Short Answer- Class 10 – Social Science – History -Chapter 2 : Nationalism in India

Class 10 – Social Science – History -Short Answer- Chapter 2 : Nationalism in India

Q1. Why did Gandhiji decide to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act 1919 Explain any three reasons.

Ans : Gandhiji decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act, 1919 due to the following three reasons:

a. The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly by the Imperial Legislative Council despite the opposition by the Indian members.

b. The Rowlatt Act gave enormous power to the government for repressing the political activities.

c. According to this Act, the government can detain the political prisoners without trial for a period of two years.

Q2. Why did Gandhiji relaunch the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second Round Table Conference? Explain any three reasons.

Ans : Gandhiji relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second Round Table Conference due to the following reasons:

a. When Mahatma Gandhi went for the Round Table Conference in December 1931, he returned disappointed as the negotiations were broken down.

b. He discovered this new cycle of repression by the British.

c. The important Congress leaders were in jail and meetings, demonstrations and boycotts were prevented.

Q3.‘The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the Non-Cooperation Movement.’ Support the statement with examples.

 Ans : The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the Non-Cooperation Movement in the following ways:

a. The Civil Disobedience Movement dealt with the breaking of the colonial laws whereas the NonCooperation Movement did not follow the rules of the colonial government.

b. In the Civil Disobedience Movement, people broke the salt law and forest law whereas in the NonCooperation Movement, they carried out peaceful demonstrations.

c. The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched to get Puma Swaraj whereas the Non-Cooperation Movement was to unite the Hindus and Muslims to attain Swaraj.

Q4. Why did different social groups join the Civil Disobedience movement? Explain.

 Ans : The following were the different social groups who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement with different objectives:

a. These rich peasants due to the trade depression, falling prices and disappeared cash income were not able to pay the revenue and also the government refused to reduce the revenue. Their notion for Swaraj struggle was basically a struggle against high revenue.

b. For the poor peasantry groups, the meaning of Swaraj was lowering the revenue demand and also they wanted the unpaid rent to be remitted.

c. Women also participated in large scale in the civil disobedience movement during the salt march by Gandhiji. They belonged to the high caste families from the urban areas and rich peasant households from the rural areas. For them it was a sacred duty to serve the nation.

Q5. “The Congress was reluctant to include the demands  of the industrial workers in its programme of struggle.” Analyse the reasons.

 Ans : Some of the industrial workers who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement were the Nagpur industrial workers who selectively adopted some of the Gandhian ideas such as boycott of the foreign goods. They participated in the movement as part of their own movement against the low wages and the poor working conditions in the industries.

In the year 1930 and 1932, the railway workers and the dockworkers went on strike. The Chhotanagpur tin mines workers also protested in rallies wearing Gandhian caps and boycotted the campaigns.

But the Congress was not willing to include their demands because he thought that this would alienate the industrialists and divide the anti-imperialist forces.

Q6. Describe the main features of Poona Pact.

 Ans :  In the Second Round Table Conference, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Dalits.

Against this Gandhiji, began a fast unto death because he believed that separate electorates for the Dalits would slow down the process of national integration.

 Later on, Ambedkar accepted Gandhian view and in the Poona Pact the depressed class people were given the reserved seats in the provincial and the central legislative council election but to be voted in by the general electorate.

Q7. Why did Mahatma Gandhi find in ‘salt’ a powerful symbol that could unite the nation? Explain.

Ans : Salt March become an effective tool of resistance against colonialism because on 31st March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin.

Mahatma Gandhi had stated eleven demands in this letter out of which some were of general interest and some were specific demands of different classes.

The demands were wide ranging in order to bring together everyone under a united campaign.

The most important demand was to abolish the salt tax as it was the most important item in food that is consumed by both rich and poor.

Q8. How did the non-cooperation spread to the countryside? Explain.

Ans : Due to the worldwide economic depression the agricultural prices began to fall, demands for agricultural goods fell and the export declined.

This resulted in a countryside turmoil. Now it was difficult for the peasants to sell their harvest and pay the high revenue.

Against this situation of countryside turmoil the Tory government in Britain set up a commission named Simon Commission under Sir John Simon to look into the constitutional system in India and suggest the changes needed. There were no Indian members in this commission.

Q9. How could Non-Cooperation become a movement? Give your opinion.

 Ans : In the year 1909 Mahatma Gandhi wrote a book named ‘Hind Swaraj’ in which he wrote that the British survived in India only because of the cooperation of the Indians otherwise they would have collapsed within a year.

Gandhiji planned to unfold the movement in stages. In the first stage the people surrendered the titles, boycotted civil services, army, police, schools, foreign goods, courts and legislative councils.

The full Civil Disobedience campaign was planned for the second phase if the government tried to supress the first phase.

Q10. “Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation.’ Justify the statement.

Ans :  It is true to say that ‘Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation.

’ Nationalism is a belief that all are a part of the same nation which binds the people together and make  different communities, regions and language groups united.

This came through the united struggles like the Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, the wars like revolt of 1857.

 History, fiction, folklores, folk songs, prints, icons, symbols, etc. all these helped in unifying the Indians and inspired a feeling of nationalism in them.

The history was reinterpreted to create the feeling of nationalism and instill a sense of pride among the Indians. Through this the perspective of British towards India as backward, primitive and incapable of governing themselves was criticized.