India's freedom struggle
Note
Spans the entire arc of India's anti-colonial movement — from the 1857 Revolt and the founding of the Indian National Congress (1885) through the Moderate, Extremist, and Gandhian phases: Non-Cooperation (1920–22), Civil Disobedience (1930–34), and Quit India (1942). Ideological distinctions between constitutional and revolutionary nationalism are central, as are peasant and tribal uprisings led by figures such as Birsa Munda and Alluri Sitarama Raju, and contributions of women leaders like Aruna Asaf Ali. Regional and community-based contributions from underrepresented parts of the country are equally significant.
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Questions on this topic
Consider the following statements regarding the ideological and political context surrounding the founding of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1925:
- The Khilafat movement sought to protect the position of the Ottoman Caliph after the First World War, and Gandhi linked it with the Non-Cooperation Movement to build Hindu-Muslim unity against British rule.
- Hedgewar was associated with the Tilak faction within the Congress and with the Anushilan Samiti, both of which emphasised militant or revolutionary nationalism rather than Gandhian non-violent mass mobilisation.
- The RSS, under both Hedgewar and his successor M S Golwalkar, actively participated in Congress-led mass movements such as Civil Disobedience and Quit India, even while maintaining an independent organisational identity.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: the Khilafat agitation was launched to defend the institution of the Ottoman Caliphate, which came under threat after World War I. Gandhi's strategic decision to align the Non-Cooperation Movement with the Khilafat cause was explicitly aimed at forging Hindu-Muslim solidarity against British colonial rule — a well-established fact in Indian national movement history. Statement 2 is also correct: Hedgewar belonged to the Bal Gangadhar Tilak faction of the Congress, which was more assertive and confrontational than the Moderate wing, and he was associated with the Anushilan Samiti — a Bengal-based revolutionary nationalist network. Both affiliations placed him in a current that was sceptical of Gandhian conciliation and non-violent mass politics. Statement 3 is false: the RSS as an organisation did not participate in the Civil Disobedience Movement under Hedgewar, nor in the Quit India Movement under Golwalkar. This deliberate distance from Congress-led mass campaigns was a defining and controversial feature of the RSS's early strategy, drawing criticism from nationalists who saw direct confrontation with colonial rule as the fundamental test of patriotism.
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