Arrange the following events in a chronological order and select the correct answer from the codes given below : I. Appointment of Simon Commission II. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre III. Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi March IV. Death of Ferozshah Mehta Codes :
- (a)IV, II, I, III
- (b)I, II, IV, III
- (c)II, III, IV, I
- (d)IV, III, II, I
Correct — A, IV, II, I, III. The four events fall in this order. Pherozeshah Mehta, the Moderate leader known as the 'Lion of Bombay' and Congress President at the Calcutta session of 1890, died on 5 November 1915 (IV). The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919, when General Dyer's troops opened fire on a Baisakhi-day gathering at Amritsar that had assembled against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal (II). The Simon Commission was appointed on 8 November 1927 by the British government under Stanley Baldwin, with Sir John Simon as chairman of an all-British body of seven members in total (Simon included; Clement Attlee was among them), to review the working of the Government of India Act, 1919 (I). Finally, Gandhi launched the Dandi March on 12 March 1930, walking from Sabarmati Ashram to the coast and breaking the salt law at Dandi on 6 April 1930 (III). So 1915, 1919, 1927, 1930 — that is IV, II, I, III.
- (b)I, II, IV, III — It opens with the Simon Commission and only then places Jallianwala Bagh and Mehta's death — reversing the true order completely at the front. The Commission belongs to 1927, eight years after the massacre and twelve years after Mehta died.
- (c)II, III, IV, I — It puts the Dandi March of 1930 second and pushes Mehta's death and the Simon Commission after it. Mehta died in 1915, well before every other event on this list, so no sequence that places him third or fourth can be right.
- (d)IV, III, II, I — The most tempting wrong option, because it correctly opens with Mehta's death — and then inverts everything after it, running Dandi (1930), Jallianwala Bagh (1919) and the Simon Commission (1927) backwards. Getting the first item right is not enough in a sequencing question; check the tail as carefully as the head.
These four events are milestones of four different phases of the national movement, which is why they can be ordered from memory even without exact dates. Mehta's death in 1915 closes the era of Moderate, petition-based politics — Gokhale had died in February of the same year and Gandhi returned from South Africa in January 1915. Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 is the shock that ends any lingering faith in British justice and opens the age of Gandhian mass movements. The Simon Commission of 1927 belongs to the constitutional battles of the late 1920s, which produced the Nehru Report and the Poorna Swaraj resolution. The Dandi March of 1930 opens the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Sequencing questions are best solved by phase rather than by date: Moderate era, post-war upheaval, constitutional confrontation, mass civil disobedience. One nuance matters here — the item says 'appointment of the Simon Commission', which is November 1927, whereas most candidates remember the Commission by its arrival in Bombay on 3 February 1928 and the 'Simon Go Back' demonstrations. Either year keeps the Commission between Jallianwala Bagh and Dandi, so the answer is unaffected, but UPPSC deliberately uses the word 'appointment' and it is worth learning both dates. The other useful anchor is 1915 as a hinge year: Gokhale died in February, Mehta in November, and Gandhi came home in January.
- Pherozeshah Mehta, Moderate leader and Congress President at the 1890 Calcutta session, died on 5 November 1915.
- The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place at Amritsar on 13 April 1919, during a Baisakhi-day protest against the Rowlatt Act.
- The Simon Commission was appointed on 8 November 1927 under Sir John Simon; it had seven members, all British, which is why it was boycotted.
- The Commission reached Bombay on 3 February 1928 and was met by 'Simon Go Back' demonstrations; Lala Lajpat Rai was injured in a lathi charge at Lahore and died on 17 November 1928.
- The Dandi March began on 12 March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram; Gandhi broke the salt law at Dandi on 6 April 1930, launching the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- 5 Nov 1915 — Death of Pherozeshah Mehta (IV); end of the Moderate era
- 13 Apr 1919 — Jallianwala Bagh massacre (II), Amritsar
- 8 Nov 1927 — Simon Commission appointed (I); reaches Bombay 3 Feb 1928
- 12 Mar 1930 — Dandi March begins (III); salt law broken 6 Apr 1930
Read off the timeline and the code is IV, II, I, III — option (a). Mehta's death is highlighted because it is the earliest item, and spotting it first eliminates options (b) and (c) immediately.
- Dating the Simon Commission to 1928 because that is when it arrived in India; the question asks about its appointment, which is November 1927.
- Picking an option because its first item is right — option (d) also starts with IV and then reverses everything after it.
- Confusing the Dandi March (12 March 1930) with the breaking of the salt law at Dandi (6 April 1930) or with the Dharasana salt satyagraha of May 1930.
UPPSC asks freedom-struggle chronology almost every year, either as 'arrange in chronological order' or as 'which of the following came last'. UPSC uses the same format but usually mixes constitutional landmarks with mass movements, so keep one dated spine of the national movement from 1905 to 1947 and use it for both papers.
Consider the following events during India’s freedom struggle: 1. Chauri-Chaura Outrage 2. Minto-Morley Reforms 3. Dandi March 4. Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the events above?
- (a) 1 ‑ 3 ‑ 2 ‑ 4
- (b) 2 ‑ 4 ‑ 1 ‑ 3
- (c) 1 ‑ 4 ‑ 2 ‑ 3
- (d) 2 ‑ 3 ‑ 1 ‑ 4
Answer(b) 2 - 4 - 1 - 3
The identical skill and even the same anchor event — the Dandi March of March 1930 closing the sequence. Both papers reward a single dated spine of the national movement rather than isolated facts.
85. What is the correct sequence of the following events? I. The Lucknow Pact II. The Introduction of Dyarchy III. The Rowlatt Act IV. The Partition of Bengal Choose the correct answer from the codes given below:
- (a) I, II, III, IV
- (b) IV, I, III, II
- (c) I, III, II, IV
- (d) IV, III, II, I
Answer(b) IV, I, III, II
Another sequencing set built around the same window, including the Rowlatt Act of March 1919 that the Jallianwala Bagh crowd had gathered to protest. It also demonstrates the same trap — a code whose first item is right and whose tail is reversed.
Consider the following events and arrange them into chronological order : I. Sharda Act II. Nehru Report III. Constitution of Simon Commission IV. Dandi March Select the correct answer using the codes given below. Codes :
- (a) III, II, I and IV
- (b) I, II, III and IV
- (c) IV, III, II and I
- (d) I, IV, II and III
Answer(a) III, II, I and IV
The same two events — the constitution of the Simon Commission and the Dandi March — sequenced again two years later, and again with the Commission placed at its appointment rather than its arrival. This is the clearest sign that UPPSC expects the 1927 date, not 1928.
Which of the following events was the last in chronological order?
- (a) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
- (b) Moplah Revolt
- (c) Khilafat Movement
- (d) Home Rule Movement
Answer(b) Moplah Revolt
Jallianwala Bagh used as a chronology anchor once more, this time in the 'which came last' variant. UPPSC recycles the same handful of dated landmarks across formats, so a single timeline serves several years of the paper.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Simon Commission was boycotted by Indian political opinion mainly because
- (a)it recommended the partition of India
- (b)it had no Indian member
- (c)it was appointed without the consent of the Viceroy
- (d)it proposed the abolition of provincial legislatures
Answer(b) it had no Indian member — all seven members of the Commission appointed in November 1927 were British, which was read as a denial of Indians' fitness to decide their own constitutional future.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following is the correct chronological order? I. Death of Gopal Krishna Gokhale II. Jallianwala Bagh massacre III. Chauri Chaura incident IV. Lahore session of the Congress adopting Poorna Swaraj
- (a)I, II, III, IV
- (b)II, I, III, IV
- (c)I, III, II, IV
- (d)II, I, IV, III
Answer(a) I, II, III, IV — Gokhale died in February 1915, Jallianwala Bagh was April 1919, Chauri Chaura February 1922, and the Lahore session adopted Poorna Swaraj in December 1929.