L-15

Towards Independence
 Mind Map
Towards independence

Mahatma Gandhi’s Jallianwala Towards

role Bagh Independence
Massacre
(Truth and Non-Violence)  Rise of revolutionary
(General Dyer)
 Non-Cooperation leaders
 Civil Disobedience  Quit India Movement

Movement  Partition of India

 India gains freedom
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The students will be able to:-
 discuss the role of Mahatma Gandhi in attaining independence.
 gather the reasons that led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
 describe various movements of the freedom struggle and list
some of their famous leaders.
 collect information pertaining to the partition of India.
 imbibe the feeling of patriotism and respect the freedom which
we got after the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters.
 Mahatma gandhi’s role in the
freedom struggle
The struggle for independence took a new direction under the
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. On returning to India in the year
1915, he saw great misery among the people of India.
Mahatma Gandhi

He called for a non-violent approach in the fight for freedom

for which he felt the need of uniting India as a nation.
 JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE
 Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in 1919. Thousands of
men, women and children were killed.
 Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the oppressive policies of the
British resulted in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
General Dyer

General Dyer ordered indiscriminate firing at a peaceful gathering

 Non- cooperation movement

Every Indian voiced his or her protest against the most inhuman act at
Jallianwala Bagh. As a protest, Mahatma Gandhi started a Non-Cooperation
Movement. Many people gave up their government jobs. Students and teachers
boycotted their schools and colleges.
 Leaders of the Non-Cooperation Movement
Many young leaders also joined this movement with Gandhiji. Jawaharlal Nehru,
Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and
Sarojini Naidu were a few of such leaders.

Jawahar Lal Nehru

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Great Subhash Chandra Bose

Leaders

Maulana Abul Kalam

Azad Sarojini Naidu
 Civil Disobedience Movement

The British passed a law that no Indian would be allowed to make salt from the
ocean. Gandhiji thought this law was unjust and decided to oppose it. He marched
387.85 km from his ashram in Sabarmati to the sea shore village Dandi to make
salt and break the law imposed by the British. Thousands of people joined him on
his journey. After reaching Dandi, Gandhiji broke the law by making salt. He was
arrested and sent to jail. To protest against this, Civil Disobedience movement
gained more momentum.
 Towards independence

In some pockets of the country, revolutionary leaders like Bhagat Singh,
Rajguru, Sukhdev, Chandrashekhar Azad and Ram Prasad Bismil came
forward to fight for freedom.
 Subhash Chandra Bose started to make efforts in foreign lands. He formed
the Indian National Army in foreign countries and started the freedom
struggle from there. His famous slogans were ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Dilli Chalo’.
 Revolutionary leaders

Bhagat Singh Shivaram Rajguru

Chandra Shekhar Azad

Sukhdev Thapar Subhash Chandra Bose

QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
The Quit India Movement of 1942 was
launched by Mahatma Gandhi. He asked the
people to ‘Do or Die’ in their attempt to
throw the British out of India. As the
movement itself says, it was a direct
command to the British to leave India.
 Independent india
India became an independent country on 15th August, 1947. Its
first Prime Minister was Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru or ‘Chachaji’ as
fondly called by children. Before that when the Muslim League
put forth its demand for a separate nation, India was partitioned
and Pakistan was born on 14th August,1947.
All the sacrifices of our leaders make our freedom very
precious and it is our utmost duty to maintain and respect this
freedom.
Jawaharlal Nehru
 L – 15
Q1. Fill in the blanks:-
Towards Independence
a) Followers of Gandhiji believed in his approach of peace and non-violence in order to achieve
freedom from the British.
b) During the Civil Disobedience Movement, INC leader Rani Gaidinliu led the freedom struggle in
the north-east and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari rose in the southern region of India.
c) ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Dilli Chalo’ were the famous slogans given by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
d) The first Governor–General of independent India was Lord Mountbatten and that of newly
formed Pakistan was Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Q2. Name the following:-
a) The leader who formed the Indian National Army – Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
b) The first Governor - General of newly formed Pakistan – Mohammad Ali Jinnah
c) The inhuman incident that gave rise to Non–Cooperation Movement – Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
d) The peaceful movement joined by students and teachers by boycotting schools and colleges – Non-
Cooperation Movement
e) The first Prime Minister of independent India – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
 L – 15
Q3. Give reasons why : Towards Independence
a) The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy is considered an inhuman act of the British in India, which led to
Non-cooperation Movement.
Ans: On 13th April 1919, a public meeting was held at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer
ordered his men to block its only entrance and the soldiers spread up to start indiscriminate firing at
the unarmed crowd without any warning. Hundreds of men, women and children were killed and
thousands were injured. The whole nation was shocked by this incident.
As a result of such atrocities/violence and policies of suppression by the British, Gandhiji launched
Non-cooperation Movement in 1920, wherein people gave up government jobs and teachers &
students boycotted schools and colleges.

b) The Dandi March sparked Civil Disobedience Movement against the British Raj.
Ans: The Civil Disobedience Movement commenced in 1930 as Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law
at the coastal town of Dandi by picking up some salt left by the sea waves. The Indians were forced
to buy salt at high rates, so this movement was aimed against the steep tax levied on salt by the
British.
Also termed as the Salt Satyagraha, this event played a significant role in instilling a sense of
confidence among the people to stand against the British Raj.
Q4. Read the statement and answer the questions that follow:
‘Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915 and he fought against many ill-practices
which were prevailing in our society. The freedom struggle took a new direction under his leadership’.
a) What were the practices against which Gandhiji fought after his return to India?
Ans. Gandhiji fought against the British exploitation that had shattered the self-esteem of the people and
the social evils prevailing in the society like – caste system, untouchability, discrimination against women
etc..
b) What was Gandhiji’s method based on peace and non-violence called?
Ans. Satyagraha
c) Who was named Frontier Gandhi and why?
Ans. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was named Frontier Gandhi because he was inspired by Gandhiji’s policy
of non-violence. He led the freedom struggle against the British in the North-West Frontier Province (now
a part of Pakistan).

Q5. What led to the partition of India into India and Pakistan?
Ans: The need for a partition of the new country came about as Hindus and Muslims in India were deeply
divided and unwilling to co-exist in the same nation. Specifically, the Muslim League did not want to
accept Indian independence if it were to be governed by the Hindu-dominated Congress party.
It was agreed between then British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee and the Indian leaders that two nations
should be created, one for Muslims (Pakistan) and another for Hindus (Hindustan).