Mahatma Gandhi & Nationalist Movement: AHSEC Class 12 History

Summary

The chapter talks about Mahatma Gandhi and his role in India’s nationalist movement. It begins by comparing Gandhi to leaders like George Washington and Ho Chi Minh, who were important in their countries’ struggles for freedom. Gandhi returned to India in 1915 after spending many years in South Africa. There, he developed the idea of non-violent protest called Satyagraha. He also worked to bring harmony between religions and highlighted the poor treatment of lower castes and women.

When Gandhi came back to India, the country was already politically active. The Indian National Congress had branches in many cities. Gandhi first spoke publicly at the opening of Banaras Hindu University in 1916. He criticized the rich for ignoring the poor. His speech showed his desire to make the freedom struggle more inclusive of common people.

Gandhi’s first major actions involved helping peasants and workers. In Champaran, he helped farmers fight against British indigo planters. In Ahmedabad, he supported mill workers asking for better conditions. In Kheda, he stood with peasants seeking tax relief after a bad harvest. These efforts made him popular among the poor.

In 1919, the British passed the Rowlatt Act, which allowed them to imprison people without trial. Gandhi called for a nationwide protest. This led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre where many Indians were killed. This event made Gandhi a national leader. He then started the Non-Cooperation Movement, urging Indians to stop attending British schools and courts. He linked this movement with the Khilafat Movement, which sought to protect the Caliphate.

Gandhi wore simple clothes like a dhoti and used a spinning wheel to make his own cloth. This showed his support for self-reliance and connected him with the poor. People saw him as a savior who could help them against high taxes and harsh officials. Rumors spread about his magical powers. Some believed he could solve their problems just by being there.

In 1930, Gandhi led the Salt March to protest the British salt tax. He walked to the sea to make salt, breaking the law. Many joined him, showing widespread discontent against British rule. Despite arrests and crackdowns, the movement grew stronger. Gandhi’s methods inspired many to join the struggle for freedom.

Later, the focus shifted to negotiating independence with the British. Talks often failed because of disagreements between the Congress, the Muslim League, and the British. Gandhi tried to keep peace but tensions led to violence. The chapter ends with Gandhi’s death in 1948. His life and work left a lasting impact on India’s fight for freedom.

Textbook solutions

Answer in 100-150 words

1. How did Mahatma Gandhi seek to identify with the common people?

Answer : Mahatma Gandhi sought to identify with the common people by dressing like them, living like them, and speaking their language. Unlike other leaders who stood apart from the common folk, Gandhiji empathised and even identified with them. This identification was strikingly reflected in his dress: while other nationalist leaders dressed formally, wearing a Western suit or an Indian bandgala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth. Meanwhile, he spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel) and encouraged other nationalists to do likewise. The act of spinning allowed Gandhiji to break the boundaries that prevailed within the traditional caste system, between mental labour and manual labour. Where most politicians talked down to the common people, Gandhiji appeared not just to look like them but to understand them and relate to their lives.

2. How was Mahatma Gandhi perceived by the peasants?

Answer : Mahatma Gandhi appeared to the Indian peasant as a saviour, who would rescue them from high taxes and oppressive officials and restore dignity and autonomy to their lives. Gandhiji’s appeal among the poor, and peasants in particular, was enhanced by his ascetic lifestyle, and by his shrewd use of symbols such as the dhoti and the charkha. Where most politicians talked down to them, Gandhiji appeared not just to look like them, but to understand them and relate to their lives. Peasants, workers, and others interpreted and acted upon the call to “non-cooperate” with colonial rule in ways that best suited their interests, rather than conform to the dictates laid down from above. His identification was strikingly reflected in his dress: while other nationalist leaders dressed formally, wearing a Western suit or an Indian bandgala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth.

3. Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?

Answer : The salt laws became an important issue of struggle because the state monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular. In every Indian household, salt was indispensable, yet people were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use, compelling them to buy it from shops at a high price. The salt tax was at times even fourteen times its value. The government destroyed the salt it could not sell profitably, thereby taxing the nation’s vital necessity, preventing the public from manufacturing it, and destroying what nature manufactures without effort. The salt monopoly was thus a fourfold curse. It deprived the people of a valuable easy village industry, involved wanton destruction of property that nature produces in abundance, the destruction itself meant more national expenditure, and an unheard-of tax of more than 1,000 per cent was exacted from a starving people.

4. Why are newspapers an important source for the study of the national movement?

Answer : Newspapers are an important source because they tracked Mahatma Gandhi’s movements and reported on his activities. They also represented what ordinary Indians thought of him. Newspaper accounts, however, should not be seen as unprejudiced. They were published by people who had their own political opinions and world views. These ideas shaped what was published and the way events were reported. Accounts published in a London newspaper would be different from the report in an Indian nationalist paper. While these reports reflect the fears and anxieties of officials unable to control a movement, they still provide insights into how events were perceived and represented during the national movement.

5. Why was the charkha chosen as a symbol of nationalism?

Answer : Mahatma Gandhi was profoundly critical of the modern age in which machines enslaved humans and displaced labour. He saw the charkha as a symbol of a human society that would not glorify machines and technology. The spinning wheel could provide the poor with supplementary income and make them self-reliant. What he objected to was the craze for machinery as such, particularly labour-saving machinery, which led to thousands being without work and thrown on the open streets to die of starvation. He wanted to save time and labour for all, not just a fraction of mankind, and desired the concentration of wealth in the hands of all rather than a few. Khaddar did not seek to destroy all machinery but regulated its use and checked its weedy growth, using machinery for the service of the poorest in their own cottages. The wheel itself was considered an exquisite piece of machinery.

Short essay-type answers

6. How was non-cooperation a form of protest?

Answer : Non-cooperation was a form of protest where Indians who wished colonialism to end were asked to stop attending schools, colleges, and law courts, and not pay taxes. In sum, they were asked to adhere to a “renunciation of (all) voluntary association with the (British) Government”. If non-cooperation was effectively carried out, India would win swaraj within a year. To further broaden the struggle, Mahatma Gandhi joined hands with the Khilafat Movement that sought to restore the Caliphate, a symbol of Pan-Islamism which had recently been abolished by the Turkish ruler Kemal Attaturk. Non-cooperation entailed denial, renunciation, and self-discipline. It was training for self-rule. As a consequence of the Non-Cooperation Movement, the British Raj was shaken to its foundations for the first time since the Revolt of 1857.

Students stopped going to schools and colleges run by the government. Lawyers refused to attend court. The working class went on strike in many towns and cities: according to official figures, there were 396 strikes in 1921, involving 600,000 workers and a loss of seven million workdays. The countryside was seething with discontent too. Hill tribes in northern Andhra violated the forest laws. Farmers in Awadh did not pay taxes. Peasants in Kumaun refused to carry loads for colonial officials. These protest movements were sometimes carried out in defiance of the local nationalist leadership. Peasants, workers, and others interpreted and acted upon the call to “non-cooperate” with colonial rule in ways that best suited their interests, rather than conform to the dictates laid down from above.

7. Why were the dialogues at the Round Table Conference inconclusive?

Answer : The dialogues at the Round Table Conference were inconclusive because Mahatma Gandhi opposed the demand for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, while Ambedkar supported it. Mahatma Gandhi stated his arguments against separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, saying that separate electorates to the “Untouchables” would ensure them bondage in perpetuity and would perpetuate the stigma. He argued that what was needed was the destruction of “Untouchability,” and when that was done, the bar-sinister, which had been imposed by an insolent “superior” class upon an “inferior” class, would be destroyed. In response to Mahatma Gandhi’s opposition, Ambedkar wrote that here was a class undoubtedly not in a position to sustain itself in the struggle for existence. The religion to which they were tied branded them as lepers, not fit for ordinary intercourse. Economically, it was a class entirely dependent upon the high-caste Hindus for earning its daily bread with no independent way of living open to it. There was a definite attempt all through Hindu Society to bolt every possible door so as not to allow the Depressed Classes any opportunity to rise in the scale of life. In these circumstances, it would be granted by all fair-minded persons that as the only path for a community so handicapped to succeed in the struggle for life against organized tyranny, some share of political power in order that it may protect itself was a paramount necessity.

8. In what way did Mahatma Gandhi transform the nature of the national movement?

Answer : Mahatma Gandhi transformed Indian nationalism by redeeming the promise he made in his BHU speech of February 1916. It was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals; now, hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, and artisans also participated in it. Many of them venerated Gandhiji, referring to him as their “Mahatma”. They appreciated the fact that he dressed like them, lived like them, and spoke their language. Unlike other leaders, he did not stand apart from the common folk but empathised and even identified with them. This identification was strikingly reflected in his dress: while other nationalist leaders dressed formally, wearing a Western suit or an Indian bandgala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth. Meanwhile, he spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel) and encouraged other nationalists to do likewise. The act of spinning allowed Gandhiji to break the boundaries that prevailed within the traditional caste system, between mental labour and manual labour.

By 1922, Gandhiji had transformed Indian nationalism, thereby redeeming the promise he made in his BHU speech of February 1916. It was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals; now, hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, and artisans also participated in it. Many of them venerated Gandhiji, referring to him as their “Mahatma”. They appreciated the fact that he dressed like them, lived like them, and spoke their language. Unlike other leaders, he did not stand apart from the common folk but empathised and even identified with them.

9. What do private letters and autobiographies tell us about an individual? How are these sources different from official accounts?

Answer : Private letters give us a glimpse of an individual’s private thoughts, allowing us to see people expressing their anger, pain, dismay, anxiety, hopes, and frustrations in ways they may not express in public statements. Autobiographies similarly give us an account of the past that is often rich in human detail. However, we have to be careful of the way we read and interpret autobiographies as they are retrospective accounts written very often from memory. They tell us what the author could recollect, what he or she saw as important, or was keen on recounting, or how a person wanted his or her life to be viewed by others. Writing an autobiography is a way of framing a picture of yourself. So in reading these accounts, we have to try and see what the author does not tell us; we need to understand the reasons for that silence – those wilful or unwitting acts of forgetting. These sources differ from official accounts which are often shaped by political opinions and world views of the people who published them. Every statement made in official accounts cannot be accepted literally as representing what was happening on the ground. They often reflect the fears and anxieties of officials who were unable to control a movement and were anxious about its spread.

Extras

Additional questions and answers

1. Who was regarded as the ‘Father’ of the Indian nation?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi has been regarded as the ‘Father’ of the Indian nation.

2. What was the first significant public appearance made by Gandhi after returning to India?

Answer: Gandhi’s first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916.

3. Name Gandhi’s political mentor.

Answer: Gandhiji’s acknowledged political mentor was Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

4. Who were known as “Lal, Bal and Pal”?

Answer: Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra, Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal, and Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab were known as “Lal, Bal and Pal”.

5. When did Gandhi return to India after his stay in South Africa?

Answer: In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to his homeland after two decades of residence abroad.

6. Define Satyagraha.

Answer: Satyagraha refers to the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest first forged by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa.

7. In which year did Gandhi intervene in the Ahmedabad labour dispute?

Answer: In 1918, Gandhiji intervened in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad, demanding better working conditions for the textile mill workers.

8. Name the place where Gandhi first conducted a significant peasant movement in India.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi spent much of 1917 in Champaran, seeking to obtain for the peasants security of tenure as well as the freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice.

9. When did the Jallianwala Bagh massacre take place?

Answer: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in April 1919.

10. Who chaired the committee responsible for the Rowlatt Act?

Answer: The committee whose recommendations led to the continuation of tough measures, known as the Rowlatt Act, was chaired by Sir Sidney Rowlatt.

11. Describe Gandhi’s views expressed during the opening ceremony of BHU.

Answer: When his turn came to speak at the opening of the BHU in February 1916, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor. He worried about the contrast between the “richly bedecked noblemen” present and “millions of the poor” Indians who were absent. Gandhiji told the privileged invitees that “there is no salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India”.

He went on, “There can be no spirit of self-government about us, if we take away or allow others to take away from the peasants almost the whole of the results of their labour. Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it.” Gandhiji chose instead to remind those present of the peasants and workers who constituted a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience.

Gandhiji’s speech was, at one level, merely a statement of fact – namely, that Indian nationalism was an elite phenomenon, a creation of lawyers and doctors and landlords. But, at another level, it was also a statement of intent – the first public announcement of Gandhiji’s own desire to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people as a whole.

12. What was the Rowlatt Act, and why was it opposed?

Answer: During the Great War of 1914-18, the British had instituted censorship of the press and permitted detention without trial. Now, on the recommendation of a committee chaired by Sir Sidney Rowlatt, these tough measures were continued.

In response, Gandhiji called for a countrywide campaign against the “Rowlatt Act”. In towns across North and West India, life came to a standstill, as shops shut down and schools closed in response to the bandh call. The protests were particularly intense in the Punjab, where many men had served on the British side in the War – expecting to be rewarded for their service. Instead they were given the Rowlatt Act.

13. Explain the significance of the Khilafat Movement.

Answer: The Khilafat Movement, (1919-1920) was a movement of Indian Muslims, led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, that demanded the following: The Turkish Sultan or Khalifa must retain control over the Muslim sacred places in the erstwhile Ottoman empire; the jazirat-ul-Arab (Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Palestine) must remain under Muslim sovereignty; and the Khalifa must be left with sufficient territory to enable him to defend the Islamic faith.

The Congress supported the movement and Mahatma Gandhi sought to conjoin it to the Non-cooperation Movement. Gandhiji hoped that by coupling non-cooperation with Khilafat, India’s two major religious communities, Hindus and Muslims, could collectively bring an end to colonial rule.

14. Why did Gandhi call off the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922?

Answer: In February 1922, a group of peasants attacked and torched a police station in the hamlet of Chauri Chaura, in the United Provinces (now, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal). Several constables perished in the conflagration. This act of violence prompted Gandhiji to call off the movement altogether.

“No provocation,” he insisted, “can possibly justify (the) brutal murder of men who had been rendered defenceless and who had virtually thrown themselves on the mercy of the mob.”

15. How did Gandhi’s attire symbolise his political and social philosophy?

Answer: While other nationalist leaders dressed formally, wearing a Western suit or an Indian bandgala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth. In 1921, during a tour of South India, Gandhiji shaved his head and began wearing a loincloth in order to identify with the poor.

His new appearance also came to symbolise asceticism and abstinence – qualities he celebrated in opposition to the consumerist culture of the modern world. This identification was strikingly reflected in his dress.

16. What was Gandhi’s aim behind promoting the charkha?

The act of spinning allowed Gandhiji to break the boundaries that prevailed within the traditional caste system, between mental labour and manual labour. He also stressed the significance of wearing khadi (home-spun cloth) rather than mill-made cloth imported from overseas to learn to become self-reliant.

17. Why was salt chosen as a symbol of protest in the Civil Disobedience Movement?

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi announced that he would lead a march to break one of the most widely disliked laws in British India, which gave the state a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. His picking on the salt monopoly was another illustration of Gandhiji’s tactical wisdom. For in every Indian household, salt was indispensable; yet people were forbidden from making salt even for domestic use, compelling them to buy it from shops at a high price. The state monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular; by making it his target, Gandhiji hoped to mobilise a wider discontent against British rule.

The volume of information being gained daily shows how wickedly the salt tax has been designed. It taxes the nation’s vital necessity; it prevents the public from manufacturing it and destroys what nature manufactures without effort. The salt monopoly is thus a fourfold curse. It deprives the people of a valuable easy village industry, involves wanton destruction of property that nature produces in abundance, the destruction itself means more national expenditure, and fourthly, an unheard-of tax of more than 1,000 per cent is exacted from a starving people.

18. Discuss Gandhi’s actions immediately after India’s Independence.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi was not present at the festivities in the capital on 15 August 1947. He was in Calcutta, but he did not attend any function or hoist a flag there either. Gandhiji marked the day with a 24-hour fast.

Through September and October, Gandhiji “went round hospitals and refugee camps giving consolation to distressed people”. He appealed to the Sikhs, the Hindus and the Muslims to forget the past and not to dwell on their sufferings but to extend the right hand of fellowship to each other, and to determine to live in peace.

At the initiative of Gandhiji and Nehru, the Congress passed a resolution on “the rights of minorities”, assuring them that India would be “a democratic secular State where all citizens enjoy full rights and are equally entitled to the protection of the State, irrespective of the religion to which they belong”.

After working to bring peace to Bengal, Gandhiji shifted to Delhi, from where he hoped to move on to the riot-torn districts of Punjab. While in the capital, his meetings were disrupted by refugees. Gandhiji “was equally concerned with the sufferings of the minority community in Pakistan. He would have liked to be able to go to their succour. But with what face could he now go there, when he could not guarantee full redress to the Muslims in Delhi?”

19. Explain Gandhi’s contributions in South Africa in shaping his future political methods.

Answer: It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi first forged the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, first promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women. South Africa was “the making of the Mahatma”.

20. Describe the impact of Gandhi’s early campaigns in Champaran, Ahmedabad, and Kheda on his nationalist image.

Answer: These initiatives in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda marked Gandhiji out as a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor.

21. What was Gandhi’s role in broadening Indian nationalism after 1920?

His success in broadening the basis of nationalism was based on careful organisation. New branches of the Congress were set up in various parts of India. A series of “Praja Mandals” were established to promote the nationalist creed in the princely states. Gandhiji encouraged the communication of the nationalist message in the mother tongue, rather than in the language of the rulers, English. Thus the provincial committees of the Congress were based on linguistic regions, rather than on the artificial boundaries of British India. In these different ways nationalism was taken to the farthest corners of the country and embraced by social groups previously untouched by it.

22. Explain how Gandhi’s Salt March gained global attention.

Answer: The Salt March was the event that first brought Mahatma Gandhi to world attention. The march was widely covered by the European and American press.

For instance, the American newsmagazine, Time, initially scorned Gandhiji’s looks and was sceptical of the march reaching its destination, but within a week it had changed its mind due to the massive popular following the march had garnered, which made the British rulers “desperately anxious”. Time then saluted Gandhiji as a “Saint” and “Statesman”.

23. Why was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact significant despite its criticisms?

Answer: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact culminated from several long meetings between Gandhiji and the Viceroy Lord Irwin in February 1931. By its terms, civil disobedience would be called off, all prisoners released, and salt manufacture allowed along the coast.

Although the pact was criticised by radical nationalists because Gandhiji was unable to obtain from the Viceroy a commitment to political independence for Indians, he could obtain merely an assurance of talks towards that possible end, leading to the Second Round Table Conference.

24. Discuss the reactions and criticisms faced by Gandhi at the Second Round Table Conference.

Answer: At the Second Round Table Conference held in London in the latter part of 1931, Gandhiji represented the Congress. However, his claims that his party represented all of India came under challenge from three parties: from the Muslim League, which claimed to stand for the interests of the Muslim minority; from the Princes, who claimed that the Congress had no stake in their territories; and from the brilliant lawyer and thinker B.R. Ambedkar, who argued that Gandhiji and the Congress did not really represent the lowest castes.

Gandhiji opposed the demand for separate electorates for “lower castes”, believing it would prevent their integration into mainstream society and permanently segregate them.

25. Explain Gandhi’s contributions in South Africa in shaping his future political methods.

26. Describe the impact of Gandhi’s early campaigns in Champaran, Ahmedabad, and Kheda on his nationalist image.

Answer: These initiatives in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda marked Gandhiji out as a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor.

27. What was Gandhi’s role in broadening Indian nationalism after 1920?

Answer: By 1922, Gandhiji had transformed Indian nationalism. It was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals; now, hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers and artisans also participated in it. Many of them venerated Gandhiji, referring to him as their “Mahatma”. Unlike other leaders he did not stand apart from the common folk, but empathised and even identified with them, which was strikingly reflected in his dress – a simple dhoti or loincloth. He spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel), encouraging others to do likewise, breaking boundaries within the traditional caste system between mental and manual labour.

While Mahatma Gandhi’s mass appeal was undoubtedly genuine, his success in broadening the basis of nationalism was also based on careful organisation. New branches of the Congress were set up in various parts of India, Praja Mandals were established in princely states, and Gandhiji encouraged communicating the nationalist message in the mother tongue rather than English. Provincial committees of the Congress were based on linguistic regions. In these different ways nationalism was taken to the farthest corners of the country and embraced by social groups previously untouched by it, including prosperous businessmen, industrialists, poor peasants and rich industrialists.

The growth of “Gandhian nationalism” also depended to a very substantial extent on his followers, a group of highly talented Indians who attached themselves to Gandhiji between 1917 and 1922, coming from different regions and religious traditions, inspiring countless others to join the Congress.

28. Explain how Gandhi’s Salt March gained global attention.

Answer: The Salt March was the event that first brought Mahatma Gandhi to world attention. The march was widely covered by the European and American press.

The American newsmagazine, Time, initially scorned Gandhiji’s looks and was sceptical of the march reaching its destination, but within a week it had changed its mind. The massive popular following that the march had garnered, Time wrote, had made the British rulers “desperately anxious”. Gandhiji himself they now saluted as a “Saint” and “Statesman”, who was using “Christian acts as a weapon against men with Christian beliefs”.

29. Why was the Gandhi-Irwin Pact significant despite its criticisms?

Answer: Following meetings between Gandhiji and the Viceroy Lord Irwin in February 1931, the “Gandhi-Irwin Pact’ was concluded. By its terms, civil disobedience would be called off, all prisoners released, and salt manufacture allowed along the coast.

30. Discuss the reactions and criticisms faced by Gandhi at the Second Round Table Conference.

Answer: At the second Round Table Conference held in London in the latter part of 1931, Gandhiji represented the Congress. However, his claims that his party represented all of India came under challenge from three parties: from the Muslim League, which claimed to stand for the interests of the Muslim minority; from the Princes, who claimed that the Congress had no stake in their territories; and from the brilliant lawyer and thinker B.R. Ambedkar, who argued that Gandhiji and the Congress did not really represent the lowest castes.

Mahatma Gandhi opposed the demand for separate electorates for “lower castes” or the Depressed Classes. He believed that separate electorates would ensure them bondage in perpetuity, perpetuate the stigma of “Untouchability”, and prevent their integration into mainstream society, permanently segregating them from other caste Hindus.

Ambedkar, in response, argued that the Depressed Classes were in a handicapped position, dependent on high-caste Hindus and facing social prejudices that bolted doors to opportunity. He contended that for such a community to succeed against organised tyranny, some share of political power, obtained through measures like separate electorates, was a paramount necessity for self-protection. The Conference was inconclusive.

Additional MCQs

1. When did Gandhi return to India?

A. January 1915
B. February 1915
C. January 1916
D. December 1915

Answer: A. January 1915

2. Where did Gandhi develop his method of satyagraha?

A. South Africa
B. India
C. England
D. USA

Answer: A. South Africa

3. Which movement broadened the Indian National Congress’ appeal among the middle classes during Gandhi’s time?

A. Swadeshi
B. Khilafat
C. Quit India
D. Non-cooperation

Answer: A. Swadeshi

4. Who among these was Gandhi’s political mentor among the Moderates?

A. Gokhale
B. Tilak
C. Patel
D. Bose

Answer: A. Gokhale

5. At which event did Gandhi make his first major public appearance in India?

A. BHU Opening
B. Congress Session
C. Salt March
D. Quit India

Answer: A. BHU Opening

6. What did Gandhi criticize at the BHU event in February 1916?

A. Elite neglect
B. Taxation
C. British rule
D. Colonial policies

Answer: A. Elite neglect

7. Which act did Gandhi oppose that led to nationwide protests in 1919?

A. Rowlatt Act
B. Salt Act
C. Arms Act
D. Press Act

Answer: A. Rowlatt Act

8. The massacre in Amritsar that resulted in over 400 deaths occurred at which location?

A. Jallianwala Bagh
B. Red Fort
C. Chauri Chaura
D. Dandi

Answer: A. Jallianwala Bagh

9. Gandhi’s campaign in Champaran primarily addressed the plight of peasants under which plantation crop?

A. Indigo
B. Cotton
C. Tea
D. Sugar

Answer: A. Indigo

10. Which movement was combined with non-cooperation to unite Hindus and Muslims?

A. Khilafat
B. Swadeshi
C. Quit India
D. Civil disobedience

Answer: A. Khilafat

11. In which incident did peasants attack a police station, prompting Gandhi to call off non-cooperation?

A. Chauri Chaura
B. Dandi March
C. Bardoli
D. Lucknow

Answer: A. Chauri Chaura

12. Who presided over Gandhi’s trial in March 1922 and remarked on his high ideals?

A. Broomfield
B. Irwin
C. Willingdon
D. Mountbatten

Answer: A. Broomfield

13. Which item did Gandhi use to symbolise self-reliance and break caste boundaries?

A. Charkha
B. Suit
C. Tie
D. Watch

Answer: A. Charkha

14. In 1921, Gandhi adopted which garment to identify with the poor in South India?

A. Loincloth
B. Suit
C. Sherwani
D. Turban

Answer: A. Loincloth

15. Which fabric did Gandhi promote as a symbol of economic self-reliance?

A. Khadi
B. Silk
C. Wool
D. Cotton

Answer: A. Khadi

16. By what epithet was Gandhi popularly known among peasants?

A. Mahatma
B. Sardar
C. Bapu
D. Leader

Answer: A. Mahatma

17. When did the Congress session in Lahore proclaim “Purna Swaraj”?

A. December 1929
B. January 1930
C. March 1930
D. August 1930

Answer: A. December 1929

18. On which date did the national observance of Independence Day occur in 1930?

A. 26 January 1930
B. 12 March 1930
C. 6 April 1930
D. 15 August 1930

Answer: A. 26 January 1930

19. What was the primary subject of Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha?

A. Salt
B. Sugar
C. Tea
D. Spices

Answer: A. Salt

20. When did Gandhi begin the Salt March?

A. 12 March 1930
B. 26 January 1930
C. 5 April 1930
D. 15 August 1947

Answer: A. 12 March 1930

21. Where did Gandhi conclude the Salt March by making salt?

A. Dandi
B. Sabarmati
C. Calcutta
D. Lahore

Answer: A. Dandi

22. Approximately how many Indians were arrested following the Salt March?

A. 60,000
B. 30,000
C. 10,000
D. 100,000

Answer: A. 60,000

23. Which pact was signed following Gandhi’s release in January 1931?

A. Gandhi-Irwin Pact
B. Gandhi-Willingdon Pact
C. Gandhi-Mountbatten Pact
D. Gandhi-Broomfield Pact

Answer: A. Gandhi-Irwin Pact

24. When did the Quit India movement commence?

A. August 1942
B. July 1942
C. September 1942
D. October 1942

Answer: A. August 1942

25. Who was notably active in underground resistance during the Quit India movement?

A. Narayan
B. Nehru
C. Patel
D. Bose

Answer: A. Narayan

26. On which date was India granted independence?

A. 15 August 1947
B. 26 January 1947
C. 30 January 1948
D. 15 August 1948

Answer: A. 15 August 1947

27. On which date was Gandhi assassinated?

A. 30 January 1948
B. 15 August 1947
C. 26 January 1948
D. 5 April 1948

Answer: A. 30 January 1948

28. Who assassinated Gandhi?

A. Nathuram Godse
B. Bhagat Singh
C. Subhas Bose
D. Jinnah

Answer: A. Nathuram Godse

29. Which journal did Gandhi use to publish letters received from others?

A. Harijan
B. Young India
C. Indian Opinion
D. None

Answer: A. Harijan

30. Which collection compiled by Nehru includes letters exchanged during the national movement?

A. A Bunch of Old Letters
B. My Letters
C. Freedom Letters
D. None

Answer: A. A Bunch of Old Letters

31. What type of government documents recorded local reactions to Gandhi’s actions?

A. Fortnightly Reports
B. Press Releases
C. Parliament Records
D. Newspaper Columns

Answer: A. Fortnightly Reports

32. Which Viceroy was in office when the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed?

A. Lord Irwin
B. Lord Willingdon
C. Lord Mountbatten
D. Lord Wavell

Answer: A. Lord Irwin

33. Who argued for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes?

A. Ambedkar
B. Gandhi
C. Nehru
D. Patel

Answer: A. Ambedkar

34. Which leader did Gandhi mediate disputes between in the Congress?

A. Nehru and Patel
B. Jinnah and Ambedkar
C. Bose and Tilak
D. None

Answer: A. Nehru and Patel

35. Which newspaper reported offensive language and scepticism regarding Gandhi’s civil disobedience?

A. Kesari
B. Vividh Vritt
C. Times
D. Hindustan

Answer: A. Kesari

36. In which city were the national flag celebrations held on 12 March 1930?

A. Bombay
B. Nagpur
C. Calcutta
D. Lucknow

Answer: A. Bombay

37. Which movement did Gandhi initiate after the failure of the Cripps Mission?

A. Quit India
B. Salt March
C. Non-cooperation
D. Khilafat

Answer: A. Quit India

38. Which district in Maharashtra established a parallel government during the Quit India movement?

A. Satara
B. Pune
C. Nagpur
D. Mumbai

Answer: A. Satara

39. What was the approximate salt tax rate criticized by Gandhi?

A. Over 1000%
B. 500%
C. 750%
D. 100%

Answer: A. Over 1000%

40. What method did Gandhi recommend to advertise the time of national meetings on Independence Day 1930?

A. Drums
B. Bells
C. Trumpets
D. Horns

Answer: A. Drums

41. During his BHU speech, what did Gandhi urge the elite to do with their wealth?

A. Strip jewellery
B. Share wealth
C. Donate riches
D. Save money

Answer: A. Strip jewellery

42. In his speech at Dandi, how did Gandhi describe the power of non-violence?

A. Universal
B. Ineffective
C. Violent
D. Indifferent

Answer: A. Universal

43. In which year did Gandhi bless the Bardoli peasant satyagraha?

A. 1928
B. 1918
C. 1930
D. 1942

Answer: A. 1928

44. While en route to which region was Gandhi detained due to protests over the Rowlatt Act?

A. Punjab
B. Bengal
C. Gujarat
D. Bihar

Answer: A. Punjab

45. Which group within the Congress preferred a gradual approach to independence?

A. Moderates
B. Extremists
C. Socialists
D. Conservatives

Answer: A. Moderates

46. What did Gandhi do during his South India tour to symbolise asceticism?

A. Shaved head
B. Wore loincloth
C. Spun charkha
D. Fasted

Answer: A. Shaved head

47. Which traditional craft did Gandhi promote to encourage self-reliance?

A. Khadi
B. Carpentry
C. Weaving
D. Pottery

Answer: A. Khadi

Ron'e Dutta

Ron'e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.

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