Nationalism in India

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, organizations, laws, and movements of the Indian independence struggle as described in the lecture notes.

Nationalism

A sense of identity and belonging to a nation, which in India grew intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement and the struggle against British rule.

Forced recruitment

A process by which the colonial state forced people from rural areas to join the army during the First World War, causing widespread anger.

Census of $1921$

An official count which revealed that $12$ to $13$ million people perished in India due to famines and the influenza epidemic.

Satyagraha

A novel method of mass agitation used by Mahatma Gandhi that emphasized the power of truth and the need to search for truth through non-violence.

Dharma of non-violence

The belief held by Mahatma Gandhi that the principle of non-violence could unite all Indians in their struggle for freedom.

Rowlatt Act ($1919$)

An act hurriedly passed by the Imperial Legislative Council that gave the government power to repress political activities and detain prisoners without trial for $2$ years.

Hartal

A form of protest involving a strike or day of fasting, such as the one organized by Mahatma Gandhi on $6$ April $1919$ against the Rowlatt Act.

Jallianwalla Bagh incident

A massacre on $13$ April $1919$ where General Dyer opened fire on a large, peaceful crowd in Amritsar, killing hundreds to create a 'moral effect' of terror.

Martial law

Military government involving the suspension of ordinary law, imposed in Amritsar in April $1919$ with General Dyer in command.

Khilafat Movement

A movement led by Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali to defend the temporal powers of the Khalifa, the spiritual head of the Islamic world.

Hind Swaraj ($1909$)

A book by Mahatma Gandhi declaring that British rule in India was established and survived only because of the cooperation of Indians.

Boycott

The refusal to deal and associate with people, participate in activities, or buy and use things as a form of protest against British rule.

Picket

A form of demonstration where people block the entrance to a shop, factory, or office, commonly used against liquor shops and foreign cloth dealers.

Begar

Labour that villagers were forced to contribute to landlords without any payment.

Baba Ramchandra

A sanyasi and former indentured labourer who led the peasant movement in Awadh against high rents and oppressive landlords.

Oudh Kisan Sabha

An organization formed in October $1920$ led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba Ramchandra to address the grievances of peasants in the Awadh region.

Alluri Sitaram Raju

The leader of a militant guerrilla movement in the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh who claimed special powers and was executed in $1924$.

Inland Emigration Act of $1859$

A law that prohibited plantation workers in Assam from leaving tea gardens without permission, which and was rarely granted.

Swaraj Party

A party formed within the Congress by C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru to argue for a return to council politics and internal reform.

Simon Commission

A Statutory Commission arrived in India in $1928$ to suggest constitutional changes; it was boycotted because it contained no Indian members.

Dominion status

A vague offer made by Viceroy Lord Irwin in October $1929$ regarding India's future constitutional status within the British Empire.

Purna Swaraj

A demand for 'full independence' formalised at the Lahore Congress in December $1929$ under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Salt March

A $240$-mile march from Sabarmati to Dandi led by Mahatma Gandhi and $78$ volunteers to ceremonially violate the salt law in April $1930$.

Abdul Ghaffar Khan

A devout disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, also known as 'Frontier Gandhi,' whose arrest in April $1930$ led to violent demonstrations in Peshawar.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

An agreement signed on $5$ March $1931$ where Gandhiji consented to attend a Round Table Conference in London in exchange for the release of political prisoners.

FICCI

The Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, established in $1927$ to protect Indian business interests against colonial policies.

Harijan

A term meaning 'children of God,' used by Mahatma Gandhi to refer to those considered 'untouchables.'

Depressed Classes Association

An organization founded by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in $1930$ to represent the interests of dalits and demand separate electorates.

Poona Pact

A September $1932$ agreement that gave the Depressed Classes reserved seats in provincial and central councils, to be voted by the general electorate.

Bharat Mata

The visual personification of the Indian nation, first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and later famously painted by Abanindranath Tagore.

Vande Mataram

A hymn to the motherland written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the $1870$s, later included in the novel Anandamath.

Quit India Movement

A mass movement launched in August $1942$ following Gandhi's 'Do or Die' speech, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the British from India.