Nationalism in India

Lesson

Part 1 — how a world war, a harsh law and a new method of protest turned Indian nationalism into a mass movement between 1914 and 1922.

In this lesson you will

Explain how the First World War changed life and politics in India
Explain the idea of satyagraha and Gandhiji's early movements
Describe the Rowlatt protests, Jallianwala Bagh, and the launch of the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements
Compare how towns, peasants, tribal groups and plantation workers understood swaraj
Answer a source-based question, a 5-mark question and a map question the way examiners mark them

Part 1 at a glance

Concept

One struggle, many grievances

Anti-colonial nationalism grew as people felt the weight of colonial rule in their own lives. Different groups joined for different reasons, and the Congress tried to hold them together.

Table: the urban middle class resented insult and lack of rights; peasants faced high rents and forced labour; tribal communities lost access to forests; workers suffered low wages and restrictions on movement
Group	What hurt them under colonial rule
Urban middle class	Insult, censorship, few political rights
Peasants	High rents and revenue, forced labour
Tribal communities	Closure of forests they depended on
Workers	Low wages, harsh rules on movement

Concept

The First World War and India

The war of 1914–18 changed both the economy and the politics of India.

Table of the burdens of the First World War: defence spending financed through loans and taxes including a new income tax; prices doubling between 1913 and 1918; forced recruitment; crop failures and an influenza epidemic that caused food shortages and millions of deaths
Burden of the war	Effect on people
Defence spending financed by war loans, higher customs duties and a new income tax	Heavier taxes on many households
Prices roughly doubled between 1913 and 1918	Hardship for common people
Soldiers raised by forced recruitment in villages	Widespread anger in rural areas
Crop failures (1918–19, 1920–21) and an influenza epidemic	Food shortages; millions died

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