Write a note on the Khilafat movement.(EHI-01)

Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) was a significant Islamic movement in India during the British rule. This was an attempt by the Indian Muslim community to unite together in support of the Turkish Empire ruled by the Khalifa, which was attacked by European powers. The Muslims considered the Khalifa as the custodian of Islam. They simply could not digest his dethronement. Under the leadership of prominent Muslim leaders, notable one being Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, they launched the Khilafat Movement in most parts of North India.

The Khilafat Movement, aimed against the British government, received the support of Mahatma Gandhi, who related his Non Cooperation Movement with it. The main objective behind this move was to enlist the support of the Muslim community into his movement, which addressed the issue of ‘Swaraj’ (Self-Government). By mid-1920 the Khilafat leaders assured full support to the non-violent methods of Gandhi, which facilitated the establishment of a united front of Hindus and Muslims against the British government. This combined force formed a major threat to the British rule.

The Khilafat Movement however did not last long. Owing to some violent incidents in the country which resulted in the deaths of many Indian and British people, Mahatma Gandhi called off his Non Cooperation Movement. This was a major jolt to the Khilafat Movement. The movement received its final blow in March 1924, when the original Khilafat movement in Turkey was abolished following the Islamic country’s conversion from a Sultanate empire to a Republic.

4.  Write a note on the Indian National Army (INA)                                                       

Solution: The Indian National Army, I.N.A or Azad Hind Fauj was the army of Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (The Provisional Government of Free India). It was an armed force which was formed during World War II by Indian nationalists and prisoners of war. It progressed with the aim to overthrow the British Raj and win independence. The INA was initially formed under Mohan Singh, the captain in the 1/14th Punjab Regiment in the British Army. However, the first INA under Mohan Singh collapsed and finally it was revived under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose. Indian National Army emerged along with Mahatma Gandhi`s peaceful resistance movement within India. In contrast to Mahatma Gandhi, Bose advocated a more aggressive confrontation with the British authorities.

The concept of an armed force fighting to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India with Japanese assistance originated within the Indian independence movement. INA was formed during the first world war when the Ghadar Party and the nascent rudiment of the Indian Independence League planned to rebel in the British Indian Army from the Punjab through Bengal to Hong Kong. But this plan ultimately failed after the information was leaked to British Intelligence. During the Second World War, the plan to fight the British found revival and number of leaders and movements were initiated. These included "liberation armies" formed in and with the help of Italy, Germany as well as in South-east Asia. Thus in South East Asia the concept of the Indian National Army emerged. It was supported by the Japanese 15th army and led by Subhash Chandra Bose.

Indian National Army had many valued freedom fighters, who helped in the battles. They all had a brilliant background and fought for a similar cause, freedom of India. The INA freedom fighters were from every sphere ranging from barristers to plantation workers.. The revival of the Indian National Army was done by Subhas Chandra Bose. In 1943 he reached Singapore and assumed leadership of INA. Thus with his motivation and determination INA doubled in strength and local civilians joined. Most of the people who joined had no prior military experience and thus to ensure a well-trained army, Bose established an Officers Training School for INA officers and the Azad School for the civilian volunteers Many youth were also sent to Imperial Military Academy in Japan for advanced training. Every soldier were required to spend about six to eight hours of training daily. The training included physical training, army drill and handling arms such as rifles, pistols, hand grenades and bayonets. The soldiers also attended lectures of Indian and world history and military subjects like map reading as well as signaling.

5.  Write a note on the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal.                                                      

Solution: The concept of Swadeshi as explained by Gandhi, is employment of unemployed or semi-employed people by encouraging village industries and the in general trial was towards building a non-violent society. Strategies of the swadeshi movement therefore involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic products and production. The popular upsurge of 1905 was unprecedented. But of course it did not emerge from nowhere. The writings and speeches of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and his associate had done much to prepare the way. Tilak reached out to the masses through popular festivals. He transformed the traditional Ganapati Utsav into a public celebration where patriotic ideas could be spread. Later he inaugurated a Shivaji festival for the same purpose. In 1906 Bengal honored the great Maratha as a national hero.

The swadeshi movement quickly gathered force. Bonfires of British cloth demonstrated the peoples` determination not to rely on foreign products. The sale of English goods fell dramatically as Bombay mills worked overtime to meet the demand for swadeshi textiles. It became a matter of pride to wear coarse dhotis woven on local handlooms rather than fashionable Manchester cottons. Student volunteers encouraged people to use Indian products. Popular enthusiasm was sustained by songs written by Rabindranath Tagore and others. Bankim chandra chatterjee`s `vande mataram` became a national anthem, and opening words a sort of battle cry.

The swadeshi movement gave tremendous inputs to Indian industry. Beginnings were made in the manufacturer of swadeshi salt, sugar matches and other products. On a larger scale, the movement gave a stimulus to Prafullachandra Rays`s bengal chemical works. This action encouraged Jamshedji Tata of Bombay to open his famous steel plant in Bihar. At the same time, Indian labor took its first real steps towards organization. A series of strikes in Calcutta and other places demonstrated that the workingman was growing weary of exploitation