The book was banned in 1910 by the British government in India as a seditious text.