Read the following statements (I & II) carefully:
I. Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) was established on September 1st, 1961 in Belgrade.
II. 25 countries attended First Summit, now there are 122 members in NAM.
Which of the following option is correct?

Question

Read the following statements (I & II) carefully: 
I. Drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference in 1955, the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) was established on September 1st, 1961 in Belgrade. 
II. 25 countries attended First Summit, now there are 122 members in NAM. 
Which of the following option is correct?

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

Statement I is factually accurate in all its components. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was indeed established based on the 'Ten Principles of Bandung' (also known as the Dasa Sila Bandung), which were agreed upon during the Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. These principles advocated for self-determination, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, and non-interference, forming the philosophical bedrock of Non-Alignment. Following this foundational conference, the formal establishment of NAM took place at the First Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government. This historic meeting was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), and convened on September 1st, 1961. Therefore, Statement I accurately traces the movement’s conceptual origins (Bandung, 1955) to its formal institutional birth (Belgrade, 1961), making the entire statement correct.

The incorrect option is 2:

Option 2 claims that only Statement II is correct. Statement II reads: "25 countries attended First Summit, now there are 122 members in NAM." This statement is partially correct but contains a critical factual error regarding the current membership count, rendering the entire statement incorrect. It is accurate that 25 developing countries formally participated in the First Belgrade Summit in 1961, affirming the principle of steering clear of the two major Cold War power blocs. However, the current membership count is widely recognized as 120 full member states. While some historical or older records might incorrectly cite 122 or include observers, the official count of full members is 120. Since a factual assertion in the statement is incorrect, the entire Statement II fails, meaning Option 2 cannot be the correct answer.

The incorrect option is 3:

Option 3 asserts that both Statement I and Statement II are correct. As established, Statement I is entirely accurate, recognizing the Bandung principles as the foundation and pinpointing the formal establishment to Belgrade on September 1, 1961. However, Statement II is incorrect because it contains the factual error concerning the current membership count of NAM. The current official membership of NAM consists of 120 member states, not 122. For an option claiming that "Both statements I & II are correct" to be true, both statements must be accurate in every detail. Since Statement II is flawed due to the inaccurate membership number, Option 3 must be rejected.

The incorrect option is 4:

Option 4 suggests that both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect. This is definitively false. As comprehensively detailed, Statement I—which defines the conceptual origin (Bandung 1955) and the formal launch date and location (Belgrade, September 1, 1961)—is completely accurate and aligns with the historical record of the Non-Aligned Movement. Since Statement I is correct, the assertion that "Both statements I & II are incorrect" is automatically invalid. While Statement II does contain a minor inaccuracy in the modern membership count (122 instead of 120), the foundational statement regarding NAM's establishment remains fundamentally true, ensuring that Option 4 is not the right choice.