1. Gandhi Returns to India (January 1915)

Gandhi returned after two decades in South Africa. Historian Chandran Devanesan called South Africa "the making of the Mahatma" — it was there that Gandhi first forged satyagraha, promoted Hindu-Muslim harmony, and addressed caste discrimination.

2. Early Campaigns (1916–1919)

• BHU Speech (Feb 1916): Criticised the Indian elite for ignoring the poor; first announcement of his intent to make nationalism mass-based
• Champaran (1917): Supported indigo farmers against British planters; won security of tenure
• Ahmedabad (1918): Supported mill workers demanding better conditions
• Kheda (1918): Helped peasants demand tax remission after harvest failure

These were localised struggles but established Gandhi as a nationalist with deep sympathy for the poor.

3. Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh (1919)

Movement 1: Non-Cooperation (1920–22)

Gandhi called on Indians to stop cooperating with British rule, and linked it with the Khilafat Movement to unite Hindus and Muslims.

Movement 2: Civil Disobedience / Salt Satyagraha (1930)

Movement 3: Quit India (August 1942)

• After failure of Cripps Mission, Gandhi launched "Quit India" on 8 August 1942
• Gandhi jailed immediately; younger activists (Jayaprakash Narayan) organised underground resistance
• "Independent governments" proclaimed in Satara (west) and Medinipur (east)
• Genuinely a mass movement — students left colleges; took British over a year to suppress
• While Congress was jailed, Jinnah and Muslim League expanded in Punjab and Sind

Gandhi as a People's Leader

The Last Heroic Days (1947–48)

• 15 Aug 1947: Gandhi fasted in Calcutta — did not attend Independence celebrations; Partition had come at "unacceptable price"
• Visited refugee camps; appealed for Hindu-Muslim-Sikh reconciliation
• Congress passed resolution: India would be "a democratic secular state"
• 30 January 1948: Gandhi shot dead at prayer meeting by Nathuram Godse (Brahmin from Pune, extremist Hindu)
• Time magazine compared his martyrdom to that of Abraham Lincoln

1. How did Gandhi seek to identify with the common people?

• Wore a simple dhoti instead of Western or formal Indian dress
• Shaved his head and wore a loincloth in 1921 to identify with the poor
• Spent part of each day spinning on the charkha
• Spoke in the language of the people, not English
• Lived an ascetic life — symbols like dhoti and charkha broke caste barriers between mental and manual labour

2. How was Gandhi perceived by the peasants?

• Called "Gandhi baba", "Gandhi Maharaj", "Mahatma" — seen as a divine saviour
• Believed to free them from high taxes and oppressive officials
• Rumours of miraculous powers — crops failing for those who opposed him
• Some believed he had been sent by the King; others that his power exceeded the King's
• Received by adoring crowds; people offered donations (bhent) spontaneously

3. Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?

• Salt is indispensable in every Indian household — used by all classes, castes, and regions
• The British gave the state a monopoly on salt; people could not make their own
• People were forced to buy at high prices; the tax fell most heavily on the poorest
• The government even destroyed natural salt to prevent free use
• By targeting salt, Gandhi united all Indians in a single grievance

4. Why are newspapers an important source for studying the national movement?

• Tracked Gandhi's movements and reported his speeches
• Reflect what ordinary Indians thought about the movement
• Indian-language newspapers brought nationalism to regional audiences
• Show how the same event was reported differently by nationalist vs. British-owned papers
• Caution: newspapers reflect editorial bias — must be read critically

5. Why was the charkha chosen as a symbol of nationalism?

• Represented self-reliance and economic independence from British industry
• Gandhi opposed machines that displaced labour; charkha used human hands
• Could provide supplementary income to the rural poor
• Spinning broke caste barriers — bridged mental and manual labour
• Accessible to all — women, men, rich, poor could spin
• Symbol of opposition to the consumerist industrial world

6. How was non-cooperation a form of protest?

• It meant refusing to participate in colonial institutions
• Students boycotted schools; lawyers refused courts; workers struck; peasants refused taxes
• It was "negative enough to be peaceful, but positive enough to be effective" (Louis Fischer)
• It deprived the British of Indian cooperation without violence
• It shook the Raj to its foundations — first major challenge since 1857
• Trained Indians in self-discipline and self-rule

7. Why were the Round Table Conference dialogues inconclusive?

• Gandhi's claim to represent all Indians was challenged by three parties: Muslim League, Princes, Ambedkar (on behalf of lowest castes)
• The first conference (1930) was held without Gandhi — meaningless
• British unwilling to commit to full independence; only "talks towards possible end"
• New Viceroy Willingdon was hostile; Gandhi resumed civil disobedience

8. In what way did Gandhi transform the national movement?

• Before Gandhi: nationalism was an elite movement of lawyers, doctors, landlords
• After Gandhi: hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, artisans joined
• Introduced mass civil disobedience as a political tool
• Gave nationalism a moral and spiritual dimension (satyagraha, ahimsa)
• Reorganised Congress on linguistic lines; took nationalism to farthest corners
• United diverse groups — Hindus, Muslims, women, tribals, industrialists

9. What do private letters and autobiographies tell us? How are they different from official accounts?

• Private letters: reveal personal frustrations, anxieties, power struggles (e.g., Nehru-Gandhi-Prasad 1936)
• Autobiographies: give rich personal detail; how individuals saw themselves and their times
• Difference from official records: Official accounts (police reports, government papers) record events from the viewpoint of authority and often distort or downplay public sentiment
• Both types must be read critically — all sources have biases and silences

A. Fill in the Blanks

B. Match the Following

C. Short Answer Questions (2–3 sentences each)

✅ Answer Key