India - 2.2 Flashcards
1
Q
Gandhi’s aims and beliefs
A
- respect for parents (a lot of protests from parents about their kids and removing them from education)
- not to touch meat and wine
- improve life for the untouchables
- cleanliness and good habits were as important as prayer
- Hindus and Muslims should work together
- he had a good understanding of British language and law making him more threatening.
- his time in England also exposed him to the idea of Victorian self-help
2
Q
satyagraha
A
- believed that very individual was created to search for the truth. This helped people to be fully human
- means truth and obstinacy
3
Q
Gandhi’s methods
A
- set up an ashram
- wore a dhoti and walked everywhere
- charkas (a spinning wheel) became a symbol of not buying British goods. it also brought him closer to the masses who did this daily
- fasting
- swaraj the ‘quit India’ movement
- defied British making salt
- these methods allowed people to identify not only with his ideas but also Gandhi himself.
- he combined spiritual strength with political awareness making him very popular
4
Q
Gandhi in Britain
A
- he met freethinking theosophists such as Annie Besant
- taught him the importance of meeting opponents in person
- witnessed the suffragettes, admiring their hunger strikes, but abhorred violence.
5
Q
why did Gandhi become a leader?
A
- when he left SA he wasn’t completely anti-raj but three things changed his mind
- the Rowlett Acts which wanted to continue wartime repression
- the Amritsar Massacre
- one of the outcomes of the Paris Pease Conference was that Turkey had to pay a huge indemnity and lose its territories. this confirmed that the west had little concern for islamic nations. this could increase the notion of separateness among muslims
- he believed Britain no longer had a moral right to rule India
6
Q
what did congress encourage Indians to do 1920-22?
A
- boycott the law courts
- withhold taxes
- refuse to buy imported goods
- leave all government posts
- refuse invitation to social events run by the Raj
- remove children from government schools
- hand back all titles and decorations
- boycott elections and new legislative councils
- at this point that tactic was very much satyagraha as oppose to Swaraj.
7
Q
successes of congress 1920-22
A
- refusal to pay taxes stopped most government departments functioning
- targeted areas that were unlikely to result in conflict
- students boycotted exams, electoral procedures and Indians didn’t attend official ceremonies (e.g. the visit of the Duke of Connaught to Calcutta in 1921)
- supported social welfare policies instead of non-cooperation
- acquired a deeper understanding of peasants needs.
- air of excitement as congress were starting to understand local grievances
8
Q
failures of congress 1920-22
A
- some of the tactics were unrealistic (lawyers were unlikely to leave their lucrative practice and parents reluctant to remove their children from education)
- many Indians failed to understand the morality underpinning satyagraha, following their own agendas instead (rioting in Bombay during a visit from the prince of Wales)
- Gandhi was sent to prion for 6 years
- muslims declared a jihad, killing British people and forcing others to convert.
- Hindus forced muslims to purify themselves by total immersion in things like rivers. This drowned many
9
Q
noncooperation 1920-22
A
- Gandhi targeted the areas where non-cooperation would be unlikely to bring them into conflict with the police.
- this happened to be areas such as the taxation or administration (vital to Smooth functioning of the Raj)
- came to an end in 1922 when a mob of congress supported torched a police station. Gandhi called an end to this campaign
- he turned away from political agitation and worked on social welfare
10
Q
Gandhi’s imprisonment and its effects
A
- congress became more involved in peasant communities and gained a greater understanding of their needs
- congress became more understanding of local grievances
- leadership of congress passed to more moderate leaders such as Motilal Nehru. both wanted to take control of the Government of India Act
- many congressmen were successful in local elections giving them an air of respectability
- the Raj returned to the traditional policy of attempting to balance the need to keep control while also making concessions. (support given to assemblies giving cholera and smallpox inoculations)
11
Q
1922-30 - extending the appeal
A
- membership of congress rose to 2 million in 1921
- it appealed to more geographical areas
- wooded interest groups that had been neglected (peasantry and the commercial class)
- members of the all-Indian congress increased to 350 with seats located on a regional population basis.
- 100 additional provincial committees set up
- congress working committee was set up to formulate policy (alternative administrative structure to the Raj)
- however, a large number of muslims left as they though Gandhi had failed to support them over their concerns about the breakup of the Islamic Ottoman Empire after FWW
- muslim membership dropped by 7.3%
12
Q
1922-30 - Back to basics
A
- set up the all India spinners association to promote self sufficiency
- wanted to return to a simpler way of life
- congress campaigned for mass literacy and sanitation. this helped the untouchables, allowing them to enter fully into Indian society
- congress seemed to be becoming a responsible political party, determined to improve India not just independence
13
Q
1922-30 - Young Hooligans
A
-it is said that the setting up of the Simon commission was linked to the emergence of these three energetic men
-they lobbied the All Indian Congress Committee and wanted renewed action
- independence would bring was their main aim
-they were impatient with congress’ reluctance to confront the raj
-congress had debated the limited freedom that would come with dominion status and therefore opposed this
-
14
Q
1922-1930 - The Nehru Report
A
- 1928
- all parties constitution held producing what was essentially the first draft of the Indian constitution (work of Sapru and M Nehru)
- recommended dominion status on the same terms as Canada and Australia
- princely states and British India were to be joined in a federation (Hindus would formed a permeant hindu majority and a lack of muslim representation)
- get rid of devolution (no further power to separate provinces)
- muslims were not happy as they would lose the separate electorates outlined in the Lucknow pact
15
Q
how did congress react to the Nehru Report?
A
- organised a boycott of the Simon commission
- 1928 congress met in Calcutta where delegates backed two motions. one demanded instant dominion status, the other (proposed by the YH) wanted complete withdrawal
- it was unrealistic to expect the British to withdraw in the space of a few months. Britain’s inability to do this would however act as an excuse for further non-cooperation.
16
Q
lahore congress
A
- Gandhi aware his view would sway the final decision due to his charisma and standing
- aware that another mass civil disobedience would alienate more moderate members
- by backing the young hooligans he would have considerable support from young members and trade unionists
- congress was also facing the problem of asserting its authority (smaller groups gaining more of a voice). not doing so would risk Britain settling with individual factions, playing them against each other
