10 November 2022

MAINS QUESTIONS

Q1. The Sikh Gurdwara Reform Movement significantly aided India’s fight for independence. Discuss. the equivalent of 250 words (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS I – National Movement

Introduction:

• Early in the 1920s was when the Akali Movement, often referred to as the Gurdwara Reform Movement, really took off. Its goal was to change the way Sikh Gurdwaras are run and run for their congregations. The Akali Movement was started in order to expel Mahants who were supported by the British government from the historic Gurdwaras of the Sikhs. Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee was given responsibility over all historically significant Sikh sites in India by the Sikh Gurdwara Bill of 1925. (SGPC).

 Body:

 Indian independence cause contribution:

• The Akali Movement, which initially had just a religious focus, eventually contributed significantly to India’s fight for independence.
• The campaign’s goal was to liberate the Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) from uninformed and dishonest mahants (priests).
• Government-appointed managers and caretakers also had some power over the Gurdwaras, in addition to the mahants, who frequently cooperated with mahants when the British took over Punjab in 1849.
• The Mahants received the full support of the government. It spread Sikh loyalties through them and the managers, keeping them from joining the fledgling nationalist movement.
• On the other hand, the Sikh nationalists and reformers supported rescuing the Gurdwaras from the mahants’ and the agents of the colonial administration in order to thoroughly reform them.
• After they had issued a Hukamnama (directive from the Gurus or the sacred seats of the Sikh authority) against the Ghadarites and declared them rebels, the priests of the Golden Temple in Amritsar honoured and dubbed General Dyer, the perpetrator of the Jallianwala Massacre, a Sikh. These two events particularly startled the nationalists.
• The reformers organised a number of public events in favour of their demand that “this greatest seat of Sikh faith should be placed in the hands of a representative body of the Sikhs.”
• In November 1920, a representative assembly of approximately 10,000 reformers chose the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee, which consists of 175 members, to oversee and manage the Golden Temple, the Akal Takht, and other Gurdwaras. (SGPC). The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is the name of the Sikh nation’s legislature.
• Both movements adopted total non-violence as their guiding philosophy under the influence of the modern Non-Cooperation Movement, whose leaders the Akali Dal and the SGPC shared.
• The Akali movement experienced its first baptism by fire in February 1921 at Nankana, the Guru Nanak’s birthplace. Narain Das, the mahant of the Gurdwara there, was not keen on a peaceful transfer of authority to the Akalis. The Nankana disaster changed the course of the Akali conflict. To offer their support, national leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Lala Lajpat Rai, and others went to Nankana.
• The SGPC adopted a resolution in May 1921 encouraging non-cooperation, a prohibition on imported commodities and alcoholic beverages, and the replacement of British courts by panchayats. The Akali leaders who were jailed for breaking the law made the decision not to defend themselves and contested the legality of the tribunals that were imposed by foreign governments.
• A significant win for the Akalis came in October 1921 with the “Keys Affair.” The SGPC recommended Sikhs to participate in the hartal on the day the Prince of Wales arrived in India. In the rest of the nation, the Non-Cooperation Movement was at its height.
• The Government again chose not to challenge Sikhs about a religious matter. All those detained in connection with the “Keys Affair” were freed, and Baba Kharak Singh, the head of the SGPC, received the Toshakhana’s keys as compensation. Right away, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a cable to the Baba declaring victory in the “first struggle for India’s liberty.” Congratulations.’
• The valiant nonviolent struggle around Guru-Ka-Bagh Gurdwara, which rocked all of India, was the culmination of the effort to free the Gurdwaras. Throughout the 70 years of British administration, Guru ka Bagh experienced the height of religious zeal. A lot of attention was paid to the court proceedings involving the volunteers, and when those found guilty were brought to prisons to serve their sentences, massive crowds awaited them there.

Conclusion:

• The Akalis, however, were unable to make much progress because the problem did not include religion and received little support from the rest of the nation. By promising legislation that would be passed in July 1925 and provide authority of all Punjab Gurdwaras to an elected body of Sikhs that would later go by the name SGPC, the government was able to persuade the moderate Akalis.

Q2. A number of foreigners settled in India and took part in a range of movements. Discuss. (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS I – National Movement

Introduction:

• There were many honourable and brave foreigners who fought alongside their Indian counterparts in this fight, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of Indians who gave their life to the defence of their motherland.

 Body:

The following are a few ways that foreigners contributed to the various pre-independence movements:

 James Princep and Williams Jones:

• Asian Society of Bengal members, who were accustomed to Indian customs, took the lead in the discussion in favour of eastern education in regional languages. Despite failing, it shows how much they respected and loved Indian customs.

Elizabeth Mary Noble (Sister Nivedita):

• Swami Vivekananda’s Ramakrishna Mission was joined by an Irishman by birth.
• criticised the British government’s racial policies, provided aid during the Bengal famine and plague outbreaks, and supported women’s rights.
• She criticised Lord Curzon for the Bengal Partition in 1905 and the Universities Act of 1904.
• Because she believed that the British were mostly to blame for the dismal state of the Indian economy, she backed the Swadeshi Movement and attended the Benares Congress in 1905.
• She backed nationalist organisations like the Anusilan Samiti and the Dawn Society.
• She raised consciousness of India in both Europe and the US. She was referred to be a “real lioness” by Swami Vivekananda.

Evans Stokes:

• Samuel Evans Stokes Jr. came from a wealthy family in the United States. He was employed at a leaper home in Himachal when he initially arrived in India.
• Tenaciously battled against the mistreatment of labourers in the Shimla hills.
• Only one American is present at the Nagpur Congress session (1920)
• the sole non-Indian signatory to the 1921 Congress manifesto that exhorted Indians to quit their government jobs and join the struggle for independence.
• Six months in jail after being detained on sedition-related accusations.

Annie Besant:

• She travelled to India in 1893 when she was 46 years old after being incredibly moved by the wonderful religion and philosophy of the nation. She really believed in telling the truth. As soon as she arrived, she saw how poor India was.
• She focused especially on the imperative that any resurrection of Indian culture must rely on regional practises and customs rather than on European ideas.
• She pushed Indians to support and grow Indian manufactures, dress locally, and even start a national language as early as 1898 and once more in 1902.
• In 1914, Annie Besant got involved in politics. From June to September 1917, she was imprisoned for her demand for India’s home rule. She attempted to unite the Congress with Muslims and Hindus in 1916 and was successful in doing so.
• She was properly chosen as the Indian National Congress’s president in 1917. Tilak asserts that the honest efforts of Dr. Annie Besant are the reason we are getting close to our objectives. She was actually a daughter of Mother India, according to Gokhale.

Dinbandhu Andrews Chuck Freer:

• English philanthropist and missionary who supported the independence movement despite denouncing the British for their racist and discriminatory practises.
• Participated in political and social initiatives carried by by Indian politicians.
• Promoted the rights of railroad, cotton-weaving, and labour employees.
• Actively fought untouchability and supported BR Ambedkar’s efforts to change the lives of the Harijan people.
• Gandhiji was known as “Dinbandhu” because of his devotion to the underprivileged.
• Promoted Indian residents’ rights in Fiji, the West Indies, South Africa, East Africa, and other former English colonies.
• He used his power to motivate the English populace to rebel against colonial oppression.
• Gandhi even persuaded the English officials to help with Gandhi’s prison release.

O Hume:

• The establishment of the Indian National Congress was his most significant contribution to the freedom war.
• Despite the controversy surrounding the “safety value” argument, historians have come to the conclusion that Hume was truly concerned about the suffering of the Indian people.

Byron Sengupta:

• Nellie joined the anti-cooperation movement in 1920 and campaigned for Indian independence alongside her husband.
• She vehemently objected to the District authorities’ enforcement of a ban on assembly during the Assam-Bengal Railwaymen’s strike, spoke in front of considerable audiences, and accepted the risk of going to jail. Her husband was detained during this time.
• She broke the law by door-to-door peddling Khadi.
• She spent four months in jail in Delhi in 1931 for speaking at an unconstitutional gathering.
• At the Indian National Congress’ 47th annual meeting in Calcutta in 1933, she was chosen to serve as its president. She was also elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1940 and 1946 on the basis of a Congress programme.

Contrary Behn:

• Madeleine Slade, better known as Mira Behr, was raised in a wealthy, self-assured aristocratic family and committed her entire life to helping Gandhi advance the cause of India’s freedom.
• She made an effort to act as a conduit between the East and the West.
• She gave up her opulent lifestyle and began working for India.
• To gain support for the Indian cause, she went on a tour of the United States and Great Britain in 1934 and went to England in 1931 with Gandhi. She was imprisoned in 1932–1933 and 1942–1944 for supporting India’s independence.

Verrier Ingrid:

• He arrived in India in 1927 after being born in Britain.
• He was connected to the Pune Seva Sangh.
• The Gond Seva Mandal was established thanks to Gandhi’s initiative, and attempts to help tribal people have continued since then.

Conclusion:

• Many foreigners have chosen to call India home because of India’s unmatched role in the harmonious mixing and integration of civilizations and her zeal for welcoming differences. There, marginalised groups like Jews and Parsis might feel comfortable. The distinctive cultural heritage of India and its growth were influenced by those who made India their home. When they felt a connection to Indian causes, they also participated in a number of movements.