UPSC Prelims 2018 · GS Paper I
Question 11: History and Culture
He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna; stayed in America for some time; and was also elected to the Central Assembly. He was
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
Lala Lajpat Rai wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna, spent the First World War years (1914-19) in the United States, and was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1923. He is also remembered as one of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio and for the injuries he suffered in the lathi-charge during the Simon Commission protest at Lahore in 1928, which led to his death. The other three options do not fit this combination of clues.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Aurobindo Ghosh was a revolutionary turned philosopher; he did not sit in the Central Assembly.
- (b) Bipin Chandra Pal was a Lal-Bal-Pal leader but not the author of these biographies.
- (c) Right: matches the biographies, the stay in America and the Central Assembly seat.
- (d) Motilal Nehru led the Swaraj Party in the Assembly but wrote no such biographies.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.