The Growth of mass nationalism

After 1919 the struggle against British rule gradually became a mass movement involving pasants tribals students and woman in large numbers and occasionally factory workers are as well. Certain business groups too began to actively support the Congress in the 1920 why was this so?  The first world war altered the economic and political situation in India it led to a huge rise in the defence expenditure of the goverment of India the goverment in turn increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits increased military expenditure and the demands for war supplies led to a sharp rise in prices which created great difficulties for the common people on the other hand business groups reapedbfabulous profits from the war.

Another account we have from those daye are the memoirs of subedar sitaram pande sitaram pande was recruited in 1821 as a sepoy in the Bengal Native Army he served the English for 48 years and retired in 1860 he helped the British of suppress to rebellion though his own son was a rebel and was killed by the British in front of his eyes on retirement he was persuaded by his commanding officer norgate to write his memoirs he completed the writing in 1861 in awadhi and norgate translated it into English and had it published under the title from sepoy to subedar. Here is an ecerpt from what sitaram pande wrote it is my humble opinion that this seizing of oudh filled theinds of the sepoys with distrust and led them to plot against the goverment agents of the nawab of oudh and also of the king of Delhi were sent all over India to discover the temperature of the army they worked upon the feelings of sepoys telling them how treacherously the foreigners had behaved towards their king. 

With the growth of women organisations and writings on these issues the momentum for Reform gained strength strength people challenges another established custom that of child marriage there were a number of Indian legislators in the Central legislative assembly who fought to make a law preventing child marriage. In 1929 the child marriage Restraint act was passed without the kind of bitter debates and struggles that earlier laws had seen. According to the act no man below the age of 18 and woman below the age of 16 could marry subsequently there limits were raised to 21 for men and 18 for women.

Periyar wrote only with the arrival of words such as there Mukukurtham our women had become puppets in the hands of their husbands we ended up with such father's who advised their daughter that they had been gifted away to their husbands and they belong to their husband place this is the result of our association with Sanskrit.  

               Activity 

Why does caste remain such a controversial issue today what do you think was the most important movement against caste in colonial times.

The Brahmo Sama 

The Brahmo Samaj formed in 1830 prohibited all forms of idolatatry and sacrifice believed in the Upanishads and foebade it's members from criticising other religious practices it critically drew upon the idealso of religions especially of Hinduism and Christianity looking at them negative and positive dimensions.

   Derozio and youn bengal 

Henry louis vivian derozio  a teacher at himdu College Calcutta in the 1820 promoted radical ideas and encouraged his pupils to question all authority Referred to as the young bengal movement his students attacked tradition and custom demanded eductom demanded eduction for women and campaigned for the freedom of thought and expression. The Ramakrishna Mission and Swami Vivekanand. Named after Ramakrishna Paramhansa swami vivekananda guru the Ramakrishna mission stressed the ideal of salvatio through social service and selfless action. 

Neher wrote in a letter to the chief Ministers of states: ....we have a Muslim minority who are so large in numbers that they cannot even if they want go anywhere else. That is a basic fact about which there can be no argument whatever the proviction from Pakistan and whatever the indignities and horrors inflicted on non muslims there we have got to deal with this minority in a civilised manner. We must give them security and the rights of citizens in a democratic state. 

             Activity 

Imagine a conversation between a father and son in a Muslim family after partion the son thinke it would be wiser for them to move to Pakistan while the father believer that they should continue to live in India Taking information from the chapter so far and chapter 11 act out what each would say.

Literacy in itself is not education.

(  Mahatma Gandhi wrote;)

By education iean an all round drawing out of the best in child and man body mind and spirit literacy is not the end of education not even the begining it is only one of the means whereby man and woman can be educated literacy in itself in not education i would therefore begin the child education by teaching it a useful handicraft and enabling it to produce from the useful handicraft and enabling it to produce from the moment olit begins its training i hold that the highest development of the mind and the soul is possible under such a system of education only every handicraft has to be taught not merely mechaicall as is done today but scientifically.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a great supporter of the planning process. He explained the idea ll s and purposes of planning in a series of letters he wrote to the chief ministers of the different states in a letter of 22 December 1952 ........ Behind the first five year plan lies the conception of india unity and of a mighty co- operative effort  of all the peoples of India we have to remember always that it is not merely the governmental ma cc hinery that counts in all this but even more so the enthusiasm and fellow travellers towards the next goal that they and we have set before us. 

India gained freedom soon after the devastation of the second world war. At that time a new internation body the united nations formed in 1945 was in its infancy the 1950 and 1960 saw the emergence of the cold war that is power rivalries and ideological conflicts between the USA and the USSR with both countries creating military alliances. This was also the period when colonial empires were collapsing and many countries were ataninig independence. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who was also the foreign minister of newly independent India developed free India foreign policy in this context non alignment formed the bedrock of this foreign policy. Led by statesmen from Egypt yugoslavia indonesia ghana and india the non aligned movement urged countries not to join either of the two major alliances but this policy of staying away from alliances was not matter of remaining isolated or neural the fomer means remaining aloof from world affairs whereas non aligned countries such as india played an active role in meditating between the American and soviet alliances they tried to prevent war often taking a humanitarian and moral stand  against war however for one reason or another many non aligned countries including.

Between December 1946 and November 1949, some three humdred indians had a series of meetings on the country political future the meeting of this constitution assembly were held in new Delhi but the participants came from all over India and from different political parties these discussions resulted in the framing of of the Indian constitution which came into effect on 26 January 1950. One feature of the constitution was its adoption of universal adult franchise all indians above the age of 21 would by allowed to vote in state and national alactions. This was a revolutionary step for never before had indians.