Class 8 History Chapter 6 Question Answers - Our Pasts III (Part - II)

Q1: What did the Muslim League resolution of 1940 ask for?
Ans: The Muslim League resolution of 1940 asked for “Independent States” for Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas of the country.

Q2: Write a brief note on government of India Act 1935.
Ans: Government of India Act of 1935 prescribed provincial autonomy and the government announced elections to the provincial legislatures in 1937. The Congress formed governments in 7 out of 11 provinces.

Q3: Who did the Indian National Congress wish to speak for?
Ans:  Indian National Congress is composed of the representatives, not of any one class or community of India, but of all the different communities of India. Thus, Indian National Congress wished to speak for all the people of country.

Q4: Why did Mahatma Gandhi break the salt law?
Ans:  Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law because according to this law, the state had a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt. Mahatma Gandhi along with other nationalists reasoned that it was sinful to tax salt since it is such an essential item of our food.

Q5: List the goals of early political organizations formed in India.
Ans: Their goals were stated as the goals of all the people of India, not those of any one region, community or class. They worked with the idea that the people should be sovereign – a modern consciousness and a key feature of nationalism. In other words, they believed that the Indian people should be empowered to take decisions regarding their affairs.

Q6: Why did Gandhiji call off the Non-cooperation Movement?
Ans:  Mahatma Gandhi was against violent movements. He abruptly called off the Non-Cooperation Movement when in February 1922 a crowd of peasants set fire to a police station in Chauri Chaura. Twenty-two policemen were killed on that day. The peasants were provoked because the police had fired on their peaceful demonstration.

Q7: Why was Simon commission sent to India? Why did Indian boycott it?|
Ans: In 1927 the British government in England decided to send a commission headed by Lord Simon to decide India’s political future. The Commission had no Indian representative. The decison created an outrage in India. All political groups decided to boycott the Commission. When the Commission arrived it was met with demonstrations with banners saying “Simon Go Back”.

Q8: Why did Gandhiji choose to break the salt law?
Ans: Purna Swaraj would never come on its own. It had to be fought for. In 1930, Gandhiji declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law. According to this law, the state had a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt. Mahatma Gandhi along with other nationalists reasoned that it was sinful to tax salt since it is such an essential item of our food. The Salt March related the general desire of freedom to a specific grievance shared by everybody, and thus did not divide the rich and the poor.

Q9: How did people participate in non-cooperation movement during 1921-22?
Ans:  The Non-Cooperation Movement gained momentum through 1921-22.

• Thousands of students left government controlled schools and colleges.
• Many lawyers such as Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari and Asaf Ali gave up their practices.
• British titles were surrendered and legislatures boycotted.
• People lit public bonfires of foreign cloth. The imports of foreign cloth fell drastically between 1920 and 1922.

Q10: What caused the partition of Bengal in 1905?
Ans:  In 1905 Viceroy Curzon partitioned Bengal. At that time Bengal was the biggest province of British India and included Bihar and parts of Orissa. The British argued for dividing Bengal for reasons of administrative convenience. But clearly, it was closely tied to the interests of British officials and businessmen. Even so, instead of removing the non-Bengali areas from the province, the government separated East Bengal and merged it with Assam. Perhaps the main British motives were to curtail the influence of Bengali politicians and to split the Bengali people.

Q11: Who were the Moderates? How did they propose to struggle against British rule?
Ans:  It has often been said that the Congress in the first twenty years was “moderate” in its objectives and methods. The congress leaders of this period were called ‘moderates’. The Moderate leaders wanted to develop public awareness about the unjust nature of British rule. They published newspapers, wrote articles, and showed how British rule was leading to the economic ruin of the country. They criticised British rule in their speeches and sent representatives to different parts of the country to mobilise public opinion. They felt that the British had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice, and so they would accept the just demands of Indians.

Q12: Write a short note on Lala Lajpat Rai.
Ans:  Lala Lajpat Rai was a nationalist from Punjab. He was one of the leading members of the Radical group which was critical of the politics of petitions. He was also an active member of the Arya Samaj.

Q13: On what term were the congress leaders ready to support the British war effort at the time of Second World War? Did British accept their demand?
Ans:  Congress leaders were ready to support the British war effort. But in return they wanted that India be granted independence after the war. The British refused to concede the demand.

Q14: Why did the Muslim League announce 16 August 1946 as ‘ Direct Action Day’?
Ans: After the failure of the Cabinet Mission, the Muslim League decided on mass agitation for winning its Pakistan demand. It announced 16 August 1946 as “Direct Action Day”.

Q15: Write a short note on Maulana Azad.
Ans:  Azad was born in Mecca to a Bengali father and an Arab mother. Well-versed in many languages, Azad was a scholar of Islam and an exponent of the notion of wahadat-i-deen, the essential oneness of all religions. An active participant in Gandhian movements and a staunch advocate of Hindu- Muslim unity, he was opposed to Jinnah’s two-nation theory.

Q16: Why did the Congress ministries resign in protest in 1939?
Ans: In September 1939, after two years of Congress rule in the provinces, the Second World War broke out. Critical of Hitler, Congress leaders were ready to support the British war effort. But in return they wanted that India be granted independence after the war. The British refused to concede the demand. The Congress ministries resigned in protest.

Q17: What does ‘Punjab wrong’ refer to?
Ans:  Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the Pashtun leader from the North West Frontier Province. Also known as Badshah Khan, he was the founder of the Khudai Khidmatgars, a powerful non-violent movement among the Pathans of his province. Badshah Khan was strongly opposed to the Partition of India. He criticised his Congress colleagues for agreeing to the 1947 division.

Q18: What role did Ambabai play in the Indian freedom struggle?
Ans:  Ambabai of Karnataka had been married at age twelve. Widowed at sixteen, she picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops in Udipi. She was arrested, served a sentence and was rearrested. Between prison terms she made speeches, taught spinning, and organised prabhat pheris. Ambabai regarded these as the happiest days of her life because they gave it a new purpose and commitment.

Q19: List the important political development in mid-1920 in India.
Ans: Two important developments of the mid-1920s were the formation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organisation, and the Communist Party of India. These parties have held very different ideas about the kind of country India should be. The revolutionary nationalist Bhagat Singh too was active in this period. The decade closed with the Congress resolving to fight for Purna Swaraj (complete independence) in 1929 under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru. Consequently, “Independence Day” was observed on 26 January 1930 all over the country.

Q20: How was the politics of the Radicals within the Congress different from that of the Moderates?
Ans:  By the 1890s many Indians began to raise questions about the political style of the Congress. In Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab, leaders such as Bepin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai were beginning to explore more radical objectives and methods. They criticised the Moderates for their “politics of prayers”, and emphasised the importance of self-reliance and constructive work. They argued that people must rely on their own strength, not on the “good” intentions of the government; people must fight for swaraj.