Nationalism in India

Every card in this deck

QWhy is the growth of nationalism in colonies like India linked to the anti-colonial movement?

APeople discovered their unity through their struggle against colonialism. The shared sense of being oppressed under colonial rule bound many different groups together, even though each group felt colonialism differently and imagined freedom in its own way.

QHow did the First World War create economic and political hardship in India?

ADefence spending rose, financed by war loans, higher customs duties and a new income tax. Prices doubled between 1913 and 1918, forced recruitment in villages caused anger, and crop failures in 1918-21 plus an influenza epidemic killed 12-13 million people.

QWhat did Gandhiji's idea of satyagraha mean?

AIt stressed the power of truth and the search for truth. If the cause is true and the fight is against injustice, physical force is unnecessary: a satyagrahi wins through non-violence by appealing to the oppressor's conscience, without vengeance or aggression. Gandhiji called it active soul-force, not passive resistance.

QWhere did Gandhiji organise satyagraha movements in 1917-18, and for whom?

AChamparan in Bihar (1917), for peasants against the oppressive indigo plantation system; Ahmedabad (1918), for cotton mill workers; and Kheda district in Gujarat (1918), for peasants who could not pay revenue after crop failure and plague.

QWhy were Indians outraged by the Rowlatt Act of 1919, and how did Gandhiji respond?

AIt was rushed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite united opposition from Indian members. It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activity and let it detain political prisoners without trial for two years. Gandhiji launched a nationwide non-violent satyagraha, starting with a hartal on 6 April.

QWhat happened at Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April 1919, and what followed?

AIn Amritsar, a crowd gathered to protest or attend the Baisakhi fair, many unaware of martial law. General Dyer blocked the exits and fired, killing hundreds, to 'produce a moral effect' of terror. Protests spread across north India and were brutally repressed, and Gandhiji called off the movement as violence spread.

QWhy did Gandhiji take up the Khilafat issue, and how did Non-Cooperation begin?

AHe wanted a broad-based movement, which needed Hindu-Muslim unity. The Khilafat Committee, led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, sought to defend the Ottoman Khalifa's powers. At Calcutta in September 1920 Gandhiji convinced Congress to launch non-cooperation for Khilafat and swaraj, adopted at Nagpur in December 1920.

QWhy did Gandhiji believe non-cooperation could win swaraj, and how was it to unfold?

AIn Hind Swaraj (1909) he argued that British rule survived only through Indian cooperation and would collapse within a year if Indians refused it. The movement would begin by surrendering titles and boycotting civil services, army, police, courts, councils, schools and foreign goods, with full civil disobedience to follow if repressed.

QHow did the Non-Cooperation Movement unfold in the towns, and why did it slow down?

AStudents left government schools, teachers and lawyers quit, council elections were boycotted, and foreign cloth was burnt; its imports halved between 1921 and 1922. It slowed because khadi was dearer than mill cloth, which the poor could not afford, and alternative Indian institutions were slow to come up.

QWhat were the grievances and demands of the Awadh peasant movement?

ALed by Baba Ramchandra, peasants opposed talukdars and landlords who demanded high rents, extra cesses and begar (unpaid forced labour), and evicted tenants at will. They demanded lower revenue, an end to begar, and a social boycott of oppressive landlords. The Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up with Jawaharlal Nehru in 1920.

QWho was Alluri Sitaram Raju, and how did his movement differ from Gandhian non-violence?

AHe led the tribal rebels of the Gudem Hills in Andhra Pradesh, who revolted when the government closed forests and forced begar for road building. He praised Gandhiji and urged khadi and temperance, but believed India could be freed only by force. His rebels waged guerrilla war until he was executed in 1924.

QWhat did swaraj mean to plantation workers in Assam?

AFreedom to move in and out of the confined tea gardens and keep links with their home villages; the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 barred them from leaving without permission. Believing Gandhi Raj was coming, thousands left for home, but they were stranded by a railway and steamer strike and beaten by police.

QWhy did Gandhiji withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922?

AHe felt the movement was turning violent in many places, as when a peaceful demonstration at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur became a violent clash with the police, and that satyagrahis needed proper training before they were ready for mass struggles.

QSwaraj Party

AA party formed within the Congress by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru after 1922 to return to council politics: to oppose British policies inside the councils, argue for reform and show the councils were not truly democratic.

QWhy was the Simon Commission opposed in India?

AThe Tory government set it up to review India's constitutional system and suggest changes, but it had no Indian members. When it arrived in 1928 it was met with 'Go back Simon', and all parties, including Congress and the Muslim League, demonstrated against it.

QWhat did the Lahore Congress of December 1929 decide?

AUnder Jawaharlal Nehru's presidency it formalised the demand for Purna Swaraj, complete independence, rejecting Irwin's vague offer of dominion status. It declared 26 January 1930 Independence Day, when people would pledge to struggle for complete independence.

QWhy did Gandhiji choose salt as the symbol to unite the nation in 1930?

ASalt was consumed by rich and poor alike and was one of the most essential foods. The salt tax and the government's monopoly on salt production, he said, revealed the most oppressive face of British rule. Abolishing it was the most stirring of his eleven demands to Irwin.

QDescribe the Salt March, and explain how Civil Disobedience differed from Non-Cooperation.

AGandhiji and 78 volunteers walked over 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi in 24 days, and on 6 April 1930 made salt from sea water. Unlike Non-Cooperation, people were asked not only to refuse cooperation but to break colonial laws: making salt, refusing revenue and chaukidari taxes, and violating forest laws.

QWhat was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, and what followed it?

ASigned on 5 March 1931 amid brutal repression, it had Gandhiji agree to attend the Round Table Conference in London while the government released political prisoners. The December 1931 talks broke down, repression resumed, Congress was declared illegal, and the relaunched movement lost momentum by 1934.

QWhy did rich and poor peasants view the Civil Disobedience Movement differently?

ARich peasants such as the Patidars and Jats, hit by falling crop prices, joined to fight high revenue, but were disappointed when it ended in 1931 without revision. Poor tenants wanted unpaid rent remitted and joined radical movements, but Congress would not back 'no rent' campaigns, fearing to upset landlords.

QHow did business classes and industrial workers relate to the Civil Disobedience Movement?

AIndustrialists such as Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, organised in FICCI (1927), wanted protection from imports and backed the movement with funds and boycotts, but cooled after the Round Table failure. Workers mostly stayed aloof, apart from Nagpur, railway and dock strikes, as Congress would not adopt their demands.

QWhat role did women play in the Civil Disobedience Movement, and what were its limits?

AThousands joined protest marches, made salt, picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops, and went to jail, seeing national service as a sacred duty. But this did not radically change how women's position was seen: Gandhiji saw their duty as home-making, and Congress gave women no positions of authority.

QWhy did Ambedkar and Gandhiji disagree over separate electorates for dalits, and what was the outcome?

AAmbedkar, founder of the Depressed Classes Association (1930), sought separate electorates for political empowerment. Gandhiji fasted unto death, fearing it would slow dalits' integration into society. The Poona Pact of September 1932 gave dalits reserved seats in legislatures, but elected by the general electorate.

QWhy did many Muslims stay away from the Civil Disobedience Movement?

AAfter the Khilafat movement declined, many felt alienated as Congress grew closer to Hindu nationalist groups such as the Hindu Mahasabha, and communal riots widened the gap. Talks over representation failed at the 1928 All Parties Conference, leaving Muslims fearing domination by a Hindu majority.

QHow did symbols, folklore and history create a sense of collective belonging in the national movement?

AThe image of Bharat Mata, from Bankim Chandra's 'Vande Mataram' and Abanindranath Tagore's painting, personified the nation. Tagore and Natesa Sastri revived folklore. Flags, such as Gandhiji's 1921 Swaraj flag with a spinning wheel, became symbols of defiance, and nationalist histories celebrated India's glorious past to instil pride.