Rise of Indian Nationalism– NDA History PYQs

NDA 2025-II

Q. 1. Which of the following statements about the Home Rule League are correct?

1. Lokamanya Tilak set up the Home Rule League at the Bombay Provincial Conference held at Belgaum in April 1916

2. Annie Besant announced the formation of Home Rule League in September 1916

3. To avoid friction, Tilak’s League was to work in Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces and Berar and Besant’s League was given charge of the rest of India

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation: Tilak did set up his Home Rule League at Belgaum in April 1916. Besant did announce her own League’s formation in September 1916. The two Leagues did divide operating regions to avoid direct rivalry. All three statements about the Home Rule League are correct together. Concept Tested: Formation and territorial division of the two Home Rule Leagues

NDA 2019-II

Q. 2. During the Swadeshi movement, a National College was started in Calcutta under the principalship of

(a) Rabindranath Tagore

(b) Aurobindo Ghosh

(c) Rajani Kant Sen

(d) Syed Abu Mohammad

Answer: (b) Aurobindo Ghosh

Explanation: Aurobindo Ghosh served as principal of this Bengal National College. It offered an alternative to British-run educational institutions. Tagore, Sen, and Syed Abu Mohammad played other, separate roles. So option (b) Aurobindo Ghosh is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Principal of the Bengal National College

NDA 2018-II

Q. 3. Match List-I (Author) with List-II (Book):

List I	List II
A. Bal Gangadhar Tilak	1. The Arctic Home in the Vedas
B. Dadabhai Naoroji	2. Hind Swaraj
C. Mahatma Gandhi	3. The Discovery of India
D. Jawaharlal Nehru	4. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India

Code:

(a) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1

(b) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1

(c) A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3

(d) A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3

Answer: (c) A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3

Explanation: Tilak wrote The Arctic Home in the Vedas. Naoroji wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj. Nehru wrote The Discovery of India. This matches the code A-1, B-4, C-2, D-3. So option (c) correctly matches every author and book. Concept Tested: Nationalist leaders matched to their major writings

NDA 2018-II

Q. 4. Who among the following leaders started the Indian Home Rule League?

(a) Gopal Krishna Gokhale

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(d) J.B. Kripalani

Answer: (c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Explanation: Bal Gangadhar Tilak started his own Indian Home Rule League. Annie Besant separately led a parallel Home Rule League. Gokhale, Gandhi, and Kripalani were not this League’s founders. So option (c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Founder of Tilak’s Indian Home Rule League

NDA 2018-II

Q. 5. Which one of the following statements about Bipin Chandra Pal is correct?

(a) He was a member of the moderate group of Congress.

(b) He was a member of the extremist group of Congress.

(c) He was the Minister of Defence in the first Government of independent India.

(d) He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

Answer: (b) He was a member of the extremist group of Congress.

Explanation: Bipin Chandra Pal belonged to the Extremist wing within Congress. He worked alongside Lal, Bal, and Pal in this assertive nationalist trio. He did not hold the other government or ministerial roles listed. So option (b) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Bipin Chandra Pal’s political affiliation within Congress

NDA 2018-I

Q. 6. Name the first major voluntary association representing primarily Indian landlord interests that was set up in Calcutta in 1851?

(a) British Indian Association

(b) Landholder’s Society

(c) Madras Native Association

(d) Bombay Association

Answer: (a) British Indian Association

Explanation: The British Indian Association formed in Calcutta in 1851. It chiefly represented the interests of Indian landlords. The other associations listed served different regions or purposes. So option (a) British Indian Association is the correct answer. Concept Tested: First major Calcutta landlord association

NDA 2017-II

Q. 7. Which one of the following about the Swadeshi Campaign in 1896 is not correct?

(a) Its centre was Maharashtra

(b) Its main participants were students

(c) It opposed the levy of tariff on imports

(d) It publicly burnt foreign clothes

Answer: (c) It opposed the levy of tariff on imports

Explanation: Swadeshi supporters actually favoured tariffs on foreign imports. Such tariffs protected domestic industry, aligning with their goals. So statement (c) wrongly claims they opposed this kind of protection. The 1896 campaign was indeed centred in Maharashtra. Students did form its main body of active participants. Public burning of foreign cloth was a genuine feature of this campaign. These other statements about the 1896 campaign are accurate. Concept Tested: Swadeshi supporters’ actual stance on import tariffs

NDA 2017-II

Q. 8. Which one of the following associations was founded in London by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866?

(a) The Bengal British India Society

(b) The East India Association

(c) The British Indian Association

(d) The Madras Native Association

Answer: (b) The East India Association

Explanation: Dadabhai Naoroji founded the East India Association in London in 1866. It gave Indian concerns a platform before the British public. The other associations listed were founded separately, in India. So option (b) The East India Association is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Association founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in London

NDA 2017-II

Q. 9. Which one of the following statements about the Ilbert Bill is correct?

(a) It proposed that the Indian magistrates would try Europeans in criminal cases.

(b) It allowed Indians to file criminal cases against Europeans.

(c) It authorized Indian ICS officers to try Europeans in courts.

(d) It was an agitation led by Ilbert in support of the nationalists.

Answer: (a) It proposed that the Indian magistrates would try Europeans in criminal cases.

Explanation: The Ilbert Bill proposed letting Indian magistrates try European defendants. This provoked fierce protest from the European community in India. The other options misstate its content or wrongly cast Ilbert’s own role. So option (a) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Core provision of the Ilbert Bill

NDA 2017-I

Q. 10. Which colonial administrator made the following declaration about the partition of Bengal in 1904? “Bengal united is a power. Bengal divided will pull in different ways. That is perfectly true and one of the merits of the scheme”

(a) Lord Curzon

(b) H. H. Risley

(c) Lord Minto

(d) Sir Lancelot Hare

Answer: (b) H. H. Risley

Explanation: H. H. Risley made this candid remark about the partition scheme. It revealed the divide-and-rule motive behind splitting Bengal. Curzon, Minto, and Hare held other, related but separate roles. So option (b) H. H. Risley is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Official who candidly revealed the partition’s divisive intent

NDA 2015-I

Q. 11. Soon after the formation of Indian National Congress, the British became suspicious of nationalists. Who among the following called Congress representing only the elite – ‘a microscopic minority’?

(a) Lord Napier

(b) Lord Dufferin

(c) Lord Ripon

(d) Lord Lytton

Answer: (b) Lord Dufferin

Explanation: Lord Dufferin famously dismissed Congress as a microscopic minority. This remark questioned its claim to represent wider Indian opinion. Napier, Ripon, and Lytton are not linked to this specific phrase. So option (b) Lord Dufferin is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Viceroy who called Congress a ‘microscopic minority’

NDA 2014-I

Q. 12. Which of the following statements about the Progressive Writers’ Association, which created a generation of creative people, is/are correct?

1. It thought critically about the poverty and hunger of the Indian people.

2. It brought out the positive developments of colonialism.

3. Its creative pursuits began with a critical evaluation of Gandhian politics.

4. It planned India’s development model.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 4

(d) 1 and 3

Answer: (a) 1 only

Explanation: The Progressive Writers’ Association did critique poverty and hunger sharply. It did not present colonialism’s supposed positive developments. Its origins were not specifically framed as a critique of Gandhian politics. It also did not plan India’s formal economic development model. Only statement 1 is correct among the four. Concept Tested: Actual focus of the Progressive Writers’ Association

NDA 2014-I

Q. 13. The Swadeshi Movement evoked serious responses in

(a) Madras and Hyderabad

(b) Bengal and Maharashtra

(c) Bihar and Orissa

(d) the Princely States

Answer: (b) Bengal and Maharashtra

Explanation: Bengal and Maharashtra saw the strongest Swadeshi mobilisation. These regions hosted major boycotts and public demonstrations. The other regions listed saw comparatively limited direct response. So option (b) Bengal and Maharashtra is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Regions with the strongest Swadeshi Movement response

NDA 2014-I

Q. 14. Which one among the following is not true about Bal Gangadhar Tilak?

(a) He started the New English School in Poona

(b) He founded the Shri Shivaji Fund Committee for celebration of Shiv Jayanti

(c) He preached the cult of self-reliance

(d) He transformed the household worshipping of Ganesha into a public event

Answer: (a) He started the New English School in Poona

Explanation: The New English School was actually co-founded with fellow reformers. Tilak worked alongside Agarkar and others in this founding effort. So crediting its start to Tilak alone overstates his individual role. He did found the Shivaji Fund Committee for public Shiv Jayanti events. He did preach a philosophy centred on self-reliance. He did turn household Ganesha worship into a shared public festival. These other statements about Tilak are accurate. Concept Tested: Precise founding role behind the New English School

NDA 2013-II

Q. 15. Consider the following statements:

1. Annie Besant was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress.

2. The historic Lucknow session of the Congress in 1916 was presided by Madan Mohan Malviya.

3. Mahatma Gandhi presided over the annual session of Congress only once at Belgaum in 1924.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 3

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1 only

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Explanation: Annie Besant genuinely became the first woman President of Congress. The 1916 Lucknow session was actually presided by Ambica Charan Mazumdar. So statement 2 wrongly names Malviya instead of Mazumdar. Gandhi did preside over Congress only once, at Belgaum in 1924. Statements 1 and 3 together are correct among the three. Concept Tested: Correct presidents of specific Congress sessions

★ JOVIK Exam Insight: NDA often swaps the real president of a famous session (Mazumdar at Lucknow, 1916) for another well-known contemporary leader’s name.

NDA 2013-II

Q. 16. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists:

List I	List II
A. Bande Mataram	1. Aurobindo Ghosh
B. New India	2. Mahatma Gandhi
C. India Today	3. Bipin Chandra Pal
D. Young India	4. R.P. Dutt

Code:

(a) A-1, B-4, C-3, D-2

(b) A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2

(c) A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1

(d) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1

Answer: (b) A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2

Explanation: Aurobindo Ghosh edited the nationalist paper Bande Mataram. Bipin Chandra Pal was associated with the paper New India. R.P. Dutt wrote the analytical work India Today. Mahatma Gandhi edited the paper Young India. This matches the code A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2. So option (b) correctly matches every publication and its figure. Concept Tested: Nationalist leaders and their associated publications

NDA 2013-II

Q. 17. What was the common element among the following three newspapers? (i) The Servant of India (ii) Dnyan Prakash (iii) Hitawad

(a) They were newspapers brought out by the Indian National Congress

(b) They were newspapers under the influence of socialism

(c) They were newspapers of moderate views brought out by the Servants of India Society

(d) They represented the Trade Union Movement in India

Answer: (c) They were newspapers of moderate views brought out by the Servants of India Society

Explanation: All three papers reflected the moderate outlook of their publishers. They were brought out under the Servants of India Society’s influence. They were not Congress publications, socialist papers, or trade union outlets. So option (c) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Common link among these three moderate-era newspapers

NDA 2013-II

Q. 18. The Indian National Congress was founded during the Viceroyalty of

(a) Lord Lytton

(b) Lord Ripon

(c) Lord Dufferin

(d) Lord Mayo

Answer: (c) Lord Dufferin

Explanation: The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 under Lord Dufferin. He served as Viceroy at the time of its first session in Bombay. Lytton, Ripon, and Mayo served in other, non-overlapping periods. So option (c) Lord Dufferin is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Viceroy during the founding of the Indian National Congress

NDA 2013-I

Q. 19. Which one among the following statements is true about Lord Curzon?

(a) He had full sympathy for the Congress

(b) He introduced the Subsidiary Alliance

(c) He succeeded Lord Canning as the Viceroy of India

(d) He separated the divisions of Dacca, Chittagong and Rajshahi from the province of Bengal and annexed them to Assam

Answer: (d) He separated the divisions of Dacca, Chittagong and Rajshahi from the province of Bengal and annexed them to Assam

Explanation: Curzon’s 1905 partition scheme did move these divisions into a new province. This new unit was combined with Assam under his plan. Curzon actually held little sympathy for Congress, unlike statement (a) claims. The Subsidiary Alliance belonged to Wellesley, not Curzon. Several Viceroys served between Canning and Curzon, not a direct succession. So option (d) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Curzon’s actual role in the Partition of Bengal

NDA 2013-I

Q. 20. Consider the following statement: “No Indian could have started the Indian National Congress … if the founder of the Congress had not been a great Englishman and a distinguished ex-official, such was the distrust of political agitation in those days that the authority would have at once found some way or the other to suppress the movement.” Who among the following gave the statement on the establishment of Indian National Congress?

(a) W. Wedderburn

(b) G. K. Gokhale

(c) R. Palme Dutt

(d) Allan Octavian Hume

Answer: (c) R. Palme Dutt

Explanation: R. Palme Dutt made this critical observation about Congress’s founding. It highlighted how Hume’s British status shielded the new organisation. Wedderburn, Gokhale, and Hume played direct roles, but did not say this. So option (c) R. Palme Dutt is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Source of this critical remark on the Congress’s founding

NDA 2013-I

Q. 21. Arrange the following events that took place in the first decade of the 20th century in chronological order:

1. Indian National Congress, Bombay Session

2. Establishment of All India Muslim League

3. Partition of Bengal

4. Indian National Congress, Surat Session

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1-2-3-4

(b) 1-3-2-4

(c) 4-3-2-1

(d) 2-4-1-3

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

Explanation: The Bombay session of Congress met earliest in this sequence. The Partition of Bengal followed in 1905. The Muslim League was established the next year, in 1906. The Surat session, marking the Congress split, came last, in 1907. This gives the order Bombay session, Partition, Muslim League, Surat session. So option (b), 1-3-2-4, is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Chronology of key events in the first decade of the 20th century

NDA 2012-II

Q. 22. Which one among the following statements relating to the Home Rule movement is not correct?

(a) The movement, instead of going forward after its great advance in 1917, gradually declined in 1918

(b) Annie Besant, the leader of the movement did not oppose the entry of Extremists

(c) The movement became weaker and weaker because of the continuous differences of opinion among the nationalist leaders

(d) The movement was again revived by Mahatma Gandhi

Answer: (d) The movement was again revived by Mahatma Gandhi

Explanation: Gandhi did not specifically revive the Home Rule League itself. His own non-cooperation movement instead came to overshadow it. So statement (d) wrongly credits Gandhi with reviving this movement. The Home Rule Movement did decline after its 1917 peak. Besant genuinely welcomed rather than opposed Extremist participation. Internal differences among leaders did weaken the movement over time. These other statements about the movement are accurate. Concept Tested: Actual trajectory of the Home Rule Movement after 1917

NDA 2011-II

Q. 23. Identify the correct sequence of the following events of Indian history:

1. Foundation of the Indian Muslim League

2. Surat Split

3. Partition of Bengal

4. Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi

(a) 1-2-3-4

(b) 2-3-4-1

(c) 3-1-2-4

(d) 4-3-2-1

Answer: (c) 3-1-2-4

Explanation: The Partition of Bengal took place in 1905. The Muslim League was founded the following year, in 1906. The Surat Split within Congress followed in 1907. The capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi later, in 1911. This gives the order Partition, Muslim League, Surat Split, capital shift. So option (c), 3-1-2-4, is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Chronology of key Swadeshi-era political events

NDA 2010-II

Q. 24. Which one among the following was NOT a demand of the early congress (1885-1905)?

(a) Indianization of the superior grades of the administrative services

(b) Purna Swaraj/complete independence

(c) Abolition of the Arms Act

(d) Autonomy within the empire

Answer: (b) Purna Swaraj/complete independence

Explanation: Early Congress sought reforms and autonomy within the empire. Purna Swaraj was declared only much later, in 1929-30. Indianization of services and repeal of the Arms Act were genuine early demands. So option (b) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Scope of early Congress demands before 1905

NDA 2010-II

Q. 25. The colonial rulers, according to the safety valve thesis, were trying to use congress as:

(a) a constitutional outlet for the mass discontent against the authorities

(b) an instrument for the spread of British culture in India

(c) an instrument to expand the Indian market for the products of British industries

(d) an agency for social change in India

Answer: (a) a constitutional outlet for the mass discontent against the authorities

Explanation: The safety-valve thesis frames Congress as a controlled outlet. It channels rising discontent into constitutional, non-violent forms. The other options describe unrelated colonial goals. So option (a) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Core claim of the safety-valve thesis

NDA 2010-II

Q. 26. The author describes the safety-valve thesis as a myth because:

(a) evidence are insufficient to establish the validity of the thesis

(b) the author has concluded that in the light of available materials the thesis does not hold ground

(c) the congress was a nationalist organization right from the start

(d) the violent anti-colonial movements did not come to an end with the foundation of the congress

Answer: (b) the author has concluded that in the light of available materials the thesis does not hold ground

Explanation: The critique rests on a considered judgement of the available evidence. The author concludes this evidence does not support the thesis. This differs from merely calling the evidence insufficient in general. So option (b) best captures the actual reasoning given. Concept Tested: Basis for rejecting the safety-valve thesis as myth

NDA 2010-II

Q. 27. The core of the safety-valve thesis rests on the assumption that:

(a) a violent anti-colonial revolution was bound to occur unless a constitutional platform like the congress was founded

(b) the congress would assist the British in administering the colony

(c) the congress leaders would constitute the colonial elite

(d) the congress as a party would assist the colonial rulers to implement political and social reforms

Answer: (a) a violent anti-colonial revolution was bound to occur unless a constitutional platform like the congress was founded

Explanation: The thesis assumes revolution was otherwise inevitable without Congress. Congress supposedly diverted this energy into safer, constitutional channels. The other options describe different, secondary claims about Congress. So option (a) captures this thesis’s central assumption. Concept Tested: Central assumption underlying the safety-valve thesis

NDA 2010-I

Q. 28. Consider the following statement and identify with the help of the code given below the Viceroy who made the statement and when: “In my belief, Congress is tottering to its fall and one of my great ambitions while in India is to assist it to a peaceful demise.”

(a) Lord Curzon, in a letter to the Secretary of States in 1900

(b) Lord Curzon, while announcing the partition of Bengal

(c) Lord Dufferin, during the farewell speech at Calcutta

(d) Lord Minto, while addressing the Muslim delegation which met him at Shimla in 1906

Answer: (c) Lord Dufferin, during the farewell speech at Calcutta

Explanation: Lord Dufferin made this remark in his farewell speech at Calcutta. He hoped Congress would fade away rather than gain influence. Curzon and Minto made separate, unrelated statements in other contexts. So option (c) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Viceroy who wished for Congress’s peaceful demise

NDA 2010-I

Q. 29. Which of the following statements with regard to freedom struggle are correct?

1. The British rule could prevail in India on the basis of the consent or acquiescence of many sections of Indian people.

2. The social basis of the colonial regime was among the Zamindars and upper classes.

3. The Indian National Army forced the British to withdraw from India.

4. The Hindu Mahasabha supported the partition of India.

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Explanation: Colonial rule did rest partly on the consent of many Indian groups. Zamindars and upper classes did form a key social base for this rule. The INA’s role is seen as symbolic, not the direct cause of British exit. So statement 3 overstates its actual historical impact. The Hindu Mahasabha actually opposed the partition of India strongly. So statement 4 wrongly claims it supported the division. Only statements 1 and 2 are correct among the four. Concept Tested: Social basis of colonial rule and the real stance of key groups

NDA 2010-I

Q. 30. Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore did not define India as a ‘nation’, because they were

(a) appreciative of cultural divisiveness

(b) opposed to the idea of homogeneity

(c) supportive of ‘oneness’

(d) critical of hegemonic culture

Answer: (b) opposed to the idea of homogeneity

Explanation: Both leaders resisted a single, standardised idea of nationhood. They valued India’s plural, diverse cultural fabric instead. This reluctance stemmed directly from opposing forced homogeneity. So option (b) is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Reason behind Gandhi and Tagore’s caution about ‘nation’

NDA 2009-I

Q. 31. Bande Mataram, the nationalist song, was a part of

(a) Durgesh Nandini

(b) Saraswati Chandra

(c) Grihadaha

(d) Ananda Math

Answer: (d) Ananda Math

Explanation: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Bande Mataram within Ananda Math. The song later became a rallying hymn of the national movement. The other novels listed are separate works, not its original source. So option (d) Ananda Math is the correct answer. Concept Tested: Novel containing the song Bande Mataram

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