12th Standard History — Impact of World War I on Indian Freedom Movement Online Test

About Impact of World War I on Indian Freedom Movement

Medium ~55 min study

Impact of World War I on Indian Freedom Movement is the third unit of the Tamil Nadu State Board Class 12 History book. It explains how a war fought mainly in Europe drained India of men, money and war materials, and how the disappointment that followed gave new energy to the national movement between 1916 and 1920.

The lesson follows the Home Rule Leagues of Tilak and Annie Besant, the reunion of the Congress and its pact with the Muslim League at Lucknow, the revolutionary Ghadar Party, the repressive laws of the colonial state, the Khilafat Movement and the growth of an organised labour movement after the Russian Revolution.

This page gathers the nine one mark questions of the book exercise with answers checked against the lesson, plus additional questions on dates, persons, provisions and organisations, each with a short explanation.

What you'll learn

• Explain how the First World War affected Indian society, economy and politics.
• Compare the Home Rule Leagues of Tilak and Annie Besant and explain their importance and decline.
• Describe the Ghadar Movement and the Komagatamaru incident.
• List the main provisions of the Lucknow Pact of 1916.
• Describe the repressive laws of the colonial state, including the Defence of India Act, 1915.
• Explain the causes and demands of the Khilafat Movement and the rise of the labour movement.

Before you start

• The split of the Congress into moderates and extremists at Surat in 1907.
• The Swadeshi Movement of 1905 and the Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909.
• The main events of the First World War from World History.

Impact of World War I on Indian Freedom Movement explained

What this lesson covers

Home Rule Movement

Annie Besant started The Commonweal in 1914 and New India in 1915. Tilak's League began at Belgaum in April 1916 and Besant's at Madras in September 1916. Besant was interned at Ootacamund in June 1917, released after protests and elected Congress president at Calcutta in 1917. The movement declined after Montagu's declaration and the Montagu-Chelmsford proposals.

Impact of the War and the Lucknow Pact

Lala Hardayal's Ghadar Party (1913) and the Komagatamaru incident show the revolutionary side. At Lucknow in 1916 the extremists rejoined the Congress, and the Congress-League Pact, shaped by Jinnah, accepted separate electorates for Muslims.

Repression and Khilafat

The CID (1903), press and sedition acts, the Foreigners Ordinance (1914) and the Defence of India Act (1915) aimed to crush nationalists. The Treaty of Sevres led the Ali brothers to launch the Khilafat Movement, which Gandhi supported.

Labour movement

B.P. Wadia formed the Madras Labour Union in 1918, and the AITUC was founded in Bombay on 30 October 1920 under Lala Lajpat Rai.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Placing Tilak's League in Madras. Tilak's League began at Belgaum; Besant's was inaugurated at Madras.
• Calling Malaviya the founder of the Central Hindu College. Besant founded it; Malaviya upgraded it into Benaras Hindu University in 1916.
• Naming Sohan Singh Bhakna as founder of the Ghadar Party. Lala Hardayal founded it; Bhakna was its president.
• Naming B.P. Wadia as first AITUC president. Wadia formed the Madras Labour Union; Lala Lajpat Rai chaired the AITUC.
• Thinking the Khilafat demands concerned India. They concerned the Sultan of Turkey, but the Caliph was used as a symbol to unite Indian Muslims.

Test yourself on these with the practice test, then check the worked reasoning in the solved MCQs.

Frequently asked questions

What were the twin objectives of the Home Rule League?

The Home Rule League aimed at establishing Home Rule for India within the British Empire and at arousing in the Indian masses a sense of pride in the Motherland. Tilak's League worked in Maharashtra, Karnataka, the Central Provinces and Berar, while Besant's League covered the rest of India.

Why was the Home Rule Movement important?

The Home Rule Leagues prepared the ground for mass mobilisation and Gandhi's satyagraha. Many early Gandhian satyagrahis had been Home Rule members and used its organisational networks. It was the first Indian political movement to cut across sectarian lines, with members from the Congress, the League, Theosophists and Labourites.

Why is the Ghadar Movement an important episode in the freedom struggle?

The Ghadar Party, founded by Lala Hardayal in San Francisco in 1913 and drawn largely from immigrant Sikhs of the US and Canada, wanted to use Britain's difficulty during the War. The Komagatamaru incident, in which returning passengers were killed or arrested, left a deep mark on the nationalist movement.

Why is 1916 called a historic year?

In 1916 the Congress, the Muslim League and the Home Rule League held their annual sessions at Lucknow. The extremists were welcomed back into the Congress by its president Ambika Charan Mazumdar, and the Congress and the League signed the Lucknow Pact, which paved the way for Hindu-Muslim unity.

What was the Defence of India Act, 1915?

Also called the Defence of India Regulations Act, it was an emergency criminal law to curb nationalist and revolutionary activity during the War. Special tribunals of three Commissioners could award death, transportation for life or ten years' imprisonment. Trials were in camera without appeal, and the act later formed the basis of the Rowlatt Act.

What was the background of the Khilafat Movement?

The Sultan of Turkey, who was also the Caliph, sided against the Allies in the War. After the War the Treaty of Sevres weakened Turkey and the Allies decided to end the Caliphate. Indian Muslims under the Ali brothers started the Khilafat Movement, and Gandhi supported it to strengthen Hindu-Muslim unity.

What was the significance of the Madras Labour Union?

Formed by B.P. Wadia in 1918, it was the first trade union in India in the modern sense. Poor conditions at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills, Perambur, led to it. It adopted collective bargaining, used trade unionism as a weapon of class struggle and inspired unions in other parts of India.