NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 2 Nationalism in India

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 2 Nationalism in India are given in this article. These solutions will help you learn the facts and events easily. With these solutions, you will also learn the right way to write your answers perfectly in exams. We have updated the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 2 Nationalism in India for the current session so that you can easily score high marks in the exams. You can also download PDF of the solutions and use them whenever you are offline.

Class 10 History Chapter 2 NCERT Solutions PDF Download

Write in Brief

Question 1: Explain:
(a) Why growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to an anti-colonial movement.
(b) How the First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India.
(c) Why Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act.
(d) Why Gandhiji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Answer: (a) Colonisation affected people’s freedom, and nationalist sentiments surged during the process of struggle against imperial domination. The sense of oppression and exploitation became a common bond for people from different walks of life, and this resulted in the growth of nationalist ideals. Thus, growth of nationalism in the colonies is linked to anti-colonial movements.

(b) The First World War helped in the growth of the National Movement in India in the following ways:

During the First World War, the British army forcibly recruited people from the rural areas of India.
To finance the defence expenditure, custom duties were raised and income taxes were imposed.
During 1918-19 and 1920-21, crops failed in many parts of India which resulted in acute food shortages. All this caused extensive anger and opposition against the British colonial rule, and the national movement of India headed towards a stronger and more definitive direction.

The Rowlatt Act was passed hurriedly through the Imperial Legislative Council despite opposition from Indian members.
It gave the government autocratic powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without a trial for two years.
It was clearly injustice and oppressive for Indians.

(d) Gandhi ji decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement due to various incidents of violence perpetrated by the masses, especially the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922 where the people clashed with the police, setting a police-station on fire. Gandhi ji felt that the people were not yet ready for a mass struggle, and that satyagrahis needed to be properly trained for non-violent demonstrations.

Question 2: What is meant by the idea of satyagraha?

Answer: The idea of satyagraha implies a unique method of mass agitation that emphasises the power of truth and the need to search the truth. It supports the belief that if the cause is true and the struggle is against injustice, then there is no need for physical force to fight the oppressor. In this, people-including the oppressors have to be persuaded to see the truth instead of being forced to accept truth through the use of violence. By this struggle, truth was bound to be victorious.

Question 3: Write a newspaper report on:
(a) The Jallianwala Bagh massacre
(b) The Simon Commission

Answer: (a) On 13 April, the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. On that day a large crowd was gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh. Some came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures. Others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. Being from outside the city, many villagers were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. His objective, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’, in the minds of Satyagrahis. A feeling of terror and awe.

(b) The Simon Commission was appointed in India in 1928. This commission consisted of seven members and its Chairman was Sir John Simon. The objective of the Commission was to look into the functioning of the constitutional system in India and suggest some constitutional changes. But nationalists in India opposed the Commission because it had no Indian member. The Congress and the Muslim League jointly demonstrated against it. When the Simon Commission arrived in India, it was greeted with the slogan “Go Back Simon”.

Question 4: Compare the images of Bharat Mata in this chapter with the image of Germania in Chapter 1.

Answer: Comparison of the images of Bharat Mata with the image of Germania:

The image of Germania symbolises the German nation whereas the image of Bharat Mata represents the Indian nation.
The image of Bharat Mata is different from that of Germania in the sense that former reflects the religious basis of its making.
The image of Bharat Mata painted by Abanindranath Tagore is bestowed with learning, food, clothing and some ascetic quality also. In another painting, we find Mata holding Trishul and standing beside a lion and an elephant – symbols of power and authority. Germania as a female figure is standing against a background of the tricolour fabric of the national flag. She is wearing a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism.

DISCUSS

Question 1: List all the different social groups which joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921. Then choose any three and write about their hopes and struggles to show why they joined the movement.

Answer: The different social groups that joined the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1921 were the urban middle class comprising lawyers, teachers and headmasters, students, peasants, tribals and workers.

Peasants, tribals and workers joined the movement with hopes of self-emancipation. Peasants hoped that they would be saved from the oppressive landlords, high taxes taken by the colonial government.
Plantation workers, on the other hand, desired freedom to move about and get land in their own villages.
The middle class joined the movement because the boycott of foreign goods would make the sale of their textiles and handlooms go up.

Question 2: Discuss the Salt March to make clear why it was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism.

Answer: The Salt March was an effective symbol of resistance against colonialism because it was done in revolt against a commodity—salt, used by the rich and the poor alike. The tax on salt, and the government monopoly over its production was a severely oppressive administrative move. The Salt March was effective also because Gandhi ji met a large number of commoners during the march and he taught them the true meaning of swaraj and non-violence. By peacefully defying a law and making salt against government orders, Gandhi ji set forth an example to the whole nation of how the oppressor could be confronted in a non-violent manner. This also led to the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.

Question 3: Imagine you are a woman participating in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Explain what the experience meant to your life.

Answer: A large number of women participated in large the Civil Disobedience Movement which was called by Gandhiji. They participated in protest marches, manufactured salt, and picked foreign cloth and liquor shops. Many of them were put to jail by the police. Women at that time saw national service as a sacred duty.

Question 4: Why did political leaders differ sharply over the question of separate electorates?

Answer: Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who organised the Dalits into the Depressed Classes Association in 1930, clashed with Mahatma Gandhi at the second Round Table Conference by demanding separate electorates for Dalits. When the British government conceded Ambedkar’s demand, Gandhiji began a fast unto death. He believed that separate electorates for Dalits would slow down the process of their integration into society. Ambedkar ultimately accepted Gandhiji’s position, and the result was the Poona Pact of September 1932.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was willing to give up the demand for separate electorates if Muslims were assured reserved seats in the Central Assembly and representation in proportion to population in the Muslim-dominated provinces (Bengal and Punjab). Negotiations over the question of representation continued, but all hope of resolving the issue at the All Parties Conference in 1928 disappeared when M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha strongly opposed efforts at compromise.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 2 Nationalism in India: Chapter Overview

In this chapter you learn about the following topics:

The First World War, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation
Differing Strands within the Movement
Towards Civil Disobedience
The Sense of Collective Belonging