NCERT 8th Class (CBSE) Social Science: The National Movement: First Phase

Question: How did the Congress split in 1907? In which year the two group of the party re-united?

Answer: The Indian National Congress(INC) which was established in 1885 was divided into two groups(in the year 1907) mainly by extremists and moderates at the Surat Session of the Congress.The period 1885-1905 was known as the period of the moderates as moderates dominated the INC. These Moderates used petition, prayers, and protest to influence the (British) colonial government. Moderates were not able to achieve their goals. This created dis-satisfaction among the people. In 1907 the INC meeting was to be held in Pune and the extremists wanted Lala Lajpat Rai or Bal Gangadhar Tilak as president. But moderates wanted Rash Behari Ghosh to be president. Gopal Krishna Gokhale changed the meeting place from Pune to Surat fearing that if Pune was to be held as meeting place then tilak would become President. As Surat was not hometown of tilak he could not preside the meeting. Hence it was decided that Ghosh would be president. Extremists protested in the INC meeting as tilak was not given permission even to speak by pandit Madanmohan Malviya extremists then reacted by throwing eggs, chappals etc and wanted the meeting to be cancelled. Moderates then held a secret meeting and decided to abdicate extremists.

Question: Why were people dissatisfied with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s?

Answer: There was great dissatisfaction with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s. Some of the reasons for this dissatisfaction are as follows:

1. The Arms Act – Passed in 1878, this Act disallowed Indians from possessing arms.
2. The Vernacular Press Act in 1878, this Act was aimed at silencing those who were critical of the government. Under this Act, the government could confiscate the assets of newspapers if they published anything that was found objectionable”.
3. The Ilbert Bill controversy- In 1883, the government tried introducing the Ilbert Bill. This bill provided for the trial of British or European individuals by Indians, and sought equality between British and Indian judges in the country. However, the white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill. This enraged the Indians further.

Question: Who did the Indian National Congress wish to speak for?

Answer: Indian National Congress wished to speak for all the people of India, irrespective of class, colouc caste, creed, language, or gender. It stated that India, its resources and systems were not of any one class or community of India, but of all the different communities of India.

Question: What economic impact did the First World War have on India?

Answer: The First World War led to a huge rise in the defence expenditure of the Government of India. The government in turn increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits. Increased military expenditure and the demands for war supplies led to a sharp rise in prices which created great difficulties for the common people. On the other hand, business groups reaped fabulous profits from the war. The war created a demand for industrial goods such as jute bags, cloth and rails, and caused a decline in the imports from other countries into India. As a result, Indian industries expanded during the war.