Non-Cooperation & Civil Disobedience — Set 18

Correct Answer: B. 225 tried; 172 convicted; 19 hanged

After the Chauri Chaura incident, the British government prosecuted 225 people. Of these, 172 were convicted, and 19 were hanged. The harsh sentences further inflamed nationalist sentiment. The trials and executions became another symbol of British repression, even as Gandhi maintained that the violence had justified calling off the movement.

Correct Answer: C. Ravi

The historic Lahore Congress Session of December 1929 was held on the banks of the River Ravi. At midnight on December 31, 1929, Nehru hoisted the tricolour on the river bank as the Congress celebrated the dawn of the new year and the new goal of complete independence. The river-bank setting gave the session a dramatic and memorable quality.

Correct Answer: B. British India and Indian princely states — but not Congress

The First Round Table Conference (November 1930–January 1931) was attended by representatives of British India's various communities (except Congress, which boycotted) and the Indian princely states. The Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, liberal politicians, and princes attended. Without Congress, it lacked legitimacy, which made the Second RTC with Gandhi the more significant conference.

Correct Answer: C. Introduce tariff protection for Indian textiles

One of Gandhi's 11 demands was to introduce tariff protection (protective customs duties) for Indian textiles against British mill cloth imports. The absence of tariff protection was a core reason why India's handloom textile industry was being destroyed by cheaper British cloth. Tariff protection was a standard economic policy for protecting infant industries but the British refused it to protect Lancashire's interests.

Correct Answer: B. A mass movement with lakhs of members across all sections of society

Before Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement, the Congress was essentially a 'small body of professionals' — mainly lawyers, doctors, and educated middle-class men who met annually. Gandhi transformed it into a mass organisation with hundreds of thousands of members from all sections of society, including peasants, workers, women, and religious communities. This transformation made the Congress the authentic voice of the Indian people.

Correct Answer: C. Gorakhpur

The Chauri Chaura incident of February 4, 1922 occurred in Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh). The area had been a centre of intense Non-Cooperation Movement activity. The local march that ended in the police station burning was just one of many demonstrations in the region, but its violent outcome had national consequences.

Correct Answer: B. The welfare/upliftment of all

Sarvodaya means 'the welfare of all' or 'the upliftment of all' — Gandhi's social philosophy derived from John Ruskin's 'Unto This Last.' Gandhi believed that the goal of political and economic organisation should be the well-being of the last and least person in society, not just the majority or elite. This philosophy underpinned his vision of an egalitarian independent India based on village self-sufficiency.

Correct Answer: B. Full provincial autonomy with Indian ministers responsible to elected legislatures

The Government of India Act 1935 introduced full provincial autonomy, with Indian ministers responsible to elected provincial legislatures. Congress contested the 1937 elections and formed governments in seven out of eleven provinces. While Congress accepted provincial autonomy, it opposed the Act's federal provisions and the Viceroy's special powers that prevented genuine central self-governance.

Correct Answer: B. Gandhi's Non-Cooperation programme was adopted against significant opposition

At the Nagpur Session of December 1920, Gandhi's Non-Cooperation programme was adopted against significant opposition from leaders like Annie Besant, Jinnah, and some senior Congress figures. Gandhi's ability to win this vote, restructure the Congress on linguistic lines, and reduce membership fees demonstrated that he had become the dominant figure in the Congress. This session was the inflection point from constitutional moderate politics to mass civil disobedience.

Correct Answer: B. Separate electorates for untouchables (depressed classes) versus joint electorates with reserved seats

At the Second Round Table Conference (1931), Gandhi clashed with Ambedkar over the specific issue of separate electorates for untouchables versus reserved seats in joint electorates. Gandhi argued that separate electorates would permanently divide Hindu society and weaken the untouchability eradication movement. Ambedkar countered that untouchables needed independent political power. The clash continued until the Poona Pact of September 1932.