Samacheer Class 10 Social Science - Nationalism: Gandhian Phase

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar, in Punjab. On that day, which was also the festival of Baisakhi, a large but peaceful crowd of men, women and children had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed garden with very few exits, to protest against the repressive Rowlatt Act and the arrest of their leaders. General Reginald Dyer arrived with his troops, blocked the only main exit without giving any warning, and ordered his soldiers to fire on the unarmed crowd. The firing continued for about ten minutes, until the ammunition was almost exhausted. Hundreds of people were killed and over a thousand were wounded. This brutal massacre shocked the whole country, turned countless Indians against British rule, and became a turning point in the freedom struggle.

The Khilafat Movement was a movement started by Indian Muslims in 1919-20. After the defeat of Turkey in the First World War, the British and their allies took away the powers of the Sultan of Turkey, who was also the Caliph, the religious head of Muslims all over the world. Indian Muslims, led by the Ali brothers, Maulana Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, were greatly upset and began the Khilafat Movement to defend the position of the Caliph. Mahatma Gandhi supported the movement and joined it with the Non-Cooperation Movement, so as to bring about Hindu-Muslim unity in the struggle against the British. For a time the two communities worked closely together. The movement declined after 1922, and especially after Turkey itself abolished the Caliphate in 1924.

Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922, mainly because of the violent incident at Chauri Chaura. The Non-Cooperation Movement, launched in 1920, was based on the principle of non-violence. But at Chauri Chaura, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, an angry mob of agitators set fire to a police station and killed about twenty-two policemen who were trapped inside. Gandhi was deeply shocked by this violence. He felt that the people were not yet ready to follow non-violence with full discipline, and that the movement was turning violent and might go out of control. Believing that a violent struggle would do more harm than good, he decided to call off the movement at once, even though it was at its height. This decision disappointed many leaders.

The Simon Commission was boycotted by Indians because it was an all-white commission that did not have a single Indian member. The British government appointed the commission in 1927, under Sir John Simon, to suggest constitutional reforms and to review the working of the government in India. But all its seven members were Englishmen, with no Indian among them. Indians felt deeply insulted that the future of their own country was to be decided by foreigners without any Indian being consulted. They saw it as an attack on their self-respect and on their demand for self-government. Therefore, when the commission arrived in India in 1928, it was met everywhere with black flags and the slogan 'Simon Go Back', and was boycotted by almost all parties. During one such protest, Lala Lajpat Rai was fatally injured in a lathi charge.

Poorna Swaraj means 'complete independence' or 'full self-rule'. For many years the Indian National Congress had demanded only Dominion Status, that is, self-government within the British Empire. But as the British failed to satisfy Indian demands, the Congress, at its historic Lahore session in December 1929 under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, passed the resolution of Poorna Swaraj, declaring that the goal of the national movement was now complete independence from British rule. It was decided that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as the first Independence Day, when people all over the country took a pledge to work for complete freedom. This declaration gave a new and bolder direction to the freedom struggle, and the date 26 January was later chosen as the day on which the Constitution of India came into force.

Bhagat Singh was one of the most famous and heroic revolutionaries of the Indian freedom struggle. Born in 1907 in Punjab, he was deeply influenced by the sufferings of his country under British rule and by revolutionary ideas. He became a leader of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. To avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, who died after a lathi charge, Bhagat Singh and his companions shot dead a British police officer. Later, along with Batukeshwar Dutt, he threw two harmless bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1929, not to kill anyone but to 'make the deaf hear', and then courted arrest. He used his trial to spread the message of freedom and revolution. Along with Rajguru and Sukhdev, he was hanged by the British in 1931, and he became a great martyr and an inspiration for the youth of India.

The Poona Pact was an agreement signed in 1932 between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who represented the depressed classes. The British had announced the Communal Award, which provided separate electorates for the depressed classes, meaning that they would vote separately from other Hindus. Gandhi opposed this strongly, fearing that it would divide Hindu society permanently, and he went on a fast unto death in protest while in Yerwada jail. To save his life and to settle the issue, the Poona Pact was concluded. By its terms, the idea of separate electorates for the depressed classes was given up. Instead, a larger number of seats were reserved for them within the general Hindu electorate, and they were given joint electorates with the right to elect their own candidates to these reserved seats. This greatly increased their representation.

Several factors transformed Mahatma Gandhi into a mass leader of the Indian freedom struggle. First was his unique method of satyagraha, or non-violent resistance, which he had successfully tested in South Africa and which ordinary people could understand and follow. Second was his simple way of living, his plain dress and his use of the common people's language, which made the masses feel that he was one of them. Third were his early successes in India in the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad satyagrahas, where he fought for peasants and workers and won their trust. Fourth was his championing of popular causes such as the protest against the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, and his support of the Khilafat cause, which brought Hindus and Muslims together. His emphasis on truth, non-violence and self-sacrifice gave him a moral authority that drew millions of people to him.

The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 and was a typical example of the Gandhian method of struggle. It began with the famous Dandi Salt March, in which Gandhi and his followers walked to the sea and broke the salt law by making salt, defying the government's monopoly. The movement then spread across the country: people refused to pay taxes, boycotted foreign goods and liquor, picketed shops, and broke other unjust laws, all in a non-violent manner. Women took part in large numbers for the first time. The British responded with severe repression, arresting Gandhi and tens of thousands of others. The movement showed the power of mass non-violent resistance and the unity of the people, and it forced the British to negotiate, leading to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the Round Table Conferences. Though it did not win immediate freedom, it greatly strengthened the national movement.

The partition of India in 1947, which created the separate state of Pakistan, happened for several reasons. The main reason was the growth of communalism and the 'two-nation theory' put forward by the Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which claimed that Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations who could not live together in one country. The British policy of 'divide and rule', including the introduction of separate electorates, had over the years deepened the divisions between the two communities. Repeated communal riots and growing mistrust made unity difficult. The Muslim League's insistent demand for a separate homeland, the failure of repeated efforts to reach a settlement for a united India, and the British desire to leave India quickly after the Second World War all combined to make partition seem the only way out. As a result, India was divided amid terrible violence and the migration of millions of people.

Activity instructions for teachers/students: - Provide students with a blank map of India. - Ask them to mark and label key places: Champaran (1917—peasants' satyagraha), Kheda (1918—peasant agitation), Ahmedabad (Sabarmati Ashram; salt march start), Dandi (1930—Salt March), Bardoli (1928—Satyagraha led by Patel), Wardha (constructive programme), Amritsar (Jallianwala Bagh, 1919). - For each place students should write 1–2 lines explaining the event and its significance (date, Gandhi's role, outcome).

Activity format and guidance: - Divide class into groups, each assigned a leader/personality (Gandhi, Jinnah, B.R. Ambedkar, Revolutionaries, Communists). - Each group researches their leader's viewpoint on methods of struggle, goals (constitutional reforms vs. full independence vs. separate nation), social policies, and use of violence/non-violence. - Hold a structured debate: opening statements (3 minutes per group), rebuttals, and a Q&A round. - Assessment: clarity of arguments, historical accuracy, use of facts, ability to represent the assigned viewpoint. - Learning outcome: students will understand differing perspectives within India’s freedom movement and the reasons for disagreements on strategy and objectives.