1. Where did Gandhiji make his first public appearance in 1916 after returning from South Africa?
(Chapter 13: Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement - Civil Disobedience and Beyond)

Ans:His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916.

2.Why was Gandhiji regarded as a "people's leader" ? (any two points)
(Chapter 13 - Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement - Civil Disobedience and Beyond)

Ans:

• Most of the people referred Gandhiji, as their "Mahatma". They appreciated the fact that he dressed like them, lived like them, and spoke their language.
• He spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel), and encouraged other nationalists to do likewise.
• Gandhiji appeared to the Indian peasant as a saviour, who would rescue them from high taxes and oppressive officials and restore dignity and autonomy to their lives.

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3.How did the Dandi March of 1930 show its effect on the people of India ?
(Chapter 13:Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement - Civil Disobedience and Beyond)

Ans:

• Dandi March of 1930 encouraged Indians of all classes to make manifest their own discontent with colonial rule.
• The meetings were very well attended, by villagers of all castes, and by women as well as men.Thousands of volunteers were flocking to the nationalist cause.Among them were many officials, who had resigned from their posts with the colonial government.
• Across large parts of India, peasants breached the hated colonial forest laws that kept them and their cattle out of the woods in which they had once roamed freely.
• In some towns, factory workers went on strike while lawyers boycotted British courts and students refused to attend government-run educational institutions.

4."The India in which Gandhiji came back to in 1915 was rather different than the one that he had left in 1893." Substantiate the statement.
(Chapter 13 : Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement - Civil Disobedience and Beyond)

Ans:

• India had become far more active in a political sense than earlier.
• National Congress now had branches in most major cities and towns.
• The Swadeshi movement of 1905-07 had greatly broadened its appeal among the middle classes.
• The movement had created some powerful leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra, Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal, and Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab.
• Gandhiji spent a year travelling around British India, getting to know the land and its peoples.
• His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916.