Q150. Which law allowed colonial authorities to hold political prisoners without trial for as long as two years?
[SSC MTS 2025 cycle, 10 February 2026, Shift 1]
A. Indian Councils Act 1861
B. Indian Councils Act 1891
C. Morley–Minto Act
D. Rowlatt Act
Answer: D. Rowlatt Act
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act of 1919 empowered colonial authorities to detain people suspected of political activity without normal trial protections. This repressive measure sparked Gandhi’s Rowlatt Satyagraha and wider opposition to British administration.
Q149. Which of these incidents occurred on 13 April 1919?
[SSC MTS 2025 cycle, 6 February 2026, Shift 3]
A. Ahmedabad Mill Strike
B. Jallianwala Bagh massacre
C. Chauri Chaura incident
D. Champaran Satyagraha
Answer: B. Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Explanation: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in Amritsar on 13 April 1919, during Baisakhi. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops to fire on the assembled crowd, prompting intense outrage and helping radicalise the national movement.
Q148. Regarding the Rowlatt Satyagraha, consider: (1) the Act permitted arrest and imprisonment without trial; (2) Gandhi called for satyagraha against it in April 1917. Which statement is correct?
[AFCAT, 31 January 2026, Shift 1]
A. Both statements
B. Neither statement
C. Statement 2 only
D. Statement 1 only
Answer: D. Statement 1 only
Explanation: Statement 1 is correct because the Act authorised detention without ordinary trial safeguards. Statement 2 is wrong: the legislation and Gandhi’s protest belong to 1919, not 1917. Correct chronology is vital for distinguishing Gandhi’s early satyagrahas.
Q147. Which future British prime minister described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as “unutterably monstrous”?
[UGC NET Political Science, 6 January 2026, Shift 1]
A. Winston Churchill
B. Harold Macmillan
C. Anthony Eden
D. William Gladstone
Answer: A. Winston Churchill
Explanation: Winston Churchill condemned the Amritsar massacre during a British parliamentary debate in 1920. His characterisation concerned the firing on civilians ordered by Reginald Dyer in April 1919, an event widely criticised in Britain and India.
Q146. What combination was recommended by the Nehru Report of 1928?
[Delhi Police Constable, 5 January 2026, Shift 3]
A. Complete independence and joint electorates
B. Complete independence and separate electorates
C. Dominion Status and joint electorates
D. Dominion Status and separate electorates
Answer: C. Dominion Status and joint electorates
Explanation: The Nehru Report chaired by Motilal Nehru advocated Dominion Status and joint electorates, while proposing constitutional protections for minorities. Its position differed both from complete independence advocates and from proposals preserving separate communal electorates.
Q145. Which committee was appointed to investigate events at Jallianwala Bagh?
[Delhi Police Constable, 3 January 2026, Shift 3]
A. Simon Commission
B. Muddiman Committee
C. Hunter Commission
D. Butler Committee
Answer: C. Hunter Commission
Explanation: The Disorders Inquiry Committee, known as the Hunter Commission, was established after the 1919 Amritsar massacre. Chaired by Lord William Hunter, it examined disturbances and the actions of authorities during the Punjab crisis.
Q144. Which committee investigated the disturbances following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
[PSSSB Senior Assistant, 21 December 2025]
A. Sedition Committee
B. Rowlatt Committee
C. Hunter Committee
D. None
Answer: C. Hunter Committee
Explanation: The government formed the Disorders Inquiry Committee, popularly called the Hunter Committee, in October 1919. It investigated the Punjab disturbances, including the firing at Jallianwala Bagh, and examined the conduct of colonial officers.
Q143. In which year did Gandhi begin the Non-Cooperation Movement?
[OSSSC CRE Preliminary, 20 October 2025, Shift 3]
A. 1917
B. 1927
C. 1920
D. 1922
Answer: C. 1920
Explanation: Gandhi launched his Non-Cooperation programme in 1920, seeking swaraj through peaceful withdrawal of cooperation from colonial institutions. The movement followed outrage over the Rowlatt Act, the Punjab atrocities and the Khilafat question.
Q142. What principally explains the Indian boycott of the Simon Commission?
[Bihar STET Social Science, 14 October 2025, Shift 1, memory-based]
A. It pardoned perpetrators of Amritsar
B. All seven commissioners were British
C. It empowered Indian judges over Europeans
D. It jailed every nationalist leader
Answer: B. All seven commissioners were British
Explanation: Indian leaders opposed the commission because no Indian member was appointed to review India’s constitutional future. The decision generated broad protests and made the Simon Commission a symbol of the exclusionary character of colonial reform.
Q141. Which combined movement brought Gandhi into nationwide political prominence?
[RRB NTPC UG CBT-I, 9 September 2025, Shift 1]
A. Civil Disobedience Movement
B. Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement
C. Salt Satyagraha
D. Champaran Satyagraha
Answer: B. Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement
Explanation: Gandhi’s leadership of the linked Khilafat and Non-Cooperation campaigns in 1920–22 mobilised diverse social groups across India. Earlier local satyagrahas had already established his leadership in specific regions.
