NCERT Solutions Class 10 Social Science Chapter 2 The Nationalist Movement in Indo China

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science History for chapter 2 The Nationalist Movement in Indo-China

1. Write a note on:
a) What was meant by the 'civilising mission' of the colonizers?
b) Huynh Phu So

Answer:

a) The idea of a 'civilising mission' played a vital role in the economic exploitation by the French colonisation. Like the British in India, the French made false claims that they were bringing modern civilisation to Vietnamese. They believed that Europe had developed the most advanced civilisation. They thought it was their duty to introduce these modern ideas to the local people of the colonised territory; even if this meant destroying local cultures, religions and traditions. They saw the local cultural practices as outdated blocking modern development.

b) Huynh Phu So was the founder of Hoa Hao, a religious movement in Vietnam against French colonial rule. The Hoa Hao movement began in 1939 and gained great popularity in the fertile Mekong delta area. It drew on religious ideas popular in anti-French uprisings of the nineteenth century. Huynh Phu So performed miracles and helped the poor. His criticism against useless expenditure influenced many Vietnamese. He also opposed the sale of child brides, gambling and the use of alcohol and opium.

2. Explain the following:
a) Only one-third of the students in Vietnam would pass the school-leaving
b) The French began building canals and draining lands in the Mekong
c) The government made the Saigon Native Girls School take back the students it had
d) Rats were most common in the modern, newly built areas of

Answer:

a) During the French colonization in Vietnam, only Vietnamese elite could enroll in the schools, and only a few among those admitted ultimately passed the school- leaving examination. This was largely because of a deliberate French policy of failing students, particularly in the final year, so that they could not qualify for the better-paid jobs. Majority of students failed; in 1925, in a population of 17 million, there were less than 400 who passed the school-leaving examination.

b) 

(i)The French built the vast system of irrigation infrastructure (canals, earthworks and draining lands) in the Mekong delta to increase cultivation.

(ii) The entire irrigation project was accomplished mainly with forced labour of Vietnamese.

(iii)The improved irrigation resulted in the surplus rice production and boosted the export of rice to the international market.

(iv)The area under rice cultivation went up from 274,000 hectares in 1873 to 1.1 million hectares in 1900 and 2.2 million in 1930.

(v)Vietnam exported two-thirds of its rice production and by 1931 had become the third largest exporter of rice in the world.

c) In 1926, students protested in the Saigon Native Girls School against racial discrimination. A Vietnamese girl sitting in one of the front seats was asked to move to the back of the class and allow a local French student to occupy the front bench. She refused. The principal, also a colon (French people in the colonies), expelled her. Vietnamese students who protested against this too were expelled. The protest spread to other schools and became open against the French domination. The intense protests forced the French government to order the principle to take the expelled students back. The principal reluctantly agreed, but warned the students that he would make sure they would vanish from their country- Cochinchina.

d)

(i)The French part of Hanoi was rebuilt as the project to create a modern Vietnam was implemented.

(ii)The city was built as a beautiful and clean city with more open space and a proper sewer system, while the 'native quarter' was not provided with any modern facilities.

(iii)In 1903, the modern part of Hanoi was struck by bubonic plague.

(iv)The large sewers in the modern part of the city became breeding ground for rats.

(v)They also served as a great transport system, allowing the rats to move around the city without any problem.

(vi)Rats entered the well-cared-for homes of the French through the sewage pipes.

3. Describe the ideas behind the Tonkin Free School. To what extent was it a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam?

Answer:

(i)The Tonkin Free School was started in 1907 to provide a Western style education in science, hygiene and French.

(ii)These classes were held in the evening and students paid separately for attending them.

(iii)The school emphasized that it was not enough to learn science and Western ideas: to be modern Vietnamese had to also look modern.

(v)The school encouraged Vietnamese to adopt Western styles such as having a short haircut and abandoning their traditionally kept long hair. It was a typical example of colonial ideas in Vietnam.

4. What was Phan Chu Trinh's objective for Vietnam? How were his ideas different from those of Phan Boi Chau?

Answer

(i)Phan Chu Trinh was intensely hostile to the monarchy and opposed to the idea of resisting the French with the help of the court.

(ii)He wanted to establish a democratic republic.

(iii)He was profoundly influenced by the democratic ideals of the West, and opposed outright rejection of Western civiIisation.

(iv)He accepted the French revolutionary ideal of liberty but criticised the French for not abiding by the ideal.

(v)He demanded that the French set up legal and educational institutions, and develop agriculture and industries.

(vi)Unlike Phan Chu Trinh, Phan Boi Chau lamented about the loss of sovereignty to the French and the severing of ties of Vietnamese elites with Chinese elitist culture, due to the French colonization.

Discuss

1. With reference to what you have read in this chapter, discuss the influence of China on Vietnam's culture and life.

Answer:

The influence of China on Vietnam's culture and life was visible in all spheres of life. Even when independent countries (northern and central Vietnam) were formed, its rulers continued to maintain the Chinese system of government as well as Chinese culture. Vietnamese elites spoke Chinese languages and were powerfully influenced by its culture. Vietnamese sported a long hair, an influence of Chinese culture, before the French rule brainwashed them to keep it short to look modern.
 

2. What was the role of religious groups in the development of anti-colonial feeling in Vietnam?

Answer:

From the eighteenth century, many religious movements agitated against colonization of Vietnam. Against French control and the spread of Christianity, the Scholars Revolt in 1868 was led by officials at the imperial court. They led a general uprising in Ngu An and Ha Tien provinces and killed many Catholics missionaries. Hoa Hao was another religious movement in Vietnam against French colonial rule. It was founded by Huynh Phu So in 1939, and it gained great popularity in the fertile Mekong delta area. It drew on religious ideas popular in anti-French uprisings of the nineteenth century.
 

3. Explain the causes of the US involvement in the war in Vietnam. What effect did this involvement have on life within the US itself?

Answer

The causes of the US involvement in the war in Vietnam:

(i)When the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was formed in 1945, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh as Chairman, the French tried to regain control by using the emperor, Bao Dai, as their puppet.

(ii)The Vietminh (the League for the Independence of Vietnam) defeated the French in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu and captured more than 16,000 French soldiers as prisoners.

(iii)In the peace negotiations in Geneva, Vietnam was divided into- North Vietnam (under the Communist leadership of Ho Chi Minh) and South Vietnam (under Bao Dai's rule).

(iv)Later, Ngo Dinh Diem overthrew the Bao Dai regime and established authoritarian rule in South, which killed many communist supporters.

(v)To fight back the authoritarian regime, the National Liberation Front (NLF) was formed.

(vi)With the help of the Ho Chi Minh government in the north, the NLF fought for the unification of the country.

(vii)The US considered this alliance as the sign of emerging powerful communist system and intervened by sending in troops and arms to fight the communists.

Effect of Vietnam War on life within the US:

(i)The effect of the war was felt within the US as well.

(ii)The majority of the US citizens were critical of the government for fighting unjust war and killing innocent Vietnamese.

(iii) Compulsory service in the armed forces was waived for university graduates to encourage the young men to join the army.

(iv)Most of soldiers recruited to fight in Vietnam did not belong to the privileged elite but were minorities and children of working-class families.

4. Write an evaluation of the Vietnamese war against the US from the point of
a) a porter on the Ho Chi Minh
b) a woman

Answer:

a) The Ho Chi Minh trail illustrates the hardest situation Vietnamese fought against the US. The trail, an immense network of footpaths and roads, was used to transport men and materials from the north to the south. From 1967 about 20,000 North Vietnamese troops came south each month on this trail. The trail had support bases and hospitals along the way. In some parts, supplies were transported in trucks, but mostly they were carried by porters (mainly women). These porters carried about 25 kilos on their backs, or about 70 kilos on their bicycles. The US regularly bombed this trail trying to disrupt supplies.

b) Large number of Vietnamese women joined the resistance movement. They helped in nursing the wounded, constructing underground rooms and tunnels and fighting the enemy. During the Ho Chi Minh trail women protected strategic roads and key points. They did all sort of military and labour works to resist the US and French imperialism.

5. What was the role of women in the anti-imperial struggle in Vietnam? Compare this with the role of women in the nationalist struggle in India.

Answer: In the 1960s, many Vietnamese women joined the resistance movement. They helped in nursing the wounded, constructing underground rooms and tunnels and fighting the enemy. Along the Ho Chi Minh trail young volunteers kept open 2,195 km of strategic roads and guarded 2,500 key points. They built six airstrips, neutralised bombs, transported tens of thousands of kilograms of cargo, weapons and food and shot down fifteen planes. Between 1965 and 1975, of the 17,000 youth who worked on the trail, 70 to 80 per cent were women.

The role of women in the nationalist struggle in India:

Women in India were inspired to join the national struggle by Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy of non­ violence. Unlike the military role played by women in Vietnam, Indian women participated in peace marches, boycotts and protests and went to jail. However, the mainstream national politics of the time was a male dominant one.