RBSE Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 9 The Making of the National Movement: 1870s–1947

Rajasthan Board RBSE Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 9 The Making of the National Movement: 1870s–1947 Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

RBSE Class 8 Social Science Solutions History Chapter 9 The Making of the National Movement: 1870s–1947

RBSE Class 8 Social Science The Making of the National Movement: 1870s–1947 InText Questions and Answers

Activity (Page-111)

Question 1. 
From the beginning the congress sought to speak for, and in the name of, all the Indian people. Why did it choose to do so?
Answer:
Congress did this because it wanted to establish itself as an all-India organisation. Thus it could bring all sections of the country on one platform. Otherwise, it would not have served the purpose.

Activity (Page-112)

Question 1. 
What problems regarding the early congress does this comment highlight?
Answer:
Based on the above comments, the following problems are revealed about the early congress.

1. The early congress leaders were rich and often engaged in their personal work.
2. They did not take much interest in the organisation and did not spare enough time for its work.

Activity (Page-114)

Question 1. 
Find out which countries fought the first world war.
Answer:
First world war (1914-1918) involved 36 countries. One side of this war was Allied powers while the other side was Central powers.

1. Allied powers were headed by Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy.
2. The leadership of the Central powers was in the hand of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.

Activity (Page-116)

Question 1. 
Find out about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. What is Jallianwala Bagh? What atrocities werfe committed there? How were they committed?
Answer:

1. On 13 April 1919, many people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar city to protest against the Rowlatt Act. There was only one exit in-this garden.
2. General Dyer ordered to shoot at these innocent civilians without warning. These citizens including women and children were killed.
3. The city already had martial law. General Dyer entered the garden with 200 Indian and 50 British soldiers for the purpose of teaching a lesson to those who violated this law. They closed the exit gate and fired indiscriminately on the crowd and killed hundreds of people.

Activity (Page-119)

Question 1. 
Read source-4. According to this report, how did people view Mahatma Gandhi? Why do you think they felt that he was opposed to zamindars but not to the government? Why do you think they were in favour of Gandhiji?
Answer:
According to this report-

1. People saw Mahatma Gandhi as a Sadhu, a Pandit, A Brahmin fro Allahabad, even a deota.
2. In my opinion, people thought this because they thought he had stopped the illegal eviction in of the tenants in Pratapgarh.
3. In my opinion, people were followers of Gandhiji because they believed that Gandhiji could relieve them from troubles and poverty.

Let’s Imagine (Page-127)

Question 1. 
Imagine that you are involved in the Indian National movement. Based on your reading of this chapter, briefly discuss your preferred methods of struggle and your vision of a free India.
Answer:
(1) I would have used peaceful methods like non-violence, Satyagraha, civil disobedience, strike for the struggle. The reason is that in these ways people could play a more constructive role in the national movement. I would not have used violence.

(2) I would have imagined an independent India in which all people lived with self-respect. There is no sign of poverty in the country. People of all religions lived together tolerably, ending caste discrimination. With this, there is no place for corruption in my independent India.

RBSE Class 8 Social Science The Making of the National Movement: 1870s–1947 Textbook Questions and Answers

Let’s Recall

Question 1. 
Why were people dissatisfied with British rule ¡n the 1870s and 1880s?
Answer:
The reasons for dissatisfaction with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s are as follows-

1. The Arms Act was passed in 1878, diallowing Indians from possessing arm.
2. In 1878, Vernacular Press Act was also enacted in an effort to silence those who were critical of the government.
3. In 1883, there was a furore over the attempt by the government to introduce the Ilbert Bill. The bill provided for the trial of British of European persons by IndiAnswer:But when white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill, Indians were enraged.
4. Many political organisation came into existence in the decade of 1870 and 1880, who raised many issues and made the public aware of it.

Question 2. 
Who did the Indian National Congress .wish to speak for?
Answer:
Indian National Congress was speaking not in favour of any one class or community of India, but in favour of all people of different communities. The congress was speaking in favour of the poor, tenants, labourers, soldiers, forest dwellers, professional groups, landlords and industrialists.

Question 3. 
What economic impact did the first world war have on India?
Answer:
The first world war had the following economic impact on India-

1. It led to a huge rise in the defence expenditure of the Government of India. The government in turn increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits.
2. Increased military expenditure and the demands for war supplies led to a sharp rise in prices which created great difficulties for the common people.
3. The war created a demand for industrial goods (jute bags, cloth, rails) and caused a decline of imports from other countries into India.
4. Business groups reaped fabulous profits from the war. Indian industries expanded during the war, and Indian business groups began to demand greater opportunities for development.

Question 4. 
What did the Muslim League resolution1 of 1940 ask for?
Answer:
In 1940, the Muslim League had moved a resolution demanding “Independent States” for Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas of the country.

Let’s Discuss

Question 5. 
Who were the Moderates? How did they propose to struggle against British rule?
Answer:

1. Those politicians of congress were called Moderates, who were moderate in their objectives and methods.

2. They wanted to wage a peaceful struggle against the British rule. They wanted to fight through the work of reporting, making public opinion, giving prayer letters, giving messages by newspaper, etc. This can be explained as follows:

• It demanded the greater voice for Indians in the government and in administration.
• It wanted the Legislative Councils to be made more representative, given more power, and introduced in provinces where none existed.
• It demanded that Indians to be placed in high positions in the government.
• The Moderate leaders wanted to develop public awareness about the unjust nature of British rule.
• They wanted to make the government aware of the feelings of Indians.

Question 6. 
How was the politics of the Radicals within the congress different from that of the Moderates?
Answer:
Within the congress, the politics of the Radicals is different from that of the Moderates in the following ways-
(i) Radicals worked in accordance with more radical objectives and methods whereas the Moderates were more moderate with their objectives and methods.

(ii) The Radicals criticised the moderates for their “politics of prayers” and emphasised the importance of self reliance and constructive work while the Moderates used to do politics of submission.

(iii) The Radicals believed that people must fight for Swaraj while the Moderates wanted to make the government aware of the feelings of Indians.

(iv) Radicals did not believe in “good” intentions of the government but relied on their own strength; while the Moderates felt that the British had respect for the ideals of freedom and justice, and so they would accept the just demands of Indians.

Question 7. 
Discuss the various forms that the Non-Cooperation Movement took in different parts of India. How did the people understand Gandhiji?
Answer:
(1) People interpreted Gandhiji’s call in their own way. Hence, the Non-Cooperation Movement took different forms in different parts of the country-

• In Kheda, Gujarat, Patidar peasants organised non-violent compaigns against the high land revenue demand of the British.
• In coastal Andhra and interior Tamil Nadu, liquor shops wer picketed.
• In the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, tribals and poor peasants staged a number of “forest satyagrahas”.
• In Sind and Bengal, the Khilafat-Non- Cooperation alliance gave enormous communal unity and strength to the national movement.
• In Punjab, the Akali agitation of the Sikhs sought to remove corrupt mahants - supported by the British - from their gurdwaras.
• In Assam, tea garden labourers, demanded a big increases in their wages.

(2) People thought of Gandhiji as a kind of messiah, as someone who could help them overcome their misery and poverty. Peasants could imagine that he would help them in their fight against zamindars, and agricultural labourers believed he would provide them land.

Question 8. 
Why did Gandhiji choose to break the salt law? 
Answer:
Gandhiji decided to break the salt law because in his view it was sinful to tax salt since it is such an essential item of our food. It is used in equal quantity by rich and poor.

Question 9. 
Discuss those developments of the 1937-47 period that led to the creation of Pakistan.
Answer:
The events of 1937-47 that led to the birth of Pakistan are as follows-
(1) The congress’s failure to mobilise the Muslim masses in the 1930s allowed the League to widen its social support.

(2) In die early 1940s, when most congress leaders were in jail, at that time the League made rapid efforts to spread its influence.

(3) After the second world war, the British opened negotiations between the congress, the League and themselves for the independence of India. The talks foiled because the League saw itself as the sole spokesperson of India’s Muslim. The congress could not accept this claim.

(4) Elections to the provinces were again held in 1946. The League’s success in the seats reserved for Muslims was spectacular. It persisted with its demand for “Pakistan”.

(5) In March 1946, the British cabinet could not get the congress and the Muslim League to agree to specific details of the proposal.

(6) League announced 16 August 1946 as “Direct Action Day”. On this day riots broke out in Calcutta and by March 1947 violence spread to different parts of northern India. Finally, as a result of partition of India, a new country-Pakistan-was bom.