Karachi Congress Resolution, 1931 spelt out the vision of_____________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Democracy
Option (1) Liberty — Incorrect. Liberty is the freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, one of the values the Constitution later promised. It is a part of the democratic vision, not the vision itself.
Option (2) Social justice — Incorrect. The resolution did call for a reworking of the Indian social structure, but that reworking was part of a larger vision: a genuine democratic society, not elections alone. Social justice is one element of that vision, not its name.
Option (3) Democracy — Correct. In 1931 the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution should look. The Karachi Resolution spells out the vision of democracy that the nationalist movement had: a democracy that meant not just the formal holding of elections but a substantive reworking of the Indian social structure. Its values were later given full expression in the Constitution.
Option (4) Fraternity — Incorrect. Fraternity is the spirit of brotherhood, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the nation. Like liberty, it is one value within the democracy the resolution described.
Note: The chapter ‘The Story of Indian Democracy’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, has been renamed ‘The Constitution and Social Change’ in the NCERT book (2025-26). Its lines on the Karachi Congress Resolution of 1931 as the vision of democracy of the national movement have been deleted, though the chapter is still there.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “The Core Values of Indian Democracy … Many of these issues were thought of much before India became free. Even as India fought for its independence from British colonialism a vision of what Indian democracy ought to look like emerged. As far back as in 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India. In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India’s constitution should look like. The Karachi Resolution reflects a vision of democracy that meant not just formal holding of elections but a substantive reworking of the Indian social structure in order to have a genuine democratic society. The Karachi Resolution clearly spells out the vision of democracy that the nationalist movement in India had. It articulates the values that were further given full expression in the Indian Constitution. You will notice how the Preamble of the Indian Constitution seeks to ensure not just political justice but also social and economic justice. You will likewise notice that equality is not just about equal political rights but also of status and opportunity.” |