BIRTH, GROWTH AND THE POLITICAL TRENDS IN THE

INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT

The rise of national consciousness in India took place towards the latter half of
the 19th century only. Before that, there were struggles and battles against
British colonialism but they were all confined to smaller areas and in any case,
did not encompass the whole of India.
It can be said that the national movement, with the political and social
emancipation of the people as its aim, arose in India in 1885, with the
formation of Indian national congress

Rise of the national movement

 Revolt of 1857
 Establishment of political unity
 Religious and social renaissance
 Historical analysis
 Western education
 Development of Indian newspapers and native literature
 Economic discontent
 Policy to keep Indians from higher positions
 Caste discrimination policy
 Development of means of transport and communication
 Healthy influence of foreign movements
 Lord Lytton’s repressive style
 Controversy regarding Ilbert bill
Revolt of 1857
The revolt of 1857 was much more than a military revolt. It spread at such
a rapid pace that it took the form of public revolt and the war of Indian
independence. The rebellion was unsuccessful due to some reasons but the
inhuman actions taken by the British government to suppress the rebellion,
the dissatisfaction of the public increased a lot.
Sir Charles Dilke writes in his book greater India regarding the repression by
the British rule that “the British killed the prisoners without a trial and in a
manner which in the eyes of all the Indians was the height of barbarity.
 There was a limit. Village after village was burnt during the rebellion.
Innocent villagers were massacred to such an extent that even Muhammad
Tughlaq would be ashamed of it.”
After the revolt of 1857 and its bitter crushing by the British, there was
deep racial tension between the British and the Indians.
Political unity:
Under the British, most parts of India were put under a single political set-
up. The system of administration was consolidated and unified throughout
all regions. This factor led to the feeling of ‘oneness’ and nationhood among
Indians.
Religious and social renaissance:
Socio-religious reform movements of the 19 th century helped a great deal in
the rise of nationalism in India. These movement sought to remove
superstition and societal evils prevalent then, and spread the word of unity,
rational and scientific thought, women empowerment and patriotism
among the people. Notable reformers were Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotiba Phule and so on.
Historical research:
Historical research also gave momentum to the rise of the national
movement in India. Famous scholars presented such a description of Indian
cultural, political and social history in front of Indians which was not inferior
to contemporary European civilization in any way.
Western education:
Macaulay had instituted a western educational system in India with the sole
aim of creating a class of educated Indians who could serve their colonial
masters in the administration of the ‘natives’. This idea sort of backfired
because it created a class of Indians who became exposed to the liberal and
radical thoughts of European writers who expounded liberty, equality,
democracy and rationality.
Development of Indian newspapers and native literature
The period also saw the rise of the Indian press both in English and in the
regional languages. This also was an important factor that helped in the
dissemination of information.
Economic discontent:
The oppressive economic policies of British led to widespread poverty and
indebtedness among the Indians especially farmers, famines which led to the
deaths of lakhs were a regular occurrence. This led to a bitter sense of
suppression and sowed the seeds of a yearning for liberty from foreign rule.
Policy to keep Indians from higher positions
The act of 1883 stated that admission to government jobs would be made on
the basis of merit and that no Indian would be hindered from being offered a
post because of religion, place of birth, race and caste.
Systematic efforts were made to keep Indians away from high positions,
especially the ‘Indian Civil Service’. The age of entry was 21 and the
examination was held in England and in English language. It was very difficult
for Indians to compete with the Britishers and crack the examination.
Caste discrimination policy
After the rebellion of 1857, the British rule adopted the policy of caste
discrimination. They began to call Indians ‘half-negro, half-monkey’ ‘
According to Mr. Garrett they adopted the for themselves a strange policy of
behavior, which had three important principles. First, that a European life is
equal to the life of many Indians. Second, the oriental countrymen can be ruled
only on the basis of fear. Third, they have not come here for public interest but
for their personal profit and wealth.
Development of means of transport and communication:
The British built a network of roads, railways post and telegraph systems in the
country. This led to increased movements of people from one part of the
country to another and increased the flow of information. All this accelerated
the rise of a national movement in India.
Healthy influence of foreign movements
There were many national movements outside of India that inspired the Indian
nationalists to rise their voice against the suppression of British rule.
Lord Lytton’s policies:
Lord Lytton was the viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880. In 1886, there was a
famine in south India which saw the deaths of almost 10 million people. His
trading policies were criticized for having aggravated the famine. Also, he
conducted the grand Delhi durbar in 1877 spending huge amount of money at
a time when people were dying of hinger.
Lytton also passed the Vernacular Press Act 1878 which authorized the
government to confiscate newspapers that printed ‘seditious material’ he also
passed the Arms Act 1878 which prohibited Indians from carrying weapons of
any king without license. The act excluded Englishmen.
Controversy regarding Ilbert Bill:
In 1883, the Ilbert Bill was introduced which gave Indian judges the power to
hear cases against European, by the viceroy Lord Ripon and Sir Courtenay
Ilbert, the legal advisor to the council of India. But there was a huge outcry
against this bill from Britishers in India and in Britain. Arguments made against
this bill displayed the deep racial prejudice the English had for Indians. This
also exposed the true nature of British colonialism to the educated Indians.
Indian national congress
 The INC was the first national movement of a political kind in India with
the initial aim of getting more Indians involved in the governance of the
country. Later on, its purpose upgraded to complete independence. And
post-independence it became a major political party.
 It was formed by AO Humes in 1885.
 The first session was held in Bombay on 28 Dec. which was supposedly
to be held in Poona but due to cholera outbreak in Poona it was shifted
to Bombay.
 The first session was attended by 72 delegates from all Indian provinces
under the presidency of Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
 There were 54 Hindus, 2 Muslims and the rest were Jain and Parsi
members.
 Prominent attendees were Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, William
Wedderburn, Pherozeshah Mehta etc.
 In its early years, the party was moderate and limited to constitutional
methods and dialogue.
 Later it became more radical. By 1905, there was a clear rift in the party
which was now divided between old moderates and the new group
called the extremists- who were called so because of their radical
methodologies.
  The extremist faction was led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
 The party split open in 1907 in the Surat session
 The congress truly became a mass party with the arrival of Mahatma
Gandhi, who returned from South Africa in 1915.
 He introduced the methods of satyagraha and civil disobedience
movement to the independence struggle.
 He remained a spiritual leader for the party and his presence drew a lot
of support from both the elite and the masses.
 More leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad, C Rajagopalachari, Subhash Chandra Bose etc.
 Muhammad Ali Jinnah was also a member of the party until 1920.
Although he joined the Muslim League in 1913.
 After the Government of India Act 1935 was passed, provincial elections
were held in 1936-37 and out of 11 provinces, the Congress formed the
government in 8 of them except Sindh, Punjab, and Bengal.
 After independence the first Prime Minister of the country, JL Nehru was
from INC
 In the first general election in 1952, the congress had a thumping victory
and Nehru became the first directly elected prime minister of
independent India.
Extremist and moderate phase of Indian national Congress
Moderate phase: the moderate phase of the Congress was dominated by the
word ‘moderates’
They were people who believed in British justice and were loyal to them.
Prominent moderate leaders:
 Dadabhai Naoroji also known as the ‘Grand Old Man of India.
He became the first Indian to become a member of the House of Common
in Britain. Authored ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ which focused on
the economic drain of India because of British policies. This led do an
enquiry on the matter.
 Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee the first president of the INC.
Lawyer by profession. First Indian to act as a Standing counsel.
  Gopal Kirishna Aiyer: regarded as Mahatma Gandhi’s political guru.
Founded the Servants of India Society.
 Other moderate leaders included Rash Behari Ghosh, RC Dutt, M G
Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, Madan Mohan Malaviya and William
Wedderburn.
Aims and demands of the moderates:
 Education of the masses and organizing public opinion, make people
aware of their rights.
 Indian representation in the Executive Council and in the Indian
Council in London.
 Reform in the legislative council.
 Decreased land revenue tax and ending peasant oppression.
 After 1892, raised the slogan, “No taxation without representation.”
 Reduced spending on the army
 Abolishing salt tax and duty on sugar.
 Freedom of speech and expression
 Freedom to form association
 Development of modern capitalist industries in India
 End of economic drain of India by the Britain
 Repealing the Arms Act of 1878
 Increasing spending on education of Indians
Methods of the moderates:
 They believed in peaceful and constitutional methods to demand and
fulfil those demands.
 Used petitions, meetings, resolutions, pamphlets, memoranda and
delegations to voice their demands
 Their method has been called 3P: prayers, petition, and protest
 Had complete faith in the British justice system
 Confined to the educated classes only. Did not try to employ the masses.
 They aimed only at getting political rights and self-government under
British dominion.
Limitations of the moderates:
 This phase of the national movement excluded the masses and only the
educated elites participated in it.
  They did not demand complete independence from the foreign rule.
 They did not understand the power of a mass movement of people,
unlike Gandhi who used this power
 Drew most of their ideas from western political thinking which further
alienated them from the people.
Extremist phase:
 The failure of the moderate leaders in getting any significant results from
the British authorities/
 The limitations of the moderates were the main cause of the rise of
extremism
 The partition of Bengal in 1905 opened the eyes of the Indians to the
true colors of the British rule.
 Lord Curzon and his disdain for anything Indian also created resentment
and anger against the foreigners
 There was a fear among some leaders that the moderates with their
westernized notions were trying to create an India in the image of the
West.
 There was a revival of national pride at that time
 The extremist leaders were also influenced by the growth of spiritual
nationalism at that time.
 The Delhi durbar held in 1903 when people had not fully recovered from
the horrific effects of the famine that killed lakhs of people drew
widespread condemnation.
 Events happening around the world also inspired the extremist leaders.
Abyssinia’s successful repulsion of the Italian army in 1896 and Japan’s
defeat of Russia in 1905 shattered the notion of European invincibility.
 Other national movements like in Persia Egypt and turkey also motivated
the Indian leaders.
Surat split:
 The difference between the moderate and the extremists became
official in the Surat session of the Indian National Congress in 1907
 The meeting was to take place in Nagpur that year. The extremists
wanted Lala Lajpat Rai or Bal Gangadhar Tilak to be the president. But
the moderates wanted Rash Behari Ghosh as President. There was a rule
that the session’s president could not be from the home province. Tilak’s
 home province was Bombay Presidency in which Surat was also situated.
So, the moderates changed the venue to Surat to so that Tilak could be
excluded from the presidency.
 The moderates also wanted to droop the resolution on swadeshi,
boycott movements and national education
 Rash Behari Ghosh became the president in the session which was held
at Surat
 Both sides were firm on their demands and neither was willing to find a
common path
 The moderates then held a separate meeting in which they reiterated
the Congress goal of self-government within the British empire and to
adopt only constitutional methods to achieve their goals
 Unfortunately, the Surat session was marred by the use of sticks and
chappals by the member on one another.
Methods of extremists’ leaders:
 The extremist goal was ‘swaraj’. This, at that time, either meant
complete autonomy and freedom from British control, or a total Indian
control over the administration but not necessarily a break away from
Britain’s imperial reign.
 This was in contrast to the moderates’ demand of only an increase in the
share of Indians in the administration and military upper echelons
 The extremist leader involved wider sections of people in the
movement. They involved lower-middle-class people also.
 They did not stick to constitutional methods to protest and demand.
They resorted to boycotts, strikes, etc. they also burned foreign-made
goods
 The swadeshi movement gathered momentum in India because of the
extremists’ support. This led to the establishment of Indian banks, mills,
factories
 They were strongly against the British Imperialistic policies of in India
 They opposed the westernization of Indian society by the British
 They believed in sacrificing everything including life for the cause of the
motherland
 They took pride in Indian culture and history. They looked at the ancient
scriptures for inspiration and courage
  They were very vocal in their opposition to the British rule, unlike the
moderates who had faith in British justice
 Tilak famously said, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.”
 They tried to instill self-respect and patriotism in the people by invoking
past heroes like Ashoka, Shivaji, Maharan Pratap and Ranu Laxmi Bai
 They did not believe in loyalty to the British crown.
Extremist leaders:
Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal leading the extremist
cause in Punjab, Bombay and Bengal presidency.
Other leaders included Aurobindo Ghosh, Raj Narayan Bose, A K Dutt, VOC
Pillai
Government reaction to extremist:
 The government attacked the extremist leaders vigorously
 Laws were passed to check their activities and influence. The following
laws were passed between 1907 and 1911:
I. Seditious Meetings Act1907
II. Indian Newspaper Act 1908
III. Criminal Law Amendment Act 1908
IV. Indian Press Act 1910
 Tilak was sentenced and served in prison in Mandalay for writing in
support of revolutionaries who were involved in the killing of two British
women (their original target was a British magistrate.)
Impact of the extremist period:
 Bal Gangadhar Tilak organized Ganpati and Shivaji festival to spread the
message of boycotting westernization in India. This was a major social
reform and had a larger impact on society
 The slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it” by Tilak was the
talk of society
 British goods and national education was boycotted which brought a
major change in the economy of the country and gave way to
employment and various other opportunities for the Indians
 There was a major reform in education across the country as the
extremists worked on establishing National universities free from the
government control
 Partition of Bengal (1905)
Background and the partition:
 Since 1765, following the battle of Buxar, the province of Bengal, which
included present day Bengal, Odisha, Bangladesh, and assam was under
the British
 Calcutta was the capital of the province and also of the British India.
 There were difficulties in administering such a large area. The eastern
part, especially in rural area were neglected
 The region was lacking in the fields of industry, education, and
employment
 In 1874, assam was sliced away from Bengal and put under a chief
Commissioner.
 Initially Lord Curzon proposed the idea of partitioning the province
 As per Curzon, after the partition, the province would be Bengal and
Eastern Bengal
 Bengal would have a Hindy majority and Eastern Bengal and Assam
would have Muslim majority population. Its capital would remain
Calcutta.
Reaction to the partition of Bengal:
 There was a widespread political unrest in the province after Curzon
announced the partition
 The Indian National Congress protested this move
 Most of the Bengalis in the western part protested against this step
which would also make them a linguistic minority in their own province.
There would be more Odia and Hindi speakers more than the Bengalis
 Many Muslims from the community welcomed this move since they
thought that it would advance their educational economic and political
standard of living.
 Lord Curzon promised to start a university in Dhaka. This was also seen
as an opportunity for the Muslim community
 The general protest in the rest of the country was against this partition.
The people saw through the ‘divide and rule policy’ of the British
authorities
 The chief aim of this partition was to create a rift between the two
communities and hampering the unity of the country
  The swadeshi and boycotting movements in the national struggle started
as a result of this partition
 The partition did succeed in creating a communal rift in the country and
even contributed to the birth of the Muslim League in 1906.
Partition annulled:
 Owing to mass political protests, the partition was annulled in 1911.
 New provinces were created based on linguistic lines rather than
religious lines. Bihar and Orissa province was carved out of Bengal. Bihar
and Orissa became separate province in 1936
 A separate Assam province was carved out
 The capital of British India was moved to Delhi from Calcutta in 1911
Impact of first world
 In order to meet a huge rise in defense expenditure, the government
increased taxes on individual incomes and business profits
 Increased military expenditure and the demands of war supplies led
to a sharp rise in prices which created great difficulties for the
common people
 The war created a demand for industrial goods like jute bags, cloth,
rail, etc. and caused a decline in imports from other countries into
India
 Indian industries expanded during the war and Indian business
groups began to demand greater opportunities for development
 Business groups reaped fabulous profits from the war.
The Lucknow Pact:
The Lucknow Pact is an agreement between the Indian National Congress and
the All India Muslim League reached at a joint session both the parties held at
Lucknow in 1916. The pact was important in that it enhanced the League’s
power in Indian politics and established communalism as an unavoidable part
of Indian politics despite the apparent bonhomie between the two
communities at the session.
Background to Lucknow Pact:
 When the Muslim League was formed in 1906, it was a relatively
moderate organization with a pro-British stance.
  After the first world war, the Viceroy Lord Chelmsford had solicited
reform suggestions from Indians in return for the support to the British
war effort.
 The Muslim League was led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and he wanted to
use the opportunity to press for constitutional reforms through a joint
Hindu-Muslim platform
 He was then a member of both parties and was largely responsible for
the Pact
 This was the first time that the leaders of both the parties were meeting
for a joint session
 In October, 1916, 19 elected Indian members of the Imperial Legislative
Council addressed a memorandum to the Viceroy seeking reforms
 In November 1916, leaders from both the parties met again in Calcutta
and discussed and amended the suggestions
 Finally at their respective annual sessions held at Lucknow in December
1916, the INC and the League confirmed the agreement. This came to be
known as the Lucknow Pact.
Reforms suggested in the Lucknow Pact
 Self-government in India
 Abolition of the Indian council
 Separation of the executive from the judiciary
 Salaries of the secretary of state for Indian Affairs to be paid from British
coffers and not the Indian funds.
 1/3rd representation to be given to Muslims in the central government
 The number for Muslims in the provincial legislatures to be laid down for
each province
 Separate electorates for all communities until a joint electorate is
demanded by all
 Introduction of a system of weightage for minority representation
 Increasing the term of the legislative council to 5 years
 Half the members of the Imperial Legislative Council to be Indians
 All elected members to be elected directly on the basis of adult
franchise. 4/5th of the member of the provincial legislatures to be
elected and 1/5th to be nominated
 Members of the Legislative Council to elect their President themselves
Result of the Lucknow Pact:
  The Lucknow pact gave the impression of Hindu-Muslim unity in the
national political scene. But it was only an impression short-lived
 The agreement between the parties on a separate communal
electorate formally established communal politics in India
 Through this pact, the INC also tacitly accepted that India consisted of
two different communities with different interests
 This pact pushed the hitherto less relevant Muslim League into the
forefront of Indian politics along with the Congress party
Home rule movement
 The government of India Act 1909 was dissatisfactory to the aspirations
of Indians
 The congress party split in 1907 and fiery leader Bal Gangadhara tilak’s
imprisonment from 1908 to 1914 meant that there was a lull in national
movement
 Annie Besant was an Irish socialist, writer and orator who supported the
Irish and Indian home rule movements. She arrived in India in 1893
 The leaders in India were divided on whether to support Britain in the
war or not. Annie, however declared that England’s need is India’s
opportunity
 Having returned from exile from Mandalay. Tilak understood the need
for a revival of the nationalist movement in the country
 He also understood the growing importance of the congress party in
India’s political scene. His first task was to get readmitted into the party
 In the congress session of December 1915, it was decided to let
extremist re-join the party largely due to Annie Besant’s persuasion
 However, Besant and tilak were not able to convince congress to
support their decision to set up home rule leagues
 Besant managed to convince the congress to pledge to educative
propaganda and the establishing of local-level committees. It as also
agreed upon that if these conditions were not satisfied by September
1916, she would be free to set up a home rule league.
 Accordingly, she set up her Home Rule League in September 1916
 Tilak however was not bound by any such conditions and had set up his
league in April 1916.
Foundation of the home rule movement:
  There were two home rule leagues launched
 Tilak launched the Indian Home Rule League in April 1916 at Belgaum
 Annie Besant launched the Home Rule League in September 1916 at
madras
 They had the common objective of achieving self-government in India
 There was an informal understanding between the leagues wherein
tilak’s league worked in Maharashtra (except Bombay), Karnataka Berar
and the central province. Besant’s league worked in the rest of the
country
 Tilak’s league had its headquarters in Delhi. It had 6 branches. Besant’s
league had 200 branches and was a looser organization compared to
tilak’s
 The two leagues worked closely with one another. However, they did
not merge to avoid friction between both the leaders.
Objective:
 To achieve self-government in India
 To promote political education and discussion to set up agitation for
self-government
 To build confidence among Indians to speak against the government’s
suppression
 To demand a larger political representation for Indians from the British
government
 To revive political activity in India while maintaining the principles of the
congress party
Activities:
 The leagues organized demonstrations and agitations
 There were public meetings in which the leaders gave fiery speeches
 They were able to create a stir within the country and alarm the British
to such an extent that Annie Besant was arrested in June 1917
 This move by the British created a nation-wide protest and now even
moderate leaders joined the league. She was released in September
1917
Significance:
  The Home Rule League functioned throughout the year as opposed to
the congress party whose activities were confined to once a year.
 The movement was able to garner huge support from a lot of educated
Indians. In 1917, the two leagues combined had around 40,000
members
 Many members of the congress and the Muslim league joined the
league. Many prominent leaders like Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joseph
Baptista, G S Kharpade and Sir S Subramanya Iyer were among its
members
 The moderates, extremists and the Muslim League were briefly united
during this time
 The movement was able to spread political consciousness to more
regions in the country
 This movement led to the Montague Declaration of 1917 in which it was
declared that there would be more Indians in the government leading to
the development of self-governing institutions ultimately realizing
responsible governments in India. This declaration which is also known
as august declaration, implied that the demand for home rule would no
longer be considered seditious. This was the biggest significance of the
movement.
Failure and decline:
 The movement was not a mass movement. It was restricted to educated
people and college students
 The leagues did not function a lot of support among Muslims, Anglo-
Indians and non-brahmins from southern India as they thought home
rule would mean a rule of the upper caste Hindu majority
 Many of the moderates were satisfied with the government’s assurance
of reforms. They did not take the movement further
 Annie Besant kept oscillating between being satisfied with the
government talk of reforms and pushing the home rule movement
forward. She was not able to prove firm leadership to her followers
 In September 1918, tilak went to England to pursue a libel case against
Sir Ignatius valentine Chirol, British journalist and author of the book
‘Indian Unrests’. The book contained deprecatory comments and called
tilak ‘father of the Indian Unrest.’
 After the war, mahatma Gandhi gained prominence as a leader of the
masses and the Home Rule Leagues merged with the congress party
in1920.