Class 10th

Nationalism in India

Champaran Satyagrah – 1917:

Champaran Movement was Mahatma Gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience during the struggle for independence, which took place in the Bihar region of Champaran in 1917.Gandhi was persuaded by an indigo farmer, Rajkumar Shukla, to visit Champaran to look into the plight of the farmers, who were subjected to oppressive regulations and high taxes. Under the tinkathia system, they were compelled to grow indigo by the British colonists.Gandhi gathered support from the local farmers and masses to organise nonviolent protests against planters and landlords, and as a result, the government decided to do away with the oppressive tinkathia system. Additionally, the peasants were compensated with a part of the money taken from them.Gandhi organised three protests in Champaran,.  a team of eminent lawyers: Brajkishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha Ramnavmi Prasad, and others including Acharya Kripalani

Ahmedabad Mil strike :- 1918

• The cotton mill owners of Ahmedabad and the workers were involved in a dispute due to discontinuation of plague bonus.
• The owners decided to withdraw the bonus whereas the workers demanded a 50% hike in their wages.
• The strike worsened with owners deciding on to hire weavers from Bombay.
• Anusuya Sarabhai, a social worker approached Gandhi to resolve the issue.
• Gandhi advised the workers to continue with the strike non violently and demand a 35% hike.
• When there was no progress, Gandhi himself went into a hunger strike.
• Finally a tribunal was set up to sort the issue and thus a 35% wage hike was given to the workers.

Kheda Satyagraha:- 1918

• It was the first non-cooperation movement led by Gandhi.
• In 1918, there was a crop failure in the Kheda district of Gujarat.
• As per the Revenue code, farmers were entitled to remission in such cases. But they were forced to pay the Taxes.
• Under the guidance of Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel along with a few Gandhians led the movement against the government.
• The movement was known for the unity and the discipline that was maintained during the struggle.
• Finally the government suspended the tax for that year and returned all the confiscated property.

Satyagraha Against the Rowlatt Act – 1919

The Rowlatt act was introduced in March 1919 by the British government.It had the following provisions.political activists to be imprisoned without trialArrest of Indians without warrant on mere suspicion of treason.Acceptance of evidence which is not acceptable under the Indian evidence act and so on.Indians expected advancement in Self rule as a reward for their contribution to British war efforts. Introduction of this repressive act agitated the people against British.An all India level mass protest was launched by Gandhi on April 6, 1919 against the Rowlatt act.Satyagraha was introduced to masses by Gandhi and it assumed a national character.It was the first mass strike and the biggest upsurge against the British since 1857

Khilafat Movement – 1919

It was a movement started by Ali brothers against the unjust of British towards Turkey and to restore the Turkey ruler to his position.The position of congress was unstable and weak. So Gandhi in 1919 approached the Muslims, and had All India Muslim confernce.Under the guidance of Gandhi, a non violent non cooperation movement was launched.With the success of this movement he became the national leader and held a strong position in Congress

Non Cooperation movement :- 1920

Mahatma Gandhi was the main force behind the non-cooperation movement. In March 1920, he issued a manifesto declaring a doctrine of the non-violent non-cooperation movement. Gandhi, through this manifesto, wanted people to:

1. Adopt swadeshi principles
2. Adopt swadeshi habits including hand spinning & weaving
3. Work for the eradication of untouchability from society

Features of the Non Cooperation Moment

The movement was essentially a peaceful and non-violent protest against the British government in India.Indians were asked to relinquish their titles and resign from nominated seats in the local bodies as a mark of protest.People were asked to resign from their government jobs.People were asked to withdraw their children from government-controlled or aided schools and colleges.People were asked to boycott foreign goods and use only Indian-made goods.People were asked to boycott the elections to the legislative councils.People were asked not to serve in the British army.It was also planned that if the above steps did not bring results, people would refuse to pay their taxes.The INC also demanded Swarajya or self-government.Only completely non-violent means would be employed to get the demands fulfilled.The non-cooperation movement was a decisive step in the independence movement because, for the first time, the INC was ready to forego constitutional means to achieve self-rule.Gandhiji had assured that Swaraj would be achieved in a year if this movement was continued to completion.

Causes of Non-Cooperation Movement

Resentment at the British after the war: Indians thought that in return for the extensive support of manpower and resources they had provided to Britain during the First World War, they would be rewarded by autonomy at the end of the war. But the Government of India Act 1919 was dissatisfactory. In addition, the British also passed repressive acts like the Rowlatt Act which further angered many Indians who felt betrayed by the rulers despite their wartime support.Home Rule Movement: The Home Rule Movement started by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak set the stage for the non-cooperation movement. The extremists and the moderates of the INC were united and the Lucknow Pact also saw solidarity between the Muslim League and the Congress Party. The return of the extremists gave the INC a militant character.Economic hardships due to World War I: India’s participation in the war caused a lot of economic hardships to the people. Prices of goods began to soar which affected the common man. Peasants also suffered because the prices of agricultural products did not increase. All this led to resentment against the government.The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre: The repressive Rowlatt Act and the brutal massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar had a profound effect on the Indian leaders and the people. Their faith in the British system of justice was broken and the whole country rallied behind its leaders who were pitching for a more aggressive and firm stance against the government.The Khilafat Movement: During the First World War, Turkey, which was one of the Central Powers, had fought against the British. After Turkey’s defeat, the Ottoman caliphate was proposed to be dissolved. Muslims regarded Sultan of Turkey as their Caliph (religious head of the Muslims). The Khilafat movement was launched under the leadership of  Ali Brothers (Maulana Mohammed Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali), Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan, and Hasrat Mohani. It got the support from Mahatma Gandhi to persuade the British government not to abolish the caliphate. The leaders of this movement accepted the non-cooperation movement of Gandhiji and led a joint protest against the British

Why was the Non-Cooperation Movement suspended

Gandhiji called off the movement in February 1922 in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident.In Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh, a violent mob set fire to a police station killing 22 policemen during a clash between the police and protesters of the movement.Gandhiji called off the movement saying people were not ready for revolt against the government through ahimsa. Several leaders like Motilal Nehru and C R Das were against the suspension of the movement only due to sporadic incidents of violence