Question

Who was the founder of the East India Association?
A : Mahatma Gandhi
B : Dadabhai Naoroji
C : Bipan Chandra Pal
D : Jawaharlal Nehru

Answer 1

Hint: The East India Association was founded in 1866, it was established in collaboration with Indians and retired British officials in London. It was considered as the most important platform for discussing matters and ideas about India, and to provide representation for Indians to the Government which was the main demand of the Indian nationalists.

Complete answer: The East India Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866, in collaboration with Indians and retired British officials in London. It superseded the London Indian Society and was a platform for discussing matters and ideas about India, and to provide representation for Indians to the Government. It was the foremost demand of the Indian nationalist to give representation to Indians in the government. The indian national congress members were the most important leaders who played an important role in demanding representations for Indians. They severely criticised the British rule in India and argued that India’s deprivation was the result of British rule in India. Dadabhai Naoroji was considered as the founding member of the Indian national congress. He was the first Indian to criticise the British economic policy in India. He wrote the book Poverty and un British rule in India. He was the one who proposed the drain theory which talked about the drainage of Indian wealth by the britishers in India. He argued that the British rule led to the destruction of Indian industries as well as India’s economic wealth was carried out by the Britishers in the name of taxes and custom duties which were imposed on Indians. Dadabhai Naoroji also known as the "Grand Old Man of India" and he was an Indian Parsi scholar, and an economist.
The several objectives and activities of East India Association includes advocating for and promoting public interests and welfare of Indians. It worked towards presenting the correct information about India to the British Public and talked about the Indian grievances in British press.
Let’s examine the option one by one :
A : The option A, Mahatma Gandhi is not a correct option because the East Indian association was not established by Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi established a number of associations during the Indian National Movement period but not East Indian Association. So this option is not correct.
B : This option is correct because as it is argued, East India Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866, in collaboration with Indians and retired British officials in London. It was an association formed one year after the formation of Indian National congress party in 1855. The main objective behind its formation was advocating for Indian rights and representation which was almost negligible in the British ruled India. So this option is correct.
C : The option is not correct because Bipan Chandra Pal was not the founding member of the East India Association. Bipan Chandra Pal was an extremist leader of Indian National Congress while Dadabhai Naoroji was a moderate leader and also the founding member of the Indian National Congress. So this option is wrong.
D : This option is also wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru was not the founder of the East India Association whereas he along with Mahatma Gandhi was the founder of other organizations and societies.

So, option B is correct as mentioned earlier East Indian Association is founded by Dadabhai Naoroji with several other leaders.

Note: The East Indian Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866 after one year of establishment of Indian National Congress. U might tend to get confused between Mahatma Gandhi and Dadabhai Naoroji because Mahatma Gandhi also founded a number of associations and organizations during the Indian National Movement. So try to remember the year in which it was formed because at that time Gandhiji was not in India so you can clearly remember that it was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji.