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The Indian Freedom Movement is one of the most important parts in General Studies for competitive examinations in India including UPSC Civil Services, UPPSC, BPSC, SSC CGL, and Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams. Here we will analyse the Previous Year Questions (PYQs) to reveal the main themes of the movement, like Gandhian movements, revolutionary nationalism, institutional sessions and socio-religious reforms.
Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions on the Indian Freedom Movement
Q1. “Sedition has become my religion” was the famous statement given by Gandhiji at the time of: (UPSC 2025)
Answer: Publicly violating Salt Law at Dandi
Explanation: Mahatma Gandhi gave the statement "sedition has become my religion" during the Dandi March of 1930, where he broke the British salt law while defending himself during his trial after the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
He argued that loyalty to an oppressive foreign government was a crime against humanity. His defiance led to widespread public participation across the country.
Q2. The famous Lucknow Pact of 1916 was signed between which of the key figures? (UPPSC PCS1999, 2011, and 2019 )
Answer: Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Explanation: At the 1916 Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Muhammad Ali Jinnah signed the pact known as the Lucknow Pact.
It marked the reunion of moderate and extremist factions of the Indian National Congress.
In this session a joint political platform between the Congress and the Muslim League. This pact temporarily bridged communal divides and presented a unified constitutional demand to the British.
Q3. During Champaran Satyagraha (1917), the forced cultivation of indigo by European planters was locally known by which system? ( 67th BPSC 2022 )
Answer:Tinkathia System
Explanation: Indian peasants in Bihar were legally bound by European planters to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their total land holding under the oppressive Tinkathia system.
A local farmer who invited Mahatma Gandhi to Champaran. This led to Mahatma Gandhi's First civil disobedience movement in India.
His successful intervention forced the government to abolish the exploitative practice and refund part of the illegal exactions.
Q4. Which of the following Indian National Congress (INC)sessions recorded the first-ever singing of the national song 'Vande Mataram'? (SSC CGL Exam 2022)
Answer:Calcutta Session, 1896
Explanation: The 1896 Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress witnessed Rabindranath Tagore singing Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s 'Vande Mataram'.
The song was originally written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s and published in his famous 1882 novel Anandamath. The song soon became an anthem for anti-colonial resistance.
Q5. The Swaraj Party was established in 1923 following the failure and suspension of which mass movement? (BPSC 2017)
Answer:Non-Cooperation Movement
Explanation: After Mahatma Gandhi's suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement after the violent Chauri Chaura incident in 1922, a political vacuum emerged. C.R. Das (president) and Motilal Nehru (secretary) formed the Swaraj Party. Their strategy was to enter legislative councils and systematically obstruct British policies from within.
Q6. Who coined the name "Pakistan" or "Pak-stan" for a separate Muslim homeland in pamphlets published in 1933 and 1935? (UPPSC PCS 2020)
Answer: Choudhry Rehmat Ali
Explanation: Choudhry Rehmat Ali was a visionary Cambridge student, conceptualised the term “Pak-stan " in his famous 1933 pamphlet Now or Never.
The name was created by combining initials from Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan. Although initially dismissed as a student scheme, political demand later gained formal traction in the 1940 Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League.
Q7. The historic resolution of Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) was passed under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru at which Congress session? (Railway RRB NTPC 2021)
Answer:(a) Lahore Session, 1929
Explanation: The Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress hoisted the tricolour flag of Independence at midnight on December 31. 1929 on the banks of the Ravi River and asked for complete independence.
The session designated 26 January 1930 as the first official "Independence Day" for India. However, after the Independence date was later chosen for Republic Day in 1950 to honour the 1930 declaration
Q8. Which among the following newspapers was founded and edited by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak to propagate nationalist ideals? (SSC CGL 202)
Answer:Kesari
Explanation: Bal Gangadhar Tilak ran two newspapers, Kesari (in Marathi) and Maratha (in English). The objective of newspapers was to awaken political consciousness among the masses.
Kesari served as a fierce voice for radical nationalism, social reform and anti-British criticism. It played a key role during the extremist phase of the freedom struggle.
Q9. The immediate cause for the launch of the Quit India Movement in August 1942 was: (UPSC Civil Services, 2013)
Answer:The failure of the Cripps Mission
Explanation: The rejection of Indian demands for immediate self-government by Sir Stafford Cripps deeply disillusioned the Congress leadership realising that British cooperation was unattainable during World War II.
Mahatma Gandhi issued a definitive "Do or Die" call at Gowalia Tank, Bombay which led a mass-scale, spontaneous Quit India uprising.
Q10. Who was the founder of the Servants of India Society? (UPSSSC PET, 2021)
Answer: Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Explanation: Gopal Krishna Gokhale established the Servants of India Society in 1905 in Pune. The organisation aimed to promote public interests in India through constitutional means and social upliftment. He was recognised as the political mentor of Mahatma Gandhi.