Which among the following Acts discarded the ‘dyarchy’ system at the provincial level and allowed for the emergence of popularly elected provincial legislatures?

The correct answer is A, 1928. The All Bengal Students’ Conference was held in Calcutta in 1928 with Jawaharlal Nehru in the chair. The year was a busy one for youth politics: the Simon Commission had landed in February and was met with black flags, the All Parties Conference drew up the Nehru Report, and Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose were drawing students, youth and workers into the national movement. Both of them also set up the Independence for India League in 1928, and at the Calcutta session of the Congress they pressed for complete independence instead of dominion status. Student bodies formed in these years later fed into the All India Students’ Federation of 1936. B is wrong because 1939 is the year of the Tripuri session and Bose’s resignation as Congress president. C is wrong because 1934 saw civil disobedience withdrawn and the Congress Socialist Party founded. D is wrong because 1920 is the year the Non-Cooperation Movement began. Exam tip: 1928 brought the Simon Commission to India, the Nehru Report, the Bardoli satyagraha and this students’ conference under Nehru.

The correct answer is D, Battle of the Hydaspes. Alexander defeated Porus in 326 BCE in the Battle of the Hydaspes, fought on the banks of the Jhelum, the river the Greeks called the Hydaspes. Porus ruled the Paurava kingdom between the Jhelum and the Chenab and fought with a large force and war elephants, but Alexander crossed the swollen river upstream during the rains and struck from the flank. Greek writers say Alexander was so impressed by the courage of Porus that he gave back his kingdom and added more land to it. A is wrong because the Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757 between Robert Clive and Siraj-ud-Daulah in Bengal. B is wrong because Sakala was Alexander’s later fight against the Kathaioi tribe, not against Porus. C is wrong because the Kalinga War was fought by Ashoka in about 261 BCE. Exam tip: the Hydaspes is the Jhelum, the year is 326 BCE, and the contest was Alexander against Porus.

The correct answer is D, Chauri - Chaura Incident. Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement after a crowd at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district set fire to a police station on 5 February 1922, in which about twenty-two policemen died. Gandhi held that the people were not yet trained in non-violence, and the Congress Working Committee withdrew the movement at Bardoli on 12 February 1922. Many leaders, among them Motilal Nehru, C. R. Das and Subhas Chandra Bose, were unhappy with the decision, and the dispute led to the forming of the Swaraj Party in 1923. Gandhi was soon tried for sedition and sentenced to six years in the Great Trial at Ahmedabad. A is wrong because the Rowlatt Act of 1919 set off the earlier Rowlatt satyagraha. B is wrong because Tilak died in August 1920, before the movement had properly begun. C is wrong because the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 1919 was one of the causes of Non-Cooperation, not its end. Exam tip: Chauri Chaura 5 February 1922, movement withdrawn at Bardoli on 12 February 1922.

The correct answer is C, Prithviraja III. Prithviraja III, the Chahamana or Chauhan ruler of Ajmer and Delhi, defeated Muhammad Ghori in the First Battle of Tarain in 1191; he is the Prithviraj Chauhan of popular memory. Tarain, now Taraori, lies near Thanesar in Haryana on the old route to Delhi, and the same ground saw the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192, in which Ghori returned, defeated Prithviraja and opened north India to Turkish rule. Chand Bardai, who wrote the Prithviraj Raso, and Jayanaka, who wrote the Prithviraja Vijaya, are linked with his court. A is wrong because Vigraharaja III ruled the Chahamanas long before Ghori appeared in India. B is wrong because Ajayaraja II is remembered for founding Ajmer in the twelfth century, not for this battle. D is wrong because Durlabharaja III also belongs to the earlier line of Ajmer rulers. Exam tip: First Tarain 1191 Prithviraja wins, Second Tarain 1192 Ghori wins.

The correct answer is D, 1916. The Home Rule Movement began in 1916, when two leagues were set up to demand self-government for India within the British Empire. Bal Gangadhar Tilak started the Indian Home Rule League at Belgaum in April 1916, and Annie Besant founded her Home Rule League at Madras in September 1916. The movement borrowed its name and method from the Irish Home Rule campaign and carried the demand for swaraj to students, traders and professionals at a time when the Congress was quiet after the split of 1907. Its pressure helped bring about the Montagu Declaration of 1917 and the Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the Muslim League. A is wrong because 1914 is the year the First World War broke out. B is wrong because 1915 is the year Gandhi returned from South Africa. C is wrong because 1917 saw the Champaran satyagraha, which came after the leagues were formed. Exam tip: Tilak April 1916 at Belgaum, Annie Besant September 1916 at Madras.