GATEWAY TO CGL MAIINS: INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT NOTES PART 1

The Indian National Congress

• Formed in 1885 by A.O.Hume, an Englishman and a retired civil servant.
• First session in Bombay under W.C.Banerjee in 1885 (72 delegates attended it).
• In the first two decades (1885 – 1905), quite moderate in its approach.
• But the repressive measures of the British gave rise to extremists within Congress like Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai (Lal, Bal, Pal).

Partition of Bengal:

By Lord Curzon on Oct 16, 1905, through a royal Proclamation, reducing the old province of Bengal in size by creating East Bengal and Assam out of rest of Bengal.

The objective was to set up a communal gulf between Hindus and Muslims.

Swadeshi Movement (1905): 

Lal, Bal, Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh played the important role.

INC took the Swadeshi call first at the Banaras Session, 1905 presided over by G.K.Gokhale. Bonfires of foreign goods were conducted at various places.

Formation of Muslim League (1906)

In December, 1906, All India Muslim League was set up under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah of Dacca and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk at Dacca. The League supported the partition of Bengal, opposed the Swadeshi movement and demanded special safeguards for its community and a separate electorate of Muslims.

Calcutta Session of INC (1906)

In Dec. 1906 at Calcutta, the INC under the leadership of Dada Bhai Naoroji adopted ‘Swaraj’ as the goal of Indian people. Naoroji in his presidential address declared that the goal of the INC was ‘self government of Swaraj like that of United Kingdom’.

Surat Split (1907)

The INC split into the two groups i.e. the extremists and the moderates at the Surat session in 1907. The extremists were led by Tilak, Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal while the moderates were led by G.K. Gokhale.

Alipore Bomb Case 1908

In 1908 a revolutionary conspiracy was intrigued to kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate D.H. Kingford of Muzaffarpur. The task was entrusted to Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki. They threw the bombs on a vehicle coming out of the magistrate's home on April 30, 1908.

Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)

Morley-Minto Reforms were introduced in 1909 during the period when Lord Minto was the Viceroy of India while Morley was the secretary of the state. The reforms laid the foundation of institutionalized communalism as per the policy of divide and rule by introducing the separate electorates for Muslims. As per the provisions of the reform Muslims could only vote for Muslim candidates.

Arrival of Lord Hardinge 1910

From 1910 to 1916, Lord Hardinge served as India's Viceroy. The important event during his tenure was the Delhi Durbar of 1911.

Delhi Durbar of 1911

In 1910, there was a succession in England where King George V ascended the throne. In 1911 he paid a visit to India. Darbar was held to commemorate the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. In this Darbar, the King declared that Capital of India will be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. In the same Darbar it was also declared the Partition of Bengal is cancelled.

Delhi conspiracy case 1912

It is said that the Delhi Conspiracy was hatched by Ras Bihari Bose, but was never proved. On 23 December 1912, a Bomb was thrown at the Viceroy Lord Hardinge when his procession was moving from Chandni Chowk. The Viceroy wounded in the attempt, but his Mahavat (driver and keeper of an elephant) was killed.

Ghadar Party (1913):

Formed by Lala Hardayal, Taraknath Das and Sohan Singh Bhakna. HQ was at San Francisco.

Home Rule Movement (1915-16)

B.G Tilak was released from the Mandlay jail in the year 1914. In 1915 he reentered INC. B.G. Tilak founded Indian Home Rule League at Pune on 28 April, 1916. Annie Besant, inspired by the Irish rebellion, started Home Rule Movement in India in Sep., 1916. She started two newspapers i.e. Young India and Commonwealth. The leagues advocated passive resistance and civil disobedience.

Arrival of Lord Chelmsford 1916

On April 4, 1916, Lord Chelmsford took over as next Viceroy of India.

Lucknow Pact-Congress-League Pact (1916)

An important step forward in achieving Hindu- Muslim unity was the Lucknow Pact (1916). Anti- British feelings were generated among the Muslims following a war between Britain and Turkey which opened way for Congress and Muslim League unity. Both the Congress and the Muslim League held session at Lucknow in 1916 and concluded the famous Lucknow pact. The congress accepted the separate electorate and both organizations jointly demanded ‘dominion status’ for the country.

Montagu Declaration (August Declaration of 1917)

Montague made the landmark statement in the context of self rule in India in 1917. He said that the control over the Indian government would be transferred gradually to the Indian people. This was the result of Hindu-Muslim unity exhibited in Lucknow pact.

The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was Mahatma Gandhi's first Satyagraha. Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha were the events which later put Gandhi on the front seat of Indian National Revolution and made Satyagraha a powerful tool.

Kheda Satyagraha 1918

In 1918, Gujarat as a whole suffered a severe

epidemic of Plague and in Kheda alone around 17000 people lost their lives. Further, cholera also broke out locally. This was the immediate reason of the revolt. The revolt was against the taxes. The government said that if the taxes are not paid, the property would be seized. This revolt gave India a robust leader in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and his colleagues organized this major tax revolt, which was able to mobilize all the castes and creeds of the region.