SSC · Police
The Harijan Sevak Sangh was founded in 1932 by:
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Answer: Option A — Mahatma Gandhi
Detailed Solution
The Harijan Sevak Sangh was founded by Mahatma Gandhi on 30 September 1932 in Delhi. It was set up to work for the removal of untouchability and for the welfare of the "Harijans", the term Gandhi used for the communities considered untouchable, meaning "people of God" (Hari). Its first President was the industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla, and its first Secretary was Amritlal Thakkar (Thakkar Bapa). It was originally called the Anti-Untouchability League.
The background was the Communal Award of August 1932, announced by the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. It gave separate electorates to the "depressed classes", among others. Gandhi opposed this, believing it would divide Hindu society permanently. He began a fast unto death in Yerawada jail, Pune, in September 1932. The fast ended with the Poona Pact of 24 September 1932, signed between Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Under the pact, separate electorates were dropped, but the number of seats reserved for the depressed classes in provincial legislatures was increased from 71 to 148, within joint electorates.
After the Poona Pact, Gandhi devoted himself to the cause of removing untouchability. He founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh, started a weekly newspaper called "Harijan" in 1933, and undertook an all-India "Harijan tour" in 1933-34 to raise funds and campaign for temple entry and access to wells and schools. The Sangh worked to open schools, hostels and wells for Dalits and to promote inter-caste dining.
Ambedkar had different views; he believed that untouchability could end only with the destruction of the caste system and political empowerment of Dalits.
Why not the other options?
B.R. Ambedkar founded the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924) and the Independent Labour Party (1936).
Jyotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (1873).
Narayana Guru founded the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (1903) in Kerala.
Quick tip
Remember: Harijan Sevak Sangh = Gandhi, 1932, after the Poona Pact (24 September 1932); first President G.D. Birla; weekly "Harijan" started in 1933.
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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.