Gandhi and the Freedom Struggle: The Early Phase – NDA History PYQs

NDA 2024-I

Q. 1. Consider the following events:

1. Launch of Non-Cooperation Movement

2. All-India Khilafat Conference in Delhi

3. Passing of the Rowlatt Act

4. Jallianwala Bagh incident

Correct chronological order (earliest to latest)?

(a) 1, 2, 3, 4

(b) 3, 4, 2, 1

(c) 3, 2, 4, 1

(d) 2, 3, 4, 1

Answer: (b) 3, 4, 2, 1

Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was passed first, in March 1919. The Jallianwala Bagh incident followed the very next month. The All-India Khilafat Conference in Delhi came later that same year. The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched only after these events. This gives the order Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh, Khilafat Conference, Non-Cooperation. So option (b), 3-4-2-1, is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Chronology of the early Gandhian phase, 1919-1920

NDA 2021-I

Q. 2. Where and when did Mahatma Gandhi make his first public appearance in India on coming back from South Africa after two decades?

(a) Champaran in 1917

(b) Lucknow in 1916

(c) Banaras Hindu University in 1916

(d) Ahmedabad in 1918

Answer: (c) Banaras Hindu University in 1916

Explanation: Gandhi made his first notable public appearance at the founding of BHU. This took place in 1916, shortly after his return to India. Champaran, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad events came at other later points. So option (c) Banaras Hindu University in 1916 is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Gandhi’s first public appearance after returning from South Africa

NDA 2020 I&II

Q. 3. Where did Gandhiji initially forge the techniques of Satyagraha?

(a) England

(b) South Africa

(c) North Africa

(d) India

Answer: (b) South Africa

Explanation: Gandhi first developed and tested Satyagraha techniques in South Africa. His campaigns there against discriminatory laws shaped this method. England, North Africa, and India came only after this formative period. So option (b) South Africa is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Where Gandhi first developed Satyagraha

NDA 2019-II

Q. 4. Which among the following struggles, based on Gandhi’s philosophy of Satyagraha, involved the industrial working class?

(a) Champaran

(b) Kheda

(c) Ahmedabad

(d) Bardoli

Answer: (c) Ahmedabad

Explanation: The Ahmedabad Mill Strike directly involved industrial textile workers. Gandhi applied Satyagraha principles to resolve this labour dispute. Champaran, Kheda, and Bardoli instead centred on agrarian grievances. So option (c) Ahmedabad is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Satyagraha involving India’s industrial working class

NDA 2017-II

Q. 5. In April 2017, India celebrated 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s

(a) Satyagraha in Kheda

(b) Dandi March

(c) Satyagraha in Champaran

(d) Return from South Africa

Answer: (c) Satyagraha in Champaran

Explanation: The Champaran Satyagraha began in April 1917. April 2017 therefore marked its full centenary. Kheda, the Dandi March, and his return from South Africa fall on other dates. So option (c) Satyagraha in Champaran is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Centenary marked in April 2017

NDA 2017-I

Q. 6. Which one of the following characteristics does NOT describe the Khilafat movement?

(a) Mahatma Gandhi sought to link it to the Non-Cooperation movement

(b) It was not supported by the Congress

(c) It demanded that the Turkish Sultan must retain control over Muslim sacred spaces in the erstwhile Ottoman empire

(d) It was led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali

Answer: (b) It was not supported by the Congress

Explanation: Congress actually did support and ally with the Khilafat movement. So statement (b) wrongly claims Congress withheld this support. Gandhi genuinely linked Khilafat with the Non-Cooperation Movement. The movement did demand the Sultan retain control of Muslim sacred spaces. Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali did lead this movement. These other statements about the Khilafat movement are accurate. Concept Tested: Congress’s actual support for the Khilafat movement

★ JOVIK Exam Insight: NDA tests this exact detail from two angles across different sessions: Congress DID support Khilafat, and it was NOT a single Delhi conference that decided Non-Cooperation.

NDA 2016-I

Q. 7. Which of the following statements about Gandhiji’s Hind Swaraj written in 1909 is/are true?

1. Hind Swaraj offers a civilizational concept of the Indian nation.

2. Hind Swaraj states that Parliamentary democracy was necessary for the amelioration of the sufferings of Indians.

3. Hind Swaraj argues that Industrial capitalism was responsible for the immorality of society.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 3 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1 only

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: Hind Swaraj does present a civilisational, not merely political, idea of India. It actually criticises parliamentary democracy as inadequate and corrupt. So statement 2 wrongly claims the book endorsed such democracy. It does blame industrial capitalism for society’s moral decline. Statements 1 and 3 together are correct among the three. Concept Tested: Hind Swaraj’s actual stance on parliamentary democracy

NDA 2016-I

Q. 8. Which of the following thinkers and movements influenced the development of Gandhiji’s political ideas?

1. Henry David Thoreau

2. John Ruskin

3. John Milton

4. Jainism

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 4 only

(d) 2 and 4 only

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

Explanation: Thoreau’s ideas on civil disobedience did shape Gandhi’s thinking. Ruskin’s Unto This Last influenced his economic and social views. Jainism’s emphasis on non-violence shaped his ethic of ahimsa. John Milton is not counted among his direct political influences. So statements 1, 2, and 4 together are the correct answer. Concept Tested: Genuine intellectual influences on Gandhi’s political thought

NDA 2015-II

Q. 9. Which one of the following statements about Khilafat Movement is not correct?

(a) The Khilafat Movement demanded that the Khalifa must retain control over Muslim holy places

(b) The radical trend in the Khilafat Movement was represented by younger leaders like Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali, and Maulana Azad

(c) Indian Muslim leaders used Khilafat as a symbol that could unite the Indian Muslim community

(d) The Delhi conference of the Central Khilafat Committee in 1920 decided to launch a massive Non-Cooperation Movement

Answer: (d) The Delhi conference of the Central Khilafat Committee in 1920 decided to launch a massive Non-Cooperation Movement

Explanation: The decision to launch Non-Cooperation actually took shape across several sessions. So statement (d) oversimplifies this into one single Delhi conference. The movement genuinely demanded the Khalifa retain control of holy places. Younger radical leaders like the Ali brothers and Azad did lead this trend. Indian Muslim leaders did use Khilafat as a unifying community symbol. These other statements about the Khilafat Movement are accurate. Concept Tested: Precise process behind launching Non-Cooperation via Khilafat

NDA 2015-I

Q. 10. Mahatma Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj is essentially

(a) a critique of Western modernity

(b) an outline of his philosophy of Satyagraha

(c) an invocation to Indians to free themselves from the British

(d) a blueprint of Gram Swaraj

Answer: (a) a critique of Western modernity

Explanation: Hind Swaraj is best understood as a broad critique of Western modernity. It questions industry, railways, and modern institutions generally. The other options describe narrower or secondary aspects of the text. So option (a) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Core character of Hind Swaraj as a text

NDA 2014-I

Q. 11. The Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn after the

(a) First World War

(b) Chauri-Chaura Incident

(c) Bardoli Satyagraha

(d) Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Answer: (b) Chauri-Chaura Incident

Explanation: Violence at Chauri-Chaura led Gandhi to withdraw the movement. He felt the incident betrayed its core commitment to non-violence. The other events listed occurred at different, unrelated points. So option (b) Chauri-Chaura Incident is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Event that led to withdrawing the Non-Cooperation Movement

NDA 2013-II

Q. 12. For Mahatma Gandhi, Satyagraha is

1. a political force.

2. a philosophy of life.

3. an ideology of action.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation: Gandhi saw Satyagraha as a genuine political force for change. He also treated it as a wider philosophy governing his whole life. It equally served as a practical ideology guiding direct action. All three descriptions together capture his view of Satyagraha. Concept Tested: Gandhi’s multi-layered understanding of Satyagraha

NDA 2013-II

Q. 13. “… it has reduced us politically to serfdom. It has sapped the foundations of our culture … it has degraded us spiritually.” This was Mahatma Gandhi complaining of the ill-effect on Indians of which action/policy of the colonial government?

(a) Salt tax

(b) Inadequate franchise

(c) Press Act

(d) Rowlatt Act

Answer: (a) Salt tax

Explanation: This quotation comes from Gandhi’s 1930 letter to Lord Irwin. The letter was written just before the salt march began. Its broader argument centres on the burden of the salt tax. So option (a) Salt tax is the intended answer among these choices. Concept Tested: Context of Gandhi’s ‘serfdom’ quotation to Lord Irwin

NDA 2013-I

Q. 14. Statement I: The Russian Revolution of 1917 inspired the Indian working-class movement.

Statement II: Non-Cooperation Movement (1921-22) saw the involvement of the Indian working class.

(a) Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I

(b) Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

(c) Statement I is true but Statement II is false

(d) Statement I is false but Statement II is true

Answer: (b) Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

Explanation: The Russian Revolution genuinely inspired Indian working-class activism. Indian workers did take part in the later Non-Cooperation Movement. This later movement’s participation does not itself explain the Revolution’s inspiration. So both statements are true, but II does not explain I. Concept Tested: Russian Revolution’s inspiration versus later working-class action

NDA 2013-I

Q. 15. Consider the following statements:

1. Gandhiji launched the Rowlatt Satyagraha in 1919 because of the British measures to impose censorship on the Press.

2. Gandhiji launched the Rowlatt Satyagraha because of the British policy of permitted detention without trial.

3. The Rowlatt Act was restricted to Bombay and Madras Presidency.

4. The agitation against the Rowlatt Act reached climax with the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 4

(d) 1 and 4 only

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4

Explanation: Press restriction featured among the wider repressive measures Gandhi protested. Detention without trial was the Act’s core, most objected-to provision. The Rowlatt Act actually applied across British India, not just two presidencies. So statement 3 wrongly limits its reach to Bombay and Madras. The agitation did reach its tragic climax at Jallianwala Bagh. So statements 1, 2, and 4 together are the correct answer. Concept Tested: Scope and climax of the Rowlatt Satyagraha

NDA 2012-II

Q. 16. Why did Gandhiji go to Champaran?

(a) To launch a Satyagraha movement

(b) To launch a non-cooperation movement

(c) To enquire into the grievances of the indigo cultivators

(d) To fight against the zamindars

Answer: (c) To enquire into the grievances of the indigo cultivators

Explanation: Gandhi initially travelled to Champaran to investigate cultivators’ grievances. His inquiry led naturally into the Satyagraha that followed. It was not planned in advance as a formal non-cooperation campaign. So option (c) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Gandhi’s original purpose in visiting Champaran

NDA 2012-I

Q. 17. Which one among the following works of Mahatma Gandhi provides a critique of modern machine-oriented civilization?

(a) The Story of My Experiments with Truth

(b) Hind Swaraj

(c) Constructive Programme

(d) Anasakti Yoga (Commentary on ‘Gita’)

Answer: (b) Hind Swaraj

Explanation: Hind Swaraj directly critiques modern, machine-driven civilisation. It questions railways, industry, lawyers, and Western institutions alike. The other works listed address separate themes in Gandhi’s life and thought. So option (b) Hind Swaraj is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Gandhi’s work critiquing machine civilisation

NDA 2012-I

Q. 18. Which among the following about Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement are correct?

1. Refusal to attend Government Durbars and official functions

2. Participation in elections

3. Participation in rallies for the boycott of foreign goods

4. Surrender of titles

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 1, 3 and 4

(c) 2, 3 and 4

(d) 1 and 4 only

Answer: (b) 1, 3 and 4

Explanation: Non-Cooperation did involve boycotting government durbars and functions. It also involved active boycott rallies against foreign goods. Participants did surrender titles bestowed by the colonial government. The movement actually called for boycotting elections, not joining them. So statements 1, 3, and 4 together are the correct answer. Concept Tested: Genuine features of the Non-Cooperation Movement

NDA 2011-II

Q. 19. Statement I: Mahatma Gandhi launched the Rowlatt Satyagraha as an all-India mass protest.

Statement II: Rowlatt Act was passed by the British Government in 1919 to authorize the government to imprison any person without trial.

(a) Both individually true, II explains I

(b) Both true, II doesn’t explain I

(c) I true, II false

(d) I false, II true

Answer: (a) Both individually true, II explains I

Explanation: Gandhi did organise the Rowlatt Satyagraha as a genuine all-India protest. The Rowlatt Act did allow imprisonment without trial, passed in 1919. This repressive provision directly explains why Gandhi launched his protest. So both statements are true, and II explains I. Concept Tested: Link between the Rowlatt Act’s provisions and Gandhi’s protest

NDA 2011-I

Q. 20. Consider the following statements:

1. The Champaran Satyagraha marked Gandhiji’s second appearance in Indian politics as a leader of the masses.

2. The Champaran Satyagraha was launched to address the problems faced by Indigo plantation workers.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (b) 2 only

Explanation: Champaran was actually Gandhi’s first appearance as a mass leader, not his second. So statement 1 wrongly numbers this appearance. The Satyagraha did address grievances of indigo plantation workers. So statement 2 correctly states its real purpose. Only statement 2 is correct among the two. Concept Tested: Sequence and purpose of the Champaran Satyagraha

NDA 2011-I

Q. 21. Consider the following statements about Gandhiji’s thinking on environment:

1. His environmental thinking is rooted in his larger philosophical and moral thinking.

2. He preferred sustainable environmental practices to nourish the soil and the natural world.

3. He laid emphasis on the rigorous ethic of non-injury in our treatment of animals.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3

(d) 2 and 3 only

Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation: Gandhi’s environmental views did stem from his wider moral philosophy. He did favour sustainable practices that nourished soil and nature. He did stress rigorous non-injury in how animals were treated. All three statements together are accurate here. Concept Tested: Roots and features of Gandhi’s environmental thinking

NDA 2011-I

Q. 22. Consider the following declaration and identify the person who made it using the code given below: ‘The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation, and, I, for my part, wish to stand shorn of all special distinction, by the side of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings’

(a) Mahatma Gandhi

(b) Jawaharlal Nehru

(c) Dada Bhai Naoroji

(d) Rabindranath Tagore

Answer: (d) Rabindranath Tagore

Explanation: Rabindranath Tagore made this declaration renouncing his knighthood. He acted in protest after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Gandhi, Nehru, and Naoroji expressed protest through other, separate statements. So option (d) Rabindranath Tagore is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Figure who renounced honours after Jallianwala Bagh

NDA 2011-I

Q. 23. Identify, using the code given below, the nationalist leader who was sentenced in the words outlined below: ‘the fact that in the eyes of millions of your countrymen you are a great patriot and great leader but as a man subject to the law, who has, by his own admission broken the law you are subject to six years imprisonment’

(a) C.R. Das

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(c) Subhash Bose

(d) Jawaharlal Nehru

Answer: (b) Mahatma Gandhi

Explanation: This sentencing statement was addressed to Mahatma Gandhi in 1922. It reflected the judge’s own admiration alongside a formal six-year sentence. C.R. Das, Bose, and Nehru faced separate trials and sentences. So option (b) Mahatma Gandhi is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Leader sentenced with this well-known judicial remark

NDA 2010-II

Q. 24. Consider the following statements relating to Gandhian strategy of Satyagraha:

1. Under the Gandhian strategy, which may be described as Struggle-Truce-Struggle (S-T-S), phases of a vigorous extra-legal mass movement and confrontation with colonial authority alternate with phases, during which direct confrontation is withdrawn

2. The entire political process of S-T-S was an upward spiraling one, which also assumed that the freedom struggle would pass through several stages, ending with the transfer of power by the colonial regime itself

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Explanation: This Struggle-Truce-Struggle pattern does describe Gandhi’s actual strategy. Movements did alternate between active confrontation and negotiated pauses. This process was indeed seen as an upward spiral toward eventual transfer of power. Both statements together are accurate here. Concept Tested: The Struggle-Truce-Struggle model of Gandhian strategy

NDA 2010-I

Q. 25. In Hind Swaraj, Mahatma Gandhi was critical of railways, because they are

1. carriers of plague germs

2. instruments for frequency of famines

3. responsible for creating class division in the society

4. accident-prone

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1 and 4

Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

Explanation: Gandhi specifically blamed railways for spreading disease like plague. He also argued they worsened famine by enabling grain export from affected areas. Class division and accident risk were not his primary railway critiques. So statements 1 and 2 together are the correct answer. Concept Tested: Gandhi’s specific critique of railways in Hind Swaraj

NDA 2009-II

Q. 26. Consider the following statements with regard to Champaran Satyagraha (1917):

1. The Champaran Satyagraha marked Mahatma Gandhi’s first appearance in Indian politics as a leader of the masses.

2. Young nationalists like Rajendra Prasad and J.B. Kripalani had worked with Mahatma Gandhi at Champaran.

3. It was during this movement that Mahatma Gandhi formulated his philosophy of Satyagraha.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 3 only

(b) 1 and 2

(c) 2 and 3

(d) 1 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 2

Explanation: Champaran genuinely marked Gandhi’s first appearance as a mass leader in India. Rajendra Prasad and Kripalani did work alongside him at Champaran. Gandhi had already developed Satyagraha earlier, in South Africa. So statement 3 wrongly claims Champaran as its point of formulation. Only statements 1 and 2 are correct among the three. Concept Tested: Champaran’s real significance versus the origin of Satyagraha

NDA 2009-II

Q. 27. The Passive Resistance Association was first formed by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa in 1906 to organize a campaign against the introduction of

(a) Poll Tax

(b) Certificate of Registration

(c) Legislations against Indian businessmen

(d) Legislations to disenfranchise the Indians

Answer: (b) Certificate of Registration

Explanation: The Transvaal’s 1906 Black Act required Indians to carry registration certificates. Gandhi formed the Passive Resistance Association to oppose this measure. Poll tax and disenfranchisement became targets of separate later campaigns. So option (b) Certificate of Registration is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Target of Gandhi’s first Passive Resistance Association

NDA 2009-II

Q. 28. Which one of the following statements about ‘Trusteeship’ is NOT correct?

(a) ‘Trusteeship’ provides a means of transforming the capitalist order of society into an egalitarian one

(b) It is based on the faith that human nature is never beyond redemption

(c) It does not recognize any right of private ownership of property, except so far as it may be permitted by society for its own welfare

(d) It excludes legislative regulation of the ownership and use of wealth

Answer: (d) It excludes legislative regulation of the ownership and use of wealth

Explanation: Trusteeship actually allowed for legislative regulation as a backup measure. So statement (d) wrongly claims it excluded such regulation entirely. Trusteeship did aim to transform capitalism into a more equal order. It did rest on faith in the possibility of human moral redemption. It did deny private ownership beyond what society permitted for welfare. These other statements about Trusteeship are accurate. Concept Tested: Role of legislative regulation within Gandhi’s Trusteeship idea

NDA 2009-I

Q. 29. Who among the following has authored the book Hind Swaraj?

(a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(c) Gopal Krishna Gokhale

(d) M.G. Ranade

Answer: (b) Mahatma Gandhi

Explanation: Mahatma Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in 1909. It set out his early critique of Western civilisation and modernity. Tilak, Gokhale, and Ranade wrote separate works instead. So option (b) Mahatma Gandhi is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Author of Hind Swaraj

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