HISTORY-(X)-LESSON -2
RISE OF NATIONALISM IN INDIA
(QUESTION ANSWERS)
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NCERT TEXT BOOK EXERCISE
Write in Brief:
1. Explain:
a. Why the
growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement.
Answer: People began
discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism.
1.
The sense of
being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many
different groups together.
2.
But each class
and group felt the effects of colonialism differently. Their experiences were
varied and their notions of freedom were not always the same. The Congress
under Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups together within one movement.
But the unity did not emerge without conflict.
b. How the
First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India.
Answer: War created a new
political and economic situation.
1.
It Led to a
huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and
increasing taxes: custom duties were increased and income tax introduced.
2.
Forced
recruitment in villages caused widespread anger.
3.
Crops failed;
this resulted in an acute shortage of food.
4. 12 to 13 million people died due to famines and epidemics.
c. Why Indians
were outraged by the Rowlatt Act.
Answer: Rowlatt Act was
introduced in 1919.
1.
This act was
hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council, although it was
completely opposed by Indian members.
2.
It had given
the Government enormous powers to repress political activities.
3.
It allowed
detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
d. Why Gandhiji
decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Answer: In February 1922,
Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement. He felt the
movement was turning violent in many places, and satyagrahis needed to be
properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles.
2. What is
meant by the idea of satyagraha?
Answer: The idea of
satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It
suggested that if the cause was true, if the struggle was against injustice,
then the physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without
seeking vengeance or being aggressive, a satyagrahi could win the battle
through nonviolence. This could be done by appealing to the conscience of the
oppressor. People – including the oppressors – had to be persuaded to see the
truth, instead of being forced to accept truth through the use of violence. By
this struggle, the truth was bound to triumph ultimately. Mahatma Gandhi
believed that this dharma of non-violence could unite all Indians.
3. Write a
newspaper report on
a) The
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Answer: On 13 April, the
infamous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. On that day a large crowd was
gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh. Some came to protest
against the government’s new repressive measures. Others had come to attend the
annual Baisakhi fair. Being from outside the city, many villagers were unaware
of the martial law that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area, blocked the
exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. His objective, as
he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’, in the minds of
Satyagrahis. A feeling of terror and awe.
b) The Simon
Commission
Answer: When the Simon
Commission arrived in India in 1928, it was greeted with the slogan ‘Go back,
Simon’. All parties, including the Congress and the Muslim League, participated
in the demonstrations. In an effort to win them over, the viceroy, Lord Irwin,
announced in October 1929, a vague offer of ‘dominion status’ for India in an
unspecified future, and a Round Table Conference to discuss a future
constitution. This did not satisfy the Congress leaders.
4. Compare the
images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania in Chapter 1.
Answer: Germania:
1.
Symbol of
Germany
2.
The image was
painted by Philip Veit in 1848.
3.
Carrying a
sword in one hand and flag in another hand
4.
Germania is
wearing a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism.
Bharat Mata:
1.
Symbol of India
2.
Painted by
Abanindranath Tagore in 1905
3.
Bharat is
standing with a Trishul, standing beside a lion and elephant, symbols of power
and authority.
Discuss
1. List all the
different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then
choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they
joined the movement.
Answer: Below is the list
of different social groups who joined the Non-Cooperation Movement and their
struggles.
Middle-Class participation
in cities:-
Thousands of students left
government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned,
and lawyers gave up their legal practices. 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
– something that usually only Brahmans had access to.
Peasants and Tribals:-
In Awadh, peasants were led
by Baba Ramchandra – a sanyasi who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured
labourer. The movement here was against talukdars and landlords who demanded
exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses from peasants. Peasants
had to do begar and work at landlords’ farms without any payment. As tenants,
they had no security of tenure, being regularly evicted so that they could
acquire no right over the leased land. The peasant movement demanded reduction
of revenue, the abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
In many places ‘nai-dhobi bandhs’ were organised by panchayats to deprive
landlords of the services of barbers and washermen.
Tribal peasants interpreted
the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of swaraj in yet another way. In the
Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, for instance, a militant guerrilla movement
spread in the early 1920s – not a form of struggle that the Congress could approve.
In other forest regions, the colonial government had closed large forest areas,
preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle or to collect
fuelwood and fruits. This enraged the hill people. Not only were their
livelihoods affected, but they felt that their traditional rights were being
denied. When the government began forcing them to contribute begar for road
building, the hill people revolted.
Workers in the
Plantations:-
Workers too had their own
understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of swaraj. For plantation
workers in Assam, 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. 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. When they
heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the
authorities, left the plantations and headed home. They believed that Gandhi
Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages. 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.
2. Discuss the
Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against
colonialism.
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi
found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation. On 31 January
1930, he 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 idea was to make the demands wide-ranging
so that all classes within Indian society could identify with them and everyone
could be brought together in a united campaign. The most stirring of all was
the demand to abolish the salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and
the poor alike, and it was one of the essential items of food. The tax on salt
and the government monopoly over its production, Mahatma Gandhi declared,
revealed the most oppressive face of British rule.
Mahatma Gandhi started his
famous salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march was
over 240 miles, from Gandhiji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal
town of Dandi. The volunteers walked for 24 days, about 10 miles a day. 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. On 6 April he reached
Dandi, and ceremonially violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling
seawater.
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, the foreign cloth
was boycotted, and liquor shops were picketed. Peasants refused to pay revenue
and chowkidar taxes, village officials resigned, and in many places, forest
people violated forest laws – going into Reserved Forests to collect wood and
graze cattle.
3. Imagine you
are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain what the
experience meant to your life.
Answer: Students are
advised to put themselves in the shoes of women and share the experience.
4. Why did
political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates?
Answer: Dr B.R. Ambedkar,
who organised the Dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930,
clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding
separate electorates for Dalits. When the British government conceded
Ambedkar’s demand, Gandhiji began a fast unto death. He believed that separate
electorates for Dalits would slow down the process of their integration into
society. Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji’s position, and the result was
the Poona Pact of September 1932.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was
willing to give up the demand for separate electorates if Muslims were assured
reserved seats in the Central Assembly and representation in proportion to
population in the Muslim-dominated provinces (Bengal and Punjab). Negotiations
over the question of representation continued, but all hope of resolving the
issue at the All Parties Conference in 1928 disappeared when M.R. Jayakar of
the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed efforts at compromise.
VERY SHORT ANSWER
1. With which idea the modern nationalism in
Europe is associated ?
Answer:
Modem nationalism in Europe was associated with the formation of nation-states.
2. In
India what tied many different groups together against colonial power ?
Answer: The
sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied
different groups together.
3. What
was forced recruitment ?
Answer: Forced
recruitment was a process by which colonial state forced people to join the
army.
4. Why
did Gandhiji go to Champaran in 1916 ?
Answer: In
1916 Mahatma Gandhi went to Champaran to inspire the peasants to struggle
against the oppressive plantation system.
5. Which
Satyagraha movement was organised in Ahmedabad and when ?
Answer: In
1918 Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise satyagraha movement amongst
cotton mill workers.
6. State
one oppressive feature of Rowlatt Act ?
Answer: It
allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
7. When
did Jallianwala Bagh massacre take place and where ?
Answer: Jallianwala
Bagh massacre took place on 13 April, 1919 at Amritsar.
8. Which
famous book was written by Mahatma Gandhi in 1909 ?
Answer: Hind
Swaraj.
9.For
what the Congress session of December 1920 is known ?
Answer:
At Congress session (Nagpur) non-cooperation programme was adopted by
the Congress.
10.Which
party in the province of Madras did not boycott the council elections ?
Answer:
Justice Party.
11.Who
was Khalifa ?
Answer:
The Ottoman Emperor was Khalifa or the spiritual head of the Islamic
world.
12.What
was picket ?
Answer:
Picket was a form of demonstration or a procession by which people block the
entrance to shop, factory or office.
13. According
to Gandhiji which were two stages of non-cooperation movement ?
Answer:
In the first stage, there should be surrender of titles that the government
awarded and boycott of civil services, army, police, courts, legislative
councils, schools and foreign goods.
In case of repressive policy by the government, a full
civil disobedience campaign would be launched in the second stage.
14. Why
people could not afford Khadi ?
Answer:
Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass produced mill cloth and poor
people could not afford to buy it.
15. What
was begar ?
Answer:
Begar was a labour that villagers were forced to contribute without any
payment.
16. What
happened at Chauri-Chaura in 1922 ?
Answer:
The movement turned violent and twenty two policemen were burnt to death.
17. Which
party came to power in Britain in 1929 and appointed Simon Commission and why ?
Answer:
Tory Party came to power and appointed Simon Commission to look into the
functioning of the constitutional system in India.
18. When
did Simon Commission arrive in India and why was it boycotted ?
Answer:
Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928. It was boycotted because no Indian
was member of this Commission.
19. Who
was the president of Congress at Lahore ? When was it held ?
Answer:
The 1929 session of Congress was held in Lahore under the presidentship of
Jawahar Lai Nehru.
20. Why
was the demand to abolish the salt tax selected ?
Answer:
The demand to abolish the salt tax was included in the demands because salt was
something consumed by the rich and the poor alike and it was one of the most
essential item of food.
21. What
was the view of Mahatma Gandhi about salt tax and govt, monopoly lover it ?
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi declared that the tax on salt and the government monopoly over
its production revealed the most oppressive face of British rule.
22. By
which march the Civil Disobedience Movement started ?
Answer:
Dandi March.
23. State
one difference between Non-cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer:
People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British, as they
had done in 1921-22, but also to break colonial law such as salt tax law.
24. When
was a pact with Lord Irwin signed ? How is it known ?
Answer:
The pact known as Gandhi-Irwin Pact, was signed on 5th March, 1931.
25.
What was main clause of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) ?
Answer:
Gandhiji consented to participate in the Second Round Table Conference in
London and the government agreed to release the political prisoners.
26. Why
the Congress was reluctant to include workers’ demands as part of its programme
of Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
The Congress was reluctant to include workers’ demands as part of its programme
because it was felt that this would alienate industrialists and divide the
anti-imperial forces.
27. Who
organised the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930 ?
Answer:
BR.Ambedkar.
28. What
was the demand of BR Ambedkar for the dalits at the Second Round Table
Conference ?
Answer:
BR Ambedkar demanded separate electorate for the dalits.
29. Which
are the different factors in making of nationalism ?
Answer: History
and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols all played a part
in the making of nationalism.
30. Who
wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ in 1870s ?
Answer: In
1870s Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote “Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the
motherland.
31. During
Swadeshi Movement who painted the image of Bharat Mata ?
Answer:
Moved by Swadeshi Movement Abanindranath Tagore painted image of Bharat Mata.
32. Who
designed the Swaraj flag ? Which colours were included in it ?
Answer: Gandhiji
designed the swaraj flag. It was a tricolour – red, green and white and had a
spinning wheel in the centre, representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help.
SHORT
ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. Why
did Gandhiji decide to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed
Rowlatt Act 1919 ?
Or
Who passed the Rowlatt Act and when ? Explain two major provisions of the
Rowlatt Act.
Answer: See
Textbook Exercise 1(c).
2. Explain
the reasons and effects of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Or
Narrate the events leading to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April, 1919.
What were its effects ?
Answer:
(A) The
reasons/events leading to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre were as mentioned below
:
In March 1919, Rowlatt Act was passed despite the
united opposition of the Indian members. It gave powers to the government to
detain political prisoners without trial for two years.
Gandhiji decided to start non-violent civil
disobedience against Rowlatt Act with a hartal on 6 April, 1919.
Activities under the movement were as given below :
(a) Rallies were organised in
various cities.
(b) Workers went on strike in
railway workshops.
(c) Shops were closed.
Policy of the government: The
government was alarmed by the popular participation in the movement and was afraid
that the lines of communications – railways and telegraph would be disrupted,
it decided to follow a stric policy as given below :
(a) Local leaders in Amritsar
were arrested.
(b) Mahatma Gandhi was barred
from entering Delhi.
(c) On April 10,1919, the
police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession. As a result of firing
people were provoked and attacked banks, post offices and railway stations.
(d) The government in order
to control the situation, imposed Martial Law. General Dyer took command.
On 13 April, 1919, i.e., Baisakhi day, villagers
gathered in a fair in Jallianwala Bagh. They were unaware of the Martial Law
that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area and blocked the exit point. He
opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. He declared later that his object
was to ‘produce a moral effect’, i.e., create in the minds of satyagrahis a
feeling of terror and awe.
(B) Effects :
After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre crowds took to the
streets in many north Indian towns. There were strikes, clashes with the police
and attacks on government buildings.
The government, on the other hand, followed a policy
of repression.
(a) They humiliated and
terrorised people.
(b) Satyagrahis were forced
to rub their noses on the ground.
(c) They were forced to crawl
on the streets and salam all sahibs.
(d) People were flogged.
(e) Some villages around
Gujranwala in Punjab were bombed. As the violence spread, Gandhiji called off
the movement.
3. Why
did Mahatma Gandhi feel the need to launch a more broad-hased movement in India
? How did he achieve this object ?
Answer:
(A) The reason for a more
broad-based movement was that the Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespread
movement but it was mostly limited to cities and towns.
(B) Gandhiji
achieved his object in the way as mentioned below :
Gandhiji felt that a more broad-based movement could
not be organised without bringing Hindu-Muslim unity.
(a) One way of
achieving Hindu-Muslim unity was to take up the Khilafat issue.
(b) After the defeat of
Turkey in World War I there were rumours that harsh terms would be imposed on
the emperor of Turkey who was also the Khalifa or the spiritual head of the Muslims.
(c) The Indian Muslims
decided to defend the temporal powers of the Khalifa.
id) Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali — two brothers, met Gandhiji who saw this as
an opportunity to bring two communities closer and start a unified national
movement.
Congress sessions at Calcutta and Nagpur:
(a) In the special session of
the Congress at Calcutta in September 1920, inspite of opposition of some
leaders, Gandhiji convinced leaders to start a Non-Cooperation Movement in
support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.
(b) However, many within the
Congress were reluctant to boycott the council elections scheduled for November
1920, and they feared that the movement might lead to violence.
(c) But finally at Nagpur
session in December 1920, a compromise between two Congress groups was worked
out and the Non-Cooperation programme was adopted in support of Khilafat as
well as for Swaraj.
4. How
had non-cooperation spread in cities ? Explain. Why did it gradually slow down
Answer:
(a) In the towns, middle classes
participated in the movement in the following ways :
Students left the schools and colleges. Headmasters
and teachers resigned. Lawyers gave up their practice.
Elections were boycotted except in Madras, where
Justice Party, took part in elections because it was a party of non-Brahmans
and felt that entering the Council was one way of gaining some power –
something that usually only Brahmans had access to.
Foreign goods were boycotted.
Liquor shops were picketed.
Foreign clothes were burnt in huge bonfires.
Many traders refused to import foreign cloth or trade
in foreign goods.
(b) Economic effects of
Non-Cooperation Movement were as given below :
The import of foreign cloth decreased from ? 102 crore
to K 57 crore between 1921 and
In many places merchants and traders refused to trade
in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.
People discarded foreign clothes and started wearing
only Indian clothes. This led to increased production by the Indian textile
mills and handlooms.
(c) The movement in the cities
gradually slowed down for the reasons as given below :
Khadi was often more expensive than mass produced mill
cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it.
Similarly the boycott of British institutions failed
because to be successful alternative Indian institutions could not be set up in
place of the British ones. As a result of it, students and teachers began to go
back to government schools.
The lawyers too joined back work in government courts.
5.Describe
the causes, events and results of peasants movement of Awadh during the
Non-Cooperation Movement.
Answer:
During the Non-Cooperation Movement, the peasants of Awadh under the leadership
of Baba Ramchandra – a sanyasi, participated.
Causes :
(a) The talukdars and
landlords demanded high rents and other cesses from the peasants who had to do
begar and work at landlord’s farms without payment.
(b) As tenants, there was no
security of tenure and no right over the leased land.
Object and demands : The
demands included reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, and social boycott
of oppressive landlords.
Activities during the movement:
(a) In many places, nai-dhobi
bandhs were organised by panchayats to deprive landlords of the services of
even barbers and washermen.
(b) By October 1920 Oudh
Kisan Sabha was formed. It was headed by Jawaharlal Nehru who had gone there,
talked to the villagers to understand their grievances.
(c) Within a month over 300
branches had been setup in the villages around this region.
(d) After the start of
non-cooperation movement Congress tried to integrate the Awadh peasants
struggle into a wider struggle.
(e) The peasant movement,
however, developed in forms that the Congress leadership was unhappy with
because in 1921 the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazars
were looted, and grain hoards were taken over.
The local leaders told peasants that Gandhiji had
declared that no taxes were to be paid and land was to be redistributed among
the poor. The name of Gandhiji was used to sanction all actions and
aspirations.
Results : As the peasants
struggle had turned violent, the Congress was unhappy.
6.Write
a short note on the participation of tribal peasants in the Gudem Hills of
Andhra Pradesh in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Answer:
Causes for participation :
(a) The colonial government
had closed large forest areas, preventing people from entering the forests to
graze their cattle, or to collect fuelwood and fruits.
(b) These restrictions had
affected their livelihoods as well as their traditional rights.
(c) They were forced to
contribute begar for road building.
Activities : They
attacked police stations and attempted to kill British officials and carried on
guerrilla warfare for achieving swaraj.
Their leader and his views : Alluri
Sitaram Raju led them in the militant guerrilla movement. He was influenced by
Gandhiji and persuaded them to wear khadi and give up drinking. He believed in
the use of force for liberation of the country. He was captured and executed in
1924 and became a folk hero.
Importance : This shows
that tribal people were also influenced by Non-Cooperation Movement and took
part in it in their own way. Tribal peasants, however, could not achieve their
objects because such activities were not approved by the Congress.
7.“The
plantation workers in Assam had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and
the nation of Swaraj.” Support the statement with arguments. [CBSE2016]
Or
Describe why did the plantation workers of Assam join the Non-Cooperation
Movement. What were its results ? What was the importance of movement of
plantation workers and other such movements ?
Answer:
(a) Object : Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859,
plantation workers in Assam were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without
permission. In practice they were rarely given such permission. For them
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. They believed that under Gandhi Raj everyone would be
given land in their own village.
(b) Events :
During the movement, thousands of workers defied the
authorities.
They left the plantations and headed home.
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.
(c) Importance :
The objects of movement of plantation workers and
other such movements (of tribal people in Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh) were
not defined by the Congress programme. They interpreted the term Swaraj in
their own ways. They hoped that time will come when their all miseries would
come to an end.
The tribals chanted Gandhiji’s name and raised slogans
demanding ‘Swatantra Bharat This way they were also emotionally relating to an
all India agitation.
When they acted in the name of Mahatma Gandhi or
linked their movement with Congress, they were identifying with a movement
which went beyond the limits of their immediate locality.
8. Write
a short note on Swaraj Party.
Answer:
After the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922, there were two
groups in the Congress. Some leaders were tired of mass struggles and wanted to
participate in the council elections. They were of the opinion that the British
policies should be opposed within the councils. They should ask for more
reforms and demonstrate that these councils were not truly democratic. These
leaders were C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru who formed Swaraj Party for fighting
elections and to return to council politics.
The other group was led
by younger elements like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose who were in
favour of more radical mass agitation and for full independence. However, the
swarajists were allowed to fight elections. They succeeded only to some extent
in 1923. In 1926, elections they did not succeed due to death of C.R. Das.
9.Simon
Commission was greeted with slogan “Go Back Simon” at arrival in India. Support
this reaction of Indians with arguments. [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
(a) In 1928, Simon Commission
was constituted by the Tory government in Britain in response to the
nationalist movement.
(b) The object of the
Commission under Sir John Simon, was to look into the functioning of the
constitutional system in India and suggest changes. But the problem was that
the commission did not have a single Indian member. All the members were
British.
It was under these circumstances that the Indians decided to boycott the
commission. So when the commission arrived in India in 1928, it was greeted
with the slogan ‘Go back Simon’. All parties including the Congress and the
Muslim League, participated in the demonstrations.
(c) The demonstration by all parties
against the Simon Commission was justified on the following grounds :
Under the Government of India Act of 1919, the
provincial councils set up were not truly democratic.
The powers were still in the hands of the Governor
General of India.
In response to the demands of the Indians, Simon
Commission was appointed to look into the constitutional reforms in India but
it was strange that no Indian was appointed as a member. This was an insult for
the Indians.
Not to include an Indian was against the spirit of
nationalists in India. Hence
demonstration against Simon Commission. .
10. Describe
the main events leading to Civil Disobedience Movement or Salt- Satyagraha in
1930. .
Or
Describe the different factors that shaped the political situations in the late
1920s.
Answer:
The main events/factors that led to start
of Salt Satyagraha were as mentioned below :
Boycott of Simon Commission.
Announcement of Lord Irwin in October 1929.
(a) In October 1929 in order
to win over Congress and the Muslim League, Lord Irwin Viceroy made an offer of
‘dominion status’ for India in an unspecified future.
(b) He also stated that a
Round Table Conference would be held to discuss a future constitution for
India.
These actions of Lord Irwin could not satisfy the
radicals within the Congress.
Subash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru became more
assertive.
The liberals and moderats who were demanding
constitutional system within the frame work of British dominion lost their influence.
Under these circumstances, Congress Session at Lahore
was held in December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru.
At Lahore session Congress passed a resolution for
‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It was declared that 26 January,
1930 would be celebrated as Independence Day and
people were to take a pledge to struggle for independence. Thus the stage was
ready for next
part of struggle against the British government.
11.What
were the main demands put forward by Gandhiji in his letter dated 31st January
1930 to Viceroy ? What was the object and importance of Salt Tax ?
Answer:
(a) After the Lahore session
of Congress 26 January 1930 was celebrated as Independence Day. At Lahore
resolution for ‘Purna Swaraj’ was passed. So in order to achieve this Gandhiji
was authorised to start a movement. Before starting a movement, Gandhiji wrote
a letter on
31st January 1930 stating the demands which were wide ranging to include all
classes within Indian society.
(b) The abolition of Salt Tax
was the most important demand because salt was consumed by the rich as well as
poor. It was one of the most essential items of food. The monopoly of the
government over its production revealed the most oppressive policy of the
British government. , So to attract each and everyone into the movement,
Gandhiji included abolition of salt tax in his
eleven demands. The demands were, however, not accepted by the Viceroy. The
ground for the start of Civil Disobedience Movement or Salt Satyagraha was now
ready.
12.Describe
briefly the Salt March/Dandhi March undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi. What were its
importance and effects ?
Answer:
(a)
As the demands were not fulfilled, Gandhiji started
march from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarat coastal town of Dandi.
He was accompanied by his 78 trusted followers.
The march continued for 24 days about 10 miles a day.
During the march Gandhiji explained to the people, the
meaning of swaraj and urged them to defy the British laws.
On reaching Dandi on 6 April, he ceremonially violated
the salt law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water.
(b) Importance :
Manufacturing salt by boiling sea water was the beginning of the Civil
Disobedience Movement. It was different from Non-cooperation Movement of
1920-22 because people were asked not only to refuse cooperation with the
British but also to break colonial laws such as Salt Law which was the most
oppressive face of the British rule.
13.Describe
the various activities that took place during the first phase of the Civil
Disobedience Movement. Why was it withdrawn in March 1931 ? [CBSE 2016]
Or
Why did Gandhiji decide to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
(a) The various activities that took place
during the first phase of the movement were as mentioned below :
Violation of salt laws by manufacturing salt.
Boycott of foreign cloth.
Picketing of liquor shops.
Refusal of peasants to pay revenue and chaukidari
taxes.
Resignation of village officials.
Violation of forest laws and going to Reserved forests
to collect wood and grazing cattle.
(b) Policy of the government :
The government adopted a repressive policy.
It arrested the Congress leaders.
Abdul Gaffar Khan, a devout disciple of Gaiidhiji, was
arrested in April 1930. It led to clashes in Peshawar.
In police firing many people were killed.
In Sholapur, people attacked lawcourts, railway
stations and the structures that symbolised the British rule.
As a result of repressive policy about 100,000 people
were arrested.
(c) As
a result of government’s repressive policy in which children and women were
beaten Gandhiji once again decided to call off the movement. Gandhi-Irwin Pact
was signed on 5th March 1931.
14.What
were main features of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact ? How and when was the Civil
Disobedience relaunched and lost its momentum ?
Answer:
(a) Gandhiji decided to call
off the movement and entered into a Pact with Irwin on 5 March 1931.
The main feature of the agreement was that Gandhiji
consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London.
The government agreed to release the political
prisoners.
(b) Gandhiji
went to London to attend the Second Round Table Conference as the sole
representative of the Congress. The Round Table Conference, however, failed.
Gandhiji re¬turned empty handed. On his return, he found that the government
was following a repressive policy. Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru had
already been arrested. Congress had been declared illegal. The government had
taken many steps to prevent meetings, demonstrations and boycotts. Gandhiji
restarted the movement again on 1 January, 1932. It continued but soon lost its
momentum and was withdrawn in 1934.
15.Why
did the different social groups join the Civil Disobedience Movement
Or
“The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of industrial workers in its
programme of struggle.” Analayse.
Answer:
The different social groups joined the
Civil Disobedience Movement for the reasons as mentioned
below :
(1) Rich peasant communities : The
reasons for the rich peasant communities for taking part ire the movement were
as given below :
The rich communities like the Patidars of Gujarat and
the Jats of Uttar Pradesh were producers of commercial crops. They were very
hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices.
They were not in a position to pay revenue to the
government. They joined the movement in order to get the revenue reduced. They
even forced reluctant members to participate in the boycott programmes. For
them the fight for swaraj was a struggle against high revenues.
The refusal of the government to reduce the revenue
demand had led to widespread
resentment among the rich peasants.
(2) Poor peasantry :
Poor peasantry joined the movement in the hope that
their unpaid rent to the landlord would be remitted because due to depression
they were not in a position to
pay the rent. Many of them were small tenants cultivating land they had rented
from landlords. Their cash income had dwindled due to depression.
The Congress was apprehensive of raising isshes
because that might upset the rich peasants and landlords. So, Congress did not
support ‘no rent’ campaigns. Thus, the relationship between the poor peasants
and the Congress remained uncertain.
(3) Business classes :
They wanted protection against imports of foreign
goods and a rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage
imports.
They formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial
Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (FICCI) in 1927.
Prominent industrialists Purshottamdas Thakurdas and
G.D. Birla attacked the colonial control over the Indian economy and supported
the Civil Disobedience Movement.
They refused to sell or buy imported goods. Most
businessmen came to see swaraj as a time when colonial restrictions on business
would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without
constraints. But after the failure of the Round Table Conference, business
groups were no longer uniformly enthusiastic. They were apprehensive of the
spread of militant activities. They were also worried about prolonged
disruption of business, as well as of the growing influence of socialism
amongst the younger members of the Congress.
(4) Industrial working class :
They did not participate in the movement in large
numbers except in the Nagpur region.
As the industrialists came closer to Congress, the
workers stayed aloof.
Some workers did participate in the Civil Disobedience
Movement selectively as mentioned below :
(a) Boycott of foreign goods
as part of their own movements against low wages and poor working conditions.
(b) There were strikes by
railway workers in 1930.
(c) Dockworkers’ strike in
1932.
(d) In 1930 thousands of
workers in Chotanagpur in mines wore Gandhi caps and participated in protest
rallies and boycott campaign.It may be mentioned that the Congress was
reluctant to include workers’ demands because that would alienate
industrialists and divide anti-imperial forces.
16.What
was the role of women in the Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
There was large-scale participation of
women as mentioned below :
During salt march, thousands of women came out of
their homes to listen him (Gandhiji).
Women participated in protest marches, manufactured
salt and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops.
Many went to jail: In urban areas these women were
from high caste families; in rural areas they came from rich peasant
households.
They were moved by the call of Gandhiji and began to
see service to the nation as a sacred duty of women.The participation, however,
did not change their status because Gandhiji was convinced that it was the duty
of the women to look after home and hearth to be good mothers and good wives.
17. Not
all social groups were moved by the abstract concept of Swaraj. Support the
statement in the light of Civil Disobedience Movement.
Or
Describe the limits of Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer:
Thousands of people in different parts of the country broke the salt laws and
boycotted foreign cloth. Liquor shops were picketed by women who participated
in protest marches and manufactured salt. But there were many social groups
that? did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement. These were as
given below:
Untouchables : Untouchables
or dalits or oppressed for long had been ignored by the Congress because of the
fear of offending the sanatanis, the conservative high caste Hindus. The result
was that the dalit leaders organised themselves and demanded reserved seats in
educational institutions and separate electorates for legislature councils.
They thought that political empowerment would solve their problems. Dalit
participation, was, therefore limited particularly in Maharashtra and Nagpur
region where their organisation was strong.
Muslim participation : After
the Non-Cooperation Movement, a large section of Muslim felt alienated from the
Congress. Relations between Hindus and Muslims had wors-ened. There were
communal riots in various cities. However, efforts were made to bring two
communities closer by solving the of
representation. But due to failure of these efforts, there was an atmosphere of
suspicion and distrust between these two communities. Thus, large sections of
Muslims remained alienated from the Congress and did not participate in the
Civil Disobedience Movement. They feared that the culture and identity of
minorities would be in danger under the domination of a Hindu majority.
18. Describe
the views of Mahatma Gandhi on untouchability and efforts made by him to get
Harijans their rights.
Answer:
(a) Mahatma Gandhi was
against untouchability. He declared that swaraj would not come for a hundred
years if untouchability was not eliminated. He called the ‘untouchables’
harijan or the children of God.
(b)
He organised Satyagraha to secure them entry into temples,
and access to public wells, tanks, roads and schools.
He himself cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the
bhangi (sweepers).
He persuaded upper caste to change their heart and
give up ‘the sin of untouchability’.
19.Describe
Poona Pact of September 1932.
Answer:
After the announcement of Communal Award in August 1932 which gave separate
electorate to dalits, Gandhiji began a fast unto death. Gandhiji believed that
separate elector¬ates for dalit would slow down the process of their integration
into society. Ultimately, Poona Pact was signed in September 1932. This gave
the Depressed Classes reserved seats in provincial and central legislative
councils. They were, however, to be voted in by the general electorate be., by
all the voters in a constituency.
20. “Nationalism
spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same
nation.” Support the statement. [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
It is true to say that nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that
they are all part of^the same nation, when they discover some unity that binds
them together. In India such sense of collective belonging came partly through
the experience of united struggles. But there were also a variety of cultural
processes through which nationalism captured people’s imagination. Thus
nationalism spreads in the ways as mentioned below :
Symbol of a figure or image : The
identity of India was visualised with the image of Bharat Mata. The image was
first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Abanindranath Tagore painted his
famous image of Bharat Mata. Devotion to mother figure was treated as evidence
of one’s nationalism.
Revival of Indian folklore : In
the late nineteenth century, revival of folklore helped in the development of
nationalism. Folk songs and legends, gave a true picture of traditional
culture. It helped in discovering national identity and restoring a sense of
pride.
Icons and symbols : More
icons and symbols helped in unifying people and inspiring in them a feeling of
nationalism. The examples are designing of a tricolour flag during Swadeshi
movement, Swaraj flag by Gandhiji in 1921. The carrying, of Swaraj flag during
marches and demonstrations became a symbol of defiance.
Interpretation of history : The
interpretation of history also helped in raising the sense of nationalism among
the Indians. Nationalist history drew the attention of the Indians to the great
achievements of the past as was done by the extremists like Lok Manya Tilak.
The sense of collective belonging came partly through
the experience of united struggles such as Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil
Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement.
There were also variety of cultural processes through which nationalism
captured people’s imagination. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular
prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism.
MAP
On the given political outline map of
India locate and label the following places of national movement:
Champaran
Kheda
Amritsar
Chauri-Chaura
Lahore
Bardoli
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