UPSC Prelims 2000 · General Studies
Question 19: History and Culture
Consider the following statements about the Indian National Congress: I. Sarojini Naidu was the first woman to be the President of the Congress. II. C. R. Das was in prison when he functioned as the President of the Congress. III. The first Britisher to become the President of the Congress was Alan Octavian Hume. IV. Alfred Webb was the President of the Congress in 1894. Which of these statements are correct?
AnswerThe answer is (b).
Annie Besant (1917) was the first woman president of the Congress and Sarojini Naidu (1925) the first Indian woman. C. R. Das was elected for the 1921 Ahmedabad session while in jail, and Alfred Webb, an Irish MP, presided at Madras in 1894. George Yule (1888) was the first Briton, and Hume, the founder, never presided.
- I. Annie Besant (1917) was the first woman president; Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman.
- II. C. R. Das was elected president for 1921 while he was in jail.
- III. George Yule (1888) was the first Briton; Hume was the founder and general secretary.
- IV. Alfred Webb presided over the 1894 Madras session.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) I and III are both false: Besant was the first woman and Yule the first Briton to preside.
- (b) Right: II and IV are correct.
- (c) III is false, since A. O. Hume never presided over a session.
- (d) I and III are false, so all four cannot be correct.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2000, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.