The Gandhian Era — Practice Questions
UPSC Prelims-pattern practice questions on the Gandhian era with full explanations — early satyagrahas, chronology, Swarajists, Poona Pact and Civil Disobedience.
Questions
These are original UPSC-pattern practice questions. Attempt each one before revealing the answer.
Consider the following pairs:
| Satyagraha | Main issue |
|---|---|
| 1. Champaran | Forced indigo cultivation |
| 2. Ahmedabad | Remission of land revenue |
| 3. Kheda | Revenue remission after crop failure |
| 4. Bardoli (1928) | Enhancement of land revenue |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Solution
Pairs 1, 3 and 4 are correct. Champaran (1917) was against the tinkathia indigo system; Kheda (1918) sought remission after crop failure; Bardoli (1928) resisted a revenue enhancement. Ahmedabad (1918) was an industrial dispute between mill owners and workers over wages and the plague bonus — the occasion of Gandhi’s first hunger strike — not a land-revenue issue.
Answer: C
Arrange the following events in chronological order:
- Chauri Chaura incident
- Arrival of the Simon Commission in India
- Jallianwala Bagh massacre
- Declaration of Purna Swaraj at Lahore
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Solution
Jallianwala Bagh — April 1919; Chauri Chaura — February 1922; Simon Commission reaches India — February 1928; Purna Swaraj at Lahore — December 1929. Order: 3-1-2-4.
A common slip is placing the Simon Commission before Chauri Chaura; remember the Commission came under the 1919 Act’s ten-year review clause, but was appointed early, in 1927.
Answer: B
The Khudai Khidmatgars, who took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in the North-West Frontier Province, were organised by:
Solution
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (“Frontier Gandhi”) organised the Khudai Khidmatgars, popularly called the Red Shirts — a non-violent Pashtun movement. Azad and Hakim Ajmal Khan were prominent in the Khilafat movement; Dr M.A. Ansari was a Congress leader who presided over the Madras session of 1927.
Answer: D
Consider the following statements about the Poona Pact:
- It was signed in 1932 after the announcement of the Communal Award.
- It retained separate electorates for the Depressed Classes.
- It increased the number of seats reserved for the Depressed Classes in provincial legislatures.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
The Poona Pact (24 September 1932) followed the Communal Award (16 August 1932) and Gandhi’s fast in Yerawada jail. It replaced separate electorates with joint electorates — so statement 2 is wrong — while raising reserved seats in provincial legislatures from 71 to 148.
Answer: A
Consider the following statements about the Swaraj Party:
- It was formed by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru.
- Its programme of council entry was opposed by the “no-changers”, including Vallabhbhai Patel and C. Rajagopalachari.
- It boycotted the 1923 elections to the legislative councils.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Solution
C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party in January 1923, after losing the council-entry debate at the Gaya session (December 1922). The no-changers — Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari, M.A. Ansari — preferred constructive work. The Swarajists contested the 1923 elections and did well, so statement 3 is wrong.
Answer: B
Mains
The Civil Disobedience Movement reached regions and social groups that the Non-Cooperation Movement had barely touched. Discuss.
Solution
Introduction: Launched with the Dandi March (12 March–6 April 1930) to achieve the Purna Swaraj goal set at Lahore, Civil Disobedience asked people to break laws, not merely to withdraw co-operation — a more demanding form of protest that nonetheless drew a wider base.
Body:
- Regions: salt satyagrahas on both coasts — Vedaranyam (C. Rajagopalachari), Payyanur (K. Kelappan), Dharasana (Sarojini Naidu); the North-West Frontier through Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgars; the North-East through Rani Gaidinliu.
- Women: participated in large numbers in picketing liquor and foreign-cloth shops and in salt-making — a qualitative shift from 1920–22.
- Peasants: no-revenue and no-rent campaigns in Gujarat and the United Provinces; forest satyagrahas in Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central Provinces.
- Business groups: many supported the boycott of British goods, though they welcomed the 1931 truce.
- Limits: Muslim participation was lower than during Khilafat–Non-Cooperation; the Depressed Classes question was raised separately by Ambedkar; industrial workers were less involved than in 1920.
Conclusion: Civil Disobedience widened the national movement socially and geographically, even as communal and caste divisions surfaced — the very issues that would shape the Round Table Conferences and the Poona Pact.