Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Annie Besant.

Key Points

• Annie Besant was selected as the first woman president of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
• She is popularly known as Annie Wood.
• She was a reputed theosophist, women's rights activist, writer, and orator.
• In 1916, along with Lokmanya Tilak, she launched the Home Rule League.
• She was declared a World Teacher after her lecture on Theosophy in 1926.
• She had founded the Central Hindu College in 1898 in Varanasi and this college was later gifted to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya for the latter to get it converted into Banaras Hindu University.

Important Points

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 Shimla.

Key Points

• The Conference of 1945 was a pedestal between the Viceroy of India Lord Wavell and the major political leaders of British India in Shimla.
• Convened to give assent on and approbate the Wavell Plan for Indian self-government, and there it reached a potential agreement for the self-rule of India that provided separate representation for Muslims and reduced majority powers for both communities in their majority regions.
• Seeking to assert itself and its demand to be the sole representative of Indian Muslims, the All-India Muslim League refused to back any plan in which the Indian National Congress, the dominant party in the talks, appointed Muslim representatives.

The correct answer is A - 4, B - 3, C - 2, D - 1.

The correct answer is Surat

Key Points

• The East India Company arrived first at Surat, India in 1608 in the ship Hector commanded by William Hawkins.
• The British established their first Indian factory at Surat (1612).
• Within a few years had established a permanent factory there.
• Surat was the port used by the textile manufacturers of Gujrat and was the most important center for the overseas trade of the Mughal Empire.
• A factory was eventually established at Surat in 1612 when the Portuguese fleet was defeated by the English.

Additional Information

• Cochin: The earliest account of Cochin is derived from the records made by the Chinese traveler, Ma Huan.
  • At the beginning of the XVI century, Cochin was the seat of the Portuguese in India, including the time of the capture of Goa in 1510.
  • Cochin was the first princely state to join India willingly after Independence.
• Calicut: Vasco da Gama sailed on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East.
  • He made numerous stops in Africa before reaching Calicut in 1498.