Questions & Answers
163 answers across all subjects
The role of women in nationalist struggles
Women of the liberal middle classes combined their demands for constitutionalism with national unification. They took advantage of the growing popular unrest to push their demands for the creation of a nation-state on parliamentary principles – a constitution, freedom of the press and freedom of association. Women had formed their own political associations, founded newspapers and taken part in political meetings and demonstrations.
Frankfurt parliament
It was an all-German National assembly formed by middle-class professionals, businessmen and prosperous artisans belonging to different German regions. It was convened on 18 May 1848. It was disbanded on 31 May 1849 as it lost support.
The Greek war of independence
Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire since the fifteenth century. The growth of revolutionary nationalism in Europe sparked off a struggle for independence amongst the Greeks, which began in 1821. Poets and artists lauded Greece as the cradle of European civilisation and mobilised public opinion to support its struggle against a Muslim empire. Nationalists in Greece got support from other Greeks living in exile and also from many West Europeans, who had sympathies for ancient Greek culture. Finally, the Treaty of Constantinople of 1832 recognised Greece as an independent nation.
Count Camillo de Cavour
Answer: Led the movement to unify Italy He was neither a revolutionary nor a democrat. Through a tactful diplomatic alliance engineered by Cavour, Sardini-Piedmont succeeded in defeating the Austrian forces in 1859.
Write a note on: a. Guiseppe Mazzini
During the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini had sought to put together a coherent programme for the unitary Italian Republic. He had also formed a secret society called ‘Young Italy’ for the dissemination of his goals.
Why did political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates?
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who organised the Dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930, clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding separate electorates for Dalits. When the British government conceded Ambedkar’s demand, Gandhiji began a fast unto death. He believed that separate electorates for Dalits would slow down the process of their integration into society. Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji’s position, and the result was the Poona Pact of September 1932. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was willing to give up the demand for separate electorates if Muslims were assured reserved seats in the Central Assembly and representation in proportion to the population in the Muslim-dominated provinces (Bengal and Punjab). Negotiations over the question of representation continued, but all hope of resolving the issue at the All Parties Conference in 1928 disappeared when M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed efforts at compromise.
Imagine you are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain what the experience meant to your life.
Students are advised to put themselves in the shoes of women and share the experience.
Discuss the Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism.
Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation. On 31 January 1930, he sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Some of these were of general interest; others were specific demands of different classes, from industrialists to peasants. The idea was to make the demands wide-ranging so that all classes within Indian society could identify with them and everyone could be brought together in a united campaign. The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the essential food items. Mahatma Gandhi revealed the tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production, the most oppressive face of British rule. Mahatma Gandhi started his famous salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march was over 240 miles, from Gandhiji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. The volunteers walked for 24 days, about 10 miles a day. Thousands came to hear Mahatma Gandhi wherever he stopped, and he told them what he meant by Swaraj and urged them to peacefully defy the British. On 6 April, he reached Dandi and ceremonially violated the law, manufacturing salt by boiling seawater. Thousands in different parts of the country broke the salt law, manufactured salt and demonstrated in front of government salt factories. As the movement spread, foreign clothes were boycotted, and liquor shops were picketed. Peasants refused to pay revenue and chowkidar taxes, village officials resigned, and in many places, forest people violated forest laws – going into Reserved Forests to collect wood and graze cattle.
List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they joined the movement.
Below is the list of different social groups that joined the Non-Cooperation Movement and their struggles. Middle-class Participation in Cities Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices. The council elections were boycotted in most provinces, except Madras, where the Justice Party, the party of the non-Brahmans, felt that entering the council was one way of gaining some power – something that usually only Brahmans had access to. The effects of non-cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed, and foreign cloth was burnt in huge bonfires. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread and people began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones, the production of Indian textile mills and handlooms increased. But this movement in the cities gradually slowed down for various reasons. Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth, and poor people could not afford to buy it. Similarly, the boycott of British institutions posed a problem. For the movement to be successful, alternative Indian institutions had to be set up so that they could be used in place of the British ones. These were slow to come up. So students and teachers began trickling back to government schools, and lawyers joined back work in courts. Peasants and Tribals In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra – a sanyasi who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer. The movement there was against talukdars and landlords who demanded exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses from peasants. Peasants had to do begar and work at landlords’ farms without payment. As tenants, they had no security of tenure, being regularly evicted so that they could acquire no right over the leased land. The peasant movement demanded a reduction of revenue, the abolition of begar and a social boycott of oppressive landlords. In many places, ‘nai-dhobi bandhs’ were organised by panchayats to deprive landlords of the services of barbers and washermen. Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of swaraj in yet another way. In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, for instance, a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s – not a form of struggle that Congress could approve. In other forest regions, the colonial government had closed large forest areas, preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle or to collect fuelwood and fruits. This enraged the hill people. Not only were their livelihoods affected, but they felt that their traditional rights were being denied. When the government began forcing them to contribute begar for road building, the hill people revolted. Workers in the Plantations Workers, too, had their own understanding of Mahatma Gandhi and the notion of Swaraj. For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed, and it meant retaining a link with the village from which they had come. Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea gardens without permission, and in fact, they were rarely given such permission. When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed home. They believed that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land in their own villages. They, however, never reached their destination. Stranded on the way by a railway and steamer strike, they were caught by the police and brutally beaten up.
Compare the images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania in Chapter 1.
Germania: Symbol of Germany The image was painted by Philip Veit in 1848. Carrying a sword in one hand and flag in another hand Germania is wearing a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism. Bharat Mata: Symbol of India Painted by Abanindranath Tagore in 1905 Bharat is standing with a Trishul, standing beside a lion and elephant, symbols of power and authority.
Write a newspaper report on a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
On 13 April, the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. On that day, a large crowd was gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh. Some came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures. Others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. Being from outside the city, many villagers were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. His objective, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’ in the minds of satyagrahis. The incident brought a feeling of terror and awe among people. b) The Simon Commission Answer: When the Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928, it was greeted with the slogan ‘Go back, Simon’. All parties, including the Congress and the Muslim League, participated in the demonstrations. In an effort to win them over, the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, announced in October 1929 a vague offer of ‘dominion status’ for India in an unspecified future and a Round Table Conference to discuss a future constitution. This did not satisfy the Congress leaders.
What is meant by the idea of Satyagraha?
The idea of Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to search for truth. It suggested that if the cause was true, if the struggle was against injustice, then physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor. Without seeking vengeance or being aggressive, a satyagrahi could win the battle through nonviolence. This could be done by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor. People – including the oppressors – had to be persuaded to see the truth instead of being forced to accept the truth through the use of violence. Through this struggle, the truth was bound to triumph ultimately. Mahatma Gandhi believed that this dharma of non-violence could unite all Indians.
Why Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement?
In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement. He felt the movement was turning violent in many places and satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles.
Why were Indians outraged by the Rowlatt Act?
Rowlatt Act was introduced in 1919. This act was hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council, although it was completely opposed by Indian members. It had given the government enormous powers to repress political activities. It allowed the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
How the First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India?
War created a new political and economic situation. The war led to a huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes. Custom duties were increased, and income tax was introduced. Forced recruitment in villages caused widespread anger. Crops failed; this resulted in an acute shortage of food. 12 to 13 million people died due to famines and epidemics.
Why the growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement?
People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle with colonialism. The sense of being oppressed under colonialism provided a shared bond that tied many different groups together. But each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently. Their experiences were varied, and their notions of freedom were not always the same. The Congress under Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups together within one movement. But unity did not emerge without conflict.
Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War? Solution: Industrial production in India increased during the First World War due to the following reasons:
The British mills were busy with war production to meet the needs of the army; thus, Manchester’s imports to India declined. With the decline in imports suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply. As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs also, such as Jute bags, cloth for the uniform of soldiers, tents, and leather boots. New factories were set up, and old ones organised multiple shifts; during the war years, Indian industries boomed. Overall, the First World War gave a boost to Indian industries.
Imagine that you have been asked to write an article for an encyclopedia on Britain and the history of cotton. Write your piece using information from the entire.
The following inventions in 18th-century England (given in chronological order) are important milestones in the history of cotton. James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny in 1764. This improved spinning work significantly. John Key invented the ‘Flying Shuttle’ in 1769, which boosted the weaving process. Richard Arkwright improved the ‘Spinning Jenny’ in 1769 so that it could be run by water power. He called it the ‘Water Frame’. In 1776, Samuel Crompton invented the ‘Mule’, which combined the advantages of both the ‘Water Frame’ and the ‘Spinning Jenny’. In 1785, Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom, which used steam power for both spinning and weaving. Eli Whitney (in the USA) invented the ‘Cotton Gin’ in 1793, which solved the problem of removing seeds from cotton fibres. This could separate the seeds from the fibres 300 times faster than by hand. Later on, Arkwright created a complete cotton mill where all the textile manufacturing processes could be completed under one roof and management. The use of steam power played a very significant role in running cotton mills. Production of textiles increased in a very short time and with less manual labour. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were near about 321 steam engines in England, out of which 80 were in use in cotton textile mills. The East India Company appointed ‘Gomasthas’, the paid servants of the company, to supervise weavers, collect supplies and judge and inspect the quality of textiles. The Gomasthas were the link between the East India Company and the weavers. The company arranged loans to the weavers to purchase raw materials for weaving the cloth.
How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Solution: The East India Company adopted various steps to ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles. They established political power to assert a monopoly on the right to trade. The company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers connected with the cloth trade and establish direct control over the weavers. It appointed paid servants called the ‘Gomasthas’ to supervise weavers, collect supplies and examine the quality of cloth. It prevented the company weavers from dealing with other buyers. Once an order was placed, the weavers were given loans to purchase the raw material. Those who took loans had to hand over the cloth they produced to the Gomasthas only. They could not take it to any other trader. They developed a system of management and control that would eliminate competition, control costs and ensure a regular supply of cotton and silk goods. This system forced the sale at a price dictated by the company. By giving the weavers a loan, the company tied the weavers with them.
Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Solution: In the 19th century, some European industrialists preferred hand labour over machines because New technologies and machines were expensive and untested. So, the producers and the industrialists were cautious about using them. Machines often broke down, and repairing them was an expensive affair. Poor peasants and migrants moved to cities in large numbers in search of jobs. As a result, there was a large pool of labourers available for cheap labour. In seasonal industries, where production fluctuated with the seasons, industrialists usually preferred hand labour, employing workers only for the season when it was needed. The variety of products required in the market could not be produced by the machines available at that time. In the mid-nineteenth century, in Britain, for instance, 500 varieties of hammers and 45 kinds of axes were produced; these required human skills and not mechanical technology.