Struggle For Swaraj:
The Second Phase of Congress (1905 to 1919):-
Extremists and Moderates:- During this phase the leaders of the Congress divided into two groups-Extremists and Moderates. Bal Gangadhar Tilak,. Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh came to be known as ‘extremists’. The old leaders of the Congress like Surendranath Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta were known as ‘moderates.’
Division of Bengal:- The event that had greatest effect in changing the aims and methods of the nationalist movement was the partition of Bengal. Bengal was then the largest province of British India It included Bihar and Orissa. An important reason behind the partition of Bengal was to sow the seeds of disunity between Hindus and Muslims. Lord Curzon declared the partition of Bengal in July 1905.
Swadeshi and Boycott Movements:- 1. The Swadeshi and 2. Boycott movements were started by Congress with a view to ending the partition of Bengal.
Congress and the Goal of Swaraj:-
1. At the Calcutta Session in 1906 Dada Bhai Naroji declared the goal of the Congress “To attain Swaraj” for the first time Swaraj meant self government elected by the people of India.
2. At the congress session of 1907 held at Surat Congress divided into two groups-(l) Moderates (2) Extremists. The Congress came completely under the domination of ‘moderates’. Both the groups the ‘moderates’ and the ‘extremists’ reunited nine years after in 1916 at Lucknow session. In the Lucknow session in 1916 not only both the groups reunited but also the Congress and the Muslim League signed .the pact to work together to attain Swaraj. This pact between the Congress and the Muslim League is known as “Lucknow Pact”. The Congress, according to this pact, accepted representation of Muslims in the Legislative Councils.
3. Lala Lajpat Rai was arrested and. deported to Burma and Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak was also, arrested and deported to Mandley Jail in Burma in 1908.
Morley-Minto Reforms:-
1. To placate the ‘moderates’, in 1909, the Indian Councils Act was announced by the British Parliament. This is popularly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms. Under this act number of the members to be elected for Central and State Council was enhanced. The British alsd introduced Communal-Electorates as a part of these reforms. This was meant that in future the Muslims would be elected by Muslim voters. This very Act served as the basis of Division of India in 1947.
Delhi Darbar:- In 1911, an imperial Darbar was held at Delhi at which the British king, George V and his Queen were also present. The Darbar was also attended by Indian Princes who were loyal to the British Crown. The important announcements were made on the occasion: (1) The Bengal partition was revoked by Lord Hardinge in 1911 which had been effected In 1905, and (2) The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911 A.D.
The Revolutionaries (First Phase):-
1. The movements of revolutionaries were more in action in Maharashtra and Bengal. Two important societies of revolutionaries were the “Abhinav Bharat Society” led by Mitra & Pulin Behari Bann in Maharashtra and the “Anushilan Samiti” led by Savarkar brothers namely GD. Savarkar in Bengal.
2. In 1908, in Muzaffarpur, Khudiram Bose and Profulla Chaki threw a bomb in a carriage of a judge. Khudi Ram Bose was tried and hanged. Khudi Ram became the first revolutionary martyr of India. Profulla Chaki killed himself.
3. Aurobindo Ghosh setup an Ashram at Pondicherry. He had become a politician turned Sanyasi. Pondicherry was then a French Colony which got freedom in 1954.
4. In 1912, an attempt was made on the life of the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge as a bomb was thrown on him by revolutionaries when he was going through Chandni Chowk in a procession, but he escaped.
5. One of the famous revolutionaries active in America (Sanfrancisco) was Lala Hardyal. He and Sohan Singh Bhakna formed ‘Ghadar Party’ and Lala Hardyal brought out a journal ‘Gadar’.
Formation of the Muslim League:- In 1906, Viceroy Lord Minto played a key role in the formation of Muslim league. Muslim league was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Agha Khan, Nawab Salimulla of Dhaka and viquer-ul-Mulk. In 1913, the Muslim League in its session declared its aim to attain self-government, as the Congress had done, the same in 1906.
Nationalist Movement during the First World War (1914-1918 A.D):-
1. The demand of self government in India came through an Irish lady Mrs. Annie Besant and Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak in 1914. An Irish Lady, Annie Besant, in Madras and Tilak, in Maharashtra, formed Home Rule Leagues. She formed ‘Theosophical Society’ also in India. The other prominent leaders related to Home Rule League were Moti Lai Nehru and Chitranjan Das.
2. In December 1917. the Congress session was held at Calcutta. Annie Besant was elected its President. She was the first woman to be elected president of Congress. While 2nd woman President was Mrs. Sarojmi Naidu in 1925
3. In l918, the Montagu-Chelmsford Report was published in which the British Government refused to form a responsible government in India as the British had made a promise to form the responsible government in 1917.
4. During the First World War another report known as Rowlatt Act was also published in 1919 by Sir John Rowlatt. According to this report any Indian could be arrested without stating any reason only on the ground of merely suspect. Mohammad Ali Jinnah opposed this act and resigned from the membership of Assembly. Gandhiji formed a Satyagraha Sabha oppose this Act. Throughout the country, 6 April 1919 was observed as a National Humiliation Day.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:-
1. On 10 April 1919, two nationalist.leaders, Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested in Amritsar. On 13th April people gathered.at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of the two leaders. Suddenly, a British military officer, General Dyer, without even giving, a warning to the people to disperse, ordered his troops to open fire. About a thousand persons were killed and about 2000 wounded, in the protest of this massacre, Tagore and Subramannayam Iyer renounced . their ‘Knight hood’ and Gandhiji returned his ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’.
2. In 1940, Udham Singh, an Indian revolutionary, shot Michael O’Dwyer dead in London and took the revenge of Jallianwala Massacre. He was the Lt Governor of Punjab at the time of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
Gandhian Era:-
1. During the First World War, Gandhiji entered the Indian scene in 1915. He was born in 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat. On the same day in 1904 Sh. Lai Bahadur Shastri also was born. He studied law in England and became a Lawyer. Tie went to South-Africa as a- Lawyer. He returned India in 1915 on the request of his political Guru Gopal Krishna Gokhle. In 1916, he founded Sabarmati. Ashram in Gujrat. He visited all over country in 1915-16.
2. Gandhiji launched his first struggle in Champaran in Bihar for the cause of the poor peasants against the excesses of the indigo planters in 1917. Gandhi emerged as victorious.
3. In. his second struggle in 1918, Gandhiji led the textile workers of Ahmedabad to raise the wages. Here also Gandhiji succeeded. Also in 1918 he led the peasants of Kaira (Kheda) in Gujrat. The period from 1920 to 1947 is known as Gandhian Era.
Khilafat Movement:- Turkey was defeated in the First World War and suffered injustices at the hands of British. In 1919, a movement was organised under the leadership of Mohamed Ali and Shaukat Ali. (Ali Brothers), Abul Kalam Azad, Hajrat Mohani to force the British Government to undo these injustices. The Khilafat Committee which was set up to conduct the movement was joined by Gandhiji. The Sultan of Turkey was also considered the Caliph or Khalifa.
Non-Cooperation Movement:-
1. In 1920, under Gandhiji’s leadership, the Congress Constitution was amended and “the attainment of Swarajya by the people of India by all legitimate and peaceful means” became the First Article of the Constitution of the Congress. It is called the Non-Cooperation Movement because of the methods adopted in this Movement.
Gandhiji took part in Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements simultaneously. Under Non-Cooperation Movement Public was urged not to Cooperate British government. The people should not pay taxes. They should leave and boycott government schools and courts. ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott’ were two main weapons of National Movement. New educational institutes like the Jamia Millia at Aligarh (later shifted to Delhi) and Kashi Vidyapeeth at Banaras were started by nationalists due to these movements.
3. The Non-Cooperation Movement began with the renunciation of honorary titles like ‘Sir’ by Subramaniam Iyer and Rabindranath Tagore and ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ by Gandhiji released in 1924.
4. But on 5 February 1922, the people in their anger, set the police station on fire and twenty-two policemen were burnt alive. Gandhiji hearing the news of the incident, called off the movement.
5. In 1922. Gandhiji was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment but due to illness Gandhiji.
6. Khilafat and Non-Coopeation Movement strengthened the unity between the Hindus and the Muslims. One of the most popular slogans during the movement was “Hindu Musalman ki Jai”.
The Second Phase of Congress (1905 to 1919):-
Extremists and Moderates:- During this phase the leaders of the Congress divided into two groups-Extremists and Moderates. Bal Gangadhar Tilak,. Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh came to be known as ‘extremists’. The old leaders of the Congress like Surendranath Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta were known as ‘moderates.’
Division of Bengal:- The event that had greatest effect in changing the aims and methods of the nationalist movement was the partition of Bengal. Bengal was then the largest province of British India It included Bihar and Orissa. An important reason behind the partition of Bengal was to sow the seeds of disunity between Hindus and Muslims. Lord Curzon declared the partition of Bengal in July 1905.
Swadeshi and Boycott Movements:- 1. The Swadeshi and 2. Boycott movements were started by Congress with a view to ending the partition of Bengal.
Congress and the Goal of Swaraj:-
1. At the Calcutta Session in 1906 Dada Bhai Naroji declared the goal of the Congress “To attain Swaraj” for the first time Swaraj meant self government elected by the people of India.
2. At the congress session of 1907 held at Surat Congress divided into two groups-(l) Moderates (2) Extremists. The Congress came completely under the domination of ‘moderates’. Both the groups the ‘moderates’ and the ‘extremists’ reunited nine years after in 1916 at Lucknow session. In the Lucknow session in 1916 not only both the groups reunited but also the Congress and the Muslim League signed .the pact to work together to attain Swaraj. This pact between the Congress and the Muslim League is known as “Lucknow Pact”. The Congress, according to this pact, accepted representation of Muslims in the Legislative Councils.
3. Lala Lajpat Rai was arrested and. deported to Burma and Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak was also, arrested and deported to Mandley Jail in Burma in 1908.
Morley-Minto Reforms:-
1. To placate the ‘moderates’, in 1909, the Indian Councils Act was announced by the British Parliament. This is popularly known as the Morley-Minto Reforms. Under this act number of the members to be elected for Central and State Council was enhanced. The British alsd introduced Communal-Electorates as a part of these reforms. This was meant that in future the Muslims would be elected by Muslim voters. This very Act served as the basis of Division of India in 1947.
Delhi Darbar:- In 1911, an imperial Darbar was held at Delhi at which the British king, George V and his Queen were also present. The Darbar was also attended by Indian Princes who were loyal to the British Crown. The important announcements were made on the occasion: (1) The Bengal partition was revoked by Lord Hardinge in 1911 which had been effected In 1905, and (2) The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911 A.D.
The Revolutionaries (First Phase):-
1. The movements of revolutionaries were more in action in Maharashtra and Bengal. Two important societies of revolutionaries were the “Abhinav Bharat Society” led by Mitra & Pulin Behari Bann in Maharashtra and the “Anushilan Samiti” led by Savarkar brothers namely GD. Savarkar in Bengal.
2. In 1908, in Muzaffarpur, Khudiram Bose and Profulla Chaki threw a bomb in a carriage of a judge. Khudi Ram Bose was tried and hanged. Khudi Ram became the first revolutionary martyr of India. Profulla Chaki killed himself.
3. Aurobindo Ghosh setup an Ashram at Pondicherry. He had become a politician turned Sanyasi. Pondicherry was then a French Colony which got freedom in 1954.
4. In 1912, an attempt was made on the life of the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge as a bomb was thrown on him by revolutionaries when he was going through Chandni Chowk in a procession, but he escaped.
5. One of the famous revolutionaries active in America (Sanfrancisco) was Lala Hardyal. He and Sohan Singh Bhakna formed ‘Ghadar Party’ and Lala Hardyal brought out a journal ‘Gadar’.
Formation of the Muslim League:- In 1906, Viceroy Lord Minto played a key role in the formation of Muslim league. Muslim league was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Agha Khan, Nawab Salimulla of Dhaka and viquer-ul-Mulk. In 1913, the Muslim League in its session declared its aim to attain self-government, as the Congress had done, the same in 1906.
Nationalist Movement during the First World War (1914-1918 A.D):-
1. The demand of self government in India came through an Irish lady Mrs. Annie Besant and Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak in 1914. An Irish Lady, Annie Besant, in Madras and Tilak, in Maharashtra, formed Home Rule Leagues. She formed ‘Theosophical Society’ also in India. The other prominent leaders related to Home Rule League were Moti Lai Nehru and Chitranjan Das.
2. In December 1917. the Congress session was held at Calcutta. Annie Besant was elected its President. She was the first woman to be elected president of Congress. While 2nd woman President was Mrs. Sarojmi Naidu in 1925
3. In l918, the Montagu-Chelmsford Report was published in which the British Government refused to form a responsible government in India as the British had made a promise to form the responsible government in 1917.
4. During the First World War another report known as Rowlatt Act was also published in 1919 by Sir John Rowlatt. According to this report any Indian could be arrested without stating any reason only on the ground of merely suspect. Mohammad Ali Jinnah opposed this act and resigned from the membership of Assembly. Gandhiji formed a Satyagraha Sabha oppose this Act. Throughout the country, 6 April 1919 was observed as a National Humiliation Day.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:-
1. On 10 April 1919, two nationalist.leaders, Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested in Amritsar. On 13th April people gathered.at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of the two leaders. Suddenly, a British military officer, General Dyer, without even giving, a warning to the people to disperse, ordered his troops to open fire. About a thousand persons were killed and about 2000 wounded, in the protest of this massacre, Tagore and Subramannayam Iyer renounced . their ‘Knight hood’ and Gandhiji returned his ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’.
2. In 1940, Udham Singh, an Indian revolutionary, shot Michael O’Dwyer dead in London and took the revenge of Jallianwala Massacre. He was the Lt Governor of Punjab at the time of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
Gandhian Era:-
1. During the First World War, Gandhiji entered the Indian scene in 1915. He was born in 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat. On the same day in 1904 Sh. Lai Bahadur Shastri also was born. He studied law in England and became a Lawyer. Tie went to South-Africa as a- Lawyer. He returned India in 1915 on the request of his political Guru Gopal Krishna Gokhle. In 1916, he founded Sabarmati. Ashram in Gujrat. He visited all over country in 1915-16.
2. Gandhiji launched his first struggle in Champaran in Bihar for the cause of the poor peasants against the excesses of the indigo planters in 1917. Gandhi emerged as victorious.
3. In. his second struggle in 1918, Gandhiji led the textile workers of Ahmedabad to raise the wages. Here also Gandhiji succeeded. Also in 1918 he led the peasants of Kaira (Kheda) in Gujrat. The period from 1920 to 1947 is known as Gandhian Era.
Khilafat Movement:- Turkey was defeated in the First World War and suffered injustices at the hands of British. In 1919, a movement was organised under the leadership of Mohamed Ali and Shaukat Ali. (Ali Brothers), Abul Kalam Azad, Hajrat Mohani to force the British Government to undo these injustices. The Khilafat Committee which was set up to conduct the movement was joined by Gandhiji. The Sultan of Turkey was also considered the Caliph or Khalifa.
Non-Cooperation Movement:-
1. In 1920, under Gandhiji’s leadership, the Congress Constitution was amended and “the attainment of Swarajya by the people of India by all legitimate and peaceful means” became the First Article of the Constitution of the Congress. It is called the Non-Cooperation Movement because of the methods adopted in this Movement.
Gandhiji took part in Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements simultaneously. Under Non-Cooperation Movement Public was urged not to Cooperate British government. The people should not pay taxes. They should leave and boycott government schools and courts. ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott’ were two main weapons of National Movement. New educational institutes like the Jamia Millia at Aligarh (later shifted to Delhi) and Kashi Vidyapeeth at Banaras were started by nationalists due to these movements.
3. The Non-Cooperation Movement began with the renunciation of honorary titles like ‘Sir’ by Subramaniam Iyer and Rabindranath Tagore and ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ by Gandhiji released in 1924.
4. But on 5 February 1922, the people in their anger, set the police station on fire and twenty-two policemen were burnt alive. Gandhiji hearing the news of the incident, called off the movement.
5. In 1922. Gandhiji was arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment but due to illness Gandhiji.
6. Khilafat and Non-Coopeation Movement strengthened the unity between the Hindus and the Muslims. One of the most popular slogans during the movement was “Hindu Musalman ki Jai”.
