Nationalism in India Chapter 2 CBSE Class 10 History Notes

Vishal Kumar 06/01/202206/01/2022

Contents Find In This Post

CBSE Class 10 History Notes With Question Answers Chapter 2 – Nationalism in India

Indian nationalism, developed as a concept during the Indian independence movement fought against the colonial British Raj. In this chapter, students will get to know the story from the 1920s and study about the nonCooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements. Students will also get to explore how Congress sought to develop the national movement, how different social groups participated in the movement, and how nationalism captured the imagination of people. Learn more about Nationalism in India by exploring CBSE Class 10 History Notes Chapter 2. These CBSE notes are comprehensive and detailed, yet concise enough to glance through for exam preparations.

The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

In India, the growth of modern nationalism is connected to the anti-colonial movement. Due to colonialism, many different groups shared bonds together, which were forged by the Congress under Mahatma Gandhi.

The war created a new economic and political situation in the years after 1919. Income tax introduced and the prices of custom duties were doubled between 1913 and 1918, which led to a very difficult life for common people. In 1918-19 crops failed in India, resulting in shortage of food accompanied by an influenza epidemic. At this stage, a new leader appeared and suggested a new mode of struggle.

The Idea of Satyagraha

In January 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa and started the movement Satyagraha. Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to search for truth. According to Mahatma Gandhi, people can win a battle with non-violence which will unite all Indians. In 1917, he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system. In the same year, he organised satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.

The Rowlatt Act

In 1919, Mahatma Gandhi launched a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act. The Act gives the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. The British government decided to clamp down on nationalists by witnessing the outrage of the people. On April 10th, police in Amritsar fired on a peaceful procession, which provoked widespread attacks on banks, post offices and railway stations. Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command.

On 13th April, the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place. A large crowd gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh where a few people came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures, while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. General Dyer blocked all the exit points and opened fire on the crowd killing hundreds. After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, people became furious and went on strikes, clashes with police and attacks on government buildings. Mahatma Gandhi had to call off the movement as it was turning into a violent war.

Mahatma Gandhi then took up the Khilafat issue by bringing Hindus and Muslims together. The First World War ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. In March 1919, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay. In September 1920, Mahatma Gandhi convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.

Why Non-cooperation?

According to Mahatma Gandhi, British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians. Non-cooperation movement is proposed in stages. It should begin with the surrender of titles that the government awarded and a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools and foreign goods. After many hurdles and campaigning between the supporters and opponents of the movement, finally, in December 1920, the Non-Cooperation Movement was adopted.

Differing Strands within the Movement

In January 1921, the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began. In this movement, various social groups participated, but the term meant different things to different people.

The Movement in the Towns

The middle-class started the movement and thousands of students, teachers, headmasters left government-controlled schools and colleges, lawyers gave up their legal practices. In the economic front, the effects of non-cooperation were more dramatic. The production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up when people started boycotting foreign goods. However, this movement slowed down due to a variety of reasons such as Khadi clothes are expensive, less Indian institutions for students and teachers to choose from, so they went back to government schools and lawyers joined back government courts.

Rebellion in the Countryside

The Non-Cooperation Movement spread to the countryside where peasants and tribals were developing in different parts of India. The peasant movement started against talukdars and landlords who demanded high rents and a variety of other cesses. It demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.

Jawaharlal Nehru in June 1920, started going around the villages in Awadh to understand their grievances. In October, he along with few others set up the Oudh Kisan Sabha and within a month 300 branches had been set up. In 1921, the peasant movement spread and the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted and grain boards were taken over.

In the early 1920s, a militant guerrilla movement started spreading in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh. The government started closing down forest areas due to which their livelihood was affected. Finally, the hill people revolted, which was led by Alluri Sitaram Raju who claimed that he had a variety of special powers.

Swaraj in the Plantations

For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant right to move freely in and out and retaining a link with the village from which they had come. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission. After they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers left the plantations and headed home. But, unfortunately, they never reached their destination and were caught by the police and brutally beaten up.

Towards Civil Disobedience

In February 1922, the Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn because Mahatma Gandhi felt that it was turning violent. Some of the leaders wanted to participate in elections to the provincial councils. Swaraj Party was formed by CR Das and Motilal Nehru. In the late 1920s Indian politics again shaped because of two factors. The first effect was the worldwide economic depression and the second effect was the falling agricultural prices. The Statutory Commission was set up to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes. In 1928, Simon Commission arrived in India and it was greeted by the slogan ‘Go back Simon’. In December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand of ‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It was declared that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as Independence Day.

The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement

On 31 January 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Among the demands, the most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax which is consumed by the rich and the poor. The demands needed to be fulfilled by 11 March or else Congress would start a civil disobedience campaign. The famous salt march was started by Mahatma Gandhi accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march was over 240 miles, from Gandhiji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April he reached Dandi, and ceremonially violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling seawater. This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The movement spread across the world and salt law was broken in different parts of the country. Foreign cloth was boycotted, peasants refused to pay revenue and in many places, forest law was violated. In April 1930, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a devout disciple of Mahatma Gandhi was arrested. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested a month later which led to attacks to all structures that symbolised British rule. By witnessing the horrific situation, Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the movement and entered into a pact with Irwin on 5 March 1931. Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London. When the conference broke down, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India disappointed and relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement. It continued for almost a year, but by 1934 it lost its momentum.

How Participants saw the Movement

The Patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. They became enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement. But they were deeply disappointed when the movement was called off in 1931. So when the movement was restarted in 1932, many of them refused to participate. The poorer peasants joined a variety of radical movements, often led by Socialists and Communists.

To organise business interests, the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927 was formed. The industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was first launched. Some of the industrial workers did participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1930 and 1932 railway workers and dock workers were on strike.

Another important feature of the Civil Disobedience Movement was the large-scale participation of women. But, for a long time, Congress was reluctant to allow women to hold any position of authority within the organisation.

The Limits of Civil Disobedience

Dalits, addressed as untouchables were not moved by the concept of Swaraj. Mahatma Gandhi used to call them harijans or the children of God, without whom swaraj could not be achieved. He organised satyagraha for the untouchables but they were keen on a different political solution to the problems of the community. They demanded reserved seats in educational institutions and a separate electorate.

Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who organised the Dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930, clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding separate electorates for Dalits. The Poona Pact of September 1932, gave the Depressed Classes (later to be known as the Scheduled Castes) reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils. After the decline of the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat movement, Muslims felt alienated from the Congress due to which the relations between Hindus and Muslims worsened.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was willing to give up the demand for separate electorates if Muslims were assured reserved seats in the Central Assembly and representation in proportion to population in the Muslim-dominated provinces. Nevertheless, the hope of resolving the issue at the All Parties Conference in 1928 disappeared when M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed efforts at compromise.

The Sense of Collective Belonging

Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism. Finally, in the twentieth century, the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay created the image and in the 1870s he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland.

Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata portrayed as an ascetic figure; she is calm, composed, divine and spiritual. In late-nineteenth-century India, nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends. During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed which had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims. By 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag, a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre, representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help.

Conclusion

In the first half of the twentieth century, various groups and classes of Indians came together for the struggle of independence. The Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi attempted to resolve differences and ensure that the demands of one group did not alienate another. In other words, what was emerging was a nation with many voices wanting freedom from colonial rule.

Nationalism in India Key Facts

Modern nationalism in Europe led to the formation of nation-states, sense of belonging, new symbols and icons, new songs and it also redefined the boundaries of communities. In India, as in Vietnam and many other colonies, the growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement.
In the years after 1919, the First World War created a new economic and political situation. People thought that their problems would end after the war but it did not happen. Rather they suffered a lot for several reasons.
The people of India wanted to get rid of he British colonial government. Mahatma Gandhi became their leader and the struggle for independence of India intensified.
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 from South Africa where he had fought the racist regime with a novel method of mass agitation, which he called Satyagraha. Satyagraha means following the path of truth and non-violence to attain freedom and fight against injustice. It was the philosophy of non-violent resistance adopted by Gandhi to end the British Raj in India. The idea of Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and need to search for truth. Satyagraha advocated that for true cause and struggle against injustice, physical force is not required to fight with the oppressor. Without being aggressive, a satyagrahi could win the battle through non-violence.
Mahatma Gandhi adopted this method in India too and organised Satyagraha movements in various places such as Champaran in Bihar, Kheda in Gujarat etc. These movements proved to be successful.
The Rowlatt Act gave the British government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed imprisonment of political prisoners without trial for two years.
Mahatma Gandhi now decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha. Rallies were organised in various cities, workers went on strike in railway workshops and shops were closed down.
Alarmed by the popular upsurge, the British government decided to clamp down on nationalists. On 10 April, the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession provoking widespread attacks on banks, post offices and railway stations. Martial Law was imposed and General Dyer took the command.
On 13 April, 1919 in Amritsar, a group of people was fired in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh, by the orders of General Dyer. Hundreds of innocent people were killed. This agitated Indian minds that resulted in strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings.
Seeing violence spread, Mahatma Gandhi immediately called off the movement and decided to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
In the First World War, Ottoman Turkey was defeated and a harsh peace treaty was imposed on the Ottoman emperor—the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa). To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March, 1919.
A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue.
Mahatma Gandhi saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement.
To unite Hindus and Muslims, Gandhiji decided to start the Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj, at the Calcutta session of the Congress in September, 1920.
The Non-Cooperation–Khilafat Movement began in January 1921. Various social groups participated in this movement.
The movement affected the economy of the British. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, dropping from ` 102 crore to ` 57 crore. Merchants and traders began to refuse to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread and people began discarding imported clothes and started wearing only Indian ones, production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.
But the movement in the cities gradually slowed down for several reasons, the boycott of British institutions posed a problem. For the movement to be successful, alternative Indian institutions had to be set up so that they could be used in place of the British ones. These were slow to come up. So, students and teachers began to join back the government schools and lawyers joined the government courts.
From the cities, the Non-cooperation movement spread to the countryside. In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra, a Sanyasi. Here peasants had to do begar (forced to contribute without any payment) and work at landlords’ farms without any payment. This made their condition miserable.
In June 1920, Jawaharlal Nehru approached villagers to understand their grievances.
By October, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba Ramchandra. Soon the Non-cooperation Movement and Awadh peasant struggle became popular. As the movement spread in 1921, the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked. Bazaars were looted and grain stores were taken over.
Gandhiji declared that no taxes were to be paid and land was to be redistributed among the poor.
Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Swaraj in another way. In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, for instance, a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s. It was done to oppose the ban which the colonial government had imposed on the hill people.
The hill people were prohibited from entering the forests to graze their cattle or to collect fuelwood and fruits. As a result, they got enraged. They felt that they were denied of their traditional rights.
When they were forced to contribute begar for road building, they finally revolted. They attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials and carried on guerrilla war for achieving Swaraj.
Plantation workers in Assam who were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission, thought swaraj meant—the right to move freely in and out of the restricted space, retaining a link with the village from where they had come and everyone getting land in their own villages.
In February 1922, at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, a peaceful demonstration in a bazaar turned into a violent clash with the police. Hearing of the incident, Mahatma Gandhi immediately called off the Non-Cooperation Movement. Now, the Indian leaders began to work for full independence.
In December 1929, under Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress solemnised the demand of ‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It was declared that 26 January, 1930 would be celebrated as the Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for complete independence. But the celebration attracted very little attention.
Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Salt March (Dandi March) accompanied by 78 followers, from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April he reached Dandi, and openly violated the salt law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water. This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Different social groups participated in this movement. People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British, as they had done in 1921-29, but also to break colonial laws. Thousands in different parts of the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of government salt factories.
Worried by the developments, the colonial government began arresting the Congress leaders one by one. This led to violent clashes in many places.
In the meanwhile Mahatma Gandhi himself was arrested. This provoked the industrial workers in Sholapur who attacked police posts, municipal buildings, law courts and railway stations. The government, however, responded with a policy of brutal repression.
Gandhiji again called off the movement and signed a pact with Irwin on 5 March, 1931 according to which he agreed to participate in a Round Table Conference in London.
In December 1931, Gandhiji went to London for the conference, but the discussions went futile and he returned disappointed.
Back in India, he discovered that the government had begun a new cycle of repression.
Ghaffar Khan and Jawahar Lal Nehru were both in jail and the Congress had been declared illegal.
With great apprehension Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement. This time people did not show much enthusiasm.
Prominent industrialists like Purshottam Das Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, the industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement financially when it was first launched. But when it was restarted they showed their reluctance due to the failure of the Round Table Conference.
The Industrial working classes too did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement in large numbers.
However, women participated in the movement on large scale. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops.
But the nation’s untouchables did not participate in the Movement. It was because the Congress had ignored them for long for fear of offending the conservative high-caste Hindus. But Mahatma Gandhi wanted to uproot untouchability.
Many dalit leaders stressed on demanding reserved seats in educational institutions, and a separate electorate that would choose dalit members for legislative councils. Dr B.R. Ambedkar organised the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930 and supported demands of dalits. But Mahatma Gandhi opposed it saying that separate electorates for dalits would slow down the process of their integration into society.
Gandhiji began a fast unto death. Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji’s point and it resulted in the Poona Pact of September, 1932. It gave the depressed classes (later to be known as the Schedule Castes) reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils, but they were to be voted in by the general electorate.
Some of the Muslim political organisations in India were also lukewarm in their response to the Civil Disobedience Movement. After the decline of the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat movement, a large section of Muslims felt separated from the Congress. From the mid 1920s the Congress openly started Hindu religious nationalist groups like the Hindu Mahasabha. This worsened the relations between Hindus and Muslims. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League, agreed to quit the demand for separate electorates, if Muslims were guaranteed reserved seats in the Central Assembly and representation in the Muslim-dominated provinces (Bengal and Punjab). But all hopes dashed in 1928 when M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed to compromise. Many Muslim leaders and intellectuals now expressed their concern about the states of Muslims as a minority within India. They feared that the culture and identity of minorities would be submerged under the domination of a Hindu majority.
Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation, when they discover some unity that binds them together.
This sense of collective belonging came partly through the experience of united struggles.
At the same time history and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols also played an important role in spreading nationalism.
The identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. The image of Bharat Mata acquired many different forms, as it circulated in popular prints and was painted by different artists. Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as evidence of one’s nationalism.
Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive Indian folklore. It was essential to preserve folk tradition in order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pride in one’s past.
During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.
By 1921, Gandhiji had designed the swaraj flag. It was again a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a shinning wheel in the centre, representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help. Carrying the flag, holding it aloft, during marches became a symbol of defiance.
Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. The British saw Indians as backward and primitive. In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India’s great achievements. They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, etc. had flourished. This glorious time was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalists urged the readers to struggle against the British to restore their glorious past.

Words that Matter

Rowlatt Act: The Act empowered the government to imprison a person without a trial.
Satyagraha: Following the path of truth and non-violence.
Khadi: Indian handmade cotton cloth.
Dandi March: Famous Salt March (Dandi March) by Gandhi from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi.
Forced Recruitment: The colonial state forced people to join the army.
Boycott: The refusal to participate in activities, or buy and use things. It is usually a form of protest.
Begar: Peasants were forced to work in landlords’ field without any payment of wages.
Swaraj: The word swaraj is comprised of ‘swa’ and ‘raj’. The word ‘swa’ means ‘self’ and ‘raj’ means ‘rule’ which together means ‘self-government’.
Purna Swaraj: Complete independence.
Harijan: The men of God, the name given to the ‘untouchables’ or dalits (oppressed) by Mahatma Gandhi.
Picket: Blocking the entrance to a shop, factory or office.

Important Date

1918–1919: Peasant movement in U.P.
1919: The Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
1919: Hartal (Strike) against the Rowlatt Act.
1921: Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movement launched.
1922: Chauri Chaura incident, withdrawal of Non-Cooperation Movement. 6. 1928: Simon Commission was set up in India.
December 1929: Lahore Congress adopted demands for Purna Swaraj.
1930: Civil Disobedience Movement was started by breaking salt law at Dandi. 9. 1931: Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
1931: End of Civil Disobedience Movement, Poona Pact signed.
1932: Civil Disobedience Movement relaunched.

NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED

Write in Brief

Question- 1. Explain:

Question – (a) Why growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement?

Ans. (a) In several colonies including India the growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement. People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together.

Question – (b) How the First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India?

Ans. (b) – The First World War created a new economic and political situation. It led to a huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes. Custom duties were raised and income tax was introduced. Through the war years prices increased leading to extreme hardships for the common mass. Villages were called upon for supply of soldiers. Forced recruitment in rural areas caused widespread anger. Acute shortages of food due to failure of crops in several parts of India in 1918-19 and 1920-21 made the life of the common people miserable. People hoped that their hardships would end after the war was over. But that did not happen. All this helped in the growth of the national movement in the country.

Question – (c) Why Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act?

Ans. (c) – The Rowlatt Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. This enraged Indians.

Question – (d) Why Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement?

Ans. (d) – In February 1922, at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, a peaceful demonstration in a bazaar turned into a violent clash with the police. In this incident several British police officers were killed. Hearing of this incident, Mahatma Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement. He thought the movement was turning violent which he never approved in any circumstances.

Question 2. What is meant by the idea of Satyagraha?

Ans. When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January, 1915 he started a Satya graha movement in India in various places.

Satyagraha comprised of two Sanskrit words Satya and agraha. Satya means truth and agraha means path. Thus Satyagraha means following the path of truth and non-violence to attain freedom and fight against injustice.
It is the philosophy of non-violent resistance adopted by Gandhiji to end the British Raj in India.
The idea of Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and need to search for truth.
Satyagraha advocated that for true cause and struggle against injustice, physical force is not required to fight with the oppressor.
Without being aggressive, a satyagrahi could win battle through non-violence.

Question – 3. Write a newspaper report on:

Question – (a) The Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre

Ans. (a) 14 April, Amritsar (By HT Correspondent)

Today I visited the Jallianwalla Bagh here. Yesterday this place had witnessed the ghastly scene which exposed cruelty of the colonial government in India. A crowd had gathered here to listen to their leaders who were to attend the meeting to show their protest against the repressive laws. Suddenly, General Dyer came with armed troops and closed the only exit and ordered the troops to fire on the crowd. Hundreds of innocent people were killed. This agitated Indian minds resulting in strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings.

Question – (b) The Simon Commission.

Ans. (b) 4 February 1928, Bengal (By TOI Correspondent)

A Statutory Commission under Sir John Simon set up in India in 1928 is in response to the nationalist movement and to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes. But the commission has only British members, no Indian members. This was followed by a strike in Bengal on February 3rd, 1928. So when the Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928, it was greeted with the slogan ‘Go back, Simon’. To pacify Indians, the Viceroy Lord Irwin, announced in October 1929 ‘dominion status’ for India in an unspecified future, and a Round Table Conference was held to discuss a future constitution.

Question – 4. Compare the images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania in Chapter 1.

Ans. Bharat Mata

Bharat Mata	Germania
The image of Bharat Mata created by Abanindranath Tagore is portrayed as an ascetic figure. She is calm, composed, divine and spiritual. Another image of Bharat Mata is shown with a trishul, standing beside a lion and an elephant–both symbols of power and authority.	Germania was the symbol of the German nation. She is depicted as a female figure standing against a background where beams of sunlight shine through the tricolour fabric of the national flag. Germania is wearing a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism.

Extra Questions In Textbook

Question -1. List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921.Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they joined the movement.

Ans. Different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921 are given below:

(i) Teachers and students

(ii) Merchants and traders

(iii) Lawyers

(iv) Countryside peasants

(v) Tribal peasants

(vi) Plantation workers in Assam

(vii) Nai and Dhobi.

(i) Teachers and students: Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges. Headmasters and teachers resigned.

(iv) Countryside peasants: In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi. The movement here was against talukdars and landlords who demanded high rents from peasants, and a number of other cesses. Peasants had to do begar and work at landlord’s farms without wages. These peasants demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords. As the movement spread in 1921, the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted and grain hoards were taken over. In several places, local leaders told peasants that Gandhiji had declared that no taxes were to be paid and land was to be redistributed among the poor.

(vi) Plantation workers in Assam: For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. It also meant retaining a link with the village from which they had come. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not

permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed home. They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages.

Question – 2. Discuss the Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism.

Ans.

Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation against the British government in India.
He sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin on 31 January, 1930 stating eleven demands from specific to general in the interest of all classes.
The idea was to make the demands wide-ranging, so that all classes within Indian society could identify with them and everyone would be brought together in a united campaign.
The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike. It was one of the most essential items of food. Gandhi’s letter was an ultimatum.
It also threatened that if government did not exempt people from the salt tax then they would launch a campaign against it.
But Irwin showed reluctance and took the warning lightly. Thus, Civil Disobedience Movement was started by Gandhiji in the year 1930. It was an important milestone in the history of Indian nationalism.
The main ideology behind the Civil Disobedience Movement was to defy the laws made by the British.

Gandhiji started his famous salt march (Dandi March) accompanied by 78 followers, from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April, he reached Dandi, and openly violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water.

Question – 3. Imagine you are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain what the experience meant to your life.

Ans. As a woman it was a proud moment for me to participate in Gandhiji’s Civil Disobedience Movement. It was a time when women were kept inside walls. Though I had got good education, I was not allowed to take part in social or political activities. At the call of Gandhiji, I couldn’t resist myself. Revolting against my family traditions, I became an active member of the movement. I organised the women of my locality and began the activities of the movement. I was full of nationalistic fervour. It was the most memorable and proud phase of my life.

Question – 4. Why did political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates?

Ans.

The Indian political leaders differed sharply over the question of separate electorates because they believed that separate electorates would slow down the process of their integration into society.
In 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, President of the Muslim League, re-stated the importance of separate electorates for the Muslims as an important safeguard for their minority political interests.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who organised the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930, clashed with Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding separate electorates for dalits. When the British government conceded Ambedkar’s demand, Gandhiji began a fast unto death. Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhi’s position.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Choose the correct option:

Question – 1 The Poona Pact took place in the year ______

857
1932
1935
1942

Question – 2. What does Satyagraha mean?

Fight against injustice
Complete independence
Following the path of truth and non-violence
All of the above

Question – 3. Gandhiji called off the Non-Cooperation Movement due to______

Jallianwalla Bagh incident
Chauri Chaura incident
Tribals’ agitation
All of the above

Question – 4. When did the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre take place?

1919
1921
1922
1928

Question – 5. Gandhiji agreed to participate in a Round Table Conference in London in ______

Gandhi-Irwin Pact
Poona Pact
Lahore Pact
Gandhi-Simon Pact

Question – 6. Who was the Khalifa?

The political leader of the Islamic world
The spiritual head of the Islamic world
The spiritual leader of the whole world
The spiritual leader of Saudi Arabia

Question – 7. When was a Khilafat Committee founded?

1919
1020
1927
1922

Question – 8. The Non-Cooperation programme was adopted in the _______

Lahore session
Congress session at Nagpur
Gujarat Congress
Second Round Table Conference

Question – 9. Where was the Non-Cooperation Movement turned violent?

Kheda in Gujarat
Champaran in Bihar
Nagpur in Maharashtra
Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh

Question -10. Who initiated ‘Purna Swaraj’?

Mahatma Gandhi
B.R. Ambedkar
Motilal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru

Question – 11.Whose name is associated with The Folklore of Southern India?

Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Natesa Sastai
Bipin Chandra Pal
T. Krishnamurthy

Question – 12.Who wrote ‘Vande Mataram’?

Abanindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Ravi Varma

Question – 13. Who painted the image of Bharat Mata?

Rabindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Natesa Sastri

Question – 14. Who wrote the book Hind Swaraj?

Mahatma Gandhi
Jawaharlal Nehru
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Maulana Azad

Question – 15. The Act that gave enormous powers to the British government to repress political activities was _____

Rowlatt Act
Seditious Meetings Act
Arms Act
Vernacular Press Act

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question- 1. What was the Civil Disobedience Movement associated with?

Ans. It was associated with the breaking of salt law.

Question- 2. What was the forced recruitment?

Ans. It was a process by which the colonial state forced people, especially the people belonging to rural areas, to join the army.

Question- 3. Name the places where Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised satyagrah movements.

Ans.

Champaran in Bihar
Kheda in Gujarat

Question- 4. What do you know about the Rowlatt Act of 1919?

Ans. This Act had been passed through the imperial legislative council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It gave the British government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners.

Question- 5. Why was a Khilafat Committee formed in Bombay in March 1919?

Ans. It was formed to defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers.

Question- 6. What did Mahatma Gandhi do to launch a more broad-based movement in India.

Ans. He brought Hindus and Muslims closer together.

Question- 7. What was Gandhiji’s conviction regarding the starting of the Non-cooperation movement that he expressed in his book Hind Swaraj?

Ans. He declared that British rule was established in India with the co-operation of Indians and had survived only because of this cooperation. If Indians refused to cooperate, British rule in India would collapse within a year, and Swaraj would come.

Question- 8. Give one reason why the Non-cooperation movement gradually slowed down in the cities.

Ans. Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it. Hence they could not boycott mill cloth for a long time.

Question- 9. What were the demands of the Awadh peasants?

Ans. Their demands included—

reduction of revenue (ii) abolition of begar
social boycott of oppressive landlords.

Question- 10. In February 1922, Mahatama Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-co-operation movement. Why did they do that?

Ans. The Chauri-Chaura incident disheartened Mahatma Gandhi. He felt that the movement was turning violent in many places and Satyagrahies needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles.

Question- 11. With what purpose did the Simon Commission arrive in India?

Ans. The Simon Commission arrived in India with the purpose of looking into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggesting changes.

Question- 12. Why did Mahatma Gandhi organise the Champaran Satyagraha in Bihar?

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi organised the Champaran Satyagraha in order to voice against the oppressive indigo plantation system.

Q13. What did the peasants of Kheda demand?

Ans. They demanded relaxation in revenue collection.

Question- 14. For long the congress had ignored the dalits. What was the reason behind this?

Ans. The congress did not want to offend the conservative high-caste Hindus.

Question- 15. What, according to Mahatma Gandhi, revealed the most oppressive face of the British rule?

Ans. The tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production revealed the most oppressive face of the British rule.

Question- 16. Name the two Indian leaders between whom the Poona Pact was segied.

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Question- 17. What do you know about the Poona Pact?

Ans. The Poona Pact was signed between Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 to resolve the question of separate electorates for dalits. It gave depressed classes reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils.

Question- 18. What were Gandhiji’s apprehensions regarding the grant of separate electorates to the dalits?

Ans. Gandhiji believed that the grant of separate electorates would weaken the national movement and slow down the process of integration of dalits into the mainstream of society.

Question- 19. Why did the business classes in India participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement?

Ans. They participated in this movement because they wanted protection against imprints of foreign goods and a rupee sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports.

Question- 20. How did Gandhiji visualise women?

Ans. Gandhiji opined that it was the duty of women to look after hearth and home, be good mothers and good wives.

Question- 21. When does nationalism spread in a country?

Ans. Nationalism spread in a country when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation, when they discover some unity that bounds them together. Q22. Name the colours which were used by Gandhiji in the Swaraj flag. Ans. Red, Green and white.

Question- 23. Why did the tribal peasant participate in the Non-cooperation movement?

Ans. They participated in Gandhiji’s Non-cooperation movement because the colonial government had closed large forest areas, preventing them from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fruits and fuelwood.

Question- 24. Who wrote Vande Mataram? What is it?

Ans. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Vande Mataram. It is a hymn to the motherland.

Question- 25. What is the importance of the Lahore Congress Session of 1929?

Ans. The demand of Purna Swaraj or complete independence for India was made in this session.

Question- 26. During the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, a tri colour flag was designed. It had eight lotuses. What did they represent?

Ans. The eight lotuses represented provinces of British India.

Question- 27. Why was the Simon Commission boycotted in India?

Ans. It was boycotted because there was no Indian member in the Simon Commission.

Question- 28. The Simon Commission was greeted on its arrival in India with a famous slogan. What is it?

Ans. The Slogan was — Go back Simon.

Question- 29. Who led the Awadh peasants during the Non-cooperation Movement?

Ans. Baba Ramchandra led the Awadh peasants during the Non-cooperation movement.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question- 1. “The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of industrial workers in its programme of struggle.” Analyse the reasons.

(CBSE 2015)

Ans. The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of industrial workers in its programme of struggle because:

The industrial working classes did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement in large numbers, except in the Nappur region.
As the industrialists came closer to the Congress, workers stayed aloof.
The Congress felt that by including workers’ demands as part of its programme of struggle it would alienate industrialists and divide the anti-imperial forces.

Question- 2. Give a brief description of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha Movements which he organised in various places after arriving in India from South Africa.

Name the two main ‘Satyagraha Movement’ organised by Mahatma Gandhi Successfully in favour of peasants in 1916 and 1917.

(CBSE 2008, 2011)

Ans. After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi organised several Satyagraha Movements in various places:

Champaran: In 1917 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the exploitative plantation system.
Kheda: In 1917, he organised a Satyagraha Movement in support of the Kheda peasants in Gujarat. These peasants were very much worried due to crop failure and a plague epidemic. Since they could not pay the revenue, they demanded relaxation in revenue collection.
Ahmedabad: In 1918, he went to Ahmedabad to organise Satyagraha Movement among the workers of cotton mills.

Question- 3. Write a short note on the Rowlatt Act. How did Indians act in response to it and what were its consequences?

Why did Mahatma Gandhiji decide to launch a nationwide ‘Satyagraha’ against the proposed Rowlatt Act? Explain any three reasons.

(CBSE 2010, 2015)

Ans.

The Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919 by the British government despite the united opposition of the Indian members.
It gave enormous powers to the government.
Now, the British government could suppress the political activities, and allow detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

Indian people reacted to it stoutly. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, they decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919). (i) Rallies were organised in various cities.

Workers went on strike in railway workshops.
Shops closed down.

To suppress the nationalists the British administration

Put the local leaders in jail.
Debarred Mahatma Gandhi from entering Delhi.
On 10 April, the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession. (iv) On 13 April, the Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place.

Question- 4. Mention three main proposals with reference to the Non-cooperation Movement as suggested by Mahatma Gandhiji.

(CBSE 2008)

Ans. The three main proposals were:

Boycott of Council elections
Surrender of titles, honours and honorary posts.
Boycott of legal practices by the lawyers.
Boycott of government controlled schools and colleges.
Boycott of British goods including mass-produced mill-cloth.

Q5. The Non-Cooperation Movement significantly affected the British economy. Then why did it fail later?

Describe briefly any three economic effects of the Non-Cooperation Movement.

(CBSE 2009)

What were the factors responsible for gradual slow down of the Non-Cooperation Movement?

(CBSE 2008)

Why did the Non-Cooperation Movement gradually slowdown in the cities? Give three reasons.

(CBSE 2011, AI CBSE 2012)

Ans. The Non-Cooperation Movement dramatically affected the economy of the British.

The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from ` 102 crore to ` 57 crore.
In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.
People began discarding imported clothes and started wearing only Indian clothes (Khadi).
Production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.

But this movement gradually slowed down for several reasons.

Khadi cloth was more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth. It was not realistic for the poor Indians to afford it.
Many elated people had left their jobs to support the Non-Cooperation Movement. But soon the problem of unemployment came before them because of the dearth of Indian institutions. So, students and teachers began turning
back to government schools and lawyers joined back work in government courts.
Workers, industrialists, peasants, traders had inferred Gandhiji’s notion of ‘Swaraj’ differently. They started using violence to get their demands fulfilled. Gandhiji never approved violent means to achieve goals. Hence, he got disheartened.

Question- 6. When and why Gandhiji went on fast unto death? What was its outcome?

Ans. Many dalit leaders stressed on demanding reserved seats in educational institutions, and a separate electorate that would choose dalit members for legislative councils. Dr B.R. Ambedkar organised the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930 and supported dalit’s demands. When the British government conceded Ambedkar’s demand, Gandhiji began a fast unto death. He believed that separate electorates for dalits would slow down the process of their integration into society.

Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji’s point and it resulted in the Poona Pact of September 1932. It gave the Depressed Classes (later to be known as the Scheduled Castes) reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils, but they were to be voted in by the general electorate.

Question- 7. How did Khilafat movement gain momentum? or How did Mahatma Gandhi view the Khilafat issue?

Ans.

In the First World War, Ottoman Turkey was defeated and a harsh peace treaty was imposed on the Ottoman emperor, the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa).
To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March, 1919.
A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue. Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement.
At the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1920 he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat and Swaraj.

Question- 8. Mention three reasons by which the rich peasant communities took active participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

(CBSE 2009)

Ans. Three reasons by which the rich peasant communities took active participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement are:

Being producers of commercial crops, they were very hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices.
As their cash income disappeared, they found it impossible to pay the government’s revenue demand.
The government refused to reduce the revenue demand. This led to widespread resentment among the rich peasants and they enthusiastically supported the movement.

Question- 9. An important feature of the Civil Disobedience Movement was the large-scale participation of women. Explain.

Ans.

Women joined the Civil Disobedience Movement on a large-scale.
During Gandhiji’s salt march, thousands of women came out of their homes to listen to him.
They participated in protest marches and manufactured salt.
They picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail.
In urban areas, these women were from high-caste families and in rural areas they came from rich peasant households.
Moved by Gandhiji’s call, they began to see service to the nation as a sacred duty of women.

Question- 10. Discuss the factors that deteriorated the relations between Hindus and Muslims.

Ans.

After the decline of the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement, a large section of Muslims felt separated from the Congress.
From the mid-1920s the Congress came to be more visibly associated with openly Hindu religious nationalist groups like the Hindu Mahasabha.
This worsened the relations between Hindus and Muslims.
Each community organised religious processions with militant fervour, provoking Hindu-Muslim communal clashes and riots in various cities.
Every riot deepened the distance between the two communities.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, (leader of the Muslim League) agreed to quit the demand for separate electorates, if Muslims were guaranteed reserved seats in the Central Assembly and representation in the Muslim-dominated provinces (Bengal and Punjab).
But all hopes were dashed in 1928 when M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed to compromise.
In 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, (President of the Muslim League) re-stated the importance of separate electorates for the Muslims as an important safeguard for their minority political interests.

Question- 11. Under what circumstances did Gandhiji re-launch the Civil Disobedience Movement?

Ans. In December, Gandhiji went to London for the second Round Table Conference, but the negotiations broke down and he returned disappointed. Back in India, he found that the government had begun a new cycle of repression. Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru were in jail. The Congress had been declared illegal, and a series of measures had been imposed to prevent meetings, demonstrations and boycotts. Gandhi became very apprehensive, and without any further delay, he re-launched the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Question- 12. Describe any three features of Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930.

(CBSE 2009)

Ans. The Civil Disobedience Movement was started under the leadership of M.K. Gandhi, in the year 1930. It was an important milestone in the history of Indian Nationalism. The main ideology behind the Civil Disobedience Movement was to defy the laws made by the British.

Gandhiji started his famous Salt March (Dandi March) from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April, he reached Dandi, and openly violating the law, manufactured salt by boiling sea water. Three features of this movement were.

Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes.
In many places forest people violated forest laws—going into Reserved Forests to collect wood and graze cattle.
Women participated in the movement on a large scale.

Question- 13. State the three cultural presses through which nationalism captured people’s imagination during the British rule in India.

How did the image of Bharat Mata help in creating a sense of collective belongingness amongst the people of India?

Some icons and symbols were used for unifying the people and inspiring in them the feeling of nationalism. Explain with examples.

Ans.

Image of Bharat Mata: The identity of nation was symbolised in an image. Rabindranath painted the famous image of Bharat-Mata. Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as an evidence of one’s nationalism.
Folklore: Nationalists toured villages to gather folk tales. These tales gave a true picture of one’s national identity and helped in restoring a sense of pride in one’s past.
Icon and Symbols: Nationalist leaders used icons and symbols to unite the people and create in them a feeling of nationalism.

Examples:

During the Swedeshi movement a tri colour flag was designed.
In 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag carrying the flag during protest marches became a symbol of defiance.

Question- 14. Explain the circumstances under which Gandhiji decided to call off the civil disobedience movement in 1931.

(CBSE 2012)

Ans.

The civil disobedience movement got momentum when thousands in different parts of the country broke the salt law by manufacturing salt worried by the developments, the colonial government began arresting the congress leaders one by one. This led to violent clashes in which. Many were killed.
A month later, when Mahatma Gandhi himself was arrested, industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police posts, municipal buildings, law courts and railway stations — all structures that symbolised British rule.
The colonial government got frightened. It adopted a policy of brutal repression. Peaceful satyagraha were attacked, women and children were beaten and many people were arrested.
In such a situation, Gandhiji decided to call of the movement and entered into a pact with Irwin on 5th March, 1931.

Question- 15. Method of reinterpretation of history was followed to encourage nationalism. Discuss.

How was history re-interested in creating a feeling of nationalism? Explain with examples.

(CBSE 2012)

Ans.

Reinterpretation of history was an important means to create a feeling of nationalism.
The British saw Indians as backward and primitive.
In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India’s great achievements.
They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade flourished.
This glorious time, in their view, was followed by a history of decline when India was colonised.
These nationalist histories advocated the readers to be proud of India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.
A growing anger against the colonial government and hope of reviving the glorious past infused a strong sense of patriotism in Indians.
They fought back for their rights and finally, in 1947 achieved it in form of independence and freedom from British Raj.

Question- 16. Describe the portrait of Bharat Mata and also its different image forms.

Ans. Prints and symbols played a vital role in evoking the feeling of nationalism, unity and sense of collective belonging. Symbols in figures or images helped people to identify the nation. Keeping the same in mind, the image of Bharat Mata was created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Afterwards Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata. He made it an ascetic figure—calm, composed, divine and spiritual. The image of Bharat Mata acquired many different forms, as it circulated in popular prints. Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as evidence of one’s nationalism.

Question- 17. How did the business classes participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement?

Analyse the role of merchants and the industrialists in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

(CBSE 2010)

Ans.

The business classes supported the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was first launched.
They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.
Most businessmen came to see Swaraj at a time when colonial restrictions on business would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without constraints.
But after the failure of the Round Table Conference, business groups were no longer uniformly enthusiastic. So, when the movement was re-launched by Gandhiji, most of them withdrew their support.
They were apprehensive of the spread of militant activities, and worried about prolonged disruption of business.

Question- 18. Mention any three efforts made by Gandhiji to get Harijans their rights.

(CBSE 2009)

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi called the ‘untouchables’ Harijans, or ‘the children of God’ and organised Satyagraha to allow Harijans’ entry into temples.

He himself cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the bhangi (the sweepers).
(ii) He fought for their rights to use the public wells, tanks, roads and schools.
(iii) He convinced upper castes to change their hearts and give up ‘the sin of untouchability’.

Question- 19. What was the Inland Emigration Act of 1859?

What was the notion of Swaraj for the plantation workers in Assam?

(CBSE 2008)

Ans.

Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, the plantation workers were not permitted to leave tea-gardens without permission and, in fact, they were rarely given such permission.
Thousands of plantation workers defied the authorities that left the plantation and headed home.
They believed Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own village.
They however, never reached their destination.
Stranded on the way by railway and steamer strike they were caught by the police and badly beaten up.

Question- 20. Why did Mahatma Gandhi support the Khilafat Movement?

(CBSE 2011, 2012)

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi supported the Khilafat Movement due to these reasons:

The Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a wide spread movement, no doubt, but it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.
Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
But he was certain that no such movement could be organised without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together. One way of doing this, he felt, was to take up the Khilafat issue. Therefore, he decided to support this issue.

Question- 21. How did the business classes relate to the Civil Disobedience Movement?

Who led the business community during the Civil Disobedience Movement? How did the community provide a big boost to the Movement?

(CBSE 2010)

Ans.

The business class was led by prominent industrialists like Purushottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla.
These industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement. They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.
Most business men came to see Swaraj as a time when colonial restrictions on business would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without constraints.

In this way, the business class gave a big boost the civil Disobedience Movement.

Question- 22. The First World War created a new economic and political situation Explain.

Ans. The First World War created a new political and economic situation in India.

It led to huge increase in defense expenditure, Custom duties were raised, income tax was introduced to finance the war.
Villagers were called upon to supply soldiers, forced recruitment in rural areas caused widespread resentment.
Prices of essential commodities doubled between 1913 and 1918 leading to extreme hardship to the common people.
In 1918-19, 1920-21 crops failed in many parts of India resulting in acute food shortage.
Influenza epidemic spread. According to the census in 1921, 12-13 million people perished due to famines and epidemics.

Question- 23. Why did Mahatma Gandhi perceive ‘Salt’ as a powerful symbol that unite the nation?

(CBSE 2011)

Why did the Indians oppose the tax on salt in 1930?

Ans.

Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike and was one of the most essential food items.
The tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production revealed the most oppressive face of the British.
Mahatma thought that an ordinary thing like salt could give the movement a grand success which would ultimately dethrone the foreign rule.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question- 1. “Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation.” Support the statement.

(CBSE 2015)

Ans. Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation, when they discover some unity that binds them together. The sense of collective belonging came partly through the experience of united struggles. But there were also a variety of cultural processes through which nationalism captured people’s imagination. History, fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism.

The identity of the nation is most often symbolised in a figure or image. It was the 20th century, with the growth of nationalism, that the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive Indian folklore. It was essential to preserve folk tradition in order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pride in one’s past.

Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. Indians wrote about glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. This glorious time was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.

Question- 2. Give a brief description of Gandhiji’s contribution to the Indian freedom struggle.

Ans. When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from Africa in January 1915 he started a Satyagraha Movement in India in various places.

In 1916 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
In 1917, he organised a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat.
In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a Satyagraha Movement amongst cotton mill workers.
In 1919, he decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919).
To unite Hindus and Muslims Gandhiji started Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.
In 1930, Gandhiji started his famous Salt March (Dandi March) accompanied by 78 followers, from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April, he reached Dandi, and openly violated the law and manufactured salt by boiling sea water.
During Gandhiji’s salt march, thousands of women came out of their homes to listen to him. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops.
He did a lot for the upliftment of the untouchables. He called the ‘untouchables’ Harijans, and organised Satyagraha to secure their entry into temples and access to public wells, tanks, roads and schools. He himself cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the bhangi (the sweepers). He convinced upper castes to change their heart and give up the sin of untouchability.

Question- 3. Describe briefly the ‘Salt March’ undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi.

(AI CBSE 2009)

Ans. The tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production made Mahatma Gandhi very much disturbed. In his opinion, it was a gross atrocity on the part of the British government. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the most essential items of food. Hence, it must be exempted from any tax.

He sent a letter to Viceroy Lord Irwin on 31 January, 1930 with eleven demands. These demands were concerned with interests of all sections of the Indian people. The most stirring of all was the demand to make salt tax-free. But Irwin showed reluctance. Now, Mahatma Gandhi had no time to wait. He started his 240 miles long Dandi March from his Ashram at Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. He was accompanied by 78 of his followers. On 6 April, he reached Dandi and openly violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water. People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British, but also to break colonial laws.

Gandhiji’s salt march proved to be a milestone in the history of Indian national movement. People from all walks of life participated in this historic march.

Question- 4. Write a note on Jallianwalla Bagh massacre.

Ans. Jallianwalla Bagh massacre holds an important and significant position in the Freedom Movement of India. It took place in Amritsar on 13 April, 1919. On this very day a protest meeting against the government’s new repressive measures (the Rowlatt Act) was being held at Jallianwalla Bagh in Amritsar. The meeting was attended by a large number of men, women and children. The only entrance of the park was blocked by the British army on the orders of General Dyer. He ordered his troops to fire on the crowd without giving a word of warning. Thousands of people were killed and many were injured. It was the cold blooded murder of innocent people.

As the news of Jallianwalla Bagh spread, crowds took to streets in many north Indian towns. There were strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings. The government responded with brutal repression. The Satyagrahis were forced to rub their nose on the ground, crawl on the streets and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs. People were flogged and villages were bombed.

Question- 5. What were the reasons for the launching of the Non-Cooperation Movement? What was Gandhiji’s idea behind launching it as stated in his book ‘Hind Swaraj’?

(CBSE 2008)

Why did Mahatma Gandhi feel the need to launch a broad-based movement in 1920? Give reasons.

(CBSE 2012)

Ans. Reasons for the launching of the Non-Cooperation Movement:

Indians were very hopeful that their hardships would end after the First World War was over. But that did not happen.
The enforcement of Rowlatt Act in 1919: The Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. Mahatma Gandhi launched a movement against these unjust laws. But seeing the violence spread, he called off the movement. This had been a widespread movement no doubt but was limited to cities and towns. Gandhiji now wanted to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
The Khilafat issue: The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. As a result, a harsh peace treaty was imposed on the Ottoman emperor—the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa). Mahatma Gandhi decided to start a Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as for Swaraj.

In his famous book Hind Swaraj he declared that British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of this cooperation. He was sure that if Indians refused to cooperate, British rule in India would collapse and swaraj would come.

Hence, he started Non-Cooperation Movement with full vigour.

Question- 6. How culture played a vital role in awakening of the feeling of nationalism?

Ans. Culture played a significant role in awakening the feeling of nationalism:

History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a vital role in evoking the feelings of nationalism, unity and sense of collective belonging.
Symbols in figures or images helped people to identify the nation. It was in the twentieth century with the growth of nationalism, that the identity of India came to be usually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. The image was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
In the 1870s Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Later it was included in his novel Anandamath and widely sung during the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal.
Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata. He made it an ascetic figure: calm, composed, divine and spiritual. Devotion to this mother figure came to the open as evidence of one’s nationalism.
In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore began collecting ballads, nursery rhymes and myths, and started the movement for folk revival.
In Madras, Natesa Sastri published a massive four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales, The Folklore of Southern India.
During the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed consisting of eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.
By 1921, Gandhiji had designed the Swaraj flag. It was again a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre, representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help. Carrying the flag, holding it aloft, during marches became a symbol of defiance.

Question – 7. Explain the term ‘Satyagraha’. Describe three movements of Satyagraha successfully organsied by Mahatma Gandhi soon after his arrival in India.

What was Satyagraha? Explain some of the Satyagrahas launched by Gandhiji.

(CBSE 2011)

“A Satyagraha was the battle through non-violence”. Explain with examples.

[CBSE 2010(F)]

Ans. Satyagraha was a novel method of mass struggle introduced by Mahatma Gandhi. Satyagraha is a synthesis of ‘Satya’ meaning truth and ‘Agraha’ means to persuade. It encompassed non-violent modes of protest against the majestic policies of the British.

It represented not physical force but pure soul force. Soul which is informed with knowledge and burns the flame of love. A Satyagrahi could win a battle through soul force by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor.

Mahatma Gandhi organised three Satyagraha movements:

In 1916, he travelled to Champaran to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system. Finally, the colonial government passed an Act for the welfare of the poor peasants of Champaran in 1918.
In 1917, he organised a Satyagraha to support the peasants of Kheda in Gujarat. Gandhiji asked the peasants not to pay taxes due to crop failure. This time also the government had to bow and the payment of taxes was deferred to the next year.
In 1918, Satyagraha movement was organised among the cotton mill-workers in Ahmedabad. As a result their pay was raised.

Question – 8. Who was Alluri Sitaram Raju? Explain his role in inspiring the rebels with Gandhiji’s ideas.

(CBSE 2012)

Ans.

Alluri Sitaram Raju was a great follower of Gandhiji. When the colonial government began forcing the hill people to contribute begar for road building, they revolted. Here, came Alluri Sitaram Raju to lead them against the British. He was an interesting figure who claimed that he had a variety of special powers.
He could make correct astrological predictions and heal people, and he could survive even bullet shots. captivated by him, the rebels proclaimed that he was an incarnation of God.
Raju talked of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi. He said that he was inspired by the Non-cooperation Movement and persuaded people to wear Khadi and give up drinking. But at the same time he asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence.
The rebels under his leadership, attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials and carried on guerrilla warfare for achieving Swaraj. But unfortunately Raju was captured and executed in 1924.

Question – 9. How did people and the colonial government react to the Civil Disobedience Movement? Explain.

(AI CBSE 2012)

Ans. The Civil Disobedience Movement started in 1930 against the salt law. The people of India and the colonial government reacted to the movement in their own way. Reaction of the Indian people:

Thousands of Indians in different parts of the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of government salt factories.
As the movement spread, foreign cloth was boycotted and liquor shops were picketed.
Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes, village officials resigned, and in many places forest people violated forests laws – going into Reserved forests to collect wood and graze cattle.

Reaction of the government

Worried by the developments, the colonial government began arresting the congress leaders one by one. First of all they arrested Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a devout disciple of Mahatma Gandhi.
A month later, Gandhiji himself was arrested. This enraged the public. Industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police posts, municipal buildings law courts and railway stations — all structures that symbolised British rule.
A frightened government responded with policy brutal repression. Peaceful Satyagrahis were attacked, women and children were beaten and thousands of people were arrested.

Question -10. “Some of the Muslim political organisations in India were lukewarm in their response to the Civil Disobedience Movement.” Examine the statement.

(CBSE 2013)

Ans.

A large section of Muslims felt alienated from the Congress after the decline of non-cooperation and Khilafat movement.
From the mid 1920s, the congress came to be visibly associated with openly Hindu religious nationalist groups like the Hindu Mahasabha.
Hindu-Muslim communal clashes and riots in various cities deepened the distance between the two communities.
The congress and the Muslim league made efforts to renegotiate an alliance, and in 1927, it appeared that such a unity could be forged.
The important differences were over the question of representation in the future assemblies that were to be elected.
Mohammad Ali Jinnah was willing to give up the demand for separate decorates, if Muslims were assured reserved seats in the central Assembly and representation in proportion to population in the Muslim dominated provinces. But M.R. Jayalear of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed it.
So, when the Civil Disobedience Movement started there was an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust between the two communities.
Alienated from the congress, large section of Muslims could not respond to the call for united struggle.

Question -11. Explain the role played by tribal peasants in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh during the Non-Cooperation Movement.

(CBSE 2012)

Analyse any four features of the Gudem rebellion of Andhra Pradesh.

(CBSE 2011)

Ans. The Gudem rebellion spread in response to Gandhiji’s Non-Cooperation Movement. The four features of this rebellion are:

In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s under the leadership of Alluri Sitaram Raju.
The hill people got enraged when the colonial government prevented them from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits.
They considered Sitaram Raju as an incarnation of God inspired by Gandhiji’s Non-Cooperation Movement, Raju persuaded the Gudem rebels to wear Khadi and give up drinking. But at the same time he asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence.
The Gudem rebels attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials and carried on guerrilla warfare for achieving Swaraj.

Question -12. Explain the Poona Pact of 1932.

What were the apprehension Gandhiji had regarding the grant of separate electorates to the dalits?

When and why was the Poona Pact signed?

(CBSE 2011)

Ans.

(i) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who organised the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930, clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the Second Round Table Conference by demanding separate electorate for dalits.
(ii) When the British government conceded Ambedkar’s demand, Gandhiji began a fast into death because he became apprehensive regarding the grant of separate electorates to the dalits.
(iii) Gandhiji believed that grant of separate electorates would weaken the national movement and slow down the process of integration of dalits into the mainstream of society.
(iv) Poona Pact was signed in 1932 between the two leaders B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhiji to resolve the question of separate electorates for dalits. It gave depressed classes reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils but they were to be voted in by the general electorate.

Question- 13. Explain the contributions of folklore, folk song and paintings in strengthening nationalism during the 1870s.

(CBSE 2008)

How did a variety of cultural processes play an important role in developing a sense of nationalism in India? Explain with examples.

(CBSE 2010(F), CBSE 2012)

How did the image of Bharat Mata acquiring forms as it was painted by different artists help in arousing the feeling of nationalism among the Indians? Explain.

Ans.

Image of Bharat Mata: The identity of nation was symbolised in an image. Rabindranath painted the famous image of Bharat-Mata. Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as an evidence of one’s nationalism.
Folklore: Nationalists toured villages to gather folk tales. These tales gave a true picture of one’s national identity and helped in restoring a sense of pride in one’s past.
Icon and Symbols: Nationalist leaders used icons and symbols to unite the people and create in them a feeling of nationalism.
Reinterpretation of History: Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. By the end of the 19th century many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of pride in the nation, Indian history had to be thought about differently. The British saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing themselves. In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India’s great achievements. They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and Architecture, Science and Mathematics, religions and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. Thus glorious period, in their view, was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under the British rule.

Examples:

During the Swedeshi movement a tri colour flag was designed.
In 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag carrying the flag during protest marches became a symbol of defiance.

Question – 14. “Dalit participation was limited in the Civil Disobedience Movement.” Examine the statement.

[AI CBSE 2013]

Ans. Dalit participation was limited in the Civil Disobedience Movement. There were several reasons behind it:

The congress had ignored the dalits for a long time because it suffered from a fear of offending the Sanatans, who were the conservative high caste Hindus. But Mahatma Gandhi declared that Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated.
He organised statyagrahas to secure them entry into temples and access to public wells, roads, etc. He persuaded upper castes to change their heart and give up the ‘sin of untouchability’.
But many dalit leaders were keen on a different political solution to the problems of the community. They began organising themselves, demanding reserved seats in educational institutions and a separate electorate that would choose dalit members for legislative councils.
Dalit participation in Civil Disobedience Movement was therefore limited, particularly in the Maharashtra and Nagpur region where their organisation was quite strong.

Question – 15. Which incident marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement? How was the Civil Disobedience Movement different from the Non-Cooperation Movement?

(AI CBSE 2008, 2011)

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Salt March accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The March was over 240 miles and volunteers walked for 24 days. On 6th April, 1930, they reached Dandi and ceremonially violated the salt law and manufactured salt by boiling sea water. This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the Non-Cooperation Movements in the following manners:

Non-Cooperation Movement

Civil Disobedience Movement

(i) This movement started in 1921 when India got disgusted due to Rowlatt Act and Jallianwalla Bagh
massacre.
(ii) Muslim participated in this movement in great numbers.
(iii) In this movement people were asked not to cooperate with the British.
(iv) Women did NCT participate in this movement on a large scale.

(i) This movement started in 1930 when Gandhi’s eleven demands were rejected by the colonial government.
(ii) In this movement the response of the Muslims was lukewarm.
(iii) In this movement people not only refused to cooperate with the British but also broke colonial laws.
(iv) Women participated in this movement in a large scale. They, along with Gandhiji, manufactured salt. They also played active role in
picketing foreign cloth and liquor shops.

Question – 16. How did women in India respond to Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Civil Disobedience Movement?

Explain the role of women in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

(CBSE 2011)

Ans. Women participated in large numbers in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

During the Salt March thousands of women came out of their homes to participate in protest marches, boycott of foreign clothes and liquor shops and the manufacture of salt.
Many women even went to jail.
In urban areas women came from high caste families.
In rural areas women who participated belonged to rich peasant households.
Women were moved by Gandhi’s call to see the service to the nation as a sacred duty of women. So they responded by giving their whole hearted participation.
Though for a long-time Congress was reluctant to allow women to hold any position of authority within the party.

CBSE Class 10 History Notes With Question Answers Chapter 2 – Nationalism in India

The Idea of Satyagraha

The Rowlatt Act

Why Non-cooperation?

Differing Strands within the Movement

The Movement in the Towns

Rebellion in the Countryside

Swaraj in the Plantations

Towards Civil Disobedience

The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement

How Participants saw the Movement

The Limits of Civil Disobedience

The Sense of Collective Belonging

Conclusion

Nationalism in India Key Facts

Words that Matter

Important Date

NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED

Extra Questions In Textbook

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Share this:

You May Also Like

Indian Airforce X Y Group Phase 2 Admit Card 2020

रासायनिक अभिक्रिया और समीकरण बहुवैकल्पिक प्रश्न पार्ट – 1

Social Science Sample Question Paper with Solution