UPSC Prelims 2017 Q93: Modern History – Gandhian Mass Movements (1915 - 1942)
With reference to Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events:
1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy
2. Quit India Movement launched
3. Second Round Table Conference
What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?
- (a) 1 - 2 - 3
- (b) 2 - 1 - 3
- (c) 3 - 2 - 1
- (d) 3 - 1 - 2
Answer: (c) 3 - 2 - 1
Explanation
Chronology of three events of the freedom struggle
| Order | Event | Date | Key fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 3. Second Round Table Conference | September to December 1931 | Gandhi attended as the sole Congress representative, after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact |
| Second | 2. Quit India Movement launched | 8 August 1942 | 'Do or Die' call at Gowalia Tank, Bombay |
| Third | 1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy | 18 February 1946 | Began on HMIS Talwar, Bombay |
Round Table Conferences:
| Conference | Year | Congress |
|---|---|---|
| First | 1930 | Did not attend |
| Second | 1931 | Attended (Gandhi) |
| Third | 1932 | Did not attend |
So the correct chronological sequence is 3 - 2 - 1.
Answer: (c) 3 - 2 - 1.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. The Royal Indian Navy mutiny (1946) was the last event, not the first.
- (b) Incorrect. The Second Round Table Conference (1931) came before Quit India.
- (c) CORRECT. Round Table Conference (1931), Quit India (1942), Navy mutiny (1946): 3 - 2 - 1.
- (d) Incorrect. The Quit India Movement (1942) came before the Navy mutiny of 1946.
Key point
Second Round Table Conference (1931), Quit India Movement launched (August 1942), Royal Indian Navy mutiny (February 1946).
Remember
1931 Round Table, 1942 Quit India, 1946 Navy mutiny.
Common mistakes
- Placing the Navy mutiny during the Second World War; it came after the war.
- Mixing up the three Round Table Conferences; Gandhi attended only the second.
- Dating Quit India to 1940, the year of individual satyagraha.
Exam tip
Fix one anchor date per decade: 1931 Round Table, 1942 Quit India, 1946 Navy mutiny.
Sources
- Bipan Chandra — India's Struggle for Independence (Quit India Movement and the INA)
- NCERT Class XII — Themes in Indian History Part III, Ch 11 (Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement)