Previous Year Question
Consider the following events and arrange them into chronological order:
I. Sharda Act
II. Nehru Report
III. Constitution of Simon Commission
IV. Dandi March
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
III, II, I and IV
I, II, III and IV
IV, III, II and I
I, IV, II and III
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
III. Constitution of Simon Commission — November 1927: The British Government appointed the Indian Statutory Commission, popularly known as the Simon Commission, in November 1927. It was chaired by Sir John Simon. All seven members were British and no Indian was included, leading to widespread opposition in India.
II. Nehru Report — 1928: In response to the British constitutional challenge, Indian political groups attempted to frame their own constitutional scheme. A committee chaired by Motilal Nehru prepared the Nehru Report in 1928. It proposed important provisions including Dominion Status, Fundamental Rights and Joint Electorates.
I. Sharda Act — 1929: The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, popularly called the Sharda Act after its sponsor Harbilas Sarda, originally fixed the minimum marriage age at 14 years for girls and 18 years for boys. An important distinction is that the Act was passed in 1929, although it came into force on 1 April 1930; for this chronology, it is therefore a 1929 event.
IV. Dandi March — 12 March 1930: Mahatma Gandhi began the march from Sabarmati Ashram with 78 selected volunteers. After covering about 240 miles, he reached Dandi and broke the salt law on 6 April 1930, giving the Civil Disobedience Movement the character of a major mass campaign.
Therefore, the chronological sequence is Constitution of Simon Commission (1927) → Nehru Report (1928) → Sharda Act (1929) → Dandi March (1930).