Telangana Open School (TOSS) Class 12 Inter English Textbook Solution for Chapter 8 The Gift of India. This Chapter is very important for the students of Telangana who are reading under Telangana Open School Society.
UNIT: 8
The Gift of India: Sarojini Naidu.
Segment ½
Check Your Understanding
1.) Who is the speaker of these lines?
Ans: The speaker of these lines is Sarojini Naidu.
2.) What is personified in the poem?
Ans: During World War I British was gifted by our soldiers who fought bravely in the war and sacrificed their life.
3.) What ‘‘gift’’ did mother India give to the British?
Ans: Mother India gifted her sons to the British to fought in World War I.
4.) ‘‘Gathered like pearls….’’ Who was compared to pearls here?
Ans: The brave Indian soldiers who sacrificed their life for British was compared to Gathered like pearls.
5.) What do you think might have happened to the soldiers?
Ans: The soldiers bravely fought in the War and sacrificed their life for the British.
Segment 2/2
Check Your Understanding:
1.) What was the question raised by Mother India?
Ans: Mother India questioned British empire that could they measure the pain and tears of her, and how sad she was due to those sons who sacrificed their life.
2.) Why do you think Mother India bore immeasurable pain?
Ans: India bore immeasurable pain because she lost her sons in the World War I battlefield.
3.) What does the poet mean by the phrases ‘‘glorious vision’’ and ‘‘banner of victory’’?
Ans: In this poem glorious vision meant to be the vision of Indian freedom from British Empire. And the banner of victory is the victory with the cost of Indian Soldiers.
4.) What kind of life was Mother India expecting to see one day?
Ans: Mother India is expecting that when the war ends and again the life would start they should love and remember the cost Indians have sacrificed for them.
5.) Do you think the Britishers thank the Indian soldiers for their sacrifices?
Ans: No, the Britishers did not thank the Indian soldiers for their sacrifices
Comprehension
I.) Annotate the following in about 100 words. The first one is done for you:
1.) Is there aught you need that my hands withhold,
Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold?
Lo! I have flung to the East and West
Priceless treasures torn from my breast
Ans: These lines are taken from the poem ‘‘The Gift of India’’ written in 1915 by the ‘‘Nightingale of India’’ Sarojini Naidu. It is a patriotic poem. This poem focuses on the valuable contribution that the Indian soldiers made to live up to their commitment to the allied forces during the First World War. Sarojini Naidu has attempted to pay homage and respect to the martyred Indian Soldiers and awaken the nation’s people to cultivate and nurture a spirit of patriotism for their own country. These are the opening lines of the poem. The poem begins with Mother India asking if she has withheld any resources from the world, be it garments, clothes, or food. She suggests that even though the British were exploiting the Indian resources for their own selfish needs, India has always fulfilled their global obligations.
2.) They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,
They are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.
Ans: These lines are taken from the poem ‘‘The Gift of India’’ written in 1915 by the ‘‘Nightingale of India’’ Sarojini Naidu. It is a patriotic poem. In these lines our Mother India is telling the British Empire that our soldiers who fought in the World War I and sacrificed their lives for them. Do they know that her brave sons were lying there on the grave without life their faces were pale and their hands were broken due to war. The poet here also compares her sons with newly grown flowers who were being cut down. The battlefield of World War I i.e., in France there were blood clots of the Indian soldiers that turned into dark-brown colour.
3.) Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
Or the pride that thrills thro’ my heart’s despair
And the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?
Ans: These lines are taken from the poem ‘‘The Gift of India’’ written in 1915 by the ‘‘Nightingale of India’’ Sarojini Naidu. It is a patriotic poem. In these lines Mother India putting a questioning the British Empire that can they realise the pain and tears of her or can the measure how much pain she was in. She was also pride of her sons who were brave enough to sacrifice their life to fight in the war. Though Mother India was praying to the Almighty for her sons. Mother India was broken and crying for all every possibilities for safeguard of their sons but unfortunately they were no more.
4.) When the terror and tumult of hate shall cease
And life be refashioned on anvils of peace,
And your love shall offer memorial thanks
To the comrades who fought in your dauntless ranks,
Ans: These lines are taken from the poem ‘‘The Gift of India’’ written in 1915 by the ‘‘Nightingale of India’’ Sarojini Naidu. It is a patriotic poem. In these lines Mother India is saying that when the fear and disturbances will finish and war would end and lifes will again be reformed with peace. When British Empire would honour the sacrifices of their soldiers who fought for them in the war, they shall honour the Indian soldiers also who fought for them.
II.) Answer the following questions in about 100 words each. The first one is done for you.
1.) What gifts did Mother India give to the world, according to the poem ‘‘The Gift of India’’?
Ans: According to the poet, the rich gifts Mother India gave the world are the raiment, grain and gold. This refers to all the resources from agricultural productions to priceless metals
which the foreign colonisers took to their country while they were ruling India. She also
mentions her soldier sons, whom she had sent to foreign lands to fight for others in the
World Wars.
2.) ‘‘They are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance On the blood-brown meadows of
Flanders and France.’’ What do these last lines of the poem suggest?
Ans: These lines are extracted from the poem ‘The Gift of India’ by Sarojini Naidu. These lines in the poem suggests that do the British Empire know that pain of the soldiers in the battlefield who fought for them and sacrificed their lives. They were cut down like a flower in the blossom when they are grown.
3.) How does the poem describe the sacrifices of India for the British cause?
Ans: This is a patriotic poem, Mother India is crying in pain for the soldiers who fought for the British Empire and sacrificed their lives for them. The British almost looted everything from her. Sarcastically Mother India is asking them to take whatever they want, but she is also questioning them that they would realise the pain and sadness of her. The soldiers are now lying in graves with broken hands and pale brows. So do they even honour the Indian soldiers for the sacrifice.
4.) What is the hope that Mother India has in her heart?
Ans: In the poem “The Gift of India” Mother India has a hope and prayer in her mind for the soldiers who fought and sacrificed their lives for the British in the World War I. Mother India also blaming the British Empire for the precious things they have looted from us. Although apart from these things she had kept a hope in her mind that when the Britishers shall give honour to their soldiers for their sacrifice they should give honour to the Indian soldiers too.
III.) Read the following lines of the poem and answer questions following that.
Passage 1
Is there aught you need that my hands withhold,
Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold?
Lo! I have flung to the East and West
Priceless treasures torn from my breast,
And yielded the sons of my stricken womb
To the drum-beats of duty, the sabres of doom.
Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves,
Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands,
They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,
They are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.
1.) Which of the following gifts did Mother India give to the world? ( )
a) Her sons b) Clothes and food grains
c) precious things like gold d) Material heritage like statues, etc
Ans: a) Her sons.
2.) What does ‘Raiment’ mean? ( )
a) Clothing b) Apparel c) Food d) attire
Ans: a) Clothing.
3.) The simile used for soldiers in the poem is…………. ( )
a) pearls b) aliens c) gifts d) tears
Ans: b) Aliens.
4.) The poem evokes a sense of…….. ( )
a) pride b) grief c) loss d) all the above
Ans: b) grief.
5.) Where had the Indian soldiers fallen and been buried?
Ans: The Indian soldiers fallen and been buried in the battlefield of World War I.
6.) What does Mother India mean by ‘‘To the drum-beats of duty’’ in the poem?
Ans: In the poem Mother India meant by these lines ‘‘To the drum-beats of duty’’ was the call for duty in the War.
7.) Where were the Indian soldiers found?
Ans: Indian soldiers were sons of Mother India who fought bravely and sacrificed their life in the battlefield.
8.) In what condition were the Indian soldiers found?
Ans: The Indian soldiers were found in the graves where their brows were pale and the bodies were full of injuries.
9.) Did the Indian soldiers take part in war willingly? Justify.
Ans: The Indian soldiers did not take part in war willingly. The Britishers ruled India at that time so during the war Indian soldiers were forced to take part in the war.
10.) How did Mother India feel when she found her sons dead?
Ans: Mother India was in a great pain and sadness and also she felt proud for her sons when she saw them dead.
Passage 2
Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
Or the pride that thrills thro’ my heart’s despair
And the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?
And the far sad glorious vision I see
Of the torn red banners of Victory?
1.) Identify the figure of speech used in the line ‘‘And the far sad glorious vision I see’’?( )
a) Simile b) Metaphor c) Oxymoron d) Personification
Ans: a) Simile
2.) Who was in despair due to the loss of the soldiers? ( )
a) Indian people b) The nation c) Mother India d) Britishers
Ans: c) Mother India.
3.) What does the word ‘‘compass’’ mean? ( )
a) a device to find direction b) understanding
c) instrument d) direction
Ans: a) a device to find direction.
4.) How could Mother India forget her despair? ( )
a) hope b) pride c) belief d) victory
Ans: b) pride
5.) What rhetorical question did Mother India ask through the poem?
Ans: The question Mother India asked to Britishers that the pain and sadness she was bearing would they understand.
6.) What made Mother India forget the grief?
Ans: Mother India forget the grief of the Indian soldiers because she was proud of her sons for their bravery.
7.) How did Mother India feel when she remembered her great heroes?
Ans: Mother India felt proud when she remembered her great heroes.
8.) What does the phrase ‘‘far sad glorious vision’’ mean?
Ans: In the poem “far sad glorious vision” meant that the visual of Indian freedom from the Britishers.
9.) What does the poet say about ‘the red banners of victory’?
Ans: “the red banners of victory” meant that the victory of war because of the blood spots of Indian soldiers.
10.) Why was Mother India bearing immeasurable pain and anguish in her heart?
Ans: Mother India was bearing immeasurable pain and anguish in her heart because of the sacrifice of the brave Indian soldiers.
Passage 3
When the terror and tumult of hate shall cease
And life be refashioned on anvils of peace,
And your love shall offer memorial thanks
To the comrades who fought in your dauntless ranks,
And you honour the deeds of the deathless ones
Remember the blood of thy martyred sons!
1.) Here the speaker concludes on a note of ……….. ( )
a) pessimism b) optimism c) arrogance d) disappointment
Ans: d) disappointment
2.) Which of the following is not the synonym of ‘tumult’? ( )
a) havoc b) commotion c) agitation d) trouble
Ans:d) trouble
3.) What does the speaker talk about in this stanza of the poem? ( )
a) Ensuring peace after war. b) The sacrifices of soldiers.
c) The sacrifices of mother India d) The pain of the mothers of the soldiers.
Ans: b) The sacrifices of soldiers
4.) What is the antonym of ‘dauntless’? ( )
a) unafraid b) brave c) intimidated d) fearless
Ans: c) intimidated
5.) How did Mother India expect the world to be at the end of the war?
Ans: Mother India expects the world to be at peace and all life would be reformed at the end of the war.
6.) What was the desire of Mother India, according to the poem?
Ans: The desire of the Mother India was the Britishers would give honour to the sacrificed Indian soldiers.
7.) What did Mother India demand at last?
Ans: Mother India demanded that the sacrifices of the Indian soldiers should be remembered and they shall give them honour.
8.) Who was personified in these lines?
Ans: Indian soldiers was personified in these lines.
9.) What do you think is the responsibility of the young generation towards the martyred
sons?
Ans: The responsibility of the young generation towards the martyred sons is to remember the sacrifices and always follow their paths.
10.) ‘‘…in your dauntless ranks…’’ Who does this refer to?
Ans: ‘‘…in your dauntless ranks…’’ this refers to the British Empire.