Question

The prominent members of the moderates were_______.
A. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Subhash Chandra Bose
B. Bipin Chandra Pal, Chandrashekhar Azad, Dadabhai Naoroji
C. Chandrashekhar Azad, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Feroz Shah Mehta
D. D.E. Wacha, S. N. Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Answer 1

Hint: The moderates were also known as the Early Nationalists and they were active in the phase $1885 - 1907$. As the name ‘moderates’ suggests, they had faith in the British judgment, honesty, transparency, integrity and they believed the British Culture can be of benefit to India. We will check for all the members given in the options if they belonged to the moderates or not.

Complete answer:
The moderates were a group of political leaders in India and they were in work between $1885 - 1907$ and founded by A. O. Hume. They were in favor of the British mindset as British rule had done a lot of good things including the abolition of the widow sacrifice (sati pratha). The moderates adopted a peaceful approach to obtain their goals compared to extremists. They believed in patience, to educate the people, to create a strong public opinion, and to create a sense of awareness (political or individual) among the citizens.
Considering the given options, we will check if the leaders mentioned belonged to moderates or not.
Option A: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Subhash Chandra Bose
Here, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal were politicians and had a mindset of anti – British nationalism. Therefore, option (A) is incorrect.
Option B: Bipin Chandra Pal, Chandrashekhar Azad, Dadabhai Naoroji
Here also, Bipin Chandra Pal was a part of the LAL BAL PAL’s triumvirate who strongly opposed British rule. Therefore, option (B) is incorrect.
Option C: Chandrashekhar Azad, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Feroz Shah Mehta
Here, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Feroz Shah Mehta were the members of moderates but Chandrashekhar Azad was born in $1906$ which was around the end of the era of moderates. Hence, option (C) is also incorrect.
Option D: D.E. Wacha, S. N. Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale
All these three were prominent members of the moderates. Dinshaw Edulji Wacha was the president of INC in $1901$. Surendra Nath Banerjee and Gopal Krishna Gokhale were some of the most important leaders of the moderates. Therefore, option (D) is correct.

Note: The emergence of moderates was the start of the organized national movement in India. Other important moderate leaders included W. C. Banerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji, M G Ranade, Rash Bhari Ghosh, R C Dutt, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and many more. In such questions, you must cross-check every option as there can be more than one correct answer.