India and the Contemporary World - II

In AD 1883, Lord Ripon’s law member, Sir Ilbert, introduced a bill which came to be called the Ilbert Bill. It allowed Indian judges to try the cases involving the Europeans.

Source: NCERT: Modern India

The song Jana-gana-mana, composed originally in Bangla by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on January 24, 1950. It was first sung on December 27, 1911 at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas.

It was at Madanapalle (Chittoor), in February 1919, that Tagore translated his Bengali poem 'Jana Gana Mana' into English as 'Morning Song of India'. It was given tune by Margaret Cousins.

Source Citation: NCERT: Class 10 Social and Political Life

The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was an Indian nationalist political party. This party was established on 21 October 1951 in Delhi, that existed from 1951 to 1977. Its three founding members were Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Balraj Madhok and Deendayal Upadhyaya. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.

C. Rajagopalachari was the founder of the Swatantra Party, not the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party was associated with leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan. Hence pair 2 is not correctly matched.

The Congress for Democracy (CFD) was an Indian political party founded in 1977 by Jagjivan Ram. It was formed after Jagjivan Ram, Hemavati Nandan Bahuguna, and Nandini Satpathy left the Indian National Congress of Indira Gandhi and denounced her rule during the Indian Emergency. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.

The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly socialist and statist outlook. Hence pair 4 is not correctly matched.

Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

Source: NCERT: Class XII Politics in India since Independence

Statement 1 is not correct as Changez Khan reached the Indus during the reign of Iltutmish in 1221 AD, chasing the Khwarizmi prince Jalaluddin.

Statement 2 is correct: The fourth Mongol invasion during Ala-ud-din Khalji's reign took place only after some months of Ala-ud-din’s return from Chittor in 1303 A.D. The Mongols, numbering 120,000 horsemen under the command of Targhi, moved so swiftly that provincial governors could not get time to reach Delhi to help the Sultan. Besides, a large part of the army of Ala-ud-din had left for the Telingana campaign, and the army left at Delhi was insufficient and weak after its tough battle at Chittor. Therefore, Ala-ud-din was not in a position to face the Mongols in an open battle. He retired to the fort of Siri and took up a defensive position. The Mongols plundered the environs of Delhi and besieged the fort for two months. But as they were ignorant of the art of siege-warfare, they failed to capture the fort and withdrew.

Hence, statement 3 is not correct: The next major Mongol invasion took place after the Khiljis had been replaced by the Tughlaq dynasty in the Sultanate. In 1327, the Mongols invaded under Tarmashirin. Historians have differed regarding Muhammad Tughlaq’s policy. According to one version, he defeated the Mongols and himself chased them to drive them out. However, according to another version, Muhammad Tughlaq bribed the Mongols and they went back.

Source Citation:

• NCERT: Our Past II, Chapter 3, The Delhi Sultans
• The Mongols and Delhi Sultanate - Satish Chandra, Medieval India NCERT
• Old NCERT

Cripps Mission was sent to India under the presidency of Stafford Cripps in March 1942. The intention was to get Indian support for Britishers in the ongoing World War II. It proposed:

• An Indian Dominion that will be free to decide its relations with the Commonwealth and United Nations.
• A constituent assembly to be convened to frame a new constitution.
• Any province not willing to join the Union could have a separate constitution and form a separate entity.

Other points in the proposal were:

• Acceptance of the Indian constitution by the British government would be subject to the condition that any province would have the right to have a separate union.
• A treaty to be negotiated to effect the power transfer to safeguard racial and religious minorities.
• Defense of India to remain in British hands.

Source Citation: NCERT, Bipin Chandra, Spectrum