Nationalism in India

The growth of modern nationalism is

intimately connected to anti-colonial
movement. The sense of being oppressed
under colonialism provided a shared bond
that tied many diferent groups together.
Each class and group felt the efects of
colonialism diferently. The Congress under
Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups
together within one movement. But the unity
did not emerge without confict.

# The First World War, Khilafat and Non-

Cooperation

The war created a new economic and political

situation in the years after 1919. Income tax
introduced and the prices of custom duties
were doubled between 1913 to 1918 which
led to a very difcult life for common people.
In 1918-19 and 1920-21crops failed in India,
resulting in shortage of food accompanied by
an infuenza epidemic. According to census
to 1921, 12 to 13 million people perished as a
result of famines.
Due to the war, villages were called upon to
supply soldiers, and the forced recruitment in
rural areas caused widespread anger.

#The Idea of Satyagraha

In Jan 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to

India from South Africa where he has fought
the racist regime with satyagraha.
He started Satyagraha movement. It
emphasizes the power of truth.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that dharma of
non-violence could unite all Indians.
 In 1916, he travelled to Champaran in
Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle
against plantation system (Indigo
Plantation).
 In 1917, he organised a satyagraha to
support the peasants of the Kheda district
of Gujarat. Afected by crop failure and a
plague epidemic, the peasants of Kheda

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 could not pay the revenue and were
demanding revenue collection to be
relaxed.
 In 1918 he went to Ahmedabad to
organise satyagraha amongst cotton mill
workers to demand high wages for
workers.

# The Rowlatt Act

In 1919 Gandhiji decided to propose a
nationwide satyagraha against the proposed
Rowlatt Act.
This act gave the government enormous
powers to repress political activities and
allowed detention of political prisoners
without trail for two years.
Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil
disobedience against such unjust laws, which
would start with a hartal on 6 April.
6th April 1919 was observed as Satyagraha
Day when people all over the country
observed fast and hartal.

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Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar
and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from
entering Delhi.
The martial laws suspends the civil rights,
including freedom of assembly (gatherings of
more than four people) was banned.
On 10th April, the police in Amritsar fred upon
a peaceful procession, provoking widespread
attacks on bank’s. Martial law was imposed
and General Dyer took command.
On 13th April Jallianwala Bagh incident took
place. A large crowd gathered there. Some
cause to protest against the government’s
new repressive measures. Others cause to
attend the annual Baisakhi fair.
Being from outside the city, many villagers
were unaware of martial laws that had been
imposed.
Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit
points, and opened the fre on the crowd
killing hundreds.
As the news of Jallianwala Bagh spread,
crowds took to the street. There were strikes,
clashes with the police and attacks on
government buildings.

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The government responded with brutal
repression, seeking to humiliate people.
Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on
the ground, crawl on the streets, and do
salaam (salute) to sahiba; people were
fogged and villages (around Gujranwala in
Punjab, now in Pakistan) were bombed.
Seeing violence Mahatma Gandhi called of
the movement.
As Rowlatt Satyagraha was limited to cities
and towns, Mahatma Gandhi felt to launch a
more broad-based movement is possible
without bringing Hindus and Muslims
together.
The frst world war ended with the defeat
Ottoman Turkey and there were rumours that
a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed
on the Ottoman emperor-the spiritual of the
Islamic world (the Khalifa).
To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a
Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in
March 1919.
Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring
Muslims under the umbrella of a unifed
national movement.

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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.
#Khilafat and Non-Cooperation (1st
August 1920)

In the famous book Hind Swaraj (1909)

Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule
was established in India with the cooperation
of Indians and only survived because of that.
He thought that if Indians refused to
cooperate, British rule in India would collapse
within a year, and swaraj would come.
Gandhiji proposed that the movement should
unfold in stages. It should begin with the
surrender of titles that the government
awarded, and a boycott of civil services,
army, police, courts, and legislative councils,
and foreign goods.
Then incase the government used the
repression a full disobedience campaign
would be launched.

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In 1920 Mahatma Gandhi and Shaukat Ali
roared extensively, mobilising popular support
for the movement.
Many within the Congress were reluctant to
boycott the council elections scheduled for
November 1920, and they feared that the
movement may lead to violence.
Finally, the Congress session at Nagpur in
December 1920, a compromise was worked
out and the non-cooperation programme was
adopted.

#Non-Cooperation and Khilafat

Movement
It began in 1921. Various social groups
participated in this movement.
 Movement in Towns
1. Students left government
controlled schools, headmasters and
teachers resigned. Lawyers gave up
their legal practices. Council elections
were boycotted except Madras.
2. Foreign goods were boycotted.

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 3. Liquid shops were picketed.
4. Foreign cloths burnt in bonfres.
5. People began discarding imported
clothes and wearing only Indian ones,
production of Indian textile mills and
handloom went up.
But this movement in the cities slowed down
for a variety of reasons:
1. Khadi cloth was expensive and
poor people cannot aford to buy it.
2. They were no Indian institutions to
be used in place of British institutions.
3. Students and teachers were back
to school.
4. Lawyers joined back their work.

#Rebellion in the Countryside

In Awadh, peasants were led by

Baba Ramchandra-a Sanyasi who had earlier
been to Fiji as an indentured labourer.

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The movement here was against talukdars
and landlords who demanded from peasants
high rents and a variety of other taxes.
Peasants had to do begar and work at
landlord’s farms without any payment.
They had no security of tenure.
The peasants movement demanded:
1. Reduction of revenue
2. Abolition of begar
3. Social boycott of oppressive landlords
In many places nai-dhobi bandha were
organised by panchayats to deprive landlords
of the services of even barbers and
washermen.
In June 1920, Jawaharlal Nehru began going
around villages in Awadh talking to villagers.
By October, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up
headed by Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba
Ramchandra.
As the movement spread in 1921, the houses
of talukdars and merchants were attacked,
bazaars were looted and grain boards were
taken over.

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Tribal peasants interpreted the message of
Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of swaraj in yet
another way.
The colonial government had closed large
forest areas preventing people from entering
the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect
fuel wood and fruits.
Not only were their livelihoods afected but
they felt that their traditional rights were
being denied.
Alluri Sitaram Raju supported these people.
He claimed that he had special powers. He
was inspired by the non-cooperation
movement but he strongly believed that
Britishers can only be thrown out of India by
the use of force, not non-violence.
A Guerrilla movement was spread in 1920 in
Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh for achieving
swaraj. They attacked police stations,
attempted to kill British ofcials.
He was captured and executed in 1924, and
over time because a folk hero.
#Swaraj in the plantation

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Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859,
plantation workers were not permitted to
leave the tea gardens without permission.
When the workers heard of the Non-
cooperation movement, thousands of workers
left their plantation.
They believed that Gandhi Rah was coming
and everyone would be given land in their
own villages.
They never reached their destination they
were caught by police and brutally beaten up.
#Towards Civil Disobedience

Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the

non-cooperation movement in 1922.
The movement was turning into violence in
many places and satyagrahis needed properly
trained for mass struggle. (Chauru Chaura)
CR Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj
Party within the Congress to argue for a
return to council politics.
In 1928, Simon Commission arrived, to look
into the functioning of constitutional system

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in India and suggest changes. They were all
British, do not have a single Indian member.
When this commission arrived it was greeted
with “Go back Simon”
In December 1929, under the precidence of
Jawaharlal Nehru the Lahore Congress
formalised the demand of ‘Purna Swaraj’ or
full independence for India. It was declared
that 26 Jan 1930 would be celebrated as
Independence Day.

#The Salt March and the Civil

Disobedience

Gandhiji chose salt as the medium that could

unite all Indians as it is consumed by all the
sections of the society.
He wrote a letter to Viceroy Irwin demanding
him his 11 demands. Some of them were
general interest, others were specifc
demands of diferent classes, etc. and the
abolition of salt tax and in his letter he also
wrote if these demands were not fulflled by

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11 March, the Congress would launch a Civil
Disobedience Campaign. Viceroy ignores
these demands and it lead to salt march

Salt March
Salt or Dandi March began on March 12,1930.
On 6th April 1930, Gandhiji reached Dandi, a
village in Gujarat and broke the salt law by
boiling water and manufacturing salt.
Thus it began the Civil Disobedience
Movement.
 It was diferent from Non-cooperation
Movement as people were now asked not
only to refuse cooperation but also to
break colonial laws.
 Boycott of foreign goods, non-payment of
taxes, breaking forest laws were it’s main
features.
 British government arrested all the
leaders including Nehru and Gandhiji
which led to riots, attacks, etc.
 Mahatma Gandhi called of the movement
in 1934.
#Gandhi-Irwin Pact

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On 5 March 1931, Lord Irwin, the Viceroy,
signed a pact with Gandhiji.
In December 1931, Gandhi went to London for
the 2nd round table conference but returned
disappointed.
Gandhi relaunced the Civil Disobedience
movement but by 1934 it lost its momentum.
#How Peasant saw this movement
 Rich Peasants
Rich peasants expected the revenue tax
to be reduced, when the British refused to
do so, they did join the movement.

They did not join the movement as it was

called of without revising the revenue
rates.
 Poor Peasants
The poor peasants wanted the lowering of
the revenue demand, and wanted rents of
landlords to be remitted.

The congress was unwilling to support the

“no rent” campaigns due to the fear of
upsetting the rich peasants and landlords.

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  Women
Women also participated in protest march
manufactured salt and picketed foreign
cloth and liquor shops.
Congress was reluctant to allow women to
hold any position of authority within the
organisation.
#Limits of Civil Disobedience

The Dalits or the Untouchable did not actively

participate in the movement, they demanded
reservation of seats, separate electorates.
Dr. BR Ambedkar, leader of Dalits formed an
association in 1930 called Depressed Classes
Association.
He clashed with Gandhi.
Poona Pact between Gandhi and Dr. BR
Ambedkar (1932) gave reserved seats in
Provincial Central Councils but we’re voted by
General electorate.
The leader of Muslim league M.A. Jinnah
wanted reserved seats for Muslims in Central
assembly.

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Large sections of Muslims did not participate
in the Civil Disobedience movement.

#The Sense of Collective Belonging

The sense of collective belonging came partly

through the experience of United struggles.
History and fction, folklore and songs,
popular prints and symbols, all played a part
in making the nationalism.
By 1921, Gandhi had designed the Swaraj
fag. It was again a tricolour (red, green and
white) and has a spinning wheel in the centre.
Vande Mataram: National song

#Quit India Movement (1942)

It was organised by Gandhi and he said that
Britishers should leave India by hook or by
crook.
People went roads, there were rallies, attacks,
but it didn’t stop.

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Gandhiji did not stopped this movement and
India got independence on 15th August 1947.

Titles and Names

Lion of Punjab: Lala Lajpat Rai

Anandamath: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
First Image of Bharat of Bharat Mata: Bankim
Chandra Chattopadhyay
Vande Mataram: Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay

#Important Map Points

 INC Sessions
1. Calcutta Session September 1920
2. Nagpur Session September 1920

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 3. Madras Session 1927
4. Lahore Session
 Important Centres of Indian National
Movement
1. Champaran 1916(Bihar)- Indigo
Planters
2. Kheda 1917(Gujarat)- Peasant
Satyagraha
3. Ahmedabad 1918(Gujarat)- Cotton
mill worker satyagraha
4. Jalianwala Bagh
Incident,1919(Amritsar, Punjab)
5. Chauri Chaura,1922 (Uttar
Pradesh)- falling of non-
cooperation movement
6. Dandi (Gujarat) 1930- Salt
March/Beginning of Civil
Disobedience Movement

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