HISTORY CHAPTER 2: NATIONALISM IN INDIA

Introduction
"The feel for our nation was provoked by various means with the help of the
different movements, collectively, belongings, etc. New symbols, songs, ideas
redefine the boundaries of various communities. Mahatma Gandhi was the
leader of the collect people and helped them get rid of colonialism. Civil
disobedience movement and non-corporation movement are taken as examples
to prove how different social groups participated in the movement and how
nationalism"
The First World War: Khilafat and Non-Cooperation
The new social groups and the national movement arose because of a new
economic and political situation. There was a huge increase in defence
expenditure, which increased the taxes. Custom duties raised and income taxes
were introduced. Prices doubled. Forced recruitment was there in rural areas for
military. 1918-1919 and 1920-1921 crops failed and shortage of food and
epidemic diseases was also there. 13 million people died as a result of famine.
Now there emerged a new leader who suggested a new mode of struggle.
The Idea of Satyagraha
Gandhiji returned in 1915 from South Africa after a mass agitation which was
called as Satyagraha. Satyagraha means if the cause was true and if the struggle
was against injustice, then physical force was not necessary to fight the
oppressor. A satyagrahi would win the battle through non-violence. Mahatma
Gandhi's dharma was non-violence. He believed in the concept of truth over
triumph.
Satyagraha Movements
• 1917, Champaran Movement in Bihar inspired the peasants to struggle
against the oppressive plantation system.
• 1917, Kheda Movement in Gujarat: Due to crop failure, plague epidemic,
they wouldn't pay the revenue. Movement was for relaxation of revenue.
• 1918, Ahmedabad Cotton Mill Movement.
Rowlatt Act
Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1919 launched Satyagraha against Rowlatt Act. This
Rowlatt Act gave the government enormous power to put down the political
activists and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
Gandhi went for non-violent civil disobedience with the Hartel on 6th April.
Rallies, Hartel’s, strikes took place on the British and the British was alarmed.
Local leaders were taken out of Amritsar and Gandhi was not allowed to enter
Delhi. On 10th April, the police fired upon a peaceful procession at Amritsar.
Martial law was imposed. On 13th April, Jallianwala Bagh incident took place.
After Jallianwala Bagh, there were many strike clashes etc. with the police and
attacks happened on government buildings. The British government rubbed the
noses of Satyagrahis on the ground and made them crawl on the streets and
salute to all Sahibs. This violence prevailed, Gandhi called off the movement.
Then Gandhi felt that a broad-based movement should be launched in India and
that should be done with the union of Hindus and Muslims.
Khilafat Movement
In the First World War, Ottoman Turkey was defeated and a peace treaty was
imposed on the Ottoman Emperor Khalifa. He was the spiritual head of the
Islamic world. Indian Muslims opposed this and framed a committee called
Khilafat Committee at Bombay in 1919. Muhammad Ali and Shawkat Ali were the
leaders of this committee. Gandhi encouraged the Khilafat movement and joined
hands with the Ali brothers. The unification led to the start of the non-
cooperation movement with the support of Muslims.
Why Non-Cooperation?
Non-cooperation was started because Gandhi felt that British rule in India
survived only because of the cooperation of Indians. If Indians did not cooperate,
the British rule may be put down and Swaraj may be implemented.
Proposals of Non-Cooperation Movement
It was in three stages: surrender the titles, boycott of civil services, army, police,
court, foreign goods, civil disobedience campaigns, hotels, and possessions.
Congress
Many people within the Congress did not want to boycott because they feared
that the movement might lead to popular violence. The compromise was done at
the Congress Session at Nagpur. In December 1920, the compromise was done.
Different Stands Within the Movement:
The Movement in Towns
It started with participation of middle-class students. Headmasters and teachers
left the schools. Lawyers gave up their legal practices. Council elections were
boycotted. Liquor shops were picketed. Foreign clothes were burnt in bonfire. As
a result of this movement, the import of foreign goods became half its value.
Merchants and traders refused to trade with the foreign goods. Production of
Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.
Drawbacks
Khadi clothes were expensive and people could not afford to buy. Alternative
Indian institutions were not set up and so the students, teachers, and lawyers
went back to the government jobs.
Rebellion in the Countryside:
The Movement in Awadh
Led by Baba Ramchandra against talukdars and landlords for the high rents and
begar. The Movement demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, and
social boycott. Nai-Dhobi bands were organized. In October 1920, Jawaharlal
Nehru along with Baba Ramchandra organized the Awadh Kisan Sabha which
had 300 branches. As a result of the peasant movement, the houses of talukdars
and merchants were attacked. Bazaars were looted and the local leaders told the
peasants that Gandhi had declared no taxes and land should be redistributed
among the people.
Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh
A militant guerrilla movement spread in 1920. The colonial government did not
allow them inside the forest, graze their cattle, or collect fruits and fuelwood. The
people were compelled to beg for road building. The leader of the village was
Alluri Sitaram Raju. The people believed that he was an incarnation of God and
he insisted that he had supreme powers and he was a follower of Gandhi. He
stressed on non-violence and encouraged people to give up drinking and to wear
khadi. When the rebels killed the British officials, Raju was captured and
executed.
Swaraj in the Plantations of Assam
Because of the Inland Immigration Act of 1859, the plantation workers of Assam
were not allowed to go out of the gardens in which they worked. When they heard
of the non-cooperation movement, they escaped from the plantation gardens
and went home. They believed in Gandhi Raj and on the way home, they went for
railway and steamer strikes. They were caught by the police and beaten up. The
above provisions prove that different categories of people interpreted the term
Swaraj in their own way. They wanted to solve their own problems through the
common movement. Yet there were slogans on Swatantra Bharat. It was totally
an all-India agitation.
Towards Civil Disobedience
In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the non-cooperation movement
because it turned into violence in many places. Congress leaders were fed up
with the mass struggle. Government of India Act 1919, participation in the
election, wanted to insist and demonstrate that the councils were not
democratic. C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party to argue for
council elections. Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose were radicals
and wanted mass agitation.
1920s saw a worldwide economic depression, agricultural price fall, and decline
in exports. Countryside was in trouble.
Simon Commission, set up by Sir John Simon to bring constitutional changes, did
not have any Indian participants. It was denied by the Indians with slogans like
“Go Back Simon.” In 1929, Lord Irwin launched a Dominion Status offer to put
down the struggle. The Congress radicals S. C. Bose and Nehru were very
aggressive. In Lahore, they demanded Poorna Swaraj. 26th January 1930 was
declared as the Day of Independence. They took a pledge for complete
independence.
Salt March and Civil Disobedience Movement
On 31st January 1930, Gandhi wrote a letter to Irwin with 11 demands addressing
the problems of peasants, industrialists, etc. The letter was not accepted. On
11th March, another letter was sent by Gandhi about launching a Civil
Disobedience Movement. With no response, he started the famous Salt March
with 78 volunteers. They walked for 24 days and covered 240 miles from
Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi. On 6th April, they reached Dandi, boiled seawater,
and made salt.
The Civil Disobedience Movement spread throughout the country. Peasants
refused to pay taxes. Village officials resigned. People violated forest laws.
Congress leaders were arrested. Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Gandhi were also
arrested along with 1 lakh people. Peaceful Satyagrahis including women and
children were beaten. Gandhi called off the movement with the Gandhi-Irwin
Pact on March 5, 1931. Gandhi attended the Round Table Conference in
December 1931 in London. It was a failure. On return, Ghaffar Khan and Nehru
were in prison. Congress was declared illegal. Gandhi restarted the Civil
Disobedience Movement.
How Peasants Saw the Movement
• Rich Peasants: They wanted to get released from the taxes. The rich
peasants were Jats of Uttar Pradesh and Patidas of Gujarat. For them,
Swaraj means struggle against high revenue because there was no change
in tax. Again, when the movement was brought back, they
refused to participate.
• Poor Peasants: they did not want to give rent to the landlords. This
obligation of the poor peasants were not accepted by the Congress
 because they feared that they would lose the support of rich people. Here,
the relation between poor peasants and the Congress was uncertain.
• Business Class: The business people wanted protection against import of
foreign goods and rupee sterling's foreign exchange ratio. They formed the
Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress in 1920 and FICCI in 1927.
Important industrialists like Purushottam Das, Thakudas, and G.D. Brilla
supported the civil disobedience movement when it was first launched.
But after the failure of Roundtable Conference, they worried about the
disruption of their business. For them, Swaraj means no restrictions, no
business, and flourishing of trade.
• Industrial Workers: The industrial workers did not participate in
movement except Nagpur. They followed Gandhian principle but the
Congress did not like the participation of Indian workers because it would
affect the industrialists.
• Women: Many women participated in the protest against liquor and
foreign goods. The women who came for protest were from higher caste
families and they were rich. They thought that doing services to the nation
is a sacred duty of women. But Gandhiji wanted them to be good mothers
and wives. The Congress did not allow women to hold any
positions of authority
The Limits of Civil Disobedience
• Untouchables (Dalits): The Congress ignored the Dalits for the fear of
losing the support of Sanathanis who were the upper caste Hindus.
Gandhi organized the untouchables and he fought for the elimination of
civil practices such as no temple entry, no access to public wells, tanks,
etc. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar demanded a separate electorate for Dalits and the
conflict between Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar ended in Poona Pact of
September 1932. Poona Pact gave reserved seats for depressed class in
provincial and central legislative councils.
• Muslims: Muslims and Hindus had worst relationship and the Muslims
feared that they would lose their culture and identity since they were
minorities. So, they were willing to demand a separate electorate in the
Muslim dominated provinces such as Bengal and Punjab.
The Sense of Collective Belonging
The feel of nationalism was provoked by collective belonging such as paintings,
flags, reinterpretation of history.
Paintings : Image of Bharat Mata by Bakhim Chattopadhyay.
He wrote Vandemadram in 1870 which was included in his novel Anandamath
and it was sung in Swadeshi movement. Abindranath Tagore painted Bharat Mata
as calm, composed, divine and spiritual portrait.
Folklore : Folksongs were recorded and sung by bards who kindled the
nationalist feel. Rabindranath Thakur led movement for folk revival.
Tricolour flag: In 1921, Gandhi designed our tricolour flag with the spinning
wheel in the centre.

Reinterpretation of history : The ancient glorious development in art,