Follow-up
• Find the slogans used by the following leaders and make a poster with suitable
illustrations.
• 1. Mahatma Gandhi
• 2. Subhash Chandra Bose
• 3. Bhagat Singh
• 4. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
• 5. Rani Laxmi Bai
Answer key for the exercises in the lesson
Exercises for Summative Assessment
I. Fill in the blanks.
1. Mahatma Gandhi first used Satyagraha in
the country of South Africa.
2. The massacre at Jalianwala Bagh happened
in the year 1919.
3. C R Das and Motilal Nehru founded the
Swaraj Party.
4. The Congress adopted the resolution of
purna swaraj in the session at Lahore.
5. Gandhi undertook the march against the salt
laws from Sabarmati to Dandi.
6. The Quit India Movement was held in the
year1942.
7. Subhash Chandra Bose formed the Indian
National Army in 1943.
8. The last viceroy of India was Lord
Mountbatten.
9. On 26 January 1950, India became a republic.
II. True or False
1. The Satyagraha Sabha was established to
oppose the Rowlatt Act. (T)
2. The Nehru Report was produced by a
committee headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. (F)
3. Gandhi took part in the First Round Table
Conference. (F)
4. Gandhi suspended the Civil Disobedience
Movement after the Gandhi-Irwin pact. (T)
5. The Congress won in most provinces in the
1937 elections. (T)
6. The interim government formed in 1946 was
headed by Gandhi. (F)
7. Dr Rajendra Prasad was the chairman of the
constituent assembly. (T)
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III. Answer in brief.
1. Name a few elements of the Constructive
Programme of Gandhi.
The Constructive Programme proposed by
Gandhi included spinning khadi, HinduMuslim unity and removal of untouchability.
2. Write a short note on the non-cooperation
movement.
In 1920 the government launched the noncooperation movement. The goal was to
undo the injustices done in Punjab and
Turkey. People boycotted British goods and
refused to cooperate with the British. Large
quantities of foreign goods were burnt. The
people adopted the wearing and spinning of
khadi. Students and people with government
jobs joined the Movement. The leaders
publicly spoke against the service in the
army and the police. The non-cooperation
movement had a powerful impact in the
country.
3. Why did Indians boycott the Simon
Commission?
The Commission constituted under Lord
Simon was to take a decision on selfgovernment for India. But, a body meant to
decide India’s political future did not include
a single Indian. Hence Indians boycotted the
Commission.
4. What was the revolutionary act committed
by Bhagat Singh? What was the sentence
awarded to him by the British?
Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary, killed
Saunders, the British officer who had
ordered the lathi charge at a demonstration
at Lahore. Bhagat Singh was hanged on 23
March 1928.
5. What was the ‘two-nation theory’?
Jinnah and the Muslim League put forward
the two-nation theory, according to which
Hindus and Muslims were not merely
separate religious communities, but were
also culturally and racially different. They
were, therefore, two separate nations.
6. Why did the Congress ministries resign in
1939?
Britain declared that being a British colony,
India would participate in the Second World
War. The Congress objected to this since their
consent had not been sought. They would not
participate in a war, when their own freedom
was denied to them. The Congress insisted
on the immediate transfer of effective power
to Indians in return for their cooperation in
the war. When the British government gave
no satisfactory reply, all Congress ministries
resigned in protest.
7. Who formed the main base of Subhash
Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army?
A large number of patriotic Indians living in
South-East Asia formed the main base of the
INA.
8. Why did the Simla Conference fail?
Lord Wavell, the viceroy of India at the
time, held the Simla Conference in 1945. He
planned to give representative Indian leaders
all the portfolios in his council, except that of
commander-in-chief. The conference failed
owing to the lack of agreement between the
Congress and the Muslim League.
9. Which party called for the Direct Action
Day? What was its result?
It was the Muslim League that called for
the Direct Action Day to be observed on 16
August 1946 and boycotted the assembly.
It condemned the Congress and the British
government and declared that Muslims
should resort to direct action to achieve
their goal of Pakistan.
IV. Answer in detail.
1. Write short notes on:
i) The Simon Commission.
Lord Reading, the viceroy, believed that the
growing national movement could be easily
suppressed if further constitutional reforms
were carried out. With this in view, the British
government appointed a commission under
Sir John Simon in 1927, to take a decision on
self-government for India. But, not a single
Indian member was included in the Simon
Commission. Indians criticised the fact that a
body meant to decide India’s future did not
include a single Indian. The Congress, the
Muslim League and the Hindu Mahsabha
decided to boycott the Commission. When
the Simon Commission arrived in India, they
were greeted with black flags and the slogan
‘Simon go back’.
ii) The Nehru Report
In response to the Simon Commission,
the Indian leaders decided to draw up a
constitution for India that was acceptable
to all. The All Parties Conference met in
1928 and appointed a committee headed
by Motilal Nehru to draft a constitution.
The report, known as the Nehru Report,
recommended that India be granted
dominion status immediately and demanded
fundamental rights for Indian citizens. This
demand was not met.
2. Write an account of the Dandi March by
Gandhi.
The Civil Disobedience Movement was
launched with the historic Dandi March in
1930. This march was undertaken by Gandhi
and many of his supporters as a mark
of protest against the grossly unjust salt
laws imposed by the British government.
According to the salt laws, the British had
the sole right to manufacture salt in India.
Heavy taxes were imposed on the purchase
of salt. Mahatma Gandhi walked 400 km
from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi and on 6
April 1930, he picked up a handful of salt
that had been formed along the shore by the
evaporation of sea water. This symbolic act
broke the British salt laws and set the trend
for the Civil Disobedience Movement that
followed.
3. Describe the Non-cooperation Movement.
Why did Gandhi withdraw the movement?
In December 1920, the Congress adopted
a new programme of struggle against the
government, the goal of which was to undo
the injustices done to Punjab and Turkey, and
the attainment of swarajya. It was called the
Non-cooperation Movement. It asked the
people to boycott British goods and refuse
to cooperate with the British. Foreign goods
were burnt at many places; many students
gave up their studies, lawyers boycotted
courts, and people left government jobs.
The charka and khadi became symbols of
this programme. The Non-Cooperation
Movement had a powerful impact on the
country. People and police clashed and there
was bloodshed. Thousands of people were
arrested. But nothing subdued the spirit of
the people. However, on 5 February 1922,
at Chauri Chaura, a village in Uttar Pradesh,
a group of peasants were fired upon by the
police. They retaliated by burning the police
station and killing 22 policemen. Gandhi
took a serious view of this incident. Realising
that people had not fully understood the
meaning of non-violence, he called off the
campaign.
4. What events and differences in view caused
a breach between the Congress and the
Muslim League?
The major differences between the Congress
and the Muslim League started with the
Congress sweeping the polls in the1937
assembly elections even in the Muslim
dominated provinces of Punjab, Bengal,
and the North-West Frontier Provinces. The
Muslim League was now bitterly opposed
to the Congress. It began to claim that the
interests of the Muslim minority could not
be protected by the Hindu majority or by
the Congress, which did not represent the
Muslims of India. Mohammad Ali Jinnah,
the president of the Muslim League, insisted
that the Muslim League be recognised as
the sole representative body of the Muslims
in India. He put forward the two-nation
theory. In 1940, the Muslim League passed a
resolution demanding the partition of India
and creation of an independent Muslim
state to be named Pakistan.
5. Which event was the main reason for
the announcement of the Quit India
Movement? What were the results of the
movement?
The failure of the Cripps Mission was the
main reason for the announcement of the
Quit India Movement. It proposed starting
a ‘mass struggle on non-violent lines on the
widest possible scale under the leadership
of Mahatma Gandhi’. But, before the
Congress could start the movement the
government started repressive measures.
All the members of the Congress Working
Committee along with Gandhi were arrested.
This news left the country shocked. There
were strikes and demonstrations all over
the country. The government resorted to
firings, lathi-charges and large-scale arrests.
People took to violence. Against Gandhi’s
will the Quit India Movement turned violent.
Though this movement could not force the
British to leave the country, it demonstrated
to them the depth of the nationalist feeling
in the country and the capacity for struggle
and sacrifice among the Indian people.
6. Describe the events that preceded and led
to the partition of India. What were the
effects of partition on India and Pakistan?
When the Congress won the assembly
elections in 1946 according to the Cabinet
Mission Plan, the Muslim League got alarmed
at the success of Congress. It decided to
boycott the assembly and instead observed
16 August 1946 as Direct Action Day. The
Muslim League declared that Muslims
should resort to direct action to achieve their
goal of Pakistan. Riots broke out, thousands
of Hindus and Muslims were killed. With the
Muslim League boycotting the Constituent
Assembly and not joining the government,
the situation became more confusing. When
under Clement Atlee, the British announced
that they would completely transfer power
to the Indians by 1948, the Muslim League
started an agitation for the partition of the
country. Riots occurred in several parts of
the country. On 23 March 1947, the League
observed Pakistan Day. In March 1947, Lord
Mountbatten came to India and presented
a plan for the partition of India into two
independent states--India and Pakistan. The
Congress leaders agreed to the partition to
avoid further bloodshed between Hindus
and Muslims. Partition saw some of the
worst communal riots in the history of the
world. Lakhs of people were killed, many
more displaced, homes broken and lives
destroyed.
7. Write short notes on the constituent
assembly and the adoption of the
constitution of India.
The constituent assembly was formed
under the provisions of the Cabinet Mission
Plan. The main task of the assembly was to
frame a constitution for India, so diverse
in its culture, language and religion. India
being a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and
multi-religious country, it was decided
that all religions and languages would be
treated with respect. To remove economic
disparities, the establishment of a just social
order was given importance. Dr Ambedkar
was the chairman of the Drafting Committee.
After three years of careful planning and
discussions, the final draft was ready and
passed on 26 January 1949. India was
declared a sovereign democratic republic on
26 January1950.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. c
7. c
2. a
8. c
3. a
9. b
4. b
5. c
6. b
10. d 11. b, c & d
Value-based question
• Non-violence
• Self-control—learning to control ones anger
and stay calm in the face of great provocation
• Being determined and having the courage to
fight for one’s right
• Being passive and not reactive
Answer key for the worksheet
I. 1. Satyagraha 2. Rowlatt 3. Swaraj 4. Simon
5. chakra
II. 1. d
2. e
3. a
4. b
5. c
III. 1. c
2. c
3. c
4. a
IV. 1. The year 1919 was a landmark in India’s
freedom struggle because it was the year
the Rowlatt Act was passed. The Rowlatt Act
gave the government the power to imprison
anyone without a trial or to search any place
without a warrant. The people opposed
the Act by courting arrests. The same year
Gandhi founded the Satyagraha Sabha,
which encouraged the Indians to adopt a
non-violent method of protest.
2. The Indian National Army (INA) with the
help of Japan advanced up to the frontiers
of India. But with the defeat and surrender
of Japan, it lost all hope of freeing India. But
the patriotism of the INA was a boost to the
freedom fighters in India and the British also
realised that it could no longer depend on
the loyalty of the Indian army.
3. The first programme of the Non-cooperation
Movement ended with the Chauri Chaura
incident. Twenty two policemen died in
this incident. Mahatma Gandhi called off
the campaign realising that the practice of
non-violence had not been fully understood
by the people. Gandhi was arrested and
sentenced to six years of imprisonment.
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4. The two Indian leaders deeply influenced
by the Russian Revolution were Jawaharlal
Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose.
5. The Second World War broke out in 1939
and the British declared that India should
join the war. But the Congress objected to
this and insisted that Indians be given their
independence in return for their cooperation
in the war. The British did not accept this, so
Congress ministries that had been formed in
the provinces resigned in protest.