On which occasion, the first public announcement was made regarding Gandhiji’s own desire to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people as a whole?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → During speech at the opening of Banaras Hindu University
Gandhiji’s first major public appearance in India was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916. There he reminded the princes and dignitaries of the peasants and workers who were the majority of Indians but were not in the audience. The speech said that Indian nationalism was then an elite phenomenon, a creation of lawyers, doctors and landlords; it was also the first public announcement of his own desire to make nationalism representative of the Indian people as a whole.
NCERT (2025-26): “1. A Leader Announces Himself … His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916.… … But rather than adopt a tone of self-congratulation, Gandhiji chose instead to remind those present of the peasants and workers who constituted a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience. Gandhiji’s speech at Banaras in February 1916 was, at one level, merely a statement of fact – namely, that Indian nationalism was an elite phenomenon, a creation of lawyers and doctors and landlords. But, at another level, it was also a statement of intent – the first public announcement of Gandhiji’s own desire to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people as a whole.…” |