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RAS question

The first Indian to be elected to the British House of Commons was:

Correct answer: (C) Dadabhai Naoroji (1892).

Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Indian elected to the British House of Commons, winning Central Finsbury in 1892 as a Liberal Party candidate.

  1. (A)

    W.C. Bonnerjee

  2. (B)

    Surendranath Banerjee

  3. (C)

    Dadabhai Naoroji (1892)

  4. (D)

    M.K. Gandhi

Explanation

Dadabhai Naoroji is the right answer because his election marked the first Indian entry into the British House of Commons. The PIB profile identifies him as the first Indian elected to the House of Commons and states that he represented Central Finsbury as a Liberal Party candidate between 1892 and 1895. Naoroji won the 1892 Central Finsbury contest by a narrow margin of five votes, a standard exam fact. His political importance was not limited to the seat itself. His parliamentary role was tied to sustained advocacy of India’s cause abroad and to his use of statistics in public politics, especially the drain-of-wealth argument. That is why RAS asks this as a marker of early nationalist engagement with British institutions.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) W.C. Bonnerjee was the first president of the Indian National Congress, not the first Indian elected to the British House of Commons.
  • (B) Surendranath Banerjee is linked with the Indian Association, whereas the House of Commons seat in 1892 was won by Dadabhai Naoroji.
  • (D) M.K. Gandhi was in South Africa during this phase, so he cannot be the Indian who entered the British House of Commons in 1892.

Concept

This tests early Indian nationalism and representation in British political institutions. It recurs in RAS because Naoroji connects constitutional politics, the drain theory and the Indian National Congress generation of leaders.

Source

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