Women in the freedom struggle and reform — UPSC Prelims PYQs

11 questions in this bank come from Women in the freedom struggle and reform, spanning UPSC Prelims papers from 2011 to 2025. Every question here carries all four options, the correct answer and a full explanation.

It has appeared in 9 of the last 16 papers, most heavily in 2021 with 3 questions. That is a steady presence rather than a guaranteed one.

The themes examined most often within it are Women's contributions in the Indian freedom struggle (6), Women's rights and education in India (3), Political contributions of key figures (2), age of consent laws in India (1) and British Crown Administration of India (1). Those counts are of questions in which the theme is examined, not merely mentioned.

Between them they draw on 9 distinct themes, so this is a broader area than a single revision note can cover. That is 0.8% of the 1433 questions in the bank — useful for deciding how much revision time it deserves.

It has come up more often lately — roughly 1.0 questions a year across the last five papers, against 0.6 before that.

It was not examined in 7 of those papers. Each question below links to its full explanation and to related questions on the same theme from other years, so a weak area can be worked through in one pass rather than hunted for paper by paper.

UPSC Prelims 20251 question

History
Who provided legal defence to the people arrested in the aftermath of Chauri Chaura incident?

UPSC Prelims 20221 question

History
Consider the following freedom fighters: 1. Barindra Kumar Ghosh 2. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee 3. Rash Behari Bose Who of the above was/were actively associated with the Ghadar Party?

UPSC Prelims 20213 questions

UPSC Prelims 20201 question

History
In the context of Indian history, the Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around: 1. women’s right to gain education 2. age of consent 3. restitution of conjugal rights Select the correct answer using the code given below:

UPSC Prelims 20191 question

History
With reference to the British colonial rule in India, consider the following statements: 1. Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in the abolition of the system of ‘indentured labour’. 2. In Lord Chelmsford’s War Conference’, Mahatma Gandhi did not support the resolution on recruiting Indians for World War. 3. Consequent upon the breaking of the Salt Law by the Indian people, the Indian National Congress was declared illegal by the colonial rulers. Which of the statements given above are correct?

UPSC Prelims 20171 question

History
With reference to Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events: 1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy 2. Quit India Movement launched 3. Second Round Table Conference What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?

UPSC Prelims 20161 question

History
The plan of Sir Stafford Cripps envisaged that after the Second World War:

UPSC Prelims 20121 question

History
Which of the following parties were established by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar? 1. The Peasants and Workers Party of India. 2. All India Scheduled Castes Federation. 3. The Independent Labour Party. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

UPSC Prelims 20111 question

History
With reference to Indian freedom struggle, Usha Mehta is well-known for: