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UPSC CSE Prelims 2012 · GS paper

The Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress (1929) is very important in history, because:

A question from UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012, General Studies, explained with its sources.

Prelims 2012 · archive

Easy

The Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress (1929) is very important in history, because:

  1. 1.The Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence.
  2. 2.The rift between the extremists and moderates was resolved in that Session.
  3. 3.A resolution was passed rejecting the two-nation theory in that Session

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 only

The Lahore Congress of December 1929, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, committed the Congress to Purna Swaraj (complete independence), so statement 1 is correct. It was not the session that ended the Moderate–Extremist split, and it passed no resolution on the two-nation theory, so statements 2 and 3 are wrong. The answer is (a).

  • ✓ 1. The Lahore session in December 1929 proclaimed the Congress's commitment to 'Purna Swaraj', or complete independence. Independence Day was then observed on 26 January 1930.
  • ✗ 2. The Congress split into Moderates and Extremists at Surat in 1907, and the two camps came back together at the Lucknow session of 1916. The Lahore session of 1929 is remembered for the Purna Swaraj commitment and for Nehru's election as President, not for any reconciliation of the two camps.
  • ✗ 3. The two-nation theory, that India consisted of two 'peoples', Hindus and Muslims, was the Muslim League's basis for demanding Pakistan. The Congress opposed this theory and the Pakistan demand, but no resolution of this kind was passed at Lahore in 1929.

Remember · Lahore Congress, December 1929, president Jawaharlal Nehru: Purna Swaraj adopted as the goal. Independence Day was first observed on 26 January 1930.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part III, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Politics in India since Independence, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·

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