A researcher records the memories of an old peasant from Gujarat in the 1970s. He recalls that, in the early 1920s, several national leaders visited his district, and that the villagers felt closest to Gandhiji among them. He also remembers 1928 well. That year, people across India protested against a commission sent from England to enquire into conditions in the country, and the peasants of Bardoli taluka launched a satyagraha. The researcher wants to place these memories in the history of the national movement.
Why did peasants like him feel closer to Gandhiji than to many other leaders of the time?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Unlike other politicians, he seemed not only to look like them but to understand their lives.
Option (1) Unlike other politicians, he seemed not only to look like them but to understand their lives. — Correct. Other politicians <strong>talked down to</strong> the peasants. Gandhiji dressed and lived plainly like them and seemed to <strong>understand and relate to their lives</strong>.
Option (2) He promised them that the Congress would lower their land revenue once it came to power. — Incorrect. His appeal did not rest on such promises. It came from the way he related to ordinary people.
Option (3) He came from a peasant family and had himself worked the land before entering politics. — Incorrect. Gandhiji did not come from a peasant family. His closeness to peasants came from his plain way of life and manner.
Option (4) He settled their disputes with landlords himself through the village panchayats. — Incorrect. Settling disputes was not the source of his appeal. Peasants felt he understood them as no other leader did.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 A people’s leader … “While Mahatma Gandhi’s mass appeal was undoubtedly genuine – and in the context of Indian politics, without precedent – it must also be stressed that his success in broadening the basis of nationalism was based on careful organisation. …” |