THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Census-1921- 12 to 13
mn people perished Met by war loans

Reason-famine & epidemic Increase in taxes

British busy fighting the war Customs duties raised

Did not take any interest in India Income tax introduced

This gross negligence angered people This angered businessmen and peasants

IMPLICATIONS
OF
WORLD WAR 1
Agricultural production declined during war Villages called upon to supply soldiers

Food exported to Europe Sons of peasants went to the battlefield

This resulted in food shortages in India No training given to these soldiers

Lack of food angered the Indians This resulted in deaths on

the battlefield
THE IDEA OF
SATYAGRAHA
 *British forced peasants to grow indigo
CHAMPARAN- *Peasants lost their fertile lands
1917 *Gandhiji supported peasants to fight
against the oppressive plantation system

*Peasants were not able to remit revenue

Gandhiji’s to government due to drought since 3
experiments KHEDA-1917
years.
with *Demanded that revenue be relaxed.
Satyagraha *Gandhiji started Satyagraha against
Zamindars, landlords and the British

*Businessmen exploited cotton mill

AHMEDABAD- workers.
1918
*Paid them low wages.
*Gandhiji started Satyagraha for cotton mill
workers
THE ROWLATT ACT
CAUSES

Passed by Imperial Govt got powers Gandhiji launched a

Legislative Council to detain political Non-violent Civil
despite opposition prisoners for two Disobedience Movement
by Indian members years without trial starting with a hartal
ROWLATT ACT
Massive strikes and Local leaders of Amritsar Imposition of
shutdown of shops and arrested-Gandhiji not martial law by
workshops.Railways and allowed to enter Delhi Dyer
telegraph disrupted

EFFECTS
 ⮚Unaware of martial law, people gathered at Jallianwala bagh
Background to celebrate the annual Baisakhi fair.
⮚Dyer entered the area, blocked the only exit and ordered fire
on the crowd.

Hundreds Strikes and Govt

left dead clashes with suppressed
police, attack on and
govt buildings humiliated
protestors

News of
tragedy spread Gandhiji forced
to North India to call off
Satyagraha
JALLIANWALA BAGH
TRAGEDY SAS / Winmore
NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT
NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT IN TOWNS
PARTICIPATION
★ The movement started with middle class
participation.
★ Students left govt controlled schools and
colleges-Headmasters and teachers resigned.
★ Lawyers gave up legal practices.
★ Boycott of foreign cloth.
★ Liquor shops picketed.
★ Council elections boycotted.
INITIAL SUCCESSES
★ Import of foreign cloth halved between 1921-22.
★ Merchants and traders refused to trade in
foreign goods.
★ People started wearing khadi.
★ Production of Indian textile mills and handlooms
went up.
FAILURE
★ Khadi was expensive and people could not
afford it.
★ Absence of alternative Indian institutions.
★ Students, teachers, lawyers joined back.
 REBELLION IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
PEASANTS
❖ Led by Baba Ramchandra-a sanyasi who had
earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer.
❖ Movement against landlords and talukdars.
❖ Demands: Reduction of revenue, abolition of
begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
❖ Organised nai-dhobi bandhs to deprive landlords
of the services of barbers and washermen.
❖ Setting up of Kisan Sabhas with 300 branches in
many villages.
TRIBALS
❖ A militant guerilla movement was led by Alluri
Sitaramaraju in the Gudem Hills of AP.
❖ Movement was against colonial forest laws.
❖ Colonial govt restricted movement in forest areas
and demanded begar for road building.
❖ Raju being a follower of Gandhiji persuaded
people to wear khadi, give up drinking.
❖ But Raju differed with Gandhiji and felt that India
could be liberated only by the use of force, not
non-violence.
❖ Tribals attacked police stations, attempted to kill
British officials for swaraj.
❖ Raju was captured and executed in 1924.
TOWARDS
CIVIL
DISOBEDIENCE
➢ The new Tory government in Britain constituted a Statutory Commission under Sir John Simon.
➢ The commission was to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and
suggest changes.
➢ The commission did not have a single Indian member. They were all British.
➢ When the Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928, it was greeted with the slogan ‘Go back
Simon’.
➢ All parties, including Congress and the Muslim League, participated in the demonstrations.
➢ In an effort to win them over, Viceroy Irwin granted a vague dominion status for India and a
Round Table Conference to discuss a future constitution.
▪ On 31st March 1930, Gandhiji sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands.
▪ The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax.
▪ The letter was an ultimatum, if the demands were not fulfilled by 11th March, the Congress would launch a
Civil Disobedience campaign.
▪ Irwin was unwilling to negotiate. ▪ Gandhiji started his salt march accompanied by 78 volunteers.
▪ The march was over 240 miles, from Sabarmati ashram to the coastal
town of Dandi.
▪ The volunteers walked for 24 days about 10 miles a day.
▪ On 6th April, he reached Dandi, and ceremonially violated the law,
manufacturing salt by boiling sea water.
▪ This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
PARTICIPANTS IN
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
MOVEMENT
PARTICIPANTS DEMANDS INVOLVEMENT

RICH PEASANT Struggle against high revenue Joined the CDM in 1930-resentment against revenue rates not being revised-
COMMUNITIES refused to participate when it was relaunched in 1932.

POOR *Lowering of revenue demand Relationship between poor peasants and Congress uncertain-as Congress was
PEASANTRY *Unpaid rent to be remitted in favour of rich landlords-hence no active participation.
*Social boycott of rich landlords

BUSINESS Abolition of restrictions on *Set up FICCI and IICC

CLASS business-protection against *Supported CDM when it was launched.
imports *After failure of RTC-apprehensive of militant activities,prolonged disruption of
business and growing influence of socialism among Congressmen-kept away
from CDM.

WORKING *Increase in wages *Poor participation except in the Nagpur region.

CLASS *FIght against poor working *Participated in the boycott of foreign goods,strikes by railway workers in 1930
conditions and Chotanagpur tin mines,dockworkers in 1932.

WOMEN ------------ *Participated in protest marches,manufactured salt,picketed foreign cloth and

liquor shops.
*Women from rich peasant communities(rural areas),high-caste familities
(urban areas) participated.
 THE LIMITS OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
PARTICIPANTS DEMANDS INVOLVEMENT

DALITS *Separate electorates for *Participation of Dalits in CDM was limited to Maharashtra and
Dalits Nagpur region where the organisation was strong.
*Reserved seats in
educational institutions
*Political empowerment.

MUSLIMS *Demand for reserved seats
in the Central Assembly.
*Representation in proportion
to population in Muslim
dominated provinces of
Bengal and Punjab.
Kept themselves away from CDM-reasons-
*Closeness of Congress with HMS,
*Hindu-Muslim clashes and riots,
*Fear of majority domination.
BHARAT MATA
FIGURE, IMAGE AND SONGS

✓ It was in the 20th century, with the growth of

nationalism, the identity of India came to be
visually associated with the image of Bharat
Mata.
✓ The Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim
Chandra Chattopadhyay. He also wrote the
Vande Mataram song.
✓ Moved by the Swadeshi movement,
Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image
of Bharat Mata-portrayed it as an ascetic figure-
calm, composed, divine and spiritual.
✓ In subsequent years, it acquired many forms.
 REVIVAL OF INDIAN FOLKLORE
✓ In late 19th century India, nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to
gather folk songs and legends.
✓ They felt it is essential to preserve this folk tradition as they gave a true picture of traditional culture and in
order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pride in one’s past.
✓ In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore collected ballads, nursery rhymes and myths and led the movement of
folk culture.
✓ In Madras, Natesa Shastri published a massive four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales, ‘The Folklore of
Southern India’.
USE OF ICONS AND SYMBOLS

✓ During the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, a

tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was
designed. It had eight lotuses representing 8
provinces of British India , and a crescent moon,
representing Hindus and Muslims.
✓ By 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag. It
was a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a
spinning wheel in the centre, representing
Gandhian ideal of self help.
✓ Carrying the flag. Holding it aloft, during
marches became a symbol of defiance.
 REINTERPRETATION OF HISTORY

▪ By the end of the 19th century, many Indians began

feeling that to instill a sense of pride in the nation,
Indian history has to be thought of differently.
▪ The British saw Indians as backward and primitive,
incapable of governing themselves.
▪ In response, India wrote about the glorious
developments in ancient times, when art and
architecture, science and mathematics , religion and
culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade
flourished.
▪ This was followed by a period of decline because of
colonization.
▪ These nationalist histories urged readers to take
pride in our past and struggle against the miserable
conditions of life under British rule.
NATIONALISM IN INDIA-
MAP WORK
Amritsar Chauri Chaura

Ahmedabad Champaran

Calcutta (Sep. 1920)

Kheda
Dandi
Nagpur
(Dec. 1920)

Madras (1927)
 PRESENTATION BY

HARITHA BOLUSANI
THANK YOU