CBSE Class 10 History Nationalism In India Worksheet Set A

Question : State the slogan with which Simon Commission was greeted in 1928 in India.
Answer : Simon Commission arrived in India and was greeted with the slogan ‘Simon go back’.

Question : Name the writer of the book ‘Hind Swaraj’.
Answer : Mahatma Gandhi is the writer of the book Hind Swaraj.

Question : Name the writer of the novel Anandamath.
Answer : Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is the writer of the novel Anandamath.

Question : Who wrote the song ‘Vande Mataram’?
Answer : The song Wande Matram’ was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Short Answer Questions :

Question : How did the ‘Salt March’ become the base to begin the ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’? Explain.
Answer : The ‘Salt March’ become the base to begin the ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’ because on 31st March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands out of which some were of general interest and some of were specific demands of different classes. The demands were wide ranging in order to bring together everyone under a united campaign. The most important demand was to abolish the salt tax as it was the most important item in food that is consumed by both rich and poor.

Question : Simon Commission was greeted with slogan ‘Go Back Simon’ on arrival in India. Support this reaction of Indians with arguments.
Answer : Against the situation of countryside turmoil, the Tory government in Britain set up a commission named Simon Commission after the name of Sir John Simon to look into the constitutional system in India and suggest the changes needed. There were no Indian members in this commission.
In the year 1928, Simon Commission arrived in India and was greeted with the slogan ‘Simon go back’.

Question : Explain the circumstances which compelled Mahatma Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1930. 
or
Explain the circumstances under which Gandhiji decided to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1931.
Answer : The circumstances which compelled Mahatma Gandhi to call off the Non- Cooperation Movement in 1930 were:
a. The Non-Cooperation Movement was turning violent in many places.
b. To train the Satyagrahis for mass struggle,
c. Some of the Congress leaders were not willing to continue the non-cooperation because they were tired of the mass struggle, wanted to participate in the council elections and they wanted to criticize the British policies within the council.

Question : Why did Gandhiji decide to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act 1919 Explain any three reasons.
Answer : Gandhiji decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act, 1919 due to the following three reasons:
a. The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly by the Imperial Legislative Council despite the opposition by the Indian members.
b. The Rowlatt Act gave enormous power to the government for repressing the political activities.
c. According to this Act, the government can detain the political prisoners without trial for a period of two years.

Question : Explain four points of Gandhiji’s idea of Satyagraha.
Answer : The idea of Satyagraha according to Gandhiji was a novel method of mass agitation which emphasizes the power of truth and the need to search for the truth. Mahatma Gandhi said that if you are fighting for the truth and against injustice then there is no need of physical force to defeat the oppressor.
This can be possible without being aggressive.
The oppressors can be persuaded to see the truth with the use of non-violence.
Mahatma Gandhi had a hard belief that the dharma of non-violence will help in uniting the people of the country.

Question : “The Congress was reluctant to include the demands of the industrial workers in its programme of struggle.” Analyse the reasons.
Answer : Some of the industrial workers who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement were the Nagpur industrial workers who selectively adopted some of the Gandhian ideas such as boycott of the foreign goods. They participated in the movement as part of their own movement against the low wages and the poor working conditions in the industries. In the year 1930 and 1932, the railway workers and the dockworkers went on strike. The Chhotanagpur tin mines workers also protested in rallies wearing Gandhian caps and boycotted the campaigns.
But the Congress was not willing to include their demands because he thought that this would alienate the industrialists and divide the anti-imperialist forces.

Question : Who had designed the ‘Swaraj flag’ by 1921? Explain the main features of the ‘Swaraj flag’.
Answer : A tricolor Swaraj flag was designed by Gandhiji in the year 1921.
The main features of this Swaraj flag was:
a. It was designed using the colours red, green and white.
b. A spinning wheel was in the centre of the flag which represented the Gandhi an ideal of selfhelp.

Question : Why did different social groups join the Civil Disobedience movement? Explain.
Answer : The following were the different social groups who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement with different objectives:
a. These rich peasants due to the trade depression, falling prices and disappeared cash income were not able to pay the revenue and also the government refused to reduce the revenue. Their notion for Swaraj struggle was basically a struggle against high revenue.
b. For the poor peasantry groups, the meaning of Swaraj was lowering the revenue demand and also they wanted the unpaid rent to be remitted.
c. Women also participated in large scale in the civil disobedience movement during the salt march by Gandhiji. They belonged to the high caste families from the urban areas and rich peasant households from the rural areas. For them it was a sacred duty to serve the nation.

Question : Explain any three reasons for the slow down of Non-Cooperation Movement in cities. 
or
Why did the Non-Cooperation Movement gradually slowdown in cities? Explain.
Answer : The Non-Cooperation Movement gradually slowed down in towns and cities because
a. The khadi clothes were expensive which the poor people could not afford.
b. There was need for Indian institutions for the teachers, students and the lawyers but these were very slow to come up.
c. Thus once again people started using the mill made British clothes and the students, teachers and the lawyers joined back their respective institutions.

Question : How could Non-Cooperation become a movement?
Give your opinion.
Answer : In the year 1909 Mahatma Gandhi wrote a book named ‘Hind Swaraj’ in which he wrote that the British survived in India only because of the cooperation of the Indians otherwise they would have collapsed within a year.
Gandhiji planned to unfold the movement in stages. In the first stage the people surrendered the titles, boycotted civil services, army, police, schools, foreign goods, courts and legislative councils. The full Civil Disobedience campaign was planned for the second phase if the government tried to supress the first phase.

Question : Why did the rich peasants take part in the Civil Disobedience Movement? Give four reasons.
Answer : The rich peasant communities of Gujarat (Patidars) and Uttar Pradesh (Jats) participated actively in the relaunched Civil Disobedience movement but they 5 were highly disappointed when Gandhiji called off the movement without revising the revenue rates.
These rich peasants were the main producers of the commercial crops. Due to the trade depression, falling prices and disappeared cash income they were not able to pay the revenue and also the government refused to reduce the revenue. Their notion for Swaraj struggle was basically a struggle against high revenue paid to the government.

Question : Explain the effects of‘ worldwide economic depression’ on India, towards late 1920s.
Answer : The effects of ‘worldwide economic depression’ on India, towards late 1920s were:
a. The defence expenditure was financed by the war loans. The increased taxes, raising the custom duties and introducing the income tax, and increased prices of the commodities caused economic hardship for the common people.
b. For the continuous supply of the soldiers the villages were called upon and recruitment was done forcefully.
c. There was a period of crop failure in many parts of the country which caused acute food shortages and millions of people perished due to the famine and the epidemics.

Question : How did the people support the Civil Disobedience Movement as it spread in different parts of the country? Explain with examples.
Answer : The people supported the Civil Disobedi¬ence Movement as it spread in different parts of the country due to the following reasons:
a. Due to the worldwide economic depression the agricultural prices began to fall, demands for agricultural goods fell and the export declined.
b. This resulted in a countryside turmoil because now it was difficult for the peasants to sell their harvest and pay the high revenue.
c. Against this situation of countryside turmoil the Tory government in Britain set up a commission named Simon Commission after the name of Sir John Simon to look into the constitutional system in India and suggest the changes needed. There were no Indian members in this commission.

Question : How did BR Ambedkar try to improve the conditions of the depressed classes? Explain any three points.
Answer : BR Ambedkar tried to improve the conditions of the depressed classes in the ‘ following ways:
a. The Dalit leaders demanded reserved seats in the educational institutions and separate electorates so that would be getting seats in the legislative councils and thus politically empowered. The Dalits believed that these are the only ways through which they will be treated equally in the society.
b. In the second Round Table Conference Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Dalits.
c. Later on, Ambedkar accepted Gandhian view and in the Poona pact the depressed class people were given the reserved seats in the provincial and the central legislative council election but to be voted in by the general electorate.

Question : Explain the idea of Satyagraha according to Gandhiji. 
Answer : The idea of Satyagraha according to Gandhiji was a novel method of mass agitation which emphasizes the power of truth and the need to search for the truth. Mahatma Gandhi said that if you are fighting for the truth and against injustice then there is no need of physical force to defeat the oppressor. This can be possible without being aggressive. The oppressors can be persuaded to see the truth with the use of nonviolence.
Mahatma Gandhi had a hard belief that the dharma of non-violence will help in uniting the people of the country.

Question : “Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation.’ Justify the statement.
Answer : It is true to say that ‘Nationalism spreads when people begin to believe that they are all part of the same nation.’
Nationalism is a belief that all are a part of the same nation which binds the people together and make different communities, regions and language groups united.
This came through the united struggles like the Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, the wars like revolt of 1857. History, fiction, folklores, folk songs, prints, icons, symbols, etc. all these helped in unifying the Indians and inspired a feeling of nationalism in them. The history was reinterpreted to create the feeling of nationalism and instill a sense of pride among the Indians. Through this the perspective of British towards India as backward, primitive and incapable of governing themselves was criticized.

Question : Why did Mahatma Gandhi decide to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement? Explain.
Answer : The circumstances under which Gandhiji decided to call off the Civil Disobedience movement in 1931 were:
a. The Non-Cooperation Movement was turning violent in many places.
b. To train the Satyagrahis for mass struggle,
c. Some of the Congress leaders were notwilling to continue the non-cooperation because they were tired of the mass struggle, wanted to participate in the council elections and they wanted to criticize the British policies within the council.

Question : Why did Gandhiji relaunch the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second Round Table Conference?
Explain any three reasons. 
Answer : Gandhiji relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second Round Table Conference due to the following reasons:
a. When Mahatma Gandhi went for the Round Table Conference in December 1931, he returned disappointed as the negotiations were broken down.
b. He discovered this new cycle of repression by the British.
c. The important Congress leaders were in jail and meetings, demonstrations and boycotts were prevented.

Question : How did women participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement? Explain.
Answer : Women participated in large scale in the Civil Disobedience Movement during the Salt March by Gandhiji. They belonged to the high caste families from the urban areas and rich peasant households from the rural areas. For them it was a sacred duty to serve the nation.

Question : How had the First World War created a Jnew economic situation in India? Explain with three examples.
Answer : The First World War created a new economic situation in India. The three examples are:
a. The defence expenditure was financed by the war loans. The increased taxes, raising the custom duties and introducing the income tax, and increased prices of the commodities caused economic hardship for the common people.
b. For the continuous supply of the soldiers the villages were called upon and recruitment was done forcefully.
c. There was a period of crop failure in many parts of the country which caused acute food shortages and millions of people perished due to the famine and the epidemics.

Question : Why did Mahatma Gandhi relaunch the Civil Disobedience Movement with great apprehension? Explain.
Answer : Gandhiji relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement after the Second Round Table Conference due to the following reasons: When Mahatma Gandhi went for the round table conference in December 1931, he returned disappointed as the negotiations broke down. He discovered a new cycle of repression by the British. The important Congress leaders were in jail and meetings, demonstrations and boycotts were prevented.

Question : ‘The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the Non-Cooperation Movement.’ Support the statement with examples.
Answer : The Civil Disobedience Movement was different from the Non-Cooperation Movement in the following ways:
a. The Civil Disobedience Movement dealt with the breaking of the colonial laws whereas the Non-Cooperation Movement did not follow the rules of the colonial government.
b. In the Civil Disobedience Movement, people broke the salt law and forest law whereas in the Non-Cooperation Movement, they carried out peaceful demonstrations.
c. The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched to get Puma Swaraj whereas the Non-Cooperation Movement was to unite the Hindus and Muslims to attain Swaraj.

Question : Explain any three facts about the new economic situation created in India by the First World War.
Answer : Three facts about the new economic situation created in India by the First World War were:
a. The defence expenditure was financed by the war loans, the increased taxes, raising the custom duties and introducing the income tax and increased prices of the commodities which caused economic hardship for the common people.
b. For the continuous supply of the soldiers the villages were called upon and recruitment was done forcefully.
c. There was a period of crop failure in many parts of the country which caused acute food shortages and millions of people perished due to the famine and the epidemics.

Question : Why did Gandhiji decide to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act of 1919?
How was it organized? 
Answer : Gandhiji decided to launch a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act 1919 due to the following three reasons:
a. In the year 1919, Gandhiji organized a Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act which was passed hurriedly by the imperial legislative council despite the opposition by the Indian members.
b. The Rowlatt Act gave enormous power to the government for repressing the political activities.
c. According to this act the government can detain the political prisoners without trial for a period of two years.

Question : What type of flag was designed during the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal? Explain its main features.
Answer : a. A tricolor swadeshi flag, using red, green and yellow was designed during the swadeshi movement in Bengal.
b. It had 8 lotuses for the representation of the 8 provinces,
c. It had a crescent moon for symbolizing the Hindus and the Muslims.

Question : How did Non-Cooperation Movement spread to the countryside? Explain any four points. 
or
How did civil disobedience come into force in various parts of the country? Explain with examples.
Answer : Due to the worldwide economic depression the agricultural prices began to fall, demands for agricultural goods fell and the export declined. This resulted in a countryside turmoil because now it was difficult for the peasants to sell their harvest and pay the high revenue. Against this situation of countryside turmoil the Tory government in Britain set up a
commission named Simon Commission after the name of Sir John Simon to look into the constitutional system in India and suggest the changes needed. There were no Indian members in this commission.

Question : Explain any three measures taken by the British administration to repress the movement started against the Rowlatt act. 
or
Describe any three suppressive measures taken by the British administration to clamp down on nationalists.
Answer : The three suppressive measures taken by the British administration to clamp down on nationalist were: 
a. To suppress the nationalist the British administration picked up the local leaders and barred Gandhiji from entering Delhi.
b. Martial law was imposed. 
c. The Satyagrahis were forced to rub their nose on the ground, crawl on streets and do salute to all the Sahibs. People were beaten up and villages were bombed.

Question : Describe the main features of Poona Pact.
Answer : In the Second Round Table Conference, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Dalits. Against this Gandhiji, began a fast unto death because he believed that separate electorates for the Dalits would slow down the process of national integration.
Later on, Ambedkar accepted Gandhian view and in the Poona Pact the depressed class people were given the reserved seats in the provincial and the central legislative council election but to be voted in by the general electorate.

Question : Which were the two types of demands mentioned by Gandhiji in his letter to Viceroy Irwin on 31st January 1930? Why was the abolition of ‘Salt Tax’ most stirring demand? Explain.
Answer : On 31st March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin. Mahatma Gandhi had stated eleven demands in this letter out of which some were of general interest and some were specific demands of different classes. The demands were wide ranging in order to bring together everyone under a united campaign.
The abolition of ‘Salt Tax’ was most stirring demand because salt was the most important item in food that is consumed by both rich and poor.

Question : Explain the role of women in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer : Women also participated in large scale in the Civil Disobedience movement during the salt march by Gandhiji. They belonged to the high caste families from the urban areas and rich peasant households from the rural areas. For them it was a sacred duty to serve the nation. But the Congress was not willing to give them any position of authority in the organisation and that’s why Gandhiji said that women should look after the domestic chores and be good mothers and wives.

Question : Evaluate the contribution of folklore, songs, popular prints etc. in shaping the nationalism during freedom struggle.
Answer : a. Folklores, folk songs, prints, icons and symbols etc. helped in unifying the Indians and inspired a feeling of nationalism in them. The image of India was first visualized as Bharat Mata by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and also a hymn “Vande Mataram’ was written by him in 1870s. This hymn was later included in his novel Anandamath and sung during the swadeshi movement in Bengal.
b. The image of Bharat Mata was portrayed as calm, composed, divine and spiritual which acquired different forms in different years by different artists. This image of India developed the ideas of nationalism in India.
c. The Indian folklores were revived and the folk tales were recorded and sung by bards which gave a true picture of the traditional Indian culture and tells how it was ruined by the Britishers.
d. Rabindranath Tagore led the movement for the revival of the folks and thus collected ballads, nursery rhymes and myths .Tamil folk tales were published by Natesa Shashtri in his book The folklore of southern India which was a massive four volume collection.
e. A tricolor swadeshi flag, using red, green and yellow was designed during the swadeshi movement in Bengal which had 8 lotuses for the representation of the 8 provinces and a crescent moon for symbolizing the Hindus and the Muslims. A tricolor Swaraj flag was designed by Gandhiji in the year 1921 using the colours red, green and white. A spinning wheel was in the centre of the flag which represented the Gandhian ideal of self¬help.