Topic 1: India and the FWW

Question 1

What was the original GoIA?

Answer 1

1858: Britain taking India over from the East India Company, creating the British Raj
Took place after the 1857 Indian Mutiny over the musket cartridges

Question 2

INC in its early days

Answer 2

First meeting in 1885, lasting 3 days and including 3 Muslims
Made up of wealthy, upper-caste Hindus who were Western-educated and English speakers
Swore allegiance to the crown

Question 3

What were the initial demands of the INC

Answer 3

To have Indians on the Indian Administration, as well as for the Indian Civil Service to open to Indians
Wanted more spending on infrastructure and less on military

Question 4

Partition of Bengal

Answer 4

1905 under Lord Curzon
Revoked by Hardinge in 1911 due to Hindus’ overwhelming dissent

Question 5

Formation of the Muslim League

Answer 5

1906
Formed as the Muslim minority did not feel represented by the All Indian National Congress

Question 6

Indian Councils Act

Answer 6

Morley-Minto Act of 1909
60 Indian Representatives elected onto the Viceroy’s Council
Created separate electorates for the Muslims and Hindus
Happened as a response to the growing nationalist voice

Question 7

India’s role in WW1

Answer 7

1.5m participated
Sikhs played a huge role, specifically in the Battle of Ypres which was crucial for holding the front line
Over 60,000 died

Question 8

Indian reaction to WW1

Answer 8

Expected to have some form of reward for their devoted contribution during the war, specifically Dominion status

Question 9

INC membership in 1914

Answer 9

100,000

Question 10

Montagu Declaration

Answer 10

August 1917
Promised some level of self governance at some point in the future
Intentionally vague
Issued after the Battle of Passchendaele begins to maintain Indian support

Question 11

Montagu-Chelmsford report

Answer 11

July 1918
Recommended that control over some aspects of provincial government be passed over to Indian ministers accountable to the electorate
Became the basis of the 1919 GOIA

Question 12

Defense of India Act

Answer 12

Introduced after Indian troops arrive in Ypres by the British Governor General
Intended to curtail nationalist revolutionaries
Granted wide executive powers
- imprisonment without trial
- restriction of speech, movement and writing
Widespread use made it deeply unpopular, causing the opposite effect

Question 13

Defense of the Realm Act

Answer 13

Britain seized land and resources to provide for the war effort
Implemented before the first Indian troops arrive in Ypres (Oct 1914)

Question 14

When were the Home Rule leagues formed

Answer 14

April 1916

Question 15

Intentions and methods of the Home Rule Leagues

Answer 15

Raising awareness for the nationalist cause through pamphlets and speeches (Annie Besant)
Grassroots organisation made it easy to spread and difficult to repress
Bombing trains (Bal Tilak)

Question 16

Impact of the Home rule leagues

Answer 16

80,000 members at their peak
Short term: only a year long but served its purpose in raising awareness
Locked up Besant and both leaders banned from the Raj

Question 17

When did Jinnah become leader of the ML

Answer 17

1913

Question 18

Lucknow Pact

Answer 18

Signed 29 Dec 1916
Joining forces
Jinnah acted as a bridge being a well regarded member of both the INC and the ML
Agreed on a fixed proportion of seats in an Indian Parliament

Question 19

1919 GOIA

Answer 19

Passed in December of 1919: too little too late

Expanded provinces and extended the Indian Councils Act of 1909
Created a diarchy, though reserved powers included Foreign affairs, Finance and Defense
Expanded franchise to 10% of the population, mainly wealthy and educated tax payers, as well as 1% of women

Question 20

Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act

Answer 20

Rowlatt Acts
10 March 1919, after the end of WW1
Isolated Bengal, Bombay and Punjab as centers of revolutionary activities, extending the DOIA

Question 21

Reaction to the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act

Answer 21

Some Indians on the British legislative council resigned, including Jinnah

Question 22

Aftermath of WW1

Answer 22

Spanish flu killing 13m Indians
Global recession
60,000 died in the war
Famine due to crop failure

Implementation of the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes act enraged the Indian population, having shown devotion to the Raj through their extensive contribution to the war

Question 23

Hartal

Answer 23

Organised by Gandhi to boycott British goods from the 30th March to the 6th April in Punjab, with Muslim-Hindu solidarity

Question 24

Gandhi’s arrest

Answer 24

9th April
Arrested with two other protest organisers

Question 25

10th April 1919

Answer 25

Mass riots in Punjab
3 Europeans killed
British doctor Marcia Sherwood left beaten half to death in an alley, saved by Hindus

Question 26

12th April 1919

Answer 26

General Dyer arrives in Amritsar and carelessly warns citizens not to convene, announcing a curfew

Not effective in his warning

Question 27

13th April 1919

Answer 27

Baisakhi day: Sikh festival
Estimated 5,000-20,000 attended speeches about riots and the Rowlatt acts in the Jallianwala Bagh

Question 28

Amritsar Massacre

Answer 28

13th April 1919
Dyer arrived, blocking the one entrance of the high walled park and opened fire for 10 minutes, only stopping when he ran out of ammo
Killed a debated 379, targeting women and children and ordering to fire into the thickest parts of the crowd
Wounded over 1,200

Governor O’Dwyer praised Dyer for restoring order

Question 29

Martial law

Answer 29

Declared 15th April to minimise the spread of news

Question 30

Crawling Order

Answer 30

Issued 19th April
Forced Indians to crawl through the street where Marcia Sherwood had been beaten

Question 31

Hunter Commission

Answer 31

October 1919
Lord William Hunter appointed to investigate the massacre
Began hearings on the 29th October, ending in January
‘Did his duty’ no remorse

Question 32

How many were arrested

Answer 32

800+

Question 33

Princely States’ contribution to the war

Answer 33

Funded Stokes mortars