Nationalism in India – PYQs – Answers

Ans. The idea of Satyagraha was started by Mahatma Gandhi. He emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth. If the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice then physical force is not necessary to fight the oppressor.

Without being aggressive a satyagrahi could win the battle through non-violence. Gandhiji believed that this dharma of non-violence could unite all Indians.

The growth of nationalism was intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement. People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism.

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised Satyagraha movements in various places:

(i) In 1917 he travelled Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.

(ii) In 1917, he organised a Satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat affected by crop failure and could not pay the revenue and demanded that revenue collection be relaxed.

(iii) In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a Satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers

Ans. The Rowlatt Act empowered the government to imprison a person without a trial. It 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).

It was organised through the ways – (i) Rallies were organised in various cities, (ii) Workers went on strike in railway workshops, (iii) Shops closed down

Ans. (i) Rallies were organized in various cities, workers went on strike in railway workshops and shops closed down.

(ii) The British administration decided to clamp down on nationalists.

(iii) Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.

(iv) On 10th April, the police fired upon a peaceful procession, provoking widespread attacks on banks, post offices and railway stations.

(v) Martial Law was imposed and General Dyer took command.

(vi) On 13th April people assembled in Jallianwalla Bagh to protest against this black law.

5. How did the government suppress the Satyagrahis during Rowlatt Satyagraha?

Ans. (i) The government responded with brutal repression, seeking to humiliate and terrorise people.

(ii) Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets and do salaam to all sahibs.

(iii) People were flogged and villages were bombed.

(iv) Seeing violence spread, Gandhiji called off the movement. The British government violated the freedom of speech and expression.

Ans. The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. There were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor, the spiritual head of the Islamic world, the Khalifa.

To defend the Khalifa’s temporal power, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919 by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.

Gandhiji supported it because he saw it as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement.

Ans. Three points on the First World War’s impact on the economic situation in India are given below:

(i) It speeded up the process of industrialisation.

(ii) It led to a huge rise in the defence expenditure of the Government of India.

(iii) It created a demand for industrial goods (jute bags, cloth, rails, etc.) and caused a decline of imports from other countries into India

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 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.

9. Explain the new economic and political situation created during the First World War in India.

OR

How the First World War helped in the growth of the National movement in India?

OR

What was the impact of the World War-I on the National movement in India?  

OR

Explain any five major problems posed by the First World War in India.

Ans. The First World War created new economic and political situations because:

(i) It led to huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes. Custom duties were raised and income tax was introduced.

(ii) Prices increased doubling between 1913-18 leading to extreme hardship for the common people.

(iii) Villagers were called upon to supply soldiers through forced recruitment in rural areas caused wide spread anger.

(iv) During 1918-19, crops failed in many parts of India which created shortage of food.

(v) Spread of Influenza epidemic and famine–12 to 13 million people died. At this stage a new leader appeared and suggested a new mode of struggle.

Ans. The Non-Cooperation movement started with middle-class participation in the cities in following ways:

(i) Thousands of students left 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, where the Justice Party, the party of the non-Brahmans, felt that entering the council was one way of gaining some power. The effects of non-cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic:

(i) Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires

(ii) The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from Rs102 Crore to Rs 57 Crore. In many places merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.

(iii) As the boycott movement spread, and people began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones, production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.

Ans. A peaceful demonstration in a bazaar in Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur turned into a violent clash with the police. Hearing of the incident Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement

Ans. (i) The colonial government had closed large forest areas preventing people from entering the forest to graze their cattle or to collect fuelwood and fruits.

(ii) This enraged the hilly people because they felt their traditional rights were being denied.

(iii) When the government began forcing them to contribute begar for road building, they revolted.

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi believed in a non-violent struggle against the British oppression. But the Non[1]Cooperation Movement took a violent turn at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh in 1922.

Here the police fired upon a group of demonstrators. The agitated mob set a police station on fire and burnt 22 policemen alive. This violent incident shocked Gandhiji and he called off the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Ans. Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold in stages:

1st Stage – Surrender of titles that the government awarded.

2nd Stage– Boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.

3rd Stage – If the government used repression, a full civil disobedience campaign would be launched.

Ans. (i) The movement started with middle class participations in the cities.

(ii) Thousands of students left government controlled schools and colleges.

(iii) Headmasters and teachers resigned and lawyers gave up their legal practices.

(iv) The council elections were boycotted in most provinces, except Madras.

(v) Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed, foreign clothes were burnt in bonfires.

Ans. The effects of the Non-Cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic.

(i) The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore.

(ii) In many places merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods and finance foreign trade.

(iii) People began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones

Ans. The movement slowed down for a variety of reasons:

(i) Khadi cloth was more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it.

(ii) The boycott of British institutions posed a problem as alternative Indian institutions had to be set up in place of British ones. These were slow to come up.

(iii) Students and teachers began joining back to schools and lawyers joined government courts.

Ans. Role of Alluri Sitaram Raju in the Gudem hills of Andhra Pradesh:

(i) Alluri Sitaram Raju claimed that he had a variety of special 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.

(iv) Persuaded people to wear khadi and gave up drinking.

Ans. In Awadh, Peasants movement was led by Baba Ramchandra, a Sanyasi, who had been to Fiji as an indentured labour.

The movement was against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasants’ high rents and a variety of other cesses.

Peasants had to do begar and work at landlord’s farms without any payment. They had no security of tenure and no right over the leased land.

The peasant movement demanded – (a) Reduction of revenue, (b) Abolition of begar, (c) Social boycott of oppressive landlords.

In many places, nai-dhobi bandhs were organized by panchayats to deprive landlords of the services of even barbers and washermen.

Ans. (i) Plantation workers too had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj.

(ii) For plantation workers, freedom 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.

(iii) 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 permissions.

(iv) When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the plantation and headed home.

(v) They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages.

(vi) However, they never reached their destinations because of railways and steamer strike, they were caught by the police and brutally beaten up.

Ans. Bardoli is a city in the state of Gujarat. In 1928, Bardoli Satyagraha was a major movement of farmers against the increase of land revenue. This Satyagraha led the foundation of the Civil Disobedience Movement against the British rule.

In 1928, the British raised the land revenue approx 30 per cent in Bardoli, Gujarat. This unjustified heavy tax was opposed by the farmers of Bardoli under the strong leadership of Vallabhbhai Patel, who was one of the most prominent leaders from Gujarat. This satyagraha got great sympathy in several regions of India.

The government tried to crush the movement through brutal action, but Vallabhbhai Patel left no stone unturned to ensure its positive outcome. Finally, the government agreed the demands of farmers. Vallabhbhai was given the title of ‘Sardar’ by the locals of Bardoli.

Ans. Non-Cooperation became a movement:

(i) It was the view of Gandhiji that the British rule was set in India with the cooperation of India.

(ii) If Indians refused cooperation, British rule in India would collapse within a year and Swaraj would come.

(iii) Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold in stages.

(iv) In case the government used repression, a full civil disobedience campaign would be launched.

(v) Mahatma Gandhi and Shaukat Alitoured extensively, mobilising popular support ofthe movement.

Ans. Developments which led to the launching of Non-Cooperation Movement:

(i) Mahatma Gandhi successfully organized Satyagraha movement in various places.

(ii) In 1917, he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.

(iii) Then in 1917, he organized a Satyagraha to support the peasant of the Kheda district of Gujarat.

(iv) In 1918, he went to Ahmedabad to organize a Satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.

(v) In 1919, he decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act.

(vi) Rallies were organized in various places

(vii) At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for Swaraj.

Ans. Middle classes played an important role in the Non-Cooperation Movement in the cities due to:

(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.

Ans. In the backdrop of Rowlatt Act, Jallianwalla Bagh incident and dethroned of Khalifa, Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement.

The Movement united the country:

(i) Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule was established in India with the cooperation 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.

(ii) Through the summer of 1920 Mahatma Gandhi and Shaukat Ali toured extensively, mobilising popular support for the movement.

(iii) The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January 1921. Various social groups participated in this movement, each with its own specific aspiration.

(iv) Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices.

(v) The council elections were boycotted in most provinces. In many places merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.

Ans. The Simon Commission did not have a single Indian member. They were all British.

Ans. Dr. BR Ambedkar organised the dalit into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930.

Ans. (i) Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indian and if Indians had refused to cooperate, British rule in India would have collapsed within a year.

(ii) He proposed that the movement should unfold in stages.

(iii) It should begin with the surrendering of titles that the government had awarded to the Indians.

(iv) A boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative assemblies, schools and foreign goods would show their non-cooperation to the British empire. Mahatma Gandhi felt that in case the government used repression, a full civil disobedience campaign would be launched.

Ans. (i) Alienated from the Congress, large section of Muslims could not respond to the call for a united struggle.

(ii) Many Muslim leaders and intellectuals expressed their concern about the status of Muslims as a Minority within India.

(iii) They feared that the culture and identity of minorities would be submerged under the domination of a Hindu majority.

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

(ii) And for a long time the Congress was reluctant to allow women to hold any position of authority within the organisation. It was keen only on their symbolic presence.

Women participated in Civil Disobedience Movement in following ways:

(i) During Gandhiji’s salt march, thousands of women came out of their houses to listen to him.

(ii) They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail.

(iii) In urban areas these women were from high caste families, in rural areas they came from rich peasant households. Moved by Gandhiji’s call, they began to service to the nation as a sacred duty of women.

Ans. 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 Gujarat and 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. They joined the movement because they found it difficultto 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.

32. Who had organised the dalits into the ‘Depressed Classes Association’ in 1930? Describe his achievements.

Ans. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar organised dalits into the ‘Depressed Classes Association in 1930. He clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the Second Round Table conference by demanding separate for dalits. 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.

Poona Pact was signed in 1932 between the two leaders B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi 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

Ans. On 31 January 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Some of these were of general interest; others were specific demands of different classes, from industrialists to peasants. The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Irwin was unwilling to negotiate. That is why Gandhi ji started the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Mahatma Gandhi found salt as a powerful symbol that could unite the nation. So Mahatma Gandhi started his famous salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers from Gandhi ji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. Thousands came to hear Mahatma Gandhi wherever he stopped, and he told them what he meant by swaraj and urged them to peacefully defy the British. Thousands 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 forest laws

Ans. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in making of nationalism. In the 19th century, nationalist toured village to village and collected folktales sung by local singers. These tales gave a true picture of our traditional culture and created a sense of pride in our past traditions. In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore began collecting nursery rhymes and folk tales. In Madras, Natesa Sastri published collections of folk tales and published “The Folklore of Southern India”. Bankim Chandra Chatopadhyay wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland.

Ans. By 1921 Mahatma Gandhi had designed the ‘Swaraj flag’.

Main features of the Swaraj flag:

(i) It was a tricolour flag of red, green and white.

(ii) It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.

(iii) It had a spinning wheel in the centre representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help.

(iv) Carrying the flag during marches became a symbol of defiance.