Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about The Freedom Struggle from Class 10 Social_Science. We will explore the Indian National Congress, the Moderates, Extremists and Revolutionaries, the freedom movement during the period of Gandhi, farmers and workers protests, leaders of the freedom movement, and the partition of India.
In the history of India, the freedom movement is a very important and dynamic chapter. Indians who suffered a lot under British rule showed their resistance effectively and became responsible for the first war of Indian independence in 1857. As a result, the British government passed a proclamation in 1858 in which the rule of British East India Company ended and began the administration of India in the name of Queen of Britain. The involvement of Indians in the process of law making began through the act of 1861. As a result of all these, the new educated class began to have the clear concept of Nationalism and tried to share the same with the common people. Therefore, Nationalism took a definite shape. The extended institutional feature of this itself is the Indian National Congress.
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There are many instances in India which opposed the establishment of British empire. Many native rulers fought against British with an intention of self interest. After 1857 revolt, many changes and effective reforms were seen. Changes were seen in transport and communication, journalism, establishing organisation and administrative changes. People organised themselves to protect their interest and established many organisation. Lord Lytton brought in Domestic papers control act in 1878 to exercise control people and Lord Rippon brought in Ilbert Bill to bring in uniformity in the judicial system. Opposing this, the Indian British people led an organised effort and were successful. The freedom struggle assumed a specific direction as a result of protests all over the country. To avoid armed struggle, the British adopted certain strategies. Consequently, the British Government declared the supremacy of the Queen in 1858, and announced that Indians were British citizens. Through this step, the British government declared provision of better amenities to Indians. In the subsequent developments, the aristocratic new generation who learnt English, started fighting for their rights in a constitutional manner. This led to the establishment of Indian National Congress.
Right from the time of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the minds of middle class people of India were getting prepared to face new challenges. Towards this end, many organizations were established throughout the country. Among them, The Hindu Mela, The East India Association, Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and The Indian Association were prominent. They had limited scope and interests. They were waiting for a national level integration to happen at an appropriate time. An opportunity came handy for organizing such an all Indian organization. In the year 1885, a retired English officer, A O Hume established the Indian National Congress. It worked towards creating political awareness and nationalist attitude. In spite of the diversity in India, the Indian National Congress struggled to kindle the patriotic feelings of Indians. It published papers in the local languages and started debates on political problems. As a result, the people became aware of the political situation and its problems. The British realized the growing strength of the Congress and started implementing its Divide and Rule policy. They separated Hindus and Muslims through their manipulative techniques. In spite of this, the Indian National Congress was able to formulate positive plans of action related to national issues. By the end of the 19th century, differences surfaced in the Indian National Congress. Based on the plan of action, beliefs and type of struggle adopted by them, they were identified as moderates and extremists.
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Let us look at the First Phase, the Moderates, spanning from 1885 to 1905. Traditionally, the first 20 years of the beginning of Congress are called the Moderate Age. Among the moderates, M G Ranade, Surendranath Bannerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopalakrishna Gokhale were prominent. The moderates trusted the British administration and their impartiality. They used to place their requests and appeals before the government within the constitutional framework. The moderates taught people about political situations. They conducted meetings, discussed problems and placed before the government various requests related to development of industries, reduction of military expenses, improvement in educational standards, and forcing the British government to take up studies about poverty in the country. For the first time, the moderates critically analysed the ill-effects of the British rule in India. They placed before the people facts and figures about the drain of Indian wealth into England. Dadabhai Naoroji explained about the transfer of Indian wealth to England and called it as Drain Theory. He maintained that encouraging imports and reducing exports created a situation unfavorable to India, leading to drain of wealth. Since India had to bear the burden of paying wages, pension and administrative expenses of British officials, a lot of wealth was flowing into England. The Age of Moderates is also called the Age of Generous Nationalism. I encourage you to complete the activity of collecting the photographs of moderates and reading their biographies to understand their contributions better.
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Now we move to the Second Phase, the Extremists, from 1905 to 1920. One group of Congress members who became unhappy with the mild attitude of the moderates called them political beggars. Those who criticized the moderate thinking and propagated extremist ideas were known as Extremists. Aurobindo Ghosh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Balgangadhara Tilak were the prominent extremist leaders.
Let us examine the Partition of Bengal. Bengal was the centre of protests and anti-British sentiments. In order to curb this, Viceroy Lord Curzon proposed a plan to divide Bengal citing administrative problems. East and West Bengal based on Muslim and Hindu population were created. Thus, by creating differences between the two communities, they tried to reduce the intensity of freedom struggle. Extremists opposed the partition of Bengal in the year 1905, highlighting it as an example of Divide and Rule policy. Protests started mounting throughout the country against the division of Bengal in 1906. The Swadeshi movement was very important among these protests. Swadeshi movement called for a ban on western goods and the organizations supporting the import of European items. They encouraged the people to use Indian goods. In the backdrop of these severe protests, in 1911 the British government withdrew the Declaration of Partition of Bengal. Extremists maintained that good administration cannot be a substitute for independence. Tilak declared: Swaraj is my birthright and I will get it at any cost. Thus, an independent India was the aim of extremists. They started preparing the common people for freedom struggle. Through religious functions they started organizing people for a freedom movement. He encouraged people towards nationalism through the celebrations of Ganesha, Shivaji and Durga Pooja. Lokamanya Tilak utilized his Kesari in Marathi and Maratha newspaper in English for freedom struggle. Through these papers he called for the active participation in the fight for freedom. He was imprisoned for his revolutionary articles and enquiries were instituted against him. He wrote Geetha Rahasya in the jail.
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Next, we will study the role of Revolutionaries in the freedom struggle. The revolutionaries dreamt of a totally free India. They strongly believed that the British could be thrown out of India only by violent means. They started establishing their secret branches in India and abroad, and engaged in collection of money, arms and training of people. Anusheelana Samithi and Abhinava Bharata were important organizations of this kind. They used bombs and firearms to achieve their objectives. The government tried their best to suppress them. The revolutionaries were arrested for murder attempts. They were declared guilty and given life imprisonment. Many were hanged to death. V D Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh, Shyamji Krishna Verma, Madam Cama, Khudiram Bose, Ramaprasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekar Azad were prominent revolutionary leaders. In the north-eastern part of India, Jadonang and Gaidinliu formed an army of men and women of Naga tribal group respectively to fight against British. The British government hanged Jadonang to death on the charges of sedition and Gaidinliu was sent to Jail for her guerilla movement in 1932. She was in jail till independence. Please note this important information: Aurobindo Ghosh published a book Vartamana Rananiti, in which he mentioned about training of the army and skills of warfare. Barinder Kumar Ghosh published a daily Yugantara with the same views.
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We now enter the Gandhian Era, spanning from 1920 to 1947. Gandhiji got his Barrister degree in England and started his law practice in South Africa. The British who were ruling South Africa, practised apartheid and discriminated mainly against Africans and Indians. People who were employed in low-paid jobs, were not allowed to travel on trains along with the white people and could not eat along with them. The British treated them mercilessly. Gandhiji brought together the people who were discriminated against, and carried out agitations and protests against the British in a peaceful, non-violent manner. The success that he got to his movement against the British in South Africa inspired Gandhiji to do the same in India and achieve freedom from the British. In the freedom movement of India, 1920 to 1947 is also termed Gandhian Age. Gandhiji was in the forefront of the struggle till India won her independence. With the entry of Gandhiji, the freedom movement gained a new dimension. Gandhiji made use of indirect protests, non-violence and satyagraha as the main instruments for the freedom struggle. He wrote about his principles in the newspaper Young India. Satyagraha was his main political weapon. Please remember this exact definition: Satyagraha means it is not a way to apply physical pressure on anyone but a struggle accompanied by self-respect. Gandhiji succeeded in using satyagraha to fight against the apartheid policy in Africa. He used the same weapon in the Indian freedom struggle. With the entry of Gandhiji, admission to the Congress was made open to everyone and it became the common man’s organization. In order to press for fulfillment of its demands, the organization resorted to non-cooperation and civil dis-obedience movement. It also suggested positive programmes for the upliftment of the society. To implement their plans, the Congress began the Tilak Swarajya Fund with an investment of one crore rupees. In this manner, a complete change could be witnessed in the Congress with the arrival of Gandhiji in the organization. Hence, this period has been called Gandhian age.
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The British government brought into force many regulations with a view to suppress the increasing revolutionary activities. The most important of them was the Rowlatt Act in 1919, which gave the judges power to arrest and interrogate people based on mere suspicion. Gandhiji protested against this inhuman Act through satyagraha. It gained support throughout the nation. Thousands of Indians participated in these protests against the British.
Let us discuss the Jallianwallah Bagh Massacre. Punjab witnessed widespread protests against Rowlatt act. As the protests turned violent, the control over Amritsar city was given to General Dyer. Dyer imposed military rule in the city and banned all demonstrations against the british rule. The protestors had decided to assemble at Jallianwallah Bagh. They were not aware of this ban. About 20,000 protestors had assembled in this demonstration against the Rowlatt act. This peaceful demonstration was in progress in high-walled Jallianwallah Bagh which had narrow entrances. General Dyer arrived at this place without any previous warning with his army, and attacked the protestors from all sides with firearms. In this massacre, about 379 people died and thousands suffered serious injuries. This incident is called Jallianwallah Bagh tragedy. The government appointed Hunter Commission to conduct an enquiry into the Jallianwallah Bagh tragedy, but it was of no use. The atrocities against Indians continued. In the backdrop of Jallianwallah Bagh tragedy, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a letter to the Viceroy and surrendered the Knighthood awarded to him. The revolutionary Udham Singh killed General Dyer who had massacred innocent Indians.
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Now let us move to the Khilafat Movement. The Sultan of Turky was the religious chief of Muslims. He was called Khalif. The atrocity against Khalif during the first world war was opposed by Muslims across the world. Two Ali brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukath Ali, started the Khilafat movement in India in order to support the Turks. Gandhiji believed that only if Hindus and Muslims fought together against the British, the British would leave the country. In this context, he felt that participation of Muslims in the Congress was vital. Hence, Gandhiji declared his support to the Khilafat movement. This turned out to be a joint Hindu-Muslim nation-wide movement against the British. Many national leaders and the Congress took active part in the Khilafat movement.
Following this, in the year 1920, Gandhiji gave a call for a non-co-operation movement against the British. Students supported his call by abstaining from schools and colleges. Lawyers remained away from courts. Indian dignitaries returned all the awards given by the British. Supporting this movement, Motilal Nehru and C R Das sacrificed their law careers. During this period, there was a stiff opposition to the visit of the British Prince. There were widespread agitations against the visit throughout the country. After seeing the intensity of the agitation, fear surfaced in the mind of the British. At this juncture, thousands of people jumped into the freedom struggle at Chowri-Chowra in Uttar Pradesh. In the year 1922, police used their force against peaceful protestors. Enraged by this, the people tried to enter the police stations. Police resorted to firing. When their ammunition got exhausted, the police ran into the station. The angry protestors set the police station on fire. About 22 police were burnt alive inside the station. This incident is termed Chowri-Chowra incident in history. The incident made Gandhiji unhappy. Gandhiji resented the violent incident and withdrew his non-co-operation movement. The British government considered Gandhiji responsible for the violent event. It sentenced him to prison for six years. But in 1924, Gandhiji was released citing the reason of ill-health.
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Through the 1919 Act, Indians were given the opportunity to contest elections. However, since the atrocities and injustice by the British were continuing, some Congressmen rejected the Act. With an intention of contesting elections in the future, Motilal Nehru and C R Das, along with some other Congressmen, established Swaraj Party in 1923. Through this party, they wanted to enter the legislative assembly and oppose the policies of the British from within. In the subsequent Belagavi Conference held in 1924, Gandhiji approved of the plan of the Swaraj Party and accepted it as a part of the Congress plan. Thus Swaraj Party became a part of the Congress. In the corporation elections that took place in Calcutta in 1924, Swaraj Party won the majority. C R Das was elected as the Mayor. He was known as Deshbandhu.
According to the Government of India Act of 1919, there was a proposal to appoint a Commission at the end of the 10th year after the implementation of this Act. This Commission was to examine the impact of the 1919 Act, suggest suitable changes if needed, and submit it to the government. Accordingly, in 1927, the British Government appointed the Simon Commission under the leadership of John Simon. This commission did not have a single Indian as the member. Treating it as an insult to India, the Congress boycotted the Simon Commission. There were widespread demonstrations during the visit of Simon to India. The people started shouting Simon, Go back. Wherever the Simon Commission went, it witnessed demonstrations, hartals and agitations. During this time, Lala Lajpat Rai who was the leader of the movement, died after being injured in police caning. This made the Indians fight much more intense. With an intention to reduce the hatred towards the government, as soon as the Commission work was over, the British government decided to call a meeting of the Indian representatives and have a discussion with them. The result was the Round Table Conference. In the year 1929, under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru, a Congress Session was held in Lahore. During this conference, the Congress declared that Purna Swaraj was their aim. On January 26, 1930, the Congress celebrated Independence day all over the country and supported the Lahore declaration. This conference entrusted the responsibility of organizing the Civil Disobedience movement to Gandhiji. Please note that on January 1st, 1930, Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the Indian tri-colour on the banks of river Ravi.
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Let us now study the Civil Disobedience Movement. Gandhiji, after assuming the leadership of Civil disobedience movement, submitted a Charter of 11 demands to Viceroy Irwin. He had conveyed that if these demands were not met, he would start Civil Disobedience movement. One of the demands was abolition of tax imposed on salt. But Irwin did not consider Gandhiji demands. As a result, in the year 1930, Gandhiji travelled from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Surat on foot with his followers to produce salt in the seashore. In this manner, he started the Civil Disobedience Movement. This event in history is popular as Dandi March. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Kamala Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, Rajagopalachari, Babu Rajendra Prasad and thousands of others who participated in the Civil Disobedience movement were arrested. This agitation spread to many parts of the country. Please note that in the Dandi march, Karnataka 18-year old Mylara Mahadevappa also participated. Karnataka Congress formed a committee with R R Diwakar, Koujalgi Hanumantharao, Gangadhar Deshpande Hardikar and Karnad Sadashiva Rao and started the production of salt at Ankola taluk in Uttara Kannada district.
As mentioned earlier, as per the decision of the British government to call a meeting of the Indian representatives, the First Round Table Conference was held in 1930. The result was that the British understood they could not take any decision without the participation of Indian leaders. In this conference, an opportunity was created to allow untouchables to be represented separately. In order to enable them to participate in the conference, Gandhiji and other Congress leaders were released from prison. But Gandhiji and the Congress refused to attend the conference. Representatives of the princely kingdoms, leaders of different communities like B R Ambedkar, M R Jayakar, Tej Bahadur Sapra, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Srinivas Shastri and others took part in the conference. Approval was given to matters like Dominion status, responsible government and casteist representation at the conference. But since the Congress did not participate there, the conference was not productive. In order to bring the Indian National Congress to the conference and help Britain achieve its objectives, Viceroy Irwin met Gandhiji and discussed certain proposals. The result of this discussion was the Gandhiji-Irwin Pact in 1931. In the subsequent developments, the Congress gave up its Civil disobedience movement and agreed to participate in the Second Round Table Conference. Mohammed Ali Jinnah and B R Ambedkar participated in this conference. In this conference, B R Ambedkar asked for separate constituencies for the depressed classes during elections. This was not acceptable to Gandhiji. As a result, there was difference of opinion between Gandhiji and Ambedkar. Hence, even the II Round Table Conference ended without any conclusions. But the British Government declared that they would recognize the depressed classes request for separate constituency. Gandhiji began up a fast unto death agitation. Attempts were made to placate Ambedkar. Consequently, Poona Agreement was reached. As per this agreement, out of the existing constituencies, some were reserved for depressed classes. In such places, only depressed classes leaders had filed nomination as representatives of all people. Instead of a separate constituency, some areas were reserved for the depressed classes.
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The British Government wanted to bring a Union government at the Centre and provincial governments in the states. With this intention in mind, towards the end of 1932, it called for the Third Round Table Conference. The Congress was not happy with the system suggested by the government and hence did not participate in the conference. The British government had intended to bring about many reforms through the Round Table Conferences. In this backdrop, in 1935, the Indian Government Act was promulgated. This act had provisions for an Indian Union and provincial independence. Indians got political rights. Due to this, the Congress and Muslim League participated in elections. The Congress won the elections and formed a provincial government. When the II World War started, as a result of political developments in Europe, the Indian Viceroy unilaterally declared war against Germany. This was opposed by the Congress which walked out of the Cabinet. Gandhiji started an agitation opposing the Viceroy decision. In order to pacify the Indians, Stafford Cripps was sent for mediation.
Now we will discuss the Quit India Movement of 1942. The British Government in the year 1942 sent Strafford Cripps to India for peace talks. Cripps Commission put forward certain suggestions in front of Indians. Giving dominion status to India, forming a Constituent Assembly for the purpose, and giving freedom to the states to either join or remain out of the Union were some of the suggestions. These suggestions were not acceptable to Congress. On the 8th of August 1942, the Congress started the Quit India Movement. Gandhiji gave a call to the Indians to Do or Die. In this context, many leaders like Gandhiji, Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Acharya Kripalani, Kasturba Gandhi and others were imprisoned. Since most of the Congress leaders were in jail, organizations other than the Congress came into the limelight. This movement paved the way for the emergence of new leaders. Jayaprakash Narayan assumed leadership of the movement. He was a prominent leader of the Socialist wing of the Congress. He carried out many revolutionary activities along with his followers throughout India. The Socialists implemented their plans through a group titled The Freedom Struggle Front. Through that organization, they imparted training to workers. They urged the people to participate in the freedom struggle. They collected funds, and gave a proper direction to the movement. The interesting fact is that, at this time, a movement began outside the borders of India for its freedom. In this context, the efforts of Subhash Chandra Bose are unparalleled. Please note the Esoor Incident: Essor is a village near Shikaripura in the Mysore province. During the independence struggle, this village was named Swatantra Halli. Here everybody wore the Gandhi cap. The villagers prohibited officials from entering the village, but, those officials who visited the village in 1942 were forced by the activists to wear the cap. The Sub-inspector who was with the officials protested against this and fired at the crowd. The enraged people killed him. Historically, this incident is referred to as Esoor Incident.
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After the 1937 elections, the Muslim League was not called to participate in the government. When in 1939, the British government unilaterally declared that India too would participate in the II World War, the Congressmen in the Cabinet resigned their posts. At this juncture, Muslim League celebrated Vimukti Divas. It did not participate in the Quit India movement. It put forward its proposal for the partition of India.
Let us examine the Farmers protests. In the freedom struggle, farmers and labour organizations have also played a prominent role. During the British rule, farmers in many places, revolted against landlords and European planters. They refused to grow indigo in Champaranya district. They staged agitations against land tax. Gandhiji persuaded the British to abolish tax through satyagraha. As a part of the national freedom struggle, the Congress tried to organize the farmers. Gandhiji had influence over the activities of farmers in Champaranya, Kheda and other areas. Influenced by the Indian National Congress, the farmers who were oppressed in the areas of Tebhag, Malabar and other regions rose in revolt against landlords and the British. The farmers problems merged with the non-co-operation movement, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements. Many protests were organized under the banner of Kisan Sabha. The protests used to be pro-Congress and, at times, anti-Congress. The Telangana farmers revolt challenged the Andhra Reddy landlords and the Nizam Razaks. Bengali farmers revolted against the exploitation by landlords. In Maharashtra, the farmers protested against low wages.
Next, we look at the Labourers Revolt. The labour movement started in Calcutta in the year 1827. People started getting organized to fight for their rights in jute and textiles industries and the railways. The railway porters staged agitation in railway stations by shouting slogans and demanded higher wages from the British officials. The Printers Union of Calcutta and the Bombay textile workers created national awareness. The Madras Labour Union was established. Subsequently, many labour unions were born. The Congress supported these movements of the labour organizations.
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Now let us study the Tribal Movements. The Tax and Forest Act implemented by the British East India Company provoked the tribal revolt. Of the tribal rebellions, the Santalas revolt and Munda movement are prominent. In this regard, the Halagali Hunters rebellion in Karnataka is noteworthy. The Santala tribal revolt can be termed India first movement. These tribals lived in Bengal and Orissa hillocks. When the permanent landlord system was brought into force by the British, the people of this community became destitutes. Their lands went to the landlords. The landlords, money-lenders and the British government behaved in a way that triggered intolerance in the Santalas. The Company exploited the decent and peace-loving attitude of the Santalas. Enraged by this, the Santalas held secret meetings and decided to loot the landlords and prominent citizens. The agitation became intense in Barahat area and also in Bhagatpur and Rajamahal. The rioters killed their enemies. As a result, the landlords and money-lenders ran away. The government used the army to stem the revolt and was successful. Many rioters were arrested. Although the revolt by the Santalas ended, it lent its voice to many similar protests later.
Let us focus on Subhash Chandra Bose. The most prominent among the revolutionary fighters of India was Subhash Chandra Bose. Although he secured the 4th rank in the Indian Civil Services examination, he rejected the prestigious post in the British Service, and took an active part in the freedom struggle. He was popularly called Netaji. As a parallel to the peaceful struggle of Gandhiji, in the early part of the 1930, Subhash Chandra Bose was engaged in the attempt to organize Indians settled abroad and equip them for fighting against the British. He travelled to Vienna, Berlin, Rome, Istanbul and other countries and inspired the Indians there to support their motherland. The rise of Communism and Socialism in Europe influenced the Congress in India and led to certain changes. Socialist leftist ideology affected many people in the Congress too. In this backdrop, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose established the Congress Socialist Party in 1934. With Gandhiji support, Bose became the President at the Haripur Session of the Indian National Congress in 1938. However, a difference of opinion arose between Gandhiji who displayed a soft attitude towards the war policy of the British, and the harsh attitude shown by Subhash. Subhash objected to the reluctance of Gandhiji to request international help at that time. In 1939, at the Tripuri Session of the Congress, even against Gandhiji opposition, Subhash Chandra Bose became the President of the Congress. With that, the gap between Gandhiji and Subhash widened. The plans of Subhash Chandra Bose, who desired to stay within the Congress and fight the British, suffered a setback. Disappointed with the Congress and Gandhiji techniques, Netaji left the Congress and established a separate party called Forward Block. This party aimed to bring in progressive, fast changes. Subhash opposed the war preparations of the British and the participation of India in the World War. As a result, he was arrested by the British. Please remember his words: India must be freed before the Germans come. Every defeat England received in Europe should loosen the hold of British imperialism on India. And his vow: I vow before God that I will liberate India and its 38 crore people who are my countrymen. Even after independence, I will be forever ready to shed even the last drop of blood for the survival of my country.
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Now let us understand the Indian National Army. There were many Indian revolutionaries working abroad for the country cause. Among them was Rashbehari Bose, living as a fugitive from the British since 1915 in Japan. He seized the opportunity offered by the war to mobilise Indians to an armed struggle against the British. There were a number of Indian soldiers fighting on behalf of the British. The Japanese after defeating the British in South East Asia, took a number of Indian soldiers as prisoners of war. Major Fuziwara a Japanese army officer persuaded captain Mohan Singh a prisoner of war to work in collaboration with the Japanese for India freedom. In March 1942 a conference of Indians was held in Tokyo and they formed the Indian Independence League. This was followed by a conference in Bangkok, where Rashbehari Bose was elected president of the League and a division was taken to raise the INA. Captain Mohan Singh was appointed as the commander of INA. Which had about 40,000 Indian Soldiers. This conference endorsed Subhash Chandra Bose to lead the movement. Desiring to join hands with the enemies of the British, and thereby defeat the British, Subhash Chandra Bose escaped from house-arrest and left for Germany. He gained the support of the German dictator, Hitler to make India free. He tried to establish an army with the help of Indian war criminals in Germany. Through Azad Hind Radio, he broadcast his speeches to the Indians. He joined hands with Ras Behari Bose who had organized Indians to fight depending on the fate of Japan in the war. Ras Behari Bose has established the military wing of the Indian Independence League at Tokyo and named it Indian National Army. Later, he gave up the leadership of the INA to Subhash Chandra Bose. At this juncture, Subhash Chandra Bose gave the call Delhi Chalo! He urged the Indians: Give me blood, I will give you freedom! There was a women wing in the INA named Jhansi Regiment. Captain Lakshmi Sehagal was the Commandant of this regiment. In this manner, Subhash had planned a military strategy through Rangoon to capture Delhi which was in the clutches of the British. By that time, thousands of soldiers of the INA had prepared themselves to occupy Delhi. Towards this end, as per Netaji command, they began an armed attack on the Burma border. Fierce fighting took place between the British and the INA. In the midst of this, Subhash died in a plane accident. The British army captured the Burmese capital, Rangoon and arrested the INA members. Later days saw many attempts of most of the Congress leaders including Gandhiji working towards release of the INA soldiers.
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Let us now study Dr B R Ambedkar. Dr B R Ambedkar strongly believed that political independence was meaningless without social independence. He maintained that if a person from the lowest of the low classes did not get social and economic freedom, political freedom did not matter at all; it remained only a mirage. He did not see India as only a non-living political entity, but as one which had a living side to it, with feelings and emotions too. He carried out a study of the caste system and came up with a plan to eradicate it. In order to prove that the untouchables had been denied basic facilities, he started Mahad Tank and Kalaram temple movements. He attended the three Round Table Conferences and gave valuable suggestions. Differences of opinion surfaced between Gandhiji and Ambedkar with regard to the leadership of untouchables and upliftment of Harijans. The demand for a separate electoral constituency for untouchables brought about a conflict between Gandhiji and Ambedkar. Ambedkar was a diwan in the court of the Maharaja of Baroda. He carried out his responsibilities as a member of the Mumbai Legislative Council and, later, Viceroy Executive Council, with great meticulousness. Ambedkar did not join the Congress party. Instead, he established an organization Bahishkruta Hitakarini Sabha and a party named Independent Labour Party. He published various newspapers like Prabuddha Bharata, Janata, Mukanayaka and Bahishkruta Bharata. He stayed away from Communist and Socialist approaches, and worked towards progress of agricultural labourers. The constitution was framed as a guiding force for independent India. Dr Babu Rajendra Prasad was chosen as the President of the Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr B R Ambedkar was unanimously chosen as the Chairman of the Constitution Draft Committee. He advocated equality in the constitution and gave legal protection against practice of untouchability. The Indian Constitution considers practice of untouchability a crime. After independence, Dr B R Ambedkar became the Law Minister. Though he had been inspired by modernism, intellectualism and western philosophy, Ambedkar remained faithful to his native principles. He gave up Hinduism and embraced Buddhism. He believed that the same change that Marxism brought about through violence and bloodshed, could be brought about by non-violence and peace through Buddhism. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna for his lifetime achievements. Please remember his quote: A leader without newspapers is like a bird without wings.
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Now we turn to Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru entered the freedom struggle through Home Rule agitation. He was a prominent leader in the non-co-operation movement of 1920 and was the President of Lahore Convention in 1929. During this convention, the objective of Purna Swaraj, a totally free India was declared. When Gandhiji withdrew the non-co-operation movement, Nehru got disappointed. Nehru ideas gave a new direction to political activities. He was influenced by Communist ideology. As a result, communist leanings became strong in the Indian National Congress. Consequently, Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose established the Congress Socialist Party. Nehru was the president of the 49th Convention of the Indian National Congress. He declared that the Congress should stay away from the imperialist war being fought at the international level. He argued that Charaka and Harijan movements were not very effective. At that session, he appeared to have moved away from Gandhiji ideology. Though he appeared to have stayed away from Gandhiji thoughts, his reverence to Gandhiji had not decreased. As he was influenced by various intellectual streams, he strived to achieve a holistic view with them. This is more evident in his Non Aligned Movement and Mixed Economy principles. At the 50th Convention of the Indian National Congress, Nehru adopted a softer approach towards his socialist and communist ideas. He declared, Today Congress supports complete democracy in India, and it will fight for democracy, not socialism. We see Prime Minister Nehru as the architect of industrialization and modern India. He also supervised, under the leadership of Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was popularly known as Iron Man, to bring together all the princely states and merge them with the Union of India. Later, Nehru laid the foundation for Indian democracy by reorganizing all the states on the basis of language. A mixed economic system which had principles of both capitalism and socialism was his contribution to modern India. He believed that growth was possible through intense industrialization. He was the pioneer who envisaged the development of India through five-year plans. With regard to foreign policy, India abandoned the political stand of the two groups and advocated Non alignment policy. On the basis of Panchasheel principles, he remained away from power politics and aimed to implement the formula of peace and harmony. He died in 1964. In Mahad, a place in Maharashtra, untouchables were not allowed to use the water in the lake. The movement that enabled even the untouchables to use the water is known as the Mahad Movement. Similarly, in a temple named Kalaram, untouchables were not allowed to enter. Even there, Ambedkar started a revolutionary movement which enabled the untouchables too to enter. However, though these movements created an awareness in people at that time, they did not succeed to a great extent.
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Let us examine Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Mohammad Ali Jinnah joined Indian National Congress in 1906 and worked as private secretary to Dadabhai Naoroji. He defended Tilak in court cases where he was accused of provoking unrest, and this brought him great appreciation. He joined Home Rule League movement. In many conferences that took place in 1916, he spoke about the need for unity between Hindus and Muslims. Since he was being seen as a pro-Muslim politician, he opposed the British legacy. Condemning the Rowlatt Act, he resigned from his post in the Central Legal Advisory Committee. He declared that he was a nationalist Muslim in the Round Table Conferences. When in 1937, the Congress and the Muslim League failed in forming the government after the elections, he changed his strategy. As the days of declaration of freedom for India neared, he intensified his demand for Pakistan in many ways. This led to the partition of the nation.
Now we will study the Partition of India. Throughout the freedom struggle, the Congress supported a united India. The Muslim League, on the other hand, kept on demanding a nation for Muslims. In the Lahore Session of the Muslim League that took place in 1940, Jinnah declared that Hindus and Muslims could never form a country. After the II World War, the Labour Party came to power in Britain. It adopted various measures to solve the political imbroglio in India. It sent a Cabinet Mission to have talks with India about self-rule. This Commission had talks with the Congress and Muslim League, and suggested federal form of government for India. It also recommended formation of a Constitution Preparation Assembly and establishment of an interim national government. A difference of opinion arose between the Congress and Muslim League with reference to formation of interim government. The Muslim League gave a call to observe 16th August 1946 as Direct Action Day pressing for the formation of a separate nation. Due to this, led to the communal riots across the country. The muslim league did not participate in the constituent assembly presided over by Dr Babu Rajendra Prasad. The British were interested in dividing Hindu-Muslims. British tried to protect their interest during the partition of Bengal and in the implementation of 1909 Act can be observed here. The roots of division laid by the British culminated in partition. Relations between the Congress and Muslim League had worsened. At this time, the British government, declaring that it would transfer power soon, sent Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy to India in March 1946. Mountbatten had talks with Gandhiji, Jinnah and others, and framed a plan to divide India. In July 1947, the India Independence Bill was passed and became an Act. Accordingly, on 15th August 1947, two nations named India and Pakistan came into existence. Radcliff Commission marked the boundaries of these nations. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru took the oath as the first Prime Minister of India. Please remember that on 30th January C E 1948 the man of unity of Hindu and Muslims, Gandhi was assassinated when he was going to attend a prayer meeting by Nathuram Godse. Though physically he killed Gandhiji, his aspirations for equality, humanitarian sensibilities, dreams of brotherhood, remained as ideals of mankind.
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Now let us carefully go through the exercises to ensure you are fully prepared for your examinations.
Exercise One: Fill in the blanks with suitable words. Question one: The Indian National Congress was established in the year 1885. Question two: The person who talked about the Drain theory was Dadabhai Naoroji. Question three: Swarajya is my birth right was declared by Balgangadhara Tilak. Question four: The Ali brothers started the Khilafat movement. Question five: Separate nation for Muslims was proposed by Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Question six: The Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress that took place in 1929 was presided by Jawaharlal Nehru. Question seven: Mahad tank and Kalaram temple movement was organised by Dr B R Ambedkar. Question eight: The Jhansi regiment of Indian National Army was headed by Captain Lakshmi Sehagal. Question nine: The place where Gandhiji carried out the Salt Satyagraha was Dandi. Question ten: Quit India movement was carried out in the year 1942.
Exercise Two: Fill in the blanks with given alternatives. Question eleven: Founder of the Indian National Congress was A O Hume. Question twelve: Publisher of Maratha Paper was Balagangadhara Tilak. Question thirteen: Swaraj Party was established in the year 1923. Question fourteen: President of Indian National Congress of Haripura session was Subhashchandra Bose. Question fifteen: Iron man of India was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
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Exercise Three: Discuss the following in groups and answer them. Question sixteen: Which were the organizations in India before the establishment of the Indian National Congress? Answer: The organizations were The Hindu Mela, The East India Association, Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and The Indian Association. Question seventeen: What were the demands put forward by moderates to the British? Answer: The moderates placed requests related to development of industries, reduction of military expenses, improvement in educational standards, and forcing the British government to take up studies about poverty in the country. Question eighteen: Analyse the drain theory. Answer: Dadabhai Naoroji explained the transfer of Indian wealth to England as Drain Theory. He maintained that encouraging imports and reducing exports created a situation unfavorable to India, leading to drain of wealth. India had to bear the burden of paying wages, pension and administrative expenses of British officials, causing wealth to flow into England. Question nineteen: Name the revolutionaries in freedom movement. Answer: The prominent revolutionaries were V D Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh, Shyamji Krishna Verma, Madam Cama, Khudiram Bose, Ramaprasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Jadonang and Gaidinliu. Question twenty: Explain the role of Balagangadhar Tilak in the freedom struggle. Answer: Tilak declared Swaraj is my birthright and I will get it at any cost. He prepared common people for freedom struggle through religious functions like Ganesha, Shivaji and Durga Pooja. He used his newspapers Kesari in Marathi and Maratha in English to call for active participation. He was imprisoned for revolutionary articles and wrote Geetha Rahasya in jail. Question twenty one: What were the reasons for withdrawing of partition of Bengal? Answer: Extremists opposed the partition in 1905 as a Divide and Rule policy. Protests mounted throughout the country in 1906. The Swadeshi movement called for banning western goods and using Indian goods. Due to these severe protests, the British government withdrew the Declaration of Partition of Bengal in 1911. Question twenty two: Describe Chowri-Chowra incident. Answer: In 1922, police used force against peaceful protestors in Uttar Pradesh. People tried to enter police stations, police fired, ran out of ammunition, and fled inside. Angry protestors set the police station on fire, burning about 22 police alive. Gandhiji resented this violence and withdrew the non-co-operation movement.
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Question twenty three: Describe the Salt Satyagraha. Answer: Gandhiji submitted 11 demands to Viceroy Irwin, including abolition of salt tax. When ignored, in 1930, he marched from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Surat on foot to produce salt at the seashore, starting the Civil Disobedience Movement. Thousands participated and were arrested. Question twenty four: What were the reasons for the failure of the Quit India movement? Answer: Most Congress leaders like Gandhiji, Nehru, Patel, and others were imprisoned immediately. The Muslim League did not participate and celebrated Vimukti Divas. The movement was suppressed by British authorities, though it paved the way for new leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan and the Socialist wing. Question twenty five: Name the revolutionaries who took part in the Indian freedom struggle. Answer: The revolutionaries were V D Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh, Shyamji Krishna Verma, Madam Cama, Khudiram Bose, Ramaprasad Bismil, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad, Jadonang, Gaidinliu, and Subhash Chandra Bose who led the INA. Question twenty six: What was the result of the second Round Table Conference? Answer: B R Ambedkar asked for separate constituencies for depressed classes, which Gandhiji opposed. The conference ended without conclusions. The British recognized the request, leading to Gandhiji fast unto death and the Poona Agreement, which reserved some constituencies for depressed classes instead of separate electorates. Question twenty seven: Give an account of the achievements of Subhash Chandra Bose in the independence struggle. Answer: He rejected the ICS post, organized Indians abroad, became Congress President in 1938 and 1939, formed the Forward Block, escaped house arrest, gained German support, took leadership of the INA, gave the call Delhi Chalo and Give me blood I will give you freedom, formed the Jhansi Regiment under Captain Lakshmi Sehagal, and launched military attacks on the Burma border. Question twenty eight: Describe the tribal revolts in the Indian freedom struggle. Answer: The Tax and Forest Act provoked revolts. The Santala revolt in Bengal and Orissa hillocks was India first movement. They lost lands to landlords under the permanent landlord system. They held secret meetings, looted landlords, and killed enemies. The government used the army to suppress them. The Munda movement and Halagali Hunters rebellion in Karnataka were also prominent.
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Now let us cover the activities and project work mentioned in your textbook. Activity one: Collect pictures of freedom fighters and prepare an album. Activity two: With the help of the internet, collect pictures and information about Jallianwallah Bagh tragedy and Dandi satyagraha. Activity three: Arrange lectures on Gandhiji policies of satyagraha and non-violence. Project one: Enact dramas depicting patriotism in your school. Additionally, you should write an essay on the opinion of Subhash Chandra Bose about the freedom movement, read the biography of Dr B R Ambedkar, learn more about the foreign policy framed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and collect photographs of moderates to read their biographies.
Dear students, you have now covered every aspect of Chapter 18, The Freedom Struggle. Make sure to memorize the exact dates, names of leaders, definitions like Satyagraha, and the sequence of movements from the Moderates to the Quit India Movement and Partition. Practice the exercise answers thoroughly for your exams.
Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]