Question

When was the first Independence Day unofficially celebrated before Independence?
A) On 26th January 1929
B) On 26th January 1931
C) On 26th January 1935
D) On 26th January 1930

Answer 1

Hint: Many major events took place in the decade of 1920. Some very prominent ones were the Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, the formation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and also the Communist Party of India.

Complete Answer:
In February 1922, when a crowd of peasants set fire to a police station in Chauri Chaura, he abruptly called off the Non-Cooperation Movement. Twenty-two policemen were killed on that day. The police had fired on the peasant’s peaceful demonstration which provoked them and consequently, they set fire to the police station.

After the abrupt calling off of the Non-Cooperation Movement, Gandhi's followers stressed that construction work must be undertaken by Congress in the rural areas. Whereas leaders such as Motilal Nehru and Chitta Ranjan Das argued that the party should fight in the elections to the councils and enter them in order to influence the government’s policies. The Gandhians were able to extend their support base through sincere social work in villages in the mid-1920s. This proved to be very useful for launching the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.

The formation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organisation, and the Communist Party of India were the two important developments of the mid-1920s. These two parties held very different ideas about the kind of country India should be. In this period, the revolutionary nationalist Bhagat Singh too was active. The decade closed with the Congress resolving to fight for Purna Swaraj (complete independence) in 1929 under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru in the resolution of the Lahore session. Consequently, “Independence Day'' was observed on 26th January 1930 all over the country.

Thus, option (D) is correct.

Note: Mahatma Gandhi was always against violent movements. 26th January is now celebrated as Republic day. This day was specifically chosen because of its historical importance.