English Itihas 8th

The Coordination Committee formed by GR No. Abhyas - 2116/(Pra.Kra.43/16) SD - 4
Dated 25.4.2016 has given approval to prescribe this textbook in its meeting held on

29.12.2017 and it has been decided to implement it from the educational year 2018-19.

History and Civics

Standard Eight

Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and
Curriculum Research, Pune - 411004.
The digital textbook can be obtained through
DIKSHA App on a smartphone by using the
Q.R Code given on title page of the textbook and
useful audio-visual teaching-learning material of
the relevant lesson will be available through the
Q.R Code given in each lesson of this textbook.

First Edition : 2018 © Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum

Reprint : January 2021 Research, Pune - 411 004.

The Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research reserves
all rights relating to the book. No part of this book should be reproduced without the written
permission of the Director, Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum
Research, ‘Balbharati’, Senapati Bapat Marg, Pune 411004.

History Subject Committee Writing Group

Dr. Sadanand More, Chairman Shri. Rahul Prabhu Prof. Shivani Limaye
Shri. Mohan Shete, Member
Shri. Bhausaheb Umate Shri. Sanjay Vazrekar
Shri. Pandurang Balkawade, Member
Dr. Shubhangana Atre, Member Shri. Prashant Sarudkar Prof. Sadhana Kulkarni
Dr. Somnath Rode, Member
Shri. Bapusaheb Shinde, Member Translation
Shri. Balkrishna Chopde, Member Dr. Priya Gohad Prof. Ajinkya Gaikwad
Shri. Prashant Sarudkar, Member
Scrutiny
Shri. Mogal Jadhav, Member-Secretary Dr. Ganesh Raut Dr. Vaibhavi Palsule

Civics Subject Committee Cover and Illustrations
Shri. Dilip Kadam
Dr. Shrikant Paranjape, Chairman Carteographer
Prof. Sadhana Kulkarni, Member
Shri. Ravikiran Jadhav
Dr. Prakash Pawar, Member
Prof. Ajinkya Gaikwad, Member Typesetting
DTP Section, Balbharati
Prof. Sangita Aher, Member
Dr. Mohan Kashikar, Member Paper : 70 GSM Creamwove
Shri. Vaijnath Kale, Member Print Order : N/PB/2021-22/Qty.- 50,000
Shri. Mogal Jadhav, Member-Secretary Printer : Chakradhar Offset Printers,Nagpur

History and Civics Study Group Coordination

Shri. Rahul Prabhu Shri. Vishal Kulkarni Mogal Jadhav
Special Officer, History and Civics
Shri. Sanjay Vazarekar Shri. Shekhar Patil
Varsha Sarode
Shri. Subhash Rathod Shri. Ramdas Thakar Assistant Special Officer, History and Civics

Smt Sunita Dalvi Dr. Ajit Apte Production

Dr. Shivani Limaye Dr. Mohan Khadse Sachchitanand Aphale
Chief Production Officer
Shri. Bhausaheb Umate Smt Shivkanya Kaderkar
Prabhakar Parab,
Dr. Nagnath Yevale Shri. Gautam Dange Production Officer
Shashank Kanikdale,
Shri. Sadanand Dongre Dr. Vyankatesh Kharat Asst. Production Officer

Shri. Ravindra Patil Shri. Ravindra Jinde Publisher

Smt Rupali Girkar Dr. Prabhakar Londhe Vivek Uttam Gosavi, Controller
Maharashtra State Textbook Bureau,
Dr. Minakshi Upadhyay Dr. Manjiri Bhalerao
Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025.
Dr. Raosaheb Shelke Prof. Shashi Nighojkar

Dr. Satish Chaple



NATIONA��ANT���

Preface

Dear Students,

From standard III to standard V you have studied the subjects of history
and civics in ‘Environmental Studies’. In the syllabus of standard VI onwards
history and civics are independent subjects. From standard VI onwards both these
subjects are included in one textbook. We are happy to place this textbook of
standard VIII in your hands.

The structure of the textbook is designed with the objective that the subject
should be properly understood, felt interesting and get inspired by the work done
by our ancestors. By studying this textbook we hope that along with knowledge
your learning will also become meaningful. For this purpose coloured pictures,
maps are given in the textbook. Every chapter of the textbook should be studied
attentively. Those parts which are difficult to understand can be explained by
your teachers and parents. The content given in the table will increase your
curiosity. If you want to know more, then through the medium of App using
the QR code useful audio visual material related to the chapter will be available
to you. It will definitely be useful for your study. An attempt is made to make
history interesting and it will surely develop within you a liking for the subject.

The history part deals with Modern Indian History. The textbook is written
by combining new trends in history and core values of national education.
By studying the textbook it will be clear as to how the principles of liberty,
equality, fraternity, and justice evolved in the history of Modern India. There is
an introduction to sources of history of Modern India in the textbook. Similarly
an overview of the expansion of British rule in India is taken. Information about
the unforgettable fight given by the Indian people to free India from the chains
of British rule is given in the part of history.

In the part of civics an introduction to Parliamentary Government System
is given. It tells that the working of our country is based on constitution, laws
and rules. Indian Parliament, Central Legislative Assembly, Judicial system of
India, working of State government, Bureaucratic structure and their role in the
process of democracy is made clear in this textbook.

Pune Dr. Sunil Magar
Date : 18 April 2018, Akshaya Tritiya Director
Indian Solar Date : 28 Chaitra 1940
Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook
Production and Curriculum Research, Pune

 For the Teachers 

We have studied ancient and mediaeval history of India in the syllabus of Standard VI
and VII respectively. History syllabus of Standard VIII includes the process of colonialisation
and decolonialisation in India as well as the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement in post
independence period. Due to the study of intellectual inspiration behind the freedom struggle,
rise and development of Nationalism in India and the contribution of freedom fighters, the
sense of responsibility towards Nation and patriotism among students will increase.

History is a scientific subject in which sources of history are exceptionally important.
While considering the changing nature of sources of history as per the time period, the sources
of history are included in the first unit. There was growth of imperialism in Europe due to the
age of Renaissance and revolution which led to the growth of the process of colonialisation in
Asian and African continents. We are going to think about how India fell prey to the western
imperialist ambition, what were the effects of British rule over India, later how did the Indians
develop a sense of Identity and attained inspiration of independence.

While teaching the Indian freedom struggle a complete information of events such as
freedom struggle of 1857, establishment of Indian National Congress, work of Indian National
Congress in the moderate and extremist phase, the Satyagrahi movements during Gandhi era,
armed revolutionary movement, struggle of Indian National Army, independence of India,
integration of princely states, liberation of French and Portuguese colonies can be provided
to the students through the medium of audio visual sources (films, documentaries, recordings
etc.), field visits, exhibitions, newspapers etc.

While thinking about the political events, the students can be introduced to how the
changes in social and economic fields of India took place, how the thought of social and
economic equality was inculcated among the Indians. While studying the background of Indian
history we have to consider the events in the formation of state of Maharashtra and the
Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.

In the part of Civics of Standard VII we have studied the philosophy, values expressed
through the Constitution. In standard VIII the system of government created by constitution,
administrative system, judicial machinery and judicial system is thought about. The relevant
content should be taught with the help of contemporary events. It should be associated with
the philosophy of constitution and the values and ideals reflected through it.

The students should be made aware that Constitution is a living document through which
democracy and rule of law comes into reality. It will help the students to be more mature
in social and economic consciousness. It will be possible for the students to find the relation
between democratic Institutions and various political processes. On basis of the contents given
in the textbook, activities like discussions, group discussions, projects, posters, understanding
different political facets based on a single subject can be done from the students.

While designing the textbook constructive education and activity based teaching is given
specific importance. For this purpose additional and interesting information related to the
chapter is given in tabular format. Along with it through let us discuss, do it etc. how the
student will remain active in the learning process is thought about. With a view to give scope
to the action, thought and self expression, the self study and project is designed. For providing
additional sufficient information regarding the chapter the QR code is included in the textbook,
by using it effective teaching will be easier for you.

History

(History of Modern India)

INDEX

S.No. Name of the Chapter Page No.

1. Sources of History................................................. 1
2. Europe and India................................................... 5
3. Effects of British rule............................................ 10
4. The Freedom Struggle of 1857............................. 15
5. Social and Religious Reforms.............................. 21
6. Beginning of Freedom Movement........................ 25
7. Non-co-operation Movement................................ 31
8. Civil Disobedience Movement............................. 36
9. Last Phase of Struggle for Independence............. 40
10. Armed Revolutionary Movement......................... 45
11. Struggle for Equality............................................. 50
12. India gains Independence..................................... 56
13. Fulfillment of Struggle for Independence............. 59
14. Formation of State of Maharashtra...................... 62

S.O.I. Note : The following foot notes are applicable : (1) © Government of India, Copyright : 2018. (2) The responsibility for the
correctness of internal details rests with the publisher. (3) The territorial waters of India extend into the sea to a distance of twelve
nautical miles measured from the appropriate base line. (4) The administrative headquarters of Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab are
at Chandigarh. (5) The interstate boundaries amongst Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya shown on this map are as interpreted
from the “North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act. 1971,” but have yet to be verified. (6) The external boundaries and coastlines of
India agree with the Record/Master Copy certified by Survey of India. (7) The state boundaries between Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar & Jharkhand and Chattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh have not been verified by the Governments concerned. (8) The spellings of
names in this map, have been taken from various sources.

Learning Outcomes

Suggested Pedagogical Processes Learning Outcomes

To give opportunities to study Individually or Students
in the group of two or more and to motivate
the students in undertaking following activities 08.73H.01 Understand various sources of History
and clarify its use in rewriting the
• Raise questions on different issues and history of this period.
events like ‘Why the British East India
Company felt it necessary to involve 08.73H.02 Distinguishes ‘the modern period’ from
itself in the internal hereditary feuds the ‘mediaeval’ and the ‘ancient’
amongst the Indian rulers ?’ periods through the use of sources,
nomenclatures used for various regions
• Visit places of historical importance of the Indian sub-continent and the
particularly those associated with centres historical events that took place in the
of colonial administration and Indian particular period.
national movement.
08.73H.03 Explains how the East India Company
• Gandhiji’s idea of non violence and its became the most dominant power.
impact on India’s national movement,
08.73H.04 Explains the differences in the impact
• Drawing up a timeline on significant of colonial agrarian policies in different
events of India’s national movement, regions of the country like the ‘Indigo
rebellion’.
• Enacting a role play on the Chauri
Chaura incident, 08.73H.05 Describes the forms of different tribal
societies in the 19th century and their
• Locating on an outline map of India, ‘the relationship with the environment.
regions most affected by commercial crop
cultivation during the colonial period’, 08.73H.06 Explains the policies of British
undertaking of such such projects and administration towards the tribal
activities. communities.

• Familiarise with the sources like 08.73H.07 Explains the origin, nature and spread
vernacular and British accounts, of the freedom struggle of 1857 and the
autobiographies, biographies, novels, lessons learned from it.
paintings, photographs, contemporary
writings, documents, newspaper reports, 08.73H.08 Analyses the decline of pre-existing
films, documentaries and also recent urban centres and handicraft industries
writings to understand and reconstruct and the development of new urban
histories of various movements. trade centres and industries in India
during the British rule.
• Expose to pedagogically innovative and
criterion-referenced questions for self 08.73H.09 Explains the institutionalisation of the
assessment like ‘What are the causes of new education system in India.
Battle of Plassey?’
08.73H.10 Analyses the issues related to caste,
women, widow remarriage, child
marriage, social reforms and the laws
and policies of British administration
towards these issues.

08.73H.11 Outlines major developments that
occured during the modern period in
the field of arts.

08.73H.12 Outlines the course of the Indian
national movement from the 1870 till
independence.

08.73H.13 Analyses the significant developments
in the process of nation building.

1. Sources of History

We have studied the sources of Do you know ?
ancient and mediaeval Indian history.
This year we are going to study the Museums and History : For
sources of Modern Indian History. the study of History various objects,
Historical sources include material, written paintings, photographs and such
and oral sources. Similarly sources based other things are preserved in a
on modern technology such as audio, museum. At the Aga Khan Palace
video and audio-visual are included. in Pune, we can see different objects,
documents giving information about
Material Sources : Various objects, the life of Mahatma Gandhi.
monuments, places, coins, sculptures etc.
can be included in the material sources
of history.

Buildings and Places : The period of Aga Khan Palace, Pune
Modern Indian History is believed as
period of European, especially the British Statues and Memorials : During the
rulers, and governance of Princely States. Pre Independence and Post Independence
In this period various buildings, bridges, period, memorials of many personalities
roads, water supply system, fountains etc. were erected in the form of statues. These
were built. These buildings include statues are also important for the study
government offices, residences of officers, of modern Indian history. The various
leaders and revolutionaries; palaces of statues provide information about the
rulers of princely states, forts, prisons etc. contemporary rulers and eminent
Among these monuments many buildings personalities. The display plaque on the
are intact even today. Some are declared statues gives us information about the full
as national monuments, where as some name of the concerned person, birth and
are converted into museum. For eg. death details, brief information about their
Cellular Jail in Andaman. contribution and a biographical sketch of
the person. Just as the statues of Mahatma
While visiting these sites we get Jyotirao Phule, Lokmanya Tilak, Dr.
information about contemporary history, Babasaheb Ambedkar, there are memorials
architecture, nature of the monument and which are erected in the memory of
also the economic condition of that various events which give information
particular period. Just as during the visit
to Cellular jail in Andaman we get
information about the revolutionary work
of V.D.Savarkar; by visiting Manibhavan
in Mumbai or Sevagram Ashram at
Wardha we get information about the
history of Gandhian era.

1

about the concerned event, period, people Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Shatapatre
related to the event etc. For e.g. Hutatma written by Lokahitawadi alias Gopal Hari
Smarak at various places. Deshmukh in the weekly ‘Prabhakar’
comments on various social and cultural
Do it. issues.

Trace out the statues and Let us know  : 
memorials in your neighbouring areas.
Note down the information, of an Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and
event or personality, that you obtain newspapers : In January 1920,
through it. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar started the
fortnightly ‘Mooknayak’. But later,
Written Sources : The following Dr. Ambedkar had to leave for higher
aspects are included in the written sources studies to England and hence he
of Modern Indian History. handed over this paper to his colleagues.
In April 1927, Dr. Ambedkar started
Foreign Newspapers Biographies the newspaper ‘Bahishkrut Bharat’.
Correspondence Accounts Through the medium of Bahishkrut
Bharat he wrote for the reformation of
Written Sources common people and bringing unity
among them. Apart from this he also
started two more newspapers, namely,
‘Janata’ and ‘Prabuddha Bharat’.

Periodicals Factory Autobiographies Books
Records

Newspapers and Periodicals :

Newspapers provide us information about

the contemporary events. Along with it,

detail analysis of a particular event, views

of eminent people, editorials are also

published. We get information about the

political, social, economic and cultural Maps and Drawings : Map is also
happenings of that period. In the pre regarded as an important source of history.
independence period, newspapers like The changing nature of a city or a
Dnyanoday, Dnyanprakash, Amrit Bazaar particular location can be traced through
Patrika, Deenbandhu, Kesari acted as maps. The Survey of India was an
important source of awakening the minds independent department established during
of the people. Through the newspapers the British period. Through scientific
we can study the British policies regarding methods of survey, they have created
India and their effects on India. During maps of India, various provinces of India,
the British period, newspapers were not cities etc. Similarly, the plans designed by
only the source of political events but the architects prove important from the
also acted as a source of social view of study of architecture of a building
reformation. The ‘Nibandhmala’ by as well as phases of development process

2

of a particular area. For example, the among the people. Apart from freedom
Department of Mumbai Port Trust has the movement, the Powadas were composed
original plan of the Bombay Port. based on the work of Satyashodhak
Information about development of Bombay Samaj for awakening among the oppressed
city can be understood through the plans classes, the Samyukta Maharashtra
drafted by architects and engineers. movement and such other events.

Oral Sources : The following sources Video, Audio and Audio-Visual
are included in the oral sources of Modern Sources : During the modern period, due
Indian history. to the development of Technology there
was a development in the art of
Inspirational Folk songs photography, recording, Films etc.
Songs Powada Obviously, these photographs, records
or films can be used as a source of
Rythmic Oral Sources Folk history.
prose (Ovee) Tales
Photographs : Photographs are visual
Fairs, Jalsa, Interviews Narrations source of modern Indian history. With the
Art Groups discovery of art of photography,
photograph of various persons, events,
Inspirational Songs : During the objects, structure, places were clicked.
period of freedom movement various Through these photographs we get
inspirational songs were composed. At information of the person or an event in
present some of these songs are available a visual format. In case of mediaeval
in written form, but there are many other period there are paintings available that
unpublished inspirational songs memorised depict the physical features of a person
by freedom fighters. Through these or visual description of a particular event,
inspirational song we can get information but the authenticity of these paintings is
about the conditions during pre doubtful. Comparatively photographs are
independence period and also the spirit considered to be more reliable. The
behind the freedom struggle could be photograph of a person gives information
understood. about the physical features, dressing style
etc. Photograph of an event give a visual
Powada : Powada is a source for image of the event whereas photograph
getting information about a historical of an object or a structure helps in
event or the work of a person. There are understanding its nature.
various Powadas composed on freedom
struggle of 1857, valour of revolutionaries Recordings : The discovery of
during British rule etc. These Powadas technique of recording was also as
were used to create motivation and spirit important as photography. Recording is a
form of audio source of history. During
Do it. modern period, the speeches of leaders or
important personalities, songs etc are
Collect and present the inspirational available in the form of recordings. They
songs and Powadas related to the can be used as a source of history. For
period of Indian freedom movement. example. National anthem ‘Jana Gana
Mana’ sung by Rabindranath Tagore

3

himself or the speeches of Subhash Compared to ancient and mediaeval
Chandra Bose can be used as an audio period, the sources of study of modern
source for the study of history of Modern Indian history are found in abundance
India. and variety. The archaeological sources
of this period are to a great extent found
Films : Films are considered as a in a better state. There are many written
unique discovery of modern technology. sources preserved in the archives. But
In the 20th century, there was a great while referring the written sources, the
development in the technique of ideology and opinions of the author
filmmaking. Dada Saheb Phalke, in the regarding the particular event needs to be
year 1913, laid the foundation of Indian examined. There is a great need of
film industry. Audio visual recording of preserving these historical sources through
Dandi Yatra, Salt Satyagraha, Quit India which the rich tradition of history can be
Movement and such other historical handed over to the next generation.
incidents are available. Through these
films the events could be seen in reality.

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the 3. Write short notes.
appropriate options. (1) Photographs (2) Museums and History
(3) Audio sources
(1) Among the historical sources ............... 4. Complete the following diagram.
sources are based on Modern
technology. Material
Sources
(a) Written (b) Oral
(c) Material (d) Audio-visual Project
(1) Collect the photographs related to
(2) The ............... is a museum in Pune
which gives information about the Indian Freedom movement with the
history of Mahatma Gandhi. help of internet.
(2) Gather information about the important
(a) Aga Khan Palace leaders of Indian freedom movement
(b) Sabarmati Ashram and their biographies and read aloud.
(c) Cellular Jail
(d) Lakshmi Vilas Palace

(3) A unique discovery of modern
technology in 20th century is .......... .

(a) Powada (b) Photograph
(c) Interviews (d) Films

2. Explain the following statements with
reasons.

(1) During the British period newspapers
also acted as source of social
reformation.

(2) Audio Visual Recordings are considered
as the most trustworthy source for the
study of Modern Indian History.

4

2. Europe and India

During the modern period, the various point of all ideologies.
happenings in Europe had its impact on
India. Therefore, while studying the period The reform movement spread
of modern Indian history, we have to throughout all sectors of human life.
study the events happening in Europe Through knowledge, science as well as
during this period. different sections of art, we can observe
the discoveries of reform movement.
Period of Renaissance : In history of
Europe, the last phase of mediaeval period The art and literature of renaissance
i.e. 13th to 16th century is known as the period depict sentiments and emotions of
period of renaissance. During this period human being. Literature was produced in
reformation, religious reform movement local language for better understanding to
and geographical discoveries laid the the common people. During 1450 AD,
foundation of the modern era. Hence this Johannes Gutenberg, from Germany
period is also known as the ‘Age of discovered the printing press. Due to this
Renaissance’. discovery new ideas, concepts and
knowledge reached to all sections of
During this period, in the field of art, society.
architecture, philosophy etc. there was a
revival of Greek and Roman tradition Religious Reform movement : The
which gave momentum to an overall independent intellectuals attacked the old
development. During the Renaissance religious ideologies of Roman Catholic
humanitarianism was given great impetus. Church. The Christian priests were taking
There was a change in the outlook of advantage of the ignorance of the people
treating each other as a human being. and were indulged in unnecessary rituals.
Instead of religion, man became centre They looted the people in the name of
religion. The movement that began against
Leonardo da Vinci : He is it is known as ‘Religious Reform
recognised as an all Movement’. Due to this movement, human
round personality of freedom and rationalism gained more
the period of importance.
Renaissance. He was
well versed in Geographical discoveries : In 1453
different branches of AD, the Ottoman Turks conquered
science and art. He Constantinople (Istanbul) which was the
had mastery over capital of Byzantine Empire. The overland
trade routes joining Asia and Europe went
varied subjects such as sculpture, through this city. Since the Turks blocked
architecture, mathematics, engineering, this route, there was a need of finding
music, astronomy etc. But he became alternative trade routes for the European
world renowned as a painter. His countries to reach Asia. This led to a new
paintings of ‘Monalisa’ and ‘The Last phase of geographical discoveries.
Supper’ became immortal.

5

Let us know took place.Due to the various revolutionary
events during 18th as well as 19th century,
Geographical discoveries : this period is known as the ‘Age of
During 15th century, European sailors Revolutions’. During this period, there
went on expedition to discover sea was development of Parliamentary
route to India. Democracy in England. There was a
• In 1487 AD Bartolomeu Dias, a change in the form of Cabinet System.
The Bill of Rights 1689 laid limitations
Portuguese sailor, began his on the power of the King. The sovereignty
expedition in search of India. But of Parliament was established.
reached the tip of African continent,
which we now know as the ‘Cape American war of Independence :
of Good Hope’. With the background of revolutionary
• In 1492 AD, Christopher Columbus development in Europe, it is equally
set on his journey to India by important to think about the American
sailing towards west but reached War of Independence. With the discovery
on the eastern coast of the continent of America, the European countries turned
of America. their attention towards this continent. The
• In 1498 AD, Portuguese sailor Imperialist European countries took control
Vasco-da-Gama managed to sail of different regions of America and
past the Cape of Good Hope and established their colonies. England
reached the Indian coast in Calicut. established thirteen colonies on the East
coast of America. Initially England had
Do it. nominal domination over these colonies,
but later English Parliament laid oppressive
• On an outline map of the World restrictions and taxes on these American
show the new sea routes and colonies. The people in America revolted
regions discovered by the sailors. against it. England declared war to
supress these colonies. American colonies
Intellectual Revolution in Europe : organised the army under the leadership
Due to the changes during the Renaissance of George Washington and finally won
period, Europe proceeded from mediaeval against England. This event is known as
to modern age. Intellectual revolution ‘American War of Independence’. A new
took place in the same period. The society nation known as the United States of
starts stepping out of the past ignorance America, with a federal government,
and blind faith. The pre established written constitution and based on the
customs and traditions came to be seen principles of Democracy, was born.
from a critical point of view. All these
changes are addressed as ‘Intellectual French Revolution : In 1789 AD,
Revolution’ which gave further momentum the people of France revolted against the
to scientific discoveries in Europe. uncontrolled and unjust monarchy and
feudalism and established a Republic.
Revolution in political sphere : In This event is known as ‘French Revolution’.
the early stage of beginning of Modern The French Revolution gave to the world
period in Europe many political changes the three values of Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity.

6

In World history, among the political This is known as Colonialism. This
revolutions, the American war of tendency of Colonialism led to rise of
Independence and French Revolution have imperialism among the Europeans.
a very important place.
Imperialism : Imperialism means a
Industrial revolution : In the latter system in which a powerful country
period of 18th century, there were many controls other countries by establishing its
technological innovations in Europe. There overall domination and establishing many
was production with the help of machines colonies. Many countries from Asian and
running on steam. The cottage industries African continent fell prey to this
were replaced by big factories. Machines imperialist aspiration of the European
came to be used instead of handlooms. Nations.
Railway and steamer became the mode
of transportation. The age of Machines Imperialism of British East India
began and that is known as ‘Industrial Company in India : There was
Revolution’. competition among European countries
for acquiring trade Monopoly in India.
Industrial Revolution began in England The British established British East India
and then spread in other parts of West. Company in 1600 AD to carry out trade
During this period England enjoyed in India. This company took permission
industrial prosperity and came to be from Emperor Jahangir and established its
described as ‘World Factory’. factory in Surat. The trade between India
and England was carried out through this
Rise of Capitalism : With the company.
discovery of new sea routes, began a new
era of trade between Europe and Asia. The British - French Conflict :
Many traders came forward to trade with England and France were rivals in the
Eastern countries through the sea route. It competition for trade in India. Due to
was not easy to carry out trade single this there were three Wars fought
handedly and hence many traders came between them which are known as
together and started trade. Thus there was ‘Carnatic Wars’. In the third Carnatic
rise of many Trading Companies. Trade War England finally defeated France.
with Oriental countries was very profitable Therefore, now there was no strong
and responsible for economic prosperity. European competitor for British East
Hence European rulers started giving India Company in India
military protection and trade concessions
to these trading companies. This led to Foundation of rule of British East
accumulation of wealth in Europe. This India Company in Bengal : The Bengal
property was used in the form of capital province was one of the most prosperous
for trade and Commerce which led to rise province in India. In 1756 AD Siraj-ud-
of capitalist economic system in Europe. Daulah became the Nawab of Bengal.
East India Company officers misused the
Colonialism : Colonialism means one trade concessions obtained from Mughal
country exploiting another country by Emperor in Bengal province. The English
making it into a colony. A powerful built fortification around the factory at
country on the basis of economic and Kolkata without the permission of the
military strength occupies another region Nawab. Hence Siraj-ud-Daulah captured
and establishes its political Supremacy. the factory at Kolkata. This created

7

discontent in England. Robert Clive British control over Sindh : To
diplomatically bribed Mir Jafar, the strengthen the British power in India, the
Commander in chief of the Nawab’s army English turned their attention towards
and also promised to make him the North West frontier. They feared that
Nawab of Bengal. Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah Russia might attack India through
and the British Troops met at Plassey in Afghanistan and hence the English started
1757 AD. But under the leadership of Mir establishing their influence over
Jafar the Nawab’s army made no move Afghanistan. The route towards
to actually join the battle and hence Siraj- Afghanistan went through Sindh. The
ud-Daulah was defeated. British understood the importance of
Sindh and hence captured it in 1843.
Mir Jafar became the Nawab of
Bengal with the support of British but Fall of Sikh power : In the beginning
later he started protesting against the of 19th century the power in Punjab was
British and hence, his son-in-law, Mir
Kasim was made the Nawab. Mir Kasim in the hands of Ranjit
tried to put restrictions on the illegal trade Singh. After the death
of British and hence once again Mir Jafar of Ranjit Singh, his
was made the Nawab of Bengal. minor son, Duleep Singh
came to the throne. On
To restrict the activities of British in his behalf, his mother
Bengal, Mir Kasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah, the Queen Jindan looked
Nawab of Ayodhya and Mughal Emperor after the state affairs,
Shah Alam formed an alliance and ran but could not keep
a campaign. In 1764 AD battle of Buxar control over the officers.
was fought in Bihar. After this battle, Ranjit Singh Taking advantage of this
British East India Company got the right situation the British bribed some of the
to collect the revenue from Bengal Sikh Sardar. The Sikh community thought
province as per the Treaty of Allahabad. that the British will attack Punjab and
In this manner, the foundation of British hence they launched an attack on the
rule in India was laid in Bengal. British. In this first Anglo Sikh war the
Sikhs were defeated. But still Duleep
British-Mysore Singh remained on the throne. But the
growing impact of British over Punjab
struggle : Hyder Ali was not acceptable to the Sikhs. Mulraj,
officer of Multan, revolted against the
from Mysore State English. Thousands of Sikh soldiers
participated in the war against the British.
rebelled and took In the second war the Sikhs had to face
defeat again. In 1849 the British finally
control of Mysore. captured the entire region of Punjab.

After the death of The Marathas were important strong
rulers in India. How did the British
Haider Ali, his son strengthen their foundation of rule in India
by defeating the Marathas will be studied
Tipu Sultan became in the next chapter.

the ruler of Mysore.

He tried his best to Tipu Sultan
fight against the

British. At the end, Tipu Sultan died in

the battle at Srirangapatna in 1799. In

this manner the British took control of the

Mysore territory.

8

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the (2) The European countries felt the
appropriate options necessity of finding new trade routes
to Asia.
(1) In 1453 the city of ............... was
conquered by Ottoman Turks. (3) European rulers started giving military
protection and trade concessions to
(a)Venice (b) Constantinople the trading companies.
(c) Rome (d) Paris

(2) The Industrial Revolution began in 4. Complete the following table.
............... .
Sailor Contribution
(a) England (b) France
(c) Italy (d) Portugal .................. Reached to the tip of South
Africa.
(3) ............... tried to put restrictions on Christopher
the illegal trade of British. Columbus ....................
....................
(a) Siraj-ud-Daulah (b) Mir Kasim ..................
Reached the West coast of
(c) Mir Jafar (d) Shah Alam India at Calicut port.

2. Explain the following concepts. Project

(1) Colonialism (2) Imperialism Collect information and pictures about the
work of famous painters, writers, scientists
(3) Age of Renaissance (4) Capitalism during rennaissance period with the help
of reference books and internet. Present a
3. Explain the following statements with project on it in the classroom.
reasons.

(1) Siraj-ud-Daulah was defeated in the
Battle of Plassey.

9

3. Effects of British Rule

In this chapter, we are going to study help. There were some terms laid on
the effects of British rule over India. them. The Indian rulers have to maintain
British army in their court and have to
Establishment of East India pay cash or part of their territory to the
Company : We have seen that due to company for its maintenance. The ruler
geographical discoveries, the European would not have any alliance with any
powers reached the Indian coast. All the other power or declare war against any
European including Portuguese, Dutch, power without the intervention of the
French and British entered the race for British. The ruler would accept a British
capturing the Indian market. When the resident in his state. Some Indian rulers
British came to India for trade purpose, accepted the system and lost their freedom.
the Portuguese had already settled here
and they gave a bitter resistance. Later In 1802, Bajirao II signed the
friendly relations developed between them. Subsidiary Alliance treaty with the British.
But, to establish the domination over This alliance is well known as the Treaty
India, the British had to face opposition of Vasai. But this treaty was not
from French, Dutch and local rulers. acceptable to some Maratha sardars. This
led to the second Anglo Maratha war.
The British and The Marathas : After the victory of the British, there was
Mumbai was the main centre of British increased interference of British into the
in western India. They were trying to Maratha state. This became intolerable
acquire the nearby territories but the and Bajirao II waged a war against the
Marathas had strong hold over it. After British. He was defeated in this battle
the death of Peshwa Madhavrao, his and in 1818 he surrendered to the British.
uncle, Raghunathrao approached for help In the mean time, the capital of Mughals
from the British due to his greed for was under the control of Daulatrao
Peshwaship. This led to the entrance of Shinde. By defeating the troop of Shinde,
the British in Maratha politics. General Lake captured the Mughal
emperor and gained victory over
During 1774 to 1818, three wars were Hindustan.
fought between the Marathas and the
British. During the first war the Marathas Chhatrapati Pratapsingh : Although
unitedly faced the British and hence
proved superior. In 1782, with the Treaty the Peshwaship came
of Salbai, the first Anglo-Maratha war
came to an end. to an end, Chhatrapati

The Subsidiary Alliance : In 1798, Pratapsingh of Satara
Lord Wellesley arrived in India as
Governor General. His objective was to was still ruling.
establish the British Dominion all over
India. For this he signed the Subsidiary Britishers signed a
Alliance with many Indian rulers.
According to this Alliance the Indian treaty with Chhatrapati
rulers were assured of British military
Pratapsingh and

appointed Grant Duff

as an officer to assist

him in the state Chhatrapati
affairs. But later, the Pratapsingh

10

Chhatrapati was dethroned and exiled to envied them. The working system of the
Kashi. He died there in 1847. company in India received criticism in
England and British Parliament introduced
Rango Bapuji Gupte, a loyal officer some important laws to keep control over
of the Chhatrapati fought the legal battle the company.
and went up to England but his efforts
were unsuccessful. Later Lord Dalhousie Acts passed by Parliament :
rejected the adoption policy and in 1848 According to Regulating Act of 1773, the
annexed the state of Satara. Bengal Governor came to be known as
the Governor General. According to this
Do you know ? act, Lord Warren Hastings became the
Governor General of India. He got the
Chhatrapati Pratapsingh made right to control the policies of Mumbai
provision of water to the city by and Madras provinces. A committee of
building a water tank on the back four members was set up to assist him.
side of Yevteshwar temple and
Mahadara in Satara. Roads were built In 1784, Pitt’s India Act was passed.
in the city. Trees were planted on
both sides of the road. Schools were The Act provided for appointment of a
built for boys and girls for teaching permanent Board of Control for better
Sanskrit, Marathi and English. Printing regulation and management of affairs of
press was set up and many useful the East India Company in India. In 1813,
books were published. In 1827, 1833 and 1853 new laws were passed by
the Parliament to make certain changes in
‘Sabhaniti’, a book on polity, was the working of the company. In this way
there evolved an indirect control of the
printed. He built road from Satara to British Government on the administration
Mahabaleshwar to Pratapgad. The of East India Company.
same road further extended to Mahad.
Chhatrapati Pratapsingh used to write With the emergence of British rule, a
personal daily diary. new administrative system got developed
in India. Civil Services, military, police
Effect of British rule on India force and judicial system became the
main pillars of British administration in
Dual Government : Robert Clive, in India.
1765, introduced the dual government
system in Bengal. The company undertook The Civil Service : To strengthen the
the work of revenue collection whereas British rule in India there was a need of
the Nawab of Bengal had to maintain bureaucrats. Lord Cornwallis introduced
law and order. This was known as Dual bureaucracy. Civil services became an
Government system. important part of British government. He
restricted the private trade carried out by
The ill effects of dual government the company officers and for this purpose
system could be seen after certain time he increased their salary.
period. Money in the form of taxes went
into the pockets of the company officers. For the convenience of administration
The Monopoly of Trade in India was he divided the British occupied territories
given to East India Company and hence into districts. The District Collector was
many trading companies in England the chief of district administration. He
was responsible for collection of revenue,

11

giving justice, maintaining law and order. prevailed. Hence they inculcated an
The officers were appointed through economic system in India which was
competitive examinations known as Indian conducive to economic system in England.
Civil Services (ICS). Due to this Britishers gained economic
benefit, but India started facing economic
The Military and Police force : The exploitation.
duty of military was to safeguard the
British occupied regions in India, acquire Land revenue policy : Before the
new territories and break down any revolt British rule, the village economic system
against the British in India. To maintain was self sufficient. Through agriculture
law and order in the country was the and related services the needs of the
duty of the police force. village were fulfilled in the village itself.
Land revenue was the main source of
Judicial system : The British income of the state. During the Pre British
established a new judicial system in India period, revenue was based on the type of
on the basis of judicial system in England. cultivated crop. The farmer was exempted
Every district had a Civil and Criminal from taxation in case of loss of crops.
Court to solve the local cases. For Revenue was mainly collected in the form
reconsideration of their judgements a High of grains. Even in case of late payment
Court was established. of tax, the farmer’s land was not
confiscated.
Equality before law : In early times,
law in India differred from place to place. To increase income, the British made
There was difference in judgement on the important changes in the revenue system.
basis of casteism. Under the leadership of Land was measured and as per the area
Lord Macaulay, a committee was setup of the land, the tax was fixed. Payment
to create the code of law. The Indian of tax was made compulsory in the form
Penal Code was enforced all over British of cash. If the farmer failed to pay tax
India with British principle of equality in time, then his land would be confiscated.
before law. The British system of land revenue
collection differed from place to place
But there were some defects in it. which led to exploitation of all farmers.
There were seperate courts and different
laws for the Europeans. New laws were Consequences of new Land revenue
difficult to be understood by common system : There were undesirable effects
people. Legal cases became an expensive of the new land revenue system on the
affair for the community and the cases rural life. For payment of taxes, Indian
remained pending for years together. farmers started selling the crops at
whatever price it received. The merchants
Economic policies of the British : and brokers started purchasing their goods
Since ancient times there were invasions at minimum rate. At certain times the
in India. Many invaders settled in India farmer had to mortgage his land to the
and were absorbed in the Indian culture. money lender for arrangement of money
Even though they ruled here, they never to pay the tax. Farmer became bankrupt.
made any changes in the basic Indian In case of non repayment of loan, the
economic system. The Britishers were an farmer had to sell his land. The farmer
exception. was exploited by the government,
zamindar, money lenders and merchants.
England was a modern nation. Due
to industrial revolution, capitalist economy

12

Commercialisation of agriculture : Decline of traditional industries in
Initially food grains were cultivated by India : The British government obtained
the farmers. It used to fulfill their domestic huge taxes on goods exported from India
needs as well as the needs of the village. to England. On the other hand very less
The British Government started giving tax was imposed on goods imported from
more encouragement to cash crops like England to India. Also the goods
cotton, indigo, tobacco, tea etc. The manufactured in England were machine
process of giving stress on cultivation of made and hence there was maximum
profit giving cash crops instead of food production at minimum cost. To compete
grains is known as the commercialisation with such cheap products was difficult for
of agriculture. the Indian artisans. Eventually it led to
closing down of traditional industries and
Famine : From 1860 to 1900, India many artisans became unemployed.
faced great famine but the British rulers
did not take much efforts to overcome it. Development of new industries in
Similarly not much expenditure was made India : Due to the lack of British support,
on provision of water supply. experience of management and capital,
the Indian businessmen could not come
Development in transport and forward in large numbers. Yet some of
communication system : For increase in them built up their business by overcoming
trade and convenience of administration, these problems.
the British developed modern facilities
like transport and communication in India. In 1853,
In 1853, first Railway ran on the route
of Mumbai to Thane. In the same year Kawasjee
British started Telegraph system in India.
Due to it all cities and military stations Nanabhoy Davar,
got connected to one another. Similarly
the British also started the Postal System. started the first

Mumbai-Thane Railway (1853) textile mill in

Due to all these developments, there Mumbai. In 1855
was a long term impact on the social life
of the Indians. Due to this there was the first Jute mill
increasing sense of unity among them.
was started at

Rishra in Bengal. Jamshedji Tata

In 1907 Jamshedji

Tata established the Tata Iron and Steel

company at Jamshedpur.

In India coal, metals, sugar, cement
and chemical Industries came to be
started.

Social and cultural effects : In the
19th Century Europe, a new era took
shape on basis of values like
humanitarianism, democracy, nationalism,
liberalism etc. This change in west led to
obvious repurcussions on India. For
carrying out administration the British
had to understand the Indian society. For
this purpose they started studying the

13

tradition, history, literature, as well as remarriage act. These acts were responsible
music, flora-fauna of India. In 1784, Sir for social reforms.
William Jones, an English officer
For carrying out administration in
established the ‘Asiatic Society of Bengal’ India, the British required English educated
Indians. According to recommendation of
at Kolkata. Max Mueller, a German Lord Macaulay, in 1835, English education
thinker was a devout scholar of Indian started being imparted in India. Through
religion, language and history. Due to new education Indians were introduced to
these examples, there aroused feelings western thoughts, modern reforms, science
among newly educated Indians to study and technology. In 1857, universities were
Indian religion, history and tradition. established at Kolkata, Mumbai and
Madras (Chennai). The Western educated
The British introduced many laws in middle class Indians led the social reform
India. In 1829, Lord William Bentinck movement in India.
passed the Sati Prohibition Act. In 1856
Lord Dalhousie passed the widow

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the 3. Explain the following statements with
appropriate options. reasons.

(1) Portuguese, ..............., French, British (1) Farmers in India became bankrupt.
participated in the competition of (2) There was decline of traditional
capturing Indian market.
industries in India.
(a) Austrian (b) Dutch
4. Complete the following table.

(c) German (d) Swedish Person Work

(2) In 1802 Peshwa ............... signed the Lord Cornwallis .........................
Subsidiary Alliance with the British. ..................... Passed Sati

(a) Bajirao I (b) Sawai Madhavrao Prohibition Act

(c) Peshwa Nanasaheb (d) Bajirao II Lord Dalhousie .........................

(3) Jamshedjee Tata started the ..................... Established ‘Asiatic
manufacturing of steel at Tata Iron
and Steel industry established in Society of Bengal’
............... .
Project
(a) Mumbai (b) Kolkata
Prepare detailed information with pictures
(c) Jamshedpur (d) Delhi about the development by British in
administration, education, transport and
2. Explain the following concepts. communication in India.
(1) Civil Services
(2) Commercialisation of Agriculture
(3) Economic policies of British

14

4. The Freedom Struggle of 1857

In 1857, a great struggle took place exploited in every strata due to the
in India which completely shook the company's rule. This resulted in increase
British Government. This struggle did not of discontent against their rule.
arise all of a sudden. Earlier as well
many such struggles took place in India Farmers and common people became
against the British. The scope of the
struggle of 1857 and its background was bankrupt during the company rule. In 1770,
taken into consideration by V.D.Savarkar
in his book ‘The Indian War of there was major famine in the Bengal
Independence 1857’. Later many
revolutionaries got inspiration from it to province. But the British rulers were
fight against the British.
indifferent and
Struggle before 1857 : At every
place where the British rule was established insensitive towards
in India, the local people had to bear the
ill effects of British government. The Indian people. From
Indians started feeling that they are
1763 to 1857 the
Do you know ?
peasants of Bengal
Paika Rebellion : From mediaeval
times, there was a system of Paikas participated in the
existing in Odisha. The standing army
of various independent kings were rebellion led by
known as ‘Paika’. Rent free lands
were granted to them for cultivation Sanyasi-Fakir. Similar
by the king. The Paikas earned their
livelihood through it. In return, they revolts took place
were supposed to stand by the king’s Umaji Naik in Gujrat, Rajastan,
side in case of eruption of war.
Maharashtra and South India. Umaji Naik
In 1803, the English conquered
Odisha. They took over the hereditary also gave a strong fight. He organised the
rent free lands granted to the Paikas.
This made the Paikas angry. Similarly, Ramoshis and the local youth to revolt
common man’s life had also become
miserable because of rise in salt price against the British. They drew a declaration
due to tax imposed on it by the
British. This resulted in an armed and appealed to fight against the British
rebellion of Paikas against the British
in 1817. Bakshi Jaganbandhu and overthrow the government. They
Bidyadhar led this revolt.
inspired people in Pune, Satara,

Ahmednagar, Solapur, Nasik, Bhor etc. In

1832, Umaji Naik was arrested and hanged

to death in Pune.

The Indian tribes and forest
communities also challenged the British
rule. Their livelihood was dependent on
forest resources. The British laws put
restrictions on it. Consequently, Bihar,
Kolam area of Chota Nagpur, Gonds of
Orissa, Santhals of Bihar fought against
the British. The Gadkaris from Kolhapur
and Fond-Sawant from Konkan also
challenged the British. Before 1857, some
zamindars and royal class from different
territories rebelled against the British.

In the army of East India Company
there were many Indian sepoys. They

15

were ill treated by the company. Their Sati prohibition, widow remarriage act
salary and allowances were very less were correct from social point of view,
compared to the British soldiers. In 1806 but the Indians thought that it is an
at Vellore and in 1824 at Barrackpore the interference in their lifestyle and hence
revolt took up a fierce form. they were dissatisfied.

All these rebellions took place in Political causes : After 1757 the
their respective territories. They were British took charge of many Indian states.
local in nature and single handed. The Later Lord Dalhousie annexed many
British forcibly broke down the revolts. princely states on various causes. The
Public unhappiness was supressed but it Nawab of Ayodhya was dethroned on
did not vanish. This anger burst out in grounds of maladministration whereas the
the freedom struggle of 1857. At various princely states of Satara, Nagpur and
places the rebellion took place against the Jhansi were annexed through the doctrine
British. The discontent in the minds of of lapse. Due to the policies of Dalhousie
diverse classes blowed out in the form of the Indians did not consider the British
this struggle and its outbreak was in the as trustworthy.
form of an armed rebellion.
Discontent among Indian soldiers :
Causes for the struggle of 1857 : The Indian soldiers were given low status
During Pre British period there were many by the British officers. They could not
kingdoms in India. Whatever changes gain any post higher than the Subhedar.
took place at the centre never affected the They were paid less compared to the
village system. The village system British soldiers. The allowances were also
continued as it is. But the British changed gradually decreased. Due to these reasons
the prevalent system and tried to set up there was growing discontent among the
a new system. Looking at the changing Indian soldiers.
nature of village system created a feeling
of instability and insecurity in the minds Immediate cause : In 1856, the
of the people. British provided long range enfield rifles
to the Indian sepoys. The sepoys were
Economic causes : The British required to bite the end of the cartridges.
introduced new revenue system to increase The news spread out that these cartridges
their income. Taxes were forcibly extracted were smeared in the fats of cow and pig.
from the farmers. As a result of it the Due to this the religious sentiments of
agriculture system collapsed. To sell the Hindu and Muslim sepoys were hurt and
British goods in India and enjoy profit made them unhappy.
was the policy of the British. They
imposed heavy taxes on the local The outburst : Disciplinary action
industries. The handicraft and textile was taken on those sepoys who refused
industry of India were ruined. Many to use the smeared cartridges and were
Indian artisans became unemployed. They given severe punishment. Mangal Pandey
had growing discontent in their mind from Barrackpore cantonment shot an
against the British. English officer as a reaction to unjust
nature of British officers.
Social causes : The Indians felt that
the Britishers were interfering in the Mangal Pandey was arrested and
culture, tradition and customs of India. hanged to death. This news spread like

16

fire. The entire freedom struggle of 1857 the descendant
regiment of Indian
sepoys at Meerut of Mughals, Bahadur Shah, was incapable
took part in the of fighting against the British.
freedom struggle and Understanding the condition, Nanasaheb
marched towards
Delhi. Thousands of Peshwa, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and
Indians voluntarily Tatya Tope took up the charge of the
joined them on the freedom struggle of 1857. Its effect could
way. They handed
Mangal Pandey over the leadership of be seen on the Hindu-Muslim unity in
the freedom struggle to Mughal Emperor
Bahadur Shah and proclaimed him as the this struggle. Maulavi Ahmed Allah,
Emperor of India.
Kunwar Singh,
Scope of the struggle : The self
confidence of the sepoys increased with Mughal commander
the capture of Delhi. It also gave Bakht Khan, Begum
inspiration to other soldiers. The revolt
soon spread in North India. The Indian Hazrat Mahal led
soldiers revolted in cantonments from the revolt in various
Bihar to Rajputana. The revolt spread in regions. The nature
Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Banaras,
Bareli, and Jhansi. Later it spread to of revolt in Delhi, Nanasaheb Peshwa
South India. In the revolt, Chhatrapati Kanpur, Lucknow,
Pratapsingh of Satara and his officer Jhansi, West Bihar
Rango Bapuji, Chimasaheb of Kolhapur, was more fierce.
Babasaheb Bhave of Nargund, Bhagoji
Naik of Ahmednagar were in the forefront. Crushing of the struggle : The
Royal queen of Peth, Surgana from Nasik
district also participated in the struggle. Indians whole heartedly fought against
In 1857, under the leadership of the British, including soldiers, zamindars,
Kajarsingh, the Bhills revolted, whereas kings, commanders and common people.
Shankarshah led the revolt in Satpura
region. 400 Bhill women participated in The Indian sepoys started the freedom
the revolt at Khandesh. struggle before the fixed time. Initially
they succeeded but military strength and
Leadership of the struggle : Durings
the 18th C.A., after the weakening of Tatya Tope Rani Laxmibai
Mughal Empire, invaders like Nadirshah,
Abdali attacked India. The Marathas Begum Hazrat Mahal Kunwar Singh
understood that Mughal Empire cannot
react to these foreign invasions and took
up the responsibility of safeguarding
India. The Marathas fought against Abdali
at Panipat for the same reason. In the

17

administration of British rule was vast. British but due to betrayal he was caught
The British crushed down the struggle by and hanged to death. In this way, by the
all means. The British made quick end of 1858, the British ruthlessly crushed
recovery and within next six months down the struggle.
regained the lost territories. Rani Laxmibai,
Kunwar Singh, Ahmedullah laid their Even though the struggle began with
lives. the discontent among Indian soldiers, but
later the peasants, artisans, common
Bahadur Shah was imprisoned at people, tribes came together to fight
Rangoon. Nanasaheb and Begum Hazrat against the British. In this rebellion,
Mahal took shelter in Nepal, Tatya Tope Hindus, Muslims stood up with a great
fought for next ten months against the force. Their common aim was

18

overthrowing the International situation was favourable
to the British : The Crimean war with
British from India. Russia was just over. The British won the
war. They had trade relations with
There was an different countries in the world. The naval
strength of British was vast. Whereas the
inspiration of gaining Indian rebels were isolated.

independence behind Consequences of the Freedom Struggle-
End of rule of East India Company
this struggle and
therefore this freedom Due to the Company rule there was
struggle gained a growing dissatisfaction among the Indians
and the British rule had to face the
national form. struggle of 1857. It forced the British
Parliament to end the rule of the Company
Bahadur Shah Causes of failure of and instead take over the responsibility of
the struggle : The ruling over the people of India through
the Government of India Act 1858. The
struggle of 1857 became unsuccessful due Governor General was now designated as
to the following reasons- the Viceroy of India. Lord Canning
happened to be the last Governor General
The struggle was not comprehensive : and the first Viceroy of India. A new post
The struggle did not take place called Secretary of State was created in
simultaneously all over India. Its intensity the British Government to look after the
was more severe in North India, but affairs of India.
Rajputana, Punjab, some parts of Bengal
Queen’s Proclamation : Queen
and North west India remained aloof. Victoria of England issued a Declaration
addressing the people of India. All Indians
Lack of central leadership : There are our progeny. Henceforth they will not
was no commonly accepted leader to be discriminated on basis of race, religion,
caste or birth place. Government services
fight against the British. Due to this there will be given on merit. There will be no
was no uniformity in the struggle against interference in religious affairs. It was
British. made clear that the British crown will
honour all treaties and agreements made
Most of the feudatory princes by the company with the rulers of princely
remained aloof : Just as the common states and no princely state will be
annexed henceforth.
people suffered due to British rule,
similarly the princes also were suffering. Change in composition of army :
But except a few others remained faithful The proportion of British soldiers was
increased in the army. English officers
to the British. were placed at strategic locations. Artillery
was kept exclusively in the hands of the
Lack of military tactics : Indian British. There was division of military on
basis of caste. Proper care was taken to
soldiers were brave but did not use tactics.
They captured Delhi but could not retain
it. Similarly, the Indian rebels had limited

armed supply. The British had economic
strength, disciplined army, enough stock
of latest arms and experienced army

generals. Since transport and
communication was in the hands of
British, their movements were swift. Due
to this the Indian sepoys could not
succeed. Wars are fought not only based

on bravery but also through military
strategies.

19

avoid Indians to unite and rebel again religion, race, territory etc. They adopted
against the British. the policy of polluting the minds of
Indians by following the ‘Divide and Rule
Change in Policy : The British policy’.
accepted the policy of non interference in
social and religious aspects of Indians. Due to the freedom struggle of 1857,
They also started taking care that the the Indians felt of giving a united fight
Indian society will not be united on social against the British rule. The freedom
grounds. They saw to it that there will struggle of 1857 became an inspiration of
be constant conflicts on grounds of caste, Indian freedom movement.

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the (4) After the struggle, Indian army was
appropriate options. divided on the basis of caste

(Umaji Naik, War of Independence, Lord (5) The British imposed heavy taxes on
Dalhousie, Secretary of State, Tatya Indian industries.
Tope)
3. Answer the following question in brief.
(1) V.D.Savarkar named the struggle of
1857 as ............ . (1) What were the social causes behind
the struggle of 1857 ?
(2) ............ united the Ramoshis to rebel
against the British. (2) Why did the Indians fail in the
struggle of 1857 ?
(3) After the struggle of 1857 the post of
............ was created in the British (3) Write down the consequences of
Government to look after the affairs struggle of 1857.
of India.
(4) What were the changes in British
(4) ............ was the Governor General policy after the struggle of 1857 ?
who annexed the princely states.
Project
2. Explain the following statements with
reasons. (1) Search for the book written by V. D.
Savarkar entitled ‘The Indian War of
(1) The Paikas made armed rebellion Independence 1857’ and read it.
against the British.
(2) On an outline map of India indicate
(2) There was discontent among the the regions where the freedom struggle
Hindu and Muslim sepoys. of 1857 took place.

(3) The Indian sepoys could not keep
stand in front of the British army.

20

5. Social and Religious Reforms

Along with spread of english awareness through the newspaper ‘Samvad

education, there was spread of new Kaumudi’.

thoughts, new ideas, new philosophy. Prarthana Samaj  :
Indians were also introduced to western Dadoba Pandurang
thoughts and culture. Due to it, there were Tarkhadkar established
changes in social, religious, economic and Paramhansa Sabha in

cultural aspects of Indian society. Mumbai in 1848. Later

The modern educated Indians became Paramhansa Sabha was

aware that the backwardness of India dissolved and some of

was due to superstitions, casteism, old its members founded

customs, class system and lack of critical the Prarthana Samaj.

outlook. It was necessary to eradicate the Dadoba P. Tarkhadkar Dadoba’s brother,
flaws and undesirable tendency for Dr.Atmaram Pandurang,

progress of the country. And to create a was the first President of Prarthana
new society based on the principles of Samaj. The prestige of the institution
Humanity, Equality, and Fraternity. The increased due to the enrollment of young
educated thinkers started social awareness graduates from Mumbai University.
through writings to solve the various
problems in the society. The intellectual Justice Ranade, Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar
awakening in the contemporary society is carried forward the work of Prarthana
called ‘Indian Rennaissance’. Samaj. The opposition to idol worship,
monotheism, opposition to rituals were

Era of Religious and Social Reforms the principles of Prarthana Samaj. They

Brahmo Samaj : stressed on devotion and prayers. For
reforming the society, Prarthana Samaj
In 1828, Raja started orphanage, women’s education
institutes, night schools for workers and
Rammohan Roy society for dalits. Maharshi Vitthal Ramji
Shinde, a member of Prarthana Samaj,
established the established ‘Depressed Classes Mission’.
Through the mission an attempt was made
Brahmo Samaj in to solve the social problems.

Bengal. He had Satyashodhak Samaj : Mahatma
Jyotirao Phule started the Satyashodhak
studied many Samaj in 1873. Satyashodhak Samaj
worked on the principle of formation of
languages and society on basis of equality. They protested
against untouchability. They advocated
religions. Through education among the depressed classes
and women. Mahatma Phule reformed the
it his ideology of society through the medium of books like
Raja Rammohan Roy Advaita philosophy ‘Brahmananche Kasab’, ‘Gulamgiri’,

was developed. Monotheism, caste and

class equality, protest against rituals and

following the way of prayers were the

principles of Brahmo Samaj. He opposed

Sati practice, child marriage, Purdah

system. He promoted widow remarriage

and female education. He founded Hindu

College in Kolkata. He created public

21

‘Shetkaryacha Asud’ an excellent orator. He attended the
and ‘Sarvajanik Satya Parliament of Religions at Chicago in
Dharma’. He severly 1893 as representative of Hinduism.
criticised the traditions
and customs that made ‘Arise, Awake and stop not till the
goal is achieved’ was the message given
discrimination by him to the Indian youth.
between man and
woman, or rather Social reforms among the Sikhs : 
human being himself. The Singh Sabha was established at
Amritsar to achieve reforms in Sikh
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule religion. This institute worked for spread
of education among the Sikh community
Arya Samaj : and bring in modernisation among them.
Later the Akali movement continued their
Arya Samaj was tradition of reformation.

founded by Swami Emancipation of
Women : During the
Dayanand Saraswati expansion of British
rule in India, the
in 1875. He wrote position of women
was very miserable.
the book ‘Satyarth They had no right of
education. They were
Prakash’ as a not treated equally. Gopal Hari Deshmukh
Child marriage, dowry
commentary on system, sati, keshavapan, opposition to
widow remarriage such customs prevailed
Vedas. Ancient vedic in the society. The then Governor Lord
Bentinck took help of social reformers
religion is true Swami Dayanand like Raja Rammohan Roy to pass the
Saraswati Sati Prohibition Act. Gopal Hari
religion which had Deshmukh, popularly known as
‘Lokhitwadi’ advocated gender equality
no place for casteism and there existed through his writings in ‘Shatapatre’.

gender equality. ‘Go Back to the Vedas’ In 1848, Mahatma Phule started the
first school for girls at
was the slogan of Arya Samaj. The Bhide Wada in Pune.
His wife Savitribai
branches of Arya Samaj were opened all Phule supported him.
Savitribai Phule had to
over India. Many education institutions face great criticism
from the Society but
were established through the medium of she continued to work
in education. Mahatma
Arya Samaj.
Savitribai Phule Phule established the
Ramkrishna Mission : Ramkrishna

Mission was established by Swami

Vivekananda, a close disciple of

Ramkrishna Paramhansa, in 1897.

Ramkrishna Mission worked for service to

the society. The

mission worked

for providing help

to the famine

striken people,

patients, medical

help to the poor,

female education

and spiritual

growth. Swami Swami Vivekananda
Vivekananda was

22

‘Bal Hatya Pratibandhak Gruha’ in his own closing down many unjust practices in the
society. The voice for problems against
house. He conducted a strike of barbers the women broke out. Women started
against the custom of shaving the heads of putting up their own thoughts through
the widows. their writings. Their performance in every
sectors of life flourished due to education.
For gaining permission to widow
remarriage, Pandit Ishwarchandra

Vidyasagar, Vishnushastri Pandit, and Just think about it ?

Vireshalingam took up special efforts. * If the social reformers had not started
the education of women ?
In his newspaper,
* At present, what kind of transformation
Sudharak, Gopal Ganesh is seen in the life of women due to
Agarkar gave his education ?
staunch opinion about
child marriage, law of * Do you think there is a need for taking
further efforts regarding education of
consent. Maharshi women ? If yes, then what efforts need
to be taken ?
Vitthal Ramji Shinde
organised a conference Religious reforms among the
against the practice of Vireshlingam Pantulu Muslims : Abdul Latif started the social
reform among the muslim community. He
Devdasi. In her book, established ‘The Mohammedan Literary
Society’ in Bengal.
‘Stri Purush Tulana’,

Tarabai Shinde very Sir Sayyad Ahmad Khan founded
fiercely put up her
views about women’s ‘The Mohammedan Anglo Oriental
rights. Maharshi

Dhondo Karve College’. It later

started the ‘Anath developed into the
Balikashram’ an
Maharshi Karve orphanage for girls. ‘Aligarh Muslim
His intention was to give education
to all women and make them stand on University’. He
their own feet. Through his efforts, the
advocated western

science and

technology. He firmly

first women’s university was set up in the believed that Muslims

20th century. Pandita Ramabai founded could make progress
the Sharada Sadan and took up the
responsibility of taking care of disabled only by studying Sir Sayyad Ahmad
children and women. Ramabai Ranade,
modern education and Khan

science.

through the medium of Seva Sadan Movement in Hindu Society : In
1915, ‘Hindu Mahasabha’ was established
Institute, started the Nursing course for to give a respectable position to the Hindu
women. She demanded the right to vote community. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya
for women. Through articles, Dr.Ambedkar laid the foundation of ‘Banaras Hindu
spoke about the injustice towards women. University’. Dr. Keshav Baliram
Hedgewar, in 1925, established Rashtriya
Mahatma Gandhi also advocated education Swayamsevak Sangh at Nagpur. Its aim
was to set up a disciplinary and virtuous
of women. Women have given valuable
contribution during the freedom movement.

Women’s reform movement helped in

23

organisation of Hindu up Modern India. Stories, novels gave
inspiration to gain independence. They also
youth. V.D.Savarkar expressed thoughts on social reforms.

built the ‘Patit Pawan During this period, women also took
up writing. New newspapers and magazines
Temple’ at Ratnagiri, became a source of social reform and
political awakening.
open to all castes of
There was development in the field of
Hindu religion. art as well. Music became more popular.
Indian style and western techniques were
Common dining combined and a new school of painting
came forward.
programmes were
Many books were written based on
Dr. Keshav also arranged. Science. People started realising that
Baliram Hedgewar experimentation and scientific attitude were
important for the progress of the Country.
Do you know ?
In the history of Modern India, the
Manifestation of Rennaissance in movement of rennaissance is very
other areas : Just as the reform movement, important. On the principles of Liberty,
the development in various fields of Equality and Nationalism, the Indian
literature, art and science during the social reformers set up a nation wide
rennaissance period is also important. In political movement. The study of this
the field of literature, Rabindranath movement will be dealt in the next chapter.
Tagore and in the field of Science
C.V.Raman received the Nobel prize. This
gives us an idea of the progress in India.
This progress was responsible for building

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the 3. Explain the following statements with

appropriate options. reasons.

(Sir Sayyad Ahmad Khan, Swami (1) The Social and religious reform

Vivekanada, Maharshi Vitthal Ramji movement began in India.

Shinde) (2) Mahatma Phule conducted a strike of

(1) ............... established the Ramkrishna barbers.

Mission. 4. Write Short notes.
(2) The Anglo-Mohammedan Oriental (1) Ramkrishna Mission
(2) Reforms for women by Savitribai
College was established by .............. .
(3) The Depressed Classes Mission was Phule

founded by .............. . Project

2. Complete the following table. (1) Organise an essay competetion on the

Name of social Newspaper Work of topic ‘Education of women’.
reformer / Book
Organisation the (2) Collect the photographs of social
organisation
reformers.
Raja Rammohan .......... Samvad ........
Roy Kaumudi

.............. Arya Samaj ........... ........

Mahatma Phule ........... Gulamgiri ........

24

6. Beginning of Freedom Movement

English education made mixed effects of western education, new ideas such as
on the Indian society. The seeds of Justice, Liberty, Equality, Democracy etc.
nationalism were sown by the reforms of were introduced to the Indians. Rationalism,
newly educated society. Due to various Scientific attitude, humanity, nationalism
movements in different parts of India a these principles were accepted by the
favourable situation was created to build Indians. Therefore there inculcated a
a political organisation on an all India feeling that we are capable of carrying out
level which will bring together the various
provincial political organisations, different the work of the country and its progress
groups of politically aware people and to is possible by following these principles.
express the aspiration of the nation by India is a country of diverse languages but
diverting the public attention towards the with the introduction of English language
questions of the nation.
India got a new medium of communication.
Centralisation of administration Study of Ancient Indian History :
during British rule : Due to the British The ‘Asiatic Society’
administration, its implementation on India was established at
brought the nation under one roof in its Kolkata by the British.
true sense. Due to identical reforms all Many Indian and
over the country and equality before law, western scholars started
the feeling of nationalism developed among
the people. For the convenience of study of Indian culture.
administration and swift movement of the The manuscripts in
army the British built network of roads Sanskrit, Persian and
and railways. But these facilities benifited other languages were
the Indians as well. People from different examined and research
parts of India came in contact of each Dr. Bhau Daji Lad was published.
other, there was increase in communication Indian scholars like Dr.Bhau Daji Lad,
and the feeling of nationalism grew up.
Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar made intensive study
Economic exploitation : The Indian of ancient Indian culture. After
wealth was flowing towards England by all understanding that we
means. Due to the imperialist policy of are blessed with
England there was beginning of economic
exploitation of India. Farmers were glorious ancient
compelled to take cash crops, burden of
land taxes, continuous famines all this tradition, the Indians
broke down the backbone of Indian
agriculture. Traditional industries declined were awakened with
which led to rise in unemployment. The
Capitalists exploited the worker class. a sense of Identity.
Various new taxes were imposed on the
middle class. This led to growth of discontent The ‘Bhandarkar
among the people.
Oriental Research
Western Education : Due to spread
Institute’ is working

since last 100 years in Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar

Pune.

Contribution of Newspapers : During

this period, English and Vernacular
newspapers and periodicals came to be
published. Through these newspapers,
political and social awakening took place.

25

Newspapers like Darpan, methods. They had a hope that if we
Prabhakar, Hindu, Amrit
Bazar Patrika, Kesari, demand through constitutional methods
Mahratta started criticising
the Government. then the British will give justice to our

demands. Gopal Krishna Gokhale,

Ferozshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee

Establishment of were all moderate leaders.

Indian National In the session of Indian National

Congress  : On 28 Wyomesh Chandra Congress different resolutions were put

December 1885, the first Banerjee forward by them such as, to get

session of Indian National Congress was representation in provincial legislature,

held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit School in jobs for educated Indians, cutting down the

Mumbai. 72 delegates from different increasing expenses on military, Legislature

provinces of India participated in this and Judiciary should be seperated for

session. Wyomesh Chandra Banerjee, a safeguarding legal rights of Indians etc.

renowned lawyer from Kolkata, was the To cause a split in the national

President of this session. In this session movement the British implemented the

they established the Indian National policy of ‘Divide and rule’.

Congress. Allan Octavian Hume, a British Extremist Phase

officer, took lead in the establishment of the (1905-1920) : All

Indian National Congress. Increased Indian leaders who

proportion of Indians in the administration, were politically aware

reduction of military expenses by the British kept aside their

government such statements were sent to differences of caste,

the British. religion, language,

Objectives of the Indian National province and gathered

Congress : To make the people from on a single platform

different parts of India forget the differences Lokmanya Tilak of Indian National
Congress. There were
in religion, race, caste, language,
unanimous decisions regarding the
geographical territories and bring them on
objectives of the Congress and taking
a common platform, to understand each
forward the movement by constitutional
others problems and views, to increase the
means, but there were differences regarding
feeling of oneness among the people, to
the working system. These were ideological
take efforts for the development of the
differences. From these differences two
country were the objectives of the Indian
main political groups were formed. The
National Congress.
Moderates who advocated peaceful and
Moderate Phase (1885-1905) : The
early ten years after establishment of constitutional manners and the Extremist
Indian National Congress their contribution
was very slow but consistent. The leaders who believed in severe struggle for
of Indian National Congress were realistic
and highly educated. They were aware that attainment of freedom. Lala Lajpat Rai,
through organised work a strong foundation
needs to be built up. Western thinker’s, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra
philosophy of liberalism, freedom, equality,
fraternity these values had an impact on Pal were believed to be extremist leaders.
them. They believed in constitutional
In the early period, the Extremist

leaders, for bringing political awakening

among the Indians used methods like

newspapers, national festivals and national

education. ‘Kesari’ and ‘Maratha’ were

26

the newspapers through which Lokmanya Partition of Bengal : The British
Tilak made severe criticism on the decided to use the policy of ‘Divide and
suppressive policy of the British. In Bengal Rule’ to create a rift between Hindu-Muslim
community. The then Viceroy Lord Curzon
province, ‘Amrit Bazar Patrika’ was a contributed to it. Bengal was a very large
mouthpiece of extremist ideology. By province. To carry out the work of this
forgetting the internal differences people province was difficult from administrative
should come together and exchange their point of view. By putting up this reason, in
ideas, common people should get 1905, he declared the partition of Bengal
inspiration from contribution of national province. With this partition, arrangement
personalities, with these objectives Tilak was made such that majority Muslims will
started organising of Shiv Jayanti and remain in East Bengal and West Bengal for
Ganesh Utsav. For political reasons if majority of Hindus. The hidden strategy of
people come together then government the British was, if the Hindu-Muslims were
will ban them, but for religious reasons divided, due to partition, then the freedom
if people come together the government movement will be weakened.
will not ban them was his opinion. In the
Mandalay prison, Tilak wrote ‘Geeta- Anti Partition Movement : There
rahasya’. Its core was philosophy of was public awakening against partition not
karmayoga and stressed that people should only in Bengal but all over India. 16
always be in action. The extremist leaders October, the day of partition was observed
established education institutions for as National Mourning Day. All over India
creating a generation concerned about own there were protest meetings to condemn the
language and tradition. The extremist Government’s decision. ‘Vande Mataram’
leaders were of the opinion that if lakhs came to be sung everywhere. As a symbol
of people take part in the freedom of unity, ‘Raksha Bandhan’ programmes
movement and challenge the British were held. Students in large number
government by struggling against them boycotted government schools and colleges
only then success will be achieved. They and participated in the movement. The
unanimously believed that the movement leadership of this movement was in the
should be made more severe. But they did hands of Surendranath Banerjee, Anand
not adopt the means of armed revolution Mohan Bose, Rabindranath Tagore and
rather insisted for an extensive public such other leaders. The extent of Indian
agitation. The moderates laid the foundation National Congress increased due to the
of freedom movement and the extremists anti partition movement. It became a
carried forward the movement. national movement. Owing to the severity
of dissatisfaction, the British anulled the
In 1897, in Pune, the epidemic of partition of Bengal.
Plague had spread on a large scale.
Hundreds of people died due to it. An Four point programme of Indian
officer named Rand was appointed. The
plague patients were searched out and National Congress : Gopal Krishna
oppressive measures were adopted. As a
revenge, the Chapekar brothers assasinated Gokhale was the President of Indian
Rand. The government tried to connect
relation of Lokmanya Tilak with this National Congress session of 1905. He
conspiracy. After being unsuccessful the
government imprisoned Tilak with revenge. supported the anti partition movement.

Dadabhai Nowrojee was the President of

1906 session. For first time he pronounced

the word ‘Swaraj’ from the stage. In his

Presidential speech he gave the message

that remain united, try sincerely and fulfill

27

the aim of Swaraj, so extremist trying that this opposition should
not be successful. Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
that today we will be Surendranath Banerjee, Ferozshah Mehta
such moderate leaders blamed that the
able to save lakhs of extremist leaders are trying to capture the
Indian National Congress. Lala Lajpat Rai
people suffering from tried to act as a mediator. As per Tilak's
opinion, Indian National Congress was a
poverty, hunger, national platform, hence it should not be
divided. During the session the tension
diseases and India increased and since no compromise was
possible finally there was a split in the
will get a respectable Indian National Congress.

position among Supression of the British : After anti
partition movement, the government was
developed countries. disturbed looking at the influential public
protest. To control this movement, the
In the same session Government used the policy of suppression.
Holding of public meetings was legally
Swaraj, Swadeshi, Dadabhai Nowrojee banned. Strict punishments were given to
those who broke the law. School children
National Education and Boycott, this 4 were also beaten up. Many restrictions
were imposed on newspapers. Many
point programme was unanimously accepted printing press were confiscated on grounds
of blame of criticising the government.
by the Indian National Congress. Due to Writers and editors were imprisoned. Strict
actions were taken against the extremist
Swadeshi movement we will be self leaders. This led to a severe reaction in
Bengal. The revolutionaries adopted, the
sufficient. To follow the path of Swadeshi means of firing, bomb blasts etc. These
bomb attacks were advocated through
we need to bring together capital, resources, Kesari newspaper by Lokmanya Tilak.
The charge of sedition was put on
manpower and such other forces and from

this the benefit of the country could be

achieved. It was decided that boycotting of

foreign goods is the first step and boycott

of foreign rule will be the next step. Due

to boycott we will be able to attack the

roots of British imperialism, was the

opinion of some of the leaders.

Do you know ?

Gopal Krishna
Gokhale founded the
‘Servants of India
Society’ in 1905. To
create love for the
country, teach them
sacrifice of self
interest, differences
between religion and Gopal Krishna Gokhale
caste should be
destroyed and to create social harmony,
spread of education were the main
objectives of the servants of India society.

Differences between Moderates and Lal-Bal-Pal
Extremists : The differences between the
ideologies of Indian National Congress rose
to great extent in the Surat session in 1907.
The moderates were trying to keep aside
the resolution of swadeshi and boycott. The

28

Lokmanya Tilak for which he was sent to 1916, under the leadership of Lokmanya
Mandalay jail at Myanmar for 6 years
imprisonment. Bipin Chandra Pal was Tilak, an attempt was made to resolve the
sentenced to jail and Lala Lajpat Rai was
deported from Punjab. dispute in the Indian National Congress.

Establishment of Muslim League : In the same year there was an agreement

The British became very disturbed looking between Indian National Congress and

at the overwhelming response to the Indian Muslim League known as the ‘Lucknow

National Congress in the anti partition Pact’. According to this pact, the Indian

movement. The British once again followed National Congress agreed to seperate

the policy of ‘divide and rule’. They electorates to Muslims and Muslim League

started using the propaganda that for agreed to support the Indian National

safeguarding the interest of Muslims they Congress in its work for getting political

should have a seperate political rights to India.

organisation. Due to the motivation of the Home Rule

British government a committee of upper Movement : In 1914,

class Muslims under the leadership of Aga when Lokmanya Tilak

Khan met Governor General Lord Minto. was released from the

Due to the motivation from Lord Minto Mandalay Jail, the first

and other British officers, the Muslim world war had begun

League was established in 1906. in Europe. The direct

Morley-Minto Act : There was consequences of this
dissatisfaction among the Indians regarding
the work of British government. The war had to be beared
Indians felt that the reason of poverty in
India was the economic policy of the by India as well. The
British. Oppressive policy of Lord Curzon,
exclusion of educated Indians in Dr. Annie Besant rates of basic necessary
government services, unjust behaviour
towards Indians in Africa, all this added commodities increased.
to the dissatisfaction of the Indian people.
As a temporary remedy on the discontent Many restrictions were put up on the Indians
among Indians, the Morley Minto Reform
Act of 1909 was passed. According to this by the British government. This led to
act, it increased the number of Indian
members in the Legislative Assembly and increased dissatisfaction in the minds of
provision of inclusion of some elected
Indian representatives in Legislative Indians. In these circumstances, Dr. Annie
Assembly was made. In the same act
seperate electorates were provided to the Besant and Lokmanya Tilak started the
Indian Muslims. Due to this conspiracy of
the British the seeds of division in India Home Rule movement. Home Rule means
were sown.
self government. Such movement also
Lucknow Pact : In the Lucknow
session of Indian National Congress in began in Ireland against Colonialism. On

similar lines, Home Rule movement

demanded right of self government in India.

Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak made

extensive tour in different parts of the

country and the demand for self government

reached the common people. Tilak firmly
stated that, ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I
shall have it’.
First World War and India : The war

atmosphere in Europe, growing

dissatisfaction in the minds of Indians,

popularity of Home Rule movement; in

such conditions it was necessary for the

British to get cooperation from the Indians.

29

The British government decided to provide Chelmsford Reform Act’. According to this
some political rights to the Indians. In 1917, Act, less important departments were
Montague, Secretary of State for India, transfered to the Indian ministers, whereas
declared that step by step Indians will be the important departments like Finance,
given the right to self government and Home affairs and Revenue were under the
responsible political system. Tilak also control of the Governor. The 1919 Act did
declared that if the government is going to not give much exposure to the demand for
show sympathy and considerable attitude Responsible Government of Indians.
towards the demands of the Indians, only Everybody was disappointed due to this
then Indian public is ready to co-operate act. Tilak criticised the act in following
the British. This policy of Lokmanya Tilak words, ‘This is neither Swaraj nor its
is known as ‘Responsive Cooperation’. foundation’. The Indians understood that
if they have to subdue the British
Montague Chelmsford Reform Act : government then the agitation needs to be
In 1919, the British Parliament passed more rigorous. India got prepared for a
another act to bring constitutional reforms new movement.
in India. This act is known as ‘Montague

Exercise

1. (A) Rewrite the statements by choosing 3. Write Short Notes.
(1) Objectives of Indian National
the appropriate options.
Congress
(1) The Servants of India Society was (2) Anti Partition Movement
(3) Four point program of Indian
founded by .............. .
National Congress
(a) Ganesh Vasudev Joshi
4. Explain the background behind the
(b) Bhau Daji Lad (c) M.G.Ranade establishment of Indian National
Congress with the help of following
(d) Gopal Krishna Gokhale points.

(2) The first session of Indian National • Centralisation of administration
• Economic exploitation
Congress was held at .............. . • Western education
• Study of Ancient Indian History
(a) Pune (b) Mumbai • Role of newspapers

(c) Kolkata (d) Lucknow Project

(3) ................ wrote the Geeta Rahasya. Collect additional information about the
leaders of early phase of Indian National
(a) Lokmanya Tilak Congress with the help of internet.

(b) Dadabhai Nowrojee

(c) Lala Lajpat Rai

(d) Bipinchandra Pal

(B) Write the names
(1) Moderate leaders ______ _______
(2) Extremist leaders ______ _______

2. Explain the following statements with
reasons.

(1) In the struggle for independence, a
sense of identity was awakened
among the Indians.

(2) Two groups were formed in the
Indian National Congress.

(3) Lord Curzon decided to partition
Bengal.

30

7. Non-co-operation Movement

In the Indian national movement the of Satyagraha to gain justice for common
period from 1920 to 1947 is known as the people.
‘Gandhian era’. After the death of
Lokmanya Tilak in 1920, the reigns of Philosophy of Satyagraha : Gandhiji
national movement went into the hands of brought in a novel technique of Satyagraha
Mahatma Gandhi. He gave a new direction in the popular movement. Satyagraha
to the freedom movement with the principles means insistence of truth. The main
of Truth, Non violence and Satyagraha. objective of Satyagraha is through patience
Due to the influential leadership of and Satyagraha an unjust person is made
Mahatma Gandhi the national movement aware of truth and justice and also bring
became more comprehensive. This led to transformation in his views. A person
the beginning of a new era in the freedom following satyagraha should never use
movement of India. violence and untruth means, was the
teachings of Gandhiji.
Role of Gandhiji in South Africa  :
Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa Later, not only in India but in
many parts of world people adopted the
for some legal work path of Satyagraha to fight against
in 1893. South injustice. Gandhiji’s path of Satyagraha
Africa was a colony made on impact on Martin Luther King
of the British. Many who was struggling for the rights of the
Indians had settled Blacks in America, as well as on Nelson
there for business, Mandela in South Africa.
trade and such
other work. The Champaran Satyagraha : In Bihar,
Indians in South the farmers of Champaran region were
Mahatma Gandhi Africa were treated forced to cultivate indigo. The cultivators
as criminals and humiliated at all times. suffered economically since they received
In 1906, the Government declared that fixed amount from the planters. Gandhiji
the it was compulsory for the blacks to went to Champaran in 1917. He organised
carry an identity card and their freedom the farmers in Champaran and launched
was restricted as well. Gandhiji followed agitation by following the way of
the path of Satyagraha against the Satyagraha. Gandhiji’s first war of
injustice and gained justice for the people. independence in India became successful
and the farmers were given justice.
Ganhiji arrives in India : On 9th
January 1915, Gandhiji returned to India Kheda Satyagraha : Due to constant
from South Africa. As suggested by Gopal famines in Kheda district, Gujrat, the crop
Krishna Gokhale, he made a tour of the had failed. Still land tax was forcibly
entire nation. He became sad looking at collected by the Government. Gandhiji
the misery and poverty of the people. He suggested that the farmers should refuse
took up the vow of service to the nation. to pay the tax. The farmers began the
He stayed at the Sabarmati Ashram in movement for scraping of tax at Kheda in
Ahmedabad. He followed a new technique 1918. Gandhiji accepted the leadership of
this movement. Within a short period of

31

time, the Government suspended the tax. entering the province of Punjab. General
Dyer issued orders of ban on public
Workers movement at Ahmedabad :  meetings in Amritsar. Important leaders
During the first world war there was great like Dr.Satyapal and Dr.Kitchelu were
inflation. Mill workers demanded for rise arrested for their involvement in Amritsar
in salary. But the mill owners rejected Hartal case.
this demand. As per Gandhiji’s advice,
the workers went on hunger strike. Finally, As a protest against this, on 13th
the mill owners had to back off and the April 1919, on a Baisakhi day, the people
salary of workers was increased. of Amritsar assembled at a place named
Jallianwala Baug. General Dyer arrived
Satyagraha against Rowlatt Act : with armed force. The place was enclosed
In the first world war, the Indians had from all sides and had only one small
helped the British. The Indians felt that gate. General Dyer positioned his army
after the world war is over there will be and closed down the only gate. Without
a system of governance for taking decisions giving any prior notification to the
for well being of the Indians. There was disarmed innocent people, he ordered his
growing unrest among the Indians regarding soldiers to fire. 1660 rounds, had been
the increasing prices, taxes etc. fired. The army continued firing until the
ammunition was over. In this massacre
To supress this discontent and to about 400 people including men and
suggest measures about it, a Committee women were killed. Many people were
was appointed under Sir Sydney Rowlatt. wounded. After firing curfew was
According to recommendations of this announced and hence immediate treatment
committee a new law was passed without to the injured could not be made available.
considering the opposition of Indian In entire Punjab, military law was
members in Central Legislative Assembly enforced and many were sent to jail by
on 17 March 1919. This law came to be the government.
known as ‘Rowlatt Act’. This Act gave the
right to the government to arrest anybody General Michael O’Dwyer, Governor
without any warrant or imprison without of Punjab, was responsible for this
any trial. Appeal was prohibited against massacre. All over India there was protest
the punishment given through this act. The against this act. As a
Indians called this act as ‘Black Act’ and protest against this
a tide of anger arouse all over India against
this act. Gandhiji launched a Satyagraha massacre,
against it. On 6th April 1919, he appealed Rabindranath Tagore
to the Indians to follow Hartal all over gave away the title of
India against the Act. Indians responded to ‘Sir’ bestowed on him
this appeal on a large scale. by the British
Government. Later
Jallianwala Baug Massacre : The Indians demanded for
movement that aroused against the enquiry of this Rabindranath Tagore
Rowlatt Act took over a fierce form in massacre, hence the British government
the province of Punjab. Amritsar became appointed the Hunter Commission.
the main centre of this movement. The
Government had started the spate of Khilafat Movement : Muslims all
supression. Gandhiji was prohibited from over the world regarded the ruler of Turkey

32

as their religious leader. During the first Das etc. boycotted the court by giving up
world war Turkey fought against the their practice. During this period, with the
British. To get the support of the Indian boycott of schools and colleges, the
Muslims in the war, the British had assured scheme of national education was run.
that after the end of the war, Khalifa’s Many National schools, colleges and
empire will not be harmed. But after the universities were established. There was
end of First World War England did not boycott of coming elections, boycott and
stick to its assuarance. A tide of great bonfire of foreign clothes. Due to this the
discontent aroused among the Muslims. import of foreign clothes decreased.
The movement started by Indian Muslims
to support the Khalifa was called ‘Khilafat In 1921, during the visit of Prince of
Movement’. Gandhiji thought that on this Wales, he was welcomed by organising
problem if the Hindus and Muslims come hartal. Lonely roads and closed shops
together and start a national movement welcomed the Prince. The movement
then the government can surely be brought spread from the planters in Assam to rail
to its senses. Therefore Gandhiji supported workers in Bengal. To bring the movement
the Khilafat Movement. The Khilafat under control the British government
Committee accepted Gandhiji’s proposal undertook supressive measures.
of following non-co-operation to the
government. Hindu-Muslim unity was seen In February 1922, the Police opened
especially during this period. fire on a peaceful procession at Chauri
Chaura in Gorakhpur district of Uttar
Non-co-operation Movement : The Pradesh. The people were angry and set
concept behind the Non-co-operation fire to the police station in which along
movement was that, the British government with one officer, 22 policemen were killed.
in India is dependent only on the Due to this incident, Gandhiji was hurt.
co-operation of the Indians. If the Indians On 12 February 1922, Gandhiji suspended
adopted complete non-co-operation then the Non-co-operation Movement.
the British government will completely
collapse. With this intention he evoked Do you know ?
the people of India to take part in this
movement. Mulshi Satyagraha : During the non-
co-operation movement, the farmers of
In 1920, the Indian National Congress Mulshi Taluka in Pune district launched
session was held at Nagpur. The resolution satyagraha against the government.
of Non-co-operation movement put forth by Senapati Pandurang Mahadev Bapat led
Chittaranjan Das was accepted. All reigns the Mulshi satyagraha, for which he was
of the movement were given in the hands of punished with six years of imprisonment.
Mahatma Gandhi. According to this
resolution, a programme was framed to Gandhiji was arrested in March 1922
boycott Government offices, courts, foreign for writing three anti-national articles in
goods, Government schools and colleges. ‘Young India’. Special court was set up
at Ahmedabad and Gandhiji was sentenced
Progress of Non-co-operation six years of imprisonment.
Movement : On the background of Non-
co-operation movement, many eminent Later, on grounds of ill health, Gandhiji
lawyers like Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan was released from the jail. Gandhiji, along
with non-co-operation movement, took up
constructive programmes which mainly

33

included spread of Swadeshi, Hindu-
Muslim unity, prohibition of alchohol,
removal of untouchability, popularise use
of Khadi, national education etc. Due to
these constructive programmes, the national
movement became more comprehensive in
rural areas.

Swaraj Party : The members of Simon Go Back
Indian National Congress such as
Chittaranjan Das, Motilal Nehru put up shouting the slogans like ‘Simon Go
the idea of contesting elections and Back’.
obstructing the work of the British
government. In 1922, the Swaraj Party There was lathi charge on the
was established. In 1923, many members
of Swaraj Party were elected in the Central demonstrators. At Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai
Legislative Assembly and Provincial
Legislative Council, mainly including was leading the demonstration against the
Motilal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malviya,
Lala Lajpat Rai and N.C.Kelkar. When Simon Commission. The police lathi
the political movement in the country
calmed down, then the fight in the charged the demonstrators. Saunders, a
Legislative Assembly was strengthened by
the Swaraj Party. They severely opposed police officer,
the unjust policies of British. They
demanded that Responsible Government attacked Lalaji with
should be given to India in future. They
made a resolution to be passed in the a lathi. After the
Legislative Assembly for the release of
political leaders from prison, to call for attack, in a protest
the Round Table Conference. The
government rejected most of the resolutions. meeting, Lalaji said,

Simon Commission : The reforms “Every blow on my
introduced by the Montague Chelmsford
Act of 1919 were unsatisfactory. Hence body will prove a
there was discontent among the Indian
people.On this background, the British nail in the coffin of
appointed a commission under the
chairmanship of Sir John Simon. In this the British Empire”.
commission, none of the Indian member
was included. Hence the Congress decided Within few days of Lala Lajpat Rai
to boycott the commission. the attack Lalaji died.

In 1928, the commission arrived in Nehru Report : Berkenhead, Secretary
India. Wherever it travelled, the people of State of India, criticised that the Indian
made demonstrations against them, by leaders cannot draft a unanimously
accepted constitution. This challenge was
accepted and an all party Committee was
formed. Pandit Motilal Nehru was the
Chairman of this Committee.

To establish self government in the
colonies of India, implement Adult Franchise
system, linguistic division of provinces such
proposals were put up in this report. This
report was known as ‘Nehru Report’.

By the end of 1929, an indication was
given that if the Nehru report is not accepted

34

by the government then the civil disobedience objective of National movement was
movement will be started. On this
background, in December 1929, the Lahore complete independence of India.
session presided by Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru became memorable in history. On 31st December 1929, Pandit Nehru
unfurled the tri colour flag and a resolution
Demand for Poorna Swaraj : The
objective of Indian National Congress of was passed in which 26 January was
Dominion status was not acceptable to
many young members. Young leaders like declared to be
Pandit Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose
were demanding complete independence. celebrated as
i.e. poorna swaraj. Due to the influence of
this young group, in the Lahore session of Independence Day. On
Indian National Congress, resolution of
attainment of complete independence was 26 January 1930,
passed. Through this resolution Indian
national Congress gave up the objective of people all over the
dominion status. From here onwards, the country took pledge
for carrying out the

Pandit Nehru freedom movement
with non violent means
for attainment of

independence of India. Everywhere in the
country, the atmosphere was charged with
a new spirit.

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the 3. Answer the following questions in 25-
30 words.
appropriate options.
(1) Explain the philosophy of Satyagraha.
(1) Gandhiji began his career from the (2) Why was the Swaraj Party

country of .................. . established ?

(a) India (b) England 4. Explain the following statements with
reasons.
(c) South Africa (d) Myanmar
(1) Rowlatt Act was opposed by the
(2) The farmers started the no-tax people of India.

movement in the district of ........... . (2) Gandhiji suspended the Non-co
-operation Movement.
(a) Gorakhpur (b) Kheda
(3) The Indians boycotted the Simon
(c) Solapur (d) Amravati Commission.

(3) As a protest to Jallianwala Baug (4) Khilafat Movement was started in
India.
massacre, Rabindranath Tagore
Project
returned the title of ............ bestowed
Trace out the pledge of independence
upon him by the British Government. that was taken on 26th January 1930
and read it aloud collectively in the
(a) Lord (b) Sir classroom.

(c) Raobahadur (d) Raosaheb

2. Answer the following questions in one
sentence.

(1) Which restriction were put up on the
Blacks in South Africa according to
the declaration of 1906?

(2) Where did Gandhiji launch the first
satyagraha in India?

(3) Which officer gave orders of firing
in the Jallianwala Baug ?

35

8. Civil Disobedience Movement

After the resolution of Complete fearless and join the Civil Disobedience
Independence was passed in the Lahore Movement. Due to Gandhiji’s speeches
session, Mahatma Gandhi decided to message of Civil Disobedience Movement
launch the Civil Disobedience Movement. spread everywhere and a favourable
Before beginning this movement, Gandhiji atmosphere was created. On 5 April 1930,
put up various demands in front of the Gandhiji reached Dandi. On 6 April
British Government. One of the important Gandhiji broke the salt act by picking up
demand was to cancel the salt tax and the salt laying on the sea shore of Dandi
monopoly of British Government for and the Civil Disobedience Movement
manufacture of salt. But because the started all over the country.
demands of Gandhiji were rejected by the
Government he decided to launch The Peshawar Satyagraha : In the
Satyagraha all over India by breaking the
salt act. North West Frontier, Khan Abdul Gafar

Dandi March Khan was the most loyal follower of

Salt is an important ingredient in the Mahatma Gandhi. He was also known as
food of common people. Hence it was
unjust to impose tax on an essential ‘Frontier Gandhi’. He had founded the
commodity like salt. Therefore Gandhiji
started the Salt Satyagraha. Salt Satyagraha organisation called ‘Khuda-i-Khidmatgar’.
was symbolic. The extensive objective
behind it was to break the oppressive and On 23 April 1930, he started satyagraha at
unjust laws of the British Government
through peace and Satyagraha. Peshawar. The town was in the hands of

Gandhiji chose Dandi, a seashore, in the satyagrahis nearly for a week. The
Gujarat to begin the Salt Satyagraha. On
12 March 1930 Gandhiji set out from British Government
Sabarmati Ashram with 78 followers for
launching the Salt Satyagraha. A distance gave orders to the
of approximately 385 km was covered on
foot and Gandhiji delivered speeches in the Garhwal regiment to
villages on the way. Through the speeches
Gandhiji appealed to the people to be carry out open firing

on the Satyagrahis,

but Chandrasing

Thakur, an officer of

Garhwal Regiment,

refused to open fire.

He was court Khan Abdul

martialled and was Gafar Khan

given a severe punishment.

The British Government found itself in
a difficult situation due to the satyagraha
launched by Mahatma Gandhi. On 4 May
1930 Gandhiji was arrested. Supressive
measures were undertaken all over the
country. There was protest all over the
country due to the arrest of Mahatma
Gandhi.

Solapur Satyagraha : The mill
workers were on the forefront in the Solapur
satyagraha. On 6 May 1930, hartal was
observed in Solapur. A huge procession

36

was organised in Solapur. The District continued endlessly. In Maharashtra, salt
Collector gave orders of firing on the satyagraha took place at Wadala, Malvan
procession. and Shiroda.

Many volunteers along with Shankar Where there were no salt-pans, the
Shivdare died in the firing. As a result, forest laws were broken. There were jungle
people started attacking police stations, satyagrahas at Bilashi, Sangamner,
railway station, courts, municipal buildings Kalavan, Chirner and Pusad in Maharashtra.
etc. The Government declared Martial Law The tribal people also took part in the
and the agitation was supressed. Those satyagraha in large numbers.
who took lead in this movement, such as
Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shrikrishna Sarda, Sacrifice of Babu Genu : In Mumbai,
Qurban Hussain and Jagannath Shinde there was agitation against foreign goods.
were hanged to death. The vehicles transporting foreign goods
were obstructed. Babu Genu Said, a mill
Mallappa Dhanshetti Shrikrishna Sarda worker, from Mumbai was in the forefront
in this movement. A truck carrying foreign
goods, safeguarded by
the police, came in
front of Babu Genu.
To stop the truck he
lied down on the road.
Police threatened him,
but he did not move
from his place. Finally
he was crushed under
the truck. Babu Genu Babu Genu
gained martyrdom. This

Do you know ?

Qurban Hussain Jagannath Shinde Features of Civil Disobedience
Movement :
Dharasana Satyagraha : The • All the movements, till now, were
satyagraha at Dharasana in Gujarat was led
by Sarojini Naidu. limited only to urban areas. But this
The police lathi movement became a nationwide
charged on the movement. People from rural areas
satyagrahis who came registered their participation.
forward to break the • Women also took part in large
Salt Act. The numbers. Kasturba Gandhi, Kamladevi
satyagrahis silently Chattopadhyay, Avantikabai Gokhale,
tolerated the blows Lilavati Munshi, Hansaben Mehta led
of the lathi. When the satyagraha.
they were taken away Sarojini Naidu • This movement was based on complete
for medical aid, another batch of satyagrahis non violence. The British Government
came forward to replace them. This was trying to greatly suppress the
movement, but the people protested
unarmed. Due to this the Indian
people became fearless.

37

sacrifice of Babu Genu gave inspiration to of India. Consequently Indian National
the national movement. Congress withdrew the Civil Disobedience
Movement and agreed to attend the Round
Round Table Conference : In the Table Conference.
opinion of British Prime Minister Ramsay
Mac Donald, while the Civil Disobedience Second Round Table Conference : In
Movement was going on , the constitutional 1931, the second round table conference
issues regarding India should be thought was organised. Mahatma Gandhi attended
over. For this purpose he organised a this conference as a representative of the
conference at London. This conference is Indian National Congress. Along with the
known as ‘Round Table Conference’. In Indian National Congress, representatives
the period between 1930 to 1932, three of various castes and communities, political
round table conferences were organised. parties as well as princely states were
invited. The Government put forth the issue
First Round Table Conference : of minorities in the Round Table Conference.
Ramsay MacDonald was the chairman of There were differences regarding this issue
the Round Table Conference. and also regarding the nature of the
Representatives of England and India prospective Federal constitution. Gandhiji
participated in the Conference. These tried to bring unanimity in the opinion but
included Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Sir was unsuccessful. Finally Gandhiji became
Tej Bahadur Sapru, Barrister Jinnah etc. In disappointed and returned back to India.
the conference there were discussions on
various topics such as Responsible Poona Pact : Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
Government at central level, establishment represented the
of federal State in India etc. Representatives Dalits in the Round
of different political parties in India and Table Conference.
rulers of Princely states participated in the He demanded
conference. However, the Indian National seperate electorates
Congress did not participate in it. The for the Dalits. After
Indian National Congress was a body that the Second Round
represented the country. Without its Table Conference
participation, the deliberations in the Round the British Prime
Table Conference were indeed meaningless. Minister Ramsay

Gandhi-Irwin Pact : The British Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar MacDonald declared
Prime Minister expressed his hope of ‘Communal Awards’. According to it, Dalits
participation of Indian National Congress were given seperate electorates. Gandhiji
in the Second Round Table Conference. In went on fast unto death at Yerwada jail
view of the appeal made by the Prime protesting against the granting of seperate
Minister, the Viceroy released Mahatma electorate on the basis of caste. The leaders
Gandhi and other leaders from prison. of Indian National Congress requested Dr.
Thus, a conducive atmosphere was created Babasaheb Ambedkar to reconsider the
for the Congress to discuss the issues demand for seperate electorates. Keeping
freely. A pact was signed between Mahatma in mind the interest of the nation
Gandhi and Viceroy Irwin which is known Dr.Ambedkar was ready to accept this
as the ‘Gandhi-Irwin Pact’. According to request. In 1932 Mahatma Gandhi and
this pact, the British Government assured Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar signed the
that the system of Responsible Governemt famous Poona Pact. According to this pact
would be added in the proposed constitution seperate electorates for the Dalits was

38

cancelled and a provision for reserved was immediately arrested. Hence there was
seats was made. discontent among the people.

Third Round Table Conference : In Government responded to this
November 1932 the Third Round Table movement by using inhuman oppressive
Conference was organised in England. The methods. There was strangling of civic
Indian National Congress boycotted the rights everywhere. The Indian National
conference. Thus this conference proved to Congress and its associated institutions
be futile. were declared illegal. Restrictions were
levied on national newspaper and literature.
Second Phase of Civil Disobedience Finally in April 1934 Gandhiji withdrew
Movement : Gandhiji returned to India the movement and the historic phase of
from the Second Round Table Conference Civil Disobedience Movement came to an
with a dejected mind. He decided to restart end.
the Civil Disobedience Movement. Gandhiji

Exercise

1. Rewrite the statements by choosing the withdraw the Civil Disobedience
appropriate options. Movement ?

(Mahatma Gandhi, Khuda-i-Khidmatgar, 4. Complete the following timeline of Civil
Ramsay Mac Donald, Sarojini Naidu) Disobedience Movement.

(1) ............. organised the Round Table 12 March 6 April 23 April 4 May 6 May
Conference in London.
1930 1930 1930 1930 1930
(2) Khan Abdul Gafar Khan established
the organisation named _________. Project

(3) ............ led the Dharasana Satyagraha. (1) Gather additional information along
(4) In the Second Round Table Conference with photographs about the work of
following personalities in the Civil
............ participated as a representative Disobedience Movement and exhibit
of Indian National Congress. it in the class. (a) Sarojini Naidu
(b) Khan Abdul Gafar Khan (c) Babu
2. Explain the following statements with Genu Said.
reasons.
(2) Plot on an outline map of India ,the
(1) Chandrasingh Thakur was court places mentioned in the chapter where
martialled and severely punished. the Civil Disobedience Movement
took place.
(2) The Government declared Martial
Law at Solapur.

(3) The deliberations in the First Round
Table Conference proved to be
meaningless.

(4) Gandhiji began fast unto death in the
Yerwada jail.

3. Answer the following questions in 25 to
30 words.

(1) Why did Gandhiji decide to break the
Salt Act to begin the satyagraha all
over the country ?

(2) Why did the Indian National Congress

39

9. Last Phase of Struggle for Independence

In this chapter we are going to study proposal of India in front of the Indians.
the Quit India Movement, underground But none of the political party was satisfied
movement and the contribution of Indian with this proposal. The Indian National
National Army. Congress rejected the proposal since there
was no clear mention of complete
Act of 1935 : This Act made a independence. Since there was no mention
provision for the British governed Indian of creation of Pakistan, the Muslim League
provinces and Princely States to form a also rejected the Cripps Mission.
federation. According to this act, the
working of British governed provinces will Second World War and Indian
be handed over to the Indian representatives. National Congress : The Second World
If the princely states join the federation War began in Europe in 1939. The then
then they would lose their autonomy, hence Viceroy Lord Linlithgo declared that India
they refused to join. Therefore the proposal has joined the war on the side of the
of federal state in the Act was not brought British. England claimed that it is fighting
into practice. to save Democracy in Europe. The Indian
National Congress demanded that if the
Provincial Cabinets : The Indian claim was true then England should
National Congress was not satisfied with immediately grant freedom to India.
the Act of 1935, but still decided to take England refused to fulfill this demand and
part in the elections of Provincial legislature therefore the provincial ministers of Indian
provided by the Act. In 1937, elections National Congress resigned in November
were held in eleven provinces in the 1939.
country. Among these, Indian National
Congress gained majority over eight Quit India Movement : After the
provinces and came to power. In other Cripps mission, the Indian National
three provinces none of the party could Congress decided to start an intense
achieve majority and therefore mixed movement for attaining independence. The
cabinet was formed. Working Committee of the Congress passed
a resolution on 14 July 1942 at Wardha.
The Cabinet ministers of Indian The resolution demanded that the British
National Congress did useful work for the rule in India be ended immediately and
people such as release of political prisoners India should be given independence. If this
from jail, introduction of basic education, demand was not fulfilled then the Indian
prohibition of liquor, measures undertaken National Congress warned to start a non
to improve condition of the Dalits, passing violent movement for freedom of India.
of Act giving debt relief to the farmers etc.
Quit India Resolution : On 7 August
Cripps Mission : During the second 1942, the session of Indian National
world war, England supported America Congress was held at Gowalia Tank
against Japan. The Japanese army reached (Kranti Maidan) in Mumbai. Maulana
the eastern borders of India. The British Abul Kalam Azad was the President of
realised that if Japan attacks India, then this session. The British should leave India,
they will need co-operation from the this resolution passed by Congress Working
Indians. Hence the British Prime Minister Committee at Wardha was to be finally
Winston Churchill sent Sir Stafford Cripps approved in the Mumbai session. On
to India. In March 1942, he put up a

40