Modern History Questions

The correct answer is Lucknow.

Key Points

• The organisation was based in Lucknow, India at Hathe Shaukat Ali, the compound of Landlord Shaukat Ali Siddiqui.
• They aimed to build political unity amongst Muslims and use their influence to protect the caliphate. 

Additional Information

Khilafat Movement:

• The movement was started as an agitation by the Indian Muslims against the treatment accorded to the Ottoman Empire after World War I 
• The Khilafat Movement begins in 1919 under the leadership of the Ali brothers; Maulana Muhammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali. 
• By the mid-1920s, the Khilafat leaders joined hands with Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement. 
• The All India Khilafat Committee was formed at Lucknow in 1919 under the leadership of the Ali Brothers, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Hasrat Mohani and other notable Muslim leaders.
• The primary objective was to tap into the resentment of Indian Muslims and rally them into a pan-Indian agitation against the British Empire.

The correct answer is 23^rd June 1757.

• Battle of Plassey:
  • On 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey was taken place, it was fought between the forces of Siraj Ud Daulah, and his French troops and the British East India Company, led by Robert Clive.

Additional Information

• • British marched out to the grove of Plassey, to the north of Calcutta.
  • This event was also a part of the Seven Years War.
  • In this battle, the forces of Nawab were defeated.
  • Nawab first went to Murshidabad and then to Patna, but was eventually pursued by Mir Jafar’s soldiers.
  •  Siraj-Ud-Daulah was executed on 2 July 1757, under orders from Mir Miran, son of Mir Jafar.

The correct answer is Sarojini Naidu.

• Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman to become President of the Indian National Congress.
• She was born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad.
• She was appointed the President of the Indian National Congress in 1925.
• Sarojini Naidu became the Governor of the United Provinces in 1947.
• She became the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.

Additional Information

• Aruna Asaf Ali is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay during a Quit India Movement in 1942.
• Kasturba Gandhi was an Indian political activist.
• She was married to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

The correct answer is C. R Das.

• Chittaranjan Das was born on 5 November 1870 at Telirbagh in the Bengal Presidency, currently in Bangladesh.
• He finished his law studies from England and returned to India in 1893.

​​

• He championed the cause of the Khadi and cottage industries and gave up his own western clothes and luxurious lifestyle.
• He was a prolific writer and poet. He published his collection of poems in two volumes titled ‘Malancha’ and ‘Mala’.
• Das died of a severe fever on 16 June 1925 in Darjeeling. His mortal remains were brought to Calcutta for the funeral. Hundreds of people turned up for his funeral. Gandhi led the funeral procession.
• Veer Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 in the village Bhagalpur, Nashik, and died on 26 February 1966, Bombay (now Mumbai). His full name is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He was a freedom fighter, politician, lawyer, social reformer, and formulator of the philosophy of Hindutva. Let us read more about Veer Savarkar, why he is known as Veer Savarkar and his contributions to the National Freedom Struggle.
  • In 1911, Savarkar was sentenced to 50 years in the cellular jail of Andamans, also known as Kala Pani for revolting against the Morley-Minto reforms (Indian Councils Act 1909).
  • In his book 'The History of the War of Indian Independence', he analyzed the circumstances of the 1857 uprising. It was via this book that Savarkar became one of the first writers to call for India's first war for independence against the British.

The correct answer is The Rowlatt Act.

Key Points

• The Rowlatt Act (Black Act) was passed on March 10, 1919, authorizing the government to imprison or confine, without a trial, any person associated with seditious activities.
• This led to nationwide unrest. Gandhi initiated Satyagraha to protest against the Rowlatt Act.
• Under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, soldiers opened fire on a large number of people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April 1919.
  • It was estimated that over 1,000 people lost their lives and another 1,500 people were injured in the firing.
• Apart from the main entrance, there was no way for the crowd to escape the garden as the area was surrounded by buildings. This is a major reason for the high number of casualties.

Important Points

• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is also called the Massacre of Amritsar.
• Tagore was awarded the knighthood by King George v in1915, but he repudiated it in 1919 as a protest against the Amritsar (Jallianwala Bagh) Massacre.
• He is sometimes referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”.
• After this massacre, Gandhi began his first large-scale and sustained nonviolent protest (satyagraha) campaign, the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22).

Additional Information

•  Lord Lytton passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878.
  • By this act, the magistrates of the districts were empowered, without the prior permission of the Government, to call upon a printer and publisher of any kind to enter into a Bond, undertaking not to publish anything which might “rouse” feelings of disaffection against the government.
• The Arms Act, 1959 that deals with the regulation of arms in India.
  • The Act defines arms to include firearms, swords, and anti-aircraft missiles.

The correct answer is Loknayak.

• Jayaprakash Narayan is popularly known as JP or Lok Nayak.
• He was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader.
• He is also known as the "Hero of Quit India Movement".
• JP Narayan is best known for opposing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
  • It is said that Indira Gandhi's power was snatched away from her after the "JP movement" and gave the famous slogan "Sinhaasan khaali karo ki janta aati hai".

Additional Information

• Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan was born on 11 October 1902 in Sitabadiyara, Bihar.
• In 1948, he led the Socialist Party of the Congress and later formed the Samajwadi Socialist Party in association with the Gandhian Party.

The correct answer is Calcutta.

 Key Points

• The National Anthem of India, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was first sung on 27 December 1911 at the Kolkata Session of the Indian National Congress.

 Important Points

• The National Anthem of India Jana-Gana-mana, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore.
• It was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950.

 Additional Information

Lahore session

• The Lahore session was held in the year 1929.
• President: Jawahar Lal Nehru
• It passed the resolution on ‘Poorna Swaraj.’
• Civil Disobedience movement for complete independence to be launched.
• It was also decided that 26 January to be observed as ‘Independence Day’.

Belgaum Session (1924)

•  Belgaum Session was the only Session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

Tripuri Session (1939)

• Subhash Chandra Bose was re-elected the President of INC at the Tripuri Session in 1939 by defeating the Gandhi Ji's Candidate Pattabhai Sitaramaiyya.
• He resigned in April 1939, and announced, in May 1939, the formation of the Forward Bloc within the Congress.

The correct answer is Annihilation of Caste.

Key Points

• Annihilation of Caste (1936) was written by Dr. BR Ambedkar, also called Babasaheb Ambedkar.
• He was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly and played a crucial role in framing the Indian Constitution.
• The motive behind writing this book is to draw mass attention towards the depressed class and measures to remove untouchability.

Additional Information

• Few important books of Dr. Ambedkar:
  • Mook Nayak (weekly) 1920
  • Janta (weekly) 1930
  • The Untouchables 1948
  • Buddha Or Karl Marx 1956
• The New Economic Menace of India - Written by Bipin Chandra Pal, published in 1920.
• Satyarth Prakash - Written in Hindi by Dayananda Saraswati, published in 1875.
• Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol - Written by Sri Aurobindo, published in 1940.

Important Points

• Article 17 - Abolition of Untouchability.
• Article 32 - Right to constitutional remedies, termed as 'Heart and Soul' of Indian Constitution by Dr. BR Ambedkar.

The correct answer is Germany.

Key Points

• Subhash Chandra Bose:
  • In Germany, Subhash Chandra Bose met with the Nazi leaders and hoped to stage an armed struggle against the British to gain independence.
    • He hoped to befriend the Axis powers since they were against his ‘enemy’, the British.
  • He founded the Indian Legion out of about 4500 Indian soldiers who were in the British army and had been taken prisoners by the Germans from North Africa.
  • In 1943, he left Germany for Japan disillusioned with the lukewarm German support for Azad Hind.
  • Bose’s arrival in Japan revived the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) which had been formed earlier with Japanese help.
  • Azad Hind or the Provisional Government of Free India was established as a government-in-exile with Bose as the head.
    • Its headquarters was in Singapore.
    • The INA was its military.
  • Bose motivated the troops with his fiery speeches.
    • His famous quote is, “Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!”

​Additional Information

• Subhas Chandra Bose was one of the most eminent freedom fighters of India.
  • Born in Cuttack, in the province of Bengal to an affluent family.
    • He was educated in Calcutta acquiring a degree in philosophy.
    • Subhas Chandra Bose was Selected for the Indian Civil Services (ICS) but refused to take up service since he did not want to serve the British government.
  • Bose joined the Indian National Congress (Formed on December 28, 1885) in 1921.
    • He also started a newspaper called ‘Swaraj’.
  • He was the President of the All India Youth Congress and also the Secretary of the Bengal State Congress.
    • In 1924, he became the CEO of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. In 1930, he became the Mayor of Calcutta.
  • Bose authored the book ‘The Indian Struggle’ which covers the Indian independence movement from 1920 to 1942.
    • The book was banned by the British government.
  • He coined the term ‘Jai Hind’.
    • His charisma and powerful personality inspired many people into the freedom struggle and continues to inspire Indians. He was called Netaji.

The correct answer is Raj Kumar Shukla.

Ram Prasad Shukla invited Gandhiji to Champaran.

• Champaran issue and Gandhiji.
• Champaran was a district in Bihar, and in 1914-16, farmers of this region agitated and protested against the harsh British atrocities.
• Gandhiji was invited here in 1917, he established Ashram here.
• Babu Braj Kishore Prasad, Angarh Narayan Sinha and Dr. Rajendra Prasad were leaders present there.
• This satyagraha was against the 'Teen Kathiya System' of farm tax. Under this system 3 of every 20 parts of land production was to be given to the British as Lagaan.

Result of Champaran Satyagraha

• Tin Kathiya System was abolished.
• Legal documents signed between tenants and the British for the rational tax system.

Additional Information

• The Champaran Satyagraha was the first to be started, but the word Satyagraha was used for the first time in Anti Rowlatt Act agitation.