Indian National Movement: From 1857 to Independence

the Year 1857 holds a significant place in Indian history it witnessed the first revolt against the mighty British Empire in India what started as the Sepoy mutiny soon spread out like wildfire mainly across northern and central India however this parodic revolt failed due to the lack of coordination and planning of the revolutionaries nevertheless technically revolt of 1857 remains the first ward of Indian independence this realization of national identity was a lengthy process also informed common people and revolutionaries to bring about change let's study are the consciousness of one nation emerged in India in India the rise of nationalism was intricately linked with the opposition of colonialism similar to the way it happened in Vietnam people realized that they were experiencing a common suffering under the oppressive British colonial rule this understanding brought the different groups together in the anti-colonial struggle however each group developed its own method of struggle against the British rule the event which proved instrumental in the history of the Indian freedom struggle was the first world war India had been forced to take part in the first world war in which Britain at fought against Germany to continue the war the British had to increase their defense expenditure and so Levite new taxes on Indians to amass money they introduced income tax and increase the custom duties the rise in taxes had an adverse effect on the common people who were forced to live a life of extreme hardship another factor which infuriated common people was the forced recruitment of rural people into the army to fight in the First World War that situation worsened during 1918 when India was hit by crop failure and shortage of food grains to make matters worse the crop failure was further followed by famines and outbreak of influenza this harsh social and political situation set the stage for the beginning of the nationalist struggle in India the Indian freedom movement gained momentum with the coming of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi later known as Mahatma Gandhi you merged on the national scene in January 1915 he had successfully tested novel ideas of non-violence and anti-colonial struggle in South Africa hotma Gandhi brought the directionless revolutionaries of India on a common platform social groups to rise above petty differences of caste creed religion region and work single-mindedly towards the common goal of freedom Albert Einstein won and about Mahatma Gandhi that generations to come it maybe will scarce believe that such one is this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth it has indeed unique in history how Gandhian tools such as satyagraha and non-violence shattered the confidence of the mighty British Empire after coming back from South Africa in January 1915 mahatma gandhi infused a new life into the indian freedom movement he had successfully used satyagraha and non-violence for mass agitation to combat racism in South Africa what exactly does the word satyagraha mean it is made up of two Hindi words Satya on truth and agraja meaning appeal so satyagraha literally means an appeal for truth satyagraha is passive resistance used powerfully to appeal to the conscience of the oppressor interestingly [Music] Angra ha lies in the song force or moral paw and not in the application of brute force Mahatma Gandhi had rightly stated it is certain that India cannot rival Britain or Europe in force of arms the British worship the war God and think can all of them become as they're becoming bearers of arms hundreds of millions in India can never carry arms they have made the religion of non-violence their own Mahatma Gandhi successfully organized satyagraha movements in different parts of India 19:16 he visited the poor peasants of Champaran district in Bihar the British used to force the peasants of Champaran cultivate a cash crop called indigo which was a popular dye used by textile industries the sale of indigo earned the British huge profits in the international market not from the oppression meted out to them and mingle wages peasants could not use the land used for indigo cultivation for any other food crop this led to a shortage of food grains in 1917 Mahatma Gandhi visited the Kedar district in Gujarat these villagers were also stricken with poverty and social evils had seen a terrible famine and people were demanding waving of taxes the British government however made matters worse by increasing the taxes Mahatma Gandhi along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel garnered mass support and organized a satyagraha against the tax burden another satyagraha movement was organized by Mahatma Gandhi in a mother bod in 1918 to support the demands of the cotton mill workers the dispute had developed after the mill owners withdrew the special allowance given to the workers for working during the plague epidemic supported by Mahatma Gandhi the workers demanded a 35% increase in salary - its refused by the mill owners Mahatma Gandhi then organized satyagraha protests and strikes with the laborers after days of protests mill owners relented and granted a 20% increase in salaries along with other medical and educational benefits successful implementation of satyagraha motivated the Indians and also paved the way for the other nationalist movements in future the success of satyagraha movements in Champaran kada and Emma the bond gave a boost to the morale of the oppressed Indians threatened by the growth of satyagraha the British decided to exert more control over public activities as a result they proposed the Rowlett act in 1919 named after its chairman Sir Sidney Rowlett the Rowlett act was aimed to curb the political activities in the country it equipped the courts with the power to detain political prisoners without trial for two years Mahatma Gandhi opposed the Rowlett Act by starting a peaceful satyagraha he suggested a civil disobedience beginning with the heart doll on 16 floor 1919 it was followed by rallies strikes by railway workers and closing down of shops sum it up the day-to-day work across the country was brought to a grinding halt the British were threatened that this mass movement could break all lines of communications in the country and so they decided to suppress the Nationalists a result several local leaders were arrested and Mahatma Gandhi was prohibited from entering Delhi in Amritsar police opened fire on a peaceful procession angered by this brutal action people attacked bangs offices and railway stations consequently martial law was imposed in Amritsar under the command of general Dyer the event that took place on 13th April 1919 is always remembered for the most heinous aggression of the British unaware of the martial law several villagers had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to attend a cattle fair on the occasion of Pi sake to crush the multitudes of people and create terror dier came to the ground with 50 armed soldiers he blocked all the entry points to the ground and without any prior warning opened fire on the hapless crowd the firing stopped only when the ammunition ended leaving hundreds of people including women and children dead and wounded the jellien one about massacre triggered many protests strikes clashes with policemen and attacks on government buildings across North India the British government dealt with these protests with an iron hand they humiliated the Satyagraha s-- by ordering them to rub their noses on the ground and forcing them to salute the British officials finally bombing of villages late Mahatma Gandhi were drawn to satyagraha against the Rowlett act the satyagraha against the Rowlett act was successful but it did not reach masses in the rural areas Mahatma Gandhi wanted a mass movement that would involve people from all religious communities across the country paved the way for the non-cooperation movement which was conceptualized by Gandhiji to bring all Indians together to work for a single national movement the success of satyagraha movements in Champaran kada and Emma the bond gave a boost to the morale of the oppressed Indians threatened by the growth of satyagraha the British decided to exert more control over public activities as a result they proposed the Rowlett Act in 1919 named after its chairman Sir Sidney Robert the Rowlett act was aimed to curb the political activities in the country it equipped the courts with the power to detain political prisoners without trial for two years Mahatma Gandhi opposed the Rowlett Act by starting a peaceful satyagraha he suggested a civil disobedience beginning with the heart all on 6th in floor 1919 followed by rallies strikes by railway workers and closing down of shops to sum it up the day-to-day work across the country was brought to a grinding halt the British were threatened that this mass movement could break all lines of communications in the country and so they decided to suppress the nationalists a result several local leaders were arrested and Mahatma Gandhi was prohibited from entering Delhi in Amritsar police opened fire on a peaceful procession angered by this brutal action people attacked bangs offices and railway stations sequentially martial law was imposed in Amritsar under the command of general Dyer the event that took place on 13th April 1919 is always remembered for the most any aggression of the British unaware of the martial law several villagers had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to attend a cattle fair on the occasion of Pi sake to crush the multitudes of people and create terror dier came to the ground with 50 armed soldiers he blocked all the entry points to the ground and without any prior warning and fire on the hapless crowd the firing stopped only when the ammunition ended leaving hundreds of people including women and children dead and wounded the jellien wanna bark massacre triggered many protests strikes clashes with policemen and attacks on government buildings across North India the British government dealt with these protests with an iron hand they humiliated the Satyagraha s-- by ordering them to rub their noses on the ground and forcing them to salute the British officials finally bombing of villages made Mahatma Gandhi were drawn to satyagraha against the Rowlett act the satyagraha against the wrong lat act was successful but it did not reach masses in the rural areas Mahatma Gandhi wanted a mass movement that would involve people from all religious communities across the country paved the way for the non-cooperation movement which was conceptualized by Gandhiji to bring all Indians together to work for a single national movement the non-cooperation khalifa --the movement began in full swing in 1921 amidst a lot of action and to mart many diverse regional groups joined this movement to meet their specific objectives in the towns people responded all heartedly to the call of Swaraj the movement witnessed active participation by people from all sections of society many students teachers and headmasters of government-controlled colleges joined the movement lawyers also give up their legal practice boycotted courts and joined in during this time most of the Indian provinces boycotted the council elections except Madras meanwhile people picketed the liquor shops and boycotted foreign goods and cloth at many places foreign clothes were burnt in huge bonfires foreign cloth import haft between 1921 and 1922 and dropped from 102 crore rupees to 57 crore rupees the use of domestic goods aswath a she was encouraged by Mahatma Gandhi some Indian traders also rejected foreign goods and foreign trade gradually the demand for Indian plot increased and the vanishing textile industry of India got a new lease of life although the non-cooperation movement had begun with an active response from the people it slowed down after a while let's understand why the replacement for foreign plot Viscardi which was quite expensive and beyond the reach of the common masses owing to the lack of alternative began to buy the milk plot again similarly no Indian alternatives for the British institutions had been set up so far there for the students and teachers came back to their respective schools and colleges and the lawyers rejoined the courts the non-cooperation movement also spread to the rural areas and coincided with the protests of peasants and tribals in a word Baba Rajendra an aesthetic and a former indentured Libra in Fiji led the peasant movement this movement was against Talib gars and landlords whom had pressed peasants by demanding high rents and several taxes they forced the peasants to do a guard or labour without any payment the peasant movement demanded revenue reduction abolition of Baker and social boycott of oppressive landlords some village panchayats started naidu be buns and stopped basic services of the washer men and barbers to the landlords in October 1920 Kisan Sabha was set up handed by Jawaharlal Nehru Baba Chandra to address the grievances of the peasants for a bigger impact the Congress decided to integrate the peasant movement of our word with the non-cooperation movement however the peasant movement did not grow as expected developed a violent streak as the peasants attacked houses of the landlords and looted markets some of them misused Mahatma Gandhi's name and claimed that he had asked to not pay taxes and divided the land amongst the poor similarly boom hills of Andhra Pradesh tribal peasants misinterpreted the meaning of Swaraj the tribals had suffered a lot of oppression at the hands of the British as a result they staged a rebellion under the leadership of a man called a Lodi Sitaram Raju he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and a non-cooperation movement however some of his thoughts were vastly different from the Gandhian ideals of non-violence he believed that freedom could be acquired by force and not through long violence to achieve Swaraj the rebels of good them hills attacked British officials and carried on guerrilla warfare in 1924 larger was executed by the British acquired the position of a hero in the tribal folk law undoubtedly raishin movement was unique as two groups ascribed their own meaning to the movement and Swaraj the non-cooperation movement was conceptualized as a nonviolent resistance of the British rule however as the movement spread across the country developed a violent streak the peasants in Ovid and the tribals in Andhra Pradesh had interpreted the concept of Swaraj in their own way let's now find out how the plantation workers in Assam understood the meaning of Swaraj these workers work under very strict rules and regulations inland immigration act of 1859 forbade the plantation workers to leave the tea gardens without permission in fact they were seldom allowed to go back to their homes naturally for the homesick workers the non-cooperation movement implied the time to break the rigid confinement of the plantations inspired by the non-cooperation movement thousands of workers disobeyed the British authorities and left the plantations to go back to their homes they were also under the impression that in Gandhi Raj all of them would be granted land in their respective villages however the journey of the workers was disrupted due to railway and streamer strikes eventually the police got them and beat them mercilessly the Congress had never expected the non-cooperation movement to develop in this violent manner the plantation workers had ascribed their own meaning to Swaraj different from that of the Congress they felt that Swaraj marked an era where their sufferings would end interestingly while supporting the non-cooperation movement and invoking the ideas of Gandhiji the plantation workers unknowingly became a part of the larger freedom struggle you're looking at guru-murthy or eleven statues magnificent sculptures situated in Delhi that commemorate the famous Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi let's learn about the events that happened before the March in 1922 an act of violence that completely shocked Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders was the chowder chowder incident in charge ara a penis demonstration to pick it a liquor shop turned violent the crowd policeman opened fire in this fighting a few satyagraha z' got killed while some of them got injured the agitated crowd set the police station on fire where the policeman had locked themselves incident several policemen were burnt alive shocked by such widespread violence in February 1922 Mahatma Gandhi decided to take back the non-cooperation movement at this time a lot was going on within the Congress as well tired of math struggle some congress leaders wanted to participate in the election to the provincial councils by joining these councils Congress leaders hope to have deci in the British policies opposed the wrong policies and suggests reforms to argue for Indian representation in the council's moti Lal Nehru and Chittaranjan das formed the Swaraj party within the Congress in 1922 however young leaders such as Java Harlan aru and Subash Chandra Bose opposed the formation of this party and stressed on full independence based on socialist ideas they demanded a radical mass movement in the 1920s two factors influenced the growth of the national movement the worldwide economic depression and the formation of the Simon Commission under Sir John Simon with the economic depression by 1930 the prices had hit an all-time low this impacted the exports of agricultural Goods and peasants found it difficult to sell their produce and gather money for revenue the Simon Commission was a statutory Commission which aimed at looking into the constitutional system of India and suggests changes it was an all-white Commission without any Indian representation in 1928 when Simon Commission came to India all parties such as the Congress and the Muslim leagues protested against it to pacify the leaders Lord Irwin the Viceroy gave a vague offer of Dominion status to India and also proposed a roundtable conference the Congress leaders were not happy with these proposals in the Lajo session of the Congress in 1929 jawaharlal nehru declared the demand for Patna Suraj a full independence the call of Purna Swaraj did not create much enthusiasm among people therefore Mahatma Gandhi felt the need to express the idea of freedom using issues from everyday life Mahatma Gandhi discovered that salt was the common unifying factor it was a common ingredient in the food of both the rich and the poor Mahatma Gandhi viewed the tax on salt and the monopoly of the government on its production as a downright oppressive Salt Satyagraha in a way became the symbol of national unity on 31st of January 1930 he sent a letter to Lord Irvin stating eleven wide-ranging demands of various classes of India he also stated the launch of civil disobedience in case the demands of people were not met by the 11th of March when Irvin refused to negotiate Mahatma Gandhi launched assault march from Sabarmati ashram to the coastal town of dandy in Gujarat Dandi March served as a good communication platform as Mahatma Gandhi stopped at villages and told people about his vision of Swaraj he encouraged people to fight for Swaraj and opposed the British in a non-violent manner Mahatma Gandhi and volunteers marched for around 24 days and reached Dundee on 6th of April Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law and Indians manufactured salt by boiling seawater this marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement we can see a lot of differences between non-cooperation and civil disobedience movement the non-cooperation movement aimed at bringing the British government to a standstill by refusing to cooperate with them the civil disobedience movement was more assertive and aimed at non cooperation with the British as well as an open violation of oppressive British laws under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi the civil disobedience movement spread across the country like wildfire he encouraged people to fight for Swaraj and opposed to British rule in a non-violent manner got worried by the growing popularity of the movement and so they began arresting all prominent Congress leaders 1930 Abdul Ghaffar Khan a political and spiritual leader and follower of Gandhiji was arrested angry people took out demonstrations and protests to oppose cover cons arrests the Asian the police opened fire in which many people got killed at some places soldiers had also staged resistance against the British regime for example in 1930 the soldiers of the girl world rifles had refused to open fire at an unarmed crowd of peaceful satyagraha 'he's in Peshawar in May 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi got arrested several industrial workers in Shona poor attacked the government buildings and offices frightened and shaken the British government responded with the policy of brutal repression and arrested thousands of satyagraha and even attacked children and women on seeing the widespread violence Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the civil disobedience movement in 1931 this decision disheartened the people who were taking part in the movement with a lot of zest on the 5th of March 1931 Mahatma Gandhi entered into a pact with Lord Irvin the Viceroy of India this fact is known as the Gandhi Irvan pact as per the pact he agreed to participate in the roundtable conference to be held in London on the other hand the British government agreed to free the prisoners 31 Mahatma Gandhi visited London but he came back disheartened as the negotiations did not reach any final decision on his arrival in India he found that the repression of the British government had taken a new turn several Congress leaders such as Joe Hudlin arrow and Abdul Ghaffar Khan had been arrested over the British had declared the Congress an illegal party and clamped down on all protests public meetings and demonstrations this made Mahatma Gandhi relaunch the civil disobedience movement time though not many people participated in it consequently movement completely lost its momentum by 1934 several people from different sections of society had participated in the civil disobedience movement to meet their specific objectives each group interpreted the meaning of Swaraj in their own way the rich peasant communities of Kudarat and yupi were badly affected by the economic depression and the resultant fall in agricultural prices they demanded the British government to wave off the revenue but the government refused to do so the fight for Swaraj was a fight against revenues they were very enthusiastic about the civil disobedience movement however when the movement was abruptly called off by Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 without any revision of the revenue rates they were very disappointed as a result they did not participate in the civil disobedience movement when it was relaunched in 1932 the perceptions of the poor peasantry about Swaraj were also very different these peasants were generally tenants who had taken land from the landlords on rent they grappled with the problem of paying rent during the time of depression and wanted the Congress to help them in rem eating their unpaid rent the Congress on the other hand was uncertain about supporting them in their no rent campaign as it could spoil their ties with the landlords and rich peasants who were funding the party expenses consequently the poor peasants did not share a strong relationship with the Congress the business class had a different take on the civil disobedience movement and Swaraj they had reaped huge profits during the first world war and now wanted to expand their business but this stringent colonial laws were obstructing their way in an effort to get the business class together Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress was formed in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and industries in 1927 these organizations were headed by prominent business personalities of that time such as pull shoot them thus Tucker Das and GD Birla who attacked the colonial economic policies during the first civil disobedience movement they provided financial assistance to the Congress and refused to buy or sell foreign goods to the business class Swaraj was an ideal situation favorable for the growth of their business however the failure of the second roundtable conference hugely disappointed the business class they were also watered with the growth of the socialist and militant ideas in the young Congress members and feared that such developments were not conducive for their business the young revolutionaries with the radical socialist outlook believed that non-violence was not the way to achieve freedom as a result the Hindustan socialist Republican Army or HS RA was formed in 1928 Bhagat Singh das and a joy Ghosh was some of its prominent leaders the industrial working class had not responded to the civil disobedience in a big way either they adopted a few Gandhian ideas as part of their own movement against low wages and poor working conditions the Congress however [Music] not want to include workers demands in the movement as they thought it would a lien ate the industrialists another main highlight of the civil disobedience movement was the mass participation of women they wholeheartedly supported the protests involved in picketing and boycotts and also helped in manufacturing salt these women came from both urban and rural areas women had begun serving the nation but this had not brought a revolutionary change in their social position on the face of it Congress encouraged women participation but even Mahatma Gandhi gave more importance to the traditional domestic role of women due to this narrow mindset women did not hold any position of authority within the Congress and only acted as mere symbols although the civil disobedience movement witnessed a huge participation it did not hold the people for too long because their problems were not addressed by the movement before independence India had many provinces with the rise of nationalism people started believing in the concept of United India or India as a nation state people felt a collective belonging because they had participated together in freedom struggles such as the revolt of 1857 civil disobedience movement and the non-cooperation movement moreover they had fought against the common aggressor the British besides this history and fiction in folklore song popular pictures and symbols also helped in solidifying unity and the spirit of nationalism have learned that in Europe abstract concept of a nation was personified or given a human form just like Maryann in France and Germania in Germany the Indian nation was conceptualized visually as Bharat Mata in the 20th century the image of Bharat Mata was first created by bankim chandra Chatrapathi i he also wrote our national song vandemataram which was in fact a hymn to the motherland sung widely during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later abandoned Ranaut Tonkov to the famous image of Bharat Mata she was an aesthetic figure wearing Safran colored clothes and carrying a mother or chain of beats in one hand which symbolizes her as divine and spiritual Oh role as a mother figure a nurturer is evident from the cloth leaves and scriptures carried by her the portrayal of Bharat Mata also underwent a lot of changes take a look at another picture of Bharat Mata painted by a benign throne art our God in 1905 doesn't this portrayal remind you of Germania just like Germania bharat mata is holding a flag in her hand while Germania carries a sword bharat mata has a trishal on top of the flag which signifies her readiness to fight for her honor Germania is wearing a breastplate with eagles which is a symbol of the german strand similarly Bharat Mata is standing besides an elephant and lion both are symbols of power and authority another process which contributed to the growth of nationalism was the revival of the Indian folklore in the late 19th century the Nationalists began gathering the folktales sung by bards in different parts of India in Bengal rabindranath tagore led the folk revival movement by collecting folklore and songs and ballads in Bengal while down south the TASIS has three collected folktales and published series of four volumes called the folklore of southern India nationalists wanted people to take pride in Indian culture and understand how it had been destroyed by the British with the growth of nationalism more symbols were developed to capture the spirit of patriotism one such symbol was the Indian flag the tri-colored flag was first designed during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later on in 1921 Mahatma Gandhi redesigned the Indian flag with the spinning wheel or chakra at the center this flag was often used by nationalists during protests and marches the growth of nationalism also happened through the process of reinterpretation of history British considered India as a land of backward people incapable of governance in response to this mindset the Indians began exploring glories from their past and wrote about the ancient times when India was much developed however the glories of the past and the symbols used by the Nationalists such as Bharat Mata were all very Hindu in atria consequently people of other religions and communities felt alienated although Indians got inspired to fight for independence at the same time their religious differences prepared ground for the division of the country before independence India had many provinces with the rise of nationalism people started believing in the concept of united India or India as a nation state people felt a collective belonging because they had participated together in freedom struggles such as the revolt of 1857 civil disobedience movement and the non-cooperation movement moreover they had fought against the common aggressor the British besides this history and fiction folklore song popular pictures and symbols also helped in solidifying unity and the spirit of nationalism you have learned that in Europe abstract concept of a nation was personified or given a human form just like Maryann in France and Germania in Germany the Indian nation was conceptualized visually as Bharat Mata in the 20th century the image of Bharat Mata was first created by bankim chandra Chattopadhyay he also wrote our national song vandemataram which was in fact a hymn to the motherland sun widely during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later Abin enthroned art our God created the famous image of Bharat Mata she was an aesthetic figure wearing Safran colored clothes and carrying a mother or chain of beats in one hand which symbolizes her as divine and spiritual her role as a mother figure a nurturer is evident from the cloth palm leaves and scriptures carried by her the portrayal of Bharat Mata also underwent a lot of changes take a look at another picture of Bharat Mata painted by abandoned renard Tagore in 1905 doesn't this portrayal remind you of Germania just like Germania bharat mata is holding a flag in her hand while Germania carries a sword bharat mata has a trishul on top of the flag which signifies her readiness to fight for her honor Germania is wearing a breastplate with eagles which is a symbol of the german strand similarly Bharat Mata is standing besides an elephant and lion both are symbols of power and authority another process which contribute process which contributed to the growth of nationalism was the revival of the Indian folklore in the late 19th century the Nationalists began gathering the folktales sung by bards in different parts of India in Bengal rabindranath tagore led the folk revival movement by collecting folklore and songs and ballads in Bengal while down south the TASIS has 3 collected folktales and published series of four volumes called the folklore of southern India nationalists wanted people to take pride in Indian culture and understand how it had been destroyed by the British with the growth of nationalism more symbols were developed to capture the spirit of patriotism one such symbol was the Indian flag the tri-colored flag was first designed during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later on in 1921 Mahatma Gandhi redesigned the Indian flag with the spinning wheel or chakra at the center this flag was often used by nationalists during protests and marches lism also happened through the process of reinterpretation of history British considered India as a land of backward people incapable of governance in response to this mindset the Indians began exploring glories from their past and wrote about the ancient times when India was much developed however the glories of the past and the symbols used by the Nationalists such as Bharat Mata were all very Hindu in atria consequently people of other religions and communities felt alienated although Indians got inspired to fight for independence at the same time their religious differences prepared ground for the division of the country [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

the Year 1857 holds a significant place in Indian history it witnessed the first revolt against the mighty British Empire in India what started as the Sepoy mutiny soon spread out like wildfire mainly across northern and central India however this parodic revolt failed due to the lack of coordination and planning of the revolutionaries nevertheless technically revolt of 1857 remains the first ward of Indian independence this realization of national identity was a lengthy process also informed common people and revolutionaries to bring about change let&#39;s study are the consciousness of one nation emerged in India in India the rise of nationalism was intricately linked with the opposition of colonialism similar to the way it happened in Vietnam people realized that they were experiencing a common suffering under the oppressive British colonial rule this understanding brought the different groups together in the anti-colonial struggle however each group developed its own method of struggle against the British rule the event which proved instrumental in the history of the Indian freedom struggle was the first world war India had been forced to take part in the first world war in which Britain at fought against Germany to continue the war the British had to increase their defense expenditure and so Levite new taxes on Indians to amass money they introduced income tax and increase the custom duties the rise in taxes had an adverse effect on the common people who were forced to live a life of extreme hardship another factor which infuriated common people was the forced recruitment of rural people into the army to fight in the First World War that situation worsened during 1918 when India was hit by crop failure and shortage of food grains to make matters worse the crop failure was further followed by famines and outbreak of influenza this harsh social and political situation set the stage for the beginning of the nationalist struggle in India the Indian freedom movement gained momentum with the coming of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi later known as Mahatma Gandhi you merged on the national scene in January 1915 he had successfully tested novel ideas of non-violence and anti-colonial struggle in South Africa hotma Gandhi brought the directionless revolutionaries of India on a common platform social groups to rise above petty differences of caste creed religion region and work single-mindedly towards the common goal of freedom Albert Einstein won and about Mahatma Gandhi that generations to come it maybe will scarce believe that such one is this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth it has indeed unique in history how Gandhian tools such as satyagraha and non-violence shattered the confidence of the mighty British Empire after coming back from South Africa in January 1915 mahatma gandhi infused a new life into the indian freedom movement he had successfully used satyagraha and non-violence for mass agitation to combat racism in South Africa what exactly does the word satyagraha mean it is made up of two Hindi words Satya on truth and agraja meaning appeal so satyagraha literally means an appeal for truth satyagraha is passive resistance used powerfully to appeal to the conscience of the oppressor interestingly [Music] Angra ha lies in the song force or moral paw and not in the application of brute force Mahatma Gandhi had rightly stated it is certain that India cannot rival Britain or Europe in force of arms the British worship the war God and think can all of them become as they&#39;re becoming bearers of arms hundreds of millions in India can never carry arms they have made the religion of non-violence their own Mahatma Gandhi successfully organized satyagraha movements in different parts of India 19:16 he visited the poor peasants of Champaran district in Bihar the British used to force the peasants of Champaran cultivate a cash crop called indigo which was a popular dye used by textile industries the sale of indigo earned the British huge profits in the international market not from the oppression meted out to them and mingle wages peasants could not use the land used for indigo cultivation for any other food crop this led to a shortage of food grains in 1917 Mahatma Gandhi visited the Kedar district in Gujarat these villagers were also stricken with poverty and social evils had seen a terrible famine and people were demanding waving of taxes the British government however made matters worse by increasing the taxes Mahatma Gandhi along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel garnered mass support and organized a satyagraha against the tax burden another satyagraha movement was organized by Mahatma Gandhi in a mother bod in 1918 to support the demands of the cotton mill workers the dispute had developed after the mill owners withdrew the special allowance given to the workers for working during the plague epidemic supported by Mahatma Gandhi the workers demanded a 35% increase in salary - its refused by the mill owners Mahatma Gandhi then organized satyagraha protests and strikes with the laborers after days of protests mill owners relented and granted a 20% increase in salaries along with other medical and educational benefits successful implementation of satyagraha motivated the Indians and also paved the way for the other nationalist movements in future the success of satyagraha movements in Champaran kada and Emma the bond gave a boost to the morale of the oppressed Indians threatened by the growth of satyagraha the British decided to exert more control over public activities as a result they proposed the Rowlett act in 1919 named after its chairman Sir Sidney Rowlett the Rowlett act was aimed to curb the political activities in the country it equipped the courts with the power to detain political prisoners without trial for two years Mahatma Gandhi opposed the Rowlett Act by starting a peaceful satyagraha he suggested a civil disobedience beginning with the heart doll on 16 floor 1919 it was followed by rallies strikes by railway workers and closing down of shops sum it up the day-to-day work across the country was brought to a grinding halt the British were threatened that this mass movement could break all lines of communications in the country and so they decided to suppress the Nationalists a result several local leaders were arrested and Mahatma Gandhi was prohibited from entering Delhi in Amritsar police opened fire on a peaceful procession angered by this brutal action people attacked bangs offices and railway stations consequently martial law was imposed in Amritsar under the command of general Dyer the event that took place on 13th April 1919 is always remembered for the most heinous aggression of the British unaware of the martial law several villagers had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to attend a cattle fair on the occasion of Pi sake to crush the multitudes of people and create terror dier came to the ground with 50 armed soldiers he blocked all the entry points to the ground and without any prior warning opened fire on the hapless crowd the firing stopped only when the ammunition ended leaving hundreds of people including women and children dead and wounded the jellien one about massacre triggered many protests strikes clashes with policemen and attacks on government buildings across North India the British government dealt with these protests with an iron hand they humiliated the Satyagraha s-- by ordering them to rub their noses on the ground and forcing them to salute the British officials finally bombing of villages late Mahatma Gandhi were drawn to satyagraha against the Rowlett act the satyagraha against the Rowlett act was successful but it did not reach masses in the rural areas Mahatma Gandhi wanted a mass movement that would involve people from all religious communities across the country paved the way for the non-cooperation movement which was conceptualized by Gandhiji to bring all Indians together to work for a single national movement the success of satyagraha movements in Champaran kada and Emma the bond gave a boost to the morale of the oppressed Indians threatened by the growth of satyagraha the British decided to exert more control over public activities as a result they proposed the Rowlett Act in 1919 named after its chairman Sir Sidney Robert the Rowlett act was aimed to curb the political activities in the country it equipped the courts with the power to detain political prisoners without trial for two years Mahatma Gandhi opposed the Rowlett Act by starting a peaceful satyagraha he suggested a civil disobedience beginning with the heart all on 6th in floor 1919 followed by rallies strikes by railway workers and closing down of shops to sum it up the day-to-day work across the country was brought to a grinding halt the British were threatened that this mass movement could break all lines of communications in the country and so they decided to suppress the nationalists a result several local leaders were arrested and Mahatma Gandhi was prohibited from entering Delhi in Amritsar police opened fire on a peaceful procession angered by this brutal action people attacked bangs offices and railway stations sequentially martial law was imposed in Amritsar under the command of general Dyer the event that took place on 13th April 1919 is always remembered for the most any aggression of the British unaware of the martial law several villagers had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to attend a cattle fair on the occasion of Pi sake to crush the multitudes of people and create terror dier came to the ground with 50 armed soldiers he blocked all the entry points to the ground and without any prior warning and fire on the hapless crowd the firing stopped only when the ammunition ended leaving hundreds of people including women and children dead and wounded the jellien wanna bark massacre triggered many protests strikes clashes with policemen and attacks on government buildings across North India the British government dealt with these protests with an iron hand they humiliated the Satyagraha s-- by ordering them to rub their noses on the ground and forcing them to salute the British officials finally bombing of villages made Mahatma Gandhi were drawn to satyagraha against the Rowlett act the satyagraha against the wrong lat act was successful but it did not reach masses in the rural areas Mahatma Gandhi wanted a mass movement that would involve people from all religious communities across the country paved the way for the non-cooperation movement which was conceptualized by Gandhiji to bring all Indians together to work for a single national movement the non-cooperation khalifa --the movement began in full swing in 1921 amidst a lot of action and to mart many diverse regional groups joined this movement to meet their specific objectives in the towns people responded all heartedly to the call of Swaraj the movement witnessed active participation by people from all sections of society many students teachers and headmasters of government-controlled colleges joined the movement lawyers also give up their legal practice boycotted courts and joined in during this time most of the Indian provinces boycotted the council elections except Madras meanwhile people picketed the liquor shops and boycotted foreign goods and cloth at many places foreign clothes were burnt in huge bonfires foreign cloth import haft between 1921 and 1922 and dropped from 102 crore rupees to 57 crore rupees the use of domestic goods aswath a she was encouraged by Mahatma Gandhi some Indian traders also rejected foreign goods and foreign trade gradually the demand for Indian plot increased and the vanishing textile industry of India got a new lease of life although the non-cooperation movement had begun with an active response from the people it slowed down after a while let&#39;s understand why the replacement for foreign plot Viscardi which was quite expensive and beyond the reach of the common masses owing to the lack of alternative began to buy the milk plot again similarly no Indian alternatives for the British institutions had been set up so far there for the students and teachers came back to their respective schools and colleges and the lawyers rejoined the courts the non-cooperation movement also spread to the rural areas and coincided with the protests of peasants and tribals in a word Baba Rajendra an aesthetic and a former indentured Libra in Fiji led the peasant movement this movement was against Talib gars and landlords whom had pressed peasants by demanding high rents and several taxes they forced the peasants to do a guard or labour without any payment the peasant movement demanded revenue reduction abolition of Baker and social boycott of oppressive landlords some village panchayats started naidu be buns and stopped basic services of the washer men and barbers to the landlords in October 1920 Kisan Sabha was set up handed by Jawaharlal Nehru Baba Chandra to address the grievances of the peasants for a bigger impact the Congress decided to integrate the peasant movement of our word with the non-cooperation movement however the peasant movement did not grow as expected developed a violent streak as the peasants attacked houses of the landlords and looted markets some of them misused Mahatma Gandhi&#39;s name and claimed that he had asked to not pay taxes and divided the land amongst the poor similarly boom hills of Andhra Pradesh tribal peasants misinterpreted the meaning of Swaraj the tribals had suffered a lot of oppression at the hands of the British as a result they staged a rebellion under the leadership of a man called a Lodi Sitaram Raju he was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and a non-cooperation movement however some of his thoughts were vastly different from the Gandhian ideals of non-violence he believed that freedom could be acquired by force and not through long violence to achieve Swaraj the rebels of good them hills attacked British officials and carried on guerrilla warfare in 1924 larger was executed by the British acquired the position of a hero in the tribal folk law undoubtedly raishin movement was unique as two groups ascribed their own meaning to the movement and Swaraj the non-cooperation movement was conceptualized as a nonviolent resistance of the British rule however as the movement spread across the country developed a violent streak the peasants in Ovid and the tribals in Andhra Pradesh had interpreted the concept of Swaraj in their own way let&#39;s now find out how the plantation workers in Assam understood the meaning of Swaraj these workers work under very strict rules and regulations inland immigration act of 1859 forbade the plantation workers to leave the tea gardens without permission in fact they were seldom allowed to go back to their homes naturally for the homesick workers the non-cooperation movement implied the time to break the rigid confinement of the plantations inspired by the non-cooperation movement thousands of workers disobeyed the British authorities and left the plantations to go back to their homes they were also under the impression that in Gandhi Raj all of them would be granted land in their respective villages however the journey of the workers was disrupted due to railway and streamer strikes eventually the police got them and beat them mercilessly the Congress had never expected the non-cooperation movement to develop in this violent manner the plantation workers had ascribed their own meaning to Swaraj different from that of the Congress they felt that Swaraj marked an era where their sufferings would end interestingly while supporting the non-cooperation movement and invoking the ideas of Gandhiji the plantation workers unknowingly became a part of the larger freedom struggle you&#39;re looking at guru-murthy or eleven statues magnificent sculptures situated in Delhi that commemorate the famous Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi let&#39;s learn about the events that happened before the March in 1922 an act of violence that completely shocked Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders was the chowder chowder incident in charge ara a penis demonstration to pick it a liquor shop turned violent the crowd policeman opened fire in this fighting a few satyagraha z&#39; got killed while some of them got injured the agitated crowd set the police station on fire where the policeman had locked themselves incident several policemen were burnt alive shocked by such widespread violence in February 1922 Mahatma Gandhi decided to take back the non-cooperation movement at this time a lot was going on within the Congress as well tired of math struggle some congress leaders wanted to participate in the election to the provincial councils by joining these councils Congress leaders hope to have deci in the British policies opposed the wrong policies and suggests reforms to argue for Indian representation in the council&#39;s moti Lal Nehru and Chittaranjan das formed the Swaraj party within the Congress in 1922 however young leaders such as Java Harlan aru and Subash Chandra Bose opposed the formation of this party and stressed on full independence based on socialist ideas they demanded a radical mass movement in the 1920s two factors influenced the growth of the national movement the worldwide economic depression and the formation of the Simon Commission under Sir John Simon with the economic depression by 1930 the prices had hit an all-time low this impacted the exports of agricultural Goods and peasants found it difficult to sell their produce and gather money for revenue the Simon Commission was a statutory Commission which aimed at looking into the constitutional system of India and suggests changes it was an all-white Commission without any Indian representation in 1928 when Simon Commission came to India all parties such as the Congress and the Muslim leagues protested against it to pacify the leaders Lord Irwin the Viceroy gave a vague offer of Dominion status to India and also proposed a roundtable conference the Congress leaders were not happy with these proposals in the Lajo session of the Congress in 1929 jawaharlal nehru declared the demand for Patna Suraj a full independence the call of Purna Swaraj did not create much enthusiasm among people therefore Mahatma Gandhi felt the need to express the idea of freedom using issues from everyday life Mahatma Gandhi discovered that salt was the common unifying factor it was a common ingredient in the food of both the rich and the poor Mahatma Gandhi viewed the tax on salt and the monopoly of the government on its production as a downright oppressive Salt Satyagraha in a way became the symbol of national unity on 31st of January 1930 he sent a letter to Lord Irvin stating eleven wide-ranging demands of various classes of India he also stated the launch of civil disobedience in case the demands of people were not met by the 11th of March when Irvin refused to negotiate Mahatma Gandhi launched assault march from Sabarmati ashram to the coastal town of dandy in Gujarat Dandi March served as a good communication platform as Mahatma Gandhi stopped at villages and told people about his vision of Swaraj he encouraged people to fight for Swaraj and opposed the British in a non-violent manner Mahatma Gandhi and volunteers marched for around 24 days and reached Dundee on 6th of April Mahatma Gandhi broke the salt law and Indians manufactured salt by boiling seawater this marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement we can see a lot of differences between non-cooperation and civil disobedience movement the non-cooperation movement aimed at bringing the British government to a standstill by refusing to cooperate with them the civil disobedience movement was more assertive and aimed at non cooperation with the British as well as an open violation of oppressive British laws under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi the civil disobedience movement spread across the country like wildfire he encouraged people to fight for Swaraj and opposed to British rule in a non-violent manner got worried by the growing popularity of the movement and so they began arresting all prominent Congress leaders 1930 Abdul Ghaffar Khan a political and spiritual leader and follower of Gandhiji was arrested angry people took out demonstrations and protests to oppose cover cons arrests the Asian the police opened fire in which many people got killed at some places soldiers had also staged resistance against the British regime for example in 1930 the soldiers of the girl world rifles had refused to open fire at an unarmed crowd of peaceful satyagraha &#39;he&#39;s in Peshawar in May 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi got arrested several industrial workers in Shona poor attacked the government buildings and offices frightened and shaken the British government responded with the policy of brutal repression and arrested thousands of satyagraha and even attacked children and women on seeing the widespread violence Mahatma Gandhi decided to call off the civil disobedience movement in 1931 this decision disheartened the people who were taking part in the movement with a lot of zest on the 5th of March 1931 Mahatma Gandhi entered into a pact with Lord Irvin the Viceroy of India this fact is known as the Gandhi Irvan pact as per the pact he agreed to participate in the roundtable conference to be held in London on the other hand the British government agreed to free the prisoners 31 Mahatma Gandhi visited London but he came back disheartened as the negotiations did not reach any final decision on his arrival in India he found that the repression of the British government had taken a new turn several Congress leaders such as Joe Hudlin arrow and Abdul Ghaffar Khan had been arrested over the British had declared the Congress an illegal party and clamped down on all protests public meetings and demonstrations this made Mahatma Gandhi relaunch the civil disobedience movement time though not many people participated in it consequently movement completely lost its momentum by 1934 several people from different sections of society had participated in the civil disobedience movement to meet their specific objectives each group interpreted the meaning of Swaraj in their own way the rich peasant communities of Kudarat and yupi were badly affected by the economic depression and the resultant fall in agricultural prices they demanded the British government to wave off the revenue but the government refused to do so the fight for Swaraj was a fight against revenues they were very enthusiastic about the civil disobedience movement however when the movement was abruptly called off by Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 without any revision of the revenue rates they were very disappointed as a result they did not participate in the civil disobedience movement when it was relaunched in 1932 the perceptions of the poor peasantry about Swaraj were also very different these peasants were generally tenants who had taken land from the landlords on rent they grappled with the problem of paying rent during the time of depression and wanted the Congress to help them in rem eating their unpaid rent the Congress on the other hand was uncertain about supporting them in their no rent campaign as it could spoil their ties with the landlords and rich peasants who were funding the party expenses consequently the poor peasants did not share a strong relationship with the Congress the business class had a different take on the civil disobedience movement and Swaraj they had reaped huge profits during the first world war and now wanted to expand their business but this stringent colonial laws were obstructing their way in an effort to get the business class together Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress was formed in 1920 and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and industries in 1927 these organizations were headed by prominent business personalities of that time such as pull shoot them thus Tucker Das and GD Birla who attacked the colonial economic policies during the first civil disobedience movement they provided financial assistance to the Congress and refused to buy or sell foreign goods to the business class Swaraj was an ideal situation favorable for the growth of their business however the failure of the second roundtable conference hugely disappointed the business class they were also watered with the growth of the socialist and militant ideas in the young Congress members and feared that such developments were not conducive for their business the young revolutionaries with the radical socialist outlook believed that non-violence was not the way to achieve freedom as a result the Hindustan socialist Republican Army or HS RA was formed in 1928 Bhagat Singh das and a joy Ghosh was some of its prominent leaders the industrial working class had not responded to the civil disobedience in a big way either they adopted a few Gandhian ideas as part of their own movement against low wages and poor working conditions the Congress however [Music] not want to include workers demands in the movement as they thought it would a lien ate the industrialists another main highlight of the civil disobedience movement was the mass participation of women they wholeheartedly supported the protests involved in picketing and boycotts and also helped in manufacturing salt these women came from both urban and rural areas women had begun serving the nation but this had not brought a revolutionary change in their social position on the face of it Congress encouraged women participation but even Mahatma Gandhi gave more importance to the traditional domestic role of women due to this narrow mindset women did not hold any position of authority within the Congress and only acted as mere symbols although the civil disobedience movement witnessed a huge participation it did not hold the people for too long because their problems were not addressed by the movement before independence India had many provinces with the rise of nationalism people started believing in the concept of United India or India as a nation state people felt a collective belonging because they had participated together in freedom struggles such as the revolt of 1857 civil disobedience movement and the non-cooperation movement moreover they had fought against the common aggressor the British besides this history and fiction in folklore song popular pictures and symbols also helped in solidifying unity and the spirit of nationalism have learned that in Europe abstract concept of a nation was personified or given a human form just like Maryann in France and Germania in Germany the Indian nation was conceptualized visually as Bharat Mata in the 20th century the image of Bharat Mata was first created by bankim chandra Chatrapathi i he also wrote our national song vandemataram which was in fact a hymn to the motherland sung widely during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later abandoned Ranaut Tonkov to the famous image of Bharat Mata she was an aesthetic figure wearing Safran colored clothes and carrying a mother or chain of beats in one hand which symbolizes her as divine and spiritual Oh role as a mother figure a nurturer is evident from the cloth leaves and scriptures carried by her the portrayal of Bharat Mata also underwent a lot of changes take a look at another picture of Bharat Mata painted by a benign throne art our God in 1905 doesn&#39;t this portrayal remind you of Germania just like Germania bharat mata is holding a flag in her hand while Germania carries a sword bharat mata has a trishal on top of the flag which signifies her readiness to fight for her honor Germania is wearing a breastplate with eagles which is a symbol of the german strand similarly Bharat Mata is standing besides an elephant and lion both are symbols of power and authority another process which contributed to the growth of nationalism was the revival of the Indian folklore in the late 19th century the Nationalists began gathering the folktales sung by bards in different parts of India in Bengal rabindranath tagore led the folk revival movement by collecting folklore and songs and ballads in Bengal while down south the TASIS has three collected folktales and published series of four volumes called the folklore of southern India nationalists wanted people to take pride in Indian culture and understand how it had been destroyed by the British with the growth of nationalism more symbols were developed to capture the spirit of patriotism one such symbol was the Indian flag the tri-colored flag was first designed during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later on in 1921 Mahatma Gandhi redesigned the Indian flag with the spinning wheel or chakra at the center this flag was often used by nationalists during protests and marches the growth of nationalism also happened through the process of reinterpretation of history British considered India as a land of backward people incapable of governance in response to this mindset the Indians began exploring glories from their past and wrote about the ancient times when India was much developed however the glories of the past and the symbols used by the Nationalists such as Bharat Mata were all very Hindu in atria consequently people of other religions and communities felt alienated although Indians got inspired to fight for independence at the same time their religious differences prepared ground for the division of the country before independence India had many provinces with the rise of nationalism people started believing in the concept of united India or India as a nation state people felt a collective belonging because they had participated together in freedom struggles such as the revolt of 1857 civil disobedience movement and the non-cooperation movement moreover they had fought against the common aggressor the British besides this history and fiction folklore song popular pictures and symbols also helped in solidifying unity and the spirit of nationalism you have learned that in Europe abstract concept of a nation was personified or given a human form just like Maryann in France and Germania in Germany the Indian nation was conceptualized visually as Bharat Mata in the 20th century the image of Bharat Mata was first created by bankim chandra Chattopadhyay he also wrote our national song vandemataram which was in fact a hymn to the motherland sun widely during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later Abin enthroned art our God created the famous image of Bharat Mata she was an aesthetic figure wearing Safran colored clothes and carrying a mother or chain of beats in one hand which symbolizes her as divine and spiritual her role as a mother figure a nurturer is evident from the cloth palm leaves and scriptures carried by her the portrayal of Bharat Mata also underwent a lot of changes take a look at another picture of Bharat Mata painted by abandoned renard Tagore in 1905 doesn&#39;t this portrayal remind you of Germania just like Germania bharat mata is holding a flag in her hand while Germania carries a sword bharat mata has a trishul on top of the flag which signifies her readiness to fight for her honor Germania is wearing a breastplate with eagles which is a symbol of the german strand similarly Bharat Mata is standing besides an elephant and lion both are symbols of power and authority another process which contribute process which contributed to the growth of nationalism was the revival of the Indian folklore in the late 19th century the Nationalists began gathering the folktales sung by bards in different parts of India in Bengal rabindranath tagore led the folk revival movement by collecting folklore and songs and ballads in Bengal while down south the TASIS has 3 collected folktales and published series of four volumes called the folklore of southern India nationalists wanted people to take pride in Indian culture and understand how it had been destroyed by the British with the growth of nationalism more symbols were developed to capture the spirit of patriotism one such symbol was the Indian flag the tri-colored flag was first designed during the Swadeshi movement in bengal later on in 1921 Mahatma Gandhi redesigned the Indian flag with the spinning wheel or chakra at the center this flag was often used by nationalists during protests and marches lism also happened through the process of reinterpretation of history British considered India as a land of backward people incapable of governance in response to this mindset the Indians began exploring glories from their past and wrote about the ancient times when India was much developed however the glories of the past and the symbols used by the Nationalists such as Bharat Mata were all very Hindu in atria consequently people of other religions and communities felt alienated although Indians got inspired to fight for independence at the same time their religious differences prepared ground for the division of the country [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Transcript for:Indian National Movement: From 1857 to Independence

Transcript for:
Indian National Movement: From 1857 to Independence