The The Nationalist Movement in Indo-China VBQ CBSE Class 10 Social Sciences
Q.1. What was the ‘civilizing mission’ of the colonisers ? Mention any two steps taken by the French under this. What was the real motive behind this mission ?
Ans. Like the British in India, the French claimed that they were bringing modem civilisation to the Vietnamese. They were of the opinion that Europe had developed the most advanced civilization. So it became the duty of the Europeans to introduce modem ideas in their colonies.
(i) They introduced modern education.
(ii) Tonkin Free Schools were opened to provide modern education.
Motive : The real motive behind this motion was to exploit the natural and human resources of Vietnam.
Q.2. Why was conflict started in Vietnam against French colonizers in all areas of life ? Explain. [CBSE 2010 (D)]
‘The French discriminated the Vietnamese in all areas of life.’ Explain.
Ans. (i) Attack on culture : The French encouraged the adoptation of western styles such as having a short hair cut but this was not liked by the traditionals. The western education system also started replacing the Chinese and other local languages with French.
(ii) Attack on education system : The French systematically dismantled the traditional system and established French schools for the Vietnamese. The school books glorified the French and justified colonial rule. The Vietnames were represented as primitive and backward, capable manual labour but not of intellectual reflection, they could work in the fields but not rule themselves; they were skilled copyists but not creative.
(iii) Discrimination : The local Vietnamese people were discriminated in all fields. The colonial government prevented them from qualifying for white collar jobs. The front seats were reserved only for the French students.
(iv) Attack on religion : Many Catholic missionaries were active in converting people into Christianity. This was not tolerable to the locals.
Q.3. ‘The measures taken by the French to control the spread of bubonic plague in Hanoi created a serious problem.” Explain the statement.
Ans. (i) For the Vietnamese the rat hunt seemed to provide an early lesson in the success of collective bargaining. Those who did the dirty work of entering sewers found that if they came together they could negotiate a higher bounty.
(ii) They also discovered innovative ways to profit from this situation. The bounty was paid when a tail was given as proof that a rat had been killed. So the rat-catchers took to just clipping the tails and releasing the rats, so that the process could be repeated, over and over again. Some people, in fact, began raising rats to earn a bounty.
(iii)Defeated by the resistance of the weak, the French were forced to scrap the bounty programme. None of this prevented the bubonic plague, which swept through the area in 1903 and in subsequent years.
(iv) In a way, the rat menace marks the limits of French power and the contradiction in their ‘civilising mission.’
(v) The actions ‘of the rat-catchers tell us of the numerous small ways in which colonialism was fought in everyday life.
Q.4. ‘Education was used as a mode by the French to strengthen their rule in Vietnam whereas it was used as a weapon by the Vietnamese to fight against the colonalism’. Explain.
How did the French seek to strengthen their rule in Vietnam through the control of education ? [CBSE 2014]
Ans. (i) The French framed a new curriculum in which they highlighted the need and importance of French rule but on the other hand Vietnamese teachers and students did not blindly follow the curriculum framed by the French. Sometimes, there was open opposition and at other times, there was silent resistance. As the number of Vietnamese teachers increased in the lower classes, they quietly modified the text and criticised what was stated.
(ii) In most of the schools front seats were reserved for the French but the locals resisted whenever they got an opportunity. When a Vietnamese girl was terminated over the issue of front seat the whole school protested, and forced the authorities to take her back. It was a victory for the educated class.
(iii) The French tried to change the values, norms and perceptions of the people, to make them believe in the superiority of the French civilisation, and the inferiority of the Vietnamese. On the other hand, Vietnamese intellectuals, feared that Vietnam was losing not only the control over its territory, but also its very identity: Its own culture and customs, were being devalued, and the people were developing a master-slave mentality.
(v) The french sought to strengthen their rule in Vietnam through the control of education. On the other hand, the educated class wanted to use education as a means to fight , against the colonial rule.
Q.5. Explain the role of women in the antiimperial struggle in Vietnam.
[CBSE March 2011]
Evaluate the role of Vietnamese women during 1960s war period and after the war in peace time. [CBSE 2008, 2010 (F) 2014 (D) Compt.]
Who wrote the play based on the lives of Trung sisters ? What was depicted in the play ? [CBSE 2014]
Ans. (i) Women as Rebels : Women in Vietnam traditionally enjoyed greater equality than in China, particularly among the lower classes. However, they had only limited freedom in social life and to determine their future..
As the nationalist movement grew, the status of women came to be questioned and a new image of womanhood emerged. There were many women who rebelled against injustice being done to them.
Writers and political thinkers began idealising these women. In the 1930s, a famous novel by Nhat Linh inspired many women as it showed a woman leaving a forced marriage and marrying someone of her choice, someone who was involved in nationalist politics. This rebellion against social conventions marked the arrival of the new woman in the Vietnamese society.
(ii) Heroes of Past Times : To highlight the contribution of women in the Vietnam’s history, the nationalist Phan Boi Chau wrote a play based on the lives of the Trung sisters who had fought against the Chinese domination in 39-43 CE. In this play, he depicted these sisters as patriots fighting to save the Vietnamese nation from the Chinese. After Phan’s play, the Trung sisters came to be idealised and glorified. They were depicted in paintings, plays and novels as representing the indomitable will and the intense patriotism of the Vietnamese. It was shown through the play how the sisters gathered a force of over 30,000, resisted the Chinese for two years and when ultimately defeated, they committed suicide, instead of surrendering to the enemy.
(iii) Women as Warriors : Women played a major role in the Vietnam War. Thousands of women were killed in the war. Both print and electronic media highlighted their achievements.
They were portrayed as young, brave and dedicated. Stories were written to show how happy they felt when they joined the army and could carry a rifle. Some stories spoke of their incredible bravery in single-handedly killing the enemy – Nguyen Thi Xuan, for instance, was reputed to have shot down a jet with just twenty bullets. Women were represented not only as warriors but also as workers : they were shown with a rifle in one hand, and a hammer in the other.
(iv) Women in Times of Peace : By the 1970s, as peace talks began to get under way, and the end of the war seemed near. Women were no longer represented as warriors. Now, woman was being represented as a worker. She was shown working in agricultural cooperatives, factories and production units, rather than fighters in the army.
Q.6. What were the values which played an important role in the victory of Vietnamese over the mighty USA ?
Ans. (i) The mighty underestimated the power of nationalism to move people to action, inspire them to sacrifice their home and family, live under horrific conditions, and fight for independence.
(ii) Vietnamese used their limited resources to great advantage. For example the Ho-Chi Minh trail was used by the locals to fight against the mighty and most technological advanced country.
(iii) Women who were enjoying a good status in Vietnamese society played very important role in freedom struggle. They worked as soldiers, nurses and teachers.
(iv) The French sought to strengthen their rule in Vietnam through the control of education. On the other hand, the educated class used education as a means to fight against the colonial rule.