21 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markMahatma Gandhi returned to India after two decades largely spent abroad in:
(A) 1917(B) 1919(C) 1915(D) 1913 - 1 markGandhiji’s first major public appearance in India, in February 1916, was at the opening of:
(A) Aligarh Muslim University(B) Banaras Hindu University(C) Calcutta University(D) Allahabad University - 1 markThe recommendation to continue wartime press censorship and detention without trial, which Gandhiji opposed with a countrywide campaign, came from a committee chaired by:
(A) Lord Willingdon(B) Sir Stafford Cripps(C) Sir Sidney Rowlatt(D) Lord Irwin - 1 markAccording to official figures cited in the chapter, how many strikes took place in 1921, involving 600,000 workers?
(A) 196(B) 696(C) 396(D) 96 - 1 markHistorian Shahid Amin’s study of rumours about Gandhiji, drawn from reports in the local press, focused on peasants of:
(A) the Punjab(B) Gujarat(C) eastern Uttar Pradesh(D) Bengal - 1 markAt its Lahore session in December 1929, the Congress proclaimed its commitment to:
(A) the Poona Pact(B) the Government of India Act(C) Dominion Status(D) “Purna Swaraj”, or complete independence - 1 markWhich American newsmagazine initially mocked Gandhiji’s “spindly frame” and “spidery loins” during the Salt March, before changing its tone within a week?
(A) The New Yorker(B) Newsweek(C) Life(D) Time - 1 markAt the second Round Table Conference, along with the Muslim League and the Princes, Gandhiji’s claim to represent all of India was also directly challenged by:
(A) B.R. Ambedkar(B) Vallabh Bhai Patel(C) Jawaharlal Nehru(D) Subhas Chandra Bose
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): Gandhiji called off the Non-cooperation Movement in February 1922.
Reason (R): Peasants at Chauri Chaura had attacked and burned a police station, killing several constables, an act of violence Gandhiji held to be incompatible with a strictly non-violent movement.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): Justice Broomfield had the legal discretion to acquit Gandhiji at his 1922 sedition trial.
Reason (R): Broomfield’s sentencing speech called Gandhiji “a great patriot and a leader” whom millions of his countrymen revered.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A(B) Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) Chandran Devanesan (ii) Justice C.N. Broomfield (iii) Shahid Amin (iv) D.G. Tendulkar
List II: (a) studied peasant rumours about Gandhiji in eastern UP (b) recorded that Gandhiji “went round hospitals and refugee camps” in 1947 (c) called South Africa “the making of the Mahatma” (d) presided over Gandhiji’s 1922 sedition trial
(A) i-a, ii-b, iii-c, iv-d(B) i-c, ii-b, iii-a, iv-d(C) i-c, ii-d, iii-a, iv-b(D) i-d, ii-a, iii-b, iv-c - 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) private letters (ii) autobiographies (iii) police Fortnightly Reports (iv) newspapers
List II: (a) a retrospective account shaped by what the author wants remembered (b) what officials saw or wanted to believe about a movement (c) private thought, though the line to public statement often blurs (d) the political outlook of whoever published them
(A) i-c, ii-b, iii-a, iv-d(B) i-c, ii-a, iii-b, iv-d(C) i-a, ii-c, iii-d, iv-b(D) i-d, ii-a, iii-c, iv-b
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markStatement I: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was criticised by radical nationalists.
Statement II: Under the Pact, Gandhiji secured from the Viceroy only an assurance of talks toward possible independence, not independence itself.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true - 1 markStatement I: The Fortnightly Reports for the Salt March period record that the Home Department fully accepted Gandhiji’s actions had evoked an enthusiastic popular response.
Statement II: The Madras report of the first half of March 1930 records general opinion as regarding the march as “theatrical” and its programme as “impracticable”.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following events in chronological order.
1. Jallianwala Bagh massacre
2. Chauri Chaura incident
3. Champaran movement begins
4. Dandi March begins
(A) 4-1-2-3(B) 3-1-2-4(C) 3-2-1-4(D) 1-3-2-4 - 1 markArrange the following events in chronological order.
1. Congress ministries resign
2. Government of India Act promises representative government
3. Lahore Congress adopts “Purna Swaraj”
4. Second Round Table Conference
(A) 4-3-2-1(B) 2-3-4-1(C) 3-2-4-1(D) 3-4-2-1
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markGandhiji’s third and final major movement against British rule, launched in August 1942, was called the ______ Movement.
(A) Quit India(B) Individual Satyagraha(C) Non-cooperation(D) Civil Disobedience
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markThree of the following are named in the chapter as close associates who gathered around Gandhiji between 1917 and 1922. Which one is NOT?
(A) Mohammad Ali Jinnah(B) Mahadev Desai(C) Sarojini Naidu(D) Vallabh Bhai Patel
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
Fortnightly Report of the Home Department, Madras, for the first half of March 1930: “The opening of Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign has completely overshadowed all other issues. General opinion inclines to regard his march as theatrical and his programme as impracticable, but as he is held in such personal reverence by the Hindu public generally, the possibility of arrest which he seems deliberately to be courting and its effect on the political situation are viewed with considerable misgiving.”
- 1 markAccording to this Madras report, how did general opinion regard Gandhiji’s march, and how did officials respond to the possibility of his arrest?
(A) general opinion was indifferent to the march, and officials planned to ignore it entirely(B) general opinion condemned the march as violent, and officials arrested Gandhiji immediately(C) general opinion thought the march theatrical and impracticable, yet officials handled the possibility of his arrest with considerable misgiving because of his personal reverence(D) general opinion fully supported the march as a serious threat to British rule, and officials welcomed his arrest
Passage
From Rajendra Prasad’s letter to Jawaharlal Nehru, Wardha, 1 July 1936: “We understand that you have felt much hurt by the course of action taken by us and particularly the tone of our letter has caused you much pain… We have felt that in all your utterances as published in the Press you have been speaking not so much on the general Congress programme as on a topic which has not been accepted by the Congress and in doing so you have been acting more as the mouthpiece of the minority of our colleagues on the Working Committee as also on the Congress than the mouthpiece of the majority which we expected you as Congress President to do. There is regular continuous campaign against us treating us as persons whose time is over, who represent and stand for ideas that are worn out and that have no present value, who are only obstructing the progress of the country and who deserve to be cast out of the positions which they undeservedly hold… we have felt that a great injustice has been and is being done to us by others, and we are not receiving the protection we are entitled from you as our colleague and as our President.”
- 1 markAccording to this passage, what complaint does Rajendra Prasad make about Nehru’s public statements as Congress President?
(A) that Nehru had failed to attend any Working Committee meetings(B) that Nehru was speaking as the mouthpiece of a minority view rather than the Congress majority, as part of a continuous campaign treating the conservatives as obsolete(C) that Nehru had personally insulted Prasad in a public speech(D) that Nehru had resigned from the Working Committee without notice
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) The Home Department’s Fortnightly Reports treated the Salt March as a genuine, deeply felt popular movement from the outset.
(ii) By the first half of April 1930, the same reports record the Salt Act being “openly defied” in several towns of the United Provinces.
(A) only (i) is true(B) both are true(C) only (ii) is true(D) both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions
- (C) Gandhiji returned to his homeland in January 1915 after two decades of residence abroad, mostly in South Africa.
- (B) Gandhiji’s first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916.
- (C) On the recommendation of a committee chaired by Sir Sidney Rowlatt, these tough wartime measures were continued, prompting Gandhiji’s countrywide campaign against the “Rowlatt Act”.
- (C) According to official figures, there were 396 strikes in 1921, involving 600,000 workers and a loss of seven million workdays.
- (C) In a fascinating study, historian Shahid Amin traced the image of Mahatma Gandhi among the peasants of eastern Uttar Pradesh, as conveyed by reports and rumours in the local press.
- (D) The Lahore session saw the proclamation of commitment to “Purna Swaraj”, or complete independence.
- (D) The American newsmagazine Time scorned Gandhiji’s looks at first, writing with disdain of his “spindly frame” and “spidery loins”, but within a week called him a “Saint” and “Statesman”.
- (A) At the second Round Table Conference, Gandhiji’s claims came under challenge from the Muslim League, the Princes, and the brilliant lawyer and thinker B.R. Ambedkar, who argued that Gandhiji and the Congress did not really represent the lowest castes.
Assertion-Reason
- (A) Both are true, and R explains A: Gandhiji insisted “no provocation can possibly justify” the Chauri Chaura killings, and it was exactly this violence that led him to call off the entire movement.
- (D) A is false: since Gandhiji had violated the law, it was obligatory for the Bench to sentence him to six years, leaving Broomfield no discretion to acquit. R is true and is exactly why the sentence is remembered as remarkable despite this.
Match the Following
- (C) Devanesan is the historian of “the making of the Mahatma” (i-c); Broomfield presided over the 1922 trial (ii-d); Amin studied peasant rumours in eastern UP (iii-a); Tendulkar, Gandhiji’s biographer, recorded his 1947 hospital and refugee-camp visits (iv-b).
- (B) Letters give a glimpse of private thought, though the private-public line often blurs; autobiographies are retrospective self-framing; police Fortnightly Reports reflect what officials wanted to believe; newspapers reflect their publishers’ political outlook.
Statement-Based Questions
- (A) Both are true, and Statement II explains Statement I: it was exactly because Gandhiji could obtain only a promise of future talks, not a commitment to independence, that radical nationalists criticised the Pact as a compromise.
- (D) Statement I is false: the Home Department was unwilling to accept any enthusiastic response. Statement II is true: the Madras report records that general opinion regarded the march as “theatrical” and the programme as “impracticable”.
Chronological Ordering
- (B) Champaran began in 1917, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was in April 1919, Chauri Chaura in February 1922, and the Dandi March began in March 1930: the order is 3-1-2-4.
- (D) Purna Swaraj was adopted in December 1929, the second Round Table Conference met in late 1931, the Government of India Act followed in 1935, and the Congress ministries resigned in October 1939: the order is 3-4-2-1.
Fill in the Blanks
- (A) After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Gandhiji launched his third major movement, the “Quit India” campaign, which began in August 1942.
Odd One Out
- (A) Mohammad Ali Jinnah is introduced earlier in the chapter as a “Moderate” leader and Gandhiji’s fellow London-trained lawyer, not as one of the group of close associates, including Desai, Naidu and Patel, who gathered around him between 1917 and 1922.
Passage-Based Questions
- (C) The passage states opinion regarded the march as “theatrical” and the programme “impracticable”, but because Gandhiji was held in such personal reverence, his possible arrest “and its effect on the political situation are viewed with considerable misgiving”.
- (B) Prasad writes that Nehru had been “acting more as the mouthpiece of the minority… than the mouthpiece of the majority”, and describes “a regular continuous campaign” treating the conservatives “as persons whose time is over”.
True / False
- (C) Statement (i) is false: the reports were unwilling to accept any enthusiastic response and called the march “theatrical”. Statement (ii) is true, matching the report for the first half of April 1930.
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