NATIONALISM IN INDIA IMPORTANT NOTES

Important Notes

1. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in ________.,(B) January 1915.

2. Who organized the Dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930?,(A) B.R. Ambedkar.

3. Which of the following statements is true about the Rowlatt Act (1919)?,(C) It allowed the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

4. What was one of the main reasons behind Mahatma Gandhi's decision to take up the Khilafat Issue?,(A) To bring more unity among Hindus and Muslims.

5. Who is the author of the book Hind Swaraj (1909)?,(D) Mahatma Gandhi.

6. At which Congress session was the Non-Cooperation programme adopted in December 1920?,(C) Nagpur.

7. Swaraj Party was formed by_____.,(C) C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru.

"8. Under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress Session of 1929 formalized the demand of______.",(B) 'Purna Swaraj' or complete independence.

"9. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to______.",(A) Leave the tea gardens without permission.

10. Who among the following wrote the Vande Mataram?,(B) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

II. Short and Long Answer Type Questions (SA/LA)

1. The Idea of Satyagraha

Q. What is meant by the idea of Satyagraha?

Ans. The idea of Satyagraha emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It suggested that: 1. If the cause was true and the struggle was against injustice, then physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. 2. A satyagrahi could win the battle through non-violence by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor. 3. The truth was bound to triumph ultimately through this method. Mahatma Gandhi believed this "dharma of non-violence" could unite all Indians.

Q. Name two main 'Satyagraha' movements organized by Mahatma Gandhi successfully in favour of peasants in 1916 and 1917.

Ans. The two main Satyagraha movements were: 1. Champaran Satyagraha (1916): Organized in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive indigo plantation system. 2. Kheda Satyagraha (1917): Organized in Gujarat in support of peasants who could not pay the revenue due to crop failure and a plague epidemic, demanding that revenue collection be relaxed.

2. The First World War, Khilafat, and Non-Cooperation

Q. Explain any three facts about the new economic situation created in India by the First World War.

Ans. The First World War (1914-1918) created a new economic and political situation in India: 1. Increased Taxation and Debt: The war led to a huge increase in defence expenditure, which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes. Customs duties were increased, and income tax was introduced. 2. Price Hike and Hardship: Prices doubled between 1913 and 1918, leading to extreme hardship for the common people. 3. Forced Recruitment: Forced recruitment of rural people into the army caused widespread anger in villages. 4. Famines and Epidemics: Crop failures in many parts of India, coupled with the influenza epidemic, resulted in an acute shortage of food. About 12 to 13 million people perished.

Q. Why were Indians outraged by the Rowlatt Act (1919)?

Ans. The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly by the Imperial Legislative Council despite the strong opposition of Indian members. It outraged Indians because: 1. It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities. 2. It allowed the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years, severely curtailing civil liberties.

Q. What were the reasons for starting the Khilafat Movement?

Ans. The Khilafat movement was started because: 1. There were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman Emperor (the Khalifa), the spiritual head of the Islamic world, after the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in the First World War. 2. A Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919 under the leadership of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali to defend the Khalifa's temporal powers. 3. Mahatma Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to unite Hindus and Muslims under a common cause against the British and convinced the Congress to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Swaraj and Khilafat at the Calcutta session in September 1920.

Q. Why did Mahatma Gandhi decide to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922?

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the movement because: 1. He felt the movement was turning violent in many places and was deviating from the path of Satyagraha. 2. The Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922 in Gorakhpur, UP, where protestors clashed with police and set a police station on fire, resulting in the death of policemen, was a direct contradiction to his principle of non-violence. 3. He felt the satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they could be ready for mass struggles.

3. Non-Cooperation in the Countryside

Q. How did the Non-Cooperation Movement spread to the countryside? Explain the role of any two social groups.

Ans. The movement spread to the countryside, encompassing various groups with different interpretations of 'Swaraj':

Peasants in Awadh: Led by Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi. Their struggle was against talukdars and landlords who demanded high rents and a variety of other taxes (begar). They demanded the reduction of revenue, abolition of begar (unpaid labour), and the social boycott of oppressive landlords.

Tribal Peasants in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh: A militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s under the leadership of Alluri Sitaram Raju. They were enraged by the Forest Act, which prevented them from entering forests to graze their cattle or collect fuelwood and fruits, affecting their traditional livelihoods and rights. Raju persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking, but he believed that the use of force was necessary to achieve liberation.

Plantation Workers in Assam: For them, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. It meant retaining a link with the village from which they had come. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, they were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission. When they heard of the movement, thousands left the estates, but were stranded on the way.

4. Civil Disobedience Movement

Q. How did Salt March become an effective tool of resistance against colonialism? Explain the main features.

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation. Its effectiveness was based on the following features: 1. Symbolic Power: Salt was consumed by the rich and the poor alike, making it an essential item. The tax on salt and the government's monopoly over its production revealed the most oppressive face of British rule. 2. The Dandi March: Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands, including the demand to abolish the salt tax. With Irwin's refusal, Gandhi started the Salt March (or Dandi March) on March 12, 1930, from Sabarmati Ashram with 78 volunteers. 3. Violation of Law: The march covered 240 miles in 24 days. On April 6, 1930, Gandhi ceremonially violated the law by manufacturing a fistful of salt at Dandi. 4. Mass Movement: This act marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement. People broke thesalt law in different parts of the country, foreign cloth was boycotted, and liquor shops were picketed, demonstrating a widespread resolve against colonial rule.

Q. How did women participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement?

Ans. The participation of women was one of the most significant features of the Civil Disobedience Movement: 1. Mass Participation: There was large-scale participation of women. 2. Active Role: They participated in the Salt March, took part in protest marches, and were instrumental in picketing foreign cloth and liquor shops. 3. Imprisonment: Many women went to jail. 4. Public Role: In urban areas, women from high-caste families participated, while in rural areas, they came from rich peasant households. For many, public service became the sacred duty of women, elevating their status in the national struggle.

5. Sense of Collective Belonging

Q. How did a variety of cultural processes play an important role in creating a sense of collective belonging and making Nationalism in India?

Ans. The sense of collective belonging was forged through cultural processes that reinterpreted history and created symbols: 1. The Image of Bharat Mata: In the twentieth century, the image of Bharat Mata came to represent the identity of the nation. It was first created by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and later painted by Abanindranath Tagore. This image, often portrayed as a serene, ascetic figure, inspired devotion to the Motherland. 2. Revival of Folklore: Nationalists collected folk tales, folk songs, and legends to discover the true picture of traditional Indian culture, which they felt had been damaged by foreign rule. This folklore, carried by bards, gave a true sense of the people's national identity. 3. The National Flag: The design of the national flag, such as the Swaraj Flag (designed by Gandhi in 1921—a tricolour of red, green, and white with a spinning wheel in the centre), became a symbol of defiance and the nation's self-reliance. 4. Reinterpretation of History: Indian writers began to write about the glorious developments in ancient India in art, science, and law. This reinterpretation instilled a sense of pride in India's great past and urged the people to struggle to change the miserable conditions of modern life.

S. No.,Place,State,Year/Month

1.,Calcutta,West Bengal,September 1920

2.,Nagpur,Maharashtra,December 1920

3.,Madras,Tamil Nadu,1927

4.,Lahore,Pakistan (Pre-Partition India),1929

S. No.,Place,State,Significance

1.,Champaran,Bihar,Movement of Indigo Planters (1917)

2.,Kheda,Gujarat,Peasant Satyagraha (1918)

3.,Ahmedabad,Gujarat,Cotton Mill Workers Satyagraha (1918)

4.,Amritsar,Punjab,Jallianwala Bagh Incident (1919)

5.,Chauri Chaura,Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur),Calling off of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1922)

6.,Dandi,Gujarat,Place where Gandhiji broke the Salt Law / Civil Disobedience Movement (1930)