The

NATIONALISM IN INDIA
Idea of Satyagraha :

→
Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa in January 9995 .

There he had successfully fought racist

Nationalism
the with novel
regime a
→

* How feeling of developed in India ? method of mass

agitation ,
which he called SATYAGRAHA .

→
The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond →
Mahatma Gandhi believed that this dharma of non - violence could
that tied
many different groups together .
unite all Indians .

But the colonialism After India Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised

each class and felt effects of differently arriving in
Satyagraha
→ →

group .
,

movements at various places .

→
Their experiences were varied and their notions of freedom were not
( for
,

always the same .

→
In 9996 , Champaran in Bihar
indigo farmers against oppressive
indigo plantation system) .

•
The Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried to
forget these
groups
together within one movement .
→ In 9997 ,
Kheda in Gujarat ( demanding the relaxation
of revenue collection due
to
crop failure) .

But the unity did not without conflict

emerge
•
.

→
In 9998 ,
Ahmedabad to organise a
Satyagraha movement
amongst cotton
mill workers ( for increase
wages)
Changes World War I
.

*
after - :

The Act
-

•
The war created a new economic and political situation .

Rowlatt :

Taxes were increased ,

customs ,
duties were raised and income tax •
Emboldened with this success , Gandhiji in 9999 decided to launch a

was introduced . nationwide

Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act ( 9999 ) .

•
This lead to extreme hardship for common people .
•
Gandhi wanted non -
violent civil disobedience against such
unjust laws ,
which

would start with a hartal on 6 April .

•
Forced recruitment for armies .

Then and
in 9998-99 and 9920-29 , crops failure then famine made Gave the
govt
•

enormous
powers
.

the situation worse .

to
repress political activities ,
and
allowed detention of political prisoners
This led to deaths without trial
for two
many
•

years .

People hoped that their hardships would end after the war
was over .
•
Rallies were
organised in various cities ,
workers went on strike in

railway workshops .

→
At this stage a new leader appeared and suggested a
•
Alarmed by popular upsurge ,
Bettiah decided to
supress the movement .

new made of struggle .

Local leaders were

picked from Amritsar .

•
Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi .
 93 April ,
9999 Jallianwda Bagh Massacre Khilafat Issue :

On Nth
April ,
the police in Amritsar fired upon a
peaceful procession ,
tithe First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman
provoking widespread attacks on banks .

Turkey .

•
Martial Law was
imposed and General Dyer took command .
t There were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was
going to
be imposed on the Ottoman
emperor .

•
On Baisakhi , Dyer entered the area ,
blocked the exit points and
fired upon
crowd .
t Ottoman emperor
-

the spiritual head of Islamic world (the Khalifa) .

Many people were killed .

I To defend the Khalifa 's temporal powers ,
a Khalifah Committee was
March
formed in
Bombay in 9999 .

Dyer later said that

he wanted to
"
produce a -

A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers

moral effect
"
,
to create a Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali , began discussing with

feeling of terror
among
Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united
Indians . mass action on the issue .

After Jauianwala Bagh Massacre -

under
Gandhiji
the
saw this as an
opportunity
national
to
boring
movement
Muslims
umbrella of a unified .

Crowds took to the streets .

4 There were strikes ,

dashes with the police and attacks on
government buildings .

Khilafat issue and Swaraj issue together bed to Non Cooperation

Movement .

other government responded with brutal repression .

4
Seeking to humiliate and terrorise people
:
Satyagraha were
forced to rub their
Why ,
Non -

Cooperation ?
nose on the ground crawl on the streets and do tenth ( salute) to all sahibs .

Gandhi
,

Swaraj ( 9909) Mahatma

,

t In his famous book Hindi declared

4
Seeing violence spread ,
Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement . that British rule was established in India with the cooperation
of Indians ,
and had survived only because of this cooperation .

Drawbacks of rowlatt act t

If Indians refused to cooperate ,
British rule in India would
collapse
within and Swaraj would
a
year ,
come .

→
Limited to cities and towns .

How could cooperation become movement ?

What non -
a
Mahatma Gandhi learned from Rowlatt Satyagraha :
t
Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold in stages
Mahatma
.

Gandhi launch
.

Kaa to
now
felt the need a more broad -
based
movement .
I It should
begin with the surrender of titles that the government
.

Kaa He
awarded ,
and a boycott of civil services , army , police ,
and foreign goods .

realised that it is important to unite Hindu & Muslim for such a

movement I Then the government used full civil disobedience

.
,
in case
repression ,
a

campaign would be launched .

 The Non -

Cooperation -

Khilafat Movement began in January 9929 : •

The houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked and bazaars
were looted .

The Movement in the Towns : "

In many places local leaders told peasants that Gandhiji had declared
that taxes to be and land to be redistributed
no were
paid was .

•
The movement started with middle class participation in the cities the poor
among
-

.
.

•
Thousands of students left government -
controlled institutes .
•
The name
of the Mahatma was
being invoked to sanction all action
and aspirations .

•
Headmasters and teachers ,
and lawyers gave up their legal practices .

•
The counsel elections were boycotted in most provinces , excepted Madras .
Movement in tribal areas (Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh) :

•
Foreign goods were boycotted , liquor shops picketed and foreign doth burnt →
A militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 9920. .

in
huge bonfires .

→
People were
angry on colonial government for banning their entry
•
People began wearing Indian clothes , production of Indian textile mills and in
large forest regions .

handloom went up .

Their livelihood well their traditional effected

rights
→
as as were .

Movement in the cities gradually slowed down : →

People were also sick of doing Began .

•
Khadi cloth was
often more expensive people cannot afford it
poor
Allari
.
,

Students teachers
Sitaram Raju :

trickling govt
•
and began back to .

jobs .

•
Lawyers joined back work in government courts .
Claimed that he had a
variety of
special powers .

Rebellion in the Countryside :

The
In
rebels proclaimed that he was an incarnation of God .

Awadh peasants led by Baba Ramchandra sanyasi who

•

,
were -
a

had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer .

He was
inspired by the Non -

Cooperation Movement ,
and
persuaded people
The here and landlords to
movement
against talukdaus wear Khadi and
give drinking
•

was .

up .

RANT Salary of
Demanded reduction of revenue abolition of began ( GIT BINT ,
•

forced labour) .
•
The Gudem rebels attacked police stations .

•
In many places nai -
dhobi bandhs were
organised by panchayats to •

Attempted to kill British officials and carried on

guerilla warfare for
deprive landlords of the services .

achieving Swaraj .

•
In June 9920 ,
Jawaharlal Nehru began going around the
villages in
•

Raju was capture and executed in 9924 ,

and over time became a
folk
Awadh to their
,
talking the villagers ,
and
trying to understand problems . hero .

By
Jawaharlal
October ,

Nehru
the
,
Baba
Oudh
Ramchandra
Kisan Sabha
and a
was

few
set
others
up
.
headed by
Swaraj in the Plantations :

•
The
peasant movement ,
however , developed in
forms that the Congress → Workers too had their own
understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the
leadership was
unhappy with .
notion
of Swaraj .
→ For plantation workers in Assam ,
freedom meant the
night to move
•

Congress and the Muslim league participated

,
in the protest .

freely in and out .

•
In the effort to win them over ,
the viceroy ,
Lord Irwin ,
announced in
→
Under the Inland Emigration Act of 9859 , plantation workers were not October 9929 ,
an offer of dominion status and round table conference .

to leave the tea without

permitted gardens permission .

•
This did not satisfy the Congress leaders .

→
When they heard of the Non -

Cooperation Movement ,
thousands of workers

defied the authorities , left the plantations and headed home .

•

Lahore session of INC

formalised demand for PURNA SWARAJ .

They believed that Gandhi Raj was

coming and
everyone would be °
Jawaharlal Nehru headed this and called for celebration of Independence day
given land in their own
villages . on 261in January ,
9930 .

→
They ,
however ,
never reached their destination .
•
But the celebrations attracted very little attention .

Stranded the by a railway and steamer strike , they

on
way were
-

caught by the police and brutally beaten up .

The Salt March And The Civil Disobedience :

4 At Ghauri Chama in Gorakhpur ,

a
peaceful demonstration in a bazaar " Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the
turned into violent dash with the police .
nation .

the incident Mahatma Gandhi halt the

-

Hearing of ,
called a to
Non Cooperation Movement 4 Salt is the basic need
for person
-
.
.

In February 9922 Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the 4 There tan salt and the monopoly its
was on
government over
production
.

Non -

Cooperation Movement .

↳ Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven

A tee
felt the movement was
turning violent in
many places . demands .

Within the
Congress ,
some leaders were
by now tired of mass
4
If the demands were not
fulfilled ,
the Congress would launch a

and
struggles wanted to participate in elections . civil disobedience
campaign .

4 They felt that it

important to British policies within 4 Irwin to
negotiable
was
oppose was
unwilling .

the councils , argue for reform .

G Mahatma ttandhi started March accomplished by 78

his
famous salt of his
C.R Das . and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the trusted volunteers .

Congress to argue for a return to council politics .

March started from Gandhi 's ashram in Sabarmati to the

4 But leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Gujarati coastal town of Dandi
younger
.

Bose pressed for more radical mass

agitation and for full independence .

4 The volunteers walked

for 24 days ,
about 90 miles a
day .

Simon Commission : 4 On 6 April he reached Dandi and violated salt law by boiling salt water .

•
Commission was
assigned to
suggest changes into the constitutional G This marked the
beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement .

India
system in .

•
Did not have a single Indian member . flow this is different from Non Cooperation -

movement
!
•
When the Simon Commission arrived in India in 9928 , it People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation but
greeted with the slogan Go
' '
was back Simon . also to break colonial laws .
 Thousands in different parts of the country broke the salt law, ↳ A series of measures had been imposed to prevent meetings and

manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of government salt demonstrations .

factories .

Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement .

As the movement spread For over a the movement continued but by 1934 it lost
year
-

, ,

its momentum .

Foreign cloth were boycotted .

Liquor shops were picketed

Disobedience
•

Civil Movement
.

:
•
Peasants refused to
pay .

•
Revenue and chaukidari taxes .

•
Village officials resigned .
Started : 6 April ,
1930
•
In many places forest people
violated forest laws .

Stop : 5 March ,
1931

Restart :
1932
Reaction of British Government :

Stop :
1934
4 The colonial govt .

began arresting the Congress leaders one by

one
flow Participants Movement
.

saw the :

4 This led violent clashes

to in
many places
Rich
.

* Peasants :

↳ Abdul Ghaffar Khan ,

a devoted disciple of Mahatma Gandhi ,
was arrested
in April 9930 .
→
In the countryside ,
rich peasant communities like the Patidars of Gujarat
and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh -

were active in the movement .

Violence broke in
Sholapur after Gandhi was arrested .

→ For them the fight for Swaraj was

struggle against high revenues .

In such a situation ,
Mahatma Gandhi once
again decided to call off * Poor Peasants :

the movement and entered into a

pact with Irwin on 5th

March 1931 .
→ In depression they struggled to pay rent .

Scared of rich peasants didn't support of

upsetting campaign
→

congress
Gandhi Irwin Pact
,

:
small
peasants
-

↳ Gandhi agreed to
participate in a round table conference in London .
→
The relationship between the poor peasants and the
Congress remained uncertain .

↳ The govt .

agreed to release the partial prisoners . * Business Class :

↳ Negotiations broke down in London ,

Gandhi disappointed .
→

During the first World War ,

Indian merchants and industrialists had
made huge profits and become powerful .

4 Baek in India , Gandhiji discovered that the government had begun a new
cycle of
repression .
→

During the movement

they
,
gave financial assistance and refereed to buy
on sell imported goods .

Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru were both in jail .

→
They see
Swaraj as a time when colonial restrictions on business
The Congress had been declared illegal .
would no
longer exist and trade and industry would flourish
without constraints .
* Women Participation :
Pouring the Swadeshi movement in Bengal , a tricolor flag ( red ,
green ,

yellow) was
designed .

→
They participated in
large numbers .

4 It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India ,

and
→
Some even went to Jail . a crescent mo④n , representing Hindus and Muslims .

→
But , Gandhiji was convinced that it was the duty of women to look 4
By 1921 , Gandhiji had designed the Swaraj flag .

after home .
-
It was
again a tricolour ( red , white and green ) and had a

Gandhian ideal
spinning wheel in the centre
representing the of
The Limits Disobedience
,

of Civil :
self -

help .

•
Dalits and Muslims didn't participate .
4 In the 18705 Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote
'
Vande Mataram
'

as a
hymn to the motherland .

Congress had ignored the dalits , for fear of offending the Sanatana ,
the
Later
conservative high -
caste Hindu .
4 it was included in his novel Anandamath and
widely sung
the Swadeshi Bengal
during movement in .

•
But , Gandhiji supported dalits .

Poona Pact -

1932 : -
These efforts to
unify people were not without problems .

When the
past being glorified was Hindu when the
images
-

•
Dr . BR Ambedkar.
,
who organised the dalits into the Depressed classes celebrated were drawn from Hindu
iconography ,
then people of
Association in 1930 . other communities felt left out .

•
Demanded separate electorates for dalits .

Gandhiji felt that it will

disintegrate India he ,
sat for fast unto
death .

Compromise happened between two , Gandhiji promised for reserved seats

in Independent India .

→
Congress came to be more
visibly associate with openly Hindu religious
nationalist like the Hindu Mahasabha
groups .

Thus
→
muslims were not able to connect themselves with
Congress .

The Sense of Collective Belonging :

This of collective belonging partly through the experience

→
sense came
united
of struggles .

Songs Popular
,
Paints and
symbol played a
part in
making of nationalism .

People started
collecting folk tales from villages they ,
believed ,
gave a true
picture of traditional culture that had been corrupted and
damaged by outside

forces .

It 2.Oth with the the of India

→
was in century , grow of nationalism , that
identity
to be
of Bharat Mata
came
visually associated with the image .
 1 Mark Questions
4. In which year and place did Mahatma Gandhi organise
Satyagraha for the first time in India?
1. State the reason for calling off ‘the Non-cooperation Movement’ [1M, 2014]
by Gandhiji? A4. In 1916, in Champaran, Bihar.
[1M, 2021 Sample Paper]
A1. Chauri-Chaura incident

5. In which novel was the hymn ‘Vande Mataram’ included and

who was the novel written by?
2. Name the writer of the book ‘Hind Swaraj’ [1M, 2014]
[1M, 2017, 2014] A5. Novel—Aandamath
Author — Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
A2. The book ‘Hind Swaraj’ was written by Mahatma Gandhi.

6. Name two main ‘Satyagraha’ movements organized by

3. Name the writer of the novel Anandamath’
Mahatma Gandhi successfully in favour of peasants in 1916 and
[1M, 2017] 1917.
A3. The author of this novel is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. [1M, 2013]
A6.
 1. Indigo Planters Movement in Champaran, Bihar in 1916.
2. Peasants Satyagraha Movement was organized in Kheda
district in Gujarat in 1917 to support peasants in the
9. Why was the Khilafat movement started?
demand for relaxation of revenue collection.
[1M, 2012]
A9. Khilafat movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi and the
. Ali Brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali in response to
. the harsh treatment given to the Caliph of Ottoman empire
. and the dismemberment of the Ottoman empire by the
. British.

7. What was the main reason to withdraw the Non-cooperation

Movement?
[1M, 2013]
A7. Mahatma Gandhi called off the Non-cooperation Movement
.. as the movement had turned violent in many places. The
. Chauri Chaura incident in 1922 turned into a violent dash
10. Who created the first image of Bharat Mata?
. and 22 policemen were killed. Gandhiji felt satyagrahis were
. not ready for mass struggles. [1M, 2012]
A10. Abanindranath Tagore

8. What combination of colours was there in the ‘Swaraj flag’

designed by Gandhiji in 1921
[1M, 2012] 3 Mark Questions
A8. Red, Green and White.

11. Why did Gandhiji start Non-Cooperation Movement? Explain.

[3M, 2021 Sample Paper]
A11. [3M, 2020]
i. Against Rowlatt Act A13.
ii. Jallianwala Bagh incidence
i. Alluri Sitaram Raju claimed that he had a variety of special
iii. Khilafat Andolan
powers like making astrological predictions, healing people
and surviving bullet shots.

ii. The rebels proclaimed him as an incarnation of God.

iii. Raju was inspired by Gandhiji’s Non-Cooperation

Movement.

12. Describe the famous incidence of Jallianwala Bagh. iv. Persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
[3M, 2020]
A12.
• On 13th April 1919, the infamous Jallianwala Bagh incident
took place.
• On that day, a crowd of villagers who had come to Amritsar to
attend a fair gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala
Bagh. 14. Why did Gandhiji decide to withdraw the ‘Non-Cooperation
Movement’ in February 1922? Explain any three reasons.
• Being from outside the city, they were unaware of the martial
law that had been imposed. [3M, 2017]

• General Dyer entered the area, blocked the only exit point,
and opened fire on the crowd, killing and wounding hundreds
of people.
13. Describe the role of Alluri Sitaram Raju in Andhra Pradesh
during 1920s.
A14. Causes of withdrawal of Non-Cooperation Movement are as
. follows:
• Some activists of the Non-Cooperation Movement set a
police station on fire at Chauri-Chaura (Gorakhpur), Uttar
Pradesh in which 21 policemen were burnt alive.
• Gandhiji felt that people of India were not ready for a
nation-wide movement of mass struggle and felt that he
should withdraw the movement.
 • Moreover, many members of the Indian National Congress
felt that the Non-Cooperation Movement was tiresome and
16. Evaluate the contribution of folklore, songs, popular prints etc.,
unnecessary since they wanted to contest the election.
in shaping the nationalism during freedom struggle.
[3M, 2017]
A16. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and
. symbols—all played an important role in creating a sense of
. collective belonging leading to the growth of nationalism.

1. Image of Bharat Mata:

15. Evaluate the role of business classes in the ‘Civil
Disobedience Movement.’
[3M, 2017]
A15.
• Keen on expanding their business, the business classes
supported Civil Disobedience Movement and Protested
against colonial policies that restricted business activities.
They wanted protection against the import of foreign goods
and a rupee sterling foreign exchange ratio that would
discourage imports.
• To organise business classes against colonial policies, they
formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in
1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of
2. Reinterpretation of History:
Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.
• The business community interpreted Swaraj in their own
way. They came to see Swaraj at the time when the
colonial restriction on business would no longer exist and
the trade industry would flourish without constraint.
3. Indian Folklore:
• With the growth of nationalism, the identity of the Indian
nation came to be visually associated with the image of
Bharat Mata.
• Moved by the Swadeshi Movement, Rabindranath
Tagore painted the famous image of Bharat Mata. The
identity of the Indian nation came to be visually
associated with this image. She was portrayed as an
ascetic figure—calm, composed, divine and spiritual.
• Later this image was painted by many other artists
which acquired different forms. This image was
circulated in popular prints and devotion to this mother
figure was seen as a sign of nationalism.
• The glorification of developments in ancient India in the
fields of art and architecture, Science and Mathematics,
religion and culture, law and philosophy, craft and trade
had also helped in the growth of nationalism.
• These nationalist histories encouraged the readers to
take pride in India’s great achievement in the past and
struggle to change the miserable conditions (cultural and
economic decline) of life under the British rule.
 • Idea of nationalism also developed through a movement
to revive Indian folklore.
• Folk tales were sung by bards in the villages, to give a
true picture of traditional culture, which had been
damaged by outside forces.
• In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore himself began
collecting ballads, nursery rhymes and myths to revive
folk culture.
• In Madras, Natesa Sastri published a four volume
collection of Tamil folk tales, “The Folklore of Southern
India”.
17. Who had designed the ‘swaraj flag’ by 1921? Explain the main
features of this ‘swaraj flag’.
[3M, 2016]
A17. Main features of the ‘Swaraj Flag’:
1. It had tricolours — Red, Green and White.
2. It had a spinning wheel in the centre.
3. It represents the Gandhian idea of self-help.
4. Carrying the flag during marches had become a symbol
of defiance and a sense of collective belonging.
18. What type of flag was designed during the ‘Swadeshi
Movement’ in Bengal? Explain its main features.
[3M, 2016]
A18. During the ‘Swadeshi Movement’ in Bengal,
• A tricolour flag—red, green and yellow was designed.
• It had eight lotuses representing the eight provinces of
British India.
• It had a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.
19. “The plantation workers in Assam had their own
understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj”.
Support the statement with arguments.
[3M, 2016]
A19. “The plantation workers in Assam had their own
. understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj”
1. For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right
to move freely in and out of the confined space in which
they were enclosed.
2. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 plantation
workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens
without permission.
 3. Swaraj meant retaining a link with the village from which • But, they were to be voted in by the general
they had come. electorate.
4. When they heard of the Non-cooperation Movement,
thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the
plantations and headed home.

5 Mark Questions

20. Describe the main features of ‘Poona Pact’.

[3M, 2015]
A20. The Poona Pact:
(i) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who organised the dalits into the
Depressed Classes Association in 1930 demanded
separate electorates for dalits in the Second Round Table
Conference organised in London.
(ii) When British accepted this demand in the name of
Communal Award, Gandhiji started a fast into death. He
believed that separate electorates for dalits would slow
down the process of their integration into the society.
(iii) Ambedkar and Gandhi came to an agreement with
Ambedkar accepting Gandhis position and the result was
the Poona Pact of September, 1932.
• It gave the depressed classes (later to be known as
Schedule castes) reserved seats in provincial and
central legislative councils.
21. How did people belonging to different communities, regions or
language groups develop a sense of collective belonging in the
nineteenth century India? Explain.
[5M, 2021 Sample Paper]
A21.
(i) The identity of the nation is most often symbolised with the
image of Bharat Mata.
(ii) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a
hymn to the motherland.
(iii) Novel Anandamath.
(iv) Moved by the Swadeshi movement, Abindranath Tagore
painted Bharat Mata and portrayed as an ascetic figure; she is
calm, composed, divine and spiritual.
(v) Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to
revive Indian folklore.

22. Explain the meaning and notion of ‘Swaraj’ as perceived by
the plantation workers. How did they respond to the call of ‘the
Non – Cooperation movement’?
[5M, 2021 Sample Paper]
A22.
• For plantation workers in Assam, Swaraj meant the right to
move freely in and out of the confined space in which they
were enclosed, and it meant retaining a link with the village
from which they had come.
i. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation
workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens
without permission, and in fact they were rarely given
such permission.
ii. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement,
thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the
plantations, and headed home.
iii. They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming, and
everyone would be given land in their own villages.
iv. They, however, never reached their destination.
Stranded on the way by a railway and steamer strike,
they were caught by the police and brutally beaten up.
23. The Civil Disobedience Movement saw the participation of
different social classes and groups. Give reasons for the
participation of the following: a) rich peasants b) poor peasants
c) business classes d) industrial working classes e) women
[5M, 2019]
A23. The reasons for the participation of various social classes
and groups in Civil Disobedience Movement are as follows:
i. Rich peasants- rich peasant communities like patidars of
Gujrat & the jats of Uttar Pradesh joined the movement
because, being producers of commercial crops they were hard
hit by the trade depression and falling prices. Due to the refusal
of the government to reduce the revenue demand made them
fight against high revenues.
ii. Poor peasants- joined the movement because they found it
difficult to pay rent. They wanted the unpaid rent to the landlord
to be remitted.
iii. Business class- they reacted against colonial policies that
restricted activities because they were keen on expanding their
business and for this they wanted protection against imports of
foreign goods. They thought that Swaraj would cancel colonial
restrictions and trade would flourish without restrictions.
iv. Industrial working class- they did not participate in large
numbers except in the Nagpur region. Some workers did
participate in, selectively adopting some of the Gandhian
programme, like boycott of foreign goods, as a part of their own
movements against low wages and poor working conditions.
v. Women- there were large scale participation of women in the
movement. They participated in protest marches, manufactured
 salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to
jail.
24. The middle classes played an important role in the Non-
Cooperation Movement in the cities. Explain. Why do you think
that the movement slowed down in the cities?
[5M, 2019]
A24.
• Middle classes played an important role in the Non-
cooperation movement in the cities
i. Thousands of students left the government- controlled
schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned,
and lawyers gave up their legal practices.
ii. The council elections were boycotted in most provinces
except Madras. iii. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor
shops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires.
• The movement in the cities gradually slowed down for a variety
of reasons
i. Khadi cloth was more expensive than mass-produced mill
cloth and poor people could not afford it and therefore
could not boycott mill cloth for very long.
ii. Similarly boycotting British institutions also posed a
problem as there were no alternative national institutions to
fulfil the educational needs.
iii. As a result students and teachers began trickling back to
government schools and lawyers joined back work in
government courts. iv. Any other relevant point.
25. “Plantation workers had their own understanding of Mahatma
Gandhi’s ideas and the notion of ‘Swaraj.” Support the
statement.
[5M, 2017]
A25. “The plantation workers in Assam had their own
, understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj”
1. For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right
to move freely in and out of the confined space in which
they were enclosed.
2. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 plantation
workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens
without permission.
3. Swaraj meant retaining a link with the village from which
they had come.
4. When they heard of the Non-cooperation Movement,
thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the
plantations and headed home.
5. They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone
would be given land in their own village.
 27. Why did Mahatma Gandhi relaunch the Civil Disobedience
Movement with great apprehension? Explain
[5M, 2016]
A27. Mahatma Gandhi entered into a pact with Irwin on 5 March,
. 1931.
26. How did the Colonial Government repress the ‘Civil
Disobedience Movement’? Explain.
1. By this Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhiji committed to participate
[5M, 2017]
in a Round Table Conference in London and the
A26. The British Government reacted very strongly to the government agreed to release the political prisoners.
. movement of Indians against the passage of the Rowlatt Act
2. In December 1931, Gandhiji went to London for the
conference, but the negotiations broke down and he
1. British officials were alarmed by the popular upsurge. The fear returned disappointed.
that the lines of communication, such as railways and 3. Back in India, he discovered that the government had
telegraph, might get disrupted, the British Government started begun a new cycle of repressive measures.
even stronger repressive measures.
4. Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru were both in jail
2. The colonial government began to arrest the Congress and the Congress had been declared illegal.
leaders. Gandhiji was barred from entering Delhi. On 10th
5. A series of measures had been imposed to prevent
April, 1919 the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful
meetings, demonstrations and boycotts.
procession.
Thus, with great apprehension Gandhiji relaunched the Civil
3. This provoked widespread attacks and people began to attack Disobedience Movement.
the symbols of British rule. There were attacks on banks, post
offices and railway stations. Martial law was imposed and
General Dyer took command.
4. The government’s repression was quite brutal. Even women
and children were beaten up. About 1,00,000 people were
arrested.

28. Why did Mahatma Gandhiji decide to call off the Civil
Disobedience Movement? Explain.
[5M, 2016]
A28. Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the Civil Disobedience
. Movement because:
 1. Worried by the development of Civil Disobedience
Movement the colonial government began arresting the
Congress leaders one by one.
2. This led to violent clashes in many places.
3. When Abdul Ghaffar khan, a devout disciple of Mahatma
Gandhi was arrested in April 1930, angry crowds
demonstrated in the streets of Peshawar, facing armoured
cars and police firing. Many were killed.
4. A month later, when Mahatma Gandhi was arrested
industrial workers in Sholapur attacked the police force,
municipal buildings, law courts, railway stations and all
other structures that symbolized British rule.
5. A frightened government responded with the policy of brutal
repression. The peaceful satyagrahis were attacked,
women and children were beaten and about 1 lakh people
were arrested.
29. “The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the
Non-Cooperation Movement”. Support the statement with
examples.
[5M, 2016]
A29. The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the
. Non-Cooperation Movement in the following ways:
Non-Cooperation Movement:
1. The people were asked not to cooperate with the
government.
2. Foreign goods and foreign cloth were boycotted. In many
places merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign
goods or finance foreign traders.
3. Students left the government owned schools and colleges
and lawyers gave up legal practices.
Civil Disobedience Movement:
• People were asked not only to refuse cooperation with
the British but also to break colonial laws.
• The countrymen broke the salt law by manufacturing
salt by boiling sea water at Dandi.
• Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari tax.
• Village officials resigned from their jobs. Forest people
violated forest rules and laws.
30. How did the Civil Disobedience Movement come into force in
various parts of the country? Explain with examples.
[5M, 2016]
A30. Civil Disobedience Movement came into force in various
. parts of the country:
(i) Gandhiji led the salt march from Sabarmati Ashram to
Dandi with his followers starting the Civil Disobedience
Movement.
(ii) Thousands in different parts of the country broke the salt
law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of
government salt factories.

(iii) In the countryside, the rich Patidars of Gujarat and Jats

of Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. As rich
communities were very hard hit by the trade depression
and falling prices, they became enthusiastic supporters
of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

(iv) As the depression continued and cash invoice dwindled,

the small tenants found it difficult to pay the rent. They
wanted the unpaid rent to the landlords to be remitted
and thus they joined the movement.

(v) Merchants and industrialists supported the movement by

giving financial assistance and also by refusing to buy
and sell the imported goods.