India's Struggle for Freedom

Two examples to indicate that the British followed the policy of economic exploitation in India are:

1. The British government took away a large part of the produce from the peasants in the form of land revenue and other taxes. These exorbitant taxes led the peasants into the clutches of landlords and moneylenders. In case of non-payment of taxes, they were evicted from their land.
2. The British economic policies were against the interests of Indian trade and industry. India became a source of raw material for the British industries and a market for its finished products. This policy crippled the artisans and craftsmen as they were devoid of their sources of livelihood.

Two reasons for industrial stagnation during the British rule in India were:

1. The British economic policies were against the interest of Indian trade and industry. The English East India Company used its political power to destroy Indian handicraft and industry. India became a source of raw materials for the industries of the company and a market for its finished products. This policy crippled the artisans and craftsmen as they were devoid of their sources of livelihood.
2. The growth of modern industries led to the birth of a new social class in India — the working class. They were exploited by the factory owners, who were generally Englishmen.

The press played a significant role in developing a strong national sentiment:

1. by reading the message of patriotism and modern liberal ideas of freedom, equality, home rule and independence.
2. by making people aware of unjust policies of the British government and exposing the true nature of British rule in India through various articles in the newspapers.
3. by allowing different groups of people belonging to different parts of the country to exchange views.
4. by making Indians aware of the different happenings in the world and comparing them with Indian condition and thus arousing national awakening.

The Vernacular Press Act was passed by Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India.

This act forbade vernacular papers to publish any material that might excite feelings of dissatisfaction against the British government.

Two prominent newspapers of the 19^th century which played a significant role in arousing national sentiment among the Indians were Maharatta and Kesari.

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A.O. Hume.

The period from 1885 to 1905 is known as the period of the Early Nationalist.

Three Early Nationalist leaders were:

1. Sir Phirozshah Mehta
2. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
3. Surendranath Banerjee.

The early Nationalist used to put their demands in the form of three P's i.e., Petitions, Prayers and Protests to achieve their objectives. They discussed various problems at the Congress annual sessions and passed resolutions concerning them. Then they petitioned the British government to remove them and propagated its views among the people. They wrote articles in news papers to carry out a criticism of the government policies. Sometimes they protested against some policies but by remaining in constitutional limits.

The Assertive Nationalists were leaders who emerged by 1905 when the Early Nationalists had reached the limits of their political growth. They were so called because they were more assertive in their demands as they had no faith in the British sense of fair play and justice.

The three prominent Assertive Nationalist leaders were:

1. Lala Lajpat Rai
2. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
3. Bipin Chandra Pal

The aim of the Assertive Nationalist as far as the national movement was concerned was immediate attainment of 'Swaraj'. This meant complete independence and not just self government as existed in the colonies of Australia and New zealand.

(i) Swadeshi literally means of one's own country. It aimed at the promotion of indigenous industries for strengthening the nation.

(ii) Boycott meant 'abstaining from the purchase of British goods'.

The idea of Swadeshi marked the beginning of a new era by helping Indians to be united against the British in the following way:

1. It brought into politics new classes of people without any distinction of caste and creed. Many zamindars, women, students and Muslim leaders joined the movement.
2. It encouraged the establishment of indigenous industries for strengthening the country. Many Swadeshi stores were also setup across the country. This gave employment to a number of people.
3. It gave impetus to nationalist poetry, prose and journalism.
4. It gave education a national orientation by drawing a scheme of National education.
5. It brought nationalism from a realm of theory into the field of practical politics.

(a) The movement shown in this picture is Swadeshi movement.

The event that triggered this movement was partition of Bengal.

(b) The hidden agendas behind the Division of Bengal were:

1. Bengal was the nerve centre of Indian nationalism at that time. So the British hoped to stop the rising tide of nationalism by partitioning Bengal.
2. It was intended to curb Bengali influence by not only placing Bengalis under two administrations but by reducing them to a minority in Bengal itself.
3. It was meant to foster division on the basis of religion. East Bengal would be predominantly a Muslim majority state and West Bengal would have a Hindu Majority.

(c) Impacts of Swadeshi movement were:

1. It brought into politics new classes of people without any distinction of caste and creed. Many zamindars, women, students and Muslim leaders joined the movement.
2. It encouraged the establishment of indigenous industries for strengthening the country. Many Swadeshi stores were also setup across the country. This gave employment to a number of people.
3. It gave impetus to nationalist poetry, prose and journalism.
4. It gave education a national orientation by drawing a scheme of National education.
5. It brought nationalism from a realm of theory into the field of practical politics.

The Home Rule League was founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant.

The main objectives of Home Rule League were:

1. To attain self-government within the British empire by constitutional means.
2. The country should have a government by councils, whose members would be elected by the people.
3. The council would pass the country's budget and the ministers would be made responsible to the legislature.

In 1916, both the Congress and the Muslim League held their sessions at Lucknow. The Congress and the Muslim League agreed to a joint scheme of political reforms, known as the Lucknow Pact.

The two effects of Lucknow Pact were:

1. The Congress and Muslims League came together compromising in some areas for the common good. The Congress compromised on its secular character and the Muslim League accepted the principles of election and the majority rule.
2. The two wings of Congress — the Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists united, further strengthening the Congress.

Gandhiji led the mill-workers of Ahmedabad in a strike against the mill-owners who had refused to pay them higher wages. He undertook a fast in support of the workers. Afraid of the consequences, the mill-owners agreed on the fourth day of Gandhiji's fast to give a 35% wage increase.

The three causes that led to the Non-Cooperation Movement were:

1. The Rowlatt Act — After the First World War, the British government passed the Rowlatt Act authorising the arrest and imprisonment of anyone without trial. It also banned Indians from keeping any type of weapon. Gandhiji appealed to the Viceroy but his appeal was ignorned. This shocked the Indians who were expecting self-governance.
2. Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy — On April 13, 1919, General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire without warning on the unarmed crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh protesting peacefully against the arrest of their leaders. About one thousand innocent people were killed and several thousand wounded in the firing.
3. The Khilafat Movement — The Sultan of Turkey was deprived of all authority after Turkey's defeat in the First World War. He was the Caliph and the religious head of a large section of Muslims. To restore his position, the Khilafat Movement began under the leadership of the Ali Brothers — Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani.

Gandhiji saw in the Khilafat movement an opportunity for uniting Hindus and Muslims. Mahatma Gandhi was elected as President of the All-India Khilafat Conference in November 1919. He advised the Khilafat Committee to adopt a policy of Non-cooperation with the Government.

A procession of about 3000 peasants marched to the police station at Chauri Chaura village in Uttar Pradesh on February 5,1922 to protest against the police officer who had beaten some volunteers picketing a liquor shop. The police fired at the peasants. In retaliation, they set the nearby police station on fire, killing 22 policemen. Gandhiji was shocked by the incident and he decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement on February 12, 1922.

Following are the impacts of the Non-Cooperation Movement on the freedom struggle:

1. The National Movement became a mass movement.
2. It instilled new confidence among the people.
3. It transformed Congress from a deliberative assembly into a moral fighting force.
4. It fostered Hindu-Muslim unity by merging the Khilafat Movement with this movement.
5. It shattered the myth that the British rule was for the betterment of the Indians.

Dandi March was a March started by Gandhiji from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, to break the Salt Law.

Mahatma Gandhi gave the call for a civil Disobedience Movement in 1930. Before starting the movement, Gandhiji served on the British government a 'Eleven point Ultimatum'. After waiting in vain for the government response to his ultimatum, Gandhiji started the movement with his famous Dandi March (March 12 to April 6). He broke the Salt Law by picking up salt left by the sea waves. He selected the Salt Law because the salt tax affected all sections of the society.

The Simon Commission was appointed to investigate the need for further constitutional reforms. The Commission was composed of seven British members of Parliament. It had no Indian member. This was seen as a violation of the principle of self-determination and a deliberate insult to the respect of the Indians. So the Congress, decided to boycott it and were supported by the Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha.

The Slogan that Gandhiji gave during the Quit India Movement was "To Do or Die".

The impact of the Quit India Movement was:

1. It demonstrated the depth of the nationalist feeling in India and the capacity of Indians for struggle and sacrifice.
2. It made it clear that the British would no longer find it possible to rule India against the wishes of its people.
3. People of all sections of society participated in this movement.

The Indian National Army was formed by Mohan Singh, an Indian officer in British army.

Following were the objectives of the INA:

1. To organise an armed revolution and to fight the British army with modern arms.
2. Since it was not possible for the Indians to organise an armed revolution from their homeland, this task must be assigned to the Indians living abroad, particularly on Indians living in East Asia.

The two slogans given by Subhas Chandra Bose were:

1. Delhi Chalo (March to Delhi)
2. Jai Hind (victory to India).

The Cabinet Mission included Pethic Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexender. The objective of the Cabinet Mission was to help India achieve her independence and to set up a Constituent Assembly to prepare a Constitution for India.

Proposals of the Cabinet Mission Plan were:

1. There will be a federal union of the British Provinces and the Princely States.
2. The Union Government would control Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communications. The Provinces would enjoy full autonomy for all subjects other than the Union Subjects.
3. The British Provinces would be divided into three groups — Group A, Group B and Group C on the basis of religion.

Lord Mountbatten was the new viceroy and Governor General, who came to India in March 1947. He realised that the Cabinet Mission plan was unworkable and that the partition of India was inevitable. He, therefore, sought to effect the transfer of power without any delay. The plan he proposed was called the 'Mountbatten Plan'.

The proposals made by the 'Mountbatten Plan' were:

1. India was to be partitioned and two independent and Sovereign States namely India and Pakistan were to be formed on August 15, 1947.
2. The Plan provided for the partition of Punjab and Bengal. The Princely States were given the choice of joining either of the two new States — India or Pakistan.

The impact of the Indian Independence Act of 1947 was:

1. Two New Dominions — India was partitioned and two independent Dominions — India and Pakistan — were created on August 15, 1947.
2. Provisions of Partition — Both Bengal and Punjab were divided into two parts. North West Frontier Province as well as Sylhet district (Muslim majority area) joined west and east Pakistan respectively.
3. Governor-General for Each Dominion — A Governor-General for Each Dominion was appointed by the British King (on the advice of the Cabinet of the concerned Dominion) till the framing of the Constitutions.
4. Constituent Assemblies to serve as Central Legislatures — The Constituent Assemblies of both dominions were to act as the Central Legislature.
5. End of Jurisdiction of the British Parliament — The legislative authority of the British Parliament came to an end from August 15, 1947.
6. Princely States — They were left with the Choice to join either Pakistan or India or stay independent.

(a) The monument in the picture is Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. It is located at Amritsar (Punjab).

(b) The Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy occurred here when General Dyer and his troops opened fire on an unarmed peaceful gathering at here.

(c) This incident increased the discontentment and anger among Indians against the British rule. This incident finally became one of the causes of Non-Cooperation Movement.