This MCQ module is based on: The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement
The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement
Study Notes and Summary
How Participants Saw the Movement:
Rich Peasants (Patidars of Gujarat, Jats of UP):
Active supporters of Civil Disobedience.
Organized boycotts, forced payment of revenue.
Fighting for reduction of high revenue demand (Swaraj for them meant struggle against high revenues).
Disappointed when movement called off in 1931 without revenue reduction. Many refused to rejoin in 1932.
Poor Peasants:
Not just concerned with revenue reduction, but also non-payment of rent to landlords.
Often joined radical movements (e.g., led by Socialists and Communists).
Congress was reluctant to support “no-rent” campaigns due to fear of alienating rich peasants and landlords.
Relationship between Congress and poor peasants remained uncertain.
Business Classes:
Prospered during WWI (large profits, became powerful).
Wanted protection against imports, rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio that discouraged imports.
Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress (1920), Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI – 1927) by Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla: Formed to organize business interests.
Condemned colonial control over Indian economy.
Supported Civil Disobedience initially (financial assistance, refused to buy/sell imported goods).
Feared prolonged business disruption, growing militancy, and spread of Socialism among workers.
After Round Table Conference failure, business groups lost enthusiasm.
Industrial Working Classes:
Did not participate in large numbers (except Nagpur region).
Some workers adopted Gandhian ideas (boycott of foreign goods) but also demanded better wages and working conditions.
Railway workers’ strikes (1930), dockworkers’ strikes (1932).
Workers in Chota Nagpur tin mines wore Gandhi caps, participated in protest rallies.
Congress was reluctant to include workers’ demands as it might alienate industrialists.
Women:
Large-scale participation in Salt March and other protests.
Marched in protests, manufactured salt, picketed foreign cloth/liquor shops.
Many went to jail.
Public role did not change their social position: Gandhi believed women’s primary duty was home and family.
Congress was unwilling to allow women to hold positions of authority within the organization.
The Limits of Civil Disobedience:
Dalits (Depressed Classes):
Congress ignored them for long, fearing alienation of sanatanis (conservative high-caste Hindus).
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar organized Dalits into Depressed Classes Association (1930).
Demanded separate electorates for Dalits.
Poona Pact (September 1932):
Ambedkar accepted Gandhi’s position (against separate electorates, which would slow down integration of Dalits).
Gave Depressed Classes reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils, to be voted in by general electorate.
Muslims:
Non-Cooperation-Khilafat movement united Hindus and Muslims.
After Non-Cooperation, relations worsened due to Hindu Mahasabha and Hindu-Muslim clashes/riots.
Demand for Separate Electorates: Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded reserved seats in Central Assembly and representation in Muslim-majority provinces (Bengal, Punjab).
Hoped to resolve the issue at All Parties Conference (1928), but no agreement due to Hindu Mahasabha’s strong opposition.
Difference over separate electorates ultimately led to breakdown of negotiations.
The Sense of Collective Belonging:
Nationalism spreads when people believe they are part of the same nation.
Through History and Fiction, Folklore and Songs, Popular Prints and Symbols:
Bharat Mata:
Identified as mother figure.
First created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870s (Vande Mataram as a hymn to the motherland).
Abanindranath Tagore painted famous image of Bharat Mata (calm, ascetic, divine, spiritual).
Devotion to this mother figure became a symbol of nationalism.
Folklore:
Nationalists (like Rabindranath Tagore, Natesa Sastri) collected folk tales, songs, legends to revive traditional culture.
Believed folk tales revealed true picture of national culture, uncorrupted by outside forces.
Natesa Sastri published four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales, The Folklore of Southern India.
Icons and Symbols:
During Swadeshi movement in Bengal, tricolour flag (red, green, yellow) designed (8 lotuses for 8 provinces, crescent moon for Hindu-Muslim unity).
Gandhi designed Swaraj flag (1921): tricolour (red, green, white) with a spinning wheel in the centre (representing self-help).
Carrying the flag and holding it aloft during marches became a symbol of defiance.
Quit India Movement (1942):
Post-WWII, Gandhi launched the ‘Quit India’ movement.
Call for immediate end to British rule.
“Do or Die”: Gandhi’s message to Indians.
Mass protests and demonstrations after Gandhi’s arrest.
British brutally suppressed the movement (lathi-charge, firing, arrests).
Despite repression, it showed the determination of Indians for independence.
Practice MCQs
Assessment Worksheets
This assessment will be based on: The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement
Olympiad Focus & Application
Real-Life Connections & General Knowledge:
The complex relationship between social movements (e.g., farmers’ movements, labour movements) and broader national independence struggles.
The concept of ‘affirmative action’ or ‘reserved constituencies’ in modern democracies to address historical injustices against marginalized groups.
Case-based Scenarios & Reasoning:
Scenario: A political party is trying to build a broad coalition for a national movement but struggles to reconcile the differing demands of various social groups (e.g., industrialists, peasants, workers). Analyze the challenges in maintaining unity and how such differences might be addressed.
Scenario: In a diverse nation, symbols like national anthems or allegories are created to foster unity. Discuss how these symbols can both unite people and potentially marginalize certain groups if their representation is not inclusive.
Conceptual Application:
Explain how the concept of “identity politics” played out in the Indian nationalist movement, particularly in the demands of Dalits and Muslims for separate representation.
Discuss the strategic implications of the Poona Pact for both the Dalit community and the broader nationalist movement.
Comparative & Analytical Points:
Compare the motivations and levels of participation of different social groups (rich peasants, poor peasants, business classes, industrial workers, women) in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Analyze the reasons behind the growing communal divide between Hindus and Muslims during the nationalist movement, particularly concerning the issue of separate electorates.
Discuss the evolution of national symbols (like Bharat Mata and the national flag) and their significance in forging a collective sense of belonging.
Analyze the impact of the Quit India Movement as a final push towards independence despite its violent suppression.
