Which one of the following statements about the Bhoodan Movement is correct ?
- A.The target was to get one-sixth of cultivable land in India as donation
- B.It was approved through a Central Government Act
- C.It was ensured that the donated land was free from all litigation
- D.The first donation of land was in Bihar
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, The target was to get one-sixth of cultivable land in India as donation. Vinoba Bhave asked every landowner to treat him as a son and give him a son's share, one-sixth of the land, for the landless.
The movement began on 18 April 1951 at Pochampally village in Nalgonda, then part of Hyderabad State and now in Telangana, where V. Ramachandra Reddy offered 100 acres. Vinoba then walked across India on foot collecting land. The target was set at five crore (50 million) acres, roughly one-sixth of the country's cultivable area. The movement later widened into Gramdan, the gift of whole villages.
B is wrong: it was a voluntary movement; laws to manage donated land, such as the Bihar Bhoodan Yagna Act, were passed by the States, not by the Centre.
C is wrong: much of the donated land was disputed, under litigation or unfit for farming.
D is wrong: the first donation came at Pochampally in Telangana, not in Bihar.
Exam tip: Bhoodan began at Pochampally (Telangana) in 1951; Gramdan followed, with Mangroth in Uttar Pradesh as the first gramdan village.
Practice Questions
View allWith reference to the history of India, "Ulgulan" or the Great Tumult is the description of which of the following events?
- A.The Revolt of 1857
- B.The Mappila Rebellion of 1921
- C.The Indigo Revolt of 1859 - 60
- D.Birsa Munda's Revolt of 1899 - 1900
Show answer
Ulgulan, meaning "the great tumult", is the name given to the Munda uprising led by Birsa Munda in the Ranchi region.
Read the full explanation →Regarding Wood's Dispatch, which of the following statements are true ?
1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduced.
2. Establishment of universities was recommended.
3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 and 2 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Wood's Dispatch introduced grants-in-aid and recommended universities, but it wanted the vernacular languages, not English, at the primary level. Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, sent this dispatch in 1854; it is called the "Magna Carta of English education in India".
Read the full explanation →With reference to the history of India, the terms "kulyavapa" and "dronavapa" denote
- A.measurement of land
- B.coins of different monetary value
- C.classification of urban land
- D.religious rituals
Show answer
Kulyavapa and dronavapa were units of land measurement found in early Indian land-grant inscriptions. These terms appear mainly in copper-plate inscriptions of the Gupta and post-Gupta period from Bengal, such as the Damodarpur plates, which record the sale and grant of land.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following does NOT figure among the Five Principles of Panchsheel ?
- A.Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
- B.Equality and mutual benefit
- C.Peaceful coexistence
- D.Nuclear non-proliferation
Show answer
Panchsheel says nothing about nuclear weapons; its five principles concern sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and peaceful coexistence.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about Jaipal Singh is NOT correct ?
- A.He was a member of the Constituent Assembly
- B.He founded the Adivasi Maha Sabha
- C.He was the captain of the first Indian national hockey team
- D.He campaigned for a separate state of Chhattisgarh
Show answer
Jaipal Singh Munda campaigned for a separate state of Jharkhand for the tribal people of Chotanagpur, not for Chhattisgarh. Jaipal Singh, a Munda from Ranchi district, studied at Oxford and won an Oxford Blue in hockey.
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