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

Statement I is correct. Gandhi's campaign against indenture, pursued alongside C.F. Andrews and Gokhale's push in the Legislative Council, forced the government to end the system, which was effectively abolished by 1921. Statement II is wrong. At Chelmsford's War Conference in 1918, Gandhi actually supported the recruitment resolution and offered to raise volunteers, hoping loyalty would earn political concessions. Statement III is correct in substance. After civil disobedience resumed in 1932, the government declared the Indian National Congress unlawful under emergency ordinances in January 1932. The Salt Law breach itself did not directly outlaw the Congress; the ban followed the wider movement, which was the trigger.

Core concept: Gandhi's strategy of conditional cooperation and then non-cooperation, which is central to Modern Indian History and to Mains questions on the nature of mass movements.

Trap: Aspirants often mark Statement II as correct because they assume Gandhi always opposed British war efforts, which ignores his 1918 stance.