Class 10 Social Science Notes — Chapter 2: Nationalism in India
The growth of the Indian national movement from WWI to the 1940s under Gandhi.
Detailed NCERT notes
- First World War (1914–18): heavy taxes, forced recruitment, rising prices, influenza epidemic — created widespread resentment against British rule.
- Satyagraha: Gandhi's method of non-violent mass struggle based on truth and the power of moral appeal (Champaran 1917, Kheda 1918, Ahmedabad Mill 1918).
- Rowlatt Act (1919): allowed detention without trial → nationwide protest.
- Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 1919): General Dyer ordered firing on unarmed crowd in Amritsar; over 400 killed; radicalised many Indians.
- Khilafat + Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22): joint Hindu-Muslim movement; surrender titles, boycott schools/courts/foreign cloth; withdrawn after Chauri Chaura (1922) violence.
- Different social groups in NCM: middle class boycotted schools; peasants (Awadh under Baba Ramchandra) refused rent; tribals (Alluri Sitarama Raju) launched guerrilla actions; plantation workers left estates.
- Simon Commission (1928): all-white body; 'Simon Go Back' protests; Lala Lajpat Rai injured, later died.
- Purna Swaraj declared at Lahore Congress (1929); 26 January 1930 celebrated as Independence Day.
- Civil Disobedience Movement (1930): Dandi March (12 March – 6 April 1930), 240 miles, salt made illegally as symbol; movement spread across India.
- Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931): CDM suspended; Gandhi attended Second Round Table Conference (failed) → CDM resumed 1932.
- Role of women: joined marches, made salt, picketed shops — mostly high-caste, urban; leadership mostly male.
- Dalits/Depressed Classes: Ambedkar demanded separate electorates → Poona Pact (1932) reserved seats within joint electorate.
- Muslim League and Congress relations frayed after mid-1920s over minority rights; culminated in demand for Pakistan (1940).
- Sense of collective belonging built through folk songs, Bharat Mata image (Bankim, Abanindranath Tagore), Vande Mataram, tricolour flag.
Formulas & key results
Mind map
- WWI aftermath → Rowlatt → Jallianwala (1919)
- Non-Cooperation (1920–22) → Chauri Chaura → withdrawal
- Civil Disobedience (1930) → Dandi → Gandhi-Irwin (1931)
- Groups: peasants, workers, women, tribals, business, Dalits
- Symbols: Bharat Mata, tricolour, Vande Mataram
Tricks & shortcuts
- Movements sequence: NCM → CDM → Quit India (post-1942).
- Poona Pact = Gandhi–Ambedkar compromise on Dalit representation.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing Simon Commission (1928) with Cripps Mission (1942).
- Assuming women's participation was uniform across classes.
Competency-based questions & answers
- Q. Why was salt chosen as a symbol by Gandhi in 1930?A. Salt was consumed by everyone — the British salt monopoly + tax hurt every household, making it a universal, non-controversial rallying point.
- Q. How did different social groups have different aspirations in the Civil Disobedience Movement?A. Peasants wanted rent revision, businessmen wanted protection from imports, women wanted public roles, Dalits wanted political rights — Congress had to accommodate or clash with each.