Which of the following best describes the common weakness of the pre-Congress political associations?
- A.They demanded complete independence too early
- B.Their membership and reach were confined largely to the English-educated and the presidency towns
- C.They refused to send petitions to the British Parliament
- D.They were all controlled by the Indian Civil Service
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B. The associations of 1836 to 1885 were run by landlords, lawyers, teachers and journalists, drew their membership from the English-educated and propertied classes, and worked mainly in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Poona. Peasants, artisans and the people of the interior had almost no place in them, so none could claim to speak for India as a whole, and that gap is what the Congress was created to fill. A is wrong because they asked for reform within British rule, not independence; the demand for complete independence came only in 1929. C is the opposite of the truth, since the petition and the memorial were their chief methods, later criticised as political mendicancy. D is wrong because they were voluntary bodies of Indians, although a retired civil servant did help found the Congress. Their real contribution was training a generation in constitutional methods and creating a vocabulary of rights, representation and responsible government that the Congress inherited.
Read the full article: Political Associations before the Congress: Years and Founders
Practice Questions
View allWhich organisation is generally regarded as the first political association founded in India?
- A.Landholders' Society
- B.Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha
- C.British Indian Association
- D.Indian Association
Show answer
It discussed questions of public interest and sent representations to the government, and because it came before every other body of its kind it is counted as the first political association in India.
Read the full explanation →The British Indian Association of 1851 was formed by the merger of which two bodies?
- A.Bombay Association and Madras Native Association
- B.Landholders' Society and Bengal British India Society
- C.Indian League and Indian Association
- D.East India Association and London Indian Society
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The Landholders' Society of 1838 spoke for the zamindars of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, while the Bengal British India Society of 1843 was set up with the help of George Thompson to collect and publish information on the condition of the people.
Read the full explanation →The East India Association was founded in London in 1866 by whom?
- A.Dadabhai Naoroji
- B.Surendranath Banerjee
- C.Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
- D.Mahadev Govind Ranade
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He had already formed the London Indian Society in 1865, and in 1866 he founded the East India Association in London, with branches later opened in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
Read the full explanation →The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was founded in 1870 by
- A.Bal Gangadhar Tilak and G. G. Agarkar
- B.Mahadev Govind Ranade and Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi
- C.Jyotirao Phule and Gopal Hari Deshmukh
- D.Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta
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The Sabha was set up in Poona in 1870 to act as a bridge between the government and the people, and its members held written authority from the villages around Poona to speak on their behalf, which gave it a representative character unusual for the time.
Read the full explanation →The Indian Association, founded in Calcutta in 1876, was established by
- A.Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh
- B.Surendranath Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose
- C.Debendranath Tagore and Radhakanta Deb
- D.Badruddin Tyabji and K. T. Telang
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It aimed to create a strong body of public opinion, to unify Indians on common political questions, to promote Hindu and Muslim friendship and to draw the masses into public movements, and it kept the membership fee low so that poorer people could join.
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