Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian

National Movement: 1917-1947

.. Learning Outcomes
,···:
At the end of this lesson, learners will be
able to:
, ■ assess the Gand hian Era (1917 -1947 )
li of the India n Natio nal Movement.
f ■ outline the early camp aigns at Kheda,
;.

i' Cham paran and Ahme dabad .

>
■ discuss the causes, withd rawal
•· .r~ and impa ct of the Non-cooperation
!J d~ .. • ._ . -:, . Movement.
I ~ -- t ~.:._:'!!!::., ~J . -~ -~ .
■ evaluate the cause s of the Civil
Disob edien ce Movement.
' .... : ~ ,_,_,;; -~ ~ -
■ trace the devel opme nts that led to the
..____
· .-·. -' . .. . ,·t_
~
- . .... .
s .Y,. •y ',;.

In 1930, Maha tma Gand hi, along with some of Quit India Movement.
his followers, marc hed from Sabar mati Ashra m ■ highlight the role playe d by Subhas
to the coast al town of Dandi. His Dandi Marc h Chan dra Bose and the INA.
mark ed the begin ning of the Civil Disob edien ce ■ analyse the event s leadin g to Indian
indep enden ce and partit ion.

During Reading I
Gandhi's concep t of satyagraha:
Non-violence and belief in truth
J 14 - -- -- ,
Visual Mapping

Civil Disobedience ---+-

Launched by Gandhi
Dandi March and
Early experi ments with satyagraha: violation of the
Movem ent
Champaran, Kheda, Ahmed abad salt laws

Rowla tt Act
Jallianwala Bagh
J
..-Causes
Poorna Swaraj
Resolution
Suspended due to
the signing of the
Massacre Gandhi-Irwin Pact
Suppo rted by the .._ Non-
.
coope ration Quit India Movement
Khilafat Movem ent;
Movem ent
Launched boyco tt of Formation of the INA
govern ment schools Cabinet Mission
and colleges, law courts ; Mount batten Plan envisaged
Surren der of titles; the Partition of India .
Suspended due to the Birth of an Independent India
outbur st of violen ce at Jawaharlal Nehru became the
Chauri Chaura first Prime Minister
 Reading
• visual literacy
'fick ( ) the pictures a~sociated with the Indian Nat
iona l Movement during 1917_
1947 _
~ ~ --
-r41 -·- -- -
I

\,~t~--
r ~

I ,. , . \ I

, ~ ·+1_
- '
' - .

Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Curzon,

□ famous/or □ Members of the Cabinet
0 sarojini Naidu during
the Salt March the partition
of Bengal
Mission to India meeting
Mohammed Ali Jinnah
□ TheSecond
Round Table
Conference

oha nda s Kar amc han d Gan dhi,

M
Dur ing the figh t for Indi a's freedom from
popularly kno wn as Ma hatm a the Brit ish rule, Gan dhi followed cert ain
Gan dhi or Gan dhij i, was bor n met hod s of pro test based on satyagraha.
on 2 October 186 9 at Por ban dar in Guj arat . The y wer e as follows:
After his early edu cati on in India, he wen t to
■ Peaceful dem ons trat ions
England to stud y law. The reaf ter, in 189 3, he
went to South Africa to prac tise as a barrister. ■ Defiance of unju st Brit ish laws
In South Africa, Gan dhi was shocked _~n~ ■ Boycott of Brit ish goods and services
enraged at the raci al discrimination aJ?,d
■ Non -pay men t of oppressive taxe s
oppression met ed out by the Brit ish colonists
to the non -Wh ite people. He decided to fight ■ Pro mot ion of the swadeshi spir it
against such injustice. thro ugh the use of charkha and
' hom esp un kha di ~
During Gan dhi' s stay in Sou th Africa, he
evolved the con cep t of saty agr aha (devotion Early Experiments w~th ¥ , •

to the truth), base d on the principles of trut h Satyagraha

and non -vio lenc e-a con cep t tha t he late~
■ Gan dhi' s firs t experiment with
applied to the Ind ian nati ona l movement.
saty agra ha in India was at Champaran
(19 17) in Bihar. Her e he took up the cause
THE CONCEPT OF SATYAGRAHA of the indigo cultivators against thE:
Gandhi believed tha t a pers on should firmly planters. He launched a movement which
believe in trut h and non-violence and resi st forced the government to reduce the ren t
evil to follow the principles of satyagraha. the Indian peasants were required to pay
A satyagrahi mus t be fearless and stro ng to the European planters.
and oppose evil actions. He mus t be willing ■ After his success at Champaran, Gan
dhi
\ to make sacrifices and accept suffering. took up the cause of the peasants of

~ - i:
L 135
Mabalfflll Gandhi and the Indian
 Kheda in Gujarat in 1918 . Gandhi was Social Justice
successful in ensuring the suspension
Mahatma Gan dhi believed in justice for
of tax collection for a year because the
all-i nclu ding the poor and downtrodden.
crops had failed.
He fought to improve the condition of
■ In 1918 , Gandhi also fought for the the lower castes and the attit ude towards
text ile mill workers of Ahmedabad. women. He called the people of the lower
He was successful in raising the ·wages castes the Harijans or 'the children of God'.
of the workers.
After Gandhi retu rned to India in 1915 ,
With these early experiments in satyagraha, he studied the condition of the Indian
Gandhi won over popular leaders of the national movement closely. He realised that
national movement. In Bihar, Dr Rajendra Hindu-Muslim relations were strained and
Prasad, and in Gujarat, Sardar Vallabhbhai the lower classes were barely a part of the
Patel, became enthusiastic and staunch movement. He toured the entir e coun try
supporters of Gandhi's methods of protest. and came to the conclusion that without
the support of the masses, no . strug gle
for independence could be successful. So,
he organised regional movements with
peasants and workers to create a popular
base for the national movement.

THE NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT (1920-22)
The Non-cooperation Movement was one
of the earliest attempts by Gandhi to bring
► Sardar Val/abhbhai Patel ► Rajendra Prasad together all Indians and force the British
to gran t self-government to India. The
GAN DHI 'S VISIONS causes for the launch of this movement are
Mah atma Gandhi's emphasis on Hind u- explained below.
Mus lim unity and social justice was another
key aspect of his methods for achieving RowlattAct
Indi a's independence. The Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 .
It was also ·known as the Black Act as it
Hin
,, du- Mu slim Unity curtailed the freedom of the Indian people.
Gan dhi wrote, 'Indian culture... is neither The clauses of the Act were as follows:
Hind u, Islamic nor any other, wholly. It is ■ To carr y out arrests without a warrant
a fusion of all.' According to him, the path ■ To conduct the trials of certain political
to freedom in Indi a lay in Hindu-Muslim cases without a jury
unit y .a nd he worked tirelessly towards it.
■ Imprisonment for an indefinite period ·
 d di sc on ten tm en t an d an ge r te with such a
. act cre. ate
,rn1s . . pe op le no t to believe or coopera
·nst the mJ us tic e of th e Br iti sh ru le . Th e go ve rn me nt.
8ga1 th e sit ua fion,
vernrnent, un ab le to. co nt ro l assacre, Gandhi
go Af ter the Jallianwala Bagh M
sev ere ly re pr es siv e me th od s · At th·1s M ov em en t in
used lau nc he d the Non-cooperation
nd hi ca lle d for
point, on 6 A~ ril 1919,_ Ga 1920.
me eti ng s an d
a day of nat10nal fas tm g, ad op ted by
t of sa ty ag ra ha Th e me tho ds of resistance
suspension of wo rk as an ac
Ac t. Ga nd hi we re as follows:
to protest ag ain st th e Ro wl att
co ur ts
■ Bo yc ott of legislative councils, law
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre an d go ve rn me nt schools and
colleges ·
ng wa sc all ed at d ho no rar y po sts
On 1sApril 19 19 ,ap ub lic me eti ■ Su rre nd er of titles an
pr ot es t ag ain st
Jallianwala Bagh in Am rit sa r to awarded by the British
t. Th e me eti ng
the measures of th e Ro wl att Ac ■ Pr om oti on of Hi nd u-
M us lim un ity
we re un arm ed .
was peaceful an d th e pe op le ■ Pr om oti on of swadeshi goods and the
Br iti sh mi lit ary
However, Ge ne ral Dy er, th e bo yc ott of foreign goods
· i •
de r ba nn ing all
commander, ha d iss ue d an or ■ Bo yc ott of government functions an
d
He su rro un de d
public meetings an d ha rta ls. elections . .
only exit,
.

wi th his tro op s, blo ck ing its on g

the Bagh pu lar ity am
th e ga the rin g. Th er e wa s Th e use of khadi ga ine d po
and opened fire on pe op le, inc lud ing the up pe r class~s.
Th e
g co nti nu ed till all
no warning, an d th e sh oo tin rkha, or the sp inn ing wheel,
became the
nit ion . Hu nd red s cha
the troops ran ou t of am mu sy mb ol of the No n- co op era tio n M ov em
en t.
ded.
were killed an d tho us an ds woun
Th e No n- co op era tio n M ov em en t was the
pe op le was
This massacre of in no ce nt fir st lar ge -sc ale mass mo ve me nt or ga
nis ed by
er e we re se ve re dr aw n
condemned by all In dia ns . Th Ga nd hi. M an y sections ofso cie ty we re
. Ra bin dr an ath ed from
protests all ov er th e co un try int o it. Th e Co ng res s was tra ns fo rm
od in pr ote st. mass-based
Tagore gave up his kn ig ht ho a 'm icroscopic mi no rit y' int o a
Pu nja b. Ga nd hi gotiated.
Martial law was de cla red in pa rty . Hi nd u- M us lim un ity was ne
go ve rn me nt 's the Khilafat
lost all faith in th e Br iti sh Th e mo ve me nt, by su pp or tin g
e. He ur ge d s in the fight
claim to fair pl ay an d jus tic M ov em en t, included Muslim
nation.
for freedom from Br iti sh domi
peak, violence
W he n th e mo ve me nt was at its
au ra -a small
eru pte d in 19 22 at Chauri Ch
hp ur in Ut tar
tow n in the dis tri ct of Go rak
at a peaceful
Pr ad es h. Th e police fired
retaliated and
procession. Th e an gr y mob
n, killing some
bu rn t do wn the police statio
d this violence
policemen. Ga nd hi disapprove
movement.
an d immediately called off the

MabablUI Gandhi and the lnd

lan Na tl~ ~_ __ .: :i ii ll l 13 7
 _ _ 21~
Poor na Swar aj Resolution -
foid You Know? : r · · · · ·1 The Congress held its annual session at T _._
In 1919, Muslims in British India launched a "-'dllOre
in December 1929. Jawaharlal Nehru was the
pan-Islamic political protest campaign. Known
as the Khilafat Movement, it was led by the President at this session of the Congres~. In
Ali brothers-Muhammad Ali and Shaukat this session, the resolution of Pooma Swaraj,
Ali. The Ali brothers began the movement to or complete independence, was adopted. 'The
protest against the abolition of the office of decision to boycott the First Round Table
the Caliph in Turkey.
Conference in London and declare 26 January
1930 as Independence Day for India were
THE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
also taken. The Indian tricolour was adopted
MOV EME NT (1930- 34)
and unfurled, and people all over the country
The Civil Disobedience Movement launched took the pledge of freedom. The Congress
by Gandhi and the Congress in 1930 also also decided to launch a Civil Disobedience
followed the method of satyagraha. The Movement under Gandhi's leadership.
events led to this movement are discussed as
follows. In March 1930, Gand hi launched the Civil
Disobedience Move ment with the _Salt
Reaction against the Simon Satyagraha. The British government
Commission had established its monopoly over salt, a
necessary item in every household. Indians
In 1927, a commission headed by Sir John
were forced to pay tax on salt and were not
Simon was sent by the British government
allowed to manufacture it.
to review its functioning in India. It came to
be known as the Simon Commission. Dandi March
From the outset, the Simon Commission was Gandhi undertook the historic and famous
boycotted by the Indians, mainly because Dandi March to protes t again st the salt laws.
it was an all-White commission. It had no He marched from the Sabarmati Ashram to
Indian member. to represent India. The Dand i-a village on the coast of Gujar at-to
recommendations of the Simon Commission break these laws. He was joined by thousands
were also not acceptable to the national leaders. of people on the way.
-:r,
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Analysing Primary so:urces l
This is a photograph of a protest by Indians during _th_e
Non-cooperation Movement. ·
• What do you observe in the picture?
• Do you think the picture tells you about the method
of protest followed by the nationali sts?
• Do you think the metho d was in tune wi th Ga nd hi's ·
idea of satyagraha?
► Non-cooperation Movement

l
 ching Dandi, Gandh i picked up a hundre ds were injured and even killed in
on re a
lathi-c harge and police firing. Nation alist
dful of salt from the beach to break the salt
han This symbo lic action was imitate d all feeling s and aspira tions were strong at this
laws.
acture point. The British realise d that tangib le
In dia ' and people began to manuf
0 ver

an ,-. ~=·- -
d sell salt openly .
reform s were necess ary to pacify the
Indian s.

"
'.•~'1 Gand hi-Irw in Pact
Realis ing that a dialog ue with the Indian
leader s had becom e necess ary, the Vicero y
Lord Irwin signed a pact with Gandh i, known
as the Gandh i-Irwi n Pact. Accor ding to
this pact, Gan.dh i agreed to suspen d the
Civil Disobe dience Movem ent and attend
the Second Round Table Confer ence. Lord
Irwin, on his part, agreed to release all
prison ers .a~d permit people to manuf acture
salt. · - - ·

The Second Round Table

Conference :and Relevance of Civil
► Gandhi picking up a handful of salt
at the end of Dandi March · Disobedience Move ment
The Civil Disobe dience Movem ent became The Second Round Table Confer ence was
an all-India mass movem ent. Strikes , hartals , held betwee n Septem ber and Decem ber 1931.
boycott of govern ment offices, school s and Gandh i was chosen. as the sole represe ntative
colleges brough t life to a standst ill. People of the Congre ss. At the Confer ence, there
defied the British author ities fearles sly. They was no discuss ion of granti ng the rights of
refused to pay taxes-o r buy foreign goods. A self-go vernan ce to Indian s. Gandh i returne d
significant aspect of the movem ent was that empty- handed and relaunc hed the Civil
it was truly non-vi olent in nature. Wome n
Disobe dience Movem ent.
too participated in this movem ent.
The _Civil Disobedience Movem ent made
Government Repression it clear to the British that certain tangibl e
The govern ment came down with severe constit utional reforms would have to be
repressive measur es, but this did not deter grante d to the Indians. The failure of the_
the people. Impor tant leaders , includ ing Round Table Conferences · had further
Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandh i, were arreste d, strengt hened this idea. As a result, the British
thousands of Indian s were impris oned and in
passed the G<>v e~ent o~Indi a Act 1935.

Mab.,_. 6111111111 and die Indian ~~ 139 (~)c

 vernment of India Act, 1935 ■ India would be given 'dominion status·
after the war.
activity in India intensified after the
Governm t of India Act, 1935. Elections ■ The provinces or princely' states Wou}
were held in 3 7. While both the Congress have the right to join the Indian Dominio d
and the Muslim eague decided to contest or remain outside it. n
the elections, the I ian National Congress Gandhi rejected the proposals of the Crip
8
won by a huge margin. Mission by calling it a 'post-dated cheq/ •
e.
When World War II br e out m 1939, He felt that the proposals offered were 'too
Britain realised the need for ian support little and too late'. He realised that the
to fight the war. Nationalist aders of British government was not prepared to
India were willing to help Britain, p ovided transfer any effective power to the Indians.
India was made independent. This le o a
deadlock between the British governme QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
and the Indian nationalist leaders. The Congress resolved to_ launch the Quit
ndia Movement in August 1942. Gandhi
Cripps M.ission gave the slogan 'Do or Die', which inspired the
The Cripps Mission, entire nation. But even before the movement
led by Sir Stafford could begin, all the leaders, including Gandhi,
Cripps, was sent were arrested and the Congress was banned.
in 1942 to resolve
the deadlock. The Features of the Quit India
main proposals of Movement
the Cripps Mission ■ People reacted spontaneously. Even
were as follows: without the leaders, protest marches,
demonstrations and strikes were
► Sir Stafford Cripps

Comparative History • com

parative a nalysis
....
1
··
-~l'J,·
The Great Depression
The Great Depression, a worldwide economic
slump, started in 1929 and lasted until about
. ·-=: -~~---.. .
1·

1939. It originated in the United States after

the stock market crash. It was the longest and
worst economic depression in the history of
the industrialised world. The Depression caused ,
large-scale unemployment, loss of production
and poverty across the globe.
► Unemployed men standing in a queue ollt.SJ.
- - - - - ~_:!!_,UP kitchen d~ring the Great Depression In Ch ,_
1
. ·. · 140 lmllil!"'!""-~- · ~
►
organised. The government tried to people of India. By the end of World War II,
control the situation with lathi-charge Britain could no longer ignore the demand
and firing. for India's independence.

1 Enraged by the government's brutality, INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY AND

people attacked government offices,
SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE
buildings, railwa_y stations and police
stations. Subhas Chandra Bose, also known as Netaji;
was a very important leader of the Indian
1 Telegraph lines were damaged and cut. national movem~nt. He entered politics at
People attacked railway lines and mangled
an early age and aggressively fought for
the tracks, disrupting the networ_k lines.
Swaraj. He became the Congress President
The government responded by calling
twice--1938 and 1939. When differences
out the army. Thousands were killed and
arose between him and Gandhi, Bose resigned
the movement was suppressed.
from___the presiaentship of the Congress.
The Quit India Movement was an important
Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Forward
landmark in India's struggle fo r_freedom.
Bloc in 1939. The main objectives of the
The people acquired new confidence to
Forward Bloc were to get freedom from the
fight against the British Raj. The Indians
British Rule in the immediate future and to
were very clear in their demand-complete
promote national unity. When the British
independence and not dominion status. To
declared war against the Axis powers on
protest against the British authority, parallel
India's behalf, Bose organised a mass protest
governments were set up in Ballia in Uttar
in Calcutta. He was imprisoned and then kept
Pradesh and Midnapore in Bengal. The Quit
under house arrest, from where he escaped
India Movement was crucial in uniting the
to Berlin and later to Japan.

• initiative and self-direction: research

!Connecting Past with Present • critical thinking: analysis

Dm In September 1942, Captain Mohan Singh GMPI You

brought together 40,000 Indian soldiers to form have heard
the Azad Hind Fauj or the INA. When Subhas song 'Kadam kadam
Chandra Bose was asked badhaye ja ... ' Written
to take up the supreme by Vanshidhar
command of the INA, he Shukla, it was the
~greed to ~o so. In July INA's marching
, 1943, he took the salute of song. At present, it
the INA and was greeted as ·,s a famous patriotic ► A regiment of the

· Netaji or the 'leader'. song, sung all over Indian

h Army· t I
/
#
► Subhas Chandra Bose
the country. It is also playedAduringt e regimen a
....__.._ _~ _ quick march of the Indian rmy.
T
he INA has been the subject of many movies. F nd out the name of one important movie on the
INA. How has Netaji been depicted in it?

Mahatma Gan dhi and the Indian National Movement: 1917-1!4;4141 ~

 and was defeated . Many soldie
rs We
taken as prisone rs by the British. re
One cannot dismiss the contribu f
ton of
the INA to India's freedom stru
The INA, along with its leader Nggl:·
, etaJ 1
contribu ted heroical ly to the freedo~
moveme nt. Subhas Chandra B
ose
became an icon for future generations
and is rememb ered today for hi~
patrioti sm and heroism .
► Netaji and members of the Azad Hind Fauj
After becomin g the leader of the Azad Hind
Fauj, or the Indian Nationa l Army (l~A), EVENTS LEADI NG TOWARDS
in 1943 , Netaji took an oath to free India. INDEP ENDEN CE
He gave the slogan, 'Give me blood and I In 1945, the Labour Party, under Clement
will give you freedom ' . Netaji's inspirin g, Attlee, came to power in Britain.
patrioti c speeche s motivat ed the soldiers of
the Azad Hind Ea uj to lay down their lives Cabinet Mission Plan (1946)
fighting to free the country .
The Cabine t Mission was constituted at
In 194,3 , Subhas Chandra Bose announc ed the the initiativ e of Clemen t Attlee to plan
formatio n of the Provisi onal Govern ment of the transfer of power from the British
Free Inaia in Singapo re and declared war on governm ent to the Indian leadership.
the allies. He then went to Tokyo to seek oelp
Jawahar lal Nehru was invited to form the
from Japan. He was received with full honours ,
Interim Govern ment in 1946. Jinnah stressed
as would be due to the head of any country .
on his demand for Pakistan and launched
Role of the INA: ► Lord and Lady Mountbat ten with Mahatma Gandhi t
Achiev ement s and Failures I

The INA along with the Japanes e

army crossed many territori es
includin g Burma to finally reach
India. In 1944, they capture d Kohima ,
r~ached .Imphal and planted the
Indian tricolou r flag there. Howeve r,
the victorie s of the INA were short-
lived. The Japanes e and INA forces
were defeated in a counter offensiv e
by the British who regaine d control of
Burma. The INA lost its momen tum

142 W* ,k '
► • communicati on
the Direct Action Day on 16 August • leadership and responsibility:
Debate vision and planning
1946. Direct Action Day was followed by
And Discussion · · ;\
communal violen~e all over the country. 1

1Imagine you are one of the leaders of Indian ·1

Partition of India 1
National Movement. Based on the reading of
this chapter, briefly discuss your method of
Lord Mountbatte n, India's last Viceroy,
struggle and your vision of a free India. ·1
arrived in March 1947. He realised the need -.l
to immediately put an end to the widespread
Mohammed Ali Jinnah became the first
violence. The Partition of India was seen as a
Governor-G eneral 9f Pakistan.
solution to this problem. Thus, after several
■ With effect from 15 August 1947, the
meetings with leaders of the Congress and
the Muslim League, it was finally decided by British Governmen t would cease to have
the Mountbatt en Plan that India would be any responsibili ty for the Governmen t of
India.
divided into two separate dominions -India
and Pakistan. The Indian political leaders ■ The office of the Secretary of State was to
accepted the division. Following the passing be abolished.
of the Indian Independen ce Act of 1947, two The tricolour was unfurled at the Red
independent nations were born. Fort on 15 August 1947 and Jawaharlal
The main provisions of this Act were as Nehru became the first Prime Minister of
follows: independen t India.
■ Two independen t dominions -India and Despite the Partition,- communal violence
Pakistan-w ere created. The territories continued to occur along India's border with
of these dominions were defined. Pakistan. Finally, Gandhi undertook a fast
• unto death to put an end to this violence.
■ The Act provided for the appointmen t
On 26 January 1950, India adopted the
of a Governor-G eneral for each
Constitutio n and was declared a sovereign,
dominion. Lord Mountbatte n became
sociali~t, secular, democratic republic.
the first Governor-G eneral of India and

[After .Reading ·1I ~ , • p,oblem-sol,iag, seqoeaciag mats

1920 CE 1930CE
- Beginning of the Non- Gandhi launches the Civil Quit India Movement
cooperation Movement Disobedience Movement Is launched
with the Salt Satyagraha

1910 CE 1950 CE

1919 CE
Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre
l 1927
The British government
sends the Simon
Commission to India
ce l _ 1947cel
India becomes an
Independent country

Ma11abU 611ndhl and dNI Indian~-

' "Y..,Y: ;
H '"\"':" ·,·
f ' - (-
•
V
143 i:
 mmm , ■
7
Axis powers: the nations, namely Germany, Japan and Italy, that fought in World War II against the
Allied powers constituting France, Poland, Great Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union
Civil Disobedience Movement: launched in 1930 to protest against unjust laws; involved disobeying
laws and boycotting British goods, services and institutions
Dandi March: symbolised the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement-Gandhi marched from
Sabarmati to Dandi to break the salt laws
Harijans: means the 'children of God'; the name given by Gandhi to the untouchable castes
Hartal: a strike in protest of something
Indian Independence Act: passed in July 1947 by the British Parliament to end the British rule in India
Khadi: an Indian homespun cotton cloth.
Non-cooperation Movement: launched by Gandhi in 1920 for the attainment of Swaraj through
peaceful means
Planters: Europeans during the British Raj who often owned indigo factories and forced peasants to
grow indigo
Salt laws: included a number of acts passed by the British government which made production and
possession of salt by Indians illegal; only the government could collect and manufacture salt at the
salt depots in India
Satyagraha: a movement started by Gandhi based on the principles of truth and non-violence

Exercises -~ r

I. Tick ( ✓) the correct option.

1. The Rowlatt Act was also known as the
a. Simon Commission D
b. Blac_k_A_ct_ _ _ _ _ ~ Salt Laws
D
2. When was the resolutio~rna Swaraj or complete independence adopted?
a. 1929 ~ b. 1930 D
c. 1935 D
3. 'The main objectives of the Forward Bloc were to get freedom from the British Rule in the
immediate future and to promote national unity'. This statement is:
a. false. D b. true. D c. partially false. D
4. Who was India's last Viceroy?
a. Lord Mountbatten D b. Lord Irwin D c. Sir John Simon D
5. Choose one option to match the items given in Column I with those in Column II.
Column I Column II
i. Kheda A. 1927
Ii. 13 April 1919 B. Gujarat, 1918
iii. Simon Commission C. Do or Die
iv. Mahatma Gandhi D. Indian National Army
v. Azad Hind Fauj E. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
a. 1-8, li-D, iii-A, iv-E, v-C D b. i-B, ii-E, iii-A, iv-C, v-D D
c. 1-C, ii-A, lii-8, iv-E, v-D D
144 ~ -- --·
 The Indian National
Movement:1885-1916

Learning Outcomes
Leaders such
as Lala Lajpat At the end of this lesson,
lear ner s will be able to:
Rai, Bipin
■ compare the met hod s of
Chandra Pal,
pro test s by the Moderates
Bal Gangadhar
and Radicals.
Tilak and
■ assess why the Partition of
Aur obi ndo
Bengal too k place.
Ghose ado pte d
■ trace the Sw ade shi and
radical ways
Boy cot t Movements .
of political
■ highlight the for ma tion of
agitation
the Muslim League .
an d told the
■ identify the lead ers and
peo ple to figh t
o bjectives of the Home Rule
for Swaraj or Lea g ue.
► Bal Gan gad har Freedom .
Tilak
• •• •• • • ' - - - - - - - - ~- ■ understand the imp orta nce
of the Lucknow Pact of 1916.

During Reading .
Visual Mapping
Prayer and petiti on method
Organised processions
J-+-
Method of
approach To promote loyalty of the
and prote st marches Muslims towards the British
,._Moderate

E
Formation of the All -+- To prote ct and promote
Reduction of taxes Phase India Muslim League Muslim political rights
Reduction in milita ry expenditure
Demands A political platform for
Changes in British economic upper-class Muslims
policies to bene fit India
Indians to be appo inted to high- Signed in 1916

ranking administrative posts Lucknow Pact

{ Marked the coming
Aggressive political agitation together of Hindus
and Muslims
Made sacrifices and
used violence

swad eshi and Boycott ._ Meth od of ._ Radical Bal Gangadha r Tilak

approach

E
move ment s to prote st Phase Launch of the
again st parti tion of Bengal Home Rue _. Annie Besan t
I
League Demand for self-
Broa dene d the social
governme nt or Swaraj
base of the move ment
~ re Reading
~
t%.i1v"i'"'tl"ib"M"f~B•t1
Tick (;, the pict_u~es of the members of th~~~- ~on
~_.,;:.;-... , ,. ~·•, i tl -- - - ~ -
• : 1,

l I

0 Gopal Krishna Gokhale □ LordRipon ~ozes hah Mehta

he, establish ment of the Indian

T National Congress marked

the beginnin g 0£. an organised
P-Olitical movemen t by Indians to exii ess .
their dissatisfaction with the nature of
British rule in India. The ~ ian National
Congress, with deleg~t_e~ from different
parts of the counttY..,.bec<1_m e the mouthpie ce _
for the politically awareJ naians.
► A photograph showing the delegates of the first
THE MODERATES Indian National Congress at Bombay in 1885

When the Indian National Congress was

founded in 1885, it was dominate d br.Jeader s
who have been described as mod~rate s.
TheH elieved in the benevole nt nature
moderate leaders were Dadabha i Naoroji,
Surendra nath_ BanerJ· ee, (Pheroze shah
~----::--::----:-~~~_ __.::--
Mehta,. GQ_pal.....Krishna_Goliliale and many
other eminent leaders.
-----
of British rul€ -':they felt that th~ India"ns
---,
~ _were still not ready to govern themselv es. Method of Approa ch
®rhey firmly believed that the British could ■ The moderate s did not believe in the_~
_be persuaded to in1i:o.duce reforms for the ~ oL'liolenc;_~.- They had faith in the British
~ t ofl~dians. -- -
sense of fair play and justice. They
therefore adopted the method of prayer,
Leaders of the Modera tes
j>etition and protest.
Many of the moderate leaders came from
■ The moderate s presented their
educated middle class backgrou nd, well- resolution s
requirem ents through
versed in Western thoughts and ideas.
and petitions. They believed that the
!hese leaders were Jeacher:s, J a~yers, governm ent would eventuall y pass laws
Journali st s and_industrial ists. The popular
to address these grievances.
The Indian National Move~ 8-
-. 1.- -
85- 91.-:8:-,]
1-- 123 ~
 ■
■ Due to the spread of a nati· :
To spread the message of unity and ~
1
.
political awareness, they distributed consci.rn ,sness among a wider s~ction of "'.
pamphlets, gave lectures and wrote society, people bega~ to believe that they
articles in newspapers and journals. belonged to one nat10n.
■ Due to their efforts, more Indian
■ The moderates organised processions - - s
and protest marches. They also sent beca,m~,..a~ are of the conc~R,ts offi:.eedo~
,S,_~ulari~_rp and rlemoa;acy. . _ •-.,._,~
.s;}elegations to England to negotiate with
the government to introduce necessary ■ The moderates also supported social
reforms in India. change and spoke about reforming §QQ~
evils, such as the rjgid....caste structur;- ' ·
Demands of the Moderates that divided India~ society. ----:_
The demands of the moderates were aimed
at remedying the oppressive aspects in RADICAL NATIONALISTS
British governance. Some of their demands
The failure of the moderates to coax the
were as follows:
British government into making real policy
■ ~eduction of high taxes changes created dissatisfaction within the
■ Holding the Indian Civil _Service (ICS) Congress. A group of Congress members
examinations simultaneously in Indrn who were impatient with the moderate
and England methods ·of protest emerged as new leaders
of the Congress. Often referred to as the
■, Appcintment of Indians to high posts in
radical nationalists, they played a more
the administration - - -.....
dominant role in the Congress activities
■ !!_eduction in militarJ'. expenditure from 1905 onwards. The radical nationalists
■ Cb~ng~ British economic policies to felt that the moderate approach had proved
benefit Indians · ~- ~"o" ineffective and that more aggressive
methods were necessary ..
Successes and Failures of the The radical leadership consisted of
Moderates aggressive leaders such as Lala Lajpat Rai,
The moderates_ have been criticised by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra
many as they: did n9t achieve ~an; ~ft heir Pal. This trio was popularly known as Lal-
. .o_ bjectives. They have also};;~~ --~riticised Bal-Pal.
as a 'microscopic minority'-l eaders who
Beliefs of the Radical Nationalists
.r.epr.~e_<Lo11l_x a small section of the
,,,ln - · __,.____ ■ The radicals had no faith in the British
the masses at large
P..2P.JJ.JA.tl0..!1_ while
sense of justice and fair play. They felt
.r:~.rrrnw d unaffected by th.@.i-r- ac.tivities.
that the British had no honest intentions
Despite the criticisms levelled at the
of working for the welfare of the Indian
moderates, they achieved the following:
people.
~ 124 ~r~:--:---;-- ------
 • rnmmunicati on
They believed that the British rule had 1>ebate ·, · · . · 21st ·
cal thinking: comparativ

• more harm to India than good. And Discussion . ~WV · · .:

lysis :
done
1How were the moderates and the radicals
• They demanded complete independ_en~e
or swaraj and not self-gove rnment w1thm fferent in their approaches and methods of

the British Empire. P~!!_tion ~ -~ - _ _ ._, ~-~ --~ -u.---J

PARTITION OF BENGAL
Method of Approach
The radical method of approach included The belief of the radicals in the oppressiv e
1
aggressive and organised political nature of the British rule was further
agitation, which involved the masses. strengthe ned when the governm ent decided
were willing to make sacrifices, to partition Bengal. The British Viceroy
1 They
even when it involved the use of violence, of India, Lord Curzon, was responsib le for
if necessary. partition ing Bengal. . The . official reason
given by Curzon was that Bengal was a very
Achievements
large province to be administ ered effectively.
■ The radicals felt that the economic interest
Therefor e, Bengal needed to be partition ed
of the British governm ent to monopoli se
to enable competen t administ ration. But
the Indian markets had harmed Indian
the real reason for partition ing Bengal was
industries and artisans. Thus, they
promoted the use of goods made in India to drive a wedge between the Hindus and
to revive the declining Indian economy. Muslims and thereby weaken the national
movemen t. Thus, Bengal was formally
■ The radical nationali sts broadene d the
social base of the movemen t by involving partition ed on 16 October 1905 into East
the masses in their activities. Bengal and West Bengal.

Connecting Past with Present l ~ , • ;n;tiative and self-d;mtion , ,esea,ch

Dm The partition of Bengal was announced to Hl•M Although the

apparently improve the economic condition of
partition of Bengal was
eastern Bengal. As Calcutta
stalled temporarily,
was the centre of most
Dhaka became the capital
economic and educational
of East Pakistan after the
activities, the eastern region
Partition of India in 1947.
of Bengal and the city of
Presently, Dhaka is the
Dhaka were neglected. In ► Curzon Hall
capital of the independent
1904, Lord Curzon laid the
country of Bangladesh. It is a thriving city and plays
foundatio n stone for Curzon
a central role in Bangladesh's economy. Today,
Hall, which was meant to be
Curzon Hall is a part of the Faculty of Science at the
a town hall in Dhaka.
► Lord Curzon University of Dhaka. It is a symbol of the tradition
Fi d · of education in the country.
b;. d?ut some examples of colonial buildings that are present in Dhaka today. What were these
11
ings built for? What are they used for today?

ThelndlanN allo~ ~ 125 'i

 TH E SWADESHI AND BO YC OT ■ Th ese radical nat ion ali sts w~
T re joined by
MOVEMENTS patriotic yo un g men, and at times
women,
■ Following the partition of who were wi llin g to employ agg
Bengal, th~ ressive
radical nationalists launched the Sw methods to force the British to leave
adeshi India.
and Boycott movements against the Bri ■ Th ese rev olu tio nar ies
tish. formed
■ Th e Swadeshi Mo vem ent urg un der gro un d (secret) _societies,
ed people to which
use only those goods tha t were pro we re loc ate d in different par ts
duced of the
by Indian manufacturers. cou ntr y.
■ Th e ma in cen tre s of revolu
■ Th e Boycott Mo vem ent tionary
asked people activities we re Bengal, Mahar
to abstain from purchasing British ashtra,
or Ut tar Pra des h and Pu nja b.
foreign goods. It also appealed to Ind
ians
to refrain from sen din g the ir childr ■ Th e revolutionaries published newspa
en to pers,
British schools and colleges. which str on gly opposed the
British
■ As
rule in India. Th ey collected wea • ' •• I ~

pro tes ts aga ins t the par titi on pons,

continued, the differences betwe manufactured bo mb s and planned
several

I
en the attacks aga ins t Br itis h officia
radicals and the moderates bec ls and
ame so go ver nm ent buildings.
gre at tha t the radicals were expell
ed from
the Co ng res s. ■ Th e go ver nm ent retaliated harshly.
Many of
■ Ma ny of the radical nationalists the revolutionaries were tracked dow
adopted n and
mo re rev olu tio nar y me tho ds to captured. Th eir hideouts were des
pro tes t troyed.
aga ins t the pa rti tio n and British inj Some of them, such as Khudiram Bos
ustice. e~ were
hanged. Others, such as Barin Gh
osh and
Comparative History
• info rma tion liter acy : comparative
analysis
· Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese Wa r was a
conflict between Russia and
Japan. It happened because · of
the rivalry _between these
countries for supremacy in Ma
nchuria and ·Korea. This wa r
began in 19 04 a~d ended in 19
05. It was fought mostly on
i. .t he-· ua od on
g .Peninsula (a peninsula in Lia
oning Pr9vince of - - - - •
;, N.o ith ea st· China), ' Mu kd en (no
w known as _Shenyang, located
in n~ rth ea st · China) and the
Yellow Sea (located between
mainland China and the Korean
peninsula). Japan wo n this wa r
and became the firs t Asian po we
r in the mo de rn era to defeat
a European po we r. ·
 }-lernchandra Kanu ngo, were impr isone d in
the Andaman and Nico bar Islan ds.

• Despite such stern meas ures , natio nalis t

Indians cont inue d their prot est of the
British rule in India .

surat Split
Due to the differences m their 5el iefs and
methods, a spli_t occu rred betw een the
moderates and the radic als at Sura t sessi on
of the Indian Nati onal Co_ngress in 1907 .

In 1911 , Beng al was reun ited. How ever,

the capital of the coun try was shjft ed from
Calcutta to Delhi .

Did You Know?

Mohammed Ali Jinnah
joined the All India Musl im
League in 1913. He serve d
as a leader of the All India
Muslim League till 1947. He
became the fi rst Gove rnor-
Gene ral of Pakistan on ~ ..
14 . ~ugust 1947. He is ► M ohammed Ali
0 ffic1al
ly know n in Pakist an Jinnah
as Quaid-e-Azam .