History — Modern India: 91 UPSC PYQs + 40 Concepts

The Cripps Mission was a British government initiative in late March 1942, led by Sir Stafford Cripps, aimed at securing full Indian cooperation and support for the British efforts in World War II. Its primary objective was to resolve the political deadlock in India by offering post-war constitutional reforms in exchange for immediate Indian backing during the war. For UPSC Prelims, understanding the Cripps Mission is crucial as it represents a significant, albeit failed, attempt by the British to negotiate India's future during a critical phase of the war. Its failure directly preceded the launch of the Quit India Movement in August 1942, highlighted the growing divide between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, and underscored the shifting geopolitical pressures on Britain, particularly from the United States.

All key facts

›The mission was launched in late March 1942 by the British government.
›It was an attempt to secure full Indian cooperation and support for the British war efforts in World War II.
›The mission was headed by Sir Stafford Cripps, a senior minister and a member of the left-wing Labour Party, who was also part of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's coalition War Cabinet.
›Cripps was sent to negotiate with key Indian political leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, as well as Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League.
›The main proposal offered was the promise of elections and full self-government (Dominion status) for India after the war.
›A key provision of the proposals was the right for provinces (or groups of provinces) to opt out of a future Indian union, an offer particularly appealing to the Muslim League.
›The Indian National Congress ultimately rejected the proposals, perceiving that the British were negotiating from a position of weakness due to the war.
›The failure of the Cripps Mission directly preceded the All India Congress Committee's call for the 'Quit India Movement' in August 1942.
›In response to the Quit India call, the British imprisoned Congress leadership for the duration of the war.
›The background to the mission included the resignation of Congress Provincial Governments in September 1939 after Viceroy Linlithgow declared India a belligerent without consultation.
›The severe British military defeats, such as the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942, and the threat of a Japanese invasion of India, increased the urgency for British action.
›Pressure from the United States, particularly from President Franklin Roosevelt, played a significant role in compelling Britain to send the mission, as the US needed India as a logistical hub for aid to Nationalist China.
›The British War Cabinet agreed to despatch the mission by 9 March 1942.
›Sir Stafford Cripps landed in Delhi on 22 March 1942.
›By this time, the British were willing to grant Indian independence at the conclusion of the war, marking a significant shift in their policy.

First World War and Nationalist Response — Home Rule League, Lucknow Pact, Tilak and Besant

›Lucknow Pact: 1916 (Congress + Muslim League; separate electorates accepted)
›Lucknow session presided by: Ambika Charan Majumdar (Moderate)
›Tilak returned to India: June 1914

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The First World War (1914–18) transformed the political landscape of Indian nationalism. While most nationalists supported the British war effort (expecting political concessions), the war also created the conditions for a new aggressive nationalism — the Home Rule League movement under Tilak and Besant, and the reunification of Congress through the Lucknow Pact (1916). The nationalist response was three-fold: Moderates supported the empire, Extremists supported war efforts expecting self-government, and revolutionaries utilized the opportunity to wage war on British rule. --- ### Indian Support for WWI - Most Congress leaders (including Tilak and Gandhi) offered support to the British war effort, expecting constitutional concessions in return. - Gandhi actively recruited for the British Indian Army. - India contributed: over 1 million soldiers; significant financial contribution. - War exposed the economic exploitation of India — loans and supplies extracted; Indian industries hit by wartime disruption. - The number of white soldiers in India went down to only 15,000 at one point during the war, raising possibilities for revolutionaries. --- ### Lucknow Pact (1916) **Background:** The Congress had split at Surat (1907); the two factions — Moderates and Extremists — were reunited at Lucknow (1916) when Tilak was allowed back. This was a major development. - The reunion was facilitated by factors such as old controversies becoming meaningless, both factions realizing the split led to political inactivity, vigorous efforts by Annie Besant and Tilak, Tilak's conciliatory gestures (supporting administrative reform, not overthrow, and denouncing violence), and the death of Pherozeshah Mehta, who had led the Moderate opposition. - The Lucknow session was presided over by a Moderate, Ambika Charan Majumdar. **Congress-Muslim League Pact:** - At Lucknow (1916): Congress and Muslim League signed a joint pact — historic moment of Hindu-Muslim political cooperation. - This happened as the Muslim League, now dominated by younger militant nationalists, was becoming anti-imperialist and closer to Congress objectives. - The shift in the League's attitude was due to Britain's refusal to help Turkey in its wars, the annulment of the partition of Bengal in 1911, the British government's refusal to set up a university at Aligarh with affiliating powers, younger League members turning to bolder nationalist politics (with a goal of self-government similar to Congress), and government repression during WWI (e.g., suppression of Maulana Azad's *Al Hilal* and Mohammad Ali's *Comrade*, internment of leaders like Ali brothers, Maulana Azad, and Hasrat Mohani). - Key terms: - Congress accepted the principle of **separate electorates for Muslims** (reverting somewhat from its earlier opposition), which would continue until any one community demanded joint electorates. - Agreed on proportional representation for Muslims in provincial councils. - Agreed on one-third representation for Muslims in the Imperial Legislative Council. - Muslims agreed to joint Congress-League demands for Indian self-government. - Joint demands included: government declaring self-government at an early date; expanded representative assemblies with elected majority and more powers; legislative council term of five years; Secretary of State's salary paid by British treasury; half members of viceroy's and provincial governors' executive councils to be Indians. - Architects: Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Congress), Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Muslim League — he was still in the Congress-friendly wing of ML). - Congress-ML unity gave the nationalist movement new momentum. **Significance:** - Showed cooperation between the two major organisations. - But the principle of separate communal electorates was now endorsed by Congress — a decision later regretted. - Critically, the executive as a whole was not to be responsible to the legislature, and the legislature could not remove the elected half of the executive, potentially leading to constitutional deadlock. The Lucknow Pact demands were seen as an expanded version of the Morley-Minto reforms. - The acceptance of separate electorates by the Congress was a major landmark in the evolution of the two-nation theory by the Muslim League. - While leaders united, efforts to bring together the masses from both communities were not widely considered. --- ### Home Rule League Movement (1916) Two Home Rule Leagues emerged simultaneously: - Prominent leaders who got together to advocate for a national alliance for self-government included Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, G.S. Khaparde, Sir S. Subramania Iyer, Joseph Baptista, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. - Factors leading to the movement included: a section of nationalists feeling popular pressure was needed for concessions, Moderates being disillusioned with the Morley-Minto reforms, public distress from wartime miseries (high taxation, price rise), the war exposing the myth of white superiority, Tilak's readiness to lead after his release in June 1914, and Annie Besant's decision to build a home rule movement. **Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Home Rule League:** - Founded: **April 1916**, Belgaum (later moved to Poona, which was its headquarters). - Demanded self-government for India within the British Empire. - Initial membership: Maharashtra (excluding Bombay), Central Provinces, Berar, Karnataka. It had six branches. - Demands included swarajya, formation of linguistic states, and education in the vernacular. - Active methods: political education, pamphlets, lectures, study circles. - Used mass communication including magic lanterns (slide shows). **Annie Besant's Home Rule League:** - Founded: **September 1916**, Madras (now Chennai). - Demanded self-government (Home Rule) for India. - Covered rest of India including Bombay city. It had 200 branches and was loosely organised. - George Arundale served as the organising secretary, with main work also done by B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar. - Besant had launched her campaign for self-government earlier, by early 1915, through her newspapers *New India* and *Commonweal*. - Besant was interned by the British in June 1917, along with her associates B.P. Wadia and George Arundale — made her a hero; her cause attracted thousands of new members. - Released September 1917 under public pressure. - Became Congress president in 1917 (first woman president of Congress). - Newspaper: *New India* and *Commonweal*. **Home Rule League Programme & Reach:** - The League campaign aimed to convey the message of home rule as self-government to the common man, appealing to hitherto "politically backward" regions like Gujarat and Sindh. - Methods included promoting political education through public meetings, establishing libraries and reading rooms, holding conferences, organizing classes for students, propaganda via newspapers, pamphlets, posters, illustrated post-cards, plays, and religious songs, collecting funds, organizing social work, and participating in local government activities. - The Russian Revolution of 1917 proved to be an added advantage for the campaign. - The agitation was later joined by leaders such as Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, K.M. Munshi, B. Chakravarti, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (who led the Bombay division of Besant's league), Tej Bahadur Sapru, and Lala Lajpat Rai. Many Moderate Congressmen and some members of Gokhale's Servants of India Society also joined. - Anglo-Indians, most Muslims, and non-Brahmins from the South generally did not join, fearing Home Rule would mean Hindu majority rule, especially by high castes. **Government Attitude:** - The government responded with severe repression, particularly in Madras where students were prohibited from attending political meetings. - Tilak was barred from entering Punjab and Delhi. His case was instituted but rescinded by the high c

All key facts

›Lucknow Pact: 1916 (Congress + Muslim League; separate electorates accepted)
›Lucknow session presided by: Ambika Charan Majumdar (Moderate)
›Tilak returned to India: June 1914
›Tilak's Home Rule League: April 1916, Belgaum; headquarters Poona; demanded swarajya, linguistic states, vernacular education.
›Besant's Home Rule League: September 1916, Madras; George Arundale as organising secretary; B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar also key workers.
›Annie Besant interned: June 1917; first woman Congress president: 1917
›Montagu's August Declaration: August 20, 1917 (responsible government promised)
›Tilak died: August 1, 1920
›Tilak's famous quote: "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it"
›Tilak went abroad in September 1918 for libel case against Valentine Chirol (*Indian Unrest*).
›Ghadar Party: 1913, San Francisco (attempted WWI revolution in India); revolutionary activities also by Berlin Committee and Singapore mutiny.
›Kartar Singh Sarabha: hanged (age 19, Ghadar)
›Gandhi became president of All India Home Rule League in 1920, renamed it Swarajya Sabha.

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamblenationalism and minorities

Peasant and Tribal Movements (1857–1947)

›Indigo Revolt: 1859–60 (Bengal); Neel Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra; Indigo Commission 1860
›Deccan Riots: 1875 (Poona + Ahmednagar); attacked moneylenders' records; Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act 1879
›Bengal Tenancy Act: 1885 (after Pabna riots)

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Post-1857, peasants and tribal communities mounted persistent resistance against colonial exploitation — zamindars, moneylenders, indigo planters, and the colonial state. These movements had their own internal logic and should not be reduced to proto-nationalist politics. By the 1920s–30s, Gandhi and the Congress integrated peasant grievances into the broader nationalist movement. --- ### Major Peasant Movements **Indigo (Neel) Revolt (1859–60, Bengal):** - Ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo under the tinkathia/nij cultivation system (forced to grow on 3/20 of land at below-market prices). - Non-violent strikes; ryots refused to sow indigo; supported by Indian intelligentsia and press. - Dinabandhu Mitra's play **Neel Darpan** (1860) dramatised the oppression. - Indigo Commission (1860) recommended that ryots could not be forced to grow indigo. - One of the first successful agrarian movements under colonialism. **Pabna Agrarian League / Agrarian Riots (1873–76, Bengal):** - Peasants in Pabna (eastern Bengal) organised to resist illegal exactions by zamindars and to assert their right to occupancy tenure. - Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and other Bengali intellectuals sympathised. - Led to Bengal Tenancy Act 1885 — gave some occupancy rights to ryots. **Deccan Riots (1875, Maharashtra):** - Peasants in Poona and Ahmednagar districts attacked moneylenders. - Targeted records of debt (burning account books and bonds). - Triggered by: transfer of land from peasants to moneylenders through the courts; high indebtedness post-famine. - Led to Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act 1879. **Moplah Uprisings (1836–1921, Malabar):** - Muslim peasant community (Mappilas) with mostly Hindu landlords (janmis) and British planters. - Multiple uprisings pre-1921; mostly economic in nature. - Between 1836 and 1854, twenty-two rebellions occurred due to hike in revenue demand, reduction of field size, and official oppression; none of these early uprisings were successful. - **Moplah Rebellion of 1921:** Started as part of Khilafat-NCM agitation but turned violent and communal. Estimated thousands killed (on both sides); communal violence damaged Hindu-Muslim unity achieved in NCM. This 1921 uprising is considered a 'second' major uprising, distinct from the earlier series, and occurred after the Moplahs were organised by Congress and Khilafat supporters during the Non-Cooperation Movement. **Wahabi Movement (Early 19th Century – 1890s):** - Essentially an Islamic revivalist movement founded by Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly, inspired by Abdul Wahab (1703–87) of Saudi Arabia and Shah Waliullah of Delhi. - Condemned Western influence on Islam and advocated a return to pure Islam and society as it was in the Prophet’s time. - Established a countrywide organisation with an elaborate secret code for its working under spiritual vice-regents (Khalifas); Sithana in the north-western tribal belt was chosen as a base for operations, while Patna was an important centre in India. - Initially declared a jihad against the Sikh kingdom of Punjab. - After Punjab's incorporation into the British dominion in 1849, the English dominion in India became the sole target of the Wahabis’ attacks. - Played an important role in spreading anti-British sentiments; weakened by a series of British military operations in the 1860s on the Wahabi base in Sithana and various court cases of sedition, although sporadic encounters with the authorities continued into the 1880s and 1890s. **Kuka Movement (1840 – 1872):** - Founded in 1840 by Bhagat Jawahar Mal (also called Sian Saheb) in western Punjab; a major leader of the movement after him was Baba Ram Singh, who founded the Namdhari Sikh sect. - After the British took Punjab, the movement transformed from a religious purification campaign to a political campaign. - Its basic social tenets included: abolition of caste and similar discriminations among Sikhs, discouraging the consumption of meat, alcohol, and drugs, permission for intermarriages, widow remarriage, and encouraging women to step out of seclusion. - Politically, the Kukas aimed to remove the British and restore Sikh rule over Punjab; they advocated wearing hand-woven clothes and boycott of English laws, education, and products, thus propagating concepts of Swadeshi and non-cooperation much before they became part of the Indian national movement in the early 20th century. - The British took several steps to crush the movement between 1863 and 1872; in 1872, Ram Singh was deported to Rangoon. **Champaran Satyagraha (1917, Bihar):** - Against the tinkathia system (indigo cultivation on 3/20 of land). - Gandhi's first satyagraha in India. - Led to Champaran Agrarian Act 1917 — tinkathia system abolished. **Kheda Satyagraha (1918, Gujarat):** - Against revenue collection in a drought year (crops had failed). - Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel led; government officials instructed to stop collecting revenue from poor peasants. - Partial success. **Bardoli Satyagraha (1928, Gujarat):** - Against a 30% increase in land revenue. - Led by Vallabhbhai Patel; complete success — government rolled back the increase. - Patel given the title "Sardar" (leader) by women of Bardoli. **Eka Movement (1921–22, UP):** - Peasants in Hardoi, Bahraich, Sitapur districts of UP. - Primarily Hindu peasants; demanded: pay only the recorded rent (no illegal dues), no forced labour (begar), support to evicted tenants. - Led by Madari Pasi; fizzled out under repression. **Mappila/Moplah Rebellion (1921):** See above. **Tebhaga Movement (1946–47, Bengal):** - Sharecroppers (bargadars) demanded 2/3 share of the harvest (tebhaga = "three shares"). - Led by Kisan Sabha (Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha). - Women actively participated. - Supported by Communist Party of India. **Telangana Uprising (1946–51):** - Against Nizam of Hyderabad and feudal landlords (deshmukhs, deshpandes). - Led by Communist Party of India. - Peasants took land from landlords; established village committees. - Suppressed after Police Action (1948); continued till 1951. --- ### All India Kisan Sabha - Founded **April 1936** in Lucknow — first all-India peasant organisation. - Founded by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati (president), N.G. Ranga (general secretary). - Demands: abolition of zamindari; land to the tiller; reduction of rent and revenue. - Later affiliated with Communist Party of India (controversy with Congress). --- ### Tribal Movements (Post-1857) **Munda Rebellion / Ulgulan (1899–1900):** - **Birsa Munda** (c.1875–1900) led the Mundas of Chota Nagpur against: - Loss of forests and land to outsiders (dikus). - Forced labour (begar). - Christian missionary influence. - Proclaimed himself a divine messenger; movement had religious-political character. - Birsa Munda arrested; died in jail (1900). - **Significance:** Led to **Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act 1908** — recognised tribal community rights in land; restricted land alienation to non-tribals. **Rampa Rebellion (1879–80, Andhra/Godavari district):** - Koya tribals under Alluri Sitarama Raju (later, 1922–24). - **Alluri Sitarama Raju (1922–24):** Armed revolt against forest restrictions under GoI Act 1882; inspired by NCM but used violent methods; killed in 1924. **Tana Bhagat Movement (Bihar, 1914–20):** - Oraons in Chota Nagpur; Jatra Oraon was the leader. - Combined agrarian demands with religious revivalism. - Demanded end to begar; lower rents; forest rights. **Ramosi Uprising (Maharashtra):** - Ramosi community (hill people) under Vasudev Balwant Phadke (1879). - First armed revolt against British in Maharashtra. --- ### Working Class Movements **Background:** - Industrialisation concentrated in few sectors: textiles (Bombay, Ahmedabad, Nagpur), jute (Bengal), coal mines, railways. - Conditions: extremely long hours; no safety measures; abysmal wages; child and women labour. - First demand for factory regulation came from Lancashire textile capitalists (not welfare motivatio

All key facts

›Indigo Revolt: 1859–60 (Bengal); Neel Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra; Indigo Commission 1860
›Deccan Riots: 1875 (Poona + Ahmednagar); attacked moneylenders' records; Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act 1879
›Bengal Tenancy Act: 1885 (after Pabna riots)
›Moplah Uprisings (pre-1857 phase): 22 rebellions between 1836-1854 due to revenue hike, field size reduction, official oppression; none successful.
›Wahabi Movement: Islamic revivalist, Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly, active against British post-1849, continued into 1880s-1890s.
›Kuka Movement: Founded 1840 by Bhagat Jawahar Mal, Baba Ram Singh (Namdhari Sikh sect), political campaign post-1849, suppressed 1863-1872, Ram Singh deported 1872.
›Champaran Satyagraha: 1917 (Gandhi's first in India; tinkathia abolished)
›Kheda Satyagraha: 1918 (crop failure; Gandhi + Patel)
›Bardoli Satyagraha: 1928 (Vallabhbhai Patel; "Sardar" title)
›All India Kisan Sabha: April 1936 (Lucknow; Swami Sahajanand Saraswati + N.G. Ranga)
›Birsa Munda: Ulgulan 1899–1900; died jail 1900; Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act 1908
›AITUC founded: October 31, 1920; Lala Lajpat Rai = first president; N.M. Joshi = first general secretary

fundamental rights constitutional statusnature of rightsrights and responsibilities

India on the Eve of British Conquest — Mughal Decline, Successor States, and Marathas

›Aurangzeb's reign (1658–1707) marked the beginning of Mughal decline
›Nadir Shah's invasion (1738–39): looted Delhi, took Peacock Throne and Kohinoor; Battle of Karnal (Feb 13, 1739)
›Ahmad Shah Abdali's Third Battle of Panipat (1761): defeated Marathas

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The first half of the 18th century witnessed the disintegration of the Mughal Empire — once the envy of its contemporaries — creating a power vacuum that the East India Company exploited to establish British paramountcy. The reign of Aurangzeb (1658–1707) is generally identified as the beginning of the end. His death set off wars of succession and produced weak rulers, allowing regional powers to assert independence. **Weak Mughal Rulers After Aurangzeb:** - Bahadur Shah I (1707–12): Adopted a pacific policy with Marathas, Rajputs, and Jats; released Maratha prince Shahu; fought Guru Gobind Singh's successor Banda Bahadur in Punjab. Called 'Shah-i-Bekhabar' by Khafi Khan. - Jahandar Shah (1712–13): Helped by Zulfikar Khan (PM); introduced izara system; abolished Jaziya. - Farrukhsiyar (1713–19): Supported by Sayyid brothers (Abdullah Khan + Hussain Ali, the "King Makers"); abolished Jaziya and pilgrimage tax; gave farman to British in 1717. - Muhammad Shah (1719–48): Ruled for 29 years but was incompetent; witnessed establishment of independent Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh, Punjab. Nadir Shah sacked Delhi during his reign. **External Shocks:** - Nadir Shah (Persian Emperor) invaded 1738–39: Captured Lahore, defeated Mughal army at Battle of Karnal (Feb 13, 1739); looted Delhi; took Peacock Throne and Kohinoor diamond; exacted about 70 crore rupees; gained all Mughal territory west of Indus including Kabul. Jon Wilson (India Conquered) calls these "fifty-seven days" the true foundation for EIC's conquest. - Ahmad Shah Abdali (Ahmad Shah Durrani): Invaded multiple times 1748–1767. Captured Delhi in 1757. Third Battle of Panipat (1761): decisively defeated the Marathas, ending Maratha bid for pan-Indian supremacy. Last invasion: 1767. **The Three Battles of Panipat (Strategic Location):** - First (1526): Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi — ended Delhi Sultanate, founded Mughal Empire. - Second (1556): Akbar vs Hemu — continued Mughal rule. - Third (1761): Marathas vs Ahmad Shah Abdali — ended Maratha ambition of ruling India. Panipat's strategic value: flat terrain for cavalry, proximity to Delhi, on the Grand Trunk Road (built by Sher Shah Suri 1540–45), short monsoon season. **The Successor States:** - Hyderabad: Founded by Chin Qilich Khan (Nizam-ul-Mulk) who was formally appointed Viceroy of Deccan by Farrukhsiyar in 1713; declared virtual independence in 1724. He started the policy of non-interference in Mughal court politics and focused on his region. - Bengal: Murshid Quli Khan established effective independence, followed by Shuja-ud-Din and Alivardi Khan. Siraj-ud-Daula was the last independent Nawab (defeated at Battle of Plassey, 1757). - Awadh: Sa'adat Khan (Burhan-ul-Mulk) founded the dynasty in 1722 under Saadat Ali Khan's descendants. - Punjab: Sikh misls consolidated power after Mughal collapse; Ranjit Singh unified them into the Sikh Kingdom (1799). - Mysore: Haidar Ali rose to power in the 1760s, succeeded by Tipu Sultan. - Marathas: After Shivaji's death, the Peshwas (hereditary ministers) became the real power; Maratha Confederacy under various chiefs (Scindia, Holkar, Bhonsle, Gaekwad, Peshwa). - Rajput states: Various kingdoms asserting autonomy; often internal rivalry. - Jats: Suraj Mal founded Bharatpur state, captured Agra Fort. - Rohilkhand: Rohilla Afghans established control in Rohilkhand.

All key facts

›Aurangzeb's reign (1658–1707) marked the beginning of Mughal decline
›Nadir Shah's invasion (1738–39): looted Delhi, took Peacock Throne and Kohinoor; Battle of Karnal (Feb 13, 1739)
›Ahmad Shah Abdali's Third Battle of Panipat (1761): defeated Marathas
›Farrukhsiyar gave farman to British East India Company in 1717
›Jahandar Shah abolished Jaziya; Farrukhsiyar also abolished Jaziya and pilgrimage tax
›'Shah-i-Bekhabar' was the title given to Bahadur Shah I by Khafi Khan
›Sayyid brothers (Abdullah Khan + Hussain Ali) were "King Makers" under Farrukhsiyar
›Muhammad Shah's 29-year reign (1719–48) saw emergence of Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh, Punjab as independent states
›Grand Trunk Road built by Sher Shah Suri (1540–45) — made Panipat strategically accessible

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Economic Impact of British Rule — Deindustrialisation, Drain Theory, Land Revenue, Railways

›India's world economy share: ~23% in 18th century → ~3% at independence
›Tariff on Indian textiles in Britain: ~80% (post-1813)
›Charter Act 1813: ended Company monopoly; one-way free trade began

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The British transformed India from a relatively prosperous economy (approximately 23% of world economy in the 18th century) into a poor colonial appendage (about 3% of world economy at independence). British economic policies caused deindustrialisation, destroyed traditional handicrafts, impoverished peasants, and created a structural colonial economy that served British interests. --- ### Deindustrialisation — Ruin of Artisans and Handicraftsmen **One-Way Free Trade:** - Charter Act of 1813: allowed one-way free trade for British citizens into India. - Tariffs of nearly **80%** imposed on Indian textiles in Britain → Indian cloth could no longer compete. - After 1820: European markets virtually closed to Indian exports. - Cheap British machine-made cloth flooded Indian market. - Railway network extended reach of European products to remotest corners. - India shifted from being a **net exporter** to a **net importer**. - Karl Marx (1853): "It was the British intruder who broke up the Indian handloom and destroyed the spinning-wheel." - William Bentinck: "The misery hardly finds a parallel in the history of commerce; the bones of cotton weavers are bleaching the plains of north India." **No Industrialisation:** - Loss of traditional livelihoods was NOT accompanied by industrial employment — unlike in Britain. - Artisans lost patronage from princes/nobility (now under Western influence). - Many artisans migrated to villages, took to agriculture → increased pressure on land. - D.H. Buchanan: "The armour of the isolated self-sufficient village was pierced by the steel rail, and its life blood ebbed away." **Ruralisation:** - Cities declined; artisans forced back into agriculture. - Agriculture overburdened; village economic set-up upset. --- ### Impoverishment of Peasantry **Land Revenue Systems:** - **Permanent Settlement (Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, 1793):** Zamindars = permanent owners; revenue fixed; but peasants were tenants-at-will — insecure, could be evicted. - Transferability of land caused insecurity; zamindars demanded illegal dues, resorted to summary evictions. - Moneylenders (often grain merchants) forced farmers to sell produce at low prices. - Peasant bore triple burden: government (revenue) + zamindar + moneylender. **Disruption of Rural Economy:** - Commercialisation of agriculture forced shift from food crops to cash crops (cotton, jute, tea, indigo) — reduced food security. - Famines: 1876–78, 1896–97, 1899–1900 — killed tens of millions; government concerned more with revenue than famine relief. --- ### Drain of Wealth **Drain Theory (Dadabhai Naoroji):** - Naoroji first systematically articulated the "drain theory" in his book *Poverty and Un-British Rule in India* (1901). - India's wealth was being drained to Britain through: - Home charges (salaries, pensions, interest on debt paid to British officials and bondholders from Indian revenues). - Profits remitted by British businesses in India. - Surplus earnings of the British Indian government transferred to Britain. - Naoroji estimated the drain at about £30 million per year in the 1870s. - R.C. Dutt's *Economic History of India* — complementary analysis. **Home Charges:** - India was charged for: Secretary of State's office expenses, cost of wars fought outside India in British interests, dividends on guaranteed railway loans, interest on public debt. - "India is paying for its own conquest" — nationalist argument. --- ### Railways and Their Dual Impact **British Motives for Railways:** - Administrative control (troop movements). - Commercial exploitation (link raw material areas to ports; British goods to interior). - Profitable investment for British capital (guaranteed 5% return on capital — paid by Indian taxpayers even when railways ran at a loss). **Economic Impact:** - Destroyed village self-sufficiency; integrated markets (both positive and negative). - Enabled cheap British imports to reach remote areas. - Led to export of raw materials from interior to ports for British industry. - Did eventually lay foundation for some industrialisation (iron, steel, coal) — a positive legacy. --- ### Survey of British Policies (Post-1857) **Divide and Rule:** - After 1870: Used Muslim educated classes against rising nationalism. - Pitted province against province; caste against caste; Hindus against Muslims. - Created split along religious lines using conflicts over jobs, education, and later political spoils. **Hostility Towards Educated Indians:** - From 1885 (founding of Congress): British adopted hostile attitude toward nationalist middle-class leadership. - Opposed modern education for Indians. **Attitude Towards Zamindars:** - Post-1857: Restored Awadh taluqdars' lands; made zamindars pillars of British rule. - Protected zamindars' privileges against peasants — zamindars became firm supporters of British rule. **Labour Legislation:** - First demand for factory regulation came from Lancashire textile capitalists — feared Indian competition! - Factory Act 1881: regulated child labour; limited working hours for children. - Factory Act 1891: weekly rest day for all workers. - Plantation labour regulated: Workmen's Breach of Contract Act (made leaving a plantation a criminal offense). **Underdeveloped Social Services:** - Disproportionately large expenditure on army and civil administration. - Education and health remained neglected — legacy still apparent in post-independence India. --- ### Development of Press and Education **Press:** - Colonial rulers repeatedly imposed press restrictions (Licensing Regulations 1823, Vernacular Press Act 1878, Newspaper Act 1908, Press Act 1910). - Vernacular Press Act 1878 (Lord Lytton): specifically targeted Indian-language press; repealed 1882 (Lord Ripon). - Nationalist press played crucial role in mobilising public opinion. **Education (Macaulay's Minute, 1835):** - Thomas Babington Macaulay's Minute (1835) argued for Western education in English. - Goal: create "a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, opinions, in morals, and in intellect." - Charter Act 1813 had earmarked 1 lakh rupees for "revival and promotion of literature." - Charles Wood's Despatch (1854): Education Despatch — recommended vernacular primary education, English secondary education, universities in each presidency; government grants-in-aid. - Universities Act 1904 (Curzon): increased government control over universities.

All key facts

›India's world economy share: ~23% in 18th century → ~3% at independence
›Tariff on Indian textiles in Britain: ~80% (post-1813)
›Charter Act 1813: ended Company monopoly; one-way free trade began
›Karl Marx quote (1853): "British intruder broke up Indian handloom"
›William Bentinck: "bones of cotton weavers bleaching the plains of north India"
›Naoroji's *Poverty and Un-British Rule in India*: 1901; drain theory
›R.C. Dutt: *Economic History of India*
›Railways guaranteed 5% return on capital — paid by Indian taxpayers even when railways ran at loss
›Factory Act 1881: first factory legislation (regulated child labour)
›Vernacular Press Act 1878: Lord Lytton; repealed 1882 by Lord Ripon
›Macaulay's Minute: 1835 (Western English education)
›Wood's Despatch: 1854 (education policy — universities in each presidency)
›Universities Act 1904: Curzon; increased government control
›Moneylenders and traders often emerged as new landlords, leading to a scourge of landless peasantry and rural indebtedness.

apmc agricultural marketinggm crops and agriculture policygreen revolution and food securitymsp and agricultural pricingpm kisan and income supportrural development credit diversification

Expansion and Consolidation of British Power — Battles, Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse

›Battle of Plassey: 1757 — Robert Clive vs Siraj-ud-Daula (Mir Jafar's conspiracy)
›Battle of Buxar: 1764 — defeated Mir Qasim + Shuja-ud-Daula + Shah Alam II
›Treaty of Allahabad: 1765 — Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa granted to EIC

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The British conquest of India was neither purely accidental nor entirely premeditated — it evolved from commercial interests to deliberate imperial expansion over approximately a century (mid-18th to mid-19th century). The East India Company used superior arms, military discipline, diplomacy, and specific political tools — notably the Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse — to extend control over virtually the entire subcontinent. **Causes of British Success:** 1. **Superior Arms and Strategy:** Better firearms (muskets, cannons) with greater speed and range; Indian rulers who copied these lacked originality and could not match British officers. 2. **Military Discipline and Regular Salary:** EIC ensured officer loyalty through regular salaries and strict discipline; Indian rulers often had irregular payment and mercenary forces. 3. **Civil Discipline and Fair Selection:** Company officers promoted on merit, not hereditary/caste ties. Indian rulers often appointed on caste/personal connections. 4. **Brilliant Leadership:** Clive, Warren Hastings, Elphinstone, Munro, Dalhousie, with strong second-line leaders (Sir Eyre Coote, Lord Lake, Arthur Wellesley). Indian leaders lacked cohesive second-line command and often fought each other. 5. **Strong Financial Backup:** EIC had access to European capital and profits from world trade; Indian rulers faced revenue problems. 6. **Nationalism vs. Sectional Consciousness:** The British fought for a unified cause; Indian rulers had no consciousness of a united 'India' and frequently supported British against neighbouring rulers. **Key Battles and Events:** *Bengal:* - Battle of Plassey (1757): Robert Clive defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula through conspiracy with Mir Jafar. This gave British effective control over Bengal — the richest province. - Battle of Buxar (1764): British defeated combined forces of Mir Qasim (Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daula (Awadh), and Shah Alam II (Mughal Emperor). Treaty of Allahabad (1765): Shah Alam II granted Diwani (revenue rights) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa to EIC. *Mysore Wars (1767–1799):* - First Mysore War (1767–69): Haidar Ali forced the British to sign Treaty of Madras. - Second Mysore War (1780–84): Haidar Ali died (1782); Tipu Sultan continued; inconclusive Treaty of Mangalore (1784). - Third Mysore War (1790–92): Tipu lost; Treaty of Seringapatam; surrendered half his territories and two sons as hostages. - Fourth Mysore War (1799): Tipu Sultan killed at Seringapatam under Lord Wellesley. Mysore restored to old Hindu dynasty (Wadiyars) under British supervision. *Anglo-Maratha Wars:* - First (1775–82): Treaty of Salbai (1782) — status quo restored; British gained Salsette. - Second (1803–05): Wellesley used Subsidiary Alliance; won battles at Assaye (September 23, 1803) and Laswari; British acquired large Maratha territories. - Third (1817–19): Pindari War merged; British finally crushed the Marathas; Peshwaship abolished; new Maratha states became British-controlled. *Anglo-Sikh Wars:* - First (1845–46): Treaty of Lahore — Sikhs lost; Dalip Singh became raja under British supervision. - Second (1848–49): Punjab annexed outright under Lord Dalhousie. **The Subsidiary Alliance (Lord Wellesley, 1798–1805):** Under this policy: - The Indian ruler had to maintain a British army within his territory and pay for its upkeep. - The ruler had to dismiss all non-British Europeans from his service. - The ruler could not enter into alliances with other rulers or go to war without British permission. - The British Resident was stationed at the ruler's court. - In return, the British promised to protect the ruler from external aggression and internal uprising. Effect: The ruler lost sovereignty, became a British vassal; British treasury was financed by the subsidiary. First applied to Hyderabad (1798), then Mysore, Awadh, etc. **The Doctrine of Lapse (Lord Dalhousie, 1848–1856):** - If a ruler of a princely state under British paramountcy died without a natural male heir, the state would lapse (be annexed) to British India. - Adoption of a son was not recognised for succession purposes. - States annexed: Satara (1848), Jaitpur, Sambhalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854). - Awadh was annexed in 1856 on grounds of "misgovernance" — not technically Doctrine of Lapse but part of Dalhousie's aggressive annexation policy. This policy was deeply resented and was a major political cause of the 1857 Revolt. **Regulating Policies:** - Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) and reformed the civil services (Cornwallis Code), barring Indians from higher services. - Lord Wellesley (1798–1805): aggressively used Subsidiary Alliance. - Lord Hastings (1813–23): treated India as conquered territory; completed subjugation of the Marathas and Pindaris. - Lord Dalhousie (1848–56): annexed Punjab (1849), Lower Burma (1852), applied Doctrine of Lapse; introduced railways, telegraph, uniform postage.

All key facts

›Battle of Plassey: 1757 — Robert Clive vs Siraj-ud-Daula (Mir Jafar's conspiracy)
›Battle of Buxar: 1764 — defeated Mir Qasim + Shuja-ud-Daula + Shah Alam II
›Treaty of Allahabad: 1765 — Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa granted to EIC
›Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Wellesley; first applied to Hyderabad (1798)
›Doctrine of Lapse: Dalhousie (1848–56); Satara first (1848), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854)
›Awadh annexed 1856 — on grounds of misgovernance, not Doctrine of Lapse
›Fourth Mysore War (1799): Tipu Sultan killed; Mysore restored to Wadiyars
›Second Anglo-Maratha War: Battle of Assaye (Sept 23, 1803)
›Punjab annexed: 1849 after Second Anglo-Sikh War
›John Seeley: British conquest was "accidental" and in "a fit of absent-mindedness" (disputed view)
›B.L. Grover: "From 1798 to 1818 the British motives were consciously imperialistic."

cooperative societiesforeign policynational commission review constitutionnational integrationofficial languagepublic services

Socialist Perspective within Congress (1930s)

›The leftist trend, represented by Nehru, was critical of both constructive work and council entry following the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement. (p. 421)
›Jawaharlal Nehru stated, "The basic goal before Indian people as before people of the world is abolition of capitalism and establishment of socialism.” (p. 421)
›Nehru viewed the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement and council entry as a "spiritual defeat" and "a surrender of ideals". (p. 421)

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Following the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement, a strong leftist trend emerged within the Congress, represented by figures like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Bose, and other Congress socialists and communists. This faction was critical of both Gandhian constructive work and the proposal for council entry, arguing these strategies would sidetrack political mass action and divert attention from the primary anti-colonial struggle. They viewed a turn towards constitutionalism as a "retreat from revolutionary to reformist mentality." This group advocated for the resumption and continuation of non-constitutionalist mass struggle, believing the ongoing economic crisis kept the masses prepared for it. Nehru articulated the "basic goal" as the "abolition of capitalism and establishment of socialism." The strategy involved incorporating the economic and class demands of peasants and workers into the nationalist agenda, organizing them into kisan sabhas and trade unions, and affiliating these bodies with the Congress to influence its policies. They believed a genuine anti-imperialist struggle was impossible without incorporating the class struggle of the masses.

All key facts

›The leftist trend, represented by Nehru, was critical of both constructive work and council entry following the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement. (p. 421)
›Jawaharlal Nehru stated, "The basic goal before Indian people as before people of the world is abolition of capitalism and establishment of socialism.” (p. 421)
›Nehru viewed the withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement and council entry as a "spiritual defeat" and "a surrender of ideals". (p. 421)
›The socialist strategy proposed organizing masses in their class organisations—kisan sabhas and trade unions—and allowing them to affiliate with the Congress. (p. 421)
›Nehru criticised the Struggle-Truce-Struggle (S-T-S) strategy, advocating instead for a "continuous direct action" policy, termed a Struggle-Victory (S-V) strategy. (p. 422)
›In the debate over the 1935 Act, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Bose, and Congress socialists and communists opposed office acceptance. (p. 427)
›As a counter-strategy to the 1935 Act, the leftists proposed entering councils with the aim of creating deadlocks to make the act's functioning impossible. (p. 427)
›Despite ideological differences, socialists led by Nehru decided it was better to "gradually radicalise the Congress" from within than to get isolated from the masses. (p. 423)

Government of India Act 1935Debate on Council Entry (1934 37)

Independence with Partition — Mountbatten Plan, Transfer of Power, and Partition Violence

›Attlee's Statement: February 20, 1947; deadline June 30, 1948 for transfer of power
›Mountbatten replaced Wavell as Viceroy
›Mountbatten Plan: June 3, 1947

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India's independence came on August 15, 1947, but at the cost of partition. The Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947) formalised the division into India and Pakistan. The decision involved a complex interplay of British policy, Muslim League intransigence, Congress pragmatism, and communal violence. --- ### Attlee's Statement (February 20, 1947) - British PM Clement Attlee announced: British would leave India by **June 30, 1948** (deadline). - If parties failed to agree, power might be transferred to provincial governments (hint of Balkanisation). - British powers over princely states would lapse with transfer of power (not transferred to any successor). - **Mountbatten** would replace Wavell as Viceroy. - Contained hints of partition and even "Balkanisation" — essentially a reversion to Cripps Offer. **Why Date Fixed:** - Hoped fixed date would shock parties into agreement. - Wanted to avert developing constitutional crisis. - Wavell's assessment: irreversible decline of government's authority. **Congress Stand:** Acceptable — offered a way out of the deadlock; existing assembly could proceed. --- ### Mountbatten as Viceroy - Given more informal powers to decide on the spot than predecessors. - His task: explore unity and division options until October 1947, then advise government. - But broad contours were already clear before he arrived. - Cabinet Mission Plan was a "dead horse"; Jinnah obstinate about sovereign Pakistan. - Instead of supporting forces for unity, Mountbatten "preferred to woo both sides." **Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947) — Key Points:** - Punjab and Bengal Legislative Assemblies would meet in two groups (Hindus and Muslims) to vote for partition. Simple majority of either group = partition of that province. - In case of partition: two dominions and two constituent assemblies. - Sindh would take its own decision. - **Referendums** in NWFP and Sylhet district (Bengal) to decide. - V.P. Menon (suggestions): immediate transfer of power on basis of dominion status (with right of secession) — avoided waiting for agreement on new constitution. - Innovation of granting dominion status immediately = Congress able to accept. - Since Congress conceded unified India: (i) princely states couldn't be independent; (ii) Bengal independence ruled out; (iii) Hyderabad's accession to Pakistan ruled out. --- ### Indian Independence Act, 1947 - Passed by British Parliament on **July 18, 1947**. - Two independent dominions: **India** and **Pakistan**. - Transfer of power: midnight **August 14–15, 1947**. - Mountbatten became Governor-General of India; Jinnah became Governor-General of Pakistan. - Partition and integration of princely states began. --- ### Partition Violence - Partition of Punjab and Bengal caused massive communal violence. - Estimated 1–2 million killed; 12–14 million displaced in one of history's largest mass migrations. - Communal riots in Punjab, Bengal, Sind, Delhi. - Gandhi toured riot-affected Noakhali (Bengal) and Bihar; undertook fast in Calcutta (August 1947) and Delhi (January 1948) to stop violence. - **Gandhi assassinated (January 30, 1948):** Nathuram Godse shot Gandhi at Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), New Delhi. --- ### Integration of Princely States - **Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel** (Home Minister) and V.P. Menon (Secretary, States Ministry) engineered integration. - Most princely states signed Instrument of Accession by August 15, 1947 — joining India or Pakistan. - Hyderabad: "Police Action" (Operation Polo, September 1948) — Nizam's state forcibly integrated. - Junagadh: Nawab acceded to Pakistan; plebiscite held; joined India. - Jammu and Kashmir: Maharaja Hari Singh signed Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947 (after Pakistani tribal infiltration) — accession conditional; led to first Kashmir War.

All key facts

›Attlee's Statement: February 20, 1947; deadline June 30, 1948 for transfer of power
›Mountbatten replaced Wavell as Viceroy
›Mountbatten Plan: June 3, 1947
›V.P. Menon: suggested immediate dominion status transfer (key innovation)
›Indian Independence Act: July 18, 1947
›Transfer of power: midnight August 14–15, 1947
›Mountbatten = Governor-General of India; Jinnah = Governor-General of Pakistan
›Partition deaths: estimated 1–2 million; 12–14 million displaced
›Gandhi's fast in Calcutta: August 1947 (to stop violence)
›Gandhi assassinated: January 30, 1948; Nathuram Godse; Birla House, New Delhi
›Hyderabad "Police Action" (Operation Polo): September 1948 (Sardar Patel's decision)
›J&K Instrument of Accession: October 26, 1947 (Maharaja Hari Singh)

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamblegovernor

Communalism, Hindu-Muslim Relations, and the Nationalist Response (1920s–1947)

›RSS founded: 1925 (K.B. Hedgewar, Nagpur)
›Nehru Report: 1928 (opposed separate electorates; residual powers with Centre)
›Jinnah's Fourteen Points: 1929 (in response to Nehru Report)

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Communalism — the ideology that defined political identities on religious lines — was a key challenge to the nationalist movement. It grew gradually in the 1920s, was exploited by British "divide and rule," and culminated in partition (1947). This page traces the dynamics of Hindu-Muslim relations within the nationalist movement. --- ### Understanding Communalism - Communalism is NOT the same as religious identity or religiosity. - Communalism = the ideology that Hindus and Muslims (or any religious communities) have separate and irreconcilable political interests. - British "divide and rule" policy actively promoted communalism from the 1870s onward. - Separate electorates (Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909) institutionalised communal politics. - Lucknow Pact (1916): Congress accepted separate electorates — a concession with long-term negative consequences. --- ### Hindu-Muslim Tensions in 1920s - **Moplah Rebellion (1921):** Started as Khilafat-NCM agitation; became violent and communal (Muslim peasants attacked Hindu landlords) — damaged Hindu-Muslim unity. - **Shuddhi and Tabligh/Tanzim:** Arya Samaj's shuddhi (reconversion) provoked reaction; Muslim Tabligh and Tanzim movements organised defensively. - **Communal riots (1923–27):** Frequent riots at religious processions (cow-slaughter, music before mosques) in UP, Bihar, Punjab. - **RSS founded (1925):** Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founded by K.B. Hedgewar in Nagpur — Hindu nationalist organisation. - **Muslim League revival (1920s):** After Khilafat movement collapsed (1924), League was revived as communal-political organisation. --- ### Congress and the Communal Question **Nehru Report (1928):** - Proposed: joint electorates (no separate electorates); fundamental rights; residual powers with Centre. - Muslim League (Jinnah) rejected: demanded one-third representation in Central Legislature, separate electorates retained, residual powers with provinces. - This failure was a turning point — Jinnah's "Fourteen Points" stated Muslim conditions. - Jinnah's alienation from Congress began here. **Congress Governments (1937–39):** - Congress won 7/11 provinces; formed governments (July–August 1937). - Muslim League performed poorly in Muslim seats — Congress won many Muslim constituencies. - **Mass Contact Programme:** Congress tried to reach Muslim masses directly. - Muslim League claimed Congress governments discriminated against Muslims ("Congress Raj" complaints). - Congress ministries resigned October–November 1939 (protesting WWII unilateral involvement). - Muslim League observed December 22, 1939 as **"Day of Deliverance"** from Congress rule. --- ### Demand for Pakistan **Two-Nation Theory:** - Jinnah increasingly articulated that Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations. - **Lahore Resolution (March 23, 1940):** Muslim League passed resolution demanding "independent states" for Muslim-majority areas in northwest and northeast India. - Term "Pakistan" coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali in 1933 pamphlet. **Cripps Mission (1942):** Offered right to provinces to opt out of Indian federation — gave implicit recognition to partition possibility. **Congress-League Deadlock:** - **Gandhi-Jinnah Talks (1944):** Broke down; Gandhi offered plebiscite in Muslim areas; Jinnah demanded Pakistan first, plebiscite later. - **Wavell Plan / Simla Conference (1945):** Attempt to form interim government; broke down because League insisted on appointing all Muslim members. - **Cabinet Mission Plan (1946):** Proposed three-tier federation avoiding partition; both Congress and League accepted initially; disagreement over group interpretation led to breakdown. - **Calcutta Killings (August 16, 1946):** League's Direct Action Day; massive communal violence in Calcutta; chain of riots across India. - **Interim Government (September 1946):** Congress formed interim government; League eventually joined but did not cooperate. - **Partition (1947):** Mountbatten Plan; Punjab and Bengal divided. --- ### Hindu Mahasabha and RSS **Hindu Mahasabha:** - Founded 1915 (or revived seriously by 1921 under Madan Mohan Malaviya). - V.D. Savarkar (president from 1937): ideologue of Hindutva; wrote *Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?* (1923). - Savarkar's Hindutva: India is Hindustan — land of Hindus; Muslims and Christians are "others." **RSS:** - Founded 1925 by K.B. Hedgewar in Nagpur. - M.S. Golwalkar succeeded Hedgewar (1940). - Focused on Hindu cultural nationalist organisation; shakha (branch) network. - Gandhi assassinated (January 30, 1948) by Nathuram Godse who had connections with RSS. - RSS banned briefly (1948–49) after Gandhi's assassination. --- ### Swarajists, Socialists, and Congress Left **Swaraj Party (1923):** - C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed within Congress; advocated council entry to "wreck them from within." - Successfully won seats in 1923 elections; blocked government business. - C.R. Das died 1925; movement declined. **Congress Socialist Party (CSP, 1934):** - Formed within Congress by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), Acharya Narendra Dev, Yusuf Meherally, Achyut Patwardhan. - Advocated a socialist programme for Congress. - Influenced Congress's Karachi Resolution (1931) — which endorsed fundamental rights and economic reforms. **Karachi Congress (1931):** - Resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy — one of the most significant Congress economic documents. - Endorsed: free and compulsory primary education; equal rights for women; freedom of speech and press; freedom of association; universal adult franchise; abolition of untouchability; reduction of land revenue; abolition of salt tax; protection of labour rights; workers' right to organise; state ownership of key industries.

All key facts

›RSS founded: 1925 (K.B. Hedgewar, Nagpur)
›Nehru Report: 1928 (opposed separate electorates; residual powers with Centre)
›Jinnah's Fourteen Points: 1929 (in response to Nehru Report)
›Congress Governments: 7/11 provinces, 1937–39
›"Day of Deliverance" (Muslim League): December 22, 1939
›Lahore Resolution (Pakistan demand): March 23, 1940
›"Pakistan" coined by: Choudhry Rahmat Ali, 1933
›Savarkar's *Hindutva*: 1923
›Direct Action Day (Calcutta killings): August 16, 1946
›Gandhi-Jinnah talks: 1944 (broke down)
›Congress Socialist Party: 1934 (JP, Narendra Dev, Meherally)
›Karachi Congress (Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy resolution): 1931
›Swaraj Party: 1923 (C.R. Das + Motilal Nehru)
›C.R. Das died: 1925

universal adult franchisecultural educational rightsdirective principlesfundamental rights overviewright against exploitationright to constitutional remedies

Era of Militant Nationalism (1905–1909) — Partition of Bengal, Swadeshi Movement, Surat Split

›Partition of Bengal announced: October 16, 1905 (observed as day of national mourning)
›East Bengal and Assam capital: Dhaka; Bengal (with Bihar, Orissa) capital: Calcutta
›Partition annulled: 1911 (Delhi Durbar, Viceroy Hardinge); capital shifted to Delhi

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The years 1905–09 saw a decisive shift in the Indian nationalist movement from constitutionalism to militant mass agitation. Triggered by Lord Curzon's Partition of Bengal (1905), the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement galvanised the country. This era also witnessed the rise of the Extremist wing within Congress, leading to the Surat Split (1907). **Why Militant Nationalism Grew:** 1. **Recognition of True Nature of British Rule:** Moderates' constitutional methods yielded little; British were taking away rights, not conceding them. Key repressions: 1892 Indian Councils Act disappointing; Natu brothers deported without trial (1897); Tilak imprisoned for sedition (1897); IPC Section 156A added (1898); Calcutta Corporation Indian members reduced (1899); Official Secrets Act (1904) curbing press; Indian Universities Act (1904) imposing government control over universities. 2. **Famines and Economic Miseries:** 90 lakh persons killed in famines of 1896–1900; bubonic plague in Deccan; large-scale riots. 3. **Growth of Confidence and Self-Respect:** Tilak, Aurobindo, Bipin Chandra Pal repeatedly urged reliance on Indian character and capabilities; masses capable of immense sacrifices. 4. **International Influences:** Japan's victory over Russia (1905) — demolished myth of European invincibility. Ethiopian defeat of Italy (1896), Boer Wars (1899–1902) against British. Nationalist movements in Ireland, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, China. 5. **Reaction to Increasing Westernisation:** Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Dayananda Saraswati inspired young nationalists to value India's past; Dayananda's message "India for the Indians." 6. **Dissatisfaction with Moderates:** Younger elements criticised "Three P's" (prayer, petition, protest) as "political mendicancy." 7. **Reactionary Policies of Curzon:** Refused to recognise India as a nation; dismissed nationalist activities as "letting off gas"; Official Secrets Act, Universities Act, Calcutta Corporation Act, Partition of Bengal. **Basic Tenets of Militant Nationalism:** - Hatred for foreign rule; Indians should work out their own salvation. - Swaraj as the goal of the national movement. - Direct political action required; masses must be involved. - Strength lay in organised popular action. **Key Militant Leaders:** Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Maharashtra), Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal), Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab) — the **Lal-Bal-Pal** trio. Aurobindo Ghosh, Raj Narain Bose, Ashwini Kumar Dutta (Bengal); Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar (Maharashtra). --- ### Partition of Bengal (1905) **The Decision:** - Lord Curzon announced partition of Bengal in 1905. Bengal was divided into: - East Bengal and Assam (Muslim majority, 31 million population) — capital: Dhaka. - Bengal (Bihar, Orissa — Hindu majority): capital: Calcutta. **Official Justification:** - Administrative convenience — Bengal was too large to administer. **Nationalist Interpretation:** - Deliberate attempt to divide the strong Bengali nationalist movement along religious lines — divide-and-rule. - Intended to weaken Bengal's cultural unity and cut off the Muslim majority east from the Hindu bati of Calcutta. **Impact:** - Partition was announced on **October 16, 1905** — declared a day of national mourning. - Masses tied rakhi on each other's wrists as symbol of brotherhood. - Swadeshi and Boycott Movement launched. - Resulted in the most significant mass movement India had yet seen. - **Annulled in 1911** (Delhi Durbar) under Viceroy Hardinge — Bengal reunified; capital shifted to Delhi. --- ### Swadeshi and Boycott Movement (1905–08) **Programme:** - **Swadeshi:** Use only Indian-made goods. - **Boycott:** Refuse to buy British goods; later extended to boycott of government services, courts, educational institutions. - **National Education:** Set up alternative Indian educational institutions. - **Swaraj:** Self-government as the immediate political goal. **Spread and Methods:** - Public meetings, processions, magic lantern shows, patriotic songs (Bankim Chandra's *Vande Mataram*). - Traditional festivals and melas used as political platforms. - Swadeshi enterprises promoted: Swadeshi steam navigation, insurance companies, textile mills. - National College established at Calcutta in 1906 (Aurobindo Ghosh as principal). - National Schools set up across Bengal. **Leaders in Bengal:** Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh, Surendranath Banerjea (initially), Brahmabandhav Upadhyay. **Tilak and Maharashtra:** Tilak extended Swadeshi to Maharashtra; used Shivaji festivals and Ganesh Chaturthi festivals for political mobilisation. **Limitations:** - Movement was largely limited to upper and middle-class Hindus; could not fully mobilise Muslim masses (who were offered concessions by British — Dhaka as new capital, promises to Muslim League). - Declined by 1908 under government repression (Sedition laws, deportations of Lajpat Rai and Pal, Tilak's arrest). --- ### Muslim League (1906) - Founded at Dhaka in December 1906 by Aga Khan III, Nawab Salimullah, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk. - Initially: protect Muslim political interests; loyal to British. - Demanded separate electorates for Muslims → granted by Morley-Minto Reforms (1909). --- ### Surat Split (1907) **Background:** By 1906–07, the Extremists demanded that the Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education, and Swaraj resolutions adopted at the Calcutta Congress (1906) should be extended to all of India and made a permanent part of Congress policy. **Calcutta Congress (1905):** Gokhale president — moderate resolutions on Swadeshi and Boycott passed. **Calcutta Congress (1906):** Dadabhai Naoroji president — the word "Swaraj" first formally used as the goal of Congress. **Surat Session (1907):** - Deadlock over selection of president (Extremists wanted Lajpat Rai; Moderates chose Rash Behari Ghose). - Violence in the session hall; Congress effectively split into two groups. - The Moderates retained control of the Congress organisation. - Extremists (Tilak and others) were excluded. **Significance of Surat Split:** - Weakened the nationalist movement for several years. - The Moderates-Extremists divide was now organisational. - British government used this opportunity to suppress extremists. --- ### Morley-Minto Reforms (Indian Councils Act, 1909) - Secretary of State: Lord Morley; Viceroy: Lord Minto. - **Introduced separate electorates for Muslims** — Muslims to elect their own representatives (communal electorate). This was the most dangerous innovation, sowing seeds of communalism. - Expanded Legislative Councils: Central Legislature — 60 members; Provincial Councils also expanded. - Some Indians could now be elected (though still no real power). - Lord Minto described as "Father of Communal Electorate" in India.

All key facts

›Partition of Bengal announced: October 16, 1905 (observed as day of national mourning)
›East Bengal and Assam capital: Dhaka; Bengal (with Bihar, Orissa) capital: Calcutta
›Partition annulled: 1911 (Delhi Durbar, Viceroy Hardinge); capital shifted to Delhi
›Swadeshi Movement: 1905–08
›National College, Calcutta: 1906 (Aurobindo as principal)
›Muslim League founded: December 1906, Dhaka (Aga Khan III, Nawab Salimullah, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk)
›Surat Split: 1907 (Extremists excluded from Congress)
›Calcutta Congress 1906: "Swaraj" first formally used; Dadabhai Naoroji president
›Lal-Bal-Pal: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal
›Morley-Minto Reforms: 1909 — introduced separate electorates for Muslims
›Famines 1896–1900: killed 90 lakh persons
›Japan's victory over Russia: 1905

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreambleindian parliamentary group

Socio-Religious Reform Movements — General Features and Ideological Framework

›19th century reform movements are often labelled "Indian Renaissance" (contested term)
›Three intellectual pillars: rationalism, religious universalism, humanism
›Middle-class base: arose from government service + professions (not industry/trade)

+ 17 facts · tap to read

The 19th century witnessed a sweeping intellectual and social transformation in India, often called the Indian Renaissance (though this term is contested, sometimes described as not with full justification). These reform movements arose in response to the social ills of Indian society and the challenges posed by British colonial rule and Western ideas. They formed an essential backdrop to modern Indian nationalism. **Factors Giving Rise to Reform:** 1. **Impact of British Rule:** Unlike earlier invaders who were absorbed into Indian culture or interacted positively with it, the British conquest was different. It came at a time when India, in contrast to an enlightened Europe of the 18th century transformed by science, Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution, presented the picture of a stagnant civilisation and a static and decadent society. This contrast created a crisis of confidence among some educated Indians. 2. **Social Conditions Ripe for Reform:** - Hindu society was steeped in magic, superstition, priestly monopoly over scriptural knowledge, idolatry, polytheism, which helped to reinforce the overwhelming and unhealthy influence of priests on the minds of the people, imparting a deceptive character to religious systems. - Position of women: female infanticide (attempts to kill female infants at birth were not unusual), child marriage, polygamy (Kulinism in Bengal, where even old men took very young girls as wives), sati (described by Raja Rammohan Roy as a "murder according to every shastra"), denial of education and inheritance rights. If women escaped this social coercion, they were condemned to a life of misery and humiliation. - The caste problem: untouchability, social segregation, checked social mobility. This entailed a system of segregation, hierarchically ordained on the basis of ritual status. At the bottom of the ladder came the untouchables. In modern times, the rigid caste system became a major obstacle in the growth of a united national feeling and the spread of democracy, thwarting individual initiative and creating social divisions. Caste consciousness, particularly with regard to marriage, existed among Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs as well (though less virulent). 3. **New Awareness:** Western education and the reality of foreign conquest created a new awakening. There was an awareness that a vast country like India had been colonised by a handful of foreigners because of weaknesses within its social structure and culture, leading some to believe India had lagged behind in the race of civilization. Some English-educated Bengalis initially adopted an extreme revulsion for Hindu tradition (eating beef, drinking wine). But most searched for a middle path — reform, not wholesale rejection. Faced with the challenge of the intrusion of colonial culture and ideology, an attempt to reinvigorate traditional institutions and to realise the potential of traditional culture developed during the 19th century. The socio-cultural regeneration was "occasioned by the colonial presence, but not created by it". 4. **Nationalism and Democracy:** Rising tide of nationalism and democratic ideas found expression in movements to reform and democratise social institutions and the religious outlook of the Indian people. Factors such as growth of nationalist sentiments, emergence of new economic forces, spread of education, impact of modern Western ideas and culture, and increased awareness of the world strengthened the resolve to reform. **Social and Ideological Bases:** - **Middle-Class Base:** The social base of this regeneration was the newly emerging middle class and educated intellectuals (both traditionally and Western educated). However, there was a significant contrast between the broadly middle-class ideals (derived from a growing awareness of contemporary developments in the West) and a predominantly non-middle-class social base. The 19th-century intelligentsia searched for its model in the European ‘middle class’. Unlike in Europe, this class did not arise from industry or trade (which were firmly under British control) but from government service or the professions of law, education, journalism, or medicine—often combined with some connection with land in the form of intermediate tenures. - **The Intellectual Criteria:** Three key principles united the reform movements: - **Rationalism:** Judge social relevance by reason. Akshay Kumar Dutta declared "rationalism is our only preceptor" and held that all natural and social phenomena could be analysed and understood by purely mechanical processes. Raja Rammohan Roy firmly believed in the principle of causality and demonstrability as the sole criterion of truth. Reformers used a rational approach to study tradition, evaluated contemporary socio-religious practices from the standpoint of social utility, and sought to replace faith with rationality. As a consequence, in the Brahmo Samaj, the infallibility of the Vedas was repudiated, while the Aligarh Movement emphasized reconciliation of Islamic teachings with the needs of the modern age, with Syed Ahmed Khan going to the extent of emphasizing that religious tenets were not immutable. Swami Vivekananda stated that "the same method of investigation which applies to sciences should be the basis on which religion must justify itself." - **Religious Universalism:** Raja Rammohan Roy considered different religions as national embodiments of universal theism. He defended the basic and universal principles of all religions—such as the monotheism of the Vedas and the unitarianism of Christianity—while attacking the polytheism of Hinduism and trinitarianism of Christianity. Syed Ahmed Khan said that all prophets shared the same 'din' (faith) and every country and nation had different prophets. This universalist perspective was used to contend with the strong influence of religious identity on the social and political outlook of the people. - **Humanism:** A new humanitarian morality was embodied in the social reform movements, including the notion that humanity can progress and has progressed, and that moral values are ultimately those values which favour human progress. The humanist aspect emphasized the individual’s right to interpret religious scriptures in the light of human reason and human welfare and a general attack on priestly domination of religious practices. Attention was focused on worldly existence and not on issues of salvation or otherworldliness. **Direction of Reform — Reform vs Revival:** - The reform movements could broadly be classified into two categories: - **Reformist approach:** Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj, the Aligarh Movement — sought to purify Hinduism by eliminating social evils while retaining rational core of Vedic thought. - **Revivalist approach:** Arya Samaj movement and the Deobandi movement — "Back to the Vedas"; rejected post-Vedic accretions but used the Vedas as authority for reform. - Both reformist as well as revivalist movements depended, to varying degrees, on an appeal to the lost purity of the religion they sought to reform. The only difference lay in the degree to which it relied on tradition or on reason and conscience. Both approaches accepted Western rational thought as a tool for evaluating tradition. - In later years, the social reform movement gradually dissociated itself from religion and adopted a secular approach. **Reform Among Different Communities:** - **Hindu Reform:** Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society. - **Muslim Reform:** Aligarh Movement (Syed Ahmed Khan), Deoband School, Ahmadiyya Movement, Faraizi Movement. - **Sikh Reform:** Singh Sabha Movement (1873), Akali Movement. - **Parsi Reform:** Rehnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (1851) — Naoroji Furdunji, S.S. Bangali. - **Low-caste Reform:** Satyashodhak Samaj (Jyotirao Phule), Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam

All key facts

›19th century reform movements are often labelled "Indian Renaissance" (contested term)
›Three intellectual pillars: rationalism, religious universalism, humanism
›Middle-class base: arose from government service + professions (not industry/trade)
›Kulinism in Bengal: practice of old men taking young girls as wives under caste customs
›Akshay Kumar Dutta: "rationalism is our only preceptor"
›Syed Ahmed Khan: all prophets share the same 'din'
›Swami Vivekananda: "the same method of investigation which applies to sciences should be the basis on which religion must justify itself"
›Reform movements "occasioned by colonial presence, but not created by it"
›Raja Rammohan Roy described sati as a "murder according to every shastra".
›The caste system became a major obstacle in the growth of a united national feeling and the spread of democracy.
›In the Brahmo Samaj, the infallibility of the Vedas was repudiated.
›The Aligarh Movement emphasized reconciliation of Islamic teachings with the needs of the modern age, with Syed Ahmed Khan asserting that religious tenets were not immutable.
›

nationalism and minoritiesnationalism and self determinationnature of nationsfundamental rights constitutional statusnature of rightsrights and responsibilities

Development of Indian Press and Education under British Rule

›First newspaper: Bengal Gazette (Hickey, 1780); seized 1782
›Metcalfe ("liberator of Indian press"): Press Act 1835
›Vernacular Press Act: 1878 (Lytton); repealed 1882 (Ripon)

+ 12 facts · tap to read

The British introduced a modern press and a Western-style education system in India. While these were motivated by imperial interests, they had the unintended effect of creating an educated nationalist class and a platform for political organisation. Press freedom was constantly contested through a series of legislative acts. --- ### Development of Indian Press **First newspaper in India:** - **James Augustus Hickey** started *The Bengal Gazette* (also called *Calcutta General Advertiser*) in **1780**. - Seized in 1782 for outspoken criticism of the government. - Other early newspapers: *Bengal Journal*, *Calcutta Chronicle*, *Madras Courier*, *Bombay Herald*. **Key Press Legislation:** | Act | Year | Key Provision | |-----|------|---------------| | Censorship of Press Act | 1799 | Lord Wellesley; wartime press restrictions; pre-censorship; anticipating French invasion | | Licensing Regulations | 1823 | John Adams (acting GG); starting a press without licence = penal offence; targeted Indian-language press; forced Rammohan Roy's *Mirat-ul-Akbar* to stop | | Press Act (Metcalfe Act) | 1835 | Metcalfe (GG 1835–36); repealed 1823 ordinance; "liberator of Indian press"; required printer/publisher to give account of premises | | Licensing Act | 1857 | Emergency post-1857 Revolt; licensing restrictions added; government could stop any publication | | Registration Act | 1867 | Replaced Metcalfe's Act; regulatory (not restrictive); required name of printer/publisher and place of publication; copy to local government within 1 month | | Vernacular Press Act | 1878 | Lord Lytton; specifically targeted Indian-language press; magistrates could call for security from Indian-language papers; no appeal to courts. Called "Gagging Act." Repealed 1882 by Lord Ripon | | Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act | 1908 | Post-Tilak's Kesari; magistrates could confiscate printing presses producing seditious matter | | Indian Press Act | 1910 | Stringent measures against nationalist press; security deposits | | Press (Emergency Powers) Act | 1931 | During CDM; security could be demanded from any press | **Nationalist Press:** - Rammohan Roy: *Sambad Kaumudi* (Bengali), *Mirat-ul-Akbar* (Persian), *Brahmunical Magazine* (English). - Bal Gangadhar Tilak: *Kesari* (Marathi), *Mahratta* (English) — both used to rouse nationalist sentiment. Tilak was tried for sedition for articles in Kesari. - Bipin Chandra Pal: *New India*. - Lala Lajpat Rai: *The People*, *Punjabee*. - Gokhale: *Hitavada* (organ of Servants of India Society). - Annie Besant: *New India*, *Commonweal*. - Congress official: *Indian Opinion*, *Young India* (Gandhi's paper in South Africa and India). **Significance of Nationalist Press:** - Served as medium for nationalist education and political mobilisation. - By 1877: ~169 vernacular newspapers with circulation ~1,00,000. - Press was crucial in the early phase (1870–1918) for political propaganda, forming nationalist ideology, and mobilising public opinion. - During mass movements (NCM, CDM, QIM): underground publications (*patrikas*) circulated secretly. --- ### Development of Education **Charter Act, 1813:** 1 lakh rupees earmarked for "revival and promotion of literature and encouragement of learned natives" — first official provision. **Orientalist vs Anglicist Controversy:** - **Orientalists** (H.H. Wilson, Colebrooke, etc.): preserve and promote classical Indian knowledge in Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic. - **Anglicists** (Macaulay, Trevelyan, etc.): Western knowledge in English will transform India. - **Macaulay's Minute (1835):** Settled the debate in favour of English; goal: create "a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, opinions, in morals, and in intellect." Western scientific subjects; English as medium. - Macaulay's Minute did NOT want to destroy Indian culture — his goal was to create intermediaries between British rulers and Indian masses. **Wood's Despatch (1854) — Education Despatch:** - Charles Wood (President of Board of Control). - Recommended: (i) universities in each presidency; (ii) secondary schools with English education; (iii) vernacular primary education. - Grants-in-aid system introduced. - Department of Public Instruction in each province. - **Calcutta, Bombay, Madras Universities** established in **1857** following Wood's Despatch. **Hunter Commission (1882):** Reviewed primary and secondary education; recommended more attention to primary education. **Raleigh Commission (1902):** Indian Universities Act 1904 (Curzon) — increased government control over universities; emphasis on residential universities. **Sadler Commission (1917–19):** Recommended improvements in Calcutta University; 12-year school before university; university teachers = full-time. **Education under Nationalist Framework:** - National Educational Movement (1905 onwards): National Council of Education (Bengal, 1906); National Schools set up; Jadavpur University origins; BESU (Bengal National College). - Gokhale's Elementary Education Bill (1911): Introduced bill for free and compulsory elementary education — rejected. - Wardha Scheme of Education (1937): Gandhi proposed; basic craft-centred, self-supporting education; Zakir Husain committee to design scheme. **Women's Education:** - Vidyasagar instrumental in girls' education in Bengal; Bethune School (1849). - Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule: opened schools for girls and lower castes in Pune (1848 onwards). - Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Jalandhar (1896): founded by Arya Samaj (Gurukul branch). - By 1882: 2,700 girls' schools with 127,000 students.

All key facts

›First newspaper: Bengal Gazette (Hickey, 1780); seized 1782
›Metcalfe ("liberator of Indian press"): Press Act 1835
›Vernacular Press Act: 1878 (Lytton); repealed 1882 (Ripon)
›Macaulay's Minute: 1835 (English education; Western knowledge)
›Wood's Despatch: 1854 (universities in each presidency; grants-in-aid)
›Calcutta, Bombay, Madras Universities: 1857
›Hunter Commission: 1882
›Indian Universities Act (Curzon): 1904
›Wardha Scheme: 1937 (Gandhi; Zakir Husain committee)
›Tilak's papers: Kesari (Marathi) + Mahratta (English)
›Gokhale's Elementary Education Bill: 1911 (rejected)
›European writers like Milton, Shelley, John Stuart Mill, Rousseau, Paine, Spencer, and Voltaire influenced educated Indians with rational, secular, democratic, and nationalist ideas.
›The English language facilitated communication among nationalist leaders from diverse linguistic regions.
›Educated Indians visiting England for higher education observed modern political institutions in a free country, contrasting them with the denial of basic rights in India.

73rd amendment panchayati raj74th amendment urban local bodiesgram sabha

Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Aligarh Movement, Deoband, Singh Sabha, Theosophical Society and Other Reform Movements

›Arya Samaj: first unit Bombay 1875; headquarters Lahore; founded by Dayananda Saraswati
›Satyarth Prakash: Dayananda's key work
›"India for the Indians": Dayananda's political message

+ 42 facts · tap to read

This page covers the major socio-religious reform movements of the 19th–early 20th centuries across various communities in India beyond Bengal/Maharashtra — including Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Aligarh Movement, Deoband School, Parsi Reform, Sikh Reform, Theosophical Society, and south Indian movements. --- ### Dayananda Saraswati and Arya Samaj **Dayananda Saraswati (Mulshankar, 1824–83):** - Born in Morvi (old Morvi state, Gujarat) in a Brahmin family. - Wandered as ascetic for 15 years (1845–60) in search of truth. - Received education on Vedanta from blind teacher **Swami Virajananda** in Mathura. - First Arya Samaj unit founded at **Bombay in 1875**; headquarters later established at **Lahore**. - Famous work: **Satyarth Prakash** (The True Exposition). - Slogan: **"Back to the Vedas"** — a call for Vedic learning and purity, NOT a call to revive Vedic times; he accepted modernity. - Political message: **"India for the Indians."** **Key Beliefs:** - Infallibility of the Vedas as "India's Rock of Ages." - Individual interpretation of scriptures; every person has direct access to God. - Attacked later Hindu scriptures (Puranas) and ignorant priests for perverting Hinduism. - God, soul, and matter (prakriti) are distinct and eternal entities — rejected the maya doctrine. - Believed in karma and reincarnation; good deeds primarily for others, not for self. - Chaturvarna based on occupation and merit, NOT birth. - Attacked: Hindu orthodoxy, caste rigidities, untouchability, idolatry, polytheism, belief in magic and charms, animal sacrifices, taboo on sea voyages, shraddhas. - Minimum marriageable age: 25 for boys, 16 for girls. **Ten Guiding Principles of Arya Samaj:** (i) God is the primary source of all true knowledge; (ii) God alone is worthy of worship; (iii) Vedas are the books of true knowledge; (iv) accept truth, abandon untruth; (v) dharma as guiding principle; (vi) aim: promote world well-being; (vii) treat all with love and justice; (viii) dispel ignorance, increase knowledge; (ix) individual progress depends on uplift of all; (x) social well-being above individual well-being. **After Dayananda's death (1883):** - **DAV College** established at Lahore in 1886. - Internal split (1893): **College Party** (Lala Hansraj, Lala Lajpat Rai — favoured English/modern education) vs **Mahatma/Gurukul Party** (Guru Datta Vidyarthi, Lala Munshi Ram/Swami Shraddhanand — favoured Sanskrit/Vedic education, vegetarianism). - Swami Shraddhanand opened **Gurukul at Gujaranwala** (1900); moved to **Kangri near Haridwar** (1902) — hence **Gurukul Kangri**. - Gurukul founded **Kanya Mahavidyalaya** at Jalandhar (1896) for women/widows. - **Shuddhi Movement:** Reconversion of converts back to Hinduism — led to communalisation in 1920s. - Arya Samaj gave self-confidence to Hindus and undermined myth of Western cultural superiority. --- ### Ramakrishna Mission and Swami Vivekananda **Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836–86):** - Born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay; poor priest at Kali temple, Dakshineshwar (near Calcutta). - Wife: Sarada Devi (Saradamani Mukherjee) — regarded as the Holy Mother. - Believed in fundamental oneness of all religions: "As many faiths, so many paths." Krishna, Hari, Ram, Christ, Allah are different names for same God. - "Service of man is the service of God." - Founded Ramakrishna Math (monastic order) with young disciples as nucleus. - Experienced spiritual trances (ecstasy) from a very early age. - Did not write books, but his conversations with people formed the basis of what were considered his teachings. **Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Datta, 1862–1902):** - Spread Ramakrishna's message; preacher of neo-Hinduism. - Subscribed to Vedanta as a "fully rational system." - 1893: **Parliament of Religions, Chicago** — made great impression; called for balance between spiritualism and materialism; proposed "a new culture" blending Western materialism and Eastern spiritualism. - Believed: junction of Hinduism and Islam "the only hope" for India. - 1897: Founded **Ramakrishna Mission** (headquarters at **Belur**, near Calcutta). - 1898: Acquired large land at Belur; Ramakrishna Math registered there. - Advocated: doctrine of service; "service of jiva (living beings) is worship of Siva"; used technology and modern science for humanity. - Attacked: "touch-me-not" isolationism of Hindus, religion's approval of oppression of poor, starving masses given only religion not food. - Subhas Chandra Bose: "So far as Bengal is concerned, Vivekananda may be regarded as the spiritual father of the modern nationalist movement." - Unlike Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission recognised utility of image worship; does not consider itself a sect of Hinduism; not a proselytising body. - Monastic order open to all men without caste/creed discrimination. - Mission runs schools, hospitals, dispensaries; helps in natural calamities. - His message to the world about human values was based on certain spiritual experiences of Ramakrishna, the teachings of the Upanishads and the Gita, and the examples of the Buddha and Jesus. - His mission was to bridge the gulf between *paramartha* (service) and *vyavahara* (behaviour), and between spirituality and day-to-day life. - Emphasized social action, declaring that knowledge without action is useless. - Pointed out that the masses needed two kinds of knowledge—secular knowledge about how to work for their economic uplift and spiritual knowledge to have faith in themselves and strengthen their moral sense. - Called upon his countrymen to imbibe a spirit of liberty, equality, and free thinking. - The keynote of his opening address at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago (1893) was the need for a healthy balance between spiritualism and materialism. - Gave several lectures on Vedanta in the USA and in London before returning to India in 1897. - His series of lectures in India aimed to infuse a sense of pride in India’s past, a new faith in India’s culture, and a rare sense of confidence in India’s future; to bring about a unification of Hinduism by pointing out the common foundation of its sects; and to make the educated people see the misery of the downtrodden and work for their uplift by applying practical Vedanta principles. - His emphasis was not only on personal salvation but also on social good and reform. - The Ramakrishna Mission stands for religious and social reform. - The Mission has developed into a worldwide organisation. - The Mission believes that the philosophy of Vedanta will make a Christian a better Christian, and a Hindu a better Hindu. --- ### Muslim Reform Movements **Shah Walliullah (1702–63) and Wahabi/Walliullah Movement:** - Inspired by Abdul Wahab (Arabia); preached return to true spirit of Islam. - Sought harmony among four schools of Muslim jurisprudence; recognised role of individual conscience. - Popularised by Shah Abdul Aziz and Syed Ahmad Barelvi (who gave it political perspective). - India declared dar-ul-Harb; must be converted to dar-ul-Islam. - Initially directed against Sikhs in Punjab; after 1849 annexation of Punjab, against British. - Played important role in 1857 Revolt. Fizzled out in 1870s against British military might. **Titu Mir (Syed Mir Nisar Ali):** - Disciple of Syed Ahmad Barelvi; adopted Wahabism. - Organised Muslim peasants of Bengal against Hindu landlords and British indigo planters. - Killed in action in 1831. **Faraizi Movement (Fara'idi Movement):** - Founded by **Haji Shariatullah in 1819** in East Bengal. - Emphasis on Islamic pillars of faith (fara'id); eradication of un-Islamic practices. - Under son **Dudu Mian** (from 1840): became revolutionary; organised against zamindars and indigo planters; established paramilitary force; set up own law courts; told followers not to pay rent. - Dudu Mian arrested repeatedly; final arrest (1847) weakened movement. - After Dudu Mian's death (1862): survived only as religious movement. **Ahmadiyya Movement:** - Founded by

All key facts

›Arya Samaj: first unit Bombay 1875; headquarters Lahore; founded by Dayananda Saraswati
›Satyarth Prakash: Dayananda's key work
›"India for the Indians": Dayananda's political message
›Swami Virajananda (blind teacher, Mathura): educated Dayananda
›DAV College, Lahore: 1886
›Arya Samaj split: 1893 (College Party vs Gurukul/Mahatma Party)
›Gurukul Kangri: near Haridwar (1902)
›Shuddhi Movement: reconversion of converts; led to communalisation in 1920s
›Arya Samaj Movement was revivalist in form though not in content, resulting from a reaction to Western influences.
›Dayananda Saraswati's vision for India included a classless and casteless society, a united India (religiously, socially, and nationally), and an India free from foreign rule with Aryan religion as the common religion.
›Dayananda Saraswati accepted modernity and demonstrated a patriotic attitude towards national problems.
›Dayananda Saraswati criticised the prevalent popular belief that every individual contributed and got back from society according to the principles of niyati (destiny).
›Parliament of Religions, Chicago: 1893 (Vivekananda)

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People's Resistance Against British Before 1857 — Civil Rebellions, Tribal Uprisings, Peasant Movements

›Bipan Chandra's classification: civil rebellions, tribal uprisings, peasant movements (+ military revolts) — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 138
›People involved in resistance included peasants, artisans, tribals, ruling classes (active or dispossessed), military personnel (under Company and demobilised ex-rulers), and religious leaders (Hindu and Muslim). — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 138
›Sanyasi-Fakir Rebellion: 1770s–1800s; Majnu Shah, Bhavani Pathak, Devi Chaudhurani; also Musa Shah; characterized by equal participation of Hindus and Muslims. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 141

+ 20 facts · tap to read

Long before the 1857 Revolt, India witnessed a continuous stream of resistance movements against the East India Company. These uprisings involved peasants, artisans, tribal communities, military personnel, ruling classes, and religious leaders. Bipan Chandra classifies people's resistance into three broad forms: civil rebellions, tribal uprisings, and peasant movements (with military revolts as a fourth category). The word 'people' in this context encompasses various sections of Indian society affected by alien rule, including peasants, artisans, tribals, ruling classes (active or dispossessed), military personnel (both under Company and demobilised ex-rulers), and religious leaders (Hindu and Muslim). Early urban movements, such as the agitation in Benares (1810) against a house tax, Surat riots (1814) against salt duty, and the rising in Bareilly (1816) against police and municipal taxes, also saw cooperation between lower strata (artisans, petty shopkeepers, urban poor) and the prosperous urban gentry. **Causative Factors:** - Colonial land revenue settlements, heavy taxes, eviction of peasants, and encroachments on tribal lands - Exploitation in rural society coupled with the growth of intermediary revenue collectors, tenants, and moneylenders backed by colonial law - Expansion of revenue administration over tribal lands, leading to the loss of tribal people's hold over agricultural and forest land. - Promotion of British manufactured goods, heavy duties on Indian industries (especially export duties), leading to devastation of Indian handloom and handicraft industries. - Destruction of indigenous industry leading to migration of workers from industry to agriculture, increasing the pressure on land/agriculture. - Displacement of traditional ruling elites, including zamindars and poligars, whose ego was hurt by being sidelined. - Instigation by priestly classes (religious preachers, priests, pundits, maulvis) who were dependent on the traditional landed and bureaucratic elite and affected by their fall. - The foreign character of the British rulers and their contemptuous treatment of native people. **Major Civil Uprisings:** - Sanyasi and Fakir Rebellions (Bengal, 1770s–1800s): Wandering monks (sanyasis) and Muslim fakirs fought against the famine conditions and British revenue collection. Majnu Shah and Chirag Ali were prominent Muslim fakir leaders. Bhavani Pathak and Devi Chaudhurani were famous sanyasi leaders. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's novel Anandamath drew on these rebellions. - Polygar Uprisings (South India, 1790s–1801): Polygars (local military chiefs) in South India resisted British territorial expansion. Kattabomman (Veerapandiya Kattabomman) of Panchalankurichi resisted and was hanged in 1799. The second phase (1801) was led by Oomathurai and Marathu Pandian. - Diwan Velu Thampi's Revolt (Travancore, 1808–09): Dewan of Travancore revolted against the Subsidiary Alliance; issued the famous Kundara Proclamation calling for an anti-British uprising; killed himself to avoid capture. - Naikda Movement and Ramosi Uprisings in Maharashtra. - Kittur Uprising (1824, 1829, 1830): Rani Chennamma of Kittur revolted after the death of her adopted son was not recognised under Doctrine of Lapse. She was captured in the second revolt (1824) and died in captivity. Sangoli Rayanna continued resistance until 1829. - Significant new civil uprisings include revolts in Midnapore and Dhalbhum (1766-74), Moamarias (Assam, 1769-99), Vizianagaram (1794), Dhundia in Bednur (1799-1800), Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (Malabar, 1797-1805), Awadh (1799), Ganjam and Gumsur (1800, 1835-37), Palamau (1800-02), Haryana region (1803-10), Bundelkhand (1808-12), Paika Rebellion (Odisha, 1817), Kutch (1816-32) and Ahom (1828). **Tribal Uprisings:** - Bhil Uprising (Khandesh, 1818–31): Bhils resisted British takeover of their territory. - Kol Uprising (Chota Nagpur, 1831–32): Kols (Mundas) rose against the intrusion of outsiders (non-tribals) supported by British into their lands. - Santhal Rebellion (Hul, 1855–56): Santhals under Sidhu and Kanhu in Bihar/Bengal rose against exploitation by zamindars, moneylenders, and the colonial administration. Considered the most significant tribal rebellion before 1857. The Santhal Parganas were subsequently carved out as a separate district. - Khond Uprisings (Odisha, 1837–56): Khonds (or Kondhs) resisted British interference in their territory and practice of human sacrifice (meriah). - Munda Rebellion (Ulgulan) — main phase was post-1857 under Birsa Munda (1899–1900). - Causes for tribal revolts included the British land settlements disrupting joint ownership traditions and social fabric, loss of land due to settled agriculture, restrictions on shifting cultivation and forest use, exploitation by police, traders, and moneylenders (outsiders), intrusive general laws, and interference by Christian missionaries. **Peasant Movements:** - Indigo (Neel) Revolt (Bengal, 1859–60): After 1857, ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo under duress; this non-violent movement preceded the 1857 revolt in its organisation. Dinabandhu Mitra's play Neel Darpan depicted the oppression. - Deccan Riots (Maharashtra, 1875): Peasants attacked moneylenders in Pune and Ahmednagar districts; targeted records of indebtedness. - Mappila Uprisings (Malabar, 1836–54, and later 1921): Muslim peasants (Mappilas) repeatedly rose against Hindu landlords backed by British rule, with 22 rebellions occurring between 1836 and 1854. - Other significant peasant movements often with religious overtones include the Narkelberia Uprising (1831) led by Titu Mir, the Pagal Panthis (1825-35) led by Karam Shah and Tipu, and the Faraizi Revolt (1838-57) led by Haji Shariatullah and Dudu Miyan. The Wahabi (founded 1820s) and Kuka (founded 1840) movements were primarily religious revivalist movements that later took on significant anti-British political dimensions. **Military Revolts:** - Vellore Mutiny (1806): Indian sepoys at Vellore Fort rose up, killing British officers; triggered by new dress regulations (turbans with cockade, no caste marks/earrings); suppressed within hours. - Various other sepoy uprisings (1824 Barrackpore, 1844 Sind, 1849 Punjab) — all about service conditions or religious concerns.

All key facts

›Bipan Chandra's classification: civil rebellions, tribal uprisings, peasant movements (+ military revolts) — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 138
›People involved in resistance included peasants, artisans, tribals, ruling classes (active or dispossessed), military personnel (under Company and demobilised ex-rulers), and religious leaders (Hindu and Muslim). — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 138
›Sanyasi-Fakir Rebellion: 1770s–1800s; Majnu Shah, Bhavani Pathak, Devi Chaudhurani; also Musa Shah; characterized by equal participation of Hindus and Muslims. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 141
›Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel *Devi Chaudhurani* is also based on the Sanyasi Revolt. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 141
›Revolt in Midnapore and Dhalbhum (1766–74): Against new land revenue system; leaders were Damodar Singh and Jagannath Dhal. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 141
›Revolt of Moamarias (1769–99) in Assam: A potent challenge to Ahom kings; weakened the kingdom and opened doors for Burmese invasion. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 141
›Civil Uprisings in Gorakhpur, Basti, and Bahraich (1781): Against excessive revenue demand by izaradar Major Alexander Hannay. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 142
›Revolt of Raja of Vizianagaram (1794): Vizayaramaraju resisted tribute demands and order to disband troops; died in battle at Padmanabham. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch06-people-s-resistance-against-british-before-185.md, p. 142

union and territory articles 1 4

Quit India Movement (1942), INA, and Demand for Pakistan

›Individual Civil Disobedience: 1940–41; Vinoba Bhave first, then Nehru
›Cripps Mission: March 1942; "post-dated cheque on a crashing bank" (Gandhi)
›Wardha CWC: July 14, 1942 (accepted Quit India struggle)

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The Quit India Movement (August 1942) was the most radical mass movement of the Gandhian era — a "do or die" call that unleashed massive spontaneous popular resistance. Simultaneously, Subhas Chandra Bose led the Indian National Army (INA) in an armed bid for independence. The demand for Pakistan crystallised under Jinnah and the Muslim League, eventually leading to partition. --- ### Background to Quit India (1939–42) **WWII Context:** - Congress ministries resigned October–November 1939 (protesting India's unilateral involvement in WWII without consultation). - Linlithgow's August Offer (1940): post-war dominion status; representative constituent assembly — Congress rejected (demanded immediate independence). - Gandhi launched **Individual Civil Disobedience (1940–41):** Selected individuals (Vinoba Bhave was first, then Jawaharlal Nehru) symbolically defied the war effort. - **Cripps Mission (March 1942):** Sir Stafford Cripps offered post-war dominion status, right to frame own constitution, right of provinces to opt out (Pakistan option). Congress rejected — "post-dated cheque on a crashing bank" (Gandhi). Cripps left India empty-handed. **Why Start a Struggle in 1942:** 1. Failure of Cripps Mission exposed Britain's unchanged attitude on constitutional advance. 2. Popular discontent: rising prices, shortage of rice and salt, commandeering of boats in Bengal/Orissa. 3. Fears of scorched earth policy in Bengal, Assam, Orissa against Japanese advance. 4. British reverses in South-East Asia; Japanese troops approaching India's borders. 5. British evacuated South-East Asia with racial discrimination: Black Road for Indian refugees, White Road for Europeans — shattered white prestige. 6. Leadership wanted to condition masses for possible Japanese invasion. --- ### The Quit India Resolution (August 1942) **CWC at Wardha (July 14, 1942):** Accepted idea of struggle. **Gowalia Tank, Bombay (August 8, 1942):** - Quit India Resolution ratified. - Proposed by **Jawaharlal Nehru**, seconded by **Sardar Patel**. - Resolved: immediate end to British rule; commitment of free India against Fascism and imperialism; form provisional government after British withdrawal; sanction civil disobedience. - **Gandhi's "Do or Die" call:** "Here is a mantra... 'Do or Die'. We shall either free India or die in the attempt." - Gandhi gave special instructions to different sections (soldiers: don't fire on compatriots; peasants: if pro-government zamindar — don't pay rent; government servants: declare allegiance to Congress, etc.) **Government Action:** - Early hours of **August 9, 1942:** All top Congress leaders arrested and taken to unknown destinations. - Congress and all PCCs declared unlawful under Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908. - Congress Working Committee, AICC, PCCs = unlawful associations. **Spread of Movement:** - Leaderless movement — younger and militant elements took over. - **Aruna Asaf Ali** hoisted Congress flag at Gowalia Tank session on August 9, 1942. - Public attacked symbols of authority; bridges blown up; railway tracks removed; telegraph lines cut. - Most intense in: eastern United Provinces and Bihar. - Students: strikes, processions, patrikas (illegal news sheets), acting as couriers. - Workers: strikes in Ahmedabad, Bombay, Jamshedpur, Ahmednagar, Poona. **Underground Activity:** - Socialists, Forward Bloc, Gandhi ashramites, revolutionary nationalists. - Key figures: Rammanohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali, **Usha Mehta** (started underground radio in Bombay), Biju Patnaik, Sucheta Kripalani, Achyut Patwardhan. **Parallel Governments ("Azad Dastas"):** - Tamluk (Midnapore, Bengal): Jatiya Sarkar (from December 1942). - Satara (Maharashtra): Prati Sarkar. - Ballia (UP): Chittu Pandey declared independence briefly. **Suppression:** Ruthlessly suppressed; over 100,000 arrested; 1,000+ killed; military deployed. --- ### Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA) **Background:** - Subhas Chandra Bose elected Congress president twice (1938, 1939); defeated the candidate supported by Gandhi in 1939 (Pattabhi Sitaramayya). Bose then resigned due to opposition from the Gandhi camp. - Formed **Forward Bloc** (1939) within Congress. - January 1941: Bose escaped from house arrest (Elgin Road, Calcutta) disguised as Mohammad Ziauddin; traveled via Afghanistan to Moscow and then Berlin. - In Germany: met Hitler; formed **Free India Centre** and **Indian Legion** (Azad Hind Fauj) from Indian POWs. - 1943: Traveled to Japan via submarine. - **Indian National Army (INA) / Azad Hind Fauj:** - Originally founded by Captain Mohan Singh and Rash Behari Bose (Japan, 1942) from Indian POWs after fall of Singapore (February 15, 1942). - Bose took over INA in 1943; made it a proper fighting force. - **October 21, 1943:** Bose declared **Provisional Government of Azad Hind** in Singapore; "Jai Hind" as rallying cry. - INA had the Rani Jhansi Regiment (all-women brigade) under Captain Lakshmi Sehgal (later Lakshmi Sahgal). - INA attacked through Burma; reached Kohima (April 1944) and Imphal — siege failed. - Japanese and INA retreated in 1944–45. - Bose died in a plane crash in Taiwan on **August 18, 1945** (controversial). - **INA Trials (1945–46):** British tried INA officers at Red Fort, Delhi. Public outrage — INA officers became heroes. Defence lawyers included Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru. - R.C. Mazumdar: INA trials made it plain to British that they could no longer depend on loyalty of Indian sepoys — "probably the greatest influence upon their final decision to quit India." --- ### Demand for Pakistan and Muslim League **Muslim League and Jinnah:** - Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948): Initially a Congress member and "ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity" (called so by Sarojini Naidu); left Congress in 1920 (opposed NCM's methods); became ML president in 1934. - **Two-Nation Theory:** Jinnah argued Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations, not one, and thus Muslims needed a separate state. - **Lahore Resolution (March 23, 1940):** Muslim League passed resolution demanding "independent states" for Muslim-majority areas of northwest and northeast India — the "Pakistan Resolution" (the word Pakistan was not used in the resolution itself; coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali in 1933). - ML launched "Direct Action Day" (August 16, 1946) — led to Calcutta killings and a chain of communal riots. --- ### Post-War Scenario (1945–47) - Labour government came to power in Britain (Clement Attlee) after July 1945 elections — more sympathetic to Indian independence. - Indian elections (winter 1945–46): Congress won 91% of non-Muslim seats; ML won nearly all Muslim seats → showed ML represented Indian Muslims. - **Cabinet Mission Plan (1946):** Proposed three-tier federal structure (provinces + groups + Centre) — attempted to avoid partition. Congress interpreted groups as optional; ML insisted they were compulsory. Plan ultimately failed. - **Attlee's Statement (February 20, 1947):** British would leave India by June 30, 1948 at the latest; hinted at partition. - **Mountbatten Plan (June 3, 1947):** Partition formula — Punjab and Bengal to be divided; Pakistan created; independence on dominion status with right of secession. - **Indian Independence Act, July 18, 1947:** India and Pakistan created as two separate dominions from midnight August 14–15, 1947.

All key facts

›Individual Civil Disobedience: 1940–41; Vinoba Bhave first, then Nehru
›Cripps Mission: March 1942; "post-dated cheque on a crashing bank" (Gandhi)
›Wardha CWC: July 14, 1942 (accepted Quit India struggle)
›Quit India Resolution: August 8, 1942, Gowalia Tank, Bombay
›"Do or Die" call: Gandhi, August 8, 1942
›All Congress leaders arrested: early hours August 9, 1942
›Aruna Asaf Ali: hoisted Congress flag, August 9
›Underground radio: Usha Mehta (Bombay)
›Parallel governments: Tamluk (December 1942), Satara, Ballia
›Bose escaped house arrest: January 1941
›Fall of Singapore: February 15, 1942
›Mohan Singh and Rash Behari Bose: original INA founders, 1942 (Japan)
›Bose declared Provisional Government of Azad Hind: October 21, 1943
›Rani Jhansi Regiment (women's): Captain Lakshmi Sehgal
›

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamble

Constitutional and Administrative Developments 1773–1947 — Acts, Reforms, and Judicial Changes

›Regulating Act: 1773 — first British government intervention; Warren Hastings named first Governor General of Bengal
›Pitt's India Act: 1784 — Board of Control; Company = subordinate department of State
›Charter Act 1813: ended Company's Indian trade monopoly; missionaries allowed

+ 11 facts · tap to read

The constitutional history of India under British rule represents a gradual process of British government extending control over the East India Company, then introducing limited representative institutions, and eventually transferring power. This is one of the most heavily tested areas in UPSC — almost every act has specific testable facts. --- ### Phase I: Company Rule (1773–1858) **Regulating Act, 1773:** - First intervention by British government in Indian affairs. - Governor General + council of four for Bengal; majority rule; Warren Hastings named. - Supreme Court of judicature established in Bengal. - Directors required to submit correspondence to government. - Amendments (1781): Supreme Court jurisdiction defined; servants immune for official acts. **Pitt's India Act, 1784:** - British government got large measure of control over Company. - Company's territories called "British possessions." - **Board of Control** (Chancellor of Exchequer + Secretary of State + 4 Privy Council members) exercised control over civil, military, revenue affairs. - Dual control: Court of Directors (Company) + Board of Control (government). - Governor General's council reduced to 3 (including Commander-in-Chief). - General prohibition on aggressive wars and treaties. **Act of 1786:** - Cornwallis allowed to hold both Governor General and Commander-in-Chief roles. - Governor General allowed to override council decisions (responsibility for decision required). **Charter Act, 1793:** - Renewed Company's commercial privileges for 20 years. - Company to pay 5 lakh pounds annually to British government. - Royal approval required for Governor General, governors, Commander-in-Chief appointments. - Senior officials prohibited from leaving India without permission. - Revenue administration separated from judicial functions (Maal Adalats disappeared). - Home Government members paid out of Indian revenues (continued to 1919). **Charter Act, 1813:** - Company's commercial monopoly over India ended (except tea trade with China). - Company retained political functions. - Christian missionaries allowed to come to India. - 1 lakh rupees earmarked for "revival and promotion of literature and encouragement of learned natives." **Charter Act, 1833:** - EIC ceased to be a commercial body; became purely administrative. - Governor General of Bengal became **Governor General of India** (first: Lord William Bentinck). - Laws to be made for all British India — first step towards unified legislative structure. - Law Commission to codify Indian law (Macaulay was first Law Member). - Ended trade monopoly with China too. **Charter Act, 1853:** - Last Charter Act; extended Company's rule but did not give a specific time period. - Legislative and executive functions of the Governor General's Council separated — a Legislative Council (with 6 new members called "legislative councillors") created. - Open competition for ICS recruitment (replacing patronage/nomination). **Act for the Better Government of India, 1858 (Government of India Act):** - Passed after 1857 Revolt. - Company's rule in India ended; Crown assumed formal sovereignty. - **Secretary of State for India** with a 15-member **Council of India** replaced the Board of Control and Court of Directors. - Viceroy of India replaced the Governor General (Canning became first Viceroy). - Secretary of State was a member of the British Cabinet. - **Queen's Proclamation, November 1, 1858:** Issued by Lord Canning at Allahabad, it formally announced the assumption of Government of India by the British sovereign and the Governor General acquiring the additional title of ‘Viceroy’. It promised to end annexations, respect native princes' dignity and rights, ensure freedom of religion, and provide equal opportunities in government services irrespective of race or creed, while giving due regard to Indian rights and customs. --- ### Phase II: Crown Rule and Limited Representation (1858–1935) **Indian Civil Service Act, 1861:** - Passed in accordance with the Queen's Proclamation of 1858, aiming to give an impression of equality in service irrespective of race or creed. In practice, detailed rules ensured higher services remained a preserve of the colonisers. **Indian Councils Act, 1861:** - Introduced Indians into the legislative process for the first time (associate members of expanded councils). - Restored legislative powers to Bombay and Madras Presidencies. - Governor General given power of ordinance (6 months). - Portfolio system introduced. **Indian Councils Act, 1892:** - Indirect election principle introduced — central and provincial councils expanded. - Budget discussion allowed but not voting. - Nationalist criticism: did not satisfy demands. **Indian Councils Act, 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms):** - Central Legislative Council expanded to 60 members; provincial councils also enlarged. - **Introduced separate electorates for Muslims** — most significant and dangerous provision. - Indians could be nominated/elected to Imperial Executive Council (Satyendra Prasanna Sinha = first Indian member of Viceroy's Executive Council). - Lord Minto = "Father of Communal Electorate." **Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms):** - **Dyarchy in Provinces:** Reserved subjects (law and order, finance, land revenue, irrigation) under Governor's executive council; Transferred subjects (education, health, agriculture, local government) under ministers responsible to legislature. - Provincial councils: 70% elected members. - **Central Legislature** became bicameral: **Council of State** (upper) and **Central Legislative Assembly** (lower). - Central Legislature: CLA = 140 members (100 elected); Council of State = 60 members (27 elected). - Central government not responsible to legislature. - Communal electorate extended. - Secretary of State's salary now paid by British government (not Indian revenues). - Franchise: about 5 million could vote. - **Reforms Commissioner** (later Public Service Commission) created. **Government of India Act, 1935:** - Most elaborate constitutional document before 1947 independence. - Proposed **All-India Federation** (British provinces + princely states) — NEVER implemented (states refused to join). - **Provincial Autonomy:** Dyarchy abolished in provinces; full responsible government (elected ministers responsible to legislature in all matters); 11 governors' provinces with autonomous powers. - **Dyarchy at Centre:** Proposed for Central government — reserved and transferred at Centre too — NEVER implemented. - **Bicameral legislatures** at Centre and in 6 provinces (Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, UP, Assam). - **Federal Court** established at Delhi (1937) — appellate jurisdiction over High Courts; original jurisdiction in disputes between Centre and provinces. - Franchise expanded to ~35 million. - Residual powers: Governor General (Centre) or Governor (province). - Separate electorates continued; extended to more communities. - RBI established (separate legislation, 1934; began operations 1935). - UPSC (Federal Public Service Commission) established. - Congress won majority in 7 of 11 provinces in 1937 elections; formed governments; resigned October–November 1939. --- ### Judicial Developments - **Supreme Court of Judicature in Calcutta (1774):** Under Regulating Act; first Chief Justice: Sir Elijah Impey; friction with the Governor General's Council. - **Patna High Court (1916):** One of the oldest high courts. - **Federal Court (1937):** Under GoI Act 1935; original jurisdiction in Centre-province disputes; appellate over high courts. - **Privy Council:** Highest court of appeal for India (from high courts) until 1949; abolished by Federal Court (Enlargement of Jurisdiction) Act, 1947 (from independence). --- ### Administrative Developments - **Permanent Settlement, 1793 (Bengal, Bihar, Orissa):** Lord Cornwallis; zamindars = permanent owners; revenue fixed; peasants were tenants-at-will. -

All key facts

›Regulating Act: 1773 — first British government intervention; Warren Hastings named first Governor General of Bengal
›Pitt's India Act: 1784 — Board of Control; Company = subordinate department of State
›Charter Act 1813: ended Company's Indian trade monopoly; missionaries allowed
›Charter Act 1833: Company ceased commercial body; first Governor General of India = Lord William Bentinck
›Charter Act 1853: open competition for ICS; separate legislative council
›Act of 1858: Crown rule; Secretary of State + Council of India; Viceroy replaced Governor General; Canning first Viceroy
›Queen's Proclamation: November 1, 1858, issued by Lord Canning at Allahabad; announced end of annexations, respect for native princes, freedom of religion, and equal opportunities in services (in principle).
›Indian Civil Service Act, 1861: Passed after Queen's Proclamation, aiming for impression of equality in civil services but maintaining British control over higher posts.
›Army Amalgamation Scheme, 1861: Transferred Company's European troops to the Crown.
›Morley-Minto Reforms (1909): separate electorates for Muslims; first Indian member of Viceroy's Executive Council = Satyendra Prasanna Sinha
›Montford Reforms (GoI Act 1919): dyarchy in provinces
›

apmc agricultural marketinggm crops and agriculture policygreen revolution and food securitymsp and agricultural pricingpm kisan and income supportrural development credit diversification

Making of the Constitution, Challenges of Independent India — Partition, Integration of States, Planning

›Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny": midnight August 14–15, 1947 (Constituent Assembly)
›Flag hoisted: Lahori Gate, Red Fort, August 15, 1947 (Nehru)
›First Deputy PM: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (died December 1950)

+ 15 facts · tap to read

Independent India in 1947–50 faced three simultaneous challenges: (i) the human catastrophe of partition; (ii) integrating over 560 princely states; and (iii) framing a democratic constitution. The Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950; the first general elections were held in 1951–52. --- ### First Days of Independent India **August 15, 1947:** - Constituent Assembly met at 11 PM on August 14, 1947 (Rajendra Prasad presided). - Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny" speech delivered at midnight. - On August 15, Nehru as PM hoisted flag above **Lahori Gate of Red Fort**, Delhi. **First Cabinet:** - Jawaharlal Nehru: PM + External Affairs + Commonwealth Relations + Scientific Research - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: Deputy PM + Home Affairs + States + Information and Broadcasting (till death December 1950) - Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: Education - B.R. Ambedkar: Law (resigned 1951) - Shyama Prasad Mookherjee: Industries and Supplies (first to resign, April 1950) - R.K. Shanmukham Chetty: Finance - Amrit Kaur: Health (first woman cabinet minister in India) - Jagjivan Ram: Labour - Sardar Baldev Singh: Defence **Governor-Generals:** - Lord Mountbatten: GG of India (August 1947 – June 1948) - C. Rajagopalachari: Last GG of India (June 1948 – January 26, 1950) - Rajendra Prasad: First President of India (from January 26, 1950) --- ### Challenges Before the Newborn Nation **Partition:** - Massive human tragedy: 12–14 million displaced; 1–2 million killed. - Refugees from Pakistan: millions of Hindus and Sikhs; India received them in Punjab, Bengal, Delhi. - Emergency committees set up; Rehabilitation Ministry created. - Gandhi's fasts in Calcutta and Delhi to stop communal violence. - Gandhi assassinated January 30, 1948. **Economic Conditions:** - India inherited a stagnant, deindustrialised, famine-prone economy. - Per capita income was abysmally low. - Most of the industrial infrastructure was in Pakistan (Karachi port; jute mills vs jute fields problem). - Challenge of feeding ~340 million people. **Influx of Refugees:** - Over 7 million Hindus/Sikhs came to India from Pakistan; about 7 million Muslims went to Pakistan. - Rehabilitation required land, jobs, housing — massive administrative challenge. --- ### Integration of Princely States **Background:** - At independence: 562 princely states — large (Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, Jammu and Kashmir) and small. - British paramountcy lapsed on August 15, 1947 — states were technically free to join India, Pakistan, or remain independent. - **Sardar Patel** and **V.P. Menon** (States Ministry) were the architects of integration. - Instrument of Accession: states signed over defence, external affairs, and communications to India. - By August 15, 1947: all but three (Hyderabad, Junagadh, Jammu and Kashmir) had signed. **Hyderabad:** - Nizam refused to join India; wanted independence or accession to Pakistan. - **Operation Polo ("Police Action"):** September 13–18, 1948. Indian Army under Maj. Gen. J.N. Chaudhuri entered Hyderabad; Nizam surrendered on September 17, 1948. Hyderabad merged with India. **Junagadh:** - Muslim Nawab acceded to Pakistan despite Hindu-majority population. - India refused to accept; popular uprising; plebiscite held — overwhelming vote to join India. **Jammu and Kashmir:** - Maharaja Hari Singh (Hindu) delayed decision; signed Standstill Agreement with Pakistan. - Pakistan-backed tribal infiltrators (from NWFP) invaded in October 1947. - Hari Singh signed **Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947** — conditional (subject to plebiscite). - Indian Army airlifted to Srinagar; first Kashmir War began. - Nehru took matter to UN (January 1948); UN called for ceasefire. - Ceasefire: January 1, 1949 — divided Kashmir along ceasefire line (Line of Control). - Plebiscite never held. --- ### Making of the Constitution **Constituent Assembly:** - Idea: demanded by Congress since 1930s (Nehru Report, 1928). - Constituent Assembly formed under Cabinet Mission Plan (1946): indirect elections by provincial assemblies; 299 members at the time of final adoption. - First meeting: December 9, 1946 (Sachidananda Sinha as temporary president; Rajendra Prasad elected president). - B.R. Ambedkar = Chairman of the Drafting Committee. - K.M. Munshi, Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, D.P. Khaitan, T.T. Krishnamachari, Saiyid Muhammad Saadulla, B.L. Mitter (later replaced by N. Madhava Rao) = other members of Drafting Committee. - B.N. Rau = Constitutional Advisor. - Assembly worked for **2 years, 11 months, 18 days**. - **November 26, 1949:** Constitution adopted (Constitution Day — National Law Day). - **January 26, 1950:** Constitution came into force — Republic Day. **Sources of Constitution:** - Government of India Act 1935: Federation, Governor's powers, Emergency provisions. - British Constitution: Parliamentary democracy, Rule of Law, single citizenship. - US Constitution: Fundamental Rights, judicial review, independence of judiciary, impeachment. - Irish Constitution: Directive Principles of State Policy. - Canadian Constitution: Federal system with strong centre, residual powers with Centre. - Australian Constitution: Concurrent List, joint sitting of Parliament. - Weimar Constitution (Germany): Emergency provisions. - Soviet (USSR): Fundamental Duties, planning. **Key Features:** - Preamble: Sovereign, Democratic, Republic (1950); Socialist, Secular added in 1976 (42nd Amendment). - Originally 395 Articles + 8 Schedules. - Fundamental Rights (Part III): Rights to equality, freedom, against exploitation, freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, constitutional remedies. - Directive Principles (Part IV): Socio-economic goals; not justiciable but "fundamental in governance." - Independent Judiciary, single citizenship, emergency provisions. --- ### First General Elections (1951–52) - First elections under universal adult franchise in Indian history. - About 176 million voters registered; about 60% voted. - 497 seats in Lok Sabha contested. - **Indian National Congress won 364 out of 489 seats** (74.4%) — dominant victory. - Jawaharlal Nehru continued as Prime Minister. - Major parties/leaders: INC (Nehru), Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (Kripalani), Jan Sangh (Shyama Prasad Mookherjee), Communist Party (contested but restricted).

All key facts

›Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny": midnight August 14–15, 1947 (Constituent Assembly)
›Flag hoisted: Lahori Gate, Red Fort, August 15, 1947 (Nehru)
›First Deputy PM: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (died December 1950)
›First President of India: Rajendra Prasad (January 26, 1950)
›Last Governor-General of India: C. Rajagopalachari
›Amrit Kaur: first woman cabinet minister (Health)
›First Finance Minister: R.K. Shanmukham Chetty
›Operation Polo: September 13–18, 1948 (Hyderabad integration)
›J&K Instrument of Accession: October 26, 1947 (Maharaja Hari Singh)
›First UN referral for Kashmir: January 1948 (Nehru's decision)
›Constituent Assembly first meeting: December 9, 1946
›Drafting Committee chairman: B.R. Ambedkar
›Constitutional Advisor: B.N. Rau
›Constitution adopted: November 26, 1949
›

ppp models investmentcitizen and nation statecitizenship equality and rightsnature of citizenshipborrowed featuresconstituent assembly

After Nehru — Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Emergency, and Key Political Events (1964–1984)

›Nehru died: May 27, 1964; Gulzarilal Nanda as interim PM
›Shastri PM: June 9, 1964 – January 10/11, 1966 (died at Tashkent)
›"Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan": Shastri's slogan

+ 17 facts · tap to read

After Nehru's death (May 27, 1964), India navigated major political transitions: from Shastri's quiet leadership through war (1965) to Indira Gandhi's dominant but controversial tenure including bank nationalisation, Green Revolution, Bangladesh War (1971), and the Emergency (1975–77). This chapter covers the full post-Nehru period in Indian political history. --- ### Lal Bahadur Shastri (June 1964 – January 1966) **Background:** - Born October 2, 1904, UP; left out surname "Srivastava" (opposed caste system). "Shastri" = title earned at Kashi Vidyapeeth graduation (1928). - Married Lalita Devi (1928); accepted only 5 yards khadi + spinning wheel as dowry. - NCM (1921): arrested as minor, let off. Participated in Salt Satyagraha, Quit India. - Post-independence: UP Home Minister; resigned as Railways Minister (1956) taking moral responsibility for train accident. - Home Minister (1961–63): set up Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption → led to Central Vigilance Commission. **PM:** - Chosen over Morarji Desai; supported by K. Kamaraj's "Syndicate." - Sworn in June 9, 1964; "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" slogan. - Drew Indira Gandhi into cabinet as Information and Broadcasting Minister. - First PM to have PM's Secretary (L.K. Jha) → foundation of PMO. - Economic forerunner of reforms: decentralised Planning Commission's role; relaxed controls in steel and cement; economic team (L.K. Jha, I.G. Patel). - **White Revolution:** Visited Amul in October 1964; inspired by V. Kurien; National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) set up at Anand, 1965. - "Skip a Meal" campaign during food shortage + 1965 war. - Plutonium reprocessing plant inaugurated at Trombay (1965); authorised nuclear explosives programme. **Indo-Pakistan War (1965):** - Pakistan's Operation Grandslam (August 1965): Pakistan tried to capture the only overland route to Kashmir. - India crossed the ceasefire line; Indian Army launched three-pronged attack at Lahore and Sialkot in Punjab. - First time IAF participated in war after independence. - UN ceasefire: September 23, 1965. - **Tashkent Agreement (January 10, 1966):** Soviet PM Alexei Kosygin mediated; Ayub Khan (Pakistan) + Shastri (India); agreed to withdraw to pre-war positions; peaceful resolution of disputes. - Shastri died on the night of January 10–11, 1966 (Tashkent) — sudden death (heart attack). - Bandaranaike-Shastri Accord (1964): repatriation of Indian Tamils from Ceylon (not fully implemented). --- ### Indira Gandhi — First Term (January 1966 – 1977) **Background:** - Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru; Congress president 1959. - Supported by K. Kamaraj's Syndicate who expected to control her. **Key Events:** - **Rupee Devaluation (1966):** Devalued Indian rupee by ~57% under pressure from US/World Bank for aid. - **Green Revolution (Late 1960s):** High-Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds; Mexico wheat seeds (under M.S. Swaminathan + Norman Borlaug collaboration); focus on Punjab, Haryana; made India self-sufficient in food grains by early 1970s. "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" (Shastri) became "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan" (Vajpayee later). - **Congress Split (1969):** Indira Gandhi supported V.V. Giri (not Syndicate's candidate N. Sanjeeva Reddy) for Presidential election → Congress split into Congress(R) (Indira's) and Congress(O) (Syndicate/Old). - **Bank Nationalisation (1969):** 14 major private banks nationalised; "socialist" measure; immensely popular. - **Abolition of Privy Purses (1971):** 26th Constitutional Amendment abolished privy purses and special privileges of former princes. - **"Garibi Hatao" (Remove Poverty) slogan:** 1971 elections; massive victory for Congress(R). - **Bangladesh War (1971):** East Pakistan's independence movement; Pakistani army crackdown; 10 million refugees fled to India. - India–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation (August 9, 1971): countered Chinese and US threat. - War: December 3–16, 1971. India won decisively; Lt Gen. A.A.K. Niazi signed instrument of surrender (90,000 Pakistani POWs). **Bangladesh** declared independence. - Simla Agreement (July 2, 1972): India–Pakistan bilateral agreement; LOC in J&K formalised; bilateral resolution of disputes. - **Pokhran Nuclear Test (1974):** India detonated a nuclear device; called "Peaceful Nuclear Explosion"; codename: Operation Smiling Buddha. - **Allahabad High Court Judgement (June 12, 1975):** J. Sinha of Allahabad HC found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices in 1971 elections; debarred her from Parliament for 6 years. --- ### Emergency (1975–77) **Declaration:** - June 25–26, 1975: Emergency proclaimed under Article 352 (internal disturbance). - President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed the proclamation at the request of the Cabinet. - JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) movement was a major trigger: agitation against corruption; call for "Total Revolution" (Sampoorna Kranti). **Measures During Emergency:** - Suspension of Fundamental Rights (except Article 21 in theory — but Article 21 was also effectively suspended per later Supreme Court judgement). - Mass arrests: Opposition leaders arrested including JP, Morarji Desai, L.K. Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, George Fernandes. - Press censorship imposed. - **42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976):** Added "Socialist" and "Secular" to Preamble; extended Lok Sabha term to 6 years; Fundamental Duties added; stripped judiciary of several powers. - **Sterilisation Programme:** Sanjay Gandhi (Indira's son) promoted forced sterilisation — major human rights violation. - **Five-Point Programme** (Sanjay Gandhi): family planning; tree planting; dowry abolition; literacy; slum clearance. **End of Emergency:** - Elections called January–March 1977. - Janata Party formed: Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar, L.K. Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, George Fernandes. - Congress lost; Janata Party formed government (March 1977). - Morarji Desai became PM (first non-Congress PM). - Emergency lifted March 21, 1977. - **44th Constitutional Amendment (1978):** Reversed many 42nd Amendment changes; restored habeas corpus; "right to life" under Article 21 given absolute status. --- ### Janata Party Government (1977–79) - Morarji Desai = PM (March 1977); Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram had key roles. - Janata government collapsed in 1979 (internal conflicts); Charan Singh briefly became PM. - Fresh elections: Congress(I) under Indira Gandhi won; back to power 1980. --- ### Indira Gandhi — Second Term (1980–84) - Congress(I) massive win in January 1980 elections. - **Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980–85):** Poverty alleviation focus. - Sanjay Gandhi died (air crash, June 1980). - **Punjab Crisis and Operation Blue Star (June 1984):** - Sikh separatist movement; Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale based in Golden Temple, Amritsar. - Operation Blue Star (June 3–8, 1984): Army stormed Golden Temple; Bhindranwale killed; heavy casualties; sacrilege of holy site caused massive Sikh anger. - **Assassination of Indira Gandhi (October 31, 1984):** Shot by her own Sikh bodyguards (Satwant Singh and Beant Singh). - **Anti-Sikh Riots (November 1984):** Massive communal violence against Sikhs following Indira's assassination; thousands killed; Congress leaders implicated. - Rajiv Gandhi sworn in as PM (October 31, 1984) following Indira's assassination. --- ### Rajiv Gandhi (1984–89) - Youngest PM at 40; won massive mandate in December 1984 elections (412/543 seats — sympathy wave). - "Computer revolution" and modernisation focus. - **Assam Accord (1985):** Settled Assam agitation (illegal immigration); AGP formed. - **Punjab Accord / Rajiv-Longowal Accord (1985):** Attempt at peace; Longowal assassinated; accord failed. - **Bofors Scandal (1987):** Alleged kickbacks in howitzer gun deal; V.P. Singh (Finance Minister) resigned; became key political issue. - Shah Bano case + Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act (1986): Government overturned Supreme Court judgement in Shah Bano alimony case via leg

All key facts

›Nehru died: May 27, 1964; Gulzarilal Nanda as interim PM
›Shastri PM: June 9, 1964 – January 10/11, 1966 (died at Tashkent)
›"Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan": Shastri's slogan
›NDDB (Amul/White Revolution): 1965 (V. Kurien, Anand, Gujarat)
›Tashkent Agreement: January 10, 1966 (Kosygin mediated)
›Bank nationalisation: 1969 (14 banks; Indira Gandhi)
›Congress split: 1969 (Congress-R vs Congress-O)
›India-Soviet Treaty: August 9, 1971
›Bangladesh War: December 3–16, 1971; Pakistani surrender December 16
›Simla Agreement: July 2, 1972
›Pokhran nuclear test: May 1974 (Operation Smiling Buddha)
›Emergency proclaimed: June 25–26, 1975; Article 352
›42nd Amendment: 1976 (Socialist + Secular in Preamble; Fundamental Duties)
›Emergency lifted: March 21, 1977; Morarji Desai first non-Congress PM
›

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamblefundamental duties article 51a

Swadeshi Movement and the Moderate-Extremist Split

›At the **1905 INC session in Benaras**, presided over by Gokhale, a resolution was passed to condemn the partition of Bengal and support the anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement. (p. 278)
›The Extremist leaders—Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh—wanted to take the movement to other parts of the country and make it a mass struggle for *swaraj*. (p. 278)
›The Moderates were not willing to go that far, leading to a growing rift. (p. 278)

+ 5 facts · tap to read

The Swadeshi Movement, which began as an anti-partition campaign in Bengal, became the primary catalyst for the split within the Indian National Congress between the Moderates and the Extremists. While the Indian National Congress (INC) under the presidentship of Gokhale in 1905 condemned the partition and supported the Swadeshi Movement, a fundamental disagreement emerged over the movement's scope and objectives. The militant nationalists, or Extremists, led by figures like Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh, wanted to extend the movement beyond Bengal and transform it from a mere boycott of foreign goods into a full-fledged political mass struggle for attaining *swaraj* (self-rule). The Moderates, who dominated the Congress at the time, were unwilling to take the movement to this level. A significant step was taken at the 1906 Calcutta session, under Dadabhai Naoroji, where the goal of the INC was declared to be "self-government or swaraj like the United Kingdom or the colonies". This declaration emboldened the Extremists, who then called for a program of passive resistance, including boycott of government services, schools, and courts. This escalating dispute over the pace of the movement and its techniques of struggle reached a breaking point at the Surat session of the INC in 1907, where the party split.

All key facts

›At the **1905 INC session in Benaras**, presided over by Gokhale, a resolution was passed to condemn the partition of Bengal and support the anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement. (p. 278)
›The Extremist leaders—Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh—wanted to take the movement to other parts of the country and make it a mass struggle for *swaraj*. (p. 278)
›The Moderates were not willing to go that far, leading to a growing rift. (p. 278)
›At the **1906 Calcutta session**, under Dadabhai Naoroji, the INC declared its goal was “self-government or swaraj like the United Kingdom or the colonies” of Australia or Canada. (p. 279)
›Emboldened by the 1906 resolution, the Extremists called for passive resistance, which included the boycott of government schools, colleges, service, courts, and legislative councils. (p. 279)
›The purpose of the Extremist programme, as stated by Aurobindo Ghosh, was to "make the administration under present conditions impossible". (p. 279-280)
›The dispute over the pace and techniques of the movement reached a deadlock at the **Surat session of the Indian National Congress (1907)**. (p. 279)
›The party split at the Surat session, an event which had "serious consequences for the Swadeshi Movement". (p. 279)

swadeshi movementpartition of bengal 1905surat split 1907indian national congress moderatesindian national congress extremists

Emergence of Gandhi — Satyagraha, Rowlatt Act, Jallianwalla Bagh, Montford Reforms

›Gandhi born: October 2, 1869, Porbandar
›Returned to India from South Africa: 1915
›Political guru: Gopal Krishna Gokhale

+ 10 facts · tap to read

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915 and transformed the Indian national movement into a mass struggle. He brought the philosophy of satyagraha (truth-force/soul-force), passive resistance, and non-violent non-cooperation. The years 1919–22 saw the first great Gandhian mass movements in India. **Background — Why Nationalist Resurgence Post-WWI:** 1. **Economic Hardships:** India contributed enormously to British war effort (men and money). Post-war: recession, unemployment, high prices affected industry, workers, artisans, peasants, soldiers. 2. **Expectations of Political Gains:** Indians expected political rewards for war contribution; these were betrayed. 3. **International Disillusionment:** Allied powers promised democracy and self-determination but divided colonies of vanquished powers among themselves (Paris Peace Conference). Intensified anti-imperialism across Asia and Africa. 4. **Impact of Russian Revolution (November 7, 1917):** Bolsheviks under Lenin founded USSR; unilaterally renounced Czarist imperialist rights in Asia; gave rights of self-determination to former colonies. Showed that organised masses could challenge the mightiest tyrants. --- ### Gandhi in South Africa and Early India - Gandhi (born October 2, 1869, Porbandar) went to South Africa in 1893. - Developed satyagraha (literally "truth-force" or "soul-force") in South Africa against racial discrimination. - Returned to India in 1915; toured the country for a year under guidance of his political guru **Gopal Krishna Gokhale**. - Early Indian campaigns: - **Champaran Satyagraha (1917, Bihar):** Against the tinkathia system (peasants forced to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land); first satyagraha in India. - **Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918):** Workers' strike for wages; Gandhi undertook fast; succeeded. - **Kheda Satyagraha (1918, Gujarat):** Against revenue collection during crop failure; partial success. --- ### Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and Government of India Act, 1919 British policy of "carrot and stick": Montford Reforms = carrot; Rowlatt Act = stick. **Main Features of Montford Reforms:** - **Dyarchy in Provinces:** Subjects divided into "Reserved" (law and order, finance, land revenue, irrigation — controlled by governor through executive council) and "Transferred" (education, health, local government, agriculture, excise — controlled by ministers responsible to legislature). - Governor could take over transferred subjects in case of failure of constitutional machinery. - Provincial Legislative Councils: 70% elected members; communal and class electorates continued. - **Central Government:** Governor General retained control of all central subjects; Central Legislature bicameral (Council of State = Upper House; Central Legislative Assembly = Lower House). - Central Legislature: 140 members in CLA (100 elected), 60 in Council of State (27 elected). - Central government not responsible to legislature. - **Secretary of State for India:** New India Council established; paid from British revenues (not Indian). **Significance:** The principle of responsible government in provinces was introduced — though limited. Communal electorates extended. --- ### Rowlatt Act (1919) - Officially: Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919. - Based on Sedition Committee report (Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt, chair). - Provisions: Arrest without warrant; trial without jury for sedition and conspiracy cases; preventive detention. - Called "Black Act" by nationalists. - Passed despite unanimous Indian opposition in legislature: "not a single Indian member voted in favour" — Gandhi. - Gandhi launched satyagraha against it; nationwide hartals (April 6, 1919). --- ### Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919) - **Date:** April 13, 1919 (Baisakhi day). - **Location:** Jallianwalla Bagh, Amritsar. - **Context:** Martial law imposed in Punjab. Two nationalist leaders (Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew) had been arrested and deported. Public gathered at Jallianwalla Bagh (enclosed garden) to protest. - **Action:** Brigadier General R.E.H. Dyer ordered troops to fire without warning; 379 officially killed (estimates much higher); over 1,200 wounded. - **Aftermath:** - Hunter Committee (Disorders Inquiry Committee) set up — Nationalists called it an "eyewash." House of Lords endorsed General Dyer's action; *Morning Post* collected £30,000 for him. - Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest. - Gandhi suspended the satyagraha movement (violence at Chauri Chaura later led to suspension of Non-Cooperation; but initially, violence in Punjab by the public also caused Gandhi to reconsider). - Udham Singh (shot General O'Dwyer — Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1940 in London — in revenge for Jallianwalla Bagh). --- ### Gandhi's Political Philosophy - **Satyagraha:** Moral force of truth — not passive resistance but active non-violent resistance; the satyagrahi appeals to the conscience of the opponent. - **Non-violence (Ahimsa):** A positive force, not mere absence of violence. - **Swaraj:** Not just political independence but social, moral, and economic self-reliance; gram swaraj. - **Constructive Programme:** Removal of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity, promotion of khadi, village reconstruction. - Gandhi made the national movement a mass movement by involving peasants, workers, women, and lower castes.

All key facts

›Gandhi born: October 2, 1869, Porbandar
›Returned to India from South Africa: 1915
›Political guru: Gopal Krishna Gokhale
›Champaran Satyagraha: 1917 (tinkathia system, indigo, Bihar) — first satyagraha in India
›Ahmedabad Mill Strike: 1918
›Kheda Satyagraha: 1918 (crop failure, Gujarat)
›Russian Revolution (Bolshevik): November 7, 1917
›Montford Reforms/GoI Act 1919: Dyarchy in provinces; reserved vs transferred subjects
›Rowlatt Act, 1919: arrest without warrant; trial without jury; called "Black Act"
›Jallianwalla Bagh massacre: April 13, 1919 (Baisakhi); General Dyer; 379 killed officially
›Hunter Committee: "eyewash" per nationalists
›Tagore renounced knighthood in protest
›Udham Singh shot General O'Dwyer in London in 1940

apmc agricultural marketinggm crops and agriculture policygreen revolution and food securitymsp and agricultural pricingpm kisan and income supportrural development credit diversification

Nehru Era Developments (1947–1964) — Planning, Foreign Policy, Social Reform, Political Events

›Planning Commission: 1950 (Nehru = chairman; P.C. Mahalanobis = key architect)
›First Five-Year Plan: 1951–56 (agriculture focus; exceeded growth target)
›Second Five-Year Plan: 1956–61 (Nehru-Mahalanobis model; heavy industry)

+ 13 facts · tap to read

Jawaharlal Nehru as India's first Prime Minister (1947–1964) laid the foundations of independent India: democratic institutions, planned economy, scientific institutions, and a non-aligned foreign policy. The "Nehruvian Era" is defined by secularism, socialism, and democratic governance. --- ### Political Developments - First general elections: 1952 (Congress huge majority); re-elected 1957 and 1962 (declining margins). - Rajendra Prasad: First President (elected by first Parliament of India). - **Language Policy:** - Gandhi and Nehru favoured Hindustani (not overly Sanskritised or Persianised). - Constitution's Language Committee: Hindi in Devanagari script = official language (not "national language"); English to continue for 15 years; regional languages in Eighth Schedule. - Official Languages Act, 1963: Hindi to become official language from 1965; English given "associate additional official language" status. - Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967: bilingual (English-Hindi) solution; recognised regional languages in provincial administration. - Anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu (1964–65 especially intense). - **States Reorganisation (1956):** Based on **States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) Report** (Chairman: Fazl Ali; Members: H.N. Kunzru, K.M. Panikkar). Reorganised states along linguistic lines. **States Reorganisation Act, 1956:** 14 states and 6 union territories. Andhra Pradesh (1953): first state created on linguistic basis (carved from Madras; Potti Sriramulu's fast unto death was the catalyst). - **Constitutional Amendments:** First Amendment (1951) — restricted freedom of speech in public interest; added Ninth Schedule (laws immune from judicial review). --- ### Economic Developments: Planning - **Planning Commission:** Set up in 1950; Nehru as chairman; P.C. Mahalanobis as key architect. - **First Five-Year Plan (1951–56):** Focus on agriculture, irrigation, power. Target: 2.1% growth; achieved 3.6%. - **Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61):** Nehru-Mahalanobis model — heavy industry, public sector emphasis; steel plants (Bhilai with USSR, Rourkela with Germany, Durgapur with UK). - **Third Five-Year Plan (1961–66):** Agriculture + defence (after 1962 war); severe shortfalls due to wars (1962, 1965). - National Development Council: apex body for planning (representatives from states + Planning Commission). - Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956: expanded public sector; divided industries into three categories (Schedule A: exclusively public; Schedule B: mixed; Schedule C: private). - **Green Revolution foundations:** Work begun in Nehru era; M.S. Swaminathan and Norman Borlaug's collaboration (HYV wheat seeds introduced early 1960s). --- ### Social and Legal Reforms - **Hindu Code Bills (controversial):** Nehru pushed for codification of Hindu personal law. - **Hindu Marriage Act, 1955:** Monogamy; divorce provisions. - **Hindu Succession Act, 1956:** Women's right to inherit property. - **Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956.** - **Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.** - B.R. Ambedkar (Law Minister) resigned in 1951 — partly over delay in passing comprehensive Hindu Code Bill. - **Abolition of Zamindari (1950–52):** State-level legislation abolished zamindari; land reform. First Amendment added laws to Ninth Schedule to protect zamindari abolition from judicial review. - **Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955:** Made untouchability a penal offence. - **Special Marriage Act, 1954:** Inter-religious marriages without religious ceremony. --- ### Scientific and Technological Development - **Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs):** First IIT at Kharagpur, 1951; subsequent IITs at Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Delhi. - **CSIR:** Council of Scientific and Industrial Research — expanded under Nehru. - **Atomic Energy Commission (AEC):** Set up 1948; Homi J. Bhabha = founding chairman. - **TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research):** Established 1945; Homi J. Bhabha. - **AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences):** 1956, Delhi. - **Bhakra-Nangal Dam:** On Sutlej river; Nehru called dams "temples of modern India." - Steel plants established: Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Rourkela (Odisha), Durgapur (Bengal) — under Second Plan. - **Indian Space Research:** foundations laid; first rocket launch 1963 (Thumba, Kerala). - **Space Research Committee:** Vikram Sarabhai. --- ### Foreign Policy and Non-Alignment **Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence) — 1954:** - Signed between India (Nehru) and China (Zhou Enlai) as preamble to the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse with Tibet. - Five principles: (i) Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty; (ii) Mutual non-aggression; (iii) Mutual non-interference in internal affairs; (iv) Equality and mutual benefit; (v) Peaceful co-existence. **Non-Aligned Movement (NAM):** - Nehru, Nasser (Egypt), Tito (Yugoslavia) = founding trio. - First Non-Aligned Conference: **Bandung Conference (1955, Indonesia)** — "Spirit of Bandung." - First formal NAM Summit: **Belgrade, 1961.** - India refused to join either US-led NATO/SEATO or Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. **India-China War (1962):** - Background: Dispute over McMahon Line (boundary set in 1914 between British India and Tibet, not accepted by China); Tibet absorbed by China in 1950; "Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai" slogan. - Forward Policy (India): Indian Army posts established in disputed areas. - **October 20, 1962:** China launched massive military attack on both the eastern (NEFA) and western (Ladakh) fronts. - India suffered military defeat; China declared ceasefire unilaterally (November 21, 1962); withdrew to pre-war positions. - Consequences: humiliation for Nehru; V.K. Krishna Menon (Defence Minister) resigned; defence modernisation began; trust in China collapsed. **India-Pakistan Relations:** - First Kashmir War (1947–48); UN ceasefire; Line of Control established. - Liaquat-Nehru Pact (1950): protection of minorities in both countries. - Indus Waters Treaty (1960): divided rivers of the Indus basin between India (Beas, Ravi, Sutlej) and Pakistan (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) with World Bank mediation. **Other Foreign Policy:** - Nehru represented India at San Francisco Peace Conference (1951) — refused to sign US-Japan security treaty. - Actively participated in Korean ceasefire negotiations; V.K. Krishna Menon = India's UN representative. - Goa integration: Portuguese refused to leave; India's military "liberation" of Goa, December 1961 (Operation Vijay). --- ### Nehru's Death and Legacy - Nehru died: **May 27, 1964**. - Gulzarilal Nanda: interim PM pending election of new Congress leader. - Nehru's legacies: democratic institutions, secular constitution, mixed economy with public sector focus, Non-Alignment, scientific institutions. - Criticisms: 1962 defeat; overconfidence with China; economic policies' inefficiency; dynasty politics.

All key facts

›Planning Commission: 1950 (Nehru = chairman; P.C. Mahalanobis = key architect)
›First Five-Year Plan: 1951–56 (agriculture focus; exceeded growth target)
›Second Five-Year Plan: 1956–61 (Nehru-Mahalanobis model; heavy industry)
›Bhilai Steel Plant: USSR; Rourkela: Germany; Durgapur: UK
›IIT Kharagpur: first IIT, 1951
›Atomic Energy Commission: 1948; Homi J. Bhabha
›Panchsheel: 1954 (India-China; five principles)
›Bandung Conference: 1955 (Spirit of Bandung)
›First NAM Summit: Belgrade, 1961 (Nehru, Nasser, Tito founding trio)
›India-China War: October–November 1962; India defeated
›Indus Waters Treaty: 1960 (World Bank mediation)
›Goa integration: December 1961 (Operation Vijay)
›Hindu Marriage Act: 1955; Hindu Succession Act: 1956
›States Reorganisation Act: 1956 (14 states, 6 UTs; Fazl Ali SRC)
›

apmc agricultural marketinggm crops and agriculture policygreen revolution and food securitymsp and agricultural pricingpm kisan and income supportrural development credit diversification

Beginning of Modern Nationalism and Indian National Congress — Moderate Phase

›INC founded: December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay
›First president: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
›A.O. Hume: retired English civil servant who organised first session; convinced Lord Dufferin not to obstruct

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Modern Indian nationalism emerged in the second half of the 19th century as a product of multiple forces — both as a result of, and a reaction against, colonial policies. The Indian National Congress (INC), founded in 1885, provided an organised forum for political expression. The first two decades of the Congress (1885–1905) are known as the Moderate phase. **Factors in the Growth of Modern Nationalism:** 1. Worldwide upsurge of nationalism and right of self-determination (initiated by French Revolution) 2. Indian Renaissance — reform movements built consciousness 3. Offshoot of modernisation initiated by the British (railways, telegraph, unified administration, codified laws) 4. Strong reaction to British imperialist economic exploitation 5. **Political, Administrative, Economic Unification:** British rule unified India administratively — a single state with a professional civil service, unified judiciary, codified laws. Railways, roads, telegraph linked different regions. Economic interdependence grew: crop failure in one region affected another. 6. **Western Thought and Education:** Exposure to Milton, Shelley, Mill, Rousseau, Paine, Spencer, Voltaire — instilled liberal, secular, democratic, nationalist ideas. English language enabled nationalist leaders from different regions to communicate. 7. **Role of Press and Literature:** By 1877, about 169 vernacular newspapers with circulation ~1,00,000. Press criticised official policies and spread ideas of self-government, democracy, civil rights. 8. **Rediscovery of India's Past:** Max Mueller, Monier Williams, R.G. Bhandarkar, R.L. Mitra, Vivekananda — revealed India's rich heritage. Gave psychological boost to educated Indians. 9. **Rise of Middle-Class Intelligentsia:** Percival Spear called the new middle class "a well-integrated all-India class." --- ### Foundation of the Indian National Congress (1885) **Background:** By late 1870s and early 1880s, ground was prepared for an all-India organisation. A.O. Hume, a retired English civil servant, mobilised leading intellectuals. **First Session (December 1885):** - Venue: **Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay**. - 72 delegates attended. - Presided over by **Womesh Chandra (Chunder) Bonnerjee**. - Preceded by: two sessions of **Indian National Conference** (1883 and 1885) — organised by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose. Congress met every year in December in a different part of India. **Early Presidents:** Dadabhai Naoroji (thrice), Badruddin Tyabji (first Muslim president), Pherozeshah Mehta, P. Anandacharlu, Surendranath Banerjea, Romesh Chandra Dutt, Ananda Mohan Bose, Gopal Krishna Gokhale. **Other prominent leaders:** Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sisir Kumar Ghosh, Motilal Ghosh, Madan Mohan Malaviya, G. Subramania Aiyar, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, Dinshaw E. Wacha. **1890:** Kadambini Ganguly (first woman graduate of Calcutta University) addressed Congress session. **The 'Safety Valve' Theory:** - Theory: Hume formed Congress as a "safety valve" for Indian discontent; convinced Lord Dufferin not to obstruct it. - Supported by: Lala Lajpat Rai, R.P. Dutt (Marxist — "conspiracy to abort popular uprising"). - Disputed by modern historians: Congress represented genuine nationalist urge; used Hume as a "lightning conductor" (Bipan Chandra) — catalyst to bring nationalist forces together. **Aims and Objectives of Congress (Initial Stage):** (i) Found a democratic, nationalist movement; (ii) politicise and educate people; (iii) establish headquarters for movement; (iv) promote friendly relations among nationalist workers; (v) develop and propagate anti-colonial nationalist ideology; (vi) formulate popular demands; (vii) develop national unity irrespective of religion, caste, province; (viii) carefully promote Indian nationhood. --- ### Era of Moderates (1885–1905) **Important Leaders:** Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, D.E. Wacha, W.C. Bonnerjea, S.N. Banerjea — "staunch believers in liberalism and moderate politics." **Moderate Approach:** - Constitutional agitation within confines of law. - Believed British basically wanted to be just but were misinformed → create public opinion → present demands through resolutions, petitions, meetings. - "Prayer, petition, and protest" — two-pronged: (i) arouse national consciousness; (ii) persuade British government. - British Committee of INC established in London (1889) with *India* as its organ. - Believed political connections with Britain were in India's interest at that stage; time not ripe for direct challenge. **Contributions of Moderate Nationalists:** 1. **Economic Critique of British Imperialism:** Dadabhai Naoroji's "drain theory" — British drained wealth from India. R.C. Dutt, Dinshaw Wacha analysed economic exploitation systematically. Naoroji coined term "un-British" to describe colonial policies. 2. **Constitutional Reforms:** Demanded expansion of Legislative Councils (achieved partially in Indian Councils Act, 1892), greater Indian representation, separation of judiciary from executive. 3. **Civil Rights:** Demanded freedom of speech, press, association; opposed repressive measures. 4. **Indianisation of Services:** Demanded Indians in higher civil service; simultaneous ICS examinations in India and England. 5. **Reduction of Military Expenditure:** Argued India was overburdened by military costs. 6. **Land Revenue Reforms:** Demanded permanent settlement extension, protection of ryots. **Evaluation of Moderates:** - Achievements: Established the political organisation, built national consciousness, articulated the economic critique, and prepared the ground. - Limitations: Could not reach the masses; constitutional methods yielded little; limited to the educated middle class.

All key facts

›INC founded: December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay
›First president: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
›A.O. Hume: retired English civil servant who organised first session; convinced Lord Dufferin not to obstruct
›72 delegates at first session
›Indian National Conference: 1883 and 1885 (before INC); Surendranath Banerjea + Ananda Mohan Bose
›Badruddin Tyabji: first Muslim president of Congress
›Kadambini Ganguly: first woman to address Congress (1890)
›British Committee of INC, London: 1889
›Dadabhai Naoroji: thrice INC president; "drain theory"
›Bipan Chandra: Hume as "lightning conductor" (not safety valve)
›Lala Lajpat Rai and R.P. Dutt: believed in "safety valve" theory
›1877: ~169 vernacular newspapers, circulation ~1,00,000
›Initial plan to hold an INC session in London in 1892 was postponed due to British elections of 1891 and never revived.
›Moderate economic demands included abolition of salt tax, improvement in working conditions of plantation labour, and encouragement to modern industry through tariff protection and direct government aid.

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamblecabinet committees

Revolutionary Nationalism — First Phase (1907–1917) and Second Phase (1920s–1930s)

›Anushilan Samiti, Calcutta: 1902 (Promotha Mitter)
›Yugantar (weekly): 1906 (Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta)
›Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki: Muzaffarpur Bomb Case, 1908

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Revolutionary nationalism was a distinct strand of the Indian freedom struggle, separate from the constitutional methods of the Moderates and the mass non-cooperation of Gandhi. It emerged as a product of militant nationalism and continued in two phases. The revolutionaries used individual heroic actions, political assassinations, arms robberies (dacoities for funds), and foreign conspiracies. **Why Revolutionary Activities Arose:** - A by-product of the growth of militant nationalism (first phase as fallout of Swadeshi-Boycott Movement). - The Extremist leaders failed to create effective organisation or new forms of political work. - Youth, finding all peaceful avenues closed under government repression, believed physical expulsion of the British was necessary. - The second phase arose as fallout of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22). **The Revolutionary Programme:** - Not mass revolution or subversion of the army (impractical at that stage). - Opted to follow Russian nihilists or Irish nationalist methodology. - Methods: (i) assassinations of unpopular officials and traitors/informers; (ii) swadeshi dacoities to raise funds; (iii) military conspiracies with Britain's enemies (during WWI). - Aim: strike terror in rulers, arouse the people, remove fear of authority. --- ### First Phase — Revolutionary Activities in Bengal - 1870s: Calcutta students had secret societies. - 1902: First revolutionary groups: Midnapore (Jnanendranath Basu) and Calcutta (**Anushilan Samiti** founded by Promotha Mitter; included Jatindranath Banerjee, Barindra Kumar Ghosh). - April 1906: Inner circle of Anushilan (Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta) started weekly **Yugantar**. - Rashbehari Bose and Sachin Sanyal organised a secret society across Punjab, Delhi, United Provinces. - Hemachandra Kanungo went abroad for military and political training. - **Muzaffarpur Bomb Case (1908):** Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki attempted to assassinate Kingsford (district magistrate of Muzaffarpur). Prafulla Chaki shot himself; Khudiram Bose was hanged — became a hero. - **Alipore Bomb Conspiracy Case:** Aurobindo Ghosh acquitted. ### Punjab and UP - Lala Hardayal founded **Ghadar Party** in San Francisco in 1913 — mainly among Punjabi emigrants in North America. - Ghadar Party planned armed uprising in India in 1914–15 but was suppressed. ### The Ghadar Movement - Founded 1913, San Francisco — Lala Hardayal as key figure. - Newspaper: *Ghadar* (Urdu/Punjabi/Hindi). - Mainly Punjabi Sikhs and Muslims in USA and Canada. - Planned to take advantage of WWI; sent revolutionaries to India to incite mutiny in the army. - Attempt failed — betrayed by informers; leaders arrested, executed, or transported. - Ram Chandra Pahwa, Kartar Singh Sarabha (hanged at age 19) were notable figures. ### Assassination of Curzon-Wyllie (1909) - Madan Lal Dhingra shot Sir William Curzon-Wyllie (political ADC to Secretary of State for India) in London on July 1, 1909. - Dhingra was hanged. --- ### Second Phase — Revolutionary Activities (1920s–1930s) **Hindustan Republican Association/Army (HRA) and HSRA:** - **Hindustan Republican Association (HRA)** founded 1924 by Sachin Sanyal, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, and others. - **Kakori Conspiracy (Kakori Train Robbery, August 9, 1925):** Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, and others looted a train carrying government money near Kakori (UP). Four were hanged: Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, Roshan Singh. - HRA renamed **Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA)** in 1928 — at a meeting at Feroz Shah Kotla (Delhi); Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh became central figures. - **Assembly Bomb Case (April 8, 1929):** Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly to make the "deaf hear" — they surrendered and used the trial as a political platform. - **Shooting of Saunders (December 17, 1928):** Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad killed British police officer J.P. Saunders (mistaken for Superintendent Scott who had ordered lathi charge on Lala Lajpat Rai). Lala Lajpat Rai had died (November 17, 1928) after injuries in the lathi charge during anti-Simon Commission protest. - **Lahore Conspiracy Case:** Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev convicted for Saunders murder and hanged on **March 23, 1931**. - Chandrashekhar Azad: died in Alfred Park, Allahabad (February 27, 1931) rather than surrender. **Bengali Revolutionaries:** - **Chittagong Armoury Raid (April 18, 1930):** Surya Sen ("Masterda") led the raid to capture weapons; declared a provisional government; ultimately suppressed. Surya Sen hanged in 1934. - Binoy, Badal, Dinesh: raided the Writers' Building (Calcutta) in 1930 to assassinate Inspector General of Prisons Colonel Simpson. **Women Revolutionaries:** - Pritilata Waddedar: led attack on European Club in Chittagong (1932); swallowed poison after being surrounded. - Kalpana Datta: participated in Chittagong activities.

All key facts

›Anushilan Samiti, Calcutta: 1902 (Promotha Mitter)
›Yugantar (weekly): 1906 (Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta)
›Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki: Muzaffarpur Bomb Case, 1908
›Ghadar Party: 1913, San Francisco (Lala Hardayal)
›Kartar Singh Sarabha: hanged at age 19 (Ghadar)
›Madan Lal Dhingra: shot Curzon-Wyllie in London, July 1, 1909
›HRA founded: 1924 (Sachin Sanyal, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee)
›Kakori Train Robbery: August 9, 1925; four hanged (Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Lahiri, Roshan Singh)
›HSRA formed: 1928 (meeting at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi)
›Lala Lajpat Rai death: November 17, 1928 (injuries from lathi charge)
›Saunders killed: December 17, 1928 (Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Azad)
›Assembly bomb case: April 8, 1929 (Bhagat Singh, B.K. Dutt)
›Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev hanged: March 23, 1931
›Chandrashekhar Azad died: February 27, 1931, Alfred Park, Allahabad

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamblenationalism and minorities

Advent of Europeans in India — Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English

›1453: Constantinople fell to Ottomans — sparked European quest for sea route to India
›1454: Pope Nicholas V gave Prince Henry of Portugal a bull to navigate "as far as India" to fight Islamic influence and spread Christianity.
›1487: Bartholomew Dias rounded Cape of Good Hope

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The arrival of Europeans in India from the late 15th century onwards fundamentally transformed the subcontinent's history, eventually leading to British colonial rule. The Portuguese were the first to arrive, followed by the Dutch, English, Danish, and French, each establishing trading posts and engaging in commercial rivalry. What began as trade competition gradually evolved into political and territorial control. **Background — Why Europeans Came:** After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the land routes to India were controlled by Arab Muslim intermediaries who monopolised the spice and luxury goods trade. European demand for Indian commodities (spices, calicoes, silk, precious stones) was high. Advances in ship-building and navigation, combined with the Renaissance spirit of exploration, drove European nations — particularly Portugal and Spain — to seek a direct sea route to India. The economic development of many regions of Europe, marked by expansion of land under cultivation, improved ploughs, scientific crop management, and increased meat supply (requiring spices for cooking and preservation), also contributed to the demand for oriental luxury goods. Venice and Genoa, which had previously prospered from oriental trade, were too small to challenge the Ottoman Turks or undertake major exploration. Pope Nicholas V, in 1454, issued a bull conferring on Prince Henry of Portugal the right to navigate "as far as India" to fight Islamic influence and spread Christianity. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) further divided the non-Christian world between Portugal and Spain, setting the stage for Portuguese incursions into Indian waters. **The Portuguese:** - Bartholomew Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. - Vasco Da Gama arrived at Calicut (guided by Gujarati pilot Abdul Majid) in May 1498 — a landmark in world history marking direct sea contact between Europe and India. The Hindu ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin (Samuthiri), initially received him hospitably due to Calicut's position as an entrepot, but Arab traders resisted Portuguese entry as the Portuguese sought to monopolise the eastern trade. - Vasco da Gama's return cargo sold in Europe at a profit ten times that paid when buying through Muslim middlemen. - Pedro Alvarez Cabral followed, establishing a factory at Calicut (1500). After a conflict where the Portuguese factory was attacked, Cabral retaliated by seizing and burning Arab merchant ships and bombarding Calicut. He later secured treaties with Cochin and Cannanore. - Francisco De Almeida (Governor from 1505) was instructed to consolidate Portuguese position, destroy Muslim trade, and build fortresses. He introduced the "Blue Water Policy" (Cartaze system) — no ship could sail the Indian Ocean without Portuguese permission. In 1507, the Portuguese squadron was defeated off Diu by a combined Egyptian and Gujarat fleet, but Almeida avenged this defeat by crushing the two navies in 1508. - Alfonso de Albuquerque (Governor from 1509) was the real founder of Portuguese power in the East. He captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur (1510) — it became the Portuguese headquarters in India. He also captured Malacca (1511) and established strongholds across the Indian Ocean, introducing a permit system for other ships and controlling major shipbuilding centres. Albuquerque abolished sati and encouraged Portuguese soldiers to marry Indian women, settling them as village landlords, artisans, and introducing new crops like tobacco and cashew nut. - Nino da Cunha, governor from 1529, shifted the headquarters from Cochin to Goa in 1530. He secured Bassein (1534) and promised Diu from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in exchange for help against Humayun. However, relations soured, and Bahadur Shah was killed on a Portuguese ship during negotiations in 1537. - The Portuguese introduced the Inquisition at Goa in 1560, leading to persecution of non-Catholics. Initially tolerant towards Hindus, their religious policy changed after the Inquisition, leading to resentment among Hindus. - Jesuit missions were sent to Emperor Akbar's court in 1579, 1590, and 1595, and later to Jahangir's court, but hopes of converting the Mughal emperors to Christianity were not realised. - Conflict with Mughals arose from Portuguese intrigues against English traders like Captain William Hawkins (1608-1611) and acts of piracy, which led to Jahangir's anger in 1613. During Shah Jahan's reign, the Portuguese lost favour, especially after their settlement at Hooghly was besieged and captured by Mughal forces in 1632, due to their involvement in the slave trade and capturing Mumtaz Mahal's slave girls. - Portuguese decline: inefficiency, religious intolerance, rising power of Dutch and English, and Portugal's own political crises (like the union with Spain in 1580-81) weakened the Estado da India. The Marathas captured Salsette and Bassein from the Portuguese in 1739. The discovery of Brazil also diverted Portugal's colonising efforts. The Portuguese, though the first Europeans to arrive, were also the last to leave India, with the Government of India recapturing Goa, Daman, and Diu in 1961. **The Dutch:** - Dutch East India Company (VOC) established 1602. Focused more on Southeast Asian spice islands (Malacca, Java, Spice Islands). - In India, they founded their first factory in Masulipatnam in 1605. They captured Nagapatam (near Chennai) from the Portuguese, making it their main stronghold in South India. They established factories at Pulicat (1609), Surat (1616), Bimlipatam (1641), Karaikal (1645), Chinsura (1653), Baranagar, Kasimbazar, Balasore, Patna, and Cochin (1663). - The Dutch were primarily interested in the spice trade of the Indonesian archipelago; India was secondary, trading in indigo, textiles, silk, saltpetre, opium, and rice. - Anglo-Dutch rivalry intensified, climaxing with the Amboyna massacre in 1623 in Indonesia. A compromise was reached in 1667, where the British withdrew claims on Indonesia, and the Dutch retired from India to concentrate on their more profitable spice trade in Indonesia. - Battle of Bedara (1759), also known as the Battle of Hooghly (November 1759): The Dutch were decisively defeated by the British near Chinsurah, Bengal. This dealt a crushing blow to Dutch ambitions and ended their power in India. The Dutch were not much interested in empire building in India, their concerns were trade. **The English:** - East India Company (EIC), officially named 'Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies', was granted a charter by Queen Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with a 15-year monopoly, later extended indefinitely. - Captain William Hawkins arrived at Jahangir’s court in April 1609 seeking permission to trade at Surat, but Portuguese opposition thwarted him. The English started trading at Masulipatnam in 1611 and established a factory there in 1616. - In 1612, Captain Thomas Best defeated a Portuguese fleet off Surat, impressing Jahangir, who then granted permission for an English factory at Surat in early 1613 under Thomas Aldworth. - Sir Thomas Roe obtained a farman from Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1615) granting trading rights and permission to set up factories at Agra, Ahmedabad, and Broach. - Bombay was gifted to King Charles II by the King of Portugal as dowry for his marriage to Princess Catherine in 1662 and was given to the EIC in 1668 for an annual payment of 10 pounds. Bombay became the Western Presidency headquarters, replacing Surat, in 1687. - The "Golden Farman" from the Sultan of Golconda in 1632 granted the English free trade in Golconda ports for 500 pagodas a year. - Francis Day received permission in 1639 from the ruler of Chandragiri to build a fortified factory at Madras, which became Fort St. George and replaced Masulipatnam as the headquarters in South India. Factories were also established at Hariharpur and Balasore (Odisha) in 1633. - In Bengal, Shah Shuja, the subahdar,

All key facts

›1453: Constantinople fell to Ottomans — sparked European quest for sea route to India
›1454: Pope Nicholas V gave Prince Henry of Portugal a bull to navigate "as far as India" to fight Islamic influence and spread Christianity.
›1487: Bartholomew Dias rounded Cape of Good Hope
›May 1498: Vasco Da Gama arrived at Calicut (guided by Abdul Majid, a Gujarati pilot)
›1500: Pedro Alvarez Cabral established a factory at Calicut.
›1507: Portuguese squadron defeated off Diu by combined Egyptian and Gujarat navies.
›1508: Almeida avenged defeat by crushing Egyptian and Gujarat navies.
›1510: Portuguese captured Goa under Albuquerque — remained Portuguese till 1961
›1510: Albuquerque captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur.
›Alfonso de Albuquerque abolished sati.
›Alfonso de Albuquerque introduced new crops like tobacco and cashew nut in Goa.
›1529: Nino da Cunha became Portuguese governor.
›1530: Portuguese headquarters shifted from Cochin to Goa under Nino da Cunha.
›

abbasid caliphateearly human evolutionmesopotamia urbanisationroman empirethe crusadesfundamental rights constitutional status

Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Young Bengal, Vidyasagar, Phule — Bengal and Maharashtra Reform

›Brahmo Sabha founded: August 1828 by Rammohan Roy (later renamed Brahmo Samaj)
›Anti-Sati Regulation: 1829 (under Lord Bentinck) — Rammohan Roy's campaign succeeded
›Tattvabodhini Sabha: Debendranath Tagore, 1839

+ 33 facts · tap to read

Bengal and Maharashtra were the two epicentres of 19th-century social and religious reform. This page covers the major reformers and movements in these regions, including the Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Young Bengal, Vidyasagar's work, and Jyotiba-Savitribai Phule's movements. --- ### Raja Rammohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj **Raja Rammohan Roy (1772–1833)** — "Father of Indian Renaissance" and "Maker of Modern India." - Believed in monotheism, reason, and human dignity. - Wrote *Gift to Monotheists* (1809); translated Vedas and five Upanishads into Bengali to prove that ancient Hindu texts support monotheism. - 1814: Founded **Atmiya Sabha** (Society of Friends) in Calcutta — to propagate monotheism, campaign against idolatry and caste rigidities. - 1820: *Precepts of Jesus* — separated moral/philosophical message of New Testament from miracle stories; earned missionaries' wrath. - **August 1828:** Founded **Brahmo Sabha** (later renamed **Brahmo Samaj**) — committed to "the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being." No idols, statues, or images in Samaj buildings. - Key features of Brahmo Samaj: denounced polytheism and idol worship; discarded belief in divine avataras; denied scriptural infallibility; took no stand on karma/transmigration; criticised caste system. - **Anti-Sati Campaign:** Started 1818; visited cremation grounds, organised vigilance groups, filed counter-petitions. Rewarded by **Government Regulation of 1829** declaring sati a crime (under Lord Bentinck). - Campaigned for: women's rights, widow remarriage, right of inheritance and property for women, opposed polygamy. - Education: supported David Hare's Hindu College (1817); founded Vedanta College (1825) combining Indian learning and Western sciences; compiled Bengali grammar. - Journalism: brought out journals in Bengali, Hindi, English, Persian — pioneer of Indian journalism. - Political: demanded fixation of maximum rents, abolition of EIC's trading rights, Indianisation of services, separation of executive from judiciary, trial by jury. - Associates: David Hare, Alexander Duff, Debendranath Tagore, P.K. Tagore, Chandrashekhar Deb, Tarachand Chakraborty. - Orthodox opposition: Raja Radhakant Deb organised **Dharma Sabha** to counter Brahmo Samaj. - Roy's death in 1833 was a setback. **Debendranath Tagore (1817–1905)** — father of Rabindranath Tagore. - 1839: Headed **Tattvabodhini Sabha** (with organ *Tattvabodhini Patrika*) — systematic study of India's past with rational outlook. - Joined Brahmo Samaj in 1842; gave it new life. - The Adi Brahmo Samaj bore Tagore's name after the later splits. **Keshab Chandra Sen (1838–84):** - Joined Brahmo Samaj in 1858; made acharya by Debendranath Tagore. - Opened branches across India (UP, Punjab, Bombay, Madras). - Clash with Debendranath: Keshab wanted cosmopolitanisation (teachings from all religions) and strongly opposed caste, supported inter-caste marriage. - 1865: Dismissed from acharya; he and followers founded **Brahmo Samaj of India** (1866). Debendranath's samaj became **Adi Brahmo Samaj**. - 1878: Keshab's inexplicable act — married his 13-year-old daughter to minor Hindu Maharaja of Cooch-Behar with full Hindu rituals → caused another split. - Post-1878: Keshab's progressive followers set up **Sadharan Brahmo Samaj** (Ananda Mohan Bose, Sib Chandra Deb, Umeshchandra Dutta). - In Punjab: Dayal Singh Trust → **Dayal Singh College** at Lahore (1910). - **Significance of Brahmo Samaj:** Attacked dogmas and superstitions; worked for women's status (anti-sati, purdah, child marriage, polygamy); crusaded for widow remarriage and women's education; attacked casteism. However, influence largely limited to Calcutta and Bengal; did not have lasting wider impact. --- ### Prarthana Samaj (Bombay) - 1867: Keshab Chandra Sen helped **Atmaram Pandurang** found **Prarthana Samaj** in Bombay. - Precursor: Paramahansa Sabha (secret society to break caste and communal barriers). - **Mahadeo Govind Ranade (1842–1901)** joined in 1870 — gave it all-India character. - Other leaders: R.G. Bhandarkar (1837–1925), N.G. Chandavarkar (1855–1923). - Emphasis on monotheism but more focused on social reform than religion. - Attached to bhakti cult of Maharashtra (sant tradition). - Four-point social agenda: (i) oppose caste system; (ii) women's education; (iii) widow remarriage; (iv) raise age of marriage for both sexes. - Dhondo Keshav Karve and Vishnu Shastri: champions of social reform alongside Ranade. - Ranade and Karve founded **Widow Remarriage Movement** and **Widows' Home Association**. --- ### Young Bengal Movement and Henry Vivian Derozio - **Henry Vivian Derozio (1809–31):** Anglo-Indian teacher at Hindu College (1826–31); inspired by French Revolution; encouraged free rational thought, questioned authority, loved liberty and equality. - Derozians supported women's rights and education. - Derozio was "perhaps the first nationalist poet of modern India." - **Failure:** Removed from Hindu College in 1831 for radicalism. Their ideas were bookish; no connection with the masses; no support from other social groups. - **Legacy:** Carried forward Rammohan Roy's tradition; demanded Indianisation of higher services, protection of ryots, better treatment of Indian labour abroad, revision of Company's charter, freedom of press, trial by jury. - Surendranath Banerjea called them "the pioneers of the modern civilisation of Bengal." --- ### Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891) - 1850: Became principal of Sanskrit College; opened it to non-Brahmins; introduced Western thought; evolved new methodology to teach Sanskrit; devised new Bengali primer and modern prose style. - **Widow Remarriage:** Led movement → **Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act (1856)** under Lord Dalhousie. - Crusaded against child marriage and polygamy. - Women's education: helped organise 35 girls' schools (as government inspector); Secretary of **Bethune School** (established 1849) — pioneer of higher education for women. - The Bethune School faced fierce social opposition (young students abused, parents socially boycotted). --- ### Balshastri Jambhekar (1812–46) - Pioneer of social reform through journalism in Bombay; attacked Brahminical orthodoxy. - 1832: Started newspaper *Darpan* — "father of Marathi journalism." - 1840: Started *Digdarshan* (scientific and historical articles). - Founded Bombay Native General Library; first professor of Hindi at Elphinstone College; director of Colaba Observatory. --- ### Paramahansa Mandali (Maharashtra, 1849) - Founders: Dadoba Pandurang, Mehtaji Durgaram and others. - Secret society; one God worship; emphasis on love and moral conduct; freedom of thought; broke caste rules (food cooked by lower caste people eaten at meetings); advocated widow remarriage and women's education. - Branches in Poona, Satara. --- ### Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule **Jyotirao (Jyotiba) Phule (1827–90):** - Born in Satara, Maharashtra; from mali (gardener) community. - 1873: Founded **Satyashodhak Samaj** (Truth Seekers' Society) — leadership from backward classes (malis, telis, kunbis, etc.). - Two main aims: (i) social service; (ii) spread of education among women and lower-caste people. - Wanted social **transformation**, not just reform. - Introduced Marathi word 'dalit' (crushed) for those outside the varna system. - Propagated Satyashodhak marriage ceremony — simple, inexpensive, without Brahmin priest. - Works: *Sarvajanik Satyadharma* and *Gulamgiri* (Slavery) — inspiration for depressed classes. - Used symbol of Rajah Bali (vs. Brahmins' Rama symbol). - Subscribed to Aryan invasion theory: untouchables were indigenous; Brahmins came from invading Aryans. - Given title 'Mahatma' in 1888 by Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar. - With help of Ghaffar Baig Munshi and a British official (Lizit Sahab), admitted to Scottish missionary school despite caste barriers. - Opened school for girls in Pune (with wife Savitribai)

All key facts

›Brahmo Sabha founded: August 1828 by Rammohan Roy (later renamed Brahmo Samaj)
›Anti-Sati Regulation: 1829 (under Lord Bentinck) — Rammohan Roy's campaign succeeded
›Tattvabodhini Sabha: Debendranath Tagore, 1839
›Brahmo Samaj of India: 1866 (Keshab Chandra Sen after split)
›Adi Brahmo Samaj: Debendranath Tagore's faction (post-1866)
›Sadharan Brahmo Samaj: 1878 (after Keshab's daughter's marriage controversy)
›Dayal Singh College, Lahore: 1910 (from Punjab Brahmo trust)
›Prarthana Samaj: 1867 (Bombay) — Atmaram Pandurang + Keshab's inspiration
›Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act: 1856 (Vidyasagar's campaign)
›Bethune School: 1849 (Calcutta) — women's higher education
›Satyashodhak Samaj: 1873 (Jyotirao Phule)
›'Dalit' as a Marathi word: attributed to Jyotiba Phule
›Savitribai Phule died: 1897 (plague; while treating patients)
›Gopal Baba Walangkar: pioneer Dalit intellectual, considered by Ambedkar as founder of Dalit movement

cabinet committeesparliamentary vs presidentialpermanent executive bureaucracypresident of indiaprime minister and council of ministersappointment removal of judges

Non-Cooperation Movement and Khilafat Aandolan (1919–1922)

›Khilafat Committee formed: early 1919
›All India Khilafat Conference, Delhi: November 1919 (called boycott of British goods)
›Gandhi: president of All India Khilafat Committee

+ 28 facts · tap to read

The Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements (1919–22) were the first mass movements of the Gandhian era. Though arising from separate issues — one from general anti-British discontent and one from the fate of the Turkish Khalifa — they merged into a single non-violent non-cooperation movement, achieving unprecedented Hindu-Muslim unity. The Khilafat issue, while not directly linked to Indian politics, provided an immediate background and helped cement Hindu-Muslim unity against the British. **Background — Post-WWI Context:** - Economic hardship: rise in prices, tax burden, rental increases affected all sections; there was also a decrease in production of Indian industries. Almost all sections of society suffered economic hardship due to the war, strengthening anti-British attitudes. - Rowlatt Act and Jallianwalla Bagh massacres exposed brutal character of colonial rule. - Hunter Committee on Punjab atrocities proved to be an eyewash; House of Lords endorsed General Dyer's action; the British public showed solidarity by helping *The Morning Post* collect £30,000 for Dyer. - Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms with dyarchy failed to satisfy demands for self-government. - Ground prepared for common political action by Hindus and Muslims: - Lucknow Pact (1916): Congress-Muslim League cooperation - Rowlatt Act agitation: united Hindus and Muslims, and also other sections of society. - Radical nationalist Muslims (Muhammad Ali, Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasan Imam) had become more influential than the conservative Aligarh school elements who had dominated the Muslim League earlier. These younger elements advocated militant nationalism and active participation in the nationalist movement with strong anti-imperialist sentiments. --- ### The Khilafat Issue - Muslims in India, like Muslims all over the world, regarded the Ottoman Sultan as their spiritual leader (Khalifa). - During WWI, Turkey allied with Germany and Austria against Britain. - Post-war: Turkey dismembered; Khalifa removed from power. This incensed Muslims all over the world. - In India: Muslims demanded (i) Khalifa's control over Muslim holy places be retained; (ii) Khalifa left with sufficient territories after territorial arrangements. - **Early 1919:** Khilafat Committee was formed under the leadership of Ali brothers (Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali), Maulana Azad, Ajmal Khan, and Hasrat Mohani, to force the British government to change its attitude towards Turkey. - **All India Khilafat Conference, Delhi, November 1919:** Called for boycott of British goods; declared they would stop all cooperation if peace terms were unfavourable to Turkey. - Gandhi was president of the All India Khilafat Committee; saw it as a platform from which mass and united non-cooperation could be declared against the Government. **Congress Stand on Khilafat Question:** - Congress support was essential for Khilafat movement's success. - Tilak was opposed to having an alliance with Muslim leaders over a religious issue, and he was also sceptical of satyagraha as an instrument of politics. Gandhi made a concerted bid to convince Tilak of the virtues of satyagraha and the expediency of an alliance with the Muslim community. - There was opposition to some of the other provisions of Gandhi's non-cooperation programme, such as the boycott of councils. Tilak died in August 1920 before movement was launched. - Congress decided to support a non-cooperation programme on the Khilafat question because: - It was a golden opportunity to cement Hindu-Muslim unity and to bring Muslim masses into the national movement. Different sections of society—Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, peasants, artisans, capitalists, tribals, women, students—could come into the national movement by fighting for their own rights and realising that colonial rule was opposed to them. - Congress was losing faith in constitutional struggle, especially after the Punjab incidents and the blatantly partisan Hunter Committee Report. - Masses were eager to give expression to their discontent. - The Muslim League also decided to give full support to the Congress and its agitation on political questions. --- ### Non-Cooperation Khilafat Programme **Key Timeline of Development:** - **February 1920:** Gandhi announced that the issues of Punjab wrongs and constitutional advance had been overshadowed by the Khilafat question and that he would soon lead a movement of non-cooperation if the peace treaty failed to satisfy Indian Muslims. - **May 1920:** The Treaty of Sevres with Turkey was signed, which completely dismembered Turkey. - **June 1920:** An all-party conference at Allahabad approved a programme of boycott of schools, colleges, and law courts, and asked Gandhi to lead it. - **August 31, 1920:** The Khilafat Committee formally launched a campaign of non-cooperation. - **September 1920 (Calcutta Special Session):** The Congress approved a non-cooperation programme till the Punjab and Khilafat wrongs were removed and swaraj was established. - **December 1920 (Nagpur Session):** The programme of non-cooperation was endorsed. An important change was made in the Congress creed: now, instead of having the attainment of self-government through constitutional means as its goal, the Congress decided to have the attainment of swaraj through peaceful and legitimate means, thus committing itself to an extra-constitutional mass struggle. Important organisational changes were made, including setting up a Congress Working Committee (CWC) of 15 members, provincial Congress committees on a linguistic basis, ward committees, and reducing the entry fee to four annas. Gandhi declared that if the non-cooperation programme was implemented completely, swaraj would be ushered in within a year. Many revolutionary terrorists, especially from Bengal, also pledged support. **Programme Stages (Gandhi's plan):** 1. **Surrender of titles and honorary offices**. 2. **Resignation from nominated seats** in local bodies. 3. **Boycott of government functions.** 4. **Boycott of government/aided schools and colleges.** 5. **Boycott of British courts** (use panchayats instead). 6. **Boycott of legislative councils.** 7. **Boycott of foreign goods** (use swadeshi and khadi; practice hand-spinning). 8. **Gradual withdrawal from government service** (not all at once but as alternative employment was secured). 9. If government used repression — **mass civil disobedience**, including resignation from government service and non-payment of taxes (planned for a second phase). **What was NOT part of NCM initially:** - Mass civil disobedience (non-payment of taxes) was held in reserve for a second phase. **Khilafat Day (August 1, 1920):** Observed as day of non-cooperation; hartal. Tilak breathed his last on this day. During the movement, participants were supposed to work for Hindu-Muslim unity and for removal of untouchability, all the time remaining non-violent. **Spread of Movement:** - Gandhi, accompanied by the Ali brothers, undertook a nationwide tour. - Students left government schools and colleges — thousands joined around 800 national schools and colleges, organised under leaders like Acharya Narendra Dev, C.R. Das, Lala Lajpat Rai, Zakir Hussain, and Subhash Bose (who became the principal of National College at Calcutta). These included Jamia Millia at Aligarh, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Gujarat Vidyapeeth, and Bihar Vidyapeeth. - Lawyers gave up practice (Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, Rajagopalachari, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Vallabhbhai Patel, Asaf Ali, T. Prakasam, and Rajendra Prasad). - Heaps of foreign cloth were burnt publicly, and imports fell by half. Picketing of shops selling foreign liquor and toddy shops was undertaken. - The Tilak Swaraj Fund was oversubscribed, and one crore rupees were collected. Congress volunteer corps emerged as parallel police. - In July 1921, the Ali brothers gave a call to Muslims to resign from the army as it was unreligious; they were arrest

All key facts

›Khilafat Committee formed: early 1919
›All India Khilafat Conference, Delhi: November 1919 (called boycott of British goods)
›Gandhi: president of All India Khilafat Committee
›Lucknow Pact: 1916 (Congress-Muslim League cooperation)
›February 1920: Gandhi announced impending non-cooperation over Khilafat and Punjab wrongs.
›May 1920: Treaty of Sevres dismembered Turkey.
›June 1920: All-party conference at Allahabad approved boycott program, asked Gandhi to lead.
›Khilafat Day (hartal): August 1, 1920
›Tilak died: August 1, 1920 (before NCM fully launched)
›August 31, 1920: Khilafat Committee formally launched non-cooperation campaign.
›NCM adopted: Calcutta Congress September 1920; Nagpur Congress December 1920
›Nagpur Congress (Dec 1920): Changed Congress goal to 'swaraj through peaceful and legitimate means'; formed CWC (15 members); organized PCCs on linguistic basis; reduced entry fee to 4 annas; Gandhi promised swaraj within a year.
›Tilak Swaraj Fund: Over ₹1 crore collected.

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamble

Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy

›The Charter Act of 1813 sanctioned one lakh rupees annually, but this amount was not made available until 1823 due to the controversy. (p. 595)
›The debate occurred within the General Committee on Public Instruction. (p. 595)
›The Anglicists argued that government spending on education should be exclusively for modern studies. (p. 595)

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The Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy was a debate that arose within the General Committee on Public Instruction following the Charter Act of 1813, which had directed the East India Company to sanction one lakh rupees annually for education. The controversy centered on the direction this expenditure should take. The Anglicist faction argued that government spending on education should be exclusively for modern Western studies. In contrast, the Orientalists contended that while Western sciences and literature should be taught, emphasis should also be placed on the expansion of traditional Indian learning. This dispute delayed the disbursement of the sanctioned funds until 1823. The Anglicist group itself was internally divided; one faction advocated for English as the sole medium of instruction, while the other supported the use of Indian languages (vernaculars). The controversy was ultimately settled in 1835 by Lord Macaulay's Minute, which sided with the Anglicists who favored English as the medium of instruction.

All key facts

›The Charter Act of 1813 sanctioned one lakh rupees annually, but this amount was not made available until 1823 due to the controversy. (p. 595)
›The debate occurred within the General Committee on Public Instruction. (p. 595)
›The Anglicists argued that government spending on education should be exclusively for modern studies. (p. 595)
›The Orientalists argued that emphasis should be placed on expanding traditional Indian learning, alongside teaching Western sciences and literature. (p. 595)
›The Anglicist faction was itself divided over the medium of instruction, with some favoring English and others favoring Indian vernaculars. (p. 595)
›The dispute was settled by "Lord Macaulay’s Minute (1835)" in favour of the Anglicists. (p. 595)
›The resolution dictated that limited government resources were to be devoted to teaching Western sciences and literature through the medium of English language alone. (p. 595-596)
›Following the resolution, the government made English the medium of instruction in its schools and colleges. (p. 596)

charter act of 1813macaulays minute 1835downward filtration theory

Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt Satyagraha, and Round Table Conferences (1930–34)

›Simon Commission: all-white, arrived India 1928; "Simon Go Back" protests
›Lala Lajpat Rai: died November 17, 1928 (lathi charge during Simon protest)
›Nehru Report: Motilal Nehru (chair), Jawaharlal Nehru (secretary), 1928 — proposed dominion status

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The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) of 1930–31 was the second great Gandhian mass movement, famous for the Dandi March (Salt Satyagraha). It was followed by three Round Table Conferences and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, and eventually led to the Government of India Act, 1935. --- ### Simon Commission and Nehru Report (1927–29) **Simon Commission (1927):** - Appointed 1927; arrived in India 1928. - All-white, no Indian member — announced as commission to review Indian constitutional progress under GoI Act 1919. - Nationwide protest: "Simon Go Back" — Lala Lajpat Rai led protest; lathi charge; he died November 17, 1928 (injuries). - Report submitted 1930 — recommended federation with Dyarchy at Centre too. **Nehru Report (1928):** - Congress drafted an Indian constitutional proposal — Motilal Nehru (chair) with Jawaharlal Nehru (secretary). - Proposed: dominion status; no separate electorates; joint electorates with reserved seats; 19 fundamental rights; residual powers with Centre. - Muslim League rejected: demanded separate electorates and reserved seats for Muslims. - Calcutta Session of Congress (December 1928): Nehru Report approved but younger leaders (Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Satyamurthy) demanded **purna swaraj** (complete independence) instead of dominion status. Eventually a one-year grace period given to government. **Lahore Congress (December 1929):** - President: Jawaharlal Nehru (Gandhi's choice; opposed by 15/18 PCCs). - Declared **purna swaraj** as Congress's goal. - Decided to observe **January 26, 1930 as Independence (Purna Swaraj) Day** — pledge taken across India. - This date later became Republic Day (January 26, 1950). - Boycott of Round Table Conference decided. - Resolution for Civil Disobedience Movement authorised. **Lord Irwin's Declaration (October 31, 1929):** - Stated dominion status was the natural goal of India's constitutional progress. - No time scale given; no real new content. - Delhi Manifesto (November 2, 1929): national leaders demanded dominion status be implemented immediately; amnesty for political prisoners; majority Congress representation at RTC. Irwin rejected. --- ### Civil Disobedience Movement and Salt Satyagraha (1930) **Dandi March:** - Gandhi wrote to Viceroy Irwin on March 2, 1930 outlining 11 demands (including salt tax abolition, 50% reduction in army expenditure, complete prohibition, foreign cloth duty, release of political prisoners, etc.). - Irwin ignored them. - **March 12, 1930:** Gandhi started **Dandi March** from **Sabarmati Ashram** with 78 chosen followers. - **April 5, 1930:** Reached **Dandi** (coastal village in Gujarat). - **April 6, 1930:** Gandhi broke the salt law by picking up salt from the seashore. **Spread of CDM:** - Breaking salt laws in coastal areas; illicit manufacture of salt. - Congress called for non-payment of land revenue (Bardoli model). - Boycott of foreign cloth and British goods; picketing of liquor shops. - Forests laws violated; peasants refused to pay revenue in many areas. - Massive arrests — by end of 1930, over 90,000 jailed. - **Dharasana Salt Works Raid (May 21, 1930):** 2,500 satyagrahis under Abbas Tyabji (then Sarojini Naidu) marched to Dharasana salt works; beaten brutally but refused to retaliate — reported by American journalist Webb Miller; shocked world opinion. - **Peshawar (NWFP):** Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ("Frontier Gandhi") organised the Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God / Red Shirts) who participated. Even army units (Garhwal Rifles under Chandra Singh Garhwali) refused to fire on crowds. - **Chittagong Armoury Raid:** April 18, 1930 (Surya Sen). **Government Response:** - Lord Irwin imposed ordinance rule; banned Congress, AICC, PCCs. - Mass arrests, including Gandhi (May 5, 1930). --- ### Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 5, 1931) - Negotiations between Gandhi and Lord Irwin. - **Terms:** - Congress to call off CDM. - Government to release all political prisoners (except those convicted of violence). - Permit manufacture of salt by people in coastal areas for personal use. - Congress to participate in Round Table Conference. - Government to withdraw all repressive ordinances. - Criticised as insufficient by many (Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh's hanging March 23, 1931 — Gandhi's failure to secure clemency caused outrage). --- ### Round Table Conferences **First RTC (November 1930 – January 1931):** - Congress boycotted; attended by princes, Muslim League, Liberal Party, Ambedkar. - Failed to reach agreement without Congress. **Second RTC (September–December 1931):** - Gandhi attended as Congress's sole representative (Gandhi-Irwin Pact). - Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for untouchables. - Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha at loggerheads. - RTC failed — no agreement on communal question. **Poona Pact (1932):** - British PM Ramsay MacDonald announced Communal Award (1932): separate electorates for untouchables (Scheduled Castes). - Gandhi undertook fast unto death in Yerawada Jail. - Congress leaders and Ambedkar negotiated **Poona Pact (September 24, 1932)** — joint electorates retained for all; reserved seats for Scheduled Castes greatly increased in exchange for dropping separate electorates. **Third RTC (November–December 1932):** - Congress boycotted again; attended by only 46 delegates. - Produced some proposals that became basis for Government of India Act, 1935. --- ### Government of India Act, 1935 - Most elaborate constitutional document for India before independence. - Proposed All-India Federation (India + princely states) — never implemented (states refused). - **Provincial Autonomy:** Dyarchy abolished in provinces; responsible government introduced (elected ministers responsible to legislature in all 11 provincial subjects). - **Dyarchy at Centre:** Reserved and transferred subjects at Centre too (never implemented). - Bicameral legislatures at Centre and in 6 provinces. - Federal Court established (1937) at Delhi. - RBI established (already — separate act). - Franchise expanded — about 35 million eligible to vote. - Congress won majority in 7 out of 11 provinces in 1937 elections; formed provincial governments. --- ### CDM — Second Phase (1932–34) - After failure of Second RTC; Viceroy Willingdon refused to meet Gandhi. - Congress relaunched CDM in January 1932; quickly suppressed. - Congress banned; leaders arrested. - Movement gradually fizzled out. - Congress officially withdrew CDM in 1934.

All key facts

›Simon Commission: all-white, arrived India 1928; "Simon Go Back" protests
›Lala Lajpat Rai: died November 17, 1928 (lathi charge during Simon protest)
›Nehru Report: Motilal Nehru (chair), Jawaharlal Nehru (secretary), 1928 — proposed dominion status
›Lahore Congress: December 1929; purna swaraj declared; Jawaharlal Nehru president
›January 26, 1930: First Independence (Purna Swaraj) Day pledge — became Republic Day 1950
›Dandi March: March 12, 1930 (Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat)
›Salt broken at Dandi: April 6, 1930
›Dharasana Salt Works: May 21, 1930 (Sarojini Naidu; Webb Miller report)
›Khudai Khidmatgars: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ("Frontier Gandhi")
›Garhwal Rifles: refused to fire on crowds (Chandra Singh Garhwali)
›Gandhi-Irwin Pact: March 5, 1931
›Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev hanged: March 23, 1931
›First RTC: November 1930 (Congress boycotted)
›Second RTC: September–December 1931 (Gandhi attended)

borrowed featuresconstituent assemblyequality political and socialfunctions of constitutionpreamblecultural educational rights

Wood's Dispatch 1854 — Education Policy

›Issued in **1854** by Sir Charles Wood (President, Board of Control, East India Company) to Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General of India).
›Recommended a major shift towards popularising the use of **English** in India.
›Suggested language of instruction: **Vernacular** for primary schools, **English and vernacular** for secondary schools, and **English** for colleges.

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Wood's Dispatch of 1854 was a formal despatch sent by Sir Charles Wood, the then President of the Board of Control of the British East India Company, to Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India. Often regarded as the 'Magna Carta of English Education in India', it provided a comprehensive framework for the future of education in British India, outlining a structured policy from primary to university levels. This policy is crucial for UPSC as it laid the foundational blueprint for the modern education system in India. It aimed to create an English-educated Indian class suitable for administrative services, promoted female and vocational education, and led to the establishment of key educational institutions and administrative structures, significantly shaping Indian society and the intellectual landscape.

All key facts

›Issued in **1854** by Sir Charles Wood (President, Board of Control, East India Company) to Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General of India).
›Recommended a major shift towards popularising the use of **English** in India.
›Suggested language of instruction: **Vernacular** for primary schools, **English and vernacular** for secondary schools, and **English** for colleges.
›Aimed to create an **English-speaking class** among Indians to serve as a workforce in the Company's administration.
›Emphasized the importance of **vocational and women's education**.
›Recommended the establishment of a separate **Education Department** in every province.
›Proposed establishing **universities** in large cities like Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, modelled on the University of London.
›Called for opening at least **one government school** in every district.
›Advocated for a **systematic method of education** from the primary to the university levels.
›Introduced the **grants-in-aid system** to support affiliated private schools.
›Stressed the promotion of **teacher training** and the establishment of training schools for teachers.
›Led to the establishment of the Universities of **Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras in 1857**. These universities primarily served as examining and degree-granting institutions.
›**Education Departments** were set up in all provinces by **1855**.
›Promoted the idea of **secular education**.
›The Indian Education Service was formed in **1896** to manage administrative activities in education.

Rakhmabai Case — Women's Rights and Age of Consent

›Rukhmabai (1864-1955) was an Indian physician and feminist, noted as one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India (after Dr. Kadambini Ganguly, who began practicing in 1886).
›She was married at the age of 11 to Dadaji Bhikaji, who was 19 years old, in the mid-1870s.
›Her step-father, Dr. Sakharam Arjun, an eminent physician and social activist, supported Rukhmabai's decision not to live with her husband.

+ 12 facts · tap to read

The Rakhmabai Case (1884-1888) was a landmark legal dispute in colonial India concerning a child bride, Rukhmabai, who refused to live with her husband, Dadaji Bhikaji, after reaching puberty. Bhikaji sued for "restitution of conjugal rights." The case garnered significant public attention and debate across India and Britain, pitting legal interpretations against traditional Hindu customs, and highlighting the conflict between social reform and conservative views, particularly regarding women's rights. This case is crucial for the UPSC Civil Services Exam as it represents a pivotal moment in the history of social reform legislation in British India. It brought to the forefront issues of child marriage, women's agency, and the role of colonial judiciary in Indian personal laws. The widespread public discourse and the legal battles ultimately played a significant role in accelerating the passage of the Age of Consent Act of 1891, making it a key event for understanding legislative changes concerning women's rights during the British Raj.

All key facts

›Rukhmabai (1864-1955) was an Indian physician and feminist, noted as one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India (after Dr. Kadambini Ganguly, who began practicing in 1886).
›She was married at the age of 11 to Dadaji Bhikaji, who was 19 years old, in the mid-1870s.
›Her step-father, Dr. Sakharam Arjun, an eminent physician and social activist, supported Rukhmabai's decision not to live with her husband.
›In March 1884, Dadaji Bhikaji initiated legal proceedings for "restitution of conjugal rights."
›The case, titled "Bhikaji vs. Rukhmabai, 1885," was first heard by Justice Robert Hill Pinhey.
›Justice Pinhey ruled that English precedents on restitution of conjugal rights did not apply to a child marriage in India and he could not compel Rukhmabai.
›The case was brought for retrial in 1886, and an appeal was later upheld by Chief Justice Sir Charles Sargent and Justice L.H. Bayley.
›On March 4, 1887, Justice Farran ordered Rukhmabai to live with her husband or face six months of imprisonment; she publicly stated she would rather face imprisonment.
›Rukhmabai herself contributed to the public debate by writing articles under the pseudonym "a Hindu Lady" in the Times of India.
›The case sparked extensive public discussion in both India and England, involving prominent figures like Balgangadhar Tilak (who criticized the judgment in Mahratta and Kesari) and Max Müller.
›Balgangadhar Tilak argued that Rukhmabai's defiance stemmed from English education and declared Hinduism was in danger, while Max Müller supported her right to choose.
›Rukhmabai eventually appealed to Queen Victoria.
›Her marriage was eventually dissolved, reportedly following Queen Victoria's intervention.
›The widespread public debate and the legal proceedings significantly contributed to the enactment of the Age of Consent Act of 1891, which raised the age of consent for girls from 10 to 12 years.
›Rukhmabai was also associated with reformist organizations like Prarthanä Samäj and Arya Mahilä Samäj through her mother and step-father.

Charter Act of 1813

›Officially titled the East India Company Act 1813 (53 Geo. 3. c. 155).
›Renewed the charter of the British East India Company, continuing its administrative rule in India.
›Ended the East India Company's commercial monopoly in India, except for the trade in tea, the opium trade, and trade with China.

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The Charter Act of 1813, officially known as the East India Company Act 1813 (53 Geo. 3. c. 155), was an act of the British Parliament that renewed the East India Company's charter for another 20 years. This Act marked a significant shift in British colonial policy by ending the Company's commercial monopoly in India, with notable exceptions. For UPSC Prelims, this Act is crucial as it asserted the Crown's sovereignty over British India, initiated state patronage for education in India, and reflected growing British administrative control and economic exploitation beyond mere trade. It represents a key stage in the evolution of British rule and its impact on Indian society and economy.

All key facts

›Officially titled the East India Company Act 1813 (53 Geo. 3. c. 155).
›Renewed the charter of the British East India Company, continuing its administrative rule in India.
›Ended the East India Company's commercial monopoly in India, except for the trade in tea, the opium trade, and trade with China.
›The end of the monopoly was largely due to pressure from British traders seeking access to Asian markets, spurred by Napoleon's Continental System (Berlin Decree of 1806 and Milan Decree of 1807).
›Expressly asserted the Crown's sovereignty over British India, diminishing the Company's independent political authority.
›Allotted 100,000 rupees annually for the revival and promotion of literature, science, and the encouragement of learned natives in British territories in India.
›Provided for the establishment of a Bishopric in Calcutta and granted the Bishop of Calcutta authority over the Anglican Church in India.
›Strengthened the power of provincial governments and courts in India over European British subjects.
›Facilitated the transformation of India into a source of raw materials for Britain and a market for its finished products.
›Contributed to the decline of indigenous Indian industries, particularly textiles, due to increased British competition.
›Maintained religious neutrality but indirectly allowed greater scope for missionary activities in India, though without direct authorization for proselytization.
›The Company's previous charter had been renewed by the East India Company Act 1793, and its next renewal was the Government of India Act 1833.

Indigo Revolt and Decline

›**Name & Period:** Known as the Indigo Revolt or Nil Bidroha, it was a major peasant uprising in Bengal starting in March 1859 and continuing for over a year.
›**Origin & Spread:** The revolt began in Chougacha village near Krishnanagar, Nadia district, led by Bishnu Charan Biswas and Digambar Biswas, and rapidly spread across other districts like Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, Pabna, Khulna, and Jessore.
›**Historical Context:** Indigo cultivation in Bengal was introduced by Louis Bonnaud (a Frenchman) in 1777, with its commercial profitability increasing significantly under Company rule due to high demand for blue dye in Europe.

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The Indigo Revolt (or Nil Bidroha) was a significant peasant uprising of indigo farmers in Bengal, beginning in 1859 and lasting for over a year. It represented a direct challenge by cultivators against the exploitative system imposed by European indigo planters, who forced farmers to grow indigo instead of food crops under coercive and financially ruinous conditions. For UPSC Prelims, the Indigo Revolt is crucial as it exemplifies early organized resistance against colonial economic exploitation and forced commercialization of agriculture. It highlighted the inherent flaws of the 'dadon' (loan) system, demonstrated the power of collective peasant action, garnered support from the Bengali middle class and intellectuals, and directly led to the establishment of the Indigo Commission in 1860 and the subsequent 1862 Indigo Act, marking a rare success for a peasant movement against British-backed exploitation.

All key facts

›**Name & Period:** Known as the Indigo Revolt or Nil Bidroha, it was a major peasant uprising in Bengal starting in March 1859 and continuing for over a year.
›**Origin & Spread:** The revolt began in Chougacha village near Krishnanagar, Nadia district, led by Bishnu Charan Biswas and Digambar Biswas, and rapidly spread across other districts like Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, Pabna, Khulna, and Jessore.
›**Historical Context:** Indigo cultivation in Bengal was introduced by Louis Bonnaud (a Frenchman) in 1777, with its commercial profitability increasing significantly under Company rule due to high demand for blue dye in Europe.
›**Exploitative System:** Peasants were forced to grow indigo on their best lands instead of food crops, given exploitative loans (dadon) at high interest, and paid a meagre 2.5% of the market price for the crop, ensuring they remained in perpetual debt.
›**Planter's Power:** Indigo planters, often resorting to violence, destruction of property, and supported by government regulations like the Act of 1833, held immense power over the farmers.
›**Leadership & Tactics:** The revolt was led by village headmen (Mandals) and substantial ryots. Tactics included refusing to grow indigo, attacking indigo factories and planters, and burning indigo depots.
›**Nature of Resistance:** While some aspects were violent, historians like Jogesh Chandra Bagal describe much of it as non-violent passive resistance, with R.C. Majumdar calling it a "forerunner of the non-violent passive resistance" later adopted by Mahatma Gandhi.
›**Focus of Hostility:** Unlike the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the hostility of the Indigo Revolt was primarily directed at European planters and merchants, not directly at the British colonial authorities.
›**Support:** The Bengali middle class and intellectuals widely supported the peasants; Harish Chandra Mukherjee highlighted their plight in his newspaper 'The Hindu Patriot'.

Sources and Approaches to the History of Modern India — Historiography

›Bengal Gazette: first newspaper in India, 1780 (James Hickey)
›James Mill: divided Indian history into Hindu, Muslim, British periods
›Drain Theory: Dadabhai Naoroji (book: *Poverty and Un-British Rule in India*, 1901)

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The history of modern India has been shaped by diverse sources and interpreted through several competing historiographical frameworks. Understanding these approaches helps evaluate historical arguments and identify how different schools explain the same events differently. Historiography, the study of historical interpretation, provides the intellectual context for understanding history, rather than seeing it as merely a narration of events. --- ### Sources for Modern Indian History **Official Sources:** - Records of the East India Company and British Indian government: dispatches, reports, gazetteers, census reports, judicial records. - India Office Records (London): Correspondence between India and Britain. - National Archives of India: Contains legislative proceedings, administrative correspondence. **Unofficial and Personal Sources:** - Letters, diaries, autobiographies, and memoirs of British officials (e.g., Warren Hastings, Lord Dalhousie). - Letters, speeches, and writings of Indian nationalists (Gandhi, Nehru, Tilak, Phule, etc.). **Newspapers and Periodicals:** - Vernacular and English press from the 19th century onward. Major papers: Amrit Bazaar Patrika, The Hindu, Tribune, Kesari, Mahratta, Bangalee, Jugantar. - **Bengal Gazette (1780):** First newspaper in India (James Hickey). **Visual and Material Sources:** - Paintings, photographs, cartoons (political caricatures from newspapers). - Coins, inscriptions, material artifacts. **Oral Sources:** - Oral histories, folk songs, ballads. - Particularly important for histories of communities that left fewer written records (tribals, peasants, women). --- ### Major Approaches to Modern Indian History **1. Imperial/Colonial Perspective:** - British historians (James Mill, John Seeley, Vincent Smith) portrayed British rule as civilising mission. - James Mill divided Indian history into Hindu, Muslim, and British periods — a communal periodisation. - Emphasised British achievements: railways, rule of law, education, press. - Downplayed or justified exploitation. - The 'colonial approach' also refers to historical works influenced by the colonial ideology of domination, often featuring criticism of indigenous society and culture, praise for Western culture, and glorification of colonial empire-builders. - Historians like Mountstuart Elphinstone and Vincent Smith are examples of this trend. **2. Nationalist Perspective:** - Emerged from Indian writers in late 19th–early 20th centuries. - Emphasised: economic exploitation (drain theory — Dadabhai Naoroji, R.C. Dutt); destruction of Indian industry; the great nationalist movement. - Highlighted Indian heroes and resistance. - R.C. Dutt's *Economic History of India*; Dadabhai Naoroji's *Poverty and Un-British Rule in India*. - This approach developed as a response to and in confrontation with the colonial approach, viewing the national movement as a unified movement of the Indian people arising from an awareness of colonial exploitation. - Nationalist historians of modern India did not exist before 1947, with pre-1947 nationalist historiography focusing on ancient and medieval periods. - Nationalist leaders like R.G. Pradhan, A.C. Mazumdar, J.L. Nehru, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya provided early accounts of the national movement. Post-1947, noted nationalist historians include R.C. Majumdar and Tara Chand. - Other nationalists who critiqued the economic aspects of alien rule included M.G. Ranade, G.V. Joshi, K.T. Telang, G.K. Gokhale, and D.E. Wacha. Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar popularised these ideas in his 1904 Bengali work *Desher Katha*. **3. Marxist/Socialist Perspective:** - D.D. Kosambi, R.S. Sharma, Bipan Chandra — class analysis of Indian history. - Emphasised: class conflicts, exploitation of peasants and workers, role of the Indian bourgeoisie in the national movement. - Bipan Chandra: *India's Struggle for Independence* — comprehensive nationalist history from a left-nationalist perspective. - A.R. Desai's *Social Background of Indian Nationalism*. - Marxist historians see the primary contradiction between colonial masters and subject people, and also acknowledge inner contradictions within Indian society. Some, like Rajni Palme Dutt, have been critiqued for overemphasizing class struggle at the expense of the anti-imperialist struggle, viewing the national movement as a structured bourgeois movement, and missing its open-ended and all-class character. Sumit Sarkar critiqued R.P. Dutt's paradigm as a "simplistic version of the Marxian class approach." - The beginning of this approach in India was notably heralded by Rajni Palme Dutt’s *India Today* (published 1940 in England, 1947 in India) and A.R. Desai’s *Social Background of Indian Nationalism* (published 1948). - A.R. Desai traces the growth of the national movement in five phases, each based on particular social classes which supported and sustained it. **4. Subaltern Studies Perspective:** - Emerged in the 1980s under the editorship of Ranajit Guha (along with Partha Chatterjee, Gyan Pandey, Shahid Amin), as a critique of existing historiography, which they faulted for its elitist bias and for ignoring the voice of the people. - Challenged elite nationalist history; focused on experiences of peasants, workers, tribals, women — the "subalterns." - Argued that conventional nationalist history ignored the agency of common people. - Ranajit Guha: *Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India*. - This school posits that the basic contradiction in colonial Indian society was between the elite (Indian and foreign) and the subaltern groups, rather than between colonialism and the Indian people as a whole. They do not fully subscribe to the Marxist theory of exploitation in the nationalist movement, pointing out that Indian society at the time could not be seen in terms of class alone due to nascent capitalism. They argue that nationalism ignored internal contradictions and the voice of the marginalised, suggesting there were two distinct streams: a real anti-imperialist movement of the subalterns and a "bogus" national movement of the elite, the latter often serving as a cloak for the elite's struggle for power. This school also views nationalism as exploitative in terms of caste, gender, religious, and creed divisions. **5. Cambridge School:** - Anil Seal, Gordon Johnson, Christopher Bayly — focused on factional politics, networks of patronage, self-interest of Indian elites rather than idealist nationalism. - Argued nationalism was driven more by competition for jobs and resources than ideology. - This school contends that the fundamental contradiction under colonial rule was among Indians themselves, and that Indian nationalism arose from conflicts among Indians seeking benefits from the British, with leaders motivated by power and material gains. This approach has been criticised for reducing nationalism to 'animal politics' by removing ideals from human behavior. **6. Communalist Perspectives:** - Hindu nationalist and Muslim communalist historiographies — interpreted events through religious community lens. - Historians of this school relied heavily on colonial historiography, viewing Hindus and Muslims as inherently hostile groups with antagonistic interests. They interpreted medieval Indian history as a continuous Hindu-Muslim conflict, leading to mutual hatred and ultimately, the Partition of India. They argued that 19th- and 20th-century Muslims had a 'proud' memory of being the ruling class, while Hindus had a 'humiliating' memory of being a subject race. **7. Liberal and Neo-liberal Approach:** - This interpretation suggests that the economic exploitation of colonies was not entirely beneficial to the British people as a whole. - The availability of colonial markets and overseas capital investment might have discouraged domestic investment and delayed the development of new industries in Britain. - Prominent proponents include Patrick O’Brian, Hopkins, an

All key facts

›Bengal Gazette: first newspaper in India, 1780 (James Hickey)
›James Mill: divided Indian history into Hindu, Muslim, British periods
›Drain Theory: Dadabhai Naoroji (book: *Poverty and Un-British Rule in India*, 1901)
›R.C. Dutt: *Economic History of India*
›Bipan Chandra: *India's Struggle for Independence*
›Ranajit Guha: founder of Subaltern Studies; *Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency*
›Subaltern Studies: focused on peasants, workers, tribals, women excluded from elite nationalist history
›V.D. Savarkar: *The Indian War of Independence 1857* (1909)
›Colonial Approach characteristics: 'Orientalist' representation of India, belief British brought unity, notions of Social Darwinism, India as stagnant society needing British guidance ('White Man's burden'), establishing Pax Britannica. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch02-major-approaches-to-the-history-of-modern-india.md
›Mountstuart Elphinstone: a historian following the Colonial historiographical trend. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch02-major-approaches-to-the-history-of-modern-india.md
›Nationalist historians of modern India did not exist before 1947, with pre-1947 nationalist historiography focusing on ancient and medieval periods. — Rajiv Ahir — A Brief History of Modern India (Spectrum), ch02-major-approaches-to-the-history-of-modern-india.md

nationalism and minoritiesnationalism and self determinationnature of nations

Swadeshi Movement

›The movement was a direct response to the British government's decision for the partition of Bengal, which was made public in December 1903.
›It was formally launched from Town Hall, Calcutta, on 7 August 1905.
›The primary objective was to achieve self-sufficiency by promoting domestic production and boycotting foreign goods.

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The Swadeshi Movement was a pivotal self-sufficiency and economic resistance campaign that emerged as a crucial part of the Indian independence struggle, significantly contributing to the development of Indian nationalism. It was primarily initiated as a direct response to the British government's decision to partition Bengal, aiming to curb the consumption of foreign goods by promoting indigenous production. For UPSC Prelims, the Swadeshi Movement is vital for understanding the early phases of organized Indian nationalism, the methods of protest against British policies (like boycotts and promotion of indigenous industries), and the rise of key nationalist leaders and organizations. Its origins, key figures, specific dates, and impact on the economic and political landscape of British India are frequently tested.

All key facts

›The movement was a direct response to the British government's decision for the partition of Bengal, which was made public in December 1903.
›It was formally launched from Town Hall, Calcutta, on 7 August 1905.
›The primary objective was to achieve self-sufficiency by promoting domestic production and boycotting foreign goods.
›Mahatma Gandhi described Swadeshi as the "soul of swaraj" (self-rule).
›Viceroy Lord Curzon (1899–1905) presided over the 1905 partition of Bengal.
›The official reason for partitioning Bengal (population 78 million) was administrative difficulty, but the real intent was to weaken the nationalist movement by dividing the province along religious lines (Hindu-majority West, Muslim-majority East).
›Bengal was eventually reunited in 1911, and simultaneously, the British capital was shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi.
›Key leaders associated with the early phases (1850–1918) include Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, Subramaniya Bharathi, and the trio of Lal-Bal-Pal.
›Bal Gangadhar Tilak used Ganesh Utsav (from 1893) to popularize the use and consumption of indigenous products.
›Namdhari Sikhs, as early as 1871-1872, promoted hand-spun 'khaddar', vernacular education, and local self-governance, boycotting English goods, education, and courts.
›V. O. Chidambaram Pillai founded the Swadeshi Shipping Company in Tuticorin in October 1906, acquiring the British India Steam Navigation Company.
›The Lal-Bal-Pal trio actively organized numerous samitis during the movement but became less active after 1908 due to deportations and arrests.
›Mahatma Gandhi intensified the movement, introducing the Patti Charkha in Mumbai in 1918 and leading a symbolic boycott by burning 150,000 English cloths on 31 July 1921.
›The movement had a significant economic impact, leading to a 20% fall in British product sales.

Royal Indian Navy Mutiny 1946

›The mutiny began on 18 February 1946 in Bombay (Mumbai) as a strike by ratings of the Royal Indian Navy.
›Immediate causes included protests against poor living conditions and unsatisfactory food.
›The revolt quickly spread, involving over 10,000 sailors across 56 ships and shore establishments, with support from Karachi to Calcutta.

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The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny of February 1946 was a significant, albeit failed, insurrection against British rule in India. Originating as a strike over living conditions and food in Bombay, it rapidly escalated and involved over 10,000 Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police, and civilians across British India, from Karachi to Calcutta. This mutiny is crucial for UPSC Prelims as it highlighted the declining loyalty of Indian armed forces to the British Crown on the eve of independence, severely weakening British authority. It uniquely showcased a brief period of communal unity among the mutineers, symbolized by the hoisting of Congress, Muslim League, and Red Flags together, and revealed the divergent strategies of major political parties like the Congress and Muslim League (who condemned it) versus the Communist Party of India (who supported it).

All key facts

›The mutiny began on 18 February 1946 in Bombay (Mumbai) as a strike by ratings of the Royal Indian Navy.
›Immediate causes included protests against poor living conditions and unsatisfactory food.
›The revolt quickly spread, involving over 10,000 sailors across 56 ships and shore establishments, with support from Karachi to Calcutta.
›Mutineers adopted the name "Indian National Navy" and hoisted three flags together – those of the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and the Red Flag of the Communist Party of India (CPI) – signifying inter-communal unity.
›The Communist Party of India (CPI) was the only nationwide political organization that publicly supported the rebellion.
›The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League condemned the mutiny, urging sailors to surrender to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power.
›The revolt was called off following a meeting between M. S. Khan (President of the Naval Central Strike Committee) and Vallabhbhai Patel (Congress), with Muhammad Ali Jinnah also appealing for surrender.
›The strike gained broader support, including a one-day general strike in Bombay, and involvement from elements of the Royal Indian Air Force and local police forces.
›Incidents of unrest and defiance by Indian Army NCOs against British superiors were reported in places like Madras (Chennai) and Poona (Pune).
›British authorities suppressed the mutiny with superior forces and branded it a "larger communist conspiracy."
›Despite initial guarantees, many sailors were arrested, court-martialed, and 476 were dismissed from service; none were reinstated in the independent Indian or Pakistani navies.
›The Royal Indian Navy had expanded significantly during World War II, becoming ten times larger in 1945 than its 1939 size, leading to diverse recruitment.
›Post-WWII demobilization led to overcrowding and dissatisfaction among personnel concentrated in major bases like Bombay, contributing to the unrest.

Salt March — Gandhi's Dandi March

›**Alternative Names:** Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, Dandi Satyagraha.
›**Leader:** Mahatma Gandhi.
›**Objective:** Nonviolent tax resistance and protest against the British salt monopoly and the 1882 British Salt Act.

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The Salt March, also known as the Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, was a landmark act of nonviolent civil disobedience led by Mahatma Gandhi against the British salt monopoly in colonial India. Spanning 24 days from 12 March to 6 April 1930, the march from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi directly challenged the oppressive 1882 British Salt Act. This iconic event served as the powerful inauguration of the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement, attracting immense global attention to India's struggle for independence. It powerfully demonstrated Gandhi's philosophy of Satyagraha and significantly galvanized millions of Indians to participate in acts of resistance against British rule.

All key facts

›**Alternative Names:** Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, Dandi Satyagraha.
›**Leader:** Mahatma Gandhi.
›**Objective:** Nonviolent tax resistance and protest against the British salt monopoly and the 1882 British Salt Act.
›**Duration:** 24 days, from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930.
›**Route:** 387 kilometres (240 miles) from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi (then Navsari), Gujarat.
›**Initial Participants:** Gandhi began the march with 78 trusted volunteers.
›**Inauguration of CDM:** Gandhi broke the British salt laws at Dandi at 8:30 am on 6 April 1930, marking the formal start of the large-scale Civil Disobedience Movement.
›**Context:** The march directly followed the Indian National Congress's (INC) declaration of Purna Swaraj (complete self-rule) on 26 January 1930.
›**INC's Role:** The Congress Working Committee gave Gandhi the responsibility for organizing the first act of civil disobedience using the salt tax.
›**Subsequent Events:** Gandhi was arrested on the midnight of 4–5 May 1930, just before the planned satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works.
›**Impact:** Over 60,000 Indians were jailed as a result of the Salt Satyagraha.
›**Conclusion of Movement:** The Salt Satyagraha campaign continued for almost a year, ending with Gandhi's release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference.
›**Core Principle:** Based on Gandhi's principles of non-violent protest called Satyagraha, which translates to "truth-force" (from Sanskrit 'satya' for truth, 'agraha' for insistence).
›**Global Influence:** The March to Dandi and Gandhi's satyagraha teachings significantly influenced civil rights movements globally, including American activists like Martin Luther King Jr.

Home Rule Movement — Annie Besant

›**Duration:** The movement lasted approximately two years, from 1916 to 1918.
›**Objective:** Demanded Home Rule or self-government for India within the British Empire, aiming for Dominion status.
›**Key Leaders:** Led by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, with support from figures like Joseph Baptista, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, G. S. Khaparde, and Sir S. Subramania Iyer.

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The Home Rule Movement was a significant nationalist movement in British India between 1916 and 1918, advocating for 'Home Rule' or self-government for India within the British Empire, similar to the Irish Home Rule model. Primarily led by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, it successfully mobilized educated English-speaking upper-class Indians and laid crucial groundwork for the subsequent Indian independence struggle by articulating the demand for self-rule. This movement is vital for UPSC Prelims as it marks a new phase of assertive nationalism, uniting moderates and extremists within the Congress and forging an alliance with the Muslim League following the 1916 Lucknow Pact. Its pressure directly led to the Montague Declaration of 1917, which promised the "progressive realization of responsible government in India," making it a pivotal precursor to Mahatma Gandhi's mass movements.

All key facts

›**Duration:** The movement lasted approximately two years, from 1916 to 1918.
›**Objective:** Demanded Home Rule or self-government for India within the British Empire, aiming for Dominion status.
›**Key Leaders:** Led by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, with support from figures like Joseph Baptista, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, G. S. Khaparde, and Sir S. Subramania Iyer.
›**Inspiration:** Modelled on the Irish Home Rule movement.
›**Context:** Emerged amidst the First World War, influenced by the failure of the 1909 Government of India Act and restrictive wartime policies like the 1915 Defence of India Act.
›**Tilak's League:** Bal Gangadhar Tilak formed the first Indian Home Rule League in April 1916 at Belgaum (during the Bombay Provincial Congress session). Its areas of operation included Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces, and Berar.
›**Besant's League:** Annie Besant founded her Home Rule League in September 1916 at Adyar, Madras, covering the rest of India.
›**Unity:** Attracted members from both the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League, leveraging the unity forged by the 1916 Lucknow Pact and helping to unify moderates and radicals within Congress.
›**Annie Besant's Arrest:** Her arrest in 1917 by the British government led to widespread protests and further invigorated the movement nationwide.
›**Montague Declaration:** Pressure from the movement, especially after Besant's arrest, contributed to the Montague Declaration on 20 August 1917, which announced the British policy of "progressive realization of responsible government in India."
›**Impact:** Resurrected nationalist activities, paved the way for extremists' re-entrance into Congress, and spread political awareness into new regions like Sindh, Punjab, Gujarat, United Provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, and Madras.
›**Later Transformation:** In 1920, the All India Home Rule League changed its name to Swarajya Sabha.
›**Flag:** Featured five red and four green horizontal stripes, the Union Flag in the upper left quadrant, a white crescent and a seven-pointed star, and seven white stars arranged as the Saptarishi (Ursa Major) constellation.

Surat Split 1907 — Moderates vs Extremists

›The Surat Split occurred at the Indian National Congress (INC) session in Surat in 1907.
›It resulted in the INC dividing into two factions: the Moderates (Early Nationalists) and the Extremists (Radicals).
›This split was eventually mended at the Lucknow Session of the INC in 1916.

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The Surat Split refers to the division of the Indian National Congress (INC) into two distinct factions – the Moderates (also known as Early Nationalists) and the Extremists (also known as Radicals) – during its annual session held in Surat in 1907. This ideological schism marked a significant turning point in the Indian nationalist movement, highlighting fundamental differences in approach towards achieving self-rule from the British. This event is crucial for UPSC Prelims as it represents a major internal upheaval within the INC, impacting its immediate effectiveness and subsequent strategies. It led to the temporary weakening of the Congress and the repression of Extremist leaders, but also set the stage for future reunification and more diverse forms of political agitation. The split was eventually mended at the Lucknow Session of the INC in 1916.

All key facts

›The Surat Split occurred at the Indian National Congress (INC) session in Surat in 1907.
›It resulted in the INC dividing into two factions: the Moderates (Early Nationalists) and the Extremists (Radicals).
›This split was eventually mended at the Lucknow Session of the INC in 1916.
›The period 1885-1907 is often termed the 'period of Moderates' due to their dominance in the INC.
›Moderates primarily used constitutional methods like petitions, prayers, memorandums, and delegations to present their demands.
›Their notable legislative achievement was the expansion of the legislative council by the Indian Councils Act 1892.
›The rise of radicalism was significantly fuelled by the Partition of the Bengal Presidency (1905).
›The 1907 INC session was originally planned for Nagpur but was moved to Surat by Moderate leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
›Extremists proposed Lala Lajpat Rai or Bal Gangadhar Tilak for the presidential role, while Moderates supported Rash Behari Ghosh.
›Rash Behari Ghosh ultimately became the President of the Surat session.
›Tilak, being from Bombay Presidency (where Surat was located), could not preside over the session due to INC rules regarding presidents from the host province.
›The session saw physical confrontations with Extremists protesting Tilak being denied a chance to speak, leading to objects like shoes and chairs being thrown.
›Following the split, colonial authorities repressed Extremists; their newspapers were suppressed.
›Lokmanya Tilak, a key Extremist leader, was imprisoned in Mandalay (present-day Myanmar) for six years after the split.
›Moderates aimed for self-government within the British Empire using peaceful, constitutional means.
›Extremists advocated more assertive methods like agitation, boycotts, Swadeshi, and National Education, aiming for Swaraj (self-rule).

Congress Socialist Party

›Founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress.
›Founders rejected Mahatma Gandhi's "anti-rational mysticism" and the Communist Party of India's (CPI) "sectarian attitude" towards the Congress.
›Influenced by both Fabianism and Marxism-Leninism in its ideological framework.

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The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a prominent socialist caucus established within the Indian National Congress in 1934. Its founders were Congress members who aimed to provide a distinct ideological alternative, rejecting Mahatma Gandhi's "anti-rational mysticism" and the Communist Party of India's "sectarian attitude" towards the Congress. Influenced by both Fabianism and Marxism-Leninism, the CSP advocated for a decentralized socialism where economic power would be substantially held by co-operatives, trade unions, independent farmers, and local authorities, aspiring to transcend communal divisions through class solidarity. The CSP is crucial for UPSC as it represents a significant left-wing intellectual current within the broader Indian independence movement, influencing the ideological discourse of the Congress. Its key leaders, including Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Deva, Minoo Masani, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, played pivotal roles in pre- and post-independence India. Understanding CSP's formation, objectives, and its complex interactions with other political groups like the CPI and the Forward Bloc, as well as its internal ideological diversity, is essential for a comprehensive grasp of Modern Indian History.

All key facts

›Founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress.
›Founders rejected Mahatma Gandhi's "anti-rational mysticism" and the Communist Party of India's (CPI) "sectarian attitude" towards the Congress.
›Influenced by both Fabianism and Marxism-Leninism in its ideological framework.
›Advocated for decentralized socialism, emphasizing economic power for co-operatives, trade unions, independent farmers, and local authorities.
›Jayaprakash Narayan convened a meeting in Patna on 17 May 1934, which founded the Bihar Congress Socialist Party.
›The All India Congress Socialist Party was formally constituted at a conference in Bombay on October 22–23, 1934.
›Jayaprakash Narayan became the first General Secretary, and Acharya Narendra Deva was the first President of the All-India party.
›CSP members were required to be members of the Indian National Congress; members of communal or incompatible political organizations were barred.
›The Bombay conference raised the slogan of mobilising the masses for a Constituent Assembly.
›The Communist Party of India (CPI) joined CSP in 1936 as part of the Comintern's Popular Front strategy, and at one point, dominated CSP in states like Kerala.
›CSP adopted Marxism in 1936, aiming to transform the Indian National Congress into an anti-imperialist front at its third conference in Faizpur.
›The Marxist sector of the Anushilan movement and about 25% of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) joined CSP in 1938.

Quit India Movement 1942

›Launched by Mahatma Gandhi at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on 8 August 1942.
›Context: Occurred during World War II, following the failure of the Cripps Mission to secure Indian support for the British war effort.
›Gandhi delivered his "Do or Die" speech at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, calling for "An Orderly British Withdrawal."

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The Quit India Movement was a pivotal political campaign launched by Mahatma Gandhi at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on 8 August 1942, demanding an immediate end to British rule in India. It was characterized by Gandhi's powerful "Do or Die" call and aimed for an "Orderly British Withdrawal" amidst the backdrop of World War II. This movement is crucial for UPSC Prelims as it represents a major turning point in the Indian independence struggle, demonstrating mass Indian resolve against colonial rule after the failure of the Cripps Mission. Its significant impact forced the British to acknowledge the long-term ungovernability of India, thereby setting the stage for post-war independence negotiations and showcasing the broad-based nature of Indian nationalism despite immediate suppression.

All key facts

›Launched by Mahatma Gandhi at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on 8 August 1942.
›Context: Occurred during World War II, following the failure of the Cripps Mission to secure Indian support for the British war effort.
›Gandhi delivered his "Do or Die" speech at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay, calling for "An Orderly British Withdrawal."
›Viceroy Lord Linlithgow described the movement as "by far the most serious rebellion since 1857."
›Within hours, almost the entire Indian National Congress leadership was imprisoned without trial, remaining jailed until 1945.
›The British government received support from the All India Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, princely states, and some Indian businessmen against the movement.
›The movement involved widespread anti-British boycotts, rejection of transactions with the colonial government, and numerous violent incidents.
›Prominent independence activists who died during the movement include Mukunda Kakati, Matangini Hazra, Kanaklata Barua, Kushal Konwar, and Bhogeswari Phukanani.
›The movement ultimately compelled the British to realize that India would be ungovernable in the long run.
›In 1939, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow involved India in World War II without consulting Indian nationalists.
›The Congress Working Committee (Wardha, September 1939) had conditionally supported the war against Axis powers if independence was granted.
›American President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressured British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to consider Indian demands.
›Subhas Chandra Bose remarked that the movement began a "new chapter in Indian freedom struggle."
›The Reserve Bank of India issued a 1 rupee commemorative coin in 1992 to mark the Golden Jubilee of the movement.