Quit India Movement (1942): Important GK Questions and Answers

The Quit India Movement launched in August 1942. It is one of the most definitive events of  India's struggle for freedom. It is also known as the August Movement or Bharat Chhodo Andolan. 

GK Questions and Answers on the Quit India Movement 1942

Q1. When was the Quit India Movement first officially launched by Mahatma Gandhi?

1.  8th August 1942

Correct answer:B) 

Explanation: 9th August 1942. But the resolution was passed on 8th August at Gowalia Tank Maidan and the movement started on  9th August across the country.

Q2.  Where was the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session held when the Quit India resolution was ratified?

1. Calcutta

2. Delhi

3. Bombay

4. Lahore

Correct answer:C) Bombay at Gowalia Tank Maidan

Q3. Who coined the term "Quit India"?

1. Mahatma Gandhi

2. Yusuf Meherally

3. Aruna Asaf Ali

4. Ram Manohar Lohia

Correct answer:B) Yusuf Meherally

Explanation: Yusuf Meherally was a socialist and mayor of Bombay who coined the term, though Gandhi popularized it. He also coined the term Simon Go Back. It was Mahatma Gandhi was the one who widely popularised them. 

Q4. Who was the Viceroy of India at the time of the Quit India Movement?

1.  Lord Wavell

2. Lord Willingdon

3. Lord Linlithgow

4. Lord Mountbatten

Correct answer:C)Lord Linlithgow

Explanation: Lord Linlithgow was the viceroy of India at the time of the Quit India Movement.  He served his term from 1936 to 1943. He adopted a repressive policy to suppress the movement.  

Q5. Who served as the President of the Indian National Congress when the Quit India resolution was passed?

1. Jawaharlal Nehru

2.  Rajendra Prasad

3. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

4. J.B. Kripalani

Correct Answer:C) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 

Explanation: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad served as Congress President for a long term during World War II (1940–1945) due to the suspension of regular annual elections. 

Q6. Which prominent freedom fighter hoisted the Congress flag at Gowalia Tank Maidan during the movement?

1. Sucheta Kripalani

2. Sarojini Naidu

3. Aruna Asaf Ali

4. Kasturba Gandhi

Correct answer:C) Aruna Asaf Ali 

Explanation: Aruna Asaf Ali is remembered as the "Heroine of the 1942 Quit India Movement" or "Grand Old Lady of the Independence movement" 

Q7. Who was the British Prime Minister when the Quit India Movement was launched?

1.  Ramsay MacDonald

2. Winston Churchill

3. Clement Attlee

4.  Neville Chamberlain

Correct answer:B) Winston Churchill

Explanation: Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Britain. He was a strong opponent of Indian self-rule and strongly backed British military suppression of the 1942 revolt. 

Q8. Which American journalist stayed with Mahatma Gandhi at the Aga Khan Palace and reported extensively on the movement?

1. William Shirer

2. Louis Fischer

3. Mark Tully

4. Webb Miller

Correct answer:B) Louis Fischer

Explanation: Louis Fischer was Gandhi's biographer. He was a famous American journalist whose writings brought global attention to the Indian freedom struggle. 

Q9. Who operated the underground ‘Congress Radio’ broadcast during the Quit India Movement to bypass British censorship?

1. Usha Mehta

2. Achyut Patwardhan

3. Ram Manohar Lohia

4. Jayaprakash Narayan

Correct answer:A) Usha Mehta

Explanation: A young Congress volunteer Usha Mehta secretly ran clandestine radio transmitter that kept citizens updated on freedom fighter activities. 

Q10. The Quit India Movement was a direct reaction to the failure of which political mission?

Correct answer: Cripps Mission

Explanation: Sir Stafford Cripps came to India in March 1942. The mission failed because it offered only dominion status after the war instead of immediate independence.

Q11. Which prominent socialist leader escaped from Hazaribagh Central Jail and organized underground resistance activities?

1. Jayaprakash Narayan

2. Acharya Narendra Dev

3. J.B. Kripalani

4. Aruna Asaf Ali

Correct answer:A) Jayaprakash Narayan

Explanation: Jayaprakash Narayan is popularly known as JP. He scaled the prison walls on Diwali night in 1942 and lunched underground guerrilla movement. 

Q12. Parallel governments (Prati Sarkar) were established in several parts of India during this movement. In which region did Chittu Pandey form a parallel local government?

Answer: Ballia 

Explanation: Chittu Pandey was the one who first established a parallel government in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh by temporarily forcing local British authorities to surrender.