Question

Who was the Congress President at the time when India became free?
A) Jawaharlal Nehru
B) V L Pandit
C) Sardar Patel
D) J B Kripalani

Answer 1

Hint: The Indian National Congress, also known as the Congress Party, is a broad-based Indian political party. The Indian National Congress, which was established in 1885, dominated the Indian movement for independence from Britain.

Complete answer:
After independence, the Indian National Congress party has influenced the majority of India's governments and has a powerful presence in many state governments. The President of the Indian National Congress is the highest command of the Indian National Congress.

Option A-Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian independence activist who later became the country's first Prime Minister, as well as a key role in Indian politics before and after independence. With the tacit permission of his mentor, Mahatma Gandhi, he became a key leader of the Indian National Congress's left-wing groups in the 1920s, and subsequently of the entire Congress. In 1929, as President of the Congress, Nehru argued for complete independence from the British Raj and sparked the party's dramatic leftward move. Thus, this option is incorrect.

Option B-Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first woman to be elected as the 6th Governor of Maharashtra and the 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly. In pre-independence India, Pandit was the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet position. She was elected to the United Provinces' provincial legislature in 1937 and appointed minister of local self-government and public health. Thus, this option is incorrect.

Option C-Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, also known as Sardar Patel, was a statesman from India. He was the country's first Deputy Prime Minister. He was a member of the Indian National Congress's conservative wing. During India's political integration and the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War, he served as Home Minister. Thus, this option is incorrect.

Option D-J B Kripalani was the President of the Congress at the time of India's independence. Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani also known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician and the husband of Sucheta Kripalani. He was best known for his presidency of the Indian National Congress during the 1947 power transition.

J B Kripalani was elected Congress President for the critical years around India's independence in 1947, despite ideological differences with both right-wing Vallabhbhai Patel and left-wing Jawaharlal Nehru. Jiwantram Bhagwandas Kripalani, known for his incorruptibility and commitment, was a Gandhian Socialist, environmentalist, mystic, and freedom fighter.

He was born in Hyderabad, Sindh, in 1888, and became the Congress president in 1946. Both Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were stern critics of Kripalani. He criticised Nehru's policies, which he believed were anti-Gandhi, and later Indira's policies as well. So we found that Option D- J B Kripalani is the right answer. Thus, J B Kripalani was the Congress President at the time when India became free.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘D’ i.e, ‘ J B Kripalani’.

Note: J B Kripalani resigned in 1947, shortly after Independence, when the party's equations began to change. This was the point at which the president of Congress lost his influence. Kripalani soon became a vocal opponent of his own political party.