Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is 1906.

• The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded by Allan Octavian Hume on 28th December 1885.
• The first session of INC was held in Bombay at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit Collegeram.
• The first President of the INC session held in Bombay was Womesh Chandra Banerjee.
• 72 delegates attended the session.
• The important leaders during the foundation of INC were Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyyabji, Anand Mohan Bose, R.C Dutt, Pherozshah Mehta, G.K Gokhale, G. Subramaniyam Aiyyar, Dinshaw Vacha, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Madan Mohan Malviya, etc.
• Formerly Indian National Congress was known as Indian National Union.
• The INC was formed during the tenure of Lord Dufferin (Viceroy of India from 1884-1888).
• The word swaraj means Self-rule or Independence.
• Swaraj was first articulated in the presidential address of Dadabhai Naoroji as the Congress's goal in its Calcutta Session in 1906.
• The great freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak said "Swaraj is my birthright and I will have It".

The correct answer is Rakhigarhi.

Key Points

• Rakhigarhi is a Harappan site located in the Hisar district of the state of Haryana.
• It is the site of pre-Indus Vally civilization settlement and also mature Indus Valley Civilisation.
• It was excavated by Amarendra Nath between 1997 to 2000.
• It is located in the Ghaggar-Hakra River plain.
• It consists of a set of seven mounds.
• Global Heritage Fund declared Rakhigarhi one of the ten most endangered heritage sites of Asia in May 2012.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Mehrgarh

• Mehrgarh is a neolithic site located near the Bolan pass on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, to the west of the Indus River Valley.
• It is the earliest known neolithic site in the Northwest Indian sub-continent, with early evidence of farming (wheat and barley), herding (cattle, sheep, and goats), and metallurgy.
• The oldest known example of the wax-lost techniques comes from a 6000-year-old wheel-shaped copper amulet found at Mehrgarh.

Additional Information 

The correct answer is Sohgaura.

• Sohgaura - 
  • It is not a Harappan site.
  • It is an Ashokan era copper plate inscription written in Prakrit in the Brahmi script. 
• Major findings in Kot Diji (Pakistan) of Harappan site are a tar, statues of bull and mother goddess.
• Major findings in Chanhudaro (Pakistan) of Harappan site are the footprint of a dog chasing a cat, Bead makers shop, and Cart with a seated driver.
• Major findings in Desalpur (Gujarat) of Harappan site are pottery ware with lines of bluish-green pigment, Terracotta seals etc.

The correct answer is Sabarmati Ashram.

Key Points

• On 12 March 1930, Dandi March was undertaken from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi by Gandhiji.
• To achieve the goal of Complete independence, Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) was started by Gandhiji with the Dandi March.
• He started his march along with 78 followers from Sabarmati Ashram to the small village Dandi to break the Salt Law.
• The march lasted from 12th March 1930 to 6th April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly.

Additional Information

• Gandhian Era:
  • Mahatma Gandhi was in South Africa when he was summoned by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, after which he returned to India in 1915.
  • The period from 1915-1948 can be construed as the ‘Gandhian era’ in Indian National Movement.
  • The period between 1919 to independence is marked by three important struggles –
    • Non-cooperation movement of 1919
    • Civil Disobedience movement of 1930, with its call for complete independence
    • The famous Quit Indian Movement of 1942.