Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?
Poorest of poor Indian consume food that has salt as one of its prime ingredient. British government brought tax on salt and making salt indigenously was forbidden. It was to become a big burden on the poor people of India. Some important points regarding salt law are as follows.
1.Salt law was to lead to monopoly of salt production and distribution. It was to fuel prices, and added to this was the tax levied by the government.
2.People were denied access to natural salt and tons of the same were destroyed.
3.Salt law was an attack on the local industry in the villages too. Hence salt law was extremely unpopular and it became an important issue of the struggle.
Why was the charkha chosen as a symbol of nationalism?
How was non-cooperation a form of protest?
In what way did Mahatma Gandhi transform the nature of the national movement?
Find out about the route of the Dandi March. On a map of Gujarat plot the line of the march and mark the major towns and villages that it passed along the route.Find out about the route of the Dandi March. On a map of Gujarat plot the line of the march and mark the major towns and villages that it passed along the route.
How was Mahatma Gandhi perceived by the peasants?
How did Mahatma Gandhi seek to identify with the common people?
Why were the dialogues at the Round Table Conference inconclusive?
What do private letters and autobiographies tell us about an individual? How are these sources different from official accounts?
Why are newspapers an important source for the study of the national movement?
Why was the jotedar a powerful figure in many areas of rural Bengal?
Why did the mutinous sepoys in many places turn to erstwhile rulers to provide leadership to the revolt?
To what extent are census data useful in reconstructing patterns of urbanisation in the colonial context?
What did the Muslim League demand through its resolution of 1940?
What were the ideals expressed in the Objectives Resolution?
How did zamindars manage to retain control over their zamindaris?
Discuss the evidence that indicates planning and coordination on the part of the rebels.
What do the terms “White” and “Black” Town signify?
Why did some people think of Partition as a very sudden development?
How was the term minority defined by different groups?
Why did Mahatma Gandhi think Hindustani should be the national language?
How did ordinary people view Partition?
What explains the anger of the Deccan ryots against Fig. 10.20 the moneylenders?
What do visual representations tell us about the revolt of 1857? How do historians analyse these representations?
What were the new kinds of public places that emerged in the colonial city? What functions did they serve?
How did the Constituent Assembly seek to resolve the language controversy?
Why was the revolt particularly widespread in Awadh? What prompted the peasants, taluqdars and zamindars to join the revolt?
Examine any two sources presented in the chapter, choosing one visual and one text, and discuss how these represent the point of view of the victor and the vanquished.
What were the concerns that influenced town planning in the nineteenth century?
Discuss the different arguments made in favour of protection of the oppressed groups.