Students should read Chapter 2 Nationalism in India Class 10 Social Science Notes provided below. These notes have been prepared based on the latest syllabus and books issued by NCERT, CBSE and KVS. These important revision notes will be really useful for students to understand the important topics given in the chapter Nationalism in India in Class 10 Social Science. We have provided class 10 Social Science notes for all chapters.

Revision Notes Chapter 2 Nationalism in India Class 10 Social Science

Chapter 2 Nationalism in India is an important chapter in Class 10 Social Science. The following notes will help you to understand and easily learn all important points to help you score more marks.

The growth of modern nationalism is intimately connected to anti-colonial movement. The congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi tried to forge groups together within one movement. However, the unity did not emerge without conflict.

First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

1. National Movement was spreading in New areas in 1919 and incorporating new social groups and developing new modes of struggle.
2. Mahatma Gandhi came to India and The Idea of Satyagraha emphasised the power of truth and the need to search for truth.
3. He advocated that physical force was not necessary to fight the oppressor.
4. In 1916, He travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.

The Idea of Satyagraha

1. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in January, 1915. His heroic fight for the Indians in South Africa was well-known. His novel method of mass agitation known as Satyagraha had yielded good results.
2. The idea of Satyagraha emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth.
3. In 1916, Gandhi travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
4. In 1917,crops field in Kheda district of Gujrat, but the government refused to remit land revenue and insisted on its full collection.
5. In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi intervened in a dispute between workers and mill owners of Ahmedabad. He advised to workers to go on strike and to demand a 35% increase in wages.
6. Satyagraha brought Gandhiji into close touch with the workers in the urban areas.

The Rawlatt act

1. When the Rawlatt act 1919, was passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council inspire of unanimous opposition of the Indian members, Gandhiji’s patience comes to an end.
2. Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws, which would start with a hartal on 6th April.
3. 6th April 1919 was observed as Satyagraha Day when people all over the country observed fast and hartal.
4. 1919, the country witnessed a remarkable political awakening in India.
5. Local leaders were picked up from Amritsar and Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi.
6. On 10th April, the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession, provoking widespread attacks on banks.

Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre

1. A large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jalliawalla Bagh.
2. People came to protest against government’s repressive measure while some came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair.
3. General Dyer entered the area. Blocked the exit points and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
4. The government responded with brutal repression seeking to humiliate and terrorise people.
5. Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets and do Salaam (salute) to all Sahibs.

Khilafat movement

1. Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespread movement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.
2. Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad based movement in India.
3. But he was certain that no such movement could be organized without bringing the Hindus and Muslims closer together.
4. The First World War had ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. There were rumors that a harsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman Emperor, who was the spiritual head (Khalifa) of the Islamic world.
5. The Muslims of India decided to force Britain to change her Turkish policy.
6. A Khalifa Committee was formed under the leadership of Maulana Azad, Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani.
7. A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibility of a united mass action on the issue.

Differing strands within the movement:

1. Rebellion in the countryside: – From the cities, the noncooperation movement spread to the countryside. After the war, the struggles of peasants and tribal were developing in
different parts of India.
2. One movement here war against talukdars and landlords who demanded from peasant exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses.
3. Peasants had to do begar. The peasant movement demanded reduction of revenue, an abolition of begar and social boycott of oppressive landlords.
4. Oudh Kisan Sabha was setup headed by. Jawaharlal Nehru and other, within a month, over 300 branches had been set up by the villagers.
5. Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi and the idea of Swaraj in yet another way.
6. The colonial government had closed large forest areas preventing people from entering the forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuel wood and fruits.
7. Alluri Sitaram Raju Claimed that he had a variety of special powers. He asserted that India could be liberated only by the use of force.

Towards Civil Disobedience

1. Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922.
2. The movement was turning violent in many places and satyagarhis needed properly trained for mass struggle.
3. CR Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics.
4. Salt was a powerful symbol that could unite the nation.
5. Salt march accompanied by 78 of his trusted volunteers.
6. Finally, Mahatma Gandhi once again decided to call off the movement and entered into a pact with Irwin on 5 March 1931.
7. Participants saw the movement in different angle such as Patidars of Gujarat and Jats of Uttar Pradesh.
8. To organise business interest, formed the Indian Industrial and commercial congress in 1920 and Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).
9. Gandhi called to Untouchable that is Harijan, Children of God.

The Sense of Collective Belonging

1. Nationalist Movement Spreads when people belonging to different regions and communities begin to develop a sense of collective belongingness. The identity of a nation is most often symbolized in a figure or image.
2. This image of Bharat Mata was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870 when he wrote ‘Vande Mataram ‘ for our motherland. Indian folk songs and folk sung by bards played an important role in making the idea of nationalism. In Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and in Madras, Natesa, Sastri collection of folk tales and songs, which led the movement for folk revival.
3. During the Swadeshi Movement, a tri-color ( red, green and yellow ) flag was designed in Bengal. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces and a crescent moon representing Hindus and Muslims.
4. Means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. The nationalist writers urged the readers to take pride in India’s great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.

Case Based Questions

Question. Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow:

While the Rowlatt Satyagraha had been a widespreadmovement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.Mahatma Gandhi now felt the need to launch a more broad based movement in India. But he was certain that no suchmovement could be organised without bringing the Hindus andMuslims closer together. One way of doing this, he felt, was to take up the Khilafat issue. The First World War had ended withthe defeat of Ottoman Turkey. And there were rumours that aharsh peace treaty was going to be imposed on the Ottoman emperor the spiritual head of the Islamic world (the Khalifa).To defend the Khalifa’s temporal powers, a Khilafat Committee was formed in Bombay in March 1919. A young generation of Muslim leaders like the brothers Muhammad Ali and ShaukatAli, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi about the possibilityof a united mass action on the issue. Gandhiji saw this as anopportunity to bring Muslims under the umbrella of a unified national movement. At the Calcutta session of the Congress inSeptember 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need tostart a noncooperation movement in support of Khilafat as wellas for Swaraj.

Answer the following MCQs by choosing the most appropriate option:

(i) What was the main objective of Rowlatt Act of1919?
Answer : To suppress the resentment developed in Indiansociety.

(ii) During World War I, Ottoman Empire was the part of………………
Answer : Central Powers.

(iii) What was the main reason behind launchingof Non-Cooperation Movement?
Answer : First time both major Indian communities were against the government.

(iv) Find out the incorrect statement from the following:
(a) At the end of World War II, Gandhiji became an importantleader in Indian politics.
(b) Gandhiji toured India with Shaukat Ali to show Hindu-Muslimunity.
(c) In Nagpur session, Gandhiji succeeded to convince theCongress leaders to support Khilafat issue.
(d) Some of the leaders in Congress were not happy to takeKhilafat issue.
Answer : (a) At the end of World War II, Gandhiji became an importantleader in Indian politics.

Question. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:

In his famous book Hind Swaraj (1909) Mahatma Gandhideclared that British rule was established in India with thecooperation of Indians, and had survived only because of thiscooperation. If Indians refused to cooperate, British rule in Indiawould collapse within a year, and swaraj would come. How could non-cooperation become a movement? Gandhiji proposed that the movement should unfold in stages. It should begin withthe surrender of titles that the government awarded, and a boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislativecouncils, schools, and foreign goods. Then, in case thegovernment used repression, a full civil disobedience campaignwould be launched. Through the summer of 1920 MahatmaGandhi and Shaukat Ali toured extensively, mobilising popularsupport for the movement. Many within the Congress were, however, concerned about the proposals. They were reluctant toboycott the council elections scheduled for November 1920, andthey feared that the movement might lead to popular violence. Inthe months between September and December there was anintense tussle within the Congress. For a while there seemed nomeeting point between the supporters and the opponents of themovement. Finally, at the Congress session at Nagpur in December 1920, a compromise was worked out and the Non-Cooperation programme was adopted. The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement began in January 1921. Various socialgroups participated in this movement, each with its own specific aspiration. All of them responded to the call of Swaraj, but theterm meant different things to different people. The movement started with middle-class participation in the cities. Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned, and lawyers gave up their legal practices. The council elections were boycotted in most provinces except Madras, where the Justice Party, the party of the non- Brahmans, felt that entering the council was one way of gaining some power — something that usually only Brahmans had access to the effects of non-cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic. Foreign goods were boycotted, liquorshops picketed, and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonfires. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its valuedropping from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore. In many places merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread, and people began discarding imported clothes and wearing only Indian ones, production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.

(i) What was the declaration of Mahatma Gandhi in his famousbook Hind Swaraj (1909 AD)?
Answer : (a) Mahatma Gandhi declared that British rule wasestablished in India with the cooperation of Indians.
(b) It had survived only because of this cooperation.

(ii) How was the Non-Cooperation Movement started?
Answer : (a) The Non-Cooperation movement began with the surrender of titles that the government awarded.
(b) A boycott of civil services, army, police, courts and legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods.

Question. Read the case/source given below and answer the Questions that follow by choosing the appropriate option.

‘To the altar of this revolution we have brought ouryouth as incense’Many nationalists thought that the
struggle againstthe British could not be won through non-violence.In 1928, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army(HSRA) was founded at a meeting in FerozeshahKotla ground in Delhi. Amongst its leaders were Bhagat Singh, Jatin Dasand Ajoy Ghosh. In a series of dramatic actions indifferent parts of India, the HSRA targeted some ofthesymbols of British power. In April 1929, BhagatSingh and Batukeswar Dutta threw a bomb in theLegislativeAssembly. In the same year there was anattempt to blow up the train that Lord Irwin wastravelling in. BhagatSingh was 23 when he was triedand executed by the colonial government. During his trial, Bhagat Singh stated that he did notwish to glorify ‘the cult of the bomb and pistol’ but wanted a revolution in society: ‘Revolution is theinalienable right of mankind. Freedom is theimprescriptible birth right of all.The labourer is the real sustainer of society … To thealtar of this revolution we have brought our youth asincense, for no sacrifice is too great for somagnificent a cause. We are content. We await theadvent of revolution. Inquilab Zindabad!’

(i) Why Hindustan Socialist Republican Army wasformed? With reference to the above context.
Answer : Hindustani Socialist Republican Army was formed tofight against the British colonial rule in India and to achieve independence for the country through an armedrebellion if necessary.

(ii) Consider the following statements and find theincorrect from the given options.
I. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta threw abomb in the Central Legislative Assembly.
II. Hindustan Socialist Republican Army was based onthe principles given by Mahatma Gandhi.
III. Bhagat Singh wanted a revolution in the society
Codes
(a) Only I
(b) Only II
(c) Only III
(d) Both II and III
Answer : (b) Statement II is incorrect. Hindustan Socialist Rebublican was not based on the Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Non-violence.

(iii) What lessons does Bhagat Singh’s life have for modern-day India? Identify the correct option.
(a) He emphasised on socio-economic changes rather than changing political leaders.
(b) He inspired the masses to break social barriers of casteism.
(c) He taught people to shed away the fear of British rulers.
(d) All of the above
Answer : (d) All the given statements are correct.

(iv) The HSRA and Bhagat Singh focussed on which section of the society to bring a revolution? Identify the correct option.
(a) Labourers
(b) Leaders
(c) Youth
(d) Merchants
Answer : (c) The HSRA and Bhagat Singh focussed on youth to bring a revolution.

(v) During whose tenure as the Viceroy of India were the great martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged? Choose the best suitable option.
(a) Lord Canning
(b) Lord Irwin
(c) Lord Minto
(d) Lord Curzon
Answer : (b) During the tenure of Lord Irwin, Bhagat Singh Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged.

(vi) Which of the following were the Revolutionary activities of HSRA? Choose the correct option.
(a) Central Assembly Bombing Case.
(b) An attempt to blow up the train that Lord Irwin was travelling in.
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) Involved in Lahore Conspiracy Case
Answer : (c) The revolutionary activities of HSRA were Central Assembly bombing case and an attempt to blow up thetrain in which Lord Irwin was travelling.

Question. Read the text given below and answer the questions that follow :

In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement. He felt the movement was turning violent in many places and satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles. Within the Congress, some leaders were by now tired of mass struggles and wanted to participate in elections to the provincial councils that had been set up by the Government of India Act of 1919. They felt that it was important to oppose British policies within the councils, argue for reform and also demonstrate that these councils were not truly democratic. C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics. But younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose pressed for more radical mass agitation and for full independence. On 31 January 1930, he sent a letter to Viceroy Irwin stating eleven demands. Some of these were of general interest; others were specific demands of different classes, from industrialists to peasants. The idea was to make the demands wide-ranging, so that all classes within Indian society could identify with them and everyone could be brought together in a united campaign. The most stirring of all was the demand to abolish the salt tax. Salt was something consumed by the rich and the poor alike, and it was one of the most essential items of food. The tax on salt and the government monopoly over its production, Mahatma Gandhi declare, revealed the most oppressive face of British rule.

Answer the following MCQs by choosing the mostappropriate option:

(i) What was the reason for suspension ofthe Non cooperation Movement ?
Answer : Chauri-Chaura incidence.

(ii) This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement …………..
Answer : Dandi March.

(iii) In which year the Swaraj Party was formed ?
Answer : 1923.

(iv) ……….. and the government monopoly over its production, Mahatma Gandhi declare, revealed the most oppressive face ofBritish rule.
Answer : Tax on salt.

Question. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

This sense of collective belonging came partly through the experience of united struggles. But there were also a variety of cultural processes through which nationalism captured people’s imagination. History and fiction, folklore and songs, popularprints and symbols, all played a part in the making of nationalism. The identity of the nation is most often symbolizedin a figure or image. This helps create an image with which people can identify the nation. It was in the twentieth century, with the growth of nationalism, that the identity of India came to be visually associated with the image of Bharat Mata. The image was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Inthe 1870s he wrote ‘VandeMataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Later it was included in his novel Anandamath andwidely sung during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal. Moved by the Swadeshi movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bharat Mata. In this painting Bharat Mata is portrayed as an ascetic figure; she is calm, composed, divineand spiritual. In subsequent years, the image of Bharat Mata acquired many different forms, as it circulated in popular prints and was painted by different artists. Devotion to this mother figure came to be seen as evidence of one’s nationalism.

Answer the following by choosing the mostappropriate option:

(i) Find out the real meaning of the nationalism.
Answer : To ignite the feeling that all Indians are one.

(ii) What played important role to ignite feelingsof nationalism?
(a) Anandmath
(b) Collection of folklore and folktale
(c) Image of Bharat Mata
(d) All of the above
Answer : (d) All of the above.

(iii) The main motive behind the launching of Swadeshi Movement was………..
Answer : To oppose the division of Bengal into two parts.

(iv) Which of the following statement is not correct about the image of Bharat Mata?
(a) The image was drawn by several artists at different times.
(b) Bharat Mata carries same symbols in allimages.
(c) French and German allegories inspired to draw the image ofBharat Mata.
(d) Different artists used different symbols to show collectivebelongings.
Answer : Bharat Mata carries same symbols in all images.

Question. Read the Source carefully.

In 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, as president of the MuslimLeague, reiterated the importance of separate electoratesfor the Muslims as an important safeguard for their minoritypolitical interests. His statement is supposed to haveprovided the intellectual justification for the Pakistandemand that came up in subsequent years. This is what he said: I have no hesitation in declaring that if the principle that theIndian Muslim is entitled to full and free development on thelines of his own culture and tradition in his own Indian homelands is recognized as the basis of a permanent communalsettlement, he will be ready to stake his all for the freedomof India. The principle that each group is entitled for freedevelopment on its own lines is not inspired by anyfeelingof narrow communalism. A community which is inspired byfeelings of ill-will towards other communities is low andignoble. I entertain the highest respect for the customs,laws, religions and social institutions of other communities. Nay, it is my duty according to the teachings of the Quran,even to defend their places of worship, if need be. Eventhough I love the communal group which is the source oflife and behavior and which has formed me what I am by giving me its religion, its literature, it’s thought, its cultureand thereby its whole past as a living operative factor in my present consciousness. Communalism in its higher aspect, is indispensable to the formation of a harmonious whole ina country like India. The units of Indian society are not territorial as in European countries. The principle ofEuropean democracy can-not be applied to India withoutrecognising the fact of communal groups. The Muslimdemand for the separate electorates are contrary to thespirit of true nationalism, because he understands the word‘nation’ a kind of universal amalgamation in which nocommunal entity ought to retain its private individuality.Such a state of things, however, does not exist. India is aland of racial and religious variety. Add to this the general economic inferiority of the Muslims, their enormous debt, especially in the Punjab, and their insufficient majorities in some of the provinces, as at present constituted and you will begin to see clearly the meaning of our anxiety to retainseparate electorates.

Ques. Do you agree with Iqbal’s idea of communalism? Can you define communalism in a different way?
Answer : No, I do not agree with Iqbal’s notion of communalism. Hethought that it was the search for a community to developalong its own lines. He felt that religion is the basis onwhich thought process is based. He felt that religion bindspeople in one thread. It gives person a unified culture and literature. In his opinion, Hindus and Muslims should live asseparate entities in the country. This line of thought bolstered separatism and subsequently led to the partitionof the country. In the modern period, communalism spawnsa negative implication. It is projected as conflict betweenpeople of varied religions and ethnicities, leading toviolence between them. In these days, it starts to influencepolitics and governmental relation.

Question. Read the source given below and answer the question that follows.

Source: The Movement in the Towns

The movement started with middle-class participation in the cities. Thousands of students left government-controlled schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned and lawyers gave up their legal practices. The council elections were boycotted in most provinces except Madras, where the Justice Party, the party of the non-Brahmans, felt that entering the council was one way of gaining some power-something that usually only Brahmans had access to the effects of non-cooperation on the economic front were more dramatic. Foreign goods were boycotted. The import of foreign cloth halved between 1921 and 1922, its value dropping from 102 crore. In many places, merchants and traders refused to trade in foreign goods or finance foreign trade. As the boycott movement spread, and people began discarding importedclothes and wearing only Indian ones, production of Indian textile mills and handlooms went up.

(i) Explain the role of ‘Justice Party in boycotting of Council elections’.
Answer : The Justice Party members were non-Brahmans and sofar had not been able to win elections, as the Brahmancandidates always won. They thought it was a golden opportunity for them to enter the councils. So, they decided not to boycott council elections.

(ii) How was the effect of ‘non-cooperation on the economic front dramatic’?
Answer : The effects of Non-Cooperation on the economic frontwere more dramatic because the movement was started with middle class participation in the cities. Thousands of students left government schools and colleges, headmasters and teachers resigned and lawyers gave up their legal practice.

(iii) Explain the effect of ‘Boycott Movement on foreign textile trade’.
Answer : The effects of ‘Boycott Movement’ on foreign textile trade were that the foreign goods were boycotted, liquor shops picketed and foreign cloth burnt in huge bonefires.