Nationalism in India Notes Chapter 2 Class 10 History

Notes For All Chapters History Class 10 CBSE

1. Growth of Nationalism in India

• Nationalism in India was closely linked with the anti-colonial struggle.
• People realized their unity through common suffering under colonial rule.
• The Indian National Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried to bring together different groups.
• Nationalism meant different things to different groups, so unity came with conflicts too.

2. The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

Impact of the First World War

• Economic hardships:
  • Rise in defence expenditure, financed by war loans and taxes.
  • Prices doubled (1913–1918), leading to hardships.
  • Forced recruitment in rural areas caused anger.
• Crops failed (1918–21) + Influenza epidemic → 12–13 million deaths.
• People expected relief after the war, but it did not happen.

Gandhiji’s Idea of Satyagraha

• Gandhiji returned to India in 1915 from South Africa.
• Satyagraha = power of truth and non-violence.
• Not passive resistance but active non-violent struggle.
• Aim: Convince the oppressor morally, not use violence.
• Gandhiji believed non-violence (ahimsa) could unite all Indians.

Early Satyagraha Movements

1. Champaran (1917) – Against oppressive indigo plantation system.
2. Kheda (1917, Gujarat) – Peasants demanded revenue relaxation during crop failure.
3. Ahmedabad (1918) – Cotton mill workers demanded better wages.

The Rowlatt Act (1919)

• Allowed political prisoners to be detained without trial for 2 years.
• Gandhiji launched Rowlatt Satyagraha (6 April 1919).
• Protests in cities, strikes, and hartals.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919) – General Dyer opened fire on unarmed crowd, killing hundreds.
• Martial law and brutal repression followed.
• Gandhiji called off the movement due to violence.

The Khilafat Movement

• After World War I, Ottoman Turkey defeated; Khalifa’s powers threatened.
• Khilafat Committee (1919, Bombay) formed by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.
• Gandhiji supported Khilafat to unite Hindus and Muslims.

3. The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22)

Gandhiji’s Hind Swaraj (1909)

• British rule survived due to Indian cooperation.
• If Indians withdrew cooperation, British rule would collapse.

Programme of Non-Cooperation

• Stages proposed by Gandhiji:
  • Boycott titles, civil services, army, police, courts, schools, foreign goods.
  • If repression continued → launch civil disobedience.
• Launch
  • Nagpur Congress, December 1920 → adopted Non-Cooperation.
  • Began in January 1921.

4. Differing Strands within the Movement

In Towns

• Students left schools, teachers resigned, lawyers gave up practice.
• Council elections boycotted (except Madras).
• Economic impact: Foreign goods boycotted, liquor shops picketed, cloth burnt. Import of foreign cloth halved (₹102 cr → ₹57 cr).
• Decline:
  • Khadi was expensive.
  • Alternative Indian institutions slow to develop.
  • Students, teachers, lawyers returned to govt. institutions.

In the Countryside

• Awadh peasants led by Baba Ramchandra:
  • Against high rents, begar (unpaid labour), and landlords.
  • Demands: Reduce revenue, abolish begar.
  • Nai-dhobi bandhs (social boycott of landlords).
• Tribal peasants (Gudem Hills, Andhra Pradesh):
  • Led by Alluri Sitaram Raju.
  • Resisted forest laws + forced labour.
  • Inspired by Gandhiji but believed in violence.
• Plantation workers (Assam):
  • Wanted freedom to move out of gardens.
  • Believed Gandhi Raj would give them land.
  • Left plantations but were caught, beaten.

5. Withdrawal of Non-Cooperation

• Chauri Chaura Incident (1922, Gorakhpur) – Police station burnt, policemen killed.
• Gandhiji withdrew movement → feared spread of violence.

6. Towards Civil Disobedience

Simon Commission (1927)

• To review constitutional system, but no Indian member.
• Protest slogan: “Go back Simon”.
• Lala Lajpat Rai injured in protest, later died.

Lahore Congress (1929)

• Presided by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Demand for Purna Swaraj (Full Independence).
• 26 January 1930 celebrated as Independence Day.

7. The Salt March and Civil Disobedience Movement

• Gandhiji sent 11 demands to Viceroy Irwin (Jan 1930).
• Irwin refused → Gandhiji launched Salt March (March–April 1930).
• 240-mile march from Sabarmati to Dandi → broke salt law.
• Marked beginning of Civil Disobedience Movement.

Features

• People broke colonial laws (salt law, forest laws, revenue refusal).
• Foreign cloth boycotted, liquor shops picketed.
• Village officials resigned.
• Brutal British repression, thousands arrested.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931)

• Congress to attend Second Round Table Conference in London.
• Political prisoners released.
• But talks failed, movement relaunched (1932).
• Lost momentum by 1934.

8. Participation in Civil Disobedience

• Rich peasants (Patidars, Jats): Against high revenue.
• Poor peasants: Wanted rent reduction; Congress avoided “no rent” campaigns.
• Businessmen (Birla, Thakurdas, FICCI): Supported initially for economic freedom; withdrew later fearing socialism.
• Workers: Limited role, strikes in Nagpur, Sholapur, Chotanagpur.
• Women: Participated in marches, manufactured salt, picketed shops, went to jail. But Congress gave them no real authority.

9. Limits of Civil Disobedience

• Dalits: Limited participation. Gandhiji called them Harijan.
  • Wanted temple entry, access to wells, roads.
  • Ambedkar demanded separate electorates.
  • Poona Pact (1932): Reserved seats but in joint electorate.
• Muslims: Many alienated after Non-Cooperation.
  • Hindu Mahasabha opposed compromise.
  • Iqbal (1930) and Jinnah demanded safeguards, later separate electorates.

10. The Sense of Collective Belonging

• Nationalism grew when people felt part of one nation.
• Cultural processes helped unity:
  • Image of Bharat Mata (Bankim Chandra’s Vande Mataram, Abanindranath Tagore’s painting).
  • Revival of folk tales, songs, legends (Tagore, Natesa Sastri).
  • Nationalist symbols: Tricolour flag (with spinning wheel).
  • Reinterpretation of history to show India’s glorious past.
• Problem: Hindu symbols sometimes alienated Muslims and other communities.

11. Quit India Movement (1942)

• Trigger: Failure of Cripps Mission + WWII hardships.
• Quit India Resolution (Wardha, July 1942).
• 8 August 1942, Bombay – Gandhiji’s call: “Do or Die”.
• Mass movement: students, peasants, workers, women.
• Leaders: Jayprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Ram Manohar Lohia, women leaders (Matangini Hazra, Kanaklata Barua, Rama Devi).
• British repression was brutal, but movement shook colonial rule.