Notes and Study material for Exams
[WATU 12] , The Indian Constitution is the supreme law of India. It was adopted on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950. The Constitution establishes the basic structure of the Indian government, and defines the rights and duties of its citizens. The Preamble to the Constitution states that India is … Read more
[WATU 4] , The British Raj was the rule of the British East India Company and later the British Crown over India from 1757 to 1947. The Company established its first trading post at Surat in 1612, and gradually extended its control over the Indian subcontinent. The British Raj was a period of great change … Read more
[WATU 2] , The history of India is long and complex, dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization. This civilization flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from about 2600 to 1900 BCE. The Indus Valley people were skilled farmers, traders, and craftsmen. They built large cities with well-planned streets and Drainage Systems. … Read more
Making of The Constitution 1934: Idea of constituent assembly put forward by M N Roy 1935: INC officially demands constituent assembly 1938: JL Nehru’s declaration on the constitution of India 1940: Nehru’s demand accepted in the form of August Offer August Offer PM: Winston Churchill While rejecting INCs demand for independence of India after the … Read more
Simon Commission (1927) Indian Statutory Commission chaired by Simon to go into the question of further constitutional reform All its seven members were Englishmen. Clement Attlee was one of the members. Lord Birkinhead was the secretary of state at that time At its Madras session in 1927 INC decided to boycott the commission “at every … Read more
Lucknow Pact (1916) Nationalists saw that their disunity was affecting their cause Two important developments at the Lucknow Session of Congress The two wings of the Congress were again united The Congress and the Muslim League sank their old differences and put up common political demands before the government. INC and ML passed the same … Read more
Partition of Bengal With the partition of Bengal, Indian National Movement entered its second stage On 20 July, 1905, Lord Curzon issued an order dividing the province of Bengal into two parts: Eastern Bengal and Assam with a Population of 31 mn and the rest of Bengal with a population of 54 mn. Reason given: … Read more
The Split in the Congress: Surat 1907 Moderates were successful to some extent. Moderates failed in many aspects. Why? They could not acquire any roots among common people. They believed that they could persuade the rulers to change their policies. However, their achievement in this regard was meager. They could not keep pace with the … Read more
Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909 Increased the number of elected members in the Imperial Legislative Council and the provincial council However, most of the elected members were elected indirectly The reformed councils still enjoyed no real power, being merely advisory bodies. Introduced separate electorates under which all Muslims were grouped in separate constituencies from which Muslims alone … Read more
World War I and Indian Nationalism Increasing number of Indians from Punjab were emigrating to North America. The British government thought that these emigrants would be affected by the idea of Liberty. Hence, they tried to restrict emigration. Tarak Nath Das, an Indian student in Canada, started a paper called Free Hindustan. The Hindi Association … Read more