18 November 2023

Q1. With reference to ‘Home rule movement, consider the following statements?

1. B.G. Tilak established one league at Madras.
2. Annie Besant established a league at Poona.
3. Mahatma Gandhi was elected as a President of All India Home Rule League.
4. It dropped ideas of extremist’s mass movement but continued their idea of passive resistance.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 3 and 4 only
3. All of the above
4. None of the above

• B – Explanation:

Two Home Rule Leagues were established, one by B.G. Tilak at Poona in April 1916 and the other by Mrs Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. The aim of the Movement was to get self- government for India within the British Empire. The All-India Home league ended in 1920 when it elected Mahatma Gandhi as its President when within a year it merged into the Indian National Congress. It believed freedom was the natural right of all nations. On 20 August 1917, Montague, the Secretary of State in England, made a declaration in the Parliament of England on British Government’s policy towards future political reforms in India. This August Declaration led to the end of the Home Rule Movement.

Q2. Which of the following is/are true about Home Rule Movement?

1. Tilak league was restricted to some parts of India like Maharashtra whereas Besant league covered major parts of the country.
2. Home Rule movement was merged with the Swadeshi movement by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

• 1 only
• 2 only
• Both 1 and 2
• None
• A – Explanation:

Indian Home Rule League and Home Rule League were not simultaneously launched by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant. Indian Home Rule League of Tilak was launched in April 1916, while the Home Rule League of Annie Besant came into existence in September that year. Objective was to demand for self-government after the end of War. World War I destroyed the myth of racial superiority of Western nations over Asian people. It increased misery among masses, heavy taxation, huge discontent, etc. Hence it has a role in triggering this movement in India.

Q3. Which of the following is correct about Rowlett Act?

1. It allowed the British government to imprison people without due trial.
2. It provided separate electorates for the Muslims.
3. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’.
4. It introduced bicameralism and direct elections in the country.

• A – Explanation:

Another example of British arbitrariness was the Rowlatt Act which allowed the British government to imprison people without due trial. Indian nationalists including Mahatma Gandhi were vehement in their opposition to the Rowlatt bills. Despite the large number of protests, the Rowlatt Act came into effect on 10 March 1919. In Punjab, protests against this Act continued quite actively and on April 10 two leaders of the movement, Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer entered the park with his troops. They closed the only exit and without giving any warning General Dyer ordered the troops to fire. Several hundreds of people died in this gunfire and many more were wounded including women and children.

Q4. The Cripps mission was an attempt by the British government to:

• Learn from the failure of the Round Table Conferences
• Convince the Congress to join the Central legislature
• Secure full Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II
• Extend communal representation in the Imperial legislature

C – Explanation:

• In March 1942, a mission headed by Stafford Cripps was sent to India with constitutional proposals to seek Indian support for the World War II.

Q5. With reference to the Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events:

1. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
2. Hunter Report
3. Rowlatt Act

What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?

1. 3, 1, 2
2. 2, 1, 3
3. 3, 2, 1
4. 1, 2, 3

• A – Explanation:

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of Baishakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was followed by establishment of a enquiry committee headed by Lord William Hunter. Rowlatt Acts, (February 1919), legislation passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. The acts allowed certain political cases to be tried without juries and permitted internment of suspects without trial.

Q6. Gandhiji gave a call for a Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act because:

1. It allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for indefinite time.
2. Any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion and no appeal could be filed against such arrests.
3. It aimed to curb the political and economic activities by placing higher taxes.
4. It aimed at sending Indian troops to other nations.

• B – Explanation:

Gandhiji in 1919 decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919). It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

Q7. Which of the following statements is/are true about Indian Statutory Commission?

1. Its aim was to inquire upon Jallianwala Massacre case and recommend for constitutional reforms.
2. Congress decided to boycott the commission as it did not have any Indian members.
3. It remanded that Governor General should have complete power to appoint the members of the cabinet.

Select the correct answer using the codes given?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. All

• C – Explanation:

Indian Statutory Commission aim was to go into the constitutional reforms specially to review the Government of India Act, 1919. Congress decided to boycott as the commission did not have any Indian members.

Q8. Why Indian National Congress (INC) leaders were not satisfied with the Cripps Mission (1942) proposals:

• Cripps Mission did not deliberate any matter with the Indian leaders and proposed unilateral measures.
• Cripps Mission agreed for post-war real transfer of power but maintained that the Viceroy and Secretary of State shall be appointed by the crown.
• Leaders wanted full independence rather than a dominion status.
• Cripps Mission did not address the issue of separate electorates.

C – Explanation:

• In March 1942, a mission headed by Stafford Cripps was sent to India with constitutional proposals to seek Indian support for the war.
• One of the main proposals of the mission was
• An Indian Union with a dominion status would be set up; it would be free to decide its relations with the Commonwealth and free to participate in the United Nations and other international bodies.
• Both the major parties, the Congress and the League rejected his proposals and the mission proved a failure.

Q9. Consider the following statements regarding the Jallianwala bagh massacre:

1. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal were local leaders in Punjab for whom solidarity protest was organized.
2. Gandhi gave up his title of Kaiser-e-hind and Rabindranath Tagore renounced his Knighthood in protest.
3. Udham Singh assassinated General Reginald Dyer who presided over the suppression of 1919 protests in Punjab.
4. No Indians were included as members in the Hunter committee that was set up to inquire into the excesses done by General Dyer.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 1, 2 and 4 only
3. 1, 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 3 and 4 only

A – Explanation:

• On April 9, two nationalist leaders, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal were arrested by the British officials without any provocation except that they had addressed protest meetings, and taken to some unknown destination. This caused resentment among the Indian protestors who came out in thousands on April 10 to show their solidarity with their leaders. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer was the senior British officer with the responsibility to impose martial law and restore order.
• On 13 April, Baisakhi day, a large crowd of people, many of whom were visitors from neighboring villages who had come to the town to attend the Baisakhi celebrations, collected in the Jallianwala Bagh to attend a public meeting. General Dyer, incensed that his orders were disobeyed, ordered his troops to fire upon the unarmed crowd.
• The entire nation was stunned. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest. Gandhi gave up the title of Kaiser-i-Hind, bestowed by the British for his work during the Boer War. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Udham Singh, who bore the name, Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, later assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant-Governor who presided over the brutal British suppression of the 1919 protests in Punjab. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
• on October 14, 1919, the Government of India announced the formation of the Disorders Inquiry Committee, which came to be more widely and variously known as the Hunter Committee/Commission
• The purpose of the commission was to “investigate the recent disturbances in Bombay, Delhi, and Punjab, about their causes, and the measures are taken to cope with them”.
• There were three Indians among the members, namely, Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad, ViceChancellor of Bombay University, and advocate of the Bombay High Court; Pandit Jagat Narayan, lawyer and Member of the Legislative Council of the United Provinces; and Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Khan, a lawyer from Gwalior State. Hence, statement 4 is not correct.

Q10. Consider the following statements with respect to Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:

1. The Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab at the time of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was General Reginald Dyer.
2. Lord Chelmsford was India’s Viceroy at the time of the incident.
3. The gatherers wanted to peacefully protest the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.

Which of the given statement/s is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 3 only
4. None of the above

• A – Explanation:

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on the 13th of April 1919. The Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab at that time was Michael O’Dwyer. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. Lord Chelmsford was India’s Viceroy. The Rowlatt Act was passed by the British government to increase their grip on power over the common folk. This law was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council which gave them the power to arrest any person without any trial. To abolish this act, Gandhi and the other leaders called for a Hartal (suspension of work) to show Indians’ objection to this rule. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre or the Amritsar Massacre took place when many villagers gathered in the park for the celebration of Baisakhi. The gatherers wanted to also peacefully protest the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.