RAS question
The Swaraj Party was founded in 1923 by:
Correct answer: (B) C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru.
The Swaraj Party was founded in 1923 by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru.
Explanation
C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru founded the Swaraj Party in 1923, with Das as president and Nehru as secretary. The party emerged after the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement, when Congress politics was divided over whether nationalists should enter the legislative councils or focus on constructive work outside them. Das and Motilal Nehru represented the council-entry line: they wanted to get into the legislatures and obstruct British governance from within. That tactical purpose is the key to the question. The founders were not merely associated with the period; they led the specific response that became the Swaraj Party.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Tilak and Gokhale cannot be the founding pair because Tilak had died in 1920, before the Swaraj Party was formed in 1923.
- (C) Gandhi and Nehru is wrong because Gandhi opposed council entry, while the Swaraj Party was built around entering legislative councils.
- (D) Lajpat Rai and Patel is wrong because Lajpat Rai was not a founder; the stated founders were C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru.
Concept
This tests the post-Non-Cooperation debate over council entry versus constructive work. It recurs in RAS because the Swaraj Party marks a major tactical shift in the national movement after 1922.