Top 15+ Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) MCQs with Answers for CSS & PMS
1. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in _____.
Correct Answer: B. 1931 (March 5, 1931)
Explanation: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931 between Mahatma Gandhi (representing the Indian National Congress) and Lord Irwin (Viceroy of India), ending Gandhi’s famous Salt March / Civil Disobedience Movement.
2. Lord Irwin, who signed the pact with Gandhi, was the Viceroy of India from _____.
Correct Answer: B. 1926–1931
Explanation: Lord Irwin (later Lord Halifax) was Viceroy of India from 1926 to 1931. He is remembered for the Delhi Pact (Gandhi-Irwin Pact) and for the Irwin Declaration (1929) promising Dominion Status for India eventually.
3. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact came after Gandhi’s famous protest of _____.
Correct Answer: C. The Salt March (Dandi March, 1930) and Civil Disobedience Movement
Explanation: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was negotiated to end Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement, launched on 12 March 1930. The movement included the famous Salt March (Dandi March) when Gandhi walked 388 km to Dandi on the Gujarat coast to make salt illegally – defying the British Salt Laws.
4. Under the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, the British agreed to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Release political prisoners, return confiscated property, and allow Congress to attend the Second Round Table Conference
Explanation: The British government concessions in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact included: releasing political prisoners (except those convicted of violence); withdrawing all Salt Act prosecutions; returning forfeited properties; allowing collection of salt by the sea coast; and inviting Congress to participate in the Second Round Table Conference in London.
5. Gandhi agreed in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and attend the Second Round Table Conference
Explanation: Gandhi’s concessions in the pact were: suspending the Civil Disobedience Movement (boycott of British goods, non-payment of taxes, non-cooperation); attending the Second Round Table Conference in London as Congress’s sole representative to discuss India’s constitutional future.
6. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact specifically did NOT address the demand to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Commute the death sentences of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev – they were hanged on 23 March 1931
Explanation: The most controversial aspect of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was Gandhi’s failure to secure clemency for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, who were hanged on 23 March 1931 – just 18 days after the pact was signed. Gandhi was criticized for prioritizing the political settlement over the lives of these revolutionary heroes.
7. The significance of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was _____.
Correct Answer: C. It was the first time the British treated the Indian National Congress as an equal negotiating partner
Explanation: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was historically significant as the first time a British Viceroy negotiated directly and as an equal with an Indian nationalist leader (Gandhi). Winston Churchill sarcastically criticized Lord Irwin for negotiating with “a half-naked fakir” – but the pact symbolized a shift in the power relationship between the British and Indian nationalists.
8. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact is also known as the _____.
Correct Answer: B. Delhi Pact
Explanation: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact is also called the Delhi Pact, as it was signed in Delhi after weeks of negotiations between Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin. The pact was signed at Viceroy’s House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi.
9. After the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhi represented Congress at the Second Round Table Conference (1931). The conference failed because _____.
Correct Answer: C. No agreement was reached on the minority (Muslim, Sikh) representation issue, and Gandhi returned to India empty-handed
Explanation: Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference in London (September-December 1931) as Congress’s representative, claiming to speak for all Indians. The conference deadlocked primarily over Gandhi’s refusal to accept separate electorates for minorities (Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits) and his insistence on speaking for all minorities. Gandhi returned to India without any agreement.
10. When Gandhi returned from London after the failed Second Round Table Conference, he was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Arrested, as the new Viceroy Lord Willingdon had revoked the concessions of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact
Explanation: When Gandhi returned from London in December 1931, he found that the new Viceroy Lord Willingdon had taken a hard line, issued ordinances, arrested Congress leaders, and effectively revoked the Gandhi-Irwin Pact’s provisions. Gandhi was arrested in January 1932, and the second Civil Disobedience campaign began.
11. The Muslim League’s attitude toward the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was _____.
Correct Answer: B. Opposition – the League and Hindu conservatives both criticized it for different reasons; the League felt Gandhi was claiming to represent Muslims which he could not
Explanation: Jinnah and the Muslim League criticized the Gandhi-Irwin Pact because Gandhi claimed to represent all Indians (including Muslims) at the Round Table Conference, while the League insisted it was the sole representative of Muslims. This dispute over representation foreshadowed later conflicts about who could negotiate for Indian Muslims.
12. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact allowed Indians living near the sea to _____.
Correct Answer: B. Collect and make salt from seawater for personal use (not commercial trade)
Explanation: One of Gandhi’s specific demands related to the Salt March was conceded: the pact allowed Indians living near the coastline to collect and make salt from seawater for their own personal consumption. However, the British monopoly on salt production and trade (the Salt Laws) essentially remained in place.
13. Which famous nationalist leader strongly criticized Gandhi for not saving Bhagat Singh?
Correct Answer: C. Subhas Chandra Bose and many young Congress members
Explanation: Bhagat Singh’s hanging on 23 March 1931 (just 18 days after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact) caused enormous public outrage. Many Congress members, especially younger radicals led by Subhas Chandra Bose, criticized Gandhi for not making Bhagat Singh’s clemency a non-negotiable condition of the pact. Bose reportedly said the pact had “paralyzed” the revolution.
14. The Irwin Declaration of 1929 had previously stated that _____.
Correct Answer: B. Dominion Status was the natural goal of British policy in India – encouraging Congress to participate in Round Table discussions
Explanation: Lord Irwin’s October 1929 declaration stated that Dominion Status was the “natural issue” of India’s constitutional development, which the British had promised after WWI. This gave Congress enough encouragement to consider restraint, setting the stage for the eventual Gandhi-Irwin negotiations after the Salt March (1930).
15. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact is significant in the longer independence narrative because _____.
Correct Answer: C. It demonstrated that non-violent mass mobilization could force the British to negotiate at the highest level, validating Gandhi’s methods
Explanation: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact validated Gandhi’s non-violent Satyagraha approach: the Salt March and Civil Disobedience had forced the mighty British Empire to negotiate with a lone Indian leader as an equal. Though the pact’s immediate gains were limited, it demonstrated that mass non-violent action was a powerful tool against colonial rule.