Who was the Viceroy of India at the time of Gandhiji's Dandi march?
- (a)Lord Irwin
- (b)Lord Linlithgow
- (c)Lord Reading
- (d)Lord Willingdon
Correct — A, Lord Irwin. Lord Irwin was Viceroy of India from 1926 to 1931, so he held office when Gandhi led the Dandi Salt March (12 March to 6 April 1930) that opened the Civil Disobedience Movement. It was with Irwin that Gandhi signed the Gandhi–Irwin Pact in March 1931.
- (b)Lord Linlithgow — Lord Linlithgow was Viceroy from 1936 to 1943 — the period of the 1939 war declaration and the 1942 Quit India Movement, well after the Dandi March.
- (c)Lord Reading — Lord Reading was Viceroy from 1921 to 1926, during the Non-Cooperation Movement and its withdrawal — he had left office before 1930.
- (d)Lord Willingdon — Lord Willingdon succeeded Irwin (1931–1936) and dealt with the second phase of Civil Disobedience; he was not Viceroy at the time of the Dandi March.
The Dandi March of 1930 was Gandhi's symbolic breaking of the salt law and the start of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Placing it against the succession of Viceroys — Reading, Irwin, Willingdon, Linlithgow — is a common history test.
Anchor to the Gandhi–Irwin Pact of 1931, which followed the Salt Satyagraha. The pact's name tells you the Viceroy of 1930–31 was Irwin.
- Lord Irwin was Viceroy of India from 1926 to 1931.
- The Dandi Salt March ran 12 March to 6 April 1930, covering about 240 miles to the Gujarat coast.
- It launched the Civil Disobedience Movement by defying the salt tax.
- The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931.
- Confusing Irwin with his successor Willingdon (post-1931).
- Placing the Dandi March under Linlithgow (that was Quit India, 1942).
Viceroy questions pair a Viceroy with the movement of his tenure — link Irwin with Dandi / the Gandhi–Irwin Pact, and Linlithgow with Quit India.
Which one of the following began with the Dandi March?
- (a) Home Rule Movement
- (b) Non-Cooperation Movement
- (c) Civil Disobedience Movement
- (d) Quit India Movement
Answer(c) Civil Disobedience Movement
Same event — the 1930 Dandi March. The UPSC item asks which movement it launched (Civil Disobedience, under Viceroy Irwin), the same march this question dates to Irwin's tenure.
Inspired by the Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi, in Tamilnadu, C Rajagopalachari led a salt march from
- (a) Tirunelveli to Nagercoil
- (b) Kanchipuram to Mahabalipuram
- (c) Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on Tanjore coast
- (d) Chennai to Vellore
Answer(c) Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on Tanjore coast
Same movement — the 1930 Salt Satyagraha triggered by the Dandi March. That NDA item covers Rajaji's parallel salt march in Tamil Nadu, part of the same Civil Disobedience wave under Viceroy Irwin.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed in which year?
- (a)1929
- (b)1930
- (c)1931
- (d)1932
Answer(c) 1931 — following the Salt Satyagraha, on 5 March 1931.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was the Viceroy of India during the Quit India Movement of 1942?
- (a)Lord Irwin
- (b)Lord Willingdon
- (c)Lord Linlithgow
- (d)Lord Wavell
Answer(c) Lord Linlithgow — Viceroy from 1936 to 1943.