NATIONALISM IN INDIA

Causes for rise of Nationalism in India

Colonial masters exploited colonies that led to the rise of nationalism among colonial people.
1) Political unification of India- India unified politically under British rule. One type of
opinion was formed.
2) Economic exploitation- Britishers exploited resources and market. They imposed heavy
taxes which made conditions of people miserable.
3) Racial discrimination- Britishers discriminated Indians as they thought themselves to be
superior to Indians.
4) Impact of revolt of 1857- Britishers followed hash methods to suppress the revolt that
united the Indians.
5) Role of press and literature- Newspapers and literary works exposed exploitation by
Britishers. This also united Indians.
6) Influential leaders.
7) Vernacular press act 1878.

The First World War, Khilafat and non-cooperation

First World War created a new economic and political situation
Economic conditions-
1) To make defense expenditure, British raised custom duty and introduced income tax.
2) Prices of goods increased, this led to the extreme hardship for common people.
3) Villagers were called upon to supply soldiers in this force recruitment in rural area
caused widespread anger.
4) Crops failed in many parts of India leading to food shortage.
5) 12 to 13 million people were killed due to famine and epidemic.
6) Indian industrialists increase their production rapidly.
Political conditions-
1) Gandhiji entered to Indian politics in January 1915 and suggested a new method of
struggle.
2) Home rule movement begin to get dominion status which was started by Anne Besant
and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
3) It was the time of revolutions.
Idea of Satyagraha
1) Gandhiji adopted a method of mass agitation called satyagraha.
2) He suggested that if cause is true than physical force is not necessary to fight against the
oppressor.
3) A Satyagrahi could win the battle through nonviolence, and this could be done by
appealing to the conscience of oppressor.
 4) Satyagraha is pure soul force.
Satyagraha movement of Gandhiji
1) Champaran in Bihar- In 1918, 2Gandhiji went to Champaran to support peasants against
indigo plantations. He was successful.
2) Kheda in Gujarat- He also supported peasants of Kheda, a district of Gujarat, who were
suffering from crop failure and epidemic. He supported nonpayment of taxes in Kheda.
3) Ahmedabad- In 1918, Gandhiji went to Ahmedabad to organize satyagraha movement
to support cotton mill workers against harsh working conditions.
Rowlatt act
1) Instead of providing self-government to India, British government set-up a committee
under Rowlatt in 1918 to investigate Indian activities and to give suggestions.
2) Although Indians opposed this act, it was implemented in 1919. According to this act
Indian people could not be arrested without any trial for two years. They were also
banned to assemble, organized meetings, etc.
3) Gandhiji called this act as a ‘Black act’ and started Rowlatt satyagraha movement on 6th
April 1919.
How Rowlatt satyagraha was organized
1) Rallies were organized in various cities.
2) Workers went to strike in railway workshops and shops closed. British goods were also
boycotted.
3) Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar and Mahatma Gandhi was banned from
entering Delhi.
4) Martial law was imposed, and general Dyer took command.
Jallianwala Bagh incident
1) On 13th April 1919, this incident took place.
2) On that day, a large crowd gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to protest against governments
new repressive measures and to attend annual Baisakhi fair.
3) Being from outside the city, many villagers were unaware of martial law that was
imposed. Dyer entered the area, blocked the only exit, and opened fire, killing
hundreds. His objective, as he declared later, was to produce ‘a moral effect’ to create
in minds of satyagrahis, a feeling of terror and awe.
Khilafat Movement
1) Two brothers- Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali started this movement in 1919 to
protest against injustice done to the people of Turkey.
2) Gandhiji supported this movement to strengthen Hindu Muslim unity.
Non-cooperation movement
1) Gandhiji, in his book ‘Hind Swaraj’ (1909) Declared that British rule is established in
India, only with cooperation of Indians and, it survived only because of this cooperation.
If the Indians refused to cooperate, the British rule would collapse in a year and swaraj
would come in India.
2) Gandhiji started the non-cooperation movement in 1920 with an aim to protest against
injustice done to the people of Punjab and Turkey and to achieve swaraj.
3) Movement become with renunciation of titles, boycott of schools, colleges, legislative,
elections, courts, government jobs and foreign goods. People also picketed liquor shops.
Non-cooperation movement called off
On 5th February 1922, peasants and workers were demonstrating peacefully in chauri chaura in
Gorakhpur district in UP. Police used lathi charge. People set fire to a police station in which 22
policemen were killed. So Gandhiji called off this movement on 11th February 1922.

Different strands within the movement

Non-cooperation movement and economic front
1) Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign clothes were burned
in huge bonfires.
2) Import of foreign clothes halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from
rupees 102 crore to rupees 57 crore.
3) In many places merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance
foreign trade.
4) Production of Indian textile mills and handlooms increased
Non-cooperation movement in cities: reasons for slow down
1) Khadi clothes were often more expensive than milk floats which were produced on a
large scale. Poor people couldn't afford to buy it.
2) Boycott of Britishers posed problems like there were no alternative Indian institutions to
provide education.
3) Indian people boycotted government jobs but there were no alternative sources of
livelihood.
Noncooperation movement in countryside (Baba Ramchandra)
1) In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi, who had earlier been to
Fiji as an indentured laborer.
2) Movement was against talukdars (landlords) and exploitation done by Britishers.
3) Peasants demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar and social boycott of
oppressive landlords. In June 1920, Oudh Kisan Sabha was set-up by JL Nehru, Baba
Ramchandra and few others.
 4) During non-cooperation movement, in many places, local leaders told peasants that
Gandhiji had declared that no taxes were to be paid and land was to be redistributed
among poor.
5) House of landlords and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted, and grain
hoards were taken over.
Alluri Sita Ram Raju or Role played by tribals in noncooperation movement
1) In Gudem Hills in Andhra Pradesh, Forest act and Criminal Tribal act had affected the
lives of tribals.
2) When the government begins forcing them to do bigger for road building, the people of
Hills revolted. The person who let them was Alluri Sitaram Raju. Rebellions proclaimed
him as the incarnation of God.
3) He was inspired by Gandhiji. He persuaded people to take part in non-cooperation
movement to wear khadi and give up drinking.
4) He had no faith in nonviolence.
5) He was captured and executed in 1924, he became a folk hero.
Swaraj in plantation
1) During non-cooperation movement, workers in plantation defined Swaraj as they
freedom to move in any part of the country. Under Inland Immigration Act of 1859,
plantation workers weren't permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission, and
in fact, they were rarely given such permission.
2) When the plantation workers heard of non-cooperation movement, thousands of
workers defied the authority, left plantation and headed home. They believed that
Gandhi's Raj was coming, and everyone would be given land in their own village. They,
however, never reached their destination. They were stranded on the way, due to
railway and streamer strike and caught by the police and brutally beaten up.

Towards civil disobedience

Swaraj party
It was formed in 1923 by CR das and Motilal Nehru. The main aim of swaraj party was to break
the workers of legislative from within and to politically awake the people. Due to their
opposition, safety bill wasn't passed.
Constructive programmes
In 1924, Gandhiji was released from jail. He started a four-fold programme and called it the
constructive programme. It included:
1) Removal of untouchability.
2) Economic development rough promotion of charkha and cottage industry.
3) Development of village.
4) Communal harmony
Simon commission
1) In 1927, a Commission was appointed to check the working of Government of India act
1919 to give suggestions.
2) Indians were against the Commission as all 7 members in the Commission were
Englishman and intentions of the Commission weren't in favour of swaraj. When the
Commission arrived in India in 1928 it was greeted by slogans like ‘go back Simon’.
3) All the parties including Congress and the Muslim league participated in the
demonstrations.
Congress session 1929
In December 1929, session was held in law court near Ravi River under the president ship of
Jawaharlal Nehru who was a young socialist leader. During this session Congress declared that
its main aim was to achieve complete independence in to break 26 January as Independence
Day and to launch mass movement under the leadership of Gandhiji.
Civil disobedience movement
On 12th March 1930 civil disobedience was started by Gandhiji with aim to achieve complete
independence, to break the salt law. Due to the economic crisis, the condition of India had
become miserable. Gandhi Ji put forward 11 points in front of Lord Irwin which were rejected.
Salt march
The civil disobedience movement begin with Dandi March. Gandhiji with his 78 followers begin
his March from Sabarmati to Dandi. After covering 385 kilometres he reached on and on 6th
April 1913 he manufactured salt and ask people to defy British laws.
Role of people in civil disobedience movement
1) Thousands of people in different parts of the country broke the salt law manufactured
salt and demonstrated in front of government salt factories.
2) As the movement spread foreign clothes for boycotted and liquor shops were picketed.
3) Pigeons refuse to pay revenue and chowkidari taxes.
4) Village officials resigned in many places in many places forest people violated forest
laws by going into reserve forest to collect wood and raise cattle.
Role of Britishers to check the movement
1) Frightened by the movement, the government responded with a policy of brutal
repression.
2) Peaceful satyagrahis were attacked.
3) Women and children were beaten and about 90,000 people were arrested.
4) Abdul Ghaffar Khan who led the movement in Northwest frontier province was
arrested.
5) Martial law was imposed in Sholapur, Maharashtra.
6) Property of people who denied to pay taxes was confiscated.
Different social groups in civil disobedience movement
1) Rich peasants- Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of UP were active in the movement. Being
producers of commercial crops, they were sufferers of economic crisis and fall in prices.
Their income decreased and they found it difficult to pay revenue to the government.
For them Fight for swaraj was a struggle against high revenue.
2) Poor peasants- They weren't only interested in reduction of taxes but also wanted that
the unpaid rent went to landlords should be remitted. Congress was unwilling to
support no rent campaign in most places, so the relationship between poor peasants
and Congress remained uncertain.
3) Businessmen industrialists- During World War One industrialists and merchants had
made huge profits and became powerful. Keen on expanding their business, they now
reacted against colonial policies that restricted business activities. Most businessmen
came to see swaraj as a time when colonial restrictions on the business would no longer
exist. To organise business interests, they formed ‘Indian industrial and commerce
Congress’ in 1920 and ‘Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and industry (FICCI)’
in 1927. They were led by a prominent industrialist like Purushottam Das, Thakur Das
and GD Birla.
4) Workers- The industrial working class didn't participate in civil disobedience movement
in large numbers, except in Nagpur region. As industrialists came closer to the Congress,
they participated by boycotting the foreign goods as a part of their own movement
against the low wages and poor working conditions.
5) Women- The participation of women in the movement was more than in the non-
cooperation movement. During Gandhiji’s salt March women participated in protest
March manufactured salt, picketed foreign clothes and liquor shops and many went to
jail.
Role of Muslim league in civil disobedience movement
1) After the decline of non-cooperation movement, large number of Muslims felt alienated
from the Congress.
2) When civil disobedience movement started, there was an atmosphere of suspicious and
distress among Hindus and Muslims. Alienated from the Congress, large sections of
Muslims could not respond to call for united struggles.
Role of Dalits
Dalits didn't participate in large numbers as they wanted political empowerment.
Steps taken by BR Ambedkar-
1) In 1930s Dr BR Ambedkar organised Dalits into the ‘depressed class association’.
2) He demanded political reservations.
3) Educational reservation.
4) Separate electorates for Dalits.
Gandhi Irwin pact
1) In 1931 a pact was signed between Gandhiji and viceroy Lord Irwin.
2) According to this pact Gandhi Ji agreed to call of civil disobedience movement and to
participate in second round table conference.
3) Lord Irwin agreed to release innocent political prisoners and to abolish salt law.
Round Table Conference
1) 3 round table conference were held in London to discuss about the proposal made by
Simon Commission.
2) Gandhiji as a representative of Congress participated in second round table conference.
3) Gandhiji returned to India disappointed as all the representatives of different
communities were only interested to get concession for their own community only.
1st round table conference- 1930
Congress was not participating as a result it was failed.
2nd round table conference- 1931
Congress participated but it was also fail.
3rd round table conference- 1932
Communal award- 1932
In 1932, British PM passed communal award. By this award Dalits were given separate
electorate. Gandhiji begin fast unto death. He believed that separate electorate for Dalits would
slow down the process of their integration into the society. In September 1932, Poona act was
signed between Gandhiji and Ambedkar. It gave the depressed class reserved seats in provincial
and central relative council elected by general people.
Opinion of Mohammad Iqbal about separate electorate and formation of Pakistan
1) According to Mohammad Iqbal, all the communities have right to develop themselves.
Community which is in minority in society can be given political empowerment for its
development.
2) Religion is very important for a person as a religion gives recognition, identity, literature,
tradition, custom, etc.
3) It's also important to give respect to other religions.
4) Dr BR Ambedkar was also in favour of separate electorate for political empowerment.
5) India is a land of number of religions, languages, etc. So, the European conditions can be
applied when all the religions and communities will be given equal respect. But when a
community is a sufferer, then it’s for its proper development, creation of separate
nation is justified.
6) Hindu leaders were not in favour of separate electorate.
Impact of civil disobedience movement
1) It's the second largest movement which begins with defiance of laws.
2) It forced Lord Irwin to sign an agreement with Gandhi Ji.
3) All sections of society participated in this movement on large scale.
4) People of Northwest Frontier Province, under the leadership of Khan Abdul Ghaffar
Khan, posed threat to British rule.
5) Movement United people and encourage them to fight for their rights.
Difference between non-cooperation and civil disobedience
Non-cooperation-
1) This movement aimed at achieving Swaraj.
2) It began with renunciation of titles.
3) It began in 1920.
Civil disobedience-
1) It aimed at achieving purna swaraj.
2) It began with defiance of laws.
3) It began in 1930.

A Sense of collective belonging

1) The sense of collective belonging is came partly through the experience of united
struggle.
2) History and fiction, folklore and songs, prints and symbols, all played a part in making of
nationalism.
3) The identity of Indians came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata.
Abindranath Tagore printed the famous image of Bharat Mata.
4) Devotion to the figure came to be seen as evidence of one’s nation.
5) In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore himself, begin collecting ballads, nursery rhymes and
myths and led the movement for folk arrivals.
6) By 1921, Gandhiji had designed, the Swaraj flag. Holding it aloft, during marches became
a symbol of defiance.
7) Revival of literacy works also united Indians.