Factors leading to the establishment & consolidation of British rule in India with special reference to the conquest of Bengal, Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley & Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie.
The East India Company
The East India Company had the unusual distinction of ruling an entire country. Its origins were much humbler. On 31 December 1600, a group of merchants who had incorporated themselves into the East India Company were given monopoly privileges on all trade with the East Indies. The Company's ships first arrived in India, at the port of Surat, in 1608. Sir Thomas Roe reached the court of the Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, as the emissary of King James I in 1615, and gained for the British the right to establish a factory at Surat. Gradually the British eclipsed the Portugese and over the years they saw a massive expansion of their trading operations in India. Numerous trading posts were established along the east and west coasts of India, and considerable English communities developed around the three presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. In 1717, the Company achieved its hitherto most notable success when it received a firman or royal dictat from the Mughal Emperor exempting the Company from the payment of custom duties in Bengal.
The Company saw the rise of its fortunes, and its transformation from a trading venture to a ruling enterprise, when one of its military officials, Robert Clive, defeated the forces of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah , at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. A few years later the Company acquired the right to collect revenues on behalf of the Mughal Emperor, but the initial years of its administration were devastating for the people of Bengal. The Company's servants were largely a greedy and self-aggrandizing lot, and the plunder of Bengal left the formerly rich province in a state of utter destitution. The famine of 1769-70, which the Company's policies did nothing to alleviate, may have taken the lives of as many as a third of the population. The Company, despite the increase in trade and the revenues coming in from other sources, found itself burdened with massive military expenditures, and its destruction seemed imminent. State intervention put the ailing Company back on its feet, and Lord North's India Bill, also known as the Regulating Act of 1773, provided for greater parliamentary control over the affairs of the Company, besides placing India under the rule of a Governor-General.
The first Governor-General of India was Warren Hastings. Under his dispensation, the expansion of British rule in India was pursued vigorously, and the British sought to master indigenous systems of knowledge. Hastings remained in India until 1784 and was succeeded by Cornwallis, who initiated the Permanent Settlement, whereby an agreement in perpetuity was reached with zamindars or landlords for the collection of revenue. For the next fifty years, the British were engaged in attempts to eliminate Indian rivals, and it is under the administration of Wellesley that British territorial expansion was achieved with ruthless efficiency. Major victories were achieved against Tipu Sultan of Mysore and the Marathas, and finally the subjugation and conquest of the Sikhs in a series of Anglo- Sikh Wars led to British occupation over the whole of India. In some places, the British practiced indirect rule, placing a Resident at the court of the native ruler who was allowed sovereignty in domestic matters. Lord Dalhousie's notorious doctrine of lapse, whereby a native state became part of British India if there was no male heir at the death of the ruler, was one of the principal means by which native states were annexed; but often the annexation, such as that of Awadh [Oudh] in 1856, was justified on the grounds that the native prince was of evil disposition, indifferent to the welfare of his subjects. The annexation of native states, harsh revenue policies, and the plight of the Indian peasantry all contributed to the Rebellion of 1857-58, referred to previously as the Sepoy Mutiny. In 1858 the East India Company was dissolved, despite a valiant defense of its purported achievements by John Stuart Mill, and the administration of India became the responsibility of the Crown.
Causes for British Successin India:
Superior Arms: The British were superior in arms, military tactics and strategy. Indian could not face European armies because they were well trained and had better weapons. The firearms used by Indians were outclassed both in speed and range by European muskets and canons.The British Knew to take advantage of their fully trained armies and thus to establish their empire in India.
Military facilities in India: There was no dearth of soldiers in India, who could fight for Europeans at a small salary. They made indian soldiers fight against the Indian rulers.
Military Discipline: Military discipline is considered a major cause for their success. A regular system of payment of salaries, and a strict regime of discipline were the means by which the company ensured that the officers and the troops were loyal.
Disunity among Indian Rulers: The Indian rulers were not united. There was so much so much discord in them that their power could be declined by making them fight against each other. The british were very skilfull in making them figh against each other.
Financial Strength: The British were financially strong because the company never forgot the trade and commerce angle. The income of the company was adequete enough to finance the English wars in India.
The British Conquest of Bengal:
Bengal was a very fertile and wealthy province and was equally progressive in trade, commerce and industrial development. The first British factory in Bengal was estblished in 1651 in Hughli and for this permission was granted by Shah Shuja, the then Subahdar of Bengal. Soon after, they set up factories at Cassimbazar and Patna also. By 1698, the English had acquired the Zamindari of some areas around Calcutta like Sutanati, Kalighat and Govindpur. By a Royal Farman of 1717 , the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar granted several trading facilities to the British. Now the English were free to bring in and take out anything from bengal without the payment of any custom duties. They also got the right to passes or dastaks for the movement of such goods. But soon this right came to be misused by the company officials, who started their private trade along with that of the company’s trade without paying taxes.
All the nawabs of Bengal from Murshid Quli Khan(1703-1727) to Alvardi Khan(1740-1756), had objected to the English interpretation of the Farman of 1717.
After the death of Alvardi Khan his Grandson Siraj-ud-daula became the Nawab of Bengal on 9 April 1756. He was very hot tempered and became the principal enemy of the British. British had begun to strengthen the fortifications of Fort Williams and mounted guns on the walls of the fort. They also gave shelter to Ghasiti Begum and others, who had rebelled against the Nawab.
When the Nawab ordered the English to stop fortifications of the Fort Williams at calcutta, the British refused to do so. When the British refused to obey, he laid siege of the fort on 15June 1756 & compelled the British to surrender.This led to the initial defeat of the British followed by the Black Hole Episode in which 123 Englishmen died because of suffocation in a small room. The English officials who escaped Fort Williams and took shelter at a place called Fulta. They seeked help from their factory at Madras. A strong Navy and an army arrived in Calcutta under the command of Admiral Watson and Colonel Robert Clive on 14 Dec 1756 from Madras.
Manik Chand, the Nawab’s officer incharge of calcutta, was bribed and he surrendered calcutta to the English after making a show of resistance. In February 1757, the Nawab made peace with clive by the Treaty of Alinagar restoring their former privilages of trade , granting permission to fortify calcutta and promising compensation for the losses suffered by the English.
In March 1757, the British captured the French settlement of Chandarnagar.
Clive used every possible means to bring the downfall of Siraj-ud-daula. The English conspired against some leading men of Nawabs court and Bengal, including Mir Jaffar and Manik Chand and won them over to their side with the promise of Nawabship to Mir Jafar. The conspiracy resulted in the defeat of Siraj-ud-daulah in the Battle of Plassey in 1757AD.
Black Hole EpisodeIn 1756, Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, occupied Fort William and Calcutta, then the principal possession of the East India Company. 146 people are said to have been imprisoned, at the orders of the Nawab, in a small and airless dungeon at Fort William. Next morning, when the door was opened, 123 of the prisoners had died. This story was recounted by the survivor John Zephaniah Holwell, and soon became the basis for representing Indians as a base, cowardly, and despotic people. Innumerable journalistic and historical works recounted the story of the "Black Hole" of Calcutta, but Holwell's account was the sole contemporary narrative. 146 people could not have been accommodated in a room of the stated dimensions of 24 x 18 feet, and it is now almost universally conceded that Holwell greatly embellished his story. Indian scholars have shown the Nawab had no hand in this affair, and that the number of incarcerated prisoners was no higher than 69.
Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey was the most decisive war that marked the initiation of British rule in India for the next two centuries. Battle of Plassey or Palashi took place between British East India Company and Nawab of Bengal and his French allies. The battle occurred on June 23, 1757 at Palashi of Murshidabad District, on the bank of Bhagirathi River. Murshidabad, which is about 150 km north of Kolkata, was then capital of West Bengal. Siraj-Ud-Daulah, who was the last Nawab of Bengal, fought this battle to maintain his independence as a ruler. The French East India Company also sent a small army to join Nawab`s force against the British. The army commander Mir Jafar of Siraj Ud Daulah`s side betrayed in the battle of Plassey and thereby the whole force of Nawab collapsed and as a consequence, the entire province of Bengal came under British. Company gained a huge amount of wealth from the Bengal treasury and used it to strengthen its military force. Thus Plassey earns its importance in Indian history as a key factor leading to the ascendance of British rule in India. The main reason behind the Battle of Plassey was the capture of Fort William by Siraj Ud Daulah during June 1756. The Battle of Plassey is considered as the landmark of history which denoted the starting of British dominion in the land of India.
BattleofBuxar :
The Battle of Buxar was fought in October 1764 between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, and the combined armies of Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Bengal; Siraj-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh; and Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor. The battle fought at Buxar (currently in Bihar state, India), a town located on the bank of the Ganges river, was a decisive battle won by the forces of the British East India Company.
Battle of Buxar in the year 1764 marked the advent of British rule in Bengal. After the battle of Plassey in 1757 the English East India Company came up with the idea that Bengal had inexhaustible property and wealth. The Company directors therefore ordered Bengal to pay the expenses of Bombay and Madras presidencies and to purchase revenue for all the Company`s export from India. The Company wanted to bring the Nawabs of Bengal under their control to drain of wealth from them. Mir jafar, new Nawab of Bengal realized that it was impossible to meet the demands of East India Company and its officials. The officials of company already started criticizing the Nawab as he could not fulfill his demands.
Therefore they forced Mir Jafar to renounce the throne for his son-in-law Mir Qasim. Mir Qasim was enthroned with the favor of Englishmen and he rewarded them satisfactorily. He however negated English hopes and soon emerged as a threat to their position. Mirqasim expected that since he had paid the Company adequately, they should leave him alone to govern Bengal. These further paved the way of the battle of Buxar.
The English did not like the Nawab`s attempts to clarify whether the `Farman` of 1717 by the Company`s servants was being misused or not. The Farman said that the goods for sale in abroad as well as indigenous would be free of duties. Mirqasim took measures to stop the illegal selling of Dastaks or free trading passes to the friendly Indian businessmen, who by the virtue of Dastaks were able to avoid the custom duties or taxes and thus earned money in unfair means from the trading. The Zamindars and Indian officials were forced to pay gift or bribes to the Company officials. Mirqasim tried to stop this nuisance and hoped to make a stronger Bengal by freeing it from the control of East India Company. The English merchants could not bear this any more as they were not ready to accept the equality between them and the native Indians. The truth was that the English wanted to be the sole masters of Bengal. While Mirqasim wanted to see himself in the role of an independent ruler, the English wanted to use him as a mere tool in their hands as they put him in his power. In this situation the war was inevitable between Mirqasim and the English.
The conflict began with the incidence at Patna where a quarrel and clash occurred between an English Chief and a Nawab which again supported as one of the main reasons of the battle of Buxar.. An agitation occurred during the summer of 1763. Nawab`s army was defeated in four successive battles. Mirqasim retreated to Patna and then to Audh. Here he got the support of Shujauddoulah, the Nawab Wazir of Audh. Shujauddoulah also joined the wandering Emperor Shah Alam II. The fighting between the Nawab and British started in the autumn of 1764 at Buxar in Bihar on October 22. Shah Alam joined the British camp, while Shujauddaulah escaped in Rohilakhand and Mirqasim disappeared in abstruseness.
The Company thus after the battle of Buxar gained supreme control over the administration or Nizamat of Bengal. Shah Alam II, who was the titular ruler of Mughal Empire, company got the Diwani, by which it was able to collect the revenue of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Thus Company`s dominance over Bengal was legalized and it could earn the duties and revenues from the most prosperous Indian province. As the Diwan, Company was able to collect taxes while on the other hand they had the power to nominate the Subahdar on behalf of the Nawab and thus they also gained administrative power. They controlled the army and finances directly and its administration indirectly. As a consequence British had power without responsibility while the Nawabs had only responsibility of administration but no power to perform the responsibilities.
Dual Government in Bengal (1765-72):
After the battle of Buxar, Robert Clive introduced the Dual system of Government in Bengal in which both the Diwani i.e., collection of revenues, and Nizamat, i.e., police and judicial functions, came under the control of Company. The Company acquired the Diwani functions from the Emperor and Nizamat functions from the Subahdar of Bengal.
The system held a great advantage for the Company. It left the appearance of authority to the puppet Indian ruler, while keeping the sovereign power in the hands of the Company. The Nawab was responsible for maintaining peace & order, but he depended both for funds and forces upon the Company.
The Dual System, i.e., the rule of the two (the Company and the Nawab) led to an administrative breakdown and proved disastrous for the people of Bengal. Neitheir the Company nor the Nawab cared for administration & public welfare.
The dual government implied for the English “power without responsibility” whereas for the Nawab of Bengal it was “responsibility without power”. This system of governance proved to be an epitome of corruption and mismanagement. Warren Hastings did away with the Dual System in 1772.
Subsidiary Alliance of Lord Wellesley
Lord Richard Wellesley, British governor-general of India from 1798 to 1805, introduced the doctrine of subsidiary alliance. In the beginning of his governorship Wellesley adopted a policy of non-intervention but later he adopted the policy of subsidiary alliance. By the late 18th century, powerful emperors had disappeared from the Indian subcontinent. and it was left with numerous weaker smaller states. Many rulers accepted this offer of protection by Lord Wellesley.
Its main principles were:
a) Any Indian Ruler accepting subsidiary Alliance with Britishers had to keep British Army within their Territory and was supposed to pay for its maintenance.
b) In lieu of the payments, some of the ruler's territory was ceded to Britishers.
c) The rulers accepting it were forced to keep a British official at their court called "Resident at his Court".
Under this doctrine, Indian rulers under British protection suspended their native armies, instead maintaining British troops within their states. They surrendered control of their foreign affairs to the British. In return, the East India Company would protect them from the attacks of their rivals.
The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to enter into this alliance.Tipu Sultan of Mysore refused to accept it but after the British victory in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Mysore was forced to become a subsidiary ally. Later the Maratha ruler Baji Rao II also accepted subsidiary alliance in the Treaty of Bassein.
Doctrine of Lapse of Lord Dalhousie.
Lord Dalhousie (1848-56) is regarded as one of the greatest governor generals of India and his contribution to the building up of the British India is enormous. No other single governor general of India added even the half the extent of territories, which were incorporated into the British dominions during the administration of Lord Dalhousie. These were nearly twice the area of England and Wales. Dalhousie made these annexations by freely applying the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ which he termed as “Annexation of Peace’.
Rulers of the Indian states believed that their states were annexed not because of the doctrine of lapse but on account of the lapse of the morals o the par of the East Indian Company. The states annexed by the application of this doctrine of lapse were Satara, Jaitpur and Sambalpur,Baghat, Udaipur, Jhansi and Nagpur.
Rulers of the Indian states believed that their states were annexed not because of the doctrine of lapse but on account of the lapse of the morals o the par of the East Indian Company. The states annexed by the application of this doctrine of lapse were Satara, Jaitpur and Sambalpur,Baghat, Udaipur, Jhansi and Nagpur.
The Regulating Act, 1773 :
It was the first important parlimentary act regarding the company’s affairs. This act vested the administration of British territories in India in hands of a Governor-General assisted by a council of four members. The Governor-General was to preside over the meetings of the council, but the decision of the majority was to bind the whole, the Governor-General having merely a casting vote in case of an equal division. The regulating act soon broke down in practice & was unable to give the British government effective & decisive control over the Company.
The Pitt’s India Act,1784:
The defects of the Regulating Act and the exigencies of British politics necessitated the passing of Pitt’s India Act in 1784. This Act gave the British government supreme control over the company’s affairs and its administration in India. It established six commissioners for the affairs of India, popularly known as the Board of Control, including two Cabinet ministers. The Board of Control was to guide and control the work of Court of Directors & the Government of India. The act placed the Government of India in the hands of the Governor-General and a Council of three, so that if the Governor –General could have support of even one member, he could have his way. The act clearly subordinated the Bombay & Madras Presidencies to Bengal in all questions of war, diplomacy, and revenues. With this Act began a new phase of the British conquest of India.
Anlo-French Rivalry:
Both the English & French East Indian Companies began as trading companies in India. But gradually they were drawn into the internal politics of India. These Companies engaged in competition with each other and wanted to sell their goods in India and buy raw material at cheap rates. In most of the European conflicts, England & France were on opposite sides. India too became the scene of their rivalry. For nearly twenty years the Carnatic became the scene of a long drawn contest between the French & the English, which led to the ultimate overthrow of the French power in India.
First Carnatic War (1746-48): First Carnatic War was an extension of the Anglo-French War in Europe as the Austrian War of Succession broke out in 1740. English Navy under Barnett took the offensive when it captured some French ships. Duplix the French Governor-General of Pondicherry retaliated & besieged Madras. The French forces in this war defeated English along with Anwaruddin, the Nawab of Carnatic. Under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle(1748) which brought the Austrian War of Succession to a conclusion, Madras was handed back to English.
Second Carnatic War (1749-54): In 1748 Duplix helped Chand Sahib & Nasir Jung in acquiring the thrones of Carnatic & Hyderabad respectively while as Nawab Anwaruddin & Muzaffar Jang were supported by English to acquire the thrones of Carnatic & Hyderabad. The English led by Robert Clive defeated French Forces and Chand Sahib was killed. Duplix made strenuous efforts to reverse the tide, but he was recalled from India by the French government.
Third Carnatic War (1756-63): This war began with the seven Years War at Europe. This war sealed the fate of the French permanently. A war between England & France broke out in 1756 in Europe & subsequently in India. English forces led by Eyre coot defeated the French forces led by Count de Lally. The French war ended in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The French factories were restored but they could no longer be fortified.
UNIT - X : REVOLT OF 1857
UNIT - X : REVOLT OF 1857
(i) Causes & consequences. Causes of the failure of the Revolt of 1857.
(ii) Impact of the British rule on Indian economy & Society.
What are the main causes of the revolt of 1857 in India:
The causes for the revolt of 1987 was can categorized under:
1. Economic Causes 2. Political Causes 3. Social 4. Religion 5. Military and 6. Immediate causes.
1. Economic Causes: The most important cause of popular discontent was the British policy of economically exploiting India. This hurt all sections of society. The peasants suffered due to high revenue demands and the strict revenue collection policy. Artisans and craftsmen were ruined by the large-scale influx of cheap British manufactured goods into India which, in turn, made their hand-made goods uneconomical to produce. People who made a living by following religious and cultural pursuits lost their source of livelihood due to the withdrawal of royal patronage caused by the displacement of the old ruling classes. A corrupt and unresponsive administration added to the miseries of the people.
2. Political Causes: The British policy of territorial annexations led to the displacement of a large number of rulers and chiefs. The vigorous application of the policies of Subsidiary Alliance and Doctrine of Lapse angered the ruling sections of the society. Rani Lakshmi Bai and Nana Sahib became bitter enemies of the British and led to the revolt in their respective territories.
The annexation of Awadh, on grounds of misgovernment, was greatly resented. The Nawabs of Awadh had always been loyal to the British. The annexation was widely seen as a blatant act of back-stabbing by the British. It deeply hurt the sentiments of the Company’s sepoys because most of them came from Awadh. Moreover, even under the new regime, the people of Awadh got no relief from oppression. Peasants had to pay even higher revenue and additional taxes were imposed. The British provided no alternative source of employment to the people who lost their jobs due to the dissolution of the Nawab’s administration.
3. Social Causes: The social reforms introduced by the British were looked upon with suspicion by the conservative sections of the Indian society. Reforms such as abolition of ‘sati’, legalization of widow remarriage and extension of western education to women were looked upon as examples of interference in the social customs of the country. The social discrimination faced by the Indians due to the British attitude of racial superiority also led to much resentment. Educated Indians were denied promotions and appointments to high office. This turned them against the British.
4. Religious Causes: A major cause of the outbreak of the revolt was the fear among the people that the British government was determined to destroy their religion and convert Indians to Christianity. The increasing activities of the Christian missionaries and the actual conversions made by them were taken as a proof of this fear. The policy of taxing lands belonging to temples and mosques lent further support to this idea. The belief that their religion was under threat, united all sections of society against a common enemy.
5. Military Causes: Indian soldiers formed seven-eighth of the total British troops in India. As they were an integral part of the Indian society, they too suffered the consequences of the oppressive British rule. Besides, they had other grievances. The Indian sepoys were looked upon as inferior beings and treated with contempt by their British officers. They were paid much less than the British soldiers. All avenues of the promotion were closed to them as all the higher army posts were reserved for the British.
There were other specific and more immediate causes for the discontent among the sepoys. The annexation of Awadh inflamed their strong feelings against foreign rule. They were also influenced by the general fear that their religion was in danger. The order that forbade the sepoys from wearing caste and sectarian marks hurt their sentiments deeply. So also the Act of 1816 which required the new recruits to travel overseas, if needed. The Hindu sepoys resented this as according to the popular Hindu belief, travel across the sea led to a loss of caste. Another cause of sepoy discontent was the withdrawal of the Foreign Service allowance (‘batta’), which the sepoys were getting for fighting outside the country.
6. Immediate Cause:
Discontent and resentment against British rule had been growing among the Indians for a long time. By AD 1857, the stage was set for a massive revolt. Only a spark was needed to set the country ablaze. That spark was provided by as small a thing as a rifle cartridge. At this time, the Enfield rifle was introduced in the army. Its cartridges were covered with a greased paper cover. This greased cover had to be bitten off before the cartridge could be loaded into the rifle. The news spread that the grease was made of cow and pig fat. As the Hindus consider the cow sacred and the Muslims do not eat pit’s meat, both these communities were enraged at such a blatant attempt to harm their religion. This incident, popularly known as the Greased Cartridges Incident, became the immediate cause of the revolt.
The first soldier to protest against using the greased cartridges was Mangal Pandey. He belonged to the 34th Infantry stationed at Barrackpore. He refused to use the cartridges and was subsequently hanged. On 24 April 1857, some soldiers stationed at Meerut also refused to use the cartridges. On 9 May 1857, they were severely punished for this. This incident sparked off a general mutiny among the sepoys of Meerut. On 10 May 1857, these rebel soldiers killed their British officers, released their imprisoned comrades and hoisted the flag of revolt. This was the official beginning of the ‘Great Revolt’. The soldiers then set off for Delhi. On 11 May 1857, they reached Delhi. Here, they were joined by the local infantry. The rebels seized Delhi and declared the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of India.
What are the main causes for the Failure of the Revolt of 1857?
Although the revolt was a big event in the history of India, it had very little chance of success against an organized and powerful enemy. The revolt was suppressed within a little over a year of its outbreak. There were many reasons for its failure.
1. The revolt did not spread to all parts of the country. Nor was it supported by all groups and sections of the Indian society. South and West India remained largely outside the fold of the revolt. Many Indian rulers refused to help the rebels and some were openly hostile to the rebels and helped the British in suppressing eh revolt. The middle and upper classes and the modern educated Indians also did not support the revolt.
2. The revolt was an un-organized effort. The rebels lacked an ideology or programme which could be implemented in the captured areas. None of them knew what to do after the capture of a region.
3. The leadership of the movement was weak. Most of its leaders lacked a national perspective and were motivated by narrow, personal gains. They fought to liberate only their own territories. No national leaders emerged to coordinate the movement and give it a purpose and direction.
4. The rebels were short of weapons and finances. Whatever few weapons existed were outdated and no match for the sophisticated and modern weapons of the British. The rebels were also poorly organized. The uprisings in different parts of the country were uncoordinated. Often the sepoys were an uncontrolled group of people. They were unable to carry through their early military successes.
The revolt of 1857 was a landmark event in the history of India. It was the first great struggle of the Indians for freedom from British imperialism. The period after the revolt saw major changes in British policies and in the administrative set-up of India. Broadly speaking, the revolt sowed the seeds of nationalism in the minds of the Indian masses.
What were the results of the revolt of 1857?
The company rule came to an end due the revolt of 1857. Now india was under the direct control of the British Government.
The english now started pleasing the Indian rulers. They were given the asurance that there areas would not be annexed. They were now allowed to adopt children also.
As a result of it, political consciousness arose among the Indians.
It strengthened the Hindu-Muslim unity and they started struggling for independence together.
What were the Impact of British Rule on Indian Economy and society?
The British Rule in India changed the political set-upon, transformed the structure of the traditional Indian society and developed fascination towards the Western Culture.
Both nature and structure of Indian economy underwent profound changes and it served the British economic interests at the cost of India. While the economy of Britain flourished, India was left amidst poverty and was found in such a state from which was impossible to recover. No doubt, development of transport and communication, those changes ruined Indian economy to a greater degree. In other words, as a colony India was dried of economically but she nourished the economy of the mother country, i.e. England.
The British colonialism changed the nature and structure of the economy of India and gave a new shape to it. Traditional economic pattern was completely disrupted and its place was taken by a new one.
India was an agricultural country and more than eighty percent of its population lived in villages and adopted cultivation as the primary occupation. Indian economy was traditionally self-sufficient village economy.
Even trade and commerce of India was mainly depended upon agricultural products and its allied ones. Under this economic system, each village was functioning as an economic unit and was able to meet the basic needs of the villages. Usually people of different occupations or professions lived in the village and exchanged their product among themselves or with people of nearby villages.
The exchange of goods or products is called barter system. A cultivator had to exchange food crops to get other essentials of life and a weaver exchanged his products for food crops. In other words, sale of goods for money or cash was not a practice. Even labourers, carpenters, potters, blacksmiths were paid wages in kinds of their services. Sometimes the exchange process was multi angular involving more people.
For example, a cultivator needs the services of a carpenter to supply agricultural tools, the carpenter needs clothes, a weaver needs oil but the oilman requires the services of labourers and needs food grains. The net work of exchange completes when all of them cooperate to exchange their services among one another. The cultivator supplies food grain to labourers, the labourers serves the oilman, the oilman meets the need of the weaver, the weaver works for the carpenter and finally the carpenter meets the need of the cultivator.
This system would have continued under the British rule, if the British could have ruled India like all previous foreigners. Previously the political power changed from one person to other, but the economy continued as before. Neither the Afghans nor the Mughals intended to change the economic system of the country.
The pattern of economy continued as before and the peasants, the artisans and the traders contributed for continuance of the self sufficient village economy. They remained perpetual foreigners to India. They never accepted India as their home.
India was treated as a colony and Indian economy was subordinated to the economic interests of Britain. Through out the British Rule resources of India were exploited and surplus revenue was carried away from India in various forms. Ultimately Indian economy served the requirements of the British trade and industry.
UNIT - XI : REFORM MOVEMENTS
(i) Brahmo Samaj - Arya Samaj (ii) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
(iii) Reforms among Sikhs (iv) Social reforms - Emancipation of Women.
Brahmo Samaj Movement:
• Founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828.
• He earlier started Atmiya Sabha in 1814.
• Criticized Sati Pratha, casteism and advocated widow remarriage.
• He gave enthusiastic assistance to David Hare, who founded the famous Hindu College in Calcutta.
• Established a Vedanta College in which courses both in Indian and Western social and physical
sciences were offered.
• He was a gifted linguist. He knew more than dozen languages including Sanskrit, Persian,
Arabic, English, French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
• He was opposed to Sanskrit system of education; because he thought it would keep the country
in darkness.
• Other important leaders were Devendranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath Tagore) and
Keshab Chandra Sen.
• Tagore dismissed Keshab Chandra in 1865.
• Keshab started Sangat Sabha, Prarthana Samaj and Brahmo Samaj of India.
• Tagore’s organization came to be known as Tattvabodhini Sabha and Adi Brahmo Samaj.
• Anand Mohan Bose started the Sadharana Brahmo Samaj.
• Justice M.G. Ranade founded the Prarthana Sabha.
Arya Samaj India :
• Founded by Swami Dayanand (or, Moolshankar) in 1875.
• His motto was ‘Go back to the Vedas’ & ‘India for the Indians’. He disregarded Puranas, idol
worship, casteism and untouchability. He advocated widow remarriage.
• Dayanand’s views were published in his famous work, Satyarth Prakash.
He also wrote Veda Bhashya Bhumika and Veda Bhashya.
• Established a large number of educational institutions in India, viz., Gurukuls, DAV schools, etc.
• Also started the ‘Siddhi’ movement to convert non – Hindus to Hinduism.
• Other prominent persons of Arya Samaj were Lala Hans Raj, Pt. Guru Dutt, Lala Lajpat Rai,
Swami Shraddhanand.
The Aligarh Movement :
• Started by Sir Syyed Ahmed Khan. He encouraged Muslims to accept the virtues of western
education and urged them to apply the principle of enquiry to religion.
• For a rational and scientific order in society, he founded a scientific society in 1864, an Urdu
journal, Tahzib – al – akhlaq in 1870, and the Aligarh school in 1875. The school was made into
the Muhammadan Anglo – Oriental College in 1877. The college grew into the Aligarh Muslim
University.
The Ahmedia Movement in Islam :
• Started by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed in 1889.
• His movement embraced the belief in a universal religion, opposed sacred wars and encouraged
fraternal relations among all.
The Deobandi Movement :
• In 1866, the Deoband School of Islamic Theology was set up at Deoband by Rashid Ahmed Gangohi and Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi to promote studies in classical Islam and moral and religious regeneration of the Muslims. The school did not support western education and. culture.
• Its liberal interpretations of Islam earned it a high reputation.
Sikh Reform Movement:
Punjab also came under the spell of reforms. Baba Dayal Das founded the Nirankari Movement. He insisted the worship of God as nirankar (formless).
The Namdhari Movement was founded by Baba Ram Singh. His followers wore white clothes and gave up meat eating.
The Singh Sabhas started in Lahore and Amritsar in 1870 were aimed at reforming the Sikh society. They helped to set up the Khalsa College at Amritsar in 1892.They also encouraged Gurmukhi and Punjabi literature.
In 1920, the Akalis started a movement to remove the corrupt Mahants (priests) from the Sikh gurudwaras.
The British government was forced to make laws on this matter. Later, the Akalis organised themselves into a political party.
Kuka Movement in the Punjab (1860-1872)
It was originally founded by Bhagat Jawahar Mal in 1840.His main aim was to purify the Sikh religion by removing all the abuses, superstitions and ill-practices from it. But after the British annexation of Punjab revival of Sikh power and sovereignty became the major objective of the Kukas.This caused a great deal of anxiety in the British official ranks. So they took various measures between 1863 and 1872 and were finally able to suppress this movement.
Young Bengal Movement :
• During the late 1820 and early 1830, there emerged a radical intellectual trend among the youth
in Bengal, which came to be known as the ‘Young Bengal Movement’.
• Founded by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-31). He was a teacher in Hindu College in Calcutta.
• He also edited the papers, Hesperus and Calcutta Literary Gazette and was connected with the
India Gazette.
• He urged the students to live and die for truth. He also supported women’s education and their rights.
Theosophical Society Annie Besant :
• Founded by Westerners who drew inspiration from Indian thought and culture.
• Madam H P Blavatsky laid the foundation of the movement in US in 1875. Later, Col. M S Olcott of the
US Army joined her.
• In 1882, it was shifted to India at Adyar (Tamil Nadu).
• Annie Besant was elected its President in 1907. She founded the Central Hindu College in 1898, which
became Banaras Hindu University in 1916.
• The society accepted Hindu beliefs like re – incarnation, Karma and draws inspiration from Upanishads,
Sankhya,Yoga and Vedanta schools.
Satyashodhak Samaj :
• Founded by Jyotiba Phule in 1873 to fight Brahmanic domination and to liberate low castes by educating
them and teaching them their rights. He advocated the cause of untouchables.
• Jyotiba also started a school for untouchables and an orphanage for widows.
• His books, Ghulamgiri and Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak questioned the traditional customs and
beliefs of society.
• Met the Duke of York as the representative of poverty stricken Indian peasant.
Servants of India Society :
• Formed by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1915.
• It did notable work in providing famine relief and in improving the condition of the tribal.
UNIT - XII : (25 MARKS) NATIONAL MOVEMENT
A. MODERATE & EXTREMIST PHASE :
(i)Factors leading to the growth of Indian National Movement
(ii) Formation of Indian National Congress & the role of moderates.
(iii) Rise of Extremism & the partition of Bengal.
(iv) Boycott & Swadeshi movement
(v) Genesis of Muslim League.
B. GANDHIAN ERA:
(i) Khilafat & Non- Cooperation Movement.
(ii) Civil Disobedience Movement.
(iii) Quit India Movement.
(iv) Indian Independence & The Partition.
Factors leading to the growth of Indian National Movement:
There were many factors led to the growth and development of Indian national movement like social factors, religions factors, economic factors, political factors, historical factors etc. They are briefly described as below.
I – IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE
British introduced different kinds of revenue, economic, political policies and socio – religious reforms in India to setup their domination in India. Almost all the policies and reforms of British were imperialistic in nature. These policies implemented by British entirely changed India’s old peaceful conditions. They introduced many policies to drain the wealth of India to their home country. Finally, Indians recognized the object behind the British.
II – DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION
Another factor influenced to the growth and development of nationalism among Indians was the development of transport and communication.
The communication system used by Indians for contacting their relation and to share information happening throughout India. It enabled to spread more information about the British rule conducted in different parts of the country. Anyway the development in transport and communication enhanced the national movement of India.
III – INTRODUCTION OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
The introduction of modern education by the British played a strategic role in the development of nationalism in India. It enabled some Indians to visit England for higher education. They saw directly the free government and freedom enjoying by the British government. It created thought of freedom among educated Indians also. So, the introduction of modern education played a decisive role in the growth & development of Indian national movement.
IV – PRESS
The Europeans introduced press in India. There were numbers of vernacular / local news papers operated throughout the country. And also there existed many journals and magazines etc.
These local press influenced Indian national movement by spreading of information about the British imperialistic policies. It also helped to spread nationalism among Indians.
V – RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Europeans came in India as foreigners and captured India for their own demands. Even they came in India as foreigners they also ruled as foreigners. They thought that, they are superior to Indians in all respects.The inferiority thought of British about Indians created the need of freedom among Indians. Racial discrimination or color discrimination is also one of the reasonwhich boosted the nationalism in India.
VI – DRAIN OF INDIAN ECONOMY
When Europeans arrived in India, Indian regions were very richest in all respects, especially its financial system. All the regions attained self sufficiency for their own demands. As a part of Economic – revenue policy of British resulted in to change the entire conditions of Indian region. They focused only to exploit India and by boost industrialization in their home country. In short they squeeze Indian wealth for satisfying their own wants. The famous theory of Dadabai Navaroji “Drain Theory” reported about the secret behind British.
VII – VICEROY: LORD LITTON’S POLICY
Lord Litton the Viceroy of India ( 1876 – 80 ) governed India. During his period the condition of India was very bad. Because it was the time of great famine. Actually famine was the effect of British policies. Even the condition of India was very bad, Viceroy Lord Litton continued imperialistic policies. His policies or reforms like Vernacular Press Act, Royal Titles Act, Indian Arms Act etc. was not favorable to India and its people but was imperialistic in nature. So, the reforms of Viceroy Lord Litton increased the unity of Indians against colonialism.
Formation of Indian National Congress & the role of moderates:
Formed in 1885 by A.O. Hume, an Englishman and a retired civil servant.
Hume’s main purpose was probably to provide a “safety valve” to the growing discontent among
the educated Indians.
Other important leaders during foundation were Dadabhai Naoroji, Badrudin Tyabji, Anand
Mohan Bose, R.C.Dutt, Ferozshah Mehta, G.K.Gokhale, G. Subramaniyam Aiyyar, Dinshaw
Vacha, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Madan Mohan Malviya.
First session in Bombay under WC.Banerjee in 1885 (72 delegates attended it).
In the first two decades (1885 – 1905), quite moderate in its approach and confided in British
justice and generosity.
• But the repressive measures of the British gave rise to extremists within Congress like Bipin
Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai (Lai, Bal, Pal), along with Aurobindo Ghosh.
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Movement got a great impetus after the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 A.D.It was A.O Hume a retired member of the Indian Civil Service who took the initiative in this direction. The National Movement in its early phase (1885-1905) was dominated by the Moderate leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendra Nath Banerjee, and Pheroze Shah Mehta. Their main objectives during this period were following: The early nationalists demanded wider powers for the councils as well as training in self-govt.In the economic field they demanded the removal of poverty by the rapid development of agriculture and modern industries. In the administrative field they made a demand for Indianisation of the higher administrative services. For the defence of their civil rights they demanded the freedom of speech and press. The moderate leaders tried to create the national consciousness and raise the public opinion against the British imperialism.
Infact during this period (1885-1905) the national leadership tried to give a common political and economic programme to their countrymen and tried to continue the national struggle from a common platform. As the aims of the Congress during 1885-1905 were quite moderate so were its methods. The Congress led by the Moderates during this period adopted peaceful means to achieve their aims. They had full faith in the British sense of justice so they were friendly towards the British. They believed in constitutional reforms. They would send petitions year after year to the British Govt hoping that it would grant them freedom of its own accord. But as the British Govt refused to take them seriously the national movement after 1905 diverted towards the Extremists who did not hesitate in using extreme means to achieve their aims.
Rise of Extremism:
The policy and the methods that the moderate leaders of the Congress followed during the first twenty years failed miserably. Their prayers and petitions had no effect on the British Government; on the contrary, the government adopted a hostile attitude towards the congress from the very beginning. Consequently, the political ideas and methods of the Congress became out of tune with Indian life and culture. The historical forces, therefore, brought to the surface fresh thinkers who broke completely from the basic assumptions of the moderates and created a profound revolution in the field of political thought and action in the country.
The new school of politics was associated with the name of Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharastra. Along with him, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh of Bengal, and Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab were the most prominent of its leaders. They termed themselves Nationalists’ also ‘integral Nationalists’, and came to be commonly known as ‘Extremists’ in opposition to the ‘Moderates’.
Revolutionary Terrorism
Some nationalists frustrated by the failure of political struggle turned to revolutionary terrorism. They felt that the British must be physically expelled from India. They resorted to use violence against unpopular British officials, governors and viceroys. Certain newspapers like Sandhya and the Yugantar in Bengal and Kal in Maharashtra began to advocate revolutionary terrorism after 1905. Soon many secret societies of terrorist youth came into existence. The most famous of these was in Anushilan Samiti whose Dacca section alone had 500 branches. The terrorists also established centres of activity abroad. The Ghadar party was constituted in 1913 by revolutionaries in USA and Canada. They aimed at the overthrow of the British through an armed revolt. Prominent revolutionaries were Prafulla Chaki,Khudiram Bose.V Savarkar,Har Dayal and Ajit Singh.
The partition of Bengal.
• By Lord Curzon on October 16, 1905, through a royal Proclamation, reducing the old province of Bengal in size by creating East Bengal and Assam out of rest of Bengal.
• The government said that it was done to stimulate growth in eastern region.
• Actually, the objective was to set up a communal gulf between Hindus and Muslims.
• A mighty upsurge swept the country against the partition. National movement found real expression in the movement against the partition of Bengal in 1905.
• Rabindranath Tagore composed the national song ‘Amar sonar Bangla’ for the occasion which was sung by people everywhere. This song was adopted as national anthem by Bangladesh in 1971 after liberation from Pakistan.
• The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was observed on October 16, 1905. Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis on each other’s wrist showing solidarity.
• The newspapers played a significant role in the movement. The main newspapers were K.K. Mitra’s Sanjeevani, S.N. Banerjee’s Bengali, Motilal Ghosh’s Amrit Bazar Patrika, B.B. Upadhyaya’s Yugantar, Bipin Chandra Pal’s New India, Aurobindo Ghosh’s Bande Mataram, Aji Singh’s Bharat Mata, etc.
Boycott & Swadeshi movement:
• Had its origin in the anti – partition movement of Bengal. The leaders of Bengal felt that mere demonstrations, public meetings and resolutions were not enoughand something more concrete was needed and the answer felt was Swadeshi and Boycott.
• An important aspect of the Swadeshi movement was emphasis placed on self – reliance.
• Lai, Bal, Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh played the important role.
• INC took the Swadeshi call first at the Banaras Session, 1905 presided over by G.K. Gokhale.
• A resolution to boycott British goods was adopted on August 7, 1905 at a meeting of INC at Calcutta.
• Bonfires of foreign goods were conducted at various places.
Swadeshi literally means of one's own country. It implied that people should use goods produced within the country. This would help promote Indian industries and strengthen the nation. It would also generate patriotism. The promotion of swadeshi was accompanied by the advocacy of boycott. The two were complementary. It was realised that by organizing the boycott of foreign goods were mainly British sale of these goods would suffer. This would hurt Britain's economic interests and the British govt would be forced to concede to Indian demands. Swadeshi and Boycott led to the strengthening of political activity all over India. British cloth, sugar and other goods were boycotted. Shops selling foreign goods were picketed. In many places public burnings of cloth were organized. The extremists were keen to extend boycott to other things. They advocated the relentless boycott of officialized education, justice and executive administration backed by the positive development of swadeshi industries, national schools and arbitration courts. This method of agitation against foreign rule came to be known as the passive resistance.
Genesis of Muslim League:
In 1906 the Muslim League was formed. The lead in its formation was taken by the Agha Khan and Nawab Salimulla of Dacca. They were encouraged by Viceroy Minto.The Muslim League declared that its aims were to promote loyalty to the government ,to protect and advance the interests of Muslims and to ensure that Muslims did not develop feelings of hostility towards other communities in India. However in spite of the efforts of the British govt the Muslim masses were drawn into the nationalist movement. The reason was the contempt that the Muslim felt for the British govt for waging war against the Sultan of Turkey who was regarded as the Caliph of the Muslim world. Two prominent Muslim leaders Maulana Mohammad Ali and Abul Kalam Azad carried on nationalist propaganda among the people and brought them into the struggle for freedom. The Muslim League itself was influenced by the spread of anti-imperialist ideas. In 1913 it adopted the attainment of self-govt as its aim.
Khilafat & Non- Cooperation Movement.
The Khilafat movement was organized by the famous Ali brothers, Mohammad Ali and Shuakat Ali and others in protest against the injustice done to Turkey after the war. It became a part of the Indian nationalist movement. The Congress leaders joined in the Khilafat agitation and helped in organizing it throughout the country.
The chief cause of the Khilafat Movement was the defeat of Turkey in the First World War. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Sevres (1920) was felt by the Muslims as a great insult to them.
The whole movement was based on the Muslim belief that the Caliph (the Sultan of Turkey) was the religious head of the Muslims all over the world. The Muslims in India were upset over the British attitude against Turkey and launched the Khilafat Movement.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, M.A. Ansari, Saifuddin Kitchlew and the Ali brothers were the prominent leaders of this movement. A Khilafat Committee had been formed and on 19th October 1919, the whole country had observed the Khilafat day.
On 23 November, a joint conference of the Hindus and the Muslims had also been held under the chairmanship of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was particularly interested in bringing the Hindus and the Muslims together to achieve the country’s independence.
Subsequently, the Khilafat Movement merged with the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920.
Non-Cooperation Movement:
In 1920 the Congress adopted the new programme of non-violent Non-Cooperation under the leadership of Gandhiji.The aims of the Non-Cooperation movement were to redress the wrongs done to Punjab and Turkey and the attainment of Swaraj.It was to proceed in stages beginning with the renunciation of titles to be followed by the boycott of the legislatures, law courts and educational institutions and the campaign of non payment of taxes. It was decided to organize a corps of 150,000 volunteers to carry on the campaign of Non-Cooperation. The Non-Cooperation movement was a great success. In the elections to the legislatures about 2/3 of voters did not vote. Educational institutions were deserted. A new programme of national education was started. Institutions such as Jamia Milia and Kashi Vidya Peeth were established. Many Indians resigned their govt jobs. Foreign clothes were burnt in bonfires. There were strikes in all over the country. In Malabar the Moplah rebellion broke out. Thousands of persons enrolled themselves as volunteers.
In the midst of the movement the Prince of Wales arrived in India. On the day of his arrival he was greeted by general strikes and demonstrations. At many places police resorted to firing at the demonstrators. The repression continued and by the end of the year all the top leaders were arrested. By the beginning of 1922 about 30,000 persons were in jail.Early in Feb 1922 Gandhiji decided to launch a no-tax campaign in Bardoli district in Gujarat. However in Chauri Chaura people turned violent and set fire to a police station causing the death of 22 policemen. When the news reached Gandhiji, he decided to call off the Non Cooperation movement. The working committee of the Congress met on 12 Feb 1922 and decided to concentrate on the popularization of charkha, promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity and combating of untouchability
Civil Disobedience Movement.
The Congress adopted the slogan of complete independence and a mighty movement known as Civil Disobedience movement was launched to achieve it. The nationalist movement now assumed a wider character and adopted a comprehensive programme for the social and economic reconstruction of Indian society once independence was attained. Thus the struggle for political independence became a prerequisite for the reconstruction of Indian society. At the Congress session at Madras in December 1927 a resolution calling for Complete Independence was passed. This was the first time that a resolution demanding complete independence had been passed by the Congress. The Civil Disobedience Movement began with Dandi March.Gandhiji along with 78 of his followers started from his ashram at Sabarmati on a march to Dandi on the sea coast on foot and broke the law by making salt. As soon as the Civil Disobedience Movement started all the important leaders including Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru were arrested. By the beginning of 1931 90,000 persons were in jail and 67 papers had been banned. In April and May 1930, at Peshawar Indian soldiers refused to open fire on the demonstrators when ordered to do so. In Solapur, martial law had to be imposed to suppress the mass upsurge. In Chittagong the revolutionaries captured the armory and there was a pitched battle between the government troops and the revolutionaries.
The Civil Disobedience movement which was suspended after Gandhi-Irwin Pact was revived on Gandhiji’s return from the Round Table Conference in London when Lord Willingdon even refused to meet Gandhiji.The repression of the government was more severe than it had been before. By April 1933, about 120,000 persons had been imprisoned. In May 1934 the entire Civil Disobedience movement was called off. The Civil Disobedience movement had involved millions of people, young and old, men and women, people belonging to all religions and communities.
Quit India Movement.
In August 1942, Gandhiji gave the slogan ‘Quit India’. The Congress passed a resolution on 8 August 1942 which stated that the immediate ending of British rule in India was an urgent necessity both for the sake of India and the success of the United Nations. The Congress resolved to launch a mass civil disobedience struggle on the widest scale for the vindication of India’ right to freedom and independence if the British rule did not end immediately. The day after the resolution was passed, the Congress was banned and all the important leaders were arrested. The arrest of the nationalist leaders provoked a wave of indignation among the people. Quit India resounded throughout the country. There were spontaneous demonstrations at many places and people resorted to the use of violence to dislodge the foreign rule. The government used army and police to suppress the movement.Hunderds of persons were killed and over 70,000 arrested in less than 5 months. The struggles continued through out the period of the Second World War.
Indian Independence & The Partition.
Formation of constituent Assembly of India : The constituent assembly met on Dec 9, 1946 and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as its president.
Mountbatten Plan of June 1947 :
• On Jun 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten put forward his plan which outlined the steps for the solution of India’s political problem. The outlines of the Plan were:
• India to be divided into India and Pakistan.
• Bengal and Punjab will be partitioned and a referendum in NEFP and Sylhet district of Assam would be held.
• There would be a separate constitutional assembly for Pakistan to frame its constitution.
• The Princely states would enjoy the liberty to join either India or Pakistan or even remain independent.
• Aug 15, 1947 was the date fixed for handing over power to India and Pakistan.
• The British govt, passed the Indian Independence Act of 1947 in Jul 1947, which contained the major provisions put forward by the Mountbatten plan.
National Movement Partition and Independence:
• All political parties accepted the Mountbatten plan.
• Two Commissions were appointed by the British Government with Sir Cyril Redcliffe as chairman of both to see through the partition and fix the international boundaries of the two nations-to-be.
• At the time of independence, there were 562 small and big Princely states in India.
• Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first home minister, used iron hand in this regard. By Aug 15, 1947, all the States,
with a few exceptions like Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh had signed the Instrument of Accession. Goa was
with the Portuguese and Pondicherry with the French.
Vernacular Press Act
Lord Lytton wanted to thwart the seditious ambitions of the western educated elite. He promulgated the Vernacular Press Act (1878) which imposed severe restrictions on the vernacular press- a major instrument in the hands of the intelligentsia in spreading nationalist ideas. The Arms Act which made it mandatory for Indians possessing arms to draw out licenses deeply smacked of racialism and was strongly resisted by the educated elite of India. The holding of the Imperial Darbar at Delhi in 1877 when the country was suffering from famine showed what value the government attached to the welfare of Indians. In 1878 the government reduced the maximum age limit for the Civil Service from 21 to 19 years.
Ilbert Bill
In 1883 Lord Ripon tried to pass a law which gave Indian magistrates the right to try Europeans in criminal cases. Backed by the Anglo-Indian press the Europeans in India organized a vehement agitation against the Ilbert Bill. The government of India ultimately bowed before the Europeans and withdrew the bill. The Indians were horrified at the racial bitterness displayed by the critics of the bill. Their own perceptions of the degradation of foreign rule became sharpened. Nationalist Indians realized that they too should organize themselves on a national scale and agitate continuously and unitedly to get their demands accepted. These developments paved the way for the organization of Indian National Congress. The Congress became the chief organization representing the will of the Indian people & led the Indian people in their struggle for freedom.
Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)
The British govt played the game of Divide and Rule and tried to win over moderate nationalist opinion so that the militant nationalist could be isolated and suppressed. To placate the moderate nationalists it announced constitutional concessions through the Indian Council Act of 1909 known as Morley-Minto Reforms. In 1911 it also announced the cancellation of the partition of Bengal. Western and eastern Bengal was to be united while a new province consisting of Bihar and Orissa was to be created. The capital of British India was shifted to Delhi from Calcutta. The reforms increased the number of elected members in the Imperial Legislative Council from 16 to 60 of these 27 were to be elected. But most of the members were indirectly elected by landlords, organizations of industrialists and traders and by the provincial legislative councils. Separate representation was given to Muslims. The number of members in the provincial councils was increased to 50.Less than half of them were to be elected by landlords, organization of traders, universities and local bodies.
Rowlatt Act:
In 1917, a committee was set up under the presidentship of Sir Sydney Rowlatt to look into the militant Nationalist activities. On the basis of its report the Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919 by the Central Legislative Council.
As per this Act, any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. No appeal or petition could be filed against such arrests. This Act was called the Black Act and it was widely opposed. An all-India hartal was organized on 6 April 1919. Meetings were held all over the country.
Mahatma Gandhi was arrested near Delhi. Two prominent leaders of Punjab, Dr Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested in Amritsar.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on 13 April 1919 and it remained a turning point in the history of India’s freedom movement. In Punjab, there was an unprecedented support to the Rowlatt Satyagraha.
Facing a violent situation, the Government of Punjab handed over the administration to the military authorities under General Dyer. He banned all public meetings and detained the political leaders. On 13th April, the Baisakhi day (harvest festival), a public meeting was organized at the Jallianwala Bagh (garden).
Dyer marched in and without any warning opened fire on the crowd. The firing continued for about 10 to 15 minutes and it stopped only after the ammunition exhausted. According to official report 379 people were killed and 1137 wounded in the incident.
There was a nationwide protest against this massacre and Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood as a protest. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre gave a tremendous impetus to the freedom struggle.
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms which became the Government of India Act in 1919 clearly defined the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments. The central legislature now consisted of two houses with elected majorities. The franchise was limited and the legislature had no real powers. In the provinces a system called diarchy was introduced .There were elected majorities in the legislative councils, the franchise being based on property qualifications and communal electorates. There were certain provincial subjects who were under the jurisdiction of the legislative councils but the governors had wide powers of interference and the legislatures were powerless. The reforms introduced were condemned both by the Congress and the League. The reforms further angered the masses and were condemned as unsatisfactory.
Simon Commission
In November 1927 the British Government appointed the Simon Commission to look into the working of the Government of India Act of 1919 and to suggest changes. The Commission consisted of Englishmen without a single Indian representative. The Commission arrived in India in Feb 1928 and was met with country wide protests. Even the majority of the members of the Central Legislative Assembly boycotted the Commission.Anti-Simon Committees were formed all over the country to organize demonstrations and hartals wherever the Commission went. Peaceful demonstrators were beaten by the police at many places.Lala Lajpat Rai was assaulted and soon after died
Gandhi-Irwin Pact
In 1931 Gandhiji and some other leaders were released from Jail. In March an agreement known as Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed under which the Civil Disobedience Movement was called off. The government promised to release all the political prisoners except those charged with acts of violence. The Congress agreed to participate in the Second Round Table Conference which had been called to consider a scheme for a new constitution for India.
Cripps Mission
In March 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps came to India to hold talks with the Indian leaders. However the talks broke down as the British were not willing to promise independence even after the II world war was over and rejected the Congress proposal for the formation of a national government during the war. After the failure of talks with Cripps the Congress prepared to launch the third mass movement against British rule.
Home Rule League
Many Indian leaders felt that popular pressure should be brought to bear upon the govt if any real concessions were to be extracted. Hence real mass political movement was necessary. War had meant heavy taxation and roaring prices of the daily necessities of life. The people as a result were getting ready to join any militant movement of protest. Consequently the war years were years of intense nationalist political agitation. But this mass agitation had to be carried on outside the Congress for the party was dominated by the moderates. Therefore two Home Rule Leagues were started in 1915-1916 one under the leadership of Tilak and the other under the leadership of Annie Besant and S Subramaniyam Iyer.The two Home Rule Leagues carried out intense propaganda all over the country in favour of the demand for the grant of Home Rule or self govt to India after the war. The other prominent leaders who joined the agitation for Home Rule were Motilal Nehru and C.R Das.
The Govt resorted to repression.Mrs Annie Besant was arrested and many newspapers were banned. The war period also saw the growth of revolutionary movement. The growing nationalist feeling in the country and the urge for national unity produced two historic developments at the Lucknow Session of the INC in 1916. Firstly the two wings of the Congress were reunited. The old controversies had lost their meaning and the split in the congress had not benefited either group. At Lucknow the Congress and the All India Muslim League sank their old differences and put up common political demands before the govt.Congress accepted the principle of separate electorates. This unity is popularly known in history as the Lucknow Pact. Unfortunately this unity was based on the notion of bringing together Hindus and Muslims as separate entities. This left the way open to the future resurgence of communalism in Indian politics.
Surat Session (1907)
The 23rd Session of the Congress was held at Surat.It very important from points of view. There was an open clash between the Moderates and the Extremists and ultimately it led to a split in the Congress. The Extremists wanted to hold the session at Nagpur as was decided at the Calcutta Session of the Congress but the Moderates wanted to hold the session at Surat. The Extremists wanted to make either Tilak or Lala Lajpat Rai as the President of the session while the Moderates wanted to make Sh Ras Bihari Ghosh as the President. The Moderates wanted to recede from the policy laid down in the Calcutta Congress and tried to exclude the resolutions on Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education as were passed by the Calcutta Congress. But the Extremists were not prepared to do so. While the leadership of the Congress remained in the hands of the Moderates for some time more the Extremists worked separately till 1916. At the end of this session, Lokmanya Tilak and his followers held a separate conference and announced the formation of the Extremist Party. However they decided to work as a part of the Indian National Congress
Lucknow Session (1916)
The 31st Session of the Congress was held at Lucknow in 1916.It was presided over by the Ambica charan Majumdar who was a prominent lawyer and was actively associated with the Congress since its birth. After a lapse of about 10 years both the Moderates and Extremists were united again. In this session the Congress and the Muslim League came closer to each other and they signed the historic Lucknow Pact. A joint Reform Scheme was sent to the Viceroy. They decided to make a united demand for self-government. They were to join their hands in asking the Government that a majority of the members of the Legislative Councils to be elected. They were to ask the Government that the Legislative Councils be invested with wider powers than before. They would make a common demand that at least half the seats in the Viceroy's Executive Council be filled with Indians. Thus this session of 1916 cemented the friendship between the Congress and the Muslim League and promoted goodwill between the Hindus and the Muslims. Resolution condemning the Arms Act and Press Act were passed which had virtually reduced the people and the press to a condition of absolute helplessness.
Karachi Session (1931)
In 1931, the Congress met at Karachi. It approved the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The most significant contribution of the Karachi session was a resolution it passed on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy. It outlined the plan for the reconstruction of Indian society after Independence and to furnish many aims and ideals for the Constitution of India and the social and economic policy of the Indian Republic.
National movement and II World War
The II World War had changed the entire picture of the world. The old imperialist countries –Britain, France, Holland and others had been weakened by the war. They were no longer powerful enough to withstand the onward march of the nationalist movement. Britain was no longer the world power it had been for centuries and her supremacy was gone for good. The war had destroyed fascism and imperialism received heavy blows. In Britain the Conservative Party which was opposed to the demand for the independence of India lost heavily in the elections. The war time Prime Minister Winston Churcill was no longer the Prime Minister. There were many people in the Labour Party which had come to power under the leadership of Attlee who were opposed to the continuation of British rule over India. Conditions were ripe for the end of imperialism in India.
In India the resentment against British rule was very high. The British government had shown callous indifference to the famine –stricken people during the terrible famine that had raged in Bengal in 1943 in which three million people died. At the end of the war this resentment broke out in dealing a final blow to foreign rule. In November 1945 three officers of the Indian National Army were tried at the Red Fort in Delhi. They were charged with the crime of conspiring against the British Empire. They were defended by top Indian barristers. But they were sentenced to transportation for life. The sentences which were later revoked provoked widespread popular upsurge all over the country. The armed forces were also affected.
Drain of Wealth Theory India :
• R.C. Dutta and Dadabhai Naoroji first cited the drain of wealth theory. Naoroji brought it to light in his
book titled “Poverty and Unbritish Rule in India”. R C Dutt blamed the British policies for economic ills in
his book “Economic History of India”.
• Drain of wealth refers to the portion of national product of India, which was not available for consumption
of Indians.
• Drain of wealth began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey when the Company’s servants began to extort
fortunes from Indian rulers, zamindars, merchants and common people and send home.
• In 1765, the Company acquired the Diwani of Bengal and began to purchase the Indian goods out of the
revenue of Bengal and exported them. These purchases were known as Company’s investments.
• Duty free inland trade provided British merchants a competitive edge over their Indian counterparts.
• The actual drain, as a part of the salaries and other incomes of the English officials and the trading
fortunes of English merchants, was even more.
• The drain of wealth stunted the growth of Indian enterprise & checked & retarded capital formation in India.
Swaraj : In December 1906 at Calcutta, the INC under Dadabhai Naorojia dopted ‘Swaraj’ (Self – Government) as the goal of Indian people.
Important National Leaders
M.K. Gandhi (1869 – 1948) :
• The ‘Father of the Nation’ was born at Porbandar (Kathiarwar) on October 2, 1869. he was the son of Karamchand and Putlibai Gandhi. He married Kasturba in 1883.
• Proceeded to England in 1888 to study law and returned to India in 1891.
• He failed as a practicing lawyer both at Rajkot and in Bombay.
• In 1893, he proceeded to Natal, South Africa, as the lawyer of a firm of Porbandar Muslims.
• He was appalled at the racial discrimination by the whites in that country. There he founded a political organization known as ‘National Indian Congress’ and also started a newspaper called ‘Indian Opinion’. He formed Phoenix Farm near Durban in 1904.
• Returned to India on Jan 9, 1915.
• In 1916, he founded the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad.
• Champaran Satyagraha (1917) : There the European planters forced the cultivators to cultivate indigo on 3 / 20th of their holdings (called Tinkathia System). But when indigo became unremunarative, the European planters imposed higher taxes to compensate their losses in the International market.
• Gandhiji, with the help of Rajendra Prasad and others, encouraged the peasants to offer Satyagraha. Gandhiji was arrested and then made a member of the Enquiry Committee of Jun 1917. The Champaran Agrarian Act finally abolished the TinKathia system and compensated the peasants for the raised dues imposed on them.
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike (Mar, 1918) : The dispute was between the mill – owners and the workers over the ‘Plague Bonus’ which the mill – owners wanted to withdraw once the epidemic was over. The workers troubled by inflation wanted adequate compensation.
• Gandhiji initially persuaded the mill – owners and workers to agree to arbitration by a tribunal but the mill – owners withdrew after commitment. Here Gandhiji first used the weapon of ‘Hunger Strike’. After this, the mill – owners were pressurized into accepting the tribunal award of 55 percent increase.
• Kheda Satyagraha (1918) : The peasants were in extreme distress due to the failure of crops and the government ignored their appeals for die remission of land revenue. The peasants of Kheda were already hard pressed because of plague, high prices and drought.
• Appeals and petition having failed, Gandhiji advised the withholding of revenue and asked the peasants to fight unto death. After the Government directed that the revenue should be recovered only from those peasants who could pay, the movement was withdrawn.
Dadabhai Naoroji History (1825 – 1917) :
• First to demand ‘Swaraj’ from the INC Platform (Calcutta session, 1906).
• Wrote a bock ‘Poverty & Un – British Rule in India’ (in 1901) in which he brought out the connection between the draining of wealth from India by the British and rampant poverty in India.
• Also known as ‘Indian Gladstone’ and ‘Grand Old Man of India’.
• Selected to ‘House of Commons’ on Liberal Party ticket (First Indian to do so).
Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1886 – 1915) :
• Gandhiji considered him as his political guru.
• He served as the President of the INC at its Banaras session in 1905.
• Laid the foundation of Servants of Indian Society in 1905. (Objective was to train people who would work as national missionaries).
History of Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1857 – 1920) :
• Collaborated with Agarkar, and set up institutions to give cheap education to people.
• First nationalist leader who tried to establish a close contact with the masses.
• Started Akharas, Lathi clubs and anti – cow killing societies to built his rapport.
• Founded two newspapers – The Maharatta (in English) and Kesari (in Marathi).
• First congress leader who went to prison several times. He joined the INC in 1891.
• Formed the Bal, Pal, Lai group of extremists and caused a split in the Surat Congress in 1907.
• Founded the Home Rule League in 1916, and helped in ushering in the Lucknow Pact and the Reforms Act at the Amritsar Congress in 1919.
• Valentine Shirol described him as the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’.
• In the Nagpur session of 1920, the INC demanded Swaraj (after Tilak’s slogan only).
• An erudite scholar. His books are ‘The Arctic Home of Vedas’ & ‘Gita Rahasya’.
B. R. Ambedkar History (1891 – 1956) :
• He was a jurist, a statesman, a social reformer and a leader of the depressed classes.
• He was born in Mahar caste in Mahu (M.P) in 1891. He went for higher studies to England and America. He was the first graduate of Mahar caste.
• He participated in all the three Round Table Conferences. He signed Poona Pact with Gandhiji in 1932.
• From 1942 to 1946, he was in the Executive Council of the Governor General. He organized the Indian Labour Party, Scheduled Caste Federation and People’s Education Society.
• He was the chairman of the Drafting Committee of our Constitution.
• He also piloted the Hindu Code through the Indian Legislature.
• From 1947 to 1951, he was a law minister in Nehru’s cabinet.
• Towards the end of his life he embraced Buddhism.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad History (1890 – 1958) :
• He was bora in Mecca in 1890. For higher education he went to the Al Azhar University at Cairo.
• He joined the INC during the Swadeshi movement.
• He began two weeklies, Al Hilaland Al – Balagh.
• He was made the President of the Khilafat Committee in 1920. He became the President of the Congress session of 1923 at Delhi.
• He led the Congress delegation during the Shimla Conference in 1945. He also led the delegation during the Cabinet Mission Plan.
• He was elected the member of the Constituent Assembly in 1946. He was the Education Minister in the Interim Government and also Independent India’s first Education Minister.
• He was also instrumental in the foundation of U.G.C. and IIT – Kharagpur.
• His book India Wins Freedom evoked much controversy.
History of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890 – 1988) :
• Popularly known as Frontier Gandhi, Badshah Khan or Sarhadi Gandhi.
• Founded an organization Khudai Khidmatgars. It was an organization of non – violent revolutionaries which was also known as ‘Red Shirts’.
• He also published a newspaper, Pakhtoon.
• Ghaffar Khan vehemently opposed partition.
• He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1987 by the Government of India.
Subhash Chandra Bose History (1897 – 1945) :
• Popularly known as Netaji, was born on Jan 23, 1897 at Cuttack.
• He passed the Indian Civil Services Examination in 1920, but left it on the Gandhiji’s call of Non – Cooperation Movement.
• He founded the Independence for India League with Jawahar Lai Nehru.
• In 1938, he was elected the President of the INC ai its Ilaripura session and in 1939, he was elected President of its Tripuri session. But he had to resign from Tripuri due to differences with Gandhiji.
• He founded the Forward Block in 1939.
• In 1941, he escaped to Berlin & met Hitler. In 1943, he took charge of Indian National Army in Singapore and set up the Indian Provisional Government there. He gave the war cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’.
• He addressed Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation; He gave the slogan of ‘Jai Hind’. He wrote his autobiography ‘The Indian Struggle’.
• He supposedly died in a plane crash on Aug 18, 1945.
History of Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964) :
• He was the first Prime Minister of Independent India and is known as the architect of Modern India.
• He was born in Allahabad on Nov 14, 1889.
• In 1928, he became the General Secretary of the INC and in 1929 its President. At the Lahore session, under his President ship was passed the Independence resolution.
• He was the Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964.
• He was the author of the Doctrine of Panchsheel, and believed in the policy of non – alignment.
• He was an author of international fame.
• His works include The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World Histoty, A Bunch of Old Letters, The Unity of India, Independence and After, India and the World, etc. His autobiography, entitied Autobiography, is one of his most famous works.
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