Nationalism in India

Nationalism: is the feeling of love and pride towards one’s country.

The first world war, Khilafat and Non- Cooperation;

The first world war was fought in1914 to 1918 between Allied power ( Russia, Britain,
America and Japan ) and Central power ( Austro Hungarian, Germany and Ottoman Empire
).

India was colony of Britishers so India was also affected by the participating of British in
First World War.

Impact of first world war on India

• Increase in defense expenditure of British army was financed by increasing

customs duties and introducing income tax in India.
• Prices of goods doubled between 1913 to 1918.
• Forced recruitment in the Army.
• 1918-1919 and 1920- 1921 crops failed in many parts of India.
• Acute shortage of food.
• According to 1921 census approx 13 million people died due to famine and
epidemic.

The Idea of Satyagraha

Entry of the great man of India, Mahatma Gandhi who returned to India in January
1915 from South Africa.
Satyagraha ( The idea of non violence)
Fight without any weapons by following the path of truth and peaceful manners.
In South Africa 1906- Gandhiji organised his first satyagraha movement against
racism system.
Gandhiji started first Satyagraha movement in India in 1917 in Champaran, Bihar (
Launch for indigo farmers) . Britishers forced to grow indigo crops and give less
money to farmers. Gandhiji inspired peasants to struggle against oppressive
plantation system.
Kheda movement in 1917 in Gujrat
• Peasants affected by crops failure and plague epidemic.
• Due to they were unable to pay revenue.
In 1918 in Ahmedabad, Gujrat
• The cotton mill workers received very low wages.
• The price of goods were increasing so workers were demanding for more wages.
Rowlatt Act 1919 ( Black Act)
• It is also called Montague Chelmsford Reform
• Passed by imperial legislative council ( British parliament in India ).
• This act gave enormous power to the British Government. If a person do any
revolutionary activities he or she can be imprisonment for two years without trial.
• Whoever was suspected by British Government, they used to imprison them two
years.
• Gandhiji launched his Rowlatt Satyagraha to protest against the Rowlatt act. This
Rowlatt Satyagraha was the first nation wide Satyagraha in India.
6th April Gandhi started movement with Hartal
• Workshop, shops were closed.
• Workers were on strike.
• British were scared that communication line would be disturbed.
So, British Government decided to clamp down the political leaders.
Political leaders were picked up from Amritsar, Punjab.
Gandhiji was barred from entering Delhi.
10th April, the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession.
People were frustrated and started attack on banks, post offices and railway
stations.
Proclaimed martial law, now the power went on the hand of military and at that
time military commander was General Dyer.
13th April Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar.
People were assembled. Most of people were come to attend the annual Baishakhi
fair and the did not know about the martial law which was imposed.
Some were doing protest against the Rowlatt Act.
When General Dyer got information of people who were protesting, General Dyer
want there along with his troops and order to open fire on the crowds by blocking all
the exit gates. In this incident hundreds of people were died.
As the news spread, many people in towns strike the road, attacked on government
buildings and clushes with the police. The government also responded with brutal
repression. Rub their noses crowl, forced to salute.
Seeing this violence Mahatma Gandhi stopped Rowlatt Satyagraha Act and took
his Andolan back.
Gandhiji thought if we have to fight with British, we have to organise a big movement
so he started to unite Hindus and Muslims.
 Muslims work for Khilafat issues, at that time the king of Turkey was Caliphate (
Khalifa). All Muslims were respect him, a rumors spread that Britain is going to
impose a harsh treaty on Khalifa so Muslims protested against this and fight with the
British.
Khilafat Committee formed in Bombay in March 1919 by two brothers Mohammed
Ali and Shaukat Ali discuss with Gandhiji to organise a mass movement against the
Britiaher.
September 1920 Congress Session in Kolkata.
Gandhiji convinced other leader to start a new movement to support khilafat as well
as for swaraj
After this session Hindus and Muslims both together organised Non Co Operation
movement.
Why Non Co Operation movement.
In 1909 Gandhiji wrote in his book that British rule was established in India with the
cooperation of Indians and survived only because of this if Indians refused to co-
operate, British rule in India would collapse within a year and Swaraj would come.
Gandhiji proposed that the movement should be in this manner.
Surrender of titles that the government awarded .
Boycott British Government services like civil service, Army, courts and school all
have to leave.
Gandhiji also told if the British Government used repression then a full civil
disobedience campaign would be launched.
In 1920 Gandhiji and Shoukat Ali toured extensively in different parts of India,
mobilising popular support for the movement. Initially, the Indian National Congress
was not supporting the non cooperation movement.
Boycott all British services
• Councils election was scheduled in Nov 1920 if come to power then we can defend
and make changes in British policies.
• Non cooperation movement would create violence.

In December 1920, Nagpur Congress Session, congress adopted non cooperation

movement and so on Gandhiji got support of Muslims and Congress.
Finally, in January 1921 non cooperation movement was started.
The movement in the towns
• The middleclass participated most in the town.
• Thousand of students left government schools and colleges.
• Teachers and headmasters should resign.
• Lawyers gave up their legal practices.
• Council elections were boycotted except Madrass.
• Foreign goods were boycotted.
• Foreign clothes butned.
Results
• The import of foreign clothes became halve between 1921 to 1922.
• Merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods.
• Production of Indian textile Mills and handlooms increased.
Why Non cooperation movement slowed down in towns ?
• Khadi cloths were so expensive that poor people cannot afford it so they had to buy
foreign cloths.
• Lack of Indian institution, students and teachers joined back government schools
and colleges.
• Lawyers joined back government courts due to lack of alternative institution.
Rebellion in countryside
Peasants and tribals struggle
• Sanyasi movement was started in Awadh by Baba Ramchandra.
• Peasants in Awadh were demanding reduction in revenues because Talukdara and
landlord charged high rent
• Abolition of begar.
• For Social boycott of oppressive landlords, a new movement started Nai Dhobi
Bandhs to stop providing services to landlords.
Oudh Kishan Sabha
Started by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba Ramchandra and within a month over
300 branches had been set up in the vilage around the region.

The peasants movement gradually turned into violence

• Houses of Talukdara and merchants were attacked.
• Bazaars were looted.
• Grain hoards were taken over.
• Local leaders told peasants that Gandhi had declared that the land was to be
distributed among the peasants.
Tribals population ( Gudem Hills Andhra Pradesh)
• Colonial government closed forest area that affected tribals livelihood.
• They feel, it was their rights to enter in the forest.
• Also they were forced to begar.
• For their help, Alluri Sitaram Raju claimed that he has special power to make
astrological predictions and heal people.
• He inspired by Gandhiji.
• Told people to wear Khadi and give up drinking.
• But he thought, India could be liberated only by force and not by non violence.
• So, in 1920 Alluri Sitaram Raju carried on guerilla warfare for achieving swaraj.
• Attacked on police station and killed British officers.
• Alluri Sitaram Raju was captured and executed in 1924.
Inland Emigration Act 1859
• Plantation workers worked in tea garden, Assam.
• Plantation workers were not allowed to leave the tea garden without permission.
• But when workers were got information about non cooperation movement, they
leave plantation work and move from there but the British police caught them and
beat very badly.
Chauri chaura incident on 4th February 1922 in Gorakhpur
People protested peacefully in a market and the police came and began lathi
charged on them. As the news spread the people became angry and burnt the
police station along with police, in which 22 police person were killed due to this
Mahatama Gandhi withdraw the non cooperation movement on 12th February 1922.
Towards The Civil Disobedience Movement
Gandhiji understood that before any mass struggle people must be properly trained
so that people do not misinterupt the movement.
Some congress leaders want to participate in provincial council elections because
they felt that it would be easy to oppose British policies within councils.
So, C R Das and Motilal Nehru formed Swaraj party on 1st January 1923.
Jawaharlal and Subhash Chandra Bose did not participate as they wanted that India
get independence by mass struggle.
Great economic depression ( Bad impacts of this on India
• Agriculture price began to fall
• Agricultural goods export declined
• Peasants unable to pay their revenue
• Peasants found it difficult to sell their harvest crops.
Simon commission
This commission was headed by Sir John Simon arrived in India on 3rd February
1928. His prior objective was to review the Indian constitution and suggest changes.
But there was a problem that all the members were Britishers none were Indians.
Commission arrived in India in1928 in Mumbai and greated with the slogan Simon
go back.
Lord Irwin ( The Viceroy Of India ) gave two offer to control the situation.
 He offered dominion status for India and a round table conference to discuss for the
future constitution of India.
But the Congress leaders were not accepted the proposal specially radicals like
Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose because they wanted complete
independence.
Note: Balgangadhar Tilak had a famous quote that “Swaraj is my birth right and I
shall have it”.

Lahore Congress Session ( December 1929)

Indian National Congress meeting was held in Lahore in 1929 led by Jawaharlal
Nehru.
Resolution : officially demanded Purna Swaraj.
On midnight of 31st December 1929, they unfurled the tri colour flag and announced
that on 26th January 1930 we will celebrate independence day.
The salt march and the civil disobedience movement
Gandhiji felt that salt could become a powerful symbol to unite the nation.
Why Gandhiji choose salt as a powerful symbol to unite the nation ?
• Salt consumed by both rich s well as poor.
• British Government charged high tax on salt.
• British Government had monopoly over salt and only British Government can
produced the salt.
31st January 1930, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to the Viceroy Irwin. Gandhiji put
his eleven demands in letter which were on different problems of the society. The
main demand of which was to abolish the salt law.
Gandhiji also said if the demand were not fulfilled by 12 th March then the Congress
would launch a civil disobedience campaign but lord Irwin ignored this.
Salt March ( Dandi March )
Gandhiji started his salt march on 12th March 1930 accompanied by his 78 trusted
volunteers, started from Sabarmati to Dandi in Gujarat.
Distance: 240 miles, covered 10 miles each day.
Duration: 24 days
• On 6th April 1930, Gandhiji reached Dandi and started civil disobedience movement
by breaking salt law.
• Thousand people in different parts of the country broke the salt law.
• Foreign clothes was boycotted.
• Liquor shops were picketed.
• People violated forest law.
• Peasants refused to pay revenue.
• After that British Government began to arrest the Congress leaders one by one and
brutally beaten them because of this violence spread.
• Abdul Ghaffar Khan also known as frontier Gandhi was arrested in April 1930.
Mahatma Gandhi also arrested.
• About one lakh people were arrested , Gandhiji felt very bad seeing this and he
decided to withdraw the civil disobedience movement.
Gandhi Irwin pact ( 5th March 1931 )
Gandhiji had to participate in a round table conference. He had demand to release
political prisoners so went to London to attend the 2nd round table conference but
Gandhiji returned disappointed from there.
When Gandhiji returned from London he saw
• Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders were in jail. The Congress had declared it
illegal.
• Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the civil disobedience movement but it lost its
momentum by 1934.
How participants saw the movement
Rich peasants:
• They were producer of commercial crops.
• They were hardly hit by the economic depression.
• Due to depression, prices of agricultural goods were fallen and there income would
be decrease.
• Unable to pay the government revenue.
• But they were deeply disappointed of civil disobedience movement which was
called off in 1931 without revenue rate revised.
• So when Gandhiji relaunched civil disobedience movement many of them were
refused to participate.
Poor peasants
• Small peasants cultivated on the land of landlords and in return they hat to pay rent.
• As depression continue, small peasants found it difficult to pay their revenue.
• They were demanding that the landlords cancel their unpaid rent.
• But congress did not support this no rent campaign as this might be disappoint the
landlords.
Business class ( Merchants and Industrialist)
• The British Government made such policies that restricted business activities so
they wanted to remove that policies.
• They wanted protection against import of foreign goods.
• Two federation were formed
1. Indian industrial and commercial congress in 1920.
2. Federation of Indian chamber of commerce and industries ( FICCI )in 1927.
Business class movement led by Purshottam Das, Thakurdas and GD Bjrla.
• They refused to buy and sell imported goods.
• They gave financial support to Civil Disobedience Movement.

Industrial Working class

• They did not participate in Civil Disobedience Movement in large numbers

except Nagpur Region.
• Those who were participated and adopted Gandhian programme like
Boycott of foreign goods, they also run a movement against low wages
and poor working condition.
• But congress did not want to support workers demand as industrialist
would not like it.

Participation of women

Women also participated in large number in civil disobedience movement.

• During the Dandi March, thousand of women come out from their
hometown listen Gandhiji.
• Lots of women participated in protest march.
• Lots of women participated in salt manufacturing and arrested by the
Britishers.

The limits of Civil Disobedience Movement

Not all social groups were participated in civil disobedience movement.

Two groups are there Dalit and Muslims

Dalit

• Congress had ignored Dalit because the fear of offending high

class Hindu.
• Gandhiji supported Dalit, called them Harijan ( Children of God ).
• He believed Swaraj will not come if untouchability was not
eliminated.
• Separate electorate that would choose Dalit members for
legislative councils.
B.R Ambedkar formed Depressed class Association in 1930

Ramsay MacDonald announced separate election for Hindu, Muslims

and Dalit on 16th August 1932 and Gandhiji began fast unto death.

Poonam Pact ( September 1932 )

B.R Ambedkar

• It gave depressed class reserved seat in provincial and Central

legislative council but they were had to vote by general
electorate.

Muslims community

Hindu and Muslim were struggling together in non cooperation

Khilafat movement.

In 1927, congress and Muslim league wanted to form an alliance.

• In 1928 Muslim leader Mohd Ali Jinnah demanded separate

seats in the central assembly.
• Representation in proportion to population in Muslim
dominated provinces like Bengal and Punjab but the congress
denied.

The sense of collective belonging

• Unite struggle – India has to get unite independence from

the Britishers.
• Cultural – people started relating with their culture by folk
story, folk songs and regional language

Figures and images

In 18th and 19th centuries, artist represented nation through

different allegories like Germany – Germania and French
Marianne.

In 20th century, Bankim Chandra Chatopadhyay created the

first image of Bharat Mata and also wrote Vande Matram.

Abhinendranath Tagore made painting of Bharat Mata.

Pingali Venkeya designed first tricolour flag in 1921. Flag also

create a collective sense in the people.
During Swadeshi movement a tricolour flag ( Red, Green and
yellow ) was designed. It had eight lotuses which represented
eight provinces of British India.

Reinterpretation of history

When people realise that their history in ancient time was very
tremendous or developed in every field like art, culture, religion
and agriculture. Since British came to India, our culture has
declined so if we want to progress as before then we have to
get freedom from Britishers.