Who among the following was the first to accept a ministerial position in the Central Provinces in October 1925?
- (a)B. S. Moonje
- (b)M. R. Jayakar
- (c)S. B. Tambe
- (d)B. N. Sasmal
Correct — C, S. B. Tambe. Tambe was a Swarajist leader in the Central Provinces, and in October 1925 he took office under the Governor there — the step the question is asking about. It mattered far beyond one province. The Swaraj Party had gone into the councils in 1923 on an explicit promise of obstruction from within, wrecking budgets and refusing office, so a Swarajist accepting a place on the government's side of the table broke the whole premise. The party split over it within months, one wing defending co-operation where it could win something and the other insisting on the original line. Tambe is the name attached to that break because he was the first to take the step.
- (a)B. S. Moonje — A Nagpur politician active in the same province and the same argument, but on the responding side. He was among those who defended what Tambe had done rather than the man who did it.
- (b)M. R. Jayakar — A Bombay lawyer and Swarajist who also came out in favour of co-operating where co-operation paid. Like Moonje, he belongs to the reaction to the episode, not to the episode itself.
- (d)B. N. Sasmal — A Congress leader from Bengal, associated with Midnapore. Wrong province altogether — the question is specifically about the Central Provinces.
The Government of India Act of 1919 set up dyarchy in the provinces. Some subjects were transferred to Indian ministers answerable to the legislative council; the rest stayed reserved, run by the Governor with an executive council. After the Non-Cooperation movement was called off, C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru founded the Swaraj Party in 1923 to contest elections and then obstruct this machinery from inside, as against the no-changers who wanted the boycott kept up.
The question tests one date and one name from a well-worn textbook episode, and the safest way to hold it is by the consequence rather than the detail: October 1925, Central Provinces, Tambe, and a Swarajist split into those who would take office and those who would not. Two honest caveats belong on the record. The office Tambe accepted is usually described in the sources as a seat on the Governor's executive council rather than a ministership in the strict dyarchy sense, so the paper's word 'ministerial' is being used loosely. And this item rests on the standard textbook account of the Swarajist split rather than on a document we could put in front of you; the answer itself is fixed by the official key.
- The Swaraj Party was founded in 1923 by C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru to enter the councils and obstruct from within.
- Dyarchy, introduced by the Government of India Act of 1919, divided provincial subjects into transferred and reserved.
- S. B. Tambe's acceptance of office in the Central Provinces in October 1925 broke the Swarajist rule against taking office.
- The episode split the Swarajists between those willing to co-operate where it paid and those holding to obstruction.
- C. R. Das died in June 1925, months before this, which left the party without its strongest unifying leader.
- 1919 — the Government of India Act introduces dyarchy; some provincial subjects are transferred to Indian ministers, the rest reserved
- 1923 — C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru found the Swaraj Party to fight elections and obstruct the councils from inside, refusing office
- June 1925 — C. R. Das dies, weakening the party's hold on its own members
- October 1925 — S. B. Tambe accepts office under the Governor of the Central Provinces, the first Swarajist to do so
- 1926 — the party divides between those defending co-operation where it wins something and those holding to the original line
The obstruction pledge was the party's whole identity, which is why a single appointment mattered so much.
- Confusing a seat on the Governor's executive council with a ministership under dyarchy; the two were different offices.
- Placing this episode after the Simon Commission — it comes two years earlier.
- Assuming the Swaraj Party dissolved at once; it survived in weakened form and its leaders returned to the Congress.
As a name-and-date pick like this one, or inside a statements item on the Swaraj Party's council programme and the split that followed.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Swaraj Party, founded in 1923, was formed principally by
- (a)C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru
- (b)Vallabhbhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad
- (c)M. R. Jayakar and B. S. Moonje
- (d)Tej Bahadur Sapru and Srinivasa Sastri
Answer(a) C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru — the pro-changers who wanted to enter the councils and obstruct from within.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under dyarchy as introduced by the Government of India Act of 1919, the reserved subjects in a province were administered by
- (a)ministers responsible to the legislative council
- (b)the Governor with his executive council
- (c)the Secretary of State for India
- (d)the provincial legislative council directly
Answer(b) the Governor with his executive council — transferred subjects went to Indian ministers, reserved subjects did not.