Britain and the Nationalist Challenge in India 1900-47

The main focus of this option is on the changing relationship between Britain and India in this period and on the reasons for this, with particular reference to Indian nationalism. Students will be expected to understand the importance of the growth and impact of Congress and the Muslim League as they challenged Britain’s traditional role in India, and they should understand the reasons why independence led to Partition. A major requirement of this unit is working with selected sources to demonstrate skills which enable students to make reasoned and supported judgements and to address a historical view or claim.

PART A QUESTION IN MOCK WILL BE TAKEN FROM THIS SECTION QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON SOURCES Key Content Exam Questions The political and economic importance of India to Britain in the 19th century How far do sources suggest the early C19 Raj was an oppressive regime? • The importance, to the British economy, of Indian trade, agriculture and industry How far do sources suggest that the aim of British rule was to elevate the Indian people? • The strategic importance of India How far do the sources suggest that British rule in India in the years before the outbreak of was based • The concept of the Raj and the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ on the respect and support of the Indian people? Do you agree with the view that the emergence of militant nationalism was fuelled mainly by Lord How was India governed in 1900? Curzon’s rejection of the privileged few? • The structure of the Raj How far do the sources support the view that in the years 1900-20 Indian nationalism and the desire for

• The role of the Indian Civil Service constitutional change were confined to an educated elite? • The princely states • The involvement of Indians in governing their own country • Using source material to evaluate the role of the individual: George Nathaniel Curzon, viceroy 1898-1905. Living in the Raj in 1900 • Indian society: the caste system and the importance of religion, living and working • The British in India: a separate society, Anglo-Indians . Attitudes- Legacy of the Mutiny . Attitudes- Educated Indians, example of British Liberal Democracy • Exploring source material to debate the attitudes of British to Indians and Indians to the Raj. Change and Continuity 1900- 1914

• The influence of Congress on the growth and development of Indian nationalism to 1914 The importance of the Morley-Minto reforms of 1908-9

PART B QUESTIONS IN MOCK WILL BE TAKEN FROM THIS SECTION- THERE WILL BE A CHOICE OF ONE OUT OF TWO QUESTIONS- QUESTIONS REQUIRE OWN KNOWLEDGE AS WELL AS SOURCE TECHNIQUE Key Content Exam Questions The Impact on India of the First World War 1914- 18 Do you agree with the view that the Indian desire for independence was caused mainly by the impact of • India’s involvement in the war the First World War • Economic impact of the war How far do the sources support the judgment of the Hunter Committee on Amritsar? • Political impact of the war: the development of the idea of self-determination by Congress and the Muslim League How far do the sources suggest that the Amritsar massacre created widespread and long lasting and the reaction of the Imperial Legislative Council hostility towards British rule? • The Government of India Act 1919, the significance of the Rowlatt Acts and the impact of Amritsar Do you agree with the view that in the years 1919-39 the British worked consistently to create a • Exploring source material: who was to blame for the Amritsar massacre of 1919?

Peaceful self governing India Do you agree with the view that the progress made towards Indian independence by 1939 had little to Mahatma Gandhi and Congress in the years to 1922 do with the methods and leadership provided by Gandhi? • The importance of Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa Do you agree with the view that Gandhi lacked the political skills required to lead India to • Gandhi’s philosophy and the importance of satyagraha independence in the years 1920-45 • Methods used to enable Gandhi to emerge as leader of Congress • Reaction of the Raj to the emergence of Gandhi as India’s leading politician • Exploring source material to evaluate the effectiveness of Gandhi’s disobedience campaign of 1920-22. Retrenchment and consolidation

• The consolidation of Congress’ position to 1930 • The Simon Commission of 1927 and its impact • The importance of the election of a Labour government in Britain 1929 • The Salt Satyagraha • Exploring source material to compare the nature and outcomes of Gandhi’s disobedience campaign of 1920-22 with the civil disobedience campaign of 1930  Consultation and Conflict in the 1930s • The Round Table Conferences and the reaction in India to their collapse. • Reasons for the passing of the Government of India Act 1935 and its opposition in Britain • The rejection of the Government of India Act by Congress and the Muslim League • The role of Jawaharlal Nehru • Using evidence to debate whether or not the only obstacle to Indian independence was the Indians themselves.