Nationalism in India class 10 Notes || Social science|| NCERT book||
Nationalism In India
Introduction :-
Nationalism is the feeling, which talk about common identity and Belongingness of people In a national.
Modern nationalism was associated with the formation of nation- states. In India like many other colonies, the growth of modern nationalism is connected to the anti - colonial movement. The sense of being oppressed under colonial power was common to different classes. But each class and group, felt the effect of colonialism differently.
The congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi tried to Unite these groups together with in one movement called Nationalist Movement in India.
The First World War, khilafat and non - Co operation movement
The First World war ( 1914 ) created a new economic and political situation world wide.
After the war , India faced acute food shortage along with influenza epidemic.
Increasing taxes, increasing price of food grains, etc led to extreme hardship for common people.
The forced recruitment in army caused widespread anger.
In such a critical situation, a new leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi with his novel vision of Satyagrah came in India in January 1915.
The Idea of Satyagrah and it's Application
After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi successfully organised Satyagrah Movement in Champaran ( Bihar) , Kheda ( Gujarat) , and in Ahmedabad ( Gujarat).
Without being aggressive a satyagrah could win the battle through Non-violence.
In 1916 , Gandhi ji travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against oppressive Indigo planters.
In 1916 Gandhiji supported the peasants in Kheda district of Gujarat who were suffering shortage of food due to crop failure and advised them not to pay revenue till their demand of its remission was met.
In 1918 , Gandhiji went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagrahi movement amongst cotton Mill workers.
The Rowlatt Act (1919)
I. The Rowlatt act was passed by the British government in 1919.
II. The Act gave the government enormous powers for repressing political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without any trial for two years.
6th April, 1919 was observed as satyagrah Day when people all over the country observed fast and Hartal. It was the first countrywide agitation by Gandhiji. It marked the foundation of Non-Cooperation movement.
On 10th April, the Police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession. It provoked widespread attacks on bank, post offices and railway stations. Martial law was imposed and General Dyer took command.
Jalianwala Bagh Massacre
I. On 13th April Jallianwala Bagh incident took place.
II. A large crowd gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar Punjab where a few people came to protect against the government's new repressive measures, while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair.
III. General Dyer blocked all the exit points and opened fire on the crowd killing hundreds.
IV. After the Jallianwala massacre, people became furious and went on strike, Clashes with police, and attack on government buildings.
V. The government responded with force to end the movement by humiliating and terrorising people.
VI. Satyagrahi were forced to rub their noses on the ground. Mahatma Gandhi had to call off the movement as it was turned into a violent war.
Khilafat movement
I. During the Rowlatt satyagrah, Mahatma Gandhi felt that need to launch a more wide movement in India.
II. Then he realised no such wide movement could be organised without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together. He felt was to take up the Khilafat issue.
III. There was rumor that a harse peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor, who was the spiritual head ( khalifa) of the Islamic world after the first world War. The muslims of India decided to force Britain to change her Turkish Policy.
IV. A khilafat committee was formed under the leadership of Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani.
V. Muslim leaders Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a United mass action on the issue.
VI. Mahatma Gandhi found this is an opportunity to uniting Hindus and Muslims.
The Congress passed the resolution in its Calcutta session in September 1920 to start a satyagrah On Khilafat Issue.
After a lot of debates, the Non- Cooperation movement was adopted by the Congress during the Nagpur Conference in December 1920.
Differing strands within the Movement
In January 1921 , the Non- Cooperation and Khilafat movement started.
The effects of Non-Cooperation on the economic front were dramatic. People rejected foreign Clothes and goods. Students and teacher left Government controlled school, lawyer left courts.
Rebellion in the Countryside
I. From cities, the Non-Cooperation movement spread to the countryside. In Awadh, the Peasant Movement led by Baba Rama chandra.
II. The peasants had to do Begar and work without pay in the farms of oppressive landlords.
III. The Peasant Movement demanded reduction of Revenue, abolition of Begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
IV. The houses of talukdars, and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted and grains hoards were take over in many places.
V. October 1920 : The Oudh kisan Sabha was setup headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Baba Ramchandra and a few others.
VI. The Tribal peasants interpreted the messages of Gandhiji and the ideas of Swaraj in yet another way.
Swaraj in the Plantations
For Plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant right to move in and out of the plantation so they headed home but caught by the police and were brutally beaten up.
• In February 1922 Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri Chaura incident. It occurred at Chauri chaura in Gorakhpur district of UP on 4th February 1922.
• A peaceful demonstration in a bazaar turned into a violent clash with the police. The incident led to deaths of three civilians and 22or 23 policemen.
• Gandhiji felt that Satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles.
Different Views within the Congress
Some leaders within the Congress were tired to mass struggle and wanted to participate in the election.
They felt it was important to oppose British policies within the councils.
CR Das, Matilal Nehru, NC Kelkar formed the swaraj Party. But younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash chandra Bose argued for more forceful mass agitation and for full Independence.
In the situation of internal debates and discussion, in the late 1920s two factors again reshaped Indian politics.
a) The first was the effect of the world wide economic depression.
b) The second was falling agricultural prices.
SIMON Commission
I. A commission was constituted under the chairmanship of John Simon. The commission did not have any Indian member.
II. The main objective of Simon Commission was to review the functions of the constitutional system in India and suggest changes.
III. This commission arrived in India in 1928. Congress and the Muslim League along with the other parties received the commission with black flags and slogans ' Go back Simon'.
IV. In October 1929 , the viceroy , Lord Irwin announced an uncertain offer of dominion status for India and a Round table conference to discuss a future Constitution.
V. In December 1929 , under the Presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand of Purna Swaraj or full Independence for India.
VI. It was also declared that 26 January, 1930 would be celebrated as the Independence Day.
The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement
Mahatma Gandhi found that salt was a powerful symbol that could Unite the Nation.
He wrote a letter to viceroy Irwin urging eleven demands which included the demand to abolish the salt tax.
Irwin was not ready to talk upon the demand. Then Gandhiji took the decision to launch the movement.
The Civil Disobedience Movement
I. On 12th March 1930, along with 78 followers Gandhiji started his March from Sabarmati Aashram to Dandi , the coastal town of Gujarat.
II. On 6th April 1930, They reached Dandi and Violated the salt law. This marked the beginning of the Civil disobedience Movement.
As soon the Movement spread to the entire nation:
a) Peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes.
b) Foreign clothes were boycotted. Liquor shops were picketed.
c) In many places, forest people violated forest laws, going into reserved forests for collecting wood.
d) Colonial laws were violated, salt was manufactured in numerous places.
Worried by the ongoing Movement, the colonial government began arresting the Congress leaders one by one.
In April 1930: Abdul Ghaffar Khan was arrested.
In May 1930 : Gandhiji was arrested. About 10,0000 people were arrested and several violent incidents were reported. In such a situation Mahatma Gandhi again call off the Movement and entered into a pact Irwin on 5th March 1931. This pact was a consent to the Round Table Conference and the government agreed to release the political Prisoners.
In December 1931 Gandhiji went to London for the second Round table conference. But the discussion was of no use and he returned disappointed. Then he found that Congress had been declared illegal; Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Jawaharlal Nehru both were in jail. So he relaunched the Civil disobedience Movement and it was continued for a year.But by 1934 it lost its momentum.
The sense of Collective Belonging
1) Nationalist movement spread when people belonging to different region and communities began to develop a sense of collective belongingness.
2) Many cultural processes also contributed to it. History, fiction, folklore, songs, popular paints and symbols, all played a part in making of nationalism.
It was seen in India during its freedom movement in following ways:
a. The picture of Bharat mata was first created by Bankim chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870 when he wrote ' Vande Mataram' for our motherland.
Later this song was widely sung by the freedom fighters. The image of Bharat mata was First painted by Abanindranath Tagore.
b. Indian folk songs and folk tales sung by bard played an important role for making the idea of nationalism.
c. During the Swadeshi Movement, a tricolor ( red, green and yellow) flag was designed in Bengal. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims.
Conclusion
A growing anger against the Colonial Government brought together various groups and classes of Indians into a common struggle for freedom in the first half of the 20th century.