1) Explain the following statements with
(1) Chandrasingh Thakur
court
martialled and severely punished.
(2)
The Government declared Martial
Law at Solapur.
(3) The deliberations in the First Round
Table Conference proved to be
meaningless.
(4) Gandhiji began fast unto death in the
Yerwada jail.
Answers
Answer:
Gandhi started the salt satyagraha movement against the British. Khan Abdul Gafar Khan was the most loyal follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He was also known as ‘Frontier Gandhi’. He had founded the organisation called ‘Khuda-i-Khidmatgar’. On 23 April 1930, he started satyagraha at Peshawar. The town was in the hands of the satyagrahis for nearly a week. The British Government gave orders to the Garhwal regiment to carry out open firing on the Satyagrahis, but Chandrasing Thakur, an officer of Garhwal Regiment, refused to open fire. He was court martialed and was given a severe punishment.
Answer 2: The mill workers were on the forefront in the Solapur satyagraha. On 6 May 1930, hartal was observed in Solapur. A huge procession was organised in Solapur. The District Collector gave orders of firing on the procession. Many volunteers along with Shankar Shivdare died in the firing. As a result, people started attacking police stations, railway stations, courts, municipal buildings, etc. The Government declared Martial Law and the agitation was suppressed. Those who took lead in this movement, such as Mallappa Dhanshetti, Shrikrishna Sarda, Qurban Hussain and Jagannath Shinde were hanged to death.
Answer 3: Ramsay MacDonald was the chairman of the Round Table Conference. Representatives of England and India participated in the Conference. These included Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Barrister Jinnah etc. In the conference there were discussions on various topics such as Responsible Government at central level, establishment of federal State in India etc. Representatives of different political parties in India and rulers of Princely states participated in the conference. However, the Indian National Congress did not participate in it. The Indian National Congress was a body that represented the country. Without its participation, the deliberations in the Round Table Conference were indeed meaningless.
Answer 4: Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar represented the Dalits in the Round Table Conference. He demanded separate electorates for the Dalits. After the Second Round Table Conference the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald declared ‘Communal Awards’. According to it, Dalits were given separate electorates. Gandhiji went on fast unto death at Yerwada jail protesting against the granting of separate electorate on the basis of caste.