In 1920, which of the following changed its name to “Swarajya Sabha”?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) All India Home Rule League
The All India Home Rule League, the self-government body of the 1916 Home Rule movement, changed its name to Swaraj (Swarajya) Sabha in 1920. Its Joint General Secretary, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote in October 1920 of 'the Swaraj Sabha (till lately the All-India Home Rule League)'; the new name and new objects were adopted at a members' meeting in Calcutta under President M. K. Gandhi.
- ✓ (a) Nehru's letter of 18 October 1920 says the League's name was altered and its objects changed, and calls it 'the Swaraj Sabha (till lately the All-India Home Rule League)'.
- ✗ (b) The Hindu Mahasabha is a separate organisation; Nehru's letter names the All-India Home Rule League as the body renamed, and no source ties the Mahasabha to the renaming.
- ✗ (c) The South Indian Liberal Federation was the Justice Party of Madras; NCERT mentions the Justice party of Madras province. It was a separate body and not the Home Rule body named in Nehru's letter.
- ✗ (d) The Servants of India Society was founded by G. K. Gokhale (NCERT) for public service and is not the body Nehru's letter says was renamed the Swaraj Sabha.
Remember · The All India Home Rule League of 1916 was renamed Swaraj (Swarajya) Sabha in 1920, when its aim moved from home rule to swaraj.
📘 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)
Sources
- The Swaraj Sabha: Facts about Changes in the Constitution of the All India Home Rule League (letter, 18 October 1920), The Nehru Archive (Internet Archive copy) ↗ · reference work “the recent changes in the constitution of the Swaraj Sabha (till lately the All-India Home Rule League) has been questioned by some gentlemen … The President, Mr. M. K. Gandhi, over-ruled his objections and held that the meeting was properly constituted and was fully competent to change the constitution.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “1916: Home Rule movement by Tilak and Annie Besant; Lucknow Pact promotes Congress– League cooperation”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “Gopal Krishna Gokhale (an educationist and founder of the Servants of India Society)”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·