15+ Important MCQs on Rowlatt Act 1919 with Answers for CE
1. The Rowlatt Act was passed in _____.
Correct Answer: C. 1919
Explanation: The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, commonly known as the Rowlatt Act, was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919 without a single Indian member of Council voting in its favor.
2. The Rowlatt Act was named after _____.
Correct Answer: B. Sir Sidney Rowlatt (chairman of the Sedition Committee)
Explanation: The Act was named after Sir Sidney Rowlatt, an English judge who chaired the Sedition Committee (Rowlatt Committee) established in 1917 to investigate “seditious conspiracy” in India. The committee’s 1918 report recommended the repressive legislation that became the Rowlatt Act.
3. The Rowlatt Act was officially titled _____.
Correct Answer: C. Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919
Explanation: The full official title of the Rowlatt Act was the “Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919.” It was popularly called the “Black Act” (Kaala Kanoon) by Indian politicians who opposed it.
4. The main provisions of the Rowlatt Act allowed the government to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Arrest and detain suspects without trial for two years, and hold trials in camera without jury
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act’s key provision was extending wartime emergency powers into peacetime – it allowed arrest without warrant, detention without trial, and trials by a special court (in camera, without jury), denying accused persons their normal legal rights.
5. Indians called the Rowlatt Act the “Black Act” because it was _____.
Correct Answer: C. A repressive law that denied basic civil liberties and rights to Indians
Explanation: Indians called it the “Black Act” (Kaala Kanoon) because it was seen as a deeply unjust, oppressive law that denied Indians the basic civil rights of due process, presumption of innocence, the right to know the charges against them, and trial by jury.
6. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 13, 1919) occurred during the protests against _____.
Correct Answer: B. The Rowlatt Act
Explanation: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (13 April 1919) occurred when General Dyer ordered troops to fire on a peaceful gathering at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar that had assembled partly in protest against the Rowlatt Act and against the arrest of Congress leaders Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
7. The Rowlatt Act was opposed by all Indian members of the Imperial Legislative Council. The Indian leader who described it as “no appeal, no vakil, no dalil” was _____.
Correct Answer: B. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: The famous slogan “no appeal, no vakil (lawyer), no dalil (argument)” describing the Rowlatt Act’s denial of legal rights is associated with the Indian opposition’s criticism of the Act. Indian leaders across parties condemned it uniformly.
8. Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s response to the Rowlatt Act was to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Resign from the Imperial Legislative Council in protest
Explanation: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council, resigned from the Council in protest against the Rowlatt Act, writing a strong letter to the Viceroy condemning the legislation as “tyrannical” and incompatible with the principles of constitutional government.
9. Gandhi’s response to the Rowlatt Act was to call for _____.
Correct Answer: C. Satyagraha (non-violent civil disobedience) – which became his first all-India mass movement
Explanation: Gandhi’s campaign against the Rowlatt Act was his first all-India political movement. He called for a nationwide hartal (strike) on 6 April 1919 and organized satyagraha (non-violent resistance), which became the immediate precursor to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
10. The Rowlatt Act was significant because it united Indian public opinion, both Hindu and Muslim, in opposition. This unity was shown by _____.
Correct Answer: B. The all-India hartal of April 6, 1919 observed across communities
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act protests (especially the 6 April 1919 hartal) were notable for Hindu-Muslim cooperation in resistance. The hartal was observed across India by both communities, demonstrating a rare unity of purpose that Gandhi tried to channel into the Khilafat-Non-Cooperation movement later that year.
11. The Rowlatt Act was passed despite every Indian member of the Imperial Legislative Council voting against it. This demonstrated _____.
Correct Answer: C. That Indians had no effective voice in their own governance – British officials overrode unanimous Indian opposition
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was passed despite the unanimous opposition of all Indian members of the Council because British nominated officials outvoted the Indian members. This demonstrated starkly that Indian representation in the Council was meaningless – British officials could always override Indian votes.
12. The Rowlatt Act’s timing (March 1919) was particularly insensitive because India had just _____.
Correct Answer: C. Contributed enormously to the British war effort in WWI (1 million soldiers) and expected reforms as a reward
Explanation: Indian leaders had supported Britain in WWI expecting political reforms in return (the Montagu Declaration of 1917 had promised “gradual development of self-governing institutions”). The Rowlatt Act came instead of genuine reforms, betraying Indian expectations and generating enormous anger especially among those who had sacrificed lives and resources for Britain.
13. The Viceroy who signed the Rowlatt Act into law was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Lord Chelmsford (it was passed under his viceroyalty)
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 during the viceroyalty of Lord Chelmsford (1916–1921). The Act was justified as necessary to deal with revolutionary/seditious activities that had occurred during WWI.
14. The Rowlatt Act was never fully implemented because _____.
Correct Answer: B. The massive public opposition and violence it triggered made the British politically embarrassed by it
Explanation: Although passed as law, the Rowlatt Act was never actually used in court because the massive protest it triggered (including the Jallianwala Bagh massacre) made its implementation politically counterproductive. The British eventually repealed it in 1922.
15. The Rowlatt Act was repealed in _____.
Correct Answer: C. 1922
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was repealed by the British government in 1922, following the massive controversies it had generated, the Jallianwala Bagh inquiry, and changing political circumstances. However, the damage to British-Indian relations was already done.
16. The Rowlatt Act protests led directly to which famous tragedy?
Correct Answer: C. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (13 April 1919)
Explanation: The protests against the Rowlatt Act led directly to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, when General Reginald Dyer ordered 50 soldiers to fire on a peaceful crowd of approximately 20,000 people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, killing approximately 400 and wounding over 1,000.
17. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satya Pal, whose arrests triggered the Amritsar protests of 1919, were _____.
Correct Answer: B. Local Congress leaders in Amritsar who organized Rowlatt Act protests
Explanation: Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew (Muslim) and Dr. Satya Pal (Hindu) were Congress leaders in Amritsar who had organized anti-Rowlatt Act protests. Their arrest by British authorities on 10 April 1919 triggered the massive public protests that led to General Dyer imposing martial law and ultimately to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
18. The Sedition Committee Report (1918) that preceded the Rowlatt Act found that _____.
Correct Answer: C. There were organized revolutionary and seditious movements in Bengal and Punjab during WWI that threatened British rule
Explanation: The Rowlatt (Sedition) Committee Report (1918) documented genuine revolutionary movements in Bengal (Jugantar/Anushilan parties) and Punjab (Ghadar movement) that had organized anti-British activities during WWI. The British used this report to justify the repressive Rowlatt Act, though critics argued the wartime emergency was over and such powers were no longer needed.
19. Which of the following statements best describes the significance of the Rowlatt Act in Indian history?
Correct Answer: C. It was a turning point that radicalized Indian nationalist opinion and turned even moderate leaders against British rule
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was a major turning point in Indian nationalism. It turned even moderate Indian leaders (like Jinnah, who resigned from the Council) into opponents of British rule and enabled Gandhi to launch his first all-India satyagraha, beginning the mass phase of the Indian independence movement.
20. One reason the Rowlatt Act specifically angered Indian lawyers and politicians was _____.
Correct Answer: C. It eliminated the fundamental right to legal representation and due process that even criminal law guaranteed
Explanation: The legal profession was particularly outraged by the Rowlatt Act because it violated the basic principles of British law that even colonial India had adopted – the right to be informed of charges, to have legal representation, and to be tried by a jury of peers. The expression “no appeal, no vakil, no dalil” captured this legal community’s anger.
21. The Rowlatt Act protests are significant in the history of Pakistan because they showed _____.
Correct Answer: B. That both communities could unite against oppressive British legislation, but also how British actions radicalized Muslim leaders like Jinnah who later led the Pakistan Movement
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act episode demonstrates that British repression radicalized moderate leaders – Jinnah’s resignation from the Council in protest was a formative moment in his political evolution. It also showed the potential for Hindu-Muslim cooperation that existed before communal identities hardened, and how British misrule accelerated the independence movement.
22. What was unique about the vote on the Rowlatt Act in the Imperial Legislative Council?
Correct Answer: C. Not a single Indian member voted for it – it passed only due to British nominated members
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act passed through the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919 despite all Indian elected and nominated members voting against it. The British government’s nominated official majority overrode the unanimous Indian opposition, demonstrating the fundamental lack of democratic representation in the colonial council structure.
23. The Rowlatt Act was passed in the same month that _____ was also being negotiated.
Correct Answer: C. The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Government of India Act 1919)
Explanation: The paradox of 1919 was that while the Rowlatt Act (a repressive measure) was being enacted, the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Government of India Act 1919 – promising limited self-governance through dyarchy) were also being finalized. These contradictory measures – one giving political rights, one taking basic rights – confused and angered Indian politicians.
24. The Governor of Punjab who authorized General Dyer’s actions during the Rowlatt protests was _____.
Correct Answer: B. Sir Michael O’Dwyer
Explanation: Sir Michael O’Dwyer was the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab who authorized and initially supported General Reginald Dyer’s actions, including the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. O’Dwyer was later assassinated in London in 1940 by Udham Singh, an Indian who had witnessed the massacre as a child.
25. The Rowlatt Act grew out of British fears of which movements?
Correct Answer: B. The Bengali Swadeshi revolutionary movement (Jugantar, Anushilan Samiti) and the Ghadar Party
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was specifically designed to deal with the revolutionary-terrorist movement in Bengal (organizations like Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti that had conducted bombings and assassinations) and the Ghadar Party (based in North America/Punjab) that had attempted a pan-Indian uprising during WWI.
26. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened on which religious holiday, contributing to the large crowds?
Correct Answer: B. Baisakhi (Sikh New Year/harvest festival)
Explanation: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred on 13 April 1919, which was the day of Baisakhi – the Sikh/Punjabi New Year and harvest festival. Large numbers of people from surrounding villages had come to Amritsar to celebrate the festival, which is why tens of thousands were present in the walled garden.
27. The Hunter Committee (1919–1920) was established to _____.
Correct Answer: B. Investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and Punjab events during the Rowlatt Act protests
Explanation: The Hunter Committee (officially, the Disorders Inquiry Committee) chaired by Lord Hunter was appointed to investigate the events in Punjab during the April 1919 Rowlatt Act protests, including the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The committee’s majority report mildly criticized Dyer; the minority Indian members submitted a stronger condemnation.
28. General Dyer was made to retire but was never criminally prosecuted for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The British public’s response was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Divided – many British (especially army circles and conservatives) raised funds for Dyer and celebrated him as a hero
Explanation: The British public was divided: the House of Lords passed a motion supporting Dyer; a fund raised £26,000 for him (the “Dyer Fund” by the Morning Post), showing that many British saw him as a defender of the Empire. The House of Commons condemned him, and the Secretary of State Edwin Montagu strongly criticized the massacre.
29. Rabindranath Tagore’s famous protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was to _____.
Correct Answer: C. Renounce his British knighthood
Explanation: Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who had been knighted by King George V, renounced his British knighthood in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, writing a letter to the Viceroy calling the massacre “without parallel in the history of civilized governments.”
30. The long-term impact of the Rowlatt Act on the Indian independence movement was _____.
Correct Answer: C. Radicalizing Indian opinion, enabling Gandhi’s first all-India satyagraha, and setting the stage for the Non-Cooperation/Khilafat Movement
Explanation: The Rowlatt Act was a major catalyst in the Indian independence movement. It transformed Gandhi from a regional leader into an all-India national leader; provided the context for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which permanently poisoned Indian-British relations; and enabled the subsequent Khilafat-Non-Cooperation alliance by demonstrating that both Hindu and Muslim masses could be mobilized against British rule.