Effects of First World War

Modern nationalism in Europe led to the formation of nation-states, sense

of belonging, new symbols and icons, new songs and it also redefined the
boundaries of communities. In India, as in Vietnam and many other
colonies, the growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to the
anti-colonial movement.

The First World War led to a huge increase in defence expenditure. This was
financed by war loans and by increasing taxes. Custom duties were raised
and income tax was introduced to raise extra revenue.

Prices of items increased during the war years. The prices doubled
between 1913 and 1918. The common people were the worst sufferers
because of the price rise.

Forced recruitment of rural people in the army was another cause of

widespread anger amongst people.

Crop failure in many parts of India resulted in an acute shortage of foods.

Influenza epidemic further aggravated the problem.

According to the 1921 census, about 12 to 13 million people died because of

famines and epidemic.

In the years after 1919, the First World War created a new economic and
political situation. People thought that their problems would end after the
war but it did not happen. Rather they suffered a lot for several reasons.

The people of India wanted to get rid of he British colonial government.

Mahatma Gandhi became their leader and the struggle for independence
of India intensified.

The Rowlatt Act (1919)

The Rowlatt Act was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in 1919. The
Indian members did not support the Act, but it was passed nevertheless.
The Rowlatt Act gave the British government enormous powers to repress
political activities, and allowed imprisonment of political prisoners without
trial for two years.

On 6th April, 1919; Gandhiji launched a nationwide Satyagraha against the

proposed Rowlatt Act. The call of a strike on 6th April got a huge response.
People came out in support in various cities, shops were shut down and
workers in railway workshops went on strike.

The British administration decided to clamp down on the nationalists.

Several local leaders were arrested. Mahatma Gandhi was barred from
entering Delhi.

Satyagraha

Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915. His heroic fight for the
Indians in South Africa was well-known. His noble method of mass
agitation known as Satyagraha that had yielded good results.

The idea of Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to
search for truth. In 1916, Gandhi travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire
the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.

Swaraj in the Plantations : The plantation workers were not permitted to

leave the tea gardens without permission; as per the Indian Emigration Act
of 1859. When the news of Non-Cooperation Movement spread to the
plantations, many workers began to defy the authorities. They left
plantations and headed towards their homes. But they got stranded on the
way because of a railway and steamer strike. They were caught by the
police and brutally beaten up.

The method of Satyagraha was based on the idea that if someone is

fighting for a true cause, there is no need to use any physical force to fight
the oppressor. Gandhiji believed that a satyagrahi could win a battle
through non-violence, i.e., without being aggressive or revengeful.
Some early Satyagraha movements organised by Gandhiji :

a) Peasants’ Movement in Champaran (Bihar) in 1916.

b) Peasants’ Movement in Kheda district (Gujarat) in 1917.

c)Mill workers’ Movement in Ahmedabad in 1918.

Mahatma Gandhi now decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha. Rallies

were organised in various cities, workers went on strike in railway
workshops and shops were closed down.

Jallianwala Bagh

On 10th April 1919; in Amritsar; the police fired upon a peaceful procession.
This provoked widespread attacks on government establishments. Martial
Law was imposed in Amritsar and the command of the area was given to
General Dyer.

The infamous (shocking) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on 13th

April; the day on which Baisakhi is celebrated in Punjab. A crowd of villagers
came to participate in a fair in Jallianwala Bagh. It was enclosed from all
sides with narrow entry points.

General Dyer blocked the exit points and opened fire on the crowd.
Hundreds of people were killed in that incident. Public reaction to the
incident took a violent turn in many north Indian towns. The government
was quite brutal in its response. Things turned highly violent turn. Mahatma
Gandhi called off the movement as he did not want to continue the
violence.

Hundreds of innocent people were killed. This agitated Indian minds that
resulted in strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government
buildings.

Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat issue gave Mahatma Gandhi an opportunity to bring the
Hindus and Muslims on a common platform.

A Khilafat committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919 to defend the

Khalifa. This committee had leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and
Shaukat Ali. They also wanted Mahatma Gandhi to take up the cause to
build a united mass action. At the Calcutta session of the Congress in
September 1920, the resolution was passed to launch a Non-Cooperation
Movement in support of Khilafat and also for Swaraj.

In the First World War, Ottoman Turkey was defeated and a harsh peace
treaty was imposed on the Ottoman emperor—the spiritual head of the
Islamic world (the Khalifa). To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers,
Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March, 1919.

To unite Hindus and Muslims, Gandhiji decided to start the Non-

Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj, at the
Calcutta session of the Congress in September, 1920.

Non-Cooperation Movement

In his famous book Hind Swaraj (1909), Mahatma Gandhi declared that
British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians and
had survived only because of this cooperation. If Indians refused to
cooperate, British rule in India would collapse within a year, and Swaraj
would be established. Gandhiji believed that if Indians begin to refuse to
cooperate, the British rulers will have no other way than to leave India.

Proposals of Non-Cooperation Movement

(a) Surrender the titles which were awarded by the British Government.

(b) Boycott of civil services, army, police, courts, legislative councils and
schools.

(c) Boycott of foreign goods.

Launch full civil disobedience campaign, if the government persisted with
repressive measures.

The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January 1921. Various

social groups participated in this movement, each with its own specific
aspiration. All of them responded to the call of Swaraj, but the term meant
different things to different people.

Awadh : The peasants’ movement in Awadh was led by Baba

Ramchandra. He was a sanyasi who had earlier worked in Fiji as an
indentured labourer. The peasants were against the high rents and may
other cesses, which were demanded by talukdars and landlords. The
peasants demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of the begar, and
social boycott of oppressive landlords.

Tribal Peasants : Tribal peasants gave their own interpretation of

Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of swaraj. The tribals were prevented from
entering the forests to graze cattle, or to collect fruits and firewood. The
new forest laws were a threat to their livelihoods. The government forced
them to do the begar on road construction.

Many rebels from the tribal areas became non-violent and often carried
guerrilla warfare against the British officials.

The Non-Cooperation–Khilafat Movement began in January 1921. Various

social groups participated in this movement.

The movement affected the economy of the British. The import of foreign
cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, dropping from 102 crore to 57 crore.
Merchants and traders began to refuse to trade in foreign goods or finance
foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread and people began
discarding imported clothes and started wearing only Indian ones,
production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.

In June 1920, Jawaharlal Nehru approached villagers to understand their

grievances.
By October, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru and
Baba Ramchandra. Soon the Noncooperation Movement and Awadh
peasant struggle became popular. As the movement spread in 1921, the
houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked. Bazaars were looted
and grain stores were taken over.

Gandhiji declared that no taxes were to be paid and land was to be

redistributed among the poor.

Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea
of Swaraj in another way. In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, for
instance, a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s. It was
done to oppose the ban which the colonial government had imposed on
the hill people.

In December 1929, under Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress

solemnised the demand of ‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It
was declared that 26 January, 1930 would be celebrated as the
Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for
complete independence. But the celebration attracted very little attention.

Simon Commission

The British government constituted a Statutory Commission under Sir John

Simon. The Commission was made to look into the functioning of the
constitutional system in India and suggest changes. But since all the
members in the Commission were British, the Indian leaders opposed the
Commission.

The Simon Commission arrived in India in 1928. It was greeted with the
slogan ‘Go back, Simon’. All parties joined the protest. In October 1929, Lord
Irwin announced a vague offer of ‘dominion status’ for India but its timing
was not specified. He also offered to hold a Round Table Conference to
discuss the future Constitution.

Salt March (Beginning of Civil Disobedience Movement)

Mahatma Gandhi believed that salt could be a powerful symbol to unite
the whole nation. Most of the people; including the British scoffed at the
idea. Abolition of the salt tax was among many demands which were
raised by Gandhiji through a letter to Viceroy Irwin.

The Salt March or Dandi March was started by Gandhiji on 12th March 1930.
He was accompanied by 78 volunteers. They walked for 24 days to cover a
distance of 240 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi. Many more joined them
on the way. On 6th April 1930, Gandhiji ceremonially violated the law by
taking a fistful of salt.

The Salt March marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Thousands of people broke the salt law in different parts of the country.
People demonstrated in front of government salt factories. Foreign cloth
was boycotted. Peasants refused to pay revenue. Village officials resigned.
Tribal people violated forest laws.

Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Salt March (Dandi March)

accompanied by 78 followers, from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati
coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April he reached Dandi, and openly violated
the salt law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water. This marked the
beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Prominent industrialists like Purshottam Das Thakurdas and G.D. Birla

attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the Civil
Disobedience Movement financially when it was first launched. But when it
was restarted they showed their reluctance due to the failure as for swaraj,
at the Calcutta session of the Congress in September, 1920.

The Non-Cooperation–Khilafat Movement began in January 1921. Various

social groups participated in this movement.

The movement affected the economy of the British. The import of foreign
cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, dropping from 102 crore to 57 crore.
Merchants and traders began to refuse to trade in foreign goods or finance
foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread and people began
discarding imported clothes and started wearing only Indian ones,
production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.
In June 1920, Jawaharlal Nehru approached villagers to understand their
grievances.

By October, the Oudh Kisan Sabha was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru and
Baba Ramchandra. Soon the Noncooperation Movement and Awadh
peasant struggle became popular. As the movement spread in 1921, the
houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked. Bazaars were looted
and grain stores were taken over.

Gandhiji declared that no taxes were to be paid and land was to be

redistributed among the poor.

Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea
of Swaraj in another way. In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, for
instance, a militant guerrilla movement spread in the early 1920s. It was
done to oppose the ban which the colonial government had imposed on
the hill people.

In December 1929, under Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress

solemnised the demand of ‘Purna Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It
was declared that 26 January, 1930 would be celebrated as the
Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for
complete independence. But the celebration attracted very little attention.

Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Salt March (Dandi March)

accompanied by 78 followers, from his ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati
coastal town of Dandi. On 6 April he reached Dandi, and openly violated
the salt law, manufacturing salt by boiling sea water. This marked the
beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Prominent industrialists like Purshottam Das Thakurdas and G.D. Birla

attacked colonial control over the Indian economy, and supported the Civil
Disobedience Movement financially when it was first launched. But when it
was restarted they showed their reluctance due to the failure

By 1921, Gandhiji had designed the swaraj flag. It was again a tricolour (red,
green and white) and had a shinning wheel in the centre, representing the
Gandhian ideal of self-help. Carrying the flag, holding it aloft, during
marches became a symbol of defiance.

Response of British Rulers

The colonial government began to arrest the Congress leaders. This led to
violent clashes in many places. Mahatma Gandhi was arrested about a
month later.

People began to attack the symbols of British rule; such as police posts,
municipal buildings, law courts and railway stations. The government’s
repression was quite brutal. Even women and children were beaten up.
About 100,000 people were arrested.

Round Table Conference

When things began to take a violent turn, Mahatma Gandhi called off the
movement. He signed a pact with Irwin on 5th March 1931. This was called
the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.

As per the Pact, Gandhiji agreed to participate in the Round Table

Conference in London. In lieu of that, the government agreed to release the
political prisoners. Gandhiji went to London in December 1931.

The negotiations broke down and Gandhiji had to return with

disappointment. When Gandhiji came back to India, he found that most of
the leaders were put in jail. Congress had been declared illegal.

Many measures were taken to prevent meetings, demonstrations and

boycotts. Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement.
By 1934, the movement had lost its momentum.

People’s Participation in the Movement

Farmers : For the farmers, the fight for Swaraj was a struggle against high
revenues. When the movement was called off in 1931; without the revenue
rates being revised; the farmers were highly disappointed.
Many of them refused to participate when the movement was re-launched
in 1932. The small tenants just wanted the unpaid rent to the landlord to be
remitted.

They often joined the radical movements which were led by Socialists and
Communists. Congress did not want to alienate the rich landlords and
hence, the relationship between the poor peasants and Congress was
uncertain.

Businessmen : The Indian merchants and industrialists could grow their

business during the First World War. They were against those colonial
policies which restricted their business activities.

They wanted protection against imports and a Rupee-Sterling Foreign

Exchange ratio which would discourage imports. The Indian Industrial and
Commercial Congress was formed in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian
Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) was formed in 1927. These
were the results of attempts to bring the common business interests on a
common platform.

For the businessmen, Swaraj meant an end to oppressive colonial policies.

They wanted an environment which could allow the business to flourish.
They were apprehensive of militant activities and of growing influence of
socialism among the younger members of the Congress.

Industrial Workers : The industrial workers showed a lukewarm response to

the Civil Disobedience Movement. Since, industrialists were closer to the
Congress, workers kept a distance from the movement. But some workers
selectively participated in the movement. Congress did not want to
alienate the industrialists and hence, preferred to keep the workers’
demands at bay.

Women’s Participation : Women also participated in the Civil

Disobedience Movement in large numbers. However, most of the women
were from high-caste families in the urban areas and from rich peasant
households in rural areas. But for a long time, the Congress was reluctant
to give any position of authority to women within the organisation. The
Congress was just keen on the symbolic presence of women.
The Sense of Collective Belonging

Nationalist Movement spreads when people belonging to different regions

and communities begin to develop a sense of collective belongingness.
The identity of a nation is most often symbolized in a figure an image.

This image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim Chandra

Chattopadhyay in 1870 when he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ for our
motherland. Indian folk songs and folk tales sung by bards played an
important role in making the idea of nationalism. In Bengal, Rabindranath
Tagore and in Madras, Natesa Sastri collection of folk tales and songs, this
led the movement for folk revival.

During the Swadeshi Movement, a tri-color (red, green and yellow) flag
was designed in Bengal. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces
and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims.

Means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of

history. The nationalist writers urged the readers to take pride in India’s
great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable
conditions of life under British rule