Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Modern India: Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist movement

Question:

Read the passage and answer the questions:

In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to his homeland after two decades of residence abroad. These years had been spent for the most part in South Africa, where he went as a lawyer, and in time became a leader of the Indian community in that territory. As the historian Chandran Devanesan has remarked. South Africa was "the making of the Mahatma". It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi first forged the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, first promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women.

Which historian remarked that South Africa was "the making of the Mahatma"?

Options:

Chandran Devanesan

Irafan habib

Romila Thapar

Seema Alavi

Correct Answer:

Chandran Devanesan

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (1) → Chandran Devanesan

The phrase "South Africa was the making of the Mahatma" highlights the pivotal role that Mahatma Gandhi's experiences in South Africa played in shaping his principles, philosophy, and approach to leadership. It was in South Africa that Gandhi began to formulate and refine his ideas of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, which would later become central to his activism and leadership during the Indian independence movement.

Gandhi's struggles against discrimination and injustice faced by Indians in South Africa, as well as his various campaigns for civil rights, contributed significantly to his transformation as a leader committed to social and political change through nonviolent means. This period of his life was instrumental in shaping the Mahatma we know today, and that's why it is often referred to as "the making of the Mahatma." This perspective is acknowledged by historians like Chandran Devanesan and underscores the historical significance of Gandhi's time in South Africa.

So, the correct option is [1].