MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

British invasion to Independence of India

HARSH MAHAJAN
Mahajanharsh1909@gmail.com
Contents
Lec1: Carnatic war and company control over Bengal ........................................................................ 5
1.1 Carnatic war ................................................................................................................................ 5
1.2 English occupation of Bengal ..................................................................................................... 6
Lec2: Anglo Mysore and Anglo Maratha wars .................................................................................... 8
2.1 Anglo Mysore conflicts ............................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Anglo Maratha conflict: .............................................................................................................. 9
Lec 3: Company Rule I (1773-1798) .................................................................................................. 11
3.1 Warren Hastings (1772-1785) ................................................................................................... 11
3.2 Regulating act of 1773: ............................................................................................................. 11
3.3 Pitt’s India act 1784: ................................................................................................................. 12
3.4 Charter act of 1786:................................................................................................................... 12
3.5 Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793): .................................................................................................. 12
3.6 John Shore (1793-1798) ............................................................................................................ 13
Lec 4: Company Rule II (1798-1848) ................................................................................................ 14
4.1 Richard Wellesley (1798-1805) ................................................................................................ 14
4.2 Lord Minto I (1807- 1813) ........................................................................................................ 15
4.3 Charter Act of 1813: ................................................................................................................. 15
4.5 Lord Francis Hastings (1813-1823) .......................................................................................... 15
4.6 Anglo-Nepal war 1814-16: ....................................................................................................... 15
4.7 William Bentick 1828-35: ......................................................................................................... 15
4.8 Charter act of 1833:................................................................................................................... 16
4.9 Lord Macaulay’s minute (1835) ............................................................................................... 16
4.10 Anglo Sikh wars ...................................................................................................................... 16
Lec 5. British Rule 1848-1856............................................................................................................ 18
5.1 Lord Dalhousie 1848-56 ........................................................................................................... 18
5.2 Charter act of 1853:................................................................................................................... 19
5.3 Woods dispatch 1854: ............................................................................................................... 19
Lec 6: The policies of British rule ...................................................................................................... 20
6.1 Administration: ......................................................................................................................... 20
6.2 Economic policy: Trade, Agriculture and Land revenue: ......................................................... 20
6.3 Land revenue policy .................................................................................................................. 21
6.4 Social policy .............................................................................................................................. 22
6.5 Educational reform:................................................................................................................... 22
6.6 Development of Press: .............................................................................................................. 23
6.7 Development of civil services: .................................................................................................. 24
Lec 7: Revolt of 1857 ......................................................................................................................... 25
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Lec 8. Social reform Movement I ....................................................................................................... 28
8.1 Hindu Reform Movement ......................................................................................................... 28
Lec 9: Social reform movement II ...................................................................................................... 32
9.1 Muslim Reform movement ....................................................................................................... 32
9.2 Parsi reform movement ............................................................................................................. 32
9.3 Sikh reform movement.............................................................................................................. 33
9.4 Lower caste movement ............................................................................................................. 33
Lec 10: Early National Movement (1858-1892) ................................................................................ 36
10.1 Impact of Revolt of 1857 ........................................................................................................ 36
10.2 Indian Council Act 1861 ......................................................................................................... 36
10.3 Lord Ripon 1880-84 ................................................................................................................ 38
10.4 Beginning of Indian National Movement ............................................................................... 39
10.5 The Indian National Congress: ............................................................................................... 39
10.6 Indian council act of 1892 ....................................................................................................... 40
Lec 11: National Movement 1 (1885-1908) ....................................................................................... 41
11.1 Moderate phase of INC ........................................................................................................... 41
1.2 Lord Curzon (1899-1905) ......................................................................................................... 42
11.3 Rise of extremism/radicalism.................................................................................................. 44
11.4 Swadeshi Movement ............................................................................................................... 45
11.5 Formation of Muslim league 1906 .......................................................................................... 45
11.6 Surat Split, 1907...................................................................................................................... 46
Lec 12 National Movement 2 (1909-1916) ........................................................................................ 47
12.1 Minto – Morley reform 1909 / Government of India act 1909/ Indian councils act 1909...... 47
12.2 Delhi Durbar 1911 .................................................................................................................. 48
12.3 Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916) ................................................................................................ 48
12.4 First world war and Nationalist Response: ............................................................................. 48
12.5 Home rule league movement .................................................................................................. 48
12.6 The Lucknow Pact of 1916 ..................................................................................................... 49
Lec 13. Revolutionary Movement ...................................................................................................... 50
13.1 Revolutionary Movement Phase 1 .......................................................................................... 50
13.2 British Response ..................................................................................................................... 52
13.3 Revolutionary movement Phase 2........................................................................................... 52
Lec 14: National movement 3 (1917-1921)........................................................................................ 54
14.1 M.K. Gandhi – a brief intro of Mahatma ................................................................................ 54
14.2 Champaran Satyagraha 1917 .................................................................................................. 54
14.3 Kheda Satyagraha 1918 .......................................................................................................... 54
14.4 Satyagraha against Rowlatt act ............................................................................................... 55
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 14.5 Montagu-Chelmsford reform/ GoI act 1919 ........................................................................... 56
14.6 Khilafat Movement (1919-22.................................................................................................. 58
Lec 15: National Movement IV (1922-1930) ..................................................................................... 59
15.1 Swarajists ................................................................................................................................ 59
15.2 Lord Irwin (1926-31) .............................................................................................................. 59
15.3 Simon Commission ................................................................................................................. 60
15.4 Nehru Report ........................................................................................................................... 60
15.5 Jinnah Fourteen points 1929 ................................................................................................... 60
15.6 Lahore Session in 1929 ........................................................................................................... 61
15.7 Civil disobedience movement (1930-1934) ............................................................................ 61
Lec 16: National Movement V (1930-1935) ..................................................................................... 64
16.1 1st Round table conference ..................................................................................................... 64
16.2 Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931 .......................................................................................................... 64
16.3 Karachi congress session 1931 ............................................................................................... 64
16.4 Civil disobedience movement Phase II (1932-34) .................................................................. 65
16.5 Communal Award / Macdonald Award .................................................................................. 65
16.6 Poona pact ............................................................................................................................... 65
16.7 3rd Round table conference 1932 ........................................................................................... 65
16.8 Dr B R Ambedkar ................................................................................................................... 65
16.9 Government of India act 1935 ................................................................................................ 66
Lec 17 National Movement VI ........................................................................................................... 67
17.1 1937 Elections ......................................................................................................................... 67
17.2 Subhash Chandra Bose............................................................................................................ 67
17.3 Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944) ................................................................................................. 67
17.4 Demand for Pakistan ............................................................................................................... 67
17.5 Outbreak of World War II ....................................................................................................... 68
17.6 August Offer ........................................................................................................................... 68
17.7 Individual satyagraha .............................................................................................................. 68
17.8 Cripps Mission ........................................................................................................................ 68
17.9 Quit India Movement (1942-44) ............................................................................................. 69
17.10 Indian national army ............................................................................................................. 70
Lec 18: National Movement VII (1944-1947).................................................................................... 71
18.1 C. Rajagopalachari Formula ................................................................................................... 71
18.2 Desai-Liaqat Pact (January 1945) ........................................................................................... 71
18.3 Wavell Plan ............................................................................................................................. 71
18.4 Royal Indian Navy – February 1946 ....................................................................................... 72
18.5 Cabinet Mission (1946) ........................................................................................................... 72
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 18.6 Direct action day 16 August 1946: ......................................................................................... 72
18.7 Mountbatten Plan .................................................................................................................... 73
18.8 Indian Independence act 1947................................................................................................. 73
Lec 19 Women’s Movement in India ................................................................................................. 75
Lec 20 Women in India’s Freedom struggle ...................................................................................... 78
Lec 21 Peasant Movement .................................................................................................................. 81
Lec 22 Tribal Movement .................................................................................................................... 83

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 Lec1: Carnatic war and company control over Bengal
1.1 Carnatic war:
• Anglo French rivalry:
o In the bringing of 18th century, the English and the French were
competing to establish their supremacy in the world
o Both used the political turmoil prevalent in India as a result of
the decline of the Mughal empire in their favour and indulged
in internal politics
o The Anglo-French rivalry in India was manifest in the Carnatic
region and in Bengal
• 1st Carnatic war (1746-48):
o Reason: Austrian war of succession (England supported one and
France supported another)
o Events:
▪ English ships attack French merchant ships
▪ Dupleix attacked Madras and captured it
▪ La Bourbonnais (Mauritius Governor) brought navy to help
France
▪ English asked for help from Anwaruddin, Nawab of Arcot while France seek help from his brother in law Chanda
sahib
▪ Important battle- Battle of Adyar → French victory
▪ Overall inconclusive war
▪ Significance: Proved superiority of European trained modern armies over Indian troops
o Treaty: Aix-le-Chappelle in Europe
• 2nd Carnatic war (1749-54)
o Reason: Interference in internal politics(succession) of Hyderabad
and Arctos by European
o In Hyderabad- Nizam Asaf Jah’s death→ Son Nazir Jung succeeded
him but nephew Muzaffar Jung opposed Nasir
o In Arcot- Dispute between Anwaruddin and Chanda sahib
o Events:
▪ Anwaruddin defeated and killed in 1749 by joint forces of French, Chanda sahib and Muzaffar Jung
▪ Nasir Jung murdered by a Noble
▪ French backed Nizam and Nawab succeeded- Dupleix’s power at its height
▪ Anwaruddin’s Son Mohd. Ali seeks British support to capture throne in Arcot
▪ Robert Clive captured Arcot in a daring attack and defended it for 50 days
▪ French defeats at Tiruchirappalli and Kaveripakkam
▪ Chanda sahib defeated and killed at Tanjore, Mohd. Ali becomes Nawab of Arcot
▪ Dupleix recalled by French company directors in 1754
o Treaty of Pondicherry 1754
• 3rd Carnatic war (1758-63)
o Reason: 7 years wars (1756-63)
o Events
▪ Initial French success in Carnatic
▪ English defeated French and expel from Bengal
(Chandernagore, Kasimbazar, Balasore)
▪ Battle of Wandiwash 1760: Sir Eyre Coote (England) defeated
Count de Lally (French)
▪ English captured Northern Circars (Masulipatanam) in 1759 and
Pondicherry in 1761
o Treaty of Paris 1763:
▪ French could retain factories in Pondicherry and Chandernagore
but no military expansion
▪ French power was demolished in India after this war
But French tried to limit English by helping anti-company rulers like Tipu
Sultan but ultimately failed
• Causes for the French failure:
o Commercial and naval superiority of the English
o Lack of support from French government (French east India company was under king of France while EIC of English
was private)
o French had support from locals only in deccan while English had a strong base in Bengal (after Battle of Plassey)
o English had 3 important port: Calcutta, Bombay and Madras
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 o Difference of opinion of French General
o England’s victory in the European wars decided the destiny of French in India
• Significance of Carnatic wars:
o Beginning of European interference in Indian states internal affairs
o Beginning of process of colonisation of India
o First major wars fought by European soldiers in India- gave them confidence on winning in Indian condition, far away
from their home

1.2 English occupation of Bengal:

• Farrukhsiyar’s Farman of 1717:
o EIC was permitted to carry on trade in Bengal, Bombay and Madras free of customs duty, after a fixed annual payment.
o Freedom to export and import their goods in Bengal without paying taxes
o Right to issue passes or dastaks for movements of such goods
o The company servants were also permitted to do trade but not covered under this Farman. They need to pay tax same
as Indian merchants. So, they misused the dastak for their private trade
o Bengal was the most fertile and wealthy provinces of India
o Nawabs:
▪ Murshid Quli Khan
▪ Alivardi Khan
▪ Siraj-ud-Daulah (1756)
o Siraj was 18-year-old, young and inexperienced nawab tried to take on EIC due to
▪ Misuse of Dastak for personal trade
▪ EIC’s fortifying Fort Williams with a moat (defensive excavation) - Immediate cause
• Battle of Plassey
o Siraj ud daulah seized the English factory at kasim bazar and fort William
in June 1756
o Black hole tragedy:
▪ Given by J Holwell; Related to British Prisoners
Death
▪ 146 People in 18X14 Feet room, most of them dead
due to suffocation
▪ Painted Siraj-ud-daulah was responsible. Won
support of British People
▪ Shiraj Captured Fort William, Manikchand become
supervisor of Factory
▪ He also named Kolkata as Alinagar
o Robert Clive set sail from Carnatic to free Calcutta/ Fort William
o In January 1757→ He captured Fort William
o 2nd January 1757, Treaty of Alinagar was signed- all old privileges again,
Moat around Fort William allowed
o Clive than captured Chandernagore, the French settlement, in march 1757
and expelled French from all their factories in Bengal
o Clive now conspired with opponent of Nawab to replace him:
▪ Mir Jafar – Mir Bakshi (Military head)
▪ Manikchand – Officer in charge of Calcutta
▪ Aminchand – Rich merchant
▪ Jagat seth – Biggest banker in Bengal
▪ Khandim khan- Commanded a large number of nawab’s troops
o Loyal- Mir madan and mohanlal
o Battle of Plassey:
▪ Fought on 23 June 1757
▪ Owing the conspiracy, the Nawab was defeated and killed
▪ Mir Jafar was made the new nawab and Clive become Governor of Fort William/ Bengal 1757-60
• Mir Jafar:
o The company was granted undisputed right to free trade in Bengal
o Personal trade restrictions removed too
o EIC received the Zamindari of 24 Parganas near Calcutta
o 2.2Crore rupees as war indemnity of EC
o All French factories handed to EIC
o Mir Jafar soon found his treasury empty and realised he had struck a bad deal
o He protested and was forced to abdicated in favour of his son-in-law Mir Qasim
• Mir Qasim (1760-62)
o He ceded Burdwan, Midanpore and Chittagong to EIC
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 o Shifted capital from Murshidabad to Munger
o Mir Qasim removed duties for internal trade thus bringing Indian traders at par with EIC
o He wanted to be Independent while company wanted a puppet
o Fought with company, defeated and fled to Awadh in 1763
o Mir Jafar made Nawab again (1763-65)
• Battle of Buxar
o In Awadh, Mir Qasim formed a confederacy with-
▪ Shuda-ud-daulah, Nawab of Awadh
▪ Shah Alam II, Mughal emperor
o Their combined forces of 40,000 were defeated at Buxar by Hector Munroe, leading only 7000 trop
o This victory made EIC a great power in North India
o Robert Clive arrived to negotiate a treaty with the mighty nawabs of Gangetic plains
• Treaty of Allahabad Aug. 1765
o With Shuja ud daulah of Awadh
▪ Surrender Kara and Allahabad to Mughal emperor
▪ 50lakh war indemnity to EIC
▪ Offensive and defensive alliance
▪ Free trade rights in Awadh
o With Shah Alam II of Delhi
▪ Allahabad and Kara given to emperor
▪ Reside in Allahabad fort – Prisoner
▪ Diwani rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa given to EIC in lieu of 26 lakh pensions
o Treaty of Allahabad was “A master stroke by Robert Clive”
o Awadh was made a buffer state against future Maratha invasions
o Mughal authority was not outright uprooted- to prevent public reaction
• The dual system of Bengal 1765-72
o Nizamat = Civil administration + criminal justice (law and order)
o Diwani = Revenue
o British took over Diwani rights from Mughal but gave the Nizamat duties to Nawab of Bengal
o Military defence and foreign affairs of Bengal now lay with the company
o For revenue collection they appointed 2 deputy nawabs
o EIC got all the revenue but paid only 56 Lakh annually for public works and running administration of entre Bengal to
the nawabs administration (later reduced to 33 lakhs)
o Why the dual system??
▪ Power without responsibility
▪ Open annexation may have resulted joint war from princely states
▪ Evading parliamentary oversight from Britain
▪ Other European powers may not have recognized the authority of English in India
▪ EIC (Clive) was more interested in financial and commercial gains rather than territorial acquisitions at that time
o This system ruined Bengal and brought its people utter misery- Indian traders paid up to 40% tax competing with EIC
paying 0%
o Farmers were taxed into misery as no one cared about their welfare- neither the deputy nawab nor the company
o Great famine in 1769-1772 killed nearly 30% population of Bengal
o EIC directors back in London were not happy either as own officials became highly corrupt
o In 1772, Warren Hastings, the newly appointed governor general abolished the dual system and EIC took Diwani rights
in its own hand

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 Lec2: Anglo Mysore and Anglo Maratha wars
• Trajectory of East India Company’s Conquest:
War → Treaties →Final war
2.1 Anglo Mysore conflicts
• Mysore was a powerful kingdom in Deccan that could challenge company’s
power
• 4 wars fought between EIC and rulers of Mysore- Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan
• Original dynasty of Mysore- Wodeyar
• Haidar Ali, a powerful commander usurped power in 1761
• Three great powers of southern India: Mysore, Nizam and Maratha
• 1st Anglo- Mysore war (1767-69):
o Causes
▪ Haidar Ali wanted to expel British from south India
▪ EIC wanted to expand its territory
o EIC + Marathas + Nizam → Form a triple alliance and attack Mysore
o After a struggle of changing fortunes for 18 months, Haidar Ali suddenly
marched up on Madras and forced the English in a humiliating treaty
o Result – Mysore victory
o Treaty of Madras → Defensive alliance
• 2nd Anglo Mysore war (1780-84):
o Causes:
▪ 1771- Marathas attacked Mysore but EIC did not come to help according to Treaty of Madras
▪ 1780- EIC captured Mahe, a French port vital to Haidar Ali
▪ American war of independence (French supported American patriots and French tries to support anyone who were
against Britishers
o Events:
▪ Haidar Ali formed an alliance with Marathas and Nizam but they left him soon (British diplomacy)
▪ Haidar Ali captured Arcot but was later defeated by Sir Eyre Coote
▪ 1782- Haider Ali passed away
▪ Tipu carried on struggle with French assistance
▪ 1783- Paris treaty between France and England. Crown forces company to sue for peace too
o Result:
▪ Stalemate (Psychological defeat for English as Tipu dictated terms of treaty)
▪ Treaty of Mangalore 1784 – Mutual restitution
• Tipu Sultan:
o Wrote a military manual – Fathul Mujhahidin
o Manufactured rockets, artillery and firearms
o Used Frenchman to train army – army on European line
o New weight and measures
o Set up a ‘Jacobian club’ and planted ‘Tree of liberty’ at his capital
o Capital → Srirangpattanam on kaveri River
• 3rd Anglo Mysore war ()
o Cause:
▪ Tipu strengthen his army, brought reforms
▪ Sought help from France against English
▪ He attacked Travancore, an English ally, sparking the war
o Events:
▪ Cornwallis (governor general of Bengal) attacked and defeated Tipu in Travancore
▪ Triple alliance→ Marathas + Nizam + English defeated tipu at Srirangpattanam
o Treaty of Srirangpattanam:
▪ Half of territories of Tipu were snatched away and divided among Marathas,
British and Nizam
▪ The raja of Coorg got independence from tipu
▪ War indemnity of 3crore rupees
▪ 2 Son of tipu taken as hostages by Cornwallis to ensure 3 crore were paid at regular
instalment
• 4th Anglo-Mysore war 1799:
o Cause:
▪ Tipu tried to set alliance with Arab, Turks and afghans to defeat the British but failed
▪ He started a Jacobin club was started with planting tree of liberty
▪ He got letter of friendship from napoleon Bonaparte (in Egypt that time – Planning to come to India)

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 ▪ Wellesley asked Tipu to join subsidiary alliance, but he declined
▪ Richard Wellesley allied with Nizam to attack Mysore
▪ Tipu died fighting at Srirangpattanam
o Results:
▪ British and Nizam divided parts of his empire
▪ 5 years old boy Krishan raja III Wodeyar was made king
▪ Tipu’s family sent to Vellore
▪ Mysore became a princely state with suzerainty (under dominion) if east India company → Subsidiary alliance
signed
2.2 Anglo Maratha conflict:
• Marathas were the most powerful empire in India in mid-18th century
• Although Panipat (1761) had dealt them a serious blow but they still held huge sway in central India
• The British presidency of Bombay wanted to replicate the success of Bengal (Dual system) in Bombay region
• They sought an opportunity and got it when succession struggles started for Peshwa’s post
• 1st Anglo-Maratha war 1775-82
o Cause:
▪ The young Peshwa Narayan Rao murdered in 1773 by this uncle Raghunath Rao (Raghoba)
▪ Nana phadnvis and 11other ministers (Barbhai council) appointed the infant Madhav Rao II (son of Narayan rao)
▪ Raghoba fled to Surat and signed treaty of Surat (1775) with EIC → Promising them Bassein, Salsette in lieu of
help to become Peshwa
o Event-
▪ GG Warren hasting was not happy with actions of Bombay presidency
▪ He signed a different Treaty of Purandar (1776) with Nana Phadnvis but later continued warfare when directors
overruled him and continue giving protection to Raghunath Rao
▪ Maratha victory at Wadgaon (Near pune) : Treaty of Wadgaon
▪ Mahadji Scindia led Maratha to many victories but after English defeated them in central India, a final treaty was
signed near Gwalior (Treaty of Salbai)
o Treaty of salbai 1782:
▪ Raghunath Rao was pensioned off- his claim to Peshwa
abandoned
▪ Madhava Rao II recognised as Peshwa by English
▪ English could keep Bassein, Salsette
▪ Marathas agreed to help English against Mysore
▪ Importance – Peace held for 20 years; pressure exerted on Mysore
• The confederacy:
o Gaekwad – Baroda
o Bhonsle – Nagpur
o Holkars- Indore
o Scindia – Gwalior
o Peshwas – Poona
• 2nd Anglo-Maratha war 1803-06
o Casus belli (Reason of war)
▪ Lord Richard Wellesley asked all the Marathas Chiefs + Peshwa
to sign the subsidiary alliance → They refused
▪ Infighting among the various Marathas chiefs
▪ Peshwa Baji Rao II had killed one of the brothers of Jaswant Rao
Holkar, ruler of Indore
▪ Jaswant Rao attacked combine army of Peshwa and Scindia,
defeated them and occupied Poona
▪ The peshwa escaped and sought refuge with English in Bombay
▪ Baji Rao II signed the Treaty of Bassein 1802 – accepted
subsidiary alliance
▪ Gaekwad signed separate Treaty of Cambay accepting subsidiary
alliance
o Treaty of Bassein: “Death Knell of the Maratha Confederacy”
▪ Subsidiary force of 6000 infantry plus artillery to be stationed at
Poona
▪ 26 lakh Rs for maintenance of this army to be given by Peshwa
▪ City of Surat was given to EIC
▪ No relations with any other European powers + foreign affairs
under English
▪ Bassein was not a war ending treaty rather a war causing treaty

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 o The Maratha chiefs did not accept this humiliating treaty signed by their peshwa and started
o In December 1803, Scindia and Bhonsle were defeated at battle of Assaye by Arthur Wellesley and entered into
subsidiary alliance, giving away large territories
o Treaty of Surji-Arjangaon 1803- Scindia → Scindia surrendered Rohtak Gugaon and Delhi-Agra region
o Treaty of Deogaon 1803- Bhonsle → Ceded the province of Cuttack and territory west of River Wardha
o Now Holkar alone was left in the field – He fought bravely for two years, and signed treaty in 1806
o Treaty of Rajpurghat -Holkar → Ceded tonk, Rampura and Bundi
o Baji Rao II was again made the Peshwa
• 3rd Anglo Maratha War (1817-1819):
o Cause:
▪ The tight control of British agent on peshwa Baji Rao II
▪ EIC was gathering its army for campaign against
Pindari (Dacoits) in central India. Peshwa assumed it
was to remove him – he declared war
▪ Bhonsle and Holkar joined him too. Scindia abstained
o Result:
▪ Peshwa was defeated, his dominions annexed, and he
was pensioned off to house arrest in Bithur near Kanpur
▪ Maratha confederacy was destroyed and Peshwaship
abolished
▪ Thus, the last major power of India which could threaten
the EIC rule militarily was extinguished
▪ The kingdom of satara (controlled by Shivaji’s
descendants) was craved out of Peshwa’s land and given
to a descendent of Shivaji, Pratap Singh
▪ This war is also known as Pindari war
• Reason of failure of Marathas:
o Nature of Maratha state – Extortion and robbery (Chauth
vasuli from other acquired area)
o Lack of capable leadership and infighting
o Military weakness of the Marathas → Did not adapt modern
ways of warfare, heavy dependency of Guerrilla tactics
o Failed to estimate the political, military and diplomatic
strength of the British
o Did not learn the tactics of diplomacy fully
o On the other hands the English
▪ Learnt the geography, language and customs
▪ Prepared maps, planned their campaigns carefully
▪ Diplomacy as a weapon

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 Lec 3: Company Rule I (1773-1798)
3.1 Warren Hastings (1772-1785)
• He laid the strong foundation of company rule in India:
o Ended the dual system in Bengal
o Cut Bengal Nawab’s annual allowance
o Stopped Mughal emperor 26 lakh annual payment
o Established Board of revenue – for Diwani work
o Appointed ‘collectors’ and other revenue officials
o Started lease/itaredari system auctioning the land for 5 years to highest bidder in Bengal
o Shifted treasury to Calcutta (become capital of Bengal in 1772)
o Founded civil courts + criminal court in each district → Diwani (civil) and faujdari (criminal)
o Appellate courts established too
o Abolished the system of dastaks → Regulated internal trade
o Enforced a uniform tariff of 2.5% for Indians and non-Indian goods
o In 1781, he founded the Calcutta madrasa for promotion of Islamic studies. This was the first educational institute
established by company’s government
o 1784 → Asiatic society of Bengal by William Jones
o Charls Wilkens translated Gita in English
• War
o First Rohilla war 1773
▪ Shuja ud dauah, Nawab of Awadh vs. Rohillas
▪ The nawab was supported by troops of the British east India company
▪ Result → Rohilkhand fell to Awadh, was plundered and occupied
▪ The war became a matter of Westminster politics during the impeachment of Warren Hastings
o First Anglo Maratha War- Treaty of Salbai
o Second Anglo Mysore war
• Impeachment of Warren Hastings
o Rohilla War
o Case of Nanda Kumar:
▪ He was an influential official in Bengal
▪ He was hanged to death by the verdict of SC at Calcutta for a petty offence of forgery. It was observed that warren
hasting conspired against him
o Treatment of Raja Chait Singh of Benares:
▪ Heavy penalty on Raja for his delay in payment of tribute and deposed him in an unjust manner
o Pressures on the Begums
▪ The begums of Oudh were mother and grandmother of Nawab of Oudh. Warren Hastings sent his army to squeezed
money from Begums
• Estimate of Hastings:
o Warren hasting considered Indian culture as a basis for second Indian administration, he patronised the leaning of Indian
language and art
o It was on the foundation which warren Hastings laid down, that others erected a ‘Stately edifice’

3.2 Regulating act of 1773:

• First step by British government to exert control in India and regulate the affairs of the east India company (due to war,
treaties, corruption and dual system)
• Giving political structure to rule
• Existing structure
o In India: Governor + council in each presidency
o In England: Court of Directors (topmost)
• Reasons for bringing the act:
o Address the problem of management of company in India → EIC was on the verge of Bankruptcy and asked government
for a loan, while its officers were getting rich
o Address the problem of dual system of governance instituted by lord Clive
o The company was now a semi-sovereign political entity in India→ has revenue rights
o Lord North’s committee submitted report, based on which the act was framed
• Provision of the act:
o Court of directors’ term increased from 1 to 4 years with 1/4 th retiring every year and not eligible for re-election
o EIC to produce all its papers related to military and revenue, to the Chancellor of Exchequer (British treasury
department)
o Made the presidencies of Bombay and Madras as subordinate to the presidency of Calcutta
o Governor of Bengal → Governor general of Fort William /Bengal with 5year tenure
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 o Council of 4 members to assist Governor general of fort William
o Decision in council to be taken via majority with governor’s vote as casting vote in case of a tie
o Governor general → Supreme over other presidencies/governor in matter of peace and war
o Establishment of independent Supreme court at Calcutta (1 Chief justice + 3 Judges)
o No private trade or any gift/cash acceptance by any officer of the EIC (including Governor general, council member,
supreme court members)
o Note- Eliza Impay- first CJ of SC
• Merits:
o Act of 1773 put an end to the arbitrary rule of the company
o It provided a written law to EIC rule and acknowledge its political and administrative duties
o Provided a framework for al future enactments relating to the governing in India
• Demerits:
o GG was made powerless because council which was given supreme power often created deadlock by over-ruling his
decision

3.3 Pitt’s India act 1784:

• William Pitt the Junior → Prime Minister
• Provision:
o Formation of board of control (6 members) appointed by crown working alongside board of directors
o Court of directors → To look after commercial function representing company
o Board of control → To look after political affairs, representing the crown
o Established a system of double government→ distinguish between the commercial and political function of the company
o EIC’s territories in India were designated as “BRITISH POSSESSIONS IN INDIA”
o Reduced the member of governor general council 4 → 3 to prevent deadlocks
o Authorised Court of directors to make all recruitment in India
o Supreme court made for only British subjects
o GG of Bengal cannot declare war without permission from Parliament (but due to communication lag of 4 to 5 month,
most of decision was taken rather waiting for permission)

3.4 Charter act of 1786:

• GG of Bengal given special power to override his council

3.5 Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793):

• High ranking aristocrat
• Commander of defeated British army in the American war of Independence
• Revenue reforms – Permanent settlement of Bengal
• Administrative reform-
o Laid foundation of Indian administrative services by making appointments based on merit in civil services
o Raised salaries of the company servants to stop private trade and corruption
o Europeanization of the services → He did not trust Indians at all
o All high Indian officials were dismissed and all posts worth more than 500 pound a year were reserved for Europeans
o Separation of power between commercial, Judicial and Revenue officials (Rousseau)
o Judicial power of collectors taken away → Now only revenue
• Judicial reform – Cornwallis code
o District judge in every district → Magisterial and judicial vested
o 4 provincial courts at Calcutta, Dhaka, Patna and Murshidabad along with district courts
o Faujdari (criminal court) with Indian judge abolished
o Highest court of appeal at Calcutta→
▪ Sadar Diwani Adalat → Revenue
▪ Sadar Nizamat Adalat → Law and order
o Both were presided over by the Governor general and his council
o Separate Hindu and Muslim laws codified
o 1791 → Sanskrit Collage established by Jonathan Duncan at Banaras: To study of Hindu law and philosophy
• Police reforms:
o Relieved the Zamindars from police work
o Established regular police force
o Established Thanas in district under Darogas (Indian)
o District Judge controlled police

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3.6 John Shore (1793-1798)
• Was the principle revenue adviser during regime of the first governor general of Bengal
• Most of the reforms in revenue administration in 1786-1790 were introduced by Shore -- assisted Cornwallis
• The court of directors was so impressed by Shore’s reasoning and knowledge and his genuine concern of interests of the
company and the people, that he was appointed the Governor general of Bengal in 1793
• Uneventful rule
• Followed Non-intervention policy with other states/territories
• This resulted in the Nizam employing French officers to train his army thus decreasing the English influence
• The Marathas and Tipu sultan also sought the help of French thus undermining the British

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 Lec 4: Company Rule II (1798-1848)
4.1 Richard Wellesley (1798-1805)
• Called himself ‘Bengal tiger’
• Wellesley came to India with a determination to launch forward policy in order to make ‘the British empire in India’ to
‘The British empire of India’
• The system that he adopted to achieve his expansionist objective is known as Subsidiary Alliance
• Opened fort William college at Calcutta to train Company’s servants in Indian languages and customs but it was closed
in 1802
• Condition on his arrival:
o 1798 → British were locked in a life and death struggle with France all over the world
o He decided that the time was ripe for bringing as many Indian states as possible under British control
o By 1797, the two strongest Indian powers, Mysore and Marathas had declined in power
o The 3rd Anglo-Mysore war had reduced Mysore to a mere shadow of its recent greatness and the Marathas were
dissipating their strength in mutual intrigues and wars
o Expansion was profitable → More area for raw materials and trade
• The Subsidiary alliance:
o Indian states were called the protected states and British, the Paramount power
o British were to save Indian states from external aggression in return of money/part of territory to support subsidiary
troops
o The native ruler had to maintain a contingent of British troops in his territory commanded by British officers
o State had to cut off their relations from any other foreign power (mainly French)
o Forbidden to make new political connections even with Indian states without British permission
o States were also to disband their army and keep a British Resident at their court
o States were also forbidden to employ any other Europeans in their court/service without British permission
o British would not interfere in internal affairs of protected states
o First alliance was made with Nizam of Hyderabad
• By signing a subsidiary alliance, an Indian princely state virtually signed away→
o Its independence
o Right to self-defence
o Maintaining diplomatic relations
o Employing foreign experts
o Settling its disputes with its neighbours
o Unforeseen effect: Unemployed soldiers joined/became Pindaris and harassed many states (Maratha provide options
Pindari to come with them to fight and rob the area)

• Merits of subsidiary alliance:

o By this system, the English became the supreme/ paramount power in India
o The resources and influence of the company
o The alliances helped the English maintain control over other rulers
o It enabled the company to maintain a large standing army at expense of Indian princes
o The extent of British empire in India increased greatly as several rulers had ceded parts of their kingdoms
• Demerits of subsidiary alliance:
o The native rulers lost their prestige and dignity
o The subsidy demanded from the Indian rulers was beyond their means and they could not afford it. So they taxed their
people very heavily
o The Indian rulers were compelled to disband their own armies – Pindari scourge
o The local rulers lived a life of irresponsibility and degradation because they considered that their security was now
British concern
o Though not allowed to wage war with each other directly, they kept plotting and intriguing against one another
Sir George Barlow (1805-1807)
• Mutiny of Vellore in 1806 in which the Indian soldiers killed many English officer

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4.2 Lord Minto I (1807- 1813)
• Treaty of Amritsar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab (restrict your reign to Northern area of Sutlaz river
• Charter act 1813 was passed during his period

4.3 Charter Act of 1813:

• Charter → A written grant by the sovereign/legislative power by which a body such as company or university is created,
or its rights and privileges defined
• Cause of bringing the act:
o A large trading community in England due to Industrial revolution → “Free Traders”
o They were demanding the removal of monopoly of EIC
o Demand from a section of Utilitarian and liberals for direct/crown rule over Indian territories – Civilise the brown race
o Christian missionaries pressurised the government to allow evangelism (spreading the religion)
• Provision of act:
o Renewed the charter issued to the EIC for 20 years → Company rule continued
o Rs. 1Lakh annually for promoting modern education in country
o British subjects could settle in India
o Cristian missionaries allowed to enter India and preach Christianity
o Monopoly of EIC ended in India except for tea from India and trade with China
(export – opium and import- silk, gunpowder) for 20 year
o Other British merchants and companies could now trade in India

4.5 Lord Francis Hastings (1813-1823)

• Gurkha was with Nepal
• Suppression of Pindari
• Full suppression of Marathas → Third Anglo Maratha war
• Established Ryotwari systems of land revenue
• 1817 → Hindu college at Calcutta for English and western education by Raja
Rammohan Roy and David Hare
• 1817→ British set up 3 Sanskrit college at Calcutta Delhi and Agra
• Encourage freedom of press and abolished censorship issued in 1799 during Wellesley period

4.6 Anglo-Nepal war 1814-16:

• Treaty of Sugauli 1816:
o Nepal accepted a British resident
o Ceded the district of Garhwal and Kumaon and abandoned claims to Tarai
o Nepal withdrew from Sikkim
o Recruitment of Gurkha in British army
• Advantage to British:
o It got better facilities for trade with central Asia
o It acquired hill station such as Shimla, Mussorie and Nanital
o Gurkha joined the British army in large number great service to empire’s armies
# Burma wars:
• Lure of forest resources, market for British manufacturing and the need to check French
ambitions in Burma and in rest of South east Asia
• First Burma war (1824-26):
o Burmese occupied Arakan and Manipur → Posed a threat to Assam and Brahmaputra
valley
o British forces occupied Rangoon in 1824
o 1826 → Treaty of Yandabo
▪ Burma recognized Manipur as an independent state
▪ Terms of treaty allowed British to acquire most of the Burma’s coastline and also a firm base in Burma for further
expansion

4.7 William Bentick 1828-35:

• 1st true British reformer who worked for the welfare of Indians as his primary duty → ‘He acted while other talked’
• First governor general of India
• Social reform:
o Outlawed of sati practice 1829
o Prevented female infanticide → made it an offence
o Banned human sacrifice
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 o Reform in the Hindu law of inheritance
o Suppression of Thugs by Colonel Sleemen
• Adopted policy of non-intervention and only annexed states to end misgovernment → Ended misgovernment in Mysore
and put it under Lord Cubbon
• Financial reforms:
o Abolished double Bhatta system
o Reduced salaries as increased by Cornwallis to consolidate finance
o Abolished provincial courts set up by Cornwallis to cut down expenditure
o Mahalwari system for land revenue introduced
• Other reform:
o Introduced local language in lower courts and English in higher courts replacing Persian
o Macaulay committee→ Made English as official language
o Laid foundation of Calcutta Medical college - 1835

4.8 Charter act of 1833:

• Complete end to monopoly of EIC (complete free trade policy), EIC → Purely administrative body
• Centralized the administration in India → GG got powers of superintendence, direction and control of the whole civil and
military government and the revenues of India
• The governor general of Bengal → Governor general of India
• It attempted to introduce a system of open competition for selection of civil servants → Indian should not be debarred
from holding any office. However, this provision was dropped after opposition from court of directors
• Enlarged the executive council by the addition of 4th member (law member) for legislative purpose. → First law member-
T.B. Macaulay
• Appointment of a law commission in India
• Charter of 1833 made provision to crate uniform and codified system of law in India

4.9 Lord Macaulay’s minute (1835)

• Government resources should be devoted to teaching of western sciences and literature through the medium of English
language alone
• The government soon made English as the medium of instruction in its school and colleges
• Opened few English school and colleges, instead of many elementary schools, thus neglecting mass education
• Downward filtration theory→
o The British planned to educate a small section of upper and middle classes
o Thus, creating a class “Indian in blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinion, in morals and in intellect”
o This class will act as interpreters between the government and masses
o It would enrich vernaculars by which knowledge of western science and literature would reach the masses
Sir Charles Metcalfe 1835-36:
• Temporary post
• Remover the restriction on vernacular press → Liberator of Press
Lord Auckland 1836-1842:
• 1st Afghan war → A disaster for British with an overall Afghan victory
• Tripartite treaty among the English, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja of Afghanistan
Lord Ellenborough 1842-1844
• Ended 1st Afghan war and withdrew British forces from Afghanistan
• Annexation of Sindh- under Charles Napier
Lord Hardinge I (1844-48)
• 1st Anglo Sikh war and treaty of Lahore 1846
• British emerges victorious
4.10 Anglo Sikh wars:
• The Sikh misls of 18th century has consolidated in a large
empire in the Punjab and Kashmir region under maharaja
Ranjit Singh from 1800 onwards (Capital: Lahore)
• Treaty of Amritsar 1809 → River Sutlej was fixed as
boundary between British area of influence and Ranjit
Singh’s empire
• 1839 → Ranjit Singh dies
• Ranjit Singh maintained a careful balance between
powerful Sikh chief and powerful commander from
among the peasants of central Punjab and non-punjabi
noble like Dogra. Rajputs from Jammu

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• This delicate balance disappeared after his death and a power struggle among the chief started. This help English to take
over without much difficulty
• 1st Anglo-Sikh war (1845-46)
o Court intrigues and succession struggles
o Fear of British attack led to sikh crossing Sutlej and being defeated in 4 hard fought battles
o Treaty of Lahore:
▪ Resident installed at Lahore court
▪ Territory up to Beas river annexed by British
o Treaty of Amritsar:
▪ Kashmir given to Dogra Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu in Rs. 75 Lakh
• 2 Anglo-Sikh war (1848-49)
nd

o Revolt by Governor of Multan- later Sikh army joined him, but defeated
o Kohinoor taken by British, Sikh empire annexed by Dalhousie

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 Lec 5. British Rule 1848-1856
5.1 Lord Dalhousie 1848-56
• Importance of Dalhousie:
o Multiple works started and completed by him
o Youngest Governor General of India
o Maker of Modern India:
▪ Father of Indian telegraph
▪ Father of Indian railway
▪ Father of Indian postal system
▪ Father of Indian engineering services
• Telegraph:
o In 1852, under superintendence of O’Shaughnessy, 4000 miles of lines were laid down
o First line – Agra to Calcutta
o Connected Calcutta, Peshawar, Bombay and Madras telegraphically
o Proved to be a boon for British in revolt of 1857
• Postal System:
o Postal system started in English in 1837
o Laid down foundation of Modern postal system in 1854 with introduction of postal stamps
o Uniform postal rate across India
• Railway:
o Started “Guarantee system” by which the railway companies were guaranteed a minimum interest of 5% of their
investment
o Government retained the right of buying the railway
o Mainly for defence, commercial and administrative reasons
o 1st line → Bombay and Thane 1853; 2nd line→ Calcutta to Raniganj fields 1854; 3rd line→ Madras to Arakkonam 1856
o Railway have only one type of wagon for Indian →. Minimise social differences between class in India
o Railway also helped in political and nationalist spirit
• Social and Education reform:
o Passed the Widow Remarriage act 1856
o Recommended the setting up of universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras
o In 1853, competitive examination for the Indian Civil services began → Written exam started in 1854 in India
o Educational reforms of Sir Charles wood (1853) are considered intellectual charter of Indian which provided an outline
primary, secondary and collegiate levels of education
• Indian engineering service:
o Laid foundation of Indian Engineering services
o Created separate public work departments
o Allotted more funds for cutting canals and roads
o Many bridges were constructed
o Upper Ganga canal was constructed in 1854
o Established college of engineering in Roorkee (IIT Roorkee)
• Administrative Reforms:
o Consolidation of British rule in India
o He adopted the principle of centralization
o For the newly acquired territories he devised ‘non-regulation system” under which commissioners were appointed to
deal with the administrative problems
o They made responsible to the governor general in the council. He handed over all other powers relating to justice, Police
and land revenues to District Magistrate
• Military reform:
o Shimla as summer capital of administration and HQ of Army
o New Gurkha regiment raised (distrust of natives of India?)
o Shifted Bengal artillery HQ from Calcutta to Meerut
o General movement of troops towards north and west
• Annexations:
o Followed policy of annexation
o Annexed lower Burma (pegu) after second Burmese war (1852)
o Annexed Avadh based on mismanagement, thus he offended Muslims and India soldiers of British army (mostly from
Avadh)
o Annexed Punjab (2nd Anglo Sikh war)
• Doctrine of Lapse:
o Ancient Indian tradition of adopting a male child from extended royal in case the king was childless
o The policy of lapse was based on difference in principle between the right to inherit property and right to govern

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 o Alliance king without heir could not adopt an heir as successor
o Annexed states were monitored by chief commissioner with introduction of centralized control called non-regulation
system for modern centralized states
o Princely state → Direct British rule
o Some state annexed in this way:
▪ Satara (1848)
▪ Jaitapur and Sambhalpur (1849)
▪ Baghat (1850)
▪ Udaipur (1852)
▪ Jhansi (1854)
▪ Nagpur (1854)
o It in a way, helps to consolidate India after independence
o “His territorial acquisition transformed the map of India. Had he not acquired these territories then many more
Hyderabad, Jamnagar and Kashmir like crisis would have happened in those areas, immediately after freedom in 1947”
• Reasons for Aggressive acquisition:
o Strategic: Imperial defence + ending the misrule of princes to win goodwill of people
o Commercial: Source of raw material, new markets for manufactured goods
5.2 Charter act of 1853:
• Last of the charter acts
• Provisions:
o The act separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the governor general council
o 4th member of GG in council at par with other members as right to vote was conferred to him
o Addition of 6 members to council known as Legislative councillors. Total number of member -10
o Introduced local representation in the central legislative council. The GG council 6 new member out of which 4 members
were appointed by the local government of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra
o Lt. Governor of Bengal appointed
o Reduced the number of board of directors from 24 to 18 (6 were nominated)
o Indian civil service became an open competition. Macaulay was made chairman of committee on Indian civil services.
o Written competitive exams started from 1854
5.3 Woods dispatch 1854:
• In 1854, Charles wood prepare a policy document on an educational system for India
• Considered as “Magna Carta” of English education in India
• This document was the 1st comprehensive plan for the spread of education in India
• Asked the government to assume responsibility for education of the masses, thus rejecting ‘downward filtration theory’,
at least on paper
• Suggestion:
o Systematic framing of the hierarchy from vernacular primary schools in villages at bottom, followed by Anglo-
vernaculars high school and an affiliated college
o Recommended English as medium of instruction for higher studies and vernaculars at school level
o Laid stress on female and vocational education, and on teachers training
o Laid down that the education imparted in government institutions should be secular
o Recommended a system of grants-in-aid to encourage private enterprise

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 Lec 6: The policies of British rule
6.1 Administration:
• The Indian states and British paramountcy
• Policy of Equality (1608-1764):
o EIC was a purely commercial body before 1740
o The struggle for equality with other European powers shaped its policies
o They had no plans for empire building. The French ambitions made them come up with their own political plans
o Turning points: Carnatic wars, Capture of Arcot by Clive
o After 1740 with the local princes → Plassey, Buxar, Treaty of Allahabad
• Policy of Buffer state (1764-1818):
o Treaty of Allahabad led to the emergence of EIC as a dominant power
o Subsidiary alliance → Ring fence or buffer state policy to safeguard territorial and commercial interest
o Mainly to counter the Maratha power → Biggest threat to EIC
o Evident during Mysore and Maratha wars
• Policy of Sub-ordinate Isolation (1813-57):
o Policy of annexation and usurpation of Indian states
o During the term of Francis Hastings
o Under this policy as many as 145 native state (Rajputana and Kathiawar) were brought into submission to EIC
o Infamous ‘Doctrine of lapse’ whereby the company could take complete control and possession of native state in case
there was any problem of succession after ruler’s death or incapacity to rule began to take shape
o Even after the conquest and annexation, isolation took place as the British never treated the princely states as the part
of British empire in India. Rather what they did was, they controlled each important aspect of administration and retained
the princes for other regular affairs
• Policy of Sub-ordinate Union 1857-1935
o Government of India act 1858 forbid any more annexations. Thus, the policy of subordinate union was to punish and
depose princely states rulers but not annex
o The princely states were now part of the political system of the British
o They were given representation in Viceroy’s council and later on in the central legislative assembly
o The rulers were even invited to Round table conferences that were to decide the future of administration in British India
• Policy of equal federation 1935-1947:
o A federation of Indian states was proposed in GOI Act 1935
o The states were free to joint or not to join
o The federation never came to fruition

6.2 Economic policy: Trade, Agriculture and Land revenue:

• Traditional village economy:
o Self-sustained
o Unit of local self-government
o Cultivator, Patil or collector or headman
o 1/3rd to 1/6th revenue usually
o Flourishing trade of crafts and other items, especially cotton textiles
• Economic exploitation of British rule:
o Dispersion of the traditional economy:
▪ England policies led the rapid transformation of India’s strong economy into a colonial economy → Maximum benefit
from land/agriculture
▪ The self-sufficient rural economic pattern was disrupted
▪ They totally ruined the traditional structure of the Indian economy was disrupted
▪ Many famines were caused (1767-71→ Bengal Famine)
o Ruin of artisans and craftsmen:
▪ Imposition of the policy of one-way free trade on India after 1813
▪ Invasion of British manufactured goods, particularly in cotton textiles
• British policy towards Indian handicrafts:
o The European companies began arriving on the Indian soil from 16 th century
o As far as traditional handicraft industry and the production of objects of arts were concerned, India was already far
ahead of other countries in the World
o The textiles were the most important among the Indian industries
o Its cotton, silk and woollen products were sought after all over the world.
o Main item:
▪ Muslin of Dacca
▪ Carpets of Lahore
▪ Shawls of Kashmir
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 ▪ Embroidery works of Banaras
▪ Ivory goods, wood works and jewellery
▪ Dhotis and dupattas of Ahmedabad
▪ Chikan of Lucknow
▪ Silk borders of Nagpur
▪ Silk products from some small towns in Bengal (malda and murhsidabad)
o Besides textiles, India was also known widely for its shipping, leather and metal industries
• Deindustrialization of India:
o Ruin of Indian industries, particularly rural artisan industries, proceeded even more after the introduction of the railways
o The cotton-weaving and spinning industries were the worst hit
o High import duties and other restrictions imposed on Indian goods
o The decline of cities and towns led to loss of means of livelihood and increased pressure on agriculture
o Indian markets were flooded with cheap finished goods from Britain → resulted in sharp decline in the sale of Indian
products both within and outside the country
o The company encourage the cultivation of raw silk in Bengal but no finish product
o Sharp decline in the demand for traditional luxury goods
o Industrial revolution led to invention of new machinery in Europe
o Power looms replaced handloom, communication, railways, steamer service, concrete road → Better equipment better
transport →Profit for Britishers but detrimental to our economy
• Disintegration of village society and polity
o Panchayats were stripped of their traditional power -land settlement, judicial and executive function → by various land
settlement
o Concept of ‘private property’ came into being
o Commercialization of agriculture → indigo farming
o New classed → Moneylender, Landlord
o Deindustrialisation of India →destruction of rural economy → Change in rural society

6.3 Land revenue policy:

• Need for land revenue policy:
o For its purchase of Indian handicrafts and other goods
o To meet the cost of conquest of the whole of India and the consolidation of British rule
o To pay for the employment of thousands of Englishmen
o To meet the cost of economic and administrative charges
o The initial counterproductive policies of high revenue demand leading to famines made them rethink
• The permanent settlement:
o In 1765, the EIC acquired the Diwani, or the control over the revenue at a permanent amount emerged
o Company decided to manage the land revenues directly
o At this stage, the idea of fixing the land revenue at a permanent amount emerged
o Also known as Jagirdari, Biswedari and Malguzari
o Warren Hastings started giving out annual lease of land holdings in 1773 → Itaredari (it’s a precursor of permanent
settlement)
o Between 1786-1790, a new permanent settlement was rolled out
o Cornwallis changed the annual lease to 10 years basis in 1793 introduced in Bengal and Bihar
o The person behind the policy was Sir John Shore, a senior official who later
became the GG in 1793
o Features:
▪ The revenue collectors (Zamindars) were made landlords and the owner
of the land as long as they paid the fixed revenue
▪ The right of ownership was made hereditary and transferable
▪ They could mortgage or sell the land if he doesn’t have revenue
▪ The revenue was fixed and could not be increased
▪ Bidding of revenue rights if necessary → giving to highest bidder
o State demand – 89% Zamindar’s Share – 11%
o The cultivators were reduced to a low status of mere ‘Tenants’
o Areas: Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Northern districts of Madras presidency (North Karnataka), District of Varanasi
o Around 19% of British territories
o Sunset Law- Before sunset in a day of year, Zamindar was supposed to give revenue to British office
o Drawbacks:
▪ Zamindars share from tenant was not fixed
▪ Tenants were evicted frequently at the whims of Zamindars
▪ Harassment of tenants by Zamindar became a major problem
▪ Collectors refused to make allowances for time of drought, flood or other natural disaster
▪ The tax demand was higher than that in England in the time
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 ▪ As a result, many zamindars immediately fell into arrears
▪ Absentee landlord: New landlord living in Calcutta
• Ryotwari Settlement:
o Ryot = Cultivator (from Persian)
o The establishment of british rule in south and south western India brought new problems of land settlement
o The Ryotwari system was thus introduced by Sir Thomas Munro in 1820
o Major areas- Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam and Coorg
o The settlement was made directly with actual cultivators
o Cultivators was to be recognised as the owner of the land
o There is no intermediary like a Zamindar between the peasant and the government
o So long as he paid the revenue in time, the peasant was not evicted
o Revenue rates of Ryotwari system were 50% where the lands were dry and 60% for irrigated land
o Levy was not based on actual revenues from the produce of the land, but instead on an estimate of the potential of the
soil
o This system also failed as it was certainly not possible to collect revenue in a systematic manner from multiple ryot
• Mahalwari Settlement
o Mahal = Estate or group of villages
o Introduced in 1833 (during time of GG Bentick) by Holt Mackenzie
o A modified version of the Zamindari settlement, the Mahalwari settlement was introduced in ganga valley, the North-
west provinces, parts of central India and Punjab
o The settlement was to be made village by village with village headmen or leader of community = Lambardar
o Cultivation was carried out individually, but revenue was paid collectively (it was the responsibility of Lambardar)
o State demanded 95% initially, lowered to ~60%
• A system shaken:
o The British systems were vastly different than traditional land revenue systems
o Land was made a saleable commodity to realise the revenue and it was often auctioned off if the farmer could not pay
o The EIC’s land revenue system based on excessive demand in addition to rigidity in collection coupled with a new and
corrupt judicial and administrative system, turned the India rural economy upside down
• Writers who have written extensively on British Economic policies
o Dadabhai Naoroji – Poverty and unbritish rule in Inda
o RC Dutt – The economic history of India

6.4 Social policy:

• 1608-1757 → Not bothered
• The Cristian missionaries followed, and sometimes preceded company post in India
• The proselytization (preaching) of missionaries accompanied opening of schools, orphanages, dispensaries
• 1765 → Dual system of Bengal → First time British related to social welfare
• “Open and unashamed plunder”
• Adam smith called the board of proprietors as ‘Board of Plunderers’
• 1773 → Regulating act – separation of administration and trade function
• Acceptance of responsibility for society large via admin
• Continued through various act like pitt’s act and charter acts
• 1808 → Policy of non-interference in social and religious matters
• 1813 → Charter act removed restriction on Missionaries entry → England’s Christian duty
• 1830’s→ Liberal reforms swept England → Slavery abolished, Factory act
• 1833 → Charter act carried the reform from England to India
• William Bentick era → Sati abolition, Infanticide ban took strict form
• 1856 → Widow remarriage act
• Indian social reformers brought great ideas in 19 th century and lobbied British for such social reform
• But not everyone was happy. All these reforms brought resentment in major section of Indian society which was still
conservative
• These reforms were one of the factors for 1857 revolt

6.5 Educational reform:

• Medieval education system of India → Mostly based on religious scriptures and philosophical thought
• Role of Christian missionaries → pioneers of modern education but was aimed to evangelization not social upliftment
• First printing press → By Portuguese in Goa
• East India Company’s early effort:
o 1781→ Calcutta Madrasa for promotion of Islamic studies
o 1791→ Sanskrit college established by Jonathan Duncan at Banaras, to study of Hindu law and philosophy

22
 o 1800→ Wellesley set up Fort William college at Calcutta to train the Company’s servants in Indian language and
customs but it was closed soon
o 1817→ Hindu College, Calcutta was started
▪ Established by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare and Sir Edward East
▪ Young Bengal movement began in Hindu college (associate person: Henary Vivian Derozio)
o 1813 → 1 Lakh rupees set aside in Charter act of education in India
• Orientalist and Anglicist controversy:
o Debate on English vs vernacular language
o 1835 → Macaulay’s minute→ Education for limited people and in English language
o GG of India William Bentick accepted Anglicist view of Macaulay and passed resolution in 1835
o Object of British government was to promote “European literature and science” through English language
o No funds for vernacular language learning
• Wood’s Dispatch 1854:
o Refer previous section
• Hunter Commission 1882-83:
o Appointed by Lord Ripon to review the progress of education based on Wood’s Dispatch
o Recommendation
▪ Primary education should be given priority
▪ Primary education should be given to district and municipal board (budget allocated)
▪ School of vocational education
▪ Special measure for education in Muslims
▪ Physical and mental education
▪ Spread of girl education outside presidency towns
▪ The commission suggested two channel for secondary education → For literature and university admission and
other for vocational training
• Thomas Raleigh commission 1904:
o University education
o Promotion of study and research
o Private colleges under control of government
• Sadler university commission 1917:
o Review of school + university education
o 12 years school course recommended
o Degree education – 3 years duration
• Hartog committee 1929:
o Education should not be made compulsory
o Standard of university education should be improved – admissions restricted
o Vocational courses for students who not opting for university or high school
• Sargent report 1944:
o Pre primary education for 3-6 years old
o Compulsory and free primary education for 6-14 years old
o Employment bureau to be set up
• Wardha scheme of basic education 1937:
o By MG in 1937 in his weekly Harijan
o “Nai Talim”
o Conference on national education
o Committee under chairmanship of Dr. Zakir Hussain recommended
o Introduced Handicraft in Syllabus
o Teaching in Hindi from class 2nd -7th, English only from 8th onwards

6.6 Development of Press:

• 1556 – First printing press by Portuguese
• 1685- EIC setup its first press at Bombay
• 1780- 1st newspaper printed in India by james Augustus Hicky→ The Bengal Gazette/Calcutta general advisor (closed in
1782)
• Early response to press:
o Not for masses
o Only for European and intellectual
o Circulation in Hundreds
o Response back in London led to officials to stop or prevent newspaper printing
o 1799 → Wellesley censured the press:
▪ Mandatory to print the name of printer, editor and proprietor clearly
▪ All materials to be submitted before printing → To government
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• Regulation act 1823:
o No book to be printed or a printing press to be established without a licence
o Submit all material to government for inspection
o Penalty of printing on printing without licence – Rs 400
o Magistrate authorised to seal an unauthorised press
• Metcalfe act 1835:
o Liberation of Indian press act
o Only a declaration was to be taken from the publisher
• Vernacular Press act 1878:
o Viceroy- Lytton (1876-80)
▪ Gagging act → To stifle the growing influence of vernacular press after 1857
▪ Printer to enter a bond compulsorily → by magistrate
▪ Government to seal the press anytime
▪ Magistratae action was final
▪ Bias towards English Press
▪ Lord Ripon repealed in 1882
• Indian press act 1910
o Tried to bring harsh regulations again
o Deposit amount fixed
• Indian press act 1931
o Security deposit now 1000-10000
o Government could seal the press and keep the deposit
• Famous newspaper and their founder/editors:
Newspaper Editor/founder
Amrit bazar patrika Sisir ghosh, Motilala gosh
Al Hilal Abul Kalam Azad
Bande Mataram (India) Lala Lajpat Rai
Bande Mataram (Switzerland) Lala Hardayal
Bengalee SN Banerjee
Gadar Lala Hardayal
Hindustan Madan Mohan Malviya
Hindustani GP Verma
Indian union Madan Mohan Malviya
Indu Prakash Lokhitwadi Gopal Hari Deshmukh
Kisan and Maryada Madan Mohan Malviya
Nutan Gujarat Indu lal Yagnik
Paridarshak Bipin Chnadra Pal
Peshwa Ajit Singh
Rast Goftar Dada Bhai Naoroji, Naoroji Fardonji
Mahatma Gandhi
JL Nehru

6.7 Development of civil services:

• Cornwallis: Europeanization of civil services / father of civil service
• Court of director directly nominated civil servants (no selection/exam)
• No Indian allowed
• Charter act 1833 → No Indian should be debarred from civil services (not implemented)
• Charter act 1853→ Open competition began (first time in 1855) for ICS
• Condition for this exam:
o Still the exam was held only in London
o Syllabus was suited to the English and not Indians
o Greek, Latin, English language
o Maximum age- 23 years, 1860- 22 years; 1866- 21years further lowered to 19 years only; 1906 → 24 year after protest
• First Indian to be successful at ICS → SatyendraNath Tagore (1863) – Elder brother of Rabindranath
• Surendranath Banerjee (1869) – Later dismissed and became active in politics
• Although few Indians did crack the ICS exam, but they were not given high or technical posts even within the service
• They were discriminated against in appointments, dismissals etc

24
 Lec 7: Revolt of 1857
• The rebellion is known by many names, including →
o Sepoy Mutiny
o Indian munity
o Great rebellion
o Revolt of 1857
o Indian insurrection
o India’s first war of independence
• General causes:
o Discontent against British
▪ Product of the character and policies of colonial rule
▪ Accumulated grievances of the people against the colonial administration
▪ Dislike for the foreign regime
o Economic exploitation:
▪ Complete destruction of traditional economic fabric (deindustrialized India)
▪ British land revenue policies
▪ System of law and administration
▪ Twelve major and minor famines from 1770 to 1857 (no tax relief during famine)
o Racial discrimination:
▪ Exclusion from the well-paid high posts in the administration
▪ Gradual disappearance of India states led to loss of means of livelihood (pindari)
▪ British did not patronize the artisans, craftsmen etc. like the kings and nawabs, thus they were out of work
o Unpopular among people:
▪ The very foreignness nature of the British rule
▪ Feeling of racial superiority among British (white man’s burden theory)
▪ They treated Indians with arrogance and contempt
▪ People of India started having Anti-British feeling
o Military defeats of the British Army:
▪ The British army suffered major reserves in the
• First Anglo afghan war (1838-42)
• Anglo Punjab war (1845-49)
• Crimean War (1854-56)
▪ These wars shattered the general belief in the invincibility of British army
o Doctrine of Lapse:
▪ The annexation of Awadh by lord Dalhousie came as a shock to the people
▪ Various states were taken due this policy
▪ This one policy angered people of states
o Social and religious cause:
▪ Activity of Christians Missionaries → Conversions
▪ By the Charter 1813, missionaries could come to India
▪ 1837: Only English to be used as court language (replacing Persian)
▪ 1844: The knowledge of English was made compulsory for government services
▪ Some more events:
• 1829: Abolition of custom of Sati and infanticide
• 1843: Abolition of slavery
• 1843: Prohibition of human sacrifice
• 1850: The enactment of an act which enabled as Christians to inherit his ancestral
property
• 1856: Widow remarriage act
o Trigger point:
▪ The newly introduced ‘Enfield rifle’ used greased cartridges (having cow and pig fat) → provided the spark for
the revolt
▪ The use of the greased cartridges would endanger their religion
▪ The break-up of army in 1856 was a follow:
• 238000 native soldiers
• 45000 British soldiers
# Beginning and course of the Revolt:
• 29 March 1857: Sepoys at Barrackpore, Bengal refuse to use the new rifle cartridge.
• Sepoy Mangal Pandey of 34th Native infantry fired his superior and was hanged on 6 th April
• 24th April 1857: The revolt began at Meerut, 58 km from Delhi. 5 sepoys of 3rd native cavalry were hanged, 85 imprisoned

25
• 10th May 1857: Rebellious soldier Meerut killed their superiors, freed imprisoned soldiers and marched to Delhi where
they proclaimed the aged and powerless Bahadur Shah as Emperor of India
• Bahadur Shah was reluctant but the mutineers had overpowered the city of Delhi already
• June 1857 – Jhansi, Gwalior, Lucknow, Allahabad
• The entire Bengal army soon rose in revolt which spread quickly to Awadh, Rohilkhand, the doab, the Bundelkhand,
central India, large part of Bihar and east Punjab
• Major event:
o Delhi – Leader of revolt was Bakht Khan – Kotwal
o Kanpur – Nana Saheb with two main supporters -Tatya tope and Azimulla
o The British army under Colin Campbell defeated Nana Saheb
o Lucknow under Begum Hazarat Mahal
o Lucknow and Kanpur was captured back by Campbell and General Outram
o In lucknow and Kanpur considerable violence against the British soldier and their family
▪ EIC used it as propaganda tool back in London showing Indians as Barbarians
▪ When Britisher re captured these town, they spread no one and their reprisal was brutal beyond
anything ever seen in India
o After capturing Kanpur, Nana Saheb sent tatya tope with 20,000 men to aid Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi
o Jhansi→ Led by rani laxmi bai fought with the British army under huge rose
o British won and she escaped from Jhansi
o In the daring raid, Tatya tope and Laxmibai together captured Gwalior but they could not save Jhansi from sir Hugh
Rose
o After capturing Kanpur, nana Saheb sent tatya tope with 20,000 to aid Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi
o Tatya tope was an expert in guerrilla warfare. He led attacks in Rajputana, Malwa, Panchmahal and Banswara district
o In Panchmahal, he aimed to organize the Bhils against the British
o Rebellion broke out in some places at Rajasthan like Auwa, neemuch, kota too. Many feudal lords took up arms against
their own kings supporting British. Many cantonments also saw mutiny
o Bihar → Kunwar Singh, Zamindar of Arrah
o Faizabad →Moulvi Ahmadulla
o During the revolt, British shifted their headquarters from Delhi to Allahabad
Place Name of the leader
Allahabad Liyaqat Ali
Mathura Devi Singh
Meerut Kadam Singh
Faizabad Maulvi Mohammed Ullah
Bareilly Khan Bahadur Khan
Haryana Rao Tula Ram
Banda Nawab Ali Bahadur
Auwa, Mewar Kushal Singh
Jhansi Rani Laxmi Bai
Awadh Begum Hazarat Mahal
Kanpur Nana Saheb
Panchmahal Bhil
Delhi Bakht Khan (Bahadur shah jafar)
• Weaknesses of the revolt and its suppression:
o The revolt could not embrace the entire country or all the groups and classes of Indian society
o It did not spread to South India and most of eastern and western India
o The Scindia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, Nizam of Hyderabad, Raja of Jodhpur and other Rajput rules, Nawab of
Bhopal, Rulers of Patiala Nabha, Maharaja of Kashmir, Ranas of Nepal and large number of big Zamindars gave active
support to British
o The modern educated Indians also did not support the revolt because of the backward outlook of the revolt
o The rebels were short of modern weapons and other materials of war
o They were poorly organised. There was lack of unity and co-ordination
o Lack of planning and funds
o Absence of feeling of nationalism among the masses
o The better communication technology available to British enabling quick reinforcement
o The rebels were dealt with an early blow when the British captured Delhi on 20 September 1857 after prolonged and
bitter fighting
o With the fall of Delhi, the focal point of the revolt disappeared
o By the need of 1859, British authority was fully re-established
• First Indian book which describe revolt → Asbab e bagawat e Hind → by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
• Nature of the revolt:
o Benjamin Disraeli: A national rising
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o Savarkar: First war of Independence
o JL Nehru: A feudal outburst led by feudal chiefs
o Sir John Lawrence: A sepoy Mutiny
o TR Holmes: Conflict between civilization and barbarism

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 Lec 8. Social reform Movement I
• What is reform? → Change →why change – to have logical reasoning behind social policies
• “Renaissance” = Rebirth
• Age of Enlightenment in Europe (17 th and 18th century)
• Rational thinking, new political philosophies, change in societal beliefs, emphasis on science were the characteristics of
this enlightenment
• Reactions of Indian were of 2 types:
o Embraced western enlightenment ideas and discarded Indian practices and religious belief (young Bengals/ Derozios)
o Inspired by western ideas and sought reform in the Indian culture and society itself (Brahmo samaj)
• Reform vs revival:
o Reform means change while revival means using old philosophies again like 5 th century religious rituals were not
followed in 19th century or may be change to such extent that it became evil of society so revival will make everyone to
remember old rituals
8.1 Hindu Reform Movement:

• Brahmo Samaj:
o Established in 1828
o The ‘Society of God’
o Founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)
o Raja Ram Mohan Roy:
▪ RMR was born in Orthodox Brahmin family in Bengal
▪ Given title of Raja by Mughal Badshah Akbar Shah II due to his social work
▪ He was a polyglot →Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Persian
▪ In 1815, he established the Atmiya Sabha
▪ Book- “Tuhfat-ul-Muwahiddin”- A gift to Monotheist
▪ 1820→ Published the ‘Precepts of Jesus’ where he analysed moral teachings of Christ
▪ He extensively studied and analysed all major religious texts and wrote about the teachings
▪ Translated Vedas in Bengali
▪ 1821 → Started a Bengali Weekly newspaper – Samwad Kaumudi – The moon of intelligence
▪ It was first newspaper to be published, edited and managed by an Indian
▪ 1822→ Another weekly in Persian → “Mirat ul Akbar” – Mirror of intelligence
▪ 1830 → Went to England to plead for the Mughal emperor Akbar Shah II in the court of King William IV
▪ Toured Europe for cultural exchange
▪ Died at Bristol, England in 1833
▪ First to ask political question about the country
▪ ‘Father of Indian Nationalism’ → Title given by Rabindranath Tagore
o View and philosophy of Brahmo Samaj and RRM:
▪ RRM was greatly influenced by western ideas and wanted a fusion of western and Indian culture → Keeping the
best of both world
▪ Against adoption of Christianity of newly educated and intellectual class but championed reforms in Hinduism at
the same time
▪ He favoured the western education system
▪ Founded Hindu College at Calcutta in 1817
▪ 1825 → Vedanta Collage for both Indian and western education
▪ Brahmo Samaj did not want to start a new religion or sect, just reform
Criticised Emphasised
Caste system Human dignity for all -Humanism
Polygamy Spiritually based on Upanishads
Child Marriage Worship of the eternal, immutable and unsearchable no
image/idol
Priests Morality
Idol worship Women’s right
Polytheism Upliftment in condition of widows
Avatar worship Widow remarriage
Sati System
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 Sacrifices
Dogma against going abroad
▪ After the death of RRM, Debendranath Tagore (father of Satyendranath Tagore) took the reins of Brahmo Samaj
in 1843
▪ He earlier headed the Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839- a spiritual body). It was merged with Brahmo Samaj. He also
established Shantiniketan
▪ Keshab Chandra Sen joined Brahmo Samaj in 1858 – He explained the movement outside Bengal
▪ KCS’s teaching and outlook was too radical – he brought teachings of other religions in the Sabha
▪ This led to a split in the group in 1866:
• Adi Brahmo Samaj – Debendranath Tegore
• Brahmo Samaj of India – Keshab Chandra Sen
▪ KCS Brahmo Samaj of India further split when he married his 13-year-old daughter to the minor king of Cooch
Behar in 1878, it is opposite to his own teaching
▪ Disgusted followers founded the ‘Sadharan Brahmo Samaj’
▪ In many aspect → Social, religious and political – Brahmo Samaj was the pioneer in bringing reform in India
• Prarthna Samaj:
o Brahmo Samaj ideas in Maharashtra
o 1849- Paramhansa Sabha
o The Sabha was reorganised as Prarthna Samaj by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang and Keshab Chandra Sen in 1867 at Bombay
o Famous leader associated with the Samaj:
▪ Mahadeo Govind Ranade
▪ R.G. Bhandarkar
▪ N.G. Chandaverker
o Emphasis on ‘work’ rather than ‘faith’
o Love and worship of god lay in service
o Education and persuasion – not confrontation with orthodox element – for reform
o Focus on- caster system, child marriage, widow remarriage and girls education
• Arya Samaj:
o Established in 1875 at Bombay
o The society of Noble people
o Founder – Swami Dayanand Sarasvati
o Later the headquarters and bas shifted to Lahore and the society took deep roots in Northern India – Punjab, UP, Bihar,
Haryana, Rajasthan
o Biography of Dayanand Sarasvati
▪ 1824-83
▪ Original name – Moolshankar
▪ Born in an Orthodox Gujarati Brahmin Family
▪ Age 21- left home as an ascetic
▪ Age 36- Studied Vedas at Mathura and translated them in to Hindi
▪ Book written by him:
• Satyarth Prakash
• Ved Bhasya Bhoomika
• Ved Bhashya
o Philosophy and views of Arya Samaj:
▪ Rejected the western ideas to reform
▪ Believed in superiority of Hindu religion and culture
▪ Accepted Vedas as the Ultimate authority – gave slogan “Go back to the Vedas”
▪ Representation of noble aspects of Hinduism
▪ Creation of a sense of pride in Indian culture and tradition
▪ Prayers, meeting and religious lectures were held by Samaj every 8th day
▪ Believed in welfare of mankind
▪ Fatherhood of god and brotherhood of man
▪ Gender equality
▪ Love and charity towards all
▪ Shuddhi campaign for reconversion
▪ India for Indians – Political slogan
▪ Arya Samaj did not oppose modernisation completely. It embraced modernity and accepted the utilitarian benefits
of modern society
o Opposition to
▪ Sati practices
▪ Child marriage
▪ Idol worship

29
 ▪ Superstitions
▪ Priestly class dominance
▪ Caste system (but accepted Varna System according to Vedas)
o Swami Dayanand believed that any scripture written after the Vedas were reason for redundant practices in Hinduism
like idol worship and opposed them
o Educational work:
▪ Gurukuls opened by Arya Samaj to spread Vedic knowledge in children
▪ Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) school established in Lahore in 1886 by Lala Hansraj and Lala Lajpar Rai – it
imparted both western and Indian knowledge (Liberal faction)
▪ Gurukul university at Haridwar established in 1902 by Lala Munshiram (Orthodox faction)
• Ramakrishna Mission
o Established at Belur, Bengal in 1897
o By Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Dutt)
o Named after his guru – Ramakrishna Paramhansa, a priest in Calcutta Temple
o It is a social service and charitable Society
o The objectives of the mission are providing humanitarian relief and social work through the establishment of schools,
colleges, hospitals an orphanage
o Views and Philosophies:
▪ Teaching and philosophy rooted in Bhakti and Yoga traditions
▪ Krishna, hari, Ram, Allah are all names of one god
▪ Did not reject image worship but laid stress on the worship of essential spirit and not the image
▪ Selfless devotion to God- Bhakti movement
▪ The teaching of Ramakrishna appealed to the common man of Bengal, unlike Brahmo Samaj which appealed to
elite and intellectual and educated class
o Swami vivekanada preached these philosophies of Ramakrishna in Simple language
o He attended the parliament of world religions at Chicago in 1893 and gave a famous speech on Hinduism
o Blend of Materialism of the west and spiritualism of the east
o It is an insult to teach religion to a starving man
o Opposed caste system and untouchability
o Moral and physical strength
o He stressed on upliftment of the poor, the weak and the hungry by inspiring to youth of the society
o The RKM has been a leader in social reform in 20 th century
o Many hospitals are run by the mission
• Theosophical Society:
o Theosophy: Teaching about God and the world based in Mystical insight
o Funded by westerners who drew inspiration from Indian philosophy and culture
o Madam H.P. Blavatsky – a Russo-German woman by birth laid the foundation of the society in 1876 at New York USA.
Later Col. M.S. Olcott
o Headquarters shifted to Adyar, near Madras in 1882
o View and Philosophy:
▪ Belief in reincarnation, karma
▪ Inspiration from Upanishads and Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta school of philosophy
▪ Universal brotherhood of humanity
▪ No difference based on caste, creed, race, sex or colour of skin
▪ Investigate the unexplained laws of nature and latent powers of man
▪ Theosophy became a movement of Hindu revival
o Annie Besant:
▪ An Irish woman, was elected to president after death of Col. Olcott in 1907
▪ She had come to India to work for the society in 1892
▪ She became a Hindu in her view, dress, food and social movement
▪ Translated Bhagavat Geeta (not the first to do so, first one – Charles Wilkins)
▪ She had made the movement popular in India
▪ She later became a prominent national leader and even the first woman president of Congress
▪ AB laid foundation of Central Hindu College in Benares in 1898 where Hindu religion + western science was
taught together
▪ Home rule league movement
o The theosophical society appealed to the educated Hinds but not to the common man because of the heavy philosophical
underpinnings → Hence its impact was limited to a small section of society
• Young Bengal Movement:
o Founder: Henry Vivian Derozio
o Born in 1809 and taught in Hindu College died in 1823
o His followers were known as Derozians and their movement the Young Bengal Movement
o They attacked old traditions and decadent customs
30
 o They also advocated women’s right and their education
o They founded associations and organised debates against idol worship casteism and superstitions
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar:
o A great educator, humanist and social reformer
o Born 1820 in Midanpur Bengal
o Rose to be the head Pandit of Bengali department of Fort William College
o Founded many schools for Girls
o Helped J.D. Bethune to establish Bethune school
o Founded Metropolitan institution in Calcutta
o Protested child marriage and favoured widow remarriage which was legalised by Widow remarriage act1856
o It was due to his great support for the spread of education that he was given the title Vidyasagar.
• The depressed classes mission
o Maharshi Vitthal Ramjo Shinde
• The Social service league
• Deccan educational society
o Established by Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Bal Gangadhar Tilak
o Established the Fergusson College Pune in 1885
• Dayal singh Majithia
o Dayal singh college Lahore
o Was part of Punjab national bank

31
 Lec 9: Social reform movement II
9.1 Muslim Reform movement:
• Initial response of the Muslim society in 19th century to the western reforms and influence was to shut themselves away
from it
• Wahabi Movement
o Shah Waliullah Dehlavi (1702-62)
o ‘Waliullah movement’
o Revivalist nature of the movement
o Preached for harmony among the four schools of Jurisprudence in India
o Emphasised the role of individual conscience in religion – if Quran and Hadis have conflicting interpretations, then
individual could make decision based on his or her judgement and conscience
o Abdul Wahab → Wahabism in South Arab which says to use original Quran
o Shah Abdul Aziz and Syed Ahmed Barelvi preached the teachings of Shah Waliullah but gave it a political colour
o They demanded a homeland for Muslim
o They called India ‘Dar-ul-harb’ (land of Kafirs) and demanded to make it ‘Dar-ul-Islam’
o Targeted against the Sikhs of Punjab initially and later against British after annexation of Punjab in 1840s
o Crushed by British in 1870s
• Aligarh Movement:
o 1857 Revolt→ British considered Muslims to be main conspirators and punished them by limiting them from official
services etc
o By 1870s, this stance was challenged, and an effort was made to bring the community closer to administration
o The movement of Muslim awakening associated with Syed Ahmad Khan and M.A.O. college came to be known as
Aligarh Movement (reformist)
o Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (SAK) (1817-98)
▪ He was born in an eminent noble family of Delhi
▪ He was a judicial officer with the EIC and remained loyal during the revolt of 1857
▪ After retirement in 1875, he became an active reformer of the society and was also appointed as a Member of
legislative council
▪ 1888→ British gave title of Sir (knighthood)
o Views and works:
▪ SAK tried to modernize the outlook of Indian Muslims
▪ Tried to reconcile the traditional mindset with modern education, scientific thoughts and rational thinking
▪ Asked Muslims to take up government service to batter the status of the community and loyally serve the British
empire
▪ Asked for urdu to be made the lingua franca of all Indian muslims
▪ Opposed the outdated social customs of the society
▪ Was against the Indian national congress
▪ Magazine/Journal → Tahzib ul Akhlaq
▪ Book → Commentaries on Quran
o Contribution to Education
▪ 1859 – Gulshan School, Moradabad
▪ 1863 – Victoria School, Ghazipur
▪ 1864- scientific society of Aligarh – translation of English literature in Vernacular language
▪ 1866- Aligarh institute Gazette- A biweekly journal
▪ 1875- Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) school, Aligarh upgraded to a college in 1977 and Aligarh Muslim
Univesity in 1920
• Deoband School:
o The orthodox section among the muslim ulema organised the deoband movement
o It was a revivalist movement whose twin objectives were
▪ To propagate among the Muslims the pure teachings of the Koran and Hadis
▪ To keep alive the spirit of Jihad against the foreign rulers
o Darul Uloom Deoban:
▪ Mohd Qasim Wanotavi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and other
▪ Saharanpur UP
▪ To train Muslim religious leaders and preachers of the faith
▪ No western or English education
▪ Later, the new Deoband leader Mahmud -ul-hasan (1851-1920) sought to impart a political and intellectual content
to religious ideas of the school
▪ Deoband was against the reforms of Aligarh movement and supported Congress
9.2 Parsi reform movement:
• The western education progressive Parsis like Dedabhai Naoroji, J.B. Kwacha, S.S. Bengali and Naoroji Furdonji founded
the Rahanumai Mazdayasanam Sabha (religious reform association) in 1851
32
• The association has for its object “The regeneration of the social condition of the Parsis and the restoration of the
Zoroastrian religious to its pristine purity”
• Rast Goftar (voice of truth) was its weekly organ
o The sabha was fortunate in having the full support of the parsi community for its reform efforts
o Education as the driving force of social reform was its prime objective – the spread of western education among the
Parsi, including girls
o Age of marriage of Woman was increased
o To accelerate the reform movement, the Zoroastrian Conference was also organised to discuss the social, religious and
educational issues before the community. First conference = 1890
o The reforms were successful and Parsi became the most westernised community in India by 20th century

9.3 Sikh reform movement:

• Baba Dayal Das founded Nirankari Movement
• He insisted the worship of God as nirankar (formless) – Emphasis on teaching of Adi Granth
• The Namdhari movement was founded by Baba Ram Singh
• His followers wore white clothes and gave up meat
• Singh Sabha:
o Started in Amritsar in 1873
o A defence against the proselytizing activities of Christians and Hindus
o Its chief aims were the revival of the teachings of Sikh gurus, the production of religious literature in Panjabi, and a
campaign against illiteracy
o The Sabha set up many Khalsa schools and colleges
o They also encouraged Gurumukhi and Panjabi literature
• In 1920, the Akalis, a part of Singh Sabha, started a nonviolent movement to remove the corrupt Mahant(priest) from the
Sikh Gurdwaras – Akali movement
• Later, the Akalis organised themselves into a political party – Akali Dal

# Pros and cons of the religious reform movements:

• Pros:
o New awakening about ancient culture and religion
o Confidence to educated Indian against the western propaganda of culture and racial superiority
o The society discarded many obsolete rites and rituals – Sati, infanticides, Child marriage
o Rational and scientific thinking
• Cons:
o Retrograde thinking of some reformers (especially revivalist)
o Some preached for loyalty to British
o Only upper and middle class of cities and towns were influenced. Large Section of backward class and rural India
untouched
o Religion Chauvinism and narrow outlook – fault lines exploited by British soon enough

9.4 Lower caste movement:

• Medieval age- Reformers attracted followers from lower caste (Kabir, Guru nanak)
• 19th century – Most socio religious reformers from upper caste, their reforms also affected only upper caste. Although
they dod condemn caste system and untouchability
• 20th century – The lower castes themselves took upon the responsibility of reform and fighting for their right
• South and western India was the first movements
• Factor crating class awareness and awakening among the lower castes:
o Modern education
o Modern political thought
o National consciousness
o Western ideas of equality, egalitarianism (social equality), social justice through to Indian society as well
o Railway network: Upper and lower class share same class compartment in rail
• Saint Ramalinga:
o Saint of Tamil Nadu
o 1865: Founded Samarasa Suddha Sanmargha Sangha for the promotion of his ideals of establishing a casteless society
o Composed Tiru Arupta; Sayta Gnana Sabal in 1872
o Introduced the principle that God could be worshipped in the form of light
• Justice Party:
o In southern India (Madras presidency, Tamil Nadu), the lower caste movement was a direct revolt against the
Brahmanical dominance
o 1917- P. Thergaraya Chetty and Dr. T.M. Nair started the South Indian liberal foundation → Later become JUSTICE
PARTY
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 o Communal division b/w Brahmins and Non-brahmins began in the presidency during the late 19 th century, mainly due
to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahmanical representation in government jobs
o The Justice’s party foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organisation to represent the
non-brahmins in Madras
o The party also campaigned against the non-cooperation movement in the madras presidency
o It was at odds with M. K. Gandhi and Congress, preliminary due to his praise for Brahmanism
• Self- respect movement:
o Founder: E.V. Ramasamy Naicker (also called as Periyar) in Tamil Nadu against Brahmanism
o Started with the aim of achieving a society where backward castes have equal human right
o Encourage backward castes to have self-respect in context of a caste-based society that considered them to be a lower
end of hierarchy
o 1937 → Periyar became president of the justice party
o 1944→ Periyar transformed Justice party into the social organisation Dravidar Kazhagam
o Periyar (1879-1973):
▪ Crusader for society equality
▪ He was vehemently anti-Brahminism, opposed Brahmins in government service
▪ Ridiculed Hindu Gods and Goddesses
▪ He was against untouchability, idol worship, brahmins officiating at weddings, superstitions in society, use of caste
names on hotels and shops
▪ He was famous for his daring tactics like cutting sacred threads of Brahmins
▪ He opposed the imposition of Hindi on Tamil people and made effort for spread of Tamil literature
o In 1949, E.V. Ramasamy’s chief lieutenant, CN Annadurai, established a separate association called the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam, or Dravidians advance association
o This was due to difference between the two- while periyar advocated a separate independent Tamil state, Anndurai
wanted to stay withing Indian union and take part in active politics
o 1967 → DMK won assembly elections and started the dominance of Dravidian parties in Tamil nadu politics. CN
Annadurai became CM
• SNDP in Kerala:
o Shree Narayan Dharma Peripalam Yogam
o Founder- Narayan Guru (1854-1928)
o He belong to lower caste
o Objective:
▪ Removal of caste system
▪ Building all caste temple

o SNDP simplified social rituals for marriage, funerals etc

o Untouchability – Backward class
o Criticised Congress and Gandhi for their lip sympathy towards lower caste upliftment, abolition of untouchability and
belief in Varna
• Jyotirao Phule and Satyashodhak Samaj:
o Founder: Jyotiba Phule (1827-90) belonged to a low caste family in Maharashtra
o He waged a life-long struggle against upper caste dominations and Brahmanical supremacy. His father threw him out
his family home die to upper caste pressure
o In 1873, he founded the Satyashodak Samaj to fight against the caste system
o He pioneered widow remarriage movement in Maharashtra and worked for the education for women
o Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule established the girl’s school at Poona in 1851
o Later they went to establish many other schools and orphanages in Maharashtra
o Also established a homme for unwed mother
• B.R. Ambedkar:
o Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956) popularly known as Baba Saheb, was an Indian jurist, economist, Politian and
social reformer who inspired the Dalit movement of 20th century
o He campaigned against social discrimination against untouchability Dalits and fought for their equal legal rights
o He was independent India’s first law minister and the principal architect of the IC
o Timelines:
▪ 1924 – Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha – Satyagrah rights of untouchables
▪ 1930- Entered politics and demanded separate electorate for depressed classes
▪ 1932 – Round table conference and poona pact
▪ 1936- founded independent labour party
▪ 1942- Scheduled caste federation
▪ 1956 – Leaving the fold of Hinduism, he converted to Buddhism
o Famous books:
▪ Annihilation of castes
▪ Who were the Shudras?
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▪ Castes in India: Their mechanism, Genesis and Development
▪ The Buddha and the Karl marks

35
 Lec 10: Early National Movement (1858-1892)
10.1 Impact of Revolt of 1857:
• Administration of India was transferred from EIC to crown. The British monarch (Queen Victoria) and her government
were solely responsible for India and her subjects now
• Government of India Act 1858:
o Secretary of state for India- New position in London – member of the British cabinet
o Advisory council (India council) of 15 to assist the secretary
o 8 member appointed by Crown and 7 member from EIC director
o Governor General of India → Viceroy and Governor General of India → 1st- Lord Cannings
o The viceroy (hand of queen) in India was to be assisted by an executive council whose members were to act as the heads
of various department as well as viceroy’s official advisors
o First secretary of state → Sir Charles Wood
• The Queen’s Proclamation 1858:
o The Queen’s proclamation was announced by lord Cannings at Allahabad Durbar on 1st November 1858:
▪ No desire for anymore territorial expansion
▪ The right and dignity of native princes shall be respected (No doctrine of lapse)
▪ No interference in religious affairs and society
▪ Indians and British subjects of the crown will be treated equally
▪ Equal and impartial protection of law to all (all this limited to portion of India where there was direct control of
British)
▪ All offices in administration will be open to all subjects
▪ General amnesty was given to all rebels of 1857 except those who directly killed British soldiers (Thus all feudal
chiefs of Awadh and Bengal got their positions back)
o The Queen’s Proclamation remained the basis of the British policy in India for more than 60 years
• Change in the Army:
o European troops increased from 45000 to 65000
o Indian troops reduced from 2,45,000 to 1,40,000
o Ratio of European to Indian to maintained was 1:2 in Bengal and 1:3 elsewhere
o Indian artillery unit disbanded
o All senior posts (officer level) reserved for Europeans only)
• Unseen impact:
o Racial bitterness
o British ruling psyche further ingrained the idea that Indians were an unruly race, fit to be ruled only by force
o The gulf between rulers and the ruled increased
10.2 Indian Council Act 1861:
• Members of the viceroy’s executive council increased from 4 to 5 (executive)
• 3 members were to be appointed by the Secretary of state for India and 2 by crown (Power to appoint 5 members passed
to crown in 1869)
• Delegation of duties to executive members- portfolio system begins
• The viceroy was empowered to appoint an additional 6 to 12 members (changed to 10 to 16 in 1892, to 60 in 1909)→
legislative
• The 5 individuals appointed by the sovereign or the Indian secretary headed the executive departments, while those
appointed by the Viceroy debated and voted on legislation
• GG’s executive council was thus enlarged into a central legislative council
• Of the ‘additional’ members appointed by Viceroy, not less than half of these members were to be Indian
• Thus, a provision was made for inclusion of Indians in the legislative council
• There was 45 Indian nominated as additional non-official members from 1862 – 1892 were from zamindar, rulers,
lawyers, magistrates or merchants
• The participation of Indian members in council meeting was negligible
• First Indian to be appointed as member
o Maharaja of Patiala
o Raja of Benares
o Sir Dinkar Rao
• Function of these members were strictly limited to making legislation subjected to viceroys approval
• They were forbidden from interfering in the matters of the Executive council
• They did not possess powers of administration and finance
• By the means of this act people of India came to be involved in the law-making process of British rule for the first time
• Legislative councils were also established in the provinces – Decentralization of power
• The number of additional members in the provinces was fixed between 4 to 8
• Viceroy was given power to create new provinces, divide and alter any province

36
• Also power to appoint Lt. Governor in provinces but governors of provinces were selected by Monarchs
• Lord Canning:
o The last governor general and the first viceroy
o Revolt of 1857
o On November 1858, the rule passed on to the crown
o Withdrew doctrine of lapse
o The universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were established in 1857
o India council act was passed in 1861
o Criminal procedure code (CrPC) 1861 and Indian penal code 1862 were introduced
• Lord Elgin (1862-1863)
o Wahabi movement occurred during his tenure and got supressed
• Lord Lawrence (1862-1869)
o Followed a policy of rigid non-interference in Afghanistan called policy of masterly inactivity
o Setting up of high courts at Calcutta, Bombay and madras (1865)
• Lord Mayo (1869-1872):
o Started the process of financial decentralization in India
o For the first time Census was held in 1871 but not completed
o Opening of the Rajkot college in Kathiawar and the mayo college at Ajmer for political training of Indian princes
o Establishment of Statistical society of India and department of agriculture and commerce
o Introduction of state-owned railways
o He Was the only viceroy to be murdered in office by a Pathan convict in Andamans in 1872.
• Lord North brook (1872-1876):
o Visit of Prince of Wales in 1875 occurred
o Kuka movement in Punjab in his tenure
# Lord Lytton 1876-80:
• Lord lytton was an experienced diplomat and a man of striking ability and brilliance
• The British PM Benjamin Disraeli appointed him as the Viceroy of India
• He organised a grand ‘Delhi Durbar’ in 1877 where Queen Victoria was proclaimed as “Queen empress of India” and
given the title of “Kaiser-i-hind”
through official title act of 1877 Delhi durbar, also known as the Imperial Durbar, was held 3 times at the height of
• Other major events: British empire:
o 1877 for Queen Victoria (held during great famine
o Famine policy
o 1903 for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (By Curzon)
o 2 Anglo Afghan War
nd
o 1911 for King George V and Queen Mary – attended (By Hardinge)
o Vernacular press act and arms act
1878
• Famine Policy:
o The famine of 1876-78 had resulted form failure of 2 monsoons
o It covered an area of 2 Lakh square miles and affected 58 million people
o The worst affected areas:
▪ Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad
▪ Bombay, central India and Punjab
o It took a toll of 55 lakhs lives in single year
o The outbreak of Cholera and fever added to the misery of the suffering population
o Lytton’s government failed miserably to tackle the situation
o The first Famine Commission 1878-90 under Sir Richard Strachey was appointed, and it made many commendable
recommendations
o It advocated including provision of funds for famine relief and construction work in annual budget
o The famine code came into existence in 1883
• Vernacular press act – refer pervious section
• Arms act:
o The act prevented the Indian to keep arm without appropriate license
• Second Afghan War 1878-80:
o The Afghan policy of British was based on the assumed threat of Russian invasion of India
o The first Anglo Afghan war (1838-42) proved to be a disaster for British
o Russian attempt to send a mission to Afghanistan was the main cause of the Second afghan war. When a similar British
mission was refused war broke out
o British troops captured the territory between Kabul and Kandahar
o The ruler of Afghanistan, Sher Ali fled from his country and died in 1879
o His son Yakub Khan became ruler and concluded a treaty → Treaty of Gandamak
▪ Foreign policy surrendered to British
▪ British Resident was sent but murdered
▪ Afghanistan ceded various North-west frontier province areas and Quetta to British
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 ▪ The Afghan tribe was permitted to maintain internal rule and local customs, but they had to cede control of the
areas foreign relations to the British
o After 1893, British drawn a Durand line it’s a border between Pakistan and Afghanistan
• Suddenly, in 1880, Lytton was forced to resign by the new government in England
• Lytton’s Afghan policy was severely criticized because he was responsible for murder of British officers in kabul
• Other reforms:
o Lord Lytton introduced uniform salt tax throughout British India
o Abolished many import duties and supported the free trade policy
o Provincial government were empowered with some control over the expenditure
o Decentralization of finance started in Mayo and continued in Lord Lytton’s time
o Lytton wanted to encourage the provinces in collecting the revenue and thereby strengthen the financial power and
position of provinces
o In 1878, the statutory civil service was established exclusively for Indians, but this was abolished

10.3 Lord Ripon 1880-84:

• A liberal Democrat, who sympathized with Indian
• He was appointed by Gladstone, the liberty party PM of England
• Ripon was instructed to reverse the Afghan policy of Lytton
• He devoted himself to task of liberalising the Indian administration
• Rendition of Mysore 1881:
o In 1831, wodeyar dynasty was appointed as king for Mysore
o But he was not efficient hence all work of Mysore was given to a British resident under direct control of Britishers
o After span of 50 year, Mysore was again given to Wodeyar dynasty
• Introduction of Local Self Government 1882:
o Ripon believed that self-government is the highest and noblest principles of politics
o The idea of local self- government was not new, municipalities had already existed in big towns, but the government
nominated the municipal commissioner
o Ripon helped the growth of local bodies like municipal committee in towns and the local boards in talukas and villages
o The powers of municipalities were increased
o Their chairmen were to be non-official
o They were entrusted the care of local amenities, sanitation, drainage and water supply and primary education
o District and talukas boards were created. It was insisted that most of the members should be elected non-official
o The local bodies were given executive power with finance resources of their own
o It was perhaps the desire of Ripon that power in India should be gradually transferred to the educated Indians
o He also insisted on the election of local bodies as against selection by the government
o Father of local self-government
• Educational Reforms:
o Lord Ripon was a Champion of education of the Indians
o Ripon wanted to review the working of the educational system based on recommendations of the wood’s Despatch
o For further improvement of the system, Ripon appointed a commission in 1882 under chairmanship of Sir William
Hunter →Hunter commission
• First factory act 1881:
o Lord Ripon introduced the first factory act of 1881 to improve the service condition of the factory workers in India
o The act banned the appointment of children below the age of 7 in factories
o It reduced the working hours for children under 12 year
o 1hour rest and 4 holidays in a month should be given
o Made compulsory for all dangerous machines in the factory to be properly fenced to ensure security to the workers
o Inspectors appointed to enforce these rules
• Ilbert Bill Controversy:
o According to the system of law, European could be tried only by a European Judge or a European magistrate
o The disqualification was unjust, and it was sought to cast a needless discredit and dishonoured upon the Indian-born
members of the judiciary
o C.P. Ilbert, law member, introduced a bill in 1883 to abolish this discrimination in judiciary
o Europeans opposed this bill strongly they raised the fund and established an organisation called Defence Association
o They also suggested that it was better to end the English rule in India than to allow the English to be subjected to the
Indian judge and magistrates
o The press in England joined this issue, hence Ripon amended the bill to satisfy the English India and England
o The ilbert bill controversy helped the cause of Indian nationalism. It is a high watermark in history of Indian national
movement
o Ripon was totally disillusioned, and he resigned after this controversy
o The immediate result of this awakening of India was the birth of the Indian national congress in 1885, the very next
year of Ripon’s departure

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10.4 Beginning of Indian National Movement
• What is nationalism:
o The political ideology, which holds that a nation should govern itself, free from unwanted outside interference, and is
linked to the concept of self determination
o Nationalism is further oriented towards developing and maintaining a national identity based on shared characteristics
such as culture, language, race, religion, political goals or a belief in a common ancestry
o What is a nation state? (any of the following or combination)
▪ A centralized government that can claim and exercise authority over a distinctive territory
▪ Linguistic and cultural homogeneity
▪ Common heritage
▪ Same people living in the same place
• Cause of rise of the nationalism:
o Political unity – After centuries, entire sub-continent of India was under a single administration
o Western education- Spread of concept of liberty, equality, freedom and nationalism. English educated Indians started
many nationalistic organizations and led the national movement
o Emergence of Press – Indian press, both English and vernacular, aroused the national consciousness
o Economic and political exploitation by the British
o Administration of Lytton – Arranged Delhi durbar during Famine time, vernacular press act, arms act
o Development of communication and transport brought Indians closer
o Social and religious movements of the nineteenth century
o Historical research and rediscovery of past glory of India (Mauryan Pillars – Princep)
o Impact of world- Many south American nations born in 19th century, unification of Italy, Germany and demands of
freedom in Ireland
o Racial discrimination
o Ilbert bill controversy
• Some important National organisations –
Year Organisation Founder Place
Landholders’ society (Zamindari
1838 Dwaraknath Tagore Calcutta
association)
1839 British India Society William adams London
1851 British Indian Association Debendranath Tagore Calcutta
1849 Madras native association Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty Madras
1862 London India Committee C.P. Mudaliar London
1866 East India association Dadabhai Naoroji London
1867 National Indian Association Mary Carpenter London
1872 Indian Society Anand Mohan Bose London
1876 Indian (national) association Anand Mohan Bose and S.N. Banerjee Calcutta
1883 Indian National Society Shishir Chandra Bose Calcutta
1870 Indian Reform association Keshab Chandra Sen Calcutta
1870 Poona Sarvjanik Sabha SH Chiplunkar and MG Ranade Poona
S. Ramasamy Mudaliar, P. Anandacharlu, P.
1884 Madras Mahajana Sabha Madras
Rangaiya Naidu
Pherozshah Mehta, KT Telang, Badruddin
1885 Bombay Presidency association Bombay
Tyabjee
1888 United Indian patriotic association Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Aligarh
1905 Servants of Indian society G.K. Gokhale Bombay
NM Joshi (founder)
1920 Indian trade union congress Lucknow
Lala Lajpat Rai (President)
1924 All India Communist Party Satyabhakta Kanpur
1928 Khudai Khidmatgar Abdul Gaffar Khan Pesahwar
1936 All India Kisan Sabha Sahajanand and N.J. Ranga Lucknow
1940 Radical Democratic Party M.N. Roy Calcutta

10.5 The Indian National Congress:

• 1883, 1885 → Indian National Conference -
o A conference of many of the nationalist associations, held in Calcutta under the leadership of SN Banerjee and Anand
mohan bose (Indian association)
• 1884→ A.O. Hume – Retired British ICS officer organised – Indian national Union
o 1st Session:
▪ Planned to be held in Poona but due to plague held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya Bombay
▪ 29,30,31 December 1885

39
 ▪ President: WC Banerjee
• Name changed to Indian National Congress on Naoroji’s suggestion
• Discussed the problems of all Indians irrespective of their religion, caste, language and regions
• Thus, INC from the start was all-India secular movement
• 2nd Session → Calcutta in 1886 3rd Session→ Madras in 1887
• Safety valve Theory:
o Lord Dufferin gave the idea of starting INC to AO Hume
o To connect rulers to larger issues of populace
o Lala Lajpat Rai later called INC a ‘A safety valve’:
▪ To save the British rule from any danger, strengthen it
▪ The redress of political grievances was only secondary by-product
• Lord Dufferin (1884-1888):
o 3rd Anglo Burmese was which led to the accession of Upper Burma
o Three tenancy acts were passed to give greater security of tenure or to the tenants
o Formation of INC in 1885 (First he supported INC but later called it Microscopic Minority)
• Lord Lansdowne (1888-1894)
o Categorization of civil service into imperial, provincial and subordinate
o 2nd factory act 1891
o Indian council act 1892 was passed
o Appointment of Durand commission
• 2nd Factor act 1891:
o Increased the minimum age of Children who could be employed from 7 to 9 years
o Fixed minimum working hours
o Provision of weekly holiday
o But these laws did not apply to British-owned tea and coffee plantations where labour was exploited ruthlessly and
treated like slaves
o The government helped these planters by passing laws such as those which made it virtually impossible for a labourer
to refuse to work under contract
10.6 Indian council act of 1892:
• It had increased the number of additional members in the Central legislative council from 6-12 to 10-16
• It had also increased the proportion of non-officials
• The members could discuss the Budget (formerly limited to executive only) and examine the financial policy of the
government
• The budget could not be voted upon, nor could any amendments be made to it
• 3 types of member in Central legislative council:
o Official members
o Non-official members (nominated by Viceroy)
o Non-official member – Nominated on the recommendation of non-official members of 4 provincial legislature of
Madras, Bombay, Calcutta and north western provinces + 1 by Calcutta chamber of commerce (This step introduced a
kind of election of members for legislative council)
• The members of CLC could ask the ‘executive’ members (cabinet) on public interest after giving 6 days’ notice. No
discussion on answer given by executive
• The speaker could reject the demand for asking question
• In the provinces, also the number of additional members was increased with additional powers
“It was observed to be an achievement of INC”

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 Lec 11: National Movement 1 (1885-1908)

• The history of the Indian National movement can be studied in 3 important phases:
o The phase of moderate nationalism (1885-1905)
o The extremist Phase (1906-1916)
o Gandhian Era (1917-1947)

11.1 Moderate phase of INC

• Between 1885- 1905, Congress leaders were moderates
• The moderates had faith in the British justice and Goodwill
• They were called Moderates because they adopted peaceful
and constitutional means to achieve their demands
• Initially, the British government welcome INC
• With increase in Congress demands, the government became
unfriendly. It encourages Muslim to stay away from the
Congress
• The only demand of the congress granted by the British was
the expansion of the legislative councils by Indian Council
Act 1892
• Main Demands:
o Expansion and reform of legislative council
o Greater opportunities for Indians in higher posts by holding
the ICS examination simultaneously in England and India
o Separation of judiciary from the executive
o More powers for the local bodies
o Reduction of land revenue and protection of peasants from unjust landlords
o Abolition of salt tax and sugar duty
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 o Freedom of speech and expression and freedom to form association
o Reduction of spending on Army
• Surendranath Banerjee:
o Called the Indian Burke → Irish Leader for freedom of Ireland
o He firmly opposed the partition of Bengal
o Newspaper – The Bengalee
o Founded Indian Association in 1876
o Convened the Indian national conference in 1881 which merged with INC in 1886
• G. Subramanya Aiyar:
o Known as Grand old man of South India
o Preached nationalism through the Madras Mahajan Sabha
o He also founded The Hindu and Swadesamitram (Tamil)
• Dadabhai Naoroji:
o Known as Grand Old man of India
o 3 time INC president – 1886, 1893, 1906
o Publication – Voice of India, Ras Goftar (in Gujarat)
o Regarded as India’s unofficial ambassador in England
o 1st Indian to become a member of British house of commons
o Dadabhai Naoroji in his famous book Poverty and Unbritish rule in India wrote his Drain theory
o Drain Theory: Showed how India’s wealth was going away to England in the form of salaries, savings, pensions,
payment to British troops in India and profits of the British company
o British government was forced to appoint the Welby Commission, with Dadabhai as the first Indian as its member, to
enquire into matter
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale:
o Political gurus of MK Gandhi
o Founded Servants of Indian society in 1905 to train Indians to dedicate their lives to the cause of the country
o Publication – Sudharak
• Method of Moderates:
o Moderates had total faith in the British sense of justice and looked to England for inspiration and guidance (loyal to
british)
o Moderate used petition, resolution, meeting, leaflets and pamphlets, memorandum and delegation to present their
demand
o Confined their political activities to the educated classes only
o Their main aim was to attain political rights and self-government stage by stage
• Achievement of moderates:
o Able to create a wide national awakening among the people
o Popularized the ideas of democracy, civil liberties and representation institution
o They explained how the British were exploiting Indians
o Some moderates like Ranade and Gokhale favoured social reforms. They protested against child marriage and
champions of widow remarriage
o The moderates had succeeded in getting the expansion of legislative councils by Indian council act 1892
1.2 Lord Curzon (1899-1905)
• He was thorough imperialist. To make the administration efficient,
Lord Curzon overhauled the entire administration machinery
• Calcutta corporation act 1899:
o Strength of elected member was reduced and that of official
members increased
o More representation to English people
• Police Commission 1902:
o Chairman: Sir Andrew Frazer
o On its recommendations set up training schools for both officers
and constables
o Introduced provincial police service
• Indian universities act of 1904:
o Believed that the universities had degenerated into factories for
producing political revolutionaries
o Instituted Raleigh Commission in 1902
o On recommendation, Curzon brought the Indian universities under
the control of government through Indian universities act
o Provision
▪ More attention to study and research

42
 ▪ Number of fellows of a university and their periods were reduced and most of them were to be nominated by
Government
▪ Government can veto university senate regulation and amend it
▪ More strict condition for private college to have affiliation
▪ 5 lakh rupees were to be sanctioned per annum for 5 years for improvement of higher education and universities
▪ Greater control over universities in name of quality and efficiency
• Agricultural reforms:
o Set up a famine commission
o Punjab Land alienation act of 1900, prohibition the sale of agriculture lands
o Agriculture banks were established
o In 1904, Cooperative credit societies act was passed
o The department of agriculture was established in 1901
o Founded an agricultural research institute at Pusa, Bihar (later shifted to Delhi)
• Crime and investigation:
o A criminal investigation department was opened in each district
o In 1901, the imperial cadet corps was set up
• Ancient Monuments act 1904:
o Curzon has a passion for preserving the ancient monuments of historical
importance in India
o No viceroy in India before or after him took such a keen interest in
archaeology
o The act made it obligatory for the government and local bodies to preserve
monuments of archaeological importance
• Sedition act and the official secrets act 1904:
o Passed mainly to curtail Indian press
o No work or procedure of government could be leaked to public
o If anyone divulges government secrets, they were to be punished
• Partition of Bengal 1905:
o Partition of Bengal into west Bengal and east Bengal
o Announced on 7 july 1905 by Viceroy Curzon
o Implemented on 16 October 1905
o The new provinces of East Bengal ➔ Whole Assam and Dacca, Rajshahi
and Chittgong division with HQ in Dacca
o Partition divided the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal
o Official reason given for the decision was that Bengal with a population
of 78 million has become too big to be administered
o This was true to some extent
o Curzon’s real motive:
▪ To break the growing strength of Bengali nationalism since Bengal was the base of Indian nationalism
▪ To divide the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal
▪ To show the enormous power of the British government
o It led to the anti-partition agitation and Swadeshi Movement
o It provided the spark for the rise of extremism in Indian national
movement
o The partitioned animated the Hindus and led the Muslims to form their
own national organisation on communal lines- Muslim league
o The Muslims in east Bengal hoped that a separate region would give them
more control over education and employment, hence, they opposed those
movement
o Bengal was reunited in 1911 in an effort to appease Bengali Sentiment
o A new partition which divide province on linguistic, rather than religious
ground followed
o Hindi → Bihar; Assamese→ Assam; Oriya→ Orissa; Bengali → Bengal
• Estimate of Lord Curzon:
o He was popular and admired in the beginning
o All his reform measures were preceded by an expert commission and its recommendations
o He made a serious study of the Indian problems in all their aspects
o He lost the popularity by the act of Partition of Bengal

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11.3 Rise of extremism/radicalism:
• The period from 1905 to 1917 was known as the era of extremist in Indian national movement
• The extremists or the aggressive nationalist believed that success could be achieved through bold means
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak:
o Real founder of the popular Anti-British movement in India
o Lokmanya
o Paper: The Mahratta (English) and Kesari (Marathi)
o Started Akharas, Lathi Club, Anti cow killing society to build his rapport
o Build up anti-imperialist sentiments among the public through Ganapati festivals (started in 1893), Shivaji festival
o Jailed twice for his nationalist activities and in 1908 deported to Mandalay for 6 years
o Book: The arctic Home of Vedas and Gita Rahasya
o Set up Home rule league in 1916 at Poona
• Lala Lajpat Rai:
o Lion of Punjab and Punjab Kesari
o Played an important role in Arya Samaj and the swadeshi movement
o Founded Indian homme rule league in the US in 1916
o Deported to Mandalay on the ground of sedition in 1907
o Founded servants of the people society and national college at Lahore
o Part of Punjab national bank
o He received fatal injuries while leading a procession against the Simon Commission and died on November 17, 1928
• Bipin Chandra Pal:
o Began his career as a Moderate and turned as extremist
o Prolific writer on nationalist issue
• Aurobindo Ghosh:
o Another extremist leader who actively participated in the Swadeshi Movement. He was also imprisoned. After his
release he settled in French territory of Pondicherry and concentrated on spiritual activities
• Causes for the rise of extremism:
o Failure of moderates to win anu notable success other than the expansion of the legislative councils by Indian councils
act 1892
o During great famines of 1896-97 and 1889-1900, British did not take any serious famine relief measure
o Russo-Japanese was of 1904-05 in which Japan defeated a great European power Russia
o This encourage Indians to fight against the European nation
o Economic conditions of the people became worse
o Ill-treatment of Indians in South Africa based on colour of skin
• Immediate Cause:
o Rise of extremism was the reactionary rule of Lord Curzon
▪ He passed the Calcutta corporation act 1899, reducing the Indian control of this local body
▪ The university act 1904 reduced the elected member in the university bodies. It also reduced the autonomy of the
universities and made them government departments
▪ The sedition act and official secret act reduced the freedoms of all people
▪ Worst measure was Partition of Bengal 1905
• Main objective of Extremists:
o Their main objective was to attain Swaraj and not just better governance from British
• Methods of the extremists:
o The extremists had no faith in the British sense of justice and fair play
o They pointed out the forceful means by which the British had taken control of India
o They believed that political right would have to be fought for
o They had the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination
o Methods:
▪ No cooperating with British government by boycotting government courts, schools and colleges
▪ Promotion of Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods
▪ Introduction and promotion of nationalistic education
• Partitioned of Bengal and the rise of extremism:
o On the same day when the partition came into effect, 16 October 1905, the people of Bengal organised protest meetings
and observed a day of mourning
o The whole political life of Bengal underwent a change
o Rabindranath Tagore suggested to observe the day as Rakhi Bandhan day to show unity and brotherhood of Bengal
o Gandhi ji wrote that the real awakening in India too place only after the partition of Bengal
o The anti-partition movement culminated into the Swadeshi Movement and spread to other parts of Indian (intensity was
less in rest of India)

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11.4 Swadeshi Movement
• Declaration of Swaraj and beginning of Swadeshi movement:
o The Swadeshi movement had its genesis in the Anti-partition movement which was started to oppose the British decision
to partition Bengal
o The INC meeting in 1905 held at Benares under the presidency of G.K. Gokhale resolved to:
▪ Condemn the partition of Bengal and the reactionary policies of Curzon
▪ Support the anti-partitioned movement (but not the extreme tactics of boycott)
o The militant nationalist (term given by British but in reality no use of any weapon), led by Lal, Bal, Pal and Aurobindo
Ghosh wanted the movement to be taken outside the Bengal to other parts of the country and go beyond a boycott of
foreign goods to become a full-fledged political mass struggle with the goal of attaining Swaraj
o But moderates, dominating the congress at that time, were not willing to go that far
*(The extremist faction was officially formed by Tilak and INC was almost split at the session. But ultimately, tilak and
others decided to work as a faction within the congress itself)
o However, aggressive nationalists forced Dadabhai Naoroji, the president, to speak of Swaraj (which was not a moderate
demand) in Calcutta Session of Congress in 1906
o The extremist emboldened by Dadabhai Naoroji’s declaration gave a call for passive resistance in addition to swadeshi
and boycott of foreign goods
o This included boycott of government schools and colleges, government service, courts, legislative councils,
municipalities, government titles etc
• Agenda of Swadeshi movement:
o It was both a political and an economic movement
o Involved programmes like the boycott of government service, court, schools and colleges and of the foreign goods
o Promotion of Swadeshi goods
o Promotion of national education through the establishment of national schools and colleges
o Landlords, women and students actively participated, and students refused using books made of foreign paper
o Absence of participation of peasants as well as industrialists
**(It was the fist mass movement in the history of India’s struggle for independence)
o Some of the Muslim leaders who participated – Barrister Abdul Rasul, Liaqat Hussain, Guznavi and Maulana Azad
o Most of the upper and middle class muslim stayed away or, led by Nawab Salimullah of Dacca, they supported the
partition on the plea that it would give them a Muslim-majority East Bengal
o To further government interests, the All India Muslim League was propped up in 1906 as an anti-congress front
• Government measures against the movement:
o It passed several acts to crush the movement
o The swadeshi volunteers were beaten badly
o Popular cry of Bande Mataram was forbidden
o Schools and colleges were warned not to allow their students to take part in the movement or else, their aid would be
stopped
o Some Indian government employees lost their jobs
o Extremist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh were imprisoned and
deported
11.5 Formation of Muslim league 1906:
• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had founded the Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1886, but a self-imposed ban prevented
it from discussing politics
• In December 1906, 3000 Muslim delegates from all over India met at Dacca for the conference and removed the ban
• Nawab Salimullah of Dacca proposed the setting up of an organisation to look after the interests of Muslims of India
• All India Muslim league was set up on December 30, 1906
• Headquarters - Lucknow
• Main leader:
o Nawab Salimullah of Dacca
o Aga Khan III - First president
o Nawab Mohsin ul Mulk
o Hakim Ajmal Khan
o Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar
o Zafar Ali Khan
o Syed Nabiullah
o Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi
• Conducted annual sessions and put their demands to the British government
• Initially, they enjoyed the support of the British
• Their first achievement was the separate electorates for the Muslims in the Minto-Morley reforms
• Its original political goal was to define and advance the Indian Muslim’s civil right and provide protection to the upper
and gentry class of Indian Muslims

45
• From 1906-30s, the party worked on its organisational structure, its credibility in Muslim communities all over the British
Indian Empire, and lacked as a mass organisation
• It mainly represented the landed and commercial Muslim interest of the United Province
• In the 1930s, the idea of a separate nation state and influential philosopher sir Iqbal’s vision of uniting the four provinces
of North-east British India further supported the rationale of two-nation theory

11.6 Surat Split, 1907

• Trouble was brewing since 1905 session at Benares when Moderate dominated INC refused to extend full support to the
extremist faction’s call for protest and boycott of government against the partition of Bengal
• 1906 Session: Dadabhai Naoroji included demand of Swaraj in his speech
• Swaraj resolution was passed, and ‘boycott’ was accepted as legitimate form of protest
• Moderate congressmen were unhappy as they wanted swaraj to achieved through constitutional methods
• The moderate-extremist disputes over techniques led to split in INC
• 1907 → Surat Session; President: Dr. Ras Behari Ghosh; extremist wanted Lala Lajpat Rai to become president
• Extremists came out of the Congress led by Tilak and others
• They were soon arrested and given long prison terms by the government
• Achievements of extremists:
o They were the first to demand Swaraj as a matter of birth right
o They involved the masses in the freedom struggle and broadened the social base of the national movement
o They were first to organize an all-India political movement, Swadeshi Movement
• Decline of Swadeshi movement:
o By 1908, the open phase (as different from the underground revolutionary phase) of the movement was almost over due
to many reasons:
▪ There was severe government repression
▪ The movement failed to create an effective organisation or a party structure
▪ The movement was rendered leaderless with most of the leaders either arrested or deported in 1908
▪ Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal retire from active politics
▪ Internal Squabbles among the leader, magnified by the Surat Split 1907, did much harm to movement
▪ The movement aroused the people but did not know how to tap the newly released energy or how to find new
forms to give expression to popular resentment
▪ The movement largely remained confined to the upper and middle classes and Zamindars and failed to reach the
rural masses- especially peasantry
▪ Non-cooperation and passive resistance remained mere ideas
▪ It was difficult to sustain a mass-based movement at a high pitch for too long

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 Lec 12 National Movement 2 (1909-1916)
12.1 Minto – Morley reform 1909 / Government of India act 1909/ Indian councils act 1909
• Lord Morley- Secretary of state for India (in London)
• Lord Minto – Viceroy of India (in Calcutta)
• Background:
o Rising extremism – not good for British rule
o Hence, they wanted to give concession to Moderate demand while cracking down on extremism
o They also wanted to further the divide and rule policy via separate electorate
o Curzon’s imperialist approach and policies held left the Indian resentful
o In 1906, a group of Muslim elites called the Shimla deputation, led by the Aga Khan, met Lord Minto and demanded
separate electorates for the Muslim
• Important provisions:
o The number of “additional members” of the central legislative council was increased from 16 to 60 (Total 60leg
+9executive)
▪ Elected members were to be 27
▪ Among the remaining 33 nominated members: 28 Official and 5 non official (Indian but appointed by British)
o The principal of election to the councils was legally recognized. But communal representation was for the first time
introduced. Separate electorates were provided for the Muslims. The electorate was decided on the basis of class and
community
▪ For the provincial council a provision of 3 categories (of electoral collage) was made-
• General – district boards and municipalities
• Special – Bombay corporation and Bombay university
• Chambers of commerce
o For the central council, a fourth category – Muslims was added
o The legislative councils at the centre and the provinces were to have 4 categories of members as follows:
▪ Ex officio members: Governor General and members of the executive councils (8+1)
▪ Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by Governor general (28)
▪ Nominated Non-official members: Nominated by the Governor general but were not government official (5)
▪ Elected members: Elected by different categories of Indians (27)
o 27 elected members of CLC came from:
▪ 13- General electorate = non-official members of provincial legislatures
▪ 6- Zamindars of six provinces (class electorate)
▪ 6- Muslims of 6 provinces (communal electorate)
▪ 2- One each from Bengal and Bombay chamber of commerce
o Method of election:
▪ The elected members were elected indirectly.
▪ The local bodies elected an electoral college who would elect members of the provincial legislative councils.
These members would, in turn, elect the members of the central legislative council
▪ The elected members were from the local bodies, the chamber of commerce, landlords, universities, traders’
communities and Muslims
▪ In the provincial councils, Non-official members were nominated, In total, a non-elected majority was still
ensured
o The number of members in provincial legislative councils of provinces was raised too.
o The council were given right to discuss and pass resolutions on the Budget and on all matter of public interest, right to
ask supplementary questions and move resolutions on matters related to loads to the local bodies.
▪ However, the Viceroy had the power to disallow discussion on the budget
o An Indian member, Satyendra Sinha, was appointed for the first time to the Governor General’s executive council
o In Bombay and Madras, the number of members of executive councils was raised from 2 to 4. The practice of appointing
Indians to these councils began
o Two Indians were also appointed to the India council, which assisted secretary of state in England First appointee – KC
Gupta and Syed Hussain Bilgrami
• Estimation of 1909 act:
o The Minto-Morley reform never desired to set up a parliamentary form of government of India but the introduction of
the electoral principle for legislative council laid the groundwork for parliamentary system
o The separate electorate issue was a major problem as other communities and Anglo Indian also started demanding the
same
o The 1909 act offered no political solution to the Indian problem
o Non-official (=Indian) majority was nullified by keeping few nominated members in the non-official category (who
would always side with government ensuring control)
o The act did increase Indian participation in the legislative councils especially at the provincial levels
o The principle of separate electorates ultimately led to widening of communal problem

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12.2 Delhi Durbar 1911:
• 12 December 1911
• In honour of King George V and Queen Mary
• Only durbar where the British monarch actually attended
• Lord Hardinge made announcement:
o Annulment (cancelation) of partitioned of Bengal (but new division based
on language → Bengal, Orrisa, Behar, Assam)
o Shifting of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (done on 12-12-1912) *Shimla
was the summer capital since 1863

12.3 Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916):

• Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911)
• Coronation durbar of King George V held in Delhi 1911
• Annulment of Bengal Partition
• Establishment of the Hindu Mahasabha 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya
• In 1916, Lord hardinge laid the foundation of Benares Hindu University (Madam Mohan Malviya → 1st Chancellor)
• Lord Hardinge bombing case:
o 23 Dec 1912 – Viceroy was entering the new capital of Delhi in a procession from Chandni Chowk to New Delhi
o A bomb was thrown on his carriage but it missed the mark
o Sachindranath sanyal and Ras Bihari Bose- Escaped

12.4 First world war and Nationalist Response:

• Britain + France+ USA+ Italy + Japan vs Germany, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman
empire
• Nationalist response to British participation in war was three-fold:
o The moderates supported the empire in the War as a matter of duty
o The extremist including Tilak supported the war efforts in the mistaken belief that
Britain would repay India’s loyalty with Gratitude in the form of self-government
o The revolutionaries decided to utilize the opportunity to wage a war and liberate
the country
• Indian supporters of British war efforts failed to see that the imperialist powers were
fighting precisely to safeguard their own colonies and market
• Worldwide, the allied powers, to rally the colonies to their side during the war, had
promised them an era of democracy and self-determination after the war
• During the war, both sides had launched vicious propaganda to malign and expose
each other’s uncivilized colonial record
• But after the war soon it became clear from the Paris peace conference and other peace treaties that the imperialist powers
had no intentions of loosening their hold over the colonies
• Indian in WWI:
o 1.3 million Indian solider served the British army in the great war
o France, Belgium, East Africa, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt campaigns
o 50000 laid down their lives for the British empire
o India Gate, New Delhi -War memorial

12.5 Home rule league movement:

• The home rule movement was the Indian response to the First world war
• It was organised on the lines of the Irish Home Rule leagues, which represented the
emergence of a new trend of aggressive politics
• Annie Besant, the Irish theosophist, had decided of a movement for home rule in the line
of Irish home rule league
• Tilak was ready to assume leadership after his release in 1914 and reassured government
of his loyalty
• To moderates, tilak assured that he wanted a reform of the administration and not the overthrow of the British Government
of India
• The home rule league main aimed at:
o Getting self-government for India within the British empire
o Formation of linguistic based states
o Education in vernacular languages
• By sept 1915, Annie Besant had launched a campaign to demand self-government for India after war, on the lines of white
colonies
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• Two Home rule leagues were established (not simultaneously):
o Tilak at Poona in April 1916- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central provinces and Berar
o Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916 – Rest of India
• Newspaper:
o Maratha and kesari – BG Tilak
o New India and Commonweal – Annie Besant
• * Shyamji Krishna Verma, Bhikaji Cama set up an Indian Home rule society in London in 1905
• *Lala Lajpat Rai started the Indian Home Rule League of American in New York in 1917 (Publication – Young India)
• The two leagues cooperated with each other as well with the congress and the Muslim league in putting their demand for
home rule
• The home rule movement had brought a new life in the national movement (revival of Swadeshi Movement) with women
joining in larger number
• It worked round the year, unlike INC
• Who did not join this movement:
o Anglo-Indians
o Most of the Muslims (Jinnah was a core leader of the league though)
o Non-Brahmins from South
o They all felt Home tule would mean rule of the Hindu majority, mainly the higher caste Hindus
• Government measures against the Home rule movement:
o The government came down with severe repression, especially in Madras where students were prohibited form attending
political meetings
o Tilak was barred from entering in Punjab and Delhi
o In 1917, Annie Besant and her associates were arrested which invited nationwide protests (G. Subramanya Aiyer
renounced his Knighthood)
o Government decided to placate the nationalists by declaring its intention to grant self-government to Indians, as
contained in Montagu’s August 1917 declaration
o Montagu promised the gradual development of self-governing institution in India (“A responsible government”)
o This august declaration led to the end of the home rule movement
o Tilak’s and Besant’s effort in the Moderate-extremist reunion at Lucknow 1916 revived the Congress as effective
instrument of Indian Nationalism

12.6 The Lucknow Pact of 1916:

• INC factions united → Moderate + Extremist United
• INC President → Ambica Charan Mazumdar
• An understanding for joint action against the British was reached was reached between the congress and Muslim league
and it was called the Lucknow Pact
• Marked an important step in the Hindu-Muslim unity
• INC accepted separate electorates (1909) of Muslims for the first time
• Muslims- Angry due of cancellation of Partition + denial of Aligarh Muslim University + Turkey repercussions in WW1

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 Lec 13. Revolutionary Movement
• The Revolutionary “Terrorist” movements:
o The revolutionary terrorist movement was largely the outcome of the same set which gave rise to extremist wing in the
national politics
o Only the revolutionaries wanted quicker results and discounted the value of persuasion and low-grade pressure
o The revolutionaries believed that British rule was destructive of all that is worthwhile in national life- Political liberties,
religious freedom, morality and Indian Culture
o Though it is difficult to pinpoint the political philosophy of the revolutionary terrorist in different parts of India, bit their
one common aim was freedom from the British rule
o Methods: Western methods of Violence – Bombs and revolvers
• 2 Phases of revolutionary movement broadly speaking:
o Phase 1- 1890s-1918
o Phase 2- 1920s onward

13.1 Revolutionary Movement Phase 1:

• In the early part of the 20th century, revolutionary groups sprang up mainly in Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab and Madras
• Secret organization
▪ In Bengal: Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were established
▪ In Maharashtra, Savarkar brothers had set up Abhinav Bharat (on idea of young Italy in Italian reunification
movement)
▪ In Madras, Bharathmatha Association was started by Nilakanta Bramchari
▪ In Punjab, Ajit Singh set up secret society to spread revolutionary ideas among the youth
▪ In London, at India house, Shyamji Krishna Verma gathered young Indian nationalist like Madan Lal Dhingra,
V.V.S. Iyer and T.S.S. Rajan
▪ Lala Hardayal set up ‘Ghadar Party’ in USA to organise revolutionary activities from outside India
• Revolutionaries activities in Maharashtra:
o Started by Chitpavan Brahmins of Poona (Chitpavan brahmins are mainly link to Peshwas) → As per detail in sedition
report of British government
o Assassination of Rand and Ayerst by Chapekar brothers:
▪ 22 June 1897: Damodar Chapekar and Balkrishna Chapekar (famously known as Chapekar Bandhu) assassinated
two British officers in Poona
▪ The Chapekar Bandhu were disillusioned with the administration for its indifferent attitude towards plague at
Poona
o 1899, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Savarkar organized a secret society Mitramela at Nashik
o In 1904, V.D. Savarkar organised Abhinav Bharat
o In 1909, Anant Kanhare of Abhinav Bharat, assassinated Jackson, the judge of Nashik. →Jackson had sentenced Ganesh
Savarkar to deportation to Andaman on the charge of sedition for crime of composing some patriotic songs
• Revolutionary activities in Bengal:
o The youth of Bengal found peaceful protests and political actions getting no results and they no longer believed that
passive resistance could achieve the nationalist aims
o They (bhadralok: Educated persons) fell back upon individual action and cult of Bomb
o In 1902, Pramatho Mitra, Jatindranath Banerjee and Barindra kumar Ghosh founded Anushilan Samiti, a secret society
and promoting revolutionary activities
o Decca Anushilan Samiti was founded by Pulin Das in East Bengal
o In Calcutta, Anushilan Samiti was famous by name of its Newspaper “Yuganter” → Yuganter group
o Apart from Decca Anushilan Samiti, there were four others prominent samities in Mymenshingh, Faridpur, Bakargunj
and Burisal
o In 1905, Barindra Kumar Ghosh published Bhavani Mandir
o In 1906, Barindra kumar Ghosh and Bhupendranath Dutta started the paper Yuganter, in which they had inspired
country’s youth to begin armed revolution
o On December 23, 1907, the revolutionaries shot the magistrate of Decca at the Faridpur railway station
o They even tried to assassinate the Lt. Governor of Bengal
o In April 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb at a carriage which they believed was occupied by
Kingsford, the unpopular judge of Muzzaffarpur (now in Bihar), But the bomb killed two ladies
o Khudiram was hanged, while Prafulla Chaki shot himself dead
o The Ghosh brothers, along with others were arrested and tried (Alipore conspiracy case) for the act
• Revolutionary activities in Punjab and Delhi:
o Punjab was not far behind Bengal
o In 1904, J.M. Chaterjee set up an organisation with Lala Hardayal, Ajit Singh and Sufi Amba Prasad to spread
revolutionary activities in Punjab → They protested for farmers rights
o After his release from Jail in 1907, Sardar Ajit Singh began establishing revolutionary outfits in many places

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 o In November 1908, the deputy superintendent of police of Lyallpur and his orderly was assassinated. It was perhaps the
first political incident of its kind in Punjab
o In December 1909, a bomb was exploded in the house of deputy collector of Ambala
o Bombing of lord Hardinge II and delhi conspiracy case:
▪ December 23, 1912 Rash Bihari Bose and Sachin Sanyal threw bomb on viceroy who was leading a procession in
Delhi to celebrate occasion of the city becoming new capital of India
▪ Lord hardinge escaped with minor injuries but his attended died on spot
▪ 13 people were arrested and tried in Delhi Conspiracy Case
▪ Dina Nath become government approver
▪ Four persons → Master Amir Chand, Awadh Bihari, Bal Mukund and Besant Kumar were hanged
▪ Rash Behari Bose succeeded in fleeing to Japan
• Revolutionaries activity in Western countries:
o England:
▪ The revolutionaries also established centres of activity abroad
▪ In London the lead was taken by Shyamji Krishnavarma, V.D. Savarkar and Lala Har Dayal
▪ In 1905, Shyamji Krishnavarma setup the India Home Rule society popularly known as India House
▪ He also published a monthly journal of the society, called The Indian Sociologist
▪ On July 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra shot dead Mr. Curzon Wyllie, the Assistant of secretary for state for India in
London
▪ Dhingra was sentenced to death on August 16, 1909 and India House activities were cracked down upon by British
Police
▪ Savarkar was deported to India and Shyamji Krishnavarma fled and settled in Paris
o GHADAR Movement:
▪ During early 1900s, Canadian government had started imposing restriction on the emigration and political rights
of south Asians (racial discrimination)
▪ Ghadar Party was established at San Francisco, USA in 1913 by the efforts of Lala Hardayal, Ramchandra,
Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Barkatullah and Bhai Parmanand, Sohan Singh Bhakna (first president)
▪ To carry out revolutionary activities, the earlier activists had set up a Swadesh Sevak Home at Vancouver and
United Indian House Seattle
▪ They started weekly journal “Ghadar”, in English and vernacular languages to expose British exploitation in Indian
economy and promote nationalism among the masses → Ghadar Party
▪ During world war 1, Lala Hardayal and others moved to Berlin, Germany because of USA government stopping
activities
▪ They tried to start a rebellion in India with German assistance
▪ They sought the help of Anushilan Samiti and Bagha Jatin in this effort
▪ Rash Bihari Bose (based in Japan now) also tried to wage an armed revolt but failed
▪ Ultimately the plan failed due to intelligence officers of USA and UK getting the details of their plan
o Komagata Maru Incident:
▪ The importance of this event lies in the fact that it created an explosive
situation on the Punjab
▪ Komagata Maru was the name of a ship which was carrying 370
passengers, mainly Sikh and some Punjabi Muslim would be
immigrants, from Singapore to Vancouver Canada
▪ They were turned back by Canadian authorities after two months of
privation and Uncertainty
▪ It was generally believed that the Canadian authorities were influenced
by British Government
▪ The ship finally anchored in Calcutta in September 1914, but the inmates refused to board the Punjab bound train
▪ In the ensuing confrontation with police near Calcutta, 22 persons died
▪ Inflamed by this and with the outbreak of war, the Ghadar leaders decided to launch violent attack British rule in
India
▪ They urged fighters to ho to India
▪ Bengal revolutionaries were contacted; Political dacoities were committed to raise funds mainly in Punjab
▪ Thus, an explosive situation was created in Punjab
▪ Ghadarites also setup “Kirti Kisan party” for workers and peasants in Punjab; revolutionary party of India in
Bengal and UP
▪ Despite their repeated failures and oppression under British, Ghadar party created feelings of unity, sacrifice,
nationalism and internationalism among the masses
o The Berlin committee:
▪ The Berlin committee for Indian Independence was established in 1915
▪ Founded by Virendranath Chattopadhyay, Bhupendranath Dutta, Lala Hardayal and foreign officer of Germany
under Zimmerman Plan (also known as Hindu-German conspiracy)
▪ These revolutionaries mobilised the Indian settlers abroad to send volunteers and arms to India
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 ▪ Mainly aimed to incite rebellion among Indian troops there and to organize an armed invasion of British Indian to
liberate the country
o Mutiny in Singapore:
▪ February 15, 1915
▪ Started by Punjabi Muslims 5th Light infantry and the 36th Sikh Battalion under Jamadar Chisti Khan, Jamadar
Abdul gani and Subedaar Daud Khan
▪ It was crushed after a fierce battle in which many were killed

13.2 British Response:

• Repressive legislation:
o Prevention of seditious meeting act 1907
o Explosive substance act 1908 → Banned transport and storage of explosive substance
o Criminal Law amendment act 1908
o Newspaper (incitement of offence) act 1908 → no newspaper allowed to print anything which may incite revolutionary
activity
o Press act 1910 →To curb the freedom of press
o Defence of India act 1915 → precursor of Rowlatt act
• Decline in revolutionary activity after 1918 due to Tough laws, crackdown by Police, talk of self-rule and arrival of
Gandhiji

13.3 Revolutionary movement Phase 2:

• Mid 1920s
• Started due to failure of Non co-operation movement and other peaceful method of national leaders
• Punjab-UP-Delhi were the epicentre
• Two separate strands of revolutionary terrorist groups emerged during this period:
o Punjab-UP-Bihar
o Bengal
“Novels that enhanced revolutionary terrorism → Bandi Jiwan by Sachin Sanyal and Pather Dabi by Sharatchandra
Chatterjee”
• Revolutionary Terrorism in Punjab-UP-Bihar:
o The revolutionary terrorist activity in this region was dominated by the Hindustan Republican association or HRA
o The HRA was founded in October 1924 after a meeting of revolutionaries from all over India in Kanpur
o Important leaders
▪ Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin Sanyal
o Later rename Hindustan Socialist Republican Association by Bhagat Singh
o Aims:
▪ To awaken people of India to the futility(pointless) of the Non-violent methods
▪ To organise an armed revolution to overthrow the colonial government
▪ Establish in its place a Federal Republic of United states of India whose basic principle would be adult franchise
o Kakori train robbery Aug 1925:
▪ Most important act of HRA was the Kakori train robbery
▪ The men held up a train at Kakori, an obscure village near Lucknow and looted its official railway cash
▪ Government crackdown after the Kakori robbery led to arrest of many
▪ Of whom 17 were jailed, four transported for life and four – Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajndra Lahiri
→ were hanged
▪ Hence kakori proved to be setback
o Saunder’s Murder (Lahore, December 1928)-
▪ Bhagat Singh and other shot dead Saunders instead of SP Scott, the police official responsible for the lath Charge
on Lala ji in Lahore
o Bomb in Central legislative assembly (April 1929)-
▪ Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta threw bomb in the CLA on April 8, 1929 against passage of Public safety
bill and trade disputes bill
▪ The bombs had been deliberately made harmless and were aimed at making ‘The deaf hear’

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 o Lahore conspiracy case:
▪ Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were tried in the court for
Saunders murder
▪ In jail, these revolutionaries protested the horrible conditions
through a fast and demanded honourable and decent treatment
as political prisoners
▪ Bhagat Singh wrote a pamphlet “Why am I an Atheist” while
in jail
▪ Azad was involved in a bid to blow up Viceroy’s Irwin’s train
near Delhi in December 1929
▪ Azad was killed in police encounter in a park in Allahabad in
February 1931
▪ Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on march 23,
1931
“Note-
Yellow paper constitution – name and aim of HSRA
The Manifesto
Philosophy of bomb – written by Bhagvati Charan Vora”
• Revolutionary Terrorism in Bengal:
o After ‘Deshbandhu’ Chittaranjan Das’s death 1925, the Bengal congress broke into
▪ One led by M. Sengupta (Anushilan group joined forced with him)
▪ Other led by Subhash Chandra Bose (backed by Yuganter group)
o Actions of reorganised groups included an assassination attempt on the notorious Calcutta Police Commissioner,
Charles Tegrat (another man named Day got killed) by Gopinath Saha in 1924)
o Government, armed with a new ordinance, came down heavily on revolutionaries
o Many including Subash Chandra Bose were arrested
o Gopinath Saha was hanged
o Chittagong Armoury raid (April 1930):
▪ Suryasen (a schoolteacher known as Master da) decided to organise an armed rebellion along with his associated
▪ They had planned to occupy two main armouries in Chittagong to seize and supply arms to the revolutionaries
▪ They also aimed to destroy telephone and telegraph lines and to dislocate the railway link of Chittagong with the
east of Bengal
▪ The raid was conduction in April 1930 and involved 65 activist under the banner of Indian republic army –
Chittagong branch
▪ The raid was quite successful; Sen hoisted the national flag, tool salute and proclaimed a provisional revolutionary
government
▪ Later, they dispersed into neighbouring villages and raided government targets
▪ British army killed many revolutionaries while they hid in jungles and ultimately master Da was also captured in
1933
• Impact of revolutionaries
o Difference of opinion among imperial and Indian historian
o Gandhi and INC disapproved their methods but appreciated their patriotism and spirit of selfless service
o Could they bring any real change – questionable
o Spirit of nationalism and love for motherland invigorated in the youth – Definitely Yes

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 Lec 14: National movement 3 (1917-1921)
14.1 M.K. Gandhi – a brief intro of Mahatma
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2,1869 in Porbandar in the princely state of Kathiawar in Gujarat
• Having studied law in England, he returned to India in 1891
• He failed as a practicing lawyer both at Rajkot and in Bombay
• In 1893, he proceeded to Natal, South Africa in relation with a case involving his client, Dada Abdullah
• In South Africa, he witnessed apartheid (racial discrimination) to which Asians who had gone to South Africa as
Labourers were subjected
• He decided to stay in South Africa to organise the Indian workers to enable them to fight for their rights
• He stayed there till 1914 returned on 9 January 1915 (celebrated as Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas)
• Major activities in SA:
o In SA, he set up Natal Indian congress and started a paper ’Indian opinion’
o Satyagraha against registration certificates (1906)
o Campaign against restrictions on Indian migration
o Setting up of Tolstoy farm
o Campaign against invalidation of Indian marriages
o Formed a volunteer corps for the British Army – helped run ambulances for wounded British soldiers in the Boer was
(1899-1902) – Awarded a medal for the service (Kesar-i-Hind)
• Role in India’s National movement:
o The third and final phase of the nationalist movement (1917-1947) is known as the Gandhian era.
o During this period MG became the undisputed leader of the national movement
o His principles of non-violence and satyagraha were employed against the British government
o Gandhi made the nationalist movement a mass movement
o Satyagraha = passive resistance or civil disobedience *insistence on truth*
• Basic tenants of Gandhiji’s technique during his stay on south Africa:
o A Satyagrahi was not to submit to what he considered as wrong, but was to always remain truthful, non-violent and
fearless
o A true Satyagrahi would never bow before the evil, whatever the consequence
o He should be ready to accept suffering in his struggle against the evil doer
o This suffering was to be a part of his love for truth
o Even while carrying out his struggle against the evil doer, a true satyagrahi would lover the evil doer; hatred would be
alien to his nature
o Only the brave and strong could practice Satyagraha, which was not for the weak and cowards, even violence was
preferred to cowardice

14.2 Champaran Satyagraha 1917:

• First civil disobedience movement
• Raj Kumar Shukla asked Gandhi to investigate the problem of the Indigo
Planters
• The European planters had been forcing peasants to grow Indigo on 3/20 of
the total land (called tinkathia system)
• Towards the end of 19th century, German synthetic dyes replaced indigo
• European planters demanded high rents and illegal dues form the peasants
• Besides, the peasants were forced to sell the produce at prices fixed by the
European
• When Gandhi reached Champaran to Probe into the matter, the authorities
ordered him to leave the area at once
• Gandhi defies the order and preferred to face the punishment
• This passive resistance or civil disobedience of an unjust order was a novel method at that time
• Finally, the authorities relented and permitted Gandhi to make an enquiry
• Government appointed a committee to look into the matter and nominated Gandhi as a member
• Gandhi was able to convince the authorities that the tinkathia system should be abolished and the peasants should be
compensated for the illegal dues extracted from them
• As a compromise with planters, he agreed that only 25% of the money taken should be compensated
• Within a decades, the planters left the area

14.3 Kheda Satyagraha 1918:

• First non-cooperative movement
• Because of drought in 1918, crops failed in Kheda district of Gujarat
• According to revenue code, if the yield was less than ¼ th of the normal produce, the farmers were entitled to remission
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• The authorities refused to grant remission
• Gandhi supported the peasants cause and asked to withhold revenue
• The government had issued secret instruction directing that revenue should be recovered from those who can pay
• Movement was withdrawn
• During Kheda Satyagraha, many young nationalists such as Sardar Patel and Indulal Yagnik became Gandhi’s followers
# Ahmedabad mill strike 1918:
• First Hunger strike
• Gandhi now intervened in a dispute between mill owners of Ahmedabad and the workers over the issue of discontinuation
of the plague bonus
• Gandhiji asked the worker to go on hunger strike and demand a 35% increase in wages
• The employers were willing to concede a 20% bonus only
• Gandhi advised the workers to remain non-violent while on strike
• He undertook a fast unto death to strengthen the worker’s resolve
• Mill owners finally agreed to give the worker a 35% increase in
wages

14.4 Satyagraha against Rowlatt act:

• Rowlatt act 1919:
o Passed by imperial legislative council in Delhi on March 18, 1919
o Extension of the defence of India act 1915 (mainly arrest of person
without proof just on the basis of prevention)
o Also known as Black act
o Was mainly aimed to look into militant nationalist activities
o Any person could be arrested on the basis of suspicion
o They gave enormous power to the police to search a place and
arrest any person they disapproved of, without warrant
o No appeal or petition could be filed against such arrests for up to
2 years
o A well-known description of the bill at that time was:
No Dalil, No Vakil, Ni Appeal
o Gandhi called for a nationwide protest against the draconian law in Feb 1919
• Gandhi organised a satyagraha and roped in younger members of home rule leagues and the pan Islamists
• The form of protest finally chosen included observance of a nationwide hartal accompanied by fasting and prayer, and
civil disobedience against specific laws and courting arrest and imprisonment
• Radical change in the national movement by now-
o The masses had found a direction, now they can act instead of just giving verbal expression to their grievances
o From now onwards, peasants, artisans and urban poor were to play an increasingly important part in the struggle
o Orientation of the national movement turned to the masses permanently

• Jalianwalla Bagh Massacre April 13, 1919:

o In Punjab, there was an unprecedented support to the Rowlatt Satyagraha
o Facing a violent situation and suspected insurrection, Government called in Large
number of military troops
o Military was led by Brigadier General Dyer
o General Dyer banned all public meetings and detained the political leaders
o On Baisakhi day, a large, crowd of people mostly from neighbouring villages,
unaware of the prohibition order in the city
o They had gathered in this small park to protest against the arrest of their leaders, Dr
Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal
o The army surrounded the gathering under orders from General Dyer
o They blocked the only exit point and opened fire on the unarmed crowd
o This resulted in nationwide protest against this massacre
o Even London newspaper criticised the government for the act
o Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood as a protest
o Gandhi was overwhelmed by atmosphere of violence and withdrew the Rowlatt Satyagrah movement on April 18, 1919
o The British government released figure stating 379 dead
o The brutality stunned the entire nation, resulting in a wrenching loss of faith of the general public in the intentions of
the UK
o The ineffective inquiry and the initial accolades for Dyer by the house of lords fuelled widespread anger
“The governor of Punjab at the time, Micheal O’Dwyer, supported the massacre. He was shot dead by Udham singh, a
revolutionary, in London in 1940 ”

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14.5 Montagu-Chelmsford reform/ GoI act 1919
• Secretary of state for India- Edwin Montagu
• Governor General and Viceroy – Lord Chelmsford
• Importance: The most notable feature of the act was ‘end of benevolent despotism’ and introduction of responsible
government in India
• On 20 August 1917, SoS Montagu made a historical declaration in the house of commons in British parliament which is
called “Montagu Declaration”
• In November 1917, Montague had visited to ascertain views from all sections of polity
• A detailed report on Constitutional reforms in India (Mont-ford report) was published on 8th July 1918. This report became
the basis of government of India act 1919
• INC held a special session, with Syed Hasan Imam as president, in August 1918 – to discuss the report
• Key feature of this report:
o Increasing association of Indians in every branch of administration
o Gradual development of self-governing institution with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government
in India as an integral part of the British empire
o Progress towards responsible government in successive stages
• Highlights of 1919 act:
o India to remain as and integral part of British empire
o Gradual decentralisation of authority with loosening the supreme hold of the central government (suggested for a
decentralized, but unitary form of government)
o The time and manner towards goal of responsible government will be decided by the British parliament
o Partial responsibility in provinces to Indian, but no change in character of the central government
• Provincial Government:
o Executive:
▪ Dyarchy was introduced i.e. there were to classes of administration – Executive councillors and Ministers
▪ The governor was the executive head of province
▪ The subjects were divided into two lists – reserved and transferred
• A. Reserved list: The governor was in charge of the reserved list along with his executive councillors.
The subject under this list were law and order, irrigation, finance, land revenue etc.
• B. Transferred list: The elected members (mainly Indian) of council were in charge of the subjects under
the transferred list. The subjects included were education, local government, health, excise, industry,
public works, religious endowments etc.
▪ The ministers were responsible to the people who elected them through the legislature
▪ These ministers were nominated among the elected members of the legislative council
▪ The executive councillors were not responsible to the legislature unlike the ministers
▪ The secretary of state and governor general of India could interfere in matters under the reserved list but this
interference was restricted for the transferred list
o Legislature:
▪ The size of the provincial legislative assemblies was increased. Now about 70% of the members were elected
▪ There were communal and class electorates
▪ Direct elections of member (but restricted franchise)
▪ Some women could also vote
▪ Legislators enjoyed freedom of speech
▪ The governor’s assent was required to pass any bill. He also had veto power and could issue ordinance also
• Central government:
o Executive:
▪ The chief executive authority was the Governor general/ viceroy
▪ There were two lists for administration – central and provincial
▪ Out of 8 members of viceroy’s executive council → 3 were to be Indian Members
▪ The governor general could issue ordinance
▪ He could also certify bills that were rejected by the central legislature
▪ He retained the power to summon and dissolve the house
o Legislature:
▪ A bicameral legislature was set up with two houses
• Legislative assembly – Lower house
(forerunner of the Lok Sabha)
• Council of state – upper house
(forerunner of the Rajya Sabha)
▪ Member of Legislative Assembly: 135

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 • The nominated members were nominated by governor general from Anglo-Indian and Indian
Christians
• The members had a tenure of 3 years
(could be extended by Governor General)
▪ Member of the council of state:
• Only male members
• Tenure of 5 years (some seat vacant every
year)
• Member of the council of state
o Who could vote for these elections?
▪ Franchise was restricted:
Voters should have paid land revenue of Rs. 50 annually
OR
Have property worth Rs 180 rental
OR
Have been paying income tax (of rs 2000)
▪ Additionally, for council of state – Only titleholder, ex members of council and university senate were eligible
▪ No. of people who could vote: For lower house – 9 Lakh and for upper house – 17 Thousand
o Power of elected members:
▪ The legislators could ask questions and also vote a part of the Budget
▪ Only 25% of the budget was subject to vote
▪ A bill had to passed in both houses before it become a law
▪ There was three measures to resolve any deadlock between both the houses – joint committee, joint conference
and joint sitting
o Power of Governor general:
▪ The GG’s assent was required for any bill to become a law even if both houses have passed it
▪ He could enact a bill without the legislature’s consent
▪ He could prevent a bill from becoming law if he deems it as detrimental to the peace of country
▪ He could disallow any question, adjournment motion or debate in the house
• Indian council in London:
o There were to be at least 8 and a maximum of 12 members in the council
o Half of members should have 10 years of experience in public service in India
o Indian members in the council increased from 2 to 3
o It also created office of high commissioner for India (to act as the agent of GG of India in London) → he will be the
person to express views and information from GG to British parliament while SoS is responsible to British parliament,
he always ask GG for a particular change)
o The salary of SoS for India to be paid by Government of Britain now
• Other salient features:
o This act provided for the first time, the establishment of a public service commission in India
o The act also provided that after 10 years, a statutory commission would be set up to study the working of the government.
This resulted in Simon commission of 1927
• Merits of 1919 act:
o The GOI act 1919 marked the end of the policy of benevolent despotism, and thus began the genesis of responsible
government in India
o Dyarchy in provinces introduced the concept of responsible government
o It introduced the concept of federal structure with a unitary bias
o There was increased participation of Indian in administration. They held some portfolios
o For the first time, elections were known to the people and it created a political consciousness among the people
o Some Indian women also had the right to vote for the first time
• Limitation of act:
o This act extended and consolidated communal representation
o Franchise was very limited – only those people who had property, taxable income and paid high land revenues were
entitled to vote
o The GG and governors had a lot of power to undermine the legislature at the centre and provinces respectively
o Allocation of the seats for the central legislature was not based on population but the importance of the province in the
eyes of British
• India’s objection to Montagu-Chelmsford reforms:
o No specific time frame was given
o The government alone was to decide the nature and the timing of advance towards a responsible government
o The Indians were resentful that British would decide what was good and what was bad for Indians

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14.6 Khilafat Movement (1919-22):
• Chief cause → Defeat ottoman empire in the WW1, dethroning of the ottoman emperor who was the Khalifa of Islamic
world and harsh terms of the treaty of Sevres
• Treaty terms was felt by the Muslims as a great insult to them
• Whole movement was based on the Muslim belief that the Caliph (the sultan of turkey) was the religious head of the
Muslims all over the world
• Prominent leaders of this movement:
o Maulana Mohd. Ali and Sahukat Ali jauhar (Jauhar Brother)
o Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
o Mukhtar Ansari
o Saifuddin Kitchlew
• Subsequently, the Khilafat movement merged with Non-Corporation movement launched by MG in 1920
• Ultimately, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the office of Caliph
• He overthrows the ottoman rule to establish a pro-western, secular republic in Independent Turkey
# Non-Cooperation movement:
• Started by Gandhiji (not Congress) on 1st August 1920
• Aim:
o Swaraj
o Justice for Jalianwala Bagh Massacre
o Supporting Khilaafat Movement
• It was approved by INC at the Nagpur session in December 1920 *(amendment
in INC constitution → Congress working commission, state commission,
removed constitutional measure word, open membership)
• Special feature of NCM:
o Movement began with mahatma Gandhi renouncing the medals given by the
British
o Surrender of titles and honorary position along with resignation of membership from the local bodies
o Boycott of elections held under the provision of the 1919 act
o Legislatures were boycotted, no leader of the congress came forward to contest the elections for legislature
o Boycott of government function, courts, government schools and colleges
o Boycott of foreign goods popularizing Swadeshi goods and Khadi
o People were asked not to serve in the British army
o Establishment of national schools, colleges and private panchayat courts
• The movement was essentially a peaceful and non-violent protest against the British government in India
• It was also planned that if the above steps did not bring results, people would refuse to pay their taxes
• The INC also demanded Swaraj
• The non-cooperation movement was a decisive step in the independence movement because for the first time, the INC
was ready to forego constitutional means to achieve self-rule
• Gandhiji had assured that Swaraj would be achieved in a year if this movement was continued to completion
• Suspension of NCM:
o 5th Feb 1922 → Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, a violent mob set fire to a police station killing 22 policemen
during a clash between the police and protesters
o Gandhiji called off the movement on 12 February 1922 in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident
o Gandhiji said people were not ready for revolt against the government through Ahimsa
o A lot of leaders like Motilal Nehru and CR Das were against the suspension of the movement only due to sporadic
incident of violence
o Gandhiji jailed for 2 years after suspension
• Result and significance of NCM:
o Swaraj was not achieved in one year as Gandhiji had told
o However, it was truly a mass movement where lakhs of Indians participated in the open protest against the government
through peaceful means
o It shook the British government who were stunned by the extent of the movement
o It saw participation from both Hindus and Muslims thereby showcasing communal harmony
o The movement established the popularity of INC among the people
o As a result of this movement, people became conscious of their political rights. They were not afraid to the government
anymore\
o Hordes of people thronged to jail willingly
o Indian merchants and mill owners enjoyed good profits during this period as a result of the boycott of British goods
o The import of sugar from Britain reduced considerably during this period
o This movement also established Gandhi as a leader of the masses

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 Lec 15: National Movement IV (1922-1930)
15.1 Swarajists:
• Led by C R Das, Motilal Nehru and Ajmal Khan
• They wanted an end to the boycott of legislative council
• They wanted to ‘end or mend’ these councils – oppose the council if the government does not listen to their demands
• Their only intention was to use the councils as arena of political struggle
• Those advocating entry into legislative councils came to be known as Sawarajist
• No changer:
o The no-changer opposed council entry
o They advocated concentration on constructive work, and continuation of boycott and non-cooperation
o They also advocated quite preparation for resumption of the suspended civil disobedience programme
o This school of thought was led by Vallabh Bhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari and M.A. Ansari
o They came to be known as the ‘No-changers’
• Swaraj party:
o Gaya Session – Dec 1922 – The proposal of Swarajists to fight elections failed
o C R Das and Motilala Nehru resigned from presidency and secretary ship respectively of the congress
o They announced the formation of Congress Khilafat Swarajya Party
o C R Das was the president and Motilal Nehru was one of the secretaries
o Both sides wanted to avoid a 1907 type split
o Both sides also accepted the necessity of Gandhi’s leadership of a united nationalist front
o Hence, they decided to work as faction of INC itself and not a separate party
• The Swarajists were allowed to contest elections as a group within the Congress
• The swarajists accepted the congress programme with only one difference -that they would join legislative councils
• The Swarajists manifesto for election released in October 1923- Anti imperial tone
• In the November 1923 elections, the Swarajists had managed to win 42 out of 104 elected seats and a clear majority in
provincial assembly of central provinces
• Major achievement:
o Swarajist Vithalbhai became speaker of the CLA in 1925
o They gave fiery speeches in the Assembly on self-rule and civil liberties
o With coalition partners, they outvoted the Government several times, even on matters relating to budgetary grants and
passed adjournment motion
o The defeat of Public safety bill in 1928 –
▪ It was aimed at empowering the government to deport undesirable and subversive foreigners as the
government was alarmed by the spread to socialist and communist ideas and believed that a crucial role
was being played by the British
o Government appointed ‘Muddiman Committee’ to bring out the defects in the government of India act 1919 (Jinnah
was a member of this committee)
• Constructive work by no-changers:
o Ashrams sprang up where young men and women worked, among tribal and lower caste (especially in Kheda and
Bardoli areas of Gujarat)
o Popularised charkha and khadi
o National schools and colleges were set up
o Significant work was done for Hindu-muslim unity
o Removing untouchability, boycott of foreign cloth and liquor and for flood relief
o The constructive workers served as the backbone of civil disobedience as active organisers
• By 1925, the Swarajist position had weakened because of
o Widespread communal riots
o Split among swarajists themselves → Responsivist and non responsvist
o The death of C.R. Das in 1925
“In Madras province, a different Madras Province Swarajya Party was established in 1923 by S.Sathyamurthy and
S.Srinivasa Iyengar. This party later merged with congress in 1935, prior to the election by government of India act
1935”
15.2 Lord Irwin (1926-31):
• Appointment of Simon Commission in 1928
• Passing of the resolution for complete independence (Purna Swaraj) in 1929
• Launch of the civil disobedience movement
• First round table conference 1930
• Gandhi-Irwin pact in 1931

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15.3 Simon Commission:
• A seven member Indian statutory commission, popularly known as Simon
Commission (after the name of its chairman Sir John Simon)
• The commission was to recommend to the government whether India was
ready for further constitutional reforms and on what lines
• What angered the Indian most was the exclusion of Indians from the
commission, Indian were against the appointment of an All-white
Association
• The basic notion behind the exclusion was that foreigner would discuss and
decide upon India’s fitness for self-government
• The Congress session in Madras (December 1927) meeting under the
presidency of M A Ansari decided to boycott the commission “At every
stage and in every form”
• The commission landed in Bombay on February 3, 1928
• On that day, a countrywide hartal was organised and mass rallies held
• Wherever the commission went, there were black flag demonstrations, hartals and slogan of Simon go back
• At Lahore, student took out a large anti-Simon commission demonstration on 30 October 1928 under the leadership of
Lala Lajpat Rai. He was seriously injured in the police lathi charge and he passed away after few weeks
• Report of Simon commission was published in May 1930
• It stated that the constitutional experiment with Diarchy was unsuccessful
• In its place the report recommended the establishment of autonomous government
• This report also became the basis for enacting GOI 1935
• Birkenhead’s Challenge:
o On the protest and rejection of Simon commission by Indian politicians, Lord Birkenhead, the SoS for India, challenged
Indians to form their own constitution or framework for India’s political reforms, based on consensus from all
communities and political groups

15.4 Nehru Report:

• To answer to Birkenhead’s challenger, all parties conference led by INC met in February 1928
• They appointed a subcommittee under the chairmanship of Motilal Nehru to draft a constitution
• This was the first major attempt by Indians to draft a constitutional framework for the country
• The report was finalised by August 1928
• Major recommendation:
o Dominion status on lines of self-governing dominions within a year
o There should be federal form of government with residuary power vested in the centre
o Rejection of separate electorates
o Linguistic provinces
o 19 Fundamental rights including equal rights for women, right to form union and universal adult suffrage
o Full responsible government at the centre along with autonomy to the provinces
o Bicameral legislature
o Clear cut division of power between centre and provinces
o Full protection to cultural and religious interests of Muslims and Complete dissociation of state from religion
• Response
o Muslim league, Hindu Mahasabha and the Sikh communities were unhappy about the Nehru report
o The younger section of the Congress led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Bose were also angry over dominion status
o Instead, they demanded that Congress adopt Purna Swaraj or complete independence as its goal
o With few exceptions, Muslims league leader rejected the Nehru Proposals
o In reaction, Jinnah drafted his 14 points in 1929 which became the core demands of the Muslim community put forward
as the price of their participating in an independent united India
• League main objections:
o Separate electorates and weightage – the 1916 Congress-Muslims league agreement Lucknow pact provided these to
the Muslims community whereas they were rejected by the Nehru report
o Residuary powers: The Muslims realized that while they would be a majority in the provinces of the North-East and
North-west of India. Hence, they would control their provincial legislature, they would always be a minority at the
Centre. Thus, they demanded that residuary powers go to the province

15.5 Jinnah Fourteen points 1929:

• In the All parties meeting at Calcutta in December 1928, Jinnah moved certain amendments to Nehru report. But these
amendments were not accepted by Congress. So Jinnah et al refused to participate further in the conference
• A few day later, there was a Muslim All parties conference was held in Delhi, in which the Nationalist Muslims attended
and formulated a series of demands on behalf of Muslims of the country

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• It was made clear that no constitution, by whomsoever proposed or devised, would be acceptable to the Muslims of the
country, unless it conformed with those demands
• Points
o Form of constitution should be federal, with residuary power vested in the provinces
o A uniform measure of the autonomy shall be granted to all provinces
o All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principle of adequate and
effective representation of minorities in every province without reducing the majority in any province to minority or
even equality
o In the central legislative Muslim representation shall not be less than one third
o Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by separate electorates provided that it shall be open to any
community at any time to abandon its separate electorate in favour of the joint electorate
o Any terrestrial redistribution that might at any time be necessary shall not inn any way affect the Muslim majority in
Punjab, Bengal and NWF province
o Full religious liberty that is liberty of belief, worship and observance, propaganda, association and education shall be
guaranteed to all communities
o No bill or resolution or any part there of shall passed in any legislature or any other elected body if three fourth of
members of any community in that particular body oppose it being injurious to that of the community
o Sindh should be separated from Bombay presidency
o Reforms should be made in the NWF province and Baluchistan
o Provision should be made in constitution giving Muslims an adequate share along with the other Indians in all the
services of the state and local self-governing bodies having due regard to the requirement of efficiency
o The constitution should embody adequate safeguards to the protection of Muslim Culture, education, languages,
religion, personal laws and Muslim Charitable institutions. They should get their due share in grant-in-aid
o No cabinet, either central or provincial should be formed without there being at least one third of Muslims ministers
o No change shall be made in the constitution by central legislature except with the concurrence of the states constituting
Indian federation

15.6 Lahore Session in 1929

• Delhi Manifesto:
o On November 2, 1929 → A conference of prominent national leaders issued a “Delhi Manifesto” which demanded
▪ That the purpose of the round table conference, promised by lord Irwin should be to formulate a scheme for
implementation of the dominion status
▪ That the congress should have majority representation at the conference
▪ Amnesty and a general policy of conciliation
o Viceroy Irwin rejected these demands on December 23, 1929, which led to the demand of Purna Swaraj in Lahore
Session of INC
• Lahore Session:
o The following major decisions were taken at the Lahore Session of INC in December 1929
▪ The round table conference was to be boycott
▪ Complete independence (Purna Swaraj) declared as the aim of the congress
▪ CWC authorised to launch a programme of civil disobedience
▪ January 26, 1930 fixed as the first Independence Day, to be celebrated everywhere
o President: JL Nehru
o December 31, 1929 → At midnight on the banks of Ravi river, the newly adopted tricolour flag of freedom was hoisted
amidst slogans of Inquilab Zindabad
o On January 26, 1930 the declaration of Poorna Swaraj was publicly issued
o Nehru made an appeal to volunteers across the country to join CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE movement
o INC celebrated Independence Day every year on 26 January 1930

15.7 Civil disobedience movement (1930-1934)

• Gandhi was given opportunity to start the first act of civil disobedience by the INC
• To carry forward the mandate given by the Lahore congress, Gandhi presented eleven demands of government and gave
an ultimatum of January 1930 to accept or reject these demands
• 11 demands
o Reduced expenditure on Army and civil services by 50%
o Introduce total prohibition of alcohol
o Carry out reform in Criminal Investigation Department
o Change arm act allowing popular control of issue of firearms license

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 o Release political prisoners
o Accept postal reservation bill
o Reduce rupee- sterling exchange ratio
o Introduced textile protection
o Reserve coastal shipping for Indians
o Reduce land revenue by 50%
o Abolish salt tax and government’s salt monopoly
• Dandi March (March 12- April 6, 1930)
o Gandhi, along with 78 members of Sabarmati Ashram, was to march from his headquarters in Ahmedabad, through the
villages of Gujarat, towards Dandi
o A distance of 400km
o Gandhi would address thousands of people and attack the government in his
speeches everyday
o Gandhi talked to foreign journalists and wrote articles for newspaper on the way.
This pushed the Indian independence movement into forefront of world media.
Gandhiji became a household name in west
o Gandhi broke the salt law by picking up a handful of salt at Dandi on April 6,1930
o 50,000 people had joined him by then
o Why salt?
▪ Issue resonates with common man as everyone uses salt
▪ Making of salt from sea water → It is neutral right of persons living in coastal
areas
▪ Indian had been making salt from seawater free of cost until the passing of the
1882 salt act that gave the British monopoly over the production of salt and
authority to impose a salt tax.
▪ Salt tax was 8.2% of total revenue of government
▪ It was a criminal offence to violate the salt act.
o Gandhi gave the following directions for future action-
▪ Wherever possible civil disobedience of the salt law should be started
▪ Foreign liquor and cloth shops can be picketed
▪ Refuse to pay taxes
▪ Lawyers can give up practice
▪ Public can boycott law court by refraining from litigation
▪ Government servants can resign from their posts
▪ All these should be subject to one condition – Truth and non-violence as means to attain Swaraj should be faithfully
adhered to
▪ Spinning clothes by using Charkha
▪ Fighting untouchability
o Local leaders should be obeyed after Gandhi’s Arrest
• The spread of movement:
o Tamilnadu → Rajaji led salt march from trichirapally to vedaranniyam
o Kerala/Malabar → K Kelappan led a march from Calicut to poyannur
o Assam→ Sylhet to Noakhali march by volunteer
o Andhra Pradesh too saw marches to make salt
o Nehru arrested in April
o Gandhi arrested in May when he tried to lead a raid on Dharsana Salt Works
o Around 60,000 people were arrested by the government
o There was widespread civil disobedience carried on by the people. Apart from the salt tax, other unpopular tax laws
were being defied like the forest laws, chowkidar tax, land tax etc.
o The government tried to suppress the movement with more laws and censorships
o The congress party was declared illegal. But this did not deter the Satyagrahis who continued the movement
o There were some incidents of violence in Calcutta and Karachi but Gandhiji did not call off the movement
o Thousands of women also took part in Satyagraha
o Foreign clothes were boycotted. Liqueur shops were picketed. There were strikes all over
• Chittagong:
o Surya Sen’s Chittagong revolt group carried out a raid on two armouries
o Declared the establishment of a provisional government
• Peshawar:
o Led by Gandhian Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (also known as frontier gandhi)
o April 1930 he was arrested
o Khan’s followers (Khudai Khidmatgars) had gathered in a marketplace called Qissa Khwani Bazaar
o There they were fired upon by the British Indian Army despite being unarmed

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• Sholapur:
o This industrial town of southern Maharashtra was the fiercest response to Gandhiji’s arrest
o Textile workers went on a strike and along with other residents burnt liquor shops
o Destroyed symbols of government authority such as railway stations, police stations, municipal buildings, law courts
etc.
• Assam:
o A powerful agitation was organised against the infamous ‘Cunningham Circular’
o Cunningham circular forced parents, guardians, and students to furnish assurance of good behaviour
• Manipur and Nagaland:
o At the young age of thirteen, Rani Gaidinliu, a Naga, raised the banner of revolt against foreign rule
o She was captured in 1932 and sentenced to life imprisonment
• Impact of Agitation:
o Imports of foreign cloth and other items fell
o Government income from liquor excise and land revenue fell
o Elections to legislative assembly were largely boycotted
o The British government was shaken by the movement. Also, its non-violent nature made it difficult for them to supress
it violently
o This movement had three main effect:
▪ It pushed Indian freedom struggle into the limelight in western media
▪ It brought a lot of people including women and the depressed classes directly in touch with freedom movement
▪ It showed the power of the non-violent Satyagraha as a tool in fighting imperialism
▪ Every section of society as Students, Women, Tribal, merchant, and petty traders, workers and peasants took active
part in CDM
▪ Muslims participated but their participation was nowhere near the 1920-22 level because of appeals by Muslim
leaders to stay away from the movement – the active government encouragement to communal dissension was
working
o Lord Irwin called Gandhi and INC for talks finally in January 1931

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 Lec 16: National Movement V (1930-1935)
16.1 1st Round table conference:
• Round table conference (Gol Mez Sammelan):
o RTC (1930-32) were a series of meetings in three sessions called by
the British government to consider the future constitution of India
o The conference resulted from a review of the GoI act of 1919,
undertaken in 1927 by the Simon Commission, whose report was
published in 1930
o The conference was held in London
o The result of these deliberations was the GoI act 1935, establishing
provincial autonomy and also a federal system that was never
implemented
o Round table means all are equal and equally discussing with equal value
• First round table conference (November 1930-January 1931)
o Chaired by British PM Ramsay MacDonald
o Congress and most business leaders boycotted the first RTC
o Who attended?
▪ Muslims League
▪ Hindu Mahasabha
▪ Liberals
▪ Princes
o 16 delegates represented the three political parties of Britain
o 57 political leaders form India representing all shades of Indian opinion minus INC
o Major personalities:
▪ Muslim league: Jinnah, Muhammad Safi, Aga Khan, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, A.K. Fazlul
Haq
▪ Hindu Mahasabha: B.S. Moonje and M.R. Jayakar
▪ Indian Liberal party: Tej bahadur Sapru, C.Y. Chintamani
▪ Sikhs: Sardar Ujjawal singh
▪ Untouchable: B.R. Ambedkar
o Virtually every delegate reiterated that a constitutional discussion to which the congress was not a party was meaningless
o Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for depressed class
o First RTC = Failure/No result/ No outcome

16.2 Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931:

• On January 25, 1931 → Gandhi and all other member of CWC were
released from prison unconditionally
• The congress working committee authorised Gandhi to initiate
discussions with the viceroy
• On 8 March 1931, the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed after discussions
• Irwin agreed on:
o Immediate release of all political prisoners not convicted of violence
o Remission of all fines not yet collected
o Return of all lands not yet sold to third parties
o Lenient treatment to those government servants who had resigned
o Right to make salt in coastal villages for personal consumption
o Right to peaceful and non-aggressive picketing
o Withdrawal of emergency ordinance
• The viceroy turned down two of Gandhi’s demand:
o Public inquiry into police excesses
o Commutation of Bhagat Singh and his comrade’s death sentence to life sentence
• Gandhi on behalf of the congress agreed-
o To suspend the civil disobedience movement
o To participate in next RTC

16.3 Karachi congress session 1931:

• In March 1931, a special session of the congress was held at Karachi to endorse the Gandhi-Irwin or Delhi pact
• Presided by – Iron Man
• Two resolutions were adopted which made the session memorable:
o One fundamental right
o Other on National economic progamme

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• Resolution passed on -FR, Universal franchise, education, freedom of speech, press and economic policy
• This was the first time the congress spelt out what Swaraj would mean for masses
• The Karachi resolution formed the basic political and economic platform of the congress in later years
# Second round table conference:
• Congress had agreed to attend the 2nd RTC under Delhi pact
• MG participated in the conference as the sole representative of the INC but accompanied by Sarojini Naidu and also
Madan Mohan Malviya
• Gandhi claimed that the Congress alone represented political India; that the untouchables were Hindus and should not be
treated as minority. And that there should be no separate electorates or special safeguards for Muslims or other minorities
• These claims were rejected by other Indian participants: Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
• No agreement could be reached on the demand of complete independence and on the communal question – Gandhiji had
to return to India disappointed

16.4 Civil disobedience movement Phase II (1932-34):

• 1932 January: The civil disobedience movement was resumed as soon as Gandhiji left London
• Government arrested MG on arrival in India
• Sardar Patel was also arrested
• Government re-imposed the ban on the congress party

16.5 Communal Award / Macdonald Award:

• The communal award was announced by the British PM, Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August 1932
• This was yet another expression of British policy of divide and rule
• The Muslims, Sikhs and Christians had already been recognised as minorities
• The communal award declared the depressed classes also be minorities and entitled them to separate electorates
• Gandhi’s reaction:
o The effort to separate the depressed classes from the rest of Hindus by treating them as separate political entity was
vehemently opposed by all the nationalist
o Gandhi saw the communal award as an attack on Indian unity and nationalism
o Once the depressed classes were treated as a separate political entity, he argued, the struggle for abolishing
untouchability would get undermined
o He said that separate electorates would ensure that the untouchables remained untouchables in perpetuity
o He went on a fast until death in Yerwada Jail, Poona to protest the award

16.6 Poona pact:

• On 24th September 1932, an agreement was reached between Dr Ambedkar and Gandhi known as Poona pact
• Terms:
o Seat reserved for the depressed classes were increased from 71 to 148 in provincial legislature and 19% of the total in
the central
o In every province out the educational grant an adequate sum shall be earmarked for providing educational facilities to
the members of depressed classes
• The Poona Pact was accepted by the government as an amendment to the communal award
• Signed at Yerwada central jail in Poona, India and was signed by Madan Mohan Malaviya and Ambedkar

16.7 3rd Round table conference 1932:

• Only 46 delegates – least attendance in all three
• Congress did not take part in it – CDM was going on
• Labour party also did not attend
• In 1933, British government issued a White paper, which became the basis for the enactment of the government of India
act 1935
• In April 1934, Gandhi decided to withdraw the civil disobedience movement

16.8 Dr B R Ambedkar:
• He was a jurist, a statesman, a social reformer and a leader of the depressed leader
• He was born in Mahar Caste in MHOW in 1891
• He went for higher studies to England and America
• He was the first graduate of Mahar Caste
• He signed Poona Pact with Gandhi Ji in 1932
• From 1942 to 1946, he was in the executive council of the Governor General
• He organised the Indian labour party, scheduled caste federation and People’s education society
• He was chairman of the Drafting committee of our constitution

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• He also piloted the Hindu Code through the Indian legislature
• From 1947 to 1951 → he was a law minister in Nehru’s cabinet
• Towards the end of his life he embraced Buddhism
• He attended all 3 RTC

16.9 Government of India act 1935:

• Base:
o Report of the Simon commission
o Outcome of the Round table conference
o White paper issued by the British government in 1933
• Provisions:
o Provision for the establishment of an all India federation at the centre, consisting of the provinces of British India and
princely states
▪ Did not come into existence since the Princely states refused to give
o Division of powers into three lists:
▪ Federal List (59)
▪ Provincial list (54)
▪ Concurrent list (36)
o Introduction of Diarchy at the centre
▪ The governors-general and his councillors administered the “Reserved subjects”. The council of minister were
responsible for the transferred list
▪ Abolition of diarchy in provinces with provincial autonomy
▪ Provincial legislature of Bengal, Madras, Bombay, united provinces, Bihar and Assam were made bicameral (6
out of 11)
• But
o The working of the provincial autonomy was not successful
o The governors were not bound to accept the advice of the ministers
o In reality, the real power in the provincial government was with the Governor
▪ Despite of these drawbacks in the scheme, the congress decided to take part in the election of the provincial
legislatures with the consideration that it was an improvement over the previous acts
▪ In 1937 – Congress win 7 provinces
• Extension of principle of separate electorates to:
o Sikhs, Europeans, Indian Christians, Anglo Indian
• Establishment of a federal court at Delhi with a chief Justice and 6 Judges
• Establishment of RBI in the year 1935 (recommended by Hilton-Young commission)
• Separation of Burma from India
# Lord Willingdon (1931-1936):
• The second RTC 1931
• Restarting of Disobedience movement 1932
• The communal award 1932 and Poona act
• Third RTC 1932
• GoI 1935

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 Lec 17 National Movement VI
17.1 1937 Elections:
• Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of
1936-37 as mandated by Government of India Act 1935
• Elections were held 11 provinces – Madras, Central provinces,
Bihar, Orissa, United provinces, Bombay presidency, Assam,
NWFP, Bengal, Punjab and Sindh
• The Indian national congress emerged in power inn 8 of the
provinces – three exceptions being Bengal, Punjab, and Sindh
• 707/1585 seats
• The All- India Muslim league failed to form the government in any
province
• The Congress ministries resigned in October and November 1939,
in protest against viceroy Lord Linlithgow’s action of declaring
India to be belligerent in Second World war

17.2 Subhash Chandra Bose:

• Popularly known as Netaji, was born on Jan 23, 1897 at Cuttack
• He passed the Indian civil services examination in 1920, but left it on the Gandhiji’s call of Non-cooperation movement
• He founded the independence for India league with J L Nehru
• 1938- President of the INC at its Haripura session
• 1939- President of its Tripuri (Jabalpur) session
• But he had to resign from presidency at Tripuri session due to differences with Gandhiji
• He founded the forward block in 1939
• 1941, he escaped to Berlin and met Hitler
• In 1943, he took charge of Indian National Army in Singapore and set up the Indian provisional government there
• He gave the war cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’
• He addressed Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nations
• He gave the slogan of ‘Jai Hind’
• He wrote his autobiography ‘The Indian struggle’
• Died in a plane crash on August 18, 1945
# Some important INC sessions:
• February 1938 – Haripura – President- SC Bose
• March 1939, Tripuri – President – SC Bose* (Rajendra Prasad)
• 1940 Ramgarh – President – Abul Kalam Azad (till 1946)
• 1946 – Meerut – President- Achraya JB Kriplani (last session before independence of India)
• 1948 and 1949 Jaipur- President – Dr Pattabhi Sitaramayya (first session after the independence of India)

17.3 Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944)

• Longest reign as Viceroy of India
• Beginning of the second world war
• Government of India Act 1935
• Arrival of Cripps mission
• Beginning of the Quit Indian Movement
• Great famine of Bengal (1943) → It is artificial famine as
rice was taken by Britain for their soldier and create famine
condition in India
17.4 Demand for Pakistan:
• Allama Muhammad Iqbal had initially suggested the
creation of a Separate homeland for the Muslims in India
• In the third RTC, a Cambridge student Chaudhary Rehmat
Ali coined the term Pakistan
• He published a pamphlet ‘Now or never’ which is called
‘Pakistan Declaration’
“At this solemn hour in the history of India, when
British and Indian statesmen are lying the foundation
of a federal constitution for that land, we address this
appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, on

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 behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in Pakistan0 by which we mean the five Northern units of
India→ Punjab, North west frontier province, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan”
• Pirpur Committee:
o Was established in November 1931 by League
o To prepare detail report regarding the atrocities of the Congress ministries (1937-1939)
o It reports charged the congress for interference with religious rites, suppression of Urdu and propaganda of Hindi, denial
of legitimate representation and suppression in economy of the Muslims
• Lahore session March 20, 1940:
o The areas in which Muslims are numerically in majority, as in North0western and eastern zones of India, should be
grouped to constitute the independent states in which the constituent units would be autonomous and sovereign
o In this session Jinnah in his Presidential address gave the famous 2 nation theory
o But the rem Pakistan was not used in this session
o This idea took firm shape only in 1946
o Gandhi rejected the two-nation theory and said – My whole soul rebels

17.5 Outbreak of World War II:

• On 1st September 1939 → War broke out
• The British government without consulting the people of India involved the country in the war
• The Congress vehemently opposed it
• As a mark of protest the congress ministries resigned in all seven provinces
• Jinnah put out an appeal, calling the Indian Muslims to celebrate 22 December 1939 as a “Day of Deliverance” from
congress
• In March 1940 the Muslims league officially demanded the creation of Pakistan at its Lahore session

17.6 August Offer:

• To secure the cooperation of the Indians during world war II, the British government made an announcement on 8 August
1940, which came to be known as August Offer
• IT proposed:
o Dominion status as the objective for India
o Expansion of viceroy’s executive council
o Setting up of a constituent assembly after the war consisting of Indians to decide their constitution according to their
social, economic and political conceptions
o Fulfilment of the obligation of the government regarding defence, minority rights, treaties with states and all India
services
o No future constitution to be adopted without the consent of minorities
o Establishment of War advisory council and Indian will also be added
• INC- rejected because dominion not acceptable
• AIML- rejected because no partition proposed

17.7 Individual satyagraha:

• Gandhi launched individual satyagraha against involving Indians in second world war
• It was limited, symbolic and non-violent in nature
• It was left to MG to choose the Satyagrahis
• Aim:
o To show that nationalist patience was not due to weakness
o To express people’s feeling that they were not interested in the war
o To give another opportunity to the government to accept Congress demand peacefully
o Demand of Satyagrahi would be freedom of speech to protest against participation in war
o Satyagraha also called for March toward Delhi, which came to know as Delhi Chalo movement
• Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the 1st to offer Satyagraha
• Jawaharlal Nehru was 2nd
• The individual Satyagraha continued for few months
• Suspended because little enthusiasm

17.8 Cripps Mission:

• Background:
o After attack on pearl harbour in Hawai, USA also joined WW II to allied side.
The attack had resulted in heavy damage to US forces
o Singapore, a very important colony and a naval base of Britain in Asia, fells to
Japanese in Feb 1942

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 o Capturing of most of the islands in Pacific Ocean and south china sea, USA warns the Britain to protect India is
strategically very important
o In March 1942, a mission headed by Sir Stanford Cripps (cabinet minister) was sent to India to seek Indian support for
the war
• Main Proposal:
o An Indian Union with a Dominion Status would be set up
o It would be free to decide its relationship with the commonwealth and free to participate in the United Nations and other
international bodies
o After the end of the war, a constituent assembly would be convened to frame a new constitution
o Members would be partly elected by provincial assemblies through proportional representation and partly nominated
by the Princes
o The British Government would accept the new constitution subject to two condition:
▪ Any province not willing to join the union could have a separate constitution and form a separate union
▪ The new constitution making body and the British government would negotiate a treaty to effect the transfer of
power and to safeguard racial and religious minorities
o In the meantime, defence of India would remain in British Hands and the governor general’s power would remain intact
• Objection of INC leaders to the proposal:
o The offer of dominion status
o Representation of the states by nominees and not by elected representative
o Right to provinces to secede
o Absence of anu plan for immediate transfer and power
o Absence of any real share in defence
o The governor general’s supremacy had been retained
“Gandhi called Cripps proposal as a Post-dated cheque of a failing bank”
• The Muslim league objection:
o Criticized the idea of a single Indian Union
o Did not like the machinery for the creation of a constituent assembly
o Thought that the proposals denied to the Muslims the right to self-determination and the creation of Pakistan

17.9 Quit India Movement (1942-44):

• In the Bombay session of INC 1942→ framed a resolution with following key provisions:
o An immediate end to British rule in India
o Commitment of free India to defend itself against all type of fascism and imperialism
o A provisional government of India after British withdrawal
• 8th August 1942- Bombay
• Gandhi’s Speech – Do or Die
• 9th August – Operation Zero hour launched by British government to arrest congress’s leaders
• Leaders:
o Aruna asaf Ali
o Ram Manohar Lohiya
o Usha Mehta
o Biju Patnaik
o Suchita Kriplani
o Jai Prakash Narayan
• Importance -Final attempt for country’s freedom:
o Large number of students left their schools and colleges to join movement
o Youth of the nation participated in this movement with patriotism
o British government ordered firing on the protestor:
▪ At least 7000 people were killed, 1 lakh were jailed
o Paved the way for India’s freedom and aroused among Indians the feeling of bravery, enthusiasm and total sacrifice
o There were no communal clashes during the movement
o The movement established the truth that it was no longer possible to rule India without the wished of Indians
• Chittu Pandey – Ballia – declared themselves as independent government

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17.10 Indian national army:

• Background:
o Japanese extended their expansion in south Asian European colonies
o Many Indians went in these regions to fight Japanese on behalf of British army
o They become prisoners of war (POW)
• The idea of Indian national army was first conceived in Malaya
by Mohan Singh, an Indian officer of the British Indian Army,
when he decided not to join the retreating British army and
instead turned to the Japanese for help
• The Japanese handed over the Indian prisoners of war to Mohan
Singh who tried to recruit them into an INA
• Rash Behari Bose was in japan also joins with Mohan Singh
• In 1942, After fall of Singapore, Mohan Singh further got 45,000
POWs into his sphere of influence
• 2 July 1943 → Subhash Chandra Bose reached Singapore and
gave the rousing war cry of Dilli Chalo
• Bose was made the president of Indian independence league and soon became the supreme commander of INA
• Here he gave the slogan of Jai Hind
• INA’s three Brigades were Subhas Brigades, Gandhi Brigades
and Nehru Brigades
• The woman’s wing of army was named after Rani Laxmibai
(under Capt. Laxmi Sehgal)
• INA marched towards Imphal after registering its victory over
Kohima but after Japan’s surrender in 1945, INA failed in its
effort
• Under such circumstances, Subhash went to Taiwan and further
on his way to Tokyo. He died on 18 August 1945 in a plane crash
• Trial of the Soldiers of INA was held at Red Fort in Delhi
• Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Kailash Nath Katju,
Asaf Ali and Tej Bahadur Sapru fought the case on behalf of the
soldiers.
• Famous case: Colonel Prem Sahgal, major general Sah Nawaz khan and Colonel Guru Baksh Singh
• Due to mutiny in navy and pressure from people, INA soldier’s sentence were commuted → No or less punishment

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 Lec 18: National Movement VII (1944-1947)
18.1 C. Rajagopalachari Formula:
• Background:
o Gandhiji and INC were held responsible for the violence during Quit India Movement
o Gandhiji said British government is responsible and asked for judiciary inquiry
o He protested and even went on fast in jail
o Ultimately, released from Jail in May 1994 after worsening health
o But now deadlock happened between ML and INC regarding division and independence
• The formula:
o ML to endorse congress demand for independence
o League to cooperate with Congress in forming a provisional government at centre
o After the war, the entire population of Muslim majority areas in the North-west and the North east India to decided by
a plebiscite, whether or not to form a separate sovereign state
o In case of acceptance of partition, agreement to be made jointly for safeguarding defence, commerce, communication
etc.
o The above terms to be operative only if England transferred full powers to India
▪ It was a tacit acceptance of League’s demand for Pakistan
▪ Hindu leaders led by Vir Savarkar (of Hindu Mahasabha) condemned the CR Plan
o CR formula was used as a basis of Gandhi-Jinnah talks
o Gandhi and Jinnah met in September 1944
o In these talks, Gandhi proposed that only Muslims living in Baluchistan, Sindh, N.W.F.P. and parts of the Punjab,
Bengal and Assam, who desired to lives in separation from the rest of India, should form the new state
o But on this, Jinnah insisted that Pakistan should include all the six provinces resolution of the Muslim legue in 1940
• Jinnah’s Objection:
o He wanted only the Muslims of North west and north east to vote in plebiscite and not the entire population
o He also opposed the idea of a common centre
18.2 Desai-Liaqat Pact (January 1945)
• Bhulabhai Desai, leader of the congress with Liaqat ali khan, leader of the muslim drafted a proposal for the formation of
an interim government at the centre, consisting of
o An equal number of persons nominated by the congress and league in the central legislature
o 20% reserved seats for minorities
o No settlement could be reached between the congress and the league officially on these lines – Failed
18.3 Wavell Plan:
• A conference was convened by the Viceory -Lord Wavell at Shimla on
25th June 1945
• Aimed to reconstruct the governor general’s executive council pending
the preparation of new constitution
• Representative of all groups participated
• The Vicount Wavell – October 1943- 21 February 1947
• Main Proposals:
o Except for the governor-general and the commander-in-chief, all
members of the executive council were to be Indians
o Hindus and Muslims were to have equal representation in executive
council
o The reconstructed council was to function as an interim government within the framework of the 1935 act (i.e. not
responsible to the central assembly)
o Governor-general was to exercise his veto on the advice of ministers
o Representatives of different parties were, to submit a joint list to the viceroy for nominations to the executive council
o If a joint list was not possible, then separate lists were to be submitted
• Jinnah said that only muslim league has right to represent Muslims of India and Congress or any other non-league entity
does not represent Muslims
• Congress had no right to nominate any Muslims in executive council
• He also demanded that in case of the division of votes and objection by the Muslims members, there should be a provision
that vote is cleared only by 2/3rd of Majority
• Veto given to Muslims members of executive council
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad firmly opposed the plan -
“INC would be betraying its Muslim supporter if this plan is adopted”
• Wavell plan created two platforms → It made Muslim league representative of Muslims in India. Jinnah’s status was
raised to equal of Gandhi and two representatives were created for the first time – one for India and the other for Pakistan

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18.4 Royal Indian Navy – February 1946:
• On February 18, 1946, a section of non-commissioned officers and sailors known as Ratings, serving in the royal Indian
navy, mutinied against the British officers
• The mutiny started as a strike by the rating to protest against the hardships regarding pay, food and racial discrimination
• INA trials were also running
• Navel central strike committee was created by the ratings- presided by Signalman M.S. Khan and Vice President was
Petty officer Telegraphists Madan Singh
• Violence broke our in Mumbai and spread to all other naval bases and over 200 people lost lives
• The munity made an impression on the British, that it would be better to leave the country
• Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel negotiated between mutineers and British

18.5 Cabinet Mission (1946):

• On 15 March 1946, Clement Atlee (PM of England) made a historic announcement in which the right to self-determination
and the framing of a constitution for India were conceded
• Consequently, 3 members of the British Cabinet were sent to India, known as the cabinet mission:
o Pethick Lawrence – Secretary of state for India
o Sir Stafford Cripps – President of the board of trade
o A V Alexander – First lord of admiralty (political head of royal navy)
• The mission arrived on March 24, 1946 to devise a machinery to draw a machinery to draw up the constitution of
independent India and make arrangement for interim government
• The mission spent 3 weeks to discuss with the leaders of various political parties, but could not arrive at any agreed
solution
• So finally, it announced its own recommendations on May 16, 1946
• Main features of Cabinet mission were-
o Proposed setting up an Interim government
o Proposed the formation of a Union of India
o Union would remain in charge of only foreign affairs, defence, and communication
o The residuary powers to be vested in the provinces (weak centre and strong province government)
o Provisions of three groups of provinces to possess their separate constitutions
o Rejection of the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan
o initially, both Muslims league and INC accepted the plan
• Congress accepted the idea of constituent assembly but rejected the scheme of the government having weak centre and
strong provinces. Also, rejected division in 3 types od provinces
o Hindu Majority provinces
o Muslims Majority provinces
o Mixed population
• Consequently, elections were held in July 1946 for the formation of a constituent assembly
• Congress secured 205 out of 214 General seats
• The Muslim league got 73 out of 78 Muslim seats
• The Muslim league first approved the Cabinet mission plan
• But when INC declared that it would change the scheme (of weak centre) through its majority in the constituent assembly,
they rejected the plan
• On July 27, the Muslim league council met at Bombay where Jinnah reiterated the demand for Pakistan as the only course
left open to Muslim league. Jinnah called the Muslims to resort to “Direct action” to achieve the land of their dream
Pakistan

18.6 Direct action day 16 August 1946:

• Direct action day by Muslim league to show the strength of Muslims feeling both to British and Congress
• In Calcutta, the communal tension was whipped up by both Hindu and Muslim newspaper.
• The Muslims announced a strike on that day while Hindus asked them shopkeeper to keep shops open
• The result was great Calcutta killing in which 6000 Hindus and Muslims butchered each other and 20,000 others were
maimed, raped and violated
• Riots soon spread to all parts of North Indian and it turned into a civil war between Hindus and Muslims
• Amidst this situation of Chaos and insanity, MG went to calm down the situation
# Interim government of India – 2nd September 1946:
S.No. Members Department/ Portfolio Held
1. Jawahar Lal Nehru External affairs and commonwealth
relation
2. Sardar Vallabhbhai Home, Information and broadc
Patel
3. Dr Rajendra Prasad Food and agriculture
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 4. Dr John Mathai Industries and supplies
5. Jagjivan Ram Labour
6. Sardar Baldev Singh Defence
7. C.H. Bhabha Works, Mines and Power
8. Liaquat Ali Khan Finance
9. Abdur Rab Nishtar Posts and air
10. Asaf Ali Railways and transport
11. C. Rajagopalachari Educations and art
12. I.I. Chundrigar Commerce
13. Ghaznafar Ali Khan Health
14. Joginder nath Mandal Law
• Atlee’s Declaration – February 20, 1947:
o The PM of Britain, Clement Atlee declared on February 20, 1947 in the House of Common that the British would quit
India after transferring power into responsible hand not later than June 1948
o The idea was that the Indians should settle their issues before that
o He also announced the appointment of Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy in place of Lord Wavell
• Plan Balkar/ Dickie Bird Plan:
o Between March and May of 1947 → Mountbatten decided that the cabinet mission plan bad become untenable and
formulated an alternative plan
o This plan envisaged the transfer of Power to separate provinces
o Punjab and Bengal were given the opinion to vote for partition of their provinces
o The various units thus formed along with the Princely states would have the option of joining India or Pakistan or
remaining separate
o The plan was quickly abandoned after Nehru reacted violently to it

18.7 Mountbatten Plan:

• June 1947
• Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan appeared inevitable to Mountbatten
• PM Atlee announced the Partition plan or June 3 plan in the house of common
• The plan laid down the following provision:
o India to be divided into India and Pakistan
o Bengal and Punjab will be partitioned- The provincial legislative assemblies of Bengal and Punjab would meet in two
part separately, one representing Muslim Majority district and another representing the Hindu Majority districts to
decide by the vote on Partition
o In case of Sind and Baluchistan, the provincial assemblies would take the decision
o In case of NWFP, the decision had to be taken on the basis of referendum
o A referendum was to be organised in Sylhet region of Assam which was Muslim majority
o There would be a separate constituent Assembly for Pakistan to frame its constitution
o The Princely states would enjoy the liberty to join either India or Pakistan or ever remain independent
o August 15, 1947, was the date fixed for handling over power to India and Pakistan

18.8 Indian Independence act 1947:

• British government accorded formal approval to Mountbatten Plan by enacting the Indian Independence act on 18 July
1947
• The salient features of this act:
o Partition of the Country into India and Pakistan would come into effect from 15 August 1947
o British government would transfer all powers to these dominions
o A boundary commission would demarcate the boundaries of provinces of Punjab and Bengal
• Act provided for the transfer of power of the constituent assemblies of the two dominions to frame their respective
constitutions
• Radcliffe Boundary commission drew the boundary line separating India and Pakistan
• On 15th August 1947 India, and on 14th August 1947 Pakistan came into existence as two independent states
• Lord Mountbatten was made the first governor general of Independent India
• Mohd. Ali Jinnah became the first governor general of Pakistan (head of state- British Monarch till 1956)
• At the time of Independence, there were 562 Small and big princely states in India
• Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first home minister, used the iron hand in this regard
• By August 15, 1947 all the states, with few exceptions like Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh had signed the
instrument of accession

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74
 Lec 19 Women’s Movement in India
# Issue plaguing women in Indian society in 19th century:
• Women’s Inferior status
• Enforced seclusion
• Early marriage
• Condition of Widows
• Lack of education
# Background:
• The roots of the Indian women’s movement go back to the 19 th century male social reformers who took up issues
concerning women and started women’s organisation
• Women started forming their own organisation from the end of the 19 th century first at the local and then at the national
level
• In the years before independence, the two main issues they took up were political rights and reform of personal law
• In post-independence India, large number of women’s autonomous groups have sprung up challenging patriarchy and
taking up a variety of issues such as violence against women, greater share of women in political decision making
• India has a rich and vibrant women’s movement but ir has still a long was to go to achieve gender equality and gender
justice
# Women’s organisation started by Men:
• Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), began to focus on issues concerning women
• Roy condemned sati, kulin polygamy and spoke in favour of women’s property rights
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is more often remembered for widow remarriage efforts
• Keshab Chandra sen of Brahmo Samaj leader, started a woman’s journal, held prayer meetings for women and developed
educational programmes
• The Prathna Samaj in Maharashtra and Gujarat did similar work
• Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar, Madhav Govind Ranade and R.G. Bhanderkar in Pune and Mahipatram Rupram Nilkanth
and his association in Ahmedabad started organisations for prohibition of child marriage, for widow remarriage and for
women’s education
• Truly liberating?
o The male-inspired and male guided organisations for women did valuable work in educating women and giving them
their first experience with public work
o While men wanted their women to be educated and take part in public activities, they regarded the home as primary
focus for women
# Women’s organisations started by Women:
• Swarna Kumari Devi:
o Sister of Poet Rabindranath Tagore formed the ladies society in Calcutta in 1882 for educating and imparting skills to
widows
o She edited a women journal → Bharati, thus earning herself the distinction of being the first Indian woman editor
• Ramabai Sarawati:
o Formed Arya Mahila Samaj in Pune and a few year later started the Sharda Sadan in Bombay
• Bharat Mahila Parishad was the women’s wing of national conference (part of INC) and was inaugurated in 1905
o It focused on child marriage, condition of widows, dowry and other “Evil” customs
• Bharat Stree Mandal:
o The early women’s organisation had been confined to a locality of city
o In 1910, Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, daughter of Swarna Kumari Devi
o Objective of bringing together “Women of all castes, creeds, classes and parties”
o Branches were started in different cities
o Main Target → Purdah partha
o However proved to be a short lived venture
# Movement for political rights for women:
• Between 1917 and 1945, there were two main issues that the women’s movement took up-
o Political rights for women
o Reform of personal laws
• Women’s Indian Association:
o WIA was formed in 1917 by Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins and Dorothy Jinarajadasa, all three Irish women
theosophists
o Malati Patwardhan, Annu Swaminathan, Mrs. Dadabhoy and Mrs. Ambujammal
o WIA was in a sense the first all India women’s association with the clear objective of securing voting rights for women
o Memorandum demanding votes for women on the same terms as Men which would enable them to have a say in political
matters was submitted to Montague and Chelmsford
o Demand such as for education, training in skills, local self-government, social welfare

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• Political visibility:
o The INC at its session in Calcutta in 1917, over which Annie Besant presided, supported the demand of votes for women
and so did the Muslim league
o A women’s delegation led by Sarojini Naidu met the secretary of state and the Viceroy to plead their case personally
o Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant went to England to present evidence for women’s voting rights before the joint
parliamentary committee
o The joint parliamentary committee of parliament finally agreed to remove the sex disqualification but left it to the
provincial legislatures to deice how and when to do so
o Travancore-Cochin, a princely state, was the first to give voting rights to women in 1920
o Followed by Madras and Bombay in 1921
o Other states followed
o Franchise was extremely limited
o Women could vote only if they possessed qualification of wifehood, property and education
o In 1926, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya stood for the Madras Legislative council election from Mangalore but was
defeated by a narrow margin
o The madras government nominated Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, a noted social worker and medical doctor, to the
legislative council where she took up the women’s cause
• The road to Universal Adult Franchise:
o The All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) was founded in 1927 by Margaret cousins
o To improve educational efforts for women and children
o First session in pune that was a great success
o AIWC prepared a Memorandum to be submitted to the franchise committee of the Second RTC demanding Universal
Adult Franchise, mixed general electorate and no reservation of seats for women
o The GoI 1935 increased the number of enfranchised women and removed some of the previous qualification
o All women over 21 could vote property and education
o Women had to wait till after independence to get universal adult franchise
• Reform of personal laws:
o AIWC’s initial concern was with education but it realised that girls did not go to school because Purdah, Child marriage,
and other social custom
o It therefore took up these issues
o It waged a vigorous campaign for raising the age of marriage which led to the passing of Sarda Act 1929 (fixed age as
14 and 18)
o Note- Named after Harbilas Sarda, who brought the bill on Legislative council
o AIWC took up the cause of personal law
o As there was some opposition to a common civil law, it demanded reform of Hindu laws to prohibit bigamy, provide
the right to divorce and for women to inherit property
# Women in National Movement:
• Women had been associated with freedom struggle since initial stages in limited roles
• They had attended sessions of INC and taken part in Swadeshi movement in Bengal, 1905-11 and in home rule movement
• But the involvement of really large number of women in national movement began when Gandhi launched the first non-
cooperation movement and gave a special role to women
• They held meetings, organized processions, picketed shops, selling foreign cloth and liquor and went to jail
• Peasant women played an important role in rural satyagrahis of Borsad and Bardoli
• Women participated in Salt Satyagraha, civil disobedience, quit India movement and in all the Gandhians Satyagrahis
• Women’s participation in the freedom movement did not lead to a separate autonomous women’s movement since it was
part of the anti-colonial movement
• While women who picketed shops, marched in processions or went to jail or threw bombs did not question male leadership
or patriarchal values, it did generate in them a sense of self confidence and a realisation of their own strength
• Many returned to their homes but others continued their activities in the public arena
# Women in Labour movement:
• In 1917, Anasuya Sarabhai had led the Ahmedabad textile worker’s strike and in 1920 under hear leadership the majoor
Mahajan, the Ahmedabad textile mill workers union was established
• Maniben kara emerged as the socialist leader of railway workers
• Ushabai Dange and Parvati Bhore as Communist leaders of textile workers
• In 1928-29 Bombay and Calcutta textile mill worker’s strike, women played a leading role
# future:
• In 1938, INC set up national planning commission under the chairmanship of JL Nehru
• One of 29 Sub committees established was on Women’s role in planned economy
• Prominent women organization and women Congress leaders were member of this committee
# Post independence:
• Free India’s constitution gave universal adult franchise and by the mod fifties has liberal laws concerning women

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• Some of the women leaders now formally joined the INC and held positions of power as Ministers, Governors and
Ambassadors
• Most of demands of women’s movement had been met and there seemed few issues led to organized around
• Women’s organisations now saw the problem as one of implementation and consequently there was a lull in the women’s
movement
• Sewa:
o Self-employed women’s association at the initiative of Ela Bhat in 1972
o Location – Ahmedabad
o First attempt at a women’s trade union
o Aim to improve the condition of poor women who worked in the unorganised sector by providing training, technical
aids and collective bargaining
• The 1970s and 1980s witnessed the growth of numerous women’s group that took up issues such as dowry deaths, bride
burning, rape, sati and focused on violence against women
• Chipko Andolan was led by women

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 Lec 20 Women in India’s Freedom struggle
• Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi:
o Manikarnika Tambe
o Opposed the annexation of Jhansi – Doctrine of Lapse
o In 1858 (the great revolt), she fought at Jhansi and Gwalior against English forces
along with Tatya Tope
o Died fighting at Gwalior
o The Rani of Jhansi regiment- INA

• Aruna Asaf Ali 1909-1996:

o Breaking social conventions, she married a Muslim congress leader
o Went to prison during civil disobedience movement and individual Satyagraha
o Hoisted the tricolour at Gowalia Tank Maidan, Bombay after senior leader’s arrest
on declaration of Quit India Movement
o Editors of ‘Inqilab’ a monthly journal of congress

• Begum Safia Abdul Wajid

o She belonged to a rich Muslim family
o Post-graduate from Allahabad University
o Lost government lecturer job because of her participation in Quit India Movement

• Madam Bhikaji Cama:

o Influenced by Dada Bhai Naoroji and Sk Verma
o She worked to spread awareness about India cause in UK and France
o Ran a newsletter “Bande Mataram”
o Organisation – Free Indian society, Paris Indian society
o Unfurled first national flag of India at the 2nd Socialist international 1907 in Germany
• Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949):
o One of the first women to participate in freedom struggle
o Her mentor was G.K. Gokhale
o Participated in all programs of Gandhi including Dandi march
o Served as first Indian woman president of INC 1925 Kanpur
o Accompanied Gandhi to 2nd RTC
o First woman to become governor in independent India
o Her daughter Padmaja Naidu, 21, was arrested for quit India movement

• Jyotirmoyee Ganguli
o Left government during CDM
o Took part in the anti-British demonstration during CDM, QIM
o Demanded the release of jailed INA soldiers
o Killed by Police action during one of protests in 1945

• Rani Gaidinliu 1915-93

o Naga Tribal, was a Naga spiritual and political leader
o Heraka Cult- to revive old Naga practices
o Organised rebellion to overthrow British from Manipur and establish the self rule of
Naga
o Guerrilla War
o Arrested in 1932 at 16 years of age and jailed for 14 years
o She was freed after independence
o Given title Rani of Nagas by Nehru

• Durgabai Deshmukh (1909-1981)

o She left her school in protest against English language imposition
o Satrted Balika Hindi Pathshala in Rajamundhry
o Graduated as a Lawyer and practiced in madras High court
o Jailed for Salt Satyagraha
o Founded Andhra Mahila Sabha for welfare of women
o Member of constituent assembly

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• Kasturba Gandhi (1869-1944)
o Took part in all the programs of Gandhiji
o Champaran and Borsad satyagraha
o Jailed during Quit India movement and died at Aga Khan palace in Poona where she
was held prisioner

• Matangini Hajra (1870-1942)

o Born in a poor peasant family of Bengal, became a young widow
o Took part in Dandi march
o Known as Old lady Gandhi
o Campaigned for non-payment of Chowkidari tax – Arrested
o During Quit India movement, she was leading a protest and trying to capture the local
police station to hoist national flag
o She was killed in Police firing
• Vijay Laxmi Pandit (1900-1990)
o Daughter of Motilal Nehru
o Jailed thrice during CDM
o Member of constituent assembly
o First woman president of the united nation general assembly
o Served as diplomat for India
• Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)
o Founded ‘Bal Charkha Sangh’ as a child
o In 1930 – ‘Vanar Sena’ a children group to help the congress party during CDM
o She was imprisoned in September 1942 during QIM
o Worked in riot-affected areas of Delhi in 1947 under Gandhi’s guidance
• Kamala Nehru
o Organised women’s marches during non-cooperation movement in Allahabad
o Arrested twice
o Started a dispensary to treat wounded freedom fighter

• Sister Nivedita
o Irish lady named Miss Margaret Nobel
o Arrived in India in January 1898
o She propagated the cause of India throughout America and Europe
o She attended the Benares Congress Session in 1905 and supported Swadeshi
movement

• Annie Besant
o Born Irish
o Staunch supporter of India’s struggle for freedom
o She founded the home rule league in madras in 1916
o She also founded theosophical society in India
o President (first woman president) of INC- Calcutta in 1917
o Edited ‘New India’ and ‘Commonwealth’
• Rajkumari Amrita Kaur (1889-1964)
o Royal family from Punjab, graduated from England
o Influenced by Gandhi
o She co-founded the all India women’s conference in 1927
o Jailed during dandi march and QIM
o Worked to reduce illiteracy, eradicate child marriages and Purdah system for women
o First women cabinet minister of India – health
o AIIMS set up due to her efforts
• Rehana Tybjee
o Born in an affluent family – her father was a judge
o Influence by gandhi, she joined Sabarmati Ashram
o Took part in NCM, CDM and QIM
o Opposed untouchability and child marriage
o President of youth congress
o Jailed for QIM

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 o First Muslim lady to sing Vandemataram in Congress session
• Captain Laxmi Sehgal (1914-2012)
o She was a Doctor by profession working un Chennai and Singapore
o Captain of all-women regiment in INA
o Led the troops un Burma during WW2, but arrested by the British army

• Kalpana Dutta
o Revolutionary from Chittagong, Bengal
o Part of Surya sen’s Indian republican army
o Caught and sentenced for life, later released

• Nonibala Devi (1888-1967)

o Born in Brahmin family, she was widowed at the age of 16
o Joined Jungatar Party -associated with revolutionary movement
o Arrested for transporting weapons and ammunition in Peshawar
o Was the first and only woman to be tortured by police under an old 1818 law
o Calcutta’s jail first women prisoner

• Preetilata Waddedar
o Part of Chittagong revolutionaries of Surya Sen
o Organised attacks on British establishment in Bengal
o Consumed Potassium cyanide to evade arrest at the age of 21

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 Lec 21 Peasant Movement

• Indigo Agitation of Bengal (1859-60):

o Reason- Oppression & exploitations of peasants by European planters
o Led by Vishnu Charan Viswas & Digambar Viswas
o Support by Harish chander Mukharji (editor of the Hindu patriot) & Dinbandhu mitra (Neel darpan play)
o spread rapidly in Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, Pabna, Khulna, and Narail.
o In 1860, an Indigo commission was appointed by the government to look into the issues
• Pabana movement (1873-76):
o Cause-efforts of zamindars to enhance rent beyond legal limits & to prevent tenants from
acquiring occupancy right under act 10 of 1859
o Methods –
▪ agrarian leagues were formed
▪ rent strike & legal battle against zamindars in court
o Main leaders-Ishan chandra roy, Shambhu pal, Khudi mulla
o Consequences-appointment of inquiry committee & enactment of Bengal tenancy act 1885
• Deccan Revolt/Riots (1875-1879):
o Maratha peasant uprising against Gujrati & Marwari money lenders.
o The cultivators' distress resulted from falling agricultural prices, heavy taxation, and a sense of political powerlessness.
o Cause –Ryotawari system, government raised land revenue by nearly 50%, growing tension between peasants and
money lenders
o Vasudeo Balwant Phadke launched a violent campaign
o Justice MG Ranade (Poona sarvjanik sabha) supported the cause of peasants
o Appointment of commission & enactment of Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act of 1879
• Peasant unrest in Punjab (1890-1900):
o Against money lenders
o Enactment of Punjab land allocation act 1902
o It prohibited transfer of land from peasants of money lenders & mortgage for more than 20 years
• Champaran satyagraha 1917:
o Oppressions of peasants by European indigo planters through system of tinkathia (3/20th)
o Rajkumar shukla invited Gandhi ji
o Gandhiji along with Rajendra Prasad, JB kriplani & Majar ul haq reached Champaran.
o Appointment of inquiry committee (Gandhiji was a member), acceptance of recommendation of committee by govt.
& abolition of tinkathia system
• Khera Satyagraha 1918
o Failure of crop due to drought at Khera, Gujarat
o Launching of no tax campaign by the peasents under leadership of Gandhiji & Vallabhbhai Patel ,Indulal Yagnik
(chief helper of Gandhiji)
o Tax was abolished
o After 1918 the peasents formed their own organization:
▪ U.P. kisan sabha 1918 –Gauri shanker mishra, Madan Mohan Malviya, Inder Narayan Dwivedi
▪ Awadh kisan sabha 1920- JL Nehru, Gauri Shankar mishra , Baba Ramchandra
o The process of formation of independent peasant organization started after non-cooperation movement rapidly.
o Formation of kisan sabha in Bengal, Bihar & Punjab Organization of Andhra provincial raiyat association by N.G.
ranga ,B.V.ratnam
o First all India kisan congress at Lucknow presided by swami sahajanand in 1936
• Bijolia Movement 1897-1941:
o Udaipur state (Mewar) in Rajasthan
o The peasantry in Rajasthan had to pay a large number of lag-bags (cesses), custom duties and also perform begar
(forced labour) in addition to paying heavy land-revenue which was half of the gross produce.
o Vijay Singh Pathik and Mainkya Lal verma – Leaders
o Three phases
o Attack on feudalism
• Mopalla/Malabar Rebellion 1921:
o Oppression & exploitation of Muslim Mopalla/Mapilla peasants of Malabar by Hindu zamindars
o Outbreak of rebellion in1921 after a police raid on a mosque in Tirurangadi as part of crackdown during Khilafat
movement
o Leader- Ali Musaliar , Variankunnath Kunjahammad Haji, Kunhi Kader (Khilafat movement leaders)
o The Moplah rebellion started as a fight against the British but ended up as large-scale massacre and persecution of
Hindus.
o In the later stages of the uprising, Mappillas committed several atrocities against the Hindu community, who they
accused of helping the police to suppress their rebellion.
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 o This rebellion was anti British as well as anti-zamindars & to some extent anti Hindu.
o Revolt was crushed by the British
o ~10,000 people were killed
• Bardoli satyagraha 1928:
o Location – Surat , Gujarat
o Reason - Enhancement of land revenue by 22%
o Organization of no-revenue campaign by
o Peasant under the leadership of ‘Sardar’ Patel
o It was Bardoli satyagraha where Vallabhbhai patel got title"Sardar" by women
o British were forced to withdraw the enhancement of the land-revenue due to the successful campaign of patel
• Peasant Revolt in Punjab (1930):
o This movement owned its activities due to the work-ing of the All India Congress Committee.
o Causes –
▪ Increase in land tax
▪ Demand for a new Canal tax
o Central districts - Jullundur, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Lyallpur and Sheikhpura. In these districts, most of the peasants
were self-cultivating Sikhs.
• Measures taken By British:
o Suppression by force
o Appointing review commissions
o Changes in law
▪ Debt relief act (UP)
▪ Regulation of Accounts Act Punjab 1930
▪ Relief of Indebtedness act
▪ Money Lenders Act
o Kathleen Gough, a historian has prepared a list of 77 peasant uprising during British time

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 Lec 22 Tribal Movement
• Main causes of Tribal Uprisings:
o Resentment of the tribals against the extension of British rule to their areas
o Infiltration of their area by outsiders from the plains i.e. money lenders, Zamindar etc.
o Resentment against the tightening of control over forest zones by British
o Reaction against Christian missionaries
• Ho Uprising 1820:
o Location - Chotanagpur region in Bengal (Jharkhand now)
o Reasons – alienation of land and change in society and economy of Ho tribe
o Against – Moneylenders and merchants + British
• Kol uprising 1831-32:
o Chota nagpur region- Jharkhand Bihar
o Leader-Buddho bhagat, Ganga Narayan
o Local leader resented the transfer of land to outsider (farmers from plains)
o Merchants and moneylenders came along with outside
farmers
o Against – British+Moneylenders
o 1844-48 protests again
• Khasi revolt 1829:
o Assam, Meghalaya
o Leader-Tirot sing syiem (king/leader) & Bor Manik
singh
o The British idea of construction of roads opposed by
tribal leaders
o Revolt was suppressed
• Santhal Revolt (Hool) 1855-56
o Rajmahal hill (Jharkhand)
o Leaders-Sidho Murmu, Kanhu Murmu
o Outsiders – dikus
o Santhal temporarily ousted the British from this area but they were finally
suppressed in 1856
o Guerrila tactics
o Separate district of Santhal was created to prevent santhals from revolting in future
– Santhal Paragana
o Santhal paragana tenancy act 1876 was passed
• Kachhoa – Naga revolt 1882
o Cachar (Assam)
o Leader-Shambhudana
o The kachha naga attacked the British under the leadership of shambhudana who
claimed that his magic would not let the bullets harm his followers
• Kovas revolt:
o Rampa region (Andhra pradesh) 1840-1924
o Leader-Allarudi sitaram raju (1922,24)
o He was captured & executed in 1924

• Bhil Revolt 1818-48:

o Navaka Das revolt
o Panchmahal (Gujarat)
o Leader – Dashrath, Rupa singh & Jaria bhagat
o Suppresion of revolt after execution of leaders
• Bhil Revolt 1913:
o Banswara & Dungarpur (Rajasthan)
o Leader - Govind guru, Motilal Tejawat , Daulat Singh
• Munda Revolt 1899-1900
o Chotanagpur region
o Also called Ulgulan(great revolt)
o Leader - Birsa munda
o Mundas - ‘khuntkattidar’ or the original clearer of the forest
o Reason – disruption of traditional system, forced labour, indebtedness, missionary activities
o Against – British + Merchants + moneylenders
o Defeat of Birsa munda by British
o Captured Birsa – he died of cholera in jail
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 o The Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 provided some recognition to their khuntkatti rights and banned beth
begari. Chhotanagpur tribals won a degree of legal protection for their land rights
• Zeliangrong Movement 1920s - 1935
o Naga tribes
o Led by Haipou Jadonang
o Later by - ‘Rani’ Gaidinliu
o Heraka Movement – spiritual only initially
o Later on it became political - They revolted against increasing British control over forests
o In 1935 Kavani samiti was formed by Rani Gaidinliu
o Rani was made prisoner & after independence Nehru personally freed her
• Kuki Rebellion 1917-19:
o Manipur
o Kuki tribe
o The British troops were ambushed, harassed, picked off, booby-trapped, and tormented at will by the tenacious
Kukis in the hill areas
• Sanyasi Rebellion 1770-71:
o Bengal
o Reason –Restriction imposed on sanyasis to visit holy places, alms collection dipped (revenue demand from
zamindars was high)
o Famine of 1770
o Leader-Majnu Shah, Bhavani Pathak
o Murshidabad and Baikunthpur – Important centres
o Suppressed by Warren Hastings
o ANANDMATH, 1882 – Book by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, containing the song Vande mataram ,is based on
this rebellion
• Paika Revolt 1817-18
o Orrisa-1817-18
o Leaders- Bakshi Jagbandhu
o Reason-British occupation of Orissa in 1803 led to Paikas bring disbanded from service (they were traditional
militias of state)
o Resentment of payaks against british land revenue policy.
o Jagbandhu temporarily captured Puri but revolt suppressed
• Revolt of Ramosis 1822-29:
o Poona, Satara , Badami
o Leaders-Chitter singh, narsingh dattatreya ,Umaji Nayake
o British annexation of Peshwa territory resulting in large scale unemployment in
Ramosi community
o The revolt was suppressed by giving employment - granting them land and
recruitment in army
• Pagalpanthi Movement 1825-50:
o Pagal Panthis followed a mixture of the Hinduism, Sufism and Animism
o They fought for the rights of landless peasants against the Zamindars, in Bengal
o The high society and other upper classes called them ‘mad’ (Pagal)
o Area –Sherpur (Mymensingh dist.,East bengal,now Bangladesh)
o Leaders- Karam Shah and his son Tipu - disciples of Majnu shah
o Under Karam shah,it was mainly a religious movement
o Turned into political movement under Tipu
• Kittur Uprising 1824-29
o Leader- Chennamma of Kittur (She was the Queen of Kittur)
o Reason-Death of chief of Kittur Rudra Desai, leaving no male issue.
o Refusal of the British to recognize the adopted son of Kithur as successor
o Annexation of Kithur to the british empire (an early form of doctrine of Lapse)
o Revolt was led by Chennamma (widow of Desai)
o It was suppressed and Channamma died in prison
o Sangolli Rayanna, a lieutenant of Chennamma,continued the guerrilla war till 1829,
in vain, until his capture

• Travancore Revolt 1807-09:

o Leader- Velu Thambi, the Dalawa (Diwan/Prime minister) of Travancore state
o Reason- Financial burden was imposed on the state via subsidiary alliance by the British.
o They also demanded the removal of the Diwan Velu Thambi from his post

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 o After few attacks on English garrison, the dalawa was dismissed by Raja of Travancore and revolt was
suppressed by British+ Raja’s troops
• Sambhalpur Outbreak:
o Orrisa 1827-40
o Leader- Surender Lal
o Reason- Frequent interference by the British in the internal affairs of the princely state
• Chuar Revolt:
o 1798-99
o Bankura and Midnapore In Bengal
o The term Char or Chuar was used for local tribals in Bengal and it was a derogatory word - meaning pig/thieves
o Leader - Durjan Singh, a displaced Zamindar
• Satara Disturbance 1840-41
o Maharastra
o Leaders-Dhar rao Pawar & Nar Singh
o The British deposed Pratap singh, the popular leader, violated subsidiary alliance
• Bundela Revolt 1842
o Madhukar shah and Jawaher Singh
o Reason- Resentment against british land revenue policy
• Kuka Movement 1845-72 (Namdharis):
o Punjab
o Founder – Ram singh or Balak singh or Bhagat Jawahar Mal
o H.Q.- Hazra
o This movement aimed to purify the Sikh religion of social problems like caste system etc which had crept in the
religion
o Aimed at Sikh revival after the annexation in Punjab 1849
o The revival of Sikh sovereignty was the main aim of the movement
o Leader Ram singh arrested in 1872 and sent to jail

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