UPSC Prelims 2018 GS Paper I · Q11 of 100 History medium

He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna; stayed in America for some time; and was also elected to the Central Assembly. He was

  1. (a) Aurobindo Ghosh
  2. (b) Bipin Chandra Pal
  3. (c) Lala Lajpat Rai ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) Motilal Nehru

Why the answer is (c)

• Lala Lajpat Rai wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna in Urdu, lived in the USA from 1914 to 1919 where he founded the Indian Home Rule League of America, and was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1923 as a Swarajist — option (c).

• He also wrote 'Unhappy India' and died in 1928 from injuries during the Simon Commission protest.

• Aurobindo (a) retired to Pondicherry; Bipin Chandra Pal (b) was not in the Central Assembly; Motilal Nehru (d) led the Swaraj Party but wrote no such biographies.

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Aurobindo Ghosh
Aurobindo withdrew from politics to Pondicherry in 1910.
(b) Bipin Chandra Pal
Bipin Chandra Pal was not elected to the Central Assembly.
(d) Motilal Nehru
Motilal Nehru did not write these biographies or live in America.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free