Chapter 2: Nationalism in India Short Questions | history Class 10 CBSE

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Chapter 2: Nationalism in India Short Questions | history Class 10 CBSE | ByteNotes.in

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Question 1

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What was satyagraha? State any two core principles of satyagraha as described by Mahatma Gandhi.

Satyagraha was a novel method of mass agitation emphasising the power of truth and the need to search for truth, practised by Gandhi in South Africa and later in India.
It held that physical force was not necessary if the cause was just; a satyagrahi could win the battle through non-violence by appealing to the conscience of the oppressor.
Gandhi believed this dharma of non-violence could unite all Indians, as non-violence was the supreme dharma and truth was bound to ultimately triumph.

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Question 2

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What were the main provisions of the Rowlatt Act, 1919, and why did Indians oppose it?

The Rowlatt Act was passed through the Imperial Legislative Council in 1919 despite the united opposition of all Indian members, giving the government enormous powers to repress political activities.
It allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years, which Indians regarded as deeply unjust and a direct attack on their civil liberties.
Mahatma Gandhi called for non-violent civil disobedience starting with a hartal on 6 April, as the act was seen as the most repressive face of colonial rule.

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Question 3

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Describe the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and its immediate consequences.

On 13 April 1919, General Dyer blocked the exit points of Jallianwalla Bagh and opened fire on a large crowd — some protesting repressive measures, others attending the Baisakhi fair — killing hundreds.
Dyer stated his aim was to produce a 'moral effect' of terror and awe in the minds of satyagrahis; satyagrahis were later forced to crawl on streets and villages around Gujranwala were bombed.
The massacre spread anger across north India, with strikes, clashes with police, and attacks on government buildings; it deeply radicalised Indian opinion against British rule.

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Question 4

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Why did Mahatma Gandhi take up the Khilafat issue? What did he hope to achieve?

After World War I, the Ottoman Turkey was defeated and rumours spread that a harsh peace treaty would be imposed on the Ottoman emperor, the Khalifa, who was the spiritual head of the Islamic world.
Gandhi saw the Khilafat issue as an opportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement and to forge Hindu-Muslim unity.
He convinced Congress leaders at the Calcutta session of September 1920 to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.

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Question 5

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What was the argument in Hind Swaraj (1909) that justified non-cooperation with the British?

In Hind Swaraj, Gandhi declared that British rule was established in India with the cooperation of Indians and had survived only because of this cooperation.
He argued that if Indians simply refused to cooperate, British rule in India would collapse within a year and swaraj would come.
This logic underpinned the entire Non-Cooperation Movement: withdrawing cooperation — through surrendering titles, boycotting courts, schools, and foreign goods — was sufficient to end colonial rule.

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Question 6

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What economic impact did the Non-Cooperation Movement have in Indian cities?

Foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops were picketed, and foreign cloth was burnt in large bonfires; the import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, with its value dropping from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore.
Merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade, significantly disrupting colonial commercial networks.
As people discarded imported clothes and wore Indian ones, production of Indian textile mills and handlooms increased, boosting domestic industry.

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Question 7

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Why did the Non-Cooperation Movement gradually slow down in the cities?

Khadi cloth was often more expensive than mass-produced mill cloth, and poor people could not afford to sustain the boycott of mill cloth for a long time.
Alternative Indian institutions needed to replace British ones were slow to develop, which made it difficult to maintain the boycott of government schools and courts.
Students and teachers began trickling back to government schools, and lawyers rejoined work in government courts as the hardships of non-cooperation became unsustainable.

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Question 8

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Who was Baba Ramchandra and what was the nature of the peasant movement he led in Awadh?

Baba Ramchandra was a sanyasi who had earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer; he led the peasant movement in Awadh against talukdars and landlords.
Peasants in Awadh faced exorbitantly high rents, various cesses, compulsory begar (unpaid labour), and insecurity of tenure as they were regularly evicted to prevent them from acquiring rights over leased land.
The movement demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, and social boycott of oppressive landlords; panchayats organised nai-dhobi bandhs to deprive landlords of barbers and washermen.

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Question 9

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Who was Alluri Sitaram Raju and how did his movement differ from Gandhi's approach?

Alluri Sitaram Raju led a militant guerrilla movement in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh in the early 1920s after colonial authorities closed forests, denying tribal people access to grazing land, fuelwood, and fruits.
He talked of Gandhi's greatness and was inspired by the Non-Cooperation Movement, persuading people to wear khadi and give up drinking, but insisted that India could be liberated only through force, not non-violence.
His rebels attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials, and carried on guerrilla warfare for swaraj — a form of struggle the Congress could not approve; Raju was captured and executed in 1924.

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Question 10

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What was the condition of plantation workers in Assam and how did they interpret the Non-Cooperation Movement?

Under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, plantation workers in Assam were not permitted to leave tea gardens without permission, and permission was rarely granted, effectively trapping them.
When they heard of the Non-Cooperation Movement, thousands of workers defied authorities, left the plantations, and headed home, believing that Gandhi Raj was coming and everyone would be given land.
They never reached their destination: stranded by a railway and steamer strike, they were caught by police and brutally beaten up, illustrating how their vision of swaraj as freedom of movement diverged from the Congress programme.

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Chapter 2: Nationalism in India | Short Questions

What was satyagraha? State any two core principles of satyagraha as described by Mahatma Gandhi.

What were the main provisions of the Rowlatt Act, 1919, and why did Indians oppose it?

Describe the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre and its immediate consequences.

Why did Mahatma Gandhi take up the Khilafat issue? What did he hope to achieve?

What was the argument in Hind Swaraj (1909) that justified non-cooperation with the British?

What economic impact did the Non-Cooperation Movement have in Indian cities?

Why did the Non-Cooperation Movement gradually slow down in the cities?

Who was Baba Ramchandra and what was the nature of the peasant movement he led in Awadh?

Who was Alluri Sitaram Raju and how did his movement differ from Gandhi's approach?

What was the condition of plantation workers in Assam and how did they interpret the Non-Cooperation Movement?

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