Q120. Lala Lajpat Rai was an active member of which reform association?
[SSC MTS (16 May 2023, Shift 2)]
(A) Arya Samaj
(B) Brahmo Samaj
(C) Brahmo Sabha
(D) Prarthana Samaj
Answer: (A) Arya Samaj
Explanation: Lala Lajpat Rai was strongly influenced by Swami Dayanand Saraswati and the Arya Samaj. His activities connected religious and social reform with education and nationalism. The association also helped shape public initiatives in Punjab, including schools and programmes promoting self-reliance.
Q119. Which freedom fighter was among the founders of Fergusson College at Pune in 1885?
[SSC MTS (10 May 2023, Shift 2)]
(A) Subhas Chandra Bose
(B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(C) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(D) Lala Lajpat Rai
Answer: (B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: Tilak helped build the Deccan Education Society and institutions for national education in western India. Fergusson College was established in Pune in 1885 by members of the society. Education, social awakening and journalism provided important foundations for his later political career.
Q118. Who proclaimed that freedom was his birthright and that he would secure it?
[SSC MTS (10 May 2023, Shift 1)]
(A) Badruddin Tyabji
(B) Lala Lajpat Rai
(C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(D) Bipin Chandra Pal
Answer: (C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: The phrase is identified with Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly called Lokmanya. His demand for Swaraj challenged the limitations of colonial constitutional concessions. The slogan became a widely remembered expression of assertive nationalist politics and the right of Indians to govern themselves.
Q117. Who was the Viceroy of India when Lala Lajpat Rai died in 1928?
[MP Patwari Group-2 (24 April 2023, Shift 2)]
(A) Lord Irwin
(B) Lord Wellingdon
(C) Lord Linlithgow
(D) Lord Reading
Answer: (A) Lord Irwin
Explanation: Lord Irwin served as Viceroy from 1926 until 1931. Lajpat Rai died on 17 November 1928 after being injured during anti-Simon Commission protests at Lahore. The incident intensified opposition to colonial rule and inspired a younger generation of revolutionaries.
Q116. Who described the Montagu–Chelmsford reforms as a disappointing or sunless dawn?
[RPSC 2nd Grade General Knowledge (12 February 2023)]
(A) Annie Besant
(B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(C) Lala Lajpat Rai
(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: (D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: Bal Gangadhar Tilak criticized the limited concessions of the 1919 reforms, which extended elected representation but retained decisive imperial control. He and other nationalists sought meaningful self-government. The criticism reflects the distance between colonial constitutional change and the demand for Swaraj.
Q115. Consider Bipin Chandra Pal: 1. He was associated with the Brahmo Samaj and social reform. 2. He published the weekly New India. Which statements are correct?
[UPPSC RO/ARO Preliminary Examination 2023]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Explanation: Bipin Chandra Pal combined reformist interests with vigorous anti-colonial nationalism. He had connections to the Brahmo Samaj and was associated with the periodical New India. The press and social reform helped circulate his ideas on Swadeshi and political self-reliance.
Q114. At which city was Annie Besant’s Home Rule League based?
[SSC Stenographer (13 October 2023, Shift 2)]
(A) Bombay
(B) Banaras
(C) Calcutta
(D) Madras
Answer: (D) Madras
Explanation: Annie Besant based her Home Rule League at Madras and organized branches across large parts of India. Tilak operated a separate Home Rule League with a largely western Indian territorial focus. Both organizations began in 1916 and promoted self-government.
Q113. Which of these statements concerning Punjab National Bank is correct?
[CRPF Head Constable Ministerial (1 March 2023, Shift 1)]
(A) PNB began serving customers on 19 May 1897
(B) It was founded on 12 April 1895
(C) Its first board had nine members
(D) Lala Lajpat Rai opened its first account
Answer: (D) Lala Lajpat Rai opened its first account
Explanation: Lala Lajpat Rai had close ties with Punjab National Bank, which became a symbol of Indian-managed banking in the colonial period. He is remembered as its first account holder. Indigenous economic institutions were an important strand of nationalist self-reliance.
Q112. Who belonged to the Extremist phase of India’s national movement?
[SSC MTS (10 May 2023, Shift 2)]
(A) Pherozeshah Mehta
(B) A. O. Hume
(C) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: (D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: Tilak led the assertive nationalist wing and called for Swaraj using stronger popular methods. Mehta and Gokhale were leading Moderates, while Hume helped establish Congress. Their approaches differed most clearly over reliance on petitions versus mass political mobilization.
Q111. Who edited the Marathi newspaper Kesari?
[SSC MTS (17 May 2023, Shift 2)]
(A) Bipin Chandra Pal
(B) Aurobindo Ghosh
(C) Lala Lajpat Rai
(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: (D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: Tilak used Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English to disseminate political ideas and criticize colonial policies. His journalism broadened public interest in Swaraj and sometimes prompted government prosecutions, notably his sedition case and imprisonment in 1908.
