In the context of Colonial India, Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) officers of the Indian National Army
They were officers of the Indian National Army (INA) put on trial by the British at the Red Fort, Delhi, in the INA trials of 1945-46. Their trial drew nationwide protests and weakened British authority.
- ✓ (d) Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan were tried by the colonial government at the Red Fort. NCERT lists the INA trials among the events that weakened British authority.
- ✗ (a) The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement belongs to the anti-partition agitation of 1905 onwards, decades earlier, and these three officers played no part in it.
- ✗ (b) The 1946 Interim Government was formed from Congress and Muslim League nominees; these INA officers were not part of it.
Remember · INA trials at the Red Fort (1945-46): Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Sahgal, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon; they helped turn public opinion decisively against British rule.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- Prime Minister of India — PM inaugurates Subhas Chandra Bose Museum at Red Fort ↗ “In this very building, brave sons of India, Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan were put on trial by the colonial rulers.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 2 “INA trials, Royal Indian Navy Mutiny, and Cabinet Mission Plan weaken British authority”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·