Cheat Sheet — Nationalism in India

📅 Key Events — Chronological Timeline

1915

Gandhi returns from South Africa. Mentor: Gokhale. Tours India to understand the people.

1917

Champaran Satyagraha — indigo farmers' rights. Bihar.

1918

Kheda Satyagraha — revenue remission after crop failure. Gujarat.

1919 — Apr 6

Rowlatt Act hartal — nationwide strike against arrest-without-trial law.

1919 — Apr 13

Jallianwala Bagh massacre — General Dyer fires on crowd. Tagore renounces knighthood.

1920

Non-Cooperation Movement launched — allied with Khilafat. Boycott of British institutions begins.

1922 — Feb

Chauri Chaura — police station burned, 22 killed. Gandhi calls off NCM.

1929 — Dec

Lahore Session — Purna Swaraj declared. Jan 26, 1930 set as Independence Day.

1930 — Mar 12

Dandi March begins — 240 miles, 78 followers, Sabarmati to Dandi.

1930 — Apr 5

Salt made at Dandi — CDM launched nationwide.

1931 — Mar

Gandhi-Irwin Pact — CDM suspended; Gandhi attends 2nd Round Table Conference.

1932

Poona Pact — Ambedkar & Gandhi; reserved seats for Dalits instead of separate electorate.

1942 — Aug 8

Quit India Movement — "Do or Die." All Congress leaders arrested. Underground resistance.

1947 — Aug 15

Independence — British leave India.

⚖️ NCM vs CDM — Quick Comparison

Feature	Non-Cooperation (1920–22)	Civil Disobedience (1930–34)
Method	Boycott British institutions	Break specific unjust laws
Key symbol	Khadi, bonfire of foreign cloth	Salt — Dandi March
Allied with	Khilafat Movement (Muslims)	Broader — but less Muslim participation
Women's role	Limited	Very prominent — first time at scale
Peasant base	Moderate (Awadh, Assam)	Strong (Depression hit Patidars, Jats)
Dalit participation	Some	Low — stayed away largely
Why called off	Chauri Chaura violence (1922)	Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931); finally 1934
Main demand	Swaraj (self-rule)	Purna Swaraj (full independence)
Key event	Chauri Chaura, Feb 1922	Dandi March, March 1930

👤 Key Leaders

Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi — Central figure. Satyagraha. Led NCM, CDM, Quit India. Khadi and charkha symbol. Arrived 1915.

Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru — Youth leader. Presided Lahore Session 1929. Declared Purna Swaraj. India's first PM.

Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose — Radical nationalist. Founded INA. "Give me blood…" Resigned from Congress 1939.

Ambedkar

B.R. Ambedkar — Dalit leader. Depressed Classes Association. Poona Pact 1932 — reserved seats compromise.

Raju

Alluri Sitaram Raju — Tribal leader, Andhra. Guerrilla warfare against forest laws. Connected local to national.

👥 Social Groups & Participation

🌾 Peasants

Joined CDM strongly. Depression crashed prices; revenues unchanged. Patidars (Gujarat), Jats (UP).

Reason: Economic desperation

👩 Women

CDM breakthrough. Made salt, picketed shops, courted arrest. Moved into public political life.

NCM: limited · CDM: massive

🌲 Tribals

Forest laws = enemy. Alluri Sitaram Raju's guerrilla rebellion in Andhra (Gudem Hills).

Reason: Forest rights threatened

🏭 Workers

Nagpur mills struck 1920. Congress cautious — didn't want to alienate industrialist donors.

Tension: class vs. national unity

✊ Dalits

Largely stayed away from CDM. Ambedkar sought separate electorate; Poona Pact — reserved seats.

Congress didn't champion Dalit cause

☪️ Muslims

United in NCM via Khilafat. Drifted away by CDM — communal tensions, separate electorates issue.

NCM: united · CDM: divided

🏛️ Symbols & Ideas of Nationalism

🇮🇳

Bharat Mata

Image by Abanindranath Tagore — nation as mother goddess. Inspired by Bankim Chandra's writings.

🎵

Vande Mataram

Bankim Chandra's song — "Hail to the Motherland." Some Muslims objected — seen as Hindu goddess worship.

🧵

Khadi & Charkha

Gandhi's symbol of self-reliance and rejection of British industry. Daily spinning became political act.

🗺️

Map of India

Nationalist cartography — unified territory as a single nation. "Kashmir to Kanyakumari" image.

🌸

Folk Heroes

Shivaji, Rana Pratap glorified. Folk songs and imagery used to build pan-Indian identity.

🎯 Exam Tips & Memory Tricks

NCM vs CDM Method

NCM = Boycott (don't participate). CDM = Break laws (actively defy). Easy to mix up — remember: D for Defy in CDM.

Chauri Chaura Date

February 5, 1922. Gorakhpur, UP. 22 policemen killed. Gandhi called off NCM immediately — his most controversial decision.

Dandi Numbers

240 miles · 78 followers · March 12 to April 5, 1930 · 24 days. These numbers appear in board questions.

Poona Pact

1932. Ambedkar wanted separate electorate. Gandhi fasted in prison against it. Result: reserved seats within general electorate.

Jan 26 is Two Things

Independence Day (1930, declared at Lahore Session) AND Republic Day (1950). Both on same date — board exams test this!

Who Painted Bharat Mata?

Abanindranath Tagore (painted). Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (wrote about). Different Tagores — don't confuse with Rabindranath.

Khilafat = Unity Tool

Gandhi allied with Khilafat leaders (Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali) to unite Hindus and Muslims. NCM had strongest Hindu-Muslim unity. CDM did not.

Women: NCM vs CDM

NCM = limited women's participation. CDM = first time women participated in large numbers publicly. This difference is a 2-mark board question.

📖 Key Terms to Know

Satyagraha — Truth-force; non-violent resistance through moral conviction, not physical force

Purna Swaraj — Complete independence (not just self-rule within British Empire)

Khilafat — Islamic institution of the Caliph (Khalifa); issue linked to Ottoman defeat in WWI

Hartal — Strike; total shutdown of businesses and work as protest

Begar — Forced labour extracted by landlords from peasants without payment

Swaraj — Self-rule; governance by Indians themselves (within or outside the Empire)

Rowlatt Act — 1919 law allowing arrest without trial; called the "Black Act"

Vande Mataram — "Hail to the Motherland" — nationalist song by Bankim Chandra

📍 Important Places & Their Significance

Amritsar — Jallianwala Bagh massacre, 1919

Chauri Chaura (UP) — Violence, 1922; NCM called off

Sabarmati Ashram — Gandhi's base; Dandi March started here

Dandi, Gujarat — Salt made here; CDM launched, April 1930

Lahore — Congress session 1929; Purna Swaraj declared

Champaran, Bihar — Indigo farmers' Satyagraha, 1917

Kheda, Gujarat — Revenue remission Satyagraha, 1918

Gudem Hills, Andhra — Alluri Sitaram Raju's tribal rebellion

Bardoli, Gujarat — Peasant Satyagraha, 1928; led by Sardar Patel