Defence
Who presided over the annual session of the All India Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, where he proposed a consolidated Muslim state in north-western India?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option C — Muhammad Iqbal
Detailed Solution
Sir Muhammad Iqbal, the poet and philosopher, presided over the annual session of the All India Muslim League held at Allahabad in December 1930.
The Allahabad Address (29 December 1930):
- In his presidential address, Iqbal suggested the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim state, made up of Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan.
- He suggested that this state could be self-governing within the British Empire or outside it.
- He argued that Muslims in India were a distinct cultural group, and needed their own territory for their free development.
- The address did not include Bengal, and did not use the word "Pakistan".
Importance of the address:
- It is often regarded as one of the earliest clear statements of the idea of a separate Muslim homeland in the subcontinent.
- It influenced later Muslim leaders, though it did not attract much attention at that time.
- In Pakistan, Iqbal is honoured as the "spiritual father" of the nation and as the national poet.
About Muhammad Iqbal:
- He was born on 9 November 1877 at Sialkot, in Punjab (now in Pakistan).
- He studied at Lahore, Cambridge, and Munich, where he obtained a doctorate in philosophy.
- He was a lawyer by profession.
- He wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian; his famous works include "Bang-e-Dra", "Asrar-e-Khudi", "Rumuz-e-Bekhudi", "Payam-e-Mashriq" and "Javid Nama".
- His philosophical lectures were published as "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam".
- His concept of "Khudi" (selfhood) urged people to develop their inner strength.
- He was knighted in 1922.
- He took part in the second and third Round Table Conferences.
- He wrote "Tarana-e-Hind" ("Saare Jahan Se Achha") in 1904, a patriotic song still popular in India.
- He died on 21 April 1938 at Lahore.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Jinnah, Aga Khan III and Liaquat Ali Khan did not preside over this session.
Quick tip
Remember: Allahabad session of the Muslim League (December 1930) = Muhammad Iqbal (idea of a North-West Indian Muslim state); Iqbal = "Saare Jahan Se Achha", "Asrar-e-Khudi".
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Indian National Congress & Its Sessions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indian National Congress & Its Sessions, 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.
The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A. O. Hume, and its first session was held in Bombay under W. C. Bonnerjee. This topic covers the important Congress sessions and their presidents, the moderate and extremist phases, the Surat split, and the founding and role of the Muslim League. Questions commonly ask who presided over a session, where a session was held, or what was decided there. For example, the 1929 Lahore session under Jawaharlal Nehru adopted the goal of Purna Swaraj, and the 1931 Karachi session passed the resolution on Fundamental Rights. The first woman president of the Congress was Annie Besant (Calcutta, 1917). Practise the Indian National Congress 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.