Spectrum Questions
Chapter 01- The Revolt of 1857
1. Explain the economic cause behind the revolt of 1857, and what conditions led peasants, artisans, and zamindars alike to join the revolt.
2. List the political and administrative causes for the revolt. (2 + 1)
3. List the religious causes for the revolt, and an associated act. (3)
4. List 4 reasons why sepoys specifically were unhappy and revolted.
5. Indicate the broad geographical extent of the 1857 revolt. (Page 3)
6. Indicate the civilian response.
7. What was the response of modern, educated Indians?
8. What was the role of Emperor Bahadur Shah in the revolt? (Page 5)
9. Name the people who led the revolt in: Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Bihar, Faizabad, and Jhansi.
10. What were some of the causes for the failure of the revolt? (6)
11. What was the most enduring contribution of the revolt of 1857? (Page 9)
12. List 3 changes brought in by the British after the revolt.
Chapter 02- Religious and Social Reform Movements
1. ‘The socio-cultural regeneration of the India of the 19th century was occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it.’ Comment.
2. Outline some common characteristics shared by the 19th century social reform movements, covering issues like ideological and social base, key ideas, coverage of issues beyond religion etc. (Pages 14, 15)
3. Which GG was responsible for abolition of Sati?
4. Whose name is associated with Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856?
5. What was the ‘Wood’s Dispatch’? (Google; 6 points)
6. Write a note on Raja Rammohun Roy. (Page 24)
7. What were the twin objectives of the Tattvabodhini Sabha? Who was its leader?
8. What was the reason behind the split in Brahmo Samaj in 1865? In 1878? (Page 23)
9. What was the Prarthana Samaj? How was it different from the Brahmo Samaj? Where was it based, and who was the founder?
10. What were the key features of the Young Bengal Movement? Why did it fail?
11. Mention positive and negative effects of the 19th century reform movements in India.
12. What was the most harmful effect of the 19th century religious reform movements?
13. Write short notes on:
Raja Rammohun Roy, Debendranath Tagore, Keshub Chandra Sen, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Akshay Kumar Dutt, Jyotiba Phule, Gopal Hari Deshmukh ‘Lokahitwadi’, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Sri Narayan Guru, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Narendranath Dutta, Dayanand Saraswati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, Sri Narayan Guru, M. Malabari, Sri Narayan Guru, Raghunath Rao, Syed Ahemd Raibarelvi, Syed Ahmed Khan, Dudu Mian
Summary of various social reform movements:
Num / Name / Year/ Place / Founder / Key idea(s)HINDU
1. / Dharma Sabha / 1830 / Radhakant Deb / Orthodox Hindu; status-quoist
2. / Paramhans Mandali / 1849/ Maharashtra / Believed in ‘one God’, caste removal, women empowerment etc.
3. / Prarthana Samaj / 1863/ Bombay / Keshub Chandra Sen/ Ranade / Social reform, but don’t come into conflict with orthodox Hindus (unlike Brahmo Samaj)
4. / Satyashodhak Samaj / 1873/ Maharashtra / Jyotiba Phule / Caste consciousness; first movement with leadership from low castes; Raja Bali used as symbol
5. / Arya Samaj
(Publication: Satyarth Prakash) / 1875 / Dayanand Saraswati / “Back to the Vedas”, end priestly domination, promote inter-caste and widow marriages, no idol worship
6. / Seva Sadan / 1885 / M. Malabari / Parsi; take care of marginalized women
7. / Ramakrishna Movement / 1897/ Calcutta / Narendranath Dutt (Vivekananda) / Spread the universal message of Vedanta, love all religions, service of humans = service of god
8. / Bharat Dharma Mahamandala / 1902 / Madan Mohan Malviya (didn’t found it, but important figure) / Orthodox Hindu; status-quoist; formed by combination of several state units
9. / Servants of India Society / 1905 / Gopal Krishna Gokhale / Non-religious, aimed at raising cadres for nation-building
LOWER CASTE
10 / Sri Narayan Guru Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) movement / 1902/ Kerala / Narayan Guru / Started among Ezvahas of Kerala (toddy-trappers, untouchables); urged them to join schools, administration
11 / Aravippuram Movement / Narayan Guru / SNG installed Shiva idol at a temple in Kerala (Aravippuram) despite being lower caste as a protest measure
12 / Justice Movement (political party) / 1917/ Madras / CN Mulaidar/ T. Nair/ P. Tyagaraja / Secure jobs for non-Brahmins in legislature
13 / Self-respect movement / 1920s / EV Ramaswami Naicker / Rejection of Brahminical religion; formalizing weddings without priests
14 / Temple entry movement / Vaikom: KV Keshav
K. Kelappan / 1924: Vaikom satyagraha; joined by Jatthas from Panjab and Madurai
1931: After CDM, in Travancore; in 1936, Maharaja said okay, enter
MUSLIM
15 / Wahabi/ Walliullah movement / 1840s (initially against Sikhs, later Brits); fizzled out by 1870s under Brit repression / Sayyed Ahmed Raibarelvi, influenced by Shah Waliullah
Later, also:
* Shah Abdul Aziz
* Tithu Mir / Orthodox Muslim revivalist
16 / Faraizi movement / 1840s / Haji Shariat Allah/ Dudu Mian / Orthodox Muslim revivalist (end liberal influences)
17 / Ahmadiya movement / 1889 / Mirza Ghulam Ahmed / Equivalent to Brahmo Samaj- universalist, against orthodoxy, opposed to Jihad (but pro-mysticism)
18 / Aligarh movement / Syed Ahmed Khan / Spread modern education and social reform among Muslims, but stay true to Islam (Aligarh university etc.)
19 / Deoband School / Orthodox, but mainly just opposed to Syed Ahmed Khan, so even supported INC; no proper philosophy
PARSI
20 / Rahnumai Mazda Yasnan Sabha / 1851 / Restore Parsi religion to its pristine purity
SIKH
21 / Singh Sabha movement / 1873/ Amritsar / Educate Sikhs, counter proselytizing by Christians and Hindu revivalists
22 / Akali movement / Liberate Sikh Gurudwaras from Udasi Mahants; later won and set up SGPC; later turned communal (why?)
WESTERN HINDU
23 / Theosophical movement / 1875 (US); 1882 (Adyar, Tamil Nadu) / Madam Blavatsky/ Annie Besant / Study philosophy of Upanishads and Vedanta; allied with Hindu renaissance; however, limited to a small segment of westernized Indian due to complex and airy ideas
Chapter 03: Moderate Phase and Early Congress (1858-1905) (Page 42-53)
1. Describe 6 factors that aided in the growth of modern nationalism in India (Page 42-45)
2. Describe the Vernacular Press Act (1878)
3. Describe the Arms Act (1878)
4. What was the Ilbert Bill controversy?
(Note: the above 3 are good examples to use as pre-INC political agitations)
5. Name the important pre-Congress organizations started by: Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee, Justice Ranade, Anand Mohan Bose, and Pherozshah Mehta. Badruddin Tyabji
Num / Name / Year / Place / Founders / Aims1. / British Indian Association / 1851 / Bengal / Petition British government to separate executive from legislature, abolish salt duty, stamp duty etc.
2. / East India Association / 1866 / London / Dadabhai Naoroji
3. / Poona Sarvajanik Sabha / 1867 / Poona / Ranade
4. / Indian Association of Calcutta / 1876 / Calcutta / Surendranath Banerjea, Ananda Mohan Bose
5. / Bombay Presidency Association / 1885 / Bombay / Pherozshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji
6. Who was Kadambini? (Page 47)
7. Name 5 prominent early moderates in the INC (right at the start) and their contributions.
8. What were the methods of political work of the early moderates?
9. What were their key aims?
10. What were some of the key demands of the early moderates regarding the economy?
11. What were the ‘3 Ps’ propounded by the early moderates? (Page 55)
12. Outline the key demands of the moderate nationalists between 1885 and 1892.
13. When did these demands start to change and why? (Page 50)
14. What was the key slogan of the moderates at this time? Who came up with it?
15. What was a key failure of the early moderates? (Apart from trusting the British) (Page 51)
Chapter 04: National Movement- 1905 to 1918 (Page 54-80)
1. What were the reasons for the growth of militant nationalism in the late 1890s? (Page 54; Check)
2. What was the immediate cause of the Swadeshi movement? (Page 56)
3. Why did the British want to partition Bengal in the early 1900s?
4. Who was the Viceroy then?
5. Along which two broad lines did the British want to partition Bengal?
6. When and where was the first formal proclamation of the Swadeshi movement made? (Page 57)
7. Was the Swadeshi movement limited to Bengal? (Page 57)
8. What was the Congress position regarding the Swadeshi movement?
9. Why are the INC sessions of 1906 and 1907 important?
10. After 1905, why did the influence of extremist leaders grow in Bengal?
11. Beyond boycott, what were the extremists/ militant nationalists advocating regarding the course of the Swadeshi movement? (Page 58)
12. What were some of the new forms of political struggle that emerged in the course of the Swadeshi movement? (Page 58)
13. Outline the Muslim response to the Swadeshi movement, and the reasons for it. (Page 60)
14. When and why was the Muslim League created?
15. When and why was the partition of Bengal annulled?
16. Name two important developments associated with the annulment.
17. What were some of the reasons that the Swadeshi movement fizzled out by 1908? (3)
18. Describe the social base of the Swadeshi movement.
19. Did the Swadeshi movement touch any hitherto untouched sections of Indian society and involve them into the political struggle?
20. List some key difference between the moderates and the extremists, covering their social base, ideological inspiration, envisaged relationship with Britain, thoughts about involvement of the masses etc.
21. What was the main failing of the moderates? (Page 63)
22. What was the biggest negative effect of the extremists’ modus operandi? (Page 63- 2 points; CHECK)
23. What were some of the reasons for the 1907 Surat split? (Mention in terms of events during the last two Congress sessions before the split)
24. What were the differences in vision of the extremists and the moderates regarding how to carry the Swadeshi movement forward?
25. After 1908, why did the national movement decline for a while?
26. List 5 government acts between 1908 and 1910.
27. Name 2 extremist leaders who forever quit nationalistic politics after the Swadeshi movement.
28. Why did revolutionary terrorism rise? What were the failings of the extremist leaders in this regard?
29. Write a note on the early revolutionary terrorists in Bengal, Maharashtra, and Punjab.
30. What were their main aims? Methods?
BengalNum / Name / Year/ Place / Founder/ Others / Key idea(s)
1. / Anushilan Samiti; journal: Yugantar / 1902/ Bengal / Promotha Mitter/ Rashbehari Bose, Sachin Sanyal, Prafulla Chaki, Khudiram Bose / Limited to giving physical and moral training to supporters; not very significant till 1907-08; in 1906, members Barindra Kumar Ghosh started ‘Yugantar’, which advocated revolutionary terrorism. Rash Bose and Sachin Sanyal tried to create rev. terr. Activity in other states such as Punjab and Delhi; Chaki and Khudi threw bombs at a carriage they thought had a judge, but killed a memsaab instead; Rash and Sanyal threw bomb at Viceroy in Chandni Chowk
2. / Journals: Keshari, Mahratta / 1890s/ Maharashtra / Bal Gangadhar Tilak/ Chapekar brothers (murdered Plague commissioner of Poona, Rand) / Tilak propagated a spirit of militant nationalism, including violence, through Ganapati and Shivaji festivals, and his newspapers. Nasik, Poona, Bombay emerged as bomb manufacturing hubs
3. / Mitra Mela, later merged with Abhinav Bharat (after ‘Young Italy’) / 1897; merge in 1904/ Maharashtra / Savarkar
4. / Journal: Punjabee / Punjab / Lala Lajpat Rai / Opposed land and irrigation taxes, frequent famines etc.; journal advocated self-help at any cost, including violence
5. / Anjurnan-i-Mohisban-i-Watan; journal: Bharat Mata / Lahore / Ajit Singh (Bhagat Singh’s uncle) / Opposed land and irrigation taxes, frequent famines etc.
Both this and (4.) died out after 1907 because both Lajpat and Ajit were deported
6. / Indian Home Rule Society / London, 1905 / Shyamji Krishnavarma / Also brought out the journal The Sociologist, and set up the India House
7. / Journal: Bande Mataram / Paris / Madam Bhikaji Cama
8. / Berlin / Virendranath Chattopadhyay
31. List two important events in 1906 that preceded and directly contributed to the final shape of the Minto-Morley reforms (Page 69)
32. List the key features of the Minto-Morley reforms, with regards to: (a) composition of the Imperial Legislative Council, (b) power of the council regarding legislation, and (c) one key difference between the provisions at the central and provincial level.
33. Who was Satyendranath Sinha?
34. What was the response of the moderates, the extremists, and the revolutionaries to the First World War? (Check)
35. Mention some pre-Ghadar Party nationalists actions in foreign lands (end of Page 68) (3 points)
36. When was the Ghadar party established?
37. What were the ex-professions of Ghadrites?
38. Name some of the prominent Ghadrites.
39. Which Act was passed to curb Ghadrite activity?
40. Describe the area, pattern, and leaders of revolutionary activity during the First World War.
41. What were some of the key features of the overall action plan of the Ghadarites?
42. What was the Komagata Maru incident, and when did it take place?
43. What effect did it have on the Ghadar movement?
44. Critically evaluate the Ghadar movement (strengths and weaknesses)
45. List 3 reasons why there was a temporary respite in revolutionary activity after the First World War. (Page 73)
46. After having been imprisoned in 1908 for 6 years, upon his return, what were the tactics employed by Tilak to gain re-entry into the Congress and get back onto the nationalist scene?
47. Describe the key features of the Home Rule Movement (backdrop, leaders, demands, role of Congress, social base)
48. What was the main programme of action adopted by the Home Rule Leagues?
49. What was the main demand of the HRLs?
50. Why did the masses readily participate? (P. 74)
51. Name 2 newspapers ran by Annie Besant.