CBSE Class 10 History Chapter 2 Notes

CBSE Class 10 History Chapter 2 Notes – Nationalism in India

Class 10 History Chapter 2 Notes will give students an overview of the concept of nationalism and events that led to India’s liberation from the shackles of Britishers. Class 10 Chapter 2 History Notes will help students with step-by-step preparation to score well in board exams. Sometimes, it becomes challenging for students to access and refer to all the study material, CBSE syllabus, important questions, and CBSE extra questions. To simplify this, Extramarks has provided Chapter 2 History Class 10 Notes that students can refer to for exam preparation. The CBSE revision notes are prepared by a team of experts according to the latest syllabus of the NCERT books.

Students can also practice CBSE sample papers and CBSE past years’ question papers after reviewing the Class 10 History Notes Chapter 2. It will help them understand the exam pattern and learn time management skills to score better in board examinations. You can download the notes in PDF format from the Extramarks website.

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Nationalism in India Class 10 Notes History Chapter 2

Access History Chapter 2 Class 10 Notes – Nationalism in India 

Mahatma Gandhi’s Role in Nationalism

• Mahatma Gandhi played a significant role in nationalism. He was practising law in South Africa. He returned to India from South Africa in 1915. After his arrival, he witnessed that Indians were in a much worse condition.
• Due to Colonialism, every Indian citizen was a British prisoner. He started many movements to help Indians get freedom from Britishers. He began by introducing the non-cooperation movement known as Satyagraha.
• The word Satyagraha means Agitation for Truth. He organised the Champaran Satyagraha to support the oppressed plantation workers. The movement was executed in 1917 with the hope of giving workers their rights.
• In 1918, he went to Kheda to show his support to the workers with Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

• The infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13th April 1919 in Amritsar.
• The British government passed the Rowlatt Act in 1919. This act gave them the power to control any political activity and authorise the detention of political prisoners without trials for up to 2 years.
• On 13th April 1919, the Baisakhi fair was held at the Jallianwala Bagh, which was attended by several villagers when there was countrywide martial law.
• General Dyer blocked the entry and exit points of the bagh. He opened fire at the civilians. The open fire killed thousands of men, women and children at the fair.
• This brutal act of Britishers enraged other Indian citizens. There were riots, attacks on government structures, and widespread protests.
• Mahatma Gandhi decided to end the Satyagraha movement because of the complete chaos and violence in the nation.

Khilafat Movement

• After the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, Mahatma Gandhi took up the Khilafat movement, which brought Hindus and Muslims together. The movement was led by two brothers, Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali.
• During that time, the first world war ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. In March 1919, a Khilafat committee was formed in Bombay.
• In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi convinced National Congress leaders to start a non-cooperation movement supporting Khilafat and Swaraj.

The Salt March

• Mahatma Gandhi also led the Salt March. He demanded the Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, abolish the salt tax.
• He started the Salt March with 72 volunteers from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi to manufacture salt.
• Mahatma Gandhi chose salt because he believed that everyone in society could relate to it and be drawn to a common cause.
• In his letter, Mahatma Gandhi gave an ultimatum that if the demands were not fulfilled by March 11, Congress would launch a Civil Disobedience campaign.

The Poona Pact

• The Poona Pact was an agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar on behalf of dalits, depressed classes and the upper caste Hindu leaders.
• The pact was regarding the reservation of electoral seats for the lower classes in the legislature of British India in 1932.
• The act was formulated as dalits refused to participate in the movement without separate electorates and reservation of seats.
• In 1932, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar formed the Depressed Classes Association and signed the Poona Pact with Congress.

Nationalism in India Class 10 Summary

Class 10 History Chapter 2 Notes gives an overview of nationalism in India. They are created in a manner that will help students prepare well for the exams. Here is the brief on the topic of nationalism in India:

• Nationalism is an introduction to the colonial period of India.
• The British government ruled India. Many movements were organised to liberate India from the shackles of foreign rule.
• Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Satyagraha movement, Khilafat movement, the Salt March and the Poona Pact.
• The Satyagraha movement was organised to support the peasants of Champaran, Bihar.
• It took place in 1919 and was a huge success in helping peasants get their rights.
• The Khilafat movement was started by two brothers, and it was an agitation by Indian Muslims allied with Indian nationalism in the years following World War I.
• The Salt March was organised to abolish the salt tax.
• It began at Sabarmati Ashram and ended at Dandi with salt manufacturing.
• The Poona Pact was signed between Congress and B.R Ambedkar. It was regarding the electoral and reservation seats of the Dalits and lower classes.

First World War, The Non-Cooperation and The Khilafat Movement

The First World War occurred between 1914 to 1918. It created a new political and economic situation in the years after 1919. Income tax was introduced, and custom-duty prices doubled between 1913 and 1918. The defence expenditure increased, which created hardships for common people. The agricultural failure in 1918-1919 led to a food shortage accompanied by an influenza epidemic.

The Idea of Satyagraha

Mahatma Gandhi started the Satyagraha movement in January 1915. It involved mass agitation against injustice in a peaceful manner. The movement emphasises the power of truth and the need to search for truth. Mahatma Gandhi led the Satyagraha movement in Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad to help the peasants. In 1917, he went to Champaran in Bihar to motivate the peasants to fight against the oppressive plantation system. He organised the Satyagraha movement in the same year to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. Mahatma Gandhi travelled to Ahmedabad in 1918 to lead a Satyagraha movement among cotton mill employees.

The Rowlatt Act

The Imperial Legislative Council passed the Rowlatt Act in 1919. It allowed the British government to curb political movements in the country and detain political prisoners without trial for two years. Mahatma Gandhi opposed the Rowlatt Act with the Satyagraha movement. At the same time, General Dyer opened fire in Amritsar, where thousands of villagers were killed.  This led to mass agitation and violence in the country.

Why Non-Cooperation?

Mahatma Gandhi believed that British rule was established in India because of the cooperation of the Indians. If Indians had refused to cooperate, British rule would have collapsed within a year. As a step to get freedom from Britishers, Mahatma Gandhi introduced the non-cooperation movement. The movement began with the surrender of titles awarded by the government. People boycott the army, civil services, police, legislative councils, schools, and foreign goods. After many obstacles and campaigning between the supporters and opponents of the movement, the non-cooperation movement was eventually adopted in December 1920.

Differing Strands Within The Movement

The Non-Cooperation-Khilafat movement began in January 1921. The movement attracted people from all sections of society, although the term meant different things to different people. The middle class began the movement; thousands of students, teachers, and headmasters deserted government-run schools and colleges, and lawyers stopped practising law. People started boycotting foreign goods. As a result, the production of Indian textiles and handlooms increased.

Towards Civil Disobedience

In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi withdrew from the Non-Cooperation movement because he felt it was taking a violent turn. Motilal Nehru and C.R. Das formed the Swaraj Party. Upon entering India in 1928, the official Simon Commission was greeted by the slogan – “Go back Simon.” In 1929, the Lahore Congress, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, established the demand for “Purna Swaraj,” or complete independence.

Salt March and Civil Disobedience Movement

The Salt March was a non-violent protest action in India led by Mahatma Gandhi. He demanded Viceroy Irwin abolish the salt tax. Mahatma Gandhi believed that salt is a common concern for people and society; therefore, everyone will support it. He began the Salt March with 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march covered more than 240 miles from Gandhiji’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi. On April 6, he arrived in Dandi and broke the law by manufacturing salt by boiling seawater. This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement. The Civil Disobedience Movement lost its momentum in 1934.

Limits of the Civil Disobedience Act

The dalits demanded a separate electorate and reserved seats in educational institutes. Muslims felt cut off from congress after the Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement was put on hold. There was hostility between Muslims and Hindus.

Vande Mataram

Nationalism spread when people began believing they were all part of the same nation. History nationalism in India was further encouraged by means of patriotic and historical fiction, folklore, songs, etc. In the 20th century, the identity of India became visually associated with the image of  Bharat Mata. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay created the image. He wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ in the 1870s as a patriotic song. Gandhiji designed the Swaraj flag in 1921. It was a tricolour (red, green, and white) with a spinning wheel in the middle, signifying the Gandhian ideal of self-help.

Did You Know?

The movement of Indo-China is another significant part of Asian history. Indo-China, comprising the modern countries of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, was under the control of the Chinese Empire.

The French colonised Vietnam. From the 18th century onward, resistance began to grow in many forms at different levels. Several factors contributed to the rise of nationalism, and the role of communism was equally significant.