The Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of the God) was organized by
- (a)Mahatma Gandhi
- (b)Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
- (c)M. A. Jinnah
- (d)M. M. Malaviya
Correct — B, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. The Khudai Khidmatgar ('Servants of God'), also called the Red Shirts, was founded in 1929 by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan among the Pashtuns of the North-West Frontier Province. It was a non-violent movement for Pashtun unity, social reform and freedom from British rule, closely allied with the Indian National Congress. For his Gandhian creed of non-violence, Ghaffar Khan came to be known as the 'Frontier Gandhi' (Badshah Khan).
- (a)Mahatma Gandhi — Gandhi inspired the movement's non-violent method and was Ghaffar Khan's close ally, but he did not organise the Khudai Khidmatgar; Ghaffar Khan founded it.
- (c)M. A. Jinnah — Jinnah led the Muslim League and championed a separate Pakistan — the opposite pole from the Congress-aligned, non-violent Khudai Khidmatgar.
- (d)M. M. Malaviya — Madan Mohan Malaviya founded Banaras Hindu University and led other Congress work; he had no role in the Frontier's Khudai Khidmatgar movement.
The Khudai Khidmatgar was a Pashtun non-violent resistance movement in the North-West Frontier Province, founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1929. Its volunteers wore red-dyed shirts (hence 'Red Shirts'), took up social reform and education, and joined the Congress-led national movement, notably the Civil Disobedience Movement.
All the names are freedom-era figures, so the item tests specific association. The anchor is the Frontier and non-violence, which points to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the 'Frontier Gandhi'.
- The Khudai Khidmatgar was founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1929.
- Its members were known as the 'Red Shirts' from their uniform.
- It was a non-violent Pashtun movement in the North-West Frontier Province, allied with the Congress.
- Ghaffar Khan was popularly called the 'Frontier Gandhi' or Badshah Khan.
- Crediting Mahatma Gandhi because the movement was Gandhian and non-violent.
- Confusing it with the Muslim League by associating any Muslim-majority movement with Jinnah.
As a 'who organised/founded' one-liner, or by asking the popular name (Red Shirts / Frontier Gandhi).
During the Indian freedom struggle, the Khudai Khidmatgars, also known as Red Shirts, called for
- (a) the Union of Pashtun tribal areas in north-west with the Afghanistan
- (b) the adoption of terrorist tactics and methods for terrorising and finally ousting the colonial rulers
- (c) the adoption of communist revolutionary ideology for political and social reform
- (d) the Pathan regional nationalist unity and a struggle against colonialism
Answer(d) the Pathan regional nationalist unity and a struggle against colonialism
Same movement — the Khudai Khidmatgars (Red Shirts). This UPSC item tests their aim (Pashtun unity and anti-colonial struggle), the movement founded by the figure asked for here.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The members of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement were popularly known as the
- (a)Blue Shirts
- (b)Red Shirts
- (c)Khaksars
- (d)Forward Bloc
Answer(b) Red Shirts — from the red-dyed shirts they wore.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was popularly known as the
- (a)Frontier Gandhi
- (b)Deshbandhu
- (c)Lokmanya
- (d)Sardar
Answer(a) Frontier Gandhi (also Badshah Khan).