Detailed explanations in West Bengal Board Class 10 History Book Solutions Chapter 6 Peasant, Working Class and Left Movements in 20th Century India:Characteristics and Observations offer valuable context and analysis.
WBBSE Class 10 History Chapter 6 Question Answer – Peasant, Working Class and Left Movements in 20th Century India:Characteristics and Observations
Class 10 History Chapter 6 Question Answer WBBSE – Very Short Answer Questions (1 Mark)
Question 1.
What was the weakness of the peasants’ movement in India during the nineteenth century?
Answer:
Major weakness of the peasants movement of the nineteenth century was that they lacked unity and failed to grasp the real significance of colonialism.
Question 2.
What was the characteristic feature of the peasants’ movement in the twentieth century ?
Answer:
The characteristic feature of the peasants’ movement in the twentieth century was that as there was the emergence of political parties the discontent of the peasants merged with general anti-imperialist movement against the British.
Question 3.
What were the features of the anti-Partition agitation?
Answer:
The three main features of the anti-Partition agitation were Boycott, Swadeshi and National Education.
Question 4.
What was the major weakness of the anti-Partition agitation
Answer:
Despite its popular character the anti-Partition agitation was largely confined to the urban middle class.
Question 5.
Did any Leftist leadership of the peasants emerge during the anti-Partition agitation ?
Answer:
As Left politics was yet to emerge there was hardly any question of Leftist leadership of peasants during the anti-Partition agitation.
Question 6.
What was the relation between the Indian National Congress and the peasants’ movement during the Non Co-operation Movement ?
Answer:
With the support of the Congress leaders like Madan Mohan Malviya, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel the movement of the peasantry became a part of the national struggle for independence during the Non Co-operation Movement.
Question 7.
Who did initiate the process of organizing peasants on modern lines ?
Answer:
It was the members of the Home Rule League who initiated the process of organizing the Indian peasantry on modern lines.
Question 8.
How did the Kisan Sabha come to be established first in the United Province (U.P.) ?
Answer:
It was with the support of Madan Mohan Malviya that Kisan Sabha came into existence in 1918 with the initiative of Gaurisankar Misra and Indra Narayan Dwivedi.
Question 9.
How did the Indian Communists carry on their political activities amongst the peasantry before the formation of CPI ?
Answer:
Prior to the formation of the CPI the Indian Communists began their political activities among the peasantry through the nationalist mainstream, the Congress.
Question 10.
Why did the Eka Movement die an untimely death ?
Answer:
The Eka movement died an untimely death because of the severe repression of the colonial British rulers.
Question 11.
Under whose leadership did the peasants of Bardoli begin Satyagraha ?
Answer:
The peasants of Bardoli began Satyagraha under the leadership of Vallabhbhai Patel.
Question 12.
Under whose initiative was the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha organized ?
Answer:
Economically ruined peasants of Bihar were organized into Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha under the initiative of Sahajanand Saraswati.
Question 13.
Who were the founders of the Andhra Provincial Ryot’s Association ?
Answer:
In Andhra Pradesh the peasants’ organization named Andhra Pradesh Ryot’s Association came to be established under the initiative of N.G. Ranga and M.B. Naidu.
Question 14.
What was the new type of movement begun by the peasants of U.P. during the Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
The new type of peasants’ movement that began in U.P. was a call for ‘no-revenue and no-rent’ campaign.
Question 15.
Why is the second phase of the Civil Disobedience Momeve- ment in U.P. important ?
Answer:
The second phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement in U.P. was important because at that time people of the countryside were also drawn into the Congress agitation.
Question 16.
I Was the first left-wing peasants’ organization exclusively consisted of peasants ?
Answer:
The Indian Left-wingers initially did not conceive of an organization exclusively of the peasants, rather it was bracketed with workers.
Question 17.
What was the opinion expressed by R.S. Nimbkar, a veteran Communist leader, regarding the Bardoli Satyagraha of the peasants ?
Answer:
In the opinion of Nimbkar the Bardoli Satyagraha was an anti imperialist struggle of mixed classes of people, not exclusively of the peasants.
Question 18.
I Was the agrarian policy adopted by the Congress Socialists more radical than that of the Congress ?
Answer:
It is quite evident from the resolutions adopted by the Congress Socialists that the demands put forward by them were more radical than those of the Congress.
Question 19.
Mention an important aspect of the Quit India Movement.
Answer:
An important aspect of the Quit India Movement was that it did not assume the character of anti-landlordism.
Question 20.
In what way was the Quit India Movement different from the earlier movements in so far as the peasantry was concerned?
Answer:
Unlike the mass agitation launched by the Congress in 1920 and 1930 the peasantry was in no mood to undertake ‘no-rent, no-revenue’ campaign.
Question 21.
Which was the first peasant organization of the Communists?
Answer:
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) set up in 1936 was the first peasant organization of the Communists on an all-India basis.
Question 22.
On what ground the Congress did not lend its blessings to the AU India Kisan Sabha set up by the Communists?
Answer:
The Congress leadership refused to give its blessings to the AIKS declaring at its Haripura Session (1938) that ‘Congress itself is in the main a kisan organization’.
Question 23.
When did the working class as it is understood today emerge in india?
Answer:
It was not before the second half of the nineteenth century that working class, as understood today, made their appearance in India.
Question 24.
How did the Congress react to the Partition of Bengal?
Answer:
The Benaras Session of the Congress (1905) made an emphatic protest against the Partition of Bengal as also the repressive measures adopted by the colonial British Government towards the protesters.
Question 25.
Mention a significant feature of the working class movement during the Non Co-operation Movement.
Answer:
A significant feature of the working class movement during that period was, the working class set up its own organization on an all India basis to defend its class rights.
Question 26.
Which was the first trade union proper in India?
Answer:
The Madras Labour Union set up by B.P. Wadia in 1918 was the first trade union proper in india.
Question 27.
How did the Congress assist the All India Trade Union Congress?
Answer:
In order to assist the AITUC the Congress formed a committee consisting of some prominent Congress leaders.
Question 28.
How did the Socialist influence in Indian politics strengthen the working class movement ?
Answer:
Various Socialist and Communist groups that had emerged in the meantime in different places were engaged in organizing labour movements.
Question 29.
Why was the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party important?
Answer:
The WPP was important because some of its units in different provinces emerged as the political party of the working class.
Question 30.
Would you say that during the Civil Disobedience the working class movement gained a foot-hold in the political thinking of the country?
Answer:
Indeed, it is evident from the fact that the workers all over the country participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Question 31.
What step did the British take to stem the tide of Communist influence on the workers.
Answer:
In order to hold back the growth of Communist influence the British Government put under arrests all the leading Communist and trade union leaders.
Question 32.
Why did the trade union movement register a phenomenal rise between 1937 and 1939?
Answer:
The pro-labour attitude of the Congress ministries (formed in 1937) in the provincial level served as an encouragement to the trade union activities.
Question 33.
What was the impact of the arrests of Gandhìji and other national leaders in 1942 on the working class of the country?
Answer:
As the news of the arrests spread workers of various places of the country went on strikes and hartals that lasted for a week.
Question 34.
Why did the Communists dissociate themselves from the Quit India Movement?
Answer:
The Communists, following the “People’s War” line dissociated themselves from the Quit India Movement.
Question 35.
How did the Socialist ideas initially percolate in India?
Answer:
Socialist ideas in India percolated initially througt the Indian soldiers who returned home from the theatres of the First World War.
Question 36.
Why were Nehru and Subhas deeply inspired by the Socialist ideas even remaining within the Congress?
Answer:
The reason for their Socialist leanings even remaining within the Congress fold was the realization that it was meaningless to have political freedom without achieving economic freedom.
Question 37.
For what did the indian independence League pressurize congress and Gandhiji?
Answer:
The Indian independence League pressurized the congress and gandhiji to start movement for the attainment of Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence).
Question 38.
When was the communist party of india initially set up?
Answer:
The Communist Party of india was first formed in 1925 at tashkent (in erstwhile USSR).
Question 39.
What was the Impact of the Meerut Conspiracy Case on the Indian Communists?
Answer:
The Meerut Conspiracy case of 1929 gave a severe blow to the activities of the Communists of India.
Question 40.
Give an example to show how M.N. Roy turned a humanist from a Marxist.
Answer:
After India achieved her independnce M.N. Roy abolished the Radical Democratic Party, and founded the new Radical Humanist Association.
Class 10 History Chapter 6 Questions and Answers WBBSE – Short Answer Questions (2 Marks)
Question 1.
How did the peasants participate in the Anti-Partition Movement?
Answer:
Peasants’ participation in the Anti-Partition Movement was very much limited. Yet the Congress leadership did call upon the peasants to start no-rent campaign. Peasants’ disturbances that took place in Assam and Bengal perturbed the British rulers,
Question 2.
What was the involvement of the peasants In the Non Co-operation Movement?
Answer:
During the Movement the Indian peasantry also started voicing protests against their various grievances. The first peasants’ movement began at Rae Berili abd Faìzabad in present Uttar Pradesh. The peasants there even stopped paying illegal taxes.
Question 3.
How did the members of the Home Rule League organize the peasants?
Answer:
Members of the Home Rule League initiated the process of organizing the peasantry on modern lines. In United Province the Kisan Sabha was formed first in 1918,
Question 4.
What was the nature of the Eka Movement?
Answer:
In Oudh, in present Uttar Pradesh, the peasants’ movement assumed a significant character. There an armed band of peasants called Ekta or Eka became very active. The peasants took a vow that they would pay only the recorded rent and would not leave when ejected.
Question 5.
How did Baba Ramchandra organize the peasants?
Answer:
In 1920 Baba Ramchandra led a few hundred tenants in Allahabad. He invited the Congress leaders to see for themselves the living condition of the peasants. As a result Jawaharlal Nehru made several visits to the rural areas and developed close contact with the movement.
Question 6.
What was the Chauri Chaura incident that led to the withdrawal of the Non Co-operation Movement by Gandhiji?
Answer:
The Chaun Chaura incident was that in the village of the same name, near Gorakhpur, in Uttar Pradesh an infuriated mob set the nearby police station on fire. As a result a number of constables were burnt to death. The incident forced Gandhiji to withdraw the Non Co-operation
Question 7.
How was the Bardofi Satyagraha an Important chapter in the freedom movement of India?
Answer:
The Bardoli Satyagraha was an important chapter in the history of the freedom movement. It became a symbol of peasants’ protests in the country. The Satyagraha united a variety of the Indian people irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.
Question 8.
How did the Civil Disobedience Movement encourage the peasants’ movement?
Answer:
The Civil Disobedience Movement encouraged the peasants to launch a movement against the British administrators of India. Theirs was a new type of movement. The peasants resorted to ‘no-revenue and no-rent’.
Question 9.
Why did the Leftists form the Peasants’ and Workers’ Party?
Answer:
The Leftists initially did not conceive of an exclusively peasants’ organization. Rather it was bracketed with ‘workers’. Thus the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party came into existence by early 1927, and the Party initially functioned as a left-wing within the Congress.
Question 10.
How was the Indian peasantry mobilized under the Congress provincial ministries formed after the election of 1937 ?
Answer:
The Congress ministries formed in different provinces introduced legislations which gave at least some relief to the peasantry. This was an opportunity for the mobilization of the peasantry. The peasants either came out in open support for the legislation or demanded changes in it.
Question 11.
How did the Communists form their exclusive peasants’ organization?
Answer:
The Communists used the organizational strength of the Congress and the Congress Socialists to augment their influence on the peasantry. This was how the Communist workers laid the foundation of their peasant organization named All India Kisan Sabha in 1936.
Question 12.
Did the Congress openly support the workers’ movement during the anti-Partition Movement?
Answer:
The Congress as an organization did not corne out in open to support the workers’ movement during the anti-Partition Agitation. Yet many of the Congress leaders enthusiastically supported the labour strikes and formation of trade unions. Aswinilcumar Banerjee, Premtosh Bose and others were active in large number of strikes.
Question 13.
In what ways did the working class movement in India enter a new phase at the end of the World War I?
Answer:
By the time the First World War ended the industrial labourers had become conscious about the effective weapon of strike in filling their various demands. Further, the working class could not stay away from the mass awakening created by the participation of Gandhiji in the national freedom struggle.
Question 14.
How did the Congress lead the workers during the Civil Disobedience Movement?
Answer:
During the Civil Disobedience Movement the Congress raised the slogan that workers and peasants are the hands and feet of the Congress. Besides, the Great Indian Peninsular (Gil’) Railwaymen’s Union undertook Satyagraha in support of Gandhiji’s breaking of the Sait Law.
Question 15.
How did the workers of the country react to the arrest of Gandhiji during the Quit India Movement?
Answer:
As the news of the arrests of most of the prominent national leaders including Gandhiji spread a tumult of protest was raised. Workers of different places of the country went on strikes and hartals that lasted for a week. In some of the places the strikes continued for a longer period.
Question 16.
What was the reason for the leftist leaning of Nehru and Subhas even remaining within the Congress?
Answer:
The reason was their realization that it was meaningless to have political freedom without achieving economic freedom. Explaining his position as a ‘socialist’ Nehru said that he had become attracted to socialism considering the situation in India. Subhas, another socialist regretted that in a favourable situation in the 30s of the twentieth century congress showed no interest
Question 17.
What was the Meerut Conspiracy Case instituted against the Communists ?
Answer:
In the wake of the anti-Simon agitation the Communists organized large scale strikes of the industrial labour force. The British Government felt that the strikes and the labour agitation were all due to the machination of the Communists. Under such a Situation the British Government arrested all the prominent Communist labour leaders and the Mcerut Conspiracy Case lodged against them.
Question 18.
What was the People’s War line as adopted by the Communist Party during the Quit India Movement?
Answer:
Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union became a turning point for the Indian Communists. The attack on the Soviet Union was considered as the war against the people and hence the “People’s War” line. Following the line the Communist Party asked its cadres to stay away from the Quit India Movement.
WBBSE Class 10 History Chapter 6 Questions and Answers – Analytical Answer Questions (4 Marks)
Question 1.
How during the twentieth century the peasant movement overcome most of the weaknesses ?
Answer:
Peasants’ movements were not rare in India prior to the twentieth century. But at that time the movements suffered from several weaknesses. As time rolled on it was possible to overcome the weaknesses.
- During the nineteenth century the Indian peasants had displayed enough courage and organizational ability. Yet they lacked unity and failed to grasp the real significance of colonialism.
- In the twentieth century the peasants could overcome most of the weaknesses of the peasant movement.
- With the emergence of political parties the discontent of the peasants was merged with general anti-imperialist movement against the British.
Question 2.
What was the nature of the participation of the peasants in the anti-Partition agitation ?
Answer:
The anti-partition movement assumed an all-India character in which different classes of people participated.
- Despite the popular character of the anti-partition movement it must be admitted that it was largely confined to the urban middle class.
- The peasants’ participation was very much limited. Indeed, the Congress leadership did call upon the peasants to start a no-rent campaign.
- The participation of peasants during the anti-Partition movement was no less significant. The indigo peasants of Champaran in Bthar rose in rebellion.
- Peasants’ disturbances took place in Assam and Mymensingh (in present Bangladesh). The Muslim peasants of Barisal (in present Bangladesh) were led by Aswini Kumar Datta.
- The Left politics did not emerge in India during the anti-Partition movement. As such there was no question of the Leftists’ leadership amongst the peasants.
Question 3.
How did the Congress help the peasantry to participate in the Non Co-operation Movement?
Answer:
At the call of Gandhiji lakhs of people all over the country joined the Non Co-operation Movement. During the movement the Indian peasantry also started voicing their protests against various acts of injustice done to them.
a. The Non Co-operation Movement encouraged the peasantry to align them with it. With the support of the Congress leaders like Madan Mohan
Malviya, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and others the movement of the peasantry became a part of the national struggle for independence.
b. The members of the Home Rule League, who were really the supporters of the Indian National Congress, initiated the process of organizing the peasants on modern lines.
c. U.P. (United Province) was the province where Kisan Sabha was formed first. In fact, with the support of Madan Mohan Malviya Kisan Sabhc came into existence in 1918 by the initiative of Gaurisankar Misra and Indra Narayan Dwivedi. Formed in 1918 the Kisczn Sabha moved from strength to strength as years rolled on. During the Non Co-operation Movement it became difficult to distinguish between a Non Cooperation meeting and a Kisan Sabha gathering.
Question 4.
What was the Eka Movement?
Answer:
During the Non Co-operation days peasant discontent surfaced in the districts of Hardoi, Sitapur and the adjoining areas of present Uttaranchal. The movement grew under the name Ekta or Eka movement, literally meaning unity movement.
- The main grievance of the peasants under the Eka movement was the extraction of rent at a higher rate.
- Oppressions of the rent-collectors or the thikadars, as they were called constituted another cause of the peasants’ grievence.
- The Eka rebels took a vow in the name of religion that they would not pay the increased part of the revenue. They would pay only the recorded rent. They also vowed that they would refuse to do forced labour and shall not leave the land when ejected.
- The Eka movement was led by Passi Madari and Sahreb and other leaders who belonged to the lower caste.
- The Eka rebels accepted the discipline of non-violence as urged upon by the Congress and Khilafat leaders.
- The Eka movement died an untimely death due to the severe oppressios of the colonial British authorities.
Question 5.
Write in short about the Bardoli Satyagraha.
Answer:
Bardoli Satyagraha was a ‘no-tax’ movement of the peasants of Bardoli in Surat district of Gujarat.
- Bardoli fell under the Ryotwari land tenure in which the rate of tax used to be revised in every 30 years. 1926 was the year for the revision of tax. It was found that the hike in tax was unprecedented.
- The peasants of Bardoli under the leadership of Valiabhbhai Patel formally launched the Bardoli Satyagraha on 12 February 1928.
- The peasants of Bardoli during the Satyagraha in a non-violent and disciplined manner intensified the movement.
- Alarmed at the attitude of the peasants the British Government as a face-saving device reduced the rate of tax. Thus the movement was a successful one and came to an end in August 1928.
- Bardoli Satyagraha united a variety of Indian people irrespective of their class, creed and religion. The movement also had the support of all shades of political opinion. It became, indeed, a symbol of peasants’ protest in India.
Question 6.
What was the importance of Bardoli Satyagraha?
Answer:
The Bardoli Satyagraha is an important chapter in the history of the freedom movement in india.
- The movement united variety of the indian people irrespective of their class, creed, caste and religion, and thus was a blow to the British misconception of the ‘disunity’ amongst the indians.
- The movement had the support of all shades of political opinion the ‘moderates, liberals or constitutionalists because of the moderation and discipline the peasants of Bardoli had demonstrated.
- Bardoli satyagraha became the symbol of peasants’ protests in India.
- As pointed out by Prof Mndula Mukherjee in her article Bardoli Peasants’ Struggle 1928 that “Bardoli confirmed the Indian people were indeed on the way to becoming a nation.”
Question 7.
What was the nature of peasants’ participation in the Civil Disobeience Movement?
Answer:
Formation of the Congress Ministries in the majority of provinces after the election of 1937 marked the beginning of a new kind of peasant movement.
- Immediately before the Movement began the different Congress ministries had introduced legislations which aimed at giving some relief to the peasantry.
- This was an opportunity for the mobilization of the peasantry. The peasants either came out in open support for the legislation or demanded changes in it.
- An important aspect of the Quit India Movement was that even when the movement had spread from cities to the villages and countryside it did not assume the character of anti-landlordism. Professor Gyanendra Pandey pointed out that this was in marked contrast to the pattern of earlier events.
- The point may be explained by an example. For instance, unlike the mass agitation launched by the Congress in 1920 and 1930 the peasantry were in no mood to undertake no-rent or no-revenue movement.
Question 8.
Write in short how the Left organized the peasant movement during the Quit India Movement.
Answer:
Immediately before the Quit India call by Gandhiji the Communists used the organizational strength of the Kisan Sabhas of the Congress and the Congress Socialists to augment their influence among the peasantry. This was how the communist workers laid the foundation of their own organization, namely, the All India Kisan Sabha.
- The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) set up in 1936 was the first peasant organization of the Commmunists on an all-India basis.
- With the model of the Russian Revolution before them the Indian Communists showed greater interest in trade unions rather than the peasant movement.
- Indeed, a few Congress leaders were associated with the AIKS. Yet the Congress leadership refused to give its blessings to the Sabha, and it declared at the Haripura session of 1938 that the “Congress itself is in the main a kisan organization.”
- Organizationally, the AIKS was based on provincial Kisan Sabhas, and in some provinces, notably in Bihar, Bengal, UP and Madras the Communists were successful in organizing peasant unrest.
- The Communists had always wanted to work in active co-operation with the local Congress Committee. In an article published in the National Front P.C. Joshi defended a united front with the Congress so that every kisan struggle could be transformed into a people’s struggle.
Question 9.
How did the Congress help the working class movement during the Swadeshi upsurge ?
Answer:
Compared to the European countries the working class emerged rather late in India. Again, it was not before the World War I that the working class in India was organized on modern lines.
a. Swadeshi and Boycott, the two weapons of the anti-partition movement were together a landmark in the history of labour movement. Contemporary official survey has described the ‘industrial unrest’ during the period as a marked feature.
b. As regards the relations between the Congress and the labour it may be said that it was by and large indifferent to the question of labour during the early twentieth century when the anti-Partition agitation was going on in fulll swing. Although the Benaras Session of the Congress (1905) made an emphatic protest against the Partition of Bengal.
c. Though Congress as an organization did not come out in open to support the labour movement, many of the Congress leaders enthusiastically supported labour strikes and formation of trade unions.
It has been pointed out by Professor Sunil Kumar Sen that suddenly there was a slump in the nationalist interest in the labour movements after 1908. In some sporadic strikes that occurred in 1908-09 not many nationalist leaders were involved. Moreover, when the nationalist leaders were in jail the workers could not be mobilized in protest strikes.
Question 10.
What was the attitude of the Leftists towards the labour movement ?
Answer:
The anti-partition movement saw the faint beginnings of a socialist leaning among some of the nationalist leaders.
- In fact, they were imbued with the Marxist ideas that had been developing in Europe.
- Some extremist leaders openly urged for following the ‘Russian method’ of political general strike in India.
- The 14 September 1907 edition of Nabasakti openly advocated following the example of the working class movement in Russia when it said : The workers of Russia today are teaching the world the methods of effective protest in times of repression ______ will not Indian workers learn
from them ?
- But all this remained a mere lip service as there was no real political strike in the labour intensive establishments (plantations, mines, etc), and it remained limited only to clerks and some Bengali jute mill workers.
Question 11.
What was the role of the Congress in organizing the working class during the Non Co-operation Movement ?
Answer:
The nationalist interest in organizing the labourers remained lukewarm till the inauguration of the Non Co-operation Movement, 1919¬1920. There was a resurgence of working class activities between 1919 and 1922.
- Formation of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), in 1920, was welcomed by the Congress. Not only that, to assist the AITUC the Congress formed a committee consisting of some prominent Congress leaders at the Gaya session of the Indian National Congress held in 1922.
- C .R. Das, the President of the Gaya Congress, in his Presidential
address said that the Congress must ‘take labour and the peasantry in hand and organize them both ’
- Towards the closing days of Non Co-operation the two Congress leaders led a powerful strike in the East Indian Railway. The strike lasted for a few months (February to April).
- The Congress leaders, Darsanananda and Viswananda, thought of pressurizing the British through the powerful strike.
- After 1922 there was again a slump in the working class movement under the leadership of the nationalist leaders and the Congress. The next wave of working class movement was spurred by the Leftists.
Question 12.
How did the Leftists strengthen the working class movement during the Non Co-operation days ?
Answer:
Socialist influence in Indian politics between 1921 and 1924 definitely strengthened the working class movement.
- Various socialist and communist groups that had emerged in different places were also engaged in organizing labour movements.
- Despite British Government’s action restraining the activities of the communists the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP) was formed in 1927. The initiative was taken by the communist leaders like S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, P.C. Joshi and Sohan Singh Josh.
- Though short-lived the WPP rapidly spread its organisation in the provincial and national levels.
- Another aspect of the WPP was that it functioned as a left-wing within the Congress. The WPP devoted itself, among other things, to the growth of class consciousness amongst the working class.
- The objective of the WPP was to strive for a broad anti-imperialist front for the achievement of complete independence with the ultimate aim of establishment of socialism in the independent country.
- Though the WPP was short-lived, its units in some of the provinces emerged as the political party of the working class.
Question 13.
How did Congress advance the cause of the working class during the Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
During the Civil Disobedience Movement the labour movement gained a foot-hold in the political thinking of the country. This is evident from the fact that the workers all over the country participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
- During the Civil Disobedience under the leadership of Gandhiji a Communist Party document (1930) admitted that virtually Congress was the only organization which was carrying on the fight against the British imperialism and therefore the workers began to follow the lead of the Congress.
- Indeed, during the Civil Disobedience the Congress (in Bombay) raised the slogan that “workers and peasants are the hands and feet of the Congress”.
- The GIP Railwaymen’s Union undertook Satyagraha in support of Gandhiji’s breach of the salt law.
- Gandhiji’s arrest on 4 May (1930) intensified the labour unrest. The news of his arrest led to a textile strike at Sholapur in Maharashtra.
- Congress volunteers practically set up something like a parallel government at Sholapur. In some other centres working class movements took various forms during the Civil Disobedience.
- After the arrests of national leaders the dock-labourers in Karachi, Choolai Mill workers in Madras, Budge Budge mill workers of West Bengal, etc. were very much active and even clashed with police.
Question 14.
How did the Leftists participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
Communist influence in the trade union movement became strong in 1928, after a period of slump.
- In Bombay, the communist-led Gimi Kamgar Union (GKU) organized a massive six-month long strike of the textile workers.
- Communist influence spread rapidly in Bombay and Bengal to the workers in the railways, paper mills, jute mills, etc.
- In Madras, the communist influence was strong in the Burma Oil Company.
- The British Government in India became alarmed at the growing unrest among the workers. It also became thoroughly convinced that the intensive labour movement was all due to the infiltration of socialist and communist ideas propagated to the workers by the Communist Party of India (CPI).
- In their efforts to hold back the growth of communist influence, the British Government put under arrests all the leading communist and trade union leaders.
- Subsequently, the labour movement in India weakened due to the split in the AITUC as also due to other factors. Nevertheless, workers participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement all over the country.
- The textile workers in Sholapur in Maharashtra went on rampage after the British police resorted to firing in order to stop an anti-British procession.
- During the movement the mill workers of Calcutta, dock labours of Karachi and the mill workers of Madras heroically clashed with the police. The British Government ruthlessly suppressed the insurgents. Many of the workers were sentenced to long-term imprisonment and several others were sentenced to death.
Question 15.
How did the Congress help the working class movement during the Quit India Movement ?
Answer:
The formation of Congress ministries in different provinces following election in 1937 gave a boost to the working class movement.
- During the tenure of the Congress ministries between 1937 and 1939 there was a phenomenal rise in the trade union movement. The number of trade unions increased from 271 to 562.
- It must be pointed out here that the pro-labour attitude of the Congress governments in the provincial level also served as an encouragement to the trade union activities.
- Even the Congress Working Committee in a resolution adopted expressed solidarity with the Bengal jute workers (1937). The resolution denounced the repressive measures taken on the workers by the non¬Congress provincial ministries of Bengal and Punjab.
- Another significant feature was that during the period under reference strikes organized by the trade unions mostly ended successfully, with victory of the struggling workers.
- With the opening of the Quit India Movement most of the prominent national leaders including Gandhiji were arrested. As the news of the arrests spread workers of various places of the country went on strikes and hartals that lasted for a week.
- Delhi, Lucknow, Jamshedpur, Madras, Bangalore, etc. were some of the main centres of the strikes. The Tata Steel Plant was shut down for thirteen days. In Ahmedabad the textile workers continued the strike for three and half months.
Question 16.
What was the impact of the Leftist ideal on the Congress movement ?
Answer:
During the 20s of the twentieth century the central figures in the resurgent national movement of the time were Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. Both of them were deeply influenced by the Socialist ideas.
a. Apart from the Congressite leftists’ like Nehru and Bose there were many other Congress workers who were wedded to the leftist ideal. For example, Jayprakash Narayan, Achhut Patwabardhan, Minoo Masani, Narendra Deb and others had faith in socialism, yet not all of them were communists or Marxists.
b. However, in 1932, as detainees at the Nasik Central Jail, they all decided to draw up a socialist programme remaining within the Congress fold.
c. After their release this socialist group met at a meeting in Patna under the chairmanship of Acharya Narendra Dev.
d. In October 1934 a larger conference was organized from which was born the All India Congress Socialist Party.
e. The objectives as adopted in the meeting were :
- All powers to the people who are associated with production,
- Socialization of industries and all other productive organizations,
- State control over foreign trade.
- Abrogation of the zamindary and the raja-maharaja system.
- Distribution of land to the peasants,
- State to recognize the right to work
- Wage to be paid according to one’s need.
Question 17.
How was the Communist Party of India founded ?
Answer:
It may certainly be taken for granted that the Communist Party of India was first set up at Tashkent (in erstwhile Soviet Union) in October (or November) 1920.
a. Meanwhile various communist groups emerged in different parts of the country such as : in Bengal under the leadership of Muzaffar Ahmed; in Bombay under S.A. Dange and others. Similar groups also came into existence in Lahore (Punjab), Madras and many other places.
b. Attempts to coordinate the activities of the different groups under a central organization, however, did not succeed before 1925.
c. In 1924 efforts to organize a Communist Party received a setback when all the leading communist leaders were apprehended by the British police and brought them to trial under the ‘Kanpur Conspiracy Case’.
d. However, the very next year (1925) a conference was held at Kanpur in which different communist groups participated. It was from this conference that the Communist Party of India (CPI) was born. M.G. Ghate was later appointed its General Secretary.
Question 18.
What was the nature of participation of the Communist Party in the Indian national movement ?
Answer:
From the very beginning the Communist Party’s main form of political work was to organize peasants and workers and to work through them.
a. During the 20s of the twentieth century the communist organizers set up unions and organized strikes in India’s textile, jute and cotton mills, and in the railway workshops. But the greatest success was the strike for over six months by the Communist-led Gimi Kamgar Union in 1928. Such successes, however, were short-lived.
b. The Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929) gave a severe blow to the activities of the communists. But the communists inflicted a deadly blow on themselves by breaking their connection with the Congress.
c. The communist movement, however, was saved as many of the communists refused to stand apart from the Civil Disobedience Movement and actively participated in it.
d. There was a radical change in the situation in 1935 when the communists once again participated in the activities of the Congress.
e. The communists did not participate in the Quit India Movement. It has been pointed out by Professor Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri that the Indian communists made mistake as regards national policy of the country. In reconciling the events at home with the international communist movement they were accustomed to look to the (erstwhile) Soviet Union rather than the potentialities of the Indian national movement.
Question 19.
What was the contributions of M.N. Roy in the Left Movement ?
Answer:
Narendranath Bhattachaiya is better known in history as M.N. Roy, being the short name for Manabendranath Roy.
- He was the founder of the Mexican Communist Party as also the Communist Party of India at Tashkent.
- After travelling widely M.N. Roy arrived in San Francisco in 1916. In America an emissary of Lenin contacted Roy. Lenin invited Roy to participate in the Second World Congress of the Communist International.
- Sometime later Roy was put in charge of Asian Bureau of Communist International with its headquarters at Tashkent. It was here in Tashkent that the Communist Party of India was formed on 17 October 1920 under Roy’s initiative.
- Roy came back to India in 1930 under the pseudonym “Dr. Mahmud’. But in 1931 he was apprehended and tried in Kanpur jail on the charge of sedition.
- After his release in November 1936 M.N. Roy joined the Indian National Congress and simultaneously he organized the League of Radical Congressman. But within a short time he resigned from the Congress due to difference of opinion with the Congress High Command.
- Later he set up a new party named Radical Democratic Party. Unlike the Communist Party of India Roy and his followers supported the war efforts because they considered declining imperialism as a lesser evil to Fascism, and to Roy Fascism was a menace to mankind.
Class 10 History Chapter 6 Questions and Answers West Bengal Board – Explanatory Answer Questions (8 Marks)
Question 1.
How did the Congress motivate the peasants and workers to participate In the anti-Partition Movement?
Answer:
The anti-partition movement assumed an all-India character in which different classes of people participated. The peasants and workers participated in the movement though in a limited scale.
1. Peasants:
- Despite the popular character of the anti-partition movement it must be admitted that it was largely confined to the urban middle class.
- The peasants’ participation was very much limited. Indeed, the Congress leadership did call upon the peasants to start a no-rent campaign.
- The participation of peasants during the anti-Partition movement was no less significant. The indigo peasants of Champaran in Bihar rose in rebellion.
- Peasants’ disturbances took place in Assam and Mymensingh (in present Bangladesh). The Muslim peasants of Barisal (in present Bangladesh) were led by Aswini Kumar Datta.
2. Working Class:
Compared to the European countries the working class emerged rather late in India. Again, it was not before the World War I that the working class in India was organized on modern lines.
a. Swadeshi and Boycott, the two weapons of the anti-partition movement were together a landmark in the history of labour movement. Contemporary official survey has described the ‘industrial unrest’ during the period as a marked feature.
b. As regards the relations between the Congress and the labour it may be said that it was by and large indifferent to the question of labour during the early twentieth century when the anti-Partition agitation was going on in fuill swing. Although the Benaras Session of the (1905) made an emphatic protest against the Partition of Bengal.
c. Though Congress as an organization did not come out in open to support the labour movement, many of the Congress leaders enthusiastically supported labour strikes and formation of trade unions.
d. It has been pointed out by Professor Sunil Kumar Sen that suddenly there was a slump in the nationalist interest in the labour movements after 1908. In some sporadic strikes that occurred in 1908-09 not many nationalist leaders were involved. Moreover, when the nationalist leaders were in jail the workers could not be mobilized in protest strikes the Eka movement was led by Passi Madari and Sahreb and other leaders who belonged to the lower caste.
e. The Eka rebels accepted the discipline of non-violence as urged upon by the Congress and Khilafat leaders.
2. Bardoli Satyagraha : Bardoli Satyagraha was a ‘no-tax’ movement of the peasants of Bardoli in Surat district of Gujarat.
- Bardoli fell under the Ryotwari land tenure in which the rate of tax used to be revised in every 30 years. 1926 was the year for the revision of tax. It was found that the hike in tax was unprecedented.
- The peasants of Bardoli under the leadership of Vallabhbhai Patel formally launched the Bardoli Satyagraha on 12 February 1928.
- The peasants of Bardoli during the Satyagraha in a non-violent and disciplined manner intensified the movement.
- Alarmed at the attitude of the peasants the British Government as a face-saving device reduced the rate of tax. Thus the movement was a successful one and came to an end in August 1928.
- Bardoli Satyagraha united a variety of Indian people irrespective of their class, creed and religion. The movement also had the support of all shades of political opinion. It became, indeed, a symbol of peasants’ protest in India.
Question 2.
What was the relations between the Congress and the peasantry during the Non Co-operation and the Civil Disobedience Movements
Answer:
During the periods of Non Co-operation and the Civil Disobedience the discontent of the Indian peasantry was marked by a new feature. The peasants were deeply influenced by the ongoing struggle for national freedom.
1. Non Co-operation Movement : At the call of Gandhiji lakhs of people all over the country joined the movement. During the movement the Indian peasantry also started voicing their protests against various acts of injustice done to them.
a. Meanwhile the Non Co-operation Movement encouraged the peasantry to align them with it. With the support of the Congress leaders like Madan Mohan Malviya, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and others the movement of the peasantry became a part of the national struggle for independence.
b. The members of the Home Rule League, who were really the supporters of the Indian National Congress, initiated the process of organizing the peasants on modem lines.
c. U.P. (United Province) was the province where Kisan Sabha was formed first. In fact, with the support of Madan Mohan Malviya Kisan Sabha came into existence in 1918 by the initiative of Gaurisankar Misra and Indra Narayan Dwivedi. Formed in 1918 the Kisan Sabha moved from strength to strength as years rolled on.
d. During the Non Co-operation Movement it became difficult to distinguish between a Non Co-operation meeting and a Kisan Sabha gathering.
2. Civil Disobedience Movement: Though Gandhiji was unhappy over the peasants’ plight and protested against the zamindars’ oppressions on them, the Congress as an organization, till 1929 at least, was not tactically prepared to take the side of the peasants and thereby come into open conflict with the zamindars. However, the Indian peasantry during the 1930s really built up organization relying upon own strength.
a. The Great Depression of 1929 adversely affected the Indian peasantry. Increase in the revenue demand also pressed them very hard. Bardoli Satyagraha created a new enthusiasm amongst the peasantry. All this gave a new impetus to the Indian peasants.
b. Economically ruined peasants of Bihar were organized into Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) under the initiative of Sahajanand Saraswati in 1929. In course of time Kisan Sabhas were established in other parts of the country as well.
c. The Civil Disobedience Movement by Congress, under the leadership of Gandhiji, served as an encouragement to peasants’ movement. During the Civil Disobedience years the peasants of U.P. (United Province at that time, later on Uttar Pradesh) began a new type of movement. It was a ‘no-revenue and no-rent’ campaign. It was a double edged weapon against the British.
d. The U.P. Congress passed a resolution to the effect that the national programme should include reduction of land tax. In fact, the peasants were experiencing a financial crisis as the international price of agricultural commodities had fallen. Moreover, with the decline in sale the profit was also reduced. In such a situation the All India Congress Working Committee accepted most of the resolutions passed by the U.P. Congress Committee, which satisfied both the peasants and the zamindars.
e. The second phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement lasted in U.P. until mid-1932. This time the people of the countryside were drawn into the Congress agitation. According to one estimate more than 10,000 Congress volunteers and agitators were convicted in U.P. alone.
f. Above was how the Congress advanced the cause of the Indian peasantry during the course of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Question 3.
What was the impact of the Great Depression of 1929 on Indian peasantry ? How did Congress support the peasantry during the Civil Disobedience Movement ?
Answer:
1. Impact of the Great Depression : The Great Depression of 1929 that occurred in the USA impacted the peasants and workers of India. The Great Depresion dealt a severe blow to the impoverished peasantry of India. The British Government instead of scaling down the burden of revenue increased it further causing distress to the peasants. The peasants were further burdened as there was a hike in the prices of manufactured goods. In such a situation while the peasants were forced to pay higher revenue their income fell considerably as an impact of the Great Depression.
2. Civil Disobedience Movement : Though Gandhiji was unhappy over the peasants’ plight and protested against the zamindars’ oppressions on them, the Congress as an organization, till 1929 at least, was not tactically prepared to take the side of the peasants and thereby come into open conflict with the zamindars. However, the Indian peasantry during the 1930s really built up organization relying upon own strength.
a. The Great Depression of 1929 adversely affected the Indian peasantry. Increase in the revenue demand also pressed them very hard. Bardoli Satyagraha created a new enthusiasm amongst the peasantry. All this gave a new impetus to the Indian peasants.
b. Economically ruined peasants of Bihar were organized into Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) under the initiative of Sahajanand Saraswati in 1929. In course of time Kisan Sabhas were established in other parts of the country as well.
c. The Civil Disobedience Movement by Congress, under the leadership of Gandhiji, served as an encouragement to peasants’ movement. During the Civil Disobedience years the peasants of U.P. (United Province at that time, later on Uttar Pradesh) began a new type of movement. It was a ‘no revenue and no-rent’ campaign. It was a double edged weapon against the British.
d. The U.P. Congress passed a resolution to the effect that the national programme should include reduction of land tax. In fact, the peasants were experiencing a financial crisis as the international price of agricultural commodities had fallen. Moreover, with the decline in sale the profit was also reduced. In such a situation the All India Congress Working Committee accepted most of the resolutions passed by the U.P. Congress Committee, which satisfied both the peasants and the zamindars.
e. The second phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement lasted in U.P. until mid-1932. This time the people of the countryside were drawn into the Congress agitation. According to one estimate more than 10,000 Congress volunteers and agitators were convicted in U.P. alone. Above was how the Congress advanced the cause of the Indian peasantry during the course of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Question 4.
What was the relation between the Congress and the peasants as also the working class during the Quit India Movement ?
Answer:
1. The Peasants : Immediately before the Quit India Movement began the different provincial Congress ministries had introduced legislations which aimed at giving some relief to the peasantry. This was an opportunity for the mobilization of the peasantry. The peasants either came out in open support for the legislation or demanded changes in it.
An important aspect of the Quit India Movement was that even when the movement had spread from cities to the villages and countryside it did not assume the character of anti-landlordism. Professor Gyanendra Pandey pointed out that this was in marked contrast to the pattern of earlier events. For instance, unlike the mass agitation launched by the Congress in 1920 and 1930 the peasantry were in no mood to undertake no-rent or no-revenue movement (The Indian Nation in 1942 : p4).
2. The Working Class : The formation of Congress ministries in different provinces following election in 1937 gave a boost to the working class movement.
a. In fact, during the tenure of the Congress ministries between 1937 and 1939 there was a phenomenal rise in the trade union movement.
b. During this period the number of trade unions increased from 271 to 562.
c. It must be pointed out here that the pro-labour attitude of the Congress governments in the provincial level also served as an encouragement to the trade union activities. For instance, the Congress governments ensured civil liberties. That is to say, the people, under such governments, had the right to say, think and do what they wanted (as long as they respected other people’s rights).
d. Even the Congress Working Committee in a resolution adopted expressed solidarity with the Bengal jute workers (1937). The resolution denounced the repressive measures taken on the workers by the non Congress provincial ministries of Bengal and Punjab.
e. Another significant feature was that during the period under reference strikes organized by the trade unions mostly ended successfully, with victory of the struggling workers.
f. The Quit India Movement formally began on 9 August with arrests of most of the prominent national leaders including Gandhiji. As the news of the arrests spread workers of various places of the country went on strikes and hartals that lasted for a week. Delhi, Lucknow, Jamshedpur, Madras, Bangalore, etc. were some of the main centres of the strikes. In some places the strikes continued for longer periods. The Tata Steel Plant was shut down for thirteen days. In Ahmedabad the textile workers continued the strike for three and half months.
Question 5.
What was the nature of participation of the Communist Party in the National Movement ? What was the contributions of M.N.Roy ?
Answer:
1. Nature of Participation of the Communist Party : From the very beginning the Communist Party’s main form of political work was to organize peasants and workers and to work through them.
a. During the 20s of the twentieth century the communist organizers set up unions and organized strikes in India’s textile, jute and cotton mills, and in the railway workshops. But the greatest success was the strike for over six months by the Communist-led Girni Kamgar Union in 1928. Such successes, however, were short-lived.
b. The Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929) gave a severe blow to the activities of the communists. But the communists inflicted a deadly blow on themselves by breaking their connection with the Congress. The communist movement, however, was saved as many of the communists refused to stand apart from the Civil Disobedience Movement and actively participated in it.
c. There was a radical change in the situation in 1935 when the communists once again participated in the activities of the Congress.
d. The communists did not participate in the Quit India Movement. It has been pointed out by Professor Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri that the Indian communists made mistake as regards national policy of the country. In reconciling the events at home with the international communist movement they were accustomed to look to the (erstwhile) Soviet Union rather than the potentialities of the Indian national movement.
e. However, after Hitler had invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 the Indian communists following the Peoples’ War line suspended all sorts of anti-imperialist activities lest that would weaken the anti-Fascist war efforts. In the thesis the question of India’s independence was subordinated to the victory of the Soviet Union in the World War II.
f. But this was an unreal expectation because the people of India wanted first to become independent with or without the victory of the Soviet Union. This line certainly isolated and discredited the Communist Party of India and the communists were isolated from the peasants and workers.
2. M.N. Roy’s Contributions : Narendranath Bhattacharya is better known in history as M.N. Roy, being the short name for Manabendranath Roy.
a. He was the founder of the Mexican Communist Party as also the Communist Party of India at Tashkent.
b. After travelling widely M.N. Roy arrived in San Francisco in 1916. In America an emissary of Lenin contacted Roy. Lenin invited Roy to participate in the Second World Congress of the Communist International.
c. Sometime later Roy was put in charge of Asian Bureau of Communist International with its headquarters at Tashkent. It was here in Tashkent that the Communist Party of India was formed on 17 October 1920 under Roy’s initiative.
d. Roy came back to India in 1930 under the pseudonym ‘Dr. Mahmud’. But in 1931 he was apprehended and tried in Kanpur jail on the charge of sedition.
e. After his release in November 1936 M.N. Roy joined the Indian National Congress and simultaneously he organized the League of Radical Congressman. But within a short time he resigned from the Congress due to difference of opinion with the Congress High Command.
d. Later he set up a new party named Radical Democratic Party. Unlike the Communist Party of India, Roy and his followers supported the war efforts because they considered declining imperialism as a lesser evil to Fascism, and to Roy Fascism was a menace to mankind.
