Answer all questions carefully. Each question has exactly one correct answer.
Labour Wakes Up: Trade Unions, Strikes, and Working Class Politics in Colonial India•hard•10 questions•~12 min
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Question 01
medium
Which of the following correctly identifies the first president and first general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), founded on October 31, 1920?
(a) President: Dewan Chaman Lal; General Secretary: Lala Lajpat Rai
(b) President: C.R. Das; General Secretary: Dewan Chaman Lal
(c) President: Lala Lajpat Rai; General Secretary: Dewan Chaman Lal
(d) President: Lala Lajpat Rai; General Secretary: C.F. Andrews
Question 02
hard
Consider the following statements about the position of the early nationalists (Moderates) on the working class question:
1. They differentiated between workers in Indian-owned and British-owned factories.
2. They actively supported the Factory Acts of 1881 and 1891 to improve workers' conditions.
3. They believed labour legislation would damage the competitive edge of Indian-owned industries.
4. They were unwilling to divide the national movement on class lines.
Which of the above statements are correct?
Question 03
hard
Which of the following pairs correctly matches the early labour activist with their contribution?
(a) Narain Meghajee Lokhanday — newspaper Bharat Shramjeevi and a workingmen's club (1870)
(b) Sasipada Banerjea — newspaper Deenbandhu and Bombay Mill and Millhands Association (1880)
(c) Sorabjee Shapoorji Bengalee — attempted to get a bill for better working conditions passed in the Bombay Legislative Council (1878)
(d) Narain Meghajee Lokhanday — bill for better working conditions in Bombay Legislative Council (1878)
Question 04
hard
The Trade Disputes Act (TDA) of 1929 placed significant restrictions on labour action. Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about its provisions?
(a) It made compulsory the appointment of Courts of Inquiry and Consultation Boards for settling industrial disputes
(b) It required each individual worker in public utility services to give one month's advance notice before going on strike
(c) It extended the one-month advance notice requirement to ALL industries, not just public utility services
(d) It forbade trade union activity of coercive or purely political nature and even sympathetic strikes
Question 05
medium
The Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929) is significant in the history of the Indian working class movement. Which of the following statements about it is correct?
(a) It resulted in the arrest of 31 labour leaders; the trial got worldwide publicity but weakened the working class movement
(b) It was a government response to the Bardoli Satyagraha and targeted peasant leaders alongside labour leaders
(c) The trial lasted one year and resulted in acquittal of all accused due to international pressure
(d) S.A. Dange was the only communist leader convicted; all Congress-affiliated leaders were acquitted
Question 06
hard
Which of the following correctly describes the sequence of events related to the AITUC split and reunification in the 1930s?
(a) 1931: Communists left AITUC to form the Red Trade Union Congress; 1935: N.M. Joshi's group rejoined AITUC
(b) 1931: N.M. Joshi's corporatist group broke away to form the All India Trade Union Federation; 1935: Communists rejoined AITUC
(c) 1931: Congress Socialists broke from AITUC; 1933: Communists broke away; 1937: Both rejoined
(d) 1928: N.M. Joshi broke away after Girni Kamgar strike; 1931: Communists rejoined the unified AITUC
Question 07
hard
Regarding the communist position during World War II and its consequences for the working class movement, consider the following statements:
1. Communists initially opposed the War but changed their position after the Soviet Union joined the Allies in 1941.
2. After 1941, communists described the war as a 'peoples' war' and advocated industrial peace.
3. Communists actively supported the Quit India Movement (1942) alongside the Congress.
4. In the post-war period (1945–47), workers participated in national upsurges including a strike in support of the Naval Ratings.
Which of the above statements are correct?
Question 08
medium
The Trade Union Act of 1926 was a significant piece of labour legislation. Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about it?
(a) It recognised trade unions as legal associations
(b) It secured immunity, both civil and criminal, for trade unions from prosecution for legitimate activities
(c) It granted trade unions unconditional freedom to engage in political activities of any kind
(d) It laid down conditions for registration and regulation of trade union activities
Question 09
medium
Which of the following statements about Gandhi's Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (1918) is correct regarding the outcome of the wage dispute?
(a) The initial protest secured a 35% wage hike; the arbitrator later reduced it to 27.5%
(b) The initial protest secured a 27.5% wage hike; the arbitrator's later award ensured a 35% raise
(c) The dispute was resolved through legislation with a government-mandated 30% wage increase
(d) Workers won a 50% wage hike after a six-month strike led by Sardar Patel
Question 10
medium
What distinctive structural feature made the Indian working class movement different from purely economic labour movements in other industrialising countries?
(a) Indian workers had a stronger tradition of craft guilds which provided an organisational base unlike workers elsewhere
(b) Indian workers faced a dual antagonism — imperialist political rule AND economic exploitation by both foreign and native capitalist classes — making the movement inherently political and anti-colonial
(c) The Indian working class was numerically much larger and more urbanised than in other industrialising countries of the period
(d) The Indian working class movement was primarily caste-based and drew its strength from pre-existing caste solidarities
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