Modern India

THE ADVENT OF EUROPEANS

PORTUGUESE

·               The Portuguese voyager Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on May 17, 1498. At the time Calicut was ruled by a king named Zamorin. Vasco da Gama’s voyage was successful in establishing a sea route from Europe to India that would permit trade with the Far East, without the use of the costly and unsafe Silk Road caravan routes, of the Middle East and Central Asia. In 1502, he established a factory at Cochin.

·               The first Governor of Portuguese in India was Francisco Almeida.

·               He was followed by Alfonso d’ Albuquerque in 1503. He gave them new heights. He captured Goa in 1510 from the Bijapur ruler. He also abolished Sati.

·               Nino-da-Cunha transferred the Portuguese capital in India from Cochin to Goa in 1530 and acquired Diu (in 1535) and Daman (in 1559).

·               Portuguese lost Hugly in 1631 during the reign of Shahjahan.

·               In 1661, the Portuguese king gave Bombay to Charles II of England as dowry, for marrying his sister.

·               Gradually, their Indian territories were taken away from them by various sources. The Dutch played an important role to oust them.

DUTCH

·               Dutch East India Company was formed in 1602.

·               They set-up their first factory at Masulipatnam in 1605. Their other factories were at Pulicat, Chinsura, Patna, Balasore, Nagapattanam, Cochin, Surat, Karikal, Kasimbazar.

ENGLISH

·               The English East India Company was formed in 1599, and was given the royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 to trade in the east.

·               Captain William Hawkins stayed in Jahangir’s court from 1609-1611. But he failed to get the king’s permission to errect a factory at Surat. Captain Middleton succeeded in this effort in 1611.

·               An imperial farman allowed the Company to set up a permanent factory at Surat in 1613. Sir Thomas Roe played an important role in this.

·               In 1616, the Company established its first factory in the south in Masulipatnam. In 1633, it established its first factory in east India in Hariharpur, Balasore (Orissa).

·               The Company got the lease of Madras in 1639 and built Fort St. George in Madras, which acted as it’s headquarter on the Coromandal coast.

·               Bombay was made the Company’s main settlement on the west coast in 1668.

·               Aurangzeb gave the Company the farman in 1667 to trade in Bengal. In1690, a factory was set up at Sutanuti village. In Sutanati and nearby villages of Kalikata and Gobindpur, grew the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata). In 1696, the Company fortified the Calcutta factory into Fort William.

·               In 1717, John Surman obtained a farman from Farrukhsiyar which gave large concessions to the Company. This farman is called the ‘Magna Carta’ of the Company.

 DANES

·               The Danish East India Company was formed in 1616.

·               They established settlements at Serampur (Bengal) and Tranquebar (Tamil Nadu).

·               The Danes sold their settlements to the English in 1845.

FRENCH

·               The French East India Company was set in 1664, at the instance of a minister, Colbert, in the reign of Louis XIV.

·               The French Company was created, financed and controlled by the State and it differed from the English Company which was a private commercial venture.

·               They established their first factory at Surat in 1668 and at Masulipatnam in 1669.

·               The foundation of Pondicherry was laid in 1673 which, afterwards, became its capital. They also developed a factory in Chandernagar.

Robert Clive

Robert Clive is regarded as the true founder of British Political Dominion in India. He correctly read the intricacies of the political situation of the time and struck boldly and in the right direction. He outdid his French adversary Dupleix and achieved more permanent results. He was made the Governor of Bengal twice form 1757-60 and then from 1765-67. He administered Bengal under the Dual government. With the resources of Bengal, the English conquered South India and routed their only political rival in India, the French. Above all, he transformed a mere trading body that the east India Company was into a territorial power with the role of 'king-maker' in Bengal. On his return to England, he committed suicide in 1774.

THE BRITISH CONQUEST OF BENGAL

·               The Mughal governor of Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan, made Bengal virtually independent of the Mughal Empire during the reign (1717-1727).

·               His son Shuja-ud-daulah succeeded him and ruled for 12 years.

·               After his death, Alivardi Khan ruled till 1756.

·               These three rulers gave Bengal a long reign of peace and orderly administration.

·               They suppressed the East India Company, but never crushed it. On the other hand, the Company constantly increased its power taking advantage of the corrupt officers.

·               The result was the defeat of Siraj-ud-daulah (grandson and successor of Alivardi Khan) in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. In this battle major part of the Nawab’s army (led by Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh) didn’t take part in the battle. The Nawab was defeated and killed.

·               The Battle of Plassey had great political significance as it laid the foundation of the British Empire in India. It is regarded as the starting point of British Rule in India.

·               A great transformation came about in the position of the English Company in Bengal. Before Plassey, the English Company was just one of the European companies trading in Bengal and suffering various extractions at the hands of Nawab’s officials. After Plassey the English Company virtually monopolized the trade and commerce of Bengal.

·               The alleged Black Hole Tragedy happened during the reign of Siraj-ud-daulah in 1757.

·               Mir Jafar was made the next Nawab of Bengal. The Company was granted undisputed right to free trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It received the Zamindari of 24 Parganas.

·               Next came Mir Qasim. He revolted against the British as he was angry that the British were misusing the dastaks (free duty passes).

·               The Battle of Buxar was fought in 1764 between the British forces (led by Major Munro) on one side, and the triple alliance of Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam, on the other side. But the triple-alliance was defeated. The importance of this battle lay in the fact that not only the Nawab of Bengal but the Emperor of India was also defeated.

·               If the Battle of Plassey had made the English a powerful factor in the politics of Bengal, the victory of Buxar made them a great power of North India and contenders for the supremacy of the whole country. The English now faced the Afghans and the Marathas as serious rivals in the final struggle for the Empire of Hindustan.

·               The Treaty of Allahabad followed (August 1765) in which the English got the Diwani (or right to collect revenue) of Bengal and thus became the master of the whole of Bengal (i.e. Bengal, Bihar and Orissa). The Dual Government of Bengal system followed administration rested on the Nawab of Bengal.

·               The Mughal emperor was virtually Company’s prisoner at Allahabad.

GOVERNOR GENERALS

WARREN HASTINGS (1772-1785)

·               Brought the Dual Govt. of Bengal to an end by the Regulating Act, 1773.

·               Deprived zamindars of their judicial powers and Civil and Criminal courts were established.

·               Maintenance of records was made compulsory.

·               The First Anglo-Maratha War (1776-82), which ended with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), and the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84), which ended with the Treaty of Mangalore (1784), were fought during Hastings’s period.

·               As a great patron of oriental learning, he founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal with William Jones in 1784. He wrote introduction to the first English translation of ‘The Gita’ by Charles Wilkins.

·               Impeachment proceedings started against him when he returned on the charges of taking bribe. After a trial of 7 years, he was finally acquitted.

LORD CORNWALLIS (1786-1793)

·               Did the Permanent Settlement of Bengal (also Zamindary System).

·               First person to codify laws. The code separated the revenue administration from the administration of justice.

·               Police Reforms : Each district was divided into 400 sq. miles and placed under a police superintendent assisted by constables.

·               The civil service was brought into existence.

SIR JOHN SHORE (1793-1798)

LORD WELLESLEY (1798-1805)

·               Adopted the policy of Subsidiary Alliance – a system to keep the Indian rulers under control and to make the British the paramount power.

·               He defeated the Mysore force under Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799.

Subsidiary Alliance

·               The Subsidiary Alliance System was used by Wellesley to bring Indian States within the orbit of the British political power. The system played a very important part in the expansion of the Company's dominions and many new territories were added to the Company's possessions.

·               There were four stages in it. In the first stage, the Company undertook to lend its troops to a friendly Indian prince to assist him in his wars. In the second stage, the Company's troops took the field on their own account with the assistance of an Indian ally who made common cause with them. The next stage was reached when the Indian ally was not to supply men but money. The company undertook to raise, train and equip an army under English officers and render available to the ally a fixed number of troops on receiving a sum of money towards the cost of these troops. The final stage was the next logical step. The Company undertook to defend the territories of an Indian ally and for that purpose stationed a subsidiary force in the territory of the state. The Indian ally was asked not to pay money but surrender territory from the revenue of which the expenses of the subsidiary force were to be met.

·               The Indian states were to conduct negotiations with other states through the Company. The state was to accept a British Resident at its headquarters. The Alliance enabled the Company to maintain a large standing army at the expense of Indian princes. It disarmed the Indian states and threw British protectorate over them.

·               The states that accepted this policy were the Nizam of Hyderabad, the ruler of Mysore, the Raja of Tanjore, the Nawab of Awadh, the Peshwa, the Bhonsle Raja of Berar, the Scindia, the Rajputs of Jodhpur, Jaipur, etc.

PERMANENT SETTLEMENT

(The Zamindari System)

·               Introduced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and districts of Banaras and Northern districts of Madras by Lord Cornwallis in 1793,

·               John Shore planned this.

·               It declared Zamindars as the owners of the land. Hence, they could keep 1/1 1th of the revenue collected to themselves while the British got a fixed share of 10/111th of the revenue collected. The Zamindars were free to fix the rent.

·               Assured of their ownership, many Zamindars stayed in towns (absentee landlordism) and exploited their tenants.

RYOTWARI SYSTEM

·               Introduced in Bombay, Madras and Assam. Lord Munro and Charles Reed recommended it.

·               In this, a direct settlement was made between the govt. and the ryot (cultivator).

·               The revenue was fixed for a period not exceeding 30 years, on the basis of the quality of the soil and the nature of the crop. It was based on the scientific rent theory of Ricardo.

·               The position of the cultivator became more secure but the rigid system of revenue collection often forced him into the clutches of the money-lender.

MAHALWARI SYSTEM

·               Modified version of Zamindari settlement introduced in the Ganges valley, NWFP, parts of Central India and Punjab. Revenue settlement was to be made by village or estate with landlords. In Western UP a settlement was made with the village communities, which maintained a form of common ownership known as Bhaichara, or with Mahals, which were groups of villages.

·               Revenue was periodically revised.

GEORGE BARLOW (1805-1807)

LORD MINTO (1807-1813)

·               Concluded the treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1809).

·               Charter Act of 1813 was passed.

LORD HASTINGS (1813-1823)

·               The Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16) was fought during his reign which ended with the Treaty of Sagauli (1816).

LORD AMHERST (1823-1828)

LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK (1828-1835)

·               Carried out the social reforms like Prohibition of Sati (1829) and elimination of thugs (1830).

·               Made English the medium of higher education in the country (After the recommendations of Macaulay).

·               Suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.

·               Charter Act of 1833 was passed; made him the first Governor General of India. Before him, the designation was Governor General of Bengal.

SIR CHARLES METCALFE (1835-1836)

·               Abolished all restrictions on vernacular press (called Liberator of the Press).

LORD AUCKLAND (1836-1842)

LORD ELLENBOROUGH (1842-1844)

LORD HARDINGE (1844-1848)

LORD DALHOUSIE (1848-1856)

·               Opened the first Indian Railway in 1853 (from Bombay to Thane).

·               Laid out the telegraph lines in 1853 (First was from Calcutta to Agra).

·               Introduced the Doctrine of Lapse and captured Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambhalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1854) and Nagpur (1854) through it.

·               Established the postal system on the modern lines through the length and breadth of the country, which made communication easier.

·               Started the Public Works Department. Many bridges were constructed and the work on Grand Trunk Road was started. The harbors of Karachi, Bombay and Calcutta were also developed.

·               Made Shimla the summer capital.

·               Started Engineering college at Roorkee.

·               Encouraged science, forestry, commerce, mineralogy and industry.

·               In 1854, ‘Wood’s Dispatch’ was passed, which provided for the properly articulated system of education from the primary school to the university.

·               Due to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s efforts, remarriage of widows was legalized by Widow Remarriage Act, 1856.

DOCTRINE OF LAPSE

The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy devised by Lord Dalhousie. According to the Doctrine, any princely state or territory under the direct influence (paramountcy) of the British East India Company, as a vassal state under the British Subsidiary System, would automatically be annexed if the ruler was either “manifestly incompetent or died without direct heir”. The company took over the princely states of Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambalpur (1849), Nagpur and Jhansi (1854) and Awadh (Oudh) (1856) using the Doctrine. The Doctrine is thought to be one of the major driving forces behind the Revolt of 1857.

THE REVOLT OF 1857

CAUSES

POLITICAL CAUSES

·               Nana Sahib was refused pension, as he was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II.

·               The policy of Doctrine of Lapse.

ECONOMIC CAUSES

·               Heavy taxation, evictions, discriminatory tariff policy against Indian products and destruction of traditional handicrafts that hit peasants, artisans and small zamindars.

MILITARY DISCRIMINATION

·               Indian soldiers were paid low salaries, they could not rise above the rank of subedar and were racially insulted.

·               They were also grieved because of the refusal of British to pay foreign service allowance (batta) while fighting in remote regions such as Punjab and Sindh.

DEBATE OVER THE NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE REBELLION

·               Historians remain divided on whether the rebellion can properly be considered a war of Indian independence or not, although it is popularly considered to be one, particularly in India.

Arguments against include

• A united India did not exist at that time in political terms;
• The rebellion remained confined to the ranks of the Bengal Army (which nonetheless was the largest of the armies in India) and in North-Central India;
• The mutiny was put down with the help of other Indian soldiers drawn from the Madras Army, the Bombay Army and the Sikh regiments;
• Many princes and maharajas did not participate in the rebellion. Those that did were basically interested in reviving and reclaiming their own principalities and fiefdoms, not creating a United India.
• The Army and the Princes, who were the principal instigators of the rebellion of 1857, played no part in the Nationalist movement as it emerged in the 1880’s.

·               A second school of though while acknowledging the validity of the above mentioned arguments opines that this rebellion may indeed be called a war India’s independence.

Arguments for include

• Even though the rebellion had various causes (e.g. sepoy grievances, British high-handedness, the infamous Doctrine of Lapse etc.), most of the rebel.
• Sepoys set out to revive the old Mughal empire, that signified a national symbol for them, instead of heading home or joining services of their regional principalities, which would not have been unreasonable if their revolt were only inspired by grievance.
• There was a widespread popular revolt in many areas such as Awadh, Bundelkhand and Rohilkhand. The rebellion was therefore more than just a military mutiny, and it spanned more than one region.
• The sepoys did not seek to revive small kingdoms in their regions, instead they repeatedly proclaimed a “country-wide rule” of the Moghuls and vowed to drive out the British from “India”, as they knew it then. The objective of driving out “foreigners” from not only one’s own area but from their conception of the entirety of “India”, signifies a nationalist sentiment.

·               In short, we may summarise the discussion in following terms.

• If the criterion of a National War of Independence is set as “a war (or numerous conflicts) spread all over the nation cutting across regional lines”, the rebellion in that case does not quality as a war of India’s independence.
• If the criterion for a National War of Independence is set as “a war, which even if geographically confined to certain regions, is waged with the intention of driving out from the complete national area a power perceived to be foreign”, then it was a war of national independence.

RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

·               British social reforms (widow remarriage, abolition of Sati, education for girls, Christian missionaries).

·               The introduction of Enfield rifle, the cartridge of which was greased with animal fat, provided the spark.

·               Inventions like railway and telegraphs, spread of Western education also promoted the cause.

·               Outbreak

·               On March 29, 1857, a soldier named Mangal Pandey attacked and fired at his senior at Barrackpur in Bengal (in 19^th and 34^th Native infantry).

·               On May10, there was a mutiny of sepoys at Meerut (3^rd native cavalry).

·               Mutiny spread throughout UP along with some others parts of the country.

·               ‘March to Delhi’ became the battle cry of the rebels. At Delhi, the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II was proclaimed the Emperor of India.

·               Where the rulers were loyal to the British, the soldiers revolted as in Gwalior and Indore. In some places, the people revolted before the sepoys did.

·               In the beginning, the rebels were successful. Europeans were killed, law courts and police stations were attacked and revenue records were destroyed. But reverses soon began to occur.

IMPORTANT PERSONS

·               Bakht Khan (captured Delhi, was from the Barreily unit of the army).

·               Nana Sahib alias Dhondhu Pant (from Kanpur, along with Tantia Tope and Azimullah) Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh (declared her son as the Nawab of Awadh).

·               Rani Lakshmibai, the widowed queen of Raja Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi (Tantia Tope joined her and they defeated the Scindia of Gwalior, but both were defeated by Sir Hugh Rose. She died on June, 1858, while Tantia was later captured and executed).

·               Kunwar Singh and Amar Singh (Bihar).

·               Maulavi Ahmedullah (First Awadh and then Rohilkhand).

·               Devi Singh of Mathura.

·               Kadam Singh of Meerut.

SUPPRESSION

Delhi                   :               By John Nicholson and Hudson.

Kanpur               :               By Campbell, Havelock.

Lucknow           :               By Havelock, Outram, James Neill and Campbell

Jhansi                  :               Hugh Rose

Banaras             :               James Neill

·               The revolt was completely suppressed by the end of 1858.

FATE OF THE LEADERS

·               Bahadur Shah II: Deported to Rangoon, where he died in 1862 his sons were shot dead.

·               Nana Sahib and Begum Hazrat Mahal: Escaped to Nepal.

·               Rani Jhansi: Died in the battle field.

·               Tantia Tope: Was captured and executed in 1859.

CAUSES OF FAILURE

·               Scindia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Jodhpur, the Nawab of Bhopal, the rulers of Patiala, Sindh and Kashmir and the Rana of Nepal provided active support to the British.

·               The military equipment of the rebels was inferior.

·               Comparative lack of efficient leadership.

·               The modern intelligent Indians also didn’t support the cause.

·               Impact of the revolt

·               The revolt was mainly feudal in character carrying with it some nationalist elements.

·               The control of Indian administration was passed on to the British crown by the Govt. of India Act, 1858. The army was carefully reorganized to prevent the recurrence of such an event.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL UPRISINGS

BRAHMO SAMAJ

·               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

·               Founded by SwamiHHHHHjfkdjflkjdlkOtherokjlkdjfkdjfkldj 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 Shraddanand.

·               Ramakrishna Mission

·               Founded by Vivekanand (earlier, Narendranath Dutta) (1863-1902) in 1897, 11 years after the death of his guru Ram Krishna Paramhans.

·               Vivekanand attended the Parliament of Religion at Chicago in 1893.

·               He published two papers: Prabhudha Bharat in English and Udodhana in Bengali.

·               Vivekanand’s Quotes:

• No social progress is possible without improving condition of women, who were most important instrument of social change.
• So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.
• All power is within you, you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak... You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of any one. All power is there. Stand up and express the divinity with you... Arise, awake, sleep no more. With each of you there is the power to remove all wants and all miseries. Believe in this, that power will be manifested.

·               Irish women Margaret Nobel (Known as sister Nivedita) popularized Ramakrishna Mission after Vivekanand’s death.

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 Literacy 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.

VEDA SAMAJ

·               Called Brahmo Samaj of South. Started by Sridharalu Naidu.

·               He translated books of Brahmo Dharma into Tamil and Telegu.

DHARMA SABHA

·               Initiated by Radhakant Deb in 1830.

·               Was opposed to reforms and protected orthodoxy, but played an active role in promoting western education even to girls.

LOKAHITAWADI

·               Started by Gopal Hari Deshmukh. Advocated western education and a rational outlook. He advocated female education for the upliftment of women.

·               As a votary of national self-reliance, he attended Delhi durbar in 1876, wearing handspun khadi cloth.

INDIAN (NATIONAL) SOCIAL CONFERENCE

·               Founded by M.G. Ranade and Raghunath Rao. It held its first session in 1887.

·               Its main focus was on abolition of polygamy and kulinism and it encouraged intercaste marriages. It also pledged to flight child marriage.

·               The Conference is sometimes referred as the social reform cell of the Indian National Congress.

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.

SEVA SAMITI

·               Hridayanath Kunzru, a member of the Servants of India Society, organized the Samiti at Allahabad in 1914, to improve the status of the suffering classes, reform criminals and to rescue those suffering in society.

RADHASWAMI MOVEMENT

·               Founded in 1861 by a banker of Agra, Tulsi Ram, popularly known as Shiv Dayal Saheb or Swami Maharaj.

·               The sect preached belief in one supreme being, the Guru’s supreme position and a simple social life for the believers (the Satsangis).

DEVA SAMAJ

·               Founded by Shiv Narain Agnihotri in 1887, it preached high moral and social conduct like, for instance, keeping oneself away from gambling and intoxicants.

·               Deva Shastra tells us about the ideals of Deva Samaj.

THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

·               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.

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

·               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 DEOBAND 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.

SATYA SHODHAK 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 advocate 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.

THE JUSTICE PARTY MOVEMENT

·               Dr. T.M. Nair, Sir Pitti Theagaraja Chettiar and the Raja of Panagal formed the South Indian Liberal Federations (SILF) in 1916 to protest against the domination of Brahmins in government service, education and in the political field.

·               The newspaper, Justice, was their main organ for expressing views and opinions.

·               The SILF came to be called the Justice Party later on.

SELF RESPECT MOVEMENT

·               The radical movement was launched by Periyar or E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Tamil Nadu in1925, to awaken non-brahmins for overthrowing brahmanic superiority.

·               The movement organized weddings without involving the Brahmins and temple entry.

SELF – RESPECT MOVEMENT

·               Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s movement worked for the upliftment of the untouchables by fighting for their educational, legal and political rights and encouraging them to throw off the traditional caste duties imposed on them.

·               Ambedkar founded the Depressed Classes Institute (Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha) in Bombay in 1924, a Marathi fortnightly Bahishkrit Bharat in 1927 and the Samaj Samata Sangha in 1927, he also founded the Independent Labour Party.

·               The Scheduled Caste Federation, a political party, was formed by him in 1942.

TRIBAL & PEASANT UPRISINGS OF 19-20TH CENTURY

CHAURA RISING

·               Between 1768 and 1832 in Naanbhum and Bada Bhum area a West Bengal.

BHIL REVOLT

·               Between 1818 and 1848 in Western Ghats.

HO RISING

·               In 1820, 1822 and 1832 in Singhbhum and Chhota Nagpur area.

KOLI RISINGS

·               In 1824, 1827, 1839 and 1844-48 in the area near Western Ghats of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

KHASI RISINGS

·               In 1829-32 in Khasi mountain range in Assam and Meghalaya. Under Tirath Singh and Badmanik.

SINGPO REVOLT

·               In 1830-39 in Assam.

KOL RISING

·               Under Buddho Bhagat in 1831-32 in Chhota Nagpur area.

KHOND RISING

·               Under Chakrabisai in 1846-48, 1855 and 1914 in Orissa’s Khondmal area.

NAIKAD REVOLT

·               Under Roop Singh and Joria Bhagat in 1858-59 and 1868 in Panchmahal area of Gujarat.

KACHNAG REVOLT

·               Under Sambhudaan in 1882 in Chaachar area of Assam.

BHIL RISING

·               Under Goving Guru in Banswara and Dungapur area of South Rajasthan

ORAON REVOLT

·               Under Jatra Bhagat in 1914-15 in Chhota Nagpur area.

THARO KUKI RISING

·               Under Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu in 1917-19 in Manipur.

CHAINCHU REVOLT

·               Under Hanumunthu in 1921-22 in Nallamala range of Andhra Pradesh.

Santhal Revolt

·               Under Sado and Kanhu in 1855-57 in Rajmahal hills.

·               Began Primarily as a reaction against their exploitation by the outsiders (esp. by people from plains), developed into an anti-British movement.

·               Fought the Britishers and too complete control of the area between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal, but were crushed.

MUNDA REVOLT

·               Under Birsa Munda in 1899-1900 in Southern Ranchi.

·               Birsa used to practice archery aiming at a statue of Queen Victoria.

RAMPA REVOLT

·               Under Rajan Anatayya in 1884 and Alluri Sitaram Raju in 1922-24 in Andhra Pradesh.

RAMOSI REVOLT

·               Under Vasudeo Balwant Fadke (called Robinhood of Maharashtra) in 1822-29 in Western Ghats.

PEASANT UPRISINGS

MOPLAH REBELLION

·               In Malabar region. Due to oppression and exploitation of the Muslim Moplah peasants of N. Kerala by the Hindu Zamindars (Jemmis) and British Government.

·               Rifts started as early as 1836. Main revolt in August 1921.

ROMASI MOVEMENT

·               Under Vasudev Balwant Phadke in Maharashtra in 1879.

PABNA MOVEMENT

·               In East Bengal’s Pabna district in 1872-76 due to oppression of peasantry by the zamindars.

BIJOLIA MOVEMENT

·               In Rajasthan in 1905, 1913, 1916, 1927 the movement arose due to the imposition of 86 different types of cesses on peasants.

VICEROYS OF INDIA (1858-AUG. 14, 1947)

LORD CANNING (1856-1862)

·               The last Governor General and the first Viceroy.

·               Mutiny took place in his time.

·               On Nov. 1858, the rule passed on to the crown.

·               Withdrew Doctrine of Lapse.

·               The Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were established in 1857.

·               Indian Councils Act was passed in 1861.

LORD ELGIN (1862-1863)

LORD LAWRENCE (1864-1869)

·               Telegraphic communication was opened with Europe.

·               High courts were established at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1865.

·               Expanded canal works and railways.

·               Created the Indian Forest Department.

LORD MAYO (1869-1872)

·               Started the process of financial decentralization in India.

·               Established the Rajkot College at Kathiarwar and Mayo college at Ajmer for the Indian princes.

·               For the first time in Indian history, a census was held in 1871.

·               Organised the Statistical Survey of India.

·               Was the only Viceroy to be murdered in office by a Pathan convict in the Andamans in 1872.

LORD NORTHBROOK (1872-1876)

LORD LYTTON (1876-1880)

·               Known as the Viceroy of reverse characters.

·               Organised the Grand ‘Delhi Durbar’ in 1857 to decorate Queen Victory with the title of ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’.

·               Arms Act (1878) made it mandatory for Indians to acquire license for amrs.

·               Passed the infamous Vernacular Press Act (1878).

LORD RIPON (1880-1884)

·               Liberal person, who sympathized with Indians.

·               Vernacular Press Act (1882).

·               Passed the local self-government Act (1882).

·               Took steps to improve primary & secondary education (on William Hunter Commission’s recommendations).

·               The I Factory Act, 1881, aimed at prohibiting child labour was passed.

·               Passed the Ibert Bill (1883) which enabled Indian district magistrates to try European criminals. But this was withdrawn later.

LORD DUFFERIN (1884-1888)

·               Indian National Congress was formed during his tenure.

LORD LANSDOWNE (1888-1894)

·               II Factory Act (1891) granted a weekly holiday and stipulated working hours for women and children, although it failed to address concerns such as work hours for men.

·               Categorization of Civil Services into Imperial, Provincial and Subordinate.

·               Indian Council Act of 1892 was passed.

·               Appointment of Durand Commission to define the line between British India and Afghanistan.

LORD ELGIN II (1894-1899)

·               Great famine of 1896-1897, Lyall commission was appointed.

LORD CURZON (1899-1905)

·               Passed the Indian Universities Act (1904) in which official control over the Universities was increased.

·               Partitioned Bengal (October 16, 1905) into two provinces.

1. Bengal (proper)
2. East Bengal & Assam

·               Appointed a Police Commission under Sir Andrew Frazer to enquire into the police administration of every province.

·               The risings of the frontier tribes in 1897-98 led him to create the North Western Frontier Province (NEWP).

·               Passed the Ancient Monuments Protection Act (1904), to restore India’s cultural heritage. Thus the Archaeological Survey of India was established.

·               Passed the Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act (1899) and put India on a gold standard.

·               Extended railways to a great extent.

LORD MINTO (1905-1910)

·               There was great political unrest in India. Various acts were passed to curb the revolutionary activities. Extremists like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh (in May, 1907) and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (in July, 1908) were sent to Mandalay jail in Burma.

·               The Indian Council Act of 1909 or the Morley-Minto Reforms was passed.

LORD HARDINGE (1910-1916)

·               Held a durbar in Dec, 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V.

·               Partition of Bengal was cancelled (1911); capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).

·               Delhi was made capital in place of Calcutta.

·               A bomb was thrown at him, but he escaped unhurt (Dec, 23 1912).

·               Gandhiji came back to India from South Africa (1915).

·               Annie Besant announced the Home Rule Movement.

·               Lord Chelmsford (1916-1926)

·               August Declaration of 1917, whereby control over the Indian government would be gradually transferred to the Indian people.

·               The government of India Act in 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford reforms) was passed.

·               Rowlatt Act of 1919; Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919).

·               Non-Cooperation Movement.

·               An Indian Sir S.P. Sinha was appointed the Governor of Bengal.

·               A Women’s university was founded at Poona in 1916.

·               Saddler Commission was appointed in 1917 to envisage new educational policy.

LORD READING (1921-1926)

·               Rowlatt Act was repealed along with the Press Act of 1910.

·               Suppressed non-cooperation movement.

·               Prince of Wales visited India in Nov, 1921.

·               Moplah revellion (1921) took place in Kerala.

·               Ahmedabad session of 1921.

·               Formation of Swaraj Party.

·               Vishwabharati University started functioning in 1922.

·               Communist party was founded in 1921 by M.N. Roy.

·               Kakory Train Robbery on Aug 9, 1925.

·               Communal riots of 1923-25 in Multan, Amritsar, Delhi, etc.

·               Swami Shraddhanand, a great nationalist and a leader of the Arya Samajists, was murdered in communal orgy.

LORD IRWIN (1926-1931)

·               Simon Commission visited India in 1928.

·               Congress passed the Indian Resolution in 1929.

·               Dandi March (Mar 12, 1930)

·               First Round Table Conference held in England in 1930.

·               Gandhi – Irwin pact (Mar 5, 1931) was signed and Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn.

·               Martyrdom of Jatin Das after 64 days hunger strike (1929).

LORD WILLINGDON (1931-1936)

·               Second Round Table conference in London in 1931.

·               On his return Gandhiji was again arrested and Civil Disobedience Movement was resumed in Jan, 1932.

·               Communal Awards (Aug 16, 1932) assigned seats to different religious communities. Gandhiji went on a epic fast in protest against this division.

·               Third Round Table Conference in 1932.

·               Poona Pact was signed.

·               Government of India Act (1935) was passed.

LORD LINLITHGOW (1936-1944)

·               Govt. of India Act enforced in the provinces. Congress ministries formed in 8 out of 11 provinces. They remained in power for about 2 years till October 1939, when they gave up offices on the issue of India having been dragged into the II World War. The Muslim League observed the day as ‘Deliverance Day’.

·               Churchill became the British PM in May, 1940. He declared that the Atlantic Charter (issued jointly by the UK and US, stating to give sovereign rights to those who have been forcibly deprived of them) does not apply to India.

·               Outbreak of World War II in 1939.

·               Cripps Mission in 1942.

·               Quit India Movement (August 8, 1942).

LORD WAVELL (1944-1947)

·               Arranged the Shimla Conference on June 25, 1945 with Indian National Congress and Muslim League; failed.

·               Cabinet Mission Plan (May 16, 1946).

·               Elections to the constituent assembly was held on Dec 9, 1946.

LORD MOUNTBATTEN (MAR. 1947 – AUG. 1947)

·               Last Viceroy of British India and the first Governor of free India.

·               Partition of India decided by the June 3 Plan.

·               Indian Independence Act passed by the British parliament on July 4, 1947, by which India became independent on August 15, 1947.

·               Retired in June 1948 and was succeeded by c. Rajagopalachari (the first and the last Indian Governor General of free India).

IMPORTANT NATIONAL ACTIVITIES

INDIGO REVOLT (1859-60)

·               In this, the peasants were forced to grow indigo in their lands unwillingly by the European factory-owners.

·               The anger exploded in Govindpur village of Nadia district (Bengal) under Digambar Biswas & Vishnu Biswas.

·               Others who played important role were Harish Chandra Mukherjee (editor of the newspaper Hindu Patriot), Dinbandhu Mitra (writer of play, Neel Darpan) & Michael Madhusudan Datta (eminent Bengali poet-cum-play writer, who translated Neel Darpan into English).

·               The Govt. appointed an Indigo Commission in 1860 and removed some of the abuse of Indigo cultivation.

THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

·               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 W.C. 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 (Lal, Bal, Pal), along with Aurobindo Ghosh.

PARTITION OF BENGAL

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

·               The 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 I n1971 after liberation from Pakistan.

·               The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was observed on Oct. 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.

SWADESHI MOVEMENT (1905)

·               Had its origin in the anti-partition movement of Bengal. The leaders of Bengal felt that mere demonstrations, public meetings and resolutions were not enough and 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.

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

·               INC took the Swadeshi call first at the Banaras Session, 1905 presided over by G.K. Gokhale.

·               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.

MUSLIM LEAGUE (1906)

·               Setup in 1906 under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk.

·               It was a loyalist, communal and conservative political organization which supported the partition of Bengal, opposed the Swadeshi movement, demanded special safeguards of its community and a separate electorate for Muslims.

SWARAJ

·               In Dec, 1906 at Calcutta, the INC under Dadabhai Naoroji adopted ‘Swaraj’ (Self-govt) as the goal of Indian people.

·               Surat session of INC

·               The INC split into two groups – The extremists and The moderates, at the Surat session in 1907. Extremists were led by Bal, Pal, Lal while the moderates by G.K. Gokhale.

·               Controversy rose over the elected president, Ras Bihari Ghosh, as extremists didn’t accept him. Extremists wanted Lala Lajpat Rai to be chosen.

·               The government after this launched a massive attack on extremists by suppressing their newspapers and arresting their leaders.

INDIAN COUNCILS ACT OR MINTO MORLEY REFORMS (1909)

·               Besides other constitutional measures, it envisaged a separate electorate for Muslims.

·               Aimed at dividing the nationalists ranks and at rallying the Moderates and the Muslims to the Government’s side.

GHADAR PARTY (1913)

·               Formed by Lala Hardayal, Taraknath Das and Sohan Singh Bhakna.

·               The name was taken from a weekly paper, Ghadar, which had been started on Nov 1, 1913 to commemorate the 1957 revolt.

·               HQ was at San Francisco.

·               The outbreak of the First World War provided the Ghadarites with an opportunity to free India from a Government which was indifferent to their cause.

·               They began to return to India in thousands for a co-ordinated revolt in collaboration with the Bengal revolutionaries. Their plan was foiled at the last moment due to treachery.

KOMAGATA MARU INCIDENT (1914)

·               Komagata Maru was the name of a ship which carried a shipload of Sikh and Muslim immigrants from Punjab to Vancouver, Canada.

·               But the Canadian immigration authorities turned them back after months of uncertainty.

·               The ship finally anchored at Calcutta on September 29, 1914.

·               But the inmates refused to board the Punjab bound train and there was a clash with the police in which 22 persons died.

·               This incidence fired up the revolutionary activities which sought to avenge the death of the innocents.

HOME RULE MOVEMENT (1916)

·               After Tilak’s return, having served sentence of six years in Mandalay (in Burma), he tried securing the readmission of himself and other extremists into the INC. With the need being felt for popular pressure to attain concessions, disillusionment with Minto-Morley reforms and war-time miseries, Tilak and Annie Besant readied to assume leadership.

·               Started by B.G. Tilak (April, 1916) at Poona and Annie Besant and S. Subramania Iyer at Adyar, near Madras (Sept, 1916).

·               Tilak’s league was to work in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Province and Berar and Annie Besant’s in the rest of India.

·               Objective: Self-government for India in the British Empire.

·               Tilak linked up the question of Swaraj with the demand for the formation of linguistic states and education in vernacular language. He gave the slogan: Swaraj is my birth right and I will have it.

·               The Mahratta and Kesari of Tilak and Annie Besant’s New India, Commonweal and Young India became the organs of the Home Rule movement.

·               Muslim league also supported it.

LUCKNOW PACT (1916)

·               Happened following a war between Britain and Turkey leading to anti-British feelings among Muslims.

·               Both INC and ML conducted this (Congress accepted the separate electorates and both jointly demanded for a representative government and dominion status for the country).

AUGUST DECLARATION (1917)

·               After the Lucknow Pact, a British policy was announced which aimed at “increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration for progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British empire”. This came to be called the August Declaration.

·               Because of Hindu-Muslim unity exhibited in Lucknow Pact.

·               The Montague-Chelmsford reforms or the Act of 1919 was based on this declaration.

ROWLATT ACT (MARCH 18, 1919)

·               This gave unbridled powers to the govt. to arrest and imprison suspects without trial for two years maximum. This law enabled the Government to suspend the right of Habeas Corpus, which had been the foundation of civil liberties in Britain.

·               Caused a wave of anger in all sections. It was the first country-wide agitation by Gandhiji and marked the foundation of the Non Cooperation Movement.

·               During March and April 1919, the country witnessed a remarkable political awakening in India. There were hartals, processions and demonstrations everywhere.

JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE (APRIL 13, 1919)

·               People were agitated over the arrest of Dr. Kitchlu and Dr. Satyapal on April 10, 1919.

·               General O’ Dyer fired at people who assembled in the Jalliawala Bag, Amritsar.

·               As a result hundreds of men, women and children were killed and thousands injured.

·               Rabindranath Tagore returned his Knighthood in protest. Sir Shankaran Nair resigned from Viceroy’s Executive Council after this.

·               Hunter     commission was appointed to enquire into it.

·               On March 13, 1940, Sardar Udham Singh killed O’ Dyer when the latter was addressing a meeting in Caxton Hall, London.

KHILAFAT MOVEMENT (1920)

·               Muslims were agitated by the treatment done with Turkey by the British in the treaty that followed the First World War.

·               Two brothers, Mohd. Ali and Shaukat Ali started this movement, along with Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Hasrat Mohani. It was jointly led by the Khilafat leaders and the Congress.

·               Gandhiji viewed the Khilafat agitation as a golden opportunity for bringing the Hindus and Muslims together.

·               Gandhiji now pressed the Congress to adopt a similar plan of action. Although it was initially opposed by C.R. Das, but was later passed unopposed.

NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT (1920)

·               It was the first mass-based political movement under Gandhiji.

·               Congress passed the resolution in its Calcutta session in September, 1920.

·               The movement envisaged:

• Surrender of titles and honorary offices.
• Resignation from nominated offices and posts in the local bodies.
• Refusal to attend govt. darbars and boycott of British courts by the lawyers.
• Refusal of general public to offer themselves for military and other govt. jobs, and boycott of foreign goods etc.

·               C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru gave up their legal practice and Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the Civil Service.

·               The Prince of Walves visited India during this period. But he was greeted with empty streets and downed shutters when he came (Nov. 17, 1921).

CHAURI – CHAURA INCIDENT (1922)

·               The Congress session at Allahabad in Dec. 1921, decided to launch a Civil Disobedience Movement. Gandhiji was appointed its leader.

·               But before it could be launched, a mob of people at Chauri– Chaura (near Gorakhpur) clashed with police and burnt 22 police and burnt 22 police men on February 5, 1922.

·               This compelled Gandhiji to withdraw the Non Cooperation movement on Feb. 12, 1922.

SWARAJ PARTY (1923)

·               Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das and N.C. Kelkar (called Pro-changes) demanded that the nationalists should end the boycott of the legislative councils, enter them and expose them. But the no-changes like Rajendra Prasad and Rajagopalachari adhered to the Gandhian program of boycott of legislatures. The pro-changes formed the Swaraj party on Jan. 1, 1923, contested the elections and embarrassed the government by opposing its measures.

·               In the 1923 elections, the Swarajists got a majority in Bengal and Central Province.

·               The two sections were reunited in 1930 after the Lahore session.

SIMON COMMISSION (1927)

·               Constituted under John Simon, to review the political situation in India and to introduce further reforms and extension of parliamentary democracy.

·               Indian leaders opposed the commission, as there were no Indians in it.

·               Congress turned the boycott into the movement.

·               Simon and his colleagues landed in Bombay on Feb. 3, 1928, and were greeted with hartals and black-flag demonstrations.

·               The Government used brutal repression and police attacks to break the popular opposition. At Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was severely beaten in a lathi-charge. He succumbed to his injuries on Nov. 17, 1928.

News Papers of Freedom movement

Yugantgar:                                        Barindera Kumar Ghosh and Bhupendra Nath Dutta

Sandhya:                                             Brahma Bandhav Upadhyaya

Kaal Indian Sociologist:                Shyamji Krishna ji Verma

Vande Matram:                                Bikhaji Cama

Talwaar:                                             Verrendra Nath Chattopadhyaya

Free Hindustan:                              Taraknath Das

Ghadar:                                                Ghadar Party

Langal / Ganvani:                            G Chakravarty and D Goswami

Kirti :                                                    Santosh Singh

Kranti :                                 SS Mirajkar, K N Joglekar and SV Ghate

Bandi Jeevan :                   Sachindra Nath Sanyal

  

Modern India;

Economic & Commercial Policy

The British conquerors were entirely different from the previous conquerors. Through laws and administrative, economic and fiscal policies, the British government in England and Company’s administration in India used their powers to the advantage of British manufacturers and to the detriment of the Indian socio-political and economic fabric. The gradual “development of underdevelopment’ has been traced through the three stages of British Colonialism by R. R Dutta in his classic work “India Today”.

Phases of Economic Policy in India

1600-1757:        The East India Company was a purely trading company dealing with import of goods and precious metals into India and export of spices and textiles.

1757 - 1813 (The Mercantilist Phase)

• The East India Company monopolized trade and began direct plunder of India’s wealth.
• They could impose their own prices that had no relation to the costs of production. This was the phase of buccaneering capitalism whereby wealth flowed out of the barrel of the trader’s guns.
• The company used its political power to monopolize trade & dictate terms to the weavers of Bengal
• The company used revenue of Bengal to finance exports oi Indian goods.

1813-1858 (The Industrial Phase)

The commercial policy of the East India Company after 1813 was guided by the needs of the British industry

• The British mercantile industrial capitalist class exploited India as Industrial Revolution in Britain completely transformed Britain’s economy
• Charter Act of 1813 allowed one way free trade for British citizens resulting in Indian markets flooded with cheap & machine made imports. Indians lost not only their foreign markets hut their markets in India too.
• India was now forced to export raw materials consisting of raw cotton jute and silk, oilseeds, wheal, indigo and tea, and import finished products.
• Indian products had to compete with British products with heavy import duties on entry into Britain.

1860 & After (Finance Colonialism): The essence of 19th century colonialism lay in the transformation of India into a supplier of foodstuffs and raw materials to the metropolis, a market for metropolitan manufactures and a field for investment of British capital.

• Started with the emergence of the phase of Finance Capitalism m Britain. The rebellion of 1857 was the key factor in the change of the nature of the colonialism.
• The British introduced roads and railways, post and telegraph, banking and other services under the ‘guaranteed interests’ schemes (government paid a minimum dividend even if profits were nonexistent). Various investments by the British capitalists were also made in India.
• As a result of this, the burden of British public debts kept on increasing and India became, in the real sense, a colony of Britain.

Drain of Wealth Theory

• R C Dutta & Dadabhai Naoroji first cited the drain of wealth theory. Naoroji brought ii to light in his book titled

“Poverty and Un-British Rule in India”. R C Dutt blamed the British policies for, Indian economic ills in his book

‘Economic History of India’ (1901-03).

• Drain of wealth refers to a portion of national product of India, which was not available for consumption of its people.
• Drain of wealth began in 1757 after 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 & began purchase the Indian goods out of the revenue of Bengal and exported them. These purchases were known as Company’s investment.
• Duty free inland trade provided British merchants a competitive edge over their Indian counterparts.

Constituents of the Drain

• Home charges: Costs of the Secretary of State’s India Office, East India Company’s military adventures, cost of suppressing the Mutiny of 1857 and the compensation to the company’s share holders, pensions to the British Indian officials and army officers, costs of army training, transport, equipments and campaigns outside India and guaranteed interests on railways.
• Remittances: To England (a part of their salaries, incomes and savings) by English Civil servants, Military and railway employee’s lawyers, doctors etc.
• Foreign trade: The phase of finance imperialism entered India with the introduction of railways.
• Development of plantations, mines, banking and factories financed through British capital. Much of the burden of the expanding railway network was met by the Indian taxpayer through the guaranteed interest scheme.

Land Revenue Systems

Permanent Settlement

• Introduced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and districts of Benares & Northern districts of Madras by Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
• John Shore planned the Permanent Settlement.
• It declared Zamindars as the owners of the land. Hence. They ‘could keep l/l1th of the revenue collected to themselves while the British got a Fixed share of 10/11th of the revenue collected. The Zamindars were free to fix the rents.
• Assured of their ownership, many zamindars stayed in towns’ (absentee landlordism) and exploited their tenants.

Ryotwari System

• Introduced in Bombay, Madras and Assam. Munro (Viceroy) and Charles Reed recommended it.
• In this, a direct settlement was made between the government and the ryot (cultivator).

• The revenue was fixed for a period not exceeding 30 years, on the basis of the quality of the soil and the nature of the crop. It was based on the scientific rent theory of Ricardo.
• The position of the cultivator became more secure but the rigid system of revenue collecton often forced him into the clutches of the moneylender.
• Besides, the government itself became a big zamindar and retained the right to Enhance revenue at will while the cultivator was left at the mercy of its officers.

Mahalwari System

• Modified version of Zamindari settlement introduced in the Ganga valley, NWFP. Parts of Central India & Punjab.
• Revenue settlement was to be made by village or estates with landlords. In western Uttar Pradesh, a settlement was made with the village communities, which maintained a form of common ownership known as Bhaichara, or with Mahals, which were groups of villages.
• Revenue was periodically revised.

Colonial Impact of Land Revenue Systems

• The land settlements introduced market economy and did away with customary rights. Cash payment of revenue encouraged money-lending activity.
• It sharpened social differentiation. Rich had access to the courts to defend their properly.

• Forcible growing of commercial crops proved hazardous for the peasants because they had to buy food grains at high prices and sell cash crops at low prices.
• The stability of the Indian Villages was shaken and the setup of the rural society began to break up.

The Revolt of 1857

The Beginning

• The earliest incident being the revolt in the 19th Native Infantry in Berhampur.
• 29th March 1S57— First spark of revolt at Barrackpore in Bengal where Mangal Pandey killed the British adjutant and was later hanged for tiring on senior officers.
• 10th May IS57—Ninety sepoys of 3rd Native Regiment at Meerut revolted on the issue of the greased cartridges. After their trial and execution, entire garrison in Meerut revolted and raised the cry of ‘Delhi Chalo’.

Centres of Revolt and Their Leaders

Delhi                     Bahadur Shah II, General Bakht Khan

Kanpur                 Nana Sahib. Tantiya Tope, Azimullah Khan

Lucknow              Begum Hazrat Mahal (Awadh), Maulvi

Ahmadullah of Faizabad

Jhansi                    Rani Laxmi Bai

Bareilly                Khan Bahadur Khan

Arrah (Bihar) Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur

Causes of the Revolt

Political

• Nana Sahib was refused pension, as he was the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II.
• Lucknow was annexed in 1856. on charges of maladministration and Jhansi was annexed owing to Doctrine of Lapse.

Military Discrimination

• Indian soldiers were paid low salaries: they could not use above the rank of subedar and were racially insulted. The soldiers were also distressed by the fact that their cherished Awadh stale had been annexed by the British.

Religious Discrimination

• British social reforms (widow remarriage, abolition of Sati, school for girls. Christian missionaries)
• Rumours that Enfield rifles used greased (by pork or beef) cartridges.
• Economic Grievances
• Heavy taxation, summary evictions, discriminatory tariff policy against Indian products & destruction of traditional handicrafts that hit peasants, artisans and small zamindars.

Suppression of the Revolt

• Delhi: Recaptured on 20 Sept 1X57 by John Nicholson Kanpur: Recaptured on 6 December 1857 by Colin Campbell
• Lucknow: Recaptured on 21 March 1858 by Colin Campbell.
• Jhansi: Recaptured by Hugh Rose
• Arrah: William Taylor and Eyre suppressed the revolt

Fate of the Leaders

Bahadur Shah II - Deported to Rangoon, where he died in 1862. His sons were shot dead.

Nana Sahib & Begun Hazrat Mahal - Escaped to Nepal Rani Jhansi - Died in the battle field. Tantia Tope - Was captured & executed on 15th April 1859.

Who Said What about 1857 Revolt

• British Historians - A Mutiny, due to the use of greased cartridges.
• Disraeli (Opposition Leader) - A national revolt rooted in deep mistrust.
• V D Savarkar- First War of Independence.
• S B Choudhary - Civil Rebellion.
• R C Majumdar - Neither “first” nor “national” nor ‘a war of independence”.
• S S Sen - An effort by the conservative elements to turn the clock back
• Marxists - A soldier-peasant struggle against foreign and feudal bondage
• Malleson - Sepoy Mutiny

Causes of Failure

• Lack of coordination and central leadership.
• Revolt lacked a forward-looking programme, coherent ideology, apolitical perspective or a vision of the future society and economy.
• Rebel leaders lacked resources and experience as compared to British
• Revolt lacked the support of martial races of the north.
• British power had remained intact in the Eastern. Western it Southern pans of India from where the forces were sent to suppress the revolt.
• Tacit support of certain sections of Indian public l modern educated Indians) to British authorities
• Lack of coherent ideology and political perspective
• Limited territorial and social base.

Impact of the Mutiny

• In August 1858. The British Parliament passed an Act. Which put an end to the rule of the Company. The control of the British government in India was transferred to the British Crown.
• A minister of the British government, called the Secretary of State, was made responsible for the government of India.
• The British Governor-General of India was now also given the title of Viceroy, who was also the representative of the monarch.
• Marked the end of British Imperialism & Princely starts where assured against annexation. Doctrine of lapse was withdrawn
• After the revolt, the British pursued the policy of divide and rule.
• Far-reaching changes were made in the administration and increase of while soldiers in the army.
• Total expense of the suppression was borne by Indians.

Descriptive Note on the Spread of Mutiny and Civil Rebellion

During 1857-58

• 2 l-‘February 1857 - Mutiny of the 19th Native Infantry at Berhampur.
• 10 May 1857 - Mutiny of Sepoys at Meerut.
• 11-30 May 1857-Outbreaks in Delhi. Ferozepur. Bombay. Aligarh. Etawah. Bulandshahr. Nasirabad. Bareilly. Moradabad, Shahjehanpur and other stations in UP.
• The Mughal Emperor proclaimed as the Emperor of India.
• June 1857 - Mutinies at Gwalior, Bharatpur. Jhansi. Allahabad. Faizabad. Sultanpur. Lucknow etc.
• The civil rebellion spreads through the Indo-Gangetic plain. Rajputana. Central India and some parts of Bengal.
• July 1857 - Mutinies at Indore, Mhow ,Saugar and certain places in the Punjab like Jhelum. Sialkot etc.
• August 1857 -Civil rebel I ion spreads throughout Saugor and Nerbudda districts.
• September 1857 - The English recapture Delhi: further out-breaks in Central India.
• October 1857 - Revolt spreads to Kotah State
• November 1857 - The rebels defeat General Windham outside Kanpur
• December 1857 - Sir Colin Campbell wins the battle of Kanpur , Tantia tope escapes
• March 1858 - Lucknow recaptured by the English
• April 1858 - Jhansi falls to the English, fresh rising in Bihar led by Kunwar Singh
• May 1858 - The English recapture Bareilly, Jagdishpur and Kalpi
• Indian rebels begin guerrilla warfare in Rohilkhand
• July-December 1858 - English authority re-established in India.

Brahmo Samaj

Rammohan Roy (1771-1833)

He was horn at Radhanagar in Bengal in 1772. He is regarded as the first great leader of modern India. He opposed idol worship and pressed on Doctrine of the Unity of God. He believed that basically all religions preach a common message. He was deeply influenced by monotheism, anti-idolatry of Islam, Sufism, and ethical teachings of Christianity & liberal & rationalist doctrines of the west. He was one of the earliest propagators of modern education.

• Started the Atmiya Sabha in 1814
• The Brahma Sabha in 1829, (Brahmo Samaj). Based on the twin pillars of-reason, the Vedas and the Upanishads. Laid emphasis on human dignity, opposed idolatry, and criticised social evils. Succeeded in persuading Lord Bentick to abolish sati in 1829
• He gave enthusiastic assistance to David Hare, who founded the famous Hindu college in Calcutta.
• Established a Vedanta College (1825) in which courses both in Indian and western social and physical sciences were offered
• Wrote in Persian his famous work , Gift to Monotheists or Tuhafat-ul-Muwahidin 1809
• Launched a movement for the abolition of Sati through his journal Sabad Kaumudi (1819)
• Published his Precepts of Jesus— 1820
• He believed that the philosophy of Vedanta was based on this principle of reason.

• Was opposed to Sanskrit system of education , because he thought it would keep the country in darkness.

Brahmo Ideas

The purpose of Brahmo Samaj was lo purify Hinduism & to preach monotheism. It laid emphasis on human dignity, opposed idolatry & criticized such social evils as the practice of Sati Preached by Raja Rama Mohan Roy and later went through some changes

• Opposed idol worship, priesthood and the ritualistic worship
• Emphasized on worship through prayer, meditation and reading from Upanishads.
• It emphasized on higher human qualities like piety, virtue and benevolence

The Brahmo Samaj

• The earliest reform movement of modern type.
• Founded by Raja Rammohan Roy in 1828 under the name ‘Brahmo Sabha’
• 1848— Devendranath Tagore joined the Samaj
• 1858— Keshab Chandra Sen joined the Samaj
• 1866—Adi Brahmo Samaj (under Devendranath Tagore’s leadership) —Brahmo Samaj of India (under Keshab Chandra Sen’s leadership)

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj

(Led by the disgruntled followers of Keshab Chandra Sen)

It was based on democratic principles & gave equal rights to all members in management of Samaj. Important members of the Samaj were Sivnath Shastri, Anand Mohan Bose, Bipin Chandra Pal, Dwarka nath Ganguly & Sir Surendra Nath Bannerjee. They contributed immensely to the growth of the spirit of nationalism in India .It started many new journals lo educate the masses, such as Tattva-Kaumudi, Brahmo, Public Opinion , Indian Messenger. Sanjibani, Nabhyabharat, Modern Review & Prabase.

Dharma Sabha

The orthodox Hindus organised the Dharma Sabha under the leadership of Raja Radhakant Dev.

The chief objective of all the activities of the Dharma Sabha was only to counter the propaganda of the Brahmo Samaj.

The Paramahansa Mandali

• Founded by Dadoba Pandurang & Bal Shastri Jambhekar in 1849
• Founders believed in one god and were interested in breaking caste rules.
• Members took food cooked by low caste people.
• Believed in permitting widow remarriage and in education of women

The Prarthana Sabha

• Founded in 1867 by M.G. Ranade.
• Prominent leaders were Dr. Atmaram Pandurang & R G Bhandarkar and V G Chandavarkar
• Along with its reformist attitudes the Prarthana Samaj was also very much attached with the Maharashtrian Bhakti Cult.
• The two main planks of the Samaj were worship and social reform.
• It rejected idolatry, denied the Vedas and adopted the method of congregational worship.

AryaSamaj

• The first Arya Samaj unit was organised in Bombay in 1875, by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
• It stood for the Four-fold Varna system determined by merit and not by birth.
• Stood for equal rights for both men and women in social and educational matters.
• Opposed untouchability, caste discrimination, child marriage, and supported widow remarriage and inter caste marriages.
• Their head quarter was later shifted to Lahore.
• Accepted the authority of the Vedas (but sanctioned by rationalism and utilitarianism). Preached father-hood of God and brother hood of man. Equality of sexes, love and charily towards all.
• In 1886- DAV School was instituted at Lahore by LalaHansraj In 1902 - Gurukula Pathsala at Haridwar was established.
• After the death of Dayanand in 1883, differences occurred in the Gurukul section led by Swami Shradhananda and DAV Section led by Lala Lajpat Rai and Lala Hansraj. While the Gurkul section laid emphasison the traditional pattern of education the Dayanand-Anglo-Vedic section stood for the spread of English education stood for the spread of English education. This led to the split of the Samaj in 1892.
• The Anglo-Vedic school established at Lahore in 1886 provided the nucleus for Arya Samaj movement.

• Lala Hansraj started the Gurukul near Hardwar to propagate the more traditional ideals of education.
• The Samaj started the shuddhi movement to convert non-Hindus to Hinduism. This became a contributory factor in the growth of communalism in India in the 20th century.

Sister Organisations of Arya Samaj

• DAV
• Shudhi Sabha
• Jaat-Paat Todak Mandal — by Bhai Parmananda

Reaction to formation of Arya Samaj

Dharma Mahamandal — by conservative Hindus led to formation of 2 divisions of Hinduism

Sanatan Dharm of conservative following (Puranic Hindus) -Arya Samaj

Swami Dayananda

• Swami Dayanand Saraswati (or Mula shankar) was born in 1824 in Gujarat. He received education from Swami Virajonanda at Mathura . Formally organised the first Arya Samaj unit at Bombay in 1875
• He was known as the earliest Neo-nationalist.
• His ideal was to unite India religiously, socially and nationally, lie looked on the Vedas as India’s “Rock of Ages,” the true original seed of Hinduism. His motto was “Go back to Vedas”.
• He condemned idol worship and preached unity of God.
• He decried untouchability and casteism and advocated remarriage and a high status of woman in society.
• Denounced infinite number of meaningless rues & launched a crusade against all religious superstitions.
• He was the first Hindu reformer who turned from defence to attack., from protecting Hindu faith from assaults .
• He wrote three books “Satyartha Prakash” in Hindi”, Veda-Bhashya Bhumika in Hindi and Sanskrit and Veda Bhashya in Sanskrit.

Ram Krishna Paramhansa & Swami Vivekanand

Ram Krishna (1836-1886)

• His original name was Gadoidhar Chattopadhyay. He was born in 1836 in Kamarpukar village in Hooghly district of west Bengal.
• He was a priest in Dakshineshwar temple of Goddess Kali near Calcutta.
• He sought religious salvation in traditional ways of renunciation, meditation & devotion.
• Emphasized that service to man was service to god
• His thinking was rooted deeply in Indian thought and culture although the emphasized the truth in all religions.

Ram Krishna Mission

The Ram Krishna monastic order & mission was officially established in 1887 by Swami Vivekananda to carry on humanitarian relief & social work. Il laid emphasis not on personal salvation bin on social good or social service. It opened many schools, hospitals & dispensaries, orphanages, libraries, etc.

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

• His original name was Narendranath Dutta and was burn at Calcutta in 1863. He was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
• He attended the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893 and published two papers— Prabhudha Bharata in English and Udbodhana in Bengali.

Social ideas

• He stressed on social action & proclaimed the essential oneness of all religions and condemned any narrowness in religious matters.
• He believed that only in uplifting the- masses lay the vitality of the nation.
• He urged people to imbibe spirit of liberty, equality & freethinking
• Wanted new social order based on freedom & equality.
• He was champion of emancipation of women & was of the view that “no social progress is possible without improving condition of women, who were most important instrument of social change”.
• He said, “So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.”

Religious ideas

• Felt Hinduism needs reinterpretation
• He subscribed to Vedanta, which he declared to be a fully rational system & reinterpreted the vedant which led to Neo-Vedantism
• Condemned the caste system and the Hindu emphasis on rituals and superstitions
• Preached humanistic religion and was of the view that best form of worship was service to humanity.

Nationalism

• Contributed to the rise of nationalism. His nationalism was based on 4 pillars of
• Awakening of masses
• Development of physical and moral strength
• Unity based on common spiritual ideas
• Pride in ancient Indian glory
• Wanted modernization of India through Science & Technology
• In 1807, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission to carry on humanitarian relief and social work. Belur became the head quarters of his mission and Matha. An Irish woman Margaret Noble popularized the teachings of the Mission.
• Vivekananda died in 1902.

The Indian National Congress

Political Associations Before 1885

• Association of Landholders: Landholders Society (1837), Bengal British India Society (1843). In 1851, the two were merged to form the British Indian Association.
• Bombay Association and Madras Native Association Were established in 1852. They sent petitions suggesting changes in EIC’s charter to end company’s monopoly of salt and indigo.
• Associations like Poona Sarvjanik Sabha were established to promote reform and political consciousness.
• 1876— Indian Association was founded in Calcutta by Surendranath Banerjee, & Anand mohan Bose Madras
• Mahajan Sabha and Bombay Presidency Association were established in 1884.
• In December 1883, the Indian Association of Surendra Nath Bannerjee & Anand Mohan Bose decided to invite prominent public men and associations to discuss questions of general concern. This was referred to as the National Conference (in 1883) and is described as the ‘dress rehearsal’ for the Indian National Congress (INC).
• National Conference & Indian National Union (by A.O Hume in 1884) merged to form the Indian National Congress in 1885

Aims and Objectives of Congress

• Promotion of friendship amongst the countrymen
• Development and consolidation of feeling of national unity irrespective of race, caste, religion or provinces
• Formulation of popular demands and presentation before the Government through petitions.
• Training and organization of public opinion.
• Consolidation of sentiments of national unity
• Recording of the opinions of educated classes on pressing problems
• Laying down lines for future course of action in public interest

Indian National Congress

• The First meeting of the INC was organised by A.O. Hume at Gokaldas Tejpal Sanskrit College on 28^th December 1885 (Bombay). Its first President was W C Bonnerjee. It was the first organised expression of the Indian National movement on an all-India scale.
• Hume’s main purpose in encouraging the foundation of the congress was probably to provide a “safety valve” to the growing discontent among the educated Indians

The Methods of Work

• Early Congressmen had faith in peaceful and constitutional agitation.
• Prayers & petitions were the instruments.
• Congress sessions lasted only for three days a year had no machinery to carry on the work in the interval.
• They believed in the goodness of the British nation and believed that all would be well if the British could be acquainted with the true slate of affairs in India. Deputations of Indians were sent to inform the British public
• In 1889, a British Committee of INC was founded.

Important Sessions of INC

Year                           Presidents                                                          Venue

1885                       W.C. Bonnerjee                                    Bombay

1886                       Dadabhai Naroji                                 Calcutta

1887                       Badruddin Tyabji                                                Madras

1888                       George Yule                                                          Allahabad

1889                       Sir William Wedderburn                   Bombay

1890                       Pherozshah Mehta                                              Calcutta

1891                       P. Ananda Charlu                                                 Nagpur

1892                       W.C. Bonnerjee                                    Allahabad

1893                       Dadabhai Naroji                                  Lahore

1894                       Alfred Webb                                                         Madras

I894                        S. N. Banerjea                                                       Poona

1896                       Rahimtulla M Sayani                                          Calcutta

1897                       C.Sankaran Nair.                                  Amravati

1898                       Ananda Mohan Bose                                          Madras

1899                       R.C. Dull                                                                Lucknow

1900                       N.G. Chandavarkar                                              Lahore

1901                       Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha                               Calcutta

1902                       S.N. Bonerjea                                                        Ahmedabad

1903                       Lal MohanGhose                                 Madras

1904                       Sir Henry Cotton                                  Bombay

1905                       G.K. Gokhale                                                         Benaras

1906                       Dadabhai Naoroji                                               Calcutta

1907                       Dr. Rash Behari Ghosh                                       Surat(Suspended)

1908                       Dr. Rash Behari Ghosh                                       Madras

1909                       Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya       Lahore

1910                       Sir William Wedderburn                  Allahabad

1911                       Pandit B.N. Dhar.                                                 Calcutta

1912                       R.N. Modholkar                                   Bankipore

1913                       Nawab Syed Mohammad                   Karachi

1914                       Bhupendranuth Basu.                                         Madras

1915                       Sir Satyendra Prasad Sinha.                               Bombay

1916                       Ambika Charan Majumdar                                Lucknow

1917                       Mrs. Annie Besant                                               Calcutta

1918                       Hassan Imam                                                      Bombay (Special session)

1918                       Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya       Delhi

1919                       Motilal Nehru                                                      Amritsar

1920                       Lala Lajpat Rai (Suspended)                             Calcutta

1920                       C.Vijayraghavachariar (annual)       Nagpur

1921                       Hakim Ajmal Khan (Acting)                              Ahmedabad          C.R. Das (in prison)

1922                       C.R. Das                                                                 Gaya

1923                       Maulana Abul Kalam Azad                                Delhi(suspended)

1923                  Maulana Mahammad Ali                                       Golconda(Annual)

1924                       Mahatma Gandhi                                Belgaun

1925                       Mrs Sarojini Naidu.                                             Kanpur

1926                       S. Srinivasa Iyengar.                                           Guwahati

1927                       Dr. M.A. Ansari                                    Madras

1928                       Pandit Motilal Nehru.                                         Calcutta

1929-30 Jawaharlal Nehru.                                               Lahore  (No session but Independence Day Pledge was adopted on 26th Jan, 1930.

1931                       Vallabhabhai Patel                                              Karachi

1932                       Pandit  Madan Mohan Malviya       Delhi

1933                       Mrs. J.M. Sen Gupta                                             Calcutta(session was banned )

1934-35                 Rajendra Prasad                                   Bombay

1936                       Jawahar lal Nehru                                               Lucknow

1937                       Jawahar lal Nehru                                              Faizpur

1938                       S.C. Bose                                                               Haripura

1939                       S.C. Bose (Re elected for 1939)        Tripuri

1940                       Maulana Abul Kalam Azad                                Ramgarh

1941-45   (No sessions, caused by arrests and jailing).

1946                       Acharya J. B. Kripalani                      Meerut

1948                       B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya                     Jaipur

Trivia

• 1st President of INC             W.C. Bonnerjee
• Gandhiji became the President in l924(Belgaum)
• S C Bose became the President in 1938 ( Haripura )& 1939 (Tripuri)
• President during Quit India Movement 1940 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Ramgarh) and no sessions during

• 1941-45 due to arrests and jailing of all eminent leaders
• Jawahar Lal Nehru became President for the first time in 1929 (Lahore)

Swadeshi Movement

It began as a anti-partition agitation in Bengal and boycott was first suggested by Krishna kumar Mitra in Sanjivni in 1905. The boycott of British products was followed by the advocacy of swadeshi and to buy indigenously produced goods as a patriotic duty.

Stages of Swadeshi Movement

1905-1909— Movement confined lo Bengal & launched as a protest movement.

1909-1910—Country wide spread of movement & launching of anti colonial movement

1910-1911—Swadeshi movement merged with revolutionary terrorist movement   phase & led to foundation of numerous secret associations.

• To encourage indigeneous industries, some Swadeshi Enterprises were setup viz. Calcutta Potteries, Bengal Chemicals and Bengal Lakshmi Cotton Mills. Swadeshi melas or lairs were held for selling handicrafts
• Charkha (spinning wheel) came to typify the popular concern for country’s economic self-sufficiency.
• The ‘Carlyle Circular’ withdrew giants and scholarships to educational institutions. Hence, Nationalist educational institutes were founded, e.g. Bengal Technical Institute, Bengal National College and School with Aurobindo Ghosh as its Principal .
• Rabindranath Tagore called for the observance of raksha-bandhan as a symbol of brotherhood.
• A large number of volunteer bodies or Samitis were founded. Swadesh Bandhav Samiti of Barisal founded by Ashwini Dint was the largest.
• Anushilan Society had two branches. Pulin Das led the Dacca branch. Birendra Ghosh and Jatin Banerjee led the Calcutta Branch.

Moderate-led Anti-Partition Movement (1903-05)

• Under Surendranath Banerjee, K.K.Mitra. Prithwish Chandra Kay.

Methods

• Public meeting, petitions, memoranda, propaganda through newspapers and pamphlets.

Movement under Extremists (1905-08)

• Led by Tilak Bipin Chandra Pal Lajpat Rai, and Aurobindo Ghosh.
• The political extremists demanded self-government for India, not under British tutelage or British Paramountcy (as the Moderates wished), but by severing all British connections, and wiping off British influences.

Methods included

• Boycott of foreign cloth and other goods, public meeting and Processions, forming corps of volunteers or samitis.
• Use of traditional popular festivals and melas for propaganda.
• Emphasis on self-reliance or atma shakti.
• Launching programme of swadeshi or national education, swadeshi or indigenous enterprises.
• Initiating new trends in Indian painting, songs, poetry, pioneering research in science.
• Call for boycott of schools, colleges, councils, government service, etc.
• The students of Bengal played a prominent part. They practiced & propagated Swadeshi.
• Remarkable aspect was the involvement of women.
• Many prominent Muslims including Abdul Rasul, Liaquat Hussain. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad also joined  the movement
• Tilak played the leading role in spreading the movement lo the rest of the country.

Impact of Swadeshi Movement

• Swadeshi movement was stepping stone of Nationalist movement. Which led to beginning of organized  political movement in India.
• Rise of Neo-Nationalist movement.
• Surat split
• Revival of indigenous industries
• Boycott of foreign goods Cultural
• Revival & emergence of nationalist art & literature
• Concept of national education

Regional Variations

• Bihar and United Provinces were quiet
• B C Pal in Madras led Vande Mat ram Movement.
• Lala Lajpal Rai and Ajit Singh led the movement in Punjab
• Tilak began the Swadesh Vastra Pracharni Sabine
• Savarkar founded the Mitra Mela
• Tilak was imprisoned for 6 years in Mandalay jail and was released in 1914.

Leaders                                Journals

Bipin Pal                               New Indio

B Upadhyaya                        Sandhya

Barinder Ghosh   Yugantar

K K Mitra                               Sanjivini

Ajit Singh                               Bharat Mata

Most Important Achievement

“A leap forward” because hitherto untouched sections participated, major trends of later movement emerged; richness of the movement extended to culture, science and literature; people educated in bolder form of politics; colonial hegemony undermined.

Failure of Swadeshi Movement by 1908.

• Severe government repression. .
• Lack of effective organization of all leaders
• Spin in nationalist ranks
• The Swadeshi leaders refrained from rallying the peasants.
• Narrow social base.

Acts Passed by the Government to Suppress the Movement

• Seditious meetings Act (1907)
• Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (1008)
• Indian Newspapers (Incitement lo Offences) Act (1908)
• Explosive Substances Act (1908)
• Indian Press Act (1910)

The Moderates and the Extremists

The Moderates

• The Congress programme during the first phase of the Freedom Movement (1885-1905) was very moderate.
• It demanded mild constitutional reforms. Economic relief, administrative reorganization and protection of civil rights.
• A strong point made by the nationalists during this phase was about the economic drain of India.
• Political methods of the moderates were constitutional agitations within four walls
• Moderates believed that the British people & parliament wanted to be just lo India but did not know the true state of affairs.

The other important demands were:

• Organisation of the provincial councils,
• Simultaneous holding of examinations for the I.C.S in India and England.
• Reconstitution of the Indian Council, 1892
• The separation of judiciary from the executive, and the repeal of the Arms Act,
• The appointment of Indians to the  commissioned ranks in the Army,
• The reduction of military expenditure etc.
• Indianisation of higher grades of the administrative services on economic, political & moral grounds

During the first twenty years (1885-1905) there was practically no change in the Congress programme. The leaders were cautious in their demands. They did not want to annoy the government and incur the risk of suppression.

To pacify them, the government was forced to pass the Indian Councils Act, 1892 but the moderates raised the slogan No taxation without representation. However, during this period, a general impression grew that the Moderates were political mendicants only petitioning and praying to the British Government for petty concessions. This was because early Congress leaders believed that the presence of the British administration was important for continued political progress in India.

The Extremists

Ideological Basis of Extremism

Attachment to rationalism and western ideals had almost alienated the ‘Liberal’ (Moderate) school from the masses in India.

Socio-religious reform also influenced the extremists ideology

Movements like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and his disciple, Swami Vivekananda Swami Dayananda, and the Arya Samaj founded by him with a strong emphasis in native pride, played a vital role in the birth of extremist philosophy.

They derived inspiration from their traditional cultural values wanted to have relations with other countries in terms of quality and self-respect.

They opposed the Moderates who were considered by them to be servile and respectful to the British.

They gave a call for passive resistance in addition to Swadeshi & boycott

• Social Reform Movements like Arya Samaj and Theosophical Society gave impetus to political radicalism. The political radicals derived inspiration from their traditional cultural values.
• There were three groups of extremists— The Maharashtra Group (headed by Bal Gangadhar Tilak), The Bengal Group (represented by B C Pal and Aurobindo) and the Punjab group (led by Lala Laipat Rai)
• Aurobindo published New Lamps for Old in the indu Prakash in 1853-94. It was the first systematic critique of the Moderates
• Tilak resented any interference by an alien government into the domestic and private life of the people. He quarrelled with the reformers over the Age of Consent Bill in 1891.
• Tilak asserted, Swaraj is My Birth Right and I will have it’. He was also the editor of the Maratta (English) and the Kesari (Marathi)

Reasons for the Emergence of Extremists

1. Realization that the true nature of British rule was exploitative

2. International influences and events, which demolished the myth of while/European supremacy. These included —

• Abyssinia’s (Ethiopia) victory over Italy.
• Boer Wars (1899-1802) in which the British faced reverses.
• Japan’s victory over Russia (I905).
• Nationalist movements worldwide.

3. Dissatisfaction with the achievements of Moderates.

4. Reactionary policies of Curzon such as the Calcutta Corporation Act (1899). The Official Secrets Act (1904), the Indian Universities Act (1904) and partition of Bengal (1905).

5. Existence of a militant school of thought and the emergence of a trained leadership.

Differences between the Moderates & the Extremists

Moderates. Constituted of zamindars and upper middle classes in towns. Believed that the movement should be limited to middle class intelligentsia and that the masses were not yet ready for participation in political work. Inspired by western liberal thought and European history.

Professed loyalty to the British Crown, believed in England’s providential mission in India believed and that political connections with Britain to be in India’s social. Political and cultural interests. Demanded constitutional reforms and share for Indians in services and insisted Oil the use of constitutional methods only.

Extremists. Constituted of educated middle and lower middle classes in towns and had immense faith in the capacity of masses to participate and to make sacrifices. Inspired by Indian history, cultural heritage and Hindu traditional symbols. Believed that political connections with Britain would perpetuate British exploitation of India and rejected ‘providential mission theory’ as an illusion. Demanded swaraj as the panacea for India ills. Did not hesitate to use extra constitutional methods like boycott and passive resistance to achieve their objectives.

Conflict and Surat Split

Tilak was unpopular with the Moderate group of Bombay. At the Calcutta Congress 11906) Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo wanted Tilak to become the President of the Congress. But the Moderates were in no mood to accept him. P Mehta. MM Malaviya and Gokhale were heckled and booked. Ultimately a compromise was hurriedly made and the agreeable resolutions on the partition of Bengal.

Swadeshi and Boycott were phrased and they secured a smooth passage in the open session. With the foundation of the Deccan Sabha. The division between the Extremists and the Moderates in Maharashtra was complete. The Congress split in 1907 at Surat under the presidentship of Rash Behari Ghosh.

Morley-Minto Reforms

• Numbers of elected members in Imperial and Provincial Legislate
• Councils increased—elected non-officials still in minority.
• Separate electorates introduced for Muslims.
• Elected non-officials to be elected indirectly—thus elections introduce for the last time.
• Legislatures could pass resolutions, ask questions an supplementaries. vote separate items of the budget. No responsibility entrusted to the legislators
• One Indian to be on viceroy’s executive council.
• Aimed at dividing the nationalist ranks and at rallying the Moderate and the Muslims to the Government’s side.

Home Rule Movement

After Tilak’s return, having served sentence of six years in Mandalay, he tried securing the readmission of himself and other Extremists into the Indian National Congress. With the need being felt for popular pressure to attain concessions, disillusionment with Morley-Minto Reforms and wartime miseries, Tilak and Annie Besant readied to assume leadership. The Home Rule League was pioneered on lines of a similar movement in Ireland.

Objective

The objective of Home Rule League was

• Self Government for India in British Empire
• “Work for National Education. Social & Political reforms.

• Tilak linked up the question of swaraj with the demand for the formation of linguistic states and education in vernacular. He also used Home Rule lo put an end to caste feeling among the common people and advocated abolition of untouchability.
• Tilak (April) and Annie Besant & S. Subramaniam Iyer (September) established Home Rule Leagues in 1916.
• Tilak’s League was to work in Maharashtra. Karnataka. Central Provinces and Berar and Annie Besant’s in the rest of India
• Annie Besant set up the newspapers— New India. Commonweal and Young India (1916)
• Tilak published —Mahratta & Kesari
• Jamnadas Dwatkadas, Shankarlal Banker, Indulal Yagnik, George Arundale, B P Wadia and L P Ramaswamy Iyer were in Besant’s League.
• Home Rule Movement declined after Besant accepted the proposed Montford Reforms and Tilak went to Britain to light the Libel suit against Valentine Chirol's Indian Unrest.

Methods

• Create public opinion in favour of Home Rule through public meeting, also organising discussions, reading rooms propaganda through public meetings, newspapers. pamphlets, posters, etc.
• Positive Gains Emphasis shifted to the masses permanently organizational link established between town and country prepared a generation of ardent nationalists, influenced Moderate-Extremist reunion at Lucknow (1916)
• Lucknow Session-1916 (Presided by Ambika Charan Mazumdar) Lucknow Pact 119(6) was signed between the INC and the Muslim League. The main provisions (a) Principle of separate electorates was accepted, (b) Demand for a representative government and Dominion Status for India.

Results

• The movement marks the beginning for attainment of Swaraj
• It discredited moderates of INC and created condition for readmission of Neo-Nationalists in 1916
• Montague Declaration of 1917—Greatest political achievement
• Education Programme

Anti-Rowlatt Satyagrah

The 1919 sedition Committee headed by Justice Rowlatt, led to the Rowlatt Act (18 March 1919) whereby war time restrictions of civil rights were to the made permanent by

a) System of special courts

b) Detention without trial for 2 years maximum

c) Greater police powers.

• This Act authorized the Government to imprison any person without trial and conviction of the court of law.
• This law also enabled the Government to suspend the right of Habeas Corpus, which had been the foundation of civil liberties in Britain.
• Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha intended to mobilize public opinion against the Act.
• It was first countrywide agitation by Gandhi & marked the foundation of Non Cooperation Movement.
• During March & April 1919, the country witnessed a remarkable political awakening in India. There were hartals, strikes, processions & demonstrations.
• On April 13-1919 (Baisakhi Day). Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal were addressing a peaceful rally in Jallianwala Bagh when General Dyer ordered for the infamous massacre.
• The Hunter Commission’s report on the Punjab disturbances was described by Gandhi as a ‘white wash’.
• Tagore returned his knighthood in protest.
• Sardar Udham Singh who took the name of Ram Mohammed Singh murdered Dowyer in England.

Mahatma Gandhi

The Earlier Phase

South Africa: (a) 1907 Satyagraha against compulsory registration and passes for Indians (b) 1910 Satyagraha against immigration restrictions, derecognition of non-Christian Indian marriages while deciding the cases of new entrants and 3% tax on ex-indentured labourers.

Literary Influences on Gandhi: John Ruskin's Unto the Last,, Emerson, Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, the Bible and the Bhagvad Gita.

Appeal of Gandhi:

1) He was already a leader of action who had achieved results in South Africa

2) The social composition of Indians in S. Africa made him an all India figure while the Lal-Bal-   Pal, trio were essentially regional leaders

3) The doctrine of ahimsa mediated internal differences contributing to a joint nationalist struggle.

4) Gandhi’s social Utopia was a critique o( Industrialism appealed to those alienated by it.

5) The use of the Indian idiom (e.g. Ram Rajya) helped in communication

6) Rumours greatly enhanced his stature.

Gandhi in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda

The story of Champaran (Bihar) begins in the early 19th century when European planters had involved the cultivators in agreements that forced them to cultivate indigo in 3/20th of their holdings (Tin-Kathia). Bui when indigo became unremunerative, the European planters imposed higher taxes to compensate their losses in the international trade at that lime. Gandhi (in July 1917) was successful in abolishing the Tin-Kathia system and refund was made to the cultivators in wages.

In Ahmedabad (March 19/18) the dispute was between the null owners and workers over the ‘plague bonus’ which the former wanted to withdraw once the epidemic was over. The workers troubled by inflation wanted adequate compensation. Gandhi initially persuaded the mill owners and workers to agree to arbitration by a tribunal but the mill owners withdraw alter commitment. Gandhi then advised the worker to go on strike &he under look hunger strike after which the mill owners were pressurised into accepting the tribunal award of 35 percent increase in wages.

The peasants of Kheda district (1917-1918) were in extreme distress due to a failure of crops and the government ignored their appeals for the remission of land revenue. The peasants of Kheda were already hard pressed because of plague, high prices and drought. Appeals and petition having tailed Gandhi advised the withholding of revenue and asked the peasants to fight unto death.

After the Government directed that revenue should be recovered only from those peasants who could pay. The movement was withdrawn.

Gandhi undertook his first hunger strike Ahmedabad (1918) for the mill wage hike of workers

• His first Civil Disobedience movement was the Champaran Satyagraha
• His first all-India .Satyagraha was the Rowlatt Satyagraha
• His first Non-Cooperation Movement was the Kheda Satyagraha

Khilafat and the NCM

During the First World War, Turkey was allied with Germany and Austria against the British. The Indian Muslims regarded the Sultan of Turkey as their spiritual leader, Khalifa, so naturally they sympathized with Turkey, After the War, the British removed the Khalifa from power and fragmented Turkey. Hence, the Muslims started the Khilafat movement in India for the restoration of the Khalifa’s position. The demands were —Khalifa’s control should be retained over the Muslim sacred places.

After the post-war territorial adjustments, the Khalifa should be left with sufficient territories.

Khilafat Movement in India

The Khilafat issue was not directly linked with politics in India but the Khilafat leaders (Ali Brothers, Maulana Azad. Hakim Ajmal Khan & Hasrat Mohani) were eager in enlisting the support of Hindus. Gandhi saw in this, an opportunity to bring about Hindu-Muslim unity against the British.

The publication of the terms of the Treaty with Turkey, which were very harsh, and also the publication of the Hunter Committee Report on ‘Punjab disturbances’ in May 1920 infuriated the Indians. Thus at one level Indian political situation also merged with the issue of Khilafat.

Initially the Khilafat Leaders limited their actions to meetings, petitions, and deputations in favour of the Khilafat. Later a militant trend emerged, demanding an active agitation such as slopping all cooperation with the British.

The Central Khilafat Committee met at Allahabad. The meeting was attended by a number of Congress and Khilafat leaders. In this meeting a programme of non-cooperation towards the government was declared.

This was to include :-

• Boycott of titles conferred by the Government,
• Boycott of civil services, army and police, i.e. all government jobs.
• Non-payment of taxes to the Government.
• August I, 1920 was fixed as the dale to start the movement.

The Non-Cooperation Movement

• It was the 1st Mass based political movement under Gandhi.
• The Movement was launched as per resolution of Calcutta session & ratified in Nagpur session Dec 1920.

Anti-Rowlatt Agitation. Jalianwala Bagh tragedy, Khilafat. Movement, General economic, distress during & after the war were the reasons of Non-Cooperation Movement

• The Tilak Swarajya Fund was started to finance the Non-Cooperation Movement
• The main emphasis of the movement was on boycott of schools, colleges, law courts and advocacy of the use of Charkha. There was widespread student unrest and top lawyers like C R Das and Motilal Nehru gave up their legal practice. Thereafter, the stress was on boycott of foreign cloth and boycott of the forthcoming visit of the Prince of Wales in November, 1921; popularization of Charkha and Khadi and Jail Bharo by Congress volunteers.
• Swaraj or self-rule, Redressal of Punjab wrongs & Khilafat issue were demanded through Non-Cooperation Movement
• Non-Cooperation Movement progressed powerfully from January 1920 to Early February 1922.
• From November 192 I, a shift towards radicalism was visible. Gandhi decided to launch a no-revenue campaign at Bardoli, and also a mass civil disobedience movement for freedom of speech, press and association.
• The attack on a local police station by angry peasants at Chauri Chaura, in Gorakhpur district of UP, on February 5, 1922 changed the whole situation. Gandhi, shocked by this incident, withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Spread of NCM

United Provinces became a strong base of the Gandhian Non-Cooperation Movement. Organised non-cooperation was an affair of cities and small towns. In the countryside the movement got entangled with the kisan movement. The peasants rose in revolt not only against Talukdars but also, against merchants with widespread agrarian-riots under the leadership of Baba Ram Chandra In late 1 921, ‘Eka’ movement under Mac/an Pan started. Demand was conversion of produce rents into cash.

Punjab

Akali movement for reform and control of the Gurudwaras got closely identified with non-cooperation. Udasi Sikh Mahants, who managed Gurudwaras, had issued Hukumnamas against Ghadrites & honoured Dyer. Akalis were led by Kartar Singh Jhabbar, Master Tara Singh and Baba kharak Singh (head of SGPC). The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandha Committee was founded by the Shiromam Akali Dal

Maharashtra

Non-cooperation remained relatively weak because the Tilakites were unenthusiastic about Gandhi. Non-Brahmins too felt that the Congress was a Chitpavan-led affair .

Andhra

The Non-Cooperation Movement attained great success in the Andhra delta area Alluri Sitaram Raju organised the tribals in Andhra and combined their demands with those of the Non-Cooperation Movement. Temple Entry for Ezhavas and Pulayas was led by Sri Narayan Guru, NK Asan and TK Madhavan. In 1 924, Vaikom Satyagraha in Travancore was led by KP Kesava Menon

Revolutionary Terrorism

The youth had participated actively in the Swadeshi movement in the hope and belief that Extremist methods of agitation such as boycott and passive resistance would take the national movement out of its elitist groove. The inability of the Extremist leadership to adequately analyse the weaknesses of the movement and their failure to suggest new ways out of the impasse further strengthened revolutionary ideas of assassination and dacoities. Brutal repression of the Swadeshi movement by the Government too added to the trend of revolutionary terrorism. The youth drew inspiration from Irish nationalists and the Russian Nihilists.

Ideology

Assassinate unpopular officials, thus strike terror in hearts of rulers and arouse people to expel the British physically, based on individual heroic and not by mass-based countrywide struggle.

Bengal

1902  First revolutionary groups in Midnapore and Calcutta (The Anushilan Samiti)

1906  Yugantar & Sandhya in Bengal, and Kal in Maharastra.

1908 Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose attempt to murder Muzaffarpur Judge Kingsford. Alipore conspiracy case involving Aurobindo Ghosh. Barindra Kumar Ghosh and others.

1912 Bomb thrown at Viceroy Hardinge by Rashbehari Bose and Sachin Sanyal.

Anushilan Committee (a secret society) whose Dhaka section had 500 branches.

Sandhya, Yugantar — newspapers advocating revolutionary activity.

Punjab

Revolutionary activity by Lala Lajpat Rai, Ajit Singh, Aga Haidar Syed Haidar Raza. Bhai Parmanand. Lalchand ‘Falak’.Sufi Ambaprassad.

Abroad

1905 Shyamji Krishnavarma set up Indian Home Rule Society and India House and brought out journal “The Sociologist” in London.

1909 Madan Lai Dhingra murdered Curzon-Wyllie; Madame Bhikaji Cama operated from Paris and Geneva and brought out journal Bande Mataram.

Maharashtra

1879 Ramosi Peasant Force by Vasudev Balwant Phadke.

1890 Tilak’s attempts to propagate militancy among the youth through Shivaji and Ganapati festivals, and journals Kesri and Maharatta.

1897 Chapeker brothers assassinated two unpopular British Officials Rand, the plague commissioner of Poona and Lord  Amherst.

1899 V.D Savarkarand his brother Ganesh organized a secret society Mura Mela. They were co-accused in Nasik and Gwalior Conspiracy cases)

1904 Mitramela and Abhinav Bharat were merged.

1909 Jackson. District Magistrate of Nasik was assassinated.

The 2nd Phase of Revolutionary Terrorism

Influences on Revolutionary Terrorism

• Upsurge of working class trade unionism after the war: the revolutionaries wanted to harness the revolutionary potential of the new emergent class for nationalist revolution.
• Russian revolution 1917.
• Newly sprouting communist groups with their emphasis on Marxism. Socialism & proletariat.
• Journals extolling the self sacrifice of revolutionaries.

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA)

It was founded in September 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi under the leadership of Chandrashekhar Azad. They were also influenced by socialist ideas.

Hindustan Republican Army (HRA)

Sachin Sanyal, Jogesh Chatterjee and Ramprasad Bismil founded Hindustan Republican Army (HRA) at Kanpur in  October 1924. It aimed at organising an armed revolution and establishing  Federal Republic of the India  with a government elected on the basis of adult franchise. Sachin Sanyal wrote Bandi Jivan’. Hindustan Republican Army was later renamed Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Important action of Hindustan Republican Army was Kakori Robbery (August 1925) .

Miscellaneous

• Bhagat Singh, Azad & Rajguru shot dead Saunders, the police official responsible for the lathicharge in Lahore.
• Bhagat Singh and B K Dutt threw bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929 to protest against the passage of the Public Safely Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill, The objective was not to kill but to make the deal hear.
• Bhagat Singh wrote: Why I Am an Atheist.
• Jatin Das (Sept, 1929) died after a prolonged fast in jail
• Alter raiding Chittagong Armoury Surya Sen proclaimed the formation of Provisional. Revolutionary Government and the Indian Republican Army, which fought at Jalalabad.
• Bina Das fired point blank at the governor whle receiving her degree at the convocation.
• Kalpana Datta was arrested and tried along with Surya Sen.
• Udham Singh assassinated General Dayer

Famous Conspiracy Cases

• Muzzafarpur Conspiracy— Attempt on Kingsford, Judge of Muzaffarpur by Prafful Chaki & Khudi Ram Bose in 1908
• Alipore Conspiracy Case— Aurobindo Ghosh arrested
• Delhi Conspiracy Case (1911)— Sanchin Sanyal and Rash Behari Bose were accused of attempting to assassinate Lord Hardinge.
• Kanpur Conspiracy Case (1924)— British government started the case against four communists-Muzaffar Ahmed, S.A. Dange, Shaukat Usmani and Nalni Gupta. The government alleged that the Communists wanted to deprive the British King of the sovereignty of British India.
• Kakori Conspiracy Case— On August 9, 1925, ten revolutionaries held up the 8-Down train from Saharanpur to Lucknow at Kakori and looted its official railway cash. Asfaqullah Khan. Rumprasad Bismil and Roshan Lehri were hanged.
• Lahore Conspiracy Case— Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Raj Guru assassinated Saunders, a police official, at Lahore to avenge Lala Lajpat Rai’s death. (December 1928)
• Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929)— Bhagat Singh & Batukeswar Dutt were asked to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8th 1929 against the passage of Public Safety Bill & Trade Disputes Bill

Swaraj Politics and Towards COM

After the debacle of Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922, a group of leaders (No-changers: Ansari, Rajagopalachari, Kasturiranga Iyengar, Rajendra Prasad and Vallabha bhai Patel) who still believed in Gandhian methods advocated on continuing Gandhian constructive rural work while another group, the Pro-changers with such stalwarts like, Motilal Nehru. C R Das demanded Congress participation in council politics. The Gaya session (1922) rejected council entry. A compromise was struck by which Pro-changers were allowed to stand for elections even as their faith in the constructive programme was reiterated.

• Their immediate objective was ‘speedy attainment of full Dominion Status—Swaraj’, including ‘the right to frame a constitution with provincial autonomy.
• In the elections of 1923 the Das-Nehru group under the banner of the Swaraj Parry emerged the single largest party in the Central Assembly, Bombay and Bengal Councils.
• The Swarajists pursued an obstructionist strategy to defeat all proposals for legislative enactments.
• C R Das died in 1925 and a section of Swarajists (NC Kelkar, MR Jayakar, Lajpat Rai and Malaviya) mined responsivists. Madan Mohan Malviya and Lala Lajpat Rai founded the independent Congress Party and rallied the Hindus.
• In 1933 reorganised as Congress Nationalist Party. In 1930 the Swarajists walked out of the Assemblies in accordance to the Lahore resolution. The Swaraj Party now merged with the Congress as the country began to prepare for the second round of direct mass action to achieve complete independence. They could not carry with one will their coalition partners because of conflicting ideas

Towards Civil Disobedient Movement

Simon Commission

In 1927 the British (Lord Birkenhead was the Secy. Of Slate) decided to appoint a commission to recommend further constitutional reforms. The Indian protest was on the grounds that the commission headed by Sir John Simon was an “all white” commission. Lord Birkenhead constantly talked of the inability of Indians to arrive at any consensus and that the British did not find any one from among the Indians fit enough to serve in a body that would make recommendation about India’s political future. The commission’s arrival in India led to a powerful protest movement in which nationalist enthusiasm & unity reached new heights. On 3rd February, the commissions was greeted with hartals and black flag demonstrations

Nehru Report

To measure up to the challenge of the British the Report was tabled in 1928. It remains memorable as the first major Indian effort to draft a constitutional framework for India complete with lists of central and provincial subjects and fundamental rights.

• It demanded responsible government both in the center and in the provinces. But it advocated Dominion Status and not complete independence.
• It demanded universal adult suffrage.
• It rejected separate communal electorates. It proposed reservation for the Muslims at the center and in provinces in which they were in minority.
• The report recommended equal rights for women, freedom to from unions and dissociation of the state from religion in any form.
• Calcutta Session of INC in 1928 approved the report. INC now wanted the English government to either accept or reject the recommendations of the suggested constitution based on Dominion status. By Swaraj the Congress leaders had so far meant the Dominion Status for India within the ambit of British Empire.

Irwin Offer of 1929

• Dominion Status (DS) was a natural issue of Indian constitutional progess
• A proposed Round Table Conference (RTC) after the publication of the Simon Report.

Lahore Session (Dec 1929)

Irwin talks broke down on the issue of Dominion Status, which the British were reluctant to concede immediately. Jawaharlal Nehru replaced Motilal Nehru as the INC President at Lahore and the major decisions taken at Lahore session .

• Round Table Conference to be boycotted
• Puran-Swaraj or complete independence as the main aim of Congress
• Launch a programme of civil disobedience including non payment of taxes
• January 26”’ 1930 fixed as the  “ Independence day” to be celebrated everywhere.
• On December 31. 1929 the tricolour was hoisted on the banks of Ravi.

Civil Disobedience Movement

After the INC authorized Gandhiji to start CDM, he placed Eleven Point Ultimatum to Irwin (31 Jan 1930) for administrative reforms and stated that if Lord Irwin accepted them there would be no need for agitation. Civil Disobedience Movement started with the Dandi March on 12th March. Salt production had geographical limitations. So in other parts of the country the movement included – a) Picketing of liquor shops and auctions (b) No revenue campaign in Bardoli (c)  Forest Satyagrahas (d) Large scale resignation of rural officials (e) Refusal of chaukidari tax (f) Prabhat Pheris-singing of national songs (g) Patrikas-distribution of illegal pamphlets.

11-Point Ultimatum

1. Reduce expenditure on Army & civil services by 50 percent

2. Introduce total prohibition.

3. Carry out reforms in Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D)

4. Change Arms Act allowing popular control of issue of licences.

5. Release political prisoners

6. Accept Postal Reservation Bill

7. Reduce rupee-sterling exchange ratio

8. Introduce textile protection

9. Reserve coastal shipping for Indians.

10. Reduce land revenue by 50 percent

11. Abolish salt tax

First Round Table Conference (1931)

First ever conference arranged between the British & Indians as equals

• Congress and most business leaders kept away.
• Muslim League— represented by Mohammed Ali, Agha Khan, Fazlul Haq and Jinnah.
• Hindu Mahasabha— represented by Moonje and Jayakar.
• Liberals— represented by Sapru, Chintamani and Srinivas Sastri.
• Princes—represented by Akbar Hydari and Mirza Ismail, the Dewans of Hyderabad and Mysore respectively.

With Incidents of rising violence and with majority of leading Congress leaders behind bars Gandhi ji called for rather sudden retreat. He initiated a talk with Irwin which culminated in the Delhi Pact of 5th March popularly called Gandhi-Irwin pact.

Chronology of Events in CDM

• 12 Mar, 1930—Dandi March was undertaken from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi.
• Apr, 1930—Chittagong Armoury was raided by Surya Sen
• Jan 1931 — First Round ‘table Conference
• 5 Mar, 1931 —‘Delhi Pact’ signed between Viceroy Irwin and Gandhi
• 23 Mar 1931 —Bhagat Singh. Rujguru and Sukhdev were executed.
• Mar 1931 (Karachi Congress) It accepted Delhi Pact. Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn. The session also passed the resolution for Fundamental Rights and the Economic Policy.
• Sept-Dec 1931—Gandhi participated in Second Session of the Round Table Conference

• Dec 1931—Gandhi returned and launched CDM but the movement was brutally suppressed by force
• Apr 1934—The movement was withdrawn formally

Delhi Pact (Gandhi-Irwin Pact)

• Irwin agreed to release all political prisoners except those who were engaged in violence.
• Right to make salt in coastal villages for personal consumption.
• Gandhi agreed to suspend CDM and participate in 2nd of RTC.

Second Round Table Conference

Gandhi agreed to attend the second Round Table Conference scheduled to be held m September 1931. He demanded control over defence & foreign affairs. Hindu Mahasabha demanded federal responsibility which was opposed by Muslim League & the Princes. Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for Dalits which was opposed by Gandhi. The Government refused to concede the basic nationalist demand of freedom on the basis of immediate grant of dominion status.

Communal Award and Poona Pact

On August 16. 1932 McDonald announced the proposal on minority representation, known as the “Communal Award” which recommended:

• To double the existing seals in provincial legislatures.
• To retain the system of separate electorate for the minorities.
• To grant weight age to Muslims in provinces where they were in minority.
• To reserve 3% seats for women in all provincial legislatures except in NWFP
• To recognize depressed classes as minority community and make them entitled to the right of separate electrode, and to allocate seats to labour, landlords, and traders and industrialists.

Gandhi’s objections

Gandhi reacted strongly to the proposal of granting the right of separate electorates to the Depressed Classes. He regarded the Depressed Classes as an integral part of Hindu society. He thought what was required was not protection of the depressed classes but root & branch eradication of untouchability. He had pinned his hopes for their welfare in the firm belief that the Hindus would do full social justice to fully integrate them within their fold. He demanded that the depressed classes be elected through a joint & if possible a wider electorate through universal franchise.

To persuade the recalcitrant Ambedkar to accept his viewpoint, Gandhi, then in the Yarvada Jail, resorted to fast unto death. In an anxiety to save his life, the Poona Pact with the following main terms was concluded between him and Ambedkar on 25 September 1932.

• Seats were to be allotted to the depressed classes in the provincial legislatures as against 71 promised by the Communal Award & 18 % of the total in central legislature.
• Adequate representation for the depressed classes in the civil services.
• Ambedkar also accepted the principle of joint electorate.

Third RTC

Third Round Table Conference was scheduled to be held in London (1932). The congress did not participate in it. The discussions led to the passing of the Government of India Act. 1935.

CDM compared to NCM

• Launched to attain Puma Swaraj and not merely to remedy wrongs..
• It involved deliberate violation of law and not merely non-cooperation
• In the initial phase urban people participated but it spread to rural areas where it gained its maximum strength.
• Little Muslim and labour participation
• Women participated on a large scale to picket shops

Regional Spread

• Chittagong:  18th April, armoury raid by Surya Sen.

• Peshawar: 2 3 April. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar activated the NWFP leading to rioting where the Hindu Gharwal rifles refused to fire on Muslim masses.
• Sholapur. News of Gandhi’s arrest (4th May) led to working class strike form 7th to 17th May.
• Darshana salt works (21 May) satyagraha led by Sarojini Naidu, Imam Saheb and Manilal Gandhi.
• Madras: Rajagopala Chari led the March from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam.
• Kerala K Kelappan marched from Calicut to Payannur. Central Provinces had forest satyagrahas

Gandhi’s Harijan Campaign

Gandhiji withdrew from the Civil Disobedience Movement to focus on Harijan welfare. After the Poona Pact Gandhi started an All India Anti- Untouchability League and the weekly newspaper, Harijan.Harijan welfare work by Gandhians indirectly helped to spread the message of nationalism down to the most oppressed sections of rural society.

Gandhi confined the Harijan Campaign to limited social reform (opening of wells, roads, and particularly temples plus humanitarian work) delinking it from any economic demands (though many Harijans were agricultural labourers), and also refusing to attack caste as a whole. The Harijan Movement was formally withdrawn in April 1934.

Impact of CDM

• The Congress swept the polls in most provinces in 1937.
• The Left alternative emerged, for the Movement had aroused expectations, which Gandhian strategy could not fulfil.
• At the level of leadership, Nehru and Bose voiced the new mood, emphasising the need to combine nationalism with radical social and economic programmes.
• Some Congress activists formed a socialist group within the party in 1 934.
• Kisan Sabhas with anti-zamindar programmes developed rapidly in provinces like Bihar and Andhra.

Towards Quit India Movement

Following the withdrawal of the CDM, Gandhi wanted to focus upon his village reconstruction programme and Harijan Campaign while many other party members wanted to fight the elections. In October 1934, Gandhi resigned from the Indian National Congress.

In the Elections to the Central Legislative Assembly in November 1934, the Congress won 45 seats out of the 75. The government announced the holding of elections to the provincial legislatures in February 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935 which promised provincial autonomy. At the Lucknow session (April 1936), the Congress decided to contest them. The Congress framed a detailed political and economic programme at the Faizpur session (December 1936) under the Presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Provincial Elections under the GOI Act 1935

The Congress won a massive mandate. It formed ministries in 8 provinces—Madras, Bombay, Central Provinces, Orissa, Bihar, UP, NWFP and Assam.

Haripura Session (Feb 1938) declared Puma Swaraj ideal to cover Princely States.

Tripuri Congress (Mar 1939) favoured active participation in the Princely States because of the federal structure of the 1935 Act and due to assumption of office by the Congress after the 1937 elections.

The Tripuri Session witnessed Bose vs. Sitaramyya (Gandhi’s nominee) conflict. Bose resigned to form the Forward Bloc.

Individual Satyagraha

With the failure of the British govt. to measure up to the demands, there were two opinions in Congress about the launching of civil disobedience. Gandhi fell that the atmosphere was not in favour of civil disobedience as there were differences and indiscipline within the Congress. However, the Congress Socialists and the All India Kisan Sabha were in favour of immediate struggle. Convinced that the British would not modify their policy in India, (the Congress having rejected the August Offer), Gandhi decided to start the Individual Satyagraha. The very reason for confining the movement to individual participation was that neither Gandhi nor the Congress wished to hamper the War effort and this was not possible in a mass movement. Even the aim of the Satyagraha was a limited one i.e. to disprove the British claim of India supporting the War effort whole-heartedly. On 17 October 1940 Vinoba Bhave became the first satyagrahi followed by Nehru.

August Offer, 1940

The Viceroy (Linlithgow) put forward a proposal that included:

• Dominion Status in the unspecified future
• A post-war body to enact the constitution
• Expansion of Governor-General’s Council with representation of the Indians,
• Establishing a War Advisory Council.

In this offer he promised the Muslim League and other minorities that the British Government would never agree to a constitution or government in India, which did not enjoy their support (the Muslim League had demanded Pakistan in its Lahore session of 1940). The Congress rejected this offer because:

• There was no suggestion for a national government and because the demand for Dominion Status was already discarded in favour of Puma Swaraj
• It encouraged anti-Congress forces like the Muslim League.

The Cripps Mission: March-April 1942

Under the pressure of Allies and the need for gestures to win over Indian public opinion, the British were forced to offer reconciliatory measures. After the fall of Rangoon to the Japanese the British decided to send the Cripps Mission to India for constitutional proposals, which included:

• Dominion status to be granted after the war with the right to secede (Any province could, if it so desired, remain outside the Indian Union and negotiate directly with Britain)
• Constitution making body to be elected from Provincial Assemblies and Princes’ nominees alter the War
• Individual princes could sign a separate agreement with the British which in effect accommodated the Pakistan Demand
• British would however, control the defence for war period.

The Congress did not want to rely upon future promises. It wanted a responsible government with full powers and also a control over the country’s defence. Gandhi termed the proposals as a post dated cheque in a crashing bank. Cripps Mission failed to satisfy Indian nationalists & turned out to be merely a propaganda device for US & Chinese consumption. But above all the Cripps Proposals brought in “Pakistan” through the backdoor via the “local option” clause. Though the Cripps Mission failed, Cripps’ proposals provided legitimacy to the Pakistan demand by accommodating it in their provision for provincial autonomy.

Quit India Movement

In the backdrop of the failure of Cripps Mission, imminent Japanese threat, the British attitude towards Indians who were left behind in Burma and the prevailing anger and hostility to an alien and meaningless war, Quit India resolution was passed on 8 August 1942 at Gowalia Tank, Bombay. Gandhi told the British to quit and “leave India in God’s hand”. His message was ‘Do or Die’. In the initial stages, the Movement was based on non violent lines. Repressive policy of the government and Indiscriminate arrests of the leaders provoked people to violence. (Nehru was lodged in Almoru jail, Maulana Azad in Bankura and Gandhi in Agha Khan ‘& palace, Poona). Further, it was the only all-India movement, which was leader less. In many areas, the government lost all control and the people established Swaraj.

Public Participation

• Parallel governments were established in Satara— (Prati Sarkar under Nana Patil), Talcher (Orissa), parts of eastern U.P and Bihar.
• In Bengal, Tamluk Jatiya Sarkar functioned in Midnapore district. This national government had various departments like Law and Order, Health, Education. Agriculture, etc. along with a postal system of its own and arbitration courts.
• The Movement had initially been strong in the urban areas but soon it was the populace of rural areas, which kept the banner of revolt aloft-for a longer time.
• The trend of underground revolutionary activity also started during this phase. Jaya Prakash Narain and Ramnandan Misra escaped from Hazaribagh Jail and organised an underground movement.
• In Bombay, the Socialist leaders continued their underground activities under leaders like Aruna Asaf Ali. The most daring act of the underground movement was the establishment of Congress Radio with Usha Mehta as its announcer. The participation was on many levels. School & College students remained in the forefront. women actively participated and workers went on strikes. Though, peasants concentrated their offence on symbols of authority, there was complete absence of anti zamindar violence. There were no communal clashes during the movement. Repression was severe. The Movement did not evoke much response from the merchant community. In fact, most of the Capitalists and merchants had profited heavily during the War. The Muslim League kept aloof and the Hindu Mahasabha condemned the Movement. The Communist Party of India due to its “People’s War” line did not support the movement. The Indian Princes and the landlords were supporting the War effort and therefore did not sympathize with the movement. Some Congress leaders like Rajagopalachari also did not participate.

Towards Freedom

Rajagopalachari Formula (1945)

In 1944, C Rajagopalachari proposed that after the termination of the war, a Commission could be appointed for demarcating contiguous districts in the north-west and east where Muslims were in absolute majority. In the areas thus demarcated, a plebiscite would be held on the basis of adult suffrage that would ultimately decide the issue of separation from Hindustan. If the majority decided in favour of forming a separate Sovereign State, such decision could be accepted. In case of acceptance of partition, agreement to be made jointly for safeguarding defence, commerce, communications etc. The above terms would to be operative only if England transferred full powers to India. Muslim League was expected to endorse the Congress demand for independence and co-operate with it in the formation of provisional government for the interim period. Jinnah objected, as he wanted congress to accept two-nation theory & wanted only Muslims of the northwest and east of India to vote in the plebiscite. Hindu leaders led by V.D Savarkar condemned the plan.

Shimla Conference (June-July 1945)

• Proposed by Wavell.
• Talks suggested setting up of a new Executive council with only Indian members. The Viceroy and the Commander in chief would be the only non-Indian members of the council
• ‘Caste Hindus’ and- Muslims would have equal representation the executive would work within the existing constitution (i.e. not responsible to the central Assembly) but the door was kept open for discussions on a new constitution.

• The Congress, headed by Maulana Azad, resented being characterized as a caste Hindu organization.
• Talks broke down due to Jinnah’s demand for the Muslim League to have absolute choice in choosing all Muslim members and a demand for communal veto, though it had ministries only in Assam and Sind. The dissolution of the conference gave Jinnah the Communal Veto in effect. Thereafter, the satisfaction of the League became a pre-requisite to any major settlement.

Cabinet Mission (March-June 1946)

Members—Pethwick Lawrence (secretary of Stale), Stafford Cripps and Alexander.

The Mission rejected the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan (Comprising the whole of all the Muslim majority areas). The Mission reasoned that the right of communal self-determination, if conceded to Muslims, also had to be granted to non-Muslims who formed majorities in West Bengal and Eastern Punjab, as well as in Assam proper. The ‘truncated’ or smaller Pakistan was unacceptable to the League.

The Plan proposed

• Rejection of the demand for a full fledged Pakistan.
• For a very loose union of all the Indian territories under a centre that would control merely the defence, the Foreign Affairs and the Communications, leaving all other subjects to the existing provincial legislatures.
• Provincial legislatures would elect a Constituent Assembly. The members

• would divide up into three sections— A,B & C while electing the constitutes Assembly. All these sections would have the authority to draw up provincial constitutions and even group constitutions.

Section A- Non Muslim Majority provinces (Bombay, United Provinces, Bihar, Central Provinces, Orissa, Madras)

Section B - Muslim majority provinces in the north-west (Sind, NWFP & Punjab)

Section C - Muslim majority provinces in North east (Bengal, Assam)

• Communal questions in Central legislature were to be decided by a simple majority in both communities
• Provinces were to have full autonomy & residual powers
• Princely stales were no longer to be under paramountcy of British Government.
• After the first general elections, a province could come out of a group and after 10 years a province could call for reconsideration of the group or union constitution
• Each group had powers to set up intermediate level legislature and executive on their own.

The plan failed on the issue of the nature of grouping — Jinnah was for compulsory while Nehru was for grouping only till the formation of a constituent assembly. On 29th July 1946 Jinnah withdrew his earlier acceptance of the plan and fixed 16 August 1946 as Diner Action Day. Calcutta, Noakhali, Garmukteshwar were the storm centres. Communal massacre weakened the Congress position in the NWFP.

Interim government

• Came into existence on 2nd September 1946, in accordance with Cabinet Mission’s proposal and was headed by J L Nehru. Muslim League refused to join it initially.
• Wavell persuaded the League leaders to join on 26 October 1946.
• 8th December 1946 — Constituent Assembly begins its session with Liaqat Ali Khan of Muslim League as the Finance Minister
• The Interim government, obstructed by its League members and bureaucracy was reduced to a figurehead and was unable to control the communal carnage.

Attlee’s Announcement

Prime Minister Atlee on 20 February 1947 announced that the British would withdraw from India by 30 June, 1948 and that Lord Mountbatten would replace Wavell. British powers & obligations vis-a-vis the princely states would lapse with transfer of power but these would not be transferred to any successor Government in British India. Partition of the country was implicit in the provision that if the constituent assembly was not fully representative then power would be transferred to more than one central govt.

Mountbatten Plan (3rd June Plan)

His earlier Plan Balkan was abandoned for the 3rd June Plan.

• The Plan declared that power would be handed over by 15 August 1947 on the basis of dominion status to India and Pakistan.
• Mountbatten supported the Congress stand that the princely states must not be given the option of independence. They would either join India or Pakistan
• Boundary commission was to be headed by Radcliffe and the award was to be announced after Republic day (which was a major cause of massacres)
• Punjab & Bengal Legislative Assemblies would meet in two groups, Hindu’s & Muslims, to vote for partition. If a simple majority of either group voted for partition, then these provinces would be partitioned. In case of partition, two dominions & two constituent assemblies would be created

Indian Independence Act, 1947

• Implemented on 15th August 1947 and Sovereignty of British Parliament was abolished. Dominions of India and Pakistan were created. Each dominion to have a Governor - General. Pakistan was to comprise Sind, British Baluchistan, NWFP, West Punjab and East Bengal

The Muslim League

• The partition scheme and the subsequent Swadeshi Movement were followed by the formation of the All India Muslim League towards the end of 1906 by Aga Khan, the Nawab of Dacca and Nawab Mohsinul Mulk It consisted of a group of big Zamindars, ex-bureaucrats and other upper class Muslims.
• The factors that helped the growth of Muslim separatism, were— the surfacing of Hindu revivalist tendencies during the Swadeshi movement, The British propaganda that the partition of Bengal would benefit the Muslims and the spurt in communal violence.
• Later, Muslim League came to be dominated by Young Turks who nursed anti-British feelings. Britain had refused to aid Turkey in the Balkan Wars (1911-1 2) and had rejected University Status to the Aligarh College.
• In 1928, the Muslim League rejected the Nehru Report, as it did not incorporate all their demands. This led to the estrangement of Jinnah, who called it a ‘Parting of the Ways ‘with the Congress and formulated his infamous fourteen points (including separate-electorates, reservation of seats in the center and provinces, reservation of jobs for Muslims, creation of new Muslim majority provinces, etc.) which became the text of the communal demands.
• 1939, Dec 22—The Muslim League observes the resignation of the Congress ministries as Deliverance Day.
• 1940, March—Lahore session of the Muslim League passes the Pakistan Resolution.
• On Dec 1943 the Karachi session of the Muslim League adopts the slogan ‘ Divide and Quit’.

Integration of States

By 15 August all except Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagadh had signed the Instrument of Accession with India, and Bhawalpur with Pakistan. Goa was with the Portugese and Pondicherry with the French.