What was challenged by boycotting colonial institutions in the Non-Cooperation Movement?

Correct answer: Legitimacy of British rule

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.