Modern History Set 84
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📌 Socio-Religious Reforms
Q.1) The Atmiya Sabha, a precursor to the Brahmo Samaj, was founded in Calcutta in 1815 to propagate monotheism and fight social evils. Who was its founder?
Ans > Raja Rammohan Roy
- Foundation and Purpose: Founded in Calcutta in 1815 by Raja Rammohan Roy, the Atmiya Sabha translates to the “Society of Friends.” It served as a philosophical discussion circle aimed at reforming traditional Hindu society by promoting the monotheistic doctrines found in the ancient Upanishads and Vedanta.
- Fight Against Orthodoxy: The society vehemently opposed irrational orthodox practices, specifically targeting prevalent customs like idol worship, caste rigidities, untouchability, and meaningless ritualistic animal sacrifices that plagued the society at the time.
- Precursor to Brahmo Samaj: It played a pioneering role in the socio-religious awakening of Bengal, essentially laying the vital ideological groundwork for the much larger and significantly more influential Brahmo Samaj, which was subsequently established in 1828.
- Intellectual Hub: Prominent intellectuals of the time, such as Dwarkanath Tagore and Prasanna Kumar Tagore, were actively associated with the Sabha, making it a powerful early platform for rational thinking and the genesis of the Indian Renaissance.
📌 Education
Q.2) Which prominent Scottish watchmaker and educationalist collaborated with Raja Rammohan Roy to establish the Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817?
Ans > David Hare
- A Philanthropic Life: David Hare was a Scottish watchmaker who arrived in India in 1800. Unlike many Europeans who focused on colonial administration or missionary work, Hare dedicated his entire life and personal wealth exclusively to the cause of secular modern education in Bengal.
- Establishing Hindu College: He closely collaborated with Raja Rammohan Roy and orthodox Hindu leader Radhakanta Deb to establish the Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817, an institution which was later famously renamed Presidency College.
- Curriculum Vision: The institution aimed to teach Indian youth English literature and modern Western sciences alongside traditional Indian philosophy, bridging the gap between Eastern and Western intellectual traditions.
- Broader Educational Impact: Furthermore, Hare played a crucial role in establishing the Calcutta School Book Society in 1817 to print affordable textbooks, and the Calcutta School Society in 1818 to heavily improve vernacular schools. He died of cholera in 1842 and was deeply mourned by the local Bengali community.
📌 Education
Q.3) In 1791, the Sanskrit College was established in Benares to encourage the study of Hindu law and philosophy. Who founded this institution?
Ans > Jonathan Duncan
- Orientalist Foundations: The Sanskrit College was founded in 1791 by Jonathan Duncan, who was serving as the British Resident at Benares under the administration of Governor-General Lord Cornwallis.
- Academic Objectives: The primary purpose of establishing this specialized institution was to actively encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts, traditional Hindu law, and vast Indian philosophy among native scholars.
- Administrative Utility: More importantly, it aimed to compile a comprehensive digest of Hindu laws to strictly assist British judges in administering justice to the local populace according to their own traditional customs, rather than imposing foreign laws.
- Institutional Legacy: This college perfectly complemented the Calcutta Madrasa, which was set up earlier in 1781 by Warren Hastings for the study of Islamic law. In 1958, the institution merged and was elevated to become the esteemed Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. Duncan’s educational initiative showcased the early Orientalist phase of the East India Company.
📌 Social Movements
Q.4) The ‘Academic Association’, a debating society that became the nerve center of the radical ‘Young Bengal’ movement, was founded by whom?
Ans > Henry Vivian Derozio
- A Charismatic Teacher: Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was a brilliant young Anglo-Indian teacher at the Hindu College who inspired an entire generation of Bengali students to think rationally, question all authority, and love the French revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
- Hub of Radical Thought: In 1828, he founded the ‘Academic Association’, a famous and highly active debating society that quickly became the undisputed intellectual nerve center of the radical ‘Young Bengal’ movement.
- Challenging Orthodoxy: The association served as a premier forum where Derozio’s students debated complex and highly controversial issues like free will, fate, religion, and the emancipation of women. These discussions deeply shocked the conservative Hindu society of Calcutta.
- Enduring Legacy: Although Derozio was forced to resign due to his radical teachings and died tragically young at the age of 22, the Academic Association’s legacy of free-thinking and fearless inquiry fundamentally shaped the future trajectory of the Bengal Renaissance.
📌 Press
Q.5) The prominent Bengali newspaper Som Prakash, which vehemently supported the Indigo cultivators and was later targeted by the Vernacular Press Act, was started by which social reformer?
Ans > Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
- Launch and Vision: The highly influential Bengali weekly newspaper, Som Prakash, was successfully launched in 1858 under the expert guidance and deep inspiration of the great social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, with Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan serving as its first editor.
- Champion of the Oppressed: The publication consistently stood out for its highly critical stance against unjust British administrative policies and its unyielding, vocal support for the oppressed Indian peasantry during the massive Indigo Revolt.
- Target of Censorship: Because of its powerful political commentary, anti-imperialist tone, and fearless vernacular journalism, Som Prakash became one of the primary targets of Viceroy Lord Lytton’s draconian Vernacular Press Act of 1878.
- Refusal to Bow: The Act was specifically designed to severely suppress native language journalism. In an act of ultimate defiance, Som Prakash was forced to temporarily cease its publication rather than submit to the humiliating censorship laws imposed by the British colonial government.
📌 Press
Q.6) Which influential nationalist newspaper, founded in 1861 by Manmohan Ghosh and Devendranath Tagore, was the first Indian English-language daily?
Ans > Indian Mirror
- A Journalistic Milestone: The Indian Mirror, founded in Calcutta in early 1861, holds the historical and highly prestigious distinction of being the very first English-language daily newspaper to be edited, published, and entirely managed by Indians.
- Founding Visionaries: It was initially established by Manmohan Ghosh and Devendranath Tagore, who actively sought to create a powerful, articulate voice for native Indian perspectives within the English-speaking colonial public sphere.
- Brahmo Samaj Connection: The newspaper was heavily nurtured by the prominent leaders of the Brahmo Samaj and later fiercely guided by the charismatic Keshub Chandra Sen, lending it immense social credibility.
- Advocating Reform: It quickly became an extremely vital tool for propagating crucial social reforms, heavily advocating for women’s education, and articulating early nationalist political demands. The publication essentially bridged the gap between the British administration and the educated Indian intelligentsia, playing a key role in shaping public opinion.
📌 Pre-Congress Orgs
Q.7) The East India Association, founded in London in 1866 to discuss Indian questions and influence British public opinion, was established by whom?
Ans > Dadabhai Naoroji
- Strategic Location: Recognizing that all major British colonial policies were formulated in London, Dadabhai Naoroji strategically established the East India Association in 1866 right in the heart of the British capital.
- Collaborative Effort: The organization was created in close collaboration with several prominent Indian students and retired British officials who genuinely sympathized with the Indian cause and demanded administrative fairness.
- Lobbying Parliament: The primary objective was to thoroughly discuss Indian questions, present the true, impoverished state of India directly to the British public, and actively influence Members of Parliament to adopt pro-India policies.
- The Drain Theory Platform: Naoroji, universally known as the “Grand Old Man of India,” used this high-profile platform to articulate and popularize his famous “Drain of Wealth” theory. He utilized stark statistical data to scientifically demonstrate how British colonial exploitation and heavy taxation were systematically draining India’s wealth.
📌 Pre-Congress Orgs
Q.8) The ‘Indian League’ was established in 1875 to stimulate the sense of nationalism among the people. Who was its principal founder?
Ans > Sisir Kumar Ghosh
- Inception and Leadership: The Indian League was established in Calcutta in 1875 by Sisir Kumar Ghosh, a highly prominent nationalist journalist who was also the renowned founder of the Amrita Bazar Patrika newspaper.
- Awakening the Masses: The primary purpose of founding the Indian League was to actively stimulate a deep sense of nationalism, awaken political consciousness, and foster political unity among the ordinary masses, rather than just catering to the educated elite.
- Challenging Zamindari Dominance: The organization specifically aimed to represent the growing views of the middle class and heavily criticized the older, elite-dominated Zamindari associations (like the British Indian Association) that only protected the vested interests of wealthy landlords.
- Stepping Stone: Although the Indian League had a relatively short lifespan and was soon superseded, it successfully laid the absolutely essential organizational and ideological groundwork for more robust, representative political organizations that directly paved the way for the Indian National Congress.
📌 Pre-Congress Orgs
Q.9) In 1876, the Indian Association of Calcutta superseded the Indian League to become the most important pre-Congress nationalist organization. It was founded by Anand Mohan Bose and whom?
Ans > Surendranath Banerjea
- Formation of a Powerhouse: In 1876, the Indian Association of Calcutta was founded by the dynamic Surendranath Banerjea and Anand Mohan Bose. It quickly superseded the Indian League to become the absolute most powerful and important pre-Congress nationalist organization in the country.
- Broadening the Base: It was specifically designed to be an all-India political organization that strongly represented the educated middle class, moving definitively away from the deeply aristocratic and highly conservative Zamindari associations of the past.
- Civil Service Agitation: The Association successfully organized and led massive all-India agitations, most notably against the British decision to drastically reduce the maximum age limit for the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination from 21 to 19, which severely disadvantaged Indian candidates.
- Fighting Draconian Laws: Furthermore, it heavily and successfully campaigned against Viceroy Lord Lytton’s oppressive Vernacular Press Act and the highly discriminatory Arms Act, successfully awakening a strong, unified sense of political consciousness across multiple Indian provinces.
📌 INC History
Q.10) The first session of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was originally scheduled to be held in Pune. Why was the venue shifted to Bombay?
Ans > Due to a sudden outbreak of cholera in Pune
- Original Planning: The highly anticipated inaugural session of the Indian National Congress was meticulously planned by its founder, Allan Octavian Hume, to be held in Pune (Poona) in late December 1885.
- The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha: The prestigious Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, a leading political organization of the time, was officially entrusted with making all the necessary logistical arrangements and hosting the delegates.
- A Public Health Crisis: However, a sudden, highly contagious, and severe outbreak of cholera swept through the city of Pune, forcing the organizers to urgently change the venue at the absolute last minute to prevent a catastrophic health disaster among the leadership.
- The Historic Bombay Session: Consequently, the historic first session was abruptly shifted to Bombay and was safely held at the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College from December 28 to 30, 1885. The session was attended by 72 delegates from across India and presided over by W.C. Bonnerjee, marking the formal beginning of India’s organized political struggle.
📌 INC History
Q.11) Which British Viceroy derisively referred to the Indian National Congress as an organization representing only a “microscopic minority” of the Indian people?
Ans > Lord Dufferin
- Initial Benevolence: When the Indian National Congress was newly founded in 1885, the serving British Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, initially looked upon the organization with mild amusement. He even hosted a lavish garden party for the Congress delegates in Calcutta in 1886.
- Shift to Hostility: However, his attitude turned sharply hostile as the Congress began drafting resolutions demanding serious administrative reforms, massively reduced military expenditure, and significantly greater Indian representation in the legislative councils.
- The Infamous Remark: By 1887, Dufferin abandoned diplomacy and openly attacked the Congress in his public speeches, famously and derisively mocking it as a seditious organization that represented merely a “microscopic minority” of the vast Indian population.
- Imperial Strategy: This highly dismissive remark was a calculated, deliberate imperial attempt to delegitimize the Congress’s democratic demands by falsely claiming that the educated urban middle class did not understand or represent the true interests of the millions of poor, rural Indian peasants.
📌 INC History
Q.12) The Indian National Congress’s resolution on ‘Swaraj’ (self-government) was formally adopted in its 1906 session held in Calcutta. Who presided over this session?
Ans > Dadabhai Naoroji
- A Congress on the Brink: The 1906 annual session of the Indian National Congress held in Calcutta was incredibly tense and constantly on the verge of a disastrous split due to the rapidly growing ideological rift between the Moderates (led by Gokhale) and the Extremists (led by Tilak and Aurobindo).
- The Peacemaker: To avert this political catastrophe, the universally respected Dadabhai Naoroji, who was aged 81 at the time, was specially requested to return from England to preside over the session and unify the warring factions.
- The Historic Declaration: It was in this highly charged and historic meeting that Naoroji officially declared in his presidential address that the ultimate, unyielding political goal of the Indian National Congress was “Swaraj or Self-Government.”
- A Paradigm Shift: He explicitly stated that this Swaraj should be comparable to the political system enjoyed by the United Kingdom or its self-governing colonies. This marked a monumental, permanent shift in the Congress’s core objectives, moving entirely away from mere administrative reforms to the demand for total self-rule.
📌 British Acts
Q.13) Which British official authored the highly controversial Universities Act of 1904, which aimed to bring Indian universities under tighter government control?
Ans > Lord Curzon
- Fear of Educated Youth: Viceroy Lord Curzon firmly believed that Indian universities, particularly Calcutta University, had rapidly devolved into dangerous factories producing political revolutionaries, seditious literature, and anti-British agitators.
- Legislative Suppression: To forcefully curb this growing nationalist sentiment among the youth, he authored the highly controversial Universities Act of 1904. The Act was his direct legislative weapon designed to strictly increase official government control over the administration and curriculum of higher education.
- Structural Changes: The draconian legislation drastically reduced the number of elected senate members in universities while heavily increasing the number of government nominees, granting the colonial administration absolute veto power over university affiliations and internal regulations.
- Nationalist Backlash: Indian nationalists, including the moderate leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale, vehemently opposed the Act in the Imperial Legislative Council, correctly viewing it as a deliberate imperial attempt to crush intellectual freedom, silence political dissent, and systematically sabotage the growth of nationalistic thought.
📌 Swadeshi Movement
Q.14) The Swadeshi Movement was formally proclaimed on August 7, 1905, at a massive meeting held in which historic location?
Ans > Calcutta Town Hall
- The Spark of Partition: In direct response to Viceroy Lord Curzon’s highly divisive, politically motivated, and controversial decision to partition the province of Bengal along religious and communal lines, an unprecedented wave of anger swept across the region.
- The Great Assembly: To channel this massive public outrage, on August 7, 1905, a historic and overwhelmingly large public meeting was convened at the iconic Calcutta Town Hall to formally protest the impending partition.
- The Boycott Resolution: It was at this massive gathering that the historic Boycott Resolution was unanimously passed by the leadership, and the Swadeshi Movement was officially and formally proclaimed to the entire nation.
- A New Strategy: The movement passionately urged the Indian masses to exclusively use indigenous (Swadeshi) goods, rapidly promote national education, and strictly boycott all British manufactured products, especially Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt. This momentous event marked the definitive beginning of a more assertive, mass-based phase of the Indian freedom struggle.
📌 Swadeshi Movement
Q.15) During the Swadeshi Movement, the ‘Swadesh Bandhab Samiti’ was set up to mobilize the masses. This highly successful Samiti was founded in Barisal by whom?
Ans > Ashwini Kumar Dutt
- Rise of Volunteer Corps: The Swadeshi movement witnessed the widespread, rapid emergence of numerous ‘Samitis’ or volunteer organizations. These groups were absolutely instrumental in taking the complex nationalist message from the educated urban centers directly to the uneducated rural masses.
- Ashwini Kumar Dutt’s Leadership: The most famous, highly organized, and successful of all these groups was the Swadesh Bandhab Samiti. It was founded in the remote Barisal district of East Bengal by the deeply respected schoolteacher and dedicated social reformer Ashwini Kumar Dutt.
- Innovative Mobilization: The Samiti generated massive mass appeal and successfully mobilized the peasantry through highly innovative methods, including the use of magic lantern lectures, patriotic Swadeshi songs, and the establishment of physical training clubs.
- Bypassing British Courts: Crucially, the Samiti established its own extensive network of indigenous arbitration courts, which successfully settled thousands of local disputes. This heavily encouraged the rural population to completely bypass and boycott the British judicial system and colonial administrative machinery.
📌 Pre-Independence Orgs
Q.16) In 1906, the All India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka to promote loyalty to the British government and protect Muslim interests. Who was its first Honorary President?
Ans > Aga Khan
- Inception in Dhaka: The All India Muslim League was formally founded on December 30, 1906, during an educational conference held in Dhaka, largely under the political initiative and hospitality of Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka.
- Core Objectives: The organization was established with the primary aim of securing separate civil rights and guaranteed political representation for Indian Muslims, while simultaneously promoting an attitude of unquestioning loyalty to the British Empire.
- Imperial Support: This formation was heavily and covertly encouraged by the British administration (specifically Viceroy Lord Minto) as a highly strategic counterweight to dilute the rapidly growing nationalist influence of the Indian National Congress.
- Prestigious Leadership: The Aga Khan III, a highly respected and immensely wealthy spiritual leader, was appointed as the very first Honorary President of the League. His prestigious leadership lent immense credibility and influence to the newly formed conservative political entity, which successfully lobbied for the introduction of separate Muslim electorates in 1909.
📌 Revolutionary Movement
Q.17) The British Government shifted the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911. During the state entry into the new capital in 1912, a bomb was thrown at the Viceroy’s carriage. Who was the Viceroy?
Ans > Lord Hardinge II
- The Capital Shift: In 1911, King George V held a massive Durbar in Delhi where he shockingly announced the complete revocation of the Partition of Bengal and the strategic shifting of the British Indian capital from turbulent Calcutta to the historic city of Delhi.
- The Ceremonial Attack: On December 23, 1912, as Viceroy Lord Hardinge II was making a grand, highly publicized ceremonial entry into the newly declared capital riding on the back of a royal elephant, a powerful bomb was hurled directly at his carriage in the crowded Chandni Chowk area.
- Casualties and Impact: The massive explosion instantly killed his umbrella bearer and severely injured the Viceroy with shrapnel. This daring assassination attempt, famously known as the Delhi Conspiracy Case, utterly shattered the British illusion of absolute control.
- The Mastermind Escapes: The attack was meticulously masterminded by the legendary underground revolutionary Rash Behari Bose. Following the bombing, Bose successfully escaped the intense, nationwide British dragnet and eventually fled to Japan, where he continued to heavily organize armed resistance against British rule.
📌 Revolutionary Movement
Q.18) The Ghadar Party, formed in 1913 in San Francisco by Indian expatriates to overthrow British rule through armed rebellion, was initially led by whom?
Ans > Lala Hardayal
- An International Rebellion: The Ghadar Party was a fierce revolutionary international political organization founded in 1913 in San Francisco, California. It was primarily supported by Punjabi Sikh immigrants working as laborers and farmers in the United States and Canada.
- Rejecting Moderation: The organization was entirely and unapologetically committed to securing India’s independence through violent, armed rebellion, completely rejecting the slow, petition-based moderate methods of the Indian National Congress.
- Intellectual Leadership: Lala Hardayal, a brilliant scholar, former Oxford student, and revolutionary thinker, served as the chief intellectual and initial guiding force of the movement, heavily shaping its radical ideology.
- The Power of the Press: Under his dynamic leadership, the party launched the highly influential, multi-lingual weekly newspaper named “Ghadar” (meaning Revolt). The publication featured fiery patriotic poems and explicitly called on Indian soldiers serving in the British Indian Army to mutiny against the empire, aiming to trigger a massive armed uprising during World War I.
📌 Historic Events
Q.19) The tragic Komagata Maru incident (1914) involved a chartered ship carrying Indian immigrants being turned away from which Canadian port?
Ans > Vancouver
- A Journey of Hope: In 1914, a Japanese steamship named the Komagata Maru was chartered by Gurdit Singh to carry 376 passengers. The vast majority of these were Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu immigrants from Punjab who were intending to immigrate to Canada seeking a better life.
- The Wall of Racism: However, upon arriving at the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, the ship and its desperate passengers were heavily denied entry under racially motivated and highly restrictive Canadian exclusion laws (specifically the “continuous journey regulation”) designed explicitly to keep out Asian immigrants.
- The Bitter Return: After a grueling, legally fraught, and highly publicized two-month standoff in the harbor with limited food and water, the ship was forcefully escorted out by the Canadian military and forced to return to India.
- The Budge Budge Massacre: Upon eventually docking at Budge Budge near Calcutta, British police attempted to arrest the leaders whom they suspected of being Ghadarite revolutionaries. This led to a massive riot where police fired indiscriminately on the passengers, killing 20. This tragic incident caused immense outrage and heavily fueled the revolutionary movement.
📌 Gandhi’s Era
Q.20) Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915. This day is now officially celebrated in India as what?
Ans > Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
- The Return of the Mahatma: After spending 21 formative years in South Africa, where he developed and successfully deployed the novel political weapon of Satyagraha (truth-force or non-violent civil disobedience) against racial discrimination, Mahatma Gandhi permanently returned to India, landing in Bombay on January 9, 1915.
- A Paradigm Shift: His highly anticipated arrival brought a massive, fundamental shift in the overall dynamics of the Indian freedom struggle, eventually transforming it from an elite, middle-class endeavor into a true, unstoppable mass movement.
- Establishing the Commemoration: To deeply commemorate the historical significance of this momentous return, the Government of India officially established ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ (Non-Resident Indian Day) in the year 2003.
- Honoring the Diaspora: This day is now officially celebrated (currently organized on a biennial basis) to formally recognize, honor, and heavily leverage the vast socio-economic, technological, and cultural contributions of the overseas Indian diaspora community to the ongoing development and global standing of modern India.
📌 Gandhi’s Era
Q.21) Upon returning to India, Mahatma Gandhi established his first ashram in 1915 near Ahmedabad. What was it initially called before being relocated to the banks of the Sabarmati river?
Ans > Kochrab Ashram
- The First Settlement: Shortly after his permanent return to India from South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi actively sought to establish a communal settlement to strictly train dedicated workers in his methods of non-violence. He established his very first ashram on May 25, 1915, in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- Training Ground for Satyagraha: Initially known as the Satyagraha Ashram or Kochrab Ashram, it served as a highly vital base to introduce his followers to his rigorous, uncompromising ideals of absolute truth, non-violence, the eradication of untouchability, and the dignity of constructive manual labor.
- The Plague Outbreak: However, nearly two years later, the ashram and its heavily populated surrounding areas were severely affected by a deadly, widespread outbreak of the bubonic plague.
- The Historic Relocation: Consequently, in 1917, to protect the inmates and find a more suitable agricultural space, the entire settlement was permanently relocated to a much larger, serene piece of land directly on the banks of the Sabarmati River. This new location became world-famous as the Sabarmati Ashram, the epicenter of India’s freedom struggle.
📌 Home Rule Movement
Q.22) Bal Gangadhar Tilak formally launched his Home Rule League in April 1916. In which city was the League inaugurated?
Ans > Belgaum
- Strategic Shift: After his release from a grueling six-year imprisonment in Mandalay prison (Burma), Bal Gangadhar Tilak pragmatically shifted his political strategy from extreme, violent agitation to legally demanding self-government for India within the constitutional framework of the British Empire.
- The Official Launch: Recognizing the desperate need for a highly focused and active organizational structure, he formally launched the Indian Home Rule League in April 1916 during a massive provincial conference held at Belgaum.
- Strict Jurisdiction: To absolutely prevent any organizational overlap, confusion, or political clashes with Annie Besant’s parallel movement, Tilak’s Home Rule League had a strictly defined and limited operational jurisdiction.
- Regional Dominance: His league was restricted specifically to Maharashtra (excluding the cosmopolitan city of Bombay), Karnataka, the Central Provinces, and Berar. Within this concentrated, highly organized area, Tilak’s League functioned incredibly effectively, aggressively mobilizing the masses and significantly popularizing the demand for Swaraj through relentless regional touring and powerful vernacular speeches.
📌 Home Rule Movement
Q.23) Annie Besant launched her Home Rule League in September 1916. She popularized her campaign through her two prominent newspapers named:
Ans > New India and Commonweal
- A Nationwide Mandate: Annie Besant, a formidable Irish socialist, vocal women’s rights activist, and President of the Theosophical Society, launched her own parallel version of the Home Rule League in Madras in September 1916. While Tilak’s League was heavily confined to specific western regions, Besant’s league was responsible for covering the vast remainder of the Indian subcontinent.
- The Power of Journalism: To successfully popularize her massive nationwide campaign for self-government and educate the masses on democratic rights, she masterfully utilized her two widely circulated and highly influential English newspapers: the daily publication “New India” and the weekly journal “Commonweal.”
- Relentless Agitation: Through fierce, unyielding editorials and relentless journalistic campaigning in these papers, she successfully galvanized the educated Indian middle class and brought the Home Rule demand into mainstream drawing-room conversations.
- Government Crackdown: Her writings agitated the British colonial administration to such an extreme extent that the government ordered her strict arrest and internment in 1917. This heavy-handed action backfired spectacularly, only serving to further skyrocket the movement’s massive popularity across the nation.
📌 INC History
Q.24) The historic Lucknow Pact of 1916 brought the Moderates and Extremists together and forged an alliance between the Congress and the Muslim League. Which moderate leader’s death in 1915 facilitated the Extremists’ re-entry?
Ans > Gopal Krishna Gokhale
- A Divided House: Following the catastrophic and violent Surat Split of 1907, the Extremist faction led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak had been strictly and systematically kept out of the Indian National Congress by the dominant, highly cautious Moderates.
- Changing of the Guard: However, the entire political landscape shifted dramatically in 1915 with the deaths of two staunch, uncompromising Moderate stalwarts: Pherozeshah Mehta and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Their passing completely removed the primary ideological and organizational resistance to the Extremists’ much-awaited return.
- The Great Reunification: This facilitated the ‘Great Reunification’ at the historic 1916 Lucknow session of the Congress, which was presided over by Ambica Charan Majumdar, finally bringing both nationalist factions back under one unified umbrella.
- The Hindu-Muslim Alliance: Furthermore, this monumental session not only reunited the fractured Congress factions but also resulted in the famous Lucknow Pact—a historic, highly strategic political alliance between the Congress and the Muslim League, where they jointly presented a unified demand for significant constitutional reforms to the British government.
📌 British Declarations
Q.25) In August 1917, the British government declared its policy of “the gradual development of self-governing institutions” in India. Which Secretary of State made this declaration?
Ans > Edwin Montagu
- Mounting Pressure: The immense political pressure generated by the highly successful, nationwide Home Rule League agitations, combined with India’s massive, invaluable manpower and financial contributions to the British war effort during the First World War, forced the colonial government to entirely rethink its rigid strategy.
- The Historic Declaration: In a direct response to this pressure, the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, made a historic and game-changing declaration in the British House of Commons on August 20, 1917.
- Promising Self-Rule: For the very first time, the British government explicitly promised “the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India.”
- A Major Concession: This crucial declaration essentially validated the core demands of the Home Rule movement, marking a definitive end to the era of absolute British autocracy and officially introducing the concept of responsible government as the ultimate goal of British policy in India.
📌 Gandhi’s Era
Q.26) Mahatma Gandhi’s first major public appearance in India was in 1916 at the inauguration of which premier educational institution?
Ans > Banaras Hindu University
- A Year of Observation: Upon arriving in India from South Africa in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi spent his entire first year quietly touring the country. This was done on the strict advice of his political mentor, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, to truly understand the ground realities of the impoverished masses before entering active politics.
- The Grand Stage: Gandhi’s very first major, highly publicized public speech was delivered in February 1916 during the grand, multi-day inauguration ceremonies of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), which was founded by the nationalist leader Madan Mohan Malaviya.
- A Shocking Indictment: Speaking to a glittering, heavily guarded elite audience composed of the British Viceroy, wealthy Maharajas bedecked in jewels, and aristocratic dignitaries, Gandhi delivered a shockingly blunt and revolutionary speech that stunned the crowd.
- Championing the Peasantry: He fiercely chastised the Indian princes for their massive, ostentatious displays of wealth amidst grinding poverty, blatantly stating that there could be no true salvation or independence for India unless the elite entirely aligned themselves with the impoverished, toiling millions of Indian peasants.
📌 Satyagraha
Q.27) The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was launched against the oppressive Tinkathia system. Under this system, peasants were forced to grow indigo on what fraction of their land?
Ans > 3/20th
- The First Indian Satyagraha: The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 marks Mahatma Gandhi’s very first successful experiment with civil disobedience on Indian soil. In the Champaran district of Bihar, European planters had forced local Indian peasants into highly exploitative and legally binding agreements.
- The Cruel Tinkathia System: Under the notorious and highly oppressive ‘Tinkathia’ system, poor farmers were legally compelled to cultivate indigo (a cash crop used for industrial dyes for which they received abysmal payment) on exactly 3/20th of their total landholdings. This heavily ruined soil fertility and caused widespread starvation.
- Gandhi’s Intervention: Responding to the desperate pleas of a local farmer named Rajkumar Shukla, Gandhi arrived to conduct a methodical, detailed fact-finding inquiry. His sheer defiance of British expulsion orders ultimately forced the higher administration to yield.
- A Legislative Victory: An official, high-level inquiry committee was established, with Gandhi invited as a key member. This committee’s findings ultimately led to the complete legislative abolition of the Tinkathia system, marking a monumental victory for peasant rights.
📌 Satyagraha
Q.28) During the Ahmedabad Mill Strike of 1918, Mahatma Gandhi undertook his first hunger strike in India. The dispute was ultimately settled with the workers receiving what percentage of a wage hike?
Ans > 35%
- The Core Dispute: In 1918, a fierce industrial dispute erupted between the wealthy textile mill owners and the impoverished, overworked mill workers in Ahmedabad. The conflict centered entirely over the sudden withdrawal of a ‘plague bonus’ during a period of massive, crippling wartime inflation that severely eroded the workers’ purchasing power.
- The Stalemate: The desperate workers rightfully demanded a 50% wage hike simply to survive the inflation, while the mill owners stubbornly offered a mere 20%, leading to a massive, protracted strike that paralyzed the city’s industry.
- The First Fast Unto Death: To rally the rapidly faltering spirits of the starving workers and ensure they remained strictly non-violent, Mahatma Gandhi undertook his very first “fast unto death” in India, putting his own life on the line.
- The Final Settlement: The immense moral and political pressure generated by Gandhi’s highly publicized hunger strike forced the mill owners to capitulate and accept the binding decision of an independent arbitration tribunal. The tribunal ultimately awarded a highly satisfactory 35% wage hike, securing a total victory for the laborers.
📌 Satyagraha
Q.29) The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 was an agrarian movement where peasants demanded the remission of land revenue. The movement was a success when the government agreed to suspend the tax for which group?
Ans > Only the poor peasants who could not afford to pay
- The Agrarian Crisis: The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 was a major, highly organized agrarian non-violent movement in Gujarat. The Patidar peasants of the Kheda district faced massive, devastating crop failures and a deadly plague epidemic that decimated the population.
- A Legal Right Denied: According to the British government’s own Revenue Code, if the total crop yield was less than one-fourth of the normal production, the farmers were legally entitled to a full remission of land taxes for that year. However, the rigid British administration adamantly refused to grant any financial relief.
- The Non-Tax Campaign: Guided heavily by Mahatma Gandhi, the newly emerged leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel brilliantly organized the peasants and led a rigorous, unwavering campaign of complete non-payment of taxes. Despite violent property confiscations and mass arrests, the peasants stood firmly united.
- The Secret Concession: The British eventually capitulated to the relentless pressure, issuing secret administrative orders stating that the revenue should only be forcibly recovered from those wealthy enough to comfortably pay, completely suspending the tax burden for the poor peasants.
📌 British Acts
Q.30) The Rowlatt Act of 1919 officially bore a different name. What was its formal legislative title?
Ans > The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act
- Wartime Powers Extended: In a desperate bid to maintain the strict wartime controls established during WWI and to suppress rising, highly organized nationalist activities, the British government passed a draconian piece of legislation based heavily on the recommendations of the Sedition Committee chaired by British judge Sir Sidney Rowlatt.
- The Official Title: While it was universally condemned across India simply as the “Rowlatt Act,” its formal, official legislative title was the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919.
- Dictatorial Powers: The Act gave the British colonial government unchecked, completely dictatorial powers to brutally repress any political activities. It allowed the administration to arrest and indefinitely imprison suspected individuals without a jury trial or legal representation for up to two years.
- The Tragic Aftermath: The legislation, famously and bitterly protested under the popular slogan “No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal,” sparked massive, nationwide Satyagraha protests organized by Gandhi. This intense agitation tragically culminated in the horrific, unprovoked Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.
📌 Quick Summary — Modern History Set 84
- Atmiya Sabha (1815): Founded by Raja Rammohan Roy for monotheism and reform.
- Hindu College (1817): Established by David Hare and Rammohan Roy in Calcutta.
- Sanskrit College (1791): Founded by Jonathan Duncan in Benares for Hindu law.
- Academic Association: Formed by Henry Vivian Derozio for the ‘Young Bengal’ movement.
- Som Prakash: Vernacular paper started by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar supporting Indigo cultivators.
- Indian Mirror (1861): First Indian English-language daily newspaper.
- East India Association (1866): Founded in London by Dadabhai Naoroji.
- Indian League (1875): Founded by Sisir Kumar Ghosh to stimulate nationalism.
- Indian Association of Calcutta (1876): Founded by Surendranath Banerjea and Anand Mohan Bose.
- INC First Session (1885): Shifted to Bombay from Pune due to a cholera outbreak.
- “Microscopic Minority”: Lord Dufferin’s derogatory description of the INC.
- Swaraj Resolution (1906): Adopted under the presidency of Dadabhai Naoroji in Calcutta.
- Universities Act 1904: Passed by Lord Curzon to strictly control higher education.
- Swadeshi Movement (1905): Formally launched at Calcutta Town Hall on August 7.
- Swadesh Bandhab Samiti: Founded by Ashwini Kumar Dutt in Barisal.
- Muslim League (1906): Founded in Dhaka, Aga Khan was the first Honorary President.
- Delhi Bombing (1912): Viceroy Lord Hardinge II was attacked by revolutionaries.
- Ghadar Party (1913): Formed in San Francisco, initially led by Lala Hardayal.
- Komagata Maru (1914): Immigrant ship turned away from Vancouver, Canada.
- Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: Commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s return on Jan 9, 1915.
- Kochrab Ashram (1915): Gandhi’s first ashram, later moved to Sabarmati.
- Tilak’s Home Rule League (1916): Formally launched in Belgaum.
- Annie Besant’s Papers: Propagated Home Rule via New India and Commonweal.
- Lucknow Pact (1916): Enabled by the death of moderate leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
- August Declaration (1917): Made by Secretary of State Edwin Montagu promising gradual self-rule.
- Gandhi’s First Public Speech: Delivered at the Banaras Hindu University inauguration in 1916.
- Champaran Satyagraha (1917): Fought the Tinkathia system (3/20th land for indigo).
- Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918): Settled with a 35% wage hike after Gandhi’s first hunger strike.
- Kheda Satyagraha (1918): Tax suspended strictly for poor peasants who couldn’t afford to pay.
- Rowlatt Act (1919): Formally titled The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act.
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