Vision Academy EducareVision Academy Educare
Question 80 of 137 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
Questionmedium
This question was previously asked in

Railway

The Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majoor Mahajan Sangh), one of the oldest trade unions of India, was founded in 1920 by:

Answer View answer ▾

Answer: Option C — Anasuya Sarabhai (with Gandhi's guidance)

Detailed Solution

The Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majoor Mahajan Sangh) was founded in 1920 by Anasuya Sarabhai, with the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi.

Background:

  • In 1918, the workers of the textile mills of Ahmedabad went on strike for higher wages, with the support of Gandhi and Anasuya Sarabhai.
  • The strike ended with an agreement to refer the dispute to arbitration, and the workers received an increase in wages.
  • This experience led to the formation of a permanent union of textile workers.

About the Majoor Mahajan Sangh:

  • It was founded in February 1920.
  • Anasuya Sarabhai was its first President, and she remained in that post until her death in 1972.
  • It followed Gandhian principles: peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation and arbitration, rather than confrontation and strikes.
  • It worked for the welfare of workers, including education, health, housing, and the removal of social evils such as alcoholism.
  • It is one of the oldest and largest trade unions in India.
  • It later became affiliated with the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), formed in 1947.

About Anasuya Sarabhai:

  • She was born on 11 November 1885 in Ahmedabad, in the wealthy Sarabhai family of mill owners.
  • She studied in England, where she was influenced by the Fabian Society and the suffragette movement.
  • On her return, she worked for the welfare of women and workers.
  • She was the sister of Ambalal Sarabhai, a leading mill owner of Ahmedabad.
  • She is called "Motaben" (elder sister) by the workers.
  • She is regarded as one of the first women leaders of the labour movement in India.

Other early trade union leaders:

  • M. Joshi: founder of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC, 1920).
  • P. Wadia: founded the Madras Labour Union (1918), one of the earliest trade unions in India.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗M. Joshi, Lajpat Rai and B. P. Wadia were associated with other unions.

Quick tip

Remember: Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majoor Mahajan Sangh, 1920) = Anasuya Sarabhai ("Motaben"), with Gandhi; Madras Labour Union (1918) = B. P. Wadia.

💬 Discussions on this question

Ask a doubt ›

Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.

Ask a doubt

More Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence Questions

View all ›
  1. Q1.The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on:
  2. Q2.Who started the secret Congress Radio during the Quit India Movement?
  3. Q3.The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928 was led by:
  4. Q4.The Harijan Sevak Sangh was founded in 1932 by:
  5. Q5.Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest against:

More General Knowledge Questions

  1. Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
  2. Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
  3. Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
  4. Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
  5. Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms

Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, 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 the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era 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.

‹ All Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence questionsBrowse all topics ›