Rise of nationalism, 1885–1917

Answer: (a) बंगाल विभाजन के विरुद्ध आंदोलन

Swadeshi and boycott were first used as mass methods of protest in the agitation against the 1905 Partition of Bengal. The Home Rule Movement (1916), the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920) and the Simon Commission protests (1927-28) all came later.

• ✓ (a) Curzon's plan to partition the Bengal presidency led to public meetings, processions and, beside them, two programmes of mass action: Swadeshi and boycott. People boycotted foreign goods, burnt foreign cloth and promoted Indian-made products.
• ✗ (b) The Home Rule movement of Tilak and Annie Besant dates from 1916, eleven years after the Swadeshi and boycott programmes began.
• ✗ (c) The Congress formally launched Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement at Nagpur in December 1920; it revived boycott but did not introduce it.

Remember · Swadeshi and boycott were born in the 1905 agitation against the Partition of Bengal; later movements (1916, 1920, 1928) reused them.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) अंग्रेजी सरकार के साथ नरमपंथियों की वार्ता करने की क्षमता के बारे में चरमपंथियों में विश्वास का अभाव

The Congress split at Surat because the Nationalists (called Extremists by their opponents) no longer trusted the Moderates to press the British. At Surat the Moderates tried to back away from the Calcutta resolutions on Swaraj, Swadeshi and Boycott and return to asking for minor administrative concessions.

• ✓ (b) NCERT says the Moderates at Surat tried to step back from the Calcutta resolutions and return to the old requests for minor concessions. The Nationalists led by Tilak, Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghose refused, chaos followed when Tilak was prevented from speaking, and they held a separate session.
• ✗ (a) Lord Minto's separate electorates came with the Indian Councils Act of 1909, two years after Surat. NCERT's account of the split gives Minto no part in it.
• ✗ (c) The All-India Muslim League was founded at Dhaka in December 1906. The Surat quarrel was between Moderates and Nationalists inside the Congress, not a reaction to the League.
• ✗ (d) NCERT names Aurobindo Ghose only as one of the Nationalist leaders who walked out and presided over their separate session; it mentions no defeat of his in an election for president.

Remember · Surat 1907: the Congress split into Moderates and Nationalists over Swaraj, Swadeshi and Boycott, after the Moderates tried to retreat from the Calcutta resolutions.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error