Nationalism in India Class 10 History Chapter 2 Notes are available here. These notes are prepared by the subject experts of our team.

Nationalism in India Class 10 History Chapter 2 Notes

• Modern nationalism in Europe was associated with the formation of nation-states.
• Nationalism led to a change in people’s understanding of their identity and sense of belonging.
• New symbols, icons, songs, and ideas redefined community boundaries.
• The formation of national identity was a long process in most countries.
• In India, modern nationalism grew in connection with the anti-colonial movement.
• The struggle against colonialism fostered a sense of unity among diverse groups.
• The shared experience of oppression under colonialism created bonds among different groups.
• Different classes and groups had varied experiences and notions of freedom.
• Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress tried to unite these diverse groups into one movement.
• The unity within the movement did not emerge without conflict.
• Previous studies covered the growth of nationalism in India up to the early 20th century.
• The chapter will focus on the Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements of the 1920s.
• The chapter will examine the Congress’s efforts to develop the national movement.
• The chapter will explore the participation of different social groups in the movement.
• The chapter will discuss how nationalism captured the imagination of the Indian people.

The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

• After 1919, the national movement in India spread to new areas and incorporated new social groups.
• The movement developed new modes of struggle.
• The war created a new economic and political situation.
• Defence expenditure increased significantly, financed by war loans and higher taxes.
• Customs duties were raised, and income tax was introduced.
• Prices doubled between 1913 and 1918, causing extreme hardship for common people.
• Villages were forced to supply soldiers, leading to widespread anger due to forced recruitment.
• Crop failures in 1918-19 and 1920-21 resulted in acute food shortages.
• An influenza epidemic accompanied the food shortages.
• The census of 1921 reported 12 to 13 million deaths due to famines and the epidemic.
• People expected hardships to end after the war, but they did not.
• A new leader emerged and suggested a new mode of struggle.

The Idea of Satyagraha

• Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915.
• He came from South Africa, where he had fought the racist regime using satyagraha.
• Satyagraha emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth.
• It suggested that if the cause was just, physical force was unnecessary to fight the oppressor.
• A satyagrahi could win through non-violence, without seeking vengeance or being aggressive.
• The method involved appealing to the conscience of the oppressor.
• People, including oppressors, had to be persuaded to see the truth without using violence.
• Gandhi believed that non-violence could unite all Indians.
• Gandhi organized successful satyagraha movements in various places after returning to India.
• In 1917, he inspired peasants in Champaran, Bihar, to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
• In 1917, he organized a satyagraha to support peasants in Kheda district, Gujarat, who were affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic and demanded relaxation of revenue collection.
• In 1918, he organized a satyagraha movement among cotton mill workers in Ahmedabad.

The Rowlatt Act

• Emboldened by his previous successes, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha in 1919.
• The satyagraha was against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919).
• The Rowlatt Act was hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite united opposition from Indian members.
• The Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities.
• It allowed the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
• Gandhi aimed for non-violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws.
• The movement was planned to start with a hartal (strike) on 6 April 1919.
• Rallies were organized in various cities.
• Workers went on strike in railway workshops.
• Shops closed down.
• The British administration was alarmed by the popular upsurge.
• They feared disruption of communication lines like railways and telegraph.
• The British administration decided to clamp down on nationalists.
• Local leaders were arrested in Amritsar.
• Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
• On 10 April, the police in Amritsar fired on a peaceful procession.
• The police action provoked widespread attacks on banks, post offices, and railway stations.
• Martial law was imposed.
• General Dyer took command.
• On 13 April, the Jallianwalla Bagh incident occurred.
• A large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh.
• Some people were protesting against the government’s repressive measures.
• Others were attending the annual Baisakhi fair.
• Many villagers, unaware of the martial law, were present.
• General Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd.
• Hundreds of people were killed.
• Dyer later declared that his objective was to “produce a moral effect” and instill terror and awe in the minds of the satyagrahis.
• News of the Jallianwalla Bagh incident spread quickly.
• Crowds took to the streets in many north Indian towns.
• There were strikes, clashes with the police, and attacks on government buildings.
• The government responded with brutal repression.
• Satyagrahis were humiliated and terrorized.
• Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and salute all sahibs.
• People were flogged.
• Villages around Gujranwala in Punjab (now in Pakistan) were bombed.
• Seeing the spread of violence, Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement.
• The Rowlatt satyagraha was a widespread movement, but mostly limited to cities and towns.
• Mahatma Gandhi felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
• Gandhi believed that a successful movement required bringing Hindus and Muslims closer together.
• He saw the Khilafat issue as a means to unite Hindus and Muslims.
• The First World War ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey.
• There were rumors of a harsh peace treaty to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor, the Khalifa.
• To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919.
• Muslim leaders like Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali discussed the possibility of united mass action with Gandhi.
• Gandhi viewed this as an opportunity to include Muslims in a unified national movement.
• At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, Gandhi convinced other leaders to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat and for swaraj.

Why Non-cooperation?

• In his book Hind Swaraj (1909), Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule in India existed due to Indian cooperation.
• He believed that if Indians refused to cooperate, British rule would collapse within a year, leading to swaraj.
• Gandhi proposed that the non-cooperation movement should unfold in stages:
• Start with the surrender of government-awarded titles.
• Boycott civil services, army, police, courts, legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.
• Launch a full civil disobedience campaign if the government used repression.
• Gandhi and Shaukat Ali toured extensively in the summer of 1920 to mobilize support for the movement.
• Many Congress members were concerned about the proposals:
• Reluctant to boycott the council elections scheduled for November 1920.
• Fearing that the movement might lead to popular violence.
• There was intense internal conflict within the Congress between supporters and opponents of the movement between September and December 1920.
• A compromise was reached at the Congress session in Nagpur in December 1920, leading to the adoption of the Non-Cooperation programme.
• Boycott is defined as the refusal to deal with, associate with, or participate in activities or purchase items, usually as a form of protest.

Differing Strands within the Movement

• The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January 1921.
• Various social groups participated in the movement.
• Each group had its own specific aspirations.
• While all groups responded to the call of Swaraj, the term “Swaraj” meant different things to different people.

The Movement in the Towns

• The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement started with middle-class participation in cities.
• Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges.
• Headmasters and teachers resigned from their positions.
• Lawyers gave up their legal practices.
• The council elections were boycotted in most provinces, except Madras, where the Justice Party, representing non-Brahmans, chose to enter the council to gain some power.
• Economic effects were dramatic:
• Foreign goods were boycotted.
• Liquor shops were picketed.
• Foreign cloth was burned in large bonfires.
• The import of foreign cloth halved from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore between 1921 and 1922.
• Many merchants and traders refused to deal in foreign goods or finance foreign trade.
• The boycott led to an increase in the production of Indian textile mills and handlooms.
• The movement in cities gradually slowed down due to various reasons:
  • Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth, making it unaffordable for the poor.
  • The boycott of British institutions required the establishment of alternative Indian institutions, which were slow to develop.
• As a result, students and teachers began returning to government schools, and lawyers resumed work in government courts.
• Picket refers to a form of protest where people block the entrance to a shop, factory, or office.

Rebellion in the Countryside

• The Non-Cooperation Movement spread from cities to the countryside.
• It incorporated the struggles of peasants and tribals in different parts of India.
• In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra, a former indentured laborer in Fiji.
• The movement in Awadh targeted talukdars and landlords who imposed high rents, various cesses, and forced labor (begar) without payment.
• Peasants faced eviction and had no security of tenure, preventing them from acquiring rights over leased land.
• The peasant movement demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, and a social boycott of oppressive landlords.
• Nai-dhobi bandhs (social boycotts) were organized to deprive landlords of services from barbers and washermen.
• In June 1920, Jawaharlal Nehru started visiting villages in Awadh to understand peasant grievances.
• By October, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was established, led by Nehru, Baba Ramchandra, and others, with over 300 branches set up in the region.
• The Congress aimed to integrate the Awadh peasant struggle into the wider Non-Cooperation Movement.
• The peasant movement developed in ways that Congress leadership disapproved:
  • Houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked.
  • Bazaars were looted and grain hoards taken over.
• Local leaders misrepresented Gandhi’s stance, claiming he had declared no taxes were to be paid and land was to be redistributed.
• The Mahatma’s name was invoked to legitimize various actions and aspirations.
• Begar refers to labor that villagers were forced to contribute without payment.
• Tribal peasants interpreted Mahatma Gandhi’s message and the idea of swaraj in their own way.
• In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, a militant guerrilla movement emerged in the early 1920s.
• This form of struggle was not approved by the Congress.
• The colonial government had closed large forest areas, restricting access for grazing cattle, collecting fuelwood, and gathering fruits.
• The closure affected the livelihoods of hill people and denied their traditional rights.
• The government forced the hill people to contribute begar for road building, which led to their revolt.
• Alluri Sitaram Raju, who claimed to have special powers, led the revolt.
• Raju was believed to be an incarnation of God by the rebels.
• He praised Mahatma Gandhi and was inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Raju persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.
• Despite advocating non-violence in theory, Raju asserted that India could only be liberated through force.
• The Gudem rebels engaged in guerrilla warfare, attacked police stations, and attempted to kill British officials.
• Raju was captured and executed in 1924 but became a folk hero over time.

Swaraj in the Plantations

• Workers had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and swaraj.
• For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely and retain a link with their home villages.
• The Inland Emigration Act of 1859 restricted plantation workers from leaving the tea gardens without permission, which was rarely granted.
• Upon learning about the Non-Cooperation Movement, many workers defied authorities, left the plantations, and attempted to return home.
• They believed that Gandhi Raj would provide land in their villages.
• The workers did not reach their destination and were stranded due to a railway and steamer strike.
• They were caught by the police and brutally beaten.
• The visions of these movements were not defined by the Congress programme; they interpreted swaraj in their own ways.
• Workers and tribals imagined swaraj as a time when all suffering and troubles would end.
• Despite their local struggles, when they chanted Gandhi’s name and demanded ‘Swatantra Bharat’, they emotionally related to the broader all-India agitation.
• By linking their movements to Gandhi or the Congress, they identified with a larger movement beyond their immediate locality.

Towards Civil Disobedience

• In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Gandhi felt the movement was turning violent and believed satyagrahis needed proper training for mass struggles.
• Within the Congress, some leaders were tired of mass struggles and wanted to participate in provincial council elections established by the Government of India Act of 1919.
• These leaders aimed to oppose British policies within the councils, argue for reform, and highlight the undemocratic nature of the councils.
• C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to promote council politics.
• Younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose advocated for more radical mass agitation and full independence.
• Two factors influenced Indian politics towards the late 1920s:
• The worldwide economic depression, causing agricultural prices to fall and collapsing after 1930, leading to turmoil in the countryside.
• The new Tory government in Britain constituted a Statutory Commission under Sir John Simon to review and suggest changes to the constitutional system in India.
• The Statutory Commission did not include any Indian members, consisting entirely of British members.
• The Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928 and was met with the slogan “Go back Simon.”
• All parties, including the Congress and the Muslim League, participated in the demonstrations against the commission.
• In October 1929, Viceroy Lord Irwin offered a vague promise of ‘dominion status’ for India and announced a Round Table Conference to discuss a future constitution.
• The offer did not satisfy Congress leaders.
• Radicals within the Congress, led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, became more assertive.
• Liberals and moderates, who proposed a constitutional system within British dominion, lost influence.
• In December 1929, the Lahore Congress, under Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidency, formalized the demand for ‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence.
• January 26, 1930, was declared as Independence Day, with a pledge for complete independence, but the celebrations received little attention.
• Mahatma Gandhi needed to connect the abstract idea of freedom to more concrete everyday issues.
• Lala Lajpat Rai was assaulted by British police during a peaceful demonstration against the Simon Commission and later succumbed to his injuries.

The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement

• Mahatma Gandhi identified salt as a powerful symbol to unite the nation.
• On 31 January 1930, Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin with eleven demands.
• The demands included both general interests and specific needs of different classes, from industrialists to peasants.
• The goal was to make the demands broad-based to unite all classes in a common campaign.
• The most significant demand was the abolition of the salt tax.
• Salt was universally consumed by both the rich and the poor and was an essential food item.
• Gandhi argued that the salt tax and government monopoly on salt production represented the most oppressive aspects of British rule.
• Gandhi’s letter to Viceroy Irwin was an ultimatum, stating that if demands were not met by 11 March, the Congress would start a civil disobedience campaign.
• Irwin was unwilling to negotiate.
• Gandhi began his salt march on 12 March 1930, accompanied by 78 volunteers.
• The march covered over 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi and lasted 24 days, with the volunteers walking about 10 miles a day.
• Thousands gathered to hear Gandhi speak about swaraj and to peacefully defy the British.
• On 6 April 1930, Gandhi reached Dandi and violated the salt law by manufacturing salt from sea water.
• This event marked the start of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• The Civil Disobedience Movement differed from the Non-Cooperation Movement by not only refusing cooperation with the British but also actively breaking colonial laws.
• Thousands across the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt, and demonstrated at government salt factories.
• The movement also involved boycotting foreign cloth, picketing liquor shops, refusing to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes, resigning from village official posts, and violating forest laws to collect wood and graze cattle.
• The colonial government responded to the Civil Disobedience Movement by arresting Congress leaders.
• This led to violent clashes in various places.
• Abdul Ghaffar Khan was arrested in April 1930, leading to demonstrations in Peshawar, where crowds faced armed resistance from police, resulting in many deaths.
• When Gandhi was arrested a month later, industrial workers in Sholapur attacked police posts, municipal buildings, law courts, and railway stations.
• The government reacted with brutal repression.
• Peaceful satyagrahis were attacked, and women and children were beaten.
• Approximately 100,000 people were arrested during this period.
• Gandhi decided to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement and entered into the Gandhi-Irwin Pact on 5 March 1931.
• Under the pact, Gandhi agreed to participate in the Round Table Conference in London, and the government agreed to release political prisoners.
• Gandhi went to London in December 1931 for the conference, but negotiations broke down, and he returned disappointed.
• Upon returning to India, Gandhi found that the government had resumed repression.
• Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru were in jail, the Congress was declared illegal, and measures were imposed to prevent meetings, demonstrations, and boycotts.
• Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement with great apprehension.
• The movement continued for over a year but lost momentum by 1934.

How Participants saw the Movement

• Rich peasant communities, such as the Patidars in Gujarat and the Jats in Uttar Pradesh, were involved in the movement.
• They were affected by trade depression and falling prices due to their commercial crop production.
• The decline in cash income made it difficult for them to meet government revenue demands.
• Government’s refusal to reduce revenue demands led to widespread resentment.
• These peasants supported the Civil Disobedience Movement enthusiastically, organizing their communities and sometimes forcing reluctant members to join boycott programs.
• They saw the fight for swaraj as a struggle against high revenue rates.
• They were disappointed when the movement was suspended in 1931 without a revision of revenue rates.
• When the movement resumed in 1932, many of these peasants chose not to participate.
• The poorer peasantry were concerned not only with lowering revenue demands but also with issues related to their rented land.
• Many were small tenants who struggled to pay rent due to dwindling cash incomes from the Depression.
• They sought remission of unpaid rent to landlords.
• The poorer peasants joined various radical movements led by Socialists and Communists.
• The Congress Party was reluctant to support ‘no rent’ campaigns to avoid upsetting rich peasants and landlords.
• This reluctance led to an uncertain relationship between the poor peasants and the Congress Party.
• During the First World War, Indian merchants and industrialists profited greatly and gained power.
• They opposed colonial policies that restricted their business activities.
• They sought protection against foreign imports and a favorable rupee-sterling exchange ratio.
• To organize business interests, they established the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in 1927.
• Prominent industrialists like Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G. D. Birla led attacks on colonial control over the economy.
• They supported the Civil Disobedience Movement initially, providing financial assistance and boycotting imported goods.
• Businessmen saw swaraj as an opportunity for unrestricted trade and industry growth.
• After the failure of the Round Table Conference, business groups’ enthusiasm waned.
• They became concerned about militant activities, business disruptions, and the influence of socialism within the Congress Party.
• The industrial working classes generally did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement, except in the Nagpur region.
• While industrialists aligned more closely with the Congress, workers remained aloof.
• Some workers engaged in the movement by adopting certain Gandhian ideas, such as boycotting foreign goods.
• Workers participated in strikes: railway workers in 1930 and dockworkers in 1932.
• In 1930, many workers in Chotanagpur tin mines wore Gandhi caps and joined protest rallies and boycott campaigns.
• The Congress Party was hesitant to incorporate workers’ demands into its struggle program to avoid alienating industrialists and causing division among anti-imperial forces.
• The Civil Disobedience Movement saw significant participation from women.
• During Gandhiji’s salt march, thousands of women attended, took part in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops.
• Many women were imprisoned for their participation.
• In urban areas, these women were predominantly from high-caste families, while in rural areas they came from rich peasant households.
• Gandhiji’s call inspired women to view national service as a sacred duty.
• Despite their active participation, there was no radical change in the perception of women’s roles.
• Gandhiji believed women’s primary duties were to manage the home, be good mothers, and good wives.
• The Congress Party was initially reluctant to allow women to hold positions of authority and preferred their symbolic presence rather than substantive roles.

The Limits of Civil Disobedience

• Not all social groups were inspired by the concept of swaraj, including the nation’s ‘untouchables,’ who started identifying as dalit (oppressed) in the 1930s.
• The Congress Party had previously ignored the dalits to avoid offending conservative high-caste Hindus (sanatanis).
• Mahatma Gandhi argued that swaraj would not be achieved if untouchability was not abolished.
• Gandhi referred to untouchables as harijan (children of God) and organized satyagraha to secure their rights, including entry into temples and access to public facilities.
• Gandhi personally cleaned toilets to honor the work of sweepers and urged upper castes to abandon untouchability.
• Many dalit leaders sought different political solutions, such as reserved seats in educational institutions and a separate electorate for dalits in legislative councils.
• Dalit participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement was limited, particularly in Maharashtra and Nagpur, where their organization was stronger.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar organized the dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930.
• Ambedkar clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding separate electorates for dalits.
• The British government granted Ambedkar’s demand for separate electorates.
• Gandhi responded by beginning a fast unto death, arguing that separate electorates would hinder dalits’ integration into society.
• Ambedkar ultimately agreed to Gandhi’s position, leading to the Poona Pact of September 1932.
• The Poona Pact provided reserved seats for the Depressed Classes (later known as the Scheduled Castes) in provincial and central legislative councils, but these seats were to be filled by the general electorate.
• Despite the agreement, the dalit movement remained wary of the Congress-led national movement.
• Some Muslim political organizations were indifferent to the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• After the decline of the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement, many Muslims felt alienated from the Congress Party.
• From the mid-1920s, the Congress Party became more closely associated with Hindu nationalist groups like the Hindu Mahasabha.
• Deteriorating relations between Hindus and Muslims led to religious processions and militant activities by both communities.
• These actions provoked communal clashes and riots in various cities, further widening the divide between Hindus and Muslims.
• The Congress and the Muslim League attempted to renegotiate an alliance in 1927.
• The main disagreement was over representation in future assemblies.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah of the Muslim League was willing to forgo separate electorates if Muslims received reserved seats in the Central Assembly and proportional representation in Muslim-majority provinces like Bengal and Punjab.
• Negotiations on representation continued but were unsuccessful.
• The All Parties Conference in 1928 lost hope of resolving the issue due to strong opposition from M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha.
• At the start of the Civil Disobedience Movement, there was widespread suspicion and distrust between communities.
• Large sections of Muslims, feeling alienated from the Congress, were unable to join the call for a united struggle.
• Many Muslim leaders and intellectuals were concerned about the status of Muslims as a minority in India.
• They feared that the culture and identity of minorities would be overwhelmed by the Hindu majority.

The Sense of Collective Belonging

• Nationalism spreads when people feel they are part of the same nation and find a unifying bond.
• The nation became a reality in people’s minds through experiences of united struggles.
• Various cultural processes contributed to the sense of collective belonging, including:
• History
• Fiction
• Folklore and songs
• Popular prints and symbols
• These elements played a role in shaping and spreading nationalism.
• The identity of a nation is often symbolized by a figure or image to create a relatable national identity.
• In the twentieth century, the image of Bharat Mata became associated with the identity of India due to the growth of nationalism.
• The image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who wrote the hymn ‘Vande Mataram’ in the 1870s.
• ‘Vande Mataram’ was later included in his novel Anandamath and became popular during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal.
• Inspired by the Swadeshi movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted a famous image of Bharat Mata, depicting her as an ascetic figure: calm, composed, divine, and spiritual.
• Over time, the image of Bharat Mata took on many forms through popular prints and paintings by various artists.
• Devotion to the image of Bharat Mata came to be regarded as a sign of nationalism.
• Nationalist ideas in late-nineteenth-century India were influenced by a movement to revive Indian folklore.
• Nationalists recorded folk tales sung by bards and toured villages to collect folk songs and legends.
• They believed these folk traditions represented a true picture of traditional culture, which had been corrupted by outside forces.
• Preserving folklore was seen as crucial for discovering national identity and restoring pride in the past.
• In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore collected ballads, nursery rhymes, and myths, leading the folk revival movement.
• In Madras, Natesa Sastri published a four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales titled The Folklore of Southern India.
• Sastri viewed folklore as national literature and a trustworthy representation of people’s real thoughts and characteristics.
• As the national movement progressed, leaders recognized the importance of icons and symbols in fostering unity and nationalism.
• During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag was designed with red, green, and yellow stripes.
• The flag featured eight lotuses representing the eight provinces of British India and a crescent moon symbolizing Hindus and Muslims.
• By 1921, Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag, which was also a tricolour (red, green, and white) and included a spinning wheel in the center.
• The spinning wheel on the Swaraj flag represented the Gandhian ideal of self-help.
• Carrying and displaying the flag during marches became a powerful symbol of defiance.
• Reinterpreting history was a method used to foster nationalism.
• By the end of the nineteenth century, many Indians felt that a new perspective on history was needed to instill national pride.
• The British portrayed Indians as backward and incapable of self-governance.
• In response, Indians began to explore and highlight India’s past achievements in art, architecture, science, mathematics, religion, culture, law, philosophy, crafts, and trade.
• They depicted a glorious ancient era followed by a decline due to colonization.
• Nationalist histories encouraged pride in India’s past achievements and motivated a struggle against British rule.
• However, efforts to glorify the past sometimes excluded other communities, particularly when the focus was on Hindu achievements and iconography.

Quit India Movement

• The failure of the Cripps Mission and the effects of World War II led to widespread discontentment in India.
• Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement, calling for the complete withdrawal of the British from India.
• On 14 July 1942, the Congress Working Committee passed the historic ‘Quit India’ resolution in Wardha, demanding immediate power transfer to Indians.
• On 8 August 1942, the All India Congress Committee endorsed the resolution in Bombay, calling for a non-violent mass struggle nationwide.
• Gandhi delivered his famous ‘Do or Die’ speech during this event.
• The Quit India Movement nearly halted state machinery across large parts of India, with widespread voluntary participation.
• People observed hartals, and held demonstrations and processions with national songs and slogans.
• The movement involved thousands of ordinary people, including students, workers, and peasants.
• Key leaders in the movement included Jayprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Ram Manohar Lohia, with active participation from women like Matangini Hazra, Kanaklata Barua, and Rama Devi.
• The British responded with force, taking more than a year to suppress the movement.

Some Important Dates

• 1918-19: Distressed UP peasants organized by Baba Ramchandra.
• April 1919: Gandhi led a hartal against the Rowlatt Act, followed by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• January 1921: Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movement launched.
• February 1922: Chauri Chaura incident led Gandhi to withdraw the Non-Cooperation movement.
• May 1924: Alluri Sitarama Raju arrested, ending a two-year armed tribal struggle.
• December 1929: Lahore Congress where Congress adopted the demand for ‘Purna Swaraj’.
• 1930: Ambedkar establishes the Depressed Classes Association.
• March 1930: Gandhi begins the Civil Disobedience Movement with the Salt March at Dandi.
• March 1931: Gandhi ends the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• December 1931: Second Round Table Conference.
• 1932: Civil Disobedience Movement is re-launched.