Mahatma Gandhi - GS questions based on daily current affairs

1)   Gandhiji first came in contact with the Congress and its leaders in?

a. 1901
b. 1915
c. 1916
d. 1904
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1901

Explanation:

  • The annual meeting of the Indian National Congress was being held in Calcutta under the president ship of Dinshaw Wacha.
  • Gandhi attended the session. It was his first contact with the Congress.
  • At the Calcutta session in 1901 Gandhi had an opportunity to meet Congress Leaders like Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Lokmanya B. G. Tilak, G. k. Gokhale, and others.
  • He returned to South Africa in 1902.


2)   Which of the following Ashram/Ashrams has/have been established by Gandhiji in South Africa?

1) Tolstoy Farm
2) Sarvodaya Ashram
3) Sevagrama Ashram


a. 1, 2
b. 1
c. 1, 3
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 2

Explanation:

  • Sarvodaya Ashram was Gandhiji's residence in Phoenix which is termed as a house for justice and a home for compassion.
  • In addition to a printing press for his newspaper ‘Indian Opinion’, Gandhi’s settlement featured a clinic, school and homes, including his cottage, ‘Sarvodaya, meaning ‘well-being for all’, where he lived with his family.
  • Tolstoy Farm (another Ashram) was a community started by Gandhi in Transvaal, South Africa, in 1910. It became the headquarters of the campaign of satyagraha (non-violence) which he lead at that time.


3)   Gandhi's first public address in India was

a. Calcutta Session of 1901
b. Congress Session of Lucknow Pact
c. Congress Committee meeting
d. Opening ceremony of the Banaras Hindu University
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Opening ceremony of the Banaras Hindu University

Explanation:

  • Gandhi's first public address in India was on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Banaras Hindu University in February 1916, which was distinguished by the presence of many magnets and princes and of the Viceroy himself.
  • Speaking in English he shocked them all.
  • He also passed critical comments on the Princes, as a result many princes walked out.


4)   Satyagraha Ashram of Gandhiji is

a. Wardha Ashram
b. Kasturba Ashram
c. Sabarmati Ashram
d. Sevagram Ashram
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Sabarmati Ashram

Explanation:

  • At the end of his wanderings, Gandhi settled down on the bank of the river Sabarmati, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, where he founded an ashram in May 1915.
  • He called it the Satyagraha Ashram.
  • This was later known as Sabarmati Ashram.


5)   Which of the following areas are covered under the planned Gandhi Circuit?

1) Rajkot
2) Dandi
3) Gandhinagar


a. 1, 2
b. 2, 3
c. 1, 3
d. All of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 2

Explanation:

  • The Heritage circuit of Gujarat focuses on Gandhi theme, covering sites of Ahmedabad (Kochrab Ashram,Sabarmati Ashram,Dandi bridge, ) Rajkot (Alfred High School, Kaba Gandhi no Delo, Rashtriya Shala ), Porbandar (Kirti Mandir), Bardoli (Sardar Patel Museum) and Dandi (Gandhi Smriti railway station,Karadi village,Dandi Memorial).


6)   ‘Indian Home Rule’ is a book written by

a. Annie Besant
b. Lokmanya Tilak
c. Mahatma Gandhi
d. Dadabhai Naoroji
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Mahatma Gandhi

Explanation:

  • In 1904, publishing office was relocated to the Phoenix Settlement, South Africa.
  • It was here that Gandhi published his first book ‘Indian Home Rule’, which outlined his political vision for India and the principle of inter-faith harmony.
  • In it he expresses his views on Swaraj, modern civilization, mechanisation etc.


7)   Gandhiji’s first community settlement in South Africa was at

a. Johannesburg
b. Transvaal
c. Phoenix
d. Cape Town
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Phoenix

Explanation:

  • Gandhiji established the community settlement called Phoenix at Inanda, some 20 km north of Durban, in 1904.
  • He established the settlement as a communal experimental farm with the view of giving each family two acres of land which they could develop.
  • He believed that communities like Phoenix which advocated communal living would form a sound basis for the struggle against social injustice.
  • While living in South Africa, Gandhi was inspired by a visit to a Trappist community in Mariannhill and by John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’ to found a communal living system. In 1904, Gandhi chose Phoenix to establish a community based on self-reliance and the value of labour on the land for the common good.


8)   ‘Indian Opinion’ is a newspaper published by

a. Mahatma Gandhi
b. Shyam Prasad Mukherjee
c. Shyamji Krishna Verma
d. Dadabhai Naoroji
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Mahatma Gandhi

Explanation:

  • The Indian Opinion was a newspaper established by Mahatma Gandhi.
  • The publication was an important tool for the political movement led by Gandhi and the National Indian Congress to fight racial discrimination and win civil rights for the Indian immigrant community in South Africa.
  • In India, he would publish Young India, Harijan, and Navjivan.
  • Indian Opinion continued to publish for many decades and played a significant role in the wider civil rights struggle of South Africa. But it also suffered from not being a commercial enterprise but rather a publication serving social causes committed to.


9)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Gujarat Sabha?

1.  Gujarat Sabha was established by Mahatma Gandhi.
2.  The Sabha played a pivotal role in organizing the peasant rebellion in Kheda.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- The "Gujarat Sabha" was established in 1884 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Gujarat Sabha was a public political organization formed and based in the Indian state of Gujarat.
- Most of its membership were Gujarati lawyers and civic leaders, including men like Vallabhbhai Patel, Narhari Parikh, Ravi Shankar Vyas and Mohanlal Pandya, who would become famous freedom fighters and political leaders.
- Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi served as its president from 1918 to 1919.
- The Sabha played a pivotal role in organizing the peasant rebellion in Kheda in 1918-19.
- It merged into the Indian National Congress in 1920 - becoming the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.