UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 48 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on First Congress Presidents
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectModern History
- TopicIndian National Movement
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Consider the following statements:
1. The first woman President of the Indian National Congress was Sarojini Naidu.
2. The first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress was Badruddin Tyabji.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: B. 2 only
Verdict
The answer is 2 only. Badruddin Tyabji was the first Muslim President of the Congress, but Sarojini Naidu was not the first woman President.
Analysis
Statement 2 is CORRECT. Badruddin Tyabji presided over the Madras session of 1887, the third session of the Congress. Statement 1 is INCORRECT, and the distinction it turns on is nationality. Annie Besant, presiding at Calcutta in 1917, was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress. Sarojini Naidu, presiding at Kanpur in 1925, was the first Indian woman to hold the office.
Source
Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, page 384.
How to crack it
The trap here is a missing qualifier, and it is one of UPSC's favourite constructions in modern history. Whenever a statement claims a first, ask whether the record actually belongs to someone else once nationality, gender or category is specified precisely. First woman and first Indian woman are different records, as are first President and first elected President. Train yourself to insert the missing adjective and test whether the statement survives it.