Q140. Who authored the epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol?
[SSC MTS (23 October 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(B) Aurobindo Ghosh
(C) Jyotirao Phule
(D) B. R. Ambedkar
Answer: (B) Aurobindo Ghosh
Explanation: Sri Aurobindo wrote Savitri, a long philosophical epic with spiritual themes. Before settling in Pondicherry, he had been a forceful nationalist voice in Bengal. His later literary and philosophical works reflected his ideas of consciousness and human spiritual evolution.
Q139. Which Congress session saw the organization divide into Moderates and Extremists?
[RPF Sub-Inspector CBT-I (3 December 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) Lahore
(B) Calcutta
(C) Allahabad
(D) Surat
Answer: (D) Surat
Explanation: The split occurred at the Surat session of 1907 after escalating differences over the Congress presidency, boycott and nationalist strategy. The Extremists preferred stronger popular action, while Moderates advocated constitutional methods. The main factions reunited in 1916.
Q138. Which leader was known as Punjab Kesari?
[Maharashtra Police Constable (7 July 2024)]
(A) Bhagat Singh
(B) Rajguru
(C) Sukhdev
(D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Answer: (D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Explanation: Punjab Kesari, meaning Lion of Punjab, was Lala Lajpat Rai’s popular epithet. He played a major role in the Swadeshi movement, Arya Samaj and educational work. His death after an anti-Simon Commission protest heightened nationalist anger in 1928.
Q137. Which freedom-fighter and region pairs are correct: I. Bipin Chandra Pal–Bengal; II. Bal Gangadhar Tilak–Maharashtra?
[DSSSB Jail Warder (12 June 2024, Shift 2)]
(A) Only II
(B) Both I and II
(C) Only I
(D) Neither I nor II
Answer: (B) Both I and II
Explanation: Bipin Chandra Pal became a prominent voice of Swadeshi nationalism in Bengal, while Tilak led assertive politics in Maharashtra. Together with Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, they were collectively known as Lal–Bal–Pal and challenged the limits of Moderate politics.
Q136. Who raised the slogan “Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it”?
[SSC JE Electrical (5 June 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) Swami Vivekananda
(B) Sachindra Nath Sanyal
(C) Bhagat Singh
(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: (D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: The statement is attributed to Lokmanya Tilak and captured his insistence that Indians possessed an inherent right to Swaraj. Tilak emphasized newspapers, popular festivals and political education. His ideas significantly influenced the rise of assertive nationalism.
Q135. Against which event were Swadeshi and boycott first widely deployed together as a political protest?
[SSC MTS (5 November 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) Rowlatt Act
(B) Partition of Bengal
(C) Simon Commission
(D) Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Answer: (B) Partition of Bengal
Explanation: Swadeshi and boycott became central to popular resistance against the partition of Bengal in 1905. The campaign urged Indians to support indigenous products and refuse British imports. It accelerated the rise of assertive nationalism and a mass political consciousness.
Q134. What was a principal aim of the Swadeshi agitation supported by the Congress?
[DSSSB Jail Warder (14 June 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) Promoting British industries
(B) Boycotting British-made goods
(C) Expanding international free trade
(D) Ending all social associations
Answer: (B) Boycotting British-made goods
Explanation: The Swadeshi programme encouraged Indians to refuse imported British goods and use indigenous products. It accompanied protests against Bengal’s partition, beginning in 1905. Alongside national education, boycott and self-reliance distinguished the rising Extremist approach from purely constitutional petitions.
Q133. By what other name was the Swadeshi agitation known?
[OSSSC LSI/Forester/Forest Guard (30 April 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) Society Movement
(B) Vande Mataram Movement
(C) People’s Movement
(D) Jai Bharat Movement
Answer: (B) Vande Mataram Movement
Explanation: Vande Mataram became a major slogan of the 1905 anti-partition mobilization. The movement combined political protest with support for indigenous goods, public assemblies and national education. It contributed to the growth of assertive Indian nationalism in several provinces.
Q132. In which year was the nationalist and philosopher Sri Aurobindo born?
[Indian Navy Tradesman Mate (3 February 2024)]
(A) 1872
(B) 1982
(C) 1884
(D) 1892
Answer: (A) 1872
Explanation: Sri Aurobindo was born on 15 August 1872 in Calcutta. He participated in the Swadeshi-era nationalist movement and was tried and acquitted in the Alipore Bomb Case. He later moved to Pondicherry, developing his philosophical system of Integral Yoga.
Q131. Who presided over the 1905 Banaras Congress session that formally supported Swadeshi?
[SSC CPO Paper I (29 June 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) Rajendra Prasad
(D) Motilal Nehru
Answer: (A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Explanation: Gopal Krishna Gokhale presided over the Banaras Congress session in 1905. Swadeshi was endorsed in response to Bengal’s partition. Although Gokhale was a Moderate, the movement drew together leaders of differing political tendencies before Congress factional differences deepened.
