With reference to Indian freedom struggle which one among the following events occurred earliest ?

The Lucknow Pact occurred earliest among the given events, taking place in 1916 [t2][t6]. It was a landmark agreement between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League to jointly demand political reforms from the British [t2]. Chronologically, the other events followed much later: the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed on March 5, 1931, to end the first phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement [c1][c3][t5]. The August Offer was proposed by Viceroy Linlithgow in 1940 during World War II to secure Indian cooperation [c2][t7]. Finally, the Cripps Mission proposals were presented in March 1942, offering dominion status and a constituent assembly after the war, which were subsequently rejected by Indian leaders [c2][t10]. Therefore, the Lucknow Pact (1916) is the earliest event.

Sources

1. [1] https://www.jaincollege.ac.in/blogs/list-of-important-indian-freedom-movements
2. [2] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > Fig. 11.17 > p. 314
3. [3] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 19: Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences > Gandhi-Irwin Pact > p. 379
4. [4] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Appendices ✫ 823 > p. 823