The First World War - Nationalism in India Class 10 History Chapter 2 2023-24 CBSE

Nationalism in India: The First World War, Khilafat, and Non-Cooperation Movement

This chapter in CBSE Class 10 History examines the growth of nationalism in India from the early twentieth century through the independence struggle, focusing on how the First World War (1914-1918) transformed Indian politics and led to the emergence of mass nationalism under Mahatma Gandhi. It traces the connection between the war effort, economic hardships, the Khilafat agitation, and the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920-22 — the first truly mass-based, nationwide struggle against British rule that united Hindus and Muslims in an unprecedented manner.

The First World War created profound economic, social, and political conditions that fuelled Indian nationalism. Britain declared war on behalf of India without consulting Indian leaders, and millions of Indian soldiers were sent to fight in Europe, Mesopotamia, East Africa, and other fronts — about 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in the war, with over 74,000 killed. India also supplied massive resources — food grains, textiles, weapons, ammunition, horses, and money. The war increased the financial burden on Indians through higher taxes, rising prices, and inflation (prices doubled between 1914 and 1920). Indian industries initially benefited from reduced British imports (the "protective gap"), but after the war, British goods flooded back and unemployment rose. Indian soldiers returning from the war brought back new ideas about freedom and self-government — they had fought for democracy abroad and questioned why India should remain a colony. The war also exposed the racial hypocrisy of the British, who posed as defenders of freedom while denying it to Indians. The Rowlatt Act of 1919 extended wartime emergency powers into peacetime, allowing the government to imprison political prisoners without trial. Gandhi organised a nationwide protest (hartal) against the Act, but the movement turned violent in some places. The government's brutal response culminated in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 13, 1919) — Brigadier General Dyer ordered troops to fire on an unarmed crowd of thousands gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, killing over 400 people and wounding more than a thousand. The massacre was a turning point — moderate Indians who had trusted the British system became radicalised.

The Khilafat Movement gave Hindus and Muslims a common political platform. After World War I, the Ottoman Turkish Empire (the seat of the Islamic Caliphate) was broken up by the Allied powers, threatening the position of the Caliph (Khalifa) who was the spiritual leader of Muslims worldwide. In India, the Ali brothers (Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali) led the Khilafat agitation, demanding that the British protect the Caliphate. Gandhi saw this as an opportunity for Hindu-Muslim unity and linked the Khilafat issue with the Indian demand for Swaraj (self-rule). The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922) was launched with a programme of peaceful, non-violent resistance: the surrender of British titles and honours, boycott of legislatures, courts, and schools, boycott of British goods and foreign cloth, promotion of khadi (hand-spun cloth) and swadeshi (indigenous products), and hoisting of the national flag. The movement saw unprecedented participation from all sections of society — students left government schools, lawyers refused to practice in British courts, peasants refused to pay taxes, workers went on strike, and women came out of purdah to join protests. The movement was strongest in the Awadh region (UP), where Baba Ramchandra led a peasant movement against talukdars and landlords who extracted high rents and forced begar (unpaid labour). The farmers argued that since land belonged to the tiller, the peasant should not pay rent, only tax to the government. The movement was called off by Gandhi in February 1922 following the Chauri Chaura incident, where a group of protestors in Gorakhpur district, UP, clashed with police who fired at them — the angry crowd set fire to the police station, killing 22 policemen. Gandhi, believing that the movement had become too violent and that he had lost control, abruptly withdrew it. This decision disappointed many leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, but Gandhi insisted that means were as important as ends — Swaraj achieved through violence would not be true Swaraj.

• World War I (1914-18): 1.3 million Indian soldiers served; economic hardships (high taxes, inflation, unemployment) fuelled nationalist sentiment.
• Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919): General Dyer fired on an unarmed crowd in Amritsar (400+ dead); it radicalised moderate Indians against British rule.
• Khilafat Movement (1919-24): Indian Muslims protested the dismantling of the Ottoman Caliphate; Gandhi linked it with Non-Cooperation for Hindu-Muslim unity.
• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22): peaceful resistance through boycotts, swadeshi, khadi — first mass-based nationwide struggle. Called off after Chauri Chaura violence.
• Gandhi insisted on non-violence as a core principle — means were as important as ends; Swaraj won through violence would not be true freedom.