UPSC Prelims 2013 · GS Paper I
Question 80: History and Culture
Annie Besant was
- 1.responsible for starting the Home Rule Movement
- 2.the founder of the Theosophical Society
- 3.once the President of the Indian National Congress
Select the correct statement/statements using the codes given below.
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
Annie Besant started the Home Rule League in 1916, shortly after Tilak's league, and she was elected President of the Indian National Congress at its Calcutta session of 1917. She did not found the Theosophical Society: it was founded in New York in 1875 by Madame H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel H. S. Olcott. Besant became its president in 1907.
- 1. She started the Home Rule League in 1916.
- 2. Blavatsky and Olcott founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.
- 3. She presided over the Congress session at Calcutta in 1917.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them includes 2.
What you needed to know: Blavatsky and Olcott founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.
- Then, if you were sure statement 3 is correct, (a) goes: it leaves 3 out.
What you needed to know: She presided over the Congress session at Calcutta in 1917.
Only (c) is left. You didn’t need statement 1.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Wrong. She was also Congress President.
- (b) Wrong. She did not found the Theosophical Society.
- (c) Correct. She started the Home Rule League and was Congress President.
- (d) Wrong. She was not the founder of the Theosophical Society.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2013, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.