Read the following statements related to the liberal phase of Indian National Movement (1885 – 1905 A.D.) : A. Supported the rich democratic and scientific culture of modern Europe. B. Strongly criticized the Economic aspect of British imperialism. Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

Correct — option (3), Both A and B are true.

Statement A is true. NCERT's textbook Modern India (Bipan Chandra, 1971) says that through modern Western education and thought, a large number of Indians 'imbibed a modern rational, secular, democratic, and nationalist political outlook'.

The book names Rousseau, Paine and John Stuart Mill as their political guides. It also says advanced Indians saw Western knowledge as 'the Key to the treasures of scientific and democratic thought of the modern West', and that 'no prominent Indian of the 19th and 20th centuries deviated from this approach'.

Of the early nationalists (1885–1905) in particular, it says they 'made an appeal to the principle of democracy'. It credits their movement with popularising democracy and nationalism and propagating 'a modern outlook'.

Statement B is true. The same chapter says the early nationalists blamed British policies for India's growing poverty. It quotes Dadabhai Naoroji in 1881 calling British rule a foreign invasion 'utterly, though gradually, destroying the country'.

They complained that India's wealth was being drained to England and demanded that the drain be stopped. NCERT's Class VIII text adds that the Moderates showed 'how British rule was leading to the economic ruin of the country'.

Both statements hold, so the code is option (3), Both A and B are true.

The idea to remember: the Moderates admired the democratic, scientific West and, at the same time, built the economic critique of British rule.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Only A is true. — This code rejects statement B, but B is the part of the Moderates' record Bipan Chandra's textbook stresses most: 'Most of all, it made people recognise the economic content and character of British imperialism'.

  Only A is true would fit if they had accepted British economic policy. Instead they attacked the drain of wealth and demanded lower land revenue, abolition of the salt tax and cuts in military spending.

• (2)
  Only B is true. — This code rejects statement A, but the sources support it. Bipan Chandra's textbook says Western-educated Indians took Rousseau, Paine and Mill as political guides and adopted a democratic political outlook.

  NCERT's Class VIII text adds that the Moderates felt the British 'had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice'. Only B is true would fit leaders who had rejected Western political ideas, which is not how these sources describe the Moderates.

• (4)
  Neither A nor B is true. — Both statements match the sources. On A, the early nationalists appealed to the principle of democracy and drew on Western thinkers; on B, they blamed British policies for India's poverty and the drain of wealth.

  Neither A nor B would fit only if the phase had neither admired modern European thought nor criticised British economic policy.

The Moderates held two positions at once. They admired modern Western political thought and trusted British justice, yet they built a detailed case against British economic policy.

Bipan Chandra's textbook explains the first: they believed the British people and Parliament wanted to be just to India but did not know the true state of affairs. So they petitioned, held meetings and educated British opinion.

Among their achievements, the textbook puts the second 'most of all'. It says they showed Britain was making India a supplier of raw materials, a market for British goods and a field for British capital.

Key facts

• NCERT (Class VIII): the Indian National Congress was established when 72 delegates met at Bombay in December 1885.
• Bipan Chandra's Modern India (NCERT, 1971): the Moderates' methods were constitutional agitation within the law, and slow, orderly political progress.
• Dadabhai Naoroji declared in 1881 that British rule was 'utterly, though gradually, destroying the country' (quoted in NCERT's Modern India, 1971).
• NCERT (Class VIII): Naoroji's Poverty and Un-British Rule in India offered a scathing criticism of the economic impact of British rule.
• NCERT (Class VIII): the early Congress demanded reduction of revenue, a cut in military expenditure and more funds for irrigation.

Common traps

• Assuming admiration for the West ruled out criticism of British rule: the Moderates did both.
• Reading the Moderates' loyalty as silence on economics: Bipan Chandra's textbook says their main achievement was exposing the economic character of British imperialism.
• Confusing phases: the stress on self-reliance and the 'politics of prayers' critique came from leaders such as Tilak, Pal and Lajpat Rai, not from the Moderates.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 and 2016 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which book by Dadabhai Naoroji offered a scathing criticism of the economic impact of British rule?

  • (a)Poverty and Un-British Rule in India
  • (b)Anandamath
  • (c)The Folklore of Southern India
  • (d)Amuktamalyada
  Answer(1) — NCERT (Class VIII) names Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. Option (2) is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel; option (3) is Natesa Sastri's collection of Tamil folk tales; option (4) is Krishnadevaraya's Telugu work on statecraft.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  The methods of the Moderates in the Indian National Congress are best described as

  • (a)Constitutional agitation within the law
  • (b)Mass civil disobedience
  • (c)Armed revolutionary action
  • (d)Non-cooperation with the government
  Answer(1) — Bipan Chandra's Modern India (NCERT, 1971) sums up their methods as constitutional agitation within the four walls of the law, through petitions, meetings, resolutions and speeches. Options (2), (3) and (4) do not match that description of the moderate phase.