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YUVRAJ IAS
GIST OF MODERN
HISTORY
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Table Of Contents
Battle Of Plassey................................................................................................................. 4
Third Battle Of Panipat – 1761 .......................................................................................... 5
Anglo-Mysore Wars – I, II.................................................................................................... 6
Third & Fourth Anglo-Mysore War...................................................................................... 8
Lord Warren Hastings ......................................................................................................... 9
First Anglo-Maratha War .................................................................................................. 10
Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803 – 1805) .................................................................... 11
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 – 1818) ........................................................................ 12
The Pitt's India Act 1784 .................................................................................................. 13
The Regulating Act of 1773 ............................................................................................. 14
Land Revenue System Under British ............................................................................... 14
Permanent Settlement System ............................................................................... 14
Ryotwari System ............................................................................................................... 16
Mahalwari System ............................................................................................................ 17
Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772 – 1833) .............................................................................. 18
Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902) ................................................................................ 19
Subsidiary Alliance ........................................................................................................... 20
Charter Act of 1793 .......................................................................................................... 21
Charter Act of 1813 .......................................................................................................... 21
Education System In India During British Rule ............................................................... 22
The Charter Act of 1833 ................................................................................................... 24
The First Anglo-Sikh War .................................................................................................. 24
The Second Anglo-Sikh War ............................................................................................. 26
1 © Yuvraj IAS 2019

Vellore Mutiny 1806 ......................................................................................................... 27
Doctrine Of Lapse ............................................................................................................. 28
The Revolt Of 1857 ........................................................................................................... 29
Nana Saheb ....................................................................................................................... 32
Rani Lakshmi Bai – Rani Of Jhansi .................................................................................. 33
Carnatic Wars.................................................................................................................... 34
Causes of the rise of the national movement in India .................................................... 35
The Moderate Phase Of The Indian National Movement ................................................ 37
Charter Act of 1853 .......................................................................................................... 40
Government of India Act, 1858 ........................................................................................ 41
Indian Council Act of 1861 .............................................................................................. 42
Indian Council Act 1892 ................................................................................................... 42
Indian Council Act of 1909 Morley- Minto Reforms ....................................................... 43
The Partition Of Bengal – 1905 ....................................................................................... 44
Indian National Movement – Extremist Period ............................................................... 46
Bal Gangadhar Tilak ......................................................................................................... 48
Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928) ............................................................................................ 50
Revolutionary Movement In India .................................................................................... 51
Government of India Act, 1919 ........................................................................................ 54
Mahatma Gandhi’s Early Movements .............................................................................. 55
The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre .................................................... 56
The Lucknow Pact, 1916 .................................................................................................. 58
Non-Cooperation Movement ............................................................................................ 59
Civil Disobedience Movement .......................................................................................... 61
Moplah Rebellion of 1921 ................................................................................................ 63

Simon Commission ........................................................................................................... 65
Swaraj Party ...................................................................................................................... 66
Bardoli Satyagraha ........................................................................................................... 67
Vaikom Satyagraha ........................................................................................................... 68
Gandhi Irwin Pact .............................................................................................................. 68
First Round Table Conference 1930................................................................................ 70
Second and Third Round Table Conferences .................................................................. 71
Government of India Act 1935 ......................................................................................... 72
Poona Pact ........................................................................................................................ 73
Cripps Mission................................................................................................................... 74
Subhas Chandra Bose....................................................................................................... 75
Dr BR Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) .................................................. 77
Quit India movement......................................................................................................... 79
Nehru Report ..................................................................................................................... 80
C R Formula or Rajaji Formula (1944)............................................................................. 81
The August Offer ............................................................................................................... 82
Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference................................................................................ 83
Cabinet Mission Plan ........................................................................................................ 84
Historical Background of the Constitution of India ........................................................ 85
Constituent Assembly of India ......................................................................................... 85
Mountbatten Plan – Indian Independence Act 1947 ..................................................... 88

Battle Of Plassey
Facts about the Battle of Plassey
 Fought between: Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal and the British East
India Company
 People involved: Siraj-ud-daulah, Colonel Robert Clive, Mir Jaffar, Mohan
Lal, Small French Forces
 Mir Jafar, who was Siraj-ud-daulah’s army commander-in-chief was bribed
by Clive and promised to be made the Nawab of Bengal if the British won.
 The French had supported the Nawab.
 When: 23 June 1757
 Where: Plassey (Palasi/Palashi), 150 km north of Calcutta.
 Result: Decisive victory for the British and the installment of Mir Jaffar as
Bengal’s Nawab by Clive.
Background
 The East India Company had established factories at Surat, Madras,

Bombay and Calcutta in the 17thcentury.
 Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar had issued a Farman in 1717 granting the
Company rights to reside and trade freely within the Mughal Empire. The
Company was also accorded the right to issue dastaks for movement of
goods. This right was misused by the Company officials.
 When Alivardi Khan, grandfather of Siraj-ud-daulah became the Nawab of
Bengal, he took a stricter stance against the Company.
 When Siraj succeeded him as the Nawab, he ordered the company to stop
their fortification activities since they didn’t have the permission to do so.
But the company carried on with their fortifications.
 This led the Nawab to attack the British station in Calcutta in which they
were beaten by the Nawab’s 3000-strong army.
 Calcutta was occupied by the Nawab’s forces in June 1756 and the
prisoners were kept in a dungeon in Fort William. This incident is called the
Black Hole of Calcutta since only a handful of the prisoners survived the
captivity where over a hundred people were kept in a cell meant for about
6 people.
 Fort William and other British establishments in Calcutta had fallen into
the hands of the Nawab.
 When news of this reached Madras in August, they sent troops under
Colonel Robert Clive to win back the Bengal establishments of the British.
Calcutta was recaptured in January 1757.
 On the day of the Battle, in 23rd June, Robert Clive’s forces won against
the much larger force of the Nawab since the Nawab was betrayed by Mir
Jaffar and others in his own camp.

Effects of the Battle of Plassey
 Mir Jaffar became the Nawab of Bengal (Bihar and Odisha) but he was a
puppet of the British.
 Siraj-ud-daulah was captured and killed.
 Clive also captured the French forts in Bengal.
 The British became the paramount power in Bengal. They successfully
ousted the French and resisted the Dutch.
 The French were constrained to Pondicherry in India.
 Colonel Clive became Lord Clive, Baron of Plassey because of his exploits
in the battle.
Third Battle Of Panipat – 1761

Facts about the Third Battle of Panipat
 Fought between: Maratha Empire and Durrani Empire (Afghanistan)

 People involved: Sadashivrao Bhau (Commander-in-chief of the Maratha
Army), Vishwasrao, Malharrao Holkar, Ahmad Shah Durrani (also called
Ahmad Shah Abdali).
 When: 14th January 1761
 Where: Panipat (97 km north of Delhi) in modern day Haryana.
 Result: Victory for the Afghans.
 Durrani got support from the Rohillas of the Doab and Shuja-ud-daulah, the
Nawab of Awadh.
 The Marathas failed to get support from the Rajputs, Jats or the Sikhs.
Background
 The Maratha power was on the rise in the subcontinent after the death of
the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. They had under their control many regions
in the Deccan and elsewhere that was previously under the Mughals. They
also had Malwa, Rajputana and Gujarat under their control.
 In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani had established the Durrani Empire in
Afghanistan. In 1747 he annexed Lahore. In subsequent years, he had
taken control of Punjab and Sindh as well. Durrani’s son Timur Shah was
the governor of Lahore.
 The Maratha Peshwa Bajirao was able to capture Lahore and drive out
Timur Shah.
 During this time, the Maratha Empire stretched from the Indus in the north
to the southern regions of India.
 Delhi was only nominally under the Mughals. Many people were alarmed at
the rapid rise of the Hindu Marathas and they appealed to Durrani to stop
the Marathas’ expansion.

 Ahmad Shah Durrani was able to gather support from the Afghan Rohillas
of the Gangetic Doab.
 Shuja-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Awadh was solicited by both the Afghans
and the Marathas for support, but he chose to ally with the Afghans.
Reasons for the Afghan victory
 The combined army of Durrani and his allies were numerically superior to
the Maratha army.
 Shuja-ud-daulah’s support also proved decisive as he provided the
necessary finances for the Afghans’ long stay in northern India.
 The Maratha capital was at Pune and the battlefield was miles away.
Effects of the battle
 Immediately after the battle, the Afghan army massacred thousands of

Maratha soldiers as well as civilians in the streets of Panipat. The
vanquished women and children were taken as slaves to Afghan camps.
 Even a day after the battle, around 40,000 Maratha prisoners were
slaughtered in cold blood.
 Sadashivrao Bhau and the Peshwa’s son Vishwasrao were among those
killed in battle.
 The Peshwa Balaji Bajirao never recovered from the shock this debacle
gave.
 There were heavy casualties on both sides.
 The Maratha rise was checked but they retook Delhi ten years later under
Peshwa Madhavrao.
 Durrani did not remain in India too long. He reinstated Mughal Shah Alam
II as the Emperor at Delhi.
Anglo-Mysore Wars – I, II
Hyder Ali (1721 – 1782)
 Started his career as a soldier in the Mysore Army.

 Soon rose to prominence in the army owing to his military skills.
 He was made the Dalavayi (commander-in-chief), and later the Chief
Minister of the Mysore state under Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, ruler of Mysore.
 Through his administrative prowess and military skills, he became the de-
facto ruler of Mysore with the real king reduced to a titular head only.
 He set up a modern army and trained them along European lines.
First Anglo-Mysore War (1767 – 1769)
Causes of the war:

 Hyder Ali built a strong army and annexed many regions in the South
including Bidnur, Canara, Sera, Malabar and Sunda.
 He also took French support in training his army.
 This alarmed the British.
Course of the war:
 The British, along with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad declared
war on Mysore.
 Hyder Ali was able to bring the Marathas and the Nizam to his side with
skillful diplomacy.
 But the British under General Smith defeated Ali in 1767.
 His son Tipu Sultan advanced towards Madras against the English.
Result of the war:
 In 1769, the Treaty of Madras was signed which brought an end to the war.
 The conquered territories were restored to each other.
 It was also agreed upon that they would help each other in case of a
foreign attack.
Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780 – 1784)
Causes Of The War:
 The Marathas attacked Mysore in 1771. But the British refused to honour
the Treaty of Madras and did not give support to Hyder Ali.
 As a result, Hyder Ali’s territories were taken by the Marathas. He had to
buy peace with the Marathas for a sum of Rs.36 lakh and another annual
tribute.
 This angered Hyder Ali who started hating the British.
 When the English attacked Mahe, a French possession under Hyder Ali’s
dominion, he declared war on the English in 1780.
Course of the war:
 Hyder Ali forged an alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas and defeated
the British forces in Arcot.
 Hyder Ali died in 1782 and the war was continued by his son Tipu Sultan.
 Sir Eyre Coote, who had earlier defeated Hyder Ali many times, ended the
war inconclusively with the Treaty of Mangalore.
Result of the war:
 As per the Treaty of Mangalore, both parties agreed to return the captured
territories and prisoners to each other.

Third & Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Third Anglo-Mysore War (1786 – 1792)
Causes of the war:
 The British started improving their relationship with the Nizam of

Hyderabad and the Marathas.
 Tipu Sultan, who assumed control of Mysore after Hyder Ali’s death, had
French help in bettering his military resources.
 He also refused to free the English prisoners taken during the second
Anglo-Mysore war as per the Treaty of Mangalore.
Course of the war:
 Tipu declared war on Travancore in 1789. Travancore was a friendly state

of the British.
 In 1790, the Governor-General of Bengal, Lord Cornwallis declared war on
Tipu.
 Tipu was defeated in the first phase of the war and his forces had to
retreat.
 Later the English advanced towards Tipu’s capital of Seringapatam and
Tipu had to bargain for peace.
Result of the war:
 The war ended with the Treaty of Seringapatam in 1792.

 As per the treaty, Tipu had to cede half of his kingdom to the English
including the areas of Malabar, Dindigul, Coorg and Baramahal.
 He also had to pay Rs.3 Crore as war indemnity to the British.
 Tipu also had to surrender two of his sons as surety to the British till he
paid his due.
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)

Causes of the war:
 The Treaty of Seringapatam failed to bring peace between Tipu and the
English.
 Tipu also refused to accept the Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley.
 Tipu aligned with the French which the British saw as a threat.
Course of the war:
 Mysore was attacked from all four sides.

 The Marathas and the Nizam invaded from the North.
 Tipu’s troops were outnumbered 4:1.
 The British secured a decisive victory at the Battle of Seringapatam in
1799.
 Tipu died while defending the city.
Result of the war:

 Tipu’s territories were divided between the British and the Nizam of
Hyderabad.
 The core area around Seringapatam and Mysore was restored to the
Wodeyar dynasty who had been ruling Mysore before Hyder Ali became the
de-facto ruler.
 Mysore entered into a Subsidiary Alliance with the British and a British
resident was placed at the Mysore Court.
 The Kingdom of Mysore remained a princely state not directly under the
British until 1947 when it chose to join the Indian Union.
Lord Warren Hastings

 Marquess of Hastings (Lord Hastings) was appointed Governor-General of
India on November 11, 1812.
 His tenure in India as Governor-General was a notable one, as he won two
wars namely the Gurkha War (1814–1816) and the Maratha War (1818).
 The Second Anglo-Maratha War had shattered the power of the Maratha
chiefs but not their spirit.
 The loss of their freedom rankled in their hearts.
 They made a desperate last attempt to regain their independence and old
prestige in 1817.
 The lead in organizing a united front of the Maratha chiefs was taken by
the Peshwa who was smarting under the rigid control exercised by the
British Resident.
 However, once again the Marathas failed to evolve a conceded and well-
thought out plan of action.
 The Peshwa attacked the British Residency at Poona in November 1817.
 Madhoji II Bhonsle (also known as Appa Sahib) of Nagpur attacked the
Residency at Nagpur, and Madhav Rao Holkar made preparations for war.
 The Governor-General, Lord Hastings, struck back with characteristic vigor.
 Hastings compelled Sindhia to accept British suzerainty, and defeated the
armies of the Peshwa, Bhonsle, and Holkar.
 The Peshwa was dethroned and pensioned off at Bithur near Kanpur.
 His territories were annexed and the enlarged Presidency of Bombay
brought into existence.
 Holkar and Bhonsle accepted subsidiary forces.
 All the Maratha chiefs had to cede to the Company large tracts of their
territories.
 To satisfy Maratha pride, the small Kingdom of Satara was founded out of
the Peshwa’s lands and gave to the descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji who
ruled it as a complete dependent of the British.
 Like other rulers of Indian states, the Maratha chiefs too existed from now
on at the mercy of the British power.
 The Rajputana states had been dominated for several decades by Sindhia
and Holkar.
 After the downfall of the Marathas, they lacked the energy to reassert their
independence and readily accepted British supremacy.

 By 1818, the entire Indian sub-continent excepting the Punjab and Sindh
had been brought under British control.
 Some part of India was ruled directly by the British and the rest by a host of
Indian rulers over whom the British exercised paramount power.
 The British protected states had virtually no armed forces of their own, nor
did they have any independent foreign relations.
 However, they were autonomous in their internal affairs, but even in this
respect, they acknowledged British authority wielded through a Resident.
 The British protected states paid heavily for the British forces stationed in
their territories to control them.
First Anglo-Maratha War

Background and course
 The third Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao died in 1761 due to shock after his defeat
at the Third Battle of Panipat.
 His son Madhavrao succeeded him. Madhavrao was able to recover some
of the Maratha power and territories which they had lost in the Battle of
Panipat.
 The English were aware of the growing Maratha power.
 When Madhavrao died, there was a tussle for power in the Maratha camp.
 His brother Narayanrao became the Peshwa but his uncle Raghunathrao
wanted to become the Peshwa.
 For this, he sought the help of the English.
 So, the Treaty of Surat in 1775 was signed according to which
Raghunathrao ceded Salsette and Bassein to the English and in return he
was given 2500 soldiers.
 The British and army of Raghunathrao attacked the Peshwa and won.
 The British Calcutta Council under Warren Hastings annulled this treaty
and a new treaty, the Treaty of Purandhar was signed in 1776 between the
Calcutta Council and Nana Phadnavis, a Maratha minister.
 Accordingly, Raghunathrao was given a pension only and Salsette was
retained by the British.
 But the British establishment at Bombay violated this treaty and sheltered
Raghunathrao.
 In 1777, Nana Phadnavis went against his treaty with the Calcutta Council
and granted a port on the west coast to the French.
 This led the British to advance a force towards Pune. There was a battle at
Wadgaon near Pune in which the Marathas under Mahadji Shinde secured
a decisive victory over the English.
 The English were forced to sign the Treaty of Wadgaon in 1779.
 There was a series of battles at the end of which the Treaty of Salbai was
signed in 1782. This ended the first Anglo-Maratha war.
Results
 The East India Company retained Salsette and Broach.

 It also obtained a guarantee from the Marathas that they would retake
their possessions in the Deccan from Hyder Ali of Mysore.
 The Marathas also promised that they would not grant any more territories
to the French.
 Raghunathrao was to receive a pension of Rs.3 lakh every year.
 All territories taken by the British after the Treaty of Purandhar were ceded
back to the Marathas.
 The English accepted Madhavrao II (son of Narayanrao) as the Peshwa.
Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803 – 1805)

 After Tipu Sultan’s Mysore was captured by the British in 1799, the
Marathas were the only major Indian power left outside of British
domination.
 At that time, the Maratha Confederacy consisted of five major chiefs, the
Peshwas at Pune, the Gaekwads at Baroda, the Holkars at Indore, the
Scindias at Gwalior and the Bhonsles at Nagpur.
 There were internal squabbles among themselves.
 Baji Rao II (son of Raghunathrao) was installed as the Peshwa after the
death of Madhavrao II.
 In the Battle of Poona in 1802, Yashwantrao Holkar, the chief of the
Holkars of Indore defeated the Peshwas and the Scindias.
 Baji Rao II sought British protection and signed the Treaty of Bassein with
them.
 As per this treaty, he ceded territory to the British and agreed to the
maintenance of British troops there.
 The Scindias and the Bhonsles did not accept this treaty and this caused
the second Anglo-Maratha war in central India in 1803.
 The Holkars also joined the battle against the English at a later stage
Results
 All the Maratha forces were defeated by the British in these battles.
 The Scindias signed the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon in 1803 through which
the British got the territories of Rohtak, Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Gurgaon,
Delhi Agra region, Broach, some districts in Gujarat, parts of Bundelkhand
and Ahmadnagar fort.
 The Bhonsles signed the Treaty of Deogaon in 1803 as per which the
English acquired Cuttack, Balasore and area west of Wardha River.
 The Holkars signed the Treaty of Rajghat in 1805 according to which they
gave up Tonk, Bundi and Rampura to the British.

 As a result of the war, large parts of central India came under British
control.
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 – 1818)

 After the second Anglo-Maratha war, the Marathas made one last attempt
to rebuild their old prestige.
 They wanted to retake all their old possessions from the English.
 They were also unhappy with the British residents’ interference in their
internal matters.
 The chief reason for this war was the British conflict with the Pindaris
whom the British suspected were being protected by the Marathas.
 The Maratha chiefs Peshwa Bajirao II, Malharrao Holkar and Mudhoji II
Bhonsle forged a united front against the English.
 Daulatrao Shinde, the fourth major Maratha chief was pressured
diplomatically to stay away.
 But the British victory was swift.
Results
 The Treaty of Gwalior was signed in 1817 between Shinde and the British,
even though he had not been involved in the war. As per this treaty, Shinde
gave up Rajasthan to the British. The Rajas of Rajputana remained the
Princely States till 1947 after accepting British sovereignty.
 The Treaty of Mandasor was signed between the British and the Holkar
chief in 1818. An infant was placed on the throne under British
guardianship.
 The Peshwa surrendered in 1818. He was dethroned and pensioned off to a
small estate in Bithur (near Kanpur). Most parts of his territory became
part of the Bombay Presidency.
 His adopted son, Nana Saheb became one of the leaders of the Revolt of
1857 at Kanpur.
 The territories annexed from the Pindaris became the Central Provinces
under British India.
 This war led to the end of the Maratha Empire. All the Maratha powers
surrendered to the British.
 An obscure descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji was placed as the
ceremonial head of the Maratha Confederacy at Satara.
 This was the last major war fought and won by the British. With this, the
British controlled most parts India directly or indirectly.
Reasons For Maratha Loss
 Lack of unity among the Maratha chiefs themselves.

 Lack of good relations with other Indian princes and ruling dynasties.
 Failure to understand the British political and diplomatic strengths.

The Pitt's India Act 1784
Key Provisions
For political matters, Board of Control was created and for commercial
affairs, the Court of Directors was appointed.
 The Board of Control took care of civil and military affairs. It comprised of
6 people:
 Secretary of State (Board President)
 Chancellor of the Exchequer
 Four Privy Councillors
In this dual system of control, the company was represented by the Court
of Directors and the British government by the Board of Control.
The act mandated that all civil and military officers disclose their property
in India and Britain within two months of their joining.
The Governor-General’s council’s strength was reduced to three members.
One of the three would be the Commander-in-Chief of the British Crown’s
army in India.
The Governor-General was given the right of veto.
The Presidencies of Madras and Bombay became subordinate to the
Bengal Presidency. In effect, Calcutta became the capital of the British
possessions in India.
Features Of This Act
 This act made a distinction between the commercial and political activities
of the East India Company.
 For the first time, the term ‘British possessions in India’ was used.
 This act gave the British government direct control over Indian
administration.
 The Company became subordinate to the British government unlike as in
the previous Regulating Act of 1773, where the government only sought to
‘regulate’ matters and not take over.
 This act established the British Crown’s authority in civil and military
administration of its Indian territories. Commercial activities were still a
monopoly of the Company.
Drawbacks
The act was deemed a failure because there was no clarity on the
boundaries between the company’s powers and the government’s authority

The Regulating Act of 1773
The Act said that:
 That, for the government of the presidency of fort William in Bengal, there
shall be a Governor General, and a Council consisting of four councillors
with the democratic provision that the decision of the majority in the
Council shall be binding on the Governor General.
 That Warren Hastings shall be the first Governor General and that Lt.
General John Clavering, George Monson, Richard Barwell and Philip
Francis shall be four first Councillors.
 That His Majesty shall establish a supreme court of judicature consisting
of a Chief Justice and three other judges at Fort William, and that the
Court's jurisdiction shall extend to all British subjects residing in Bengal
and their native servants.
 That the company shall pay out of its revenue salaries to the designated
persons in the following rate: to the Governor General 25000 sterling, to
the Councillors 10,000 sterling, to the Chief Justice 8000 sterling and the
Judges 6000 sterling a year.
 That the Governor General, Councillors and Judges are prohibited from
receiving any gifts, presents, pecuniary advantages from the Indian
princes, zamindars and other people.
 That no person in the civil and military establishments can receive any gift,
reward, present and any pecuniary advantages from the Indians.
 That it is unlawful for collectors and other district officials to receive any
gift, present, reward or pecuniary advantages from zamindars and other
people.
Land Revenue System Under British

 British got Diwani rights of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1765. The major
aim of British East India Company was to increase their land revenue
collection. So its policies were aimed at getting maximum income from
land without caring about its consequences on cultivators and peasants.
 They introduced the policy of revenue collection by abandoning the age-old

system of revenue administration. The entire burden of Company s profits,
cost of its administration and expenses on wars and conquests were
mainly borne by the peasants.
Permanent Settlement System

 Also known as Jagirdari, Malguzari or Bizwedari, it was introduced in the
19% of total area under British rule. This was implemented in states of
Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, Northern Carnatic and Banaras divisions after the
failure of revenue farming system in Bengal in which the right to collect

revenue was given to the highest bidder which was introduced by Lord
Warren Hastings.
 In 1790 under Lord Cornwallis, a 10-year revenue settlement was made

with the Zamindars and they were recognized as the owners of the land
who could mortgage or sell the land, from being just the agent of the
government for revenue collection. In 1793, this was converted into a
permanent settlement and zamindari system was made hereditary and the
land was made transferable.
 The tenants were now at the mercy of zamindars and their customary
rights were sacrificed. The zamindars had to pay 10/11th of rent taken
from the peasant to the company and keep only 1/11th of revenue for
themselves. This resulted in illegal extortions from peasants by the
zamindars. One may note here that the state's share of revenue was fixed
and no limit was kept on revenue collected by zamindar from the
cultivator. In the very first year of its adoption, the company's revenues
rose by 80%.
Reasons for Adopting the Permanent Settlement
 Due to the failure of the 'farming system' adopted by Lord Warren Hastings
a new system of land revenue was required.
 The permanent settlement was to ensure a stable and fixed income for the
company.
 To reduce the expenses of the Company on periodic revenue settlements
and land assessments. It was also to end the corruption by the officials in
revenue assessments.
 To reduce the burden of revenue collection on the company and to create a
loyal group of zamindars whose interests were aligned to the continuation
of British Raj.
 The company thought that fixed rates would increase investments in
agriculture by the zamindars and company could benefit from the taxes
from increased trade and commerce.
Impact of Land Revenue System Under Permanent Settlement
 As the land revenue was going to be permanently fixed, the company fixed
the rates arbitrarily high (10/11th of total collection) much higher than the
past rates. This placed a high burden on the zamindars which were
ultimately borne by the peasants.
 Peasants were left at the mercy of zamindars as no rules were made for
revenue collection by zamindars. The property rights of peasants suffered
and they faced evictions and 'begar .
 It led to the growth of new landlords as the property was now transferable
and those zamindars who could not pay rents, their lands were auctioned.

 It also led to the growth of a system of absentee landlordism. These
zamindars were interested only to maximize their revenue collection and
had no interest in the investments in agriculture.
 A new class of landless cultivators, agricultural coolies on one hand and
money lenders on the other was now created.
 High revenue demand and harsh methods of collection, eventually led to
frequent land transfers which didn't benefit zamindars either. Company's
revenue collection also fell as agricultural output declined. By 1770's
Bengal witnessed famines.
Ryotwari System
Ryotwari system was adopted in 51% of the total area under British rule
that is in state of Malabar, Coimbatore, Madras, Assam, and Madurai and
later it was extended to Maharashtra and East Bengal. It was introduced
on the recommendations of British officials Reed and Sir Thomas Munro.
The state demand was fixed in cash and had no connection with actual
yields. Besides, the revenue fixed was one of the highest in modern period,
at 55 percent.
 Under this system, the taxes were directly collected by the government. It
established a direct relationship between the government and the ryot
(cultivator).
 Farmers had the right to sell, mortgage and lease the land but had to pay
their taxes on time. If they failed to pay taxes, they were evicted from the
land. Later on, the government went on to claim that the land revenue was
rent and not a tax. This negated the ownership rights of farmers.
 The government fixed the tax rates for temporary periods of around 20 to
30 years after which land revenue was revised. But the government
retained the rights to increase the land revenue anytime at its own will.
Reasons for the Adoption of Ryotwari System
 The British officials believed that there are no zamindars or feudal lords
with large estates in these areas. So it was difficult for the British to
implement the zamindari system.
 The government revenues were fixed in the permanent settlement so it
could not gain from the rise in prices. Moreover, the government felt that
the revenue was being unnecessarily shared with the zamindars which
reduced its profits.
 The zamindari system was oppressive for the peasants and led to frequent
agrarian revolts. The government wanted to avoid these situations. It also
hoped that by introducing ryotwari system, the purchasing power of
peasants would increase, which would increase the demands for British
goods in India.

Impact of Land Revenue System Under Ryotwari System
 The peasants did not benefit from this land revenue system and felt that
smaller zamindars we are replaced by one giant zamindar, the British
government . The farmers were forced to pay land revenue even during the
famines otherwise they were forced to evict the land.
 Further, the land revenue was very high, between 45% to 55% in different
areas, which led to the impoverishment of farmers.
 A major drawback of this system was over assessment of crop yields.
 The system of tenancy and landlordism still existed as the artisans who
were now unemployed, worked as tenants for rich farmers. In the several
districts, more than two third of the total agricultural land was leased.
 The government insisted the peasants grow cash crops which required
higher investments. It led to the indebtedness of farmers and when prices
declined they suffered the most. For example, when the prices of cotton
declined after the end of American Civil War the peasants suffered the
most. This created conditions ripe for rebellion that came in the form of
Deccan Agrarian riots in 1875.
Mahalwari System
The Mahalwari system was introduced in around 30% of total area under
British rule. It was a modified version of zamindari system. It was
introduced in the Gangetic valley, major parts of North West Frontier
province, Punjab and in Central provinces. In these areas, more than often
there was a system of collective land holdings by the heads of the families
or the landlords. The village community mainly included the group of
elders, mainly from the higher castes.
 The revenue settlement was made with the Mahal (a village or a group of
villages). The taxes were imposed collectively on the members of the
community. These taxes were revised periodically.
 The taxes were distributed between the individual farmers who paid their
share in the tax revenue. However, the ownership rights of lands were with
the individual peasants, who could mortgage or sell his land.
Impacts of Land Revenue System Under Mahalwari System
 As the areas covered under the Mahalwari system in Northern India were
fertile, the government put the revenue demands between 50% to 75% of
the crop production.
 Within subsequent generations, the lands were fragmented, but the
revenue demand was still high which had to be paid in cash. This led to
their indebtedness in the hands of money lenders.
 Further, this system led to the eviction of farmers from the land. Due to
this sub-leasing of land was more common in Mahalwari areas.

British revenue systems therefore led to the impoverishment of peasantry.
by making land a transferable property, the British facilitated rise of
absentee landlords, oppressive moneylenders and pushed the peasant
further into misery.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772 – 1833)

Facts
Born in Radhanagar, Hooghly District, Bengal Presidency in May 1772 into

a Bengali Hindu family.
He is known as the ‘Father of Modern India’ or ‘Father of the Bengal
Renaissance’.
He was a religious and social reformer.
Widely known for his role in the abolition of the practice of Sati.
He was a scholar and knew Sanskrit, Persian, Hindi, Bengali, English and
Arabic.
He fought against the perceived ills of Hindu society at that time.
Propagated Western education among Indians.
Formed the Brahmo Samaj in 1828.
Worked for the East India Company as a clerk.
He died in September 1833 in Bristol, England.
Work and ideology
He was opposed to Sati, polygamy, child marriage, idolatry, the caste

system, and propagated widow remarriage.
He stressed on rationalism and modern scientific approach.
He believed in social equality of all human beings.
He started many schools to educate Indians in Western scientific
education in English.
He was against the perceived polytheism of Hinduism. He advocated
monotheism as given in the scriptures.
He studied Christianity and Islam as well.
He translated the Vedas and five of the Upanishads into Bengali.
He started the Sambad Kaumudi, a Bengali weekly newspaper which
regularly denounced Sati as barbaric and against the tenets of Hinduism.
In 1828, he founded the Brahmo Sabha which was later renamed Brahmo
Samaj. He had also founded the Atmiya Sabha.
Brahmo Samaj’s chief aim was worship of the eternal god. It was against
priesthood, rituals and sacrifices. It focused on prayers, meditation and
reading of the scriptures.
It was the first intellectual reform movement in modern India where social
evils then practiced where condemned and efforts made to remove them
from society.
It led to the emergence of rationalism and enlightenment in India which
indirectly contributed to the nationalist movement.

The Brahmo Samaj believed in the unity of all religions.
He worked for the improvement in the position of women. He advocated
widow remarriage and education of women.
His efforts led to the abolition of Sati in 1829 by Lord William Bentinck, the
then Governor-General of India.
He was a true humanist and democrat.
He also spoke against the unjust policies of the British government
especially the restrictions on press freedom.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj played a vital role in
awakening Indian society to the pressing issues plaguing society at that
time and also was the forerunner of all social, religious and political
movements that happened in the country since.
He visited England as an ambassador of the Mughal king Akbar Shah II
(father of Bahadur Shah) where he died of a disease. He was awarded the
title ‘Raja’ by Akbar II.
Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902)

Background
Born as Narendranath Dutta in Calcutta in January 1863.

Was influenced by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who became his Guru.
Became a monk and travelled all over India and the West.
His writings and speeches did a lot to spread Hindu philosophy in the West
especially Advaita Vedanta and Yoga philosophies.
In 1886, he formally accepted monastic vows.
He established many Mathas in India the most important being the Belur
Math in Belur, Howrah district.
He founded the Ramakrishna Mission in May 1897.
He died in 1902 in Belur Math in West Bengal.
Contributions
Swami Vivekananda is credited with introducing the West to the Indian

philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga.
He worked in the field of social service.
He spoke to people in India and urged them to eliminate the caste system
and promote science and industrialisation.
He also inspired many people to join the national independence movement.
He urged the youth of the country to fight colonial oppression, do social
service and work for the people in unity.
His teachings opened up interfaith debates and interfaith awareness.
He also worked against superstitions and advocated the upliftment of
women’s position in society.
He wanted the people to embrace the spirit of equality and free thinking.
His interpretation of Vedanta is called neo-Vedanta.

He worked towards a better understanding of Hinduism and also towards
nationalism.
According to him, the best form of worship was the service of the people.
He laid stress on physical and moral strength. One of his many quotes say,
“You Will Be Nearer To Heaven through Football than through the Study of
the Gita.”
The four pillars of nationalism according to Swami Vivekananda are:
i. Consciousness and pride in the ancient glory of India.

ii. Development of moral and physical strength.
iii. Awakening of the masses.
iv. Unity based on common spiritual ideas.
Subsidiary Alliance
The British East India Company started an outright war of non-intervention
policy and the assumption of the territories of previously subordinated
rulers to achieve political aspiration i.e. bringing Indian States within the
orbit of British power. The Subsidiary Alliance System was “Non-
Intervention Policy” used by Lord Wellesley who was the Governor-General
(1798-1805) to establish British Empire in India. According to this system,
every ruler in India had to accept to pay a subsidy to the British for the
maintenance of British army. In return, British would protect them from
their enemies which gave British enormous expansion.
It was firstly used by Lord Wellesley who effectively institutionalised the
policy of “non intervention” which made the Nawab and Nizams subsidiary
allies by signing almost 100 such treaties.
Key points of the Subsidiary Alliance
1. The allies of Indian state’s ruler were compelled to accept the

permanent garrison of British Army within their territories and to pay a
subsidy for its maintenance.
2. The Indian ruler could not employ any European in their service without
prior approval of British.
3. They could not negotiate with any other Indian rulers without consulting
the Governor-General.
State comes under the periphery of the policy
1. ‘The Nizam of Hyderabad’ was the first victim of this policy. In AD 1798 it
detached the Nizam from the French and also forbade having alliances
with Maratha without British consent.
2. Second state was Mysore in AD 1799. Then Wellesley compelled the
Nawab of Awadh to accept the Policy of Subsidiary Alliance in AD 1801.
3. In AD 1802, Peshwa Baji Rao II also subjugated his state under this
policy. Many Maratha states like Bhosle and Scindia in AD 1803 also
accepted the terms of the policy.

4. The last Maratha Confederation i.e. Holkars too accepted the terms of
subsidiary alliance.
Charter Act of 1793

Charter Act, 1793 AD provisionalised the Company’s trade monopoly with
India. The realm of Governance of Governor-General increased over the
Governors of Bombay and Madras. The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction was
increased to the high seas. They can appoint the members of the Civil
services as justices of the Peace, scavengers for the presidency towns and
can ban on the sale of liquor without license.
Features of the act
1. Act provided the exclusive trade privileges and renewed twenty years.
2. The realm of Governance of Governor-General increased over the
Governors of Bombay and Madras.
3. A ‘Regular code’ of all regulations that could be enacted for the internal
Government of British territory in Bengal was framed. The regulation was
applied to the rights, persons and property of the Indian people and
bounded the courts to regulate their decisions by the code itself.
This act was made only fairly minimal changes to either the system of
government in India or British oversight of the Company's activities. Most
importantly, the Company's trade monopoly was continued for a further 20
years. Salaries for the staff and paid members of the Board of Control were
also now charged to the Company.
Charter Act of 1813

The operation of continental system had caused marked decline in the
British Trade due to the long continuation of Napoleonic war. The British
merchant’s persistently demanded that company trade should be opened
to all private traders, so in order to meet their demand the charter act was
passed. It is also known as the East India Company’s Act of 1813, was an
Act that continued the British East India Company’s rule in India by the
Parliament of Britain.
Features and Provisions of the act

1. This asserted the Crown’s sovereignty over British India by defining the
constitutional position of British in India.
2. This act also empowered the local governments to impose taxes on the
persons subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
3. The European British subjects was also strengthened in India over the
power of the provincial governments and courts.
4. Financial provision was made to encourage a revival in Indian literature
and for the promotion of science.
5. This act also envisages that missionaries can go and spread the
Christianity in India.

Education System In India During British Rule
Development of modern education
 The company wanted some educated Indians who could assist them
in the administration of the land.
 Also, they wanted to understand the local customs and laws well.
 For this purpose, Warren Hastings established the Calcutta
Madrassa in 1781 for the teaching of Muslim law.
 In 1791, a Sanskrit College was started in Varanasi by Jonathan
Duncan for the study of Hindu philosophy and laws.
 The missionaries supported the spread of Western education in India
primarily for their proselytising activities. They established many
schools with education only being a means to an end which was
Christianising and ‘civilising’ the natives.
 The Baptist missionary William Carey had come to India in 1793 and
by 1800 there was a Baptist Mission in Serampore, Bengal, and also
a number of primary schools there and in nearby areas.
 The Indian reformers believed that to keep up with times, a modern
educational system was needed to spread rational thinking and
scientific principles.
 The Charter Act of 1813 was the first step towards education being
made an objective of the government.
 The act sanctioned a sum of Rs.1 lakh towards education of Indians
in British ruled India. This act also gave an impetus to the
missionaries who were given official permission to come to India.
 But there was a split in the government over what kind of education
was to be offered to the Indians.
 The orientalists preferred Indians to be given traditional Indian
education. Some others, however, wanted Indians to be educated in
western style of education and be taught western subjects.
 There was also another difficulty regarding the language of
instruction. Some wanted the use of Indian languages (called
vernaculars) while others preferred English.
 Due to these issues, the sum of money allotted was not given until
1823 when the General Committee of Public Instruction decided to
impart oriental education.
 In 1835, it was decided that western sciences and literature would
be imparted to Indians through the medium of English by Lord
William Bentinck’s government.
 Bentinck had appointed Thomas Babington Macaulay as the
Chairman of the General Committee of Public Instruction.
 Macaulay was an ardent anglicist who had absolute contempt for
Indian learning of any kind. He was supported by Reverend Alexander
Duff, JR Colvin, etc.

 On the side of the orientalists were James Prinsep, Henry Thomas
Colebrooke, etc.
 Macaulay minutes refer to his proposal of education for the Indians.
According to him:
 English education should be imparted in place of traditional Indian

learning because oriental culture was ‘defective’ and ‘unholy’.
 He believed in education a few upper and middle class students.
 In course of time, education would trickle down to the masses. This
was called infiltration theory.
 He wished to create a class of Indians who were Indian in colour and
blood but English in taste and affiliation.
In 1835, the Elphinstone College (Bombay) and the Calcutta Medical

College were established.
Wood’s Despatch (1854)
 Sir Charles Wood was the President of the Board of Control of the
company in 1854 when he sent a despatch to the then Governor-
General of India, Lord Dalhousie.
 This is called the ‘Magna Carta of English education in India.’
 Recommendations of the Wood’s Despatch:
 Regularise education system from the primary to the university
levels.
 Indians were to be educated in English and their native language.
 Education system was to be set up in every province.
 Every district should have at least one government school.
 Affiliated private schools could be granted aids.
 Education of women should be emphasised.
 Universities of Madras, Calcutta and Bombay were set up by 1857.
 University of Punjab – 1882; University of Allahabad – 1887
 This despatch asked the government to take up the responsibility of
education of the people
Assessment of the British efforts on education
 Although there were a few Englishmen who wanted to spread

education for its own sake, the government was chiefly concerned
only with its own concerns.
 There was a huge demand for clerks and other administrative roles in
the company’s functioning.
 It was cheaper to get Indians rather than Englishmen from England
for these jobs. This was the prime motive.
 No doubt it spread western education among Indians, but the rate of
literacy was abysmally low during British rule.

 The state of women education was pathetic. This was because the
government did not want to displease the orthodox nature of Indians
and also because women could not generally be employed as clerks.
 In 1911, illiteracy rate in British India was 94%. In 1921, it was 92%.
 Scientific and technical education was ignored by the British
government.
The Charter Act of 1833

Charter Act of 1833 was the outcome of Industrial Revolution in England
which envisages that Indian’s had to function as market for the English
mass production on the basis of ‘Laissez Faire’. Thus the Charter act of
1833 was institutionalised on basis of liberal concept. This was an Act of
the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave East India Company to
rule India for another 20 years. The act legalized the British colonization of
India and the territorial possessions of the company but were held “in trust
for his majesty” for the service of Government of India.
Features of Charter Act
1. It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor-General of India

and vested in him all civil and military powers. Thus, the act created, for
the first time, a Government of India having authority over the entire
territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was
the first governor-general of India.
2. It deprived the governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative

powers. The Governor-General of India was given exclusive legislative
powers for the entire British India. The laws made under the previous acts
were called as Regulations while laws made under this act were called as
Acts.
3. It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body,

which became a purely administrative body. It provided that the company’s
territories in India were held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty, His heirs and
successors’.
4. This Act attempted to introduce a system of open competition for

selection of civil servants, and stated that the Indians should not be
debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the
Company. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the
Court of Directors.
The First Anglo-Sikh War

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Reign: 1801 – 1839)

 Born in 1780 to the leader of the Sukerchakia misl of the Sikh
confederacies in Pakistani Punjab.
 United 12 Sikh misls and subjugated other local kingdoms to become
the ‘Maharaja of Punjab’ in 1801.
 Successfully resisted many Afghan invasions and also captured areas
under them like Lahore, Peshawar and Multan.
 Earned the title ‘Sher-i-Punjab’ (Lion of Punjab).
 After occupying Lahore in 1799, it became his capital.
 His Sikh Empire included lands to the north of the Sutlej River and
South of the north-western Himalayas. His Empire included major towns
like Lahore, Multan, Srinagar (Kashmir), Attock, Peshawar, Rawalpindi,
Jammu, Sialkot, Amritsar and Kangra.
 He maintained friendly relations with the British.
 He had men from different races and religions in his army.
 His maintained an army very efficient in warfare, logistics and
infrastructure.
 After his death in 1839, there was a struggle for succession among his
many relatives. This marked the process of disintegration of the Empire.
 He was succeeded by his eldest legitimate son Kharak Singh.
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845 – 1846)
 Major Broad was placed in Amritsar as the East India Company’s agent
in 1843.
 The British were closely watching the developments in the Punjab
political front and had territorial ambitions there as in other parts of the
subcontinent.
 The Sikh forces crossed the Sutlej in December 1845 and took offensive
positions against the English forces.
 Subsequently, battles were fought in different places and the English
victory at Sobraon led to the signing of the Lahore Treaty in 1846 which
ended the war.
Treaty of Lahore, 1846
 Maharaja Duleep Singh, who was the ruler of Punjab was to remain its
ruler with his mother Jindan Kaur as regent.
 The Sikhs had to cede the Jalandhar Doab to the British.
 The Sikhs were also asked to pay a very huge war indemnity to the
English. But since they could not pay all of it, part of it was paid and to
make up for the remaining, Kashmir, Hazarah and all territories
between the Beas and the Indus Rivers were given to the English.
 The Sikhs were to limit their army to a certain number.
 Also, a British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence was appointed to the Sikh
court.

The Second Anglo-Sikh War
Causes of the Second Anglo Sikh War
 The humiliation caused by the first Anglo-Sikh war wherein the Sikh
Empire had lost some territories to the British East India Company.
 The Sikh regent, Maharani Jindan Kaur was not treated properly by the
British.
 She was removed from Lahore on conspiracy charges against the British
resident in Lahore.
 Multan was a part of the Sikh Empire when Maharaja Ranjit Singh had
captured it in 1818.
 Multan was governed by Dewan Mulraj. He resented the Lahore Court’s
(capital of the Sikh Empire but controlled by the British resident since
the first Anglo-Sikh war) demand for increased tax assessment and
revenues.
 The British Resident at that time was Sir Frederick Currie. He
undermined Mulraj and imposed another governor Sardar Kahan Singh
along with a British agent Patrick Vans Agnew.
 In 1848, Vans Agnew and another officer who arrived in Multan to take
charge were murdered by Mulraj’s troops.
 This news led to unrest in Punjab and many Sikh soldiers joined the
rebel forces against the British.
Course of the Second Anglo-Sikh War
 Battles were fought in Ramnagar and Chilianwala.

 The battle at Ramnagar was indecisive whereas the Sikhs won at
Chilianwala.
 The final battle was fought at Gujrat near Chenab (not the present
Indian state Gujarat) in 1849. This was won by the British forces.
 The Afghan forces under Dost Mohammad Khan had joined the Sikhs’
side.
Results of Second Anglo Sikh War
 Punjab was annexed by the British in March 1849 (under Lord

Dalhousie) as per the Treaty of Lahore.
 The eleven-year-old Maharaja, Duleep Singh was pensioned off to
England.
 Jind Kaur was separated from her son the Maharaja and taken to
Firozpur. Her allowance was reduced to a meagre amount and her
jewels and money confiscated.
 Sir John Lawrence was appointed as the first Chief Commissioner of
Punjab to take care of the administration.

 Dalhousie was recognised for his role in the annexation of Punjab to the
British and was made a Marquis.
 The famous Koh-i-Noor diamond went into British hands. It was in
possession of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had willed it to the Puri
Jagannath Temple of Odisha but his will was not executed by the British.
They say it was acquired as part of the Treaty of Lahore after the second
Anglo-Sikh war.
Vellore Mutiny 1806

Causes
 The English disregard to the religious sensitivities of the Hindu and

Muslim Indian sepoys.
 Sir John Craddock, the Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army had
issued orders prohibiting soldiers from wearing religious marks on
their foreheads and also to trim their moustaches and shave off their
beards. This offended both Hindu and Muslim soldiers.
 They were also asked to wear new round hats instead of the
traditional headgear that they were used to. This led to suspicion
among the sepoys that they were being converted to Christianity.
 Craddock was acting against warning from the military board not to
bring about changes in the military uniform without taking into
consideration all required precautions of Indian sensibilities.
 A few sepoys who had protested against these new orders were
taken to Fort St. George and punished severely. They were given
heavy flogging.
 Also present in the Vellore Fort were the wife and children of Tipu
Sultan (who was killed in the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799) who
were housed in a palace within the fort. Tipu Sultan’s sons also
instigated the rebellion.
Course of events of the Vellore Mutiny
 On 10th July 1806, the sepoys who had gathered killed 14 British
officers and 115 Englishmen of the 69th Regiment.
 The mutiny started during midnight and by dawn the fort had been
captured by them.
 They raised the flag of the Mysore Sultanate over the fort. They also
declared Tipu Sultan’s son Fateh Hyder as king.
 But a British officer who had escaped the fort alerted the British
force present at Arcot.

 From Arcot, British troops arrived led by Sir Rollo Gillespie. He was
able to quell the rebellion.
 About 100 Indian soldiers were brought out of the palace where they
had sought refuge. They were then ordered to stand against a wall
and shot dead.
 In all, 350 Indian soldiers were killed and 350 wounded.
Significance of Vellore Mutiny
 All three Madras regiments involved in the Vellore Mutiny were

disbanded.
 After a trial, sepoys involved in the mutiny were punished by death
(blown away from canons, hanging and firing squads) and by penal
transportation.
 John Craddock and other senior British officers responsible for the
new dress regulations were recalled to Britain.
 The new dress regulations were abolished.
 Flogging for Indian soldiers was abolished.
 Tipu Sultan’s family were moved to Calcutta.
 It is believed that the brutal and swift suppressing of the Vellore
Mutiny is partly responsible for the Southern sepoys not taking part
in the Indian Revolt of 1857.
Doctrine Of Lapse
Doctrine of lapse was the pro-imperialist approach to expand the realm of
British Kingdom in India. It was introduced by Dalhousie who was the
Governor-General; it was used by him to annex the independent Indian
States. It was basically, an idea to annex those states which have no heir
means state have no heir they get lapsed the right of ruling and it will not
reverted by adoption.
Before AD1818, East India Company was act as mere trader not as
Sovereign ruler but after it they came with the ambition to control and rule
the entire region of Indian State that was started with ‘Subsidiary
Alliance’ and now with ‘Doctrine of Lapse’. These policies were adopted to
control all the authority of state and make it British dominion state. The
main complication was started with those Indian state have no heir and
according to the policy, the state have lost their ruling rights because of no
heir.
States were annexed by Dalhousie by applying ‘Doctrine of Lapse’
1. The States of Satara (1848 AD)

2. Jaipur (1849 AD)
3. Sambhalpur (1849 AD)
4. Bahat (1850 A.D)
5. Udaipur (1852 AD)

6. Jhansi (1853 AD)
7. Nagpur (1854 AD)
But after sometime, the terms of policy were get great aggression and it
was Surendra Sai, the great revolutionary of Orissa who raised voice
against the "Doctrine of Lapse" that aggression created the foundation of
revolt.
Key points of Doctrine of Lapse
1. Policy to expand British territory in India on basis of pro-imperialistic
approach.
2. State must be handed over to British, if they have no heir or ruler.
3. Adoptions of child were not accepted for heir.
4. Policy was not in support to give title and pension to adopted child of
rulers.
5. Adopted heir would inherit only the personal property of the ruler
6. Ended the title and pension.
The Revolt Of 1857

The Revolt of 1857 was a prolonged period of armed uprising as well as
rebellions in Northern and Central India against British occupation of that
part of the subcontinent. Small precursors of brewing discontent involving
incidences of arson in cantonment areas began to manifest themselves in
January. Later, a large-scale rebellion broke out in May and turned into
what may be called a full-fledged war in the affected region. This war
brought about the end of the British East India Company’s rule in India, and
led to the direct rule by the British Government (British Raj) of much of the
Indian Subcontinent for the next 90 years.
Causes of 1857 Revolt
The issue of greased cartridges and military grievances has been over-
emphasized, as the factor for the Revolt of 1857. However, the recent
research has proved that the cartridge was neither the only cause nor even
the most important. In fact, the multiple causes i.e., social-religious-
political- economic worked together to produce the rebellion.
1. Social and Religious Causes: The British had abandoned its policy of
non-interference in the socio-religious life of the Indians. Abolition of Sati
(1829), Hindu Widow Remarriage Act (1856). Christian missionaries were
allowed to enter India and carry on with their mission of proselytizing. The
Religious Disabilities Act of 1850 modified the traditional Hindu law.
According to it, the change in religion would not debar a son from
inheriting the property of his heathen father.
2. Economic Causes: British rule led to breakdown of the village self-
sufficiency, commercialisation of agriculture which burdened the
peasantry, adoption of free trade imperialism from 1800, de-

industrialization and drain of wealth all of which led to overall decline of
economy.
3. Military Grievances: The extension of British dominion in India had
adversely affected the service condition of the Sepoys. They were required
to serve in area away from their homes without the payment of extra
bhatta. An important cause of Military discontent was the General Service
Enlistment Act, 1856, which made it compulsory for the sepoys to cross
the seas, whenever required. The Post Office Act of 1854 withdrew the free
postage facility for them.
4. Political Causes: The last major extension of the British Indian territory
took place during the time of Dalhousie. Dalhousie announced in 1849,
that the successor of Bahadur Shah II would have to leave the Red Fort.
The annexation of Baghat and Udaipur were however, cancelled and they
were restored to their ruling houses. When Dalhousie wanted to apply the
Doctrine of Lapse to Karauli (Rajputana), he was overruled by the court of
Directors.
Different leaders Associated with the Revolt of 1857

Barrackpore Mangal Pandey
Delhi Bahadur Shah II, General Bakht Khan
Delhi Hakim Ahsanullah (Chief advisor to Bahadur
Shah II)
Lucknow Begum Hazrat Mahal, Birjis Qadir, Ahmadullah
(advisor of the ex-Nawab of Awadh)
Kanpur Nana Sahib, Rao Sahib (nephew of Nana),
Tantia Tope, Azimullah Khan (advisor of Nana
Sahib)
Jhansi Rani Laxmibai
Bihar (Jagdishpur) Kunwar Singh, Amar Singh
Allahabad and Maulvi Liyakat Ali
Banaras
Faizabad Maulvi Ahmadullah (He declared the Revolt as
Jihad against English)
Farrukhabad Tufzal Hasan Khan
Bijnaur Mohammad Khan
Muradabad Abdul Ali Khan
2Bareilly Khan Bahadur Khan

Mandsor Firoz Shah
Gwalior/Kanpur Tantia Tope
Assam Kandapareshwar Singh, Manirama Datta
Orissa Surendra Shahi, Ujjwal Shahi
Kullu Raja Pratap Singh
Rajasthan Jaidayal Singh and Hardayal Singh
Gorakhpur Gajadhar Singh
Mathura Sevi Singh, Kadam Singh
British Officials Associated with Revolt

General John Captured Delhi on 20th September, 1857
Nicholson (Nicholson died soon due to a mortal wound
received during the fighting).
Major Hudson Killed Bahadur Shah's sons and grandsons in
Delhi.
Sir Hugh Wheeler Defence against Nana Sahib's forces till 26th
June, 1857. British forces surrendered on 27th
on the promised of safe conduct to Allahabad.
General Neil Recaptured Banaras and Allahabad in June
1857. At Kanpur, he killed Indians as revenge
against the killing of English by Nana Sahib's
forces. Died at Lucknow while fighting against
the rebels.
Sir Colin Campbell Final recovery of Kanpur on 6th December,
1857. Final reoccupation of Lucknow on 21 st
March, 1858. Recapture of Bareilly on 5th May,
1858.
Henry Lawrence Chief Commissioner of Awadh. Who died during
the seizure of British residency by rebels at
Lucknow on 2nd July, 1857!
Major General Defeated the rebels (Nana Sahib's force) on
Havelock 17th July, 1857. Died at Lucknow in December
1857.
William Taylor and Suppressed the revolt at Arrah in August 1857.
Eye
Hugh Rose Suppressed the revolt at Jhansi and recaptured
Gwalior on 20th June, 1858. The whole of
Central India and Bundelkhand was brought

under British control by him.
Colonel Oncell Captured Banaras.
Causes of Failure
1. Some of the local rulers like Scidia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the
Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Jodhpur, the Nawab of Bhopal, the rulers
of Patiala, Sindh and Kashmir and the Rana of Nepal provided active
support to the British.
2. The military equipment of the rebels was inferior. Comparative lack of

efficient leadership.
3. The modern intelligent Indians also didn't support the cause.
Impact of the Revolt

1. The revolt was mainly feudal in character carrying with it some
nationalist elements.
2. The control of Indian administration was passed on to the British Crown

by the Government of India Act, 1858.
3. The army was carefully reorganised to prevent the recurrence of such an

event.
The Revolt of 1857 was an extremely important event in Indian history. It

was mere a product of Sepoy but was accumulated grievances of the
people against the Company’s administration and of their dislike for the
foreign regime.
Nana Saheb
Background
 Born in Bithoor (Kanpur District), Uttar Pradesh in May 1824.

 His birth name was Nana Govind Dhondu Pant.
 His father travelled from the Western Ghats to the court of the
Peshwa Baji Rao II in Pune to become a court official.
 He and his brother were adopted by the Peshwa who was childless in
1827. Nana Saheb’s mother was the Peshwa’s sister-in-law.
 His childhood friends were Tatya Tope and Manikarnika Tambe (later
Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi).
 Peshwa Baji Rao II had been living in an estate in Bithoor after the
third Anglo-Maratha War. He was given an annual pension by the
British.
 As per the Doctrine of Lapse established by Lord Dalhousie, any
Indian State under the control of the British or any vassal of the

British without its ruler having an heir would be annexed by the
British.
 After the Peshwa died, the British stopped giving pension to his
adopted son Nana Saheb and refused to accept him as the heir
(since he was adopted).
 Despite being stated as the heir in the will of Baji Rao II, the British
refused to accept Nana Saheb’s rightful claim to be the next Peshwa.
 This ‘insult’ from the British led him to take part in the Revolt of
1857.
Role in the Revolt of 1857
 In June 1857, Nana Saheb and the sepoys he led attacked the British
entrenchment at Kanpur and captured it.
 In July 1857, the British were successful in recapturing Kanpur by
defeating Nana Saheb’s forces.
 From Kanpur, Nana Saheb escaped to Bithoor.
 The British took possession of his palace in Bithoor but could not get
hold of Nana himself.
 In 1858, Nana’s associates Rani Laxmibai and Tatya Tope
proclaimed him as the Peshwa at Gwalior.
 By 1859, he was believed to have escaped to Nepal. It is not known
how, when or where he died.
Rani Lakshmi Bai – Rani Of Jhansi

 Born on November 19, 1828 in Varanasi to a Marathi family as
Manikarnika.
 Her parents were Moropant Tambe and Bhagirathi Bai. Her father
was working at the Peshwa’s court in Bithoor.
 After her mother died when she was four, her father brought her up.
The Peshwa also took a keen interest in her upbringing.
 She was educated and taught horse riding, fencing and shooting to a
target.
 Her childhood friends were Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope.
 At the age of 14, she was married to the Maharaja of Jhansi,
Gangadhar Rao in 1842.
 After her marriage, she was called Laxmibai.
 Her son Damodar Rao was born in 1851. But he died after four
months.
 Gangadhar Rao died in 1853. Before he died, he had adopted his
cousin’s son Anand Rao, who was renamed Damodar Rao.
Role in the 1857 Revolt
 Lord Dalhousie sought to annex Jhansi when the Maharaja died

applying the Doctrine of lapse since the king did not have any natural
heir.

 As per this, the Rani was granted an annual pension and asked to
leave the fort of Jhansi.
 The Revolt of 1857 had broken out in Meerut and the Rani was ruling
over Jhansi as regent for her minor son.
 British forces under the command of Sir Hugh Rose arrived at Jhansi
fort with the intention of capturing it in 1858.
 He demanded that the city surrender to him or else it would be
destroyed.
 Rani Laxmibai refused and proclaimed, “We fight for independence.
In the words of Lord Krishna, we will if we are victorious, enjoy the
fruits of victory, if defeated and killed on the field of battle, we shall
surely earn eternal glory and salvation.”
 For two weeks the battle went on where the Rani led her army of
men and women valiantly against the British.
 Despite courageous fighting, Jhansi lost the battle.
 The Rani, tying her infant son on her back, escaped to Kalpi on
horseback.
 Along with Tatya Tope and other rebel soldiers, the Rani captured the
fort of Gwalior.
 Afterwards, she proceeded to Morar, Gwalior to fight the British.
 Rani Laxmibai died while fighting in Gwalior on 18th June 1858,
aged 29. She was dressed as a soldier when she died.
Legacy
 Sir Hugh Rose has commented, “Remarkable for her beauty,

cleverness and perseverance, she had been the most dangerous of all
the rebel leaders. The best and bravest of all.”
 Rani Laxmibai became a symbol of resistance against British rule for
later nationalists in India.
 She will always be remembered as a great martyr who laid down her
life for the cause of freedom. She is a symbol of courage, heroism
and woman power.
Carnatic Wars
Between 1744 and 1763, the British and the French were involved in two
wars in Europe. At the same time, British and French trade interests
clashed in South India.
These factors led to three major wars, called the Carnatic Wars.
The First Carnatic War (1744-1748) was an echo of a war in Europe, in
which Britain and France took opposite sides. J F Dupleix, the French
governor of Pondicherry, captured Madras, but restored it to the British
after the war in Europe ended.
Effects Of The First Carnatic War

 Madras was given back to the English in exchange for Louisburg in
North America to France.
 Dupleix understood the superiority of the European armies who used
this advantage to influence Indian princes and establish French
hegemony in South India.
British and French involvement in the local politics of Hyderabad and the
Carnatic caused the Second Carnatic War (1748-1754). The Carnatic, with
its capital at Arcot, was a province under the Nizam of Hyderabad.
However, the Nawab of Arcot was almost free from the Nizam’s control.
The death of the Nawab of Arcot and of the Nizam a few years later led to
wars of succession in the Carnatic and in Hyderabad. The French and the
English took opposite sides in these wars. The British succeeded in
installing their candidate on the throne of Arcot, while the French installed
their candidate at Hyderabad.
Effects Of The Second Carnatic War
 Although the French gained the Northern Sircars, Dupleix was

criticised by the French authorities because of heavy losses to the
French company.
 Dupleix was called back to France. He was replaced by Charles-
Robert Godeheu who signed the Treaty of Pondicherry.
 As per the treaty, the English and the French were to indulge only in
commercial activities in India and not interfere in sub-continental
political affairs.
The Third Carnatic War (1756-1763) was a result of the outbreak of the
Seven Years’ War in Europe. Just after the Third Carnatic War began, the
British made substantial gains in Bengal and Hyderabad. These gains
helped them to defeat the French at Wandiwash in 1760. The French lost
all their Indian possessions.
These were restored to them by the Treaty of Paris (1763), which ended the
Seven Years’ War. However, the French lost the right to fortify their Indian
settlements. Hence, they ceased to be a political force in India.
Effects Of The Third Carnatic War
 French hopes of building an empire in India were completely dashed.

 This established Britain as the paramount European power in India. The
path was clear for the establishment of a British colonial rule in India.
Causes of the rise of the national movement in India

 Western education
Macaulay had instituted a western educational system in India with the
sole aim of creating a class of educated Indians who could serve their

colonial masters in the administration of the ‘natives’. This idea sort of
backfired because it created a class of Indians who became exposed to
the liberal and radical thoughts of European writers who expounded liberty,
equality, democracy and rationality. Also, the English language united
Indians from various regions and religions.
 Vernacular languages
The 19th century also saw the revival of vernacular languages. This helped
the propagation of the ideas of liberty and rational thought to the masses.
 End of the old social order

British imperialism put an end to the old social order of the country. This
was resented by many Indians.
 Socio-religious reform movements

Socio-religious reform movements of the 19th century helped a great deal
in the rise of nationalism in India. These movements sought to remove
superstition and societal evils prevalent then, and spread the word of unity,
rational and scientific thought, women empowerment and patriotism
among the people. Notable reformers were Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar, Jyotiba Phule and so on.
 Economic policies of the British

The oppressive economic policies of the British led to widespread poverty
and indebtedness among the Indians especially farmers. Famines which
led to the deaths of lakhs were a regular occurrence. This led to a bitter
sense of suppression and sowed the seeds of a yearning for liberty from
foreign rule.
 Political unity
Under the British, most parts of India were put under a single political set-
up. The system of administration was consolidated and unified throughout
in all regions. This factor led to the feeling of ‘oneness’ and nationhood
among Indians.
 Communications network
The British built a network of roads, railways, post and telegraph systems
in the country. This led to increased movements of people from one part of
the country to another and increased the flow of information. All this
accelerated the rise of a national movement in India.
 Growth of the modern press

This period also saw the rise of the Indian press, both in English and in the
regional languages. This also was an important factor that helped in the
dissemination of information.
 Lord Lytton’s policies

Lord Lytton was the Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880. In 1876, there
was a famine in south Indian which saw the deaths of almost 10 million
people. His trading policies were criticised for having aggravated the
famine. Also, he conducted the grand Delhi Durbar in 1877 spending huge
amount of money at a time when people were dying of hunger.
Lytton also passed the Vernacular Press Act 1878 which authorised the
government to confiscate newspapers that printed ‘seditious material’. He
also passed the Arms Act 1878 which prohibited Indians from carrying
weapons of any kind without licenses. The act excluded Englishmen.
 Legacy of the Revolt of 1857

After the Revolt of 1857 and its bitter crushing by the British, there was a
deep racial tension between the British and the Indians.
 Ilbert Bill controversy

In 1883, the Ilbert Bill was introduced which gave Indian judges the power
to hear cases against European, by the then Viceroy Lord Ripon and Sir
Courtenay Ilbert, the legal advisor to the Council of India. But there was a
huge outcry against this bill from Britishers in India and in Britain.
Arguments made against this bill displayed the deep racial prejudice the
English had for Indians. This also exposed the true nature of British
colonialism to the educated Indians.
 National movements outside the country

There were many national movements outside the country that inspired the
Indian nationalists like the French Revolution, the American War of
Independence and so on.
The Moderate Phase Of The Indian National

Movement
The Indian National Congress (INC)
 Formed in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil

servant.
 Other founding members include Dadabhai Naoroji and Dinshaw
Wacha.
 First session was held in Bombay under the presidency of Womesh
Chandra Bonnerjee in 1885.
 First session was attended by 72 delegates from across the country.
 Viceroy of India at the time was Lord Dufferin who gave his
permission to Hume for the first session.
 The Congress was formed with the intention of discussing problems
faced by the people of the country irrespective of caste, creed,
religion or language.

 It was basically a movement of the upper and middle class, western
educated Indians in its moderate phase.
 Second session of the Congress was held in Calcutta in 1886
followed by the third in Madras in 1887.
Moderate phase (1885 – 1905)
 Moderate phase of the Congress (or the national movement) was

dominated by the ‘moderates’.
 They were people who believed in British justice and were loyal to them.
Prominent moderate leaders
Dadabhai Naoroji
 Known as the ‘Grand old man of India.’

 He became the first Indian to become a member of the House of
Commons in Britain.
 Authored ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ which focused on the
economic drain of India because of British policies. This led to an
enquiry on the matter.
 Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
 First president of the INC.
 Lawyer by profession. First Indian to act as Standing Counsel.
 G Subramanya Aiyer
 Founded ‘The Hindu’ newspaper where he criticised British
imperialism.
 Also founded Tamil newspaper ‘Swadesamitran’.
 Co-founded the Madras Mahajana Sabha.
 Gopal Krishna Gokhale
 Regarded as Mahatma Gandhi’s political guru.
 Founded the Servants of India Society.
 Sir Surendranath Banerjee
 Also called ‘Rashtraguru’ and ‘Indian Burke’.
 Founded the Indian National Association which later merged with the
INC.
 Cleared the Indian Civil Service but was discharged due to racial
discrimination.
 Founded newspaper ‘The Bengalee’.
 Other moderate leaders included Rash Behari Ghosh, R C Dutt, M G
Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, P R Naidu, Madan Mohan Malaviya,
Ananda Charlu, S Subramania Iyer and William Wedderburn.

Aims and demands of the moderates
 Education of the masses and organising public opinion, make people

aware of their rights.
 Indian representation in the Executive Council and in the Indian
Council in London.
 Reform of the legislative councils.
 Separation of the executive from the judiciary.
 Decreased land revenue tax and ending peasant oppression.
 After 1892, raised the slogan, “No taxation without representation.”
 Reduced spending on the army.
 Abolishing salt tax and duty on sugar.
 Holding the ICS exam in India along with England to allow more
Indians the opportunity to take part in the administration.
 Freedom of speech and expression.
 Freedom to form associations.
 Development of modern capitalist industries in India.
 End of economic drain of India by the British.
 Repealing the Arms Act of 1878.
 Increasing spending on education of Indians.
Methods of the moderates
 They believed in peaceful and constitutional methods to demand and

fulfil those demands.
 Used petitions, meetings, resolutions, pamphlets, memoranda and
delegations to voice their demands.
 Their method has been called 3P – Prayers, Petition and Protest.
 Had complete faith in the British justice system.
 Confined to the educated classes only. Did not try to employ the
masses.
 They aimed only at getting political rights and self-government under
British dominion.
Successes of the moderates
 Indian Councils Act of 1892 was the first achievement of the INC.
 This Act increased the size of the legislative councils and also
increased the proportion of non-officials in them.
 They were able to sow the seeds of nationalism in the people.
 They popularised ideals like democracy, liberty and equality.
 They exposed many draining economic policies of the British.
 Leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale and M G Ranade were social
reformers too and opposed child marriage and imposed widowhood.
Limitations of the moderates
 This phase of the national movement excluded the masses and only
the educated elites participated in it.
 They did not demand complete independence from foreign rule.

 They did not understand the power of a mass movement of people
unlike Gandhi who used this power.
 Drew most of their ideas from western political thinking which
further alienated them from the people.
Charter Act of 1853

The Charter Act of 1853 empowered the British East India Company to
retain the territories and the revenues in India in trust for the crown not for
any specified period as preceding Charter Acts had provided but only until
Parliament should otherwise direct. This was framed on the basis of
reports made by the select committees of enquiry in 1852. Raja Ram Roy
Mohan Roy England visit and petitions of Bombay Association and
Madras Native Association these two events resulted into the Charter Act
of 1853.
Features of the Act

1. It separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of
the Governor- General’s council. It provided for addition of six new
members called legislative councillors to the council. In other words, it
established a separate Governor-General’s legislative council which came
to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. This legislative
wing of the council functioned as a mini-Parliament, adopting the same
procedures as the British Parliament. Thus, legislation, for the first time,
was treated as a special function of the government, requiring special
machinery and special process.
2. It introduced an open competition system of selection and recruitment

of civil servants. The covenanted civil service was thus thrown open to the
Indians also. Accordingly, the Macaulay Committee (the Committee on the
Indian Civil Service) was appointed in 1854.
3. It extended the Company’s rule and allowed it to retain the possession

of Indian territories on trust for the British Crown. But, it did not specify
any particular period, unlike the previous Charters. This was a clear
indication that the Company’s rule could be terminated at any time the
Parliament liked.
4. It introduced, for the first time, local representation in the Indian

(Central) Legislative Council. Of the six new legislative members of the
governor-general’s council, four members were appointed by the local
(provincial) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.

Government of India Act, 1858
In August 1858, the British parliament passed an act that set an end to the
rule of the company. The control of the British government in India was
transferred to the British crown. At this time, Victoria was the queen of
Britain. The supreme body in Britain was the British parliament to which
the British government was responsible. All activities of the British
government were however, carried out in the name of the monarch. A
minister of the British government, called the secretary of state, was made
responsible for the government of India. As the British government was
responsible to parliament, the supreme body for India also was the British
parliament. The British Governor-General of India was now also given the
title of viceroy which means the representative of the monarch.
Features of Act
1. It provided that India henceforth was to be governed by, and in the name
of, Her Majesty. It changed the designation of the Governor-General of
India to that of Viceroy of India. He (viceroy) was the direct representative
of the British Crown in India. Lord Canning thus became the first Viceroy of
India.
2. It ended the system of double government by abolishing the Board of

Control and Court of Directors.
3. It created a new office, Secretary of State for India, vested with

complete authority and control over Indian administration. The secretary of
state was a member of the British cabinet and was responsible ultimately
to the British Parliament.
4. It established a 15-member Council of India to assist the secretary of

state for India. The council was an advisory body. The secretary of state
was made the chairman of the council.
5. It constituted the secretary of state-in-council as a body corporate,

capable of suing and being sued in India and in England.
‘The Act of 1858 was, however, largely confined to the improvement of the
administrative machinery by which the Indian Government was to be
supervised and controlled in England. It did not alter in any substantial way
the system of government that prevailed in India.’ After 1858, the interests
of India were further subordinated to those of Britain. Due to the conflicts
of Britain with the other imperialist powers, India was made to serve the
British economic interests. Indian resources were also utilized to serve the
interests of the British Empire in other parts of the world and in costly wars
against other countries.

Indian Council Act of 1861
Indian Council Act of 1861was institutionalized to serve the necessities of
cooperation of Indians in the administration of the country. The act
restored the power of the Government and the composition of the Governor
General’s council for executive & legislative Purposes. It was the first
instance in which the portfolio of Council of Governor-General was
incorporated.
Features of Act
 The three separate presidencies (Madras, Bombay and Bengal) were
brought into a common system.
 System of legislative devolves by this act.
 The Act added to the Viceroy's Executive Council a fifth member - a jurist.
 Viceroy's Executive Council was expanded by the addition of not less than
six and not more than 12 additional members for the purposes of
legislation, who would be nominated by the Governor-General and would
hold office for two years. Therefore, the total membership increased to 17.
 Not less than half of these members were to be non-officials.
 The legislative power was to be restored to the Council of Bombay and
Madras, while Councils were allowed to be established in other Provinces
in Bengal in 1862 and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in 1886,
Burma and Punjab in 1897.
 Canning had introduced the Portfolio system in 1859 that divided into
several branches, which entrusted to different members of the Governor
General's council. It also envisages that the member in-charge of his
department could issue final orders with regard to matters which
concerned his department.
 Lord Canning nominated three Indians to his legislative council-the Raja of
Banaras, the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao in 1962.
Conclusion
The Indian Council Act of 1861fullfilled the aspiration of associating
Indians, provided the defective system of law making in India and defined
the powers of the legislative councils. Hence, in short the act laid the
foundation of administrative system in India which was lasted till the end
of British rule India.
Indian Council Act 1892

The Indian Council Act of 1892 was an Act of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom that empowered legislative councils in British India by increase
their size which laid the foundation of Parliamentary system in India.
Before this act, the Indian National Congress put forth with some demand
during its session of 1885-1889.
The major demands placed were as follows:

1. A simultaneous examination of ICS to be held in England and India.
2. Reforms of the legislative council and adoption of the principle of
election in place of nomination.
3. Opposition to the annexation of Upper Burma.
4. Reduction in the Military expenditure.
These demands of INC (Indian National Congress) make way for
formulation of this act.
Features of the Act

1. It increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the
Central and provincial legislative councils, but maintained the official
majority in them.
2. It increased the functions of legislative councils and gave them the

power of discussing the budget and addressing questions to the executive.
3. It provided for the nomination of some non-official members of the (a)

Central Legislative Council by the viceroy on the recommendation of the
provincial legislative councils and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, and
(b) that of the Provincial legislative councils by the Governors on the
recommendation of the district boards, municipalities, universities, trade
associations, zamindars and chambers.
‘The act made a limited and indirect provision for the use of election in
filling up some of the nonofficial seats both in the Central and provincial
legislative councils. The word “election” was, however, not used in the act.
The process was described as nomination made on the recommendation of
certain bodies.’ This act laid the foundation of Parliamentary system in
India and also was the landmark in the constitutional development of
India. It was the first time the election principles was accepted and
introduced by the act of 1892. Apart from this; the act fell far short to fulfill
National Demands and did not give anything substantial.
Indian Council Act of 1909 Morley- Minto Reforms

A Morley-Minto Reform was another name of Indian Council Act of 1909,
AD which was named after the secretary of state and the Viceroy. It was
instituted to placate the moderates. According to this act, the membership
of the central and provincial legislative councils was enlarged. However,
the number of elected members in these councils was less than half of
their total membership. It may also be remembered that the elected
members were not elected by the people but by landlords, organizations or
traders and industrialists, universities and local bodies. The British also
introduced communal electorates as a part of these reforms. This was
meant to create disunity between Hindus and Muslims. Some seats in the
councils were reserved for Muslims to be elected by Muslim voters.

Features of the Act
1. It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both
Central and provincial. The number of members in the Central Legislative
Council was raised from 16 to 60. The number of members in the provincial
legislative councils was not uniform.
2. It retained official majority in the Central Legislative Council but allowed

the provincial legislative councils to have non-official majority.
3. It enlarged the deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both

the levels. For example, members were allowed to ask supplementary
questions, move resolutions on the budget, and so on.
4. It provided (for the first time) for the association of Indians with the
executive Councils of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha
became the first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council. He was
appointed as the law member.
5. It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by

accepting the concept of ‘separate electorate’. Under this, the Muslim
members were to be elected only by Muslim voters. Thus, the Act ‘legalised
communalism’ and Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of
Communal Electorate.
6. It also provided for the separate representation of presidency

corporations, chambers of commerce, universities and zamindars.
Indian Council Act of 1909, AD was instituted to placate the moderates

and appeasement to the disseminate Muslims from National Movement by
granting them separate electorate.
The Partition Of Bengal – 1905

Background & the Partition
 Since 1765 (following the Battle of Buxar) the province of Bengal,

which included present-day West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Bangladesh
and Assam was under the British.
 It was a very large area and the population rose to almost 80 million
by the first few years of the 20th century. Calcutta was the capital of
the province and also of British India.
 There were difficulties in administering such a large area. The
eastern part, especially in rural areas were neglected.
 That region was lacking in the fields of industry, education and
employment. Much of the industry was centred on Calcutta.
 For administrative ease, the partition of the province had been
proposed even before Curzon had arrived in India.

 In 1874, Assam was sliced away from Bengal and put under a Chief
Commissioner.
 Initially, Lord Curzon proposed the partitioning of the province as an
administrative measure solely. In 1904, he undertook a tour of
eastern Bengal.
 The idea of using the Bengal partition as a political tool to undermine
the growing nationalism in Bengal and other parts of India occurred
later.
 As per Curzon, after the partition, the two provinces would be Bengal
(including modern West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar) and Eastern
Bengal and Assam.
 Bengal would also lose five Hindi-speaking states to the Central
Provinces. It would gain Odia-speaking states from the Central
Provinces.
 Eastern Bengal would consist of Hill Tripura, Chittagong, Rajshahi
and Dhaka divisions. Its capital would be Dhaka.
 Bengal would have a Hindu majority and Eastern Bengal and Assam
would have a Muslim majority population. Its capital would remain
Calcutta.
Reaction to the partition of Bengal
 There was widespread political unrest in the province after Curzon

announced the partition.
 Many people in Bengal regarded this partition as an insult to their
motherland. There was a huge cry for the unity of Bengal.
Rabindranath Tagore composed the famous song ‘Amar Sonar
Bangla’ which later became the national anthem of Bangladesh.
 The Indian National Congress protested this move to separate the
province on communal lines.
 Most of the Bengalis in the western part protested against this step
which would also make them a linguistic minority in their own
province. There would be more Odia and Hindi speaking people than
Bengalis.
 Many Muslims welcomed this move since they thought that most
Muslims, who were backwards in education and economic status in
Bengal compared to Hindus, would benefit if they were in a majority.
 Lord Curzon also promised to start a university in Dhaka. This was
also seen as an opportunity for Muslims to develop in education and
improve their standard of living.
 The general protest in the rest of the country was against this
partition. The people saw through the ‘divide and rule’ policy of the
British authorities.
 The chief aim of such a partition was only to create a rift between
the two communities and hampering the unity and nationalism in the
country.
 The agitation had started much before the date of the partition itself.
On the date of the partition, people observed a day of mourning.

Tagore asked Hindus and Muslims to tie rakhis to each other as a
mark of protest.
 A few Muslims also were against the partition.
 The Swadeshi and Boycott movements in the national struggle
started as a result of this partition.
 People started boycotting British goods which had flooded the Indian
market and had dealt a blow to the indigenous industry.
 The partition did succeed in creating a communal rift in the country
and even contributed to the birth of the Muslim League in 1906.
Partition annulled
 Owing to mass political protests, the partition was annulled in 1911.

 New provinces were created based on linguistic lines rather than
religious lines. Bihar and Orissa Province was carved out of Bengal.
(Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces in 1936).
 A separate Assam province was created.
 The capital of British India was moved to Delhi from Calcutta in
1911.
 Despite the annulment, the partition did create a communal divide
among the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal.
Indian National Movement – Extremist Period

Background/Causes of the rise of extremism
 The failure of the moderate leaders in getting any significant results

from the British authorities.
 The limitations of the moderates were the main causes of the rise of
extremism.
 The partition of Bengal in 1905 opened the eyes of the Indians to the
true colours of the British rulers.
 Lord Curzon and his disdain for anything Indian also created
resentment and anger against the foreigners.
 There was a fear among some leaders that the moderates with their
westernised notions were trying to create an India in the image of
the West.
 There was a revival of national pride at that time.
 The extremist leaders were also influenced by the growth of spiritual
nationalism at that time.
 The Delhi Durbar held in 1903 when people had not fully recovered
from the horrific effects of the famine that killed lakhs of people
drew widespread condemnation.
 Events happening around the world also inspired the extremist
leaders. Abyssinia’s successful repulsion of the Italian army in 1896

and Japan’s defeat of Russia in 1905 shattered the notion of
European invincibility.
 Other national movements like in Persia, Egypt and Turkey also
motivated the Indian leaders.
Surat Split
 The differences between the moderates and the extremists became

official in the Surat session of the Indian National Congress (INC) in
1907.
 The meeting was to take place in Nagpur that year. The extremists
wanted Lala Lajpat Rai or Bal Gangadhar Tilak to be the President.
But the moderates wanted Rash Behari Ghosh as President. There
was a rule that the session’s President could not be from the home
province. Tilak’s home province was Bombay Presidency in which
Surat was also situated. So, the moderates changed the venue to
Surat so that Tilak could be excluded from the presidency.
 The moderates also wanted to drop the resolutions on swadeshi,
boycott movements and national education.
 Rash Behari Ghosh became the president in the session which was
held at Surat.
 Tilak was not even allowed to speak and this angered the extremists,
who wanted to cancel the session.
 Both sides were firm on their demands and neither was willing to find
a common path.
 The moderates then held a separate meeting in which they reiterated
the Congress goal of self-government within the British Empire and
to adopt only constitutional methods to achieve their goals.
 Unfortunately, the Surat session was marred by the use of sticks and
chappals by the members on one another.
Methods of Extremist Leaders
 The extremist goal was ‘swaraj’. This, at that time either meant
complete autonomy and freedom from British control, or a total
Indian control over the administration but not necessarily a
breakaway from Britain’s imperial reign.
 This was in contrast to the moderates’ demand of only an increase in
the share of Indians in the administration and military upper
echelons.
 The extremist leaders involved wider sections of people in the
movement. They involved lower middle class people also.
 They did not stick to constitutional methods to protest and demand.
They resorted to boycotts, strikes, etc. They also burned foreign-
made goods.
 They believed in confrontation rather than persuasion.
 The Swadeshi movement gathered momentum in India because of
the extremists’ support. This led to the establishment of Indian
banks, mills, factories, etc.

 They were strongly against British imperialistic policies in India.
 They took pride in Indian culture and history. They looked at the
ancient scriptures for inspiration and courage.
 They believed in sacrificing everything including life for the cause of
the motherland.
 They opposed westernisation of Indian society by the British.
 Tilak famously said, “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.”
 They were very vocal in their opposition to the British rule unlike the
moderates who had faith in British justice.
 They tried to instill self-respect and patriotism in the people by
invoking past heroes like Ashoka, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap and Rani
Laxmibai.
 They did not believe in loyalty to the British Crown.
Extremist leaders
 Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal (the first
three called Lal-Bal-Pal leading the extremist cause in Punjab,
Bombay and Bengal respectively.)
 Other leaders included Aurobindo Ghosh, Rajnarayan Bose, A K Dutt,
V O C Pillai.
Government reaction to extremists
 The government attacked the extremist leaders vigorously.

 Laws were passed to check their activities and influence. The
following laws were passed between 1907 and 1911: Seditious
Meetings Act, 1907; Indian Newspapers (Incitement to Offences)
Act, 1908; Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908; and the Indian Press
Act, 1910.
 Tilak was sentenced and served in prison in Mandalay (Burma) for
writing in support of revolutionaries who were involved in the killing
of two British women (their original target was a British magistrate).
Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Background
 Born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak in 1856 in Ratnagiri, modern-day

Maharashtra.
 Born into a middle-class Hindu family; got a bachelor’s degree from
Pune.
 Initially worked as a maths teacher. Later started working as a
journalist and joined the freedom movement.
 He was one of the founders of the Fergusson College in Pune.
 He died in 1920 aged 64.
 Political life

 Tilak joined the Congress in 1890.
 He was opposed to moderate ways and views and had a more radical
and aggressive stance against British rule.
 He was one of the first advocates of Swaraj or self-rule. He gave the
slogan, “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.” He believed that
no progress was possible without self-rule.
 He was part of the extremist faction of the INC and was a proponent
of boycott and Swadeshi movements.
 He published two papers – Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in
English. He was fearless in his criticism of the government in these
papers.
 He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on charges of
“incitement to murder”. He had written that killers of oppressors
could not be blamed, quoting the Bhagavad Gita. After this, two
British officials were killed by two Indians in retaliation to the
‘tyrannical’ measures taken by the government during the bubonic
plague episode in Bombay.
 Along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, he was called the
‘Lal-Bal-Pal’ trio of extremist leaders.
 He was tried for sedition several times. He spent 6 years in Mandalay
prison from 1908 to 1914 for writing articles defending Prafulla
Chaki and Khudiram Bose. They were revolutionaries who had killed
two English women, throwing bomb into the carriage carrying the
women. Chaki and Bose had mistakenly assumed that Magistrate
Douglas Kingsford was in it.
 Tilak re-joined the INC in 1916, after having split earlier.
 He was one of the founders of the All India Home Rule League, along
with Annie Besant and G S Khaparde.
 For his political ideals, Tilak drew heavily from the ancient Hindu
scriptures.
 He called for people to be proud of their heritage. He was against
blatant westernisation of society.
 He transformed the simple Ganesh Puja performed at home into a
social and public Ganesh festival.
 He used the Ganesh Chaturthi and Shiv Jayanti (birth anniversary of
Shivaji) festivals to create unity and a national spirit among the
people. Unfortunately, this move alienated non-Hindus from him.
 The Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav as popularised by him since 1894 is still
one of the biggest festivals of Maharashtra.
Social views
 Despite being a nationalist radical leader, Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s

social views were conservative.

 He was against Hindu women getting modern education.
 He was opposed to the age of consent bill initially in which the age of
marriage of girls was proposed to be raised from 10 to 12. Even
though he was okay with this raising of age, he saw this act as
interference in the social and religious life of Indians by the British.
Books written
 Gita Rahasya
 Arctic Home of the Vedas
Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928)

Facts
 Born in 1865 in Moga district, Punjab to a middle-class family.

 Was a lawyer by profession.
 Also called ‘Punjab Kesari’.
 Was influenced by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and joined the Arya
Samaj in Lahore.
 He believed that the ideals in Hinduism combined with nationalism
will lead to the establishment of a secular state.
 Along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, he formed
the Lal-Bal-Pal trio of extremist leaders.
 He was also involved with the Hindu Mahasabha.
 He fought against untouchability.
Political life
 He joined the Indian National Congress (INC) and participated in

many political agitations in Punjab.
 For his political agitation, he was deported to Burma without trial in
1907 but returned after a few months because of lack of evidence.
 He was opposed to the partition of Bengal.
 He founded the Home Rule League of America in 1917 in New York.
In the USA, he worked to get moral support for the Indian
independence movement from the international community.
 He was also elected President of the All India Trade Union Congress.
 He supported the non-cooperation movement of Gandhi at the
Nagpur session of the Congress in 1920.
 He protested against the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh
massacre that followed.
 He was the editor of the Arya Gazette, which he had founded.
 He founded the Servants of People Society in 1921.
 He co-founded the Punjab National Bank in 1894.
 He was elected deputy leader of the Central Legislative Assembly in
1926.

 In 1928, he moved a resolution in the assembly refusing cooperation
with the Simon Commission since the Commission had no Indian
members.
 He was leading a silent protest against the Simon Commission in
Lahore when he was brutally lathi-charged by Superintendent of
Police, James Scott. Rai died of injuries sustained a few weeks later.
Bhagat Singh and a few other revolutionaries vowed to take revenge
for Rai’s death and plotted to kill Scott. But he shot and killed John
Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of Police in a case of
mistaken identity.
Revolutionary Movement In India

The First Case: Chapekar Brothers (1897)
 First political assassination of a British officer in India post 1857

Revolt.
 Brothers Damodar, Balkrishna and Vasudeo Chapekar shot at WC
Rand, ICS, Chairman of the Special Plague Committee in 1897.
 Rand’s military escort Lieutenant Ayerst died on the spot whereas
Rand died a few days later due to wounds.
 The brothers were against the atrocities committed by the British
authorities under Rand during the plague epidemic in Pune.
 The government in order to curb the spread of the epidemic ended up
harassing Indians and employing extreme measures.
 All the three brothers were hanged for the assassination.
Alipore Bomb Conspiracy Case (1908)
 Also called Muraripukur conspiracy or Manicktolla bomb conspiracy.

 Douglas Kingsford was an unpopular British Chief Magistrate who
was the target of the bomb thrown at Muzaffarpur (Northern Bihar).
 Unfortunately, the carriage at which the bomb was targeted
contained two English ladies and not Kingsford. The two women died
in the attack.
 Revolutionaries who threw the bomb were Prafulla Chaki and
Khudiram Bose.
 Chaki committed suicide while Bose, then only 18 years of age, was
caught and sentenced to death by hanging.
 The other people who were tried in the case were Aurobindo Ghosh
and his brother Barin Ghosh, Kanailal Dutt, Satyendranath Bose and
more than 30 others.
 They were all members of the Anushilan Samiti in Calcutta.
 Aurobindo Ghosh was acquitted due to lack of evidence and others
served varying life-terms in prison.

Curzon Wyllie's Assassination (1909)
 The India House was an organisation in London involved in the

freedom struggle of India mainly engaging Indian students in the UK
as its participants.
 Patrons of this organisation included Shyamji Krishna Varma and
Bhikaiji Cama.
 India House became the centre of revolutionary activities for Indian
independence outside India.
 The organisation was liquidated after the assassination of an army
officer Curzon Wyllie by its member Madan Lal Dhingra in 1909.
Howrah Gang Case (1910)
 Also known as Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case.

 In this case, 47 revolutionaries associated with the Anushilan Samiti
were arrested and tried for the murder of Inspector Shamsul Alam.
 Alam was investigating the revolutionary activities of the Samiti and
was trying to link and consolidate the murders and robberies into a
single case.
 The case brought to light the work of revolutionary Jatindranath
Mukherjee.
 Despite attempts, the case could not establish the links, mainly due
to the decentralised nature of the Samiti.
 Of all the accused, only Jatindranath Mukherjee and Narendranath
Bhattacharjee were sentenced to one year imprisonment.
Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy Case (1912)
 Also known as the Delhi Conspiracy Case.

 This was an assassination attempt on Lord Hardinge, the then
Viceroy of India.
 The revolutionaries were led by Rashbehari Bose.
 A homemade bomb was thrown into the viceroy’s howdah (elephant-
carriage) during a ceremonial procession in Delhi. The occasion was
the transfer of the British capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
 Lord Hardinge was injured while an Indian attendant was killed.
 Bose escaped being caught whereas a few others were convicted for
their roles in the conspiracy.
Kakori Conspiracy (1925)
 This was a case of a train robbery that occurred near Kakori in Uttar
Pradesh.
 The attack was led by youth of the Hindustan Republican Association
(later renamed Hindustan Socialist Republican Association)
including Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar
Azad, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh and others.

 It was believed that the train carried money bags belonging to the
British government.
 One person was killed during the robbery.
 The revolutionaries were arrested and tried in court.
 Bismil, Khan, Lahiri and Roshan Singh were sentenced to death.
Others were sentenced to deportation or imprisonment.
Chittagong Armoury Raid (1930)
 Also known as Chittagong Uprising.

 This was an attempt by revolutionaries to raid the police armoury and
the auxiliary forces armoury from Chittagong (now in Bangladesh).
 They were led by Surya Sen. Others involved were Ganesh Ghosh,
Lokenath Bal, Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Dutta, Ambika
Chakraborty, Subodh Roy, etc.
 The raiders were not able to locate any arms but were able to cut
telephone and telegraph wires.
 After the raid, Sen hoisted the Indian flag at the police armoury.
 Many of the revolutionaries involved escaped but some were caught
and tried.
 The government came down heavily on the revolutionaries. Many
were sentenced to imprisonment, deported to the Andaman, and
Surya Sen was sentenced to death by hanging. Sen was brutally
tortured by the police before he was hanged.
Central Assembly Bomb Case (1929) & Lahore Conspiracy Case (1931)
 Revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt sought to draw

attention to their revolution by throwing a bomb along with leaflets
in the Assembly House at Delhi.
 They did not attempt to escape and were arrested and jailed for the
act.
 Their intention was not to hurt anyone but to popularise their
revolutionary activities and philosophy.
 Bhagat Singh was re-arrested in connection with the murder of a
British police officer, JP Saunders. This case was called the Lahore
Conspiracy Case.
 Saunders was killed mistakenly as the real target was another police
officer, James Scott, who was responsible for the lathi charge that
killed Lala Lajpat Rai.
 Others involved in this killing were Sukhdev, Rajguru and
Chandrashekhar Azad.
 They were all members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association.
 While in prison, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev along with other
political prisoners went on a hunger strike to demand better
conditions of prisoners in the jails.

 After the trial, all three were sentenced and executed by hanging in
March 1931. Azad was martyred the same year in February in a gun
battle with the police in a park in Allahabad.
Government of India Act, 1919

During the World War Britain and her allies had said that they were
fighting the war for the freedom of nations. Many Indian leaders believed
that after the war was over, India would be given Swaraj. The British
government however had no intention of conceding the demands of the
Indian people. Changes were introduced in the administrative system as a
result of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, called the Government of India
Act, 1919.
Features of the Act

1. It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and
separating the central and provincial subjects. The central and provincial
legislatures were authorised to make laws on their respective list of
subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be
centralised and unitary.
2. It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and

reserved. The transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor
with the aid of ministers responsible to the legislative Council. The
reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be administered by the
governor and his executive council without being responsible to the
legislative Council. This dual scheme of governance was known as
‘dyarchy’—a term derived from the Greek word di-arche which means
double rule. However, this experiment was largely unsuccessful.
3. It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in the
country. Thus, the Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral
legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower
House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of members of both the Houses
were chosen by direct election.
4. It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive
Council (other than the commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
5. It extended the principle of communal representation by providing

separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and
Europeans.
6. It granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of

property, tax or education.

7. It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and
transferred to him some of the functions hitherto performed by the
Secretary of State for India.
8. It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence,

a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil
servants.
9. It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central
budget and authorised the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
10. It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire

into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into force.
Mahatma Gandhi’s Early Movements

Champaran Satyagraha (1917)
 The first civil disobedience movement by Gandhi in the freedom

struggle.
 Persuaded by Rajkumar Shukla, an indigo cultivator, Gandhi went to
Champaran in Bihar to investigate the conditions of the farmers
there.
 The farmers were suffering under heavy taxes and an exploitative
system. They were forced to grow indigo by the British planters under
the tinkathia system.
 Gandhi arrived in Champaran to investigate the matter but was not
permitted by the British authorities to do so.
 He was asked to leave the place but he refused.
 He was able to gather support from the farmers and masses.
 When he appeared in court in response to a summons, almost 2000
locals accompanied him.
 The case against him was dropped and he was allowed to conduct
the inquiry.
 After peaceful protests against the planters and landlords led by
Gandhi, the government agreed to abolish the exploitative tinkathia
system.
 The peasants also received a part of the money extracted from them
as compensation.
 Champaran struggle is called the first experiment on Satyagraha by
Gandhi.
 It was during this time that Gandhi was given the names ‘Bapu’ and
‘Mahatma’ by the people.
Kheda Satyagraha (1918)

 1918 was a year of failed crops in the Kheda district of Gujarat due
to droughts.
 As per law, the farmers were entitled to remission if the produce was
less than a quarter of the normal output.
 But the government refused any remission from paying land revenue.
 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, under Gandhi’s guidance, led the farmers
in protest against the collection of taxes in the wake of the famine.
 People from all castes and ethnicities of the district lend their
support to the movement.
 The protest was peaceful and people showed remarkable courage
even in the face of adversities like confiscation of personal property
and arrest.
 Finally, the authorities gave in and gave some concessions to the
farmers.
Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918)
 Gandhi used Satyagraha and hunger strike for the first time during
an industrial dispute between the owners and workers of a cotton
mill in Ahmedabad.
 The owners wanted to withdraw the plague bonus to the workers
while the workers were demanding a hike of 35% in their wages.
 During the peaceful strike led by Gandhi, he underwent a hunger
strike.
 The strike was successful and the workers were granted the wage
hike they wanted.
The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Rowlatt Act
 Officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act,

1919.
 Passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council.
 This act authorised the British government to arrest anybody
suspected of terrorist activities.
 It also authorised the government to detain such people arrested for
up to 2 years without trial.
 It empowered the police to search a place without a warrant.
 It also placed severe restrictions on the freedom of the press.
 The act was passed as per recommendations of the Rowlatt
Committee chaired by a judge, Sir Sidney Rowlatt.
 The act was widely condemned by Indian leaders and the public. The
bills came to be known as ‘black bills’.
 The act was passed despite unanimous opposition from the Indian
members of the council, all of whom resigned in protest. These
included Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malviya and Mazhar
Ul Haq.

 In response to this act, a nationwide hartal was called by Gandhiji on
6th April. This was called the Rowlatt Satyagraha.
 The movement was cancelled by Gandhiji when it was marred by
rioting in some provinces, particularly in Punjab where the situation
was grim.
 The British government’s primary intention was to repress the
growing nationalist movement in the country.
 The British were also afraid of a Ghadarite revolution in Punjab and
the rest of the country.
 Two popular Congress leaders Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew were
arrested.
 Protest was very intense when the act came into effect and the army
was called in Punjab to tackle the situation.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
 The situation in Punjab was alarming as there were riots and

protests against the Rowlatt Act.
 Punjab was put under martial law which meant that it became
unlawful for more than 4 people to assemble at a place.
 The Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab at that time was Michael
O’Dwyer. Lord Chelmsford was India’s Viceroy.
 On the day of the festival of Baisakhi on 13th April 1919 in
Jallianwala Bagh, a public garden in Amritsar, a crowd of non-violent
protestors had gathered. Also among the crowd were pilgrims who
had come to celebrate Baisakhi.
 General Dyer came there with his troops and blocked the only narrow
entrance to the garden.
 Then, without warning, he ordered his troops to fire at the unarmed
crowd which included children as well.
 The indiscriminate firing went on for about 10 minutes which
resulted in the deaths of at least 1000 people and injured more than
1500 people.
 This tragedy came as a rude shock to Indians and totally destroyed
their faith in the British system of justice.
 National leaders condemned the act and Dyer unequivocally.
 However, Dyer was appreciated by many in Britain and the British in
India although some people in the British government were quick to
criticise it.
 The government set up the Hunter Commission to inquire into the
massacre. Although the commission condemned the act by Dyer, it
did not impose any disciplinary action against him.
 He was relieved of his duties in the army in 1920.
 In protest against the massacre and the British failure to give due
justice to the victims, Rabindranath Tagore gave up his knighthood
and Gandhiji relinquished his title ‘Kaiser-e-hind’ bestowed on him by
the British for his services during the Boer War in South Africa.

 Michael O’Dwyer, the then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, who had
approved the actions of Brigadier General Dyer, was assassinated by
Udham Singh in London in 1940 as revenge against the massacre.
Udham Singh is believed to have witnessed the massacre as a child.
The Lucknow Pact, 1916

Background to Lucknow Pact
 When the Muslim League was formed in 1906, it was a relatively

moderate organisation with a pro-British stance.
 After the First World War, the Viceroy Lord Chelmsford had solicited
reform suggestions from Indians in return for the Indian support to
the British war effort.
 The Muslim League led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah wanted to use this
opportunity to press for constitutional reforms through a joint Hindu-
Muslim platform.
 Jinnah was then a member of both the parties and he was largely
responsible for the Pact.
 In December 1915, the extremists led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
the moderates led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale met the leaders of the
League at Bombay.
 This was the first time that leaders of both the INC and the Muslim
League were meeting for a joint session.
 At the meeting, the leaders consulted with each other and drafted a
set of demands for constitutional reforms.
 In October 1916, 19 elected Indian members of the Imperial
Legislative Council addressed a memorandum to the Viceroy seeking
reforms.
 In November 1916, leaders from both the parties met again in
Calcutta and discussed and amended the suggestions.
 Finally, at their respective annual sessions held at Lucknow in
December 1916, the INC and the League confirmed the agreement.
This came to be known as the Lucknow Pact.
 For his efforts, Sarojini Naidu gave Jinnah the title ‘the Ambassador
of Hindu-Muslim unity.’
Reforms suggestsed in the Lucknow Pact:
 Self-government in India.
 Abolition of the Indian Council.
 Separation of the executive from the judiciary.
 Salaries of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs to be paid from
British coffers and not the Indian funds.
 1/3rd representation to be given to Muslims in the Central
Government.

 The number of Muslims in the provincial legislatures to be laid down
for each province.
 Separate electorates for all communities until a joint electorate is
demanded by all.
 Introduction of a system of weightage for minority representation (it
implied giving minorities more representation than their share in the
population).
 Increasing the term of the Legislative Council to 5 years.
 Half the members of the Imperial Legislative Council to be Indians.
 All elected members to be elected directly on the basis of adult
franchise. 4/5th of the members of the provincial legislatures to be
elected and 1/5th to be nominated.
 Members of the Legislative Council to elect their President
themselves.
Assessment of the Lucknow Pact
Results of Lucknow Pact
 The Lucknow Pact gave the impression of a Hindu-Muslim unity in

the national political scene. But it was only an impression and short-
lived.
 The agreement between the parties on a separate communal
electorate formally established communal politics in India.
 Through this pact, the INC also tacitly accepted that India consisted
of two different communities with different interests.
 This pact pushed the hitherto less relevant Muslim League into the
forefront of Indian politics along with the Congress Party.
Non-Cooperation Movement
Features of the non-cooperation movement
 The movement was essentially a peaceful and non-violent protest

against the British government in India.
 Indians were asked to relinquish their titles and resign from
nominated seats in the local bodies as a mark of protest.
 People were asked to resign from their government jobs.
 People were asked to withdraw their children from government-
controlled or aided schools and colleges.
 People were asked to boycott foreign goods and use only Indian-
made goods.
 People were asked to boycott the elections to the legislative
councils.
 People were asked not to serve in the British army.
 It was also planned that if the above steps did not bring results,
people would refuse to pay their taxes.
 The INC also demanded Swarajya or self-government.

 Only completely non-violent means would be employed to get the
demands fulfilled.
 The non-cooperation movement was a decisive step in the
independence movement because for the first time, the INC was
ready to forego constitutional means to achieve self-rule.
 Gandhiji had assured that Swaraj would be achieved in a year if this
movement was continued to completion.
Causes of the non-cooperation movement
 Resentment at the British after the war: Indians thought that in return
for the extensive support of manpower and resources they had
provided to Britain during the First World War, they would be rewarded
by autonomy at the end of the war. But the Government of India Act
passed in 1919 was dissatisfactory. In addition, the British also
passed repressive acts like the Rowlatt Act which further angered
many Indians who felt betrayed by the rulers despite their wartime
support.
 Home Rule Movement: The Home Rule Movement started by Annie
Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak set the stage for the non-cooperation
movement. The extremists and the moderates of the INC were united
and the Lucknow Pact also saw solidarity between the Muslim League
and the Congress Party. The return of the extremists gave the INC a
militant character.
 Economic hardships due to World War I: India’s indirect participation
in the war caused a lot of economic hardships to the people. Prices of
goods began to soar which affected the common man. Peasants also
suffered because the prices of agricultural products did not increase.
All this led to resentment against the government.
 The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre: The repressive
Rowlatt Act and the brutal massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar
had a profound effect on the Indian leaders and the people. Their faith
in the British system of justice was broken and the whole country
rallied behind its leaders who were pitching for a more aggressive and
firm stance against the government.
 The Khilafat Movement: During the First World War, Turkey, which
was a German ally, had fought against the British. After Turkey’s
defeat, the Ottoman caliphate was proposed to be dissolved. The
Khilafat movement was launched by Muslims in India to persuade
the British government not to abolish the caliphate. The leaders of
this movement accepted the non-cooperation movement of Gandhiji
and led a joint protest against the British.
Suspension of the non-cooperation movement
 Gandhiji called off the movement in February, 1922 in the wake of

the Chauri Chaura incident.

 In Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh, a violent mob set fire to a police
station killing 22 policemen during a clash between the police and
protesters of the movement.
 Gandhiji called off the movement saying people were not ready for
revolt against the government through ahimsa. A lot of leaders like
Motilal Nehru and C R Das were against the suspension of the
movement only due to sporadic incidents of violence.
Results and significance of the non-cooperation movement
 Swaraj was not achieved in one year as Gandhiji had told.

 However, it was a truly mass movement where lakhs of Indians
participated in the open protest against the government through peaceful
means.
 It shook the British government who were stumped by the extent of the
movement.
 It saw participation from both Hindus and Muslims thereby showcasing
communal harmony in the country.
 This movement established the popularity of the Congress Party among
the people.
 As a result of this movement, people became conscious of their political
rights. They were not afraid of the government.
 Hordes of people thronged to jails willingly.
 The Indian merchants and mill owners enjoyed good profits during this
period as a result of the boycott of British goods. Khadi was promoted.
 The import of sugar from Britain reduced considerably during this period.
 This movement also established Gandhiji as a leader of the masses.
Civil Disobedience Movement

 The observance of the Independence Day in 1930 was followed by the
launching of the Civil Disobedience Movement under the leadership of
Gandhi. It began with the famous Dandi March of Gandhi. On 12 March
1930, Gandhi left the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmadabad on foot with 78
other members of the Ashram for Dandi, a village on the western sea-coast
of India, at a distance of about 385 km from Ahmadabad. They reached
Dandi on 6 April 1930. There, Gandhi broke the salt law. It was illegal for
anyone to make salt as it was a government monopoly. Gandhi defied the
government by picking up a handful of salt which had been formed by the
evaporation of sea. The defiance of the salt law was followed by the spread
of Civil Disobedience Movement all over the country. Making of salt spread
throughout the country in the first phase of the civil disobedience
movement, it became a symbol of the people’s defiance of the government.
 In Tamil Nadu, C. Rajgopalchari led a march-similar to the Dandi march-

from Trichinopoly to Vedaranyam. In Dharsana, in Gujarat, Sarojini Naidu,
the famous poetess who was a prominent leader of the congress and had
been president of the congress, led non-violent satyagrahis in a march to

the salt depots owned by the government. Over 300 satyagrahis were
severely injured and two killed in the brutal lathi charge by the police.
There were demonstrations, hartals, boycott of foreign goods, and later
refusal to pay taxes. Lakhs of people participated in the movement,
including a large number of women.
 In November 1930, the British government convened the first round table
conference in London to consider the reforms proposed by the Simon
commission. The congress, which was fighting for the independence of the
country, boycotted it. But it was attended by the representatives of Indian
princes, Muslim league, Hindu Mahasabha and some others. But nothing
came out of it. The British government knew that without the participation
of the congress, no decision on constitutional changes In India would be
acceptable to the Indian people.
 Early in 1931, efforts were made by Viceroy Irwin to persuade the congress
to join the second round table conference. An agreement was reached
between Gandhi and Irwin, according to which the government agreed to
release all political prisoners against whom there were no charges of
violence. The congress was to suspend the civil disobedience movement.
Many nationalist leaders were unhappy with this agreement. However, at
its Karachi session which was held in March 1931 and was presided over
by Vallabhbhai Patel, the congress decided to approve the agreement and
participate in the second round table conference. Gandhi was chosen to
represent the congress at the conference which met in September 1931.
 At the Karachi session, of the congress, an important resolution of

fundamental rights and economic policy was passed. It laid down the
policy of the nationalist movement on social and economic problems
facing the country. It mentioned the fundamental rights which would be
guaranteed to the people irrespective of caste and religion, and it favoured
nationalisation of certain industries, promotion of Indian industries, and
schemes for the welfare of workers and peasants. This resolution showed
the growing influence of the ideals of socialism on the nationalist
movement. Besides Gandhi, who was the sole representative of the
congress, there were other Indians who participated in this conference.
They included Indian princes, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communal leaders.
These leaders played into the hands of the British. The princes were mainly
interested in preserving their position as rulers. The communal leaders had
been selected by the British government to attend the conference. They
claimed to the representatives of their respective communities and not the
country, though their influences within their communities were also
limited. Gandhi alone as the representative of the congress represented
the whole country.
 Neither the princes nor the communal leaders were interested in India’s
independence. Therefore, no agreement could be reached and the second
round table conference ended in a failure. Gandhi returned to India and the

Civil Disobedience Movement was revived. The government repression had
been continuing even while the conference was going on and now it was
intensified. Gandhi and other leaders were arrested. The government’s
efforts to suppress the movement may be seen from the fact that in about
a year 120000 persons were sent to jail. The movement was withdrawn in
1934. The congress passed an important resolution in 1934. It demanded
that a constituent assembly, elected by the people on the basis of adult
franchise, be convened. It declared that only such an assembly could frame
a constitution for India. It thus asserted that only the people had the right
to decide the form of government under which they would live. Though the
congress had failed to achieve its objective, it had succeeded in mobilizing
vast sections of the people in the second great mass struggle in the
country. It had also adopted radical objectives for the transformation of
Indian society.
Impact of Civil Disobedience Movement

 It shattered people’s faith in the British Government and laid the social
root for the freedom struggle, and popularised the new method of
propaganda like the prabhat pheris, pamphlets etc.
 It ended the exploitative salt policy of British was followed by the defiance
of forest law in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Central province and the
refusal to pay the rural ‘Chaukidari tax’ in Eastern India.
Moplah Rebellion of 1921

Background of Moplah Rebellion
 Muslims had arrived in Kerala in the 9th century AD as traders via the
Arabian Sea even before north India was invaded by Muslim armies from the
west.
 They were given permission to carry on trade and settle by the native rulers.
Many of them married local women and their descendants came to be
called Moplahs (which means son-in-law in Malayalam).
 Most Moplahs were, however, not descended from the Arabs and were
predominantly converted Hindus during Tipu Sultan’s capture of Malabar.
 Before Tipu Sultan’s attack on Malabar, in the traditional land system in
Malabar, the Jenmi or the landlord held the land which was let out to others
for farming. There were mainly three hierarchical levels of ownership
including the cultivator, and each of them took a share of the produce.
 The Moplahs were mostly cultivators of the land under this system and the
Jenmis were upper caste Hindus.
 During Hyder Ali’s invasion of Malabar in 1765, the Moplahs supported him.
 Many Hindu landlords fled Malabar to neighbouring areas to avoid
persecution and forced conversions.

 During this time, the Moplah tenants were accorded ownership rights to the
lands.
 After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War,
Malabar came under British authority as part of the Madras Presidency.
 The British set out to restore ownership rights to the Jenmis who had earlier
fled the region.
 Jenmis were now given absolute ownership rights of the land which was not
the case previously.
 The peasants were now facing high rents and a lack of security of tenure.
 This caused a series of riots by the Moplahs starting from 1836. Between
1836 and 1896, they killed many government officers and Hindu landlords.
 Many of the riots also took a communal hue with Hindus being targeted and
killed for not converting to Islam.
The course of Moplah Rebellion
 The Khilafat Movement had started in 1919 in India in support of the

restoration of the caliphate in Turkey. The Indian National Congress (INC)
was aligned with it.
 The Khilafat meetings in Malabar incited communal feelings among the
Moplahs and it became a movement directed against the British as well as
the Hindu landlords of Malabar.
 There was large-scale violence which saw systematic persecution of
Hindus and British officials. Many homes and temples were destroyed.
 The prominent leaders of the rebellion were Ali Musaliyar and
Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji.
 From August 1921 till about the end of the year, the rebels had under their
control large parts of Malabar.
 By the end of the year, the rebellion was crushed by the British who had
raised a special battalion, the Malabar Special Force for the riot.
 In November 1921, 67 Moplah prisoners were killed when they were being
transported in a closed freight wagon from Tirur to the Central Prison in
Podanur. They died of suffocation. This event is called the Wagon Tragedy.
Consequences of Moplah Rebellion
 The Moplah Rebellion was a failure because of the communal element in

it.
 What could have been a revolt against the British became an anti-Hindu
movement.
 The brutal violence, widespread forceful conversions and destruction of
property suggest that the motive went beyond what could have arisen from
a class conflict and took on religious colours.
 Sir C Shankaran Nair, a former President of the INC, criticised Gandhi’s
support of the Khilafat Movement as one of the causes of the violence.

Simon Commission
Background
 Diarchy was introduced in India by the Government of India Act 1919. The
Act also promised that a commission would be appointed after 10 years to
review the working and progress made on the measures taken through the
Act.
 The Indian public and leaders wanted a reform of the diarchy form of
government.
 The Conservative Party-led government in the UK feared a defeat at the
hands of the Labour Party in the elections due, and so hastened the
appointment of a commission in 1928 even though it was due only in 1929
as per the 1919 Act.
 The Commission was composed entirely of British members with not a
single Indian member being included in it. This was seen as an insult to
Indians who were right in saying that their destiny could not be determined
by a bunch of British people alone.
 The Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead had berated Indians on
account of their perceived inability to formulate a concrete scheme of
reforms through consensus among all sections of the Indian political
scene.
 Lord Birkenhead was responsible for setting up the Commission.
 Clement Atlee was a member of the Commission. He would later become
Britain’s Prime Minister during Indian independence and partition in 1947.
Why was Simon Commission boycotted?
India Response
 Indians were outraged at their exclusion from the Commission.

 The Congress Party decided to boycott the Commission at their session at
Madras in 1927.
 The Muslim League led by M A Jinnah also boycotted it. A certain section
of members led by Muhammad Shafi supported the government.
 The Justice Party in the South decided to side with the government on this
issue.
 When the Commission landed in February 1928, there were mass protests,
hartals and black flag demonstrations all over the country.
 People were chanting the slogan, ‘Simon Go Back.’
 The police resorted to lathi charges to suppress the movement. Even senior
leaders like Pandit Nehru were not spared.

 In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai, who was leading the demonstration against the
Simon Commission, was brutally lathi-charged. He died later that year due
to injuries sustained then.
 Dr B R Ambedkar had submitted a report on behalf of the Bahishkrita
Hitakarini Sabha on the education of the depressed classes in the Bombay
Presidency.
Impact
 The Commission’s report was published in 1930. Before the publication,

the government assured that henceforth, Indian opinion would be
considered and that the natural outcome of constitutional reforms would
be dominion status for India.
 It recommended the abolition of diarchy and the setting-up of
representative governments in the provinces.
 It also recommended the retention of separate communal electorates until
the communal tensions had died down.
 The Simon Commission led to the Government of India Act 1935 which
acted as the basis for many parts of the current Indian Constitution.
 The first provincial elections were held in 1937 and it saw Congress
governments being set up in almost all the provinces.
 The arrival of the Commission gave an impetus to the Indian independence
movement by galvanizing leaders and masses.
Swaraj Party
 Swaraj Party was formed by Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjandas and was
named as "Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party"in 1922.It also claimed to
be an integral part of the Congress and professes its adherence to Non-
Violence & Non-Cooperation Movement and decided to boycott the
legislatures. One group led by C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru and Vithalbhai
patel wanted that the congress should take part in the elections and wreck
the working of legislatures from within. The other group which was led
by Vallabhbhai Patel, C. Rajagopalachari and Rajendra Prasad, was
opposed to this. They wanted the congress to be engaged in the
constructive programme.
 In 1922, the congress session held at Gaya and presided over by C.R. Das
rejected the proposal for entering the legislatures. The supporters of this
proposal formed the congress Khilafat Swarajya party, popularly known as
the swaraj party, in 1923. At a special session held at Delhi under the
presidentship of Abul kalam Azad, the congress permitted the swarajists to
contest the elections. The swarajists won a large number of seats in the
central and provincial legislatures. In the absence of mass political
activities in this period, the swarajists played a significant role in keeping
the spirit of Anti-British protest alive. They made it almost impossible for
the British rulers to get the approval of the legislatures for their policies

and proposals. For example, in 1928, the government introduced a bill in
the legislative assembly which would give it the power to expel from the
country those non-Indians who supported India’s struggle for freedom. The
bill was defeated. When the government introduce this bill again,
Vithalbhai Patel who was the president of the assembly refused to allow it.
The debates in the legislatures, in which Indian members often outwitted
the government and condemned the government, were read with interest
and enthusiasm throughout the country.
 The boycott of the legislatures was started again when the mass political
struggle was resumed in 1930. Gandhiji was released in February in 1924,
and the constructive programme which was accepted by both the sections
of the congress became the major activity of the congress. The most
important components of the constructive programme were the spread of
Khadi, promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity and the removal of untouchability.
It became compulsory for anyone who was a member of any congress
committee to wear hand-spun and hand-woven Khaddar while engaged in
any political or congress activity, and spin 2000 yards of yarn every month.
The all India spinner’s association was set up and Khaddar Bhandars were
opened all over the country. Gandhiji considered Khadi as the key to the
liberation of the poor from their misery and to the economic well-being of
the country. It provided means of livelihood to millions of people and
enabled spreading the message of the freedom struggle to every part of
the country, particularly in the rural areas. It brought the common people
of the country close to the congress and made the uplift of the common
people an essential part of the work of the congress. The charkha became
the symbol of the struggle for freedom.
 After the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement, communal riots

had broken out in some parts of the country. The fight against the poison
of communalism was essential for maintaining and strengthening the unity
of the people and for carrying on the struggle for freedom. Gandhiji’s work
against untouchability was important for removing the worst evil from the
Indian society as well as for drawing the downtrodden and oppressed
sections of Indian society into the struggle for freedom.
Bardoli Satyagraha
 The Bardoli Taluk in modern-day Gujarat was hit by floods and famines in
1925, which adversely affected crop yield. This affected the farmers
financially.
 Ignoring the plight of the farmers, the Bombay Presidency increased the
tax rates by 22%.
 Despite petitions and appeals from civic groups and farmers to review this
unjust hike in tax rates in lieu of the grave situation, the government
decided to go ahead with tax collection.

 In 1927, the local Congress Party published a report to show that the
farmers could not carry the burden of the enhanced assessment. But the
authorities did not budge.
 In January 1928, farmers in Bardoli invited Vallabhai Patel to launch the
protest movement wherein all of them resolved not to pay taxes.
 They also assured Gandhiji of their commitment to non-violence.
 Patel agreed to take on the leadership role only after getting assurances
from the farmers of their resolve to the movement. He informed them of
the possible consequences of their move such as confiscation of land and
property and imprisonment.
 Patel got in touch with the government and apprised it of the situation. He
got the reply that the government was unwilling to make any concessions.
 Gandhiji also lend support to the movement through his writings in ‘Young
India’ magazine.
Vaikom Satyagraha
 According to the prevalent caste system in Kerala and the rest of India,
low-caste Hindus were not allowed to enter into the temples.
 In Kerala, they were not allowed even to walk on the roads that led to the
temples also. (Kerala state was formed in 1956; earlier it was broadly
divided into Malabar (North Kerala), Cochin and Travancore kingdoms).
 In the Kakinada meet of the Congress Party in 1923, T K Madhavan
presented a report citing the discrimination that the depressed castes’
people were facing in Kerala. It was after this session that movements
against untouchabiity need to be promoted.In Kerala, a committee was
formed comprising people of different castes to fight untouchability
 .The committee chaired by K Kelappan, comprised of T K Madhavan,
Velayudha Menon, K Neelakantan Namboothiri and T R Krishnaswami Iyer.
 In February 1924, they decided to launch a ‘Keralaparyatanam’ in order to
get temple entry and also the right to use public roads for every Hindu
irrespective of caste or creed.
Gandhi Irwin Pact

The British Indian government unconditionally released Gandhi and all
other members of the working committee of Indian National Congress on
25th January 1931. The Congress working committee authorised Mahatma
Gandhi to initiate the discussion with Lord Irwin. After the completion of
this discussion, an agreement was signed between the Viceroy Lord Irwin
representing the British Indian government and Gandhi, representing
Indian National Congress and Indian people in Delhi on 14th February
1931. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact or Delhi pact placed Indian National Congress
on equal footing with the British Indian government.

Facts about Gandhi Irwin Pact
1. The Mahatma Gandhi Irwin pact singed by Mahatma Gandhi and the British
Indian Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin on 5 March 1931.
2. The pact was signed before the start of second round table conference in
london.
3. Before Mahatma Gandhi Irwin pact singed; the viceroy in 1929 had given a
vague offer about the Dominion status.
4. The British officials and leaders were angry at the idea of a pact with
Congress as the declared goal of INC was the end of British Raj from India.
5. Winston expressed his anger in the following words- "the nauseating and
humiliating spectacle of this one-time Inner Temple lawyer, now seditious
fakir, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceroy's palace, there to
negotiate and parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-
Emperor."
6. Ramsay MacDonald, however, wanted peace with INC and Gandhi to make
the second round table conference a success.
Viceroy Irwin accepted the following demands of Gandhi after the signing
of Gandhi-Irwin Pact :
 Releasing of all the political Prisoners who were not involved in violence.
 The remission of all the fines which were not yet collected.
 The return of all the lands which were not yet sold to the third parties.
 Right to make salt for personal use in the coastal areas.
 Lenient treatment to the government servants who had resigned on the
call of Mahatma Gandhi.
 The right to peaceful, non-violent and non aggressive picketing.
 The withdrawal of the emergency ordinances by the British Indian
government.
The Viceroy Lord Irwin did not accept the following demands of Mahatma
Gandhi:
 The commutation of death sentence of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev

to life sentence.
 The demand for a public enquiry of excesses committed by police during
the civil disobedience movement.
On behalf of Indian National Congress, Mahatma Gandhi agreed to
suspend the civil disobedience movement after the signing of Gandhi-Irwin
Pact. He also agreed to participate in the next round table conference on
the question of constitutional reforms based on the three pillars of

Federation, Indian responsibility and the safeguards which were necessary
for India's interests covering the areas of Defence, External Affairs, the
position of minorities, financial credit of India etc.
Mahatma Gandhi Irwin Pact Controversy

There was a controversy over the signing of Gandhi Irwin pact and the
issue of commutation of death sentence of Bhagat Singh to life
imprisonment. Mahatma Gandhi was criticized for not making
commutation of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev as a condition for
signing the pact. However, Mahatma Gandhi had tried his best to save the
lives of the three national heroes. He bowed down to the sacrifice of
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. But he did not support the ideologies
followed by them as a path to get independence. He was shown black flag
demonstrations by the Punjab naujawan Bharat Sabha as a protest for his
failure to secure commutation for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
First Round Table Conference 1930

Background
 There were increasing demands of granting dominion status to India

among a certain section of the British polity.
 In India, the freedom movement was in full swing with its demand for
swaraj or self-rule spearheaded by the charismatic Gandhi.
 The conferences were based on the recommendation of Muhammad Ali
Jinnah to Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India and James Ramsay
MacDonald, the then British Prime Minister, and the Simon Commission
report.
 It was for the first time that the Indians and the British were meeting as
‘equals’. The first conference started on November 12th, 1930.
Participants in the First Round Table Conference
 58 political leaders from British India.

 16 delegates from the native princely states.
 16 delegates from the three British political parties.
 The Indian National Congress decided not to participate in the conference.
Many of the INC leaders were imprisoned due to their involvement in the
civil disobedience movement.
 Among the British-Indians, the following representatives attended the
conference: Muslim League, Hindus, Justice Party, Sikhs, liberals, Parsis,
Christians, Anglo-Indians, Europeans, landlords, labour, women,
universities, Sindh, Burma, other provinces, and the representatives from
the Government of India.

Second and Third Round Table Conferences
Second Round Table Conference
 When: September – December 1931

 Where: London
 Attended by:
British delegates belonging to various political parties including the British

Prime Minister, James Ramsay Macdonald.
Indian princely states represented by Maharajas, princes and divans.
British Indians represented by: Indian National Congress (INC) – Mahatma

Gandhi, Rangaswami Iyengar, Madan Mohan Malaviya
Muslims - Md. Ali Jinnah, Aga Khan III, Muhammad Iqbal, etc.
Hindus - M R Jayakar, etc.
Depressed classes – Dr B R Ambedkar
Women – Sarojini Naidu, etc.
Liberals, Justice Party, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Parsis, Europeans, Anglo-

Indians, industry, labour, landlords, Burma, Sindh and other provinces.
 The session started on 7 September 1931.

 The major difference between the first and the second conference was that
the INC was participating in the second one. This was one of the results of
the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
 Another difference was that unlike the previous time, British PM
Macdonald was heading not a Labour government, but a National
government. The Labour Party had been toppled two weeks before in
Britain.
 The British decided to grant a communal award for representing minorities
in India by providing for separate electorates for minority communities.
Gandhi was against this.
 In this conference, Gandhi and Ambedkar differed on the issue of separate
electorates for the untouchables. Gandhi was against treating
untouchables as separate from the Hindu community. This issue was
resolved through the Poona Pact 1932.
 The second round table conference was deemed a failure because of the
many disagreements among the participants. While the INC claimed to
speak for the whole of the country, other participants and leaders of other
parties contested this claim.

Third Round Table Conference
 When: November – December 1932

 Where: London
 Attended by:
Only 46 delegates in total took part in this conference.
The INC and the Labour Party decided not to attend it. (The INC wasn’t
invited).
Indian princely states were represented by princes and divans.
British Indians were represented by the Aga Khan (Muslims), depressed

classes (Ambedkar), women, Europeans, Anglo-Indians and labour groups.
Government of India Act 1935

On August 1935, the Government of India passed longest act
i.e. Government of India Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament. This
act also included the Government of Burma Act 1935. According to this
act, India would become a federation if 50% of Indian states decided to
join it. They would then have a large number of representatives in the two
houses of the central legislature. However, the provisions with regards to
the federation were not implemented. The act made no reference even to
granting dominion status, much less independence, to India.
Features of the Act

1. It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of
provinces and princely states as units. The Act divided the powers between
the Centre and units in terms of three lists—Federal List (for Centre, with
59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and the Concurrent
List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy.
However, the federation never came into being as the princely states did
not join it.
2. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial

autonomy’ in its place. The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous
units of administration in their defined spheres. Moreover, the Act
introduced responsible governments in provinces, that is, the governor was
required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial
legislature. This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939.
3. It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the

federal subjects were divided into reserved subjects and transferred
subjects. However, this provision of the Act did not come into operation at
all.

4. It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the
legislatures of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United
Provinces were made bicameral consisting of a legislative council (upper
house) and a legislative assembly (lower house). However, many
restrictions were placed on them.
5. It further extended the principle of communal representation by

providing separate electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes),
women and labour (workers).
6. It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India

Act of 1858. The secretary of state for India was provided with a team of
advisors.
7. It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the
voting right.
8. It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control

the currency and credit of the country.
9. It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service

Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint
Public Service Commission for two or more provinces.
10. It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up
in 1937.
The main objectivity of the act of 1935 was that the government of India
was under the British Crown. So, the authorities and their functions derive
from the Crown, in so far as the crown did not itself retain executive
functions. His conception, familiar in dominion constitutions, was absent
in earlier Acts passed for India.
Hence, the act of 1935 served some useful purposes by the experiment of
provincial autonomy, thus we can say that the Government of India Act
1935 marks a point of no return in the history of constitutional
development in India.
Poona Pact
Poona Pact(24 September 1932 AD)
In this pact, there were agreement between Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and
Mahatma Gandhi at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. And the pact get accent
by the Government as an amendment to the Communal Award.
Provisions of the Pact:

• The Pact abandoned separate electorates for the depressed classes. But
the seats reserved for the depressed classes were increased from 71 to
147 in provincial legislatures and 18 per cent of the total in the central
legislature.
• Election to seats shall be by joint electorates subject, however, to the

following procedure: All members of the Depressed Classes registered in
the general electoral roll of a constituency will form an electoral college
which will elect a panel of four candidates belonging to the Depressed
Classes for each of such reserved seats by the method of the single vote
and four persons getting the highest number of votes in such primary
elections shall be the candidates for election by the general electorate.
• The system of primary election to a panel of candidates for election as

before mentioned shall come to an end after the first ten years, unless
terminated sooner by mutual agreement.
• The system of representation of Depressed Classes by reserved seats

shall continue until determined otherwise by mutual agreement between
the communities concerned.
• The Franchise of the Depressed Classes shall be as indicated, in the

Lothian Committee (Indian Franchise Committee) Report.
• There shall be no disabilities attached to any one on the ground of his

being a member of the Depressed Classes in regard to any election to local
bodies or appointment to the public services. Every endeavour shall be
made to secure a fair representation of the Depressed Classes in these
respects.
• In every province out of the educational grant an adequate sum shall be

ear-marked for providing educational facilities to the members of
Depressed Classes.
Cripps Mission
Sir Stafford Cripps was a left-wing Labourite, who had actively supported
the Indian national movement headed a mission was known as Cripps
Mission. This mission was for full cooperation to British in Second World
War. The British were not willing to agree to the formation of a truly
national government. They also tried to promote the interests of the
princes. While they agreed to the demand for a constituent assembly, they
insisted that the Indian states in the assembly would be represented by the
nominees of the princes, and that the people of the states would have no
representation on it.

In early 1942, the war situation compelled the British to open talks with
the Indian leaders. The British forces had suffered heavy defeats at the
hands of the Japanese army in many countries of south-east Asia. The
Japanese also conducted air raids on some parts of India. At this time Sir
Stafford Cripps, a British minister, came to India to hold talks with Indian
leaders. This is known as the Cripps mission. The talks, however, failed.
The British were not willing to agree to the formation of a truly national
government. They also tried to promote the interests of the princes. While
they agreed to the demand for a constituent assembly, they insisted that
the Indian states in the assembly would be represented by the nominees of
the princes, and that the people of the states would have no
representation on it.
Proposals of Cripps Mission

• An Indian Union with a dominion status; would be set up; it would be free
to decide its relations with the Commonwealth and free to participate in
the United Nations and other international bodies.
• After the end of the war, a constituent assembly would be convened to

frame a new constitution. Members of this assembly would be partly
elected by the provincial assemblies through proportional representation
and partly nominated by the princes.
• The British Government would accept the new constitution only on the
following conditions :(a) any province not willing to join the Union could
have a separate constitution and form a separate Union, and (b) the new
constitution- making body and the British Government would negotiate a
treaty to effect the transfer of power and to safeguard racial and religious
minorities.
• The post of governor-general’s would remain intact and defence of India

would remain in British hands.
Conclusion
Hence, Mission was sent to seek the full support of Indian to the British in
Second World War. So, Stafford Cripps returned home leaving behind a
frustrated and embittered Indian people, who, though still sympathising
with the victims of Fascist aggression, felt that the existing situation in the
country had become intolerable and that the time had come for a final
assault on imperialism.
Subhas Chandra Bose

Facts
 Subhas Chandra Bose is one of the most eminent freedom fighters of India.

 Born in Cuttack, then in Bengal Province into an affluent family. Educated
in Calcutta acquiring a degree in philosophy. Selected for the Indian Civil
Services (ICS) but refused to take up service since he did not want to serve
the British government.
 Bose joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1921. He also started a
newspaper called ‘Swaraj’.
 He was the President of the All India Youth Congress and also the
Secretary of the Bengal State Congress. In 1924, he became the CEO of
the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. In 1930, he became the Mayor of
Calcutta.
 Bose authored the book ‘The Indian Struggle’ which covers the Indian
independence movement from 1920 to 1942. The book was banned by the
British government.
 He coined the term ‘Jai Hind’. His charisma and powerful personality
inspired many people into the freedom struggle and continues to inspire
Indians. He was called Netaji.
Role in Indian independence struggle
 Bose was sent to prison in Mandalay for nationalist activities in 1925. He

was released in 1927 and became the INC’s general secretary.
 He worked with Jawaharlal Nehru and the two became the Congress
Party’s young leaders gaining popularity among the people.
 He advocated complete Swaraj and was in favour of the use of force to
gain it.
 He had differences with Gandhi and he wasn’t keen on non-violence as a
tool for independence.
 Bose stood for and was elected the party’s president in 1939 but was
forced to resign due to differences with Gandhi’s supporters.
 Bose’s ideology tilted towards socialism and leftist authoritarianism. He
formed the All India Forward Bloc in 1939 as a faction within the
Congress.
 At the start of the Second World War, Bose protested against the
government for not consulting Indians before dragging them into the war.
He was arrested when he organised protests in Calcutta for the removal of
the monument memorialising the Black Hole of Calcutta.
 He was released after a few days but was kept under surveillance. He then
made his escape from the country in 1941 to Germany via Afghanistan and
the Soviet Union. He had previously travelled to Europe and met with Indian
students and European political leaders.
 In Germany, he met with the Nazi leaders and hoped to stage an armed
struggle against the British to gain independence. He hoped to befriend
the Axis powers since they were against his ‘enemy’ the British.

 He founded the Indian Legion out of about 4500 Indian soldiers who were
in the British army and had been taken prisoners by the Germans from
North Africa.
 In 1943, he left Germany for Japan disillusioned with German support for
Azad Hind.
 Bose’s arrival in Japan revived the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj)
which had been formed earlier with Japanese help.
 Azad Hind or the Provisional Government of Free India was established as
a government-in-exile with Bose as the head. Its headquarters was in
Singapore. The INA was its military.
 Bose motivated the troops with his fiery speeches. His famous quote is,
“Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!”
 The INA supported the Japanese army in its invasion of northeast India and
also took control of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, they were
forced to retreat by the British forces.
Death
 Bose died of third-degree burns which he suffered in a plane crash in

Taiwan on 18 August 1945.
 However, many in India refused to believe that he had died.
 Many enquiry committees were tasked with finding out what happened on
that day.
 The Figgess Report (1946) and the Shah Nawaz Committee (1956)
concluded that Bose died in the plane crash in Taiwan.
 The Khosla Commission (1970) also concurred with the previous reports.
 But the Mukherjee Commission (2005) said that Bose’s death could not be
proved. This report was rejected by the government.
Dr BR Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956)

 Popularly known as Baba Saheb. He was the Chairman of the Drafting
Committee of the Constituent Assembly and is called the ‘Father of the
Indian Constitution’.
 He was a jurist and an economist. Born into a caste that was considered
untouchable, he faced many injustices and discrimination in society. He
was born in Mhow in the Central Provinces (modern-day Madhya Pradesh)
to a Marathi family with roots in Ambadawe town of Ratnagiri,
Maharashtra.
 He was a brilliant student and had doctoral degrees in economics from the
Columbia University and the London School of Economics.
 Ambedkar was against the caste-based discriminations in society and
advocated the Dalits to organise and demand their rights.

 He promoted the education of Dalits and made representations to the
government in various capacities in this regard. He was part of the Bombay
Presidency Committee that worked with the Simon Commission in 1925.
 He established the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha to promote education and
socio-economic improvements among the Dalits. He started magazines
like Mooknayak, Equality Janta and Bahishkrit Bharat.
 In 1927, he launched active agitation against untouchability. He organised
and agitated for the right of Dalits to enter temples and to draw water from
public water resources. He condemned Hindu scriptures that he thought
propagated caste discrimination.
 He advocated separate electorates for the ‘Depressed Classes’, the term
with which Dalits were called at that time. He was in disagreement with
Mahatma Gandhi at that time since Gandhi was against any sort of
reservation in the electorates. When the British government announced
the ‘Communal Award’ in 1932, Gandhi went on a fast in Yerwada Jail. An
agreement was signed between Gandhi and Ambedkar in the jail whereby
it was agreed to give reserved seats to the depressed classes within the
general electorate. This was called the Poona Pact.
 Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party (later transformed into
the Scheduled Castes Federation) in 1936 and contested in 1937 from
Bombay to the Central Legislative Assembly. He also contested from
Bombay (north-central) after independence in the country’s first general
elections. But he lost both times.
 He also worked as Minister of Labour in the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
After independence, Ambedkar became the first Law Minister in 1947
under the Congress-led government. Later he resigned due to differences
with Jawaharlal Nehru on the Hindu Code Bill.
 He was appointed to the Rajya Sabha in 1952 and remained a member till
his death.
 He advocated a free economy with a stable Rupee. He also mooted birth
control for economic development. He also emphasised equal rights for
women.
 A few months before he died, he converted to Buddhism in a public
ceremony in Nagpur and with him lakhs of Dalits converted to Buddhism.
 He authored several books and essays. Some of them are: The Annihilation
of Caste, Pakistan or the Partition of India, The Buddha and his Dhamma,
The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India, Administration and
Finance of the East India Company, etc.
 Ambedkar considered the Right to Constitutional Remedy as the soul of
the constitution.
 Ambedkar died of ill health in 1956 at Delhi. He was cremated according
to Buddhist rites in Dadar and a memorial is constructed there. The place
is called Chaitya Bhoomi. His death anniversary is observed as
Mahaparinirvan Din. His birth anniversary is celebrated as Ambedkar
Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti on 14 April every year.

Quit India movement
 In April 1942, the Cripps mission failed. Within less than four months, the
third great mass struggle of the Indian people for freedom started. This
struggle is known as the Quit India movement. On 8 August 1942, The All
India Congress Committee, at a meeting in Bombay, passed a resolution.
This resolution declared that the immediate ending of the British rule in
India was an urgent necessity for the sake of India and for the success of
the cause of freedom and democracy, for which the countries of the United
Nations were fighting against fascist Germany, Italy and Japan. The
resolution called for the withdrawal of the British power from India. Once
free, it said, India with all her resources would join the war on the side of
those countries who were struggling against fascist and imperialist
aggression.
 The resolution approved the starting of mass struggle on non-violent lines
on the widest possible scale for the independence of the country. After the
resolution was passed, Gandhi, in his speech said: “There is a mantra, a
short one that I give you. You imprint it in your heart and let every breath of
yours give an expression to it. The mantra is do or die. We shall either be
free or die in the attempt”. “Quit India” and “Do or Die” became the battle
cries of the Indian people during the Quit India movement.
 In the early hours of the morning of 9 August 1942, most of the leaders of
the congress were arrested. They were lodged in prisons in different parts
of the country. The congress was banned. There were hartals and
processions in every part of the country. The government let loose a reign
of terror and there were firings, lathi charges and arrests throughout the
country. People in their anger also took to violent activities. The people
attacked government property, damaged railway lines and disrupted posts
and telegraphs. There were clashes with the police at many places. The
government imposed restrictions on the publication of news about the
movement. Many newspapers decided to close down rather than submit to
the restrictions.
 By the end of 1942, about 60,000 people had been jailed and hundreds
killed. Among the killed were many young children and old women. In
Tamluk, in Bengal, 73-year old Matangini Hazra, in Gohpur, in Assam, 13-
year old Kanaklata Barua, in Patna, in Bihar, seven young students and
hundreds of others were shot dead while taking part in processions. Some
parts of the country such as Balia in U.P., Tamluk in Bengal, Satara in
Maharashtra, Dharwar in Karnataka and Balasore and Talcher in Orissa,
were free from the British rule and the people there formed their own
governments. Revolutionary activities organized by Jai Prakash Narayan,
Aruna Asaf Ali, S.M. Joshi, Ram Manohar Lohia and others continued
almost throughout the period of the war.
 The war years were a period of terrible suffering for the people of India.
Besides the misery caused by the repression by British army and police,
there was a terrible famine in Bengal in which about 30 lakh people died.

The government showed little interest in providing relief to the starving
people.
Nehru Report
On February 12, 1928, All Parties Conference called at Delhi attended by
the representatives of 29 organizations in response to the appointment of
Simon Commission and challenge given by Lord Birkenhead secretary of
state for India. It was presided over by M.A Ansari. On May 19, 1928 at its
meeting at Bombay, the All Parties Conference appointed a committee
with Motilal Nehru as its chairman. The purpose was to consider and
determine the principles of the Constitution for India.
Recommendations of Nehru Report
• India should be given Dominion Status with the Parliamentary form of

Government with bi-cameral legislature that consists of senate and House
of Representatives.
• The senate will comprise of two hundred members elected for seven
years, while the House of Representatives should consist of five hundred
members elected for five years. Governor-General will act on the advice of
executive council. It was to be collectively responsible to the parliament.
• There should be Federal form of Government in India with Residuary

powers to be vested in Centre. There will be no separate electorate for
minorities because it awakens communal sentiments therefore it should
be scrapped and joint electorate should be introduced”.
• There will be no reserved seats for communities in Punjab and Bengal.

However, reservation of Muslim seats could be possible in the provinces
where Muslim population should be at least ten percent.
• Judiciary should be independent from the Executive
• There should be 1/4th Muslim Representation at Centre
• Sind should be separated from Bombay provided it proves to be

financially self sufficient.
Conclusion
The Nehru Report demanded that the Fundamental Rights for the people of
India wouldn’t be subjected to forfeiture. The reports had drowned an
inspiration from the American bill of rights which laid to the foundation of
Fundamental Rights provision in the Indian Constitution.

C R Formula or Rajaji Formula (1944)
Background
 During the Second World War, the British government, under the
viceroyalty of Lord Linlithgow had said that any move towards an Indian
statehood would be possible only if the Indian National Congress (INC) and
the Muslim League resolve their differences.
 The League was increasingly demanding a separate nation of Pakistan for
the Muslims whereas the INC was against the partitioning of the country.
 To break this deadlock between the two major political parties in India, C
Rajagopalachari, INC member who was close to Mahatma Gandhi,
proposed a set of plans called the C R Formula or Rajaji Formula.
 This was the first acknowledgement by a Congressman about the
inevitability of the partition of the country and a tacit acceptance of
Pakistan.
Proposals
 The Muslim League would join hands with the INC to demand
independence from the British.
 Both parties would cooperate and form a provisional government at the
centre.
 After the war, a commission would be entrusted with the task of
demarcating those areas with an absolute majority of Muslims and a
plebiscite to be held in those areas where all the inhabitants (Muslims and
non-Muslims) would vote on the basis of adult suffrage whether to form a
separate sovereign nation or not.
 In case of partition, joint agreements to be made for the safeguarding of
defence, communications and commerce.
 The above terms to come to fruition only if Britain transfers full powers to
India.
Reaction
 In 1944, Gandhi and M A Jinnah held talks on the basis of the Rajaji
Formula.
 The talks were a failure as Jinnah had objections to the proposal.
 Jinnah’s objections:
i. He wanted the INC to accept the Two Nation Theory.
ii. He did not want the entire population of the Muslim majority areas to vote
on the plebiscite, but only the Muslim population in those areas.
iii. He was also against the idea of a common centre. Also, Jinnah wanted
separate dominions be created before the English left India.

 The Sikhs also looked upon the formula unfavourably because the formula
meant a division of Punjab and although the Sikhs were a big chunk of the
population, there were not in a majority in any of the district.
 V D Savarkar and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee of the Hindu Mahasabha and
Srinivas Sastri of the National Liberal Federation were also against the C R
Formula.
 The INC, which was hitherto opposed to the partition of the country were
willing to give some concessions in order to get the League on board for
talks for independence, but the League was more interested in Pakistan
than freedom.
The August Offer

Background
 During the Second World War, the Indian National Congress (INC) leaders
were upset with the British government for having pulled India into a war
without the consent of Indians. Lord Linlithgow had declared India to be at
war with Germany without consultation.
 France had fallen to the Axis Powers and the Allies were suffering many
reverses in the war. There was also a change of government in Britain and
Winston Churchill became the British Prime Minister in 1940.
 The British government were keen to get Indian support for the war. Britain
herself was in danger of being occupied by the Nazis and in this light, the
INC softened its stand. It said that support for the war would be provided if
power was transferred to an interim government in India.
 Then, the Viceroy Linlithgow made a set of proposals called the ‘August
offer’. For the first time, the right of Indians to frame their own constitution
was acknowledged.
Response of the Indian leaders
 The INC rejected this offer at its meeting at Wardha in August 1940. It
demanded complete freedom from colonial rule. Jawaharlal Nehru
remarked that the dominion status concept was as dead as a doornail.
 The League also rejected the offer saying that nothing short of partitioning
the country would be acceptable to them.
 After this, Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Individual Satyagraha to affirm
the right to free speech. He avoided a mass satyagraha because he did not
want violence.
 The first three satyagrahis were Vinoba Bhave, Nehru and Brahma Datt. All
three were jailed.
 The satyagrahis also started a march towards Delhi which was called the
‘Delhi Chalo Movement’.
 The movement failed to pick up steam and was aborted in December 1940.

 After the failure of the August Offer, the British government sent the Cripps
Mission to India in a bid to garner Indian support for the war.
Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference

Lord Wavell who had succeeded Lord Linlithgow as Governor-General in
October, 1943, made a way out from the existing stalemate the deadlock
in India. He went to England for consultations in March 1945. He
broadcast to the people of India the proposals of the British Government to
resolve the deadlock in India on 14th June which is called Wavell Plan. It
is also known as Breakdown Plan.
Provision of Wavell Plan

• Formation of a new Executive Council at the centre in which all the
members except the Viceroy and the Commander in Chief would be Indian.
• All portfolios except Defence were to be under the control of Indian

members.
• In the Proposed Executive Council which was to have 14 members, the

Muslims who constituted only about 25 % of the total population were
given the right to be over represented by selecting 6 representatives.
The Congress while objecting the demand asserted its rights to select the
representative of any community, including Muslims, as the Congress
nominees to the Council.
Shimla Conference
• Lord Wavell invited a conference of 21 Indian Political leaders at the
Summer Capital British India to discuss the provision of Wavell Plan.
• The Wavell Plan convened to agree for Indian self-government which

incorporated separate representation to Muslims and reduced majority
powers for both communities in their majority regions.
• Discussion was stuck at a point of selection of Muslim representatives.

Jinnah said that no non-league Muslim should be represented to the
Executive Council because only Muslim League has right to represent the
Muslims of India whereas Congress said that they had no right to nominate
any Muslim in the Executive council.
• Wavell had given place to 6 Muslims in the Executive Council of 14, and
British had given it the power of Veto to any constitutional proposal which
was not in its interest. But Muslims represented only 25% of Indian
Population. Thus, these unreasonable demands were rejected by Congress.
The Muslim league did not relent and Wavell dropped the plan.

Conclusion
Wavell Plan was constituted to resolve the political deadlock of existing
India but he abandon the proposals due to disagreement between leaders
of Muslim League and Congress, and finally the proposals were dissolved
at the Shimla Conference.
Cabinet Mission Plan

On 22nd January 1946, the decision to send Cabinet Mission was taken and
on 19th February 1946, the British PM C.R Attlee Government announced
in the House of Lords about the mission and the plan to quit India. A high-
powered mission of three British Cabinet members- Lord Pethick-
Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Cripps, President of
the Board of Trade, and A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty
reached Delhi on 24th March 1946.
Proposals of Mission
• The Mission proposed to secure an agreement on the method of framing

the Constitution to the discussions with elected representatives of British
India and the Indian states on Preceding and preparing.
• Proposes to set up a constitution body
• Proposes to set up an Executive Council with the support of the main

Indian parties.
Purpose of the Mission
• To resolve political deadlock between the Indian National Congress and

the All-India Muslim League at their stance to prevent a communal dispute
whether British India would be better-off unified or divided.
• The Congress party wanted to obtain a strong central government with

more powers as compared to state governments.
• All India Muslim League under Jinnah wanted to keep India united but
with political safeguards provided to Muslims such as ‘guarantee’ of
‘parity’ in the legislatures.
• On 16 May 1946, this plan was announced and preceded by Shimla

Conference of 1945.
Recommendations of Mission
• The unity of India had to be retained.

• It proposed a very loose union of all the Indian territories under a centre
that would control merely defence, the Foreign Affairs and the
Commucation. The Union would have the powers necessary to raise the
finances to manage these subjects.
• All subjects other than Union subjects and residuary power would vest in
the provinces of British India.
• The Princely Legislatures would then elect a Constituent Assembly or a

Constitution making body with each province being allotted a specified
number of seats proportionate to its population.
• The proposed Constituent Assembly was to consist was to consist of 292

member from British India and 93 from Indian States.
• The Mission proposed an immediate formation of Interim Government at

the centre, enjoying the support of major political parties and with the
Indians holding all the portfolios.
Conclusion
The main objective of Cabinet Mission was to find out ways and means for
the peaceful transfer of power in India, to suggest measures for the
formation of a Constitution making machinery and also to set up the
Interim Government.
Historical Background of the Constitution

of India
 Regulating Act 1773
 Pitt’s India Act 1784
 Charter Act 1813
 Government of India Act 1858
 Indian Councils Act 1861
 Indian Councils Act 1892
 Indian Councils Act 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms)
 Government of India Act 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms)
 Government of India Act 1935
 Indian Independence Act 1947
Constituent Assembly of India

Background

 In 1934, M N Roy first proposed the idea of a constituent assembly.
 The demand was taken up by the Congress Party in 1935 as an official
demand.
 The British accepted this in the August Offer of 1940.
 Under the Cabinet Mission plan of 1946, elections were held for the
formation of the constituent assembly.
 The members of this assembly were elected indirectly, i.e., by the members
of the provincial assemblies by the method of a single transferable vote of
proportional representation.
 The constituent assembly was formed for the purpose of writing a
constitution for independent India.
Composition & Other Details
Facts
 Initially, the number of members was 389. After partition, some of the
members went to Pakistan and the number came down to 299. Out of this,
229 were from the British provinces and 70 were nominated from the
princely states.
 Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first temporary chairman of the
Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the
President and its Vice President was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee. B N
Rau was the constitutional advisor.
 The assembly first met on 9 December 1946. The Muslim League had
boycotted this meeting citing their demand for partition.
 On 13 December, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the ‘Objective Resolution’. This
resolution enshrined the aspirations and values of the constitution makers.
Under this, the people of India were guaranteed social, economic and
political justice, equality and fundamental freedoms. This resolution was
unanimously adopted on 22 January 1947 and it became the Preamble to
the Constitution.
 The National Flag of the Union was adopted on 2 July 1947.
 The time taken by the assembly to frame the constitution: 2 years, 11
months and 18 days. Money spent in framing the constitution: Rs.64 lakhs.
 On 24 January 1950, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was adopted as the national
anthem.
 The final document had 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules.
 The assembly had met for 11 sessions.
 The draft was published in January 1948 and the country’s people were
asked for their feedback and inputs within 8 months.
 The last session was held during 14 – 26 November 1949. The constitution
was passed and adopted by the assembly on 26 November 1949.

 The constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 (which is celebrated
as Republic Day).
Committees & their chairmen
 Drafting Committee: Dr. B R Ambedkar

 Union Constitution Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
 Union Powers Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
 States Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru
 Steering Committee: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
 Rules of Procedure Committee: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
 Provincial Constitution Committee: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
 Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and
Excluded Areas:
1. Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee: Acharya Kripalani

2. Minorities Sub-Committee: H C Mookerjee
3. Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-
Committee: A V Thakkar
4. North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded
Areas Sub-Committee: Gopinath Bardoloi
Criticism of the Constituent Assembly
 It was not a representative body since the members were not directly
elected by adult franchise. However, the leaders did enjoy popular support
from the people. Direct elections by universal adult franchise at that time
when the country was on the brink of partition and amidst communal riots
would have been impractical.
 It is said that the makers took a long time in framing the constitution.
However, keeping in mind the complexity and the peculiarities of the
diverse and large Indian nation, this can be understood.
 The constituent assembly was not a sovereign body since it was created by
the British. However, it worked as a fully independent and sovereign body.
 The language of the constitution was criticised for being literary and
complicated.
 The assembly was dominated by the Congress Party. But the party
dominated the provincial assemblies and this was natural. Moreover, it
was a heterogeneous party with members from almost all sections of
Indian society.
 It was alleged that the assembly had Hindu dominance. This was again
because of proportional representation from communities.

Mountbatten Plan – Indian Independence Act 1947
 Lord Mountbatten came to India as the last Viceroy and was assigned the
task of a speedy transfer of power by the then British Prime Minister
Clement Atlee.
 In May 1947, Mountbatten came up with a plan under which he proposed
that the provinces be declared independent successor states and then be
allowed to choose whether to join the constituent assembly or not. This
plan was called the ‘Dickie Bird Plan’.
 Jawaharlal Nehru, when apprised of the plan, vehemently opposed it saying
it would lead to balkanisation of the country. Hence, this plan was also
called Plan Balkan.
 Then, the viceroy came up with another plan called the June 3 Plan. This
plan was the last plan for Indian independence. It is also called the
Mountbatten Plan.
 This plan was accepted by both the Congress and the Muslim League. By
then, the Congress had also accepted the inevitability of the partition.
 Since this plan envisaged the partitioning of the nation, it is also referred
to as the ‘Partition Plan’.
 This plan was put into action by the Indian Independence Act 1947 which
was passed in the British Parliament and received the royal assent on 18
July 1947.
Provisions of the Mountbatten Plan
 British India was to be partitioned into two dominions – India and

Pakistan.
 The constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly would not be
applicable to the Muslim-majority areas (as these would become Pakistan).
The question of a separate constituent assembly for the Muslim-majority
areas would be decided by these provinces.
 As per the plan, the legislative assemblies of Bengal and Punjab met and
voted for the partition. Accordingly, it was decided to partition these two
provinces along religious lines.
 The legislative assembly of Sind would decide whether to join the Indian
constituent assembly or not. It decided to go with Pakistan.
 A referendum was to be held on NWFP and Sylhet district (in the province
of Assam) to decide which dominion to join. NWFP decided to join Pakistan
while Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan boycotted and rejected the referendum.
 The date for the transfer of power was to be August 15, 1947.
 To fix the international boundaries between the two countries, the
Boundary Commission was established chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The
commission was to demarcate Bengal and Punjab into the two new
countries.

 The princely states were given the choice to either remain independent or
accede to India or Pakistan. The British suzerainty over these kingdoms
was terminated.
 The British monarch would no longer use the title ‘Emperor of India’.
 After the dominions were created, the British Parliament could not enact
any law in the territories of the new dominions.
 Until the time the new constitutions came into existence, the Governor-
General would assent any law passed by the constituent assemblies of the
dominions in His Majesty’s name. The Governor-General was made a
constitutional head.

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Third Battle Of Panipat – 1761 .......................................................................................... 5

Anglo-Mysore Wars – I, II.................................................................................................... 6

Third & Fourth Anglo-Mysore War...................................................................................... 8

Lord Warren Hastings ......................................................................................................... 9

First Anglo-Maratha War .................................................................................................. 10

Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803 – 1805) .................................................................... 11

Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817 – 1818) ........................................................................ 12

The Pitt's India Act 1784 .................................................................................................. 13

The Regulating Act of 1773 ............................................................................................. 14

Land Revenue System Under British ............................................................................... 14

Permanent Settlement System ............................................................................... 14

Ryotwari System ............................................................................................................... 16

Mahalwari System ............................................................................................................ 17

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772 – 1833) .............................................................................. 18

Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902) ................................................................................ 19

Subsidiary Alliance ........................................................................................................... 20

Charter Act of 1793 .......................................................................................................... 21

Charter Act of 1813 .......................................................................................................... 21

Education System In India During British Rule ............................................................... 22

The Charter Act of 1833 ................................................................................................... 24

The First Anglo-Sikh War .................................................................................................. 24

The Second Anglo-Sikh War ............................................................................................. 26

1 © Yuvraj IAS 2019

Doctrine Of Lapse ............................................................................................................. 28

The Revolt Of 1857 ........................................................................................................... 29

Nana Saheb ....................................................................................................................... 32

Rani Lakshmi Bai – Rani Of Jhansi .................................................................................. 33

Causes of the rise of the national movement in India .................................................... 35

The Moderate Phase Of The Indian National Movement ................................................ 37

Charter Act of 1853 .......................................................................................................... 40

Government of India Act, 1858 ........................................................................................ 41

Indian Council Act of 1861 .............................................................................................. 42

Indian Council Act 1892 ................................................................................................... 42

Indian Council Act of 1909 Morley- Minto Reforms ....................................................... 43

The Partition Of Bengal – 1905 ....................................................................................... 44

Indian National Movement – Extremist Period ............................................................... 46

Bal Gangadhar Tilak ......................................................................................................... 48

Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928) ............................................................................................ 50

Revolutionary Movement In India .................................................................................... 51

Government of India Act, 1919 ........................................................................................ 54

Mahatma Gandhi’s Early Movements .............................................................................. 55

The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre .................................................... 56

The Lucknow Pact, 1916 .................................................................................................. 58

Non-Cooperation Movement ............................................................................................ 59

Civil Disobedience Movement .......................................................................................... 61

Moplah Rebellion of 1921 ................................................................................................ 63

2 © Yuvraj IAS 2019

Swaraj Party ...................................................................................................................... 66

Bardoli Satyagraha ........................................................................................................... 67

Vaikom Satyagraha ........................................................................................................... 68

Gandhi Irwin Pact .............................................................................................................. 68

First Round Table Conference 1930................................................................................ 70

Second and Third Round Table Conferences .................................................................. 71

Government of India Act 1935 ......................................................................................... 72

Poona Pact ........................................................................................................................ 73

Subhas Chandra Bose....................................................................................................... 75

Dr BR Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) .................................................. 77