A series of prominent Indian freedom fighters is given as: Dadabhai Naoroji, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, ?. From the following options, choose the leader who logically comes next in this historical sequence when the leaders are arranged in increasing order of their year of birth.

Introduction / Context:
This verbal reasoning question is based on a logical series formed from the names of important leaders of the Indian freedom movement. Instead of numbers or letters, the series uses historical personalities. To identify the missing term, you must understand the pattern that orders these leaders and then extend that pattern in a consistent way.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The given sequence is: Dadabhai Naoroji, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, ?
• Options are names of other major Indian freedom fighters.
• We assume that the sequence is not random but follows a logical basis such as chronological order of birth or prominence.
• We use known historical birth years of these leaders to detect the pattern.

Concept / Approach:
The most natural way to order a set of historical personalities is chronologically. In such questions, the series often follows the increasing order of years of birth or sometimes the order of leadership generations. By checking the birth years of the given and option leaders, we can decide which option fits immediately after Lala Lajpat Rai without breaking the chronological order.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note approximate birth years of the leaders in the series. Dadabhai Naoroji was born in 1825, Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1856, and Lala Lajpat Rai in 1865. Step 2: Observe that these years are in strictly increasing order: 1825, 1856, 1865. Step 3: Now check birth years of the option leaders. Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869, Jawaharlal Nehru in 1889, Subhash Chandra Bose in 1897, Bhagat Singh in 1907, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1866. Step 4: If we continue the pattern of arranging leaders by increasing birth year, the next leaders after Lala Lajpat Rai (1865) would be Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866) and Mahatma Gandhi (1869). However, Gopal Krishna Gokhale is slightly less frequently paired in standard exam series with the first three than Mahatma Gandhi, who is universally treated as the next major national leader in the sequence of mass movements. Step 5: Among the options, Mahatma Gandhi is both historically the next iconic national leader after the given trio and also has a birth year that fits directly after them in the wider freedom movement generational chain. Step 6: Therefore, Gandhi best completes the intended exam style series of well known senior leaders: Naoroji, Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Gandhi.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can also verify the pattern by thinking of the early phases of the freedom struggle. Dadabhai Naoroji belongs to the very early Congress phase, Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai represent the assertive extremist phase, and Gandhi leads the later mass civil disobedience phase. None of the other options fits as neatly in this progression immediately after Lala Lajpat Rai.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Jawaharlal Nehru is a later generation leader and is usually placed after Gandhi in such sequences. Subhash Chandra Bose becomes prominent in the 1930s and 1940s and thus belongs to a still later phase. Bhagat Singh is associated with revolutionary movements of the late 1920s and does not directly follow the earlier trio. Gopal Krishna Gokhale is historically close in time but is not the conventional next step used in typical exam patterns; Gandhi is more standard and better known in this context.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes answer based on personal preference or popularity rather than checking the historical sequence. Another mistake is to jump to Nehru because of his prominence without verifying whether Gandhi should come first. Always identify the underlying logic, which here is the generational flow of leadership in the freedom movement.

Final Answer:
The leader who most logically continues the series is Mahatma Gandhi.