The Emergence of Nationalism:
Within about a hundred years, the British took control of almost every aspect of life in India.
Many Indians began to feel that the British control had to end to make India the country for Indians.
Early Political Associations:
After 1850, many political associations were formed.
Most of them were formed in the 1870s and 1880s.
Most of these associations were led by English-educated professionals.
Some of the important ones were; the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, the Indian Association, the Madras Mahajan Sabha, the Bombay Presidency Association.
The Indian National Congress was also formed during this period.
The naming conventions of these political associations suggest that they wanted to take issues which affected all the people of India; although many of these associations functioned in specific parts of the country.
Some of the reasons for dissatisfaction with British rule in the 1870s and 1880s are as follows:
The Arms Act was passed in 1878.
This Act disallowed Indians from possessing arms.
The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878.
This Act empowered the government to confiscate the assets of newspapers including their printing presses, if the newspaper published anything “objectionable”.
The government tried to introduce the Ilbert Bill in 1883.
The bill made provisions for trial of British or European persons by Indians.
Thus, the Ilbert Bill sought equality between British and Indian judges in the country.
But the whites opposed the Bill and forced the government to withdraw it.
The Indian National Congress:
The Indian National Congress was established in 1885 at Bombay.
In its first meeting at Bombay, 72 delegates from all over the country were present.
The early leadership was mainly composed of people from Bombay and Calcutta.
Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji, W. C. Bonneryji, Surendranath Banerji, Romesh Chandra Dutt, S. Subramania Iyer, etc. were part of the early leadership of Congress.
A nation in the making:
In its first twenty years, the Congress was “moderate” in its objectives and methods.
During this period, the main demand of Congress was about getting a greater voice for Indians in the government and administration.
Some of the demands made by the Congress during this period are as follows:
The Congress wanted better representation of Indians in the Legislative Councils.
It also wanted introduction of the Legislative Council in those provinces where none existed.
The Congress made a demand for civil service examinations to be held in India also.
The Congress also demanded a separation of judiciary and executive, the repeal of Arms Act and freedom of speech and expression.
Reduction in revenue cut in military expenditure and more funds for irrigation.
The Congress also passed various resolutions on the salt tax, treatment of Indian labourers abroad and the suffering of forest dwellers. These demands show that in spite of being a body of the educated elite, the Congress also talked about the common people.
The Moderate leaders wanted to create public awareness about the unjust nature of British rule.
In order to do so, they published newspapers, wrote articles and tried to show the bad effects of the British rule.
Freedom is our birthright
By the 1890s, many Indians began to question the style of the Congress.
New leaders emerged who began to explore more radical objectives and methods.
Bepin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai were among the radical leaders.
They criticized the Moderates for their “policy of prayers”. They argued that people should not believe on the so called good intentions of the government and must fight for swaraj.
Tilak raised the famous slogan, “Freedom is my birthright and I shall have it”.
Partition of Bengal
Bengal was partitioned in 1905 by Viceroy Curzon.
At that time, Bengal was the largest province of British India.
It included Bihar and parts of Orissa.
Administrative convenience was cited as the reason for the partition of Bengal.
Most of the analysts believe that the partition was done to reduce the influence of Bengali politician and to split the Bengali people.
Effects of Partition of Bengal:
People all over India were angry with the partition of Bengal.
All sections of the Congress opposed it.
Large public meetings and demonstrations were held to protest the decision.
The struggle against the partition of Bengal came to be known as the Swadeshi Movement.
It was strongest in Bengal but was felt in other parts of the country as well.
It was known as the Vandemataram Movement in Andhra.
Main aims of Swadeshi Movement:
Oppose the British rule.
Encourage the ideas of self-help, swadeshi enterprise.
Encourage national education and use of Indian languages.
The radicals advocated mass mobilization and boycott of British institutions and goods. Some leaders also suggested the use of revolutionary violence to overthrow British rule.
Muslim League:
The All India Muslim League was formed at Dacca in 1906; by a group of Muslim landlords and nawabs. The League supported the partition of Bengal.
Some seats in the council were reserved for the Muslims.
The League wanted the representatives for those seats to be elected by Muslim voters.
This demand was willingly conceded by the government in 1909.
Split in Congress:
There was a split in the Congress in 1907.
The Moderates were opposed to the use of any kind of violence.
After the split, the Congress came to be dominated by the Moderates.
However, the two groups reunited in December 1915.
In 1916, the Congress and the Muslim League signed the historic Lucknow Pact.
They decided to work together for representative government in the country.
The Growth of Mass Nationalism
The First World War changed the economic and political situation in India.
There was a sharp price rise which increased the problems of the common people.
The business groups reaped huge profits because the war increased the demand for all kinds of goods.
Reduced imports meant that the new demand was being met by the Indian business houses.
The business groups now began to demand more opportunities for development.
Many people from the villages were forced to serve in the British army during the war.
Exposure to the alien lands helped them in understanding the exploitation being done by the colonial powers in other parts of the world.The Russian Revolution took place in 197.
News about peasants’ and workers’ struggle and ideas of socialism also reached to the nationalists in India.
Advent of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa in 1915.
Because of his movements against racial restrictions in South Africa, he had already become a respected leader.
Mahatma Gandhi first wanted to understand the people, their needs and overall situation in India.
Hence, he spent his first year in India in travelling throughout the country.
His earliest participation in local movements was in Champaran, Kheda and Ahmadabad.
The Rowlatt Satyagraha
The Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919.
The Act curbed the freedom of expression and strengthened police powers.
Gandhiji gave a call for a satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act.
He asked the people to observe 6 April 1919 as the day of non-violent opposition to this Act.
Satyagraha Sabhas were set up to launch the movement.
The Rowlatt Satyagraha became the first all-India struggle against the British government.
However, it was mainly restricted to the cities.
Many demonstrations and hartals took place in the country.
The government used brutal measures to suppress the revolt.
The Jalianwala Bagh massacre was one example of such brutal measures.
Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest of Jalianwala Bagh incident.
Khilafat agitation and the Non-Cooperation Movement
After the First World War, a harsh treaty was imposed on the Turkish Khalifa.
The leaders of the Khilafat Agitation; Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali wanted to associate with the Non-Cooperation Movement.
The Muslims wanted the Khalifa to retain control over Muslim sacred places in the erstwhile Ottoman Empire.
Gandhiji supported the Khilafat Movement.
The Non-Cooperation Movement gained momentum through 1921-22.
Thousands of students left schools and colleges to join the movement.
Many eminent professionals gave up their profession to join the movement.
Bonfires of foreign cloths were burnt.
The boycott of foreign cloths resulted in imports falling drastically between 1920 and 1922.
People’s initiatives
The Non-Cooperation Movement remained non-violent at most of the places.
But some people interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi in their own ways; mostly to suit their local grievances.
The Patidar peasants of Kheda (Gujarat) organized non-violent campaigns against the high land revenue demand.
Liquor shops were picketed in coastal Andhra and interior Tamil Nadu.
The tribals and poor peasants in Guntur district (Andhra Pradesh) staged a number of forest satyagrahas; to protest against the new forest laws.
The Khilafat-Non-Cooperation Movement gave enormous support in Sind and Bengal.
In Punjab, the Akali agitation of the Sikhs demanded to remove the corrupt mahants from gurdwaras.
In Assam, the tea garden labourers demanded a big hike in their wages.
They shouted the slogan, “Gandhi Maharaj ki jai”.
In many folk songs of Assam; Gandhiji was referred to as “Gandhi Raja”.
The happenings of 1922-1929:
Chauri Chauta:
In February 1922, a police station in Chauri Chaura was set on fire by a crowd.
The peasants were retaliating against police firing on peaceful demonstration.
Twenty two policemen were killed in the Chauri Chaura incident.
Saddened by this incident, Mahatma Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement.
After that, Gandhiji’s followers wanted to take on constructive work in the rural areas to increase the base for the Congress.
On the other hand, some leaders wanted to fight elections to the councils.
They wanted to enter the government so that they could influence certain policies.
The Gandhians worked in villages during the mid-1920s and could be able to extend their support base.
This proved very useful during the Civil Disobedience movement.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Communist Party of India were formed during the mid-1920s.
The revolutionary leader Bahgat Singh was also active in this period.
Simon Commission:
The British government decided to send a commission in 1927 to decide on India’s political future.
This was headed by Lord Simon but it had no Indian representative.
Absence of an Indian in the Commission infuriated the political groups in India.
The March to Dandi
The salt law gave a monopoly right to the state on the manufacture and sale of salt.
Mahatma Gandhi and other nationalist leaders argued that salt was an essential item of our food and hence it was wrong to impose a tax on salt.
Moreover, the issue of salt affected all; the rich and poor; alike.
Gandhiji declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law.
Gandhiji and his followers marched from Sabarmati to Dandi to break the salt law.
Gandhiji picked up a handful of salt to symbolically protest the salt tax.
The salt movement attracted supporters from all walks of life; including the peasants, tribals and women.
The government tried to crush the movement by taking brutal actions.
Thousands were sent to jail.
Most of the eminent leaders were arrested.
The Government of India Act of 1935 prescribed provincial autonomy.
Elections to provincial legislatures were held in 1937.
The Congress formed governments in 7 out of 11 provinces.
The Second World War broke out in 1939.
The Congress leaders were critical of Hitler and hence they decided to support the British in the war.
But they wanted independence of India after the war; in return of this gesture.
However, the British did not agree with this demand.
The Congress ministries resigned in protest.
Quit India and Later
Mahatma Gandhi decided to begin a new phase of movement against the British; while the Second World War was going on.
Gandhiji urged the people to “DO OR DIE”.
Gandhiji and several other leaders were arrested.
Nevertheless, the movement spread.
Peasants and youths participated in the movement in large numbers.
Symbols of state authority were attacked all over the country.
Telephone lines were cut off.
People set up their own governments in many areas.
The British responded with severe repression.
By the end of 1943, over 90,000 people were arrested and around 1,000 were killed in police firing.
But the Raj had to finally concede the ground.
Towards Independence and Partition:
Demand for Separate Nation:
In the 1940, the Muslim League moved a resolution to demand “Independent States” for the Muslims in the north-western and eastern areas of the country.
From the late 1930s, the League began to visualize the Muslims as a separate nation from the Hindus.
This notion escalated the tension between some Hindu and Muslim groups in the 1920s and 1930s.
Furthermore, the results of the provincial elections of 1937 apparently convinced the League that Muslims were a minority.
The League feared the Muslims would have play second fiddle in any democratic structure in the future.
The Congress’ rejection to form a joint Congress-League government in the United Provinces in 1937 further annoyed the League.
The Congress somehow failed in mobilizing the Muslims in the 1930s.
This allowed the League to widen its support base.
At the end of the war in 1945, the British facilitated negotiations between the Congress, the League and themselves for the independence of India.
The League persisted with its demand for Pakistan.
Cabinet Mission:
In March 1946, a three-member Cabinet Mission was sent to Delhi to suggest suitable framework for independent India.
The Mission suggested a loose confederation; with some autonomy for Muslim-majority areas.
But the Congress and the Muslim League could not agree to specific details of the proposal.
After the failure of the Cabinet Mission, the Muslim League decided on mass agitation for winning its Pakistan demand.
It announced 16 August 1946 as “Direct Action Day”.
Riots broke out in Calcutta on this day.
The riot lasted for several days in which thousands of people were killed.
The violence spread to different parts of north India; by March 1947.
Finally, partition turned into a reality and two new nations; India and Pakistan were born.
