QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC , 12 January 2021 – History

Solution: d)

The Act provided a dual form of government (a “dyarchy”) for the major provinces. In each such province, control of some areas of government, the “transferred list”, were given to a Government of ministers answerable to the Provincial Council. The ‘transferred list’ included Agriculture, supervision of local government, Health and Education. The Provincial Councils were enlarged.

At the same time, all other areas of government (the ‘reserved list’) remained under the control of the Viceroy. The ‘reserved list’ included Defence (the military), Foreign Affairs, and Communications.

Solution: d)

In 1919 Gandhiji gave a call for a satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act that the British had just passed. The Act curbed fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and strengthened police powers.

• In April 1919 there were a number of demonstrations and hartals in the country and the government used brutal measures to suppress them. The Jallianwala Bagh atrocities, inflicted by General Dyer in Amritsar on Baisakhi day were a part of this repression.
• The Khilafat issue was another such cause. In 1920 the British imposed a harsh treaty on the Turkish Sultan or Khalifa. People were furious about this as they had been about the Jallianwala massacre. Also, Indian Muslims were keen that the Khalifa be allowed to retain control over Muslim sacred places in the erstwhile Ottoman Empire.

• The leaders of the Khilafat agitation, Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, wished to initiate a full-fledged Non-Cooperation Movement. Gandhiji supported their call and urged the Congress to campaign against “Punjab wrongs” (Jallianwala massacre), the Khilafat wrong and demand swaraj.

Solution: a)

The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. And there were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor – the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa).

To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919.

A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue.

Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement.

At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.

Solution: d)

At the Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress, 1920, following decision were made:
(i) The programme of non-cooperation was endorsed.

(ii) An important change was made in the Congress creed: now, instead of having the attainment of self-government through constitutional means as its goal, the Congress decided to have the attainment of swaraj through peaceful and legitimate means, thus committing itself to an extra constitutional mass struggle.
(iii) Some important organisational changes were made:
a congress working committee (CWC) of 15 members was set up to lead the Congress from now onwards; provincial congress committees on linguistic basis were organised; ward committees was organised; and entry fee was reduced to four annas.

Solution: a)

The Chauri Chaura incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province, (modern Uttar Pradesh) in British India in February 1922, when a large group of protesters, participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police, who opened fire.

In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants. The incident led to the deaths of three civilians and several policemen.

Mahatma Gandhi who was strictly against violence halted the Non-cooperation Movement on the national level in February 1922 itself, as a direct result of this incident.