Political leaders who felt that an all-India organization was needed to stimulate national consciousness among the people founded an organization called the India League in 1875. The India League was replaced by the Indian Association founded by Surendranath Banerjee in 1876. In December 1883, the Indian Association held an All India National Conference in Calcutta. The second National Conference of the Indian Association was convened in December 1885. At this conference, a proposal was made to convene a meeting of the Indian National Congress in Bombay. The Indian National Congress, which led India to independence, was formed in 1885. Congress is the first political party in India and is currently the oldest political party in India. The founding session of the Congress was held from 28 to 31 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay. 72 delegates attended. The founder of the Congress was the Britisher Allan Octavian Hume. The first session of the Congress was presided over by W.C. Banerjee; the first president of the Congress was W.C. Banerjee.
Partition of Bengal (1905)
Since 1765, Bengal, Bihar and Odisha had been a single region in British India. Bengal, which was ahead in size and wealth was announced in July 20, 1905 for partition by the viceroyalty of Lord Curzon. The partition came into effect on October 16, 1905. The government version was that the partition of bengal was purely an administrative measure. With this partition, bengal became two parts, a muslim majority region and a hindu majority region. Partition of Bengal led to staunch opposition. The indian national congress viewed the partition as an attempt to 'divide and rule' policy. Agitation against the partition manifested itself in the form of mass meetings, rural unrest and swadeshi movement. They started mass movement declaring October 16, 1905 as the 'days of mourning' in Calcutta. The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was observed on October 16, 1905. Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis on each other's wrist showing solidarity. They sang Vande Mataram and took a dip in the Ganga river and took a pledge of brotherhood. Bengali leaders started the swadeshi movement to express the feelings of the people.
The swadeshi movement was a great success. It started textile mills, soap and match box factories, handloom weaving mills, national banks, insurance companies etc. Nationalist poetry, prose, journalism etc flourished. National education was spread. Nationalists in Bengal and newspapers like Amrit Bazar Patrika, Sajeevini, Hitavadi and Vasumathi strongly opposed the partition. Due to extensive political protest against bengal partition, the eastern and western part of bengal were reunited in 1911. Lord Hardinge II was the viceroy when bengal was reunited. The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi. Although the partition of Bengal was reunited in 1911, this led to many communal agitations. Finally, Bengal was partitioned again in 1947. This region later became the country of Bangladesh. In 1906, Rabindranath Tagore wrote 'Amar Sona Bangla' as a cry against the partition of bengal. Years later, this was made the national anthem of Bangladesh in 1972.
Swadeshi Movement (1905 to 1911)
The Swadeshi Movement was an important movement that emerged as a protest against the partition of bengal. The swadeshi movement started with the partition of bengal by the viceroy Lord Curzon in 1905 and continued up to 1911. The national movement reached the common people with this movement. Its chief architects were Aurobindo Ghosh, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandrapal and Lala Lajpat Rai. This movement involved the boycott of the british products. The western clothes were thrown in burn fires and it was an act of honour to wear the local indian clothes. It was not any british goods that people boycotted, All the schools, Colleges, Courts and Government offices run by the British were boycotted. A resolution to boycott british goods were adopted on August 7, 1905 at a meeting of INC at Calcutta. Charka came to typify the popular concern for country's economic self - sufficiency.
The leaders of the movement demanded freedom from foreign rule. Many Organisations emerged during this period to promote the Swadeshi Movement. The Don Society, Swadesh Bandhavi Samiti, Anushilan, Suhrid, Sadhana etc were important in this. Swadeshi Bandhav Samiti of Barisal founded by Ashwini kumar dutt was the largest volunteer body to support Swadeshi Movement. The first real labour union 'The Printers Union' was formed on October 1905. Tilak began the Swadesh Vastra Pracharine Sabha to propagate Swadeshi Movement. Savarkar founded 'Mitra Mela'. In exchange for boycotting foreign made goods, many indigenous manufacturing plants were started in India. Also, educated indians started many educational institutions. Bengal Technical Institute, Bengal National College etc were the educational institutions started during that time. The main drawback of the Swadeshi Movement was that it was not able to garner the support of the mass muslims.
Formation of Muslim League (1906)
After the partition of bengal in 1905, East Bengal became a Muslim - majority state. During this time, many muslim leaders had the idea of forming a political organization. The instructions for this were given by Archbold, who was the principal of Aligarh University at that time. Following this, some leaders, led by the Nawab of Dhaka, Salimullah Mohsin-ul-Mulk submitted a memorandum to the then viceroy, Lord Minto. This is known as the 'Simla Memorandum'. Lord Minto promised the leaders that he would provide all possible support to the organization that was exclusively for Muslims. Accordingly, the 'Muslim League' was setup in 1906 under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk. The strategic political policies of the British helped the growth of this organization. In 1928, the Muslim League rejected the Nehru Report, as it did not incorporate all their demands. This led to the estrangement of Jinnah and formulated his infamous fourteen points (including separate - electorates, reservation of seats in the centre and provinces, reservation of jobs for muslims, creation of new muslim majority provinces etc.) which became the text of the communal demands.
Muhammad Iqbal, who presided over the allahabad session of the league in 1930 gave the idea of separate muslim state in North West India. In 1939, December 22, the Muslim League observes the resignation of the congress ministries as Deliverance Day. In 1940 March - Lahore session of the muslim league passed the Pakistan Resolution. On December 1943, the Karachi session of the Muslim League adopts the slogan 'Divide and Quit'. The name 'Pakistan' was framed by Rahmat Ali. Chaudhary Rahmat Ali, a college student coined the name Pakistan. He took the 'P' from Punjab, the 'A' from Afghania, the 'K' from Kashmir, the 'S' from Sindh and the 'TAN' from Baluchistan.
Surat Split (1907)
The main criticism that the Indian National Congress faced in the beginning was that it was an organization formed to divert the intense unrest of indian society. Initially, the policy of the congress was only 'constitutional struggle'. The independence of the country was not the declared goal of the congress in the early days. All the early leaders of the congress were moderates. However, by 1905, many people came forward against the 'political begging policies' of the party and a new section called 'extremists' emerged in the congress. They declared that those who had led the national movement in the early days had failed. Thus the Indian National Congress split into two groups - the extremists and the moderates at the surat session in 1907. Extremists were led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal while the moderates were led by Gopala Krishna Gokhale.
In the Surat Session (1907), the radicals or extremists wanted Lala Lajpat Rai or Tilak as a presidential candidate and moderates supported Rash Behari Ghosh to be the president. But Lala Lajpat Rai stepped down and Rash Behari Ghosh became the president. The angry extremists boycotted the session and the moderates took over the congress. This split had a negative impact on the functioning of the congress. After the Surat Split, the congress remained under the control of the moderates. The moderates did not approve the boycott of foreign goods but the extremists favoured. The moderates continued to have faith in the good intensions of the British Government. They wanted self government in gradual stages, while the extremists wanted complete autonomy at the earliest. The extremists returned to the congress in 1916.
Minto Morley Reforms (1909)
At a time when anti-british sentiment in India was strong and the jails were filled with protesters, the British took action to avoid problems. The then Viceroy, Lord Minto, and the Secretary of State, Lord Morley, had to face a difficult period. The terrorist activities caused by the partition of Bengal, etc. and the measures taken to suppress them had created a very turbulent situation in India. As a result of the deliberations and discussions conducted by Minto and Morley, who realized that the Indians could be satisfied only by giving them a greater share in the affairs of government. For that, the British Parliament passed an Act called 'the Indian Councils Act 1909' in A.D.1909. The 'Indian Councils Act 1909' is commonly known as Minto-Morley reforms. The real purpose of the reforms of 1909 was to confuse the Moderate nationalists and to check the growth of unity among Indians.
Provisions of Minto Morley Reforms
1. The legislatures were enlarged. A system of electing a number of members was introduced. It effectively allowed the election of Indians to the various legislative councils in India for the first time.
2. It provided for the association of indians with the executive councils of Viceroy and Governors. According to this administrative reform, one Indian was appointed to the Viceroy's Executive Council and two Indians were appointed to the Secretary of State Council. Satyendra Prasad Zinha became the first indian to join the viceroys executive council. He was appointed as law member.
3. Provision was made for an official majority in the Imperial Legislative Council, that is, the central legislative assembly, and an unofficial majority in the provincial assemblies, including elected and nominated members.
4. Separate constituencies were established for Hindus and Muslims.
5. The reforms envisaged a separate electorate for Muslims. Indian Muslims will be allotted reserved seats in the Municipal and district boards, in the provincial councils and in the imperial legislature and that Muslims should vote for candidates for the Muslim seats.
Ghadar Party (Ghadar Movement)
The Urdu word Ghadar means 'revolt' or 'rebellion'. A fitting name for the organization of brave men who took up arms for the freedom of their country! The name was taken from a weekly paper "The Ghadar". The first issue of 'The Ghadar' was published from San Francisco on 1st November 1913. The Ghadar Movement was started and organized by the Indian immigrants, to Canada and USA. The Ghadar Party was initially known as Pacific Coast Hindustan Association. This organization was founded in America in 1913. The goal was to mobilize Indians outside India to fight against Britain. The founders of the Ghadar Movement were Dr. Panduranga Sadashiva and Pandit Kashiram. Its headquarters was the 'Yugantar' ashram in San Francisco. When Britain's attention was diverted from India during the First World War, the Ghadar Party decided to launch an armed rebellion in India and make India independent.
The main leaders were Lala Hardayal, Bhai Paramanand, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Tarakanath Das and Ram Chandra. They attempted to bring about an armed revolt in India on February 21, 1915. They decided on February 21, 1915, as the Revolution Day. Before that, Rash Behari Bose, Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, Sachin Sanyal and others came to Punjab and camped there. But, in the meantime, the British got the secret information of revolution through spies. Before the revolutionaries had time to do anything, the British army captured all the leaders. Many were killed. Many were exiled. Thus, the move of the patriots was failed due to treachery. The rebellious regiments were disbanded and their leaders were either imprisoned or hanged.
Growth of Revolutionary Movement
Revolutionary movements were movements that grew parallel to the national movements. There were many brave revolutionaries who fought and sacrificed their lives to drive out the British through armed struggle. Let us get to know some of the important revolutionary movements among them. The British dealt with the Swadeshi movement brutally, and there were nationwide protests against the British's actions, which included beating and imprisoning leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Surendranath Banerjee. The revolutionaries decided to violently oust the rule that was violating the law and destroying civil rights. They were inspired by revolutionary ideas from abroad. Newspapers like Aurobindo Ghosh's Vande Mataram also supported these movements. In 1897, Damodar Hari Chapekar and Balkrishna Hari Chapekar, known as the Chapekar brothers, entered the revolutionary movement by killing the british officials Rand and Amherst in Pune. Let's get to know other important revolutionary movements.
Anushilan Samiti
Anushilan Samiti was one of the revolutionary organizations that worked secretly during the Indian independence movement. The main leaders of Anushilan Samiti, who led the revolutions in Bengal in 1902, were Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Jatindranath Banerjee, and Pramathanath Mitra. Anushilan Samiti had two components - Yugantar Anushilan Samiti and Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. Pulin Bihari Das was the main leader of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. Yugantar Anushilan Samiti, founded by Hem Chandradas, also had a newspaper called Yugantar. Bhupendranath Dutta was the founder of the newspaper. This organization adopted armed revolution against the British occupation. Arvind Ghosh, Chittaranjan Das, Surendranath Tagore, Jatindranath Banerjee, Bhupendranath Dutta, etc. were the main freedom fighters associated with Anushilan Samiti.
Indian Home Rule Society
The Indian Home Rule Society was founded in London in 1905 by Shyamji Krishna Varma. Many Indians who had worked with Shyamji Krishna Varma in Britain were members of the society. Madam Bikaji Cama, Dadabhai Naoroji, S.R. Rana were prominent among them. The main objective of the society was self-government. According to the constitution of the society, it was to "secure self-government for India and to carry out a genuine Indian campaign in Britain by all practicable means". The society also intended to challenge the loyalists of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress.
Paris Indian Society
The Paris Indian Society was a revolutionary movement founded in Paris in 1905 by Madam Bhikaji Cama, M.B. Godrej and S.R. Rana. Madam Bhikaji Cama is known as the 'Mother of the Indian Revolution' because she worked at the forefront of women's revolutionary movements. The Paris Indian Society was founded as a branch of the Indian Home Rule Society. The Paris Indian Society published a newspaper, Bande Mataram, from Paris. The newspaper was published under the name Bande Mataram in response to the British ban on Bankim Chatterjee's national poem, Vande Mataram.
Indian Independence Committee
The Berlin Committee was an organization founded by Indian students and political activists in Germany in 1914 during the First World War, led by Virendra Chadhopadhyay, Bhupendranath Dutta, and Lala Hardayal. The Berlin Committee was renamed the Indian Independence Committee in 1915. The main objective of the committee was to propagate the goals of India's independence and freedom struggle. Other leaders of the Indian Independence Committee included Virendranath Chatterjee, Abinash Bhattacharya, Chembakaraman Pillai, and C. Padmanabhan Pillai.
Hindustan Republican Association
In October 1924, leaders of various revolutionary organizations, including Sachindranath Sanyal, Narendra Mohan Sen, and Pratul Ganguly, met in Kanpur and formed the Hindustan Republican Association. The main objective of this organization was to bring a centralized democratic system in India through organized armed revolution. The activists robbed a train at 'Kakori' station to raise money for organizational activities. This became famous as the 'Kakori train robbery case'. Chandrashekhar Azad was a part of this organization.
Naujawan Bharat Sabha
The Naujawan Bharat Sabha was a left-wing revolutionary organization founded in March 1926 under the leadership of Bhagat Singh. The main objective of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha was to organize workers and peasant youth and help them in the revolution against the British rule. The Naujawan Bharat Sabha worked as part of the Hindustan Republican Association. The organization was banned in 1929. In September 1934, the organization was declared illegal under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908.
Mitra Melan
This was an organization started in Maharashtra in 1899 by Veer damodar Savarkar, his brother Ganesh Savarkar and some friends. They assassinated Jackson, the District Magistrate of Nashik.
Yugantar Party
This organization, founded by Hem Chandradas, also had a newspaper named 'Yugantar'. Bhupendranath Datta was the founder of the newspaper. The members of this organization were accused in the Alipore Conspiracy Case.
Bharat Mata Association
Chidambaram Pillai's main supporters were Vanchinathan Iyer, Subramania Siva and Neelakanta Brahmachari. The Bharat Mata Association was a revolutionary movement started by Neelakanta Brahmachari and Vanchinathan Iyer. Vanchinathan Iyer shot and killed Tirunelveli British Collector in a train, who had sentenced the righteous Chidambaram Pillai. He committed suicide with the same gun without being caught by the police.
Bharat Mata Society
The leaders of this organization, which was established in Punjab, were J.M. Chatterjee, Lala Hardyal, Ajit Singh and Suni Amba Prasad.
Suhrid Samiti
This was a revolutionary party that worked in the area of Mymensingh in Bengal.
Other important organizations
Swadesh Bandhav Samiti of Barisali, Bradi Samiti of Faridpur, Indian Independence League, Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha formed on the initiative of Bhagat Singh, and many other organizations led revolutionary activities from within and outside India during this period. Along with innumerable revolutionaries like Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki, some of the individuals who should be remembered are Shyamji Krishna Varma, Madanlal Dhingra, S. R. Rane, V.V.S. Iyer, Tarakanath and others. Most of these revolutionary movements grew in Bengal and Maharashtra. Many people, known and unknown, have given their lives for these movements.
Home Rule Movement (1916)
The Indian Home Rule Movement was formed in 1916 by the princely states demanding autonomy from British rule. Tilak formed the Home Rule League at the Bombay Provincial Conference held in Belgaum in April 1916. Annie Besant started the Home Rule Movement in September 1916 with its headquarters in Adyar, Madras. Both the leagues had their own areas of activity. The objectives of Home Rule Movement were Self Government for India in British Empire and Work for national education, social and political reforms. Tilak and Annie Besant traveled all over India to spread the demand for Home Rule. Tilak had started an English publication called “Maratha” and a Marathi newspaper called “Kesari” to promote the Home Rule Movement. Annie Besant launched a campaign through her two papers - New India and Common Wheel. Tilak's Home Rule Movement was to work in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Provinces & Berar and Annie Besant's in the rest of India. With the publication of the Montagu-Chelmsford Plan of Administrative Reforms in July 1918, the Home Rule movement began to lose its relevance. Home Rule Movement declined after Besant accepted the proposed Montagu-Chelmsford Reform and Tilak went to Britain. In 1926, Mahatma Gandhi was elected as the All-India President of the Home Rule League. Within the next year, the Home Rule Movement officially merged with the Indian National Congress.
Lucknow Pact (1916)
In the First World War, Britain attacked the Muslim country of Turkey. With this, the Muslim League, which had been loyal to Britain, turned against Britain. They decided to join hands with the Congress. The Congress session held in Lucknow in 1916 was very important. At this conference, the extremists and the moderates decided to work together. The agreement that came into effect at that time was the Lucknow Pact. By this pact, the congress accepted the separate electorates given to the Muslims by the 1909 Act. Lucknow pact was brought about by Tilak and Jinnah. It is also known as the “Congress-League Plan”. It was first time that the congress recognised the Muslim League as the political party representing the Muslims of the region. The pact brought about a change, temporary although, in the attitude of the Muslims towards the "Hindu Congress". Both organisations jointly demanded dominions status for the country. The Lucknow Congress also demanded a further dose of constitutional reforms as a step towards self government.
The main proposals put forward as part of the plan of the Lucknow Pact were,
1. Give self-government to India.
2. Give Indians a majority in the council members. Also give them powers.
3. Ensure Muslim representation in the council.
4. Form separate constituencies, give them priority, and give the members the power to accept or reject laws or decisions.
The Lucknow Pact was submitted to the government in November 1916.
Champaran Satyagraha (1917)
Gandhi's first experiment in India with Satyagraha took place in Champaran, a district in Bihar in 1917. The indigo farmers of Champaran were exploited and oppressed by European plantation owners. The farmers were forced to grow indigo in place of other crops on their land. They were forced to grow indigo on 3/20 of the total land (known as Tinkathia system) and also to sell their products at a very low price. The price fixed by the indigo plantation owners should not satisfied the peasants. In 1917, Gandhiji reached Champaran and made a detailed inquiry into the condition of the farmers. Although the authorities ordered him to leave the district, he did not give in. He continued his investigation in defiance of government orders. Gandhiji worked to ensure that the farmers got security of tenure and freedom to grow the crops of their choice. He started a satyagraha against this 'Tinkathia System'. Then, Gandhiji, who had investigated the grievances of the farmers, was arrested and put on trial in court. Finally, the government appointed a committee of enquiry on which Gandhiji served as a member. The committee accepted most of the demands of the farmers. The committee of enquiry recommended some measures to allieviate the miseries of Indigo cultivators thereby bringing the satyagraha to an end. Thus, Gandhiji was able to succeed in his first experiment of Satyagraha in India.
Ahmedabad Mill Strike
In 1918, Gandhiji led two strikes in his native Gujarat. One in Ahmedabad and the other in Kheda. Ahmedabad Mill Strike is the agitation between textile mill owners and workers in Ahmedabad. Gandhiji intervened in this wage dispute between the mill owners and workers. Abolition of Plague Bonus is the main reason for Ahmedabad Mill Strike. The mill workers in Ahmedabad went on strike, demanding a wage increase. Gandhiji took up the issue. In 1918, he founded the Ahmedabad Textile Union. He began a hunger strike until death, demanding a wage increase for the workers and improvement in their working conditions. Ahmedabad Textile Mill Strike is the Gandhiji's first hunger strike in India. Finally, the mill owners agreed to a compromise. They agreed to a 35 percent increase in the wages of the workers. Thus, Gandhiji was able to succeed in his first hunger strike in India.
Kheda Satyagraha
Gandhiji fought for the peasants in Kheda. Kheda Satyagraha is the Gandhi's first 'no-revenue' campaign. The peasants of Kheda had suffered massive crop failure due to drought. Due to the failure of crops, the peasants of Kheda has expressed their inability to pay the tax revenue. Following this, the farmers demanded a reduction in land tax, but the government refused to grant it. Gandhiji intervened in this issue. He began satyagraha and asked the government to withhold the payment of revenue till their demand for its remission was met. Following the satyagraha, the government accepted the peasants demand. The government acceeded to the demands of the peasants and issued instructions to collect the revenue only for those who could afford to pay it. Eventually, Gandhiji withdrew from the Satyagraha. During the Kheda Satyagraha, many young nationalists such as Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik became Gandhi's followers.
Note: The Satyagraha movements in Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad were the preludes to Gandhiji's entry into the Indian national movement. These movements helped him to understand the problems of the people. All these movements helped him to get close to the masses. His sympathy for the poor won him a great place in the hearts of the people.
To be Continued.
