Nationalism in India

• Introduction

  • Modern nationalism in Europe linked to nation-states
  • In India, growth of nationalism connected to anti-colonial movement
  • Shared struggle against colonialism forged different groups into one

• The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

  • WWI (1914-1918)
    • Economic hardships: increased defense expenditure, custom duties raised, income tax introduced
    • Forced recruitment in rural areas
    • Crop failures leading to acute food shortages and influenza epidemic
  • The Idea of Satyagraha
    • Introduced by Mahatma Gandhi (returned in Jan 1915)
    • Based on truth and non-violence
    • Early experiments: Champaran (1916), Kheda (1917), Ahmedabad Mill (1918)
  • Rowlatt Act (1919)
    • Detainment of political prisoners without trial for two years
    • Widespread protests and Hartals
    • Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919) by General Dyer
  • Khilafat Movement
    • Harsh peace treaty on Ottoman Emperor (Caliph)
    • Led by Ali brothers (Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali)
    • Gandhi saw this to unite Hindus and Muslims
  • Non-Cooperation Movement
    • Adopted at Nagpur Session (1920)
    • Surrender of titles, boycott of civil services, army, police, courts, and foreign goods

• Differing Strands within the Movement

  • The Movement in the Towns
    • Middle-class participation, boycott of schools and foreign cloth
    • Economic impact: Foreign cloth imports halved, picketing of liquor shops
    • Limitations: Khadi cloth was expensive; alternative Indian institutions slow to emerge
  • Rebellion in the Countryside
    • Awadh (Baba Ramchandra): Against talukdars and landlords; demand for reduction of revenue and abolition of begar
    • Tribal Peasants (Gudem Hills, Andhra Pradesh): Led by Alluri Sitaram Raju; guerrilla warfare against forest laws restricting livelihood
  • Swaraj in the Plantations
    • Inland Emigration Act of 1859: Workers not permitted to leave tea gardens without permission
    • Thousands fled plantations believing Gandhi Raj was coming

• Towards Civil Disobedience

  • Chauri Chaura Incident (1922)
    • Violent turn leads Mahatma Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement
  • Internal Debate within Congress
    • Swaraj Party (Motilal Nehru and C.R. Das) advocated council politics
    • Young leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose pressed for mass agitation and full independence
  • Simon Commission (1928)
    • Statutory commission under Sir John Simon arrived in India
    • Greated with slogan "Go Back Simon" due to lack of any Indian member
  • Poorna Swaraj
    • Lahore Session (Dec 1929) under Jawaharlal Nehru
    • Formalized demand for Full Independence
    • January 26, 1930 celebrated as Independence Day
  • The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement
    • Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March (Dandi March): 241 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi
    • Violation of salt law on April 6, 1930 (symbol of tax oppression)
    • Difference from Non-Cooperation: Asking people not to cooperate plus breaking colonial laws
    • Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931): Gandhi agreed to attend Round Table Conference in London; movement suspended
    • RTC failure led to resumption of movement; repressed by British (Congress declared illegal)

• How Participants Saw the Movement

  • Rich Peasants (Patidars of Gujarat, Jats of UP): Hit by trade depression; active supporters of Civil Disobedience to lower revenue demand; disappointed when movement called off in 1931 without revenue rates being revised
  • Poor Peasants: Wanted unpaid rent remitted; joined radical no-rent campaigns; Congress hesitant to support 'no-rent' campaigns to avoid upsetting rich peasants/landlords
  • Business Class: Led by Purshottamdas Thakurdas and G.D. Birla; formed FICCI (1927); wanted protection against import of foreign goods; reacted against colonial policies restricting business
  • Industrial Working Class: Limited participation (except Nagpur); adopted boycott of foreign goods as protest against low wages and poor working conditions
  • Women: Large-scale participation; participated in march, manufactured salt, picketed foreign cloth/liquor shops; viewed service to nation as a sacred duty

• Limits of Civil Disobedience

  • Dalits (Untouchables)
    • Ignored by Congress for fear of conservative upper-caste Hindus (Sanatanis)
    • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar organized Dalits into Depressed Classes Association (1930)
    • Poona Pact (September 1932): Gave Depressed Classes reserved seats in provincial and central legislative councils, but voted in by the general electorate
  • Muslims
    • Decline of Non-Cooperation-Khilafat alienation
    • Hindu religious groups like Hindu Mahasabha actively alienating Muslims
    • Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded separate electorates and safeguards
    • Atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust between communities

• The Sense of Collective Belonging

  • Nationalism spreads when people believe they are all part of the same nation
  • United Struggles: Combined struggles and cultural processes
  • Figures and Images
    • Bharat Mata: Created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (wrote Vande Mataram in 1870s)
    • Abanindranath Tagore painted Bharat Mata as an ascetic, calm, and divine figure
  • Indian Folklore
    • Nationalists toured villages to gather folk songs and legends (e.g., Folklore of Southern India by Natesa Sastri)
  • Icons and Symbols
    • Flag: Swadeshi flag (tricolour - red, green, yellow with eight lotuses and crescent moon) designed during Swadeshi movement
    • Gandhian Swaraj flag (red, green, white with spinning wheel in centre) designed by 1921 as a symbol of defiance
  • Reinterpretation of History
    • Re-writing history to instill pride in India's glorious past in arts, science, mathematics, and craft before British rule