UPSC Prelims 2009 Q61: Modern History – Gandhian Mass Movements (1915 - 1942)

UPSC Prelims 2009, General Studies Paper I · Modern History

In the ‘Individual Satyagraha’, Vinoba Bhave was chosen as the first Satyagrahi. Who was the second?

Answer: (b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Explanation

Who was the second Individual Satyagrahi

After Vinoba Bhave was chosen first, a specific senior Congress leader followed as the second satyagrahi.

Option	Verdict	Reason
(a) Dr. Rajendra Prasad	Incorrect	Not the second chosen satyagrahi
(b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru	Correct	Nehru was chosen as the second Individual Satyagrahi, following Vinoba Bhave
(c) C. Rajagopalachari	Incorrect	Not the second satyagrahi in this sequence
(d) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	Incorrect	Also not the second in this specific sequence

Individual Satyagraha sequence:

Order	Satyagrahi
1st	Vinoba Bhave
2nd	Jawaharlal Nehru

Answer: (b) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

(a) Incorrect. Rajendra Prasad was not the second satyagrahi in this sequence.
(b) CORRECT. Nehru was chosen as the second Individual Satyagrahi, after Vinoba Bhave.
(c) Incorrect. Rajagopalachari was not the second in this sequence.
(d) Incorrect. Patel was also not the second satyagrahi here.

After Vinoba Bhave as the first Individual Satyagrahi, Jawaharlal Nehru was chosen as the second.

The second Individual Satyagrahi, after Vinoba Bhave, was Jawaharlal Nehru.

Confusing the specific sequence order of Individual Satyagraha participants.
Mixing up different senior Congress leaders' roles in this specific campaign.
Not knowing Vinoba Bhave's first-position significance in this sequence.

Individual Satyagraha order: 1st = Vinoba Bhave, 2nd = Jawaharlal Nehru. A specific sequence fact.

Bipan Chandra — Modern India (NCERT textbook for Class XII)
Bipan Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee et al. — India's Struggle for Independence (Individual Satyagraha, 1940–41)