RAS question
Which of the following leaders was NOT arrested immediately on 9 August 1942?
Correct answer: (D) Jayaprakash Narayan.
Jayaprakash Narayan was not arrested immediately on 9 August 1942 because he was already in detention and was later held at Hazaribagh Central Jail.
Explanation
The word "immediately" is decisive for the chronology. Gandhi, Nehru, Azad and other top Congress leaders were arrested on 9 August 1942, but Jayaprakash Narayan was not part of that immediate arrest sweep because he was already in detention. The later sequence also separates him from Gandhi, Nehru and Azad: he was held at Hazaribagh Central Jail, escaped from there on 9 November 1942 during the Quit India movement, and then helped organise underground resistance. Jayaprakash Narayan therefore fits the chronology, while Gandhi, Nehru and Azad were arrested at the start of the movement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Abul Kalam Azad is wrong because he was among the top Congress leaders arrested on 9 August 1942.
- (B) Jawaharlal Nehru is wrong because he was part of the immediate 9 August 1942 arrest sweep.
- (C) Mahatma Gandhi is wrong because he too was arrested on 9 August 1942, unlike Jayaprakash Narayan.
Concept
Quit India movement chronology turns on the distinction between the immediate arrests of 9 August 1942 and the later underground phase. RAS Modern India questions often hinge on a single date or leader.