Question Discussion & Solution

The answer is Dadabhai Naoroji.

• On 6th July 1892, Dadabhai Naoroji (candidate for the Liberal Party) won a hard-fought election to become the first non-white to be elected to the British Parliament.
  • He also became the first Asian member of the House of Commons.
• One of the most prominent of Naoroji’s supporters was the famous Florence Nightingale.

Important Points

•  Dadabhai Naoroji:
  • Title: ‘Grand Old Man of India’
  • 1867, he propounded Economic Drain Theory where he pointed out that a quarter of India’s economic revenues were being seized by Britain.
  • In London, he established the London Indian Society and then the East Indian Association (1866) which spoke out for the rights of Indians in the British Empire.
  • In 1885, he was one of the founder members of the Indian National Congress.
    • Became the president of the Indian National Congress Sessions three times:
      • 1886, Calcutta
      • 1893, Lahore
      • 1906, Calcutta: declared that the goal of the Congress was to attain swaraj.
  • Newspaper/Journal/Book under Dadabhai Naoroji:
    • Voice of India newspaper
    • The message of reform among the Parsi community was spread by the newspaper Rast Goftar (Truth-Teller).
    • Poverty and un-British Rule in India

Additional Information

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale:
  • In 1899, Gokhale joined the Indian National Congress, emerging as one of the main leaders of its ‘moderate’ wing.
  • Between 1899 and 1902, he was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council followed by a stint at the Imperial Legislative Council from 1902 till his death.
    • Gokhale played a key role in framing the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 and advocated for the expansion of legislative councils at both the Centre and the provinces.
  • Gokhale became Congress president at its Banaras session in 1905.
  • Gandhi regarded Gokhale as his political mentor and wrote a book in Gujarati dedicated to the leader titled ‘Dharmatma Gokhale’.
• C Rajagopalachari:
  • Rajaji’s personal interaction with Gandhi in 1919 led him to give up his legal profession to be fully involved in the nation’s independence struggle.
    • The relationship between them only grew stronger and Mahatma called Rajaji the ‘keeper of my conscience’.
  • C. Rajagopalachari led a salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast in Tamil Nadu, in support of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  • C. Rajagopalachari prepared a formula for Congress-League cooperation in 1944. Gandhi supported the formula.
  • He was the 1st Indian Governor-General of India.
  • In 1954 he was conferred with the Bharat Ratna for his contribution to Indian politics and literature.
  • Conflicts grew between Rajaji and Nehru, this led to Rajaji forming the Swatantra Party.
• Acharya J B Kriplani:
  • Kripalani was well-known as a Gandhian and a socialist.
  • He became the Congress president in 1946.
  • In 1972-73, he and other socialist leaders led movements across the country urging people to lead nonviolent protests against Indira’s government.
  • In his autobiography My Times, he criticized the entire Congress leadership, except Mahatma Gandhi, for Partition.

The correct answer is Surat

Key Points

• The East India Company arrived first at Surat, India in 1608 in the ship Hector commanded by William Hawkins.
• The British established their first Indian factory at Surat (1612).
• Within a few years had established a permanent factory there.
• Surat was the port used by the textile manufacturers of Gujrat and was the most important center for the overseas trade of the Mughal Empire.
• A factory was eventually established at Surat in 1612 when the Portuguese fleet was defeated by the English.

Additional Information

• Cochin: The earliest account of Cochin is derived from the records made by the Chinese traveler, Ma Huan.
  • At the beginning of the XVI century, Cochin was the seat of the Portuguese in India, including the time of the capture of Goa in 1510.
  • Cochin was the first princely state to join India willingly after Independence.
• Calicut: Vasco da Gama sailed on a mission to reach India and open a sea route from Europe to the East.
  • He made numerous stops in Africa before reaching Calicut in 1498.

The correct answer is 1773.

• Regulating Act, 1773, legislation passed by the British Parliament for the regulation of the British East India Company’s Indian territories, mainly in Bengal.

Key Points

• It was the first intervention by the British government in the company’s territorial affairs and marked the beginning of a takeover process that was completed in 1858.
• The main provisions of the act were the appointment of the Governor-General of Fort William in Bengal with supervisory powers over the presidencies of Madras(now Chennai) and Bombay (now Mumbai).
• The Governor-General had a council of four and was given a casting vote but no veto.
• A Supreme court of four English judges was set up in Calcutta (now Kolkata).
• This act was amended and the government of India was recast by Prime Minister William Pitt’s India Act of 1784.

Krishna Deva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire was the friend of the Portuguese Governor Albuquerque, who sent an agent to offer help to Krishna Deva in his fight with the Bahamanis in return for his support against the Zamorin of Calicut. Krishna Deva did not immediately accept the offer, however, the second Portuguese ambassador succeeded in convincing him. 

The correct answer is Anand Math.

• The National song of India, ‘Vande Matram’ has been taken from Anand Math.

Key Points

• Anand Math:
  • It was authored by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
  • The book was originally written in 1882.
  • Anandamath takes the reader back to Bengal in the clutches of the famine, the backdrop of the pre-independence struggle and the turmoil of human lives caught in this frame of time. 
  • It is considered one of the most remarkable works of the Bangla language and Indian literature.
  • Through the book, Bankim also gave us the song ‘VandeMataram’which became the rallying call for rebels.
  • The first two stanzas eventually became the National song of India.
  • One of the gems of Indian Literature, ‘Anandmath’ carries a deep sentiment of nationalism which was the essence of the freedom struggle.

Additional Information

• The 'Neel Darpan' published in 1860 portrays the plight of indigo cultivators was created by Deenbandhu Mitra.
• The first play ever commercially staged was Neel Darpan in 1872.
• It was translated by Micheal Madhusudan Dutta and it was published by