NATIONALISM IN INDIA

Q1.) What factors were responsible for the growth of national

consciousness (nationalism) in the later half of 19 th
century in India?

A1.) The later half of the 19th century saw the growth of a sense
of common identity which gave a birth to an organised
national movement for independence. The factor responsible
were –

a) Economic exploitation of the country-

The British exploited the resources of the country which led
to poverty and misery of the people. Their dissatisfaction
helped them to come together against the British.
b) Disappointment among the education class-
The educated Indians were neither accepted nor offered
higher position in administration. They were neglected by
the British authorities and did not get any recognition in
the government.
c) Discontentment among peasants and artisans – Peasants were
burdened with the taxes and exploited by zamindars. The
artisans mainly the weavers, suffered under competition from
imports from Britain. They lost their source of livelihood
and lived in abject misery.
d) Political and administrative unification of the country- The
British introduced similar laws and policies in the entire
British India. The same laws become a medium of harassment
for the people throughout the region under British. This
united the Indians against the British.
e) Development of Transport and Communication means- The
British introduced railways and telegraphs to establish
connectivity to facilitate trade, but this also brought the
people in far-a-way regions closer to each other and helped
them to connect with the each other’s problem and miseries.

Q2) What were the factor/cause/development to Non-Cooperation

movement.

A2) Many important developments and incidents inspired Mahatma

Gandhi to start the Non-cooperation movement. They were-
(i) The First World War- (a) A new political and economic
situation was created in India because of the 1 st World War
which led to huge increase in defence expenditure which was
financed by the war loans. To pay of these loans, taxes and
custom duties were raised. They introduced Income tax to
meet war expenditures.
(b) The prices of goods increased, leading to more hardships for
common people which were further increased by failure of
crops and Influenza epidemic.
(c) The British also went in for forced recruitment of soldiers
from villages.

(ii) Rowlatt Act – The Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919 and was
meant to suppress all political activities and the rising
nationalist sentiments of Indians. According to it, the
British government got the power to arrest anyone on the
basis of suspicion and imprison him or her without trial for
a minimum period of 2 years. When Gandhiji called for a non-
violent Satyagraha against this Act, the Indians responded
in large numbers. This act gave the Congress an opportunity
to unite the Indians against the British rule.

(iii) Jallianwala Bagh massacre – To control the Rowlatt

satyagrah, the Britishers imposed martial law in the regions
of Punjab. On 13th April 1919, unaware of the implementation
of martial law, a crowd of villagers gathered at the
Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. The British commander General
Dyer ordered his troops to open fire at this peaceful
gathering without any prior warning. This resulted in the
killing of a few hundred people. The incident shocked the
Indians across the country and made them react very strongly
with the Congress declaring for the next movement.

(iv) Khilafat Movement- The Ottoman Turks were defeated in the

1st World War and the British proposed to impose a harsh
treaty on Turkey which would abolish the office of the
Khilafa, religious head of the Muslims all over the world. A
Khilafat movement was started by the Muslims of India and
led by the Ali brothers- Mohd Ali and Shaukat Ali against
 this. Mahatma Gandhi decided to support the movement and the
muslims would support the Non-cooperation movement .

(v) Mahatma Gandhi as a leader – Mahatma Gandhi returned to

India in 1915. He was already a popular mass leader who
preached satyagrah and inspired people to fight against the
injustices of the British. The Indians accepted him as their
leader and came out in full support for his 1st mass
movement- Non-cooperation movement.

Q3) Name the different social groups that participated in the

Non-cooperation movement. How did they interpret the call
for Swaraj and react to it?

A3) Urban Areas –

Middle Class – The movement in the cities started with middle

class participation. Thousands of student and teachers left
government controlled schools and lawyers gave up their
legal practices. Merchants and traders refused to trade in
foreign goods and common people started wearing khadi. So
people from different walks of life in the urban areas
joined the movement to make it successful by contributing in
their own small way. They joined mostly with the intention
to overthrow British rule in India.

Rural Areas –

(i) Awadh Peasants – The Awadh peasants were led by Baba

Ramchandra. The movement here was against the Talukdars and
landlords who demanded from the peasants a very high rent
and many other taxes. The peasants had to do ‘Begar’ (bonded
labour) and as tenants, they had no right over the land they
cultivated. So through the movement they demanded.
a) Re of revenue.
b) Abolition of begar.
c) Social boycott of landlords – They organized ‘nai-dhobi
bandh’ to deprive the landlords of the basic services of
even barber and washer man.

Later on the Awadh peasants attacked the houses of the

talukdars, looted the bazaars and the hoarded grains were
 taken away, turning the intended non-violent satyagraha into
a violent one.

(ii) Tribal peasants of Andhra Pradesh – The tribal peasants of

Andhra Pradesh (Gudem Hills) were led by Alluri Sitaram
Raju. These tribal peasants interpreted the idea of Swaraj
in their own way. A militant Guerrilla movement spread in
Andhra Pradesh, a form that the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi
did not approve of. The movement was against the Forest Act
which prevented these tribal from entering the forest,
depriving them of their livelihood and when the government
forced them to contribute ‘Begar’ for road building, the
hill people revolted. Alluri Sitaram Raju persuaded people
to wear khadi, given up drinking and inspired them to resort
to violence. As a result the Gudem rebels attacked police
stations, attempted to kill British Official and carried on
Guerrilla warfare to achieve ‘swaraj’.
(iii) Plantations workers – For plantation workers in Assam,
freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the
confined space in which they were enclosed in the plantation
farms. It also meant retaining a link with the village from
which they had come. Under the Inland Emigration of 1859
plantation worker were not permitted to leave the tea garden
without permission and rarely were they given such
permission. So when they heard about the Non-cooperation
movement, thousand of workers defied the authorities, left
the plantations to reach their home. Unfortunately they were
caught and brought back to the plantations.

Q4) What were the factors or causes to the development of the

Civil Disobedience movement.

A4) The Civil Disobedience movement began in April 1930.The main

factors responsible for the movement were –

a) Emergence of Radical leaders within the Congress- Jawaharlal

Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose emerged as young radical leaders
within the Congress. They become more assertive on demanding
complete independence or Purna Swaraj. The liberals and
moderates in the Congress gradually lost their influence giving
way to more aggressive methods of struggle.
b) Worldwide Economic depression- This led to fall in agriculture
prices throughout the world. The Indian farmers were unable to
sell their crops and pay revenue. The countryside was in
turmoil.
c) Simon Commission – Worried about the growing unrest among the
Indians, the British Government sent the Simon Commission under
Sir John Simon to study the problems related to the functioning
of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes in
this constitutional framework. The Indians were greatly
disappointed as the commission did not include any Indian
member in it. There was protest against the commission across
the country.
d) Lahore session of Congress (Dec 1929) – In December 1929, under
the Presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress formally
demanded ‘Purna Swaraj’ that is complete independence from the
British. It decided to celebrate 26th of Jan 1930 as
Independence day every year.
e) The eleven demands of Mahatma Gandhi \Abolition on salt law- In
Jan 1930 Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating
11 demands including the demand to abolish the tax on salt. The
letter clearly stated and warned the British government that if
these specific and generic eleven demands were not fulfilled by
11th March, the Congress would launch the Civil Disobedience
movement. Viceroy Irwin was not ready to negotiate so Mahatma
Gandhi started his famous salt or Dandi March. This march ended
on the cost of Dandi on 6 th April 1930 by making salt with sea
water. This marked the beginning of the first phase of the
Civil Disobedience movement.

Q5) What were the views of the following leaders over the issue of
Separate electorate?

i) Mahatma Gandhi
ii) Dr Ambedkar
iii) Md Ali Jinnah
iv) Md Iqbal

i) Mahatma Gandhi – He was against the idea of Muslim &

Dalits being granted a Separate electorate. He believed
that Separate electorate for Dalits would lead to further
division in the society on the basis of caste and slow
down the process of integration in the society. This may
 result into social disharmony.So he opposed Dr. Ambedkar’s
demand for separate electorate for Dalit.
ii) Dr B.R. Ambedkar – He demanded Separate electorate for the
Dalits and clashed with Mahatma Gandhi in the 2 nd Round
Table Conference. He believed that Separate electorate
could help Dalits to gain political power and lead to
political solution of their issues. According to him the
Dalits needed political authority in the country.
iii) Md Ali Jinnah – He was favour of the separate electorate
for Muslims but later on he was ready to give up his
demand if Muslims were granted reserved seats in
proportion to their population in the Muslims dominated
areas.
iv) Md Iqbal – He was a prominent leader of Muslim league and
believed that Separate electorate was a necessity for
Muslims. It would help them to safeguard their interest as
a minority in the country.

Q6.) ‘Not all social groups were moved by the abstract concept of
Swaraj’ Explain.

OR

What were the limits of the Civil Disobedience Movement?

A6.) The Muslims and the Dalits did not participate in the
Civil Disobedience Movement for their own reasons.

Dalits – For long, the Congress had ignored the Dalits for
the fear of offending the high caste Hindus. Mahatma
Gandhi declared that Swaraj would not come if
untouchability was not eliminated and these people were
not assimilated in the nationalist movement. Many Dalits
leaders were however keen on a different political
solution. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar organized the Dalits into ‘The
Depressed Classes Association’ in 1930 and clashed with
Mahatma Gandhi in the Second Round Table Conference by
demanding Separate electorate for Dalits. Mahatma Gandhi
objected to this demand as he believed that it would slow
down the process of their integration into the society.
Finally the Poona Pact of September 1932 was signed which
 gave the Dalits reserved seats in provincial and central
legislative council but were to be voted by the general
electorate. The Dalits continued to be apprehensive of the
Congress lead nationalist movement and hence had limited
participation the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Muslims – Some of the Muslim political organisations were

lukewarm in their response to the Civil Disobedience
movement. From the mid 1920’s, the Congress came to be
associated more with Hindu religious nationalist groups
like the Hindu Mahasabha. As a result the relations
between Hindu and Muslims warred with each community
organizing religious processions with militant fervor,
provoking communal riots in various cities. Every riot
further distant the two religious communities. The
Congress and the Muslim league re-negotiated an alliance
because of which Muslim league was ready to give up the
demand for Separate electorate if they were assured
reserved seats in proportion to population in Muslim
dominated provinces (Bengal+Punjab). All hopes of
resolving the matter ended when M.R. Jayakar of Hindu
Mahasabha strongly opposed all efforts for a compromise.
So when the Civil Disobedience movement started, a large
section of Muslim kept away from participating in the
movement.

Q7.) Differentiate between :-

Non-cooperation Civil Disobedience

movement movement
1. The Non-cooperation It begun on 12th March
movement started in 1930 with the famous Dandi
Jan 1921 with the March which was completed
surrender of titles on 6th April 1930 by
and boycott of British manufacturing salt on the
schools, law courts coast of Dandi.
and foreign good,
Different section of
the society
contributed towards
the movement in their
own ways, after using
violent ways.
2 Mahatma Gandhi asked Mahatma Gandhi asked the
 the Indians not to Indians to resort to
cooperate with the peaceful means of breaking
British in various of British Laws.
aspects of
administration which
he believed would lead
to collapse of British
Rule in India
3. The demand of the
During this movement, the
Congress during the
Congress demanded Purna
movement was of Swaraj Swaraj or complete
or Dominion status of independence from the
India British rule.
4 Participation of women Women participation in
in this movement was this movement was on a
limited. large scale with them
participating in rallies
against Forest Law etc.
5 Muslim participated Muslim participation was
and supported the most limited.
on a large scale.
6. The movement was The movement was suspended
called off by Mahatma after Gandhi-Irwin Pact in
Gandhi after the 1931 and finally called
Chauri-Chaura incident off in 1934.
/ violence on 22nd Feb
1922.

Q8.)How did the people belonging to different

communities,regions or language groups develop a sense
of collective belonging (Pan –Indian belonging)?
A8)There were a variety of cultural processes through which
nationalism captured people’s imagination and helped them to
develop a sense of collective belonging---

(1)Image of Bharat Mata—The identity of the nation is most often

symbolised in a figure or image.In the 20th century ,the identity
of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat
Mata.This image was first created by Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhya.Later Abanindranath Tagore painted the famous image
of Bharat Mata where she is potrayed as calm ,composed,divine and
spiritual.Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as an
evidence of one’s nationalism.
(2)Indian Folklore-In late 19th century ,Indian nationalist began
recording folktales sung by bards and they toured villages to
gather folk songs and legends.These tales,they believed,gave a
true picture of our traditional culture and it was essential to
preserve them,in order to discover one’s national identity.In
Bengal Rabindranath Tagore and Natesa Shastri in Madras tried to
work for folk revival which was considered as national
literature.

(3)Tri-colour flag—During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal,a tri-

colour flag was designed with 8 lotuses and a cresent moon .In
1921,Mahatma Gandhi had designed the Swaraj Flag.It was a tri-
colour flag with a spinning wheel in the centre representing the
Gandhian ideal of self-help. Carrying the flag and holding it
aloft became a symbol of defiance.

(4)Re-interpretation of history—By the end of the 19 th

century,many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of
pride among common people,Indian history had to be thought about
differently.Indians began looking into the past to discover
India’s great achievements in the field of
art,architecture,science,maths,religion and culture etc.They
urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in
the past and built confidence to struggle against the British
rule.

Q9.)”During the National movement what emerged was a nation of

many voices wanting freedom from colonial rule.”Explain.

A9.)(1)A growing anger against the British rule brought different

social groups together for attaining Swaraj.These diverse groups
had different notions about Swaraj and had different
expectations.

(2)As their problems were different, freedom from colonial rule

also meant getting rid of their problems and getting a better
life.

(3)The nationalist leaders of the Congress tried to resolve these

differences and give a national character to the movement.But
time and again this broke down and the struggle against the
British still remained a struggle against their problems.
Q10.On a outline map of India,locate and label or identify the
following—

1)Amritsar(Punjab)-Jallianwala bagh massacre

2)Champaran(Bihar)-Movement of Indigo planters

3)Kheda(Gujarat)-Peasant satyagraha

4)Ahmedabad(Gujarat)-Cotton mill workers satyagraha

5)Chaura Chauri (Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh)-Calling off the Non

Cooperation movement.

6)Dandi(Gujarat)—Salt march ended, Civil Disobedience movement

started.

7)Indian National Congress(INC) Sessions—

A)Calcutta—September 1920

B)Nagpur-December 1920

C)Madras--1927