Who among the following resigned from the Viceroy's Executive Council, saddened by the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?

Question

Who among the following resigned from the Viceroy's Executive Council, saddened by the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?

1. Chettur Sankaran Nair

2. Ishwari Prasad

3. Muhammad Shafi

4. Iqbal Narain Gurtu

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. 2 and 3
2. B. Only 4
3. C. 3 and 4
4. D. Only 1 (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Only 1

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 1.

Key Points

• Chettur Sankaran Nair resigned from the Viceroy's Executive Council in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 13 April 1919, giving option (d).
• He was the only Indian member of the Viceroy's Executive Council at the time, holding the Education portfolio, and his resignation was a significant act of protest from within the government itself.

Additional Information

• Sir C. Sankaran Nair had earlier been President of the Indian National Congress at its Amraoti session in 1897 — the only Malayali to hold that office — and was a judge of the Madras High Court.
• He later wrote "Gandhi and Anarchy" (1922), in which he held Michael O'Dwyer, Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, responsible for the atrocities. O'Dwyer sued him for libel in London, and Nair lost the case in 1924 but refused to apologise.
• Other protests against the massacre: Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood, and Mahatma Gandhi returned the Kaiser-i-Hind medal.
• The massacre was ordered by General Reginald Dyer at the Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, during a gathering protesting the Rowlatt Act. The Hunter Committee was appointed to inquire into it, and the Congress set up its own committee. The event led directly to the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22).