India’s Independence Movement and Economic Sectors: A Historical Overview

Posted on Dec 18, 2024 in Geography

Khilafat Movement

1. While the Rowlatt Satyagraha was a widespread movement, it was still limited mostly to cities and towns.
2. Mahatma Gandhi felt the need to launch a more broad-based movement in India.
3. He was certain that no such movement could be organized without bringing Hindus and Muslims closer together.
4. The First World War ended with the defeat of Ottoman Turkey. Rumors circulated that a harsh peace treaty would be imposed on the Ottoman Emperor, the spiritual head (Khalifa) of the Islamic world.
5. The Muslims of India decided to force Britain to change its Turkish policy.
6. A Khalifa Committee was formed under the leadership of Maulana Azad, Ajmal Khan, and Hasrat Mohani.
7. A young generation of Muslim leaders, like the brothers Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, began discussing with Mahatma Gandhi the possibility of united mass action on the issue.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

1. A large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwala Bagh.
2. Some people came to protest against the government’s repressive measures, while others came to attend the annual Baisakhi fair.
3. General Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds.
4. The government responded with brutal repression, seeking to humiliate and terrorize people.
5. Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and salute all Sahibs.

Towards Civil Disobedience

1. Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922.
2. The movement was turning violent in many places, and satyagrahis needed proper training for mass struggle.
3. C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics.
4. Salt was a powerful symbol that could unite the nation.
5. The Salt March was accompanied by 78 of Gandhi’s trusted volunteers.
6. Finally, Mahatma Gandhi once again decided to call off the movement and entered into a pact with Irwin on March 5, 1931.
7. Participants saw the movement from different angles, such as the Patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh.
8. To organize business interests, the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress was formed in 1920, followed by the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).
9. Gandhi referred to the Untouchables as Harijans, meaning Children of God.

Historical Changes in Economic Sectors

• At the initial stages of development, the primary sector was the most important sector of economic activity. Most people were employed in this sector.
• With changes in farming methods, the agriculture sector began to prosper. Moreover, with the introduction of new manufacturing methods, factories were set up, and people shifted to the industrial sector.
• People from farms started working in factories in large numbers, and this sector assumed importance.
• In the past 100 years, a further shift from the secondary sector to the service sector has taken place.
• Today, in terms of contribution to production and employment, the service sector plays a vital role in most developed economies.

Rising Importance of the Tertiary Sector

The tertiary sector has emerged as the largest producing sector in India, replacing the primary sector, due to the following reasons:

• Development of support services such as transport, trade, and storage.
• Increased demand for services like eating out and tourism with rising income levels.
• Basic services like schools, hospitals, and policing provided by the government.

However, the rise in the service sector is not uniform, with high-skill-oriented services registering higher growth compared to sustenance levels of other services like small shop keeping.

Methods to Create More Employment

• Providing affordable credit facilities to agricultural dependents to allow them to modernize their techniques.
• Infrastructural development to improve health and education, allowing people to undertake alternative occupations.
• Providing transportation facilities to allow good marketing of agricultural produce to far-off marketplaces.
• Identifying alternate services and industrial opportunities in semi-rural areas.

Unemployment: When a person is willing to work at the prevailing wage rate but is not getting a job, it is called unemployment.

Seasonal Unemployment: Unemployment that occurs due to variations in the season is called seasonal unemployment. It is mostly seen in the agricultural sector.

Underemployment or disguised unemployment means more people are engaged in a job than needed.

Role of IT in Stimulating Globalization

1. Telecommunication facilities (telegraph, telephone including mobile phones, fax) are used to contact and access information.
2. Helps to communicate from remote areas.
3. This has been facilitated by satellite communication devices.
4. Computers have now entered almost every field of activity.
5. One can obtain and share information through the internet.
6. Electronic mail (e-mail) and voice-mail across the world at negligible costs.
7. Has played a major role in spreading out the production of services across countries.

Sectors Based on Employment Conditions

Organized Sector

Characterized by regular terms of employment, mandatory registration with the government, and adherence to laws like the Minimum Wages Act.

Features of the Organized Sector

• Follows systematic rules and procedures set by the government.
• Registered under the government.
• Fixed salary at the end of the month with incentives and perks.
• Fixed working hours and a decent work atmosphere.
• Benefits like job security, paid leave, paid holidays, PF, gratuity, and medical allowance.

Unorganized Sector

Characterized by a lack of government control, non-adherence to rules and regulations, and unsecured employment.

Features of the Unorganized Sector

• No systematic rules and procedures are followed.
• Outside the control of the government, as they are not registered.
• Salary is not fixed; mostly relies on daily wages.
• Risk of job insecurity; people can be asked to leave at any time without reason.
• Working hours are not fixed; the work environment is mostly congested and unhygienic.

Sectors Based on Ownership

Public Sector

Characterized by government ownership of most assets and provision of all services. Examples: Railways, post offices.

Private Sector

Characterized by private ownership of assets and delivery of services by private individuals or companies. Examples: Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

Silk Routes: Pre-Modern Trade and Cultural Links

Q.1: “The silk routes are a good example of pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world.” Explain with examples.

Ans: The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world:

1. Historians have identified several silk routes over land and sea, connecting vast regions of Asia with Europe and northern Africa.
2. The name ‘silk routes’ highlights the importance of West-bound Chinese silk cargoes along this route.
3. Chinese pottery also traveled the same route, as did textiles and spices from India and Southeast Asia.
4. In return, precious metals (gold and silver) flowed from Europe to Asia.
5. Early Christian missionaries and Muslim preachers traveled this route to Asia. Much before all this, Buddhism from Eastern India spread in several directions through intersecting points on the silk routes.

Spanish Conquest: The Power of Disease

Q.3: “The most powerful weapon of the Spanish conqueror was not a conventional military weapon at all.” Justify the above statement by giving two reasons.

Ans: The Spanish conqueror’s most powerful weapon was not a conventional military weapon because:

1. They used germs like smallpox, which spread deep into the continent before any European could reach there.
2. America’s original inhabitants had no immunity against these diseases that came from Europe. This disease erased whole communities, leading to conquest. This biological warfare in the mid-sixteenth century made it easy for the Spanish to overpower the Americans.

European Migration to America in the 19th Century

Q.4: Why did Europeans flee to America in the 19th century? Explain.

Ans: Europeans fled to America in the 19th century due to:

1. Poverty and hunger were common in Europe.
2. Cities were crowded, and deadly diseases were widespread.
3. Religious conflicts were common, and religious dissenters were persecuted.
4. Therefore, thousands fled Europe for America, where plantations were worked by slaves captured in Africa, growing cotton and sugar for European markets.

Print Culture and the French Revolution

Q.2: “The print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution occurred.” Support the statement by giving necessary arguments.

Ans: The print culture created the conditions within which the French Revolution occurred:

1. Print popularized the ideas of enlightened thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau.
2. They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state.
3. They advocated for the rule of reason, questioning, and rationality.
4. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate.
5. This resulted in the re-evaluation of values, norms, and institutions. Within this public culture, new ideas of social revolution came into being.
6. By the 1780s, there was an outpouring of literature that mocked the royalty and criticized their morality.
7. Cartoons and caricatures typically suggested that the monarchy remained engrossed in sensual pleasures while the common people suffered immense hardships.