Nationalism in India 1 Flashcards
how did nationalism begin in india
In India and as in many other colonies, the growth of modern
nationalism is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement.
People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle
with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism
provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together.
But each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently,
their experiences were varied, and their notions of freedom were
not always the same. The Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried
to forge these groups together within one movement. But the unity
did not emerge without conflict.
list the effects of world war 1
First of all, the war created a new economic and political situation.
It led to a huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed
by war loans and increasing taxes: customs duties were raised and
income tax introduced. Through the war years prices increased –
doubling between 1913 and 1918 – leading to extreme hardship
for the common people. Villages were called upon to supply soldiers,
and the forced recruitment in rural areas caused widespread anger.
Then in 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India,
resulting in acute shortages of food. This was accompanied by an
influenza epidemic. According to the census of 1921, 12 to 13 million
people perished as a result of famines and the epidemic.
what is forced recruiment
Forced recruitment – A process by which the
colonial state forced people to join the army
when did gandhi return to india
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 from south africa after fighting against the racist regim with the novel method of mass agitation called satyagraha
what is satyagraha
The idea of satyagraha emphasised the power of
truth and the need to search for truth. It suggested that if the cause
was true, if the struggle was against injustice, then physical force was
not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without seeking vengeance or
being aggressive, a satyagrahi 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 truth through the
use of violence. By this struggle, truth was bound to ultimately
triumph. Mahatma Gandhi believed that this dharma of non-violence
could unite all Indians
comment on the satyagraha movements led by gandhi once he returned
After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised
satyagraha movements in various places. In 1917 he travelled to
Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the
oppressive plantation system.The government demanded peiople to grow indigo .But they refused since it reduces the qulity of the soil. Gandhi came to their support.
Then in 1917, he organised a satyagraha
to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. Affected
by crop failure and a plague epidemic, the peasants of Kheda could
not pay the revenue, and were demanding that revenue collection be
relaxed.
In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise
a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers. They were being given increased work and reduced wages. After the satyagraha the people were given 35% increement
what did gandhi decide to do after organizing satyagrahs in many places
Emboldened with this success, Gandhiji in 1919 decided to launch a
nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919).
describe the rowlatt act
This
Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative
Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It
gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities,
and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two
years.Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against
such unjust laws, which would start with a hartal on 6 April.
explain the hartal on april 6? what did british do in retaliation
Rallies were organised in various cities, workers went on strike in
railway workshops, and shops closed down.Alarmed by the popular
upsurge, and scared that lines of communication such as the railways
and telegraph would be disrupted, the British administration decided
to clamp down on nationalists. Local leaders were picked up from
Amritsar, and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
On 10 April, the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession,
provoking widespread attacks on banks, post offices and railway
stations. Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command.
explain the famous jallianwala bagh incident
On 13 April the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. On
that day a large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla
Bagh. Some came to protest against the government’s new repressive
measures. Others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. Being
from outside the city, many villagers 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.
what were the effects of the jallianwalla bagh incident
As the news of Jallianwalla Bagh spread, crowds took to the streets
in many north Indian towns. There were strikes, clashes with the
police and attacks on government buildings. The government
responded with brutal repression, seeking to humiliate and terrorise
people: satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground,
crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs; people were
flogged and villages (around Gujranwala in Punjab, now in Pakistan)
were bombed. Seeing violence spread, Mahatma Gandhi called off
the movement.
was rowlatt satyagrahs widespread? what did gandhi think abt it
While the Rowlatt satyagraha had been a widespread movement, it
was still limited mostly to cities and towns. Mahatma Gandhi now felt
the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India. But he
was certain that no such movement could be organised without
bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together. One way of doing
this, he felt, was to take up the Khilafat issue.
describe the khilafat movement. what measures were taken by indians
The First World War had
ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. And there were rumours
that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman
emperor – the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa). To
defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was
formed in Bombay in March 1919. A young generation of Muslim
leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began
discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united
mass action on the issue.
how did gandhi unite the muslims and hnindues
Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring
Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement. 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 as well as for swaraj.
what was proposed by gandhi in his book non cooperation
In his famous book Hind Swaraj (1909) Mahatma Gandhi declared
that British rule was established in India with the cooperation of
Indians, and had survived only because of this cooperation. If Indians
refused to cooperate, British rule in India would collapse within a
year, and swaraj would come.
