Class 10 History Chapter 3 Extra Questions and Answers Nationalism in India

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Class 10 History Chapter 3 Extra Questions and Answers Nationalism in India

Nationalism in India Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 3 Very Short Answers Type

Question 1.
What did the Inland Emigrating Act of 1859 declare?
Answer:
The Act declared that plantation workers would not leave tea gardens without permission.

Extra Questions and Answers Nationalism in India

Question 2.
Why was the Rowlatt Act imposed?
Answer:
The colonial government imposed the Rowlatt Act to repress political activities and detain political prisoners without trial for two years.

Very Short Answers Type Questions and Answers Nationalism in India

Question 3.
The First World War led to a huge increase in defence expenditure. How was this expenditure financed?
Answer:
The huge increase in defence expenditure was financed by war loans and increasing taxes which involved hike in customs duties and introduction of income tax.

Question 4.
What was the Rowlatt Act?
Answer:
It was one of the most repressive acts which gave the government enormous powers to curb political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

Question 5.
What did Gandhiji want before launching a broad-based movement in India?
Answer:
He wanted to bring the Hindus and Muslims close together before launching a broad-based movement in India.

Question 6.
Why did Mahatma Gandhi decide to launch Non-cooperation Movement?
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi believed that British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of this cooperation. If Indians refused to cooperate, British rule in India would collapse and swaraj would come. This belief made Gandhiji ready to launch Non-cooperation movement.

Question 7.
When and where was the Non-cooperation programme adopted?
Answer:
The Non-cooperation programme was adopted at the Congress session at Nagpur in December 1920.

Question8.
Why did the production of Indian textile mills and handlooms go up during the Non¬cooperation movement?
Answer:
The Non-cooperation movement was infact a boycott movement in which people started wearing only Indian clothes by discarding imported ones. This gave a boom in the production of Indian textile mills and handlooms.

Question 9.
Who was Baba Ramchandra?
Answer:
Baba Ramchandra was a sanyasi who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer. He led the Awadh peasants during the Non-cooperation movement.

Question 10.
What were the demands of the Awadh peasants?
Answer:
Their demands included reduction of revenue, abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.

Question 11.
Why did panchayats organise nai-dhobi bandhs in many places in Awadh?
Answer:
Panchayats organised such bandhs to deprive landlords of the services of even barbers and washermen.

Question 12.
How did the tribal peasants interpret the idea of swaraj?
Answer:
For them, swaraj meant freedom to enter the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuelwood and fruits.

Question 13.
Mention one point of difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Alluri Sitaram Raju.
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi was a staunch supporter of non-violence. Alluri Sitaram Raju, on the other hand, believed that India could be liberated only by use of force, not non-violence.

Question 14.
When did Mahatma Gandhi decide to call off the Non-cooperation movement? What was his experience?
Answer:
In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-cooperation movement. He felt the movement was turning violent in many places and satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggle.

Question 15.
Name two radical leaders of India. What did they want?
Answer:
Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. They wanted more radical mass agitation to gain independence.

Question 16.
What was declared in the Lahore Congress?
Answer:
In the Lahore Congress, it was declared that 26 January 1930, would be celebrated as the Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for complete independence.

Question 17.
On 31 January 1930, Gandhiji sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. What was the most stirring of all?
Answer:
The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax and the government monopoly over its production.

Question 18.
What did Indian merchants and industrialists do to organise their business interests?
Answer:
They formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.

Question 19.
Why did business groups in India withdraw their support from the Non-cooperation movement after the failure of the Round Table Conference?
Answer:
After the failure of the Round Table Conference, business groups in India became apprehensive of the spread of militant activities and worried about prolonged disruption of business, as well as of the growing influence of socialism amongst the younger members of the Congress.

Question 20.
Why was the Congress reluctant to include workers’ demands as part of its programme of struggle?
Answer:
The Congress felt that this would alienate industrialists and divide the anti-imperial forces.

Question 21.
What was the Poona Pact?
Answer:
The Poona Pact was signed between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar in September 1932 to resolve the issue of separate electorates for dalits. It gave the depressed classes reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils, but they were to be voted in by the general electorate.

Question 22.
What was Gandhi-Irwin Pact?
Answer:
Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931. By this Pact, Gandhiji consented to participate in a Round Table Conference in London and the government agreed to release the political prisoners.

Question 23.
Why was the Congress unwilling to support ‘no rent’ campaigns in most places?
Answer:
The Congress was apprehensive of raising issues that might upset the rich peasants and landlords.

Question 24.
When was the Civil Disobedience Movement relaunched?
Answer:
The Civil Disobedience Movement was relaunched in 1932.

Question 25.
When was the image of Bharat Mata first created and by whom?
Answer:
The image of Bharat Mata was first created in 1905 by Abanindranath Tagore.

Question 26.
What was the belief of Natesa Sastri about folklore?
Answer:
He believed that folklore was national literature. It was ‘the most trustworthy manifestation of people’s real thoughts and characteristics’.

Question 27.
Describe the tricolour flag designed during the Swadeshi movement.
Answer:
During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed. It has eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.

Question 28.
What did nationalist histories urge the readers?
Answer:
Nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.

Question 29.
Describe the Swaraj flag designed by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921.
Answer:
The Swaraj flag designed by Mahatma Gandhi was a tricolour (red, green and white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help.

Question 30.
Name the writer of the book ‘Hind Swaraj’.
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi.

Nationalism in India Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 3 Short Answers Type

Question 1.
Discuss various stages of the Non-cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi.
Answer:
Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold in stages-

  • It should begin with the surrender of titles that the government awarded.
  • Second stage involved a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.
  • Then, in case the government used repression, a full civil disobedience campaign would be launched.

Question 2.
‘The merchants and industrialists made a significant contribution to the Civil Disobedience Movement’. In the light of the above statement, explain their role in the movement.
OR
How did the industrialists relate to the Civil Disobedience Movement? Analyse their role.
OR
Evaluate the role of business classes in the ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’.
Answer:
(i) Indian merchants and industrialists wanted protection against imports of foreign goods, and a rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports. To organise business interests, they formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.

(ii) Led by prominent industrialists like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, the industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the civil disobedience movement when it was first launched.

(iii) They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods. Most businessmen came to see swaraj at a time when colonial restrictions on business would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without constraints.

Question 3.
How reinterpretation of history created a sense of collective belongingness among different community of India?
Answer:
(i) By the end of the nineteenth century many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of pride in the nation Indian history had to be thought about differently.

(ii) The British saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing themselves. In response, Indians began writing about glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished.

(iii) This glorious time, in their view, was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule. Thus, reinterpretation of history created a feeling of nationalism among different community of India.

Question 4.
Why did Mahatma Gandhi decide to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act? Explain any three reasons.
Answer:
The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. The Act gave the government enormous powers t repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. The Indians were outraged by these laws as they were clearly undemocratic and oppressive and hurt national sentiments and dignity. Mahatma Gandhi called for a nation-wide protest against the proposed Rowlatt Act in 1919. Rallies were organised in various cities. Workers went on strike in
railway workshops and shops closed down.

Question 5.
“The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of industrial workers in its programme of struggle”. Analyse the reasons.
Answer:

  • The industrial working classes did not participate in the civil disobedience movement in large numbers, except in the Nagpur region. As the industrialists came closer to the Congress, workers stayed aloof.
  • Some workers who participated in the movement, selectively adopted some of the ideas of the Gandhian programme, like boycott of foreign goods, as part of their own movements against low wages and poor working conditions.
  • The Congress was reluctant to include workers’ demands in its programme of struggle as it felt that this would alienate industrialists and divide the anti-imperial forces.

Question 6.
How could non-cooperation become a movement? Give your opinion.
Answer:
(i) The Non-cooperation Movement was launched by Gandhiji in 1920 and it was unfolded in stages. It began with the surrender of titles awarded by the government, the boycott of civil services, army, police, etc. and foreign goods. Through the summer of 1920 Mahatma Gandhi along with Shaukat Ali toured extensively, mobilising popular support for the movement.

(ii) Various social groups participated in this movement and gradually it turned into a mass movement. Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters, teachers resigned and lawyers gave up their legal practices. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfire.

(iii) From the cities, the movement spread to the countryside. It drew into its fold the struggle of peasants and tribals which were developing in different parts of India in the years after the war.

Question 7.
Describe the main features of the ‘Poona Pact’.
Answer:

  • The Poona Pact was signed between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar in September 1932 to
    resolve the issue of separate electorates for dalits.
  • It gave the depressed classes who later came to be known as the scheduled castes, reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils.
  • But they were to be voted in by the general electorate as their demand of separate electorate was not accepted by Mahatma Gandhi in the larger interest of the country.

Question 8.
How did ‘Salt March’ become an effective tool of resistance against colonialism? Explain.
Answer:
What Mahatma Gandhi meant about satyagraha being active resistance was that it requires a lot of pure soul-force activity. It involves great sacrifices to be made, which can be done only by persons with strong will power. It requires resistance to oppression without using any physical force.

The idea of satyagraha emphasises the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It suggests that if the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice, then physical force is not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without being aggressive, a satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. This can be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor. By this struggle, truth is bound to triumph ultimately.

Question 9.
Explain the idea of satyagraha according to Gandhiji.
Answer:
What Mahatma Gandhi meant about satyagraha being active resistance was that it requires a lot of pure soul-force activity. It involves great sacrifices to be made, which can be done only by persons with strong will power. It requires resistance to oppression without using any physical force.

The idea of satyagraha emphasises the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It suggests that if the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice, then physical force is not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without being aggressive, a satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. This can be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor. By this struggle, truth is bound to triumph ultimately.

Question 10.
Describe any three suppressive measures taken by the British administration to clamp down on nationalists.
Answer:
In 1919, Gandhiji launched a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act. Rallies were organised in various cities, workers went on strike in railway workshops, and shops closed down. Alarmed by the popular upsurge, and scared that lines of communication such as the railways and telegraph would be disrupted, the British administration decided to clamp down on nationalists. It took several repressive methods. Some of them were

  • Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar, and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
  • Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took the command. He entered the Jallianwala Bagh area where a large crowd had gathered to protest against the Rowlatt Act and opened fire on them, killing hundreds.
  • As the news of Jallianwala Bagh massacre spread, crowds took to the streets in many north Indian towns. The government responded with brutal repression. Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs.

Question 12.
Why did the Non-cooperation Movement gradually slow down in the cities? Explain.
Answer:
The Non-cooperation Movement gradually slowed down in the cities due to the following reasons-

  • Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth and poor people could not afford to buy it. It became difficult for them to boycott mill cloth for a long time.
  • The boycott of British institutions posed a problem. For the movement to be successful, alternative Indian institutions had to be set up so that they could be used in place of the British ones. But these came up gradually.
  • Therefore, students and teachers who had left government schools to participate in Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement, began coming back to schools and lawyers joined back in government courts.

Question 13.
Describe the role of merchants and industrialists in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer:
(i) Indian merchants and industrialists wanted protection against imports of foreign goods, and a rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports. To organise business interests, they formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.

(ii) Led by prominent industrialists like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, the industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the civil disobedience movement when it was first launched.

(iii) They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods. Most businessmen came to see swaraj at a time when colonial restrictions on business would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without constraints.

Question 14.
Describe the main features of the Salt March.
Answer:
What Mahatma Gandhi meant about satyagraha being active resistance was that it requires a lot of pure soul-force activity. It involves great sacrifices to be made, which can be done only by persons with strong will power. It requires resistance to oppression without using any physical force. The idea of satyagraha emphasises the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It suggests that if the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice, then physical force is not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without being aggressive, a satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. This can be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor. By this struggle, truth is bound to triumph ultimately.

Question 15.
How had the First World War created a new economic situation in India? Explain with three examples.
Answer:

  • The First World War created a new economic situation by leading to a huge expenditure in defence which was to be financed by increasing taxes and raising customs duties.
  • Crops failed in many parts of India, resulting in acute shortages of food.
  • This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. According to the census of 1921, 12 to 13 million people perished as a result of famines and epidemic.

Question 16.
How was Rowlatt Act opposed by the people in India? Explain with examples.
Answer:

  • Rallies were organised in various cities, workers went on strike in railway workshops, and shops closed down.
  • Banks, post offices and railway stations were attacked.
  • People in Amritsar gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the government’s new repressive measures.

Question 17.
Which were the two types of demands mentioned by Gandhiji in his letter to Viceroy Irwin on 31st January 1930? Why was abolition of salt tax most stirring demand? Explain.
Answer:
On 31st January 1930, Gandhiji sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Some of these were of general interest, others were specific demands of different classes, from industrialists to peasants. The idea was to make the demands wide-ranging, so that all classes within Indian society could identify with them and everyone could be brought together in a united campaign.

The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the most essential items of food. The tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production, Mahatma Gandhi declared, revealed the most oppressive face of British rule.

Question 18.
Mention three problems faced by the Awadh peasants.
Answer:
In Awadh, talukdars and landlords exploited the poor peasants in a variety of ways-

  • They demanded from peasants exorbitantly high rents at variety of other cesses.
  • Peasants had to do begar and work at landlord’s farms without any payment.
  • As tenants they had no security of tenure, being regularly evicted so that they could acquire no right over the leased land.

Question 19.
How did the rich peasants and women take part in Civil Disobedience Movement? (Imp)
Answer:
(i) Rich peasant communities like the patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh were the active supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement. They organised their communities, and at times forced reluctant members, to participate in the boycott programmes. For them, the fight for swaraj was a struggle against high revenues.

(ii) Women participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement in a large number. During Gandhi’s salt march, thousands of women came out of their homes to listen to him. They took part in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail. They moved by Gandhiji’s call and saw service to the nation as a sacred duty.

Question 20.
Analyse the circumstances which led Gandhiji to choose the abolition of salt tax as the most important demand of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer:
What Mahatma Gandhi meant about satyagraha being active resistance was that it requires a lot of pure soul-force activity. It involves great sacrifices to be made, which can be done only by persons with strong will power. It requires resistance to oppression without using any physical force. The idea of satyagraha emphasises the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It suggests that if the cause is true, if the struggle is against injustice, then physical force is not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without being aggressive, a satyagrahi can win the battle through non-violence. This can be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor. By this struggle, truth is bound to triumph ultimately.

Question 21.
How did the tribals of the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh interpret swaraj?
OR
Enlist some of the features of the Gudem rebellion of Andhra Pradesh.
Answer:
(i) The tribals of the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh interpreted the idea of swaraj in a quite different way. Here, the tribals started a militant guerrilla movement in the early 1920s against the colonial government.

(ii) As in other forest regions, the colonial government had closed large forest areas, preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel-wood and fruits. This enraged the hill people. Not only were their livelihoods affected but they felt that their traditional rights were being denied.

(iii) When the government began forcing them to contribute begar for road building, the hill people revolted under the leadership of Alluri Sitaram Raju.

(iv) They attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials and carried on guerilla warfare for achieving swaraj. For them, swaraj meant freedom of entering the forests to graze their cattle, etc.

Question 22.
Who was Alluri Sitaram Raju? Explain his role in inspiring the rebels with Gandhiji’s ideas.
Answer:
Alluri Sitaram Raju was the leader of the Gudem tribals of Andhra Pradesh. He claimed that he had a variety of special powers – he could make correct astrological predictions and heal people, and he could survive even bullets shots. The Gudem rebels were greatly inspired by him.

They proclaimed that he was an incarnation of God. Raju talked of the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi, and persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking during the Non-cooperation Movement. But he differed from Gandhiji at one point. He believed that India could be liberated only by the use of force, not non-violence. The colonial government was watching his activities with suspicion. It captured him and executed him in 1924. Over time he became a folk hero.

Nationalism in India Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer History Chapter 3 Long Answers Type

Question 1.
How did people belonging to different communities, regions or language groups develop a sense of collective belonging?
OR
“Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation.” Support the statement.
Answer:
(i) The sense of collective belonging came partly through the experience of united struggles and growing anger among people against the colonial government.
But there were also a variety of cultural processes through which nationalism captured people’s imagination. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popular prints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism.

(ii) The identity of the nation is often symbolised in a figure or image. This helps create an image with which people can identify the nation. It was in the twentieth century, with the growth of nationalism, that the identity of India came to be associated with the image of Bharat Mata, first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Then Abanindranath Tagore painted the image of Bharat Mata during the swadeshi movement. In his painting Bharat Mata is portrayed as an ascetic figure. She is calm, composed, divine and spiritual. In subsequent years, the image of Bharat Mata acquired many different forms, painted by different artists. Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as evidence to one’s nationalism.

(iii) Movement to revive Indian folklore also enhanced nationalist sentiments. In late-nineteenth century India, nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends. These tales gave a true picture of traditional culture that had been corrupted and damaged by outside forces. It was essential to preserve this folk tradition in order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pride in one’s past.

(iv) Icons and symbols played an important role in unifying people and inspiring in them a feeling of nationalism. During the swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag having red, green and yellow colours was designed. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims. By 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag having red, green and white colours and a spinning wheel in the centre, representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help. Carrying the flag, holding it aloft, during marches became a symbol of defiance.

(v) Feeling of nationalism was also created through reinterpretation of history. The British saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing themselves. In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India’s great achievements. They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. This glorious time was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under the British rule.

Question 2.
Categorise and discuss the different urban sentiments which joined the Non-cooperation Movement.
Answer:
(a) The growth of nationalism in the colonies including India is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement. People in colonies discover their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provides a shared bond that ties many different groups together.

(b) The First World War created a new economic and political situation. 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.

Through the war years prices increased leading to extreme hardship for the common people. Villages were called upon to supply soldiers and the forced recruitment in rural areas angered the common mass.

In 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India resulting in acute shortages of food. This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. Millions of people died as a result of famines and the epidemic.

People hoped that their hardships would end after the war was over. But that did not happen. All this caused widespread anger and opposition against the British colonial rule and the national movement in India took a stronger turn.

(c) The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. The Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

The Indians were outraged by these laws as they were clearly undemocratic and oppressive and hurt national sentiments and dignity. Mahatma Gandhi called for a nation-wide protest against the proposed Rowlatt Act in 1919. Rallies were organised in various cities. Workers went on strike in railway workshops and shops closed down.

(d) Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-cooperation Movement because it was turning violent. Various incidents of violence perpetrated by the masses, especially the Chauri Chaura incident that took place in 1922 in Gorakhpur.

Here, a peaceful demonstration in a bazaar turned into a violent clash with the police and the angry mob set police-station on fire in which several police were killed. Hearing of the incident, Mahatma Gandhi called a halt to this movement. He felt that people were not yet ready for a mass struggle, and the satyagra his needed to be properly trained for non-violent demonstrations.

Question 3.
Explain the attitude of the Indian merchants and the industrialists towards the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer:
When the movement was first launched Indian merchants and industrialists supported it very enthusiastically. But when it was re-launched, all their enthusiasm had vanished. The failure of the Round Table Conference disappointed business groups. They were apprehensive of the spread of militant activities, and worried about prolonged disruption of business, as well as of the growing influence of socialism amongst the younger members of the Congress.

(i) Indian merchants and industrialists wanted protection against imports of foreign goods, and a rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports. To organise business interests, they formed the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.

(ii) Led by prominent industrialists like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla, the industrialists attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the civil disobedience movement when it was first launched.

(iii) They gave financial assistance and refused to buy or sell imported goods. Most businessmen came to see swaraj at a time when colonial restrictions on business would no longer exist and trade and industry would flourish without constraints.

Question 4.
Describe the incident and impact of the Jallianwala Bagh.
Answer:
On 13th April 1919, a large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala Bagh. Some came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures. Others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. Being from outside the city, many villagers were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed.

General Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds of innocent people. Dyer’s main intention was to ‘produce a moral effect’ and terrorise the satyagrahis. The indiscriminate firing by the British soldiers led to nation-wide outrage. There were strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings. The Jallianwala Bagh incident was the most brutal incident in the history of India, The government responded with brutal repression seeking to humiliate and terrorise people, satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the grounds, crawl on the streets, and do salciam (salute) to all sahibs.

Impact of the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre- The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the most brutal incident in the history of India. It reflected the government’s ruthless attitude towards the colonised people. It filled hatred in the hearts of the Indians. They were not ready to accept such a heinous crime. They showed their disapproval by surrendering titles that the government had awarded. They also boycotted civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.

Question 5.
How could non-cooperation become a movement? Explain with examples.
Answer:
Gandhi’s non-cooperation could become a movement due to its gradual spread in various parts of the country.
(i) In cities, middle-class people participated in the movement. Thousands of students left government controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices.

(ii) People in large number boycotted foreign goods, picketed liquor shops and burnt foreign cloth in huge bonfires. In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. People began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones with the spread of the boycott movement.

(iii) From the cities, the Non-cooperation Movement spread to the countryside. In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra. Being fed up with the atrocities of the talukdars and landlords, these peasants demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, and social boycott of the zamindars.

In many places, nai dhobi bandhs were organised by panchayats to deprive landlords of the services of even barbers and washermen. In October 1920, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up and within a month, over 300 branches had been set up in the villages around the region. So, when the Non-cooperation Movement began the following year, the Congress integrated the Awadh peasant struggle into the wider struggle.

(iv) Tribal peasants also played an important role in making the non-cooperation a mass movement. They were already frustrated with the colonial government’s callous attitude. In such a situation when the government began forcing them to contribute begar for road building, they revolted under the leadership of Alluri Sitaram Raju. He persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.

(v) The Non-cooperation Movement also inspired the planation workers of Assam. These workers wanted freedom to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed. So, when they heard of the movement, they defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed home. They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages.

Question 6.
In this way, Gandhi’s non-cooperation became a mass movement in due course. different social groups conceive the idea of ‘Non-cooperation’? Explain with examples.
Answer:
(a) The growth of nationalism in the colonies including India is intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement. People in colonies discover their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provides a shared bond that ties many different groups together.

(b) The First World War created a new economic and political situation. 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.

Through the war years prices increased leading to extreme hardship for the common people. Villages were called upon to supply soldiers and the forced recruitment in rural areas angered the
common mass.

In 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India resulting in acute shortages of food. This was accompanied by an influenza epidemic. Millions of people died as a result of famines and
the epidemic.

People hoped that their hardships would end after the war was over. But that did not happen. All this caused widespread anger and opposition against the British colonial rule and the national movement in India took a stronger turn.

(c) The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. The Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

The Indians were outraged by these laws as they were clearly undemocratic and oppressive and hurt national sentiments and dignity. Mahatma Gandhi called for a nation-wide protest against the proposed Rowlatt Act in 1919. Rallies were organised in various cities. Workers went on strike in railway workshops and shops closed down.

(d) Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-cooperation Movement because it was turning violent. Various incidents of violence perpetrated by the masses, especially the Chauri Chaura incident that took place in 1922 in Gorakhpur.

Here, a peaceful demonstration in a bazaar turned into a violent clash with the police and the angry mob set police-station on fire in which several police were killed. Hearing of the incident, Mahatma Gandhi called a halt to this movement. He felt that people were not yet ready for a mass struggle, and the satyagra his needed to be properly trained for non-violent demonstrations.