CHAPTER-2

NATIONALISM IN
INDIA
CLASS-X
INDIA AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD-II
 NATIONALISM IN INDIA
► INTRODUCTION
► Nationalism in India means a change in peoples
understanding of their identity and sense of belonging.

► 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 FIRST WORLD WAR
► 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
► 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.

► People hoped that their hardships would end after

the war was over. But that did not happen.
 MAHATAMA
GANDHI
► Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi was an Indian lawyer,
anti-colonial nationalist and
political ethicist who employed
nonviolent resistance to lead
the successful campaign for
India's independence from
British rule.
THE SATYAGRAHA
► Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in
January 1915.

► It 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.
► Mahatma Gandhi successfully organized
Satyagraha movement in various places —

► (i ) 1916 Champaran in Bihar to inspire the

peasants to struggle against
theoppressive plantation system.

► (ii ) 1917 — Kheda district of Gujrat affected crop

failure and a plague epidemic.

► (iii ) 1918 — Ahmedabad — Cotton mill workers.

CHAMPARAN
MOVEMENT
(1917)
THE ROWLATT ACT
► 1919, Gandhiji decided to launch a
nationwide Satyagraha against the
Rowlatt Act.

► This act focusses on the Govt Powers to

repress political activities.

► Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violence

civil disobedience against this act.
6 April 1919.
Mass processions on the streets became a
common feature during the national
movement.
► Rallies were organized in various cities.

► Workers went on strikes.

► Shops closed down.

► Communication system disrupted.

► Local leaders were picked up from
Amritsar and the police in Amritsar fired
upon a peaceful procession.

► Martial law was imposed.

► Jalianwalla Bagh incident took place.

General Dyer’s
‘crawling orders’
being administered
by British soldiers,
Amritsar, Punjab,
1919.
Non Cooperation Movement
► 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.
► Non–Cooperation movements begins a
boycott of civil services, army, police, courts
and legislative councils, schools, and foreign
goods.

► A civil campaign disobedience would be

launched.

► A compromise was worked–out and the

non-cooperation programme was adopted in
December 1920 at Nagpur Congress session.
The boycott of foreign cloth, July 1922 .

► Foreign cloth
was seen as the
symbol of
Western
economic and
cultural
domination.
KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
► The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political
campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British
India over British policy against Turkey and the
planned dismemberment of the Ottoman
Empire after World War I by Allied forces.

► Leaders participating in the movement

included Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali
Jauhar, Hakim Ajmal Khan, and Abul Kalam Azad
who organised the movement to redress the
grievances of Turkey.
► Mahatma Gandhi had supported the
movement as part of his opposition to
the British Empire, and he also advocated for
a wider non-cooperation movement at the
same time.

► Vallabhbhai Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and

other Hindu and Congress figures also
supported the movement.

► It ended in 1922 after the end of the

non-cooperation movement
Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar Abdul Kalam Azad
The Movement in the Towns
► The movement started with middle class social
groups in the cities.’
► Thousands of students left schools run by the
Govt., Teachers/Principals/H.M. resigned.

► The Council election were boycott in most of

provinces except Madras.

► Foreign goods were boycott, liquor shops

picketed, foreign cloths burnt in huge bonfires.
► Traders refused to trade foreign goods or
finance foreign trade.

► People weaved only Indian clothes,

handlooms.

► At last, the movement in the towns

gradually slowed down and students back
to government schools and lawyers joined
back work in the courts.
Rebellion in the countryside
► The non-cooperation movement spread
to the countryside.

► The movement was against Talukdars1

and ‘landlords’.

► Peasants were ‘begar’ and work at

landlords without any payment.
► The peasants’ movements demanded
reduction of revenue, abolition of ‘begar’
and social boycott. .

► 1920, Jawahar Lal Nehru Visits Villages in

Awadh and trying to understand their
grievance.

► In October, Awadh Kisan Sabha was set-up

headed by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru and Baba
Ram Chandra
► After one month, more than 300 branches had been
setup in the villages.

► They were unhappy and the houses of Talukdars’

and merchants were attacked, bazars were looted
and grainhoards were taken–over.

► January 6, 1921 the police in United Provinces fired

at peasants near the Rae–Bareli.

► Tribal peasants interpreted the message of

Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Swaraj.
JAWAHARLAL
NEHRU
► Jawaharlal Nehru
was the first prime
minister of India
after it gained
independence
 Swaraj in the Plantation
► For Plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant
the right to move freely in and out of the confined
space in which they were closed.

► Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859,

Plantation workers were not Permitted to leave the
Tea gardens without permission.
► When they heard of the Non-Cooperation
movement, thousands of workers defied
the authorities, left the plantations and
headed home.

► They were demanding Swatantra Bharat.

CHAURI CHAURA
(1922)

► At Chauri Chaura in
Gorakhpur, a peaceful
demonstration in a bazaar
turned into a violent clash
with the police.
► Hearing of the incident,
Mahatma Gandhi called a
halt to the Non-Cooperation
Movement.
End of Non-Cooperation Movement

► February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided

to withdraw the Non-Cooperation
movement.

► He felt the movement was turning violent

in many places and satyagrahis needed
to be properly trained before they would
be ready for mass struggle.
► When the Simon Commission arrived in
India in 1928, it was greeted by the slogan
‘Go back Simon. All parties including the
Congress and the Muslim League,
participated in the demonstrations.

► October 1929, a round table conference

to discuss a future constitution.
► December 1929, Jawahar Lal Nehru
demanded Purna Swaraj’ or full
independence for India.

► It was declared that 26 January 1930,

would be celebrated as the
Independence Day when people were to
take a pledge to struggle for complete
independence.
The Salt March
and the Civil
Disobedience
Movement
► Gandhiji found in salt a powerful symbol
that could unite the nation.

► On 31 January 1930, Gandhiji sent a letter

to Irwin stating eleven demands. The most
important demand was to abolish salt tax.
► Gandhiji gave an ultimatum that if the
demands were not fulfilled by 11 March,
the Congress would launch a civil
disobedience campaign, but the Irwin
was unwilling to negotiate.

► Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Salt

march over 240 miles from Sabarmati to
Dandi.
 The Dandi
march
► During the salt
march Mahatma
Gandhi was
accompanied by 78
volunteers. On the
way they were
joined by thousands.
► Thousands from different parts of the
country broke the salt law, manufactured
salt and demonstrated in front of
government factories.

► This marked the beginning of the Civil

Disobedience Movement.
► As the movement spread, foreign cloth
was boycotted, and liquor shops were
picketed.

► Peasants refused to pay revenue and

chaukidari taxes, village officials resigned,
and in many places forest people violated
forest laws – going into Reserved Forests to
collect wood and graze cattle.
► Worried by the developments, the colonial
government began arresting the Congress
leaders one by one. This led to violent clashes
in many palaces.

► when Mahatma Gandhi himself was arrested,

industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police
posts, municipal buildings, lawcourts and
railway stations – all structures that symbolised
British rule
► Peaceful satyagrahis were attacked,
women and children were beaten, and
about 100,000 people were arrested.

► In such a situation, Mahatma Gandhi

once again decided to call off the
movement and entered into a pact with
Irwin on 5 March 1931.
 Meeting of
Congress leaders
at Allahabad, 1931.

► Apart from Mahatma Gandhi,

you can see
► Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(extreme left),
► Jawaharlal Nehru (extreme right)
and
► Subhas Chandra Bose (fifth from
right).
How Participants Saw the Movement

► The Rich peasant communities, Poor

Peasants, Business classes, Industrial
working classes and Women-all
participated in Civil Disobedience
Movement.
 For Rich Peasants
► (i) It was a struggle against high revenue, they were
hard hit by the trade depression and falling Price. But
they were disappointed when the movement was
called–off in 1931 without the revenue rates being
revised.

► (ii ) So in 1932, when the movement was restarted many

of them refused to participate.
 For Poor Peasants
► (i) Their main aim in participating in movement was to
remit the unpaid rent to the landlords.

► (ii ) They participated in variety of redicals movement led

by socialist and communists.

► (iii ) But, Congress was unwilling to support no rent

compaigns, therefore relationship between poor
peasants and the congress remained uncertain.
 For Business Class
► They wanted protection against imports of foreign
goods.

► (ii ) They formed Indian Industrial and Commercial

Congress in 1920 and the federation of the Indian
chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927 to
organize business Interest.

► (iii ) Failure of round table conference created disinterest

among buisness classes towards the movement as their
interest was not served
 For Industrial Classes :
► Industrial classes in Nagpur Region only participated in
this movement.

► (ii ) Workers participated by adopting Gandhian ideas

like boycott of foreign goods against their low wages
and poor working conditions.

► (iii ) Congress was reluctant to include workers

demands therefore, this act again alienated Congress
and workers.
 For Women's
► (i) Large scale participation of women in protest
marches, manufactured Salts and picketed foreign
cloths and liquor shops.

► (ii ) Women were from high caste family, in rural areas

they were from rich-peasants household.

► (iii ) However, Congress was reluctant to allow women

to hold any authoritative position.
 Women join
nationalist
processions.
► During the national movement,
many women, for the first time
in their lives, moved out of their
homes on to a public arena.
Amongst the marchers you
can see many old women, and
mothers with children in their
arms.
The limits of Civil Disobedience
Movement
► (i ) Ignorance to Untouchables in
movement.

► (ii ) Non Participation of Muslim Political

Organization in movement worsened the
gap between Hindus and Muslims.
► (iii ) Demand of Muslims for reserved seats
in Central Assembly Created Conflicts
between Congress and Muslim League.

► (iv) Concern about the status of Muslims as

a minority within India alienated large
sections of Muslims from the struggle
Mahatma Gandhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru and
Maulana Azad at
Sevagram Ashram,
Wardha, 1935.
How did people belonging
to different communities,
regions or language groups
develop a sense of
collective belonging?
► This sense of collective belonging came
partly through the experience of united
struggles.

► History and fiction, folklore and songs,

popular prints and symbols, all played a
part in the making of nationalism.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
an
early-twentieth-century
print.
► Notice how Tilak is surrounded
by symbols of unity. The sacred
institutions of different faiths
(temple, church, masjid) frame
the central figure.
Bharat Mata,
Abanindranath Tagore,
1905.
► Notice that the mother figure here is
shown as dispensing learning, food and
clothing.
► The mala in one hand emphasises her
ascetic quality
► . Abanindranath Tagore, like Ravi
Varma before him, tried to develop a
style of painting that could be seen as
truly Indian.
 Jawaharlal Nehru,
A popular print.
► Nehru is here shown holding the image
of Bharat Mata and the map of India
close to his heart.
► In a lot of popular prints, nationalist
leaders are shown offering their heads
to Bharat Mata.
► The idea of sacrifice for the mother
was powerful within popular
imagination.
 Bharat Mata

► This figure of Bharat Mata is a

contrast to the one painted by
Abanindranath Tagore.

► Here she is shown with a trishul,

standing beside a lion and an
elephant – both symbols of
power and authority
THE END THANKYOU