(a) "There were variety of cultural processes through which Indian Nationalism captured people's imagination." Explain the statement with examples.

i. With the growth of nationalism the identity of India associated with the image of Bharat Mata.

ii. The image was first created by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the 1870s he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Later it was included in his novel Anandmath and widely sung during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal.

iii. During Swadeshi movement, Abanindranath Tagore painted his famous image of Bhart Mata. In this painting Bharat Mata is portrayed as an ascetic figure; she is calm, composed, divine and spiritual.

iv. Ideas of nationalism also developed through a movement to revive Indian folklore.

v. In late-nineteenth-century India, nationalists like Rabindra Nath Tagore and Natesa Sastri began recording folk tales sung by bards and they toured villages to gather folk songs and legends.

vi. It was essential to preserve this folk tradition in order to discover one’s national identity and restore a sense of pride in one’s past.

vii. During the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, a tricolour flag was designed. It had eight lotuses representing eight provinces of British India, and a crescent moon, representing Hindus and Muslims.

viii. Gandhiji designed a Swaraj flag. It was a tricolour flag with a spinning wheel in the centre.

ix. Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of History. By the end of the nineteenth century, many Indians began feeling, that to instil a sense of pride in the nation; Indian history had to be thought about differently and began looking into the past to discover India’s great achievement.

(b) How were the various social groups involved in the Civil Disobedience movement? Explain with examples.

(i) In the countryside: Rich peasant communities like the patidars of Gujarat and Jats of UP were active in the movement. They were hard hit by the trade depression and found it impossible to pay the government’s revenue demand.

(ii) Poor Peasants: Many poor peasants were tenants cultivating the rented land from landlords. Depression made it difficult for them to pay the rents. They wanted the unpaid rents to the landlords to remit.

(iii) Merchants and Industralists: They opposed the colonial policies that restricted business activities. They wanted protection against imports of foreign goods and a rupee – sterling foreign exchange ratio that would discourage imports.

(iv) Industrial workers: Industrial working class did not participate enthusiastically except in Nagpur. They organized movements against low wagers and poor working condition. There were strikes by railway workers and dock workers.

(v) Women: women participated in protest marches, manufactured salt and picketed foreign clothes and liquor shops. Many went to Jail.