Chapter - 2
" Nationalism in India "
✳️ INTRODUCTION :-
🔹 Nationalism is a sense of collective belonging among the people developed due to common identity and shared history or descent.
🔹 In India nationalism is connected to the anti-colonial movement.
🔹 Each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently. 🔹 The Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups together within one movement.
✳️ Phases of Indian Nationalism :-
👉 Moderates Phase (1885-1905)👉 Extremists Phase (1906-1915)👉 Gandhian Phase (1915-1947)
✳️ INC- 1st PAN India Party :-
🔹 The Indian National Congress was established when 72 delegates from all over the country met at Bombay on 28th December 1885.🔹 Naoroji, a businessman and publicist settled in London,and member of the British Parliament, guided the younger nationalists to form INC.A retired British official, A.O. Hume, also played a part in bringing Indians from the various regions together.
✳️ First world war :-
🔹 28 JULY 1914 - 11 Nov 1918
✳️ Top 5 Causes of World War I :-
👉 Mlitarism - Policy of building up strong military forces to prepare for war .
👉 Alliances - Agreements between nations to aid and protect each other .
👉 Nationalism - Pride in devotion to one's country .
👉 Imperialism - When one country takes over another country .
👉 Assassination - Murder of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand
✳️ Effects of World War I :-
🔹 Although India was not directly involved in the First World War, India was also affected due to England's involvement in that war. England's defense spending was increased due to the war. To meet that expenditure, loans were taken and taxes were increased. The English government increased the custom duty and income tax so that additional revenue could be collected. Commissions of things increased during the war. Between 1913 and 1918, the prices of most things doubled. This increased the difficulties of the common man. People were forcibly recruited into the army. This caused a lot of resentment in the rural areas.
🔹 Due to poor yield in many parts of India, there was shortage of food. The influenza epidemic further aggravated the problem. According to the 1921 census, between 120 lakh and 130 lakh people died due to famine and epidemics.
✳️ The new economic situation created in India by the First World War :-
🔹 Manchester imports in India declined as British mills were busy with war production to pave the way for supplies to Indian mills for the vast domestic market.
🔹 As the war progressed, Indian factories were called upon to supply the necessities of war. As a result new factories were established, new workers were appointed and all were made to work long hours.
🔹 Cotton clothing production from Britain collapsed after the war and exports declined dramatically, as it was unable to modernize and compete with the US, Germany, Japan. Hence within the colonies like India, local industrialists gradually occupied their position on the domestic market.
✳️ GANDHIJI Brief Introduction :-
👉 Full Name : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 👉 Born : 2 October, 1869👉 Place of Birth : Porbandar, Gujarat👉 Father : Karamchand Gandhi 👉 Mother: Putlibai Gandhi👉 Nationality : Indian 👉 Spouse : Kasturba Gandhi👉 Professions : Lawyer, Politician, Activist, Writer👉 Death : 30 January, 1948
✳️ Mahatma Gandhi: At South Africa :-
🔹 In May, 1893 he went to South Africa to work as a lawyer. 🔹 There he had first-hand experience of racial discrimination.🔹 On 22 May, 1894 Gandhi established the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). 🔹 He was Influenced by the idea of Satyagraha that Is devotion of truth and in 1906 implemented non- violent protest. 🔹 He returned to India on 9th January 1915, after spending 21 years of his life in South Africa.
👉 9th January 👉 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas👉 Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Day
✴️ In1915, Gandhiji returned to India permanently and joined the Indian National Congress with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor.In 1912, Gokhale visited South Africa at Gandhi's invitation. In his autobiography, Gandhi calls Gokhale his mentor and guide.
✳️ Meaning of satyagraha :-
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi adopted a unique method of mass movement in the form of Satyagraha. This approach was based on the principle that if one is fighting for the right motive, then one does not need strength to fight the oppressor. Gandhiji believed that a satyagrahi could win his battle only through non-violence.
✳️ Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Satyagraha :-
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915. Gandhi's novel method of mass movement is known as 'Satyagraha'. Satyagraha emphasized truth. Gandhiji believed that if the cause was true, if the struggle was against injustice, then physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. A satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. People, including oppressors, had to be persuaded to see the truth. Satyagraha was ultimately bound for victory.
🔹 The first plantation workers in Champaran in India in 1916 were motivated to fight against the oppressive plantation system. Satyagraha in Kheda in 1917 to support the farmers. Satyagraha in Ahmedabad in 1918: Among cotton mill workers.
✳️ Some of the early Satyagraha movements organized by Gandhiji :-
👉 The peasant movement in Champaran in 1916.
👉 Kheda's peasant movement in 1917.
👉 Movement of mill workers of Ahmedabad in 1918.
✳️ Hind Swaraj :-
🔹 The famous book written by Mahatma Gandhi, which emphasized the non-cooperation of British rule in India.
✳️ THE ROWLATT ACT :-
🔹 In 1919 The Rowlatt Act was passed by the British Government.
🔹 This act allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
✴️ OPPOSITION :-
🔹 On 6th April, 1919 Gandhi started the non-violent civil disobedience movement.
🔹 Kitchlew was arrested with Gandhi and Dr. Satyapal for leading protests in Punjab against the legislation.
🔹 Shops were closed down, rallies were organized and rail workshop workers went on strike.
🔹 On 10 April, Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command.
✳️ Need for movement extension :-
🔹 The Rowlatt Satyagraha was mainly confined to the cities. Mahatma Gandhi felt that the movement should expand in India. He believed that this can happen only when Hindus and Muslims come on one platform.
✳️ Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre :-
🔹 A large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jalliawalla Bagh.
🔹 People came to protest against government's repressive measure while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair.
🔹 General Dyer entered the area. Blocked the exit points and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
🔹 The government responded with brutal repression seeking to humiliate and terrorise people.
🔹 Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets and do Salaam (salute) to all Sahibs.
✳️ AFTERMATH OF JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE :-
🔹 Crowds took to the streets in many north Indian towns. Strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings were extensively witnessed.
🔹 The British used brutal repression.
🔹 Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs; people were flogged and villages (around Gujranwala in Punjab, now in Pakistan) were bombed.
🔹 This violence forced Gandhi to stop the movement.
✳️ Non-Cooperation Movement :-
🔹 In his famous book Swaraj (1909), Mahatma Gandhi wrote that the British rule was established in India because Indians collaborated with them and the British continued to rule because of that cooperation. If the Indians stop cooperating, the British rule will collapse within a year and Swaraj will come. Gandhiji believed that if the Indian people stopped cooperating, the British would have no choice but to leave India.
✳️ Some proposals of non-cooperation movement :-
🔹 Withdrawal of titles granted by the English Government .
🔹 Boycott of Civil Service, Army, Police, Court, Legislative Council and Schools.
🔹 Boycott of foreign goods.
🔹 If the government does not desist from its oppressive policies, then start the entire disobedience movement.
✳️ Effects of the Non-cooperation Movement on the economy of India :-
🔹 Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed and foreign cloth was burnt. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921-1922. Its value dropped from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. Many merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. People began discarding imported clothes and wearing Indian ones. The production of Indian textile mills and hand looms went up. Use of khadi was popularized.
✳️ Non-cooperation Movement in the countryside :-
🔹 In Awadh, the peasants’ movement led by Baba Ramchandra was against talukdars and landlords who demanded extremely high rents and a variety of other ceases from the peasants. Peasants were forced to work in landlords’ farms without any payment (beggar). Peasants had no security of tenure, thus being regularly evicted so that they could acquire no right over the leased land. The demands of the peasants were— reduction of revenue, abolition of beggar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
🔹 In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s against the closure of forest areas by the colonial government, preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits. They felt that their traditional rights were being denied.
🔹 For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. 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 tea gardens without permission. In fact the permission was hardly granted. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities and left for their homes.
✳️ Slowing down of Non-cooperation Movement in cities :-
🔹 Khadi cloth was more expensive than mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it. As a result they could not boycott mill cloth for too long.
🔹 Alternative Indian institutions were not there which 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 government courts.
✳️ Khilafat movement :-
🔹 Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespread movement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad based movement in India.
🔹 But he was certain that no such movement could be organized without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together.
🔹 The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. There were rumors that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman Emperor, who was the spiritual head (Khalifa) of the Islamic world.
🔹 The Muslims of India decided to force Britain to change her Turkish policy.
🔹 A Khalifa Committee was formed under the leadership of Maulana Azad, Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani.
🔹 A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue.
✳️ Differing strands within the movement :-
🔹 Rebellion in the countryside: - From the cities, the noncooperation movement spread to the countryside. After the war, the struggles of peasants and tribal were developing in different parts of India.
🔹 One movement here war against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasant exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses.
🔹 Peasants had to do begar. The peasant movement demanded reduction of revenue, an abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
🔹 Oudh Kisan Sabha was setup headed by. Jawaharlal Nehru and other, within a month, over 300 branches had been set up by the villagers.
🔹 Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Swaraj in yet another way.
🔹 The colonial government had closed large forest areas preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits.
🔹 Alluri Sitaram Raju Claimed that he had a variety of special powers. He asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force.
✳️ Chauri Chaura incident :-
🔹 In February 1922, Gandhiji decided to launch a no tax movement. The police opened fire at the people who were taking part in a demonstration, without any provocation. The people turned violent in their anger and attacked the police station and set fire to it. The incident took place at Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh.
🔹 When the news reached Gandhiji, he decided to call off the Non-cooperation movement as he felt that it was turning violent and that the satyagrahis were not properly trained for mass struggle.
🔹 Swaraj Party was founded by C.R. Das and Moti Lai Nehru for return to council Politics. Simon Commission 1928 and boycott. Lahore Congress session and demand for Puma Swaraj in 1929. Dandi march and the beginning of civil Disobedience movement.
✳️ Simon Commission :-
🔹 The British government constituted a Statutory Commission under Sir John Simon. The Commission was made to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes. But since all the members in the Commission were British, the Indian leaders opposed the Commission.
🔹 The Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928. It was greeted with the slogan 'Go back, Simon'. All parties joined the protest. In October Lord Irwin announced a vague offer of 'dominion status' for India but its timing was not specified. He also offered to hold a Round Table Conference to discuss the future Constitution.
✳️ Salt March (Beginning of Civil Disobedience Movement)
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi believed that salt could be a powerful symbol to unite the whole nation. Most of the people; including the British scoffed at the idea. Abolition of the salt tax was among many demands which were raised by Gandhiji through a letter to Viceroy Irwin.
🔹 The Salt March or Dandi March was started by Gandhiji on 12th March 1930. He was accompanied by 78 volunteers. They walked for 24 days to cover a distance of 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi. Many more joined them on the way. On 6th April 1930, Gandhiji ceremonially violated the law by taking a fistful of salt.
🔹 The Salt March marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Thousands of people broke the salt law in different parts of the country. People demonstrated in front of government salt factories. Foreign cloth was boycotted. Peasants refused to pay revenue. Village officials resigned. Tribal people violated forest laws.
✳️ Salt Law :-
🔹 Salt is consumed by both the poor and the rich, and is one of the most essential items of foods everywhere in the world. The British government had a monopoly on the production of salt in India. By imposing a salt tax the government hit both the rich and the poor, especially the poor. Gandhiji thought it was the most repressive Act of the British government and chose to defy it by breaking the "Salt Law".
✳️ Who participated in the movement?
🔹 Civil Disobedience Movement came into force in various parts of the country. Gandhiji led the salt march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi with his followers starting the Civil Disobedience Movement. In the countryside, the rich Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. As rich communities were very hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices, they became enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Merchants and industrialists supported the movement by giving financial assistance and also by refusing to buy and sell the imported goods. The industrial working class of Nagpur region also participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Railway workers, dock workers, mineral of Chhota Nagpur, etc. participated in protest rallies and boycott campaigns.
✳️ Gandhi-Irwin Pact :-
🔹 When the British government responded with a policy of brutal repression against the Civil Disobedience Movement, Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the movement. He entered into a pact with Lord irwin on 5 March 1931. Under this pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London .
✳️ Response of British Rulers :-
🔹 The colonial government began to arrest the Congress leaders. This led to violent clashes in many places. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested about a month later. People began to attack the symbols of British rule; such as police posts, municipal buildings, law courts and railway stations. The government's repression was quite brutal. Even women and children were beaten up. About 100,000 people were arrested.
✳️ Round Table Conference :-
🔹 When things began to take a violent turn, Mahatma Gandhi called-off the movement. He signed a pact with Irwin on 5th March 1931. This was called the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. As per the Pact, Gandhiji agreed to participate in the Round Table Conference in London. In lieu of that, the government agreed to release the political prisoners. Gandhiji went to London in December 1931. The negotiations broke down and Gandhiji had to return with disappointment. When Gandhiji came back to India, he found that most of the leaders were put in jail. Congress had been declared illegal. Many measures were taken to prevent meetings, demonstrations and boycotts. Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement. By 1934, the movement had lost its momentum.
✳️ The Sense of Collective Belonging :-
🔹 Nationalist Movement Spreads when people belonging to different regions and communities begin to develop a sense of collective belongingness. The identity of a nation is most often symbolized in a figure or image.
🔹 This image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870 when he wrote 'Vande Mataram ' for our motherland. Indian folk songs and folk sung by bards played an important role in making the idea of nationalism. In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and in Madras, Natesa, Sastri collection of folk tales and songs, which led the movement for folk revival.
🔹 During the Swadeshi Movement, a tri-color ( red, green and yellow ) flag was designed in Bengal. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims.
🔹 Means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. 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.
Chapter - 2
" Nationalism in India "
✳️ Phases of Indian Nationalism :-
👉 Moderates Phase (1885-1905)
👉 Extremists Phase (1906-1915)
👉 Gandhian Phase (1915-1947)
✳️ INC- 1st PAN India Party :-
🔹 The Indian National Congress was established when 72 delegates from all over the country met at Bombay on 28th December 1885.
🔹 Naoroji, a businessman and publicist settled in London,and member of the British Parliament, guided the younger nationalists to form INC.
A retired British official, A.O. Hume, also played a part in bringing Indians from the various regions together.
✳️ First world war :-
🔹 28 JULY 1914 - 11 Nov 1918
✳️ Top 5 Causes of World War I :-
👉 Mlitarism - Policy of building up strong military forces to prepare for war .
👉 Alliances - Agreements between nations to aid and protect each other .
👉 Nationalism - Pride in devotion to one's country .
👉 Imperialism - When one country takes over another country .
👉 Assassination - Murder of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand
✳️ Effects of World War I :-
🔹 Although India was not directly involved in the First World War, India was also affected due to England's involvement in that war. England's defense spending was increased due to the war. To meet that expenditure, loans were taken and taxes were increased. The English government increased the custom duty and income tax so that additional revenue could be collected. Commissions of things increased during the war. Between 1913 and 1918, the prices of most things doubled. This increased the difficulties of the common man. People were forcibly recruited into the army. This caused a lot of resentment in the rural areas.
🔹 Due to poor yield in many parts of India, there was shortage of food. The influenza epidemic further aggravated the problem. According to the 1921 census, between 120 lakh and 130 lakh people died due to famine and epidemics.
✳️ The new economic situation created in India by the First World War :-
🔹 Manchester imports in India declined as British mills were busy with war production to pave the way for supplies to Indian mills for the vast domestic market.
🔹 As the war progressed, Indian factories were called upon to supply the necessities of war. As a result new factories were established, new workers were appointed and all were made to work long hours.
🔹 Cotton clothing production from Britain collapsed after the war and exports declined dramatically, as it was unable to modernize and compete with the US, Germany, Japan. Hence within the colonies like India, local industrialists gradually occupied their position on the domestic market.
✳️ GANDHIJI Brief Introduction :-
👉 Full Name : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
👉 Born : 2 October, 1869
👉 Place of Birth : Porbandar, Gujarat
👉 Father : Karamchand Gandhi
👉 Mother: Putlibai Gandhi
👉 Nationality : Indian
👉 Spouse : Kasturba Gandhi
👉 Professions : Lawyer, Politician, Activist, Writer
👉 Death : 30 January, 1948
✳️ Mahatma Gandhi: At South Africa :-
🔹 In May, 1893 he went to South Africa to work as a lawyer.
🔹 There he had first-hand experience of racial discrimination.
🔹 On 22 May, 1894 Gandhi established the Natal Indian Congress (NIC).
🔹 He was Influenced by the idea of Satyagraha that Is devotion of truth and in 1906 implemented non- violent protest.
🔹 He returned to India on 9th January 1915, after spending 21 years of his life in South Africa.
👉 9th January
👉 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
👉 Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Day
✴️ In1915, Gandhiji returned to India permanently and joined the Indian National Congress with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor.In 1912, Gokhale visited South Africa at Gandhi's invitation. In his autobiography, Gandhi calls Gokhale his mentor and guide.
✳️ Meaning of satyagraha :-
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi adopted a unique method of mass movement in the form of Satyagraha. This approach was based on the principle that if one is fighting for the right motive, then one does not need strength to fight the oppressor. Gandhiji believed that a satyagrahi could win his battle only through non-violence.
✳️ Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Satyagraha :-
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915. Gandhi's novel method of mass movement is known as 'Satyagraha'. Satyagraha emphasized truth. Gandhiji believed that if the cause was true, if the struggle was against injustice, then physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. A satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. People, including oppressors, had to be persuaded to see the truth. Satyagraha was ultimately bound for victory.
🔹 The first plantation workers in Champaran in India in 1916 were motivated to fight against the oppressive plantation system. Satyagraha in Kheda in 1917 to support the farmers. Satyagraha in Ahmedabad in 1918: Among cotton mill workers.
✳️ Some of the early Satyagraha movements organized by Gandhiji :-
👉 The peasant movement in Champaran in 1916.
👉 Kheda's peasant movement in 1917.
👉 Movement of mill workers of Ahmedabad in 1918.
✳️ Hind Swaraj :-
🔹 The famous book written by Mahatma Gandhi, which emphasized the non-cooperation of British rule in India.
✳️ THE ROWLATT ACT :-
🔹 In 1919 The Rowlatt Act was passed by the British Government.
🔹 This act allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
✴️ OPPOSITION :-
🔹 On 6th April, 1919 Gandhi started the non-violent civil disobedience movement.
🔹 Kitchlew was arrested with Gandhi and Dr. Satyapal for leading protests in Punjab against the legislation.
🔹 Shops were closed down, rallies were organized and rail workshop workers went on strike.
🔹 On 10 April, Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command.
✳️ Need for movement extension :-
🔹 The Rowlatt Satyagraha was mainly confined to the cities. Mahatma Gandhi felt that the movement should expand in India. He believed that this can happen only when Hindus and Muslims come on one platform.
✳️ Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre :-
🔹 A large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jalliawalla Bagh.
🔹 People came to protest against government's repressive measure while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair.
🔹 General Dyer entered the area. Blocked the exit points and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
🔹 The government responded with brutal repression seeking to humiliate and terrorise people.
🔹 Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets and do Salaam (salute) to all Sahibs.
✳️ AFTERMATH OF JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE :-
🔹 Crowds took to the streets in many north Indian towns. Strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings were extensively witnessed.
🔹 The British used brutal repression.
🔹 Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs; people were flogged and villages (around Gujranwala in Punjab, now in Pakistan) were bombed.
🔹 This violence forced Gandhi to stop the movement.
✳️ Non-Cooperation Movement :-
🔹 In his famous book Swaraj (1909), Mahatma Gandhi wrote that the British rule was established in India because Indians collaborated with them and the British continued to rule because of that cooperation. If the Indians stop cooperating, the British rule will collapse within a year and Swaraj will come. Gandhiji believed that if the Indian people stopped cooperating, the British would have no choice but to leave India.
✳️ Some proposals of non-cooperation movement :-
🔹 Withdrawal of titles granted by the English Government .
🔹 Boycott of Civil Service, Army, Police, Court, Legislative Council and Schools.
🔹 Boycott of foreign goods.
🔹 If the government does not desist from its oppressive policies, then start the entire disobedience movement.
✳️ Effects of the Non-cooperation Movement on the economy of India :-
🔹 Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed and foreign cloth was burnt. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921-1922. Its value dropped from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. Many merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. People began discarding imported clothes and wearing Indian ones. The production of Indian textile mills and hand looms went up. Use of khadi was popularized.
✳️ Non-cooperation Movement in the countryside :-
🔹 In Awadh, the peasants’ movement led by Baba Ramchandra was against talukdars and landlords who demanded extremely high rents and a variety of other ceases from the peasants. Peasants were forced to work in landlords’ farms without any payment (beggar). Peasants had no security of tenure, thus being regularly evicted so that they could acquire no right over the leased land. The demands of the peasants were— reduction of revenue, abolition of beggar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
🔹 In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s against the closure of forest areas by the colonial government, preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits. They felt that their traditional rights were being denied.
🔹 For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. 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 tea gardens without permission. In fact the permission was hardly granted. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities and left for their homes.
✳️ Slowing down of Non-cooperation Movement in cities :-
🔹 Khadi cloth was more expensive than mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it. As a result they could not boycott mill cloth for too long.
🔹 Alternative Indian institutions were not there which 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 government courts.
✳️ Khilafat movement :-
🔹 Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespread movement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad based movement in India.
🔹 But he was certain that no such movement could be organized without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together.
🔹 The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. There were rumors that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman Emperor, who was the spiritual head (Khalifa) of the Islamic world.
🔹 The Muslims of India decided to force Britain to change her Turkish policy.
🔹 A Khalifa Committee was formed under the leadership of Maulana Azad, Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani.
🔹 A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue.
✳️ Differing strands within the movement :-
🔹 Rebellion in the countryside: - From the cities, the noncooperation movement spread to the countryside. After the war, the struggles of peasants and tribal were developing in different parts of India.
🔹 One movement here war against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasant exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses.
🔹 Peasants had to do begar. The peasant movement demanded reduction of revenue, an abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
🔹 Oudh Kisan Sabha was setup headed by. Jawaharlal Nehru and other, within a month, over 300 branches had been set up by the villagers.
🔹 Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Swaraj in yet another way.
🔹 The colonial government had closed large forest areas preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits.
🔹 Alluri Sitaram Raju Claimed that he had a variety of special powers. He asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force.
✳️ Chauri Chaura incident :-
🔹 In February 1922, Gandhiji decided to launch a no tax movement. The police opened fire at the people who were taking part in a demonstration, without any provocation. The people turned violent in their anger and attacked the police station and set fire to it. The incident took place at Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh.
🔹 When the news reached Gandhiji, he decided to call off the Non-cooperation movement as he felt that it was turning violent and that the satyagrahis were not properly trained for mass struggle.
🔹 Swaraj Party was founded by C.R. Das and Moti Lai Nehru for return to council Politics. Simon Commission 1928 and boycott. Lahore Congress session and demand for Puma Swaraj in 1929. Dandi march and the beginning of civil Disobedience movement.
✳️ Simon Commission :-
🔹 The British government constituted a Statutory Commission under Sir John Simon. The Commission was made to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes. But since all the members in the Commission were British, the Indian leaders opposed the Commission.
🔹 The Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928. It was greeted with the slogan 'Go back, Simon'. All parties joined the protest. In October Lord Irwin announced a vague offer of 'dominion status' for India but its timing was not specified. He also offered to hold a Round Table Conference to discuss the future Constitution.
✳️ Salt March (Beginning of Civil Disobedience Movement)
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi believed that salt could be a powerful symbol to unite the whole nation. Most of the people; including the British scoffed at the idea. Abolition of the salt tax was among many demands which were raised by Gandhiji through a letter to Viceroy Irwin.
🔹 The Salt March or Dandi March was started by Gandhiji on 12th March 1930. He was accompanied by 78 volunteers. They walked for 24 days to cover a distance of 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi. Many more joined them on the way. On 6th April 1930, Gandhiji ceremonially violated the law by taking a fistful of salt.
🔹 The Salt March marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Thousands of people broke the salt law in different parts of the country. People demonstrated in front of government salt factories. Foreign cloth was boycotted. Peasants refused to pay revenue. Village officials resigned. Tribal people violated forest laws.
✳️ Salt Law :-
🔹 Salt is consumed by both the poor and the rich, and is one of the most essential items of foods everywhere in the world. The British government had a monopoly on the production of salt in India. By imposing a salt tax the government hit both the rich and the poor, especially the poor. Gandhiji thought it was the most repressive Act of the British government and chose to defy it by breaking the "Salt Law".
✳️ Who participated in the movement?
🔹 Civil Disobedience Movement came into force in various parts of the country. Gandhiji led the salt march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi with his followers starting the Civil Disobedience Movement. In the countryside, the rich Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of Uttar Pradesh were active in the movement. As rich communities were very hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices, they became enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Merchants and industrialists supported the movement by giving financial assistance and also by refusing to buy and sell the imported goods. The industrial working class of Nagpur region also participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Railway workers, dock workers, mineral of Chhota Nagpur, etc. participated in protest rallies and boycott campaigns.
✳️ Gandhi-Irwin Pact :-
🔹 When the British government responded with a policy of brutal repression against the Civil Disobedience Movement, Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the movement. He entered into a pact with Lord irwin on 5 March 1931. Under this pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London .
✳️ Response of British Rulers :-
🔹 The colonial government began to arrest the Congress leaders. This led to violent clashes in many places. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested about a month later. People began to attack the symbols of British rule; such as police posts, municipal buildings, law courts and railway stations. The government's repression was quite brutal. Even women and children were beaten up. About 100,000 people were arrested.
✳️ Round Table Conference :-
🔹 When things began to take a violent turn, Mahatma Gandhi called-off the movement. He signed a pact with Irwin on 5th March 1931. This was called the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. As per the Pact, Gandhiji agreed to participate in the Round Table Conference in London. In lieu of that, the government agreed to release the political prisoners. Gandhiji went to London in December 1931. The negotiations broke down and Gandhiji had to return with disappointment. When Gandhiji came back to India, he found that most of the leaders were put in jail. Congress had been declared illegal. Many measures were taken to prevent meetings, demonstrations and boycotts. Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement. By 1934, the movement had lost its momentum.
✳️ The Sense of Collective Belonging :-
🔹 Nationalist Movement Spreads when people belonging to different regions and communities begin to develop a sense of collective belongingness. The identity of a nation is most often symbolized in a figure or image.
🔹 This image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870 when he wrote 'Vande Mataram ' for our motherland. Indian folk songs and folk sung by bards played an important role in making the idea of nationalism. In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and in Madras, Natesa, Sastri collection of folk tales and songs, which led the movement for folk revival.
🔹 During the Swadeshi Movement, a tri-color ( red, green and yellow ) flag was designed in Bengal. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims.
🔹 Means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. 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.
