Q70. Who established the Indian Association in Calcutta?
[OSSSC Forester / Forest Guard, 17 April 2026, Shift 2]
(A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(C) Dadabhai Naoroji
(D) Surendranath Banerjee
Answer: (D) Surendranath Banerjee
Explanation: Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose founded the Indian Association in 1876. It promoted political education, a broader national consciousness and constitutional reforms. The organisation was an important predecessor to Congress and helped connect emerging educated middle-class political opinion.
Q69. Which Congress meeting witnessed the organisational conflict that resulted in the 1907 split?
[DSSSB MTS, 11 April 2026, Shift 3]
(A) Calcutta session and Swadeshi programme
(B) Lucknow session and Congress–League pact
(C) Lahore session and Purna Swaraj
(D) Surat session and the Moderate–Extremist split
Answer: (D) Surat session and the Moderate–Extremist split
Explanation: The Surat meeting of 1907 brought sharp disagreements over leadership and methods to a head. Moderates preferred constitutional agitation, while Extremists pressed for stronger boycott and Swadeshi programmes. Rash Behari Ghosh presided over the disrupted session.
Q68. Which statement best describes the early Congress position on communal politics?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I, 25 March 2026, Shift 2]
(A) It accepted religion-based political programmes
(B) It pursued a broadly secular agenda in public demands
(C) It represented only one religious community
(D) It restricted membership to a single religious group
Answer: (B) It pursued a broadly secular agenda in public demands
Explanation: The Congress Moderates tried to build a common political platform across communities rather than organise national demands exclusively by religion. Their resolutions emphasised civil liberties, expanded legislative representation, public services and administrative reform within a national constitutional framework.
Q67. Which method was characteristic of Moderate nationalists in the early Congress?
[RRB NTPC Graduate CBT-I, 17 March 2026, Shift 1]
(A) Constitutional reforms
(B) Swadeshi mass mobilisation
(C) Vedic educational revival
(D) Complete boycott of all foreign institutions
Answer: (A) Constitutional reforms
Explanation: Moderate leaders worked through petitions, speeches, public associations and legislative reform proposals. They hoped that reasoned constitutional pressure would lead to greater Indian participation in government, expenditure reform and civil liberties, particularly during the period from 1885 to 1905.
Q66. When and where did the Indian National Congress meet for the first time?
[RRB Technician Grade I, 13 March 2026]
(A) 12 January 1885, Calcutta
(B) 28 December 1852, Poona
(C) 28 December 1885, Bombay
(D) 28 December 1885, Poona
Answer: (C) 28 December 1885, Bombay
Explanation: The first Congress session opened on 28 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay. Although an earlier plan envisaged Poona, the gathering moved to Bombay. Seventy-two delegates participated, and Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee served as president.
Q65. At which INC session did the Moderates and Extremists formally split?
[RRB Technician Grade III, 9 March 2026, Shift 2]
(A) Surat, 1907
(B) Bombay, 1910
(C) Delhi, 1912
(D) Calcutta, 1906
Answer: (A) Surat, 1907
Explanation: The 1907 Surat Congress split amid disputes about leadership and the extent of boycott and national agitation. Rash Behari Ghosh chaired the session. The break exposed differences between petition-based Moderate politics and the more assertive methods of the Extremists.
Q64. Which Moderate demand most directly sought greater Indian participation in colonial lawmaking?
[RRB JE CBT-I, 25 February 2026, Shift 2]
(A) Expansion of legislative councils
(B) Lower indirect taxes alone
(C) Immediate transfer of all political power
(D) Preferential allocation of all bureaucratic jobs
Answer: (A) Expansion of legislative councils
Explanation: Expanding legislative councils would give Indian representatives more opportunities to question budgets and influence policy. The Moderates also sought Indianisation of services and financial reform, but council enlargement most directly concerned participation in colonial legislative decision-making.
Q63. Whom did Mahatma Gandhi regard as his political mentor?
[SSC MTS 2025 paper, 10 February 2026, Shift 3]
(A) Lala Lajpat Rai
(B) Dadabhai Naoroji
(C) Subhas Chandra Bose
(D) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Answer: (D) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Explanation: Gopal Krishna Gokhale was an influential Moderate Congress leader and founder of the Servants of India Society. Gandhi respected his judgement and political training. Gokhale advised Gandhi to understand Indian conditions through travel before entering domestic political struggles.
Q62. At which Congress session was a resolution passed to conduct Congress work in Hindi?
[MP Police SI, 18 January 2026, Shift 1]
(A) Lucknow
(B) Kanpur
(C) Prayag
(D) Kashi
Answer: (B) Kanpur
Explanation: The exam identifies the Kanpur session as the meeting connected with adopting Hindi for Congress work. The 1925 Kanpur annual session was presided over by Sarojini Naidu, the first Indian woman to chair an INC annual session.
Q61. In which year did ideological conflict split the INC into Moderates and Extremists?
[Delhi Police Constable, 6 January 2026, Shift 2]
(A) 1905
(B) 1907
(C) 1919
(D) 1920
Answer: (B) 1907
Explanation: The split occurred at Surat in 1907, although disagreements had increased during the movement against Bengal’s partition. Extremists advocated wider boycott and popular mobilisation, whereas Moderate politicians pressed constitutional reforms. The factions later cooperated again at Lucknow in 1916.
