CLASS 10 GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · CH 2: NATIONALISM IN INDIA (NCERT CLASS 10 — INDIA AND THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD II)
NCERT-aligned Class 10 Geography topic. Every item is anchored to a real location on India's map — built for boards (CBSE, ICSE, state) and UPSC aspirants.
How did WWI affect ordinary Indians?
INFLATION doubled prices (1913-18); FORCED RECRUITMENT in rural areas (esp. Punjab + Madras Presidencies — created widespread anger); 13 lakh Indian SOLDIERS sent overseas (Mesopotamia, France, Egypt) — 50,000+ died; CROP FAILURES + INFLUENZA epidemic (1918-19) killed 12-13 million Indians (more than the war itself).
What was the Rowlatt Act (1919)?
Passed March 1919 by the IMPERIAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL despite UNANIMOUS Indian opposition; gave the government the power to IMPRISON without trial Indians SUSPECTED of "political activity"; 2 years' detention without trial; no appeal. Slogan: "NO APPEAL, NO VAKIL, NO DALEEL".
Gandhi's response to the Rowlatt Act?
Called for COUNTRYWIDE HARTAL (strike) in April 1919; meetings, processions, fasts; this was Gandhi's FIRST nationwide political mobilisation. The hartal turned Punjab violent → led to JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE 13 April 1919.
What happened at Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April 1919?
BAISAKHI day; ~10,000 people (incl. women + children) gathered in a walled garden in Amritsar to protest the Rowlatt Act + arrest of leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew + Satyapal. General REGINALD DYER blocked the main exit + ordered his troops to fire WITHOUT WARNING. ~400 killed (Hunter Commission count) / 1000+ (Indian estimates); 1,200 wounded. Bullet marks still visible on the walls.
Why did Dyer say he ordered the firing?
Told Hunter Commission: he wanted to "PRODUCE A MORAL EFFECT"; "to teach a lesson"; "create a sense of FEAR throughout Punjab". Was praised by some British (Morning Post raised £26,000 in his honour); CENSURED by the Hunter Commission and Parliament; resigned. CHURCHILL called it "monstrous".
Tagore's response to Jallianwala?
31 May 1919 — Rabindranath TAGORE wrote a moving letter to the Viceroy returning his 1915 KNIGHTHOOD in protest. "The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation."
Who later assassinated General O'Dwyer (the Lt. Governor of Punjab who endorsed Dyer)?
UDHAM SINGH — present at Jallianwala as a young man; took 21 years to track down Sir Michael O'Dwyer in London; shot him at CAXTON HALL (London) on 13 March 1940. Hanged at Pentonville Prison July 1940. His ashes were brought to India in 1974 and interred at Sunam (his birthplace, Punjab).
Why did Gandhi link Khilafat with Swaraj?
Gandhi saw the Khilafat issue as a chance to BRIDGE Hindu-Muslim politics — Indian Muslims were upset about the dismantling of the OTTOMAN CALIPHATE (Khalifa = spiritual head of Sunni Muslims) by Britain after WWI. By LINKING Khilafat (Muslim cause) + Swaraj (Hindu cause), Gandhi hoped to forge a UNITED national movement.
Who led the Khilafat Movement?
MOHAMMAD ALI + SHAUKAT ALI (the "Ali Brothers"), MAULANA AZAD, HAKIM AJMAL KHAN; KHILAFAT COMMITTEE founded in BOMBAY March 1919; ALL-INDIA KHILAFAT CONFERENCE held DELHI November 1919 — Gandhi attended; agreed to launch joint Non-Cooperation movement.
Three things to be SHUNNED + four things to be CONSTRUCTED in Non-Cooperation?
SHUN: (i) British titles (Tagore returned his Knighthood; many Indians refunded titles); (ii) Government schools, colleges, courts; (iii) Foreign cloth (boycott of Manchester cloth → bonfires of foreign clothes). CONSTRUCT: (i) National schools (Jamia Millia 1920, Kashi Vidyapith), (ii) Charkha + khadi, (iii) Panchayats for justice, (iv) Hindu-Muslim unity.
Why did Gandhi withdraw the NCM?
CHAURI CHAURA INCIDENT — 5 February 1922 — at CHAURI CHAURA in Gorakhpur (UP); a procession turned violent; 22 policemen burnt to death in the police station they had taken refuge in. Gandhi (shocked at violence) called off the entire movement on 12 February 1922 in the Bardoli Resolution. Many Congress leaders (Bose, CR Das, Motilal Nehru) disagreed.
Who was Baba Ramchandra?
A SANNYASI (renouncer); had earlier been an INDENTURED LABOURER in Fiji; led peasants of AWADH (UP) in the 1920s against TALUQDARS (landlords) who imposed RACK-RENTS, BEGAR (forced unpaid labour), evictions. Organised peasants under the OUDH KISAN SABHA (October 1920) with 300+ branches, ~3 lakh members.
This topic is part of the NCERT Class 10 History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Ch 2: Nationalism in India (NCERT Class 10 — India and the Contemporary World II). Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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