The Making of The National Movement | 1870’s – 1947 | Chapter 9 | History 8th |

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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

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.

 


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