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Indian HistoryEasyAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2018, GAT

The Theosophical Society was led by

  1. A.A. O. Hume
  2. B.Arthur Griffith
  3. C.Annie Besant
  4. D.Lord Dufferin

Correct answer

C. Annie Besant

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Annie Besant. Annie Besant became the international president of the Theosophical Society in 1907 and led it until her death in 1933.

The Society was founded in New York in 1875 by Madame H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. Its headquarters moved to Adyar, near Madras, in the 1880s. Besant, an Irish-born British reformer, joined in 1889 and came to India in 1893. She founded the Central Hindu College at Banaras in 1898, which grew into Banaras Hindu University, and in 1916 she started the Home Rule League. In 1917 she became the first woman president of the Indian National Congress, at its Calcutta session.

A is wrong: A. O. Hume, a retired British civil servant, founded the Indian National Congress in 1885. B is wrong: Arthur Griffith was an Irish nationalist who founded Sinn Féin in 1905. D is wrong: Lord Dufferin was the Viceroy of India when the Congress was founded.

Exam tip: Theosophical Society: founded 1875 New York (Blavatsky, Olcott), headquarters Adyar, led in India by Annie Besant.

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: NDA · NDA-II 2018, GATEasy

Which one of the following statements about Bipin Chandra Pal is correct?

  1. A.He was a member of the moderate group of Congress.
  2. B.He was a member of the extremist group of Congress.
  3. C.He was the Minister of Defence in the first Government of independent India.
  4. D.He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. He was a member of the extremist group of Congress.

Bipin Chandra Pal was one of the leading Extremists, the "Pal" of the famous trio Lal-Bal-Pal. The trio were Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKMedium

Statement I : King Ashoka abolished capital punishment and disbanded his army.

Statement II : After Kalinga War, Ashoka was remorseful and became a Buddhist.

  1. A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
  2. B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Statement I is false but Statement II is true

Ashoka turned to Buddhism after the Kalinga war, but he neither abolished the death penalty nor disbanded his army. The Kalinga war, fought around 261 BCE in the eighth year of his reign, left over a lakh dead, and in Rock Edict XIII Ashoka records his deep remorse.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2020, GKMedium

The Hunter Commission (1882) appointed to survey the state of education in India

  1. A.deprecated University education
  2. B.overruled the Despatch of 1854
  3. C.endorsed the Despatch of 1854 with greater emphasis on primary education
  4. D.criticized the grants-in-aid system of schooling
Show answer
Correct answer: C. endorsed the Despatch of 1854 with greater emphasis on primary education

The commission upheld Wood's Despatch but asked the state to give special care to the spread of primary education. The Indian Education Commission was appointed in 1882 by Lord Ripon under the chairmanship of Sir William Wilson Hunter, to review how far the Despatch of 1854 had been carried out.