Class 10 Social Science History Chapter 2 — Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Independence
Welcome to HSLC Guru, your trusted companion for ASSEB Class 10 Social Science preparation. This chapter explores the towering personality of Mahatma Gandhi and his decisive role in India’s struggle for independence. From his formative years in South Africa to the launching of mass movements like Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India, Gandhi reshaped the freedom struggle through the powerful tools of Satyagraha, Ahimsa and Truth. The notes below follow the latest ASSEB Board syllabus and provide structured answers, MCQs, fill-in-the-blanks, true/false statements and a glossary to help you score full marks in the HSLC examination.
Chapter Summary
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat. After completing his early education in India, he travelled to England to study law and was called to the Bar in 1891. In 1893 he sailed to South Africa on a legal assignment and there witnessed the brutal racial discrimination faced by Indians and other coloured people. The famous incident of being thrown out of a first-class railway compartment at Pietermaritzburg awakened in him a determination to fight injustice. During his twenty-one-year stay in South Africa, Gandhi developed his unique philosophy of Satyagraha — insistence on truth combined with non-violent resistance — and successfully led struggles against discriminatory laws like the Asiatic Registration Act.
Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 on the advice of his political guru Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He travelled across the country to study Indian conditions and soon launched his first three Satyagrahas on Indian soil — Champaran (1917) in Bihar against the oppressive indigo planters, Kheda (1918) in Gujarat to secure tax remission for famine-hit peasants, and the Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) for fair wages of textile workers. The success of these local movements established Gandhi as the undisputed leader of the masses. The repressive Rowlatt Act of 1919 and the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919 at Amritsar, where General Dyer ordered firing on an unarmed crowd, deepened national anger and pushed Gandhi to lead an all-India agitation.
The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) was the first nationwide mass movement led by Gandhi. Indians were urged to boycott British schools, courts, councils, foreign goods and titles. The movement, joined hand-in-hand with the Khilafat agitation, shook the foundations of British rule. However, after the violent Chauri Chaura incident on 5 February 1922, where a mob set fire to a police station killing 22 policemen, Gandhi withdrew the movement. Later, the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) began with the historic Dandi March / Salt Satyagraha when Gandhi, with 78 followers, walked 240 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on the Gujarat coast and broke the Salt Law on 6 April 1930. The Round Table Conferences in London (1930-32) and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) followed.
The final phase came with the Quit India Movement launched on 8 August 1942 at Bombay with the famous slogan “Do or Die.” Despite mass arrests and brutal repression, the movement convinced the British that their rule in India could no longer continue. After years of negotiations and the tragic communal violence of Partition, India finally won her freedom on 15 August 1947. Gandhi, who had walked through the riot-torn villages of Noakhali and Bihar to restore peace, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30 January 1948. His enduring legacy of non-violence, truth, simplicity and service continues to inspire freedom and justice movements across the world.
Textbook Question Answers
A. Very Short Answer Type Questions (1 Mark)
Q1. When and where was Mahatma Gandhi born?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat.
Q2. What was the full name of Mahatma Gandhi?
Answer: His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
Q3. Who was the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi?
Answer: Gopal Krishna Gokhale was the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi.
Q4. When did Gandhi return to India from South Africa?
Answer: Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in January 1915.
Q5. When did the Jallianwala Bagh massacre take place?
Answer: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 at Amritsar.
Q6. What is meant by Satyagraha?
Answer: Satyagraha means insistence on truth through non-violent resistance against injustice.
Q7. When was the Dandi March started?
Answer: The Dandi March was started on 12 March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram.
Q8. Which slogan did Gandhi give during the Quit India Movement?
Answer: Gandhi gave the slogan “Do or Die” during the Quit India Movement.
Q9. When did India win independence?
Answer: India won independence on 15 August 1947.
Q10. Who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30 January 1948.
B. Short Answer Type Questions (2-3 Marks)
Q1. What was the Champaran Satyagraha?
Answer: The Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was Gandhi’s first Satyagraha in India. It was launched in the Champaran district of Bihar against the oppressive Tinkathia system, under which European indigo planters forced peasants to cultivate indigo on three-twentieths of their land. Gandhi’s investigation and peaceful resistance compelled the British government to appoint a commission, abolish the system and refund a part of the illegal collections to the peasants.
Q2. Why was the Rowlatt Act opposed by Indians?
Answer: The Rowlatt Act of 1919 empowered the British government to arrest and detain any Indian without trial for up to two years. It curtailed the basic civil rights of citizens and was popularly described as a “Black Act” or “No vakil, no daleel, no appeal.” Indians strongly opposed it because it violated principles of justice and freedom, and Gandhi launched the Rowlatt Satyagraha against it.
Q3. Why did Gandhi withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement?
Answer: Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri Chaura incident on 5 February 1922, where an angry mob set fire to a police station in Gorakhpur district killing 22 policemen. Since Gandhi believed strictly in non-violence, he could not allow a movement to continue once it had turned violent. He felt the masses were not yet trained in Ahimsa, and so suspended the movement.
Q4. What is meant by Civil Disobedience Movement?
Answer: The Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) was a nationwide non-violent campaign in which Indians openly defied unjust British laws. It began with the famous Salt Satyagraha / Dandi March, when Gandhi broke the Salt Law on 6 April 1930. People refused to pay taxes, boycotted foreign goods, picketed liquor shops and resigned from government posts.
Q5. Write a short note on the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
Answer: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931 between Mahatma Gandhi and the Viceroy Lord Irwin. Under this pact, Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and attend the Second Round Table Conference, while the British government agreed to release political prisoners (except those guilty of violence) and allow coastal villagers to make salt for personal use.
Q6. What was the importance of the Quit India Movement?
Answer: The Quit India Movement launched on 8 August 1942 was the final mass struggle against British rule. Despite the immediate arrest of all major leaders, the movement spread spontaneously through students, peasants and workers across India. It demonstrated that Indians were determined to win freedom at any cost and convinced the British that continuing their rule was no longer possible.
C. Long Answer Type Questions (5-6 Marks)
Q1. Describe Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa and the development of Satyagraha.
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa in 1893 to handle a legal case for an Indian merchant named Dada Abdullah. There he encountered the cruel system of racial discrimination practised against Indians and Africans. Several incidents shaped his life-long mission:
- He was thrown out of a first-class railway compartment at Pietermaritzburg despite holding a valid ticket.
- He was beaten by a stagecoach driver for refusing to travel on the footboard.
- He was barred from hotels and public spaces reserved for whites.
These humiliations turned him into a fighter for human rights. He organised the Indian community, founded the Natal Indian Congress (1894), started the journal Indian Opinion, and established the Phoenix and Tolstoy Farms as ashrams for collective non-violent living. He led successful struggles against the Asiatic Registration Act and the £3 poll tax. From these experiences emerged his unique technique of Satyagraha — soul-force based on truth, non-violence, courage and self-suffering. Satyagraha later became the most powerful weapon in India’s freedom struggle.
Q2. Describe the Non-Cooperation Movement and its consequences.
Answer: The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched by Gandhi at the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920 and ratified at Nagpur in December 1920. The main causes were:
- The Rowlatt Act of 1919.
- The Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
- The injustice done to the Caliph of Turkey (Khilafat issue).
- The unfulfilled promise of self-government after World War I.
Programme: Boycott of foreign goods, schools, colleges, courts, councils, government titles and honours; promotion of khadi and charkha; setting up of national schools and panchayats; non-payment of taxes in some areas.
Consequences: The movement created unprecedented unity between Hindus and Muslims and brought the masses into the freedom struggle for the first time. Lakhs courted arrest. However, the violent Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922 forced Gandhi to withdraw the movement. Despite withdrawal, it shook the foundations of British rule and gave Indians the confidence to struggle on a national scale.
Q3. Describe the Dandi March and the Civil Disobedience Movement.
Answer: The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched after the Lahore Congress (December 1929) declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as the goal of the Congress. 26 January 1930 was celebrated as the first Independence Day.
The Dandi March: On 12 March 1930, Gandhi, with 78 chosen followers, set out from Sabarmati Ashram on a 240-mile march to the coastal village of Dandi. After 24 days of walking, on 6 April 1930, Gandhi picked up a handful of natural salt, breaking the British salt monopoly. This single act inspired millions across the country.
Spread: The movement spread like wildfire — peasants refused to pay revenue, women picketed liquor and foreign-cloth shops, students left government colleges, tribals violated forest laws, and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan led the famous “Red Shirts” (Khudai Khidmatgars) in the North-West Frontier Province. About 60,000 Indians were jailed.
End: The movement was suspended after the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of March 1931 and was relaunched in 1932 after the failure of the Second Round Table Conference. It generated national consciousness and brought women into politics on a massive scale.
Q4. Discuss the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to India’s struggle for independence.
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi was the architect of India’s freedom. His contributions can be summed up as follows:
- Mass Mobilisation: Gandhi transformed the freedom struggle from an elite movement into a true mass movement, drawing in peasants, workers, women and students.
- Satyagraha and Ahimsa: He gave India a unique non-violent weapon to fight a powerful empire.
- Three Great Movements: He led the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34) and Quit India Movement (1942) — all of which weakened British rule.
- Constructive Programme: Promotion of khadi, removal of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity, prohibition of liquor and women’s empowerment.
- Hindu-Muslim Unity: He worked tirelessly to promote communal harmony and walked through riot-affected Noakhali and Bihar in 1946-47.
- Moral Leadership: Through truth, simplicity and self-sacrifice he gave Indians moral courage and self-respect.
Although Partition saddened him deeply, his lifelong efforts finally brought freedom to India on 15 August 1947. He is rightly called the Father of the Nation.
Q5. Describe the Quit India Movement of 1942.
Answer: The Quit India Movement, also called the August Kranti, was launched by the Congress at its Bombay session on 8 August 1942. The immediate cause was the failure of the Cripps Mission and the dangers of World War II reaching India.
Gandhi’s Slogan: “Do or Die” — meaning Indians would either free India or die in the attempt.
Course: On 9 August 1942, Gandhi and almost all top leaders were arrested. Leaderless, the people themselves rose up — police stations, post offices and railway lines were attacked; parallel governments were established at Satara, Tamluk (Bengal) and Ballia (UP). Underground leaders like Jaiprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali and Ram Manohar Lohia kept the flame alive. The British responded with brutal repression — over 10,000 people died and lakhs were imprisoned.
Significance: Quit India was the final blow to British rule. It proved that ordinary Indians were willing to die for freedom and made it impossible for Britain to continue ruling India. Within five years, India became free.
Additional Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
Q1. Mahatma Gandhi was born in —
(a) Ahmedabad (b) Porbandar (c) Rajkot (d) Surat
Answer: (b) Porbandar
Q2. Gandhi went to South Africa in —
(a) 1891 (b) 1893 (c) 1895 (d) 1900
Answer: (b) 1893
Q3. The first Satyagraha of Gandhi in India was launched at —
(a) Kheda (b) Ahmedabad (c) Champaran (d) Bardoli
Answer: (c) Champaran
Q4. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on —
(a) 13 April 1919 (b) 13 April 1920 (c) 14 April 1919 (d) 13 May 1919
Answer: (a) 13 April 1919
Q5. The British general responsible for Jallianwala Bagh massacre was —
(a) General O’Dwyer (b) General Dyer (c) General Cornwallis (d) General Hastings
Answer: (b) General Dyer
Q6. The Chauri Chaura incident occurred in the year —
(a) 1920 (b) 1921 (c) 1922 (d) 1923
Answer: (c) 1922
Q7. The Dandi March was started from —
(a) Sevagram Ashram (b) Sabarmati Ashram (c) Wardha Ashram (d) Phoenix Farm
Answer: (b) Sabarmati Ashram
Q8. “Do or Die” was the slogan of —
(a) Non-Cooperation Movement (b) Civil Disobedience Movement (c) Quit India Movement (d) Khilafat Movement
Answer: (c) Quit India Movement
Q9. India became independent on —
(a) 26 January 1950 (b) 15 August 1947 (c) 14 August 1947 (d) 2 October 1947
Answer: (b) 15 August 1947
Q10. Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on —
(a) 30 January 1948 (b) 30 January 1949 (c) 2 October 1948 (d) 15 August 1948
Answer: (a) 30 January 1948
Fill in the Blanks
Q1. Mahatma Gandhi was born in the year ________.
Answer: 1869
Q2. The Kheda Satyagraha was launched in the year ________.
Answer: 1918
Q3. The Salt Satyagraha began on ________ April 1930.
Answer: 6th
Q4. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in the year ________.
Answer: 1931
Q5. Mahatma Gandhi is popularly known as the ________ of the Nation.
Answer: Father
True or False
Q1. Gandhi developed Satyagraha in South Africa.
Answer: True
Q2. The Rowlatt Act gave more freedom to Indians.
Answer: False (It curtailed civil liberties.)
Q3. The Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura incident.
Answer: True
Q4. The Quit India Movement was launched in 1940.
Answer: False (It was launched on 8 August 1942.)
Q5. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was the political guru of Gandhi.
Answer: True
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Satyagraha | Insistence on truth through non-violent resistance. |
| Ahimsa | Non-violence in thought, word and deed. |
| Swaraj | Self-rule or self-government. |
| Purna Swaraj | Complete independence, declared in Lahore 1929. |
| Khadi | Hand-spun and hand-woven cotton cloth. |
| Charkha | Spinning wheel; symbol of self-reliance. |
| Tinkathia System | System forcing Bihar peasants to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land. |
| Rowlatt Act | 1919 law allowing arrest without trial; called the “Black Act”. |
| Jallianwala Bagh | A garden in Amritsar; site of the 13 April 1919 massacre. |
| Khilafat Movement | Indian Muslims’ agitation in support of the Ottoman Caliph. |
| Chauri Chaura | Place in UP where a violent mob killed 22 policemen on 5 February 1922. |
| Dandi March | 240-mile march from Sabarmati to Dandi (12 March – 6 April 1930) to break the salt law. |
| Round Table Conference | Three conferences (1930-32) held in London to discuss India’s constitutional future. |
| Quit India | Mass movement launched on 8 August 1942 demanding immediate British withdrawal. |
| Father of the Nation | Honorary title given to Mahatma Gandhi. |
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