Who among the following Governor Generals ridiculed congress for representing only a 'microscopic minority' of people?

The correct answer is A) Lord Dufferin. In his 1888 speech, Dufferin dismissed the Indian National Congress as a "microscopic minority" of the population, claiming it did not speak for India's masses. The remark reflected the official view that the Congress was an elite, English-educated body.

Why the others are wrong:

• Lord Curzon (1899-1905) was a sharp critic of nationalist politicians and carried out the partition of Bengal in 1905, but the "microscopic minority" remark is not attributed to him.
• Lord Minto (1905-1910) is linked with the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909, which introduced separate electorates for Muslims. That is a communal policy, not this jibe at the Congress.
• Lord Wessely is not a Governor General. The name appears to be a corruption of Lord Wellesley (Governor General 1798-1805), who predates the Congress by almost ninety years and so could not have commented on it.

Core concept: the colonial official attitude toward early nationalism and the strategy of divide and rule. This connects to Mains GS-1 on the emergence of nationalism and the Moderates and Extremists phases.

Trap: candidates pick Minto or Curzon because both are strongly linked with communalism or partition. Anchor this question to the specific 1888 quote.