(d) – All of the above

The following are the measures adopted by the British Government to repress the

movement started against the Rowlatt Act:

i. Fearing that railway and telegraph lines might be cut by those protesting the Act, the

Government unleashed harsher than usual measures to suppress the movement.

ii. Local leaders were imprisoned and Gandhi was prohibited from entering Delhi. On

10th April 1919, the police fired upon a peaceful procession in Amritsar.

iii. This action of the Government resulted in attacks on banks, post offices and railway

stations. Martial law was soon imposed and General Dyer took over the command.

Among the demands made by Gandhi in his letter to Viceroy Irwin, some of the demands were general in nature, whereas others were of interest to specific sections such as industrialists and peasants. The demand for the abolition of salt tax was the most important because it was a problem faced by Indians of all socioeconomic classes. Salt was and remains a product of daily consumption. Because it is naturally available in nature, the tax imposed on it was considered an injustice done to Indians. Gandhi’s letter gave the Government an ultimatum for accepting his demands, failing which he threatened to launch a Civil Disobedience Campaign.

It can be said that culture, music, dance and religion played an important role in the

development of nationalism in Europe:

i. The role of culture was important in the sense that it instilled among the people of

Europe an idea of a shared heritage. The ultimate result of this was the development of nationalism. Art, poetry and music, all helped in expressing nationalist feelings among the people. Romanticism, in particular, was a cultural movement which contributed a great deal in this process. Romantic artists and poets criticised the glorification of reason and science and instead focused on emotions and intuition.

ii. Language also played an important role. After the Russian occupation, the Polish language was forced out of schools and Russian was imposed everywhere. In 1831, an armed rebellion against Russian rule took place which was later crushed. After this, many members of the Polish clergy began to use language as a weapon of national resistance.

iii. The Romantic German philosopher Herder said that true German culture was to be found among the common people – das volk. Folk songs, folk poetry and dances further popularised the idea of nation.

Gandhi had made certain demands on behalf of the whole of the Indian National Congress to the British Government. When these demands were not fulfilled, the Civil Disobedience Movement was launched in 1930. The following are four important features of the movement:

i. The movement began with Gandhi’s march from Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi in Gujarat. On 6th April, Gandhi reached Dandi where he broke the salt law in defiance of the British by making salt from sea water.

ii. All classes and categories of people were now asked to not only be uncooperative of the British regime but also break unjust colonial laws.

iii. As soon as the movement started, all important leaders including Gandhi and Nehru were arrested. In all, 90,000 people were arrested and 67 newspapers were banned.

iv. During the movement, salt was manufactured in many areas, foreign cloth was boycotted, liquor shops were picketed and peasants refused to pay revenue and chaukidari taxes. A large number of village officials also resigned and forest laws were violated on a large scale.