India & the Contemporary World II

Chapter 1 of NCERT Class 10 History (India and the Contemporary World II), 'The Rise of Nationalism in Europe', explores how nationalism emerged as a transformative force in nineteenth-century Europe, resulting in the transition from multi-national dynastic empires to modern nation-states through revolutions, wars, and cultural movements.

• 1French Revolution (1789) — first clear expression of nationalism; transferred sovereignty from monarchy to the people
• 2Treaty of Vienna (1815) — conservative powers attempted to undo Napoleonic changes and restore monarchies
• 3Greek War of Independence (began 1821) — Treaty of Constantinople (1832) recognized Greece as independent nation
• 4July Revolution (1830) — liberal revolutionaries in France established constitutional monarchy; sparked Belgian independence
• 51848 Revolutions — educated middle classes demanded constitutions, representative government, and nation-states; Frankfurt Parliament drafted German constitution (May 18, 1848); women admitted only as observers

Chapter 2 of NCERT Class 10 History, "Nationalism in India", covers the growth of modern nationalism from the 1920s through the Civil Disobedience Movement. It explores how Mahatma Gandhi's ideas of satyagraha and non-violent resistance united diverse social groups in anti-colonial struggles including the Non-Cooperation Movement (1921), the Rowlatt Satyagraha (1919), and the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1932), while examining how different classes and communities interpreted freedom and swaraj.

• 1Satyagraha: non-violent resistance and truth-force developed by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa
• 2Rowlatt Act (1919): repressive law allowing detention without trial; sparked hartal on 6 April 1919
• 3Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919): General Dyer opened fire on unarmed crowd in Amritsar
• 4Non-Cooperation-Khilafat Movement (January 1921): boycott of foreign goods, courts, councils; support for Ottoman Khalifa
• 5Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1932): breaking salt law; Salt March from Sabarmati to Dandi (24 days, 240 miles)

Chapter 3 of NCERT Class 10 History, "The Making of a Global World", traces globalization from pre-modern trade routes through the industrial economy to post-war reconstruction. It covers trade networks (silk routes), colonial impacts, indentured labour migration, the Great Depression, and the Bretton Woods institutions that reshaped the twentieth-century global economy.

• 1Silk routes: pre-modern trade linking Asia, Europe, and Africa (before Christian Era to fifteenth century)
• 2Conquest and disease: smallpox immunity gap allowed European conquest of Americas (sixteenth century)
• 3Nineteenth-century world economy: food exports, labour migration, capital flows (1815–1914)
• 4Rinderpest in Africa (1890s): cattle plague destroyed African livelihoods, forced wage labour
• 5Indentured labour from India: hundreds of thousands to Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji, Ceylon, Malaya, Assam (1800s onwards)

Chapter 4 of NCERT Class 10 History, 'The Age of Industrialisation', explores how industrial production transformed Britain and India through factory systems, proto-industrialisation, and the expansion of global trade networks. The chapter examines both the technological innovations that drove factory growth and the profound impact on workers, artisans, and handloom weavers.

• 1Proto-industrialisation: large-scale production by peasants and artisans in villages, controlled by merchants
• 2Guilds in towns restricted new merchants; factories emerged in the countryside where costly machines could be installed
• 3Cotton imports to Britain soared from 2.5 million pounds (1760) to 22 million pounds (1787), driving factory expansion
• 4Spinning Jenny (1764) and other inventions increased output per worker but sparked worker hostility and machine-breaking
• 5East India Company appointed gomasthas to control Indian weavers through advances and loans, breaking traditional merchant relationships

Chapter 5 of NCERT Class 10 History, "Print Culture and the Modern World", traces the development of print technology from its origins in East Asia through its transformative spread to Europe and India, exploring how printing revolutionized access to knowledge and shaped modern society.

• 1Hand printing in China from AD 594 using woodblocks and paper
• 2Johann Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press in the 1430s, printing about 180 copies of the Bible
• 3Print reduced book costs and created a new reading public beyond elites
• 4Martin Luther used print to spread the Protestant Reformation, with his New Testament selling 5,000 copies in weeks
• 5Portuguese missionaries introduced printing to India in the mid-sixteenth century; first Tamil book printed in 1579