NCERT solutions for Social Science Exploring Society India and Beyond Part 2 [English] Class 8 chapter 2 - India’s Long Road to Independence [Latest edition]

How did a land of diverse geographies, languages and religions come together to challenge and finally end nearly two centuries of British rule?

What were the main developments and who were some important figures in India’s struggle for freedom?

What issues did the leading freedom fighters agree or disagree upon?

Talk to your grandparents or elderly family members and find out what they remember or heard about India’s freedom struggle. Note which leaders or methods people supported. Discuss in class how, despite sharing the same goal of freedom, people followed different paths.

Below are the first two stanzas of the song. Can you make out some of their meaning?

Vande mātaram! sujalām suphalām malayajaśhītalām śhasyaśhyāmalām, mātaram! Vande mātaram!

Śubhrajyotsnām pulakitayāminīm phullakusumita drumadalaśhobhinīm suhāsinīm sumadhura bhāṣhiṇīm sukhadām varadām, mātaram! Vande mātaram!

How are the values expressed by Swami Vivekananda above relevant in the 21st century? Can some of them help you achieve your goals? Share your thoughts with your classmates.

Why do you think the Bande Mataram daily avoided using the word ‘independence’? 

Comment on the phrase ‘absolute national autonomy’ in the above quotation from a Bande Mataram article.

Looking at the two boxes on either side of the daily’s title in Fig., what do you observe?

In what ways are these two representations of Mother India similar?

In what ways are these two representations of Mother India different?

What details can you discern in the front cover of Subramania Bharati’s Vijaya?

You may explore further and find out more about the freedom struggle in the North-East and known and lesser-known freedom fighters from this area.

When the judge asked Tilak if he had anything to say after being sentenced, Tilak replied, “There are higher powers that rule the destinies of men and nations; and I think, it may be the will of Providence that the cause I represent may be benefited more by my suffering than by my pen and tongue.”

What message do you think he was trying to convey?

On another occasion, Tilak famously declared, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.” What does this reveal about Tilak’s character?

Captures Mahatma Gandhi spinning khadi, that is, hand-spun, hand-woven yarn. (Cloth made of such yarn is called khadi cloth.) This was not just about making clothes; it was also a powerful symbol of Swadeshi, or self-reliance, a way to provide work for millions of impoverished villagers, and a direct challenge to British textile imports. It aimed to unite people economically and symbolically against foreign rule.

Rabindranath Tagore sent a strong letter of protest to the then Viceroy. “The accounts of the insults and sufferings by our brothers in Punjab,” wrote Tagore, “have trickled through the gagged silence, reaching every corner of India, and the universal agony of indignation roused in the hearts of our people has been ignored by our rulers possibly congratulating themselves for what they imagine as salutary lessons.” In the same letter, Tagore returned the knighthood he had received from the British. 

What does Tagore mean when he assumes that the colonial rulers ‘congratulated themselves’ after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?

Form groups to analyse, compare and discuss the various elements or demands contained in the above resolution.

During the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920–22, some 40,000  were jailed for various terms. The Salt Satyagraha of 1930 saw over 60,000 people jailed and a large number brutalised by the police. The Civil Disobedience Movement during 1931–34 saw another 40,000 freedom fighters jailed. During the Quit India Movement of 1942–45, over 100,000 freedom fighters were imprisoned and nearly 10,000 killed during the brutal repression of the movement.

You need not remember these figures. However, conduct a class discussion about their significance in terms of the huge collective sacrifice suffered by the Indian people.

As we said at the beginning, this chapter can only mention very few of those who fought for India’s liberation from colonial rule. Many more names would have deserved a mention. For instance, Acchamma Cherian, Achyutrao Patwardhan, Agarkar, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anjana Devi Chaudhury, B.S. Moonje, Bhai Parmanand, Bhikaiji Cama, Bhogesvari Phukanani, C.F. Andrews, Dhondo Karve, Ganesh Srikrishna Khaparde, Ganjan Singh Korku, Gopinath Bordoloi, Gopalrao Deshmukh, Govind Giri, Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy, Jatindra Nath Das, Jayaprakash Narayan, Kanneganti Hanumanthu, Kasturba Gandhi, Kushal Konwar, Kuttimalu Amma, Lakshman Nayak, Lakshmi Sahgal, M.N. Roy (Manabendra Nath), Madan Lal Dhingra, Matangini Hazra, Mirabehn (Madeleine Slade), Pandit Kanshi Ram, Pingali Venkayya, Pritilata Waddedar, Rajendra Prasad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Sridev Suman, Baji Rout, Mahaveer Tyagi, H.N. Bahuguna, Rani Gaidinliu, Sardar Ajit Singh, Seth Govind Das, Shivram Rajguru, Sister Nivedita, Surya Sen, Tara Rani Srivastava, Thiruppur Kumaran, Usha Mehta, Umaji Naik, Umakant Prasad Sinha, Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, V. Ramaswamy Aiyangar, V.V.S. Aiyar.

You need not memorise this list. However, see if you can add any other name to the list. Besides, the support and sacrifice made by the women belonging to the families of the freedom fighters also needs to be acknowledged with gratitude.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

Right from its inception, the Indian National Congress called for India’s independence.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

Bal Gangadhar Tilak turned a Shivaji festival into a popular event.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

The Ghadar Movement of 1914–15 aimed to start a mutiny within the British Indian Army while British troops were busy with World War I.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

Vallabhbhai Patel earned the title ‘Sardar’ for his leadership during the Satyagraha agitation in Gujarat

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

The Kakori train robbery of 1925 was carried out to fund the activities of the Hindustan Republican Association

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

The ‘Do or Die’ call was given by Mahatma Gandhi during the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

B.R. Ambedkar and Gandhi were in total agreement regarding the issue of ‘separate electorates’ for Dalits.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

Sir Stafford Cripps was sent to India in 1942 because Winston Churchill supported immediate independence for India.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

Subhas Chandra Bose raised an army during his stay in Germany.

True or False. Find out whether the following statement is true or false:

The Radcliffe Line, which divided India and Pakistan, was announced a few weeks before Independence Day

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

Known as the ‘Lion of Punjab’, I was severely injured during a brutal lathi charge while protesting against the Simon Commission.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I famously declared, ‘Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it!’ I used the Kesari newspaper and festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi to unite people against British rule.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I was a leader of the Nationalist faction of the Congress. In the daily Bande Mataram, I wrote on the need for India to attain absolute autonomy

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I earned my nickname ‘Bagha’ after wrestling a tiger with my bare hands. I was a revolutionary leader who died in a gunfight at while waiting for a shipment of German arms to start an uprising.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I organised the daring attempt to throw a bomb at the Viceroy in 1912. I later escaped to Japan, where I spent years working to organise a movement from there.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I was martyred at a young age after an attempt on the life of a British judge.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I was martyred at a young age after throwing nonlethal bombs in Delhi’s Central Legislative Assembly.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I turned the freedom struggle into a mass movement through the principles of ahimsa and satyagraha, leading campaigns such as the Dandi March.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

I sought help from the Axis powers during World War II to organise the Indian National Army.

Who am I? Can you identify this figure?

A British lawyer, I was given just five weeks to draw the boundary line that would partition the Indian subcontinent into two separate nations.

What kinds of sacrifices are needed to achieve freedom? Think about the lives of Indian soldiers during wars, families suffering during famines, leaders and ordinary people who were arrested, and countless others who lost their homes and safety while participating in protests. If you were living during India’s freedom struggle, would you have chosen to participate in it? What comforts, opportunities, or personal goals might you have been willing to give up for a cause you strongly believed in?

What values does Tilak’s statement, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it,” reflect? Can these values be meaningful for young people today?

How did peasants, workers, tribals, and students contribute to the national movement in ways different from political leaders?

Discuss in class this extract from Nehru’s speech on 15 August 1947:

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…”

What is meant by “redeem our pledge”? How would you define the ‘soul of a nation’?

Imagine you are a freedom fighter.

1. Explain the method you support to achieve freedom. 
2. Discuss with your classmates any other method they would support. Be respectful in your debate. 
3. What does this debate teach us about unity and disagreement?

Write a news report based on an important event in the Freedom Movement of Swadeshi.

1. Write a headline. 
2. Include one interview or public reaction. 
3. Explain why this event was important

Write a news report based on an important event in the Freedom Movement of boycott.

1. Write a headline. 
2. Include one interview or public reaction. 
3. Explain why this event was important

Write a news report based on an important event in the Freedom Movement of the satyagraha.

1. Write a headline. 
2. Include one interview or public reaction. 
3. Explain why this event was important

Write a news report based on an important event in the Freedom Movement of the Non-Cooperation.

1. Write a headline. 
2. Include one interview or public reaction. 
3. Explain why this event was important

Write a news report based on an important event in the Freedom Movement of the Quit India.

1. Write a headline. 
2. Include one interview or public reaction. 
3. Explain why this event was important

Write a news report based on an important event in the Freedom Movement of the Partition.

1. Write a headline. 
2. Include one interview or public reaction. 
3. Explain why this event was important

Imagine you are part of a team creating a small museum exhibition on India’s freedom struggle for students of your age.

1. Choose a title for your exhibit. 
2. Select three objects (for example: a letter, a photograph, a newspaper, a prison diary – you can add to these examples) and explain what each object represents. 
3. Write a short note on what visitors should learn or feel after seeing this exhibit.

As a class activity, write and stage a small play or skit based on the Freedom Movement.

India achieved freedom after great sacrifice. What responsibilities do citizens have today to protect and strengthen this freedom? Write 5 to 10 lines.