Minimalist IAS
← Foundation (Classes 6–9)
English हिंदी

Test yourself

Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2)

Class 8 · Foundation (Classes 6–9)

Ch 2 · India's Long Road to Independence

Real UPSC Prelims questions from 2016–2026, linked to this book. Try each one first, then open the answer. 2026 answers follow UPSC's provisional answer key.

Prelims 2016 · Q49

The 'Swadeshi' and 'Boycott' were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the

  1. (a)agitation against the Partition of Bengal
  2. (b)Home Rule Movement
  3. (c)Non-Cooperation Movement
  4. (d)visit of the Simon Commission to India
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (a)

NCERT answers it: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence); old Class 8 Our Pasts – III, Ch 8 (The Making of the National Movement: 1870s–1947).

Exploring Society, Class 8 Part 2 (ch 2) ties the Swadeshi and boycott movements to the Partition of Bengal in 1905. The old Class 8 book says the mass protest methods of that struggle came to be called the Swadeshi movement. So (a).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2016), question 49 ↗

Prelims 2016 · Q92

What was the main reason for the split in the Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907?

  1. (a)Introduction of communalism into Indian politics by Lord Minto
  2. (b)Extremists' lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with the British Government
  3. (c)Foundation of Muslim League
  4. (d)Aurobindo Ghosh's inability to be elected as the President of the Indian National Congress
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society (Part 2), ch 2: at Surat the Moderates tried to step back from the Calcutta resolutions (Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott) and return to asking for minor concessions. That is why the Nationalists lost faith in them. NCERT's account gives no role to Lord Minto, the Muslim League or Aurobindo's election. Answer (b).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2016), question 92 ↗

Prelims 2016 · Q93

The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War

  1. (a)India should be granted complete independence
  2. (b)India should be partitioned into two before granting independence
  3. (c)India should be made a republic with the condition that she will join the Commonwealth
  4. (d)India should be given Dominion status
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (d)

NCERT answers it: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence).

Exploring Society, Class 8 Part 2 (ch 2): the Cripps Mission of 1942 promised India dominion status once the war was over. So (d).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2016), question 93 ↗

Prelims 2019 · Q5

With reference to Swadeshi Movement, consider the following statements:

  1. 1.It contributed to the revival of the indigenous artisan crafts and industries.
  2. 2.The National Council of Education was established as a part of Swadeshi Movement.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a)1 only
  2. (b)2 only
  3. (c)Both 1 and 2
  4. (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (c)

NCERT answers it: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence); Class 10 India and the Contemporary World – II, Ch 4 (The Age of Industrialisation).

Exploring Society, Class 8 Part 2 (ch 2): leading citizens set up a National Council of Education during the Swadeshi movement. India and the Contemporary World – II (ch 4): as Swadeshi gathered momentum, Indian industrial groups organised themselves. Both statements are correct. So (c).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2019), question 5 ↗

Prelims 2022 · Q53

Consider the following freedom fighters:

  1. 1.Barindra Kumar Ghosh
  2. 2.Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee
  3. 3.Rash Behari Bose

Who of the above was/were actively associated with the Ghadar Party?

  1. (a)1 and 2
  2. (b)2 only
  3. (c)1 and 3
  4. (d)3 only
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (d)

NCERT answers it: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence).

The one fact NCERT doesn't give: Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee were Bengal revolutionaries of the Anushilan–Jugantar groups (Jogesh later co-founded the HRA), not Ghadar members.

Class 8 Exploring Society (Part 2), ch 2, names Rash Behari Bose among those in India who worked with the Ghadar plan to win over the army. Answer (d).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2022), question 53 ↗

Prelims 2025 · Q11

Consider the following statements about Raja Ram Mohan Roy:

  1. I.He possessed great love and respect for the traditional philosophical systems of the East.
  2. II.He desired his countrymen to accept the rational and scientific approach and the principle of human dignity and social equality of all men and women.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a)I only
  2. (b)II only
  3. (c)Both I and II
  4. (d)Neither I nor II
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (c)

NCERT answers it: old Class 8 Our Pasts – III, Ch 7 (Women, Caste and Reform); Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence).

The one fact NCERT doesn't give: Rammohun Roy deeply respected India's ancient philosophy: he translated the Upanishads and based the Brahmo Samaj on the Vedanta.

Class 8 Our Pasts III, ch 7, and Class 8 Exploring Society (Part 2), ch 2, give statement II (Western education, reason, and equality for women). Answer (c).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2025), question 11 ↗

Prelims 2025 · Q74

Subsequent to which one of the following events, Gandhiji, who consistently opposed untouchability and appealed for its eradication from all spheres, decided to include the upliftment of 'Harijans' in his political and social programme?

  1. (a)The Poona Pact
  2. (b)The Gandhi-Irwin Agreement (Delhi Pact)
  3. (c)Arrest of Congress leadership at the time of the Quit India Movement
  4. (d)Promulgation of the Government of India Act, 1935
Show answer

UPSC's answer: (a)

NCERT answers it: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (India's Long Road to Independence).

The one fact NCERT doesn't give: Right after the Poona Pact (1932), Gandhi launched his nationwide campaign against untouchability and founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh.

Class 8 Exploring Society (Part 2), ch 2, describes his untouchability campaign and the Poona Pact together. Careful: in NCERT the campaign is mentioned right after the passage on the 1935 grant of provincial autonomy, which can pull you towards (d). Answer (a).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2025), question 74 ↗

← Back to the books

Spotted an error? Tell us — we fix it and record the change here.

NCERT textbooks are published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Every file comes from NCERT's own website; a full book is joined into one PDF on the reader's device. Minimalist IAS does not store or edit any NCERT file.

Previous-year questions are from UPSC's question papers and answer keys (final keys; for 2026, the provisional key) published on upsc.gov.in.

Minimalist IAS is not affiliated with NCERT or UPSC. Books by other publishers are named for reference only.

NCERT can move or replace a file at any time. We re-check every link each month; if one breaks, tell us.