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NCERT Solutions, Chapter 2 - NATIONALISM IN INDIA, TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED, Q.1. Explain:, (a) Why is the growth of nationalism in the colonies linked to an anti-colonial movement ?, (b) How did the First World War help in the growth of the National Movement in India?    [CBSE2014], Or, Explain any four facts to show how did the First World War help in the growth of the National Movement in India. [CBSE March 2011], (a) Why were Indians outraged by the Rowlatt Act ?, (b) Why did Gandhiji decide to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement?, Ans., (a) The growth of Modern nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement due to the factors as mentioned below :, People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together., As each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently, their experiences were varied and their notions of freedom were not always the same, so the Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups together within one movement., Thus, in spite of differences and conflicts, different groups and communities came under the banner of Indian National Congress and took part in various movements which were anti¬colonial or against the British., (b) The First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India as it created a new economic and political situation as mentioned below :, The defense expenditure had increased., War loans were taken and more taxes were imposed., Custom duties were raised., Income tax was introduced., The rise in prices led to extreme hardships for the people., There was widespread discontentment in the rural area due to forced recruitment of soldiers., In 1918-19 and 1920-21 crops failed in many parts of India resulting in acute shortages of food., There was influenza epidemic too. According to the Census of 1921, twelve to thirteen million people perished as a result of famines and epidemics. People thought that their hardships and suffering would come to an end after the war but that did not happen. So these factors were responsible for the rise of nationalism in India., (c) Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act (1919) due to the following reasons :, They had hoped that after the war their hardships would be over and the government would take steps to improve their condition., On the other hand, the government got the Rowlatt Act passed in the Imperial Legislative Council against the united opposition of the Indian members., The Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities. It allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years., These provisions meant the suspension of two principles of justice – trial by jury and habeas corpus – the rights safeguarding against illegal imprisonment., The Rowlatt Act was considered as Black Law and the Indians under the leadership of Gandhi decided to oppose it by non-violent civil disobedience which would start with a hartal on 6 April., (d) Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement due to the reasons as mentioned below :, The movement was turning violent in many places., Gandhiji thought that Satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles. This was in context of the incident in Chauri-Chaura, a village in Gorakhpur district UP where twenty two policemen were brutally killed after they had fired on a political procession., There had been disturbances in Madras and Calcutta also. The above factors made it clear that the country was not yet ready of mass movement. So Gandhiji prevailed upon the Congress Working Committee to call off the movement., Q.2. What is meant by the idea of Satyagraha?, Or, Explain the idea of Satyagraha according to Gandhiji. [CBSE 2014 (D)], Ans., Satyagraha is pure soul-force., Truth is the very substance of the soul. That is why this force is called Satyagraha., The soul is informed with knowledge. It burns the flame of love., Non-violence is the supreme dharma., 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 non-violence., In Satyagraha, people including the oppressors – had to be persuaded to see the truth, instead of being forced to accept truth through the use of violence., In this way by this struggle, truth was bound to ultimately triumph. Mahatma Gandhi believed that this dharma of non-violence would unite all Indians., Q.3. Write a newspaper report on :, (a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, (b) The Simon Commission, Ans. (a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre: A public meeting was announced for the 13th April 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar to protest against the Rowlatt Act. The people were allowed to assemble there. After they had gathered there in thousands, General Dyer marched there with armoured cars and troops. Without giving any warning to the people to disperse, he ordered firing on the unarmed, and peaceful people. The casualties among the Indians were very heavy. Dyer’s purpose in doing so was to ‘produce a moral effect’, to create in the minds of Satyagrahis, a feeling of terror and awe. This massacre of innocent people in thousands converted Mahatma Gandhi into a non-cooperator., (b) (i) The Indian members of the Central Legislative Assembly exposed the drawbacks in the Government of India Act of 1919 A.D. As a result of it, the Simon Commission was appointed in 1927 A.D. to suggest any further constitutional reforms. This commission consisted of seven members and its Chairman was Sir John Simon., (ii) Why was it boycotted by the Indians?, But Indians boycotted the Simon Commission because there was no Indian member in this commission. The terms of the commission’s appointment did not give any indication of ‘Swaraj’, while the demand of the Indians was only ‘Swaraj’. Therefore, the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and other parties decided to oppose the Simon Commission., (iii) Methods: Indian people organised hartals all over the country. They also held a black flag demonstration with the slogan, “Simon go back”, when the Commission reached Bombay (Mumbai). Such demonstrations were held everywhere it went., Q.4. List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Choose any three, and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they joined the movement., Ans. Social Groups who took part in the NonCooperation Movement. In the Non- Cooperation Movement (1920-1922), the following social groups took part., (I) Middle-class people in the towns., The movement in the cities: The Movement started with middle-class participation in the cities. Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices., Boycott of council elections: The Council elections were boycotted in most provinces except Madras (Chennai), where the Justice Party, the party of the nonBrahmans, felt that entering the council was one way of gaining some power, something that usually only Brahmans had an access to., Swadeshi: The Non-Cooperation Movement had a great impact on the Indian textile industry. Swadeshi goods, especially cloth got a great impetus. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires., Impact on industry: In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. Due to this, the demand for Indian textile mills and handlooms went up. The increase in demand provided a big relief to the vanishing textile industry of India., Movement in the countryside: Though people in the countryside interpreted the idea of ‘Swaraj’ in their own way but they participated in the movement on large scale. In Awadh, peasants launched the movement against the talukdars and landlords. Whereas the plantation workers launched the movement against the tea estate owners., (II) Peasants in rural areas., (i) Participants: In the countryside, the movement was led by the peasants, tribals and the local leaders. For example, in Awadh, it was Baba Ramchandra sanyasi, who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer., (ii)  Why rural people participated?, The movement here was not against the Britishers but against talukdars and landlords. The problems of the rural people were different from those of the urban people:, The talukdars and landlords were demanding very high rents and a variety of other taxes., Peasants had to do begarand work at the landlord’s farms without any payment., The peasants had no security of tenure. They were regularly evicted so that they could acquire no security of tenure., As the problems of the people were different, their demands were also different. The peasant, movement demanded:, Reduction of revenue, Abolition of begar, Redistribution of land, Social boycott of oppressive landlords., (iii) Ways of protests: The Movement in the countryside had a different angle. In many places, Nai-dhobi bandhs were organised by the Panchayats to deprive the landlords of the services of barbers, cobblers, washermen, etc. Even national leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru went to villages in Awadh to know the grievances of the people. By October, the Awadh Kissan Sabhas was set up headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Baba Ramchandra, and a few others. When the movement spread in 1921, the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked. The movement turned violent which was not liked by some of the Congress leaders., (III) Tribal people., Most of the tribal people were dependent on forests for their livelihood but under the new Forest Policy, the government had put several restrictions on the people :, Closing large forest area for the tribal people., Forcing the local people to contribute begar., Preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuelwood and fruits., All these steps enraged the hill people. Not only were their livelihoods affected, but they felt that their traditional rights were also being denied. So the people revolted., (IV)  Plantation workers., (i) 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., The government had passed the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 under which plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea estates without permission, and in fact, they were rarely given such permission., When the plantation workers heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of them defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed towards their homes., The plantation workers believed that the Gandhi Raj was coming, and everyone would be given land in their own villages., Q.5. Discuss the Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism.  [CBSE 2015 (O)], Ans. The Salt March was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism because-, It was the first time that Indian leaders decided to violate law. People were now asked not only to refuse cooperation with the British, but also to break colonial laws., Thousands of Indians in different parts of the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of the 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 – going into Reserved Forests to collect wood and graze cattle., Worried by the development, the colonial government began arresting the Congress leaders, one by one. This led to violent clashes in many places. Angry crowd demonstrated in the streets, facing armoured cars and police firing. Many were killed., When Mahatma Gandhi himself was arrested, industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police posts, municipal buildings, law courts and railway stations – all structures that symbolised the British rule., The outcome of the movement was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact which was signed by Gandhiji with Irwin on 5th March, 1931. By this Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London and the government agreed to release the political prisoners., Q.6. Imagine you are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain what the experience meant to your life., Or, ‘Women played a very important role in the Civil Disobedience Movement.’ Explain., Ans., Women participated in large numbers in the Civil Disobedience Movement., During the movement, thousands of women came out of their homes to listen to Gandhiji., They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picked foreign cloth and liquor shops., Many were put to jail by the police., Moved by Gandhiji’s call, they began to see service to the nation as a sacred duty of women., Q.7. Why did the political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates ?[CBSE2015], Ans. By the system of separate electorates, we mean such a system when people of one religion only vote for a candidate of their own religion. Using such a system, was a mischief of the British Government who wanted to divide the people to weaken the national movement. By doing so, the British wanted to prolong their stay in India., The different political leaders differed over the question of separate electorates because of the following reasons :, (1) The Congress leaders opposed the policy of the British Government in instigating different peoples in demanding separate electorate. They knew well that it was all the mischief of the British Government who encouraged different people to ask for separate electorates because such a policy would weaken the national movement, and prolong Britishers stay in India. The Congress leaders were one and all in favour of joint electorates., (2) The Muslim leaders, like Muhammed Iqbal and Mr Jinnah asked for separate electorates to safeguard the political interests of the Muslims. In their opinion, the majority of the people were Hindus, and so in case of joint electorates, the Muslims would have little chance of winning the seats. As such, they would always be at the mercy of the Hindus., (3) The leaders of the Depressed Classes, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, also asked for separate electorates because in the joint electorates, he feared the dominance of the upper electorates or the upper caste Hindus in the elections. By the Poona Pact he, however, agreed to have joint electorates with the Hindus, provided the seats for the Depressed Classes were fixed or reserved in the Provincial and Central Legislative Councils., Outcome: Lord Irwin announced in October 1929, a vague, offer of ‘dominion status’ for India., NOTES, The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation, In India, the growth of modern nationalism is connected to the anti-colonial movement. Due to colonialism, many different groups shared bonds together, which were forged by the Congress under Mahatma Gandhi., The war created a new economic and political situation in the years after 1919. Income tax introduced and the prices of custom duties were doubled between 1913 and 1918, which led to a very difficult life for common people. In 1918-19 crops failed in India, resulting in shortage of food accompanied by an influenza epidemic. At this stage, a new leader appeared and suggested a new mode of struggle., The Idea of Satyagraha, In January 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa and started the movement Satyagraha. Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to search for truth. According to Mahatma Gandhi, people can win a battle with non-violence which will unite all Indians. In 1917, he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system. In the same year, he organised satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers., The Rowlatt Act, In 1919, Mahatma Gandhi launched a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act. The Act gives the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. The British government decided to clamp down on nationalists by witnessing the outrage of the people. On April 10th, police in Amritsar fired on a peaceful procession, which provoked widespread attacks on banks, post offices and railway stations. Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command., On 13th April, the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place. A large crowd gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh where a few people came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures, while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. General Dyer blocked all the exit points and opened fire on the crowd killing hundreds. After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, people became furious and went on strikes, clashes with police and attacks on government buildings. Mahatma Gandhi had to call off the movement as it was turning into a violent war., Mahatma Gandhi then took up the Khilafat issue by bringing Hindus and Muslims together. The First World War ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. In March 1919, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay. In September 1920, Mahatma Gandhi convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj., Why Non-cooperation?, According to Mahatma Gandhi, British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians. Non-cooperation movement is proposed in stages. It should begin with the surrender of titles that the government awarded and a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools and foreign goods. After many hurdles and campaigning between the supporters and opponents of the movement, finally, in December 1920, the Non-Cooperation Movement was adopted., Differing Strands within the Movement, In January 1921, the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began. In this movement, various social groups participated, but the term meant different things to different people., The Movement in the Towns, The middle-class started the movement and thousands of students, teachers, headmasters left government-controlled schools and colleges, lawyers gave up their legal practices. In the economic front, the effects of non-cooperation were more dramatic. The production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up when people started boycotting foreign goods. However, this movement slowed down due to a variety of reasons such as Khadi clothes are expensive, less Indian institutions for students and teachers to choose from, so they went back to government schools and lawyers joined back government courts., Rebellion in the Countryside, The Non-Cooperation Movement spread to the countryside where peasants and tribals were developing in different parts of India. The peasant movement started against talukdars and landlords who demanded high rents and a variety of other cesses. It demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords., Jawaharlal Nehru in June 1920, started going around the villages in Awadh to understand their grievances. In October, he along with few others set up the Oudh Kisan Sabha and within a month 300 branches had been set up. In 1921, the peasant movement spread and the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted and grain boards were taken over., In the early 1920s, a militant guerrilla movement started spreading in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh. The government started closing down forest areas due to which their livelihood was affected. Finally, the hill people revolted, which was led by Alluri Sitaram Raju who claimed that he had a variety of special powers., Swaraj in the Plantations, For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant right to move freely in and out and 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. After they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers left the plantations and headed home. But, unfortunately, they never reached their destination and were caught by the police and brutally beaten up., Towards Civil Disobedience, In February 1922, the Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn because Mahatma Gandhi felt that it was turning violent. Some of the leaders wanted to participate in elections to the provincial councils. Swaraj Party was formed by CR Das and Motilal Nehru. In the late 1920s Indian politics again shaped because of two factors. The first effect was the worldwide economic depression and the second effect was the falling agricultural prices. The Statutory Commission was set up to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes. In 1928, Simon Commission arrived in India and it was greeted by the slogan ‘Go back Simon’. In December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand of ‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It was declared that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as Independence Day., The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement, On 31 January 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Among the demands, the most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax which is consumed by the rich and the poor. The demands needed to be fulfilled by 11 March or else Congress would start a civil disobedience campaign. The famous salt march was started by Mahatma Gandhi 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. On 6 April he reached Dandi, and ceremonially violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling seawater. This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement., The movement spread across the world and salt law was broken in different parts of the country. Foreign cloth was boycotted, peasants refused to pay revenue and in many places, forest law was violated. In April 1930, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a devout disciple of Mahatma Gandhi was arrested. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested a month later which led to attacks to all structures that symbolised British rule. By witnessing the horrific situation, Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the movement and entered into a pact with Irwin on 5 March 1931. Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London. When the conference broke down, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India disappointed and relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement.  It continued for almost a year, but by 1934 it lost its momentum., How Participants saw the Movement, The Patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. They became enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement. But they were deeply disappointed when the movement was called off in 1931. So when the movement was restarted in 1932, many of them refused to participate. The poorer peasants joined a variety of radical movements, often led by Socialists and Communists., To organise business interests, the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927 was formed. The industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy and supported the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was first launched. Some of the industrial workers did participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement. In 1930 and 1932 railway workers and dock workers were on strike., Another important feature of the Civil Disobedience Movement was the large-scale participation of women. But, for a long time, Congress was reluctant to allow women to hold any position of authority within the organisation., The Limits of Civil Disobedience, Dalits, addressed as untouchables were not moved by the concept of Swaraj. Mahatma Gandhi used to call them harijans or the children of God, without whom swaraj could not be achieved. He organised satyagraha for the untouchables but they were keen on a different political solution to the problems of the community. They demanded reserved seats in educational institutions and a separate electorate., 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. The Poona Pact of September 1932, gave the Depressed Classes (later to be known as the Scheduled Castes) reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils. After the decline of the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat movement, Muslims felt alienated from the Congress due to which the relations between Hindus and Muslims worsened., 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. Nevertheless, the 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., The Sense of Collective Belonging, Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism. Finally, in the twentieth century, the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay created the image and in the 1870s he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland., Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata portrayed as an ascetic figure; she is calm, composed, divine and spiritual. In late-nineteenth-century India, nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends. During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed which had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims. By 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag, a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre, representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help., Conclusion, In the first half of the twentieth century, various groups and classes of Indians came together for the struggle of independence. The Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi attempted to resolve differences and ensure that the demands of one group did not alienate another. In other words, what was emerging was a nation with many voices wanting freedom from colonial rule.