CHAPTER 2: INDIA’S LONG ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
Q1. In which year did the British Crown take direct control of India from the East India Company?
A. 1757
B. 1857
C. 1858
D. 1885
Answer: C. 1858
Q2. Who was the British monarch in whose name the Royal Proclamation of 1858 was issued?
A. Queen Elizabeth I
B. Queen Victoria
C. Queen Elizabeth II
D. Queen Mary
Answer: B. Queen Victoria
Q3. What was the main purpose of the Vernacular Press Act of 1878?
A. To promote Indian-language newspapers
B. To provide free education
C. To encourage Indian industries
D. To regulate and censor the Indian-language press
Answer: D. To regulate and censor the Indian-language press
Q4. Who founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828?
A. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
B. Swami Dayananda Saraswati
C. Jyotirao Phule
D. Swami Vivekananda
Answer: A. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Q5. Who founded the Arya Samaj in 1875?
A. Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar
B. Syed Ahmad Khan
C. Swami Dayananda Saraswati
D. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Answer: C. Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Q6. Who composed the poem Vande Mataram in 1875?
A. Rabindranath Tagore
B. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
C. Subramania Bharati
D. Abanindranath Tagore
Answer: B. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Q7. Which novel published in 1882 featured the poem Bande Mataram?
A. Anandamath
B. Gitanjali
C. The Discovery of India
D. Hind Swaraj
Answer: A. Anandamath
Q8. Which organisation was founded in Bombay in 1885 to provide a political platform for Indians?
A. All-India Muslim League
B. Arya Samaj
C. Anushilan Samiti
D. Indian National Congress
Answer: D. Indian National Congress
Q9. Who was elected the first president of the Indian National Congress in 1885?
A. Dadabhai Naoroji
B. Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee
C. Allan Octavian Hume
D. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: B. Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee
Q10. Which movement, led by Baba Ram Singh, was also known as the Namdhari Movement?
A. Swadeshi Movement
B. Khilafat Movement
C. Kuka Movement
D. Home Rule Movement
Answer: C. Kuka Movement
Q11. Which leader became widely known as Lokmanya for his contribution to India’s freedom struggle?
A. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
B. Lala Lajpat Rai
C. Bipin Chandra Pal
D. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Answer: A. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Q12. Which organisation was established in Bengal in 1902 to provide intellectual, moral and physical training to young men?
A. Hindustan Republican Association
B. Indian National Congress
C. All-India Muslim League
D. Anushilan Samiti
Answer: D. Anushilan Samiti
Q13. Who led the tribal uprising known as Ulgulaan in 1899–1900?
A. Baba Ram Singh
B. Birsa Munda
C. Chandrashekhar Azad
D. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Answer: B. Birsa Munda
Q14. Who was the Viceroy of India when Bengal was partitioned in 1905?
A. Lord Mountbatten
B. Lord Irwin
C. Lord Curzon
D. Lord Linlithgow
Answer: C. Lord Curzon
Q15. What was one of the principal aims of the Swadeshi Movement?
A. To promote Indian-made goods and boycott foreign products
B. To increase dependence on British textiles
C. To support the import of foreign goods
D. To discourage Indian industries
Answer: A. To promote Indian-made goods and boycott foreign products
Q16. Who founded the All-India Muslim League in Dhaka in December 1906?
A. Mahatma Gandhi
B. Jawaharlal Nehru
C. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
D. Prominent Muslim community leaders
Answer: D. Prominent Muslim community leaders
Q17. At which Congress session was the call for Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education endorsed in 1906?
A. Lahore
B. Calcutta
C. Surat
D. Bombay
Answer: B. Calcutta
Q18. What happened at the Surat session of the Indian National Congress in 1907?
A. The Congress launched the Quit India Movement.
B. India declared complete independence.
C. The Congress split between Moderates and Nationalists.
D. The Muslim League was founded.
Answer: C. The Congress split between Moderates and Nationalists.
Q19. Who was executed in 1908 after a revolutionary attempt to assassinate a British judge?
A. Khudiram Bose
B. Bhagat Singh
C. Sukhdev Thapar
D. Shivaram Rajguru
Answer: A. Khudiram Bose
Q20. What was the main objective of the Home Rule Movement launched in 1916 by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant?
A. To support the partition of India
B. To establish British military rule
C. To promote foreign-made goods
D. To demand self-government for India
Answer: D. To demand self-government for India
Q21. In which year did Mahatma Gandhi return to India from South Africa?
A. 1905
B. 1915
C. 1919
D. 1922
Answer: B. 1915
Q22. What did the Rowlatt Act of 1919 allow the British authorities to do?
A. Grant complete independence to India
B. Abolish all land taxes
C. Detain people without trial
D. Establish elected Indian governments at the national level
Answer: C. Detain people without trial
Q23. Who ordered the troops to open fire on the unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April 1919?
A. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer
B. Lord Curzon
C. Lord Mountbatten
D. Lord Irwin
Answer: A. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer
Q24. Which honour did Rabindranath Tagore return in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
A. Bharat Ratna
B. Nobel Prize
C. Knighthood from the British
D. Padma Vibhushan
Answer: C. Knighthood from the British
Q25. What was the main objective of the Khilafat Movement launched in 1919?
A. To demand the partition of Bengal
B. To preserve the religious authority of the Caliph
C. To establish the Indian National Army
D. To support the Simon Commission
Answer: B. To preserve the religious authority of the Caliph
Q26. Which movement was formally launched by the Indian National Congress at its Nagpur session in December 1920?
A. Quit India Movement
B. Civil Disobedience Movement
C. Swadeshi Movement
D. Non-Cooperation Movement
Answer: D. Non-Cooperation Movement
Q27. Why did Mahatma Gandhi withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922?
A. The British immediately granted independence.
B. The Muslim League demanded its withdrawal.
C. The Chauri Chaura incident involved violence.
D. The Simon Commission arrived in India.
Answer: C. The Chauri Chaura incident involved violence.
Q28. What was the primary reason for the nationwide boycott of the Simon Commission in 1927?
A. It did not include a single Indian member.
B. It demanded immediate partition.
C. It abolished the Indian National Congress.
D. It introduced complete independence.
Answer: A. It did not include a single Indian member.
Q29. Which leader was severely injured during a police lathi charge while protesting against the Simon Commission in Lahore in 1928?
A. Dadabhai Naoroji
B. Lala Lajpat Rai
C. Motilal Nehru
D. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Answer: B. Lala Lajpat Rai
Q30. What was the main purpose of the Kakori Train Robbery of 1925?
A. To obtain land for farmers
B. To distribute imported goods
C. To establish a new provincial government
D. To obtain government money to fund revolutionary activities
Answer: D. To obtain government money to fund revolutionary activities
Q31. Which organisation was formed when the Hindustan Republican Association was reorganised?
A. Anushilan Samiti
B. All-India Muslim League
C. Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
D. Servants of India Society
Answer: C. Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Q32. Who were hanged in 1931 in connection with revolutionary activities, becoming prominent martyrs of India’s freedom struggle?
A. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru
B. Tilak, Gokhale and Naoroji
C. Gandhi, Nehru and Patel
D. Bose, Azad and Aurobindo
Answer: A. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru
Q33. At which Congress session was the resolution demanding Purna Swaraj passed in December 1929?
A. Calcutta session
B. Lahore session
C. Surat session
D. Nagpur session
Answer: B. Lahore session
Q34. What does the term Purna Swaraj mean?
A. Provincial autonomy
B. Cooperation with the British
C. Separate electorates
D. Complete independence
Answer: D. Complete independence
Q35. Why did Mahatma Gandhi choose salt as a symbol of resistance during the Civil Disobedience Movement?
A. Salt was produced only in Britain.
B. Salt was used only by wealthy Indians.
C. The British monopoly and salt tax affected ordinary Indians.
D. Salt production had already ended in India.
Answer: C. The British monopoly and salt tax affected ordinary Indians.
Q36. What was the main objective of the Dandi March of 1930?
A. To break the British salt law
B. To establish the Indian National Army
C. To protest against the partition of Bengal
D. To support the Simon Commission
Answer: A. To break the British salt law
Q37. What was agreed upon in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of 1931?
A. India would be partitioned immediately.
B. The Congress would permanently abandon Swaraj.
C. The British would immediately transfer complete power.
D. Political prisoners not involved in violence would be released, and limited private salt manufacture would be allowed.
Answer: D. Political prisoners not involved in violence would be released, and limited private salt manufacture would be allowed.
Q38. What was the main difference between Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar regarding the political representation of the Depressed Classes?
A. Gandhi supported the Simon Commission, while Ambedkar opposed it.
B. Ambedkar supported separate electorates, while Gandhi feared they would divide Hindu society.
C. Gandhi opposed all social reforms, while Ambedkar supported them.
D. Both opposed reserved representation in legislatures.
Answer: B. Ambedkar supported separate electorates, while Gandhi feared they would divide Hindu society.
Q39. What was the main outcome of the Poona Pact?
A. Separate electorates were established for all communities.
B. India received complete independence.
C. Reserved seats for the Depressed Classes in legislatures were increased instead of providing separate electorates.
D. The Indian National Congress was dissolved.
Answer: C. Reserved seats for the Depressed Classes in legislatures were increased instead of providing separate electorates.
Q40. Who organised the Indian National Army and proclaimed the provisional government of Azad Hind?
A. Subhas Chandra Bose
B. Jawaharlal Nehru
C. Motilal Nehru
D. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Answer: A. Subhas Chandra Bose
Q41. What happened to India when Britain entered World War II in 1939?
A. India became fully independent.
B. India was drawn into the war without being consulted.
C. India immediately withdrew from the British Empire.
D. The Indian National Congress was made Britain’s ruling party.
Answer: B. India was drawn into the war without being consulted.
Q42. What did the Cripps Mission of 1942 propose?
A. Immediate and unconditional independence
B. The immediate creation of Pakistan
C. The permanent continuation of British rule without reforms
D. Dominion status after the war, with a provision allowing provinces to opt out of the post-war Indian Union
Answer: D. Dominion status after the war, with a provision allowing provinces to opt out of the post-war Indian Union
Q43. Which slogan did Mahatma Gandhi give during the Quit India Movement in August 1942?
A. Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan
B. Simon Go Back
C. Do or Die
D. Delhi Chalo
Answer: C. Do or Die
Q44. Who hoisted the national flag at Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay during the Quit India Movement after senior Congress leaders had been arrested?
A. Aruna Asaf Ali
B. Sarojini Naidu
C. Annie Besant
D. Kasturba Gandhi
Answer: A. Aruna Asaf Ali
Q45. Which teenage freedom fighter from Assam was killed while leading a procession to hoist the Indian national flag in 1942?
A. Suniti Chowdhury
B. Kanaklata Barua
C. Shanti Ghosh
D. Bina Das
Answer: B. Kanaklata Barua
Q46. Which event in February 1946 sent a strong signal to the British that they could no longer rely on Indian military personnel to maintain their empire?
A. The partition of Bengal
B. The launch of the Home Rule Movement
C. The founding of the Indian National Congress
D. The Royal Indian Navy mutiny
Answer: D. The Royal Indian Navy mutiny
Q47. Who was the British lawyer given only five weeks to draw the boundary between India and Pakistan in 1947?
A. Stafford Cripps
B. Lord Irwin
C. Cyril Radcliffe
D. Allan Octavian Hume
Answer: C. Cyril Radcliffe
Q48. Which leader played a major role in integrating the princely states into independent India?
A. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
B. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
C. Rabindranath Tagore
D. Bhagat Singh
Answer: A. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Q49. On which date did India achieve independence from British rule?
A. 26 January 1950
B. 15 August 1947
C. 26 January 1930
D. 9 August 1942
Answer: B. 15 August 1947
Q50. Which statement best reflects the chapter’s conclusion about India’s independence?
A. Independence was achieved through the efforts of only one leader.
B. Only constitutional negotiations contributed to freedom.
C. India’s independence came without significant sacrifice or suffering.
D. India’s freedom was a collective achievement involving many approaches, sacrifices and struggles, while Partition left a painful legacy.
Answer: D. India’s freedom was a collective achievement involving many approaches, sacrifices and struggles, while Partition left a painful legacy.
