The First World War, Khilafat, and Non-Cooperation

The Non-Cooperation programme sought to weaken colonial authority by refusing participation in its institutions. Congress therefore supported the boycott of council elections, asking people not to legitimise the colonial legislative system through participation. Option A is correct. The elections were not turned into celebrations, schools or markets; those choices do not describe a political strategy and have no connection with the programme.

The Indian National Congress adopted the Non-Cooperation programme in 1920, after discussions connected with the Khilafat issue and Gandhi’s proposal for non-violent non-cooperation. Option A is correct. The year 1915 marks Gandhi’s return to India, 1935 is associated with the Government of India Act, and 1942 marks the Quit India Movement, so the other dates belong to different historical contexts.

The special Congress session at Nagpur in 1920 was important for organising and approving the Non-Cooperation programme. It helped give the movement a broader organisational and popular basis. Therefore, option A is correct. The Salt March belongs to the Civil Disobedience phase in 1930, the Quit India Movement began in 1942, and the Indigo movement was an earlier local agrarian protest.

Gandhi argued that British rule did not rest only on British force; it also depended on the cooperation and obedience of Indians who worked in or supported colonial institutions. If people withdrew that cooperation peacefully, the machinery of colonial rule would lose strength. Thus, option A is correct. Weather, sea and mountains were not the political basis of British authority in India.

Non-violence was the essential method and moral principle of Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement. Participants were expected to withdraw cooperation, boycott institutions and promote swadeshi without attacking people or using physical force. Therefore, option A is correct. Non-violence was not opposed to the movement, nor was it unimportant or a British policy. Violent incidents could lead to suspension of the campaign.

Khadi, hand-spun and hand-woven cloth, represented the ideals of swadeshi, self-reliance and economic resistance to colonial imports. Wearing and promoting it encouraged Indian production and challenged dependence on foreign cloth. Option A is correct. Khadi was not a symbol of foreign rule, nor was it limited to military uniforms or royal clothing; its meaning was political, economic and national.

The Rowlatt Satyagraha broadened nationalist politics by bringing ordinary people into protests against the Rowlatt Act. Hartals, public meetings and demonstrations enabled people from different places and social groups to participate in a common political cause. Therefore, option A is correct. The movement was not restricted to kings or traders, and its protests were public rather than completely secret.

The governing concept is civil liberty under colonial rule. The Rowlatt Act allowed the government to arrest and detain people without a regular trial, so it seriously restricted legal safeguards and political freedom. Therefore, option A is correct. Options B, C and D describe benefits that the Act did not provide; they are unrelated to the reason people opposed this repressive legislation.

The governing concept is broad-based anti-colonial mobilisation. The Khilafat issue brought many Muslim participants into political action, while Non-Cooperation connected this participation with the national demand for swaraj. Their alliance therefore created a wider mass base for the movement, making option A correct. The other options contradict the purpose and effects of this united struggle.

The governing concept is swadeshi and economic non-cooperation. Foreign cloth represented imported goods and the economic benefits received by British industry. Publicly burning it expressed rejection of those goods and encouraged people to use Indian-made cloth. Thus option A is correct. Supporting British trade, demanding titles, and military recruitment do not explain this symbolic act during the national movement.

The governing concept is the boycott of colonial institutions combined with constructive national work. Many students and teachers left government-controlled schools as part of Non-Cooperation. National schools and colleges were then created so education could continue in institutions that were less dependent on colonial control and encouraged national values. Therefore option A is correct; the other choices misrepresent their purpose.

The governing concept is the post-war economic and social crisis. After the First World War, prices and taxes rose, while many families faced unemployment, crop failures and the effects of the influenza epidemic. Returning soldiers and ordinary workers also experienced hardship. Therefore option A is correct. Complete freedom, an end to taxes and universal prosperity did not occur; the period instead produced widespread discontent.

The governing concept is swaraj, meaning self-rule. The Non-Cooperation Movement sought to weaken colonial authority by withdrawing support from government schools, courts, titles and foreign goods. These actions were intended to advance the national demand for swaraj rather than strengthen imperial rule. Hence option A is correct. The other options either support colonial interests or describe policies that were not the movement’s objective.

The governing concept is non-cooperation with colonial institutions and markets. Participants rejected foreign cloth and other imported goods, promoted swadeshi products, and withdrew support from selected colonial institutions. Therefore option A correctly identifies an action of the movement. Demanding British titles, supporting the repressive Rowlatt Act, and praising colonial rule would cooperate with imperial authority rather than challenge it.

The governing concept is the nationalist response to repressive colonial legislation. Gandhi opposed the Rowlatt Act because it allowed detention without ordinary trial and threatened civil liberties; he organised a satyagraha against it. Thus option A is correct. The Act did not free India, the Khilafat issue concerned the Ottoman Caliph, and Non-Cooperation opposed rather than supported British rule.

The governing concept is colonial repression and its impact on Indian nationalism. At Jallianwala Bagh in April 1919, General Dyer ordered troops to fire on an unarmed gathering, causing many deaths and injuries. This violent use of state power clearly exposed colonial brutality, so option A is correct. The Nagpur session, national schools and khadi sales were political or constructive activities, not massacres.

The governing concept is leadership in the Khilafat Movement. The term “Ali brothers” refers specifically to Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, who worked to mobilise support for the Khilafat cause and later cooperated with the broader Non-Cooperation Movement. Therefore option A is correct. The other pairs were important national figures, but they are not known by the title Ali brothers.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was not limited to political boycotts; it also encouraged social and moral reform. Volunteers stood outside liquor shops and carried out peaceful picketing to discourage people from buying alcohol. Therefore, option A is correct. New taxes, soldier recruitment, and distribution of foreign cloth were not the action described here and do not express the movement’s programme.

The central principle of Non-Cooperation was to withdraw support from colonial rule. As part of this strategy, many people avoided or boycotted government institutions, services, schools, courts, and official functions. This refusal weakened the legitimacy of British authority. Hence option A is correct; the other choices either reverse the meaning of non-cooperation or make an unsupported absolute claim.

The Non-Cooperation Movement emerged from several connected political concerns. Gandhi supported the Khilafat cause and linked it with the wider demand for swaraj, or self-rule, in order to build united opposition to British authority. Therefore option A is correct. Praising British rule, demanding higher taxes, and purchasing foreign cloth would support or accommodate colonial rule rather than challenge it.

Boycotting foreign goods was an important economic method used during the Non-Cooperation Movement. It expressed opposition to colonial trade and encouraged swadeshi, including the use of Indian-made goods and khadi. Thus option A is correct. The Quit India Movement focused on ending British rule in 1942, while the Forest Satyagraha and Indigo Revolt had different immediate issues and objectives.

The Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, were prominent leaders associated with the Khilafat Movement, so option A is the correct pair. The Rowlatt Act concerned repressive powers and detention, not the salt tax. Jallianwala Bagh refers to the 1919 massacre, whereas the Dandi March occurred later in 1930. Non-Cooperation meant withdrawal of support, not complete cooperation.

The Rowlatt Act of 1919 gave the colonial government broad powers to repress political activity and detain people without trial. Gandhi responded by launching a nationwide Satyagraha, based on non-violent resistance and the refusal to accept an unjust law. Therefore option A is correct. The Dandi March belonged to the Civil Disobedience Movement, while Quit India began in 1942.

People gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on 13 April 1919 for a public meeting and the Baisakhi occasion. They were largely unarmed civilians, not an organised army conducting a war. British troops under General Dyer fired on the gathering, making it a notorious example of colonial repression. Thus option A is correct; the other options describe unrelated activities.

Non-Cooperation was designed as a mass movement rather than a campaign limited to a small political elite or the army. Its strength came from ordinary people refusing to use or support colonial institutions, boycotting foreign goods, leaving some government schools and offices, and joining peaceful protests. Therefore option A is correct. The remaining choices deny the essential role of the public.