Unit 6
Unit 6
Unit 6
6.1 INTRODUCTION
The Indian National Movement arose as a result of the basic contradiction between
the colonial rule and the Indian people. If we leave aside some princes, some big
landlords and some businessmen directly benefiting from the colonial rule, we find
that almost all other Indians were exploited or discriminated against by the colonial
rulers. The colonial government in India, whose strings were attached to and
which was guided by the imperialist govemment in Britain and which worked for
the benefits of the merchants, capitalists and aristocrats of Britain, was a totally
foreign government. It never worked in the interest of the Indian people. It was
this exploitative and foreign character of the British colonial rule in India that gave
rise to various revolts by the Indians against this government. This also resulted
in the rise of the national movement in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The Indian'intelligentsia, which had earlier believed in the benevolence of the
British rule, now criticised it for exploiting the country and draining away its
resources.
The Indian National Movement, particularly between the two World Wars, a c q w
a mass character. It mobilised millions of people from various castes and classes
to fight against the British colonial rule. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,
the Congress launched three big mass movements -Non-Cooperation Movement,
Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement - which shook the
foundations of the British rule in India. Besides these mass movements, some
other movements such as the revolutionary terrorist movement, the peasant
movement and the workers' movement, also played important roles in the Indian
struggle for freedom.
This Unit will farniliarise you with these aspects of our national movement.
The main thrust of the colonial rule was towards centralisation. It strove to govern
the British-ruled portion of India from a single centre. It also created a unified
system of administration.Thus the military, police, judiciary, revenue collection
I departments and various other system of governance were made uniform for the
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whole of British-ruled territories. Many of the princely states also tended to follow
i the British pattern.
At another level, the colonial government also tried to create a unified market in
order to sell its industrial goods without hindrance. The import of machine-made
goods from England destroyed the Indian artisanal industry and the working of
revenue policies tended to erode the rural and local self-sufficient economy. These
developments created conditions for economic unification of the country.
Printingpress
Printing press was introduced in India during the colonial rule. With the help of
the printing press ideas and opinions could be disseminated to a mass audience
with very low cost. Its impact was almost revolutionary. Many newspapers and
journals started appearing in many Indian languages as well as in English. Many
of these newspapers and magazines were nationalist and in their columns the
government policies were discussed and criticised, the Indians were asked to
protest against such policies, and the ideas of nationalism, demxracy and self-
govemmmt were popagateQ Some important nationalist newspapers of the perid
were the Amrit Bazar Patrika, the Indian Mirror and the Som Prakash in
Bengal; the Mahratta, the Kesari, the Native Opinion, the Indu Prakash in
Bombay; the Hindu, the Swadesmitran, the Andhra Prakasika, and the Kerah
Patriku in Madras; the Advocate, the Hindustani and the Azad in U.P.; and
the Tribune, and the Koh-i-Noor in the Punjab. Even those who could not read
might come to know about various happenings in the country and abroad by
listening to the news read by someone else.
Communication Channels
Postal and telegraph services could be used to send messages across the length
and width of the country. The railway could carry the people with much greater
speed to various parts of the country. Although these were introduced to facilitate
the sending of official messages and for carrying the troops for the rulers and to
carry raw materials and goods for the British merchants, they also helped to
facilitate better communication among the Indians.
and were generally not permitted to travel in the same compartments of the train I
in which Europeans were travelling. In fact, racism was so deeply rooted in the
colonial rule that it was not only at social level that it was practised. In military,
police, in government offices and in judicial matters, everywhere the d o u r of the I
skin, and not the merit was the deciding factor. The Indians felt very humiliated
The most glaring instance of racism surfaced at the time when the 1 lbert Bill was
proposed in 1883, when Ripon was the viceroy. According to this Bill, Indian I
district magistrate~andsession judges could now try Europeans in criminal cases. Indian National Movement
Until now the Indian judges could not sit during the trial of the Europeans. The
Europeans in India bitterly and abusively opposed this Bill and forced the viceroy
to amend it. This was a big shock even for the most moderate of the Indian
leaders.
These were some of the factors which created the conditions. for the rise of
national consciousness among the Indian people.
Other associations which were nationalist in character and sought to represent the
interests of the Indian people as a whole were formed later. East India Association
was founded in 1866 in London by Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta,
Badruddin Qabji and Manmohan Ghose. Its aim was to orient the plicies of the
colonial government towards the welfare of the Indian people by appealing to the
British citizens. In 1870, Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was formed by M.G.Ranade,
S.H. Chiplunkat-and others in Bombay Presidency. In 1876, the Indian Association
was formed by the young nationalists in Bengal who were disenchanted by the
policies and activities of the British India Association. Surendranath Banerjea and
Anandmohan Bose were their leaders. It sought to unite the Indian people and
canied agitations against government policies harmful to the Indians. Some other
political associations formed during this period were the Madras Mahajan Sabha
in 1881, Bombay Presidency Association in 1885 and the Allahabad People's
These associations created a political atmosphere which was suitable for the
formation of an all-India nationalist political organisation.
Although the early nationalists adopted peaceful and legal methods of campaign,
their constant criticism of the colonial government made the British authorities
angry. Dufferin, the then viceroy, attacked the Congress leaders as 'disloyal
babus', 'seditious brahrnins' and 'violent villains'. He said that the government
'cannot allow the Congress to continue to exist'. And Curzon, a later
expressed the hope in 1900 that 'the Congress is tottering to its fall, and one of
my great ambitions, while in India, is to assist it to a peaceful demise'. However,
despite this official hostility, the Congress continued to grow and lead the national
movement against the colonial rule.
The Extremist or militant nationalists did not believe in these methods. They
thought that the British would not heed the mice of the nationalists unless strong
pressure was brought on them. According to the E x m s t s , the trust in the good
intentions of the colonial rulers was misplaced. The Indians,instead, should rely
on their own resources to improve their conditioas. But this could not be done
under the foreign rule. Therefore, self-government was needed. Bal Gangadhar
Tilak, the most prominent leader of the Extremists, declared that 'Swaraj is my
birthright and I will have it.' Aurobindo Ghosh, another leader, sttacattacked the very
foundation of the Western civilisation and asserted that tbe,In&ins should oppose
not only the political aspects of the foreign rule, but a l s o a b a n h the foreign
goods, foreign dress, foreign language and foreign hahits and manners. The most
important leaders of the Extremist wing were Bal Giuigadhar Tilak,Bipin Chandra
Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh and Lala Lajpat Rai.
Although both the Moderatesand the Extremists believed that the British rule was
harmful for the Indians, their different approaches to the agitation ge~e'rateda
clash between them. The Swadeshi movement provided a spark whicd htensfied
this clash and increased the division between them. In 1907, !Wit Congress,
there was a split in the Congress. The two wings were unite;] in 1916.
For some time the colonial government was considering the idea to partition
Bengal to stem the tide of growing nationalist movement. In December 1903 the
partition proposals became known to the people. There were immediate protests
against this move. Throughout the year 1904 and the first half of 1905, various
meetings were held in Bengal and memoranda were presented to the government
for reconsideration. However, the govemment went ahead with the partition and
on 19 July 1905, the Bengali-speaking territories were divided.
There was quick response to this high-handed action of the colonial govemment.
Numerous protest meetings were held all over Bengal in which the decision to
boycott foreign goods was taken. On 7 August 1905 the Swadeshi movement
was formally declared. From now on the people were advised to boycott all
foreign g d s , particularly British goods like Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt.
The day on which the partition was officially effected (16 October 1905) was
declared a day of mourning and a strike was observed in Calcutta. Many
processions were taken out and people went to bathe in the Ganges and tied
Rakhis on each other's wrist to sign@ unity. Huge meetings attended by thousands
of people were held all over the city. Slogans of Swadeshi and Swaraj were taken
up not only in Bengal but in many other povinces as well and Bande Mataram
became a popular song during this period. Students and other young people,
women and even workers participated in the movement which continued for many
months.
The British government tried to repress the movement severely. Meetings were
prohibited, political activists were imprisoned, newspapers were banned, important
leaders were deported and processionists were beaten up. The government also
tried to divide the people along religious and regional lines. Due to this repression
by the government, the youth resorted to revolutionary terrorism. Anushihn and
Jugantar were two important revolutionary groups which emerged during this
period. They did not follow the mass politics but believed in the 'politics of bomb'
and individual assassination to avenge the repressive measures taken by the
authorities.
Thus we see that Swadeshi movement inaugurated a new phase in the Indian
National Movement. The Moderate methods of appeahg to the govemment was
now over and the base of the movement had expanded. Students, women and
many other sections of the middle classes now became involved. The Swadeshi
movement also witnessed the emergence of several methods of agitation such as
I
Check Your Progress 1 Indian National Movement
I 2) How did the Swadeshi movement broaden the base of the national movement?
The Swadeshi Movement declined by 1907. There was also a split in the Congress
in 1907 and Tiak was imprisoned and deported in 1908. Aurobindo Ghosh and
Bipin Chandra Pal retired from politics and Lala Lajpat Rai left India for some
time. All these developments led to a decline in the nationalist movement. It
remained dormant for a few years but was revived during the First World War.
Annie Besant and Tilak started the Home Rule-Leagues and the two wings of the
Congress united in 1916. The War also witnessed the Ghadar Movement started
in the United States by some Indian revolutionaries which sought to overthrow the
British rule in India. However, the most important development was the arrival of
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was later popularly known as Mahatma
Gandhi, from South Africa. In South Africa, Gandhi had fought for the rights of
the Indians against the racist regime. From 1919 to 1947, when India attained
independence, Gandhi remained the foremost leader of the national movement.
1 indigo farmers, the Ahmedabad textile workers and the Kheda peasants. These
sttu~eleswitnessed his smific method of aeitation. known as Satvaeaha which
In Champaran, which was in North Bihar, the indigo planters were forcing the
peasants to grow indigo even when it was not profitable for the peasants to do
so. In fact, the peasants were suffering losses by cultivating indigo in their most
fertile lands. Gandhi was invited by the masants to lead their struggle against the
Emergence of indigo planters who enjoyed the support of the colonial state. Gandhi went there
Mode111 India to lead the struggle of the peasants and was successful to get them relief.
In Kheda district of Gujarat, most of the crops were damaged due to excessive
rain. The peasants of Kheda demanded from the government that they should be
allowed not to pay the revenue for that particular year. The government, however,
.refused. Gandhi started a Satyagraha movement on 22 March 1918 and advised
the peasants not to pay revenue. Many peasants participated in the movement.
But the government refused to budge. It was a test for the new method of
agitation which Gandhi was trying in India. The agitation continued for some time.
But Gandhi realised that it was not possible for the peasants to continue for long.
Meanwhile, the government granted some concession to the poorer peasants.The
movement was then withdrawn.
In Ahmedabad, Gandhi led the struggle of the workers for an increase in the
wages due to rising prices during the War. After a protracted struggle, the workers
were able to get 35% raise in their wages.
There were massive protests and demonstrationsby the Indian people against this
measure of the government. Gandhi also took very active part in this. He started
a Satyagraha Sabhh which campaigned against this act asking people to disobey
it wand court arrest. He 90 gave a call for country-wide hartal .which was
observed in varimkplaces on different dates. But it was generally a success. The
govemment respbnded with repression. In the Punjab, this repression took its
worst form and in the Jallianwala Bagh the military under General Dyer shot at
unarmed people without warning. Hundreds of persons- men, women and children
- died. This Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the subsequent imposition of martial
law in the Punjab horrified the whole country and generated anger against the
British rule.
Around the same time, the Indian Muslims were aroused because the Sultan of
Turkey was deposed by the British. The Indian Muslims regarded the Turkish
Sultan as their Khalifa and they started the Khilafat movement for the restoration
of Khalifa in Turkey. Mohammed Ali and Shaukat Ali were the leaders of the
movement. They called upon Gandhi to guide them. Although W a t movemenl
was not directly concerned with Indian politics, Gandhi thought that in this then
was an opportunity to unite the Hindu and Muslims against the British. He, Indian National Movement
therefore, openly supported the movement.
Such a big movement, however, did sometimes reached beyond the Gandhian
tenet of non-violence. On 5 February 1922, in Chauri-Chaura, a crowd of peasants
burnt the police station killing 22 policemen in retaliation to the police firing.
Gandhi condemned this incident and withdrew the movement. This decision
shocked many Congress people but Gandhi remained adamant and started a five-
day fast as penance. This way the non-cooperation movement came to an end.
This new movement, known as the Civil Disobedience Movement, started with
the historic Dandi March by Gandhi along with his 78 followers. He walked fmm
his Sabannati Ashram to Dandi, a coastal village in Gujaiat and made salt in
violation of the law. As making salt was prohibited by the colonial government,
Emergence of Gandhi and those accompanying him were arrested. There were massive protests
Modern India against his arrest all over the country. Lakhs of people came out on the streets
for demonstrations and meetings. There were strikes all over. Shops selling foreign
goods were picketed, Khadi and Charkha were encouraged, hundreds of people
left their jobs and thousands of students left their schools and colleges. In Bombay,
Sholapur and other industrial centres, the workers went on strikes and staged
massive demonstrations. In certain areas, the peasants stopped paying taxes.
Seeing the public mood, the British government invited the Congress for a Round
Table Conference to talk about the important issues. Despite the opposition of
many of Congress leaders and workers, Gandhi agreed to participate and
suspended the agitation and signed what is known as the Gandhi-Irwin pact.
However, the Round Table Conference failed because the British government did
not concede Congress' demands. The Civil Disobedience was started again. But
it was not very effective this time as the momentum had decreased. The government
heavily repressed the movement. About one lakh of Congress activists were
arrested, meetings and demonstrations were banned, nationalist literature was
prohibited and the nationalist press was suppressed. The Congress withdrew the
movement in May 1934.
attention to education and health, some relief to the peasantry, etc. they, however,
remained in office for a short time. In 1939, when the Second World War broke
out, the British government declared without consulting any of the Indian
re~resentativesthat India was also a Dartv to the War. The Conmess ministries
It was on 8 August 1942 that the Congress announced the 'Quit India' movement.
Gandhi exhorted the people to 'do or die'. The British government arrested most
of the leaders before they could organise the movement. But this did not dampen
the spirit of the people. New leaders emerged at local levels who led and sustained
the movement. As this movement lacked a central command and the govemment
repression was at its highest, violence broke out everywhere. Railway stations,
post offices and police stations were burnt down. Railway lines and telephone and
telegraph wires were cut. In many areas, parallel governments were set up.
Strikes and demonstrations were also organised and people attacked and disrupted
the government transport system. The government replied with further repression.
Thousands were killed and many more arrested. Although the government was
able to crush the movement,-it was now apparent that people wanted freedom
from the foreign rule and they were prepared to use violence to this end.
The national movement gave voice to already existing anti-imperialist and patriotic
sentiments among various sections of the population. Under its influence and
sometimes independently, many movements emerged which fed into the broad
nationalist stream.They widened the base of the nationalist movement by in£lumchg IndhurNatioaalMovemeat
those sections of the population which the Congress-led movement had been
unable to do. In this section we will discuss some of those movements.
But the real emergence of this trend as an ideological and political force can be.
traced to the period after the repression of the Swadeshi movement by the
government. The young people realised that the government was not going to
listen to the Indians unless extreme pressure was brought on them. They also
quickly politicised the Indian people by undertaking extreme action which they
termed as the 'propaganda by deed'. Thus in April 1908, Khudiram Bose and
Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb on the carriage of the notorious district judge of
Muzaffarpur. Unfortunately, due to misunderstanding, two British ladies were
unwittingly killed. Chaki shot himself and Khudiram Bose, who was only fifteen
year old, was hanged by the British government. Such actions by the government
created resentment among the Indians and many other revolutionary groups were
formed. The members of these groups attacked the high-handed British officials
to avenge the injustice done to the Indians. Between 1908 and 1918, it was
estimated that 186 revolutionaries were either killed or imprisoned or deported
by the colonial government.
When the national movement developed in British India, it also influenced the
people of these states. Many local organisations emerged in these states during
the non-cooperation movement. In 1927, an All-India States' People's Conference
was formed to coordinate political activities in the states. Popular struggles was
launched in many of these states such as Hyderabad, Jaipur, Rajkot, Kashmir,
Baroda, Mysore, Kathiawad, Jarnnagar, Indore, Nawanagar and Travancore.
Earlier the Congress was reluctant to support these movements. But after 1937
the Congress started supporting these popular movements in the states and opposed
their suppression by the rulers of these regimes. In 1938, the Congress included
these states in its vision of independent and democratic India. By 1942, the
people of the states were included in the movement launched by the Congress.
From now on, the Congress maintained no distinction between British India and
these states.
Check Your Progress 2 Indian National Movement