DAY – 64 : Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2026 : MODERN INDIA

Answer: B

Explanation:

Debendranath Tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore, revitalised Brahmo Samaj. Debendranath was a product of the best in the traditional Indian learning and the new thought of the West.

Statement 1 is not correct: In 1839 he founded the Tatvabodhini Sabha to propagate Rammohun Roy’s ideas and the new idea of the west.

In time it came to include most of the prominent followers of Rammohun and Derozio and other independent thinkers like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Akshay Kumar Dutt.

Statement 2 is correct: The Tatvabodhini Sabha and its organ the Tatvabodhini Patrika promoted a systematic study of India‟s past in the Bengali language. It also helped spread a rational outlook among the intellectuals of Bengal.

Answer: B

Explanation:

Option (b) is correct:

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Ramabai Ranade founded the Ladies Social Conference (Bharat Mahila Parishad), under the parent organisation National Social Conference, in 1904 in Bombay.

Pandita Ramabai Saraswati founded the Arya Mahila Samaj to serve the cause of women. She pleaded for improvement in the educational syllabus of Indian women before the English Education Commission which was referred to Queen Victoria.

The All-India Women’s Conference (AIWC), founded by Margaret Cousins in 1927, was perhaps the first women’s organisation with an egalitarian approach.

Answer: (c)

Explanation

The Drain Theory, articulated by Dadabhai Naoroji (the “Grand Old Man of India”) in his book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, highlighted the unilateral transfer of wealth from India to Britain. A significant component of this drain was categorized as “Home Charges,” which referred to the administrative and military expenses of the Indian government that were paid in Britain.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Profits from local trade monopolies (such as opium or salt) were a form of internal extraction or direct revenue for the British, but they were not technically part of the “Home Charges.” Home Charges specifically referred to expenditures incurred outside of India (in London).
• Statement 2 is correct: A major portion of Home Charges consisted of the remittances made by British officials, civil servants, and military officers out of their salaries and savings. This also included the pensions of retired British officials paid in sterling in England.

Statement 3 is correct: Home Charges included the entire cost of the India Office in London, including the salaries of the Secretary of State for India and his council. It also covered the interest paid on Indian Public Debt (loans taken in London for railways, irrigation, etc.) and military expenditures for British troops serving in India or wars fought by the British outside India’s borders using Indian money.

Answer: (b)

Explanation

The formation of the Indian Liberal Federation (ILF) was a significant turning point in the internal politics of the Indian National Congress (INC) during the late 1910s.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Indian Liberal Federation was not formed to protest the Montagu-Chelmsford (Mont-Ford) reforms; on the contrary, it was formed to support and accept them. While the “Extremist” elements within the Congress labeled the reforms as “disappointing and unsatisfactory,” the “Moderate” leaders believed the reforms were a step in the right direction and should be worked upon.
• Statement 2 is correct: During the special session of the INC in Bombay (1918), presided over by Syed Hasan Imam, the Congress passed a resolution criticizing the Mont-Ford proposals. Disagreeing with this stance, the Moderate leaders, under the leadership of Surendranath Banerjee, walked out of the Congress. They held their own separate conference in 1918 and eventually founded the Indian Liberal Federation (often referred to as the National Liberal Federation of India).

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

During Moderate Phase of Struggle, Gandhi relied on sending petitions and memorials to the authorities in South Africa and in Britain hoping that once the authorities were informed of the plight of Indians, they would take sincere steps to redress their grievances as the Indians were, after all, British subjects.

To unite different sections of Indians, he set up the Natal Indian Congress and started a paper Indian Opinion.

Answer: (b)

Explanation

The Karshaka Sanghams (Peasant Associations) were a pivotal part of the radical peasant movement in the Malabar region of Kerala during the 1930s.

• Statement 1 is correct: The movement was spearheaded by the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) activists who worked within the Indian National Congress to radicalize the peasantry. Leaders like E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P. Krishna Pillai, and A.K. Gopalan played instrumental roles in organizing these Sanghams to fight against the oppression of the Jenmies (landlords).
• Statement 2 is correct: The Karshaka Sanghams were known for their highly organized grassroots mobilization. They formed village units, organized Jathas (marches) to the houses of landlords or to administrative centers, and used powerful slogans to demand the abolition of illegal cesses (abwabs) and the end of forced evictions.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: This is a chronological error. The Malabar Tenancy Act was passed in 1929, which was before the peak of the Karshaka Sangham movement organized by the CSP (which gained momentum primarily after 1934). While the 1929 Act provided some relief, the Sanghams were formed largely because the Act was insufficient and the peasants continued to face exploitation. The Sanghams’ demands later led to more radical land reforms in the post-independence era.

Key Demands of the Sanghams

The Sanghams went beyond simple rent reduction, demanding:

1. Abolition of ‘Vasi’ and ‘Nuri’: These were illegal cesses where landlords took extra grain beyond the fixed rent.
2. Permanent Tenancy Rights: Ensuring that a tenant could not be evicted at the whim of the landlord (Melcharth).
3. Debt Relief: Reduction of the mounting interest on agricultural loans.

Answer: (b)

Explanation

The revolutionary journal Jugantar (or Yugantar) was a weekly Bengali newspaper started in March 1906 in Calcutta. It served as the propaganda organ for the revolutionary group of the same name (the Jugantar group), which was an inner circle of the Anushilan Samiti.

• Barindra Kumar Ghosh (1): He was a central figure and a founding member. As the brother of Aurobindo Ghosh, he played a key role in organizing the revolutionary movement in Bengal and used the journal to preach the “gospel of revolution.”
• Bhupendranath Dutt (2): He was a founding member and served as the first editor of the journal. He was the younger brother of Swami Vivekananda and was later arrested and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for the “seditious” articles published in Jugantar.
• Abinash Bhattacharya (3): He was also a founding member and closely associated with Barindra Kumar Ghosh. He handled the management and publishing aspects of the journal in its early days.
• Pulin Behari Das: He was the leader of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. While he was a prominent revolutionary, he was not among the founders of the Calcutta-based Jugantar journal. His work was more focused on the organizational and paramilitary training of the Dhaka branch.
• Rash Behari Bose: He was a legendary revolutionary known for the Delhi Conspiracy Case (the bomb attack on Lord Hardinge) and for organizing the Ghadar Mutiny and later the Indian Independence League in Japan. He was not a founding member of the Jugantar journal.

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is not correct: Wavell convened a conference at Simla to talk about the formation of an entirely Indian executive council, with the viceroy and commander-in-chief as the only British members.

Statement 2 is correct: Caste Hindus and Muslims would have equal representation, while the Scheduled Castes would also be separately represented; and doors would be open for discussion of a new constitution.

But the Simla conference of 25 June-14 July 1945 crashed on the rock of Jinnah’s demand for parity.

Statement 3 is correct: He claimed for Muslim League an exclusive right to nominate all the Muslim members of the cabinet.

Congress refused to accept it, for that would amount to an admission that Congress was a party only of the caste Hindus.

Answer: (c)

Explanation

The August Offer was announced by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow on August 8, 1940, as a response to the Indian National Congress’s demand for a declaration of independence in exchange for support in World War II.

• Statement 1 is correct: For the first time, the British government explicitly promised that the Viceroy’s Executive Council would be expanded immediately to include a majority of Indians. This was a significant departure from previous constitutional arrangements.
• Statement 2 is correct: The offer proposed the establishment of a War Advisory Council which would include representatives from the Indian States and other interests in the national life of India as a whole. This was intended to coordinate India’s war effort.
• Statement 3 is correct: A crucial (and controversial) part of the offer was the assurance that the British government would not transfer power to any “system of government whose authority is directly denied by large and powerful elements in India’s national life.” This essentially gave a veto to the minorities (specifically the Muslim League) regarding any future constitutional settlements.

Answer: (d)

Explanation

The Indian Independence Act, 1947, based on the Mountbatten Plan, was the final legislative act of the British Parliament that created the independent dominions of India and Pakistan.

• Statement 1 is correct: The Act proclaimed the lapse of British paramountcy over the Indian Princely States and British suzerainty over tribal areas from August 15, 1947. Treaties and agreements with these areas were terminated.
• Statement 2 is correct: It provided for the discontinuation of appointments to civil services and the reservation of posts by the Secretary of State for India. However, the civil servants who had been appointed before August 15, 1947, were entitled to continue enjoying the same benefits they were entitled to previously.
• Statement 3 is correct: The Act empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two Dominions to frame and adopt any constitution for their respective nations. They were also empowered to repeal any act of the British Parliament, including the Independence Act itself.
• Statement 4 is correct: It abolished the office of Viceroy and provided for a Governor-General for each dominion, who was to be appointed by the British King on the advice of the dominion cabinet.

Correct Answer: (b)

Detailed Solution:

Let the width of the path be x metres.

Then:

Remaining length = 80 − 2x

Remaining breadth = 60 − 2x

Given:

(80 − 2x)(60 − 2x) = 3500

4800 − 160x − 120x + 4x² = 3500

4x² − 280x + 1300 = 0

Divide throughout by 4:

x² − 70x + 325 = 0

Factorising:

x² − 65x − 5x + 325 = 0

x(x − 65) − 5(x − 65) = 0

(x − 65)(x − 5) = 0

x = 65 or x = 5

Since width cannot exceed half the breadth:

x = 5 m

Therefore, the width of the path is 5 m.

Correct Answer: (c)

Detailed Solution:

Volume of a sphere = (4/3)πr³

Volume of larger sphere:

= (4/3)π × 6³

= (4/3)π × 216

Volume of one smaller sphere:

= (4/3)π × 2³

= (4/3)π × 8

Number of smaller spheres formed:

= 216 / 8

= 27

Therefore, 27 smaller spheres can be formed.

Correct Answer: (b)

Detailed Solution:

Wheat production in 2020 = 480 tonnes

Wheat production in 2023 = 750 tonnes

Increase = 750 − 480

= 270 tonnes

Percentage increase:

= (270 / 480) × 100

= (27 / 48) × 100

= (9 / 16) × 100

= 56.25%

Therefore, the percentage increase is 56.25%.

Correct Answer: (d)

Detailed Solution:

Quarter 1:

Increase = 50 − 40 = 10

Percentage increase:

= (10/40) × 100

= 25%

Quarter 2:

Increase = 65 − 55 = 10

Percentage increase:

= (10/55) × 100

= 18 2/11 %

Quarter 3:

Increase = 75 − 60 = 15

Percentage increase:

= (15/60) × 100

= 25%

Quarter 4:

Increase = 70 − 45 = 25

Percentage increase:

= (25/45) × 100

= (5/9) × 100

= 55 5/9 %

The highest percentage increase is in Q4.

Answer: (b)

Solution:

The author had lived in the jail cell for a very long time and had become extremely familiar with it.

The sentence immediately following the given statement explains this idea clearly: “I was familiar with every bit of the whitewashed walls and the uneven floor…”

Thus, the phrase “I was almost a part of it” refers to the deep familiarity the author had developed with the surroundings of the cell.

Option (a) is incorrect because the statement does not refer to the presence of any other person.

Option (c) refers to another idea not directly explaining the given sentence.

Option (d) may appear suitable in a broader emotional sense, but the passage specifically emphasizes familiarity with the physical details of the cell.

Therefore, option (b) is the best answer.