Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Political Science

Chapter

Politics in India Since Independence: Era of one Party Dominance

Question:

Read the passage and answer the following question :
The significance of the first phase for the party system in India is that almost all political parties or their antecedent organizations can be traced back to the freedom movement in India. The Indian National Congress (INC) founded in 1885 was of course, the aggregation of the crucible for practically all political parties that came to be formed since the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century. The Congress was, in fact, first formed as a pressure group for lobbying support for participation of Indians in British Indian administration and governance. It gradually acquired the role of a mass movement beginning with the partition of Bengal in 1905 and the Swadeshi movement to annul it and especially since the 1920s with the advent of Gandhi on the Indian national scene in the wake of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. The Congress in reality was a national platform with which all other political organizations of the period had cooperative or conflictual relationships at various points in time. Even the Muslim League and the Scheduled Castes Federation had periods of reconciliation and pacts with this organization of central importance in British India, to say nothing of the Communists, Socialists, Hindu Mahasabha and Akali Dal who had more of cooperative interaction with Congress than conflictual during the freedom struggle. It is for these reasons that this phase of party system growth in India may be appropriately characterized as the "Movement Party System".

Match List- I with List- II

List- I

List- II

(A) Formation of the Indian National Congress

(I) 1905

(B) The Jalianwala Bagh Massacre

(II) 1919

(C) The Partition of Bengal

(III) 1885

(D) Formation of the Hindu Mahasabha

(IV) 1915

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
(1) (A)-(IV), (B)-(I), (C)-(III), (D)-(II)
(2) (A)-(I), (B)-(IV), (C)-(II), (D)-(III)
(3) (A)-(I), (B)-(III), (C)-(IV), (D)-(II)
(4) (A)-(III), (B)-(II), (C)-(I), (D)-(IV)

Options:

1

2

3

4

Correct Answer:

4

Explanation:

(A) Formation of the Indian National Congress - (III) 1885: The Indian National Congress (INC) was established in 1885, making it the oldest and one of the most prominent political parties in India. Its formation marked the beginning of organized political activity for India's independence from British colonial rule.

(B) The Jalianwala Bagh Massacre - (II) 1919: The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, when British troops, under the command of General Dyer, opened fire on a peaceful gathering of Indians, resulting in the loss of many lives. This tragic event had a significant impact on the Indian freedom struggle.

(C) The Partition of Bengal - (I) 1905: The Partition of Bengal was carried out by the British in 1905, dividing the province of Bengal into two separate entities, West Bengal and East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh). This move was met with widespread opposition and protests in India.

(D) Formation of the Hindu Mahasabha - (IV) 1915: The Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, was founded in 1915. It played a role in promoting Hindu interests and ideologies during the freedom struggle.