"The British empire is rotten to the core, corrupt in every direction and tyrannical and mean." This statement was made by
- (a)Sister Nivedita
- (b)Savitribai Phule
- (c)Annie Besant
- (d)Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Correct — A, Sister Nivedita. The commission's key attributes this outspoken condemnation of British rule to Sister Nivedita, born Margaret Elizabeth Noble — the Irish-born disciple of Swami Vivekananda who settled in India and became a committed supporter of the Indian nationalist cause.
- (b)Savitribai Phule — A 19th-century social reformer and pioneer of women's education alongside Jyotirao Phule; she is associated with anti-caste and education work, not this statement.
- (c)Annie Besant — A Theosophist and Home Rule League leader who became Congress President in 1917; a different figure from the one credited with this remark.
- (d)Bal Gangadhar Tilak — The extremist nationalist famous for 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it'; not the author of this particular statement per the key.
Sister Nivedita (Margaret Elizabeth Noble, 1867-1911) was an Irish-born social worker and teacher who became a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She worked for women's education and, through her writings and speeches, openly supported Indian nationalism at a time when such criticism of the Raj was bold.
The question tests attribution of a well-known nationalist quotation. The distractors are all women/leaders of the reform and nationalist eras, so elimination rests on knowing that Nivedita — a foreign-born supporter of Indian independence — is the one the key credits.
- Sister Nivedita's original name was Margaret Elizabeth Noble.
- She was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda.
- She was Irish-born and worked for women's education in India.
- She was an active supporter of the Indian nationalist movement.
- Assuming a fiery anti-British quote must be from a male extremist leader like Tilak
- Confusing Sister Nivedita with Annie Besant (both foreign-born women in India)
MPPSC and UPSC ask 'who said/wrote this' quotation-attribution items and match reformers/nationalists to their identity and mentors.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Sister Nivedita was a disciple of which spiritual leader?
- (a)Swami Vivekananda
- (b)Dayananda Saraswati
- (c)Sri Aurobindo
- (d)Rabindranath Tagore
Answer(a) Swami Vivekananda — she took the name Nivedita under his guidance.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The original name of Sister Nivedita was:
- (a)Margaret Elizabeth Noble
- (b)Madeleine Slade
- (c)Annie Wood
- (d)Mirra Alfassa
Answer(a) Margaret Elizabeth Noble — the others are Mirabehn, Annie Besant and 'The Mother' respectively.