HISTORY SUMMARY

CH.9 INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND INDEPENDENCE

Rise of Nationalism:
• The Revolt of 1857 was a turning point in the history of India.
• It brought India under the rule of the British Crown.
• The years following the revolt saw increased political awareness, public opinion and heightened
political activity.
• People started developing a feeling of belonging to the nation, sharing a culture, history and
common goals for the future.
Causes for the rise of Nationalism:
• British rule led to the collapse of India’s traditional industries and reduced it to an exporter of raw
materials.
• Under British rule, India came to be a unified political entity
• New generations of Indians were exposed to modern ideas like liberty, democracy and sovereignty
through Western education
• Some social reformers encouraged Indians to think for themselves and question not only their own
customs but also the actions of the colonizers (Britishers).
• Indians could not aspire for high posts in the government.
• The Arms Act prohibited Indians from carrying arms, while there were no such restrictions on the
British.
• The Vernacular Press Act imposed severe restrictions on vernacular newspapers.
• Lord Ripon, the Viceroy, and C.P.Ilbert, a member of the Viceroy’s Council, introduced a bill to
allow Indian magistrates to judge these cases as well.
The Formation of the Indian National Congress(INC): (1885)
• The need for a political organization that would create a political awareness among the people and
unite them under a common platform had long been felt.
• This gave rise to the formation of INC.
• Allan Octavian Hume,a retired civil servant, played a
significant role in the
formation of the INC.
• The first session of INC was held in 1885 at Bombay.
The Moderates and the Radicals:
The Moderates-
• The Moderates believed in creating public awareness among the people of India through
resolutions, petitions and meetings.
• Their objective was not independence from British rule, but to increase the number of Indians in
the government.
The Radicals:
• There was a feeling among leaders such as Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra
Pal etc that the Moderates had failed to achieve much.
• These leaders felt that more aggressive measures had to be taken to make the English concede to
their demands.
Partition of Bengal: (1905)
• In colonial India, the province of Bengal included East and West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
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• On 16 October 1905, Lord Curzon, the Viceroy, ordered the partition of Bengal.
• He claimed that this was necessary to improve the administrative efficiency of
the province. However, the real reason for this move was to crush the nationalist movement in
Bengal.
• It was part of the divide-and-rule policy of the British.
• East Bengal had a large population of Muslims while West Bengal was inhabited mainly by
Hindus.
• This move was aimed to create a rift between the two communities and thus weaken the
nationalist movement against the colonial rule.
The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement(1905):
• The decision to partition Bengal provoked widespread agitation among the people.
• The leaders launched the Swadeshi and Boycott Movements.
• Bonfires of foreign goods were organized in many places all over India.

Formation of the Muslim League: (1906)

● In 1906, the All-India Muslim League was formed.
The Surat Split: (1907)
◆ Differences cropped up between the Moderates
and
the Radicals during the 1907 session of the congress.
◆ This was largely over the objectives of the INC and methods of agitation used. This led to a split
between the Moderates and the Radicals.
The Lucknow Pact: (1916)
• In 1916, the INC and the Muslim League held their sessions separately at Lucknow.
• Both the Congress and the League demanded dominion status for the country.
The Gandhian Era:
• Until Gandhiji’s arrival on the scene, the national
movement had been dominated
by the middle class, the intelligents and the educated elite.
• He transformed it into a national movement in which millions of people, including women
participated.
• He followed the principles of –Satyagraha and ahimsa.
The Rowlatt Act: (1919)
• In 1919, the British passed the Rowlatt Act.
• It allowed the government to arrest political activists without trial, curb the press and arrest any
person without a warrant.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: (1919)
• Dr.Satyapal and Dr.Kitchlu were arrested in connection with the protests against the Rowlatt Act.
• A public meeting was held on 13 April, 1919 in Jallianwala Bagh where protesters
had gathered to demonstrate peacefully against
the arrest.
• Jallianwala Bagh had only one exit.
• On hearing about the demonstration, General Dyer, the British military commander, ordered the
only exit to be sealed.
• He then ordered the unarmed protesters to be fired upon.
• Hundreds of people were killed in the tragedy.
The Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements:(1920)
• The Khilafat Movement had its origin in the First World War.
• Muslims everywhere wanted to restore the Sultan to his position as he was regarded as their
spiritual head or Khalifa.
• In India, the Khilafat Movement was launched under the leadership of the Ali brothers,
Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.
• Gandhiji supported the Khilafat movement as he thought it was a good opportunity to forge
Hindu-Muslim unity.
Non-Cooperation Movement:
• Gandhiji gave the call for non-cooperation with
the government.
• It was to be a non-violent movement.
• The programme of the movement included surrender of titles and resignation from government
positions, on-payment of taxes, refusal to attend courts by lawyers, boycott of foreign goods,
schools, colleges and government institutions.
• The movement spread across the length and breadth of the country. Thousands of people,
including women, peasants, and workers, middle class participated.
The Chauri-Chaura incident: (1922)
• While the Non-Cooperation Movement was still going strong, an incident took place at Chauri-
Chaura in Uttar Pradesh.
• A procession of peasants was fired upon by the police.
• This led an angry mob to clash with the police at the police station.
• In the resulting mob violence, 22 policemen were killed and the police station was burnt down.
• When Gandhiji heard of the incident, he decided to call off the movement.
The Swaraj Party: (1923)
• The decision to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement was opposed by certain leaders of the
Congress such as Motilal Nehru, C.R.Das and others.
• In1923, they formed the Swaraj Party .
The Simon Commission: (1927)
• In 1927, the British government appointed a commission to outline further administrative reforms
for India.
• The Simon Commission was appointed (named after its head, John Simon).
• Both the Congress and the League boycotted the Commission as it did not have a single Indian
member on it.
• When the Commission came to India, it was greeted with slogans of ‘Simon Go Back’ and black
flags.
Poorna Swaraj: (1929)
• The British government had failed to act on the demand for granting dominion status to India.
• In December 1929, at its Lahore session, the Congress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru
formulated its objective of Poorna Swaraj or complete independence.
• On December 31, the tricolour was adopted as the national flag.
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• January 26 was celebrated as Independence Day.
• The tricolour was unfurled and the oath of Poorna Swaraj was taken.
Civil Disobedience Movement: (1930)
• In 1930, Gandhiji called for a Civil Disobedience Movement against the British. He announced
that he would break the Salt Law himself.
Gandhi Irwin Pact: (1931)
• In early 1931, Viceroy Irwin and Gandhiji signed a pact that came to be known as the Gandhi-
Irwin Pact.
Demand for Pakistan: (1940)
• In 1940, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the president of the Muslim League, demanded the division of
the nation into two sovereign states. This came to be known as the two-nation
theory.
• At the Lahore session of the League, Jinnah argued that the differences between the Hindus and
the Muslims were too great for them to live together peacefully and the best solution was to
have two separate nations.
• The League decided to demand a separate nation for Muslims, called Pakistan.
The Cripps Mission: (1942)
• The British were desperate to secure the cooperation of the Indians in the Second World War.
• In order to achieve this, they sent a mission under Sir Stafford Cripps to discuss certain issues with
Indian leaders.
• This came to be known as the Cripps Mission.
• However, the Congress and the Muslim League rejected the Mission.
Quit India Movement: (1942)
• The failure of the Cripps Mission increased the pace of the national movement.
• In August 1942, the Congress adopted the Quit India Resolution to compel the British to leave the
country.
• Gandhiji coined the ‘Do or Die’ slogan for this movement.
The Cabinet Mission Plan: (1946)
• After the Second World War ended in 1945, the British Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, declared
that Britain would quit India by June 1948.
• A Cabinet Mission was set up to make recommendations for constitutional reforms.
• Its recommendations were contained in the Cabinet Mission Plan.
• The Plan proposed the setting up of Constituent Assembly to frame a constitution for India and an
interim government to see the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian
leaders.
Independence and Partition:
• The Indian Independence Act of 1947 laid down the guidelines for the transfer of power and the
Partition of India.
• The Act made India and Pakistan two independent dominions.
• The princely states were allowed to join either India or Pakistan or continue as independent
kingdoms.
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• India gained independence on 15 August 1947 after decades of struggle and the sacrifices of
millions of people.

CH.10 INDIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE

SUMMARY
REORGANIZATION OF STATES:
• After independence, the government decided to reorganize the country into states and
certain territories which would be directly ruled by the Central Government.
• States were to be reorganized on the basis of the language spoken by the people.
• Hindi was chosen as the official language of India while English would also be used in the
government offices.
OUR PROGRESS AFTER 1947:
• After Independence, the government instituted the Planning Commission.
• Five Year Plans have been formulated by the government to ensure growth and progress
across different sectors.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AFTER INDEPENDENCE: PANCHSHEEL:
• The Panchsheel or five principles were formulated as guiding principles of India’s foreign
policy. Jawaharlal Nehru first put these principles in an agreement with China. The five
principles were;
• Respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• Non-aggression.
• Non-interference in domestic affairs.
• Equality and cooperation for mutual benefit.
• Peaceful coexistence.
THE NON-ALIGNMENT MOVEMENT:
• After the Second World War, the countries were divided into two groups or” power blocs.
• The group led by the USA was called the First World or the Western Bloc, while the
Second World or the Eastern Bloc was led by the erstwhile USSR.
• These two groups were engaged in a long conflict called the Cold War.
• Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was resolute that India would not be
forced to align with either of the two blocs.
• He therefore coined the term ‘non-alignment’. The Non- Alignment Movement (NAM)
launched by India and other newly independent countries, these countries were called
the ‘Third World’, and comprised of many developing countries and former colonies.
• The NAM was based on the Panchsheel principles.
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