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Question 4 of 6 · Socio-Religious Reform Movements
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Railway · State PCS

The Servants of India Society was founded by:

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Answer: Option B — Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Detailed Solution

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915) was a leading moderate leader of the Indian National Congress and a social reformer. He founded the Servants of India Society in Pune on 12 June 1905.

The aim of the Society was to train dedicated national missionaries for the service of India and to promote the true interests of the Indian people by constitutional means. Its members took vows of poverty, simplicity and lifelong service to the nation. They worked in fields such as education, the uplift of the depressed classes, famine relief, women's welfare, the cooperative movement and labour welfare.

Members of the Society included V.S. Srinivasa Sastri (who succeeded Gokhale as its president), N.M. Joshi (founder of the All India Trade Union Congress) and H.N. Kunzru. The Society published "The Hitavada", a newspaper from Nagpur.

Gokhale's other contributions:

  • He was a disciple of the social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade, whom he regarded as his political guru.
  • He was President of the Indian National Congress at its Banaras session in 1905, the year the Partition of Bengal took effect.
  • He was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council, where he gave famous budget speeches criticising British economic policies, and in 1911 he introduced a bill for free and compulsory primary education.
  • He played an important role in shaping the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909.

Mahatma Gandhi regarded Gokhale as his political guru. On Gokhale's advice, Gandhi travelled across India for a year after returning from South Africa in 1915, before entering politics.

Gokhale died in February 1915 at the age of 48. Tilak called him "the diamond of India, the jewel of Maharashtra, the prince of workers".

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Bal Gangadhar Tilak was an extremist leader who started the newspapers "Kesari" and "Maratha".
  • ✗Mahadev Govind Ranade co-founded the Prarthana Samaj and the Deccan Education Society.
  • ✗Dadabhai Naoroji founded the East India Association (1866).

Quick tip

Remember: Servants of India Society = Gokhale (Pune, 1905); Gokhale = political guru of Gandhi, President of the Banaras session (1905); Ranade = Gokhale's guru.

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Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Socio-Religious Reform Movements, 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.

In the 19th century, reformers worked to remove social evils and revive Indian society. This topic covers organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society, Satyashodhak Samaj and the Aligarh Movement, along with their founders and the social reforms they achieved. Questions usually ask who founded an organisation and when, or which reformer is linked to a reform. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. A table of organisation, founder, year and place covers most questions. Practise the socio-religious reform movements 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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