Smart Notes: Nationalism in India
This chapter traces the growth of nationalism in India through the anti‑colonial movement. Unlike European nationalism, Indian nationalism emerged from the shared experience of oppression under colonialism. The chapter focuses on the Non‑Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements, the role of Mahatma Gandhi, and how different social groups participated with their own interpretations of swaraj. It also explores the cultural processes that created a sense of collective belonging.
๐ Key Events & Timeline
- 1915 – Mahatma Gandhi returns to India from South Africa.
- 1917 – Champaran satyagraha (Bihar) – peasants against oppressive plantation system.
- 1917 – Kheda satyagraha (Gujarat) – peasants demanding revenue relaxation after crop failure.
- 1918 – Ahmedabad mill workers' satyagraha.
- 1919 – Rowlatt Act passed; Jallianwalla Bagh massacre (13 April).
- 1919 – Khilafat Committee formed in Bombay.
- 1920 – Non-Cooperation Movement launched (September, Calcutta; adopted at Nagpur in December).
- 1921 – Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement in full swing.
- 1922 – Chauri Chaura incident (February); Gandhi withdraws movement.
- 1928 – Simon Commission arrives in India; greeted with "Go back Simon".
- 1928 – Bardoli Satyagraha led by Vallabhbhai Patel.
- 1929 – Lahore Congress formalises demand for Purna Swaraj (26 January 1930 declared Independence Day).
- 1930 – Salt March (12 March to 6 April); Civil Disobedience Movement begins.
- 1931 – Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March); Gandhi attends Second Round Table Conference.
- 1932 – Civil Disobedience Movement relaunched; Poona Pact (September).
- 1942 – Quit India Movement launched (August).
๐ค Important Personalities & Their Roles
- Mahatma Gandhi – Introduced satyagraha in India; led movements in Champaran (1917), Kheda (1917), Ahmedabad (1918); launched Rowlatt satyagraha (1919), Non-Cooperation Movement (1920), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930); called off movements when violence erupted; believed in non-violence and Hindu-Muslim unity.
- Baba Ramchandra – A sanyasi who led the peasant movement in Awadh against talukdars and landlords.
- Jawaharlal Nehru – Went to villages in Awadh (1920) to understand peasant grievances; headed Oudh Kisan Sabha; pushed for radical mass agitation and full independence; president of Lahore Congress (1929).
- C.R. Das & Motilal Nehru – Formed Swaraj Party within Congress to argue for council politics after Non-Cooperation withdrawal.
- Subhas Chandra Bose – Pressed for radical mass agitation and full independence.
- Vallabhbhai Patel – Led Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) against enhanced land revenue.
- Muhammad Ali & Shaukat Ali – Muslim leaders who discussed united mass action with Gandhi on Khilafat issue.
- Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Devout disciple of Gandhi; arrested in April 1930; led protests in Peshawar.
- Bhagat Singh, Jatin Das, Ajoy Ghosh – Leaders of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA); Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutta threw bomb in Legislative Assembly (1929); Bhagat Singh executed at age 23.
- Alluri Sitarama Raju – Led armed tribal struggle in Andhra Pradesh (early 1920s); arrested in 1924.
- Dr B.R. Ambedkar – Organised dalits into Depressed Classes Association (1930); clashed with Gandhi over separate electorates; Poona Pact (1932) resulted in reserved seats.
- Purshottamdas Thakurdas & G.D. Birla – Industrialists who supported Civil Disobedience Movement financially.
- Rashsundari Debi – Wrote first full-length autobiography in Bengali, Amar Jiban (1876).
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay – Wrote Vande Mataram as hymn to motherland (1870s); included in novel Anandamath.
- Abanindranath Tagore – Painted famous image of Bharat Mata (1905).
- Natesa Sastri – Published The Folklore of Southern India (massive four-volume collection).
⚙️ Causes and Effects
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| First World War (1914-18) – defence expenditure increased; taxes raised; prices doubled; forced recruitment in villages. | Extreme hardship for common people; widespread anger; post-war hopes dashed, fuelling nationalist sentiment. |
| Rowlatt Act (1919) – allowed detention without trial for two years; passed despite unanimous Indian opposition. | Gandhi launched nationwide satyagraha (6 April 1919); rallies, strikes, shops closed; led to Jallianwalla Bagh massacre. |
| Jallianwalla Bagh massacre (13 April 1919) – General Dyer fired on crowd; hundreds killed; crawling orders imposed. | Shocked the nation; brutal repression; Gandhi called off movement; widened gulf between Indians and British. |
| Khilafat issue – Ottoman Turkey defeated; harsh treaty imposed on Khalifa (spiritual head of Muslims). | Khilafat Committee formed (1919); Gandhi saw opportunity to unite Hindus and Muslims; Non-Cooperation Movement linked with Khilafat. |
| Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) – boycott of foreign goods, courts, schools, councils; surrender of titles. | Mass participation; import of foreign cloth halved; production of Indian textiles increased; but movement slowed due to cost of khadi and slow setup of alternatives. |
| Chauri Chaura incident (1922) – peaceful demonstration turned violent; police station burnt; policemen killed. | Gandhi withdrew Non-Cooperation Movement; within Congress, some leaders (C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru) formed Swaraj Party for council entry. |
| Simon Commission (1928) – all-British commission to look into constitutional system; no Indian member. | Greeted with "Go back Simon"; all parties (Congress, Muslim League) participated in demonstrations; Lala Lajpat Rai died from injuries during protest. |
| Great Depression (1930s) – agricultural prices collapsed; peasants unable to pay revenue. | Countryside in turmoil; Civil Disobedience Movement gained massive peasant support. |
| Salt March (1930) – Gandhi marched 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi; broke salt law (6 April). | Civil Disobedience Movement began; thousands broke salt law, boycotted foreign cloth, refused revenue; massive arrests (100,000). |
| Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) – Gandhi agreed to attend Round Table Conference; government released political prisoners. | Movement called off; but negotiations broke down; government resumed repression; Civil Disobedience relaunched (1932). |
| Separate electorates demand for dalits by Ambedkar (1930). | Gandhi fasted unto death; Poona Pact (1932) gave reserved seats but with general electorate. |
๐ Differing Strands & Social Groups
| Group | Participation & Aspirations |
|---|---|
| Townspeople (middle class) | Students left govt schools; teachers resigned; lawyers gave up practice; council elections boycotted. Boycott of foreign cloth led to halving of imports. But khadi was expensive; alternative institutions slow to come up – movement slowed. |
| Peasants (Awadh) | Led by Baba Ramchandra; against talukdars and landlords demanding high rents, begar (free labour), evictions. Demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, social boycott of oppressors. Oudh Kisan Sabha set up (1920); but movement turned violent – houses attacked, bazaars looted. |
| Tribals (Andhra Pradesh) | Led by Alluri Sitarama Raju; two-year armed tribal struggle (early 1920s). |
| Plantation workers (Assam) | Under Inland Emigration Act (1859), they couldn't leave tea gardens without permission. Heard of Non-Cooperation, thousands defied authorities, left plantations heading home believing Gandhi Raj would give them land. Stranded, caught, brutally beaten. |
| Rich peasants (Gujarat, UP) | Producers of commercial crops hit by trade depression; unable to pay revenue. Enthusiastic supporters of Civil Disobedience; organised communities. But disappointed when movement called off (1931) without revenue revision – many refused to participate in 1932. |
| Poor peasants | Small tenants finding it difficult to pay rent; wanted rent remission. Joined radical movements led by Socialists and Communists. Congress unwilling to support no-rent campaigns – relationship uncertain. |
| Business classes | Indian merchants and industrialists made huge profits during WWI; wanted protection against imports and rupee-sterling ratio favourable to them. Formed FICCI (1927). Supported Civil Disobedience financially; refused to buy/sell imported goods. But after Round Table Conference failure, apprehensive of prolonged disruption and socialism. |
| Industrial workers | Did not participate in large numbers except in Nagpur. Some selectively adopted boycott of foreign goods as part of their own movements against low wages. Congress reluctant to include workers' demands to avoid alienating industrialists. |
| Women | Large-scale participation in Salt March, protest marches, manufacturing salt, picketing foreign cloth/liquor shops. Thousands went to jail. For many, first time moving out of home into public arena. But Congress reluctant to give them authority; Gandhi saw their duty as home and hearth. |
| Dalits (untouchables) | Called themselves dalit (oppressed). Gandhi called them harijan (children of God), organised satyagraha for temple entry, access to wells, roads. But dalit leaders like Ambedkar demanded reserved seats and separate electorate – clashed with Gandhi. Poona Pact (1932) gave reserved seats but general electorate. Dalit participation limited, especially in Maharashtra and Nagpur. |
| Muslims | After Khilafat movement, many felt alienated from Congress. From mid-1920s, Congress associated with Hindu religious nationalist groups like Hindu Mahasabha. Communal clashes worsened. Muslim leaders like Jinnah demanded reserved seats and representation; negotiations failed at All Parties Conference (1928). Large sections could not respond to Civil Disobedience call. |
๐ Continue Your Journey: Explore Chapter 3 – The Making of a Global World – to understand how global connections shaped modern history.
๐ผ️ Sense of Collective Belonging – Cultural Processes
- Bharat Mata image: First created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Vande Mataram, 1870s); Abanindranath Tagore painted Bharat Mata as ascetic, calm, divine (1905). Later images showed her with trishul, lion, elephant – symbols of power.
- Folklore revival: Nationalists toured villages to gather folk songs, legends – believed they gave true picture of traditional culture. Rabindranath Tagore collected ballads, nursery rhymes; Natesa Sastri published The Folklore of Southern India.
- Flags: During Swadeshi movement in Bengal, tricolour flag (red, green, yellow) designed with eight lotuses (eight provinces) and crescent moon (Hindus and Muslims). By 1921, Gandhi designed Swaraj flag – tricolour (red, green, white) with spinning wheel in centre representing self-help.
- Reinterpretation of history: Indians began looking into past to discover achievements in ancient times (art, science, religion, trade) – this glorious past followed by colonial decline. Nationalist histories urged pride and struggle against British rule.
๐ Important Source Extracts
Mahatma Gandhi on Satyagraha: "Satyagraha is not physical force. A satyagrahi does not inflict pain on the adversary; he does not seek his destruction... Satyagraha is pure soul-force. Truth is the very substance of the soul. Non-violence is the supreme dharma."
Jawaharlal Nehru on peasants (1921): "They behaved as brave men, calm and unruffled in the face of danger... For a moment my blood was up, non-violence was almost forgotten – but for a moment only... I spoke to them in all humility on non-violence – I needed the lesson more than they."
Independence Day Pledge (26 Jan 1930): "We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil... The British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses."
Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1930): "I have no hesitation in declaring that if the principle that the Indian Muslim is entitled to full and free development on the lines of his own culture and tradition in his own Indian homelands is recognised as the basis of a permanent communal settlement, he will be ready to stake his all for the freedom of India."
๐ก Did You Know?
The Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA) was founded in 1928 at Ferozeshah Kotla ground in Delhi. Bhagat Singh, Jatin Das, and Ajoy Ghosh were among its leaders. In April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutta threw a bomb in the Legislative Assembly – not to kill but to make the deaf hear. During his trial, Bhagat Singh said he did not wish to glorify "the cult of the bomb and pistol" but wanted a revolution in society. He was executed at age 23.
✅ Revision Checklist
- ☐ Know Gandhi's early satyagrahas: Champaran (1917), Kheda (1917), Ahmedabad (1918)
- ☐ Rowlatt Act (1919) – provisions and opposition
- ☐ Jallianwalla Bagh massacre – date, Dyer's actions, aftermath
- ☐ Khilafat issue and Non‑Cooperation Movement link
- ☐ Non‑Cooperation Movement – programme, participation, why it slowed
- ☐ Chauri Chaura incident and withdrawal of movement
- ☐ Simon Commission (1928) – why opposed, "Go back Simon"
- ☐ Lahore Congress (1929) – Purna Swaraj demand
- ☐ Salt March (1930) – why salt, route, date, significance
- ☐ Civil Disobedience Movement – how different from Non‑Cooperation
- ☐ Gandhi‑Irwin Pact (1931) – terms
- ☐ Poona Pact (1932) – Ambedkar‑Gandhi agreement
- ☐ Role of different social groups: peasants, tribals, workers, women, dalits, Muslims
- ☐ Cultural symbols: Bharat Mata, folklore, flags, reinterpretation of history
- ☐ Important personalities: Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Ambedkar, Jinnah, Bhagat Singh, Alluri Sitarama Raju
๐ Exam Tip
For 5‑mark questions on "role of different social groups", structure your answer by group – peasants, workers, women, etc. – with specific examples from the chapter. Use quotes from sources (like Nehru's description of peasants) to add authenticity. For map questions, practice marking Dandi, Chauri Chaura, Amritsar, etc. with their significance.
These notes cover every concept, event, and personality from the NCERT chapter. Use them as your primary revision material.
