SSC
Who is the main author of the book 'India's Struggle for Independence'?
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Answer: Option B — Bipan Chandra
Detailed Solution
"India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947" is a history book by Bipan Chandra, written together with Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, Sucheta Mahajan and K. N. Panikkar. It was first published in 1988 and is widely used by students preparing for competitive examinations.
About the book:
It traces the Indian national movement from the Revolt of 1857 to independence in 1947.
It describes the role of the Indian National Congress, the Moderates and Extremists, the revolutionaries, the Gandhian mass movements (Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India), peasants, workers, women, princely states and the communal problem.
It presents the national movement as a broad mass movement that brought together people of many classes and regions.
About Bipan Chandra (1928-2014):
- He was born in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
- He was a leading historian of modern India and a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
His other books include "The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India" (1966), "Communalism in Modern India", "India Since Independence" (with Mridula and Aditya Mukherjee) and "History of Modern India" (an NCERT textbook).
He was Chairman of the National Book Trust (2004-2012).
He received the Padma Bhushan in 2010.
Other important historians of modern India:
- C. Majumdar: "History and Culture of the Indian People" (editor) and "History of the Freedom Movement in India".
- Sumit Sarkar: "Modern India, 1885-1947".
- Tara Chand: "History of the Freedom Movement in India" (government-sponsored, four volumes).
- Sekhar Bandyopadhyay: "From Plassey to Partition".
- Ramachandra Guha: "India After Gandhi".
Why not the other options?
- ✗C. Majumdar wrote "History of the Freedom Movement in India".
- ✗Sumit Sarkar wrote "Modern India, 1885-1947".
- ✗Ramachandra Guha wrote "India After Gandhi".
Quick tip
Remember: "India's Struggle for Independence" (1988) = Bipan Chandra and co-authors (JNU historian; also "India Since Independence"); "Modern India" = Sumit Sarkar; "India After Gandhi" = Ramachandra Guha.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.