2. How was the social and political situation of India affected by the First World War?
Explain.
Or,
How did the First World War help in the growth of the nationalist movement in India?
• The war created a new economic and political situation.
• It led to an increase in defense expenditure which was financed by war loans
and increasing taxes (customs duties were raised and income tax introduced).
• The war led to a price rise and hardship for common people.
• War led to the forced recruitment of people.
• Acute shortage of food led to famine and misery.
• This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. Millions of people perished as
a result of famines and epidemics.
• Indians began to realize that they were drawn into the war unnecessarily. This
feeling united Indians against the British.
3. Why did Gandhiji start Non-Cooperation Movement?
Explain.
Non-Cooperation Movement was started in India because of the following reasons:
• Atrocities on Indians after the First World War.
• Refusal of demand of Swaraj.
• The passing of the Rowlatt Act.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
• Khilafat Andolan
• Congress passed a resolution on Non-Cooperation Movement with a thumping
majority.
4. Gandhiji was vehemently against the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919,
popularly known as the Rowlatt Act. Elaborate.
Or,
Explain any two provisions of the Rowlatt Act. How was Rowlatt Act opposed by the people
in India? Explain with examples.
Gandhiji, in 1919, decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt
Act of 1919.
Provisions of the Rowlatt Act were:
• It gave the government the power to repress any political activity or demonstration.
• It allowed the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
• The British government could arrest anyone and search any place without a warrant.
The Rowlatt Act was opposed by Indians in the following ways:
• A non-violent civil disobedience against the unjust law began.
• Rallies were organized in various cities.
• Workers went on strike in railway workshops.
• Shops were closed down in protest.
5. Describe the famous incidence of Jallianwalla Bagh.
Jallianwalla Bagh incident:
• On 13 April, the Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place.
• On that day a crowd of villagers who had come to Amritsar to attend a fair
gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh.
• Being from outside the city, they were unaware of the martial law that had been
imposed.
• Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing
hundreds.
• His object, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’, to create in the
minds of satyagrahis a feeling of terror and awe.
6. What were the reasons for starting the Khilafat Movement?
Or,
How did the Khilafat issue become part of the National Movement?
• With the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in the First World War, there were rumors that a
harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor (the Khalifa).
• Muslims all over the world began to support the temporal powers of the Khalifa. In
India too Khilafat Committee was formed under the leadership of Muhammad Ali
and Shaukat Ali.
• At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920 he convinced other
leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat
and Swaraj.
7. Why did Gandhiji consider nonviolence as supreme dharma?
Gandhiji adopted nonviolence as a philosophy and an ideal way of life. According to
him, the philosophy of nonviolence is not a weapon of the weak; it is a weapon that
can be tried
How was Gandhian satyagraha taken by the people who
believed in his philosophy?
A satyagrahi does not inflict pain on the adversary; he does not seek his destruction. In
the use of satyagraha, there is no ill will.
by all.
8. Why was Gandhian satyagraha considered a novel way to
resist injustice?
Gandhian Satyagraha was considered a novel way to resist injustice because:
• One could win the battle through nonviolence.
• This could be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor.
• People – including the oppressors – had to be persuaded to see the truth, instead
of being forced to accept the truth through the use of violence.
9. How did the Non-Cooperation Movement unfold in the cities and towns of India?
Or,
The middle classes played an important role in the Non-Cooperation Movement in the
cities. Explain.
• The movement started with middle-class participation in the cities.
• Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges
• Headmasters and teachers resigned.
• Lawyers gave up their legal practices.
• The council elections were boycotted in most provinces except Madras.
• Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in
huge bonfires.
• Merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods.
• Production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.
10. ‘The Non-Cooperation Movement in the cities gradually
slowed down for a variety of reasons’. Examine the reasons.
The Non-Cooperation Movement in the cities gradually slowed down because:
• Khadi cloth was more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth and poor people
could not afford to buy it.
• The boycott of British institutions failed because Indian institutions could not be set
up in place of the British ones.
• Students and teachers began trickling back to government schools.
• The lawyers too joined back work in government courts.
11. How did the peasants of Awadh use different methods to
achieve their goal? Explain with examples.
• Peasants of Awadh were led by Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi. The movement was against
talukdars and landlords. The landlords and talukdars demanded exorbitantly high rents
and other cases.
• Peasants had to do beggar (unpaid work) and work at landlords’ farms without any
payment.
• As tenants they had no security of tenure, being regularly evicted.
• The peasant movement demanded a reduction of revenue, the abolition of beggar, and
a social boycott of oppressive landlords.
• In many places, Nai-dhobi bandhs were organized by panchayats to deprive landlords of
the services of barbers and watermen.
• Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up and headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Baba Ramchandra, and
a few others.
• In 1921, the houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted and
grain hoards were taken over.
12. “Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of
Swaraj in another way and participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement
differently.” Justify the statement.
• In the early 1920s a militant guerrilla movement spread in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh.
• 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.
• Livelihoods and traditional rights were denied.
• When the government began forcing them to contribute beggar for road building, the hill people
revolted.
• Alluri Sitaram Raju said he was inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement, and persuaded people to
wear khadi and give up drinking.
• Alluri Sitaram Raju asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence.
• The Gudem rebels attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials and carried on guerrilla
warfare for achieving swaraj.
13. Explain any three causes that led the tribals to revolt in the
Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh.
The causes that led the tribals to revolt in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh were:
• 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 beggar (work without
payment) for road building, the hill people revolted.
14. Explain the role played by tribal peasants in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh during the Non-
Cooperation movement.
Or,
Who was Alluri Sitaram Raju? Explain his role in inspiring the rebels with Gandhiji's ideas.
Or,
“Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of swaraj in another way and
participated in the Non-Cooperation differently.” Justify the statement.
Or,
Describe the role of Alluri Sitaram Raju in Andhra Pradesh during the 1920s.
Alluri Sitaram Raju was a tribal leader in the Gudem hills of Andhra Pradesh.
• He started a militant guerrilla movement in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh.
• The tribal people were against colonial policies. Their livelihood was affected and their
traditional rights were denied.
• Their leader Alluri Sitaram Raju was inspired by Gandhiji’s Non-Cooperation movement
and persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
• He claimed that he had a variety of special powers like making astrological predictions,
healing people, and surviving bullet shots.
• He persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
• But at the same time, he asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force,
not non-violence.
15. Explain the meaning and notion of swaraj as perceived by
the plantation workers. How did they respond to the call of
the Non-Cooperation movement?
Meaning of Swaraj for Plantation workers: For plantation workers in Assam, Swaraj
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.
16. "Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the
same nation”.Justify the statement.
The spreading of nationalism took place due to following factors
United Struggle Different religious groups and communities unitedly struggled against
the British rule.
Cultural Processes Unity spread through various cultural processes like history, folklore,
songs and symbols that helped in spread of nationalism.
Common Identity The painting of ‘Bharat Mata was commonly identified as motherland
and affected the people equally.
Revival of India Folklore Reviving the folklore through folk songs, legends helped in
promoting traditional culture and restore a sense of pride in the past history and culture.
Role of the Leaders like’ Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru aroused the feelings of
nationalism through their motivational speeches and political activities.
Thus, it can be concluded that nationalism spread, when people began to believe that
they were all part of the same nation.
17. ‘Salt is something that is consumed by the rich and the poor alike across
India.’ Which step by Viceroy Irwin enraged Gandhi to launch a
nationwide protest movement using this essential item as a symbol?
• On 31 January 1930, Gandhiji sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating 11 demands, the
most stirring of which was the demand to abolish the salt tax.
• Salt was one of the most essential items of food. Tax on salt and the government
monopoly over its production, Gandhi declared, revealed the most oppressive face
of British rule.
• Irwin was unwilling to negotiate and so, Mahatma Gandhi started his famous 240
miles long Salt March accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers.
18. The Civil Disobedience Movement saw the participation of different social classes
and groups. Give reasons for the participation of the following:
Rich peasants
Poor peasants
Business classes
Industrial working classes
Women
The reasons for the participation of various social classes and groups in the Civil Disobedience Movement
are as follows:
1. Rich peasants: Rich peasant communities like the Patidars of Gujarat & the Jats of Uttar Pradesh joined the
movement because being producers of commercial crops they were hard hit by the trade depression and
falling prices. The refusal of the government to reduce the revenue demand made them fight against high
revenues.
2. Poor peasants: Joined the movement because they found it difficult to pay rent. They wanted the unpaid
rent to the landlord to be remitted.
3. Business class: They reacted against colonial policies that restricted activities because they were keen on
expanding their business and for this, they wanted protection against imports of foreign goods. They
thought that Swaraj would cancel colonial restrictions and that trade would flourish without restrictions.
They also wanted protection against the rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio. They formed the Indian
Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (FICCI) in 1927.
4. Industrial working class: They did not participate in large numbers except in the Nagpur region. Some
workers did participate, selectively adopting some of the Gandhian programs, like boycotts of foreign
goods, as a part of their own movements against low wages and poor working conditions.
5. Women: There was large-scale participation of women in the movement. They participated in protest
marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail.
19. How did the Indian merchants and industrialists relate
themselves to the Civil Disobedience Movement? Explain.
• Indian merchants and industrialists were keen on expanding their businesses and
reacted against colonial policies that restricted business activities.
• They wanted protection against imports of foreign goods, and a rupee-sterling
foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports.
• To organize business interests, they formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial
Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (FICCI) in 1927.
• Led by prominent industrialists like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G. D. Birla, the
industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy and supported the
Civil Disobedience Movement.
• They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods.
• Most businessmen wanted to flourish in trade without constraints
20. Why did Gandhiji relaunch the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second
Round Table Conference?
Or,
Why did Mahatma Gandhi relaunch the Civil Disobedience Movement with great
apprehension? Explain.
Gandhiji relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second Round
Table Conference because:
1. When Mahatma Gandhiji went to the Round Table Conference in December 1931,
he returned disappointed as the negotiations were broken down.
2. Back in India, he discovered that the government had begun a new cycle of
repression.
3. Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru were both in jail
4. The Congress had been declared illegal.
5. A series of measures had been imposed to prevent meetings, demonstrations, and
boycotts.
