Assertion & Reason Test: Nationalism in India - Class 10 MCQ

• Both the assertion and reason are true.
• The reason accurately explains the assertion.
• In 1917, the peasants of Kheda district in Gujarat were severely affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic, which significantly reduced their ability to pay the revenue demanded by the British government. Gandhiji organized a satyagraha to support their demand for the relaxation of revenue collection. The peasants' inability to pay the revenue due to these hardships was the cause of the satyagraha led by Gandhiji.

• Both the assertion and reason are true.
• However, the reason is not the correct explanation for the assertion.
• The Non-Cooperation Movement did slow down in the cities for several reasons, such as the inability of people to sustain the boycott of foreign goods, the lack of alternative Indian goods, the loss of jobs, and the need for education, legal, and other services.

• The assertion is true. The Simon Commission, which arrived in India in 1928, was greeted with widespread protests and the slogan "Go back Simon" because it did not include any Indian members.
• The reason is false. The Dandi March, led by Mahatma Gandhi, took place in 1930 as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, which was separate from the Simon Commission protests.

• The assertion is true. Rich peasants, particularly those who owned large amounts of land, were enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement because they were affected by the high revenue demands of the British government.
• The reason is false. The rich peasants were not deeply happy when the movement was called off in 1931 because their main demand, the reduction of revenue rates, was not met. This led to disappointment among them as the Civil Disobedience Movement did not achieve the expected economic relief.

• Option A is incorrect because Mahatma Gandhi did not use sugar as a symbol to unite the nation.
• Instead, he used salt as a powerful symbol of resistance against British rule.
• The Salt March or Dandi March in 1930 was a key part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, where Gandhi highlighted the unfair salt tax imposed by the British.

• Option B is incorrect because the Bardoli Satyagraha was specifically a peasant movement against the increased land revenue assessments by the British government, and it was not part of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• The Civil Disobedience Movement began later, in 1930, with the Salt March led by Mahatma Gandhi.

• As the national movement developed, nationalist leaders became more and more aware of such icons and symbols in unifying people and inspiring in them a feeling of nationalism.

• During the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag (red, green and yellow) was designed.

• It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.

• By 1921, Gandhiji had designed the Swaraj Flag. It was again a tricolour (red, green, white) and had a spinning wheel in the centre representing the Gandhian ideal of self-help.

• Carrying the flag holding it aloft during marches became a symbol.

The years when these events occurred:

1. The first meeting of the Indian National Congress in Bombay (iii): This took place in 1885.
2. Formation of the Muslim League (i): The All-India Muslim League was formed in 1906.
3. The First World War (ii): This occurred from 1914 to 1918.
4. The war prices increased in double (iv): This event refers to the economic impact of the First World War, so it would have occurred during or immediately after the war (1914-1918).

(ii) Hindustan Socialist Republican Association: HRA was later reorganised as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA). It was established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi by Chandra Shekhar Azad, Ashfaqulla Khan, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee.

(iii) All Indian Trade Union Congress: It was founded on 31 October 1920 with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first president. In Bombay by Lala Lajpat Rai, Joseph Baptista, N. M. Joshi, Diwan Chaman Lall and a few others and, until 1945 when unions became organised on party lines, it was the primary trade union organisation in India.

(iv) Swadeshi Movement: There was a tricolour flag which was designed during the swadeshi movement in Bengal. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. It was Gandhi's idea about how it should be designed but he commissioned the responsibility to Venkayya to design the flag. It was the first Indian flag which was designed.

• In December 1929, under the Presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand of 'Purna Swaraj' or full independence for India. It was declared that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as the Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for complete independence.

• Mahatma Gandhi found in salt a powerful symbol that could unite the nation.Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the most essential items of food. Due to tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production, Mahatma Gandhi declared and revealed the most oppressive face of British rule. Thus, Gandhiji demanded to abolish the salt tax.