Here are important questions from the Class X History Chapter 3 | Nationalism in India

1. What was the Rowlatt Act?

The Rowlatt Act was a controversial Act passed by the colonial government to suppress political activities in British India. It allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.

2. Why did the colonial government impose the Rowlatt Act?

The government imposed the Rowlatt Act to suppress political activities in the country. It gave the government the authority to imprison any person without trial and conviction in a court of law.

3. Which session of the Indian National Congress formally demanded Purna Swaraj?

Lahore Session in December 1929.

4. Who was the composer of the patriotic song Vande Mataram?

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

5. Who created the first image of Bharat Mata?

Abanindranath Tagore

6. Why was the Khilafat movement started? (2012 OD)

The Khilafat movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi and the Ali Brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, to protest against the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the harsh treatment of the Caliph of Ottoman Empire by the British.

7. Which colours were there in the Swaraj Flag designed by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921?

Red, Green and White.

8. Which Act prevented plantation workers from leaving the tea estates without permission?

Inland Emigration Act of 1859.

9. Which two Satyagrapha movements were organized by Mahatma Gandhi in 1916 and 1917? (2013 D)

Indigo Planters Movement in Champaran, Bihar in 1916.

Peasants Satyagraha Movement organized in Kheda district in Gujarat in 1917. It supported peasants’ demand for relaxation of revenue collection.

10. Who wrote Hindu Swaraj?

Mahatma Gandhi

11. Which novel contained the song Vande Mataram?

Aandamath by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

12. When and where was Satyagraha organized for the first time in India?

In 1916, in Champaran, Bihar

3 Mark Questions

13. What was the impact of the ‘worldwide economic depression’ on India, towards late 1920s?

In the 19^th century, colonial India was an exporter of agricultural goods. When recession hit the world in the 1920s and 1930s, India’s exports nearly halved. As prices crashed in the international markets, prices in India also plummeted. Peasants who were producing for the global markets were badly affected by this development. Although prices of the agricultural products fell, the colonial government did not reduce their demand for revenue. Consequently, peasants started falling into deep debts. Interestingly, during this period, India started exporting precious metals like gold.

14. Explain the circumstances under which Gandhiji decided to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1931.

Gandhiji called off the Civil Disobedience movement in 1931 because political leaders like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan were arrested. Peaceful Satyagrahis were brutally attacked and over a lakh of them arrested. Even women and children who participated in peaceful protests were beaten up. This led to uprising in many parts of the country. In Sholapur, for example, industrial workers attacked a police post. In Chittagong, revolutionaries fought with government troops. These circumstances forced Gandhiji to call off the movement and the Gandhi- Irwin Pact was signed.

15. Why did Gandhiji decide to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act, 1919? How was it organized? Explain. (2016 D, 2015 D, 2014 OD)

The Rowlatt Act, which gave the colonial government the authority to imprison anyone for two years without trial, was passed although Indian members of the Imperial Legislative Council opposed it unanimously. The Act was passed with the objective of suppressing political activities in the country and led to nationwide outrage. Gandhiji called for a nationwide protest against the Act. Hartals and rallies were organized in various parts of the country. Workers went on strike and shops were closed. Although the movement was non-violent, it turned out to be quite effective.

16. Explain any three problems faced by the peasants of Awadh. (2011 D)

Peasants of Awadh were suffering under Talukdars and landlords who demanded exorbitant amounts of rents and other taxes from peasants. In addition, peasants were forced to do begar and work in the farms of landlords without any payment. They were also being regularly evicted by their landlords and enjoyed no security of tenure.

17. Explain any three reasons for the lukewarm response of some Muslim organizations to the Civil Disobedience Movement. (2011 D)

When the Non-Cooperation Khilafat Movement declined, a lot of Muslims felt themselves distanced from the Indian National Congress. The open association of Congress with various Hindu religious groups also made Muslims suspicious of the true motives of Congress. Frequent communal clashes between the two communities also widened the distance between them. Consequently, Muslim organizations started demanding separate electorates for representation in the future assemblies.

18. How did the Non-Cooperation Movement affect the economy of India?

The Non-Cooperation Movement had significant impact on the economy of India. Under the influence of the movement, people boycotted foreign goods and picketed liquor shops. The import of foreign clothes nearly halved during 1921-22. Merchants and traders also refused to trade in foreign goods. When people began discarding foreign clothes and wearing Indian ones, the demand for Indian textiles and handlooms went up.

19. How did the rich peasants and women take part in Civil Disobedience Movement? (2011 OD)

Rich peasants were big producers of commercial crops. They were badly hit by the economic recession and falling prices. When their income reduced they found it difficult to fulfill the revenue demand of the government. Hence, they supported the Civil Disobedience Movement wholeheartedly. For them Swaraj was freedom from high revenue demand of the government.

Women also took part in Civil Disobedience Movement. They manufactured salt, boycotted foreign goods and picketed liquor shops. They came out of their home to listen to the speeches of national leaders. Many of them also went to jail. Most of these women came from upper caste families and rich peasant households.

20. Why did Non-cooperation Movement gradually slow down in cities? Explain any three reasons. (2012 D, 2013 OD)

The Non-cooperation Movement gradually lost momentum in cities for a variety of reasons:

Khadi cloth was more expensive than mill cloth and unaffordable to poor people. Hence, even though they had adopted khadi initially, they could not boycott mill cloth for long.

There were not enough Indian educational institutions to replace the British ones. Hence, students who had dropped out of government run schools and colleges started attending classes again. Lawyers also returned to work in government courts.

21. Explain any three measures taken by the British administration to repress the movement started against the ‘Rowlatt Act’. (2013 OD)

Rowlatt Act gave the government the authority to imprison anyone without trial for two years. There were widespread protests against the Act. The upsurge alarmed the British officials. They were worried that the lines of communication such as railways and telegraph might get disrupted. Hence, the government began to clamp down on protestors. Local leaders were arrested. Gandhiji was barred from entering Delhi. On 10th April, 1919 the police fired upon a peaceful procession in Amritsar. This provoked widespread attacks on banks, railway stations and post offices. To suppress the unrest, the colonial government imposed martial law and General Dyer took command. Newspapers were banned and editors were arrested.

22. Describe the main features of the ‘Salt March’. (2014 OD)

Salt is a commodity that both the rich and the poor use. Hence, Gandhiji felt that salt was a powerful symbol that could unite the entire country. His letter to Viceroy Irwin sent on 31^st January, 1930 contained 11 demands, the most prominent of which was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Gandhiji insisted that tax on salt was an act of oppression on the people by the British Government. He warned Irwin that if his demands had not been fulfilled by March 11, he would launch a civil disobedience campaign. Since the British refused to concede to his demands, he started his famous Salt March from his Ashram in Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi. After walking for 24 hours, he and his followers reached Dandi on 6^th April. They violated the law and manufactured salt by boiling sea water. This was a major moment in India’s freedom struggle and encouraged people across the country to violate the law and manufacture salt.

23. “The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of industrial workers in its programme of struggle.” Analyse the reasons. (2015 D)

The Civil Disobedience Movement did excite some of the industrial workers and they selectively adopted some of the ideas of the movement such as the boycott of foreign goods. Their main concern, however, was not Swaraj. For them, the fight was against low wages and poor working conditions. The congress, however, was reluctant to support the demands of the workers, as it felt that it would alienate industrialists from the Civil Disobedience Movement.