Q150. Which event was the decisive turning point in the conflict between Moderate and Extremist Congress factions?
[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I (7 August 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) Jallianwala Bagh massacre
(B) Champaran Satyagraha
(C) Surat Split
(D) Partition of Bengal
Answer: (C) Surat Split
Explanation: The Surat Split in December 1907 made the dispute over Congress leadership and methods explicit. Moderates prioritized constitutional reforms, while assertive nationalists preferred boycott and mass agitation. The confrontation caused a prolonged separation until the Lucknow reunion of 1916.
Q149. Which event triggered the first widespread use of Swadeshi and boycott as political instruments?
[IB Security Assistant (29 September 2025, Shift 2)]
(A) Surat Split
(B) Rowlatt Act protests
(C) Jallianwala Bagh massacre
(D) Partition of Bengal
Answer: (D) Partition of Bengal
Explanation: The 1905 partition of Bengal sparked popular campaigns to reject imported goods and promote Indian-made products. Swadeshi and boycott connected economic self-reliance with political resistance. These methods shaped the assertive nationalism of leaders such as Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.
Q148. In what year did the Indian National Congress undergo the Surat Split?
[AP High Court Common Recruitment Exam (24 August 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) 1904
(B) 1905
(C) 1911
(D) 1907
Answer: (D) 1907
Explanation: The Congress fractured at Surat in 1907 after disagreement over who should lead the session and whether nationalist boycott should be widened. The episode followed the expansion of the Swadeshi movement and separated Moderates and Extremists for several years.
Q147. Who among the following led Garam Dal, the group of radical nationalists?
[SSC MTS (28 October 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) Dadabhai Naoroji
(B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(C) Bipin Chandra Pal
(D) Surendranath Banerjee
Answer: (C) Bipin Chandra Pal
Explanation: Bipin Chandra Pal belonged to the assertive nationalist wing of Congress, popularly described as Garam Dal. He championed Swadeshi, boycott and national education and was an influential journalist. The other three choices are primarily identified with constitutional or Moderate politics.
Q146. Match the Congress session with its president:
Bombay – 1885;
Calcutta – 1896;
Surat – 1907;
Kanpur – 1925.
[SSC MTS (17 October 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) 1-d, 2-a, 3-c, 4-b
(B) 1-d, 2-b, 3-a, 4-c
(C) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a
(D) 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c
Answer: (D) 1-d, 2-a, 3-b, 4-c
Explanation: The matching presidents are Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee for Bombay 1885, Rahimtulla Sayani for Calcutta 1896, Rash Behari Ghosh for Surat 1907 and Sarojini Naidu for Kanpur 1925. Surat is especially remembered for the organizational rupture between Congress factions.
Q145. Which organisation, divided into two branches, was established by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant?
[SSC CGL Tier I (11 September 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) Indian Association
(B) Theosophical Society
(C) East Indian Association
(D) Home Rule League
Answer: (D) Home Rule League
Explanation: Tilak and Besant launched separate Home Rule Leagues in 1916 with agreed spheres of operation. They mobilized public opinion around the demand for Indian self-government while using meetings and pamphlets. The movement also encouraged renewed Congress unity at Lucknow.
Q144. The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga and Savitri are works of which Extremist freedom fighter?
[SSC CHSL Tier I (10 July 2024, Shift 4)]
(A) Lala Lajpat Rai
(B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(C) Bipin Chandra Pal
(D) Aurobindo Ghosh
Answer: (D) Aurobindo Ghosh
Explanation: Sri Aurobindo moved from active nationalist politics to philosophical and spiritual writing at Pondicherry. The Life Divine explores spiritual evolution, The Synthesis of Yoga discusses yogic disciplines, and Savitri is an epic poem. Earlier, he was involved with militant nationalism in Bengal.
Q143. Tilak’s Home Rule League operated in Maharashtra and Karnataka, but did not cover which city?
[SSC MTS (14 November 2024, Shift 2)]
(A) Nagpur
(B) Pune
(C) Berar
(D) Bombay
Answer: (D) Bombay
Explanation: Tilak founded a Home Rule League in April 1916 with an agreed regional sphere, including Maharashtra outside Bombay city, Karnataka, and the Central Provinces. Annie Besant organized a separate league elsewhere. Both campaigned for greater Indian self-government within the empire.
Q142. In which region was Tilak’s Home Rule movement primarily active?
[SSC MTS (29 October 2024, Shift 2)]
(A) Bihar
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Madras
(D) Punjab
Answer: (B) Maharashtra
Explanation: Tilak’s main political base was Maharashtra, though his Home Rule League also worked in Karnataka, Berar and the Central Provinces. His 1916 campaign sought to educate and organize supporters of Indian self-government, using public lectures and printed material.
Q141. Which nationalist died after being injured in police action during a demonstration against the Simon Commission?
[SSC MTS (23 October 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) Chandrashekhar Azad
(B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(C) Bhagat Singh
(D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Answer: (D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Explanation: Lajpat Rai led a protest in Lahore when the Simon Commission visited in October 1928. Police used lathis against demonstrators and he died the following month. The incident became a symbol of colonial repression and radicalized many nationalist activists.
