UPSC Prelims 2019 Question:

With reference to the British colonial rule in India

Consider the following statements:

1. Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in the abolition of the system of ‘indentured labour’.
2. In Lord Chelmsford’s ‘War Conference’, Mahatma Gandhi did not support the resolution on recruiting Indians for World War.
3. Consequent upon the breaking of Salt Law by Indian people, the Indian National congress was declared illegal by the colonial rulers.
   
   

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Explanation:

• Mahatma Gandhi played an instrumental role in the abolition of indentured labour. After his arrival in India in January 1915, Gandhi traveled throughout the country. He consulted all the Indian leaders and fixed May 31, 1917, as the last date for the abolition of indentured labour. As a result of the agitation, the Government announced that the system of indentured labour would be stopped before July 31, 1917. Indentured servitude from India started in 1834 and lasted up till 1922, despite having been officially banned in 1917 by British India’s Imperial Legislative Council. So, statement 1 is correct.
  • Indentured labourers were those who had emigrated from India to labour under an indenture for five years or less. 
  • They were also required to pay tax after their bond had been served to remain in the country. This was done to send them back into indentured labour or to make them return to India.
    
    
• During the course of World War I, in 1918, Gandhi attended Viceroy Lord Chelmsford’s War Conference in Delhi. He addressed the conference and supported the resolution on recruiting Indians into British Army. He subsequently tours the Kaira district to raise recruits for the army. So, statement 2 is not correct.
  
  
• Dandi March (12 March 1930) was salt law disobedience. It marked the beginning of the Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Movement. The Delhi Pact (Gandhi-Irwin Pact) on March 5, 1931, halted the movement. But after the failure of the second Round Table Conference, the Congress Working Committee resumed the movement on December 29, 1931. As a result, government-issued series of repressive ordinances and Indian National Congress organizations was declared illegal by the British Administration. So, statement 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Subject: History | The Gandhian Phase