Nationalism changes the way of life

As you have seen, modern nationalism in Europe

came to be associated with the formation of
nation-states. It also meant a change in people’s
understanding of who they were, and what defined
their identity and sense of belonging. New
symbols and icons, new songs and ideas forged new
links and redefined the boundaries of
communities. In most countries the making of this
new national identity was a long process. How did
this consciousness emerge in India?
Nationalism in India
In India and as in many other colonies, the
growth of modern nationalism is intimately
connected to the anti-colonial movement. People
began discovering their unity in the process of
their struggle with colonialism. The sense of
being oppressed under colonialism provided a
shared bond that tied many different groups
together. But each class and group felt the
effects of colonialism differently, their
experiences were varied, and their notions of
freedom were not always the same. The Congress
under Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge these groups
together within one movement. But the unity did
Theme of the chapter
In an earlier textbook you have read about the
growth of nationalism in India up to the first
decade of the twentieth century. In this chapter
we will pick up the story from the 1920s and
study the NonCooperation and Civil Disobedience
Movements. We will explore how the Congress
sought to develop the national movement, how
different social groups participated in the
movement, and how nationalism captured the
imagination of people.
1919 and Nationalism
In the years after 1919, we see the national
movement spreading to new areas, incorporating
new social groups, and developing new modes of
struggle. How do we understand these
developments? What implications did they have?
1919 and Nationalism
First of all, the war created a new economic and
political situation. It led to a huge increase in
defence expenditure which was financed by war
loans and increasing taxes: customs duties were
raised and income tax introduced. Through the war
years prices increased – doubling between 1913
and 1918 – leading to extreme hardship for the
common people. Villages were called upon to
supply soldiers, and the forced recruitment in
rural areas caused widespread anger.
1919 and Nationalism
Then in 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many
parts of India, resulting in acute shortages of
food. This was accompanied by an influenza
epidemic. According to the census of 1921, 12 to
13 million people perished as a result of famines
and the epidemic.
Reality VS Hope
People hoped that their hardships would end after
the war was over. But that did not happen.
At this stage a new leader appeared and suggested
a new mode of struggle
The Idea of Satyagraha: Gandhian Phase
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January 1915.
As you know, he had come from South Africa where
he had successfully fought the racist regime with
a novel method of mass agitation, which he called
satyagraha. The idea of satyagraha emphasised the
power of truth and the need to search for truth.
The Philosophy of Satyagraha
It suggested that if the cause was true, if the
struggle was against injustice, then physical
force was not necessary to fight the oppressor.
Without seeking vengeance or being aggressive, a
satyagrahi could win the battle through
nonviolence.
How could this be done?
This could be done by appealing to the conscience
of the oppressor. People – including the
oppressors – had to be persuaded to see the
truth, instead of being forced to accept truth
through the use of violence. By this struggle,
truth was bound to ultimately triumph. Mahatma
Gandhi believed that this dharma of non-violence
could unite all Indians.
Experiments of Satyagraha in India
After arriving in India, Mahatma Gandhi
successfully organised satyagraha movements in
various places. In 1917 he travelled to Champaran
in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle
against the oppressive plantation system. Then in
1917, he organised a satyagraha to support the
peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat.
Affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic,
the peasants of Kheda could not pay the revenue,
and were demanding that revenue collection be
relaxed. In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to
Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement
amongst cotton mill workers.
The Rowlatt Act
Emboldened with this success, Gandhiji in 1919
decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against
the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919). This Act had
been hurriedly passed through the Imperial
Legislative Council despite the united opposition
of the Indian members. It gave the government
enormous powers to repress political activities,
and allowed detention of political prisoners
without trial for two years.
Rowlatt Satyagraha
Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil
disobedience against such unjust laws, which
would start with a hartal on 6 April. Rallies
were organised in various cities, workers went on
strike in railway workshops, and shops closed
down.
Retaliation by British Administration
Alarmed by the popular upsurge, and scared that
lines of communication such as the railways and
telegraph would be disrupted, the British
administration decided to clamp down on
nationalists. Local leaders were picked up from
Amritsar, and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from
entering Delhi. On 10 April, the police in
Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession,
provoking widespread attacks on banks, post
offices and railway stations. Martial law was
imposed and General Dyer took command.
Jallianwalla Bagh Incident
On 13 April the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh
incident took place. On that day a large crowd
gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla
Bagh. Some came to protest against the
government’s new repressive measures. Others had
come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. Being
from outside the city, many villagers were
unaware of the martial law that had been imposed.
Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points,
and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
His object, as he declared later, was to ‘produce
a moral effect’, to create in the minds of
satyagrahis a feeling of terror and awe.
Its Aftermath
As the news of Jallianwalla Bagh spread, crowds
took to the streets in many north Indian towns.
There were strikes, clashes with the police and
attacks on government buildings. The government
responded with brutal repression, seeking to
humiliate and terrorise people: satyagrahis were
forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on
the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all
sahibs; people were flogged and villages (around
Gujranwala in Punjab, now in Pakistan) were
bombed.
Closure of the Movement
Seeing violence spread, Mahatma Gandhi called off
the movement. While the Rowlatt satyagraha had
been a widespread movement, it was still limited
mostly to cities and towns. Mahatma Gandhi now
felt the need to launch a more broad-based
movement in India. But he was certain that no
such movement could be organised without bringing
the Hindus and Muslims closer together.
Khilafat Movement
One way of doing this, he felt, was to take up
the Khilafat issue. The First World War had ended
with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. And there were
rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be
imposed on the Ottoman emperor – the spiritual
head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa). To
defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat
Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919.
Khilafat Movement
A young generation of Muslim leaders like the
brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began
discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the
possibility of a united mass action on the issue.
Gandhiji saw this as an opportunity to bring
Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national
movement. At the Calcutta session of the Congress
in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of
the need to start a non-cooperation movement in
support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.
Why Non-cooperation?
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 come.
How could non-cooperation become a movement?
Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold
in stages. It should begin with the surrender of
titles that the government awarded, and a boycott
of civil services, army, police, courts and
legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.
Then, in case the government used repression, a
full civil disobedience campaign would be
launched. Through the summer of 1920 Mahatma
Gandhi and Shaukat Ali toured extensively,
mobilising popular support for the movement.
Tussle within the Congress
Many within the Congress were, however, concerned
about the proposals. They were reluctant to
boycott the council elections scheduled for
November 1920, and they feared that the movement
might lead to popular violence. In the months
between September and December there was an
intense tussle within the Congress. For a while
there seemed no meeting point between the
supporters and the opponents of the movement.
Finally, at the Congress session at Nagpur in
December 1920, a compromise was worked out and
the Non-Cooperation programme was adopted.
Next Unit
How did the movement unfold? Who participated in
it? How did different social groups conceive of
the idea of Non-Cooperation?