Which of the following statements of Gandhiji made at the opening of…

Which of the following statements of Gandhiji made at the opening of Banaras Hindu University are true?

(A) Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor.

(B) Gandhiji was not worried about the contrast between the “richly bedecked noblemen” and millions of poor Indians.

(D) Gandhiji emphasised that farmers are going to secure the salvation of India.

(E) Gandhiji told the privileged invitees, “Strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen.”

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (D) and (E) only

(A) Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor. Correct. When his turn came to speak at the opening of the BHU in 1916, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor.

(B) Gandhiji was not worried about the contrast between the “richly bedecked noblemen” and millions of poor Indians. Incorrect. He worried about this very contrast, between the “richly bedecked noblemen” present and the “millions of the poor” Indians who were absent.

(C) Gandhiji said, “Our salvation can only come through lawyers, doctors and rich landlords.” Incorrect. He said the reverse: “Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it.”

(D) Gandhiji emphasised that farmers are going to secure the salvation of India. Correct. He said there could be no spirit of self-government if the peasants lost the results of their labour, and that salvation can only come through the farmer.

(E) Gandhiji told the privileged invitees, “Strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen.” Correct. He told them that “there is no salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India”.

NCERT (2025-26): “1. A Leader Announces Himself … When his turn came to speak, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor. The opening of the BHU, he said, was ‘certainly a most gorgeous show’. But he worried about the contrast between the ‘richly bedecked noblemen’ present and ‘millions of the poor’ Indians who were absent. Gandhiji told the privileged invitees that ‘there is no salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India’. ‘There can be no spirit of selfgovernment about us,’ he went on, ‘if we take away or allow others to take away from the peasants almost the whole of the results of their labour. Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it.’…”