Chapter – 13

Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement

In this post, we have given the detailed notes of Class 12 History Chapter 13 (Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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Mahatma Gandhi

• Gandhi was born in 1869 in Porbandar region of Gujarat.
• Gandhi’s father’s name was Karamchand and his mother’s name was Putlibai.
• Gandhi’s full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
• Gandhiji was a lawyer by profession. In 1888, Gandhiji went to England to study his law.
• Gandhiji went to South Africa in 1893

Gandhiji and South Africa

• Gandhiji faced apartheid in South Africa
• Gandhiji spent almost 20 years in South Africa and openly opposed apartheid and liberated the black people living in South Africa from this discrimination.
• Gandhiji came back to India in 1915, only 20 years spent in South Africa made Gandhi a Mahatma.
• Satyagraha, the method of non-violent rebellion by Gandhiji, was first used in South Africa itself.

India and Movement

Swadeshi Movement

• Swadeshi movement in India from 1905 to 1907
• The main leader of this movement
• Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab)
• Vipin Chandra Pal (Bengal) and
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Maharashtra) was
• These three were also known as Lal Bal and Pal.
• He recommended to adopt the path of violence against the British.

Gandhi’s arrival in India

• Gandhiji came to India from South Africa in 1915.
• Coming to India, Gandhi saw that India’s political system had changed a lot.
• Seeing the changed situation, Gandhiji consulted his political mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale as to what he should do.
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale advised Gandhiji to travel to British India for 1 year so that he could understand British India better and get acquainted with the people here.

Banaras Hindu University

• In February 1916, Gandhi was invited as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Banaras Hindu University.
• Almost all the people invited to the ceremony were from the wealthy
• When it was Gandhi’s turn to deliver a speech
• So, he didn’t talk about his admiration or respect of people like other people
• He said that I do not understand what to say in this meeting full of rich because here the most important people of the country i.e., poor people are not there.
• Throughout his speech Gandhiji expressed concern for the poor people and where it is almost impossible to get India free without the poor and the farmers.

1917 to 1919

• In 1917, Gandhiji made efforts to improve the condition of farmers in Champaran, a district of Bihar.
• The farmers of Champaran used to cultivate indigo, Gandhi ji fought a case in his favor in the court and got compensation for the farmers.
• In 1918, Gandhiji was mainly involved in two movements in Gujarat.
• First : –
  • In Ahmedabad, the workers working in the clothing mill were agitating for better working conditions, in which Gandhiji joined
• Second :-
  • In Kheda, despite the loss of the farmers’ crop, the demand for full tax was being raised by the British, where Gandhiji supported the farmers’ demand for loan waiver.

Rowlett Act

• During the First World War from 1914 to 18, the British banned the press in India and allowed people to be imprisoned without trial and trial.
• After the end of the First World War a committee was formed under the chairmanship of Sir Sidney Rowlett and this committee also recommended the continuation of this arrangement.
• In this way the Rowlett Act was passed by the British in 1919.
• According to this act, any rebel could be imprisoned without any kind of investigation and trial.
• This Rowlett Act was opposed on a large scale all over the country and Gandhiji openly supported this protest.
• Bandh was implemented in the whole country, all the shops, markets, schools etc. were closed and there was a silence in the whole country.
• The Rowlett Act was most strongly opposed in Punjab because the people of Punjab participated in the war on the side of the British during the First World War.
• In return for this contribution, the people of Punjab were expecting a reward for themselves and in return the British gave them the Rowlett Act, due to which they were very angry.
• He and several Congress leaders were arrested on the way Gandhi left for Punjab to support the protest in Punjab.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

• In April 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, many people gathered in protest against this Rowlett Act.
• Seeing the increasing opposition of these people, the English Brigadier General Dyer ordered to shoot at all these people.
• More than 400 people were killed in this firing and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was openly criticized

Non-Cooperation Movement

• Gandhiji started the non-cooperation movement in 1920
• Under this movement, Gandhiji appealed to all Indians to give up all the goods and services of the British.
  • He appealed to the students not to go to school, appealed to the lawyers not to go to court and appealed to the farmers to stop paying taxes.
  • This movement was successful on a large scale
  • Awadh farmers stopped paying taxes
  • In 921, there were 396 strikes in the country and about 600,000 workers were involved in these strikes.
  • Students stop going to school and college
  • Lawyers boycott courts
  • In the hills of northern Andhra, the tribes refused to obey the forest law
  • After the revolution of 1857, for the first time any movement shook the British rule.

Chora Chora and Non-Cooperation Movement

• A group of farmers set fire to a police station in Chori Chora, United Provinces, in February 1922.
• Many policemen lost their lives due to this fire.
• Gandhiji opposed this violence and withdrew his non-cooperation movement.
• Thus ended the non-cooperation movement

After the non-cooperation movement

• Gandhiji stayed away from politics for many years after the end of the non-cooperation movement
• He focused on his social reform works
• He focused his attention on eradicating the evils located in the society and empowering the society.
• He tried to end untouchability and the distinction between rich and poor.
• Motivated people to wear homemade clothes to empower the people of the country
• He promoted the spinning wheel

Gandhiji as a People’s Leader

• Gandhiji emerged as a mass leader in India
• He not only included the rich class in his movements, but he also took equal share of the poor class such as farmers, workers and artisans.
• Gandhi ji knew that the number of rich in the country was only a handful and it would be very difficult to shake the British rule with so many rich people, that is why he included all the people of the country in the movement so that he could end the British rule from the root. be able to
• Thousands of farmers, workers and artisans joined the movement due to Gandhi’s efforts.
• All the agitators respected Gandhiji as the Mahatma.
• Gandhiji dressed like the common people of India so that he could associate himself with the common people
• While other leaders of the country used to wear suit boots on one hand, Gandhiji used to wear a simple dhoti.
• Due to his dress and ideology, people started seeing Gandhiji as the messiah and sympathizer of the poor.
• Gandhiji always emphasized on Hindu-Muslim unity so that due to mutual differences, there would be no obstacle in the independence of the country.
• Gandhiji propagated Swadeshi so that the people of the country could develop
• Due to his actions, Gandhiji not only became a political leader but he was also recognized as a social reformer.
• He also emphasized on cleanliness and self-reliance in the country.

Simon Commission

• The Government of India Act was passed in India by the British Government in 1919.
• Also known as the Montagu Chelmsford Reformation
• These reforms were to be re-examined 10 years after they were implemented.
• No Indian was satisfied with these reforms and they all wanted changes in them.
• Simon Commission was constituted to examine these reforms, it was formed in 1927.
• The Simon Commission came to India in 1928, it is called the Simon Commission because the name of its chairman was John Simon.
• There was a total of 7 members in the commission and all were Englishmen.
• This Simon Commission was opposed by the Indian people because all its members were British and they were not familiar with the conditions of India.

Opposition to Simon Commission

• Simon Commission was opposed in Kolkata under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose
• In Bombay also, the Simon Commission was opposed and slogans of Simon go back were raised.
• Simon Commission was opposed in Lucknow under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru and GB Pant.
• During these protests, Lala Lajpat Rai was attacked by the police with sticks, due to which he died.
• The Muslim League also opposed the Simon Commission under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Lahore Session

• In 1929, the Lahore session of the Congress was held in this session, many important decisions were taken.
• It was during this session that Jawaharlal Nehru was elected the President of the Congress.
• For the first time in this session, the demand for complete independence was made.
• After the demand for Purna Swaraj, on 26 January 1930, the national flag was hoisted at different places in the country, patriotic songs were sung and Independence Day was celebrated.
• It was from here that Indians started demanding Purna Swaraj.
• During this time a law was made by the British under which no person in the country could produce salt.
• By stopping people from producing salt, the British themselves started selling salt in the market at high prices.
• Gandhiji was against this rule and announced a Satyagraha to oppose it.
• This is where Gandhi started the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• During this movement, Gandhiji started walking towards the sea from his ashram located in Sabarmati on 12 March 1930.
• Thousands of people joined him in this journey. After 3 weeks of starting the journey, Gandhiji reached the seashore and broke the salt law of the British by making a handful of salt there.
• After breaking this law, Gandhiji became a criminal in the eyes of the British, but inspired by him, similar salt marches were organized in many places in the country.
• Seeing the rise of Salt Satyagraha, the British arrested about 60000 people and arrested Gandhiji too.
• At the beginning of this movement, America’s news magazine Times made fun of Gandhiji’s stature and wrote in its first report that with this weak body, Gandhi might not be able to complete his salt journey.
• With the success of Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha, the views of the Times magazine also changed, now the same magazine started praising Gandhiji by calling him a saint and a politician and wrote that this visit of Gandhiji is getting huge support from the people, due to which the English language the government is restless

Salt Travel Results

• Due to the huge support received for the salt march, the British got scared.
• He realized that now his rule would not last long in India.
• If they want to keep their rule, they will have to give share to the Indians too.
• This was the first such movement in this entire period in which women also actively participated.
• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a socialist worker of that era, advised Gandhi to include women in the movement.
• Gandhiji listened to Kamala Devi and inspired women to join the movement.
• Due to the Salt Satyagraha, Gandhiji got fame all over the world because the coverage of this entire trip was done extensively by the press of Europe and America.

Round table Conference

• After Gandhiji’s Civil Disobedience Movement and Dandi March, the British had understood that now ruling India is not going to be as easy as before.
• If they want to maintain their rule in India, then they have to give share to the Indians also.
• In view of this, the British organized the first-round table conference in November 1930.

Gandhi Irwin Pact

• Gandhiji was released in January 1931
• Exactly 1 month after his release, there was a meeting between Gandhiji and the then Viceroy Irwin.
• During this meeting an agreement was made between Gandhiji and Irwin which is called Gandhi Irwin Pact.
• There were three conditions under this agreement
  • Irwin asked Gandhi to withdraw his civil disobedience movement
  • Instead of withdrawing the Civil Disobedience Movement, Gandhi demanded the release of all the prisoners.
  • Simultaneously, Gandhiji demanded that the people of India be allowed to produce salt on the coastal areas.
• Many radical nationalists criticized the agreement as the main objective of the movement was independence which Gandhiji could not achieve.

Second round Table Conference

• The Second Round Table Conference was organized in London in 1931.
• The Congress was led by Gandhi in this conference.
• Gandhiji said that his party leads the whole country
• His point was opposed by three parties.
  • Muslim League said that the Muslim League represents the Muslims of India
  • It was told by the princes that there was no influence of the Congress in their area.
  • Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar said that Dalits are not represented by Congress
• Due to this difference, this conference did not yield any result and Gandhiji had to return empty handed.
• After coming to India, Gandhiji again started his civil disobedience movement.

Beginning of World War II

• In 1939, when the Second World War started in the world, Britain was involved in the Allies.
• In view of this situation, both Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru made a proposal to the British government that the Congress would help them in their war efforts if they assured India of independence.
• But his proposal was rejected by the British government.
• In protest, the Congress cabinet resigned in October 1939.

Cripps Mission

• In the period of 1942, an all-party government was formed in Britain, in this government the members of the Labour Party were also involved.
• The members of the Labour Party sympathized with the Indians and were in favour of their independence but the Prime Minister of this government was Winston Churchill and he was a staunch imperialist.
• In 1942, Churchill resumed efforts to reach a compromise with Congress.
• Under these efforts, he sent one of his ministers, Stafford Cripps, to India so that he could solve the problem by talking to the Congress leaders in India.
• During this conversation, the Congress said that if Britain wanted the support of Congress in World War II, then the Viceroy of India would first have to appoint an Indian as a defence member in his executive council.
• The English government refused to accept this and this conversation ended here.

Quit India Movement

• After several negotiations and the failure of the Cripps Mission, Gandhi started his third and largest movement against the British, which was named Quit India Movement.
• Gandhiji was arrested after starting this movement, but this movement gradually grew in the country.
• There was a strike by the youth across the country and vandalism was carried out on a large scale.
• Socialist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan are most active in this
• The British made many efforts to suppress this movement, but still it took them more than 1 year to handle this movement.
• During this movement, almost all the big leaders of the Congress were imprisoned and during this period Mohammad Ali Jinnah tried to spread his influence in the country with the Muslim League.
• Gandhi was released from prison at the end of World War II
• During this time, the Labour Party government was formed in Britain, this was the same government which was in favour of giving independence to India.

Congress and Muslim League

• By this time, separate factions of Congress and Muslim League had formed.
• After coming out of jail, Gandhiji tried to establish Hindu Muslim unity but he failed in it.
• Many meetings were also organized between the representatives of Congress and Muslim League but that too could not be successful.
• Meanwhile, elections to the provincial legislatures were held.
• In this, the Congress got huge success in the general category, while the Muslim League got a majority in the seats reserved for Muslims.
• In this way Indian politics got divided into two different parts even before independence.

Cabinet Mission

• In 1946, the Cabinet Mission came to India and tried to negotiate a settlement between the Congress and the Muslim League, but it failed.
• Due to no solution being found, Mohammad Ali Jinnah called for Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946.
• On 16 August 1946, Hindu Muslim riots started on a large scale in the country, this violence started from Kolkata and gradually spread to rural Bengal, United Provinces, Punjab and Bihar.

Republic of India

Independence Day

• India got independence on 15th August 1947
• This day was celebrated with great fanfare all over the country but at the same time violence took place on this day due to partition in many large parts of the country.
• Gandhiji did not take part in any celebration because he was upset by the partition of India and the riots happening in the country.
• During that time, he was in Kolkata, neither he participated in any program nor hoisted the flag.
• To pacify the Hindu-Muslim riots, Gandhiji also kept a fast for 1 day, due to this fast, there was a reduction in riots in many areas.

Gandhi’s last moments

• Gandhiji was sitting in his daily prayer meeting on the evening of 30 January 1948.
• Then a young man came and shot him and Gandhiji took his last breath.
• This young man was Nathuram Godse. He was the editor of an extremist Hindutva newspaper and was unhappy with Gandhiji. 
• He believed that Gandhiji was very supportive of Muslims, that is why he killed Gandhiji and surrendered after the assassination.

Sources of knowing Gandhiji

Autobiographies

• Autobiography gives important information about Gandhiji and the main aspects of his life

Various Newspapers

• Various information related to Gandhiji is available in newspapers published in India as well as in newspapers published abroad.

Personal Writing

• Important information about Gandhiji is obtained from the letters written by Gandhiji.

Speech

• Gandhiji can be understood on the basis of speeches given by Gandhiji.

Government records

• During the colonial rule, Gandhiji was closely monitored by the government and the details of his every move were written, all these reports provide important information about Gandhiji.

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