The First World War, Khilafat, and Non-Cooperation

The governing concept was swadeshi combined with economic non-cooperation. By refusing foreign cloth, people reduced demand for imported goods, weakened the commercial interests of British mills, and encouraged Indian production and handloom work. The action was therefore opposed to increasing foreign-cloth demand, stopping Indian weavers, or benefiting British mills. Option A states the immediate purpose accurately.

Swadeshi literally expresses preference for goods produced within one’s own country. In the national movement, it meant using indigenous products, supporting Indian producers, and reducing dependence on imported goods. It was closely connected with the boycott of foreign cloth. It did not mean promoting foreign goods, increasing taxes, or organising military recruitment, so A is correct.

Khadi was hand-spun and hand-woven cloth associated with Indian labour, local production, and the rejection of imported textiles. Wearing it demonstrated support for swadeshi and the ideal of economic self-reliance while also offering symbolic resistance to colonial economic domination. It did not represent foreign rule, feudal rent, or government employment. Therefore option A is the appropriate answer.

Burning foreign cloth was a visible and collective act of protest against imported textiles and the colonial economic system behind them. It publicly demonstrated rejection of foreign goods and support for swadeshi production. The act was not a welcome for foreign cloth, assistance to British mills, or a demand for higher taxes. Hence A correctly identifies its political and economic meaning.

Legislative councils were political institutions created and controlled within the colonial framework. Refusing to contest or participate in their elections was a way to withdraw cooperation and question the legitimacy of British political authority. It was not intended to strengthen British laws, expand foreign trade, or raise peasants’ rent. Thus option A correctly identifies the political purpose of the boycott.

Gandhi based the movement on ahimsa, or non-violence. The strategy was to withdraw cooperation from colonial institutions through peaceful actions such as boycotts, resignation of honours, and refusal to use certain institutions, rather than through physical force. Violence contradicted the movement’s discipline and moral basis; foreign trade and monarchy were not its governing principles. Therefore A is correct.

Gandhi favoured a staged programme because a mass movement needed preparation, discipline, and strict commitment to non-violence. Gradual steps allowed people to organise and withdraw cooperation without losing control or turning to violent action. The aim was not to strengthen British rule, sell foreign cloth, or increase taxes. Therefore A best explains the strategic reason for conducting the movement in stages.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was planned in stages, beginning with the surrender of titles and the boycott of government institutions, schools, courts, and foreign cloth. The final and more direct stage was expected to include refusal to pay taxes, which would challenge the colonial government's financial authority. Therefore, option A is correct; the other choices either supported or did not oppose colonial rule.

Students participated in non-cooperation mainly by boycotting colonial educational institutions. Many left government schools and colleges, responding to the call to withdraw support from institutions controlled by the British administration. This made education part of the political boycott. Option A is correct, while selling foreign cloth, increasing taxes, or joining the British army did not represent student participation in this movement.

Lawyers were asked to withdraw from the colonial legal system as a form of non-cooperation. They therefore gave up legal practice in British-run courts, challenging the legitimacy and functioning of colonial institutions. Option A is correct. Railways, post offices, and factories were not the institutions specifically boycotted by lawyers in this part of the movement.

Economic nationalism was an important part of the Non-Cooperation Movement. People were encouraged to boycott foreign goods, especially foreign cloth, and to use swadeshi products made in India. This promoted local production and expressed opposition to colonial economic control. Option A is correct; the other choices refer to imported or British goods and contradict the boycott-and-swear-to-swadeshi approach.

The movement promoted the boycott of foreign cloth and encouraged people to use khadi and other swadeshi products. As consumers reduced their purchases of imported cloth, demand fell and imports declined. This was both a political protest and an economic challenge to colonial trade. Option A is correct; the other choices contradict the known effect of the boycott or make an unsupported claim about prices.

Khadi represented self-reliance, swadeshi, and opposition to foreign cloth, but its symbolic value did not remove the problem of affordability. Hand-spun and hand-woven cloth could cost more than cheaper mill-made fabric, which mattered greatly to poor families. Option A is correct. Khadi was not foreign, restricted to soldiers, or distributed free by the colonial government.

The boycott of government schools was a political act, but it created a practical difficulty for students. National schools and colleges were established in some places, yet suitable alternatives were not available everywhere. Consequently, students who left colonial institutions could face disruption in their education. Option A is correct; the other choices do not describe the educational limitation created by the boycott.

On 13 April 1919, troops under General Dyer fired on an unarmed gathering at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. The massacre exposed the violent and repressive character of colonial rule and intensified public anger throughout India. Option A is correct. The Dandi March and Quit India Movement were later nationalist actions, while a swadeshi meeting was not this massacre.

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 restricted civil liberties and permitted detention without trial, provoking widespread opposition. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre soon deepened public anger against British rule. Together, these events created the political atmosphere in which Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920. Option A is correct; the other movements belonged to different contexts or later periods.

The movement became a mass movement because participation extended beyond a small political leadership. Students, teachers, lawyers, traders, peasants, workers, and many ordinary people joined different forms of boycott and protest, although their local aims could vary. This broad social participation gave the movement national reach. Option A is correct; the other choices describe neither its membership nor its method.

The governing concept is the widening of the national movement through local grievances. Peasants connected Non-Cooperation with demands against high rents, illegal cesses and begar, or forced labour, imposed by landlords and officials in different regions. Foreign cloth, government titles and naval trade were not the main peasant grievances. Thus option A correctly identifies the problems that gave the movement a local social meaning.

Swadeshi meant using and promoting goods produced in India, while the movement encouraged a boycott of imported goods, especially foreign cloth. Traders hoped that reduced imports would shift consumer demand towards Indian products and expand indigenous markets. Stronger foreign rule, sharply higher taxes and the closure of government schools were not the economic hopes associated with swadeshi. Therefore option A is correct.

The movement was political because it challenged colonial institutions, but it was also economic because people were urged to boycott foreign goods and promote swadeshi production. This affected imports, consumption and the market for Indian goods. Contesting only elections, raising British taxes or distributing foreign cloth for free does not describe the movement’s economic programme. Hence option A is correct.

Colonial institutions such as government schools, courts and councils helped the British administer and legitimise their rule. Refusing to participate in them was intended to withdraw public cooperation and question the authority of the colonial state. It did not attack peasants’ labour, Indian industrial demand or the sale of swadeshi cloth. Therefore option A correctly identifies what the boycott challenged.

A repressive law restricts civil liberties and gives the state extraordinary power over citizens. The Rowlatt Act allowed the colonial government to arrest and detain people without a normal trial, which removed important legal safeguards. Relief for peasants, reduction of all taxes and granting swaraj would expand rights rather than suppress them. Thus option A gives the precise reason the Act was called repressive.

The Khilafat issue brought many Muslims into a common political campaign, while Non-Cooperation connected this concern with the broader demand for swaraj and opposition to colonial rule. Their joint mobilisation therefore brought different communities and groups into the movement and widened its mass base. It did not end the movement or restrict participation to British people or soldiers. Hence option A is correct.

Gandhi’s central argument was that colonial rule was sustained not only by British officials and force but also by the cooperation and obedience of Indians. If people withdrew that cooperation from government institutions, courts, schools and foreign goods, the administrative system would become weaker. Mountains, sea breeze and foreign festivals had no such political role. Therefore option A expresses the basis of Non-Cooperation.

The First World War placed a heavy burden on India through increased taxes, rising prices, forced recruitment and shortages. These hardships created widespread resentment among different sections of society. The war did not immediately free India, stop every movement or end taxation; instead, its consequences formed an important background for later mass politics and Non-Cooperation. Thus option A is the most accurate conclusion.