Indian National Movement II (1918-1929): UPSC Previous Year Questions (Modern History)

Explanation

In September 1920, at a special session in Calcutta, the Congress approved a non-cooperation programme till the Punjab and Khilafat wrongs were removed and swaraj was established. The programme was to include: boycott of government schools and colleges; boycott of law courts and dispensation of justice through panchayats instead; boycott of legislative councils; (there were some differences over this as some leaders like C.R. Das were not willing to include a boycott of councils, but bowed to Congress discipline; these leaders boycotted elections held in November 1920 and the majority of the voters too stayed away); boycott of foreign cloth and use of khadi instead; also practice of hand-spinning to be done; renunciation(not retention) of government honours and titles; the second phase could include mass civil disobedience including resignation from government service, and non-payment of taxes. During the movement, the participants were supposed to work for Hindu-Muslim unity and for removal of untouchability, all the time remaining non-violent.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: The Indian National Congress under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership declared Swaraj (self-rule) as its ultimate objective through the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22). The movement emphasized the use of all legitimate and peaceful means such as boycott of British goods, law courts, educational institutions, and titles. The commitment to non-violence and peaceful protest was a foundational principle.

Statement 2 is correct: The strategy of the Non-Cooperation Movement was phased or staged. Gandhi proposed that the movement would initially involve peaceful non-cooperation (boycotts, resignation from government jobs, etc.). If Swaraj was not achieved within a year and if the British government resorted to repression, the next stage would involve more intense actions such as civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes. This conditional phased approach was meant to give the British government a chance to negotiate but also prepared Indians for escalated resistance if necessary.

Explanation

Mahatma Gandhi made the famous statement "Sedition has become my religion" in 1930 during the Salt Satyagraha while publicly breaking the Salt Law at Dandi as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement. This act of defiance against the British salt monopoly was a turning point in India’s freedom struggle. Gandhi used this phrase to express how opposing unjust laws and British colonial rule had become his moral duty and central to his life’s mission.

Explanation

After the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922, where a mob set fire to a police station killing 22 policemen, many people were arrested and faced trial, with several sentenced to death. Madan Mohan Malaviya, a respected lawyer and freedom fighter, along with Krishna Kant, provided legal defence to these accused individuals. Malaviya’s defence efforts succeeded in getting the death sentences of many of them commuted.