Effects of First World War
Effects of First World War
Effects of First World War
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(a) Surrender the titles which were awarded by the British Government.
(b) Boycott of civil services, army, police, courts, legislative councils and
schools.
Many rebels from the tribal areas became non-violent and often carried
guerrilla warfare against the British officials.
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.
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.
Simon 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.