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Modern India & the freedom struggle

Prelims · Modern India & the freedom struggle · 12 questions

Social & religious reform movements

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Social & religious reform movements questions per year: 2016: 2, 2017: 0, 2018: 1, 2019: 0, 2020: 2, 2021: 1, 2022: 0, 2023: 0, 2024: 0, 2025: 2, 2026: 0 Asked in 5 of 11 years · most in 2025 (2)

UPSC syllabus: “History of India and Indian National Movement.” See the full syllabus →

Consider the following pairs:

Movement/OrganizationLeader
1.All India Anti-Untouchability LeagueMahatma Gandhi
2.All India Kisan SabhaSwami Sahajanand Saraswati
3.Self-Respect MovementE. V. Ramaswami Naicker

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

All three pairs are correct. The Anti-Untouchability League (later the Harijan Sevak Sangh) grew out of Gandhi's 1932 fast and was guided by him; Swami Sahajanand Saraswati led the Kisan Sabha movement and became the first president of the All India Kisan Sabha formed in 1936; Periyar E. V. Ramaswami Naicker started the Self-Respect Movement in 1925.

  • ✓ 1. The All-India Anti-Untouchability League, soon renamed Harijan Sevak Sangh, was founded in September 1932 after Gandhi's fast against separate electorates, to carry out his campaign against untouchability (G. D. Birla was its president).
  • ✓ 2. Sahajanand Saraswati founded the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (1929) and was the leading figure of the All India Kisan Sabha set up at the Congress's Lucknow session in 1936, becoming its first president.
  • ✓ 3. E. V. Ramaswami Naicker (Periyar) started the Self-Respect Movement in 1925 against caste hierarchy and Brahmin domination.

Remember · 1925 Self-Respect Movement (Periyar); 1929 Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha and 1936 All India Kisan Sabha (Sahajanand Saraswati); 1932 Anti-Untouchability League/Harijan Sevak Sangh (Gandhi).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Social Change and Development in India, Ch 8 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Politics in India since Independence, Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·