SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS

Multiple Choice Questions

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 MENTS
Multiple Choice Questions
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 1. Which one of the following statements is not
correct regarding the Brahmo Marriage Act?

(A) It made child marriages illegal

(B) It sanctioned inter-caste marriages
(C) It sanctioned widow remarriage
(D) It did not restrict polygamy
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Answer: (B) It sanctioned inter-caste
marriages
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s greatest achievement in the field of
religious reform was a set up in 1828 of the Brahmo Samaj.

• His Biggest Achievement – He helped Bentinck outlaw sati. He

preached against female infanticide. He wanted equal rights for
women and female education.

• The Brahmos were also great social reformers. They actively

opposed the caste system and child-marriage and supported the
general uplift of women, including widow remarriage, and the
spread of modem education to men and women. Y279
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2. Who among the following was instrumental in
the formation of the first women’s university in
India?

(A) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

(B) Mrs. Ramabai
(C) D. K. Karve
(D) Mahadev Govind Ranade Y279
Answer: (C) D. K. Karve
• SNDT Women’s University is the first Women’s
university in India as well as in South-East Asia.

• The University was founded by Maharshi Dr.

Dhondo Keshav Karve in 1916 for a noble cause
of Women’s Education.

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3. The Father of Muslim Renaissance in Bengal
was:

(A) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

(B) Ameer Ali
(C) Nawab Abdul Latif Khan
(D) Nawab Samiullah Khan
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Answer: (C) Nawab Abdul Latif Khan
• Nawab Abdul Latif Khan (1828-1893) was a
prominent personality of mid 19th century Bengal
and the pioneer of Muslim modernization and the
architect of the Muslim Renaissance

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4. Who among the following is known as the
‘father of renaissance’ of Western India?

(A) M.G. Ranade

(B) B.M. Malabari
(C) R.G. Bhandarkar
(D) K.T. Telang
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 Answer: (A) Mahadev Govind
Ranade
• Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842-1901) was a
distinguished Indian scholar, social reformer and
author, sometimes called a Father of renaissance of
Western India.
• He was one of the founding members of the Indian
National Congress.

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5. The Hindu Luther of Northern India during
the 19th century was:

(A) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

(B) Dayanand Saraswati
(C) Radhakant Deb
(D) Keshav Chandra Sen
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Answer: (B) Dayanand Saraswati
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a great 19th century
Bengali scholar, reformer, writer and philanthropist,
whose ideas remain relevant even in modern India.

• He had devoted his life to improving the status of Hindu

widows and encouraging remarriage.

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6. Which of the following statements is not
correct about Mahatma Jyotiba Phule?

(A) He combined in him the revolutionary

teachings of Buddha and Kabir
(B) He took untouchability as a blot of
Hinduism
(C) He wrote a brochure entitled ‘Slavery’
(D) He founded the Poona Saroajanika Sabha
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 Answer: (D) He founded the Poona
Saroajanika Sabha
• In early 19th century, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
organized a powerful non-Brahmin movement.

• He was born in 1828 in a Mali family and his

education, personal experience and association with
the Christian missionaries made him staunch critic of
the prevailing Hindu religion and custom.

• To liberate the depressed classes and make them

conscious of their rights by educating them, he
founded the Satya Shodhak Samaj in 1873.
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7. What was the most significant provision of
the Sarda Act of 1929?
(A) It allowed widow remarriage
(B) It banned the employment of children in
factories
(C) It established a minimum age of
marriage for boys and girls
(D) It regulated the employment of women in
factories
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 Answer: (C) It established a minimum
age of marriage for boys and girls

• The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, passed on 28

September 1929, in the Imperial Legislative Council of India,
fixed the age of marriage for girls at 14 years and boys at 18
years which was later amended to 18 for girls and 21 for
boys.

• It is popularly known as the Sarda Act, after its sponsor

Harbilas Sarda.

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 8. The Theosophical Society has its
international headquarters at :

(A) Adyar
(B) Brindavan
(C) Geneva
(D) New York

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 Answer: (A) Adyar

• The Theosophy Society – Adyar is the name of a section of the

Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
and others in 1882.

• Its headquarters moved with Blavatsky and president Henry

Steel Olcott from New York to Adyar, an area of Chennai, in
1882.

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9. Who was the first president of the Indian
Home Rule League established in April 1916?

(A) Joseph Baptista

(B) Annie Besant
(C) N.C. Kelkar
(D) B. G. Tilak
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 Answer: (A) Joseph Baptista

• Indian Home Rule League of Bal Gangadhar Tilak was

launched in April 1916 and Home Rule League in Sept 1916
by Annie Besant.

• Joseph Bapista was the first President of the Indian Home

Rule League established in April 1916 .

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10. Which of the following socio-religious
movements raised the slogan: ‘India for
Indians’?

(A) Brahmo Samaj

(B) Prarthana Samaj
(C) Arya Samaj
(D) Satya Shodhak Samaj
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 Answer: (C) Arya Samaj
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati gave the political slogan that
India is for Indians.

• The Arya Samaj played a stellar role in bringing about the

transition of the loyalist character of the Indian National
Congress’ to a mass political movement.

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11. Asiatic Society of Bengal was established by
—
(A) Ram Mohan Roy
(B) Sir William Jones
(C) W.W. Hunter
(D) William Bentick

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 Answer: (B) Sir William Jones

Asiatic Society of Bengal, scholarly society

founded on Jan. 15, 1784, by Sir William Jones,
a British lawyer and Orientalist, to encourage
Oriental studies.

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12. Who founded Satya Shodhak
Samaj?

(A) Jyotiba Phule

(B) Sri Narayan Guru
(C) Copal Babu Waking
(D) Bhaskar Rao Jadav
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 Answer: (A) Jyotiba Phule

• In early 19th century, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule

organized a powerful non-Brahmin movement.

• He was born in 1828 in a Mali family and his

education, personal experience and association
with the Christian missionaries made him staunch
critic of the prevailing Hindu religion and custom.

• To liberate the depressed classes and make them

conscious of their rights by educating them, he
founded the Satya Shodhak Samaj in 1873.
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13. Who inspired the young Bengal Movement
in the 19th century?

(A) Rasik Kumar Malik

(B) Ram Tanu Lahiri
(C) Henry Vivian Derozio
(D) Piery Chand Mitra
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 Answer: (C) Henry Vivian
Derozio
• The Young Bengal movement was launched in
Calcutta by a group of radical Bengali free
thinkers, called Derozians, emerging from Hindu
College.

• They were known as Derozians after Henry

Louis Vivian Derozio .

• They posed an intellectual challenge to the

religious and social orthodoxy of Hinduism.
 14. Rajahmundry Social Reform Association
was established in 1871 with the aim of promoting
widow remarriage by —
(A) Veeresalingam
(B) K.T.Telang
(C) Behramji
(D) Gopalachariyar

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 Answer: (A) Veeresalingam

• Veeresalingam Pantulu founded the Rajahmundry

Social Reform Association in 1878.

• Through this association, he fought against hiring

nautch girls and spearheaded a campaign for widow
remarriage.

• On December 11, 1881, he organized first widow

remarriage in the country.

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 15. Which of the following did not
contribute in a major way to the growth of
nationalist consciousness in India?

(A) Impact of western education

(B) Consistent economic exploitation of India
by the British
(C) Revivalist Movements of the 19th century
(D) World public opinion
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 Answer: (D) World public
opinion
• Following are some factors which contributed in the growth of
national consciousness in India:

(A) Impact of western education

(B) Consistent economic
exploitation of India by the British
(C) Revivalist Movements of the
19th century

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16. The ‘Bombay Triumvirate’ consisted of all
the following except—

(A) Dadabhai Nauroji

(B) K.T. Telang
(C) Pherozeshah Mehta
(D) Badruddin Tyabji

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 Answer: (A) Dadabhai Nauroji
• Bombay Triumvirate or the Three Stars of Bombay’s
public life included Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah
Mehta and K.T. Telang .

• All these three veterans had started the Bombay

Presidency Association in 1885.
17. The Theosophical Society was founded in the
U.S.A. by—

(A) Dr. Annie Besant

(B) A. O. Hume
(C) Tilak and Gokhale
(D) Madame Blavatsky and Olcott

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 Answer: (D) Madam Blavatsky and
Olcott
• The Theosophical Society was founded by Madame
Blavatsky and Col. Olcott in 1875 in New York.

• It was only in 1879, that this ideology gained its roots in the
Indian culture and Society.

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 18. An important reason for social and
religious reforms in the nineteenth century
was—

(A) Scientific inventions

(B) Industrial revolution
(C) Western education and awakening
(D) Influence of Newspapers

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Answer: (C) Western education and
awakening
• The urgent need for social and religious reform that
began to manifest itself from the early decades of the
19th century arose in response to the contact with
Western culture and education.

• The weakness and decay of Indian society was evident

to educated Indians who started to work systematically
for their removal.

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19. Which famous social reformer wrote the
books ‘Jnana Yoga’, ‘Karma Yoga’, and ‘Raj
Yoga’?

(A) M. G. Ranade
(B) Swami Vivekanand
(C) Ramkrishna Paramhansa
(D) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
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 Answer: (B) Swami
Vivekanand

• Swami Vivekananda is credited with introducing the West to the

Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga.

• He worked in the field of social service.

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20. Who founded the Servant Society of
India?

(A) Dadabhai Naoroji

(B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(C) Lala Lajpat Rai
(D) Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar

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 Answer: (B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale

• The Servants of India Society was formed in Pune,

Maharashtra, on June 12, 1905 by Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, who left the Deccan Education Society to form
this association.

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