Nationalism in India (history class 10 CBSE Board)

Q. 1. Explain: (Write in Brief)

(a) Why is growth of nationalism in the colonies linked to an anti-colonial movement?

Ans. 1.Colonisation affected people's freedom, and nationalist sentiments rushed during the process of struggle against the British domination. 

2. For people, the sense of oppression and exploitation became a common bond, which gave rise to the nationalist ideas.

(b) How did the First World War help in the growth of the National Movement in India?

Ans. 1.There was forced recruitment in the rural areas of India by the British army during the First World War. 

2. To finance the defence expenditure, customs duties were raised and income taxes introduced.

3. Prize rise, poverty and unemployment led to extreme hardship for the common people.

4. During 1918-19 and 1920-21, crop failure was followed by famine which resulted in severe food shortages. This was followed by an influenza epidemic in which 12 to 13 million people perished.

(c) Why were Indians outraged by the Rowlatt Act?

Ans. Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act due to the following reasons:

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6) This act Imperial Legislative Council, even though it was completely opposed by Indian members.

() It had given the government enormous powers to repress political activities.

(m) It also permitted the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. 

(d) Why did Gandhiji decide 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 at many places and satyagraha is needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles.

Q. 2. What is meant by the idea of Satyagraha?

Ans. 

1. The idea of Satyagraha mainly implies a unique method of mass agitation that highlights the powers of truth, and the need to search for truth. 

2. It focuses on non-violence and emphasis that if the cause is true and the fight is against injustice then there is no need for physical force. 

3. Gandhiji believed in the institution of dharma - non-violence and that it could lead to national unity and harmony.

Q.3. Write a newspaper report on:

(a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Ans. On Baisakhi day, 13 April 1919 a large crowd of people, mostly from neighbouring villages, unaware of the prohibitory orders in the city, had gathered in a small park (Jallianwala in Amritsar, Punjab) to protest against the arrest of their leaders, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal. The army surrounded the gathering under order from General Dyer and blocked the only exit point and opened fire on the unarmed crowd killing many people. The incident was followed by uncivilised brutalities on the inhabitants of Amritsar. The entire nation was stunned. 

(b) The Simon Commission- 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.

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 that 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. The effects of non-cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed, and foreign cloth was burnt in huge bonfires. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread and people began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones, the production of Indian textile mills and handlooms increased. But this movement in the cities gradually slowed down for various reasons. Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth, and poor people could not afford to buy it. Similarly, the boycott of British institutions posed a problem. For the movement to be successful, alternative Indian institutions had to be set up so that they could be used in place of the British ones. These were slow to come up. So students and teachers began trickling back to government schools, and lawyers joined back work in courts.

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 there 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 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 a reduction of revenue, the abolition of begar and a 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 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 food items. Mahatma Gandhi revealed the tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production, 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, foreign clothes were 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. Why did political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates?

Answer:

1. Dalit leaders under B R Ambedkar demanded separate electorate that would choose dalit members for legislative councils.They  demanded reserved seats in educational institutions and began organising themselves.They believed political empowerment was a solution to the social evils faced by this community.

2. Congress under Mahatma Gandhi was against separate electorate in India. According to them it was the mischief of Britishers to divide India on the basis of religion and caste so that they can prolong their rule over India.A

3. As the President of Muslim League, in 1930, Muhammad Iqbal, stressed on the importance of separate electorates for the Muslim community.He said a separate electorate was needed to safeguard the political interests of the minority and said Muslims faced economic inferiority.

Q4.  How did people belonging to different communities, regions or language groups develop a sense of collective belonging in India?

Answer

Undoubtedly, the sense of collective belongingness developed through the experience of united struggle against British rule.But many cultural processes also contributed to it. History, fiction, folklore, songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism. It was seen in India during its freedom movement.

1.Creation of Identity for Nation

The identity of a nation is most often symbolized in a figure or image. In the 20th century, the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata.This image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870, when he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ for our motherland. Later, this song included in his novel Anandamath and widely sung by the freedom fighters.The image of Bharat Mata was first painted by Abanindranath Tagore. Later the image acquired many different forms as it was drawn by different artists.

2. Development of Nationalism through Folklore

Indian folk songs and folk tales sung by bard (wandering poets) played an important role for making the idea of nationalism. These gave true picture of traditional culture, which was corrupted by foreigners.In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and in Madras, Natesa Sastri collected massive collection of folk tales and songs, which led the movement for folk revival. As the National Movement developed, nationalist leaders accepted symbols which unified people.

3. Designing of National Flag

During the Swadeshi Movement, a tricolour (red, green and yellow) flag was designed in Bengal. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims.By 1921, Gandhiji had designed the Swaraj Flag. It was a tricolour having a spinning wheel in the center representing the Gandhian ideal of self help. Carrying this tricolor flag (red, green and white) holding it overhead during marches, became a symbol of challenge for Britishers.

4. Nationalism through ancient Indian history

Another means of creating feeling of nationalism was explaining the meaning of history again. The nationalist writers urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.