Gandhian Era — Set 10

Correct Answer: B. Asaf Ali

• **Asaf Ali** defended Bhagat Singh & Dutt in the **Assembly Bomb Case** (1929). • In the **Lahore Conspiracy Case**, Bhagat Singh used the court as a **propaganda platform** — often refused defence. • A special tribunal was set up bypassing the normal High Court; Bhagat Singh was hanged March 23, **1931**. • 💡 Sapru = defended at Round Tables and INA trials; Kailash Nath Katju = later Congress leader; 'Defended himself' = partially true but Asaf Ali was counsel initially.

Correct Answer: A. Arrival of Simon Commission

• **Simon Commission arrived in 1928** — the earliest of the four events listed. • Chronological order: Simon Commission (**1928**) → Individual Satyagraha (**1940**) → Cripps Mission (March **1942**) → Quit India (August **1942**). • Remembering the order: **S-I-C-Q** = Simon, Individual, Cripps, Quit India. • 💡 Quit India = last not first; Individual Satyagraha = **1940**; Cripps Mission = **1942** but after Simon by 14 years.

Correct Answer: B. N.M. Joshi

• **AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress)** founded in **1920** by **N.M. Joshi** and others. • **Lala Lajpat Rai** was the first president; first national trade union federation in India. • AITUC later split: moderate wing formed **Indian Trade Union Federation (1929)** and communist-led **Red TUC**. • 💡 Muzaffar Ahmed = Communist leader; S.A. Dange = communist trade unionist; P.C. Joshi = CPI general secretary — all post-AITUC figures.

Correct Answer: D. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

• **'Red Shirts'** (Surkh Posh) = popular name for **Khudai Khidmatgars** led by **Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan**. • Wore red uniforms; committed to **Gandhian non-violence** in the predominantly Pashtun NWFP. • Fought alongside Congress; opposed partition; continued struggle for Pashtunistan after **1947**. • 💡 Jinnah = Muslim League, wore western suit; Liaquat = Muslim League leader; Maulana Azad = Congress, not from NWFP.

Correct Answer: C. Jawaharlal Nehru

• **Jawaharlal Nehru** said **'The light has gone out of our lives'** in a radio address after Gandhi's assassination. • Full quote: '.and there is darkness everywhere. I do not know what to tell you.' • Gandhi was assassinated on **January 30, 1948**; this speech broadcast the same evening. • 💡 Rajendra Prasad = stated it in Constituent Assembly; Sardar Patel = deeply grieved, not this quote; Mountbatten = condoled but not this speech.

Correct Answer: A. Feroz Shah Kotla

• **HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association)** established at **Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, 1928**. • Reorganisation of HRA (1924); led by **Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh**; added 'Socialist' for class struggle. • Key acts: Assembly bomb **1929**, Saunders killing **1928**; members: Rajguru, Sukhdev, Azad, Bhagat Singh. • 💡 Kakori = HRA's **1925** train robbery, before HSRA; Kanpur = where earlier revolutionary meetings were; Lahore = where HSRA operated but not where it was established.

Correct Answer: A. Liaquat Ali Khan

• **Liaquat Ali Khan** (Muslim League) held the **Finance portfolio** in the Interim Government of 1946. • His budgets imposed heavy taxes on Hindu business interests — Congress called it 'political warfare'. • He later became **Pakistan's first Prime Minister** (1947–1951); assassinated in Rawalpindi. • 💡 Shanmukham Chetty = India's first Finance Minister (not interim); C.D. Deshmukh = 2nd Finance Minister; John Mathai = 3rd Finance Minister.

Correct Answer: A. Ramsay MacDonald

• **Communal Award (1932)** announced by British PM **Ramsay MacDonald** — separate electorate for Depressed Classes. • Gandhi opposed it as it would 'vivisect and separate the Depressed Classes from the Hindu fold'. • His fast unto death in Yerwada Jail forced the **Poona Pact** — replaced separate by reserved seats. • 💡 Attlee = independence PM **1947**; Churchill = opposed all Indian reforms; Baldwin = Tory PM, not during this period.

Correct Answer: D. Dharasana

• **Sarojini Naidu** led the **Dharasana Salt Works raid (May 1930)** after Gandhi was arrested. • Peaceful protesters were beaten by police with lathis — reported by **Webb Miller** (American journalist) worldwide. • Event drew massive international attention to India's Civil Disobedience Movement. • 💡 Dandi = where Gandhi broke salt law April 6, **1930**; Wadala = Mumbai's salt works; Calicut = Kerala port, not salt raid.

Correct Answer: B. Muhammad Iqbal

• **Muhammad Iqbal** wrote **'Sare Jahan Se Achha'** (Tarana-e-Hind) in **1904** — iconic patriotic song. • First published in the weekly 'Ittehad'; later became the unofficial anthem of undivided India. • Iqbal also proposed a separate Muslim homeland in his **1930 Allahabad address** (later called 'Pakistan vision'). • 💡 Bismil Azimabadi = wrote 'Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna'; Tagore = wrote 'Jana Gana Mana'; Bankim Chandra = wrote 'Vande Mataram'.