Q30. Who was the first Indian journalist to be imprisoned for work in journalism?
[UPPSC Assistant Conservator of Forests Examination 2015]
(A) Surendranath Banerjee
(B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(C) Rash Behari Bose
(D) Pherozeshah Mehta
Answer: (A) Surendranath Banerjee
Explanation: Surendranath Banerjee was jailed for contempt of court in 1883 following writings in The Bengalee. Although Tilak became famous for later sedition prosecutions, Banerjee’s case preceded them. It was a landmark in Indian nationalist journalism and the emergence of organized public protest.
Q29. Which movement contributed to the division of Congress into Moderates and Extremists?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015]
(A) Swadeshi Movement
(B) Quit India Movement
(C) Non-Cooperation Movement
(D) Civil Disobedience Movement
Answer: (A) Swadeshi Movement
Explanation: The Swadeshi movement arising from Bengal’s partition in 1905 intensified disagreement over methods and goals. Extremists promoted boycott, national education and mass action, while Moderates favoured limited constitutional approaches. The tensions produced the Surat rupture in December 1907.
Q28. Who called Bal Gangadhar Tilak the Father of Indian Unrest?
[WBCS Mains General Studies I 2015]
(A) Valentine Chirol
(B) Benjamin Disraeli
(C) Lord Minto II
(D) Lord Chelmsford
Answer: (A) Valentine Chirol
Explanation: Valentine Chirol, a British journalist and imperial commentator, popularized the label Father of Indian Unrest for Tilak. The expression conveyed official unease at Tilak’s organizing power and nationalist journalism. Tilak himself called for Swaraj and stronger anti-colonial mobilization.
Q27. After Tilak’s conviction, which scholar pleaded for mercy, citing his interest in Tilak as a Sanskrit scholar?
[UPPSC Preliminary Examination 2014]
(A) Rabindranath Tagore
(B) Max Müller
(C) Bipin Chandra Pal
(D) William Jones
Answer: (B) Max Müller
Explanation: Friedrich Max Müller was the noted Indologist who expressed concern for Tilak as a scholar of Sanskrit and Hindu texts. Tilak was known not only for nationalist agitation but also for scholarship. His political prosecutions brought international attention to British policies in India.
Q26. Who was implicated in the Alipore Bomb Case?
[Haryana PSC Preliminary Examination 2014]
(A) Surendranath Banerjee
(B) Bipin Chandra Pal
(C) Jatin Das
(D) Aurobindo Ghosh
Answer: (D) Aurobindo Ghosh
Explanation: Sri Aurobindo was arrested in 1908 after police discovered a revolutionary network linked to the Muzaffarpur bomb attempt. Chittaranjan Das defended him during the Alipore trial, and he was acquitted. Other accused revolutionaries received varying sentences for their activities.
Q25. Who was NOT an outstanding leader of extremist nationalism?
[UPPSC RO/ARO Preliminary Examination 2014]
(A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(B) Bipin Chandra Pal
(C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Answer: (A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Explanation: Gokhale was identified with Moderate Congress politics and constitutional reform. Pal, Tilak and Lajpat Rai were the assertive Lal–Bal–Pal leaders. Their disagreement with moderate petitioning helped shape the factional conflict that became open at Surat in 1907.
Q24. Which social group remained comparatively distant from the early Swadeshi Movement of 1905?
[WBCS Mains General Studies I 2014]
(A) Women
(B) Peasantry
(C) Students
(D) Educated intelligentsia
Answer: (B) Peasantry
Explanation: The early Swadeshi movement drew considerable support from students, professionals and sections of urban society, while peasant participation was comparatively limited. This uneven social base constrained the movement despite its innovations in boycott, national education and volunteer associations.
Q23. Who founded Swadeshi Bhandar in 1897?
[WBCS Mains General Studies I 2014]
(A) Sarala Devi
(B) Rabindranath Tagore
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) Bipin Chandra Pal
Answer: (B) Rabindranath Tagore
Explanation: Rabindranath Tagore was associated with establishing a Swadeshi Bhandar to encourage indigenous goods before the major 1905 boycott campaign. Such efforts reflected an earlier concern for economic self-reliance that later became central to assertive nationalism and the anti-partition movement.
Q22. Whom did Bal Gangadhar Tilak praise as the Diamond of India?
[WBCS Mains General Studies I 2014]
(A) Rabindranath Tagore
(B) Dadabhai Naoroji
(C) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Answer: (C) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Explanation: Tilak described Gopal Krishna Gokhale as a Diamond of India despite their differing methods. Gokhale was a major Moderate leader, while Tilak advocated stronger agitation for Swaraj. Their mutual respect illustrates that ideological disagreement did not always mean personal hostility.
Q21. In which Congress session did the Moderate and Extremist factions split?
[Manipur PSC Preliminary Examination 2013]
(A) Calcutta 1906
(B) Surat 1907
(C) Lucknow 1916
(D) Lahore 1929
Answer: (B) Surat 1907
Explanation: The Congress split in Surat in 1907 after disagreements over leadership and the political programme. The Calcutta session of 1906 had tried to reconcile different demands, while Lucknow in 1916 marked the return of organizational unity between the major factions.
