Indian History and National Movement
Indian History and National Movement spans ancient India, the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals, and - most heavily - the freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947, together with the constitutional reforms that shaped it. Questions tend to be chronological or attributional: who led what, when, and in what order.
Anchor facts
- 1857: Mangal Pandey’s revolt at Barrackpore in March 1857; Bahadur Shah Zafar was proclaimed leader; the Government of India Act 1858 transferred power to the Crown.
- The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 at Bombay with W.C. Bonnerjee as first president and 72 delegates.
- The Partition of Bengal in 1905 triggered the Swadeshi movement; it was annulled in 1911.
- Gandhi’s early campaigns: Champaran 1917, Kheda and Ahmedabad 1918.
- Non-cooperation 1920–22, withdrawn after Chauri Chaura in February 1922.
- Civil disobedience began with the Dandi march on 12 March 1930; the Gandhi–Irwin Pact followed in 1931.
- The Lahore session of 1929 adopted Purna Swaraj, and 26 January 1930 was observed as the first Independence Day.
- Quit India was launched in August 1942 with the slogan Do or Die.
- Constitutional reforms: 1909 Morley–Minto introduced separate electorates, 1919 Montagu–Chelmsford introduced dyarchy, 1935 gave provincial autonomy, and 1947 was the Indian Independence Act.
Worked example
Arrange in order: Jallianwala Bagh, Non-cooperation Movement, Rowlatt Act, Chauri Chaura. Reasoning: the Rowlatt Act came in March 1919, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, non-cooperation began in 1920, and Chauri Chaura occurred in February 1922. Order: Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh, Non-cooperation, Chauri Chaura. The Rowlatt Act is the trigger, Chauri Chaura the terminator.
Traps
- Confusing the 1929 Purna Swaraj resolution with the first celebration on 26 January 1930.
- Swap of Gandhi’s campaigns, especially Kheda and Champaran.
- Attributing Do or Die to Nehru rather than Gandhi.
- Mixing the Swaraj Party of 1923 with the Quit India Movement.