Indraprastha WORLD SCHOOL

Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-63

Session: 2024-25
TOPIC: History
Chapter 8
Making of National the Movement- 1870s-1947

1. Why were people dissatisfied with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s?

Ans. The dissatisfaction with British rule intensified in the 1870s and 1880s due to the following
reasons:
i. The Arms Act was passed in 1878, disallowing Indians from possessing arms.
ii. In the same year, the Vernacular Press Act was also enacted in an effort to crush the voice of
those who criticized the British government.
iii. The Act allowed the government to confiscate the assets of newspapers including their
printing presses if the newspapers published anything that was found
“objectionable”.
iv. In 1883, the government tried to introduce the Ilbert Bill which provided for the trial of
British or European persons by Indians, and sought equality between British and Indian judges in
the country.
v. But when white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill, Indians were enraged.
The event highlighted the racial attitudes of the British in India.

2. Who did the Indian National Congress wish to speak for?

Ans. (i)The early Congress raised a number of economic issues against the colonial
rule. (ii)It declared that British rule had led to poverty and famines: increase in
the land revenue had impoverished peasants and zamindars, and exports of grains
to Europe had created food shortages.
(iii) The Congress demanded reduction of revenue, cut in military expenditure,
and more funds for irrigation.
(iv) It passed many resolutions on the salt tax, treatment of Indian labourers
abroad, and the sufferings of forest dwellers – caused by an interfering forest
administration.

(v)All this shows that despite being a body of the educated elite, the Congress did not talk
only on behalf of professional groups, zamindars or industrialists.

3. What economic impact did the First World War have on India?
Ans.
i. The First World War changed the economic and political situation in India. It led to a huge rise in the
defense expenditure of the Government of India.
ii. The government in turn increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits.
 iii. Increased military expenditure and the demands for war supplies led to a sharp rise in prices
which created great difficulties for the common people.
iv. On the other hand, business groups reaped enormous profits from the war. The war created a
demand for industrial goods (jute bags, cloth, rails) and caused a decline of imports from other countries
into India.
v. So Indian industries expanded during the war, and Indian business groups began to demand greater
opportunities for development.

4. What did the Muslim League resolution of 1940 ask for?

Ans. In1940, the Muslim League had moved a resolution demanding “Independent
States” for Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas of the country. The resolution
did not mention partition or Pakistan.

5. Who were the Moderates? How did they propose to struggle against British rule?
Ans.
i. The Congress in the first twenty years was “moderate” in its objectives and methods.
ii. During this period, the Moderates demanded a greater voice for Indians in the government and in
administration.
iii. They wanted the Legislative Councils to be made more representative, givenmore power, and
introduced in provinces where nonexisted.
iv. They demanded that Indians be placed in high positions in the government; forthis purpose, they
demanded that civil service examinations to be held in India as well, not just in London.
v. The Moderates’ demand for Indianisation of the administration was part of a movement against
racism, since most important jobs at the time were monopolised by whiteofficials.
vi. Since British officers were sending a major part of their large salaries home, the Moderates demanded
to reduce the drain of wealth toEngland.
vii. Other demands included the separation of the judiciary from the executive,the repeal of the Arms Act
and the freedom of speech andexpression.

6. How was the politics of the Radicals within the Congress different from that of the Moderates?
Ans.
i. By the 1890s many Indians began to raise questions about the political style of the Congress.
ii. In Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab, nationalist such as Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal GangadharTilak and
LalaLajpat Rai explored more radical objectives andmethods.
iii. They criticised the Moderates for their “politics of prayers”, and emphasized the importance of self-
reliance and constructivework.
iv. They argued that people must rely on their own strength, not on the “good” intentions of the
government; people must fight forswaraj.
 v. Tilak raised the slogan, “Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it!”
7. Discuss the various forms that the Non-Cooperation Movement took in different parts of India.
How did the people understand Gandhiji?
Ans.
i. In Kheda, Gujarat, Patidar peasants organized nonviolent campaign 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 staged a number of “forest
satyagraha’s”, sometimes sending their cattle into forest without paying grazing fee because the colonial
state had restricted their use of forest resources in various way.
iv. In Sind (now in Pakistan), Muslim traders and peasants were very enthusiastic about the Khilafat call.
In Bengal too, the Khilafat-Non-Cooperation alliance gave enormous communal unity and strength to the
national movement.
v. In Punjab, the Akali agitation of the Sikhs sought to remove corrupt mahants – supported by the British
– from their gurdwaras. This movement got closely identified with the Non-Cooperation Movement.
vi. In Assam, tea garden laborers, shouting “Gandhi Maharaj ki Jai” demanded a big increase in their
wages. They left the British-owned plantations amidst declarations that they were following Gandhiji’s
wish.
vii. People thought of Gandhiji as a kind of messiah, as someone who help them overcome their misery and
poverty.

8. Why did Gandhiji choose to break the salt law?

(i) 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.
(ii)Mahatma Gandhi along with other nationalists reasoned that it was sinful to tax salt since it is such an
essential item of our food.
(iii)The Salt March related the general desire of freedom to a specific grievance shared by everybody, and
thus did not divide the rich and the poor.

9. Discuss those developments of the 1937-47 period that led to the creation of Pakistan.
Ans. Developments of the 1937-47 that led to the creation of Pakistan:
(i) From the late 1930s, the Muslim League began viewing the Muslims as a separate “nation” from the
Hindus.
(ii) The results of the Provincial elections of 1937 convinced the League that Muslims were a minority, and
they would always be dominated by Hindus in any democratic structure.
iii) At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the British facilitated negotiations between the Congress
and the League for the independence of India.
(iv) 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 prompted it to demand for a
separate nation for its community.
(v) In March 1946, the British cabinet sent a three-member mission to Delhi to suggest a suitable political
framework for a free India. This mission suggested that India should remain united and constitute itself as a
loose confederation with some autonomy for Muslim-majority areas
(vi) 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”.
(vii) By March 1947, violence had spread to different parts of Northern India. Finally, the demand for the
Partition of India was finalised, and “Pakistan” was born.