Class 12 History Chapter 13 Question Answer | Mahatma Gandhi through Contemporary Eyes | English Medium | ASSEB
Welcome to HSLC Guru. Here we present a complete question-answer guide for ASSEB Class 12 History Chapter 13 — Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement: Civil Disobedience and Beyond (Theme 13). This chapter traces Mahatma Gandhi’s role in the Indian national movement from his return in 1915 through the Quit India Movement of 1942, viewed through the eyes of his contemporaries — newspapers, private letters, autobiographies and official records.
About the Chapter
Theme 13 of the NCERT Class 12 textbook Themes in Indian History – Part III studies how Mahatma Gandhi led the nationalist movement through the philosophy of satyagraha and ahimsa. It explores the major movements he led — Champaran, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Quit India — and the kinds of sources historians use to reconstruct his life and ideas: public speeches, autobiographies (Hind Swaraj, My Experiments with Truth), private letters, government reports, and contemporary newspapers like Young India, Harijan and Indian Opinion.
Summary
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in January 1915 after two decades of leading struggles against racial discrimination. On the advice of his political mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale, he travelled across India for a year before plunging into politics. His first major intervention was the Champaran satyagraha (1917) in Bihar, where he supported indigo cultivators against oppressive European planters. This was followed by the Kheda satyagraha (1918) in Gujarat for tax remission to peasants hit by crop failure, and the Ahmedabad mill strike (1918) for higher wages for textile workers. Through these three campaigns Gandhi demonstrated his concern for the poor and made satyagraha a tool of mass struggle.
The repressive Rowlatt Act of 1919 brought Gandhi onto the all-India stage. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Khilafat issue prompted him to launch the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22), calling for a boycott of British titles, courts, schools and goods. The movement spread across India but was withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura incident (February 1922) when a crowd burnt a police station. In 1930, Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement with the famous Dandi Salt March (12 March – 6 April 1930), defying the salt law by making salt at the seashore. He attended the Second Round Table Conference in London (1931) but the talks failed. The Poona Pact (1932) with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar settled the question of separate electorates for the Depressed Classes through reserved seats within the joint electorate.
The final great campaign was the Quit India Movement (August 1942), in which Gandhi gave the call “Do or Die” and the Congress demanded immediate British withdrawal. Throughout his life Gandhi promoted the charkha (spinning wheel) and khadi as symbols of self-reliance, worked for Dalit upliftment (calling them Harijans — children of God), Hindu-Muslim unity, the new system of basic education called Nai Talim, and the active participation of women in public life. His debates with Dr. Ambedkar over caste and separate electorates form one of the most important conversations in modern Indian history. Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 by Nathuram Godse.
সাৰাংশ (Assamese Summary)
মোহনদাস কৰমচাঁদ গান্ধীয়ে ১৯১৫ চনত দক্ষিণ আফ্ৰিকাৰ পৰা ভাৰতলৈ উভতি আহি ১৯১৭ চনত চম্পাৰণত নীল খেতিয়কসকলৰ পক্ষে প্ৰথম সত্যাগ্ৰহ আৰম্ভ কৰে। তাৰ পিছত খেদা (১৯১৮) আৰু আহমেদাবাদ মিল ধৰ্মঘট (১৯১৮) লৈ গান্ধীয়ে গৰিব মানুহৰ লগত নিজকে চিনাকি কৰাইছিল। ৰ’লেট আইন (১৯১৯)-ৰ বিৰুদ্ধে আন্দোলনৰ পিছতে গান্ধীয়ে অসহযোগ আন্দোলন (১৯২০-২২) আৰম্ভ কৰে কিন্তু চৌৰি চৌৰাৰ ঘটনাৰ পিছত প্ৰত্যাহাৰ কৰে। ১৯৩০ চনত ডাণ্ডি লোণ যাত্ৰাৰ জৰিয়তে আইন অমান্য আন্দোলন আৰম্ভ হয়। ১৯৩২ চনৰ পূনা চুক্তিৰ জৰিয়তে দলিতসকলৰ বাবে সংৰক্ষিত আসনৰ ব্যৱস্থা হয়। ১৯৪২ চনৰ ভাৰত ত্যাগ আন্দোলনে “কৰা বা মৰা” শ্লোগান দিয়ে। চৰখা, খাদী, অহিংসা, সত্যাগ্ৰহ, দলিত উন্নয়ন, হিন্দু-মুছলমান একতা, নাই তালিম শিক্ষা আৰু মহিলাৰ অংশগ্ৰহণ — এইবোৰেই গান্ধীৰ প্ৰধান অৱদান। ১৯৪৮ চনৰ ৩০ জানুৱাৰীত নাথুৰাম গডছেৰ গুলীত গান্ধী নিহত হয়।
NCERT Textbook Questions and Answers
1. How did Mahatma Gandhi seek to identify with the common people?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi consciously identified himself with the common people in many ways. He gave up Western dress and adopted a simple loincloth and shawl, dressing like the poorest Indian peasant. He travelled by third-class railway compartments to feel the conditions of ordinary travellers. He spoke in Hindustani — the language of the common people — and addressed huge gatherings of villagers and workers. He insisted on doing manual labour himself, including cleaning toilets, and lived in ashrams where everyone shared work equally. He took up the spinning wheel (charkha) and wore khadi, identifying with rural artisans. By taking up causes of indigo peasants in Champaran, peasants of Kheda and mill workers of Ahmedabad, he showed his concern for ordinary Indians. His simple food, his ashram life and his readiness to fast for justice all conveyed a powerful message of identification with the masses.
2. How was Mahatma Gandhi perceived by the peasants?
Answer: The peasants perceived Mahatma Gandhi as a saviour and even as a saintly figure with miraculous powers. Many believed Gandhi could rescue them from high taxes and oppressive officials. Rumours about his magical powers spread — that he could destroy British rule in a short time, restore land to the cultivators, end the zamindari system, and that those who opposed him would suffer disasters. Some peasants even called him “Gandhi Baba” or “Gandhi Maharaj” and worshipped him as an avatar. The peasant interpretation of Gandhi was quite different from the political programme of the Congress; for them, he was a personal redeemer. This image gave Gandhi enormous moral authority but also led to incidents like Chauri Chaura that he himself disapproved of.
3. Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?
Answer: The salt laws became a powerful issue of struggle for several reasons. Salt was an essential item of food consumed by every Indian, rich or poor, and the British government’s monopoly over its production and the heavy tax on it affected everyone — making it a perfect symbol of unjust colonial rule. By making salt-making a state monopoly, the British had deprived people of a free natural resource available along the seashore. The salt tax was particularly oppressive on the poor, who spent a higher share of their income on it. Gandhi recognised that salt united Hindus and Muslims, men and women, rich and poor in a common grievance. By breaking the salt law at Dandi on 6 April 1930, Gandhi launched a non-violent mass movement that exposed the moral bankruptcy of British rule and brought the freedom struggle to every village.
4. Why are newspapers an important source for the study of the national movement?
Answer: Newspapers are an important source for the study of the national movement for several reasons. They reported the day-to-day activities of leaders like Gandhi — his speeches, marches, fasts and arrests — providing a continuous record of the movement. Both Indian-owned papers (such as The Hindu, Amrita Bazar Patrika, The Bombay Chronicle, Young India, Harijan) and British-owned papers (like The Times of India, The Statesman, The Pioneer) covered the movement, but each presented its own perspective. The contrast between these viewpoints helps historians understand how different sections perceived the events. Newspapers also carried the speeches and articles of leaders themselves, government press notes, public reactions, and editorial opinion. However, historians must read newspapers critically — checking for bias, considering who owned and edited the paper, and cross-checking with other sources, since every newspaper presented a particular point of view.
5. Why was the charkha chosen as a symbol of nationalism?
Answer: The charkha was chosen as a symbol of nationalism for several reasons. Gandhi held that mass machine-production by mills had impoverished the Indian peasantry by destroying handicrafts. The charkha provided supplementary employment to villagers during their idle months and could relieve poverty. By spinning their own cloth, Indians could become self-reliant and free themselves from dependence on foreign mill cloth, making the charkha a tool of swadeshi. It was a symbol of dignity of labour — Gandhi himself spent some time daily at the wheel, asking other leaders to do the same. The charkha bridged the gap between intellectuals and the masses, between manual and mental work, and between Hindus and Muslims, men and women, who could all spin together. As a symbol it was placed at the centre of the Congress flag in 1931, signifying self-help, simplicity and mass participation in the freedom struggle.
6. How was non-cooperation a form of protest?
Answer: Non-cooperation was a unique form of protest that argued British rule had survived in India only because of Indian co-operation. If Indians refused to co-operate, British rule would collapse within a year. The programme involved surrendering titles awarded by the British, boycotting government schools, courts, councils and elections, refusing to buy or use foreign cloth, and resigning from government jobs. People were urged to use khadi and Indian-made goods. Students left government schools, lawyers gave up their practice, and bonfires of foreign cloth were lit across the country. Non-cooperation was non-violent in form — it did not attack the British directly but withdrew the moral and practical support that sustained their rule. By making non-cooperation a creed, Gandhi turned the freedom struggle into a moral movement that involved millions of ordinary people for the first time.
7. Why did Mahatma Gandhi think Hindustani should be the national language?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi thought Hindustani should be the national language because it was a blend of Hindi and Urdu — the most widely spoken language across northern India and well understood in many other parts of the country. By drawing on both the Sanskritic roots of Hindi and the Persian-Arabic vocabulary of Urdu, Hindustani could unite Hindus and Muslims and become a popular tongue rather than a sectarian one. It would help break down barriers between communities and serve as a link language across regions. Gandhi himself spoke and wrote in Hindustani and urged the Congress to adopt it. He believed that a free India could not be built on the language of its colonisers — English — and needed an indigenous language that the masses could understand. Adopting Hindustani would reflect the composite culture of India and reinforce the unity of the freedom struggle.
8. Why did Mahatma Gandhi launch the Civil Disobedience Movement?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 for several reasons. The Simon Commission appointed in 1928 had no Indian member and was therefore boycotted. The Lahore Congress (December 1929) declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as the goal and authorised civil disobedience. Gandhi presented the Eleven Demands to Viceroy Lord Irwin, including reduction of land revenue, abolition of the salt tax, release of political prisoners and a 50 per cent cut in military spending; these were rejected. The Great Depression had worsened the economic distress of peasants. Gandhi chose the salt tax as the focal issue and launched the Dandi March (12 March – 6 April 1930). Breaking the salt law became the symbol of mass defiance. The movement spread rapidly: people made salt, picketed liquor and foreign cloth shops, refused to pay taxes, and hundreds of thousands courted arrest. Civil disobedience converted the demand for swaraj into a mass movement of unprecedented scale.
9. Discuss the social ideas of Mahatma Gandhi.
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi’s social ideas formed an integral part of his political programme. He attacked untouchability as a sin against humanity and called the so-called untouchables Harijans (“children of God”); he conducted the Harijan Yatra and admitted Harijans to his ashrams. He stressed dignity of labour — every ashram inmate, including himself, swept and cleaned. He wanted Hindu-Muslim unity, supporting the Khilafat cause and fasting against communal riots. He upheld women’s participation in the freedom struggle; women like Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi and Kamala Nehru took leading roles. Gandhi promoted the charkha and khadi as means of economic self-reliance and rural reconstruction. His scheme of basic education, Nai Talim, integrated handicrafts and the mother tongue into schooling. He encouraged temperance and simple living, opposed liquor and untouchability, and worked for sanitation and village uplift. His vision of a free India was not merely political independence but a moral and social regeneration of society.
Short Answer Questions
1. When did Gandhi return to India from South Africa?
Answer: Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in January 1915.
2. Who was Gandhi’s political mentor in India?
Answer: Gopal Krishna Gokhale was Mahatma Gandhi’s political mentor. On Gokhale’s advice, Gandhi spent his first year in India travelling to understand the country before joining politics.
3. What was the Champaran Satyagraha?
Answer: The Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was Gandhi’s first satyagraha in India, launched in Champaran district of Bihar against the oppressive tinkathia system under which indigo cultivators were forced by European planters to grow indigo on three-twentieths of their land. Gandhi’s intervention led to the abolition of the system.
4. What was the Kheda Satyagraha?
Answer: The Kheda Satyagraha (1918) was a struggle in Kheda district of Gujarat where peasants demanded remission of land revenue because of severe crop failure. Gandhi, along with Vallabhbhai Patel, led the campaign and the government eventually granted relief.
5. What was the Ahmedabad Mill Strike?
Answer: In 1918 the textile mill workers of Ahmedabad demanded higher wages from the mill owners. Gandhi supported the workers and undertook a fast. The strike ended with a 35 per cent wage rise for the workers.
6. What was the Rowlatt Act?
Answer: The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was a repressive law passed by the British that allowed detention of any Indian without trial. It outraged Indians and Gandhi launched a nationwide hartal against it.
7. What is satyagraha?
Answer: Satyagraha is Gandhi’s method of non-violent resistance based on the power of truth (satya) and firmness (agraha). It involves passive but firm refusal to obey unjust laws while accepting the punishment without retaliation.
8. What is ahimsa?
Answer: Ahimsa means non-violence in thought, word and deed. For Gandhi it was the supreme moral law and the only legitimate weapon for fighting injustice.
9. What was the Chauri Chaura incident?
Answer: On 5 February 1922, at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, a procession of peasants was fired upon by police; in retaliation the crowd burnt down the police station, killing 22 policemen. Shocked by this violence, Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement.
10. What was the Dandi March?
Answer: The Dandi March was a 240-mile journey from Sabarmati Ashram (near Ahmedabad) to the coastal village of Dandi in Gujarat, undertaken by Gandhi from 12 March to 6 April 1930. On reaching Dandi, Gandhi made salt by evaporating sea water, breaking the salt law and launching the Civil Disobedience Movement.
11. What was the Poona Pact?
Answer: The Poona Pact of September 1932 was an agreement between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. It dropped separate electorates for the Depressed Classes (granted by the Communal Award) and instead provided reserved seats for them within a joint Hindu electorate.
12. What was the Quit India Movement?
Answer: Launched on 8 August 1942, the Quit India Movement demanded the immediate withdrawal of British rule from India. Gandhi gave the slogan “Do or Die.” Although the leaders were arrested at once, the movement spread spontaneously across the country.
13. Why did Gandhi adopt the loincloth?
Answer: Gandhi adopted the loincloth in 1921 to identify with the poorest Indian peasant and to demonstrate his rejection of foreign mill cloth. It became one of his most powerful symbols of simplicity and self-reliance.
14. What does Harijan mean?
Answer: Gandhi used the term Harijan meaning “children of God” for the so-called untouchables, to restore their human dignity and to attack untouchability.
15. What is Nai Talim?
Answer: Nai Talim was Gandhi’s scheme of basic education first proposed in 1937. It linked learning to a productive craft, used the mother tongue as the medium of instruction, and aimed at the all-round development of the child — head, heart and hand.
Long Answer Questions
1. Discuss the significance of Gandhi’s three early satyagrahas — Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad.
Answer: Between 1917 and 1918 Mahatma Gandhi led three local but historically important satyagrahas that laid the foundation of his all-India leadership. Champaran (1917) in Bihar was a struggle in support of indigo cultivators forced under the tinkathia system to grow indigo on three-twentieths of their land for European planters at low prices. Gandhi conducted detailed enquiries, defied a government order to leave the district, and forced the appointment of a commission whose recommendations led to the abolition of the system. Kheda (1918) in Gujarat was a peasants’ satyagraha for remission of land revenue after a crop failure. Gandhi, supported by Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik, mobilised peasants to refuse payment; ultimately the government granted relief to the poorer cultivators. Ahmedabad (1918) was a labour dispute in which textile mill workers demanded higher wages; Gandhi backed the workers, undertook his first political fast, and secured a 35 per cent wage rise. The significance of these movements is fourfold: they brought Gandhi into direct contact with the Indian peasantry and working class; they established satyagraha as an effective political technique; they showed that local grievances could be linked to wider injustice; and they built the network of disciples — Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Mahadev Desai, Anasuya Sarabhai — who would lead later national campaigns.
2. Discuss the causes, course and significance of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22).
Answer: The Non-Cooperation Movement was caused by widespread discontent against British rule following the Rowlatt Act (1919), the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 1919), and the Khilafat issue (the British treatment of the Ottoman Caliph after the First World War). At the Calcutta session in September 1920 and Nagpur session in December 1920, the Indian National Congress adopted Gandhi’s programme of non-cooperation. The programme had two parts — boycott (of titles, government schools, courts, councils, foreign cloth) and constructive work (popularising khadi, removing untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity, opening national schools). Lawyers like C. R. Das, Motilal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel gave up their practice. Students left government colleges and joined institutions like Jamia Millia Islamia and Kashi Vidyapith. Bonfires of foreign cloth blazed across the country. Picketing of liquor shops gained momentum and women joined in large numbers. The Khilafat-Non-Cooperation alliance brought Hindus and Muslims together as never before. However, the movement was abruptly withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura incident (5 February 1922), when an angry crowd burnt a police station killing 22 policemen. The significance of the movement is enormous — it transformed the Congress from an upper-class debating club into a mass organisation, gave Gandhi unrivalled leadership, made khadi and the charkha symbols of the freedom struggle, and brought the politics of negotiation to an end.
3. Describe the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Dandi March.
Answer: The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched after the Lahore Congress of December 1929 declared Purna Swaraj as the goal. Gandhi presented Viceroy Lord Irwin with eleven demands; on their rejection, he chose to defy the salt law as the opening campaign. On 12 March 1930 he set out from Sabarmati Ashram with 78 followers on the famous Salt March. They walked 240 miles, drawing huge crowds along the way, and reached the seaside village of Dandi on 5 April 1930. On the morning of 6 April, Gandhi picked up a handful of salt from the sea-shore, formally breaking the salt law. The act ignited a country-wide movement. People made salt along the entire coast — at Dharasana, Vedaranyam and elsewhere. Foreign cloth and liquor shops were picketed; peasants in Gujarat refused to pay taxes (the no-tax campaign in Bardoli and Kheda); tribals in Maharashtra and Karnataka defied forest laws; women came out in unprecedented numbers; the North-West Frontier Province led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan also rose. About 60,000 people were arrested. Gandhi was jailed in May 1930 but the movement continued. In March 1931 the Gandhi-Irwin Pact suspended civil disobedience; Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference in London (September–December 1931). When the talks failed and the British arrested Gandhi again, the movement resumed but lost momentum and was officially called off in 1934. Civil Disobedience widened the social base of the freedom struggle, made Purna Swaraj the accepted goal, and showed the world the moral force of non-violent resistance.
4. Examine the debate between Gandhi and Ambedkar on caste and separate electorates.
Answer: The debate between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is one of the most significant in modern Indian history. Both leaders agreed that untouchability was a great evil, but their approaches differed sharply. Gandhi believed caste was a useful social structure that had been distorted by untouchability; he wanted reform from within Hindu society and called untouchables Harijans. Ambedkar, himself born in a so-called untouchable family, held that caste was the central evil of Hinduism and that the Depressed Classes needed political safeguards independent of caste-Hindu reformers. At the Second Round Table Conference (1931) Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Depressed Classes — a system in which only Dalit voters would elect Dalit representatives. Ramsay MacDonald’s Communal Award (August 1932) granted separate electorates. Gandhi opposed this strongly, arguing that separate electorates would permanently divide Hindu society and weaken the freedom movement. He undertook a fast unto death in Yerwada Jail (Pune) in September 1932. Faced with the threat to Gandhi’s life, Ambedkar agreed to the Poona Pact (24 September 1932), under which separate electorates were given up but a larger number of reserved seats for the Depressed Classes were provided within the joint Hindu electorate. The debate exposed deep tensions between Gandhi’s vision of a reformed Hinduism and Ambedkar’s quest for political self-determination of the Dalits — tensions that continued to shape Indian politics.
5. What kinds of sources do historians use to reconstruct the life and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi?
Answer: Historians use a wide variety of sources to reconstruct Mahatma Gandhi’s life and ideas. (a) Public writings and speeches: Gandhi published two important books — Hind Swaraj (1909) and An Autobiography or My Experiments with Truth (1927) — and edited the journals Indian Opinion (South Africa), Young India (1919–32), Navjivan and Harijan (from 1933). His ninety-volume Collected Works contain articles, speeches, statements and writings. (b) Private letters: Gandhi wrote thousands of letters to family, colleagues, opponents and ordinary people. Letters are valuable because they often reveal a more personal side of the writer than public statements. (c) Autobiographies of contemporaries: Memoirs by leaders like Nehru, Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad and others give different perspectives on the same events. (d) Newspapers: Both Indian and British-owned papers carried day-by-day reports — The Hindu, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Bombay Chronicle, The Statesman, Times of India, Pioneer. (e) Government records: Police reports, fortnightly reports of provincial governors, Home Department files and intelligence reports. (f) Photographs, films and material objects like the charkha, glasses and walking stick. Each source has its own bias and value. Historians read them critically — checking the perspective of the writer, comparing different accounts, and interpreting silences as well as statements.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. When did Mahatma Gandhi return to India from South Africa?
(a) 1914 (b) 1915 (c) 1916 (d) 1917
Answer: (b) 1915
2. Who was Gandhi’s political mentor?
(a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak (b) Gopal Krishna Gokhale (c) Dadabhai Naoroji (d) Surendranath Banerjee
Answer: (b) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
3. Where was Gandhi’s first satyagraha in India?
(a) Kheda (b) Ahmedabad (c) Champaran (d) Bardoli
Answer: (c) Champaran
4. The Champaran satyagraha was launched in which year?
(a) 1916 (b) 1917 (c) 1918 (d) 1919
Answer: (b) 1917
5. The Rowlatt Act was passed in:
(a) 1918 (b) 1919 (c) 1920 (d) 1921
Answer: (b) 1919
6. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on:
(a) 13 April 1919 (b) 15 August 1919 (c) 6 April 1919 (d) 13 April 1920
Answer: (a) 13 April 1919
7. The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched in:
(a) 1919 (b) 1920 (c) 1921 (d) 1922
Answer: (b) 1920
8. Why was the Non-Cooperation Movement called off?
(a) Gandhi was arrested (b) Chauri Chaura incident (c) British concessions (d) Khilafat ended
Answer: (b) Chauri Chaura incident
9. The Chauri Chaura incident occurred on:
(a) 5 February 1922 (b) 13 April 1919 (c) 12 March 1930 (d) 8 August 1942
Answer: (a) 5 February 1922
10. The Dandi March began on:
(a) 12 March 1930 (b) 6 April 1930 (c) 26 January 1930 (d) 1 April 1930
Answer: (a) 12 March 1930
11. Gandhi broke the salt law at Dandi on:
(a) 12 March 1930 (b) 6 April 1930 (c) 5 April 1930 (d) 26 January 1930
Answer: (b) 6 April 1930
12. Purna Swaraj was declared at the Lahore Congress of:
(a) 1928 (b) 1929 (c) 1930 (d) 1931
Answer: (b) 1929
13. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in:
(a) March 1930 (b) March 1931 (c) September 1931 (d) September 1932
Answer: (b) March 1931
14. Gandhi attended which Round Table Conference?
(a) First (b) Second (c) Third (d) None
Answer: (b) Second
15. The Communal Award was announced by:
(a) Lord Irwin (b) Ramsay MacDonald (c) Lord Linlithgow (d) Stafford Cripps
Answer: (b) Ramsay MacDonald
16. The Poona Pact was signed in:
(a) 1930 (b) 1931 (c) 1932 (d) 1934
Answer: (c) 1932
17. Who signed the Poona Pact with Gandhi?
(a) Jinnah (b) Ambedkar (c) Nehru (d) Patel
Answer: (b) Ambedkar
18. The Quit India Movement was launched on:
(a) 8 August 1942 (b) 9 August 1942 (c) 15 August 1942 (d) 8 August 1947
Answer: (a) 8 August 1942
19. Gandhi’s slogan during Quit India was:
(a) Inquilab Zindabad (b) Vande Mataram (c) Do or Die (d) Jai Hind
Answer: (c) Do or Die
20. Gandhi’s autobiography is titled:
(a) Discovery of India (b) The Story of My Experiments with Truth (c) Hind Swaraj (d) Young India
Answer: (b) The Story of My Experiments with Truth
21. Which journal was edited by Gandhi in South Africa?
(a) Young India (b) Harijan (c) Indian Opinion (d) Navjivan
Answer: (c) Indian Opinion
22. Nai Talim emphasised education through:
(a) English (b) Productive crafts and mother tongue (c) Sanskrit (d) Memorisation
Answer: (b) Productive crafts and mother tongue
23. The charkha was placed at the centre of the Congress flag in:
(a) 1921 (b) 1929 (c) 1931 (d) 1942
Answer: (c) 1931
24. Gandhi was assassinated on:
(a) 30 January 1948 (b) 2 October 1948 (c) 15 August 1947 (d) 26 January 1950
Answer: (a) 30 January 1948
25. Gandhi was assassinated by:
(a) Madanlal Pahwa (b) Nathuram Godse (c) Vinayak Savarkar (d) Narayan Apte
Answer: (b) Nathuram Godse
Timeline — Gandhi’s Movements (1915–1948)
| Year | Event | Place / Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Returns to India from South Africa | Bombay; advised by Gokhale to tour India |
| 1916 | Founds Sabarmati Ashram | Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| 1917 | Champaran Satyagraha | Bihar — first satyagraha in India; against tinkathia |
| 1918 | Kheda Satyagraha | Gujarat — peasants’ tax remission |
| 1918 | Ahmedabad Mill Strike | First political fast; 35% wage rise for workers |
| 1919 | Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha | All India hartal; Jallianwala Bagh massacre (13 April) |
| 1920–22 | Non-Cooperation Movement | Boycott of titles, schools, courts, foreign cloth |
| 1922 | Chauri Chaura; movement withdrawn | 5 February — police station burnt |
| 1924 | President of Belgaum Congress | Only time Gandhi presided over Congress |
| 1929 | Lahore Congress — Purna Swaraj | Complete independence declared the goal |
| 1930 | Dandi Salt March / Civil Disobedience | 12 March – 6 April; salt law broken |
| 1931 | Gandhi-Irwin Pact; Second Round Table | March; September–December (London) |
| 1932 | Communal Award; Poona Pact | August; 24 September — joint electorate with reserved seats |
| 1933–34 | Harijan campaign | Tour against untouchability; founds Harijan Sevak Sangh |
| 1937 | Nai Talim (basic education) launched | Wardha Education Conference |
| 1940 | Individual Satyagraha | Vinoba Bhave first satyagrahi |
| 1942 | Quit India Movement | 8 August — “Do or Die”; Gandhi arrested |
| 1946–47 | Tour of Noakhali, Bihar, Calcutta | Healing communal riots |
| 1948 | Assassination | 30 January — shot by Nathuram Godse, New Delhi |
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Satyagraha | Non-violent resistance based on truth-force; Gandhi’s distinctive political method |
| Ahimsa | Non-violence in thought, word and deed |
| Swaraj | Self-rule — both political independence and self-discipline |
| Purna Swaraj | Complete independence; declared at Lahore Congress 1929 |
| Swadeshi | Use of Indian-made goods, especially khadi |
| Khadi | Hand-spun, hand-woven cloth — symbol of self-reliance |
| Charkha | Spinning wheel; placed at the centre of the Congress flag (1931) |
| Hartal | Mass strike with closure of shops and businesses |
| Tinkathia | System forcing Champaran peasants to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land |
| Harijan | “Children of God” — Gandhi’s term for so-called untouchables |
| Nai Talim | Gandhi’s basic education scheme (1937) — learning through productive crafts |
| Communal Award | 1932 British announcement granting separate electorates to Depressed Classes |
| Poona Pact | 1932 Gandhi-Ambedkar agreement replacing separate electorates with reserved seats |
| Hind Swaraj | Gandhi’s 1909 book criticising Western civilisation and outlining Indian self-rule |
| Young India / Harijan | Weekly journals edited by Gandhi to spread his ideas |
| Khilafat | Movement (1919–24) by Indian Muslims in support of the Ottoman Caliph |
| Round Table Conference | Three British-Indian negotiations in London (1930, 1931, 1932) |
| Quit India | August 1942 movement demanding immediate British withdrawal |
This concludes the complete question-answer guide for ASSEB Class 12 History Chapter 13 — Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement. Visit hslcguru.com for more chapter solutions and study materials.