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Gandhi's early satyagrahas, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh

मराठीत स्पष्टीकरण

Gandhian movements, 1917–1922 · Part 1 / 2 · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

Gandhi's years in South Africa and the making of satyagraha, Hind Swaraj, his return in 1915, the three local struggles of Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda, the Rowlatt Act and the first all-India satyagraha, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, martial law in Punjab, and the Hunter Committee and the Congress inquiry that turned Gandhi into a non-cooperator.

Each idea is explained first in Marathi (मराठी), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Marathi and revise it in English.

1917 ते 1922 दरम्यान राष्ट्रीय चळवळीचे स्वरूपच बदलले. तोपर्यंत शिक्षित लोक मुख्यतः आपापसांत, सरकारशी आणि वृत्तपत्रांशी बोलत; पाच वर्षांत देशभरातील शेतकरी, कामगार, व्यापारी, विद्यार्थी आणि स्त्रिया सहभागी होऊ लागल्या. या बदलाच्या केंद्रस्थानी मो. क. गांधी होते. भाग 1 — गांधींची पद्धत कुठून आली, 1917–18 मधील तीन स्थानिक लढ्यांत त्यांनी ती कशी तपासली, आणि 1919 मध्ये रौलट कायदा व जालियनवाला बाग हत्याकांडाने त्यांना निष्ठावान सहकाऱ्यापासून ब्रिटिश राजवटीचे विरोधक कसे बनवले. भाग 2 — खिलाफत आणि असहकार (1920–22). शाळेच्या व्यासपीठावरची चर्चा अख्ख्या गावाची जत्रा व्हावी, तसे. (→ English: Rowlatt Act · हिन्दी: रौलट एक्ट)

In exam EnglishBetween 1917 and 1922 the national movement changed character. Until then it had been led by educated men speaking mainly to each other, the government and the press; within five years peasants, workers, traders, students and women across India were taking part. The person at the centre of this change was M. K. Gandhi. This chapter follows it in two parts. Part 1 shows where Gandhi's method came from, how he tested it in three local struggles in 1917–18, and how the Rowlatt Act and the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 turned him from a loyal cooperator into an opponent of British rule. Part 2 covers the Khilafat question and the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920–22, the first nationwide mass movement.

गांधींचे राजकीय प्रशिक्षण भारतात नव्हे, दक्षिण आफ्रिकेत झाले. तरुण वकील म्हणून 1893 मध्ये ते एका भारतीय पेढीच्या व्यापारी खटल्यासाठी नाताळला गेले; लवकरच उघड वांशिक अपमान झाला — पीटरमारित्झबर्ग येथे प्रथम वर्गाच्या डब्यातून उतरवले जाणे हे प्रसिद्ध उदाहरण. तेथील भारतीय — बहुतेक करारबद्ध मजूर आणि व्यापारी — विशेष कर, परवाने आणि राहण्या-व्यापाराच्या जागांवरील बंधने सोसत. गांधी लढण्यासाठी थांबले: 1894 नाताळ इंडियन काँग्रेस, 1903 ‘इंडियन ओपिनियन’ साप्ताहिक, 1904 डर्बनजवळ फिनिक्स वसाहत. संघटन, प्रचार आणि वाटाघाटीचे कौशल्य इथेच आले — क्रिकेटपटू आधी गल्लीत खेळून मग स्टेडियममध्ये यावा, तसे. (→ English: Natal Indian Congress · हिन्दी: नेटाल इंडियन कांग्रेस)

In exam EnglishGandhi's political training happened in South Africa, not India. A young lawyer, he went to Natal in 1893 to work on a commercial case for an Indian firm, and soon met open racial humiliation, most famously when he was thrown off a first-class train compartment at Pietermaritzburg. Indians there, mostly indentured labourers and traders, faced special taxes, passes and limits on where they could live and trade. Gandhi stayed to fight these laws. In 1894 he helped found the Natal Indian Congress; in 1903 he started the weekly Indian Opinion; and in 1904 he set up the Phoenix Settlement near Durban, a farm where his co-workers lived simply and shared labour. These years gave him skills in organising, publicity and negotiation.

निर्णायक लढा 1906 मध्ये सुरू झाला — प्रत्येक भारतीयाने नोंदणी करून बोटांचे ठसे असलेला परवाना बाळगावा, असा ट्रान्सवाल सरकारचा आदेश. जोहान्सबर्गच्या मोठ्या सभेत भारतीयांनी कायदा न पाळण्याची आणि शिक्षा स्वीकारण्याची शपथ घेतली. पुढच्या आठ वर्षांत हजारो तुरुंगात गेले. 1910 मध्ये गांधींचे जर्मन मित्र हर्मन कालेनबाख यांनी जोहान्सबर्गजवळ टॉलस्टॉय फार्मसाठी जमीन दिली — सत्याग्रहींची कुटुंबे तेथे राहत. 1913 मध्ये माजी करारबद्ध मजुरांवरील वार्षिक तीन पौंड कर आणि भारतीय विवाहांना मान्यता न देणारा न्यायालयीन निर्णय यांच्याविरुद्ध खाण कामगारांनी संप केला, आणि गांधींनी ट्रान्सवालची सीमा ओलांडून मोर्चा नेला. जनरल स्मट्स यांच्याशी झालेल्या तडजोडीतून 1914 चा इंडियन्स रिलीफ ॲक्ट आला. जुलै 1914 मध्ये गांधी भारताकडे निघाले. लहान वाफ्यात बी तपासून मोठ्या शेतात पेरायला यावे, तसे. (→ English: satyagraha · हिन्दी: सत्याग्रह)

In exam EnglishThe decisive struggle began in 1906, when the Transvaal government ordered every Indian to register and carry a pass bearing fingerprints. At a mass meeting in Johannesburg, Indians pledged to disobey the law and accept the penalties. Over the next eight years thousands went to jail. In 1910 Gandhi's German friend Hermann Kallenbach gave land for Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg, where the families of resisters could live. In 1913 the campaign widened against a yearly three-pound tax on former indentured workers and a court ruling that did not recognise Indian marriages; miners struck and Gandhi led a march across the Transvaal border. The settlement with General Smuts produced the Indians Relief Act of 1914, which removed the tax and recognised the marriages. Gandhi left for India in July 1914.

याच लढ्यातून सत्याग्रहाची कल्पना जन्मली — शब्दशः ‘सत्याला घट्ट धरून राहणे’. ‘पॅसिव्ह रेझिस्टन्स’ हा इंग्रजी शब्द दुर्बलाचे शस्त्र, बळापुढे झुकणारे असे सुचवत असल्याने गांधींनी हा नवा शब्द घडवला. सत्याग्रहीने सक्रिय, निर्भय आणि अहिंसक असावे: अन्याय्य कायदा पाळण्यास नकार द्यावा, द्वेषाशिवाय शिक्षा स्वीकारावी, विरोधकाला हरवण्याऐवजी त्याचे हृदय बदलण्याचा प्रयत्न करावा. स्वेच्छेने सोसलेले दुःख हाच एक दबाव. शिस्तही हवी — सत्यनिष्ठ राहावे, लढा हिंसक झाला तर तो थांबवण्याची तयारी ठेवावी. घरात आई रुसून उपाशी राहिली की सगळ्यांचे मन पाघळते, तसे. 1909 मध्ये गुजरातीत लिहिलेल्या ‘हिंद स्वराज’मध्ये त्यांनी आधुनिक औद्योगिक संस्कृतीवर टीका केली आणि स्वातंत्र्याची सुरुवात स्वतःवरील स्वराज्याने व्हावी असे मांडले. (→ English: satyagraha · हिन्दी: सत्याग्रह)

In exam EnglishOut of this struggle came the idea of satyagraha, literally ‘holding firmly to truth’. Gandhi coined the word because the English phrase ‘passive resistance’ suggested a weapon of the weak that might give way to force. Satyagraha asked the resister to be active, fearless and non-violent: to refuse to obey an unjust law, to accept punishment without hatred, and to try to change the opponent's heart rather than defeat him. Suffering willingly was itself a form of pressure. The method also needed discipline: a satyagrahi had to be truthful and ready to call off a struggle that turned violent. In 1909 Gandhi set out his wider views in Hind Swaraj, written in Gujarati, which criticised modern industrial civilisation and argued that India's freedom must begin with self-rule over oneself.

गांधी 9 जानेवारी 1915 रोजी मुंबईत उतरले; परदेशस्थ भारतीयांच्या सन्मानार्थ हा दिवस आता प्रवासी भारतीय दिवस म्हणून पाळला जातो. दक्षिण आफ्रिकेतील कार्यामुळे ते आधीच प्रसिद्ध होते. ज्यांना ते राजकीय गुरू मानत त्या गो. कृ. गोखले यांच्या सल्ल्याने पहिले वर्ष त्यांनी देशभर — बहुधा तिसऱ्या वर्गाच्या डब्यांतून — प्रवास केला आणि सार्वजनिक वादांपासून दूर राहिले. 1915 मध्ये अहमदाबादजवळ कोचरब येथे आश्रम उभारला आणि 1917 मध्ये तो साबरमतीच्या काठी नेला. टिळक आणि ॲनी बेझंट यांच्या होमरूल चळवळीत सुरुवातीला ते फारसे सहभागी झाले नाहीत. नव्या गावात आलेला वैद्य आधी गावभर फिरून आजार समजून घेतो, तसे — एखाद्या ठोस स्थानिक तक्रारीची ते वाट पाहत होते. (→ English: Pravasi Bharatiya Divas · हिन्दी: प्रवासी भारतीय दिवस)

In exam EnglishGandhi landed at Bombay on 9 January 1915; the date is now marked as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, honouring Indians abroad. He was already known for his South African work. On the advice of G. K. Gokhale, whom he called his political guru, he spent his first year travelling across India, mostly in third-class railway carriages, and kept away from public controversy. He set up an ashram at Kochrab near Ahmedabad in 1915 and moved it to the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917. At first he took little part in the Home Rule agitation of Tilak and Annie Besant. He preferred to wait for a concrete local grievance on which his method could be tested.

पहिली कसोटी 1917 मध्ये उत्तर बिहारच्या चंपारण्यात. तिथले युरोपीय मळेवाले कुळांना त्यांच्या जमिनीच्या वीसपैकी तीन भागावर नीळ पिकवायला भाग पाडत — याला तिनकठिया पद्धत म्हणत — आणि ती मळेवाल्यांनी ठरवलेल्या भावालाच विकावी लागे. स्वस्त जर्मन रंगांमुळे निळीची मागणी घटल्यावर अनेक मळेवाल्यांनी या बंधनातून सुटण्यासाठी जास्त खंड किंवा एकरकमी पैसे मागितले. स्थानिक शेतकरी राजकुमार शुक्ल यांनी गांधींना आणले. जिल्हा अधिकाऱ्यांनी निघून जाण्याचा आदेश दिल्यावर गांधींनी नकार देऊन शिक्षा स्वीकारण्याची तयारी दाखवली; आदेश मागे घेतला गेला. राजेंद्र प्रसाद, ब्रजकिशोर प्रसाद, मजहरुल हक, जे. बी. कृपलानी आणि महादेव देसाई यांच्यासह त्यांनी हजारो कुळांच्या जबान्या नोंदवल्या. गांधी सदस्य असलेली चौकशी समिती नेमली गेली; 1918 च्या चंपारण कृषी कायद्याने तिनकठिया रद्द केली. जमीन आपली, पीक मात्र मालक सांगेल ते — हाच अन्याय. (→ English: satyagraha · tinkathia · हिन्दी: सत्याग्रह · तिनकठिया)

In exam EnglishThe first test came in Champaran in north Bihar in 1917. European planters there forced tenants to grow indigo on three-twentieths of their land, a practice called tinkathia, and to sell it at prices the planters fixed. When cheaper German dyes cut the demand for indigo, many planters demanded higher rents or lump sums to release tenants from the obligation. Rajkumar Shukla, a local cultivator, persuaded Gandhi to come. When the district authorities ordered him to leave, Gandhi refused and said he would accept the punishment, and the order was withdrawn. With Rajendra Prasad, Brajkishore Prasad, Mazharul Haq, J. B. Kripalani and Mahadev Desai he recorded thousands of tenants' statements. The government set up an inquiry committee with Gandhi as a member, and the Champaran Agrarian Act of 1918 abolished tinkathia.

1918 च्या सुरुवातीला गांधी अहमदाबादच्या कापड गिरण्यांतील वादाकडे वळले. प्लेगच्या साथीत कामगार शहर सोडून जाऊ नयेत म्हणून मालकांनी ‘प्लेग बोनस’ दिला होता; तो बंद करायचे ठरले तेव्हा युद्धकाळातील महागाईमुळे कामगारांनी पगारवाढ मागितली. गांधींनी आकडेवारी अभ्यासून संप करून 35 टक्के वाढ मागण्याचा सल्ला दिला. अनसूया साराभाई यांनी मदत केली; त्यांचे भाऊ अंबालाल साराभाई गिरणीमालकांचे नेते होते — एकाच घरातले बहीण-भाऊ दोन बाजूंना. संपकरी डगमगू लागल्यावर गांधींनी उपोषण केले — भारतातील त्यांचे पहिले उपोषण. मालक लवादाकडे वाद सोपवायला तयार झाले; लवादाने 35 टक्के वाढ दिली. (→ English: hunger strike · हिन्दी: भूख हड़ताल)

In exam EnglishEarly in 1918 Gandhi turned to a dispute in Ahmedabad's cotton mills. During a plague epidemic the owners had paid workers a ‘plague bonus’ to keep them in the city; when they decided to withdraw it, the workers asked for a wage rise to meet war-time prices. Gandhi studied the figures and advised the workers to strike and demand a 35 per cent increase. He was helped by Anasuya Sarabhai, while her brother Ambalal Sarabhai led the mill owners. When the strikers began to waver, Gandhi went on a fast, his first hunger strike in India. The owners agreed to refer the dispute to a tribunal, which awarded the 35 per cent.

जवळपास त्याच वेळी गुजरातच्या खेडा जिल्ह्यातील शेतकऱ्यांचे पीक बुडाले. महसूल नियमांनुसार उत्पन्न सामान्याच्या चतुर्थांशापेक्षा कमी झाले तर शेतसारा माफ होण्याचा हक्क होता; पण नुकसान कमी आहे असे सांगून सरकारने पूर्ण वसुलीसाठी दबाव आणला. सारा भरू नका, सामान जप्त झाले तरी सोसा — असा गांधींचा सल्ला. त्या वेळी अहमदाबादचे वकील वल्लभभाई पटेल वकिली सोडून इंदुलाल याज्ञिक व इतरांसह सामील झाले. काही महिन्यांनी ज्यांना शक्य आहे त्यांच्याकडूनच वसुली करावी असे सरकारने गुपचूप अधिकाऱ्यांना सांगितले; गांधींनी लढा संपवला. पाऊस न पडता पीक करपले तरी पूर्ण खंड मागणाऱ्या मालकाला अख्खे गाव एक होऊन ‘देणार नाही’ म्हणाले, तसे. खेड्याने पटेलांना राष्ट्रीय जीवनात आणले. (→ English: Kheda Satyagraha · हिन्दी: खेड़ा सत्याग्रह)

In exam EnglishAt almost the same time, peasants in Kheda district of Gujarat faced a failed harvest. Under the revenue rules, if the crop fell below a quarter of the normal yield, cultivators were entitled to have the land revenue remitted, but the government insisted that the loss was smaller and pressed for full payment. Gandhi advised the peasants to withhold the revenue and to accept the seizure of their goods rather than pay. Vallabhbhai Patel, then a lawyer in Ahmedabad, gave up his practice to join the campaign, along with Indulal Yagnik and others. After some months the government quietly instructed officials to recover revenue only from those who could afford it, and Gandhi ended the struggle. Kheda brought Patel into national life and showed that peasants could be organised without violence.
Gandhi's three early struggles in India compared
StruggleYearIssueAssociatesOutcome
Champaran (Bihar)1917Forced indigo cultivation (tinkathia) by European plantersRajkumar Shukla, Rajendra Prasad, Brajkishore Prasad, Mazharul Haq, J. B. Kripalani, Mahadev DesaiInquiry committee; Champaran Agrarian Act 1918 ended tinkathia
Ahmedabad (Gujarat)1918Mill workers' wages after the plague bonus was withdrawnAnasuya Sarabhai (owners led by Ambalal Sarabhai)Gandhi's first hunger strike in India; tribunal awarded 35 per cent
Kheda (Gujarat)1918Land revenue demanded despite crop failureVallabhbhai Patel, Indulal YagnikRevenue recovered only from those able to pay

वळणबिंदू 1919 मध्ये आला. 1918 च्या रौलट समितीच्या अहवालावरून सरकारने मार्च 1919 मध्ये अराजक व क्रांतिकारी गुन्हे कायदा — सर्वांना माहीत असलेले नाव रौलट कायदा — संमत केला; इंपीरियल लेजिस्लेटिव्ह कौन्सिलमधील सर्व निर्वाचित भारतीय सदस्यांनी विरोध करूनही. जिना, मदनमोहन मालवीय आणि मजहरुल हक यांनी निषेधार्थ राजीनामे दिले. खटल्याशिवाय स्थानबद्ध करता येई, राजकीय खटले नेहमीच्या अपिलाच्या हक्काशिवाय विशेष न्यायालयांत चालवता येत. युद्धात भारतीयांनी मदत केल्यानंतर लगेच हे आल्याने विश्वासघात वाटला — लग्नात राबलेल्या नातलगाला दुसऱ्याच दिवशी घराबाहेर काढावे, तसे. गांधींनी फेब्रुवारी 1919 मध्ये सत्याग्रह सभा स्थापून 6 एप्रिलला देशव्यापी हरताळाची हाक दिली. प्रचंड प्रतिसाद मिळाला, पण काही शहरांत हिंसा भडकली; ‘हिमालयाएवढी चूक’ कबूल करून गांधींनी सत्याग्रह स्थगित केला. (→ English: Rowlatt Act · हिन्दी: रौलट एक्ट)

In exam EnglishThe turning point came in 1919. Acting on the Rowlatt Committee's report of 1918, the government passed the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, better known as the Rowlatt Act, in March 1919, even though every elected Indian member of the Imperial Legislative Council opposed it; Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Mazharul Haq resigned in protest. The Act let the government detain suspects without trial and have political cases tried by special courts without the usual right of appeal. Coming just after Indians had supported the war effort, it felt like a betrayal. Gandhi formed a Satyagraha Sabha in February 1919 and called for a nationwide hartal on 6 April. The response was huge, but violence broke out in several cities, and Gandhi, admitting a ‘Himalayan miscalculation’, suspended the satyagraha.

सर्वांत भीषण हिंसा पंजाबात — तेथे लेफ्टनंट गव्हर्नर मायकेल ओ'डायर कठोरपणे राज्य करत. 10 एप्रिल 1919 रोजी अमृतसरचे दोन लोकप्रिय नेते डॉ. सैफुद्दीन किचलू आणि डॉ. सत्यपाल यांना अटक करून बाहेर पाठवले; जमावाने निषेध केला, काहींवर गोळीबार झाला, प्रत्युत्तरात काही युरोपीय मारले गेले, इमारती जळल्या. 13 एप्रिल बैसाखीच्या सणाला हजारो लोक जालियनवाला बागेत — अरुंद वाटा असलेल्या, भिंतींनी वेढलेल्या मैदानात — जमले; अनेक जण जत्रेसाठी आलेले गावकरी, सभाबंदीची कल्पना नसलेले. ब्रिगेडियर-जनरल रेजिनाल्ड डायर सैन्य घेऊन आत आले आणि इशारा न देता गोळ्या संपत येईपर्यंत गोळीबाराचा आदेश दिला. सरकारी आकडा 379 मृत; भारतीय अंदाज कितीतरी जास्त. मग लष्करी कायदा — सार्वजनिक फटके, एका गल्लीत भारतीयांनी सरपटत जावे असा हुकूम. सणाच्या दिवशीच अख्खे गाव शोकात बुडावे, तसे. (→ English: Jallianwala Bagh massacre · हिन्दी: जलियाँवाला बाग़ हत्याकांड)

In exam EnglishThe worst violence came in Punjab, where Lieutenant-Governor Michael O'Dwyer ruled with a heavy hand. On 10 April 1919 two popular leaders of Amritsar, Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal, were arrested and sent away; crowds protested, some were shot, and in return several Europeans were killed and buildings burned. On 13 April, the Baisakhi festival, thousands gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed ground with narrow exits; many were villagers who had come for the fair and did not know of the ban on meetings. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer marched in troops and, without warning, ordered them to fire until their ammunition ran low. The official figure was 379 dead; Indian estimates were far higher. Martial law followed, with public floggings and the order that Indians crawl along one street.

सेन्सॉरशिपमुळे हत्याकांडाची बातमी हळूहळू पसरली, पण परिणाम कायमचा झाला. रवींद्रनाथ टागोर यांनी मे 1919 मध्ये ‘सर’ (नाइटहुड) किताब परत केला; सी. शंकरन नायर यांनी व्हाइसरॉयच्या कार्यकारी मंडळाचा राजीनामा दिला. ऑक्टोबर 1919 मध्ये सरकारने लॉर्ड हंटर यांच्या अध्यक्षतेखाली तीन भारतीय सदस्यांसह दंगल चौकशी समिती नेमली. 1920 च्या अहवालाने डायरवर टीका केली, त्यांना पदावरून हटवून निवृत्त केले; पण भारतीय सदस्यांनी वेगळा, अधिक कडक अल्पमत अहवाल लिहिला, आणि ब्रिटनमध्ये हाउस ऑफ लॉर्ड्ससह अनेकांनी डायरची प्रशंसा केली. काँग्रेसने मोतीलाल नेहरू, चि. रं. दास, अब्बास तय्यबजी, मु. रा. जयकर आणि गांधी यांची स्वतंत्र चौकशी नेमली. या सौम्य प्रतिसादाने ब्रिटिश राजवटीवर विश्वास ठेवता येणार नाही, याची गांधींना खात्री पटली; 1920 मध्ये त्यांनी कैसर-ए-हिंद पदक परत केले. मारणाऱ्याला फक्त हलकी समज दिली तर मार खाणाऱ्याचा न्यायावरचा विश्वास उडतो, तसे. (→ English: Hunter Committee · हिन्दी: हंटर समिति)

In exam EnglishNews of the massacre spread slowly because of censorship, but its effect was lasting. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in May 1919, and C. Sankaran Nair resigned from the Viceroy's Executive Council. In October 1919 the government appointed the Disorders Inquiry Committee under Lord Hunter, with three Indian members. Its report of 1920 criticised Dyer, who was removed from his command and retired, but the Indian members wrote a separate, sharper minority report, and many in Britain, including the House of Lords, praised Dyer. The Congress set up its own inquiry, with Motilal Nehru, C. R. Das, Abbas Tyabji, M. R. Jayakar and Gandhi, which gave a far graver account. The mild official response convinced Gandhi that British rule could not be trusted, and in 1920 he returned the Kaiser-i-Hind medal.

1915–1919 च्या घटना एकत्र पाहिल्या तर गांधी जनआंदोलनाचे नेते का झाले हे समजते. दक्षिण आफ्रिकेत त्यांनी एक पद्धत घडवली; चंपारण, अहमदाबाद आणि खेडा येथे ती शेतकरी-कामगारांना ठोस लाभ मिळवून देऊ शकते आणि राजेंद्र प्रसाद, वल्लभभाई पटेल यांसारख्या स्थानिक नेत्यांना जोडू शकते, हे दाखवले. रौलट कायद्याविरुद्धच्या मोहिमेने पहिल्यांदाच सत्याग्रह संपूर्ण देशात नेला; जालियनवाला बाग आणि सरकारच्या दुबळ्या प्रतिसादाने ब्रिटिश न्यायबुद्धीवरचा त्यांचा विश्वास नष्ट केला. 1920 पर्यंत युद्धासाठी सैनिकभरती करणारे तेच गांधी भारतीय राष्ट्रीय काँग्रेसला सरकारशी सर्व प्रकारचे सहकार्य नाकारण्याच्या मार्गावर नेण्यास तयार झाले. लहान वाफ्यांतले प्रयोग मोठ्या पिकासाठी तयार व्हावेत, तसे. खिलाफतशी याची सांगड कशी घातली ते भाग 2 मध्ये. (→ English: Rowlatt Act · Indian National Congress · हिन्दी: रौलट एक्ट · भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस)

In exam EnglishSeen together, the events of 1915–1919 explain why Gandhi became the leader of a mass movement. In South Africa he had built a method; in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda he showed that it could win concrete gains for peasants and workers and draw in local leaders such as Rajendra Prasad and Vallabhbhai Patel. The Rowlatt Act campaign carried satyagraha to the whole country for the first time, while Jallianwala Bagh and the weak official response destroyed his faith in British fairness. By 1920 the man who had recruited soldiers for the war was ready to lead the Indian National Congress in refusing all cooperation with the government. How he joined this to the Khilafat cause, and what followed, is the subject of Part 2.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Gandhi's first satyagraha in India, in 1917, was concerned with:

  1. the wages of cotton mill workers in Ahmedabad
  2. forced indigo cultivation in Champaran
  3. land revenue after crop failure in Kheda
  4. the Rowlatt Act
Show answer

Answer: B. forced indigo cultivation in Champaran

(b) is correct: Champaran (1917) against the tinkathia system was the first. (a) is wrong: the Ahmedabad mill strike came in 1918. (c) is wrong: Kheda also came in 1918. (d) is wrong: the Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919, and the satyagraha against it was the first all-India campaign, not the first in India.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. During the Ahmedabad mill strike of 1918, Gandhi undertook his first hunger strike in India.
2. The Kheda satyagraha of 1918 was directed against European indigo planters.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct: statement 1 is right; statement 2 is wrong because Kheda was about land revenue after crop failure, while the struggle against indigo planters was at Champaran. (b) is wrong because statement 2 is false. (c) is wrong because only statement 1 is true. (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q3. Match List I (struggle) with List II (person closely associated with it):
List I
A. Champaran
B. Ahmedabad mill strike
C. Kheda
List II
1. Anasuya Sarabhai
2. Rajkumar Shukla
3. Indulal Yagnik
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-2, B-1, C-3
  2. A-1, B-2, C-3
  3. A-2, B-3, C-1
  4. A-3, B-1, C-2
Show answer

Answer: A. A-2, B-1, C-3

(a) is correct: Rajkumar Shukla brought Gandhi to Champaran, Anasuya Sarabhai helped the Ahmedabad workers, and Indulal Yagnik worked in the Kheda campaign. (b) is wrong because it swaps Champaran and Ahmedabad. (c) is wrong because it swaps Ahmedabad and Kheda. (d) is wrong because Yagnik was not the Champaran organiser and Shukla had no part at Kheda.

Q4. With reference to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, consider the following statements:
1. It took place on 13 April 1919, the day of the Baisakhi festival.
2. Michael O'Dwyer, the Viceroy of India, personally ordered the troops to fire.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct: statement 1 is right; statement 2 is wrong because O'Dwyer was the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, not the Viceroy, and it was Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer who ordered the firing. (b) is wrong because statement 2 is false. (c) is wrong because only statement 1 is true. (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q5. The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was opposed by Indians mainly because it:

  1. introduced separate electorates for Muslims
  2. allowed the government to detain suspects without trial
  3. raised the land revenue in Gujarat
  4. partitioned the province of Punjab
Show answer

Answer: B. allowed the government to detain suspects without trial

(b) is correct: the Act allowed detention without trial and trials by special courts. (a) is wrong: separate electorates came with the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909. (c) is wrong: the Rowlatt Act was a security law with no connection to revenue. (d) is wrong: no such partition was made by the Act.

Q6. Arrange the following in chronological order:
1. Founding of the Natal Indian Congress
2. Setting up of Tolstoy Farm
3. The Champaran satyagraha
4. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1-2-3-4
  2. 2-1-3-4
  3. 1-3-2-4
  4. 1-2-4-3
Show answer

Answer: A. 1-2-3-4

(a) is correct: Natal Indian Congress (1894), Tolstoy Farm (1910), Champaran (1917), Jallianwala Bagh (1919). (b) is wrong because the Natal Indian Congress came before Tolstoy Farm. (c) is wrong because Tolstoy Farm in South Africa came before Champaran. (d) is wrong because Champaran came before Jallianwala Bagh.

Q7. The Disorders Inquiry Committee appointed by the Government of India in October 1919 was headed by:

  1. Sidney Rowlatt
  2. Motilal Nehru
  3. Lord Hunter
  4. Edwin Montagu
Show answer

Answer: C. Lord Hunter

(c) is correct: the government's inquiry into the Punjab disturbances was headed by Lord Hunter. (a) is wrong: Rowlatt headed the Sedition Committee of 1918. (b) is wrong: Motilal Nehru was a member of the Congress's own inquiry, not the government's. (d) is wrong: Montagu was the Secretary of State for India.

Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. Hind Swaraj was written by Gandhi in Gujarati in 1909.
2. Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on 9 January 1915.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

(c) is correct: Hind Swaraj was written in Gujarati in 1909, and Gandhi landed at Bombay on 9 January 1915; both statements are right. (a) is wrong because statement 2 is also true. (b) is wrong because statement 1 is also true. (d) is wrong because both statements are true.

All partsNext: Part 2 →

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