During Indian freedom struggle, the National Social Conference was formed. What was the reason for its formation?

During Indian freedom struggle, the National Social Conference was…

Different social reform groups or organizations of Bengal region united to form a single body to discuss the issues of larger interest and to prepare appropriate petitions/representations to the government.
Indian National Congress did not want to include social reforms in its deliberations and decided to form a separate body for such a purpose.
Behramji Malabari and M.G. Ranade decided to bring together all the social reform groups of the country under one organization.
None of the statements (a), (b) and (c) given above is correct in this context.

Answer

(a) Incorrect. The National Social Conference was not a Bengal-only federation formed mainly for petitions to government; it was conceived as a broader all-India social reform platform.
(b) Incorrect. This is partly misleading. Though the Congress generally kept social reform separate from its political agenda, the Conference was not formed simply because Congress formally decided to create a separate body for that purpose.
(c) Correct. The National Social Conference was associated with M.G. Ranade and Raghunath Rao, and UPSC keys this option through the idea that leading reformers sought to bring social reform groups onto a common national platform; despite the mention of Behramji Malabari, this is the closest correct statement.
(d) Incorrect. Since (c) is accepted as correct, this option fails.

Answer: (c)