Indian National Movement- Solved Questions - 2 | UPSC Topic Wise Previous Year Questions PDF Download

Question 1:
In the context of the Indian freedom struggle, 16th October 1905 is well known for ................ ?  [2009]
(a) The formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement was made in Calcutta town hall
(b) Partition of Bengal took effect
(c) Dadabhai Naoroji declared that the goal of the Indian National Congress was Swaraj
(d) Lokmanya Tilak started Swadeshi Movement in Poona

Correct Answer is Option (b)
This day was observed as a day of mourning throughout Bengal. People fasted, bathed in the Ganga, and walked barefoot in processions singing Bande Mataram. People tied rakhis as a symbol of unity of the two halves of Bengal.

Question 2:
Who founded the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association? [2009]
(a) Mahatma Gandhi
(b) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(c) N.M. Joshi
(d) J.B. Kripalani

Correct Answer is Option (a)
Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association was founded in 1917.

Question 3:
With which one of the following movements is the slogan “Do or die” associated? [2009] 
(a) Swadeshi Movement 
(b) Non-Cooperation Movement 
(c) Civil Disobedience Movement 
(d) Quit India Movement

Correct Answer is Option (d)
Gandhiji gave a call for do or die in 1942  during Quit India Movement. He said we shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery.

Question 4:
Which one of the following began with the Dandi March?  [2009] 
(a) Home Rule Movement 
(b) Non-Cooperation Movement 
(c) Civil Disobedience Movement 
(d) Quit India Movement

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Gandhi, on March 12, 1930 started March his from the Sabarmati Ashram with 72 people and reached Dandi (coastal Gujarat) on April 6, 1930, and broke the salt law by picking up a handful of salt at Dandi and announced the commencement of Civil Disobedience Movement.

Question 5:
During the Indian Freedom Struggle, why did Rowlatt Act arouse popular indignation? [2009] 
(a) It curtailed the freedom of religion 
(b) It suppressed the Indian traditional education 
(c) It authorized the government to imprison people without trial 
(d) It curbed the trade union activities

Correct Answer is Option (c)
It was passed in March 1919, even though every single Indian member of the Central legislative council opposed it. It became a reason for Jallianwala Bagh tragedy of Amritsar on 13 April, 1919.

Question 6:
Who of the following Prime Ministers sent Cripps Mission to India? [2009] 
(a) James Ramsay MacDonald 
(b) Stanley Baldwin 
(c) Neville Chamberlain 
(d) Winston Churchill

Correct Answer is Option (d)
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.

Question 7:
During the freedom struggle, Aruna Asaf Ali was a major woman organizer of underground activity in:   [2009] 
(a) Civil Disobedience Movement 
(b) Non-Cooperation Movement 
(c) Quit India Movement 
(d) Swadeshi Movement

Correct Answer is Option (c)
There was an award of ₹5000 on her arrest. Later she was called the grand old lady of the independence movement.

Question 8:
Consider the following statements: The Cripps Proposals include the provision for 
1. Full independence for India. 
2. Creation of constitution-making body. 
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  [2009] 
(a) 1 only 
(b) 2 only 
(c) Both 1 and 2 
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer is Option (b)
The Cripps proposals did not include the provision for full independence for India but offered an Indian union with a dominion status. The Congress objected to the provision of dominion status instead of complete independence. After the war, a constituent assembly would be convened to frame a new constituion.

Question 9:
In the ‘Individual Satyagraha’, Vinoba Bhave was chosen as the first Satyagrahi. Who was the second?   [2009]
(a) Dr. Rajendra Prasad  
(b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 
(c) C. Rajagopalachari 
(d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Correct Answer is Option (b)
It was started in October 1940.

Question 10:
Assertion (A): The Congress Ministries in all the provinces resigned in the year 1939. 
Reason (R): Congress did not accept the decision of the Viceroy to declare war against Germany in the context of the Second World War. [2008] 
(a) Both A are R are true but R is the correct explanation of A 
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A 
(c) A is true but R is false 
(d) A is false but R is true

Correct Answer is Option (a)
R explains A. As in September, 1939, th e viceroy unilaterally declared that India was at war with Germany without bothering to consult any Indian leader. In protest, Congress ministeries resigned in October, 1939. Muslim league declared it as the Day of Delivarance.

Question 11:
Who among the following wrote the poem, Subh-e Azadi? [2008] 
(a) Sahir Ludhiyanvi 
(b) Faiz  Ahmed Faiz 
(c) Muhammad Iqbal 
(d) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Subh-e Azadi (Dawn of freedom) was written in August, 1947 after the partition of India.

Question 12:
Where was the First Session of the Indian National Congress held in December 1885? [2008] 
(a) Ahmedabad 
(b) Bombay 
(c) Calcutta 
(d) Delhi

Correct Answer is Option (b)
INC was formed on 28 Dec 1885 in Bombay and its first session was held under the presidentship of W.C. Banerjee.

Question 13:
Which one of the following was a journal brought out by Abul Kalam Azad? [2008] 
(a) Al-Hilal 
(b) Comrade 
(c) The Indian Sociologist 
(d) Zamindar

Correct Answer is Option (a)
The Al-Hilal was a newspaper established by Indian leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and used as a medium for criticism of the British Raj in India. The newspaper also espoused the cause of the Indian independence movement and exhorted Indian Muslims to join the movement. The newspaper was shut down under the Press Act of 1914.

Question 14:
Who among the following Gandhian followers was a teacher by profession?  [2008
(a) AN Sinha 
(b) Braj Kishore Prasad 
(c) J B Kriplani 
(d) Rajendra Prasad

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Following his education at Fergusson College in Pune, Kriplani worked as a schoolteacher before joining the freedom movement following Gandhi’s return from South Africa. He was a professor of English and History. Kripalani came in contact with Gandhi in 1917 during Champaran Satyagraha.

Question 15:
Who was the Viceroy of India when the Rowlatt Act was passed? [2008] 
(a) Lord Irwin 
(b) Lord Reading 
(c) Lord Chelmsford 
(d) Lord Wavell

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Lord Chelmsford (1916–1921) was governor-general when the Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919.

Question 16:
Who among the following used the phrase ‘UN-British’ to criticize the English colonial control of India? [2008] 
(a) Anandmohan Bose 
(b) Badruddin Tyabji 
(c) Dadabhai Naoroji 
(d) Pherozeshah Mehta

Correct Answer is Option (c)
He wrote a book entitled Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.

Question 17:
Who gave a systematic critique of the moderate politics of the Indian National Congress in a series of articles entitled New Lamps for Old? [2008] 
(a) Aurobindo Ghosh 
(b) R C Dutt 
(c) Syed Ahmad Khan 
(d) Viraraghavachari

Correct Answer is Option (a)
K.G. Deshpande, a friend of Aur bin do fr om his Cambridge days, was in charge of a weekly, “Induprakash”, published from Bombay. He requested Sri Aurobindo to write about the current political situation. Sri Aurobindo began writing a series of fiery articles under the title “New Lamps for Old”, strongly criticizing the Congress for its moderate policy.

Question 18:
Who suggested the reconstitution of the Viceroy Executive Council in which all the Portfolios including that of  War Members were to be held by the Indian leaders? [2008] 
(a) Simon Commission 
(b) Shimla Conference 
(c) Cripps Proposal 
(d) Cabinet Mission

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Suggested in June 1945 by the Viceroy Lord Wavell in Shimla. It is also known as the Wavell Plan.

Question 19:
During the Indian Freedom Struggle, who of the following raised an army called ‘Free Indian Legion’? [2008] 
(a) Lala Hardayal 
(b) Rashbehari Bose 
(c) Subhas Chandra Bose 
(d) V D Savarkar

Correct Answer is Option (c)
In January 1942, the Propaganda Ministry announced the formation of the “Indian National Army” (Jai Hind) in Berlin. At the end of July 1942, three hundred volunteers were issued German Army uniforms bearing a badge on the right arm which showed a leaping tiger superimposed on an Indian tricolor, surrounded by the legend “Freies Indien”. The men were then officially designated the “Free Indian Legion”.

Question 20:
Who among the following rejected the title of Knighthood and refused to accept a position in the Council of the Secretary of State for India? [2008] 
(a) Motilal Nehru 
(b) M G Ranade 
(c) G K Gokhale 
(d) BG Tilak

Correct Answer is Option (c)
In 1905, Gokhale had established the Servants of India Society. He had also rejected the title of knighthood and refused to accept a position in the Council of State.

Question 21:
The song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ written during the Swadeshi Movement of India inspired the liberation struggle of Bangladesh and was adopted as the National Anthem of Bangladesh. Who wrote this song? [2007] 
(a) Rajni Kanta Sen 
(b) Dwijendralal Ray 
(c) Mukunda Das 
(d) Rabindranath Tagore

Correct Answer is Option (d)
The song was written in 1905 in Bangla. Rabindranath Tagore was the only person to write the National Anthem of two countries, i.e. India and Bangladesh.

Question 22:
At which one of the following places did Mahatma Gandhi first start his Satyagraha in India? [ 2007] 
(a) Ahmedabad 
(b) Bardoli 
(c) Champaran 
(d) Kheda

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Mahatma Gandhi first started his Satyagraha in India at Champaran in Bihar in 1917. He was requested by Rajkumar Shukla to look into the problems of poor peasants caused by the indigo planters of Champaran.

Question 23:
Which one of the following aroused a wave of popular indignation that led to the massacre by the British at Jallianwala Bagh? [2007] 
(a) The Arms Act 
(b) The Public Safety Act 
(c) The Rowlatt Act 
(d) The Vernacular Press Act

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 during anti-Rowlatt agitation in Amritsar. Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 which authorized the government to imprison any person without trial and conviction in a court of law. Tagore renounced his Knighthood in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Question 24:
Assertion (A): According to the Wavell Plan, the number of Hindu and Muslim members in the Executive Council was to be equal. 
Reason (R): Wavell thought that this arrangement would have avoided the partition of India. [2007] 
(a) Both A are R are true but R is the correct explanation of A 
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A 
(c) A is true but R is false 
(d) A is false but R is true

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Wavell Plan was proposed at Simla Conference in June 1945.

Question 25:
Which Portfolio was held by Dr. Rajendra Prasad in the Interim Government formed in the year 1946? [2006] 
(a) Defense 
(b) External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations 
(c) Food and Agriculture 
(d) None of the above

Correct Answer is Option (c)
After the Indian independence in 1947, Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the first Indian President of India.

Question 26:
Consider the following statements about Madam Bhikaji Cama:  [2006]
1. Madam Cama unfurled the National Flag at the International Socialist Conference in Paris in the year 1907.
2. Madam Cama served as private secretary to Dadabhai Naoroji.
3. Madam Cama was born to a Parsi.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 2 only
(d) 3 only

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Madam Cama unfurled the National Flag at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart, a city in Germany (not in Paris) on 21st August 1907.

Question 27:
Under whose presidency was the Lahore session of the Indian Congress held in the year 1929, wherein a resolution was adopted to gain complete independence from the British? [2006] 
(a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak 
(b) Gopal Krishna Gokhale 
(c) Jawaharlal Nehru 
(d) Motilal Nehru

Correct Answer is Option (c)
They also celebrated the first Independence day on January 26, 1930, which was the date later selected for the adoption of the Indian constitution.

Question 28:
Consider the following statements:   [2005]
The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for 
1. the provincial autonomy. 
2. the establishment of a Federal court. 
3. all India Federation at the center. 
Which of the statements given above are correct? 
(a) 1 and 2 
(b) 2 and 3  
(c) 1 and 3 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (d)
Provincial Autonomy replaced Diarchy. All In dia Federation was to comprise all British Indian provinces, all chief commissioner's provinces, and Indian states.

Question 29:
Which party was founded by Subhash Chandra Bose in the year 1939 after he broke away from Congress? [2005] 
(a) Indian Freedom Party 
(b) Azad Hind Fauj 
(c) Revolutionary Front 
(d) Forward Bloc

Correct Answer is Option (d)
Forward Bloc was founded on May 3, 1939. It was a left-wing nationalist political party with its stronghold in West Bengal.

Question 30:
Consider the following statements:   [2005]
1. In the First Round Table Conference, Dr. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the depressed classes. 
2. In the Poona Act, special provisions for representation of the depressed people in the local bodies and civil services were made. 
3. The Indian National Congress did not take part in the Third Round Table Conference. 
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 
(a) 1 and 2 
(b) 2 and 3  
(c) 1 and 3 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (c)
First Round Table Conference was held from Nov 1930 - Jan 1931. The Second Round Table Conference was held in Dec 1931 in London. The third Round Table Conference was held from Nov 1932 - Dec 1932. Indian National Congress did not participate in the first and third RTC. Poona Pact was signed by B.R. Ambedkar in September 1932. The pact abandoned separate electorates for the depressed classes. But the seats reserved for the depressed classes were increased in provincial as well as Central legislatures.

Question 31:
Consider the following statements: 
1. Lord Mountbatten was the Viceroy when the Shimla conference took place. 
2. Indian Navy Revolt, 1946 took place when the Indian sailors in the Royal Indian Navy at Bombay and Karachi rose against the Government. 
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  [2005]
(a) 1 only 
(b) 2 only  
(c) Both 1 and 2 
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Statement 1 is incorrect as Lord Wavell was the Viceroy when Shimla Conference took place in June 1945.

Question 32:
Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?   [2005]

Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 
(b) 2 and 3  
(c) 1 and 3 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Champaran (First Civil Disobedience)-1917; Ahmedabad Mill Strike (First Hunger Strike)-March 1918; Kheda Satyagraha (First Non-Cooperation)-June 1918.

Question 33:
Who among the following was not associated with the formation of the U.P. Kisan Sabha in February 1918? [2005] 
(a) Indra Narain Dwivedi 
(b) Gauri Shankar Misra 
(c) Jawaharlal Nehru 
(d) Madan Mohan Malviya

Correct Answer is Option (c)
UP Kisan Sabha was founded by Indra Narayani Dwivedi and Gauri Shankar Misra in 1918. MM Malviya supported their efforts.

Question 34:
Who drafted the resolution on fundamental rights for the Karachi Session of Congress in 1931? [2005] 
(a) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar 
(b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 
(c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad 
(d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Nehru drafted the resolution on Fundamental Rights. The Karachi Session was presided over by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

Question 35:
In October 1920, who headed a group of Indians gathered at Tashkent to set up a communist party of India? [2005] 
(a) H.K. Sarkar 
(b) P.C. Joshi 
(c) M.C. Chagla 
(d) M.N. Roy

Correct Answer is Option (d)
The other prominent persons include Abani Mukherjee and Mohd. Ali Mohd. Shafiq.

Question 36:
At which Congress session was the working committee authorized to launch a program of Civil Disobedience?  [2005] 
(a) Bombay 
(b) Lahore 
(c) Lucknow 
(d) Tripura

Correct Answer is Option (b)
At the Lahore session (1929, President - J.L. Nehru) the working committee was authorized to launch a program of Civil Disobedience.

Question 37:
In which one of the following provinces was a Congress ministry not formed under the Act of 1935? [2005] 
(a) Bihar 
(b) Madras 
(c) Orissa 
(d) Punjab

Correct Answer is Option (d)
Congress ministries were formed in Bombay, Madras, Central Provinces, Orissa, United Provinces, Bihar, and later in NWFP and Assam also.

Question 38:
Consider the following statements: On the eve of the launch of the Quit India Movement, Mahatma Gandhi:  [2005] 
1. asked the government servants to resign. 
2. asked the soldiers to leave their posts. 
3. asked the Princes of the Princely states to accept the sovereignty of their own people. 
Which of the statement given above is/are correct? 
(a) 1 and 2 
(b) 2 and 3 
(c) 3 only 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Gandhiji asked the government servants not to resign but declare their allegiance to Congress. Soldiers were asked not to leave their posts but not to fire.

Question 39:
Where were the Ghadar revolutionaries, who became active during the outbreak of World War I based? [2005] 
(a) Central America 
(b) North America 
(c) West America 
(d) South America.

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Ghadr revolutionaries were based in San Francisco (North America) and branches along the US Coast and in the far East.

Question 40:
Consider the following events during India's freedom struggle: 
1. Chauri-Chaura Outrage 
2. Minto-Morley Reforms 
3. Dandi March 
4. Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 
Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the events above? [2004] 
(a) 1, 3, 2, 4 
(b) 2, 4, 1, 3 
(c) 1, 4, 2, 3
(d) 2, 3, 1, 4

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Chauri-Chaura-Feb 1922; M into-Morley Reforms-1909; Dandi March - 1930; Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms-1918.

Question 41:
The name of the famous person of India who returned the Knighthood conferred on him by the British Government as a token of protest against the atrocities in Punjab in 1919 was: [2004]
(a) Tej Bahadur Sapru
(b) Ashutosh Mukherjee
(c) Rabindra Nath Tagore
(d) Syed Ahmed Khan

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Rabindra Nath Tagore returned the Knighthood conferred on him by the British Government as a token of protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919).

Question 42:
During the Indian freedom struggle, who among the following proposed that Swaraj should be defined as complete independence free from all foreign control? [2004] 
(a) Mazharul Haque 
(b) Maulana Hasrat Mohani 
(c) Hakim Ajmal Khan 
(d) Abul Kalam Azad

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Maulana Hasrat Mohani proposed that Swaraj should be defined as complete independence free from all foreign control in 1921 when he was presiding over the session of the All India Muslim League in Lucknow.

Question 43:
The Montagu-Chelmsford Report formed the basis of [2004]
(a) the Indian Councils Act, 1909  
(b) the Government of India Act, 1919 
(c) the Government of India Act, 1935 
(d) the Indian Independence Act, 1947

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Montagu-Chelmsford or Montford Reforms which were announced in July 1918 in line with the government policy contained in Montagu's statement (August 1917) formed the basis of GIA, 1919.

Question 44:
Which one of the following statements is correct?  [2004] 
(a) The Constituent Assembly of India was elected by the Provincial Assemblies in the year 1946 
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru, M.A. Jinnah, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were members of the constituent Assembly of India 
(c) The First Session of the Constituent Assembly of India was held in January 1947 
(d) The Constitution of India was adopted on 2 6th January 1950

Correct Answer is Option (a)
The first session of the Constituent Assembly of India was held on Dec 9, 1946.

Question 45:
Consider the following statements:  [2004]
1. The First Session of the Indian National Congress was held in Calcutta 
2. The Second Session of the Indian National Congress was held under the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji 
3. Both Indian National Congress and Muslim League held their sessions at Lucknow in 1916 and concluded the Lucknow Pact 
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 
(a) 1 and 2 
(b) 2 only  
(c) 2 and 3 
(d) 3 only

Correct Answer is Option (c)
Statement 1 is incorrect as the first session was held in 1885 at Bombay (not in Calcutta) under the presidentship of W.C. Banerjee. The second session was held in Calcutta. Lucknow session in 1916 was presided over by A.C. Majumdar.

Question 46:
Consider the following statements: Some of the main features of the Government of India Act, 1935 were the: 
1. abolition of diarchy in the Governor's provinces 
2. power of the Governors to veto legislative action and to legislate on their own 3. abolition of the principle of communal representation. 
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  [2004]
(a) 1 only 
(b) 1 and 2  
(c) 2 and 3 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Provincial autonomy replaced diarchy. The Governor could refuse assent to the bill, promulgate ordinances, and enact the governor's acts. Statement 3 is incorrect as separate electorates based on communal representation persisted in the GIA, 1935.

Question 47:
When Congress leaders condemned the Montagu-Chelmsford Report, many moderates left the party to form the:      [2003] 
(a) Swarajya Party 
(b) Indian Freedom Party 
(c) Independence Federation of India 
(d) Indian Liberal Federation

Correct Answer is Option (d)
When Congress leaders condemned the MontaguChelmsford Report (July 1918), many moderates led by Surendra Nath Banerjea left the party to form the Indian Liberal Federation in 1919.

Question 48:
An important aspect of the Cripps Mission of 1942 was: [2003] 
(a) that all Indian States should join the Indian Union as a condition to consider any degree of autonomy for India 
(b) the creation of an Indian Union with Dominion status very soon after the end of Second World War 
(c) the active participation and cooperation of the Indian people, communities, and political parties in the British war efforts as a condition for granting independence with full sovereign status to India after the war 
(d) the framing of a constitution for the entire Indian Union, with no separate constitution for any province, and a Union Constitution to be accepted by all provinces

Correct Answer is Option (b)
Statement d is incorrect as any province not willing to join the Union could have a separate constitution and form a separate union. Cripps Mission provides for an Indian Union with a dominion status after the second world war; which would be free to decide its relations with the Commonwealth and free to participate in the United Nations and other international bodies.

Question 49:
With reference to the Indian freedom struggle, which one of the following statements is not correct? [2003] 
(a) The Rowlatt Act aroused a wave of popular indignation and led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre 
(b) Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Forward Bloc 
(c) Bhagat Singh was one of the founders of the Hindustan Republican Socialist Association 
(d) In 1931, the Congress Session at Karachi opposed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Correct Answer is Option (d)
In 1931, the Congress Session at Karachi endorsed (not opposed) Gandhi-Irwin Pact. It was presided over by Vallabh Bhai Patel.

Question 50:
Assertion (A): In 1916, Maulana Mohammad Ali and Abul Kalam Azad resigned from the Legislative Council. 
Reason (R): The Rowlatt Act was passed by the Government in spite of being opposed by all Indian members of the Legislative Council. [2003] 
(a) Both A and R are true but R is the correct explanation of A 
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A 
(c) A is true but R is false 
(d) A is false but R is true

Correct Answer is Option (d)
Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919. The act authorized the government to imprison any person without trial and conviction in a court of law. Maulana Mohd. Ali and Abul Kalam Azad resigned from the legislative council in 1919 during the Khilafat Movement and not in 1916.