GS1 PYQ (Mains Answer Writing): Nationalist Movement during Gandhi | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Q1: Many voices had strengthened and enriched the nationalist movement during the Gandhian phase. Elaborate. (UPSC GS1 Mains)
Answer: 
Introduction
The period from 1920 to 1947 has been described as the Gandhian Era in Indian politics. During this period, Gandhiji spoke the final word on behalf of the Indian National Congress in negotiating with the British Government for constitutional reforms, and for chalking out a programme for the national movement. Mahatma Gandhi led the national freedom struggle against the British rule and it also gave space and voice to many other voices which further strengthened the movement.
Voices that strengthened and enriched nationalist movement are as follow:

• Socialist voice: 
  • • The emergence of socialism in congress during 1920s and 1930s imparted a new orientation to anti British struggle because the socialist vision of national movement was quite different from Gandhiji and other nationalists. 
  • • Anti British struggle got radicalised greatly because socialists wanted that the idea of non-violence should be followed by congress in a pragmatic manner for the mistakes of one or few individuals, entire movement must not be made to suffer. 
  • • The emergence of socialism gradually transferred national movement into an all out war against British rule. The socialists believed in the idea of the sustained struggle. Quit India movement was based on this philosophy. 
• Revolutionary Extremist Voice:
  • Indian revolutionaries provided an alternative to all those nationalists participate in anti-British struggle were not satisfied with the method approach of congress 
  • The supreme self-sacrifice performed by Indian revolutionaries inspired lacs of Indians to join anti British struggle as a result of this the mass base of national movement continued to increase with the passage of time. 
  • Indian revolutionaries popularised the cause of Indian struggle against British rule all over the world. This helped in strengthening public opinion against British rule. 
• Swarajists voice: 
  • Swarajists provided an alternative to Indian nationalists at a time when a sense of disillusionment had developed among Indians due to sudden withdrawal of non-cooperation movement. 
  • Through their efforts swarajists exposed the hollowness of reforms introduced by act of 1919. They proved that the real power was still in British hands. 
  • The swarajists lost their steam by 1926-27 because of the death of C. R. Das and wrong impression was created by their activities. 
  • Appointment of Simon commission in November 1927 changed the atmosphere prevailing in India. The swarajists also abandoned their separate line of action and joined hands with mainstream congress to participate in anti Simon commission agitation. 
• Indian Working Class as well as Leftist voice: 
  • During 1920-22, there occurred a resurgence of working class in Indian national movement and got involved in mainstream of nationalist politics to significant extent. Most important development was formation of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). 
  • The workers participated during 1930 in the Civil Disobedience Movement but after 1931 there was a dip in the working class movement because of a split in 1931 in which the corporatist trend led by N.M. Joshi broke away from the AITUC to set up the All India Trade Union Federation. 
• Women’s voice strengthening and enriching nationalist movement: 
  • Sarojini Naidu also fondly known as the Nightingale of India was a prolific writer and poet. She was president of the Indian National Congress and was an outstanding leader campaigning and leading from the front in the Civil Disobedience Movement and Salt Satyagraha. 
  • Annie Besant was elected the president of the Indian National Congress and launched the Home Rule Movement. 
  • Usha Mehta who as a child participated in the ‘Simon Go Back’ movement, did little know that her true calling was her nationalist spirit and broadcasting for the Congress Radio during the Quit India Movement. 
  • Madam Cama or BhikajiCama exiled in Europe was a social worker and a strong nationalist. She unfurled the flag of Indian Independence in Stuttgart Germanyalong with a powerful speech advocating the right to freedom. 
  • Other prominent voices during Gandhian phase were Kamala Nehru, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Kalpana Dutta, Kamaladevi, etc.

Conclusion
There was a greater truth — that of a glorious struggle, hard-fought and hard- won, in which many voices had strengthened and enriched the nationalist movement and made countless of sacrifices, dreaming of the day India would be free. That day had come. The people of India saw that too, and on 15 August — despite the sorrow in their hearts for the division of their land, they danced on the streets with abandon and joy.

Q2: Highlight the difference in the approach of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for freedom. (UPSC GS 1 Mains)
Answer: 
Although Subhash Chandra was a follower of Gandhi during the initial days, the later part of the 1930s witnessed a growing radicalization of his thoughts and Bose became increasingly frustrated with the lack of momentum in the independence movement. This caused increasing differences in their approaches.

Differences are as follows:

• Basic Ideology: Bose was a nationalist who believed in the tradition of Tilak and Aurobindo (Extremists). Gandhi, on the contrary, was a nationalist who belonged to the tradition of his mentor Gokhale (Moderates) and Tagore. Bose’s strong revolutionary urge for the emancipation of his motherland made him critical of many of Gandhiji’s techniques. 
• Strategy to achieve independence:Netaji’s demand for complete freedom of India from the British in contrast to Gandhi’s want for independence in phases through dominion status. 
  • Bose has also been unambiguous that he would seek political emancipation through the most efficacious means which could involve armed conflict or even a total war. 
• Future of India post independence: Gandhi was hostile to industrialization, while Bose saw it as the only route to making India strong and self-sufficient. Gandhi advocated a back to the roots vision comprising of spinning, khadi and local self-sufficiency at village level while Bose held steadfast to a futuristic vision of large scale industrialization and a politics devoid of irrationality and religiosity. 
• Bose was influenced by the success of the five-year plans in the Soviet Union and he advocated for a socialist nation with an industrialized economy Bose wanted to develop free India as a modern, industrialized nation with focus on advances in science, livelihood, and education for the masses. 
• Idea about freedom: Bose believed that freedom is never given; it is taken, while Gandhi on the other hand sought to attain his Swaraj through loyalty to the empire and a change of heart on their part. 
• Non cooperation movement: Gandhi wanted a mass non-violent movement. Putting pressure on British raj by non-violent means such as fasting .However when Chauri Chaura incident occurred Gandhi ended the non cooperation movement abruptly but Bose thought that was the right time for mass movement against British. 
• Second World War: Bose wanted to strike down the enemy when it was vulnerable. During the second world war Bose wanted to take action against British which was opposed by Gandhi as he thought it was not ethically right.
• Military: Bose wanted a organized military campaign and he dint mind being included in a lot of international politics. Bose’s Azad Hind force joined axis powers in WW2 against British.

Q3: Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, despite having divergent approaches and strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden. Elucidate. (UPSC GS 1 Mains)
Answer: 

• Gandhi and Ambedkar, though had the common objective of uplifting the downtrodden, they approached with divergent strategies. 
• Gandhi had a deep faith in Varna system, though it further stretched into the caste system. He believed that a person being born into a particular caste had a divine dispensation. But Ambedkar was wholly against the system. He wanted to abolish casteism to improve the status of the depressed people. 
• Gandhi urged the middle and upper classes to support and work for the upliftment of the depressed section. He spread this message through his weekly publication "Harijan". During truce time, he appealed the Congressmen to go to the villages to serve the untouchables and to try for their integration with the mainstream. Whereas, Ambedkar did not believe in the help and support of the upper classes. He encouraged his men to educate themselves and fight for their rights. 
• Ambedkar demanded separate electorate from the British Empire to protect the interests of the downtrodden in the round table conference. Gandhi was against this as he thought the mechanism will further intensify the division in the society. So, he proposed for more number of reserved seats in legislature to protect the rights of these people. As a result, Poona Pact was signed in 1932. 
• Gandhi was in favour of decentralization to empower the villages. Ambedkar strongly opposed as he was afraid of village headmen assuming more power, which will further exploit the underprivileged section. 
• Thus, while both the leaders wanted to change the condition of downtrodden, their approach was different, while Gandhi had an evolutionary approach, Ambedkar had revolutionary approach.

Q4: Throw light on the significance of the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi in the present times. (UPSC GS 1 MAINS )
Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi the father of our nation was a prolific writer, philosopher, freedom fighter, an advocate by profession and a social activist by nature. He was a visionary and possessed a very powerful mind and hence thought deeply and wrote on basic human issues and problems facing India in those times. Those issues are as relevant today as they were in his time. Therefore significance of the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi is relevant on all those basic human issues and problems which humanity is facing now and then. These issues range from social, political, economic and religious aspects of the society.
Social Issues:

• One of the visible adversaries of the present world is intolerance among societies, countries and cultures. Western world has become apathetic to countries of third world more now than any time in the history. Racial and cultural discrimination is rampant due to the fear of losing ground for to the immigrants in western countries. Middle East is divided in religious and racial lines and is in continuous turmoil. Africa is witnessing the rise of extremism. In our own country India, the danger of intolerance can divide our society and tear our social fabric. 
• Fear and insecurity is the root cause of intolerance as per Gandhi. So he advocated throughout his life the principle of being truthful and fearless. His idea of fearlessness allowed him to be tolerant to varied thoughts and perceptions accommodating diverse sections of the society and at same time come up with a compromise. 
• His ideas of tolerance, compromise and non-violence can serve as an antidote to the present social crises of hatred, terrorism, and racial and religious conflicts across the world. As per Gandhi fear can be triumphed through meditation and strong belief in God. Both these attributes makes a man tolerant and accommodative. 
• The modern man can also take great wisdom from what Gandhi said the seven social sins: Politics without principles; Wealth without work; Commerce without morality; Education without character; Pleasure without conscience; Science without humanity; Worship without sacrifice. All these are very much relevant in the contemporary world than any other time in human history. Political Issue: At the global level, many places in the world have been drastically changed through the use of brute force, by the power of guns such as in the erstwhile Soviet Union, China, Tibet, Burma, and many communist countries in Africa and South America. The Israel-Palestinian war, the Korea war, the rise of ISIS and the ethnic cleansing of minorities in Middle-East and the armed race among the countries are all symptoms failures of the leadership to guide for the goodness of all humanity. 
• Gandhi left many valuable for the modern man to fight for goodness in society in a non-violent way. He considers non-violence a tree that grows slowly, imperceptibly but surely. Goodness along with knowledge courage and conviction can bring wonders to the humankind as per Gandhi. For Gandhi, the process of change was very important which must be ethical, nonviolent and democratic giving rights to all minorities. 
• The idea of inter-dependence at the international level propounded by Gandhi holds relevance of immense importance today. No country in the world is efficient enough to tackle the global challenges of environmental degradation, poverty, terrorism, etc. single headedly. Collaboration and cooperation among the nations can be only means to move ahead and made some progress in these matters. 
• At domestic level, the idea of gram swaraj propounded by Gandhi has found resonance through constitutional validity of panchayats and municipalities. Gandhi believed that villages are the real India and if India is to move forward and make impressions on world, villages would have to be made as fundamental units for development. The policy changes since last three decades to decentralize governance and politics are resonating the idea of Gandhi on Gram Swaraj. 
• Moreover Gandhi’s Idea of politics without principle is a sin should be a lesson to the political class to up hold their integrity and work for the progress of all ‘Sarvodaya’ the term used by him. 
• Gandhi’s views about sanitation or women empowerment or need for basic education for all, is relevant. Make in India is nothing but self-sufficiency as emphasised by Gandhi.

Economic issues:

• Materialistically world has progressed a lot since last century. But the progress and the fruits of development are unevenly distributed both vertically and horizontally. Inequality is rampant all over the world. India today has the unique distinction of being the only country in the world which has the richest man in the world while at the same time more than 30 per cent of its population lives in dire poverty. 
• Statistics show that the country is definitely not following ‘sarvodaya’ a broad Gandhian term meaning ‘universal upliftment’ or ‘progress of all’ reaching the masses and the downtrodden. As per Gandhi ‘Poverty is the worst form of violence’. 
• Gandhi’s idea of uplifting and empowering poor is first key towards realising the inclusive and sustainable development. 
• The Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating poverty, hunger free world, eliminating illiteracy, gender equality, dignity of labour, employment opportunity and better healthcare are goals resonating the ideas and goals of Gandhi which he cherished throughout his life.

Thus, it can be said that Gandhi was the leader of the past runs into the present and marches towards the future. He had always been a leader of the time ahead. His thoughts are relevant and important today more than ever before.

Q5: How different would have been the achievement of Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss. (GS 1 UPSC MAINS )
Answer:

• Gandhi was the central figure in the Indian national movement. He played a major role in attaining the independence. He was a preacher of non-violence. Though the non-violence has been a dominant aspect of Indian civilization from the time of Buddha, nevertheless Gandhi was the first leader to use it as the instrument for the attainment of Swaraj. This provided a strong moral force in fighting against the mighty British Empire. 
• The freedom movement as started by the Congress was in a Think-Tank mode. The two segments of Congress, the Moderates and Extremists were moving on two different ideologies. 
• Further, the revolutionary terrorism was also increasing due to various policies of British India. Along with that communalism was also increasing and riots became very common. 
• Gandhi transformed the whole movement into an activist mode which helped in Congress getting mainstream popularity and become vanguard of the movement. 
• People of all segments, caste and class participated in freedom movement under him. He has led to generation of feeling of national integration and solidarity. 
• Gandhi was not merely a political leader; he was also an important spiritual figure for many young leaders and the large number of Indian masses. This added full vigour to the fight for independence as lot of people could connect Swaraj with religion and religious way of life. 
• If Gandhiji would not have been present then our nation would have been more divided on communal and caste angle.