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Subject: Modern History

  • The spirit of ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’ in Indian History

    To commemorate the death centenary of Tilak, a Pune based NGO is set to revive the Independence-era spirit of the ‘Lal-Bal-Pal’, named after nationalists Lala Lajpat Rai, ‘Lokmanya’ Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2010:

    Q. What was the immediate cause for the launch of the Swadeshi movement?

    (a) The partition of Bengal done by Lord Curzon.

    (b) A sentence of 18 months of rigorous imprisonment imposed on Lokmanya Tilak.

    (c) The arrest and deportation of Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh; and passing of the Punjab ColonizationBill.

    (d) Death sentence pronounced on the Chapekarbrothers.

    About Lal-Bal-Pal

    • Lal Bal Pal was a triumvirate of assertive nationalists in British-ruled India in the early 20th century, from 1906 to 1918.
    • They advocated the Swadeshi movement involving the boycott of all imported items and the use of Indian-made goods in 1907 during the anti-Partition agitation in Bengal which began in 1905.
    • The final years of the nineteenth century saw a radical sensibility emerge among some Indian intellectuals.
    • This position burst onto the national all-India scene in 1905 with the Swadeshi movement – the term is usually rendered as “self-reliance” or “self-sufficiency”.

    Their Legacy

    • Lal-Bal-Pal mobilized Indians across the country against the Bengal partition, and the demonstrations, strikes and boycotts of British goods that began in Bengal soon spread to other regions in a broader protest against the Raj.
    • The nationalist movement gradually faded with the arrest of its main leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak and retirement of Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh from active politics.
    • While Lala Lajpat Rai suffered from injuries, due to British police superintendent, James A. Scott, ordered the British Indian police to lathi charge and personally assaulted Rai; he died on 17 November 1928.

    Back2Basics:

    Lala Lajpat Rai

    • Born in undivided Punjab on 28 January 1865, Lala Lajpat Rai grew up in a family that allowed the freedom of faith.
    • Even before he focused his efforts towards a self-sufficient India, Rai believed in the principle.
    • In 1895, he started the Punjab National Bank—the first Indian bank to begin solely with Indian capital, and that continues to function till date.
    • Rai had travelled to America in 1907 and immediately caught up similarities between the ‘colour-caste’ practised there and the caste system prevalent in India.
    • In 1917, he even founded the Indian Home Rule League of America there.
    • His proactive, brave participation in the protest earned him the title of the Lion of Punjab or Punjab Kesari.

    Bal Gangadhar Tilak

    • Bal Gangadhar Tilak (23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920) was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist
    • In 1884, he founded the Deccan Education Society in Pune, and under the banner, opened the New English School for primary studies and Fergusson College for higher education.
    • His involvement in the educational institutions was to emphasise on the cultural revival of young Indian minds.
    • For the British, Tilak was the “Father of the Indian Unrest.”
    • When the Indian National Congress was divided among moderates and extremes—the stand that each member took against the British government—there was no doubt which side Tilak supported.
    • Literary works: Kesari and Maratha newspapers

    Bipin Chandra Pal

    • The father of revolutionary thoughts, Bipin Chandra Pal, was born to a wealthy family in Sylhet, Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh).
    • Pal was a journalist by profession and often contributed to several newspapers.
    • He used his literary expertise to write against the use of British goods, advocating Indians to start using Swadeshi goods instead.
    • He was of a strong opinion that a mass reliance on Swadeshi goods would help people get rid of their poverty.

  • Why Russia celebrates WWII triumph on a different date?

    Raksha Mantri is on a three-day trip to Russia to attend the 75th Victory Day. India has sent a tri-services contingent to participate in the Victory Day Parade.

    Try these questions from CS Mains:

    Q.To what extent can Germany be held responsible for causing the two World Wars? Discuss critically. (CSM 2015)

     

    Q.The New Economic Policy – 1921 of Lenin had influenced the policies adopted by India soon after independence. Evaluate. (CSM 2014)

    What is Victory Day?

    • Victory Day marks the end of World War II and the victory of the Allied Forces in 1945.
    • Adolf Hitler had shot himself on April 30. On May 7, German troops surrendered, which was formally accepted the next day and came into effect on May 9.
    • In most European countries, it is celebrated on May 8 and is called the Victory in Europe Day.

    Why does Russia not celebrate Victory Day on the same date?

    • The erstwhile Soviet Union had not wanted the surrender to take place in the west and wanted that such a significant event should reflect the contribution of the Red Army and the Soviet population.
    • According to historians, Joseph Stalin, premier of the Soviet Union, wanted Germany to also sign surrender in Berlin.
    • Since crowds were already gathering in London to celebrate, Victory in Europe Day celebration in Britain would take place on 8 May, as they did in the United States.
    • This did not convince Stalin, who argued that Soviet troops were still fighting the German forces in many areas.
    • German soldiers did not surrender in East Prussia, Courland Peninsula, Czechoslovakia till later. Hence victory celebration could therefore not begin in the Soviet Union even after May 9.

    If May 9 is Victory Day, why is it being celebrated on June 24?

    • This year, the celebrations this year were pushed to June because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • After winning the war and having its own Victory Day on May 9, Stalin wanted to commemorate the victory with a military parade.
    • On June 22, 1945, he ordered the commemoration of the victory over Germany to hold the victory parade on June 24, 1945, in Moscow’s Red Square.
    • Hence the first Victory Day Parade took place on June 24 in Moscow. However, since then, the Parades have taken place on May 9.

  • 100 Years of Malabar Rebellion

    With the 1921 Malabar Rebellion turning 100 next year, several movies have been announced back-to-back.

    Try this question from CSP 2015:

    Q. Which amongst the following provided a common factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century?

    (a.) Introduction of a new system of land revenue and taxation- of tribal products

    (b.) Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal areas

    (c.) Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders and revenue farmers as middlemen in tribal areas

    (d.) The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities

    What is the Malabar Rebellion?

    • The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
    • There were a series of clashes between Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the British, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
    • It began as a reaction against a heavy-handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement, a campaign in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar.
    • The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries.

    Also in news:

    Variyankunna Kunjahammed Haji

    • He was one of the leaders of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921.
    • He raised 75000 natives, seized control of large territory from the British rule and set up a parallel government.
    • In January 1922, under the guise of a treaty, the British betrayed Haji through his close friend Unyan Musaliyar, arresting him from his hideout and producing him before a British judge.
    • He was sentenced to death along with his compatriots.

  • Tribes in news: Changpa Tribe

    The Chinese Army’s intrusion in Chumur and Demchok has left Ladakh’s nomadic herding Changpa community cut off from large parts of summer pastures.

    Pashmina shawl is a landmark product of the Kashmir Valley. But make a note here. It carries only a BIS certification and not a Geographical Indicator.

    Also try this PYQ from CSP 2014:

    Q. With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:

    1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
    2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
    3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    a) 1 only
    b) 2 and 3 only
    c) 3 only
    d) 1, 2 and 3

    Changpa Tribes

    • The Changpa of Ladakh is high altitude pastoralists, raising mainly yaks and goats.
    • Among the Ladakh Changpa, those who are still nomadic are known as Phalpa, and they take their herds from in the Hanley Valley to the village of Lato.
    • Hanley is home to six isolated settlements, where the sedentary Changpa, the Fangpa reside.
    • Despite their different lifestyles, both these groups intermarry.
    • The Changpa speak Changskhat, a dialect of Tibetan, and practice Tibetan Buddhism.

    What is the issue?

    • The Chinese Army has taken over 16 kanals (two acres) of cultivable land in Chumur and advanced around 15 km inside Demchok, taking over traditional grazing pastures and cultivable lowlands.
    • In a cascading effect, this has resulted in a sharp rise in deaths of young Pashmina goats this year in the Korzok-Chumur belt of Changthang plateau in Ladakh.
    • This incursion has destabilized the annual seasonal migration of livestocks, including yaks and Pashmina goats.

    Back2Basics: Pashmina

    • The Changthangi or Ladakh Pashmina is a breed of Cashmere goat native to the high plateau of Ladakh.
    • The much-valued wool from the Ladakh herds is essential for the prized Pashmina shawls woven in Kashmir and famous for their intricate handwork.
    • They survive on the grass in Ladakh, where temperatures plunge to as low as −20 °C.
    • These goats provide the wool for Kashmir’s famous pashmina shawls. Shawls made from Pashmina wool are considered very fine and are exported worldwide.
    • Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has recently published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products to certify its purity.

  • Purandara Dasa and his legacy

    The Department of Archaeology, Karnataka has commenced field research work regarding the birthplace of Purandara Dasa who is held as the father figure of Carnatic music.

    Recently there was a news on Lord Basaveshwara. Now comes the other popular saint.

    Vaishnavism and Shaivism are the two most profound strands of Bhakti Movement in Indian history. Enlist all the Bhakti Saints and their theistic philosophy and teachings. Try to spot the minute differences between them.

    Purandara Dasa

    • Purandara Dasa (1484 –1565) was a Haridasa, a renowned composer of Carnatic music, a great devotee of the Supreme Lord Krishna, a Vaishnava poet, a saint and a social reformer.
    • He was a disciple of the Dvaita philosopher-saint Vyasatirtha, and a contemporary of yet another Haridasa, Kanakadasa.
    • He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-proponents of South Indian classical music (Carnatic music).
    • In honour of his significant contributions to Carnatic music, he is widely referred to as the Pitamaha (lit. “father” or “grandfather”) of Carnatic music.
    • He is respected as an Avatara (incarnation) of the great sage Narada (a celestial being who is also a singer).

    Confusions over his birthplace

    • As ‘Purandara Vithala’ was the pen name of his compositions, it was widely believed that the mystic poet was born in Purandar (near Pune), Maharashtra.
    • However, many in Malnad claimed that he hailed from this region.
    • According to historians, Araga in Malnad was a buzzing commercial centre during the Vijayanagar rule, the period to which the poet belonged to.
    • Prior to his initiation to Haridasa tradition, Purandara Dasa was a rich merchant and was called as Srinivasa Nayaka.

    Back2Basics: Bhakti Movement

    • The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism.
    • It originated in eighth-century south India and spread northwards.
    • It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE.
    • It has traditionally been considered as an influential social reformation in Hinduism and provided an individual-focused alternative path to spirituality regardless of one’s birth or gender
    • The salvation which was previously considered attainable only by men of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya castes, became available to everyone.

  • Person in news: Gopal Krishna Gokhale

    The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Gopal Krishna Gokhale on his birth anniversary.

    These days, personality-based prelims questions are quite prevalent.

    Q.) He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shri Krishna; stayed in America for some time; and was also elected to the Central Assembly. He was – (CSP 2018)

    a) Aurobindo Ghosh

    b) Bipin Chandra Pal

    c) Lala Lajpat Rai

    d) Motilal Nehru

    Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915)

    • Gokhale was a liberal political leader and a social reformer during the Freedom Movement.
    • Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) and the founder of the Servants of India Society.
    • Through the Society as well as the Congress and other legislative bodies he served in, Gokhale campaigned for Indian self-rule and for social reforms.

    Gokhale and INC

    • Gokhale became a member of the INC in 1889, as a protĂ©gĂ© of social reformer MG Ranade.
    • He was the leader of the moderate faction of the Congress party that advocated reforms by working with existing government institutions.

    Quest for political reforms

    • Gokhale’s mentor, justice M.G. Ranade started the Sarvajanik Sabha Journal.
    • Gokhale’s deposition before the Welby Commission on the financial condition of India won him accolades.
    • He played a leading role in bringing about Morley-Minto Reforms (1909), the beginning of constitutional reforms in India.

    Servants of India Society

    • In 1905, when Gokhale was elected president of the INC and was at the height of his political power, he founded the Servants of India Society.
    • It aimed to specifically further one of the causes dearests to his heart: the expansion of Indian education.
    • The Society took up the cause of promoting Indian education in earnest, and among its many projects organised mobile libraries, founded schools, and provided night classes for factory workers.

    Involvement in the government

    • In 1899, Gokhale was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council.
    • He was also elected to the Imperial Council of the Governor-General of India as a non-officiating member representing Bombay Province.

    Mentor to Gandhi

    • Gokhale was famously a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi in the latter’s formative years.
    • In 1912, Gokhale visited South Africa at Gandhi’s invitation.
    • As a young barrister, Gandhi returned from his struggles and received personal guidance from Gokhale, including a knowledge and understanding of India and the issues confronting common Indians.
    • By 1931, Gandhi emerged as the leader of the Indian Independence Movement. In his autobiography, Gandhi calls Gokhale his mentor and guide.

    His literary works

    • In 1908, Gokhale founded the Ranade Institute of Economics.
    • He started the English weekly newspaper, The Hitavad (The people’s paper).
    • He also published a daily newspaper titled Jnanaprakash, which allowed him to voice his reformist views on politics and society.

    With inputs from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopal_Krishna_Gokhale

  • Florence Nightingale and her legacy

    The 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing, falls tomorrow on May 12.

    Personality based questions sometimes find their way in the Prelims. For example:

    Q) A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of – (CSP 2016)

    (a) S. Ramanujan

    (b) S. Chandrasekhar

    (c) S. N. Bose

    (d) C. V. Raman

    Who was Florence Nightingale?

    • Nightingale (1820-1910), who had considerable mathematical skills, is credited with being the first healthcare professional to use data to show that infection control improves health outcomes.
    • Through her career, she stressed a practice that is relevant as ever today — handwashing.

    Nurse and mathematician

    • Her signature effort came during the Crimean War (1854-56), when she answered a government call for nurses and took a posting in Turkey.
    • This is where she earned the name ‘Lady with the Lamp’, for walking around patients’ beds at night, holding a lamp. Here she did her pioneering work with statistics.
    • When she arrived, diseases such as cholera and typhus were rife in the hospitals.
    • Nightingale collected data, calculated the mortality rate, and showed that an improvement of sanitary methods would reduce the number of deaths.
    • The mortality rate dropped from 60% to 42.7% by February 1855, and to 2.2% by the spring.

    • She used her data to create graphics, the most famous of which is a polar area diagram (pictured) that used areas to represent variations in death rate.
    • The blue wedges from the center of the circle represent area for the deaths from Preventable or Mitigable diseases, the red wedges measured from the center is deaths from wounds, & the black wedges measured from the center is the deaths from all other causes.
    • The blue wedges, representing death by sickness, are far bigger than those representing wounds.

  • Attack on Pearl Harbor (1941)

    US President Mr Trump has said the COVID-19 pandemic is a worse “attack” on the U.S. than either Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

    Practice Question :

    Discuss how the world order changed post Pearl Harbour attack with context to the US hegemony in Asia-Pacific.

    Attack on Pearl Harbor

    • The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour was among the most significant moments of the World War II.
    • It signalled the official entry of the US into the hostilities, which eventually led to the dropping of nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
    • Significantly, in December 2016, Shinzo Abe became the first sitting Japanese Prime Minister to visit Pearl Harbour.

    What led up to the attack on Pearl Harbour?

    • Before Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in 1941, relations between the US and Japan were already worsening.
    • In 1910, Japan annexed Korea and, in 1937, it invaded China, sending alarm bells ringing in the US and other Western powers about Japan’s manifest expansionist agenda.
    • Between December 1937 and January 1938, an episode which is referred to as the “Nanking Massacre” or the “Rape of Nanking”, occurred — Japanese soldiers killed and raped Chinese civilians and combatants.
    • Japanese historians estimate that anywhere between tens of thousands and 200,000 Chinese were killed.
    • The US was against Japan’s aggression in China, and imposed economic sanctions and trade embargoes after its invasion.

    Immediate causes

    • Japan was reliant on imports for oil and other natural resources — this was one of the reasons why it invaded China and later French Indo-China (present-day Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia).
    • The intention was to take control of the major Chinese ports to have access to resources such as iron, rubber, tin, and most importantly, oil.
    • In July 1941, the US ceased exporting oil to Japan.
    • Negotiations between the two countries ended with the “Hull Note”, the final proposal delivered to Japan by the US. Essentially, the US wanted Japan to withdraw from China without any conditions.
    • Ultimately, the negotiations did not lead to any concrete results, following which Japan set its task for Pearl Harbour in the last week of November 1941.
    • Japan considered the attack to be a preventive measure against the US interfering with Japan’s plans to carry out military operations in some parts of Southeast Asia.

    What happened at Pearl Harbour?

    • About 7.55 am on December 7, 1941, about 180 aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the US Naval base at Pearl Harbour on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
    • The bombing killed over 2,300 Americans and destroyed the battleships USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma.
    • Roughly 160 aircraft were destroyed, and 150 were damaged.

    Impact on the US

    • In the short term, the American naval presence in the Pacific was severely weakened.
    • However, the Japanese had largely ignored the harbour’s infrastructure, and many of the damaged ships were repaired on-site and returned to duty.
    • American opinion immediately shifted to favouring war with Japan, a course that would conclude with Japan’s unconditional surrender less than four years later.

  • What is Cinco de Mayo and why is it celebrated?

    Cinco de Mayo, or fifth of May in Spanish, also called Battle of Puebla Day, is an annual celebration observed in Mexico and the US that marks the former’s military victory on its soil over French forces in 1862.

    Possible mains question:

    Q. The French colonization attempts went beyond India and had a global reach. Comment.

    French advent in Mexico

    • In the 1860s, Mexico had been severely weakened by lengthy wars over the previous two decades – the Mexican-American War (1846-48) and the internal Reform War (1858-61).
    • As a result, in 1861, the then President Benito JuĂĄrez announced a temporary moratorium of two years on repaying Mexico’s foreign debts.
    • In response, troops from Britain, Spain, and France invaded Mexico, demanding reimbursement.
    • By April 1862, Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew.
    • France, which at the time was led by Emperor Napoleon III, decided to establish an empire in Mexican territories with the support of the local landowning classes.
    • France also intended to curb US power in North America.

    The Battle of Puebla

    • In late 1861, a French fleet attacked the Mexican port of Veracruz on the country’s eastern coast and landed a large army that drove the JuĂĄrez government into retreat.
    • As they moved from Veracruz to capital Mexico City, the French encountered stiff resistance from Mexican forces.
    • At Puebla, over 100 km ahead of Mexico City, a poorly equipped and outnumbered Mexican force decisively defeated the advancing French troops on May 5, 1862, killing over a thousand.
    • The event marked a significant political victory of Mexican republicans and President JuĂĄrez and helped establish a sense of national unity in the country.

    Cinco de Mayo: Present-day significance

    • In Puebla, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated annually with speeches, parades, and by reenacting episodes of the 1862 battle.
    • The city today houses a museum dedicated to the battle, and the actual battlefield is maintained as a park.
    • In the US, in the mid-20th century, the celebration became a way for immigrants from Mexico to express pride in their heritage.
    • Later, Cinco de Mayo also became popular with other demographics in the country when the festivities were linked with Mexican alcoholic beverages.
    • As the celebration assumed greater importance in the country, many have criticised the negative stereotypes of Mexicans that were perpetuated as a result, as well as the promotion of excessive drinking.

  • Why May 1 is observed as Labour Day?

    Today (May 1) is May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day and as Labour Day in different parts of the world. It is an occasion that commemorates the contributions of workers and the historic labour movement.

    Personality based history question in the UPSC CSE prelims is on the way to become the new normal. Kindly note all such phenomena in the news which tend to invoke some aspects of the modern Indian history. You can find all such news here.

    The Haymarket incident

    • While observed as an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival, May 1 became associated with the labour movement in the late 19th century, after trade unions and socialist groups designated it as a day in support of workers.
    • It was decided to do so in memory of the Haymarket affair of 1886, in Chicago in the United States, in which a peaceful rally in support of workers led to a violent clash with the police, leading to the deaths of 4 civilians and 7 police officers.
    • Many of the agitationists, who were protesting workers’ rights violations, straining work hours, poor working conditions, low wages and child labour, were arrested and served terms of life imprisonment, death sentences, etc., and those who died were hailed as “Haymarket Martyrs”.
    • The incident is believed to have given the workers’ movement a great impetus.

    Linked to the Russian Revolution

    • In 1889, The Second Communist International, an organisation created by socialist and labour parties, declared that May 1 would be commemorated as International Workers’ Day from then on.
    • Finally, in 1916, the US began to recognise eight-hour work timings after years of protests and uprisings.
    • In 1904, the International Socialist Congress at Amsterdam called on to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day.
    • After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the celebration was embraced by the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc nations during the Cold War– becoming a national holiday in many of them.
    • Parades were a part of the celebration– the one at Moscow’s Red Square was attended by top Communists leaders and displayed Soviet military might.

    Indian Case

    • In India, May Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1923, after the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan initiated and Comrade Singaravelar (Singaravelu Chettiar) helmed the celebrations.
    • Chettiar was known for being one of the leaders of Self Respect Movement in the Madras Presidency and for his fight for the rights of backward classes.
    • In one of his meetings, Chettiar passed a resolution stating the government should allow everybody a national holiday on Labour Day.