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UPSC CDS 1 2021 GK Paper

Question : 107 of 120

Marks: +1, -0

Who founded the Central Hindu School at Benaras which was later developed into Benaras Hindu University ?

Madan Mohan Malaviya
Annie Besant
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Madame H.P. Blavatsky

Solution:

Concept:

The Central Hindu School in Varanasi was founded by a prominent theosophist and social reformer before being handed over for the establishment of Banaras Hindu University.

Explanation:

Annie Besant, an Irish theosophist and women's rights activist, founded the Central Hindu College in 1898 in Varanasi.

She later gifted this college to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Malaviya used it as the foundation to establish the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916.

Annie Besant also co-founded the Home Rule League with Lokmanya Tilak in 1916.

She became the first woman president of the Indian National Congress in 1917.

The other options are not correct:

• Madan Mohan Malaviya is credited with founding BHU but did not start the Central Hindu College.

• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a social reformer known for widow remarriage and Bengali alphabet reform.

• Madame H.P. Blavatsky co-founded the Theosophical Society but not the Central Hindu School.

The detailed profiles of each individual are provided below.

Madan Mohan Malaviya	He is remembered for his role in ending the Indian indenture system, especially in the Caribbean. He was given the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Rabindranath Tagore and the second President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan gave him the status of a ‘Karmayogi’. He worked immensely for Hindu-Muslim unity. He is known to have given famous speeches on communal harmony. He helped establish the Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Society of Hindus”) in 1906, which brought diverse local Hindu nationalist movements together.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar	He was a philosopher, academic educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. He introduced the practice of widow remarriage and pushed for the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856. He reconstructed the Bengali alphabet called 'Borno Porichoy' (Character Identification) and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet (actually abugida) of twelve vowels and forty consonants. He received the title of 'Vidyasagar' which means Ocean of Knowledge from Sanskrit College, Calcutta, due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy.
Madame H.P. Blavatsky	The Theosophical Society was founded in the United States by Madam H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel H.S. Olcott, who later came to India and founded the headquarters of the Society at Adyar near Madras in 1886.

Answer:

Annie Besant

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