Class 10 History Chapter 2 Question Answers - India and the Contemporary World - II

Q1: Who was the writer of the book, ‘Hind Swaraj’. What was the theme of the book?
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Explain the ideas of Gandhiji as he expressed in the famous book ‘Hind Swaraj’ regarding Non-cooperation.
Ans: Mahatma Gandhi wrote the Hindi Swaraj. In the book, Gandhiji declared that the British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of this cooperation. If Indians refused to cooperate, the British rule in India would collapse within a year, and Swaraj would be established.

Q2: What was the impact of the First World War on India [CBSE 2015]
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Explain new economic and political situations created in India during the First World War.
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What was the impact of the First World War on the economic conditions in India?
Ans: The War created a new economic and political situation
(i) It led to a huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by war loans and increasing taxes, customs duties were raised, and income tax introduced.
(ii) Through the war years, prices increased – doubling between 1913 and 1918 – leading to extreme hardships for the common people.
(iii) Villagers were called upon to supply soldiers, and the forced recruitment in rural areas caused widespread anger.

Q3: What were the three local issues in which Gandhiji experimented his technique of Satyagraha during the years 1917-1918 How were these issues resolved.
Ans: The three local issues were Champaran satyagraha; Kheda satyagraha and Ahmedabad satyagraha.
(i) Champaran Satyagraha. In the first experiment indigo farmers were encouraged to raise their voice against the oppressive policies of the British. Their demands were sanctioned.
(ii) Kheda Satyagraha: The second experiment was for the farmers who were unable to pay the revenue because of famine and plague epidemic. The recovery was waived off.
(iii) Ahmedabad Satyagraha: The third was for the mill workers who were protesting for better wages. The British had to increase the wages along with reforms in working conditions.

Q4: Who launched the Khilafat Movement Why was the Movement launched.
Ans: Khilafat movement was a united struggle launched by Muhammed Ali and Shaukat Ali with the cooperation of Mahatma Gandhi. The First World War ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. There were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor, the spiritual head of the Islam world. The Sultan was deprived of real authority even over those territories which were left under his control. This angered the Muslims in India. To defend the powers of Khalifa and to avert harsh peace treaty to be imposed on the Ottoman empire the Khilafat Committee was formed in 1919 in Bombay.

Q5: How was the Non-Cooperation Movement converted into a national movement by Gandhiji?
Ans: (i) Hindu-Muslim Unity: Mahatma Gandhi felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India. He was certain that no such movement could be organized without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together.
(ii) Merging Khilafat issue with the movement: So to unite the both the communities he decided to take up the Khilafat issue. The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. And there were rumours that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on Ottoman emperor – the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa).
(iii) Talking to Muslim leaders: A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue. Gandhiji saw this an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement. At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for Swaraj.

Q6: Who formed the Swaraj Party Why was the party formed
Ans: The Swaraj Party was formed by CR Das, and Moti Lai Nehru. The Non-cooperation movement failed to achieve its objective of Swaraj. So within the Congress some leaders were by now tired of mass struggles and wanted to participate in elections to the provincial councils that had been set up by the Government of India Act of 1919. They felt that it was important to oppose British policies within the councils, argue for reform and also demonstrate that these councils were not truly democratic. C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics.

Q7: Describe briefly any three economic effects of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Ans: (i) Boycott of foreign goods: People decided to boycott foreign goods and wear Swadeshi clothes, and use Swadeshi goods.
(ii) Impact on imports: As people began discarding imported clothes, the import of foreign clothes halved between 1921 and 1922. Its value dropped from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore.
(iii) Impact on Indian industry: As people decided to boycott foreign clothes, production of Indian textile mills and handloom went up.

Q8: “Plantation workers too had their own understanding of Gandhiji’s notion of Swaraj.” Explain.
Ans: (i) For plantation workers in Assam, freedom meant the right to move freely in and out of the confined space in which they were enclosed, and it meant retaining a link with the village from which they had come.
(ii) The government had passed the Inland Emigration Act of 1859 under which plantation workers were not permitted to leave the tea estates without permission, and in fact, they were rarely given such permission.
(iii) When the plantation workers heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of them defied the authorities, left the plantations and headed towards their homes.
(iv) The plantation workers believed that the Gandhi Raj was coming, and everyone would be given land in their own villages.

Q9: Explain the circumstances under which Non-cooperation Movement was withdrawn.
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Why was the Non-Cooperation Movement withdrawn by Gandhiji in February 1922. Explain the reasons.
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Explain the conditions of the plantation workers during the colonial rule in India.
Ans: In February 1922, Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement due to the following reasons-
(i) The movement was turning violent. At Chauri-Chaura in Gorakhpur, a peaceful demonstration in a bazar turned into a violent clash in which more than 20 policemen were killed.
(ii) Gandhiji felt that the Satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggle.
(iii) Within the Congress, some leaders were tired of mass struggles and wanted to participate in elections to the provincial councils, which were set up under the Government of India Act, 1919.
(iv) Industrialists, workers, peasants etc. interpreted the term ‘Swaraj’ in their own way. At many places like that of Andhra Pradesh, leaders like Alluri Sitaram Raju asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force. But there values were not approved by the Congress.

Q10: Why was the Swaraj Party formed? By whom was the party formed.
Ans: There were some Congress leaders who argued or advocated the idea of fighting the British from within the legislative councils. They wanted to pressurise the government for various reforms through councils. They also wanted to demonstrate that these councils were not truly democratic. Keeping in mind these objectives, C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party in 1922.

Q11: What were the circumstances which led to the Khilafat and the Non-Cooperation Movement.
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Why did Mahatma Gandhi feel the need to launch a broad-based movement in 1920 Give any three reasons.
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Explain any three causes that led to the  Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920.
Ans: (i) Conditions Created by the First World War: The First World War was fought from 1914 to 1918.

• It led to huge increase in defence expenditure which was financed by taxes.
• Due to war prices increased many times leading to extreme hardship for common people.
• Crops failed in 1918-19 resulting in acute shortage of food.
• Many people lost their lives in the war and due to epidemic.
• Forced recruitment in the army caused widespread anger.

(ii) Gandhiji’s Return and Satyagraha: Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915 where he had successfully fought against the racist regime with his new method of mass agitation and nonviolence known as Satyagraha. In India he launched satyagraha movements at various places. These satyagrahas provided base to the Non-Cooperation Movement.
(iii) The Rowlatt Act: The Act was passed by the Imperial Legislative Assembly. The act provided enormous powers to police. The police got the power to arrest anyone without any trial. The aim of the act was to repress political activities.
(iv) Jallianwalla Bagh: The Jallianwala Bagh added fuel to the fire. People were already agitating against the Rowlatt Act. People had gathered to protest against the new act in the Jallianwala Bagh. General Dyer entered the park and ordered fire killing many people. As the news spread, crowds took to the streets.
(v) United Struggle: The fear of harsh treaty on the Ottoman emperor (the Khalifa) brought the Muslims close to Gandhiji. A young generation of Muslim leaders like Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali was in favour of a united mass action against the Britishers.

Q12: Explain the course of the Non- Cooperation Movement in the towns.
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Describe the extent of peoples participation in the Non-cooperation Movement in the towns. What were its economic effects.
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How did ‘Non-Cooperation Movement’ spread in cities across the country Explain its effects on the economic front.
Ans: (i) The movement in the cities: The Movement started with middle-class participation in the cities. Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices.
(ii) Boycott of council elections: The Council elections were boycotted in most provinces except Madras (Chennai), where the Justice Party, the party of the non­Brahmans, felt that entering the council was one way of gaining some power, something that usually only Brahmans had an access to.
(iii) Swadeshi: The Non-Cooperation Movement had a great impact on the Indian textile industry. Swadeshi goods, especially cloth got a great impetus. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires.
(iv) Impact on industry: In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. Due to this, the demand of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up. The increase in demand provided a big relief to the vanishing textile industry of India.
(v) Movement in the countryside: Though people in the countryside interpreted the idea of ‘Swaraj’ in their own way but they participated in the movement on large scale. In Awadh, peasants launched the movement against the talukdars and landlords. Whereas the plantation workers launched the movement against the tea estate owners.

Q13: Under what circumstances the Civil Disobedience or the Salt Movement was launched? Explain.
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Describe the main events leading to Salt March and Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.
Ans: (i) Failure of the Simon Commission: The Simon Commission was constituted in response to the nationalist movement. But the Commission failed to satisfy the Indian people and the leaders. All the parties, including the Congress and the Muslim League, participated in the demonstrations. In an effort to win them over the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, announced in October 1929, a vague offer of dominion status. But even this failed to satisfy the leaders.
(ii) Puma Swaraj: In December 1929, under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress formalised the demand of ‘Puma Swaraj’ or full independence for India. It was declared that 26th January, 1930, would be celebrated as the Independence Day when people were to take a pledge to struggle for complete independence. But the celebrations attracted very little attention. So Mahatma Gandhi had to find a way to relate this abstract idea of freedom to more concrete issues of everyday life.
(iii) Rejection of Gandhi’s Eleven Demands: On 31st January, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi, in a statement, put forward Eleven Demands to correct the wrongs done to the Indians. He assured the Viceroy that he would withdraw the Civil Disobedience on British Government’s acceptance of these demands. However, Gandhi’s demands were declared to be unrealistic by the Viceroy.
(iv) Economic Causes: The Great Depression of 1929 had a deep impact on the Indian economy, especially on agriculture. Prices of agricultural produce began to fall from 1926, and collapsed after 1930. As the demand for agricultural goods fell and export declined, peasants found it difficult to sell their harvest, and to pay their revenue. The government refused to lower the taxes. So by 1930, the farmers were in poor condition.
(v) Support from business class: The business class was keen on expanding their business and were against the colonial policies that restricted business activities. They decided to provide financial support to the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was launched.

Q14: ‘Large sections of Muslims did not respond to the call for a united struggle during the Civil Disobedience Movement.’ Explain.
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“Some of the Muslim political organisations in India, were lukewarm in their response to the ‘Civil Disobedient Movement’.” Examine the statement.
Answer: (i) Association of Congress with Hindu Mahasabha: After the decline of the Non­-Cooperation – Khilafat movement, a large section of Muslims felt alienated from the Congress. From the mid-1920s, the Congress came to be more visibly associated with openly Hindu religious nationalist groups like the Hindu Mahasabha.
(ii) Communal Clashes: As relations between the Hindus and the Muslims worsened, each community organised religious processions with militant fervour, provoking Hindu- Muslim communal clashes and riots in various cities. Every riot deepened the distance between the two communities.
(iii) Issue of demand for separate electorates: Some of the Muslim leaders demanded a separate electorate for the Muslims which was not supported by the Congress leaders.
(iv) Status of Muslims in Hindu majority state: Many Muslim leaders and intellectuals expressed their concern about the status of Muslims as a minority within India. They feared that the culture and identity of minorities would be submerged under the domination of a Hindu majority.
(v) Issue of reserved seats in the Central Assembly: Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah demanded reservation of seats for the Muslims in the Central Assembly but this was not acceptable to the Congress leaders. So Muslims could not respond to the call for a united struggle.

Q15: Why for a long time, the Congress had ignored the daiits What role did Gandhiji play in uplifting them?
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How did Gandhiji view the Dalits What did he do for them.
Answer: For long, the Congress had ignored the daiits, for the fear of offending the Sanatanis, the conservative high-caste Hindus. But Mahatma  Gandhi declared that Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated. Under his constructive programme he laid stress on the removal of untouch­ability. He called them (untouchable) the harijans – meaning the children of God. He also organised satyagraha to secure their entry into temples, and access to public wells, tanks, roads and schools. He himself toured their colonies, and even lived there. He even cleaned toilets to dignify the work of the sweepers.

Q16: “Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive Indian folklore’. Explain.
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How did the idea of nationalism develop a movement to revive Indian folklore Give three points.
Ans: (i) History and fictions, folklore and songs popular prints and symbols all played a part in the making of nationalism.
(ii) In the late nineteenth century India, nationalists began recording folk tales sung by bards, and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends.
(iii) This was done to promote the traditional culture that had been corrupted, and damaged by the western forces.
(iv) To revive the folklore, Rabindranath Tagore himself collected ballads, nursery rhymes and myths, and led the movement for the folk revival.
(v) A massive four-volume collection of Tamil folk tales, The Folklore of Southern India was published by Natesa Sastri. He believed that the folklore was national literature; it was ‘the most trustworthy manifestation of people’s real thoughts and characteristics.’

Q17: Describe any three suppressive measures taken by the British administration to clampdown on nationalists.
Ans: (i) Rowlett Act: Rowlett Act was an oppressive act introduced by the British Government in 1919. It gave the Government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
(ii) Imposing martial law: Whenever the nationalists used to launch a mass movement the government responded with martial law. During Rowlatt Satyagraha, Non-Cooperation movement, Civil Disobedience movement, etc, the government responded with brutal repression, seeking to humiliate and terrorise people : satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs; people were flogged and villages (around Gujranwala Punjab, now in Pakistan) were bombed.
(iii) Putting the nationalist behind bars: During every mass movement the nationalist leaders were picked up and put behind the bars. For example during Rowlatt Satyagraha most of the local leaders were arrested and during Civil Disobedience movement Abul Ghaffar, Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders were arrested and put behind the bars.

Q18: Mention any three efforts made by Gandhiji to get Harijans their rights.
Ans: (i) He said that the Swaraj would not come for a hundred years if untouchability was not eliminated.
(ii) He organised Satyagraha to secure them entry into temples, and access to public wells, tanks, roads and schools.
(iii) He signed Poona Pact with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar through which some seats were reserved for them in provincial and central legislative councils.

Q19: Explain the contribution of the various social groups in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
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Various classes and groups of Indians participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement for different reasons. Choose any four classes and explain their reason to participate in the movement.
Ans: Following are the contributions of various social groups in the Civil Disobedience Movement:
(i) Rich peasants: Being producers of commercial crops, they were very hard hit by the trade depression and falling prices. As the government refused to reduce revenue demands, they in great numbers participated in the boycott programmes. For them, the fight for Swaraj was a struggle against high revenues.
(ii) Women: The women participated in protest marches, manufactured salt and picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many went to jail. They began to see service to the nation as a sacred duty of women.
(iii) Business class: A large number of merchants and industrialists supported this movement. They reacted against colonial policies that restricted their business activities. They wanted protection against imports of foreign goods.
(iv) The industrial working class: The industrial working class did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement in large numbers except in Nagpur. They selectively adopted some of the ideas of Gandhian programme, like boycott of foreign goods, as part of their own movements against low wages and poor working conditions.

Q20: ‘Some icons and symbols were used for unifying the people and sparking in them the feeling of nationalism.’ Give two evidences to support above statement.
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State the icons and symbols that advocated nationalism in India.
Ans: (i) The image of Bharat Mata came to be identified with India, the motherland. She was first painted by Abanindranath Tagore as an ascetic figure-calm, composed, divine and spiritual. Later the image was painted by many other artists and acquired different forms. In one image Bharat Mata is shown with a trishul, standing beside a lion and behind an elephant, both symbols of power.
(ii) The flag became a symbol of nationalism. During the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal a tricolour flag was designed with eight lotus flowers representing eight provinces of the British India and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji designed the Swaraj Flag.