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Question 51 of 69 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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The title 'Mahatma' (Great Soul) is popularly believed to have been first used for M. K. Gandhi by:

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Answer: Option C — Rabindranath Tagore

Detailed Solution

The title "Mahatma" ("Great Soul") is popularly believed to have been conferred on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi by Rabindranath Tagore.

About the title:

Tagore is said to have used the title for Gandhi around 1915, soon after Gandhi returned to India, and the name became widely popular.

Some historians point out that the title may have been used for Gandhi earlier, by people in South Africa or in Gujarat (for example, in a letter from Jetpur or a public reception in 1915), but Tagore is generally credited with popularising it.

Gandhi himself was uncomfortable with the title; he said that he did not like being called "Mahatma", and that the title often caused him pain.

Gandhi and Tagore:

  • The two great men had a deep friendship and mutual respect, though they disagreed on some issues.
  • Gandhi called Tagore "Gurudev" ("great teacher").
  • Gandhi visited Santiniketan, Tagore's school, in 1915; his followers from the Phoenix Settlement in South Africa had stayed there before his return.
  • They disagreed on the boycott of foreign cloth and the burning of foreign clothes, which Tagore criticised.
  • Tagore also criticised the Non-Cooperation Movement's call to boycott schools, and the idea of the charkha as a solution to India's problems.
  • Gandhi supported Visva-Bharati, and raised funds for it.
  • After Tagore's death in 1941, Gandhi called him "the great sentinel".

Other titles of Gandhi:

  • "Bapu" (father): a popular affectionate name.
  • "Rashtrapita" (Father of the Nation).
  • "Half-naked fakir": a description used in contempt by Winston Churchill.

About Tagore:

  • He was a poet, writer, composer, painter and philosopher.
  • He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for "Gitanjali".

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Gokhale, Bose and Nehru gave Gandhi other titles or did not give him this one.

Quick tip

Remember: "Mahatma" for Gandhi = popularly credited to Rabindranath Tagore; Gandhi called Tagore "Gurudev"; "half-naked fakir" = Churchill.

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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.

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