Which 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
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha, formed in Calcutta in 1836 by associates of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. 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. A, the Landholders' Society, also called the Zamindari Association, came two years later in 1838 and is remembered as the first organisation to adopt constitutional agitation as a method, not as the first association. C, the British Indian Association was formed only in 1851 by the merger of the Landholders' Society and the Bengal British India Society. D, the Indian Association was founded in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose and belongs to the later phase of educated middle-class politics.
Read the full article: Political Associations before the Congress: Years and Founders
Practice Questions
View allThe 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.
Read the full explanation →The agitation of 1877 led by Surendranath Banerjee was mainly against
- A.the partition of Bengal
- B.the lowering of the maximum age for the Indian Civil Service examination
- C.the introduction of the permanent settlement
- D.the Rowlatt Act
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In 1876 the maximum age for the Indian Civil Service examination was reduced, which made it even harder for Indian candidates, who had to travel to England to sit the examination, to qualify.
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