MPPSC 2022 Prelims Paper-I · Question 61 of 100

This question was CANCELLED by MPPSC (status: cancelled) — marks were awarded to all candidates, and no option is scored as correct. Do not memorise any one of these four dates as 'the' answer to this specific 2022 item. For context: the All India Congress Committee met at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, and passed the 'Quit India' Resolution on 8 August 1942 — the same night Gandhi gave his 'Do or Die' call — but 8 August is not even offered as an option here. The British then arrested Gandhi and the Congress Working Committee in the early hours of 9 August 1942, and it is this arrest that triggered the actual mass uprising most sources describe as the movement's 'start' — which matches option (b). The gap between 'resolution passed' (8th, absent from the options) and 'movement broke out' (9th, present as option b) is the likely reason MPPSC chose to withdraw this item rather than score it.

• (a)7 August, 1942 — No official event is dated to 7 August 1942; the AICC session and resolution came a day later, on 8 August.
• (b)9 August, 1942 — This is the date most commonly cited for the movement's actual outbreak (after the pre-dawn arrest of Gandhi and Congress leaders) — best-supported among the four, yet MPPSC still cancelled the item rather than score it.
• (c)10 August, 1942 — By 10 August the arrests and the resulting unrest were already underway; it is not the date any standard account marks as the start.
• (d)6 August, 1942 — No official event is dated to 6 August 1942; this precedes even the AICC's Bombay session by two days.

The Quit India Movement (August Kranti) was the final mass campaign of the freedom struggle, demanding an immediate end to British rule. It unfolded in two dated steps: the AICC passed the formal 'Quit India' Resolution on 8 August 1942 at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, where Gandhi delivered his 'Do or Die' speech; then, in the early hours of 9 August 1942, the British arrested Gandhi and the entire Congress Working Committee under the Defence of India Rules, which is what set off the leaderless, spontaneous mass protests, strikes and sabotage across the country.

Exams exploit exactly this 8-versus-9 August gap — 'resolution passed' and 'movement erupted' are two different, correctly dateable moments a day apart, and a question can legitimately be read either way. Treat an unscored option on a CANCELLED question as informative, not certified.

• 8 August 1942 — AICC passes the Quit India Resolution at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay; Gandhi's 'Do or Die' speech
• 9 August 1942 — Gandhi and the Congress Working Committee arrested before dawn; mass, leaderless uprising follows — commonly cited as when the movement itself 'started'
• Slogan 'Quit India' was coined by Yusuf Meherally, not Gandhi
• The site, Gowalia Tank Maidan, was later renamed August Kranti Maidan in the movement's honour

• Treating 8 August (resolution passed) and 9 August (movement erupted after arrests) as interchangeable — MPPSC's own cancellation of this item shows examiners themselves found the distinction contestable
• Assuming an unscored option on a cancelled question was officially confirmed

MPPSC and UPSC both test the Quit India Movement's precise dates, the trigger (Cripps Proposals' failure), and who coined the slogan — expect the 8/9 August distinction to resurface.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The 'Quit India' Resolution was passed by the AICC at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, on:

  • (a)6 August 1942
  • (b)8 August 1942
  • (c)9 August 1942
  • (d)15 August 1942

  Answer(b) 8 August 1942 — the night Gandhi also delivered his 'Do or Die' speech.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The slogan 'Quit India' was coined by:

  • (a)Mahatma Gandhi
  • (b)Jawaharlal Nehru
  • (c)Yusuf Meherally
  • (d)Aruna Asaf Ali

  Answer(c) Yusuf Meherally — who also earlier coined 'Simon, Go Back'; Gandhi approved and adopted the slogan.