Non-Cooperation & Civil Disobedience — Set 4

Correct Answer: B. Separate electorates for depressed classes with reserved seats in joint electorates

The Poona Pact replaced the Communal Award's provision for separate electorates for depressed classes with reserved seats within joint electorates. Ambedkar accepted reserved seats instead of separate electorates to save Gandhi's life during his fast-unto-death. The reserved seats were increased compared to what the Communal Award had originally proposed.

Correct Answer: B. Separate electorates for depressed classes

Gandhi undertook a fast-unto-death in September 1932 opposing the British government's Communal Award that granted separate electorates to depressed classes (Dalits/Harijans). Gandhi believed separate electorates would permanently divide Hindu society. The fast ended with the Poona Pact signed between Gandhi and Ambedkar.

Correct Answer: D. 1934

The Civil Disobedience Movement was formally suspended in 1934. Gandhi withdrew the movement, believing it had run its course and that constructive programme work was more productive at that time. The movement had been relaunched in 1932 after the failure of the Second Round Table Conference and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact breakdown.

Correct Answer: C. 1932

The Second Civil Disobedience Movement began in 1932, after the failure of the Second Round Table Conference and the breakdown of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Lord Willingdon, the new Viceroy, adopted a repressive policy. Gandhi was arrested, and the movement continued but with less intensity than in 1930.

Correct Answer: B. Salt Acts (Indian Salt Act 1882)

The Indian Salt Act of 1882 gave the British colonial government a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt. Indians were required to buy salt only from government-controlled sources and pay a salt tax. Gandhi targeted this law for his Civil Disobedience Movement because it affected every Indian regardless of class or religion.

Correct Answer: C. Boycott legislative councils

The Non-Cooperation Movement called for boycott of British-run legislative councils. Indians were asked to refuse to contest elections or participate in councils established under British law. This represented a fundamental rejection of the British political framework and was a key element of the non-cooperation strategy.

Correct Answer: B. Peaceful refusal to obey unjust laws

Civil disobedience means peaceful, deliberate refusal to obey laws considered unjust, accepting the legal consequences of such refusal. Gandhi adopted this concept from Henry David Thoreau's essay and practised it first in South Africa. In India, the Civil Disobedience Movement applied this principle through mass violation of the salt law and other British regulations.

Correct Answer: B. Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi developed and popularised the concept of Non-Cooperation as a political strategy for India's freedom struggle. He argued that British rule depended on Indian cooperation with its institutions, and withdrawing that cooperation would make the government unworkable. This strategy was formally adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1920.

Correct Answer: C. Foreign cloth (especially British mill cloth)

Indians were asked to boycott foreign cloth, especially British-manufactured mill cloth, during the Non-Cooperation Movement. Gandhi promoted the use of khadi (hand-spun and hand-woven cloth) as an alternative. The burning of foreign cloth became a powerful symbol of the movement.

Correct Answer: B. Khadi (hand-spun cloth)

Gandhi promoted khadi — hand-spun and hand-woven cloth — as the nationalist alternative to foreign cloth during the Non-Cooperation Movement. The spinning wheel (charkha) became a symbol of self-reliance and Indian identity. Gandhi saw khadi production as a way to provide employment to rural poor and reduce dependence on British manufactured goods.