NOTES on ISC HISTORY

Forced failed to extinguish the spirit of revolt against law and the government. In order to side over the situation, the British government called a Round Table Conference in London 1930 to find an acceptable solution to the Indians problems. The congress boycotted the first round table conference and launched the civil disobedience movement. Other parties were represented by several eminent people like Tej Bahadur Sapru, Jinnah and Agha Khan. The chief item on the agenda was to discuss the Simon commission Report. But no vital decision could be taken because the congress did not participate in it. On 19th January 1931 the British prime minister Ramsey Mac Donald held out hopes of making a substantial transfer of power to India. The viceroy lord Irwin was anxious for a settlement. He took noble step of holding direct talks with Gandhiji and signed a pact known as Gandhi-Irwin pact. As per the pact Gandhi went to London to part in second round table conference in 1931. All sections of...

There is a great controversy over the significance of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The congress committees itself was divided on the result of the talk. Many people have it as a viceroy because the viceroy had to negotiate a settlement with the congress. Others particularly the younger, left wing sectors were opposed to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, for the government had not accepted even one of the major national demands. The consequences of the pact were as follows: 1. The viceroy had forced to treat the Indian nation leaders on an equal footing. 2. It greatly increased the prestige of the congress as the viceroy and Gandhiji’s put their signatures on a Treaty OF Peace. 3. The British accepted congress as an authority to speak for political India. 4. When the rural congress workers were released from jail and went to their village, they were given reception. This demonstrated the awakening of political conscious among masses to a degree undreamt of before. It also gave evidence of the high mora...

The First Round Table Conference was held in London in 1930. Not much was done at the conference on account of the absence of the congress representatives. The government knew that any settlement regarding Indians people would be incomplete, if the congress refused to co-operate. So the British were eager to compromise. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Jayakar became the mediators between the congress and the British. An understanding was reached between Gandhiji and Lord Irwin in 1931 which came to be known as Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Its provisions were:- The government agreed:- 1. To release all the political prisoners except those guilty of violence. 2. To withdraw ordinance issued in connection with Civil Disobedience Movement. 3. To give back to the congress their confiscated properties. 4. To permit peaceful picketing of liquors and foreign cloth’s shop. 5. To permit such people as lived near sea-shore to manufacture salt. Gandhiji agreed:- ...

There is no denying the fact that the civil disobedience movement could not show immediately results. The impact of the movements can be summed up as follows. The people might have become silent for the time being but there were tide of patriotic fervors in the country. It proved beyond doubt the organizing capacity of the congress. The movement was more intensive in magnitude than the Non-Cooperation Movement. Another significance of the movement was that the Indian peasantry raised voice not against the foreign rule, but protested against land revenue system. It exposed the true nature of the British rule in India.

The Lahore Congress was followed by a two months while the country and the government waited for Gandhiji to decide on the precise method of non-violent struggle for Poorna Swaraj. Gandhiji once again tried for compromise with the government and put the government and put forward 11 points demand include reduction in land tax, prohibition etc. He stated that if Lord Irwin accepted it, then there would be no need for agitation. The government response was negative, so Gandhiji decided to start the movement. The civil disobedience movement was organized to disobey laws made by the British. The programme of the civil disobedience movement was as follows: 1. Salt law should be violated everywhere. 2. Students should leave school and colleges. 3. Governments’ servants should resign from services. 4. Foreign goods should be burnt. 5. No taxes to be paid to the government. 6. Women should start dharna before shops having liquors etc. Gandhiji started the civil disobedience movement on 12th ...

The Indian National Congress reflected its new mood. Gandhiji came back to active politics and attended the Calcutta Session of the Congress in December 1928. The congress asked the govt to accept the Nehru Report. The viceroy was not in a position to give any definite assurance. At its Lahore Session presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru in December 1929, the congress passed revolution declaring ‘Poorna Swaraj’ complete Independence to be the congress objective. On 31 December 1929 was hoisted the newly adopted tri-colour flag of freedom. 26 January 1930 was fixed as the first Independence Day which was to be celebrated every year. The congress session also announced the launching of a civil disobedience movement. The detained programme of the movement was to be drawn up by Gandhiji with hope and exhilaration and the determination to be forced.

Lord Birkenhead, the secretary of state for India led justified the exclusion of Indian from the Simon commission. He challenged the Indian leaders to frame a constitution that would be acceptable to all parties in India. Accordingly an all party’s conference was held in Bombay in May 1928 under the president ship of Motilal Nehru. Representatives of all parties agreed to entrust the responsibility of drafting the constitution to a sub-committee appointed for the purpose under the leadership of Motilal Nehru other prominent members of the sub-committee were Subhas Chandra Bose, Tej Bahadur Sapru & Ali Imam. Towards the end of the year 1928 the committee prepared a draft constitution which came to be known as the Nehru Report. It contained the following recommendations. i) Attainment of 'Dominion Status’ at an every date. ii) India to be a federation builds on basis of linguistic provinces & the provincial autonomy. iii) Executive to be full responsible to the legislat...

Though the Swarajists leaders failed in their objectives, they impressed upon the govt of the need of early revision of the constitution of 1919.the Indian demand for political advance gradually grow more and more insistent. As a result in 1927 the British govt appointed the Indian statutory Commission to go into the question of further constitutional reform. General election was due to England in 1929 and there was a strong possibility of labour party coming into power the conservative party did not like to leave the appointment of the commission to such a successor govt. The commission was headed by Sir John Simon, which consisted of 7 members. It was an all white commission and non Indians were associated with it. This aroused strong prevent from the Indians. The British action was seen as a violation of the principle of self determination and a deliberate insult of the self-respect of the Indians. In Madras Session in 1927 presided over by Dr.Ansari decided to boycott the commissi...

A major development is Indian politics occurred during 1922-28. Immediately the withdrawal of the non-co-operation movement led to the demonstration in the national ranks. Moreover serious differences arose among the leader who had to decide how to prevent the movement from lapsing into passivity. one section led by C.R.Das Motilal Nehru and Ajmal Khan wanted boycott of the legislative council to be ended and the nationalist to be allowed to enter them to expose weakness of these assemblies, transform them into areas of political struggle and thus use them into arouse public enthusiasm. The group of Congressmen came to be known as ‘Pro-changers’. But Sardar Vallabhai Patel,Rajendra Prasad and other known as ‘no-changers’opposed council entry under this circumstances,pro-changers like –C.R.Das and Motilal Nehru formed the congress Khilafat Swarajya party in December 1922,with was as President and Motilal Nehru as one of the secretaries the new party was to function as a group within the...

The annual session of the congress held at Ahmadabad in Dec 1921 passed a resolution offering the determination of the congress to continue the programme of non-violent non-co-operation with great or vigor .The resolution called upon the people to organize individual or mass civil disobedience along non-violent lines. On 1 February 1922, Gandhiji announced that he would start mass civil disobedience including non-payment of taxes, unless within seven days the political prisoners were released and the press freed from govt control on 5 February 1922, a congress processions of 3000 peasants at Chauri Chaura, a village in Gorakpur district in U.P was fixed upon by the police station causing the death of 22 policemen. Gandhiji was greatly shocked at this incident and suspended the movement. The Congress working committee met at Bardoli in Gujarat on 12 February and passed a resolution stopping all activities which would lead to breaking of law. Significance: - The non-co-operation movem...

Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian National Congress declared in 1920 to start the Non- co- operation movement in India. It was treaty a revolutionary step It was for the first time that the congress decided to follow a policy of direct action .There are many factors which prepared the background of the Non-Co-operation Movement. The congress supported the British government in the 1st war hoping greater political right. The British government announced the Montague Chelmsford Reforms in 1919 which could not ̕face various economic problems after the First World War. There was acute unemployment and poverty in the country. The people blamed the British government for their suffering and they became aggressive to oppose the British rule. Instead of solving the problems of Indians, the govt. tried to suppress the anti–British feeling of the Indian. In 1919 the government passed a 'notorious Act´ called the ̔Rowlatt Act̕ to snatch t...

During the 1st world war, turkey had joined the axis power. When the war ended, the victorious Allied powers took a stern altitude towards Turkey and decided to remove the sultan. It was in violation of the earlier pledge given by British Prime Minister Lloyd George. The Muslims felt that the position of the sultan who was also regarded by many as the religious head of the Muslims should not be undermined .As a result a Sir Khilafat Committee was formed under the leadership of Ali brothers-Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, Abdul Kalam Azad, Hakim Azmal Khan and Hasrat Mohammad were the other prominent member. The objectives of the Khilafat movement were to stop the disruption of the Turkish Empire, to prevent the imposition of severe peace term on Turkey and to preserve Khilafat. The all India Khilafat conference held at Delhi in Nov 1919 decided to withdraw all cooperation from the govt. if there demands were not met. The program consisted of boycott of legislative council, foreign goo...

i) The British: Archibald the principal of M.A.O College. ii) The Muslim leader: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

The government was determined to suppress the mass agitation followed by the Rowlatt Act. It repeatedly lathi charged and fired up on unarmed demonstrators at Bombay, Ahmadabad, Calcutta, Delhi and other cities. Gandhiji gave a call for a mighty hartal on 6th April 1919. The people responded with unprecedented enthusiasm. The govt, decided to meet the popular protest with repression, particularly in the Punjab. The prominent leaders of the congress Dr.Salfuddin kitchlew and Dr.Satyapal were arrested. This sparked off a strike in the city. On 13th April 191, a public meeting took place at Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the arrest of their leaders. Jallianwala Bagh was a large open space which was enclosed on three sides by building and had only one exit. General Dyer the military commander of Amritsar came into complete submission. He surrounded the Bagh with his army until closed the exit with his troops and then ordered his men to shoot into the unarmed people with machine farm....

Significance of Rowlatt Act Satyagraha [ How did this movement represent a new stage in the growth of the national movement ]? The Rowlatt Act Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi was an important event in the history of the Indian national movement. The Satyagraha was a new method of struggle launched against British. It proved people's capacity to act in place of giving verbal expression to anger. A new leader who sought to arouse the masses appeared. It brought Mahatma Gandhi into the forefront of national life. With this agitation, a new and decisive phase of Indian freedom struggle started. The enthusiasm and Hindu Muslim unity that developed during this struggle proved the way for Non-cooperation and Khilafat movement.

Rowlatt Act 1919 The Indians were not satisfied with the reform of 1919. The govt granted concessions which were much below their expectation. The atmosphere was surcharged with passion and excitement. On the report of a sedition committee headed by Justice Rowlatt, two bills were introduced in the central Legislature in 1919. These bills came to be known as ‘Rowlatt Act’. It authorized the government to imprison anyone without trial. Thus suspended the right of Habeas corpus. These were no need for a warrant to arrest or detain any person under the act. The purpose of this act was to curb the growing nationalist upsurge in the country. Opposition to the 'Black Act' as it came to be known was widespread. Along with other nationalists, Gandhiji was also aroused by the Rowlatt Act. In February 1919, he founded the Satyagraha Sabha, whose members took a pledge to disobey the act and thus to court arrest and imprisonment. March and April 1919 witnessed a remarkable political awaken...

Champaran Satyagraha [1917] Gandhiji’s first great experiment in Satyagraha came in 1917 in Champaran, a district in Bihar. The peasantry on the indigo plantation in the district was excessively oppressed by the European planters. They were compelled to grow indigo and to sell it at prices fixed by the planters. Gandhiji reached in Champaran in 1917 and began to conduct a detailed enquiry into the condition of the peasantry. The district officials ordered him to leave Champaran, but he defied the order and was willing to face trial and imprisonment. This forced the government to cancel its earlier order and to appoint a committee of enquiry on which Gandhiji served as a peasantry was suffering were reduced. This was the first triumph of Gandhiji new technique of Satyagraha in India. Ahmadabad mill strike In 1918, Gandhiji’s intervened in a dispute between the workers and mill owners of Ahmadabad. He advised the workers to go on strike and to demand a 35% increase in wages. He under to...

Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest national leader of India. He was a great politician, an organizer, and a moral revolutionary. An opposite of peace and non-violence, Gandhiji message has a universal appeal and is exercising profound influence on humanity in general. Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869, at Porbandar in Gujarat. After qualifying for bar in England, he returned to India and started practice at Rajkot and later at Bombay. He got a chance to go to South Africa as a legal adviser in a case on behalf of a Muslim firm. He remained in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, during which he fought against the racial discrimination of the write community. The Indians who lived in South Africa were denied the right to vote. They had to register and pay a poll-tax. They could not reside except in prescribed locations which were insanitary and congested. Gandhiji soon became the leader of the struggle against these conditions and was engaged in a heroic struggle again...