New syllabus based NOTES OF NATIONALISM IN INDIA, 2021 HISTORY, CLASS 10

 

The growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement.

The congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge groups together within one movement. However, the unity did not emerge without conflict.

First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

1.  National Movement was spreading in new areas in 1919 and incorporating new groups of people and developing new modes of struggle.

2.  Mahatma Gandhi came to India and The The idea of Satyagraha emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth.

3.  He advocated that physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor.

The Idea of Satyagraha

1.  Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915. His heroic fight for the Indians in South Africa was well-known. His novel method of mass agitation known as Satyagraha had yielded good results.

2.  The idea of Satyagraha emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth.

3.  In 1916, Gandhi traveled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.

4.  In 1917, crops field in Kheda district of Gujrat, but the government refused to remit land revenue and insisted on its full collection.

5.  In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi intervened in a dispute between workers and mill owners of Ahmedabad. He advised workers to go on strike and to demand a 35% increase in wages.

6.  Satyagraha brought Gandhiji into close touch with the workers in the urban areas.

The Rowlatt act

1.  When the Rowlatt act 1919, was passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council inspire of unanimous opposition of the Indian members, Gandhiji’s patience comes to an end.

2.  Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws, which would start with a hartal on 6^th April.

3.  6th April 1919 was observed as Satyagraha Day when people all over the country observed fast and hartal.

4.  1919, the country witnessed a remarkable political awakening in India.

5.  Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar and Mahatma Gandhi were barred from entering Delhi.

6.  On 10^th April, the police in Amritsar fired upon the peaceful procession, provoking widespread attacks on banks.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

1.  On 13 April 1919, the large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jalliawalla Bagh.

2.  People came to protest against government’s repressive measure while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair.

3.  General Dyer entered the area. Blocked the exit points and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.

4.  The government responded with brutal repression seeking to humiliate and terrorize people.

5.  Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and do Salaam (salute) to all Sahibs.

Khilafat movement

1.  Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespread movement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.

2.  Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India.

3.  But he was certain that no such movement could be organized without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together.

4.  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.

5.  The Muslims of India decided to force Britain to change her Turkish policy.

6.  A Khalifa Committee was formed under the leadership of Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.

7.  A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of united mass action on the issue.

Differences in the strands within the movement:

Rebellion in the countryside

1.  From the cities, the non-cooperation the movement spread to the countryside. After the war, the struggles of peasants and tribes were developing in different parts of India.

2.  One movement here war against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasant exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses.

3.  Peasants had to do begar. The peasant movement demanded a reduction of revenue, an abolition of the begar, and a social boycott of oppressive landlords.

4.  Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up headed by Jawaharlal Nehru and others, within a month, over 300 branches had been set up by the villagers.

5.  Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Swaraj in yet another way.

6.  The colonial government had closed large forest areas preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuelwood and fruits.

7.  Alluri Sitaram Raju led the struggle in Guddem Hills. He asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force.

Towards CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

1.  Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922.

2.  The movement was turning violent in many places and satyagarhis needed properly trained for mass struggle.

3.  CR Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics.

The Salt March

1.  On 31 January 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands.

2.  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.

3.   The demands needed to be fulfilled by 11 March or else Congress would start a civil disobedience campaign.

4.   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.

5.   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.

4.  Salt was a powerful symbol that could unite the nation.

5.  Finally, Mahatma Gandhi once again decided to call off the movement and entered into a pact with Irwin on 5 March 1931.

6.  Participants saw the movement in different angles such as Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of Uttar Pradesh.

7.  To organize business interest, formed the Indian Industrial and commercial congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).

8.  Gandhi called to Untouchable that is Harijan, Children of God.

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 organized 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 organized 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 the 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.

There were differences of opinions among the leaders, as a result, there were differences in demands and actions.

The Sense of TOGETHERNESS

1.  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.

2.  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.

3.  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.

4.  Means of creating a feeling of nationalism were through the 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.