The Making of The National Movement | 1870’s – 1947 | Chapter 9 | History 8th |
Chapter 9 – The Making of The National Movement | 1870’s – 1947 |
Let’s Recall
Q1. Why were people
dissatisfied with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s?
Ans. There was
great dissatisfaction with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s. Some of the
reasons for this dissatisfaction are as follows.
(a) The Arms Act, passed
in 1878, this Act disallowed Indians from possessing arms.
(b) The Vernacular
Press Act, passed in the same year as the Arms Act, Act was aimed at silencing
those who were critical of the government. Under this Act, the government could
confiscate the assets of newspapers if they published anything that was found
objectionable.
(c) The Ilbert Bill controversy. In 1883, the government tried introducing the Ilbert Bill. This bill provided for the trial of British or European individuals by Indians, and sought equality between British and Indian judges in the country. However, the white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill. This enraged the Indians further.
Q2. Who did the Indian
National Congress wish to speak for?
Ans. The Congress,
according to Badruddin Tyabji (its first president), was composed of the
representatives of all the different communities of India. Thus, it was an
organization that wished to speak for India as a whole, in all its diversity.
Q3. What economic
impact did the First World War have on India?
Ans. The First
World War created a new economic and political situation.
i. It led to a huge
increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing
taxes
ii. customs duties were
raised and income tax introduced.
iii. Through the war
years, prices increased - doubling between 1913 and 1918 - leading to extreme
hardship for the common people.
iv. Villages were
called upon to supply soldiers, and the forced recruitment in rural areas
caused widespread anger.
v. Then in 1918-19 and
1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India, resulting in acute shortages of
food.
vi. This was
accompanied by an influenza epidemic.
vii. According to the
census of 1921, 12 to 13 million people perished as a result of famines and the
epidemic.
viii. People hoped that
their hardships would end after the war was over. But that did not happen.
Q4. What did the Muslim
League resolution of 1940 ask for?
Ans. The Muslim
League resolution of 1940 asked for the Independent States for Muslims in the
North-Western and Eastern areas of the country.
Q. When was Bengal
partitioned?
Ans. Bengal was
partitioned in 1905 by Viceroy Curzon.
Let’s Discuss
(nextPage)
Q5. Who were the
Moderates? How did they propose to struggle against British rule?
Ans. In the first
twenty years of its existence, the Congress was moderate in its objectives and
methods. Its Moderate leaders practised what was called by the Radicals as the
politics of petitions. They would raise various political, administrative, and
economic issues, place their demands before the government, and expected the
government to take action accordingly.
They wanted to develop
public awareness about the unjust nature of British rule. They published
newspapers, wrote articles, and showed how the British rule was leading to the
economic ruin of the country. They criticised British rule in their speeches and
sent representatives to different parts of the country to mobilise public
opinion. They felt that the British had respect for the ideals of freedom and
justice, and so would accept the just demands of Indians. What was necessary
was to express these demands and make the government aware of the feelings of
Indians.
Q6. How was the
politics of the Radicals within the Congress different from that of the
Moderates?
Ans. The Radicals
were opposed to the politics of prayers followed by the Moderates within the
Congress. They explored more radical objectives and methods. They emphasised
the importance of self-reliance and constructive work. They argued that people
must rely on their own strength, not on the good intentions of the government
(as was the stated policy of the Moderates). They believed that people must
fight for swaraj.
Q7. Discuss the various
forms that the Non-Cooperation Movement took in different parts of India. How
did people understand Gandhiji?
Ans. The call for
non-cooperation with the British was understood and enacted in different ways
by different individuals, classes, and groups.
(i) Thousands of
students left government-controlled schools and colleges.
(ii) Many lawyers gave
up their practises.
(iii) British titles
were surrendered.
(iv) Legislatures were
boycotted.
(v) People lit public
bonfires of foreign cloth.
In most cases, the
calls for non-cooperation were related to local grievances.
(i) In Kheda, Gujrat,
Patidar peasants organised non-violent campaigns against the high land revenue
demand of the British.
(ii) In coastal Andhra
and interior Tamil Nadu, liquor shops were picketed.
(iii) In the Guntur
district of Andhra Pradesh, tribals and poor peasants protested against the
colonial state for restricting their use of forest resources. They staged a
number of forest satyagraha’s, sometimes sending their cattle into forests
without paying grazing fees.
(iv) In Punjab, the
Akali agitation of the Sikhs sought to remove corrupt mahants supported by the
British from their gurudwaras.
(v) In Assam, tea
garden labourers demanded a big increase in their wages. When the demands were
not met, they left the British-owned plantations.
Q8. Why did Gandhiji
choose to break the salt law?
Ans. In 1929, the
Congress resolved to fight for complete independence or Purna Swaraj. Mahatma
Gandhi knew that Purna Swaraj would never come on its own. It had to be fought
for. Knowing that the need of the hour was direct action, in 1930, Gandhiji declared
that he would lead a march to break the salt law. According to this law, the
state had a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt. Gandhiji believed
that it was sinful to tax salt as it was an essential part of the food. He led
a march to the coastal town of Dandi, where he broke the salt law by gathering
natural salt found on the seashore, and boiling seawater to produce salt. This
march related the general desire of freedom to a specific grievance shared by
everybody, and thus, did not divide the rich and the poor.
Q9. Discuss those
developments of the 1937?47 period that led to the creation of Pakistan.
Ans. The
developments leading to the creation of Pakistan.
(i) A two-nation theory
from late 1930; the Muslim League began viewing the Muslims as a separate
nation from the Hindus.
(ii) Provincial
elections of 1937; The provincial elections of 1937 convinced the League that
Muslims were a minority, and they would always have to play second fiddle in
any democratic structure. It feared that Muslims may even go unrepresented.
(iii) The rift between
Congress and Muslim League; In 1937, the Congress rejected the Muslim League’s
proposal for a joint Congress League government in the United Provinces. This
annoyed the League.
(iv) The wide mass
support base for Muslim League; In the 1930s, Congress failed to mobilise the
Muslim masses.
(v) Failure of talks;
At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the British opened negotiations
between the Congress, the League, and themselves for the independence of
India.
(vi) Provincial
elections of 1946; Elections to the provinces were again held in 1946. The
Congress did well in the General constituencies but the League’s success in the
seats reserved for Muslims was spectacular. This led to more demands for a
separate nation for Muslims.
(vii) Failure of talks
again; In March 1946, the British cabinet sent a three-member mission to Delhi
to examine this demand and to suggest a suitable political framework for a free
India.
(viii) Mass agitation
and riots; After the failure of the Cabinet Mission, the Muslim League decided
on mass agitation for winning its Pakistan demand. It announced 16 August 1946
as; Direct Action Day.
(ix) Partition;
Finally, the demand for the Partition of India was finalized, and Pakistan was
born.
Leave your comment here. Spam comments will be removed.