Modern Indian History & Freedom Struggle Questions (MCQs)

Notes:
The last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was Hari Singh. After India’s Independence in 1947, Hari Singh could have joined India, joined Pakistan, or remained independent. Pashtun Tribesman of Pakistan invaded Kashmir and defeated Hari Singh. During that emergency condition following the suggestion of Lord Mountbatten, Hari Singh accede Jammu and Kashmir to India.

Notes:
A total number of five princely states of India were in “direct political relations” with the Government of India i.e., Hyderabad State, Gwalior State, Jammu and Kashmir, Baroda State and the Kingdom of Mysore.

Notes:
In the year 1949 (1st May), the state of Baroda formally acceded to the Dominion of India. Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad was the Maharaja of Baroda during the time of the integration.

Notes:
The Khilafat Movement lost its raison d’être when the forces of the young, dynamic, revolutionary military officer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, leader of the Turkish National Movement in the Turkish War of Independence, overthrew the Ottoman rule, abolished the role of Khalifa/Caliph, and established a modern, secular republic in independent Turkey in 1924.

Notes:
On 10 August 1928, much ahead of the release of the Simon Commission’s report, Motilal Nehru and his group came out with their Nehru Report to establish that Indians could arrive at a consensus, and could write their own constitution. The report outlined a new dominion status constitution for India within the British Commonwealth, and provided for internal self-government. Most of the Muslim League leaders, including Jinnah, rejected the proposals. The Nehru report stated that the `next immediate step for India must be dominion status. India would be a federation, a sovereign two-chamber parliament to which the ministry would be responsible will be having at the centre. In the annual Congress session at Calcutta in 1928, while most leaders were fine with the dominion status for the time being, some were in favour of complete swaraj. As a middle way, Gandhi proposed that a period of two years be given to Britain to concede to the proposals in the Nehru Report and the dominion status; and if those were not granted, the Congress would fight and settle only for complete independence.

Notes:
As per the recommendations of the Simon Commission Report of May 1930, three Round Table Conferences were organized by the British Government during 1930–32 to discuss the constitutional reforms in India. The First Round Table Conference was inaugurated in London on 12 November 1930 . The participants were: 16 delegates from the 3 British political parties; 16 delegates from the Princely States; and 57 Indians from the Muslim League (Aga Khan III as their leader), the Hindu Mahasabha (BS Moonje and MR Jaykar), the Indian Liberal Party (Tej Bahadur Sapru, CY Chintamani and Srinivasa Sastri), the Sikhs represented by Sardar Ujjal Singh, and the Depressed Classes represented by Dr BR Ambedkar, etc. The Indian National Congress was not represented as many of its leaders were in jail for the Salt Satyagraha. Wide-ranging matters relating to the Federal Structure, Provincial Constitution, Minorities, Defence, Burma, NWFP, Sindh, and so on were discussed. The idea of an All-India Federation was accepted, as the Muslim League always opposed a strong Centre, where it would be in a minority. A separate electorate for the Depressed Classes as demanded by Dr BR Ambedkar was also considered. However, in the absence of the Congress there could not be much progress. The Conference ended on 19 January 1931.

Notes:
Rahimtulla M. Sayani was “Second Muslim” to become the “President of Indian National Congress” after Badruddin taiyyabji. He was also a member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation and was the Sheriff of Bombay in 1885.

Notes:
Lalmohan Ghosh (1849-1909) was the sixteenth President of the Indian National Congress. He is best known for his plea for compulsory primary education in India in his Presidential Address at the Madras session of the Congress.

Notes:
In the year 1944, Subhash Chandra Bose used the phrase for Gandhi when he was briefing on Singapore Radio. However, Gandhi was never accorded either Mahatma or Father of the Nation title officially by Government of India and no rule or ordinance was ever passed; and can be passed since it would be against article 18. So, Mahatma Gandhi as “Father of Nation” is a popular notion.

Notes:
In the year 1944, in Moirang, Manipur an Indian Tricolour, modelled after that of the Indian National Congress, was raised for the first time. The flag of Azad Hind was raised by Shaukat Hayat Malik.