Question Discussion & Solution

• In 1921, Daya Ram Sahni unearthed the civilisation of Harappa in Montgomery district of Punjab province of British India.
• The Vedic name of Ravi river was Parushni.
• Archaeological findings in Harappa were Granaries in a row, Clay figures of Mother Goddess, Copper scale, Stone symbols of Lingam, etc.

The answer is Dadabhai Naoroji.

• On 6th July 1892, Dadabhai Naoroji (candidate for the Liberal Party) won a hard-fought election to become the first non-white to be elected to the British Parliament.
  • He also became the first Asian member of the House of Commons.
• One of the most prominent of Naoroji’s supporters was the famous Florence Nightingale.

Important Points

•  Dadabhai Naoroji:
  • Title: ‘Grand Old Man of India’
  • 1867, he propounded Economic Drain Theory where he pointed out that a quarter of India’s economic revenues were being seized by Britain.
  • In London, he established the London Indian Society and then the East Indian Association (1866) which spoke out for the rights of Indians in the British Empire.
  • In 1885, he was one of the founder members of the Indian National Congress.
    • Became the president of the Indian National Congress Sessions three times:
      • 1886, Calcutta
      • 1893, Lahore
      • 1906, Calcutta: declared that the goal of the Congress was to attain swaraj.
  • Newspaper/Journal/Book under Dadabhai Naoroji:
    • Voice of India newspaper
    • The message of reform among the Parsi community was spread by the newspaper Rast Goftar (Truth-Teller).
    • Poverty and un-British Rule in India

Additional Information

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale:
  • In 1899, Gokhale joined the Indian National Congress, emerging as one of the main leaders of its ‘moderate’ wing.
  • Between 1899 and 1902, he was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council followed by a stint at the Imperial Legislative Council from 1902 till his death.
    • Gokhale played a key role in framing the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 and advocated for the expansion of legislative councils at both the Centre and the provinces.
  • Gokhale became Congress president at its Banaras session in 1905.
  • Gandhi regarded Gokhale as his political mentor and wrote a book in Gujarati dedicated to the leader titled ‘Dharmatma Gokhale’.
• C Rajagopalachari:
  • Rajaji’s personal interaction with Gandhi in 1919 led him to give up his legal profession to be fully involved in the nation’s independence struggle.
    • The relationship between them only grew stronger and Mahatma called Rajaji the ‘keeper of my conscience’.
  • C. Rajagopalachari led a salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast in Tamil Nadu, in support of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  • C. Rajagopalachari prepared a formula for Congress-League cooperation in 1944. Gandhi supported the formula.
  • He was the 1st Indian Governor-General of India.
  • In 1954 he was conferred with the Bharat Ratna for his contribution to Indian politics and literature.
  • Conflicts grew between Rajaji and Nehru, this led to Rajaji forming the Swatantra Party.
• Acharya J B Kriplani:
  • Kripalani was well-known as a Gandhian and a socialist.
  • He became the Congress president in 1946.
  • In 1972-73, he and other socialist leaders led movements across the country urging people to lead nonviolent protests against Indira’s government.
  • In his autobiography My Times, he criticized the entire Congress leadership, except Mahatma Gandhi, for Partition.

The correct answer is 5th.

Key Points

• Shankar Dev Rav committee's recommendations are related to the 5th phase of Rajasthan integration. 
  • The committee's other members  were Shri Prabhu Dayal and R.K. Singhawa
  • On the recommendations of this committee, Matsya Sangh was integrated with Greater Rajasthan.
  • It is known as the United States of Greater Rajasthan​ which happened on 15 May 1949.
    • Its capital was Jaipur.
    • The post of Prime minister was discontinued and the Chief minister's office was constituted.
    • Hiralal Shastri became the first Chief Minister of Rajasthan.

The correct answer is option 1. i.e. The Indus people were the first to produce cotton.

• It has been discovered from the facts that the farmers in the Indus valley were the first to spin and weave cotton.
• At Mohenjo-Daro, the archaeologists have recovered the fragments of cotton textiles which dates back between 3250 and 2750 BCE.
• As per the archaeological department of India, the cottonseeds which are found nearby Mehrgarh have been dated to 5000 BCE.
• Indus Valley civilization is also known as the Bronze Age Civilization because Bronze was the most widely used metal.
• Wheat and Barley were the major crops, evidence of rice was also found.
• The people of the Indus Valley civilization worshipped God Pashupati (believed to be God Shiva).
• Tin and precious stones were imported from Iran and Afghanistan, gold from Karnataka and copper from Rajasthan and Oman.

Additional Information 

• The Indus Valley Civilization was spread from present-day North-East Afghanistan to Pakistan and North-West India. This civilization flourished in the river basins of the Ghaggar-Hakra river and the Indus. Indus valley civilization is one of the four oldest civilizations in the world. It is also known as Harappan Civilization and is well-known for its organized planning based on the grid system. Important facts to be remembered 
• John Marshall was the first researcher to use the term, ‘Indus Valley Civilization’.
• Indus Valley Civilization spread from the year 2500 – 1750 BC according to radio-carbon dating.
• The most distinctive feature of the Harappan Civilization was its urbanization.
• Moreover, sheep and goats, dogs, humped cattle buffalo, and elephants were domesticated in the Indus Valley Civilization.
• The capital cities are Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
• The port cities are Sutkagendor, Balakot, Lothal, Allahdino, and Kuntasi.
• The Indus valley people were well-acquainted with the use of both cotton and wool.
• Name of the major cities are given below:
  • Mohenjodaro (Sind)-It is located on the right bank of the Indus.
  • Kalibangan (Rajasthan)-It was on the banks of the river Ghaggar river
  • Chanhudaro-It lies on the left bank of the Indus in the south of Mohenjodaro.
  • Lothal- It is located at the head of the Gulf of Cambay.
  • Surkotada (Gujarat)-It is at the head of the Rann of Kutch.
  • Banawali (Haryana)-It was situated on the banks of the now-extinct Sarasvati
  • Dholavira (Gujarat)-It excavated is in the Kutch district

The correct answer is Rapid industrialization.

• Mahatma Gandhi was against the Rapid industrialization of India.
• Gandhi emphasized decentralized production in the villages.
  • He was also against the concept of Mechanization.
  • He believed that by using machine-made Manchester cloth, Indians are only wasting their money, but instead, if they reproduce Manchester in India, they would keep their money with themselves.
  • He favored the machines that supported and reduced the burden of labor.

Additional Information 

• Industrialization is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society.
  • As India is a developing country, rapid industrialization is needed in India.
  • Industrialization can help the progress of agriculture, trade, transport, and all other economic activities.
  • Rapid industrialization is important for creating employment opportunities, promoting education, training, and research. 
  • Industrial growth brings a rapid increase in the national income of the country.
• Gandhiji's famous Dandi March in March 1930 heralded the start of the Civil Disobedience Movement movement.
  • On March 12, 1930, Gandhiji set out from Sabarmati with 78 followers on a 241-mile march to the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea.
  • There, Gandhi and his supporters were to defy British policy by making salt from seawater.
  • At Dandi, thousands more followed his lead, and in the coastal cities of Bombay and Karachi, Indian nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt.
  • Civil disobedience broke out all across India, soon involving millions of Indians, and British authorities arrested more than 60,000 people.
  • Gandhiji himself was arrested on May 5, but the satyagraha continued without him.
  • It was the start of the civil disobedience movement which commenced as Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law on the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea 
    • Dandi March is also known as Namak Satyagrah or Salt Satyagrah.
  • The Salt March was a 24-day Salt March, which was non-violent in nature, is historically significant as it led to the mass Civil Disobedience Movement.