With reference to the British colonial rule in India, consider the following statements:
- 1.Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in the abolition of the system of 'indentured labour'.
- 2.In Lord Chelmsford's 'War Conference', Mahatma Gandhi did not support the resolution on recruiting Indians for World War.
- 3.Consequent upon the breaking of Salt Law by Indian people, the Indian National Congress was declared illegal by the colonial rulers.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Gandhi led the all-India agitation of 1916–17 that forced the government to stop indentured emigration, and during the Civil Disobedience Movement that began with the Salt March the Congress was declared illegal. Statement 2 is wrong: at Chelmsford's War Conference in Delhi (April 1918) Gandhi supported the recruitment resolution.
- ✓ 1. Gandhi had petitioned against indenture since 1894 and campaigned for its abolition, and a Congress resolution called for abolition; the government officially abolished indentured emigration on 13 March 1917, and NCERT records the system as abolished in 1921.
- ✗ 2. At the War Conference held in Delhi in April 1918, Gandhi spoke one sentence in Hindustani supporting the resolution on recruiting, and later ran a recruitment campaign in Kheda.
- ✓ 3. When Gandhi returned from the Second Round Table Conference (1931), he found Nehru and Ghaffar Khan in jail and the Congress declared illegal, as the government cracked down on civil disobedience.
Remember · Gandhi: anti-indenture campaign (1917); backed WWI recruitment at Chelmsford's Delhi War Conference (April 1918); Congress banned during Civil Disobedience (1930–32).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 India and the Contemporary World – II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 10 India and the Contemporary World – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 10 · India and the Contemporary World – II, Chapter 3 “From the 1900s India's nationalist leaders began opposing the system of indentured labour migration as abusive and cruel. It was abolished in 1921.”
- IGNOU eGyanKosh (Govt of India central university), Unit 38: Indentured Labour Migration ↗ · reference work “The indenture system was in practice for eighty three years beginning from 1834 until its official abolition on 13 March, 1917 by Lord Hardinge.”
- M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography, Part V: Abolition of indentured emigration (mkgandhi.org) ↗ · reference work “Before the 31st July the Government announced that indentured emigration from India was stopped. It was in 1894 that I drafted the first petition protesting against the system”
- M.K. Gandhi, An Autobiography, Part V: Recruiting Campaign (mkgandhi.org) ↗ · reference work “So I attended the conference. The Viceroy was very keen on my supporting the resolution about recruiting. I asked for permission to speak in Hindi-Hindustani.”
- NCERT Class 10 · India and the Contemporary World – II, Chapter 2 “Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru were both in jail, the Congress had been declared illegal, and a series of measures had been imposed to prevent meetings, demonstrations and boycotts.”
- IGNOU eGyanKosh, Nationalist Movement under Mahatma Gandhi, Unit 11 (indentured labour) ↗ · reference work “He spoke strongly on the indentured labourers recruitment and a resolution was passed for the abolition of this practice.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·