Q10. Consider: A. After the 1920 Nagpur Congress, provincial Congress committees were organised linguistically; B. in 1948 Congress rejected immediate linguistic reorganisation. Which is true?
[RPSC RAS Prelims 2018]
(A) A only
(B) B only
(C) Neither
(D) Both A and B
Answer: (D) Both A and B
Explanation: The Nagpur session of 1920 reorganised provincial Congress committees along linguistic lines, helping build mass participation. Following independence, Congress leadership was initially cautious about creating language-based states, citing unity and administrative concerns; hence both statements are treated as correct.
Q9. In what year was the Indian National Congress established?
[WBCS Prelims 2017]
(A) 1883
(B) 1885
(C) 1891
(D) 1905
Answer: (B) 1885
Explanation: The INC began in 1885, when nationalists from different provinces assembled in Bombay. Allan Octavian Hume was instrumental in organising the event, while Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee chaired the first session. The association subsequently met annually in different cities.
Q8. Who was the youngest person to become Indian National Congress president?
[MPPSC General Studies 2017]
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Abul Kalam Azad
(C) Ananda Mohan Bose
(D) Bhupendranath Bose
Answer: (B) Abul Kalam Azad
Explanation: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad became Congress president at the 1923 Delhi special session when he was about thirty-five years old. He later led the organisation during much of the Second World War and became independent India’s first education minister.
Q7. Consider these pairs: (1) Radhakanta Deb — first president, British Indian Association; (2) Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty — founder, Madras Mahajan Sabha; (3) Surendranath Banerjee — founder, Indian Association. Which are correctly matched?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2017]
(A) 1 only
(B) 1 and 3 only
(C) 2 and 3 only
(D) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (B) 1 and 3 only
Explanation: Radhakanta Deb headed the British Indian Association, while Surendranath Banerjee co-founded the Indian Association in 1876. The Madras Mahajan Sabha was founded in 1884 by leaders including M. Viraraghavachariar, G. Subramania Iyer and P. Ananda Charlu, not Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty.
Q6. Which organisation is regarded as an important precursor of the Indian National Congress?
[BPSC Combined Competitive Exam 2016]
(A) British Indian Association
(B) Indian Association
(C) Indian National Union
(D) None of these
Answer: (B) Indian Association
Explanation: The Indian Association, founded in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose, developed all-India political contacts and nationalist conferences. It was an influential forerunner of Congress, though the Indian National Union also featured in the immediate organisational history of the Congress.
Q5. Who dismissed the early Indian National Congress as representing a “microscopic minority”?
[UPSC NDA General Ability, 19 April 2015]
(A) Lord Napier
(B) Lord Dufferin
(C) Lord Ripon
(D) Lord Lytton
Answer: (B) Lord Dufferin
Explanation: Lord Dufferin, viceroy when the INC was founded in 1885, criticised its limited social representativeness by calling it a microscopic minority. Many early Congress participants were English-educated professionals, although the organisation later expanded its mass reach.
Q4. Consider: 1. Sarojini Naidu was the first woman president of Congress; 2. Badruddin Tyabji was its first Muslim president. Which is correct?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2015]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 only
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (B) 2 only
Explanation: Annie Besant was the first woman Congress president in 1917, while Sarojini Naidu became the first Indian woman president in 1925. Badruddin Tyabji chaired the 1887 Madras session and was the first Muslim president. Therefore only statement two is correct.
Q3. Why is the 1929 Lahore session of the Indian National Congress significant?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2014]
(A) It proclaimed self-government within Empire
(B) It adopted Purna Swaraj as the goal
(C) It launched the Non-Cooperation Movement
(D) It agreed to join the Round Table Conference
Answer: (B) It adopted Purna Swaraj as the goal
Explanation: The Lahore Congress, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru in December 1929, adopted complete independence as the national political goal. This replaced more limited constitutional aspirations and led Congress to observe 26 January 1930 as Independence Day.
Q2. Why was the Indian National Social Conference formed during the early nationalist period?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2012]
(A) To unite Bengal-only reform groups
(B) Because Congress kept social-reform debates separate from its proceedings
(C) To replace Congress with a social-reform party
(D) To lead an armed anti-colonial campaign
Answer: (B) Because Congress kept social-reform debates separate from its proceedings
Explanation: Early Congress leaders preferred to keep their national political deliberations separate from contentious social-reform debates. Reformers including Mahadev Govind Ranade consequently developed the Indian National Social Conference as a parallel forum for organised social discussion and change.
Q1. Consider: 1. First INC session was held at Calcutta; 2. second INC session was presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji; 3. Congress and Muslim League concluded Lucknow Pact in 1916. Which is true?
[UPSC CSE Prelims 2004]
(A) 1 and 2
(B) 2 only
(C) 2 and 3
(D) 3 only
Answer: (C) 2 and 3
Explanation: The first Congress session took place in Bombay in 1885, making statement one false. Dadabhai Naoroji presided over the second session at Calcutta in 1886. Congress and the Muslim League reached their Lucknow agreement in 1916.
