Question

Who was the Peshwa in Shahu Maharaj’s era?
A. Balaji Vishwanath
B. Malharrao Holkar
C. Ranoji Shinde
D. Udaji Pawar

Answer 1

Hint:
The Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movement was the result of growing agitation against British rule.
The aim of the movement was to undo the injustices done to Punjab and Turkey and acquire Swaraj.

Complete answer:
The Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movement was the result of growing agitation against British rule. In World War I, Turkey had fought against Britain and was unfortunately defeated. Due to which it suffered injustices at the hands of Britain. In 1919, a movement was organised under the leadership of Ali brothers (Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali), Abul Kalam Azad, Hasrat Mohani and others. The British government was pressurised by them to preserve the authority of the Ottoman Sultan as Caliph of Islam after the Ottoman Empire was shattered at the end of the war. Turkey’s Sultan was also considered the Caliph or Khalifa, the religious head of the Muslims. Therefore the movement was named the Khilafat movement.

Gandhiji joined the Khilafat committee which was setup to conduct this movement.

The movement gave a call for non-cooperation. The movement on the Khilafat question soon united with the movement against the suppression in Punjab and for swaraj.
In 1920, the congress, first at a special session held at Calcutta and later at the regular session held at Nagpur under Gandhi's leadership, adopted a new programme of struggle against the government.

On 31 August 1920, the Khilafat Committee started a non-cooperation movement.It is called the non-cooperation movement because of the means used in this movement.

The movement began with the abandonment of honorary titles like ‘Sir’ that Indians had received from the British government. Rabindranath Tagore and Subramania Iyer had already done so. In August 1920, Gandhiji also returned his “Kaiser-I-Hind” medal. The thought of receiving titles from the British government and to be associated with it was no longer considered honourable by the Indians. This was followed by the boycott of legislatures.
Most people have refused to cast their votes during legislative elections. Schools and colleges were left by thousands of students and teachers. New educational institutions like the “Jamia Millia” at Aligarh (later shifted to Delhi) and “Kashi Vidyapeeth” at Benaras were begun by nationalists. Government servants resigned from their jobs. Lawyers boycotted law courts. The foreign cloth was burnt in bonfires. Strikes were going on all over the country. The movement was a great victory and the firings and arrests could not stop it.

Option (B) August 1921: This option is incorrect. In 1921 August, the Malabar Rebellion had started as the resistance against the colonial rule of the British.

Option (C) August 1922: This option is incorrect. The Rampa Rebellion or the Manyam Rebellion had started as a tribal uprising led by Sitaraman Raju in the Madras Presidency of British India.

Option (D) August 1923: This option is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is option A

Note
It was always emphasized by Gandhiji that the movement should be peaceful. However, on 5th February 1922, the “Chauri Chaura” incident took place in U.P.

During the incident, the police, without any provocation, fired at the people who were taking part in a demonstration.

The people, in their anger, attacked and set the police station on fire. It resulted in the death of 22 policemen. When Gandhiji heard the news of the incident, he called off the movement.