History project( Nationalist

movement in India 1918- 1930)

Vansh Agarwala
10E
27
Slide1- Details of the Student
Slide 2-Index
Slide 3- Introduction of the Topic, briefing about the definition of nationalism and
how First World War created a new economic and political situation in India
Slide 4 to 7-
1916-1919 – Entry of Gandhi in Indian politics, focussing on different techniques he adopted in mobilisation of
masses in the early struggle at Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad
British role in First World War and the rise of the Khilafat Movement. Role of the British Indian Army in the First
World War
Slide 8 to 15-
Growing upsurge in India against the implementation of the Rowlatt Act (site examples) and the protest against
Jallianwala Bagh Incident. Non-Cooperation Movement – Methods, Disagreements and important events during
the movement.
Differing strands within the movement
Movement in towns and cities (steps taken, effect and obstruction faced,
Villages(rebellion in the countryside),
Tribal movements,
Role of women in the movement
leaders associated with Non-cooperation movement and their
role(other than Gandhi)
Suspension of Non-Cooperation Movement by Gandhiji – Reason and criticism
Slide 16 to 18-
Underground societies formed during this period
 General outline
Introduction- The Nationalist Movements in India were early popular movements seeking independence of India from Great
Britain.

Defination of nationalism- Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be in harmony with the
state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation especially with the aim of gaining and
maintaining the nation's self-governance over one’s homeland

Impact of First World War in India.

● Economic- It led to a huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing tax.
customs duties were raised and income tax
Through the war years prices increased - doubling between 1913 and 1918 - leading to extreme hardship for the
common people. .•
Then in 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India, resulting in acute shortages of food.
This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. According to the census of 1921, 12 to 13 million people perished as a
result of famines and the epidemic.
Political- India was forced to become a partner in the War, which was between England and Germany.There was forced
recruitment in rural areas which caused a widespread anger among the people. They turned against the government.
They joined the national movement
 Gandhiji in Indian politics ( 1916-1919)
After facing racial discrimination in South Africa he was engaged in a heroic
struggle against the racist authorities in South Africa. Thus it was during
this struggle that Gandhiji evolved the technique of satyagraha based on
truth and non violence. Gandhiji returned to India in January 1915 and
spent the next four years in studying the Indian situation. During the course
of 1917 and early 1918 he was involved in three significant struggles- in
Champaran( Bihar), in Ahmedabad and in Kheda(Gujarat).

DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES ADOPTED BY HIM

Satyagraha: the term satyagraha is made up of two sanskrit words-

Satya(truth) and Agraha(insistence to hold fast). To Gandhiji, satyagraha Photo of Gandhiji
was a moral force born of truth and non violence. It meant to be a fearless,
truthful as well as peaceful, suffering willingly while refusing to submit to
what is wrong. Gandhiji’s satyagraha movement was directed
against the British system of exploitation and not the British people
individually or collectively.
2. Doctrines of non violence: non violence or Ahimsa means non killing or avoiding injury, but for
Gandhiji, it meant avoiding injury to anything by thought, word or deed. According to him non violence is
not a negative but a positive and active force. It is the virtue of the strong which requires benevolence
and sympathy.

3. Swadeshi: ii means producing necessary items in one’s own country and using them for one’s own use
without being dependent on imported goods. He believed that the use of swadeshi goods would make
us self sufficient and eliminate our dependence on imported goods.

Poster for advertising swadeshi goods

Mass movement of Gandhiji

4. Mass movement The South African experiment gave Gandhiji the experience of leading Indians
belonging to different religions, regions and social classes.
British role in world war 1 and rise of khilafat movement
The Great Britain was a leading Allied Power during the First World War of 1914–1918, fighting against
the Central Powers, especially Germany.

Khilafat movement: in World War I Turkey was defeated by the British and the Ottoman Empire was
divided. The sultan of Turkey who was the Caliph as deprived of all authority. The caliph was looked
upon by large sections of Muslims as their religious head. They felt that any weakening of caliph’s
position would adversely affect the Muslims. The Muslims in India started a revolt known as the Khilafat
movement under the leadership of Ali brothers- Mohammed Ali and Shaukat Ali, Maulana Azad, Hakim
Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani.

The Ali Brothers

 Role of the British Indian Army in the First World War
The Indian Army during World War I was under the British army and contributed a large number of
divisions and independent brigades to the European, Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of
war in World War I. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another
67,000 were wounded. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war.

In World War I the Indian Army fought against the German Empire on the Western Front. Indian divisions
were also sent to Egypt, Gallipoli, German East Africa and nearly 700,000 served in Mesopotamia against
the Ottoman Empire. While some divisions were sent overseas others had to remain in India guarding the
North West Frontier and on internal security and training duties.
 Growing upsurge in India against the implementation of the
Rowlatt Act and the protest against Jallianwala Bagh
Incident.
The rowlatt act was a sudden blow to Indians who were expecting self
governance. Gandhiji appealed to the Viceroy to withhold his consent to such
measures. However his appeal was ignored. He started (satyagraha) as a
challenge to the government.The act also angered many Indian leaders and the
public, which caused the government to implement repressive measures.
Gandhi and others thought that constitutional opposition to the measure was
fruitless, so on 6 April, a hartal took place. This was an event in which Indians
suspended businesses and went on strikes and would fast, pray and hold public
meetings against the act as a sign of their opposition against the law.The
Rowlatt Act came into effect on 21 March 1919. In Punjab the protest movement
was very strong, and on 10 April two leaders of the congress, Dr. Satyapal and Sir Sidney Rowlatt the
Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested. On 13 April people from neighbouring villages president of the Rowlatt act
committee
gathered for Baisakhi Day celebrations and to protest against the act which
resulted in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.
Jallianwala Bagh tragedy: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took
place on 13 April 1919. A large but peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab
to protest against the arrest of leaders like Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlu and Dr. Satya Pal. In response to the public
gathering, commanding brigadier-general Dyer surrounded the Bagh with his soldiers. The Jallianwala Bagh
could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit
with his troops, he ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as protestors tried to flee.

This event caused many moderate Indians to abandon their previous loyalty to the British and become
nationalists distrustful of British rule.

Rabindranath Tagore received the news of the massacre by 22 May 1919. He tried to arrange a protest
meeting in Calcutta and finally decided to renounce his British knighthood as "a symbolic act of protest".
After the massacre the British government made a half hearted attempt at constitutional reform. But it also
made it clear that it had no intention of parting with political power or sharing it with Indians.
Non cooperation movement
Non cooperation is a way of protesting in which one does
not cooperate with the evil doer. Gandhiji asked the people
not to assist the foreign government to rule over them.
Gandhiji said “non cooperation with evil is as much a duty as
is cooperation with good.”

Method: the movement included the following programmes~.

1. Boycott programmes=

● Boycott of government schools, colleges and courts

● Boycott of foreign goods
● Boycott of elections to be held for the councils as
suggested by the reforms of 1919. Poster for boycott of foreign clothes
● Resignation from nominated states in local bodies
● Surrender of titles and honorary offices
● Refusal to attend government functions.
2. Swadeshi programmes=
● Popularisation of swadeshi and khadi by reviving hand spinning and hand weaving.
● Establishment of national schools and colleges and private arbitration court known as panchayats all
over India.
● Development of unity between Hindus and Muslims.
● Removal of untouchability and other measures for Harijan welfare.
● Emancipation and upliftment of woman.

Disagreements in non cooperation movement:

There was a disagreement between the congress led non cooperation movement and the peasant and
worker’s non cooperation movement. The Congress under Gandhiji believed in achieving ‘Swaraj’ by
peaceful means and total non-violence.The peasants and workers, though believers in Gandhi’s Swaraj,
khadi and boycott, did not believe in non-violence. They turned violent to gain their aims, which went against
the Congress faith.

Poster for Swadeshi

Important events that took place during non cooperation movement:
● The congress boycotted the elections to the legislatures by not putting
up candidates for the first elections to the councils.
● In Malabar the Moplas rebelled against the authorities. This rebellion
assumed a communion fight when they killed many Hindus. This
unfortunate incident gave a severe blow to the Hindu Muslim unity.
● The prince of Wales came to India in 1921. The people boycotted his
visit at Mumbai, observed a hartal and arranged a meeting on the
beach. The mob turned unruly and riots followed. The police opened
fire. This turmoil of 3 days killed 59 people.
● The government tried to repress the movement by sending all leaders
to jail except for Gandhiji. Processions and public meetings were
banned. The khilafat and the congress volunteer organisations were
declared illegal.
● Due to the Chauri chaura incident the movement was called off by Prince of Wales in 1921-
Gandhiji. Edward VIII
Different strands within the movement
In cities ~ students left schools and colleges. The Jamia Millia Islamic was established as a national
university. The Bihar Vidyapith, Kashi Vidyapith and the Gujarat Vidyapith were the other national
universities that were established with teachers like Acharya Narendra Dev, Dr. Zakir Hussain and Lala
Lajpat Rai.

Villages- in Kheda, Gujarat many peasants organised non violent campaigns against the high land
revenue.

Tribals- in many forest villages peasants proclaimed Swaraj.

Rabindranath Tagore
Role of women in movement- Women took to streets picketing liquor shops, and holding dharnas.

Leaders associated- Lawyers such as Deshbandhu Chittaranjana Das, Motilal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad and may others gave up their legal practice.Rabindranath Tagore and many other distinguished
citizens of India gave up their titles and awards.

Motilal Nehru. Dr. Rajendra Prasaad

Withdrawal of non cooperation movement
The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 at
Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces
(modern-day Uttar Pradesh) in British India, when a large group
of protesters participating in the non-cooperation movement,
clashed with police who opened fire. In retaliation the
demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all
of its occupants. The incident led to the death of three civilians
and 22 policemen. Gandhiji, who was strictly against violence,
halted the non-cooperation movement on the national level on
12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident.

Criticism- the action of Gandhiji of suspending the agitation was

severely criticised by leaders like Motilal Nehru and Lala Lajpat
arak. Netaji called it a national calamity. Nevertheless everybody
respected his decision.
Underground societies formed during this period
The Revolutionary movement for Indian Independence is a part of the Indian independence movement
comprising the actions of the underground revolutionary factions. Groups believing in armed revolution
against the ruling British fall into this category, as opposed to the generally peaceful civil disobedience
movement spearheaded by Gandhiji.

In Bengal-Apart from a few stray incidents, the armed rebellion against the British rulers was not
organised before the beginning of the 20th century. The initial steps to organise the revolutionaries were
taken by Aurobindo Ghosh, his brother Barin Ghosh, Bhupendranath Datta, Lal Bal Pal and Subodh
Chandra Mullick, when they formed the Jugantar party in April 1906. Jugantar was created as an inner
circle of the Anushilan Samiti, which was already present in Bengal, mainly as a fitness club.
In Uttar Pradesh- The Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was established in October 1924 in
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar
Azad, Yogendra Shukla and Sachindranath Sanyal. The aim of the party was to organise armed revolution
to end the colonial rule and establish a Federal Republic of the United States of India.

In Maharashtra-The Abhinav Bharat Society (Young India Society) was a secret society founded by
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Damodar Savarkar in 1904.[8] Initially founded at
Nasik as "Mitra Mela" when Vinayak Savarkar was still a student, the society grew to include several
hundred revolutionaries and political activists with branches in various parts of India, extending to London
after Savarkar went to study law.

In Punjab- Gadar party was a predominantly Sikh organization that started operating abroad in 1913 "with
the view to do-away with the British rule in India". The party collaborated with revolutionaries inside India
and helped them get arms and ammunition. Lala Hardayal was a prominent leader of the party and
promoter of the Gadar newspaper.
Role of revolutionaries in conducting a parallel
movement in their method
The object of revolutionaries was to overthrow the British government by force. A number of police
officials, magistrates and hostile witnesses lost their lives at the hands of the revolutionaries. The dream
of the revolutionaries of a violent uprising in India did not come true. But it would be a mistake to judge
their importance by the test alone. Their heroic deeds created patriotic fervour in many a heart. T’ose like
Prafulla Chaki, Khudiram and Madanlal who had lost their lives “ became heroes of folk songs sung all
over the country”.