Q40. Tilak’s Home Rule League covered Karnataka and Maharashtra, but excluded which place?
[SSC MTS (14 November 2024, Shift 2)]
- Nagpur
- Poona
- Berar
- Bombay
Answer: (D) Bombay
Explanation: Tilak’s 1916 Home Rule League operated in Maharashtra outside Bombay city, Karnataka, and the Central Provinces and Berar. Annie Besant’s league took responsibility for much of the rest of India, including Bombay, reducing overlap between the two campaigns.
Q39. Who launched the Home Rule League in September 1916 at Madras?
[SSC MTS (9 October 2024, Shift 3)]
- Sucheta Kriplani
- Lokmanya Tilak
- Annie Besant
- Rash Behari Bose
Answer: (C) Annie Besant
Explanation: Besant launched the league at Madras in September 1916, several months after Tilak’s initiative in western India. She mobilised supporters through her periodicals and local branches, arguing that Indians should exercise greater political authority within their own country.
Q38. Which organisation, divided into two branches, was established by Tilak and Annie Besant?
[SSC CGL Tier-I (11 September 2024, Shift 1)]
- Indian Association
- Theosophical Society
- East Indian Association
- Home Rule League
Answer: (D) Home Rule League
Explanation: The Home Rule Movement had two distinct organisational leagues. Tilak’s began in April 1916, while Besant’s started in September. Both sought Indian self-government through a sustained public campaign, though they worked in different regions to avoid duplication.
Q37. Arrange chronologically:
1. Lucknow Pact;
2. Return of Subhas Chandra Bose to India;
3. Cripps Mission;
4. Naval Mutiny in Bombay.
[UPSC CDS-II General Knowledge (1 September 2024)]
- 4, 3, 2, 1
- 3, 4, 2, 1
- 1, 2, 3, 4
- 2, 1, 3, 4
Answer: (C) 1, 2, 3, 4
Explanation: The Lucknow Pact took place in 1916, well before Bose’s later political return to India. The Cripps Mission visited in 1942, and the Royal Indian Navy uprising occurred in February 1946. Thus the intended order is 1–2–3–4.
Q36. The Lucknow Pact (1916) was an agreement between which organisations?
[WBCS 2023 Mains History Paper III (18 August 2024)]
- Indian National Congress and Muslim League
- Indian National Congress and British Government
- Muslim League and British Government
- Moderate Congress leaders and the Indian National Congress
Answer: (A) Indian National Congress and Muslim League
Explanation: At Lucknow in December 1916, the Congress and All-India Muslim League agreed upon a common constitutional programme. Their cooperation strengthened demands for Indian representation. The moderate and extremist reunion within Congress happened in the same session but was a separate development.
Q35. Who established the Central Hindu School at Banaras, later associated with Banaras Hindu University?
[UKPSC Combined Upper PCS Prelims GS-I (14 July 2024)]
- Madam Cama
- Sarojini Naidu
- Annie Besant
- Sucheta Kriplani
Answer: (C) Annie Besant
Explanation: Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College at Banaras in 1898, combining modern instruction with Indian cultural traditions. The institution later became foundational to Banaras Hindu University, established in 1916 with a major role played by Madan Mohan Malaviya.
Q34. Which British social reformer was known for founding the Indian Home Rule League in 1916?
[SSC CHSL Tier-I (11 July 2024, Shift 3)]
- Anne Knight
- Annie Besant
- Catherine Osler
- Maria Rye
Answer: (B) Annie Besant
Explanation: Annie Besant, a British-born theosophist and reformer, founded the All-India Home Rule League at Madras in September 1916. She was also active in educational and women’s organisations and became the first woman to preside over the Indian National Congress.
Q33. Who first visited India in 1893, later settled here and established the Indian Home Rule League in 1916?
[DSSSB AE Civil (23 June 2024, Shift 3)]
- Annie Besant
- John Elton
- Mary Carpenter
- Katherine Mayo
Answer: (A) Annie Besant
Explanation: Besant arrived in India in 1893 through her association with the Theosophical Society. She developed educational and cultural initiatives before organising a major self-government campaign in 1916. Her political significance grew from this intersection of reform, spirituality and nationalism.
Q32. In which place did Annie Besant establish the Home Rule League?
[Kolkata Police SI Prelims (28 January 2024)]
- Calcutta
- Pune
- Madras
- Bombay
Answer: (C) Madras
Explanation: Besant’s organisation was founded at Madras, now Chennai, in September 1916. Its central office and the Theosophical headquarters were closely linked with Adyar. Tilak’s companion league, headquartered in Pune, concentrated on western and central regions of India.
Q31. The Congress and the Muslim League signed the historic ______ in 1916.
[Delhi Police Constable Executive (20 November 2023, Shift 2)]
- Lahore Pact
- Surat Pact
- Delhi Pact
- Lucknow Pact
Answer: (D) Lucknow Pact
Explanation: The 1916 Lucknow Pact united Congress and the All-India Muslim League behind a shared agenda for constitutional change. It coincided with the reunion of Congress moderates and extremists, signalling a temporary period of greater nationalist political coordination.
