History · Chapter II · India and the Contemporary World

Nationalism in India

The story of how a subcontinent of many languages, faiths and struggles found a common voice against colonial rule — from Satyagraha to Quit India.

1919 – 1942 Timeframe NCERT Class X History 24 Slides

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Chapter Overview

Finding Unity Under Colonial Rule

In colonies like India, the growth of modern nationalism is closely tied to the anti-colonial movement — people discovered their unity through the shared struggle against colonial rule.
The sense of oppression bonded many groups together, yet every class experienced colonialism differently — their notions of freedom were not identical.
The Indian National Congress, under Mahatma Gandhi, tried to weave these varied groups into a single movement — but unity never came without conflict.
This chapter picks up the story from the 1920s, tracing the Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements.

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1920s · A DECADE OF MASS MOVEMENTS

Section 1

The First World War & a New Hardship

1914 – 1921

Taxes

War financed through war loans, higher customs duties and a new income tax.

Prices

Prices doubled between 1913–1918, causing extreme hardship for common people.

Recruitment

Forced recruitment in villages for the army caused widespread anger.

Famine

Crop failures (1918–21) + influenza — 12–13 million died per the 1921 census.

People hoped their hardships would end once the war was over. That did not happen — and it was in this climate that Mahatma Gandhi, having returned from South Africa in January 1915, proposed a new mode of struggle.

Mahatma Gandhi · studio portrait, 1931

1.1 The Idea of Satyagraha

The Power of Truth

Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth — if the cause was just, physical force was unnecessary against the oppressor.
A satyagrahi won without vengeance or aggression, by appealing to the conscience of the opponent, so truth would ultimately triumph.
Champaran, Bihar (1917) — organised peasants against the oppressive plantation system.
Ahmedabad (1918) — cotton mill workers' satyagraha.
Kheda, Gujarat (1918) — supported peasants hit by crop failure and plague.

1.2 The Rowlatt Act

A Law Against Justice

1919

Passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council, despite united opposition from Indian members.
Gave the government sweeping powers to repress political activity and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
Gandhi called for non-violent civil disobedience, opening with a hartal on 6 April 1919 — rallies, strikes, closed shops.
The British clamped down: local leaders arrested in Amritsar, Gandhi barred from Delhi. On 10 April, police fired on a peaceful procession in Amritsar.
Martial law was imposed and command handed to General Dyer.

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HARTAL · 6 APRIL 1919
NATIONWIDE STRIKE AGAINST THE ROWLATT ACT

The Turning Point

Jallianwala Bagh, 13 April 1919

A large crowd gathered — some to protest, others simply attending the annual Baisakhi fair, unaware martial law had been declared.
General Dyer blocked the only exit and opened fire on the unarmed crowd, killing hundreds — intending, in his words, to "produce a moral effect."
Brutal repression followed — crawling orders, public floggings, and villages bombed near Gujranwala.
Seeing the violence spread, Gandhi called off the Rowlatt Satyagraha — but the massacre had changed the national mood forever.

Bullet-scarred wall at Jallianwala Bagh memorial, Amritsar

Bullet-scarred wall · Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar

Building a United Front

The Khilafat Issue

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BOMBAY, MARCH 1919
THE KHILAFAT COMMITTEE IS FORMED

Gandhi believed a broad-based movement needed Hindus and Muslims united. The Khilafat issue offered that opportunity.
After WWI, a harsh peace treaty threatened the Ottoman Khalifa, spiritual head of the Islamic world.
A Khilafat Committee formed in Bombay, March 1919; young leaders Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali discussed united mass action with Gandhi.
At the Calcutta session, September 1920, Gandhi convinced the Congress to launch Non-Cooperation for both Khilafat and Swaraj.

1.3 Why Non-Cooperation?

If Indians Refuse to Cooperate...

In Hind Swaraj (1909), Gandhi argued British rule survived only because of Indian cooperation — withdraw it, and Swaraj would follow within a year.
The movement was to unfold in stages: first, surrender of government titles and a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts, schools and foreign goods; if repression followed, a full civil disobedience campaign.
Many in Congress feared this would harm the upcoming council elections (Nov 1920) or spark popular violence — an intense internal tussle followed.
At the Nagpur session, December 1920, a compromise was reached and the Non-Cooperation programme was formally adopted.

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FOREIGN CLOTH IMPORTS
₹102cr → ₹57cr
1921 – 1922

2.1 The Movement in the Towns

A Middle-Class Beginning

Thousands of students left schools and colleges; teachers resigned, lawyers gave up their practices.
Council elections were boycotted almost everywhere — except Madras, where the Justice Party saw the councils as a route to power for non-Brahmans.
Foreign cloth was burnt in bonfires, liquor shops picketed; imports of foreign cloth roughly halved.
The movement slowed as khadi proved costlier than mill cloth, and alternative Indian institutions were slow to emerge.

2.2 Rebellion in the Countryside

The Peasants of Awadh

Baba Ramchandra, a sanyasi and former indentured labourer in Fiji, led peasants against talukdars and landlords demanding exorbitant rents.
Peasants were forced to perform begar (unpaid labour) and had no security of tenure.
The Oudh Kisan Sabha, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba Ramchandra (Oct 1920), grew to over 300 branches within a month.
The movement radicalised beyond Congress control — talukdars' houses attacked, bazaars looted — with Gandhi's name invoked without his sanction.

"They behaved as brave men, calm and unruffled in the face of danger... the moment of weakness passed, I spoke to them in all humility on non-violence."

— Jawaharlal Nehru, on addressing peasants after police firing near Rae Bareli, 6 January 1921

2.3 Swaraj — Read Differently

Tribal & Plantation Visions

Gudem Hills, Andhra Pradesh

Alluri Sitaram Raju led a militant guerrilla struggle after the colonial government closed forest land, denying hill people their traditional rights. He praised Gandhi yet believed force — not non-violence — would win swaraj. Captured and executed in 1924, he became a folk hero.

Assam Tea Plantations

Under the Inland Emigration Act, 1859, workers could not leave the gardens freely. On hearing of Non-Cooperation, thousands defied authorities believing "Gandhi Raj" meant land of their own — but were stranded by a strike and beaten by police.

These movements were never fully defined by the Congress programme — yet by chanting Gandhi's name, they emotionally connected local struggles to an all-India agitation.

Section 3

Chauri Chaura & the Withdrawal

February 1922

A peaceful demonstration in Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur turned violent — a police station was set alight.
Believing satyagrahis were not yet ready for mass struggle, Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement.
C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party, favouring a return to council politics.
Younger leaders — Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose — pushed for more radical mass agitation and full independence.

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CHAURI CHAURA, 1922
A PEACEFUL PROTEST TURNS VIOLENT

Towards Civil Disobedience

"Go Back Simon" & Purna Swaraj

Agricultural prices collapsed after 1930 in the worldwide depression, leaving the countryside in turmoil.
The Simon Commission (1928) was formed to review India's constitution — but had not a single Indian member, and was met everywhere with the slogan "Go back Simon."
Viceroy Irwin's vague October 1929 offer of "dominion status" failed to satisfy Congress leaders.
At the Lahore Congress, December 1929 (under Nehru's presidency), the demand for Purna Swaraj — complete independence — was formalised. 26 January 1930 was observed as Independence Day.

"We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people... to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil... We believe, therefore, that India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj."

— The Independence Day Pledge, 26 January 1930

Gandhi at Dandi · 5 April 1930

3.1 The Salt March

240 Miles to Dandi

On 31 January 1930, Gandhi sent Viceroy Irwin eleven demands — the most stirring: abolish the salt tax, since salt was consumed by rich and poor alike.
When Irwin refused to negotiate, Gandhi set off with 78 trusted volunteers from Sabarmati Ashram.
The march covered over 240 miles in 24 days, gathering thousands along the way.
On 6 April 1930, Gandhi reached Dandi and broke the law by making salt from sea water — launching the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The Movement Spreads

Repression & the Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Nationwide

Salt laws broken across India; foreign cloth boycotted; peasants refused revenue; forest people defied forest laws.

Repression

Arrests of leaders sparked violent clashes in Peshawar and Sholapur; nearly 100,000 people were arrested.

5 March 1931

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact — Gandhi agreed to attend the Round Table Conference; the government released political prisoners.

1931 – 1934

Talks broke down in London; Gandhi relaunched Civil Disobedience on return, but it gradually lost momentum by 1934.

3.2 How Participants Saw the Movement

Many Swarajs, One Struggle

Rich peasants (Patidars, Jats) fought high revenue demands — but many withdrew when rates weren't revised in 1931.
Poor tenants wanted rent relief and often joined Socialist and Communist-led movements the Congress hesitated to fully back.
Business groups (FICCI, 1927) supported the movement early on, but grew wary after the Round Table Conference failed.
Industrial workers largely stayed aloof, though some — like Chotanagpur miners — joined boycott campaigns.

Bhagat Singh · 1929 — Hindustan Socialist Republican Army

A Public Role for Women

Women Step Onto the Streets

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SALT MARCH, 1930
THOUSANDS OF WOMEN JOINED THE PROCESSIONS

During the salt march, thousands of women left their homes to listen to Gandhi, march, manufacture salt, and picket shops — many went to jail.
In cities, participants were mostly from high-caste families; in villages, from rich peasant households.
Service to the nation came to be seen as a sacred duty of women — yet Gandhi still framed women's core role as home and hearth.
For a long time, the Congress kept women's presence largely symbolic, reluctant to grant real positions of authority.

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POONA PACT
SEPTEMBER 1932

3.3 The Limits of Civil Disobedience

Gandhi, Ambedkar & the Poona Pact

Gandhi organised satyagraha for temple entry and access to public wells for the "untouchables," whom he called harijan.
Dr B. R. Ambedkar, who founded the Depressed Classes Association (1930), sought a political solution — separate electorates for dalits.
When the British conceded this demand, Gandhi began a fast unto death, fearing separate electorates would slow social integration.
The Poona Pact (September 1932) gave the Depressed Classes reserved seats within a joint electorate — dalit participation in the movement, however, stayed limited.

A Widening Distance

The Communal Question

After the decline of Non-Cooperation-Khilafat, a large section of Muslims felt alienated from the Congress.
From the mid-1920s, Congress grew visibly associated with the Hindu Mahasabha, deepening communal riots between Hindus and Muslims.
In 1927, unity looked possible — Jinnah offered to drop separate electorates in exchange for reserved Muslim seats — but the All Parties Conference (1928) failed amid Hindu Mahasabha opposition.
Many Muslim leaders feared their minority culture and identity would be submerged under a Hindu majority.

"The Muslim demand for the creation of a Muslim India within India is, therefore, perfectly justified..."

— Sir Muhammad Iqbal, President of the Muslim League, 1930

Section 4

A Sense of Collective Belonging

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote "Vande Mataram" in the 1870s; Abanindranath Tagore's 1905 painting gave the nation its enduring image of Bharat Mata.
Nationalists revived folklore — Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal, Natesa Sastri's collection of Tamil folk tales — as a way to reclaim cultural pride.
Symbols mattered: the Swadeshi tricolour (Bengal) and Gandhi's 1921 Swaraj flag with its spinning wheel became emblems of defiance.
Yet when the imagined past leaned heavily on Hindu iconography, other communities often felt left out of the story.

Bharat Mata, painting by Abanindranath Tagore, 1905

Bharat Mata · Abanindranath Tagore, 1905

The Final Call

Quit India, 1942

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"DO OR DIE"
GANDHI, 8 AUGUST 1942, BOMBAY

The failure of the Cripps Mission and hardships of World War II fuelled widespread discontent.
The Congress Working Committee passed the Quit India resolution at Wardha on 14 July 1942.
On 8 August 1942 in Bombay, Gandhi delivered his famous "Do or Die" speech, calling for total British withdrawal.
A true mass movement — students, workers, peasants — led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Ram Manohar Lohia, and women like Matangini Hazra, Kanaklata Barua and Rama Devi. The British took over a year to suppress it.

CONCLUSION

A Nation With Many Voices

Growing anger against colonial rule brought diverse groups and classes into a common struggle. But since their grievances were wide-ranging, freedom meant different things to different people. The Congress worked continuously to balance these competing demands — which is exactly why unity within the movement kept breaking down and re-forming. What emerged, in the end, was a nation with many voices, all seeking freedom from colonial rule.

Quick Recap

Some Important Dates

1918–19

Distressed UP peasants organised by Baba Ramchandra.

April 1919

Gandhian hartal against the Rowlatt Act; Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

January 1921

Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movement launched.

February 1922

Chauri Chaura; Gandhi withdraws the Non-Cooperation movement.

May 1924

Alluri Sitarama Raju arrested, ending a two-year armed tribal struggle.

December 1929

Lahore Congress adopts the demand for "Purna Swaraj."

1930

Ambedkar establishes the Depressed Classes Association.

March 1930

Gandhi begins Civil Disobedience by breaking the salt law at Dandi.

March 1931

Gandhi ends Civil Disobedience (Gandhi-Irwin Pact).

December 1931

Second Round Table Conference.

1932

Civil Disobedience re-launched; Poona Pact signed in September.

August 1942

Quit India Movement launched — "Do or Die."

Thank You

Nationalism in India · Chapter II · History

PRESENTED BY UJJAWAL · JUNAID · SARTHIK · AYAN · VAIBHAV · SAMEER