UPSC Essentials | Daily Quiz — How well do you know freedom struggle novels, quotes, and personalities? (Week 141)

Explanation

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (Edited by Abhishek Mitra)

Between the First and Second World Wars, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay joined Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement. Interestingly, he also shared a close relationship with Subhas Chandra Bose and was in support of armed struggle for self-rule.

Gradually, his writings became critical of the British regime. Through a series of short stories, including Mahesh (1922) and Dena-Paona (Owings and Borrowings, 1923), Chattopadhyay exposed the economic exploitation by the colonial regime. His most striking work, however, was Pather Dabi (The Call of the Road).

The novel is about a Burma-based secret organisation, Pather Dabi, that comprised political exiles from India. Following police repression in early 20th-century Bengal, leaders of the terrorist movement went underground and later fled to other British territories, particularly Burma. “After the release of hundreds of Bengali terrorists from detention in Indian prisons in 1919,” writes  Stephen Morton in Terror and the Postcolonial (2015), “many Bengali revolutionary terrorists fled to Burma to avoid being detained. From Burma, these individuals sought to establish new secret societies and to support the violent anti-colonial insurgency movement from outside of Bengal.”

The leader of Pather Dabi is a man named Sabyasachi. Among those who contributed to Chattopadhyay’s conceptualisation of Sabyasachi were revolutionaries like Jatindranath Mukherjee, Rashbehari Bose, M N Roy, Bhupendranath Dutta and Taraknath Das. “Thus the combination of extraordinary physical strength and courage and the capacity to be forgiving and caring came from Jatindranath…organizational ability, particularly the ability to build international networks, from Bose and Roy; western education from Dutta and Das..,” notes Ashish Nandy in The Illegitimacy Of Nationalism: Rabindranath Tagore and the Politics of Self (1994).

According to Morton, Sabyasachi, much like Bose, sought to mobilise the educated, middle-class Bengali youth for a nationalist struggle against the British. Historian Tanika Sarkar concurs, arguing that “the model of political work celebrated in the Pather Dabi” is reflective of the “cult of militant youth power” associated with Subhas Chandra Bose in Bengal during the 1920s.

After the publication of Pather Dabi, Sabyasachi became a role model for Bengali freedom fighters. “A number of memoirs of post-Swadeshi freedom-fighters mention how they took enormous risks and sometimes faced police prosecution to possess or even read the novel and how greatly they admired Savyasachi,” writes Nandy.

Morton adds, “This fictional revolutionary [Sabyasachi]…demonstrated that so-called seditious writing was a crucial rhetorical and political strategy in the struggle against colonialism.”

Therefore, c is the correct answer.

QUESTION 2

Consider the following quote:

“They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit.”

The above quote is attributed to which one of the following personalities?

(a) Bhagat Singh

(b) Subhas Chandra Bose

(c) Chandrashekhar Azad

(d) Ram Prasad Bismil

Explanation

By the late 1920s, Bhagat Singh emerged as a prominent revolutionary figure, rallying support with his cry of Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live the Revolution). One of his most powerful assertion, “They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit,” highlighted his unwavering commitment to his revolutionary ideals and the enduring power of thought and belief.

Bhagat Singh (Credit: Canva/Cherry Gupta_Indian Express)

Singh’s radical approach and willingness to embrace violence as a means to achieve independence inspired a new generation of freedom fighters committed to immediate action against British rule.

Therefore, a is the correct answer.

QUESTION 3

Consider the following statements:

1. She was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led an anti-British revolt in Manipur as part of the Heraka movement.

2. She joined the movement at a young age; it evolved from a religious reform movement into a political resistance against British rule.

3. She was arrested in 1932 and sentenced to life imprisonment; she was later supported by Jawaharlal Nehru, who gave her the title “Rani”.

The above statements refer to which one of the following personalities?

(a) Bishnupriya Devi

(b) Chandraprabha Saikiani

(c) Kanaklata Barua

(d) Gaidinliu Pamei

Explanation

Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual leader of the Heraka faith who led a revolt against British colonial rule in India. She was born on 26 January 1915 at a small village in Manipur. At the age of 13, she became part of a political movement to uproot the British from Manipur and the nearby Naga-inhabited area. She was arrested in 1932 by the British authorities, and was released from jail after 14 years when India won independence in 1947. She passed away in 1993.

Therefore, d is the correct answer.

QUESTION 4

‘Bagurumba’ was recently in news. It refers to which one of the following?

(a) A harvest festival dance of the Bodo tribe of Assam, performed mainly by women, associated with nature worship

(b) A masked ritual dance of the Deori community of Assam, performed during agricultural ceremonies

(c) A martial folk dance of the Karbi tribe, linked with ancestor worship and war victories

(d) A classical dance form of Assam, codified during the Ahom period and performed in temples

Explanation

Prime Minister participated in “Bagurumba Dwhou 2026”, a historic cultural event celebrating the rich heritage of the Bodo community at Sarusajai stadium, Guwahati.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma waves to the gathering during Traditional Bodo Cultural Programme, in Guwahati. (PMO via PTI Photo)

According to http://www.pmindia.gov.in,

“Bagurumba is one of the folk dances of the Bodo community, deeply inspired by nature. The dance symbolises blooming flowers and reflects harmony between human life and the natural world. Traditionally performed by young Bodo women, with men accompanying as musicians, the dance features gentle, flowing movements that imitate butterflies, birds, leaves and flowers. Performances are usually organised in groups, forming circles or lines that enhance its visual elegance.

Bagurumba dance holds deep cultural significance for the Bodo people. It represents peace, fertility, joy and collective harmony, and is closely associated with festivals such as Bwisagu, the Bodo New Year, and Domasi.”

Therefore, a is the correct answer.

QUESTION 5

Match the following rivers with their ancient names:

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) A–1, B–2, C–4, D–3

(b) A–1, B–2, C–3, D–4

(c) A–2, B–1, C–4, D–3

(d) A–2, B–3, C–1, D–4

Explanation

The correct pairs are –

1. Narmada : Rewa

2. Chenab : Asikni

3. Jhelum : Vitasta

4. Ravi : Parushni

Therefore, c is the correct answer.

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