Mahatma Gandhi and the Rise of Mass Nationalism

Vocabulary flashcards covering the rise of mass nationalism in India, the emergence of Mahatma Gandhi, the philosophy of Satyagraha, and early peasant struggles.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

The leader born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar in present-day Gujarat who transformed the Indian national movement into a mass movement involving millions of ordinary people.

Moderates

A group in the early 20th-century Indian national movement that demanded constitutional reforms from the British.

Swaraj

The demand for self-rule popularised by the Nationalists in the early 20th century.

Revolutionary Nationalists

Nationalists who challenged British rule through armed resistance during the early 20th century.

Mass Movement

A nationwide struggle involving millions of ordinary people from all over the country, expanding beyond the earlier participation of urban, educated Indians.

Porbandar

The birthplace of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, located in present-day Gujarat.

Satyagraha

A method of peaceful resistance developed by Gandhi meaning 'insistence on truth', which relied on truth and non-violence instead of armed struggle.

Non-Violent Resistance

Gandhi's philosophy shaped in South Africa wherein people refused to obey unjust laws, accepted punishment willingly, and sought to awaken the conscience of the oppressor through truth.

South Africa

The country where Gandhi travelled in 1893 to work as a lawyer and spent twenty-one years organising the Indian community against discriminatory laws.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gandhi's political mentor who advised him to spend about a year travelling across India to understand the lives of ordinary people after his return in 1915.

Champaran Satyagraha

Gandhi's first practical application of Satyagraha in India, launched in Bihar in 1917 to support farmers forced to cultivate indigo under unfair conditions.

Indigo

The crop that peasants in Champaran, Bihar were being forced to cultivate under unfair conditions prior to Gandhi's intervention in 1917.

Kheda Campaign

A peaceful campaign led by Gandhi in Gujarat in 1918 where farmers suffering from crop failure demanded relief from land revenue.

Land Revenue

A tax on agricultural land imposed by the British government that sparked farmer protests in Kheda and Bardoli.

Bardoli Satyagraha

A non-violent peasant movement launched in 1928 in the Bardoli taluka of present-day Gujarat against an unjust increase in land revenue.

Bardoli Taluka

The administrative area in present-day Gujarat where farmers refused to pay an unjust revised land revenue tax in 1928.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

The nationalist leader who played a pivotal role in leading the 1928 Bardoli Satyagraha according to Satyagraha principles.

Sardar

A title meaning 'leader or chief', earned by Vallabhbhai Patel for his leadership of the Bardoli Satyagraha.

22% Land Revenue Increase

The tax hike of about $22\%$ imposed by the British government on farmers in Bardoli despite poor agricultural conditions.

Mahatma Gandhi as a lawyer in South Africa

A photograph showing Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi dressed in legal attire during his twenty-one years working as a lawyer and activist in South Africa.