Nationalism in India

The national movement from 1915 to the 1930s: satyagraha, the Rowlatt Act, Non-Cooperation, Purna Swaraj, the Salt March, Civil Disobedience and collective belonging.

Key ideas

• The First World War brought higher taxes, rising prices and forced recruitment, adding to hardship in India.
• Satyagraha is a non-violent struggle based on the power of truth; early satyagrahas took place at Champaran and Kheda.
• The Rowlatt Act allowed political prisoners to be held without trial for two years and was widely opposed.
• The Non-Cooperation Movement boycotted foreign cloth and British institutions; it was withdrawn in February 1922 after violence at Chauri Chaura.
• The Simon Commission had no Indian member and was met with protests.
• Purna Swaraj, complete independence, became the goal at Lahore in December 1929.
• The Salt March from Sabarmati to Dandi began the Civil Disobedience Movement; salt was chosen because rich and poor alike used it.
• A sense of collective belonging grew through songs, folk tales, images and flags, such as the 1921 Swaraj flag with a spinning wheel.

Remember

Watch out

• Getting the order wrong: Non-Cooperation (1921) came before Civil Disobedience (1930).
• Writing that the Salt March ended at Sabarmati: it began there and ended at Dandi.
• Saying the Simon Commission had Indian members: it had none, which caused the protests.

Worked example