NATIONALISM IN INDIA - FINAL NOTES

INTRODUCTION
Modern nationalism in India = closely linked to anti-colonial movement
People discovered unity while fighting against British rule
Different groups had different experiences of colonialism
Congress under Gandhi tried to unite all groups
Each class interpreted swaraj (self-rule) differently

1. THE FIRST WORLD WAR, KHILAFAT AND NON-COOPERATION

Impact of World War I (1914-1918)

Huge defense spending → financed by war loans & increased taxes
Customs duties raised + income tax introduced (first time)
Prices doubled (1913-1918) → extreme hardship for common people
Forced recruitment from villages → widespread anger
Crop failures (1918-19, 1920-21) → acute food shortages
Influenza epidemic → 12-13 million people died (1921 census)

Gandhi's Return & Satyagraha (1915)

Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa (January 1915)
Brought new method: Satyagraha (सत्याग्रह = truth + force)
Key Principles of Satyagraha:

Power of truth over physical force

Non-violence to win battles
Appeal to oppressor's conscience
Truth will ultimately triumph
Early Satyagraha Movements:

Champaran (Bihar, 1917) → against oppressive plantation system

Kheda (Gujarat, 1917) → peasants couldn't pay revenue due to crop failure
Ahmedabad (1918) → cotton mill workers' movement
Rowlatt Act & Jallianwala Bagh (1919)
Rowlatt Act (1919):

Passed despite Indian opposition in Imperial Legislative Council

Gave government enormous powers to suppress political activities
Political prisoners could be detained without trial for 2 years
Gandhi's Response:

Launched nationwide satyagraha (started 6 April 1919)

Called for hartal (strike/closure)
Rallies organized, workers on strike, shops closed
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919):

Large crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar

Some protesting, others attending Baisakhi fair
General Dyer blocked exits & opened fire
Hundreds killed → wanted to create "moral effect"
Brutal repression followed → people forced to crawl, salaam to sahibs
Aftermath:

Violence spread across North India

Gandhi called off movement seeing violence
Need for broader Hindu-Muslim unity recognized

Khilafat Issue
Ottoman Turkey defeated in WWI
Rumors of harsh peace treaty against Khalifa (Islamic spiritual head)
Khilafat Committee formed (Bombay, March 1919)
Ali brothers (Muhammad Ali & Shaukat Ali) led movement
Gandhi saw opportunity to unite Hindus & Muslims
Congress supported Khilafat (Calcutta session, September 1920)

2. NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT (1920-1922)

Gandhi's Strategy
"British rule survived due to Indian cooperation" (Hind Swaraj, 1909)
If Indians refuse cooperation → British rule would collapse in a year
Non-Cooperation Programme:
Phase 1:

Surrender government titles

Boycott: civil services, army, police, courts, legislative councils
Boycott: government schools & foreign goods
Phase 2:

If government uses repression → full civil disobedience

Movement Begins (January 1921)

Congress adopted programme (Nagpur session, December 1920)
Different groups joined with different expectations

3. DIFFERENT GROUPS IN THE MOVEMENT

A. Movement in Towns
Participation:

Students left government schools/colleges

Teachers & headmasters resigned
Lawyers gave up legal practice
Council elections boycotted (except Madras - Justice Party participated)
Economic Impact:

Foreign goods boycotted

Liquor shops picketed (धरना देना)
Foreign cloth burnt in bonfires
Import of foreign cloth halved (₹102 crore → ₹57 crore)
Production of Indian textiles & handlooms increased
Why Movement Slowed in Cities:

Khadi more expensive than mill cloth → poor couldn't afford

Alternative Indian institutions slow to develop
Students/teachers returned to government schools
Lawyers returned to government courts
B. Rebellion in Countryside
Awadh Peasant Movement:

Led by Baba Ramchandra (former indentured laborer from Fiji)

Against talukdars & landlords who demanded:
Exorbitantly high rents
Various cesses (taxes)
Begar (unpaid forced labor)
Peasants had no security of tenure
Demands: reduce revenue, abolish begar, social boycott of landlords
Nai-dhobi bandhs → denied services of barbers & washermen
Oudh Kisan Sabha formed (October 1920) - Nehru, Baba Ramchandra
Over 300 branches in villages within a month
Congress Concerns:

Movement turned violent → houses attacked, bazaars looted

Local leaders said "Gandhi declared no taxes, land to be redistributed"
Gandhi's name used to justify all actions
Tribal Movement - Gudem Hills (Andhra Pradesh):

Alluri Sitaram Raju led guerrilla movement (early 1920s)

Against forest laws → prevented grazing, collecting fuelwood/fruits
Against begar for road building
Raju claimed special powers (predictions, healing, bulletproof)
People saw him as incarnation of God
Contradictory approach: promoted khadi & Gandhi, but believed in force
Attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials
Raju captured & executed (1924) → became folk hero

C. Plantation Workers (Assam)

Under Inland Emigration Act (1859) → couldn't leave tea gardens without permission
Heard of Non-Cooperation → thousands left plantations for home villages
Believed "Gandhi Raj coming" → everyone would get land
Never reached destination → caught by police during railway strike
Brutally beaten by police
Movement's Character:
Different groups interpreted swaraj differently
All related emotionally to all-India movement
Used Gandhi's name but had own local agendas

4. TOWARDS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

End of Non-Cooperation (February 1922)

Chauri Chaura incident (Gorakhpur) → peaceful demo turned violent
Police station attacked, policemen killed
Gandhi called off movement → felt satyagrahis not properly trained

Internal Congress Debates

Some leaders tired of mass struggles
Wanted to participate in provincial council elections
C.R. Das & Motilal Nehru formed Swaraj Party → return to council politics
Younger leaders (Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Bose) wanted radical mass action & full
independence

Factors Leading to Civil Disobedience

1. Economic Depression (late 1920s):

Agricultural prices fell from 1926, collapsed after 1930

Peasants couldn't sell harvests or pay revenue
Countryside in turmoil by 1930
2. Simon Commission (1928):

All-British commission to review constitutional system

"Go back Simon" slogan → all parties including Congress & Muslim League protested
Lala Lajpat Rai died from injuries during Simon Commission protest
3. Political Developments:

Lord Irwin announced vague "dominion status" (October 1929)

Round Table Conference proposed
Congress not satisfied
Lahore Congress (December 1929, President: Jawaharlal Nehru)
"Purna Swaraj" (complete independence) demand formalized
26 January 1930 declared Independence Day
5. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT (1930-1934)

Salt March & Launch (1930)

Gandhi's letter to Viceroy Irwin (31 January 1930) → 11 demands
Wide-ranging demands → different classes could identify
Most stirring: abolish salt tax
Salt = consumed by rich & poor alike → powerful unifying symbol
Ultimatum: fulfill demands by 11 March or face civil disobedience
Dandi March (12 March - 6 April 1930):

240 miles: Sabarmati Ashram → Dandi (Gujarat coast)

78 trusted volunteers started, thousands joined
24 days, 10 miles per day
6 April: Gandhi violated salt law by manufacturing salt at Dandi

Civil Disobedience vs Non-Cooperation:

Non-Cooperation: refuse cooperation with British
Civil Disobedience: actively break colonial laws

Spread of Movement
Salt law broken across country
Salt manufactured, demonstrations at government salt factories
Foreign cloth boycotted, liquor shops picketed
Peasants refused revenue & chaukidari taxes
Village officials resigned
Forest people violated forest laws → collected wood, grazed cattle

Government Response & Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Congress leaders arrested one by one
Violent clashes: Peshawar (Abdul Ghaffar Khan arrested), Sholapur (Gandhi arrested)
About 100,000 people arrested
Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March 1931):
Gandhi agreed to attend Round Table Conference
Government agreed to release political prisoners
Second Round Table Conference (December 1931):

Gandhi went to London

 Negotiations failed → returned disappointed
Government started new repression cycle
Civil Disobedience relaunched (1932)
Movement lost momentum by 1934

6. DIFFERENT GROUPS IN CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

A. Rich Peasants
Patidars (Gujarat), Jats (UP) → commercial crop producers
Hit by trade depression & falling prices
Cash income disappeared → couldn't pay government revenue
Government refused to reduce revenue demand
Enthusiastic supporters initially
Fight for swaraj = struggle against high revenues
Disappointed in 1931 → movement called off without revenue revision
Many refused to participate when movement restarted (1932)

B. Poor Peasants
Small tenants renting land from landlords
Wanted unpaid rent remitted due to depression
Joined Socialist & Communist-led movements
Congress unwilling to support "no rent" campaigns
Relationship with Congress remained uncertain

C. Business Classes
Made huge profits during WWI, became powerful
Wanted protection against foreign imports
Favorable rupee-sterling exchange ratio
Formed organizations:
Indian Industrial & Commercial Congress (1920)
FICCI (1927)
Leaders: Purshottamdas Thakurdas, G.D. Birla
Initially supported Civil Disobedience → gave financial help
Swaraj = time when colonial restrictions on business would end
After Round Table Conference failure → less enthusiastic
 Worried about militant activities & socialism in Congress

D. Industrial Workers
Limited participation except Nagpur region
As industrialists came closer to Congress → workers stayed aloof
Some participation: adopted Gandhian ideas like foreign goods boycott
Railway strikes (1930), dock workers (1932)
Chotanagpur tin mines → wore Gandhi caps, protest rallies
Congress reluctant to include workers' demands → might alienate industrialists

E. Women's Participation
Large-scale participation for first time
Came out during Gandhi's salt march
Participated in: protest marches, salt manufacturing, picketing
Many went to jail
Urban women: high-caste families
Rural women: rich peasant households
Saw service to nation as sacred duty
Gandhi's view: women's duty = home & hearth, good mothers & wives
Congress reluctant to give women authority positions → wanted only symbolic presence

7. LIMITS OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

A. Dalits ("Untouchables")
Congress ignored dalits → feared offending conservative high-caste Hindus
Gandhi's approach:
Called them "Harijan" (children of God)
Organized satyagraha for temple entry, public wells access
Cleaned toilets to dignify bhangi (sweepers) work
Wanted upper castes to give up "sin of untouchability"
Dalit Leaders' Different Approach:

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar → organized Depressed Classes Association (1930)

Demanded reserved seats in educational institutions
Wanted separate electorate for legislative councils
Political empowerment would solve social disabilities
Poona Pact (September 1932):

Ambedkar demanded separate electorates at Round Table Conference

Gandhi fast unto death → opposed separate electorates
Compromise reached: Reserved seats for Depressed Classes but voted by general
electorate
Dalit movement remained apprehensive of Congress

B. Muslims
Large section alienated after Non-Cooperation-Khilafat decline
Congress associated with Hindu nationalist groups like Hindu Mahasabha
Hindu-Muslim relations worsened → communal clashes & riots
Muhammad Ali Jinnah willing to give up separate electorates if:
Muslims assured reserved seats in Central Assembly
Representation in proportion to population in Bengal & Punjab
All Parties Conference (1928) → M.R. Jayakar opposed compromise
Atmosphere of suspicion when Civil Disobedience started
Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1930) → reiterated importance of separate electorates
Feared minority culture & identity would be submerged under Hindu majority

8. SENSE OF COLLECTIVE BELONGING

Cultural Processes Creating Nationalism

A. Image of Bharat Mata:

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay → wrote "Vande Mataram" (1870s)

Included in novel Anandamath → sung during Swadeshi movement
Abanindranath Tagore painted famous Bharat Mata (1905)
Portrayed as: ascetic, calm, divine, spiritual figure
Devotion to mother figure = evidence of nationalism
Different artists created various forms in popular prints
B. Folklore Revival:

Late 19th century → nationalists recorded folk tales & songs

Rabindranath Tagore → collected ballads, nursery rhymes, myths
Natesa Sastri → published 4-volume collection of Tamil folk tales
Belief: folklore = true picture of traditional culture damaged by outsiders
Essential to preserve folk tradition for national identity
C. Flags & Symbols:

Swadeshi movement flag → tricolor (red, green, yellow)

8 lotuses (8 provinces), crescent moon (Hindus & Muslims)
Gandhi's Swaraj flag (1921) → tricolor (red, green, white)
Spinning wheel in center (Gandhian ideal of self-help)
Carrying flag = symbol of defiance
D. Reinterpretation of History:

British view: Indians backward & primitive, incapable of self-governance

Indian response: discovered India's great achievements in past
Glorified: ancient art, architecture, science, mathematics, religion, culture
Nationalist histories → urged pride in past achievements & struggle against British rule

Problems with Unity Efforts:

When Hindu past glorified → other communities felt left out
Hindu iconography in images → excluded non-Hindus
Cultural nationalism sometimes became sectarian

9. CONCLUSION

Key Characteristics:
Growing anger against colonial government brought various groups together
Congress under Gandhi tried to channel grievances into organized movements
Diverse groups participated with varied aspirations & expectations
Freedom meant different things to different people
Congress attempted to resolve differences between groups
Unity often broke down → high points followed by disunity & conflict
Emerging nation with many voices wanting freedom from colonial rule

IMPORTANT DATES (CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)

Date Event

1909 Gandhi wrote "Hind Swaraj"

1915 Gandhi returned to India (January)

1917 Champaran Satyagraha (Bihar)

1917 Kheda Satyagraha (Gujarat)

 Date Event

1918 Ahmedabad Mill Workers Satyagraha

1918-19 Crop failures & influenza epidemic

1919 Rowlatt Act passed

6 April 1919 Rowlatt Satyagraha launched

13 April 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

March 1919 Khilafat Committee formed (Bombay)

September 1920 Congress supported Khilafat (Calcutta session)

December 1920 Non-Cooperation programme adopted (Nagpur)

January 1921 Non-Cooperation Movement began

February 1922 Chauri Chaura incident; Movement called off

1924 Alluri Sitaram Raju executed

1927 FICCI formed

1928 Simon Commission arrived; "Go back Simon"

December 1929 Purna Swaraj demand (Lahore Congress)

26 January 1930 Independence Day declared

31 January 1930 Gandhi's letter to Viceroy (11 demands)

12 March 1930 Dandi March began

6 April 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement launched

1930 Depressed Classes Association formed

5 March 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact

December 1931 Gandhi at Second Round Table Conference

1932 Civil Disobedience relaunched

September 1932 Poona Pact signed

1934 Civil Disobedience Movement ended

1942 Quit India Movement launched

KEY TERMS & CONCEPTS

Satyagraha = Truth + Force, non-violent resistance
Swaraj = Self-rule (meant different things to different people)
Hartal = Strike/general closure
Begar = Unpaid forced labor
Khadi = Hand-spun cloth
 Picketing = Protest by blocking entrances
Boycott = Refusal to deal with/buy from
Purna Swaraj = Complete independence
Khalifa = Spiritual head of Islamic world
Talukdars = Large landowners
Chaukidari tax = Village watchman tax
These comprehensive notes cover all major topics from Chapter 2 - Nationalism in India, organized
chronologically with key points, important terms, and dates for effective revision.