Chapter 2 · Question 1
How did the First World War create a new situation in India?
Answer
Direct Answer
The First World War increased defence expenditure, taxes, prices, forced recruitment, and economic hardship. These pressures, along with influenza and crop failures, created anger against colonial rule and helped mass nationalism expand.
Simple Explanation
War-driven taxes, price rises, forced recruitment, and famines created widespread hardship and anger against British rule, which expanded the reach of nationalism.
Exam-Ready Structure
The First World War created a new political and economic situation in India through multiple pressures:
• Defence expenditure rose sharply, forcing the colonial government to increase taxes on Indians.
• Prices of essential goods increased, hitting ordinary people hard.
• Forced recruitment of Indian soldiers for the British war effort caused resentment in villages.
• Crop failures and the influenza epidemic of 1918-19 caused widespread suffering and deaths.
• These combined hardships created mass anger against colonial rule, providing fertile ground for nationalist movements to reach new sections of society.
Key Points
- The First World War increased defence expenditure, taxes, prices, forced recruitment, and economic hardship.
- These pressures, along with influenza and crop failures, created anger against colonial rule and helped mass nationalism expand.