Insights Static Quiz -81, 2018 –History

Answer – a

The answer is obivious

Source – Chapter 6, Bipan Chandra

GS 1 – Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

• The above excerpt represents the direction of socio-religious movement. At the core of the movement, there was underlying patriotic feeling to unite the people on the modern plane of nationalism and strive ofr common good, which in turn laid the foundation for nationalist struggle.
• British conquest and the consequent dissemination of colonial culture and ideology had led to an inevitable introspection about the strengths and weaknesses of indigenous culture and institutions. This can also be asked to probe.

Answer – b

• It was the more active members of the Home Rule League in U.P. who initiated the process of the organization of the peasants of the province on modern lines into kisan sabhas.
• The U.P. Kisan Sabha was set up in February 1918 through the efforts of Gauri Shankar Misra and Indra Narain Dwivedi, and with the support of Madan Mohan Malaviya. The U.P. Kisan Sabha demonstrated considerable activity, and by June 1919 had established at least 450 branches in 173 tehsils of the province.

Source – Chapter 16, Bipan Chandra

GS 1 – Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

• Peasant movement is a critical component of Indian national movement for many reasons, one being radicalising the movement under Gandhi by broadening the base. Therefore questions on its evolution are on the anvil always.
• Appreciating the linkage between kisan movement, which is generally considered leftist, and personalities like Madan Mohan Malviya, Gandhi etc who were not leftists is important to have the good picture of modern history of India and its complexities.

GS 3 – Land reforms

• As an administrator, a public servant is supposed to understand the nuances of the farming community which is vulnerable, of which history plays a major part. They can be invoked in answers here on land reforms.

Answer – d

• After a few months’ tussle with the Government, the Congress Working Committee decided to accept office under the Act of 1935.
• During July, it formed Ministries in six provinces: Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, Orissa, Bihar and U.P..
• Later, Congress Ministries were also formed in the NorthWest Frontier Province and Assam.
• Bengal and Punjab were not ruled by Congress

Source – Chapter 16, Bipan Chandra

GS 1 – Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

• Congress has formed the governments for the first time and therefore there can be question on its significance on the politics of the country from 1940s till 1960s when Congress remained dominant. One is expected to cover all aspects, whether political ( including the fear of provincialisation of Congress and thus weakness of national unity), economic, social of the influence that 1937 had.

Answer – d

• Congress could not attempt a complete overhaul of the agrarian structure by completely eliminating the zamindari
• According to the constitutional structure of the 1935 Act, the provincial Ministries did not have enough powers to do so. They also suffered from an extreme lack of financial resources, for the lion’s share of India’s revenues was appropriated by the Government of India.
• The strategy of class adjustment also forebade it. A multi-class movement could develop only by balancing or adjusting various, mutually clashing class interests. To unite all the Indian people in their struggle against colonialism, the main enemy of the time, it was necessary to make such an adjustment
• Further, nearly all the Congress-run states (that is, U.P., Bihar, Bombay, Madras and Assam) had reactionary second chambers in the form of legislative councils, which were elected on a very narrow franchise — while the number of voters for the assemblies in these states was over 17.5 million, it was less than 70 thousand for the second chambers. These were, therefore, dominated by landlords, capitalists and moneylenders, with the Congress forming a small minority

Source – Chapter 26, Bipan Chandra

GS 1 – Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

• The reasons stated above have been true after independence as well.

Answer – c

• The defence of the INA prisoners was taken up by the Congress and Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, K.N. Katju, Nehru and Asaf Ali appeared in court at the historic Red Fort trials.
• The Congress organised an INA Relief and Enquiry Committee, which provided small sums of money and food to the men on their release, and attempted, though with marginal success, to secure
  employment for these men.
• The Congress authorized the Central INA Fund Committee, the Mayor’s Fund in Bombay, the AICC and the PCC offices and Sarat Bose to collect funds

Source – Chapter 36, Bipan Chandra

GS 1 – Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

• Tej Bahadur Sapru was the new generation moderate in Gandhian phase of struggle. He was a constitutionalist and was a member of Liberal Party of India. A question can be framed on the role of classic liberals in the Gandhian phase.