Describe ‘A Nation In The Making’.
It has often been said that the Congress in the first twenty years was “moderate” in its objectives and methods. During this period it demanded a greater voice for Indians in the government and in administration. It wanted the Legislative Councils to be made more representative, given more power, and introduced in provinces where none existed. It demanded that Indians be placed in high positions in the government.
Accoding To This Chapter Comment On The “Freedom Is Our Birthright”.
By the 1890s, in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab, leaders such as Bepin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai were beginning to explore more radical objectives and methods. They criticised the Moderates for their “politics of prayers” and emphasised the importance of self-reliance and constructive work. They argued that people must rely on their own strength, not on the “good” intentions of the government; people must fight for swaraj. Tilak raised the slogan, “Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it!”
What Was The Growth Of Mass Nationalism?
1. After 1919 the struggle against British rule gradually became a mass movement, involving peasants, tribals, students and women in large numbers and occasionally factory workers as well. Certain business groups too began to actively support the Congress in the 1920s.
The First World War
2. The First World War altered the economic and political situation in India. It led to a huge rise in the defence expenditure of the Government of India. The government in turn increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits. Increased military expenditure and the demands for war supplies led to a sharp rise in prices which created great difficulties for the common people. On the other hand, business groups reaped fabulous profits from the war.
Important Questions On 8th History Chapter 9
The Arms Act was passed in 1878. This Act disallowed Indians from possessing arms.
The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878. This Act empowered the government to confiscate the assets of newspapers including their printing presses, if the newspaper published anything “objectionable”.
The government tried to introduce the Ilbert Bill in 1883. The bill made provisions for trial of British or European persons by Indians. Thus, the Ilbert Bill sought equality between British and Indian judges in the country. But the whites opposed the Bill and forced the government to withdraw it.
The Patidar peasants of Kheda (Gujarat) organized non-violent campaigns against the high land revenue demand.
Liquor shops were picketed in coastal Andhra and interior Tamil Nadu.
The tribals and poor peasants in Guntur district (Andhra Pradesh) staged a number of forest satyagrahas; to protest against the new forest laws.
The Khilafat-Non-Cooperation Movement gave enormous support in Sind and Bengal.
In Punjab, the Akali agitation of the Sikhs demanded to remove the corrupt mahants from gurdwaras.
In Assam, the tea garden labourers demanded a big hike in their wages. They shouted the slogan, “Gandhi Maharaj ki jai”. In many folk songs of Assam; Gandhiji was referred to as “Gandhi Raja”.