CHAPTER 11

THE MAKING OF THE

NATIONAL MOVEMENT:
1870’S-1947
TOPICS TO BE DONE-
 EMERGENCE OF NATIONALISM
 THREE LAWS – ARMS ACT, VERNACULAR PRESS ACT , ILBERT BILL CONTROVERSY
 INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS(INC) – FORMATION, MODERATES AND RADICALS-
THEIR DEMANDS, CONGRESS SPLIT
 PARTITION OF BENGAL
 SWADESHI MOVEMENT
 MUSLIM LEAGUE AND LUCKNOW PACT
 IMAPCT OF 1ST WORLD WAR
 GANDHI AND SATYAGRAH( KHEDA, AHEMDABAD, CHAMPARAN)
 ROWLATT SATYAGRAH AND JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE
 KHILAFAT AGITATION AND NON COOPERATION MOVEMENT
 EVENTS FROM 1922 TO 1929
 DANDI MARCH AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT
 QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
 THE PARTITION
THE EMERGENCE OF NATIONALISM
 I.The Emergence of Nationalism
 India was the people of India – all the people irrespective of class, colour, caste,
creed, language, or gender.
 The country, its resources and systems, were meant for all of them.
 This consciousness began to be clearly stated by the political associations formed
after 1850,
 Most of these were led by English-educated professionals such as lawyers.
 They worked with the idea that the people should be sovereign – a modern
consciousness and a key feature of nationalism.
 Sovereign – The capacity to act independently without outside interference
II.LAWS THAT INCREASED DISSATISFACTION
 1.The Arms Act (1878) : With intent to disallowing Indians from possessing arms.

 2. Vernacular Press Act (1878) : It was enacted in an effort to silence those who
were critical of the government.
The Act allowed the government to confiscate the assets of newspapers including their
printing presses if the newspapers published anything that was found “objectionable”.
3. Ilbert Bill 1883
 The bill provided for the trial of British or European persons by Indians, and sought
equality between British and Indian judges in the country.
 But when white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill, Indians were
enraged. The event highlighted the racial attitudes of the British in India.

The need for an all-India organisation of educated Indians had been felt since 1880, but
the Ilbert Bill controversy deepened this desire.
III. INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (INC)- FORMATION
 INC was established in December 1885, when 72 delegates from all
over the country met at Bombay.
 The early leadership –was largely from Bombay and Calcutta.
 Naoroji , a businessman and publicist settled in London, and for a time
member of the British Parliament, guided the younger nationalists.
 A retired British official, A.O. Hume, also played a part in bringing
Indians from the various regions together.
Publicist – Someone who publicizes an idea by circulating
information, writing reports, speaking at meetings.
A NATION IN THE MAKING
It has often been said that the Congress in the first twenty years was “moderate” in its
objectives and methods.
They argued that people must rely on their own strength, not on the
“good” intentions of the government; people must fight for swaraj.

Tilak raised the slogan, “Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it!”
 IV.PARTITION OF BENGAL- 1905
 In 1905 Viceroy Curzon partitioned Bengal.
 At that time Bengal was the biggest province of British India and included Bihar and parts of
Orissa.
 The British argued for dividing Bengal for reasons of
administrative convenience
 Main British motives were to curtail the influence of
Bengali politicians and to split the Bengali people.
 All sections of the Congress –
the Moderates and the Radicals, opposed partition.
 The struggle that unfolded came to be known as
the Swadeshi movement, strongest in Bengal but with
echoes elsewhere too – in deltaic Andhra for instance,
it was known as the Vandemataram Movement.
 V.SWADESHI MOVEMENT
The Swadeshi Movement sought
to oppose British Rule and
encourage the ideas of
• Self Help
• Swadeshi Enterprise,
• National Education,
• Use of Indian Languages.
• Radicals suggested mass
mobilization,boycott british
institutions and goods
 VI. MUSLIM LEAGUE-1906
 A group of Muslim landlords and nawabs formed the All India
Muslim League at Dacca in 1906.
 The League supported the partition of Bengal.
 Itdesired separate electorates for Muslims, a demand
conceded by the government in1909.
 Some seats in the councils were now reserved for Muslims
who would be elected by Muslim voters.
 This tempted politicians to gather a following by distributing
favours to their own religious groups
VII. CONGRESS SPLIT-1907
 In 1907, Congress split in two halves. The
Moderates were opposed to the use of boycott and
force.
 After split Moderates dominated Congress.
 The two groups of Congress reunited in December
1915.
LUCKNOW PACT- 1916
Next year (1916) the Congress and the Muslim League
signed the historic Lucknow Pact and decided to work
together for representative government in the country.
PART II
VIII. The Growth of Mass Nationalism-IMPACT OF FIRST WORLD WAR
(1914-18)
 IX. THE ADVENT OF MAHATMA
GANDHI
 Gandhiji, aged 46, arrived in India in
1915 from South Africa.
 His South African campaigns had
brought him in contact with various types
of Indians
 Mahatma Gandhi spent his first year in
India travelling throughout the country,
understanding the people, their needs
and the overall situation.
 His earliest interventions were in
Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad
In Ahmedabad he led a successful
millworkers’ strike in 1918.
 X. The Rowlatt Satyagraha-1919
 In 1919 Gandhiji gave a call for a satyagraha against the
Rowlatt Act that the British had just passed.
 The Act curbed fundamental rights such as the freedom of
expression and strengthened police powers(.- person
arrested can be kept in jail for 2 years without any trial.)
 Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah criticised the
Act as “devilish” and tyrannical.
 6 April 1919 – Observed as a day of “Humiliation and
prayer”
 13 April 1919- General Dyer caused The Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre.
 Tagore renounced his “Knighthood” to express his pain
and anger against British.
JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE
PART -III
 XI. KHILAFAT AGITATION AND THE NON-
COOPERATION MOVEMENT
 In 1920 the British imposed a harsh treaty on the Turkish Sultan
of Ottoman Empire or Khalifa.
 The leaders of the Khilafat agitation, Mohammad Ali and
Shaukat Ali, now wished to initiate a full-fledged Non-
Cooperation Movement.
 Gandhiji supported their call and urged the Congress to
campaign against “Punjab wrongs” (Jallianwala massacre), the
Khilafat wrong and demand swaraj.
 THE NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT
 This movement gained momentum through 1921-22.
METHODS OF PROTEST--
 Many lawyers such as gave up their practices.
 British titles were surrendered and legislatures boycotted.
 People lit public bonfires of foreign cloth.
 NON- COOPERATION MOVEMENT-
CALLED OFF
 Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, was against violent
movements.
 He abruptly called off the Non-Cooperation Movement
when in February 1922 a crowd of peasants set fire to a
police station in Chauri Chaura.
 Twentytwo policemen were killed on that day.
 The peasants were provoked because the police had
fired on their peaceful demonstration.
 XII. THE HAPPENINGS OF 1922-1929
 Establishement
of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and
Communist Party of India is important development of mid-1920s.
 Thedecade closed with the Congress resolving to fight for
Purna Swaraj (complete independence) in 1929 under the
presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru at Lahore.
 Consequently, “Independence Day” was observed on 26
January 1930 all over the country.
REVOLUTIONARY NATIONALISTS
PART – IV
XIII.THE MARCH TO DANDI
(beginning of Civil Disobedience Movement)

 In 1930, Gandhiji declared that he

would lead a march to break the salt
law.
 The Salt March related the general
desire of freedom to a specific grievance
shared by everybody, and thus did not
divide the rich and the poor.
 Gandhiji lead the march for over 240
Miles from Sabarmati to coastal town
Dandi.
 ACHIEVEMENT of Civil Disobedience
Movement
 The combined struggles of the Indian people bore fruit when
the Government of India Act of 1935 prescribed provincial
autonomy and the government announced elections to the
provincial legislatures in 1937.
 The Congress formed governments in 7 out of 11 provinces.
 1939 Second World War broke out. Congress was ready to
support British in view of Critical of Hitler, but in turn, they
wanted India be granted independence after war.
 XIV.Quit India and Later
 In the middle of Second World War,
Mahatma Gandhi told to British that the
must Quit India immediately.
 “Do or Die” slogan was given to the people
by him.
 By the end of 1943 over 90,000 people
were arrested, and around 1,000 killed in
police firing. In many areas orders were
given to machine-gun crowds from
airplanes.
 Towards Independence and Partition
 1940- Muslim League
demanded “ Independent
States” for Muslims in the
North-Western and eastern
areas of the country.
 From the late 1930s, the
League began viewing the
Muslims as a separate
“nation” from the Hindus.
 Influence of result of 1937
elections.
 TOWARDS FREEDOM
 At the end of the war in 1945, the British opened negotiations between the
Congress, the League and themselves for the independence of India.
 League saw itself as the sole spokesperson of India’s Muslims.
 The Congress could not accept this claim since a large number of Muslims still
supported it. Thus the talks failed.

CONSTITUENCY ELECTION IN 1946

 Congress – Fine performance on general Constituencies.
 League- Spectacular success on Muslim Reserved Seats.
 Now League persisted with demand for “Pakistan”.
 Cabinet Mission (Three Cabinet level Ministers of British) in March 1946 suggested
United India with some autonomy for Muslim-majority areas.
 Congress and Leagues disagreed with the Cabinet Mission’s proposal.
 XV. PARTITION
 The Muslim League decided on
mass agitation for winning its
Pakistan demand.
 It announced 16 August 1946 as
“Direct Action Day”.
 On this day riots broke out in Calcutta, lasting several
days and resulting in the death of thousands of people.
 By March 1947 violence spread to different parts of
northern India.
 Partition also meant that India changed, many of its
cities changed, and a new country – Pakistan – was
born.
 So, the joy of our country’s independence from British
rule came mixed with the pain and violence of Partition.
THE END