Previous Year Question
Four resolutions were passed at the famous Calcutta Session of Indian National Congress in 1906. The question of either retention or rejection of these four resolutions became the cause of a split in Congress at the next Congress Session held in Surat in 1907.
Which one of the following was not one of those resolutions?
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Option (a) is correct because it was not included among the four disputed resolutions.
The four programme-related resolutions adopted at the Calcutta Session of 1906 were:
Swaraj or self-government
Swadeshi
Boycott
National education
The Session was presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji. He presented Swaraj as the objective of the Congress, explaining it in terms of self-government similar to that enjoyed by the self-governing colonies of the British Empire.
Meaning of the four resolutions:
Swaraj: Attainment of self-government for India.
Swadeshi: Use of Indian-made goods and promotion of Indian industries.
Boycott: Boycott of foreign goods, particularly British goods.
National education: An educational system independent of colonial control and suited to national requirements.
Connection with the Surat Split:
The Moderates wanted to restrict boycott and Swadeshi largely to Bengal and keep the movement within constitutional methods.
The Extremists wanted these programmes to be extended throughout India.
At the Surat Session of 1907, disputes over these resolutions, the future policy of the Congress and the selection of its President resulted in the split between the Moderates and the Extremists.
Clarification regarding the Partition of Bengal:
The Congress opposed the Partition of Bengal of 1905 and also demanded its reversal.
However, annulment of the Partition of Bengal was not one of the four programme-related resolutions; the fourth resolution was Swaraj.
The Partition of Bengal was actually annulled in December 1911 through an announcement made by King George V at the Delhi Durbar.