ICSE Notes Class 10 History Chapter 6 Mahatma Gandhi and the National Movement
ICSE Notes for Class 10 History Chapter 6 Mahatma Gandhi and the National Movement by expert History Teacher. This notes is very helpful for Students of ICSE Board.
ICSE Notes Class 10 History Chapter 6 – Mahatma Gandhi and the National Movement.
Board |
ICSE |
Class |
10 |
Subject |
History |
Chapter |
6 |
Chapter Name |
Mahatma Gandhi and the National Movement |
Topic |
Notes |
- Name 3 Major Movements of Gandhiji.
(a) The Non – Cooperation Movements (1920 to 1922).
(b) The Civil Disobedient Movement (1930 to 1934).
(c) The Quit India Movement (1942 – 1944)
- Political Guru of Gandhiji: Gopal Krishna Gokhale
- Methods of Gandhiji:
(a) Satyagraha
(b) Non – Violence
(c) Large- scale Mass Involvement
(d) Swadeshi
(e) Constructive Programme:
(i) Removal of Untouchability
(ii) Upliftment of Women
(iii) Village Development
(iv) Khadi and Village Industries
(v) Welfare of Workers and Peasants
(vi) Basic Education
(vii) Adult Education
(viii) Student Welfare
(ix) Communal harmony
(x) Hindu – Muslim Unity etc.
- Circumstances/Factors leading to the launching of the non – violent Non – Cooperation Movement:
(I) Montague – Chelmsford Reforms (The Government of India Act 1919):
(a) The Central Government remained responsible to the British Parliament.
(b) The ‘System of Hierarchy’ failed because the executive powers in each province were divided into two parts.
(c) The British government failed to fulfil their promise to introduce a Responsible Government in India.
(II) Rowlatt Act: The Rowlatt Act was passed by Justice Rowlatt in March 1919. This act was considered as ‘Black Act’ by the nationalists. The clauses of the Act is as follows:
(a) The act gave enormous powers to the government to allow detention of political prisoners without a trial for two years.
(b) The police could search a place and arrest any person they disapproved without warrant.
(c) It legalized trails of political offenders by judges without jury.
(III) Jallianwala Bagh Incident:
(a) The police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession of people who were demanding the release of two leaders namely Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
(b) The firing set off a chain of violence. As a result, ‘Martial Law’ was imposed in the city of Amritsar.
(c) On April 13, 1919, a crowd of villagers who had come to Amritsar to attend a fair in the enclosed ground of the Jallianwalla Bagh.
(d) Being from outside the city, they were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed.
(e) Blocking the exit point, General Dyer opened fire on the crowd killing hundreds.
(f) Rabindranath Tagore left the title ‘Knighthood’, the highest non – military award of the British to convey his protest against the Jalliwanwal Bagh Massacre.
(IV) Khilafat Movement:
(a) The Peace Treaty of First World War imposed several terms on Turkey.
(b) The Sultan of Turkey, the Caliph or Khalifa was considered as the Religious Leader for the Muslims all over the world.
(c) The Caliph was deprived of all of his political powers and lost all territories inhabited by peoples other than Turks.
(d) This aroused the feeling among Indian Muslims that British were anti Muslims.
(e) A Khilafat Committee was formed to restore the territories and powers of the Caliph of Turkey.
(f) Ali Brothers – Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali – were the leaders.
(g) Gandhiji saw in it an opportunity of uniting the Hindus and the Muslims.
(h) Never before had any movement received the willing support of so many people Hindus and Muslims alike. This was the significance of anti British mass movement in which the Hindus and the Muslims participated with equal conviction. (This point is Significance of Khilafat Movement).
- Objective of the Non – cooperation Movement:
(a) Redressal of the wrongs committed in Punjab that entailed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the atrocities related to the martial laws.
(b) Restoring the old status of the Sultan of Turkey.
(c) Accomplishment of Swaraj.
- The Programmes of the Non – Cooperation Movement:
(a) Boycott of elections to Legislative councils.
(b) Boycott of Government schools and colleges.
(c) Boycott of British goods.
(d) Surrender of Titles and honours and honorary posts.
(e) Resignation from nominated seats in local bodies.
- The withdrawal of the Non – Cooperation Movement or Chauri Chaura Incident:
(a) The Chauri – Chaura incident changed the course of the Indian history.
(b) There, in a small town of Chauri – Chaura in UP, in retaliation to police atrocities on peaceful picketers, an unruly mob of 3000 peasants attacked the police station and killed 21 policemen and one inspector on February 5, 1922.
(c) Mahatma Gnadhi was deeply shocked over this act of violence and suspended the movement.
(d) He was arrested on March 10, 1922 and was sentenced to six year of imprisonment for propagating sedition.
- Impact/ Significance of the Non – Cooperation Movement:
(a) It shook the British bureaucracy and undermined their power and prestige.
(b) It conveyed the message of ‘Swaraj’ to one and all.
(c) It intensified political agitation to an extent, never dreamt of before.
(d) The movement gave the national movement a mass base i.e. participation of all sections of the society including workers, peasants, students, teachers, men & women.
(e) It gave to the nation a common slogan (Jai Hind), a common language i.e. Hindi, a national uniform i.e. Khadi and a national activity i.e. spinning.
- Define Pro – changers and No – Changers:
Pro Changers: Chittaranjan Ranjan Das and Motilal Nehru were those members of the Congress who were in favour of contesting the elections under Act of 1919.
No – Changers: Vallab Bhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad were those members of the Congress who were not in favour of contesting the elections under the act of 1919.
- Simon Commission: The Indian Statutory Commission popularly known as Simon Commission was a group of seven British Mps headed by Sir John Simon reached India in 1927 with the following recommendations:
(a) Abolition of ‘Diarchy’ and grant of full Provincial autonomy to the provinces.
(b) Federal Government in India with the provinces and the princely states as the units.
(c) Enlargement of Provincial Legislative Councils.
(d) The continuation of the communal electorate.
(e) Governor General should be free to select and appoint the members of his executive council.
- Reaction of the Indians to the Simon Commission:
Both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League decide to boycott the Simon Commission because:
(a) There was no Indian member in this commission.
(b) The terms of the commission did not give any indication of Swaraj.
Lala Lajpat Rai succumbed to death in 1928 due to the protest against the Simon Commission at Lahore.
- A short note on Nehru Report:
(a) Lord Birkenhead, one of the members of the Simon Commission, challenged that Indians were not united and could not arrive at an ‘agreed scheme of reforms.
(b) To refute this charge, the Congress called an all party meeting in Delhi on February 28, 1928 and appointed the Motilal Nehru Committee to prepare the common demands of Indians which was known as Nehru Report.
(c) The Nehru Report recommended Dominion Status within the British Empire.
(d) Jawaharlal and Subhas Chandra Bose demanded Complete Independence (Poorna Swaraj).
(e) Gadhiji suggested that if the government did not give effect to Dominion Status by the end of December, 1929, India would accept nothing but ‘Complete Independence’.
(f) The government did not pay any heed to it.
(g) At midnight of December 31, 1929, the Lahore session of congress, it was declared Purna Swaraj as the goal of India’s Struggle.
(h) Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the national flag on 26th January, 1930.
(i) Since then, the Independence Day of India was observed on 26th January every year by the Congress till 1974.
Civil Disobedience Movement:
- Causes for the Civil Disobedience Movement:
(a) Failure of Simon Commission.
(b) Non – acceptance of the Nehru Report
(c) Declaration of Lord Irwin, the Viceroy on October 1929 was that the government was considering granting ‘Dominion Status’ to India. He also referred to the summoning of a ‘Round Table Conference at London to consider the ‘Simon Commission Report’.
(d) Lahore Session and the demand for complete Independence. At its Lahore session, in December 1929 under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress also passed the resolution boycotting the Round Table Conference.
(e) Gandhiji’ Eleven point Demands: Gandhiji gave ultimatum to the British Government listing eleven demands and gave them time of 11th March 1930 to respond. If not responded, a Civil Disobedience Campaign would be launched. Some of the demands were:
(i) Total prohibition should be imposed.
(ii) Reduce expenditure on army and civil services by 50%.
(iii) Political prisoners should be released immediately.
(iv) Land revenue should be reduced by 50%.
(v) Salt tax and the monopoly of the government on salt should be abolished.
- Beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement/Dandi March/Salt March:
(a) On 12th March 1930, Gandhiji along with his 78 followers began the March from Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal town of Dandi covering the distance of 241 miles on foot.
(b) On 5th April 1930, he reached Dandi and on 6th April, he ceremonially violated the ‘Salt Law’ by manufacturing salt by boiling seawater. Gnadhiji’s campaign against the salt law was a signal to disobey the government laws.
- Reason for choosing the breaking of Salt Law for launching the Civil Disobedience Movement:
(a) It gave monopoly to the Government to manufacture salt.
(b) Salt is naturally available and is an essential commodity.
(c) To Indians, the salt tax of Rs. 1/ – 40 seers was an effective poll tax burdening the poorest.
(d) This tax was a symbol of foreign oppression.
- Programme of the Civil Civil Disobedience Movement:
(a) All the villages and thousands of cities of coastal areas should violate the ‘Salt Act’ by preparing salt from seawater.
(b) Students should boycott the government schools and colleges and government employees should desert heir jobs.
(c) Picketing should staged in front of wine, opium and the shops dealing in foreign clothes.
(d) Not to buy foreign clothes and to be burnt openly.
(e) Not to pay taxes to the government.
(f) The members of the Legislative Councils should resign.
- A short note on Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan:
(a) He is known as the ‘Frontier Gandhi’.
(b) He led the Civil Satyagraha in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).
(C) He organized a 50, 000 member army of non – violent activists called ‘KHUDAI KHIDMATGAR (The Servants of God). They were called ‘Red Shits’.
- 1st Round Table Conference: The 1st Round Table Conference was held in London from November 12, 1930 to January 9, 1931 to discuss the Indian Question and further reforms. But due to the ongoing Salt Satyagraha, the Congress boycotted the 1st Round Table Conference which failed to achieve anything in the absence of the Congress.
- Gandhi – Irwin Pact, 1931 (Suspension of the movement): The government was now eager to compromise with the Congress and a pact was signed between Gandhiji and Lord Irwin, the Viceroy on 5th March, 1931 known as ‘Gandhi – Irwin Pact’. The clauses of the pact is as follows:
(I) On the part of the Government:
(a) The Government withdrew the ban on the Congress.
(b) To release all prisoners held during this Movement except those guilty of violence.
(c) To return the confiscated properties to the Congressmen.
(d) To permit peaceful picketing.
(e) To permit the making of salt of people living near the seashores.
(II) On the part of Gandhiji:
(a) To Suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement.
(b) Agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London from 7th September t 1st December 1931.
- Fate of the Second Round Table Conference:
(a) It discussed the federal concept, autonomous provinces, the communal question and the representation to the minorities Muslims, Sikhs, Anglo Indians and Christians.
(b) The question of ‘Indian Independence’ receded to the rear.
(c) The representatives of different political parties and communities were insisting upon gains for their own people.
(d) No one except Gnadhiji seemed to be thinking in term of one united India and her independence. Gandhiji returned to India empty handed.
(e) On April 7, 1934, Gnadhiji suspended the entire movement of Civil Disobedience.
In case you missed: ICSE Notes Class 10 History Chapter 4 Notes
- Significance or impact or importance of the Civil Disobedience Movement:
(a) It was a struggle for the attainment of Complete Independence.
(b) The movement exposed the British bureaucracy for its high – handed and repressive attitude.
(c) It also enabled Gnadhiji to assess the Congress and the people in general as to how determined they were in their fight for their freedom.
(d) Participation of women was another feature of the movement.
- Congress Socialist Party:
The Congress Socialist Party was formed in 1934 and some of its leaders are – Jayprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Kamla Devi, Aruna Asaf Ali etc.
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