Nationalism in India, like other colonies, was associated with the anti-

colonial or independence movement. Indians were united by their

common struggle against their colonial rulers despite their dissimilar
experiences and notions of freedom. This unity was forged but with
conflict and incessant efforts from Congress under the leadership of
Mahatma Gandhi. Society in India was divided among classes and castes.
This chapter deals with their participation in national movements.
TOPIC 1
GROWTH OF NATIONALISM IN INDIA
Learning Objectives
 Students will learn the definition of nationalism.

 Students will know about the relationship between anti-colonial

elements and nationalism.
 Students will absorb some facts about the early phases of Indian
National movement.
 Students will learn about various new political concepts like
colonialism.
Learning Outcomes
 Students will be able to draw a parallel between the rise of anti-
colonial sentiments and the growth of nationalism.
 Students will understand the inefficiency of constitutional methods
in achieving Independence.
Growth of nationalism in India is directly connected to emergence of
anti-colonial sentiments and movements against the British Government
in India. People began identifying with each other as a part of the same
nation during the struggle for nationhood, sovereignty and self-rule.
A long struggle of appeasing the British and cooperating with them
from within the legislative councils had faded without much effects.
Moderate leaders were perplexed because their constitutional methods
had failed in achieving relief. Radical methods were quickly proving to
be futile too. It was necessary to think of some new methods to achieve
Independence.

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 TOPIC 2
EFFECTS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
The First World War affected the world in multiple ways. It destroyed
the economies of the most developed nations of the world. In India, these
affects were severe too, not because India had participated in the war
directly but because the British had used India as their colony to represent
them in the war. Indian soldiers were forcefully recruited and made to
fight in the war.
Example 1. How did the First World War help in the growth of the
National Movement in India? (Understand)
[NCERT]
Total Breakdown
Marks (As per CBSE Marking Scheme)
Mention five ways in which the First world war affected the
pre-Independence Indian society and created new economic
and political conditions.
l Rise in expenditure. (1m)
5
l Levying of new taxes. (1m)
l Forced recruitment of soldiers. (1m)

l Difficulty in substances. (1m)

l Acute shortage of food. (1m)

Ans. The First World War created new economic and political situations
in India. This can be described using the following points:
(1) The defence expenditure rose.
(2) War loans and taxes were increased to meet up with this
sudden surge.
(3) Men from the villages were forcefully recruited in the army.
(4) Prices doubled during the war and sustenance became even
more difficult for the native Indian people.
(5) Civil unrest grew. Crop failure during 1918-19 and 1920-21
led to acute shortage of food. Together with the influenza
epidemic, the famine killed 13 million people.
Each section of people was scared and frustrated with the effects of
First World War on Indian Economy and society. Experience of these

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 hardships gave birth to a common struggle and anger against the
British. A national movement was hereafter born.
l
l
l

Glossary
(1) Colonialism: Practise of occupying another country and acquiring
partial/complete control over its economic, political and social affairs
(2) Epidemic: Widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a
place/country/area
(3) Racist: One who discriminates between people based on their race
or colour of their skin
l
l
l

Who's Who?
(1) Mahatma Gandhi: He was the father of the Indian Independence
movement, lawyer and an anti-colonial nationalist. He led India
to independence and spread the ideas of Satyagraha and non-
violence which became the spirit of the nation.
(2) Motilal Nehru: He was an Indian lawyer, Independence activist and
one of the most active moderate members of Congress. He was
also the father of Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote Nehru report in 1928-
famously known as India’s first constitution written by Indians. He
formed Swaraj Party with C. R. Das.
l
l
l

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 Chronology
1859: Inland Emigration Act was passed
1909: Hind Swaraj was written by Gandhiji
1915: Mahatma Gandhi returned to India.
l
l
l

OBJECTIVE Type Questions

Multiple Choice Questions

[ 1 mark each ]
1. The growth of modern nationalism in India is intimately
connected to which of the following events:
(I) Anti-Racial Movement
(II) Religious Reform Movements
(III) Anti-Imperial Movement
(IV)Secessionist movements of Sikhs
Codes:
(a) (I) and (III)
(b) (II) and (IV)
(c) only (III)
(d) (I), II), (III) and (IV)
Ans. (c) only (III)
Explanation: India was facing an exploitative colonial rule of
Britain and its repercussions on its economy, society and polity. Its
people were struggling for independence. They were mistreated
and repressed in their own country. This led to the birth of Anti-
Imperial sentiments and gave birth to modern nationalism in the
country.

Caution
 It is important for the students to read every alternative before reaching the
answer- especially in questions where multiple alternatives appear to be
true.

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 2. Which of the following events happened on 31 January, 1930?
(a) Gandhi ji wrote a letter to Lord Irwin.
(b) Lahore Session of Congress was concluded.
(c) The Salt March was launched by Gandhi ji.
(d) All of the above. [Diksha]
Ans. (a) Gandhi ji wrote a letter to Lord Irwin
Explanation: In his letter to Lord Irwin, Gandhi ji included 11
demands and one of them was to abolish the salt tax. He wrote
this letter with the implied threat to launch a civil disobedience
movement if these demands were not fulfilled.
Related Theory
 Lord Irwin did not negotiate with Gandhi ji and so Gandhi ji launched the
Salt March on 11 March, 1930 along with his 78 volunteers from Sabarmati
Ashram, covering 240 miles in 24 days. Gandhi ji reached Dandi on 6 April,
1930 where he violated the salt law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water.
This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Caution
 It is important to chronologically arrange such events to eliminate
alternatives. Elimination is the best technique to answer such questions.

3. Read the given case and answer the question that follows:
The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January
1921. Various social groups participated in this movement,
each with its own specific aspiration. All of them responded
to the call of Swaraj, but the term meant different things to
different people.
Which of the following statements stand true for the Non-
cooperation Movement?
(I) Boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative
councils, schools, and foreign goods was a program.
(II) It showcased Hindu-Muslim Movement.
(III) It was adopted in one of the sessions of All India Conference
of Parties.
(IV)A united movement for more political powers and
representation and against the ill-treatment of Khalifa was
suggested by Gandhiji.

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 Codes:
(a) (I) and (III) only
(b) (I) and (IV) only
(c) (I), (II) and (IV) only
(d) (I), (II), (III) and (IV)
Ans. (c) (I), (II) and (IV) only
Explanation: The movement was adopted at the Congress session
at Nagpur in December 1920.

Identify
[ 1 mark each ]
Identify the following on basis of the hints given in each question.
4. Identify the personalities shown in the picture below.

[Delhi Gov. QB 2022]

Ans. Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azaad
Explanation: This is a picture from Sevagram Ashram in Wardha,
1935. Abul Kalam Azad was an Indian independence activist,
Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian
National Congress. He was the First Minister of Education in the
Indian government.

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 Related Theory
 The Congress Working Committee, in its meeting in Wardha on 14 July 1942,
passed the historic ‘Quit India’ resolution demanding the immediate transfer
of power to Indians and quit India. On 8 August 1942 in Bombay, upon the
passing of this resolution, Gandhiji delivered the famous ‘Do or Die’ speech.

Caution
 It is important to observe and memorise pictures of the leaders mentioned in
the chapter and observe them to attempt questions like these

Match the Column

[ 1 mark each ]
Choose the correct options:
5. Match the keywords from Column A with their meanings given
in Column B:
Column A Column B
(Keywords) (Meanings)
(A) Forced recruitment (I) Labour without any payment
(B) Boycott (II) A form of demonstration
(C) Picket (III) A form of protest
(D) Begar (IV) A process of making people to
join the army
Codes:
(a) (A) – (I), (B) – (III), (C) – (II), (D) – (IV)
(b) (A) – (III), (B) – (IV), (C) – (I), (D) – (II)
(c) (A) – (IV), (B) – (III), (C) – (II), (D) – (I)
(d) (A) – (II), (B) – (III), (C) – (I), (D) – (IV)
Ans. (c) (A) – (IV), (B) – (III), (C) – (II), (D) – (I)

Assertion-Reason
[A-R] [ 1 mark each ]

In the following questions, two statements in the form of an

Assertion (A) and a Reason (R) have been put forward. Read both
statements carefully and choose the most appropriate option:

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 (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of
(A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation
of (A).
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(d) (A) is false but (R) are true.
6. Assertion (A): A growing anger against the colonial govern-
ment was thus bringing together various groups
and classes of Indians into a common struggle
for freedom in the first half of the twentieth
century.
Reason (R): Diverse groups were all tortured by British in
one way or the other.
Ans. (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of
(A).
Explanation: Industrialists, workers, farmers, cultivators, etc were
all tortured due to their race and called barbaric and corrupt to
justify the despotic rule over them, even though with different
intensities.

CASE BASED Questions (CBQs)

[ 5 marks each ]

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow:
7. Case: The Movement in the Towns
The movement started with the participation of the middle-class
in the cities. Thousands of students left government-controlled
schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and
lawyers gave up their legal practices. The council elections were
boycotted in most provinces except Madras, where the Justice
Party, the party of the non-Brahmans, felt that entering the council
was one way of gaining some power something that usually only
Brahmas had access to.
The effects of Non-cooperation movement on the economic front
were more dramatic. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops

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 picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires. The import of
foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping
from Rs. 102 crore to Rs. 57 crore. In many places merchants and
traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.
As the boycott movement spread, and people began discarding
imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones, production of
Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.
(A) Explain the role of the Justice Party in boycotting council
elections.
(B) How were the effects of ‘Non-cooperation movement on the
economic front’ dramatic?
(C) Explain the effect of the ‘boycott’ movement on ‘foreign
textile trade’. [CBSE 2020]
Ans. (A) The Justice Party in Madras (Chennai) wanted to contest the
council elections to gain power and authority which was only
available to Brahmans till then.
(B) Merchants burnt foreign clothes in huge bonfires, refusing to
buy foreign goods completely and even picketed liquor shops.
Import of foreign goods reduced to half due to their dramatic
reaction.
(C) The boycott movement affected foreign trade negatively.
(1) Imports of clothes were reduced to half in initial value.
Businessmen refused to finance foreign trade or wear
foreign goods.
(2) People began discarding imported clothes and started
wearing only Indian made fabrics from mills and
handlooms.

VERY SHORT ANSWER Type Questions (VSA)

[ 1 mark each ]
8. Why did Mahatma Gandhi organise, Satyagraha in the Kheda
district of Gujarat in 1917? Give the main reason. [CBSE 2020]
Ans. Peasants affected from crop failure and plague epidemic wanted
relaxation in revenue collection. Mahatma Gandhi organised a
Satyagraha with these peasants against revenue collectors for
the same in 1917

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 SHORT ANSWER Type-I Questions (SA-I)
[ 2 marks each ]
9. Read the given case and answer the questions:
While the Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespread movement,
it was still limited mostly to cities and towns. Mahatma Gandhi
then felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement
in India. But he was certain that no such movement could be
organised without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer
together. One way of doing this, he felt, was to take up the Khilafat
issue. The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman
Turkey.
(A) Why did Mahatma Gandhi join the Khilafat movement?
(B) How was khilafat become an international issue?
Ans. (A) Mahatma Gandhi joined the movement because he was
secular and sensitive to the needs of his Indian brothers.
He also found the movement a golden opportunity to unite
Muslims and Hindus against their common oppressor.
(B) The genesis of the Khilafat movement was in the mistreatment
meted out to the Muslim spiritual head or the ruler of Ottoman-
the Khalifa. Indian Muslims were agitated and bothered by the
British and hence this issue was an international issue.

SHORT ANSWER Type-II Questions (SA-II)

[ 3 marks each ]

10. How was the social and political situation of India affected by
the First World War? Explain. [CBSE SQP 2022]
OR
Describe the implication of the First World War on the economic
and political situation of India. [CBSE 2020, 11]
Ans. (1) The war created a new economic and political situation.
(2) 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.

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 (3) Through the war years prices increased – doubling between
1913 and 1918 –leading to extreme hardship for the common
people.
(4) Villages were called upon to supply soldiers, and the forced
recruitment in rural areas caused widespread anger.
(5) Crops failed in many parts of India, resulting in acute
shortages of food.
(6) This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. Million
people perished as a result of famines and the epidemic.
(7) Any other relevant point (Any three points)
[CBSE Marking Scheme SQP 2022]

LONG ANSWER Type Questions (LA)

[ 4 & 5 marks each ]

11. Explain the importance of the Salt March of Mahatma Gandhi

as a symbol to unite the nation. [CBSE 2017]
Ans. The importance of the Salt March is as follows:
(1) Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law with the march from
Sabarmati to Dandi.
(2) Thousands others in different parts of the country broke the
salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of
government salt factories.
(3) As the movement spread, foreign cloth was boycotted, and
liquor shops were picketed.
(4) Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes.
(5) In many places, people who lived in the forests violated forest
laws – by going into reserved forests to collect wood and graze
cattle.
(6) In the countryside, rich peasants and poor peasants were
active in the movement.
(7) The business class workers of Nagpur and women also joined
the Movement. Thus, the march brought together different
communities and groups.
(Any 5 of 7 points can be written to get full marks)

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 TOPPER’S CORNER
SHORT ANSWER Type-II Questions (SA-II)
[ 3 marks each ]

1. “The plantation workers in Assam had their own understanding

of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj”. Support the
statement with arguments.
Ans.

[CBSE Topper 2016]

Nationalism in India 13