Class 8 History Chapter 11 The Making of the National Movement 1870s -1947 InText Questions and Answers
Activity (Page 111)
Question 1.
From the beginning, the Congress sought to speak for, and in the name of, all the Indian people. Why did it choose to do so?
Answer:
It chose to do so because it had to establish itself as an all-India organisation. Otherwise, it would not fulfill its basic purpose. This was because the establishment of the Indian National Congress was the result of the need felt for an all-India organisation of educated Indians since 1880.
Activity (Page 112)
Question 1.
What problems regarding the early Congress does this comment highlight?
Answer:
This comment highlights the problems of early Congress in the following ways :
- The leaders of early Congress were rich and often engaged in their personal work.
- They did not take much interest and devote sufficient time to the organization.
Activity (Page 114)
Question 1.
Find out which countries fought the First World War.
Answer:
The First World War (1914-1918) involved more than 100 countries. The two sides of the war were the Allied Powers and the Central Powers.
- The Allies were led by Great Britain, France, Russia, and Italy.
- The central powers were led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.
Activity (Page 116)
Question 1.
Find out about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. What is Jallianwala Bagh? What atrocities were committed there? How were they committed?
Answer:
(1) On the day of 13th April 1919, many people gathered in a closed space at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar city.
(2) General Dyre opened fire upon these innocent citizens who included women and children too. Hundreds of them died.
(3) The Martial Law had already been imposed in the city. General Dyre, in order to teach a lesson on violating the Law, entered the area with a small military force. They blocked the exit points and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
Activity (Page 119)
Question 1.
Read Source 4 (Textbook). According to this report, how did people view Mahatma Gandhi? Why do you think they felt that he was opposed to zamindars but not to the government? Why do you think they were in favour of Gandhiji?
Answer:
- People viewed Mahatma Gandhi as a Sadhu, a Pandit, a Brahmin, even a deota.
- I think so because he got hedakhli, i.e., illegal eviction stopped in Pratapgarh.
- I think so because the people said, “We are for Gandhiji and the Sarkar”
Let’s Imagine (Page 127)
Question 1.
Imagine that you are involved in the Indian national movement. Based on your reading of this chapter, briefly discuss your preferred methods of struggle and your vision of a free India.
Answer:
(1)I would prefer to struggle through the methods of non-violence, civil disobedience, strikes. This is because, through these methods, the people could play a more constructive role in the national movement. It would not be wise to struggle with violence and lose our lives by the bullets of the British.
(2) My vision of a free India is as a country where every people live in a sense of dignity and self-respect. There is no poverty and it recovers its lost status as a ‘golden bird’ in the world.
Class 8 History Chapter 11 The Making of the National Movement 1870s -1947 Exercise Questions and Answers
Let’s recall
Question 1.
Why were people dissatisfied with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s?
Answer:
People were dissatisfied with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s due to the following reasons:
- The British passed the Arms Act in 1878 which disallowed Indians from possessing arms.
- In the same year, they passed the Vernacular Press Act. This Act snatched freedom of speech and expression. It allowed the government to confiscate the assets of newspapers including their printing presses if the newspapers published anything that was critical of the government.
- In 1883, the Ilbert Bill was introduced. The bill provided for the trial of British or European persons by Indians and sought equality between British and Indian judges in the country. But the white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill.
Question 2.
Who did the Indian National Congress wish to speak for?
Answer:
The Indian National Congress wished to speak not for any one class or community of India, but for all the different communities of India.
Question 3.
What economic impact did the First World War have on India?
Answer:
The First World War led to a huge rise in the defense expenditure of the Government of India. The government in turn increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits. Increased military expenditure and the demands for war supplies led to the sharp rise in prices which badly affected the common mass. They found it difficult to fulfill even their essential needs.
But the business groups earned huge profits from the war. The war created a demand for industrial goods like jute bags, cloth, rails, and caused a decline of imports from other countries into India. As a result, Indian industries expanded during the war.
Question 4.
What did the Muslim League resolution of 1940 ask for?
Answer:
The Muslim League resolution of 1940 asked for “The Independent States” for Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas of the country.
Let’s discuss
Question 5.
Who were the Moderates? How did they propose to struggle against British rule?
Answer:
The Moderates were against taking extreme actions. They had a deep faith in the good intention of the government. They were of the opinion that slowly and steadily they would make the British go to their own land. The Moderate leaders developed public awareness about the unjust nature of British rule. They published newspapers, wrote articles, and showed how British rule was leading to the economic ruin of the country.
They criticized British rule in their speeches and sent representatives to different parts of the country to mobilize public opinion. They believed that the British had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice and therefore they would definitely accept all the just demands of the people of India. Their main task was to acknowledge the British government with these demands.
Question 6.
How were the polities of the Radicals within the Congress different from that of the Moderates?
Answer:
The politics of the Radicals within the Congress was different from that of the Moderates in the following ways :
| The polities of the Radicals | The polities of the Moderates |
| 1. They explored more Radical objectives and methods. | They were moderates in their objectives and methods. |
| 2. They criticized the moderates for their polities of prayers and emphasized the importance of self-reliance and constructive work. | They were doing polities of prayers. |
| 3. They argued that people must fight for swaraj. | They wanted to make the government aware of the feelings of Indians. |
| 4. They did not believe in the good intentions of the government. | They felt that the British had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice and so they would accept the just demands of Indians. |
Question 7.
Discuss the various forms that the Non-Cooperation movement took in different parts of India. How did the people understand Gandhiji?
Answer:
The Non-Cooperation Movement spread far and wide. It took various forms in different parts of the country:
- In Kheda, Gujarat, Patidar peasants were worried about the high land revenue demand of the British. Hence, they organised non-violent campaigns against it.
- In coastal Andhra and interior Tamil Nadu, liquor shops were picketed.
- In the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, tribals and poor peasants started several forest satyagrahas’, sometimes sending their cattle into forests without paying grazing tax. They were very much fed up with the restrictions imposed on them by the British regarding the use of forest resources. They wanted the abolition of the forest regulations.
- In Sind, now in Pakistan, Muslim traders and peasants were very enthusiastic about the Khilafat call. In Bengal too, the Khilafat-Non- Cooperation alliance gave enormous communal unity and strength to the national movement.
- In Punjab, the Akali agitation of the Sikhs sought to drive out corrupt mahants, supported by the British, from the gurudwaras. This movement got closely identified with the Non-Cooperation Movement.
- In Assam, tea garden labourers left the British-owned plantations and became the followers of Gandhiji. People viewed Gandhiji as a messiah, as someone who could help them overcome their misery and poverty.
Question 8.
Why did Gandhiji choose to break the salt law?
Answer:
Gandhiji chooses to break the salt law because, in his view, it was sinful to tax salt since it is an essential item of our food that is used by the rich or the poor person in the same quantity.
Question 9.
Discuss those developments of the 1937-47 period that led to the creation of Pakistan.
Answer:
From the late – 1930s, the Muslim League began viewing the Muslims as a separate-nation from the Hindus. This nation might have developed because of the history of tension between some Hindu and Muslim groups in the 1920s and 1930s. The provincial elections of 1937 also might have convinced the League the Muslims were a minority and they would always have to play second fiddle, in any democratic structure.
Meanwhile, Congress rejected the League’s desire to form a joint Congress-League government jn the United Provinces in 1937. This annoyed the League. In 1940, the League finally moved a resolution demanding ‘Independent States’ for Muslims in the north¬western and eastern areas of the country. The resolution did not mention partition or Pakistan.
In 1945, the British opened negotiations between Congress, the League, and themselves for the independence of India. The talks could not succeed because the League saw itself as the sole spokesperson of India’s Muslims. The Congress proved
this claim baseless because several Muslims still supported it.
In the provincial elections in 1946, the League got grand success in the seats reserved for Muslims. Hence it persisted its demand for Pakistan. In March 1946, the Cabinet Mission came to Delhi to examine this demand and to suggest a suitable political framework for a free India. This Mission suggested that India should remain united and constitute itself as a loose confederation with some autonomy for Muslim-majority areas. Neither the Congress nor the Muslim League agreed to it. The failure of the Cabinet Mission made partition inevitable. Ultimately in 1947 partition took place with the birth of a new country, i.e. Pakistan.
Let’s do
Question 10.
Find out how the national movement was organized in your city, district, area or state. Who participated in it and who led it ? What did the movement in your area achieve?
Answer:
(1) Our state, Bihar was an important part of India’s struggle for independence. In particular, wealthy and educated people organized the national movement.
(2) Generally, all sections of the society
participated in the movement. Even at the beginning of the movement, Babu Kunwar Singh of Rajput Royal house of Jagdishpur and his army as well as countless Other persons from Bihar contributed to India’s First War of Independence. : .
(3) The movement was led by many outstanding leaders like Babu Kunwar Singh, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Desh Ratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Bihar Kesari Sri Krishna Sinha, Bihar Bibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Mulana Mazharul Haque, Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Yogendra Shukla and many others. Khudiram Bose, Upendra Narayan Jha “Azad” and Prafulla Chaki were also active in the revolutionary movement in Bihar.
(4) In India’s struggle for independence, the “Champaran Satyagraha” marks a very important stage. This marked Gandhiji’s entry into India’s struggle for freedom. Local leader, Raj Kumar Shukla drew the attention of Mahatma Gandhi to the plight of the peasants suffering under an oppressive system established by European indigo planters. Ultimately, the system was abolished. Gandhi became the mass leader Only after the Champaran Satyagraha.
Question 11.
Find out more about the life and work of any two participants or leaders of the national movement and write a short essay about them. You may choose a person not mentioned in this chapter.
Answer:
(a) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Dr. Rajendra Prasad started his political career as a social worker. He came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi since the Champaran Satyagraha of 1918. He came into the light when he took a sincere part in Champaran Satyagraha. The Jallianwala Bagh atrocities deeply perturbed him. He was sent to jail many times. He struggled hard for the independence of the country. He was the most uncontroversial figure in Indian politics. Under his presidentship, the country made all-around progress.
(b) Jaiprakash Narayan
Jaiprakash Narayan fully dedicated his life to the welfare of the country. In 1934, he plunged into the struggle for freedom. In the same, he became the Secretary of the Socialist Party. Jawaharlal Nehru offered him membership of the Congress Working Committee in 1946 but he rejected the offer. On Nehru’s second request, he joined the Congress Committee with Ram Manohar Lohia but both of them left it soon. Shri Jaiprakash Narayan became the General Secretary of the Socialist Party which got itself separated from Congress. He took great interest in the political development of the country. He is known for his selfless service to the nation.
