Modern History: Module - XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Indian Freedom Struggle
(1905-11)
Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Growth Of Militant Nationalism
I. Recognition of the True Nature of British Rule:
❏ Having seen that, the Government was not conceding any of their
important demands, the more militant among those politically
conscious got disillusioned & started looking for a more effective
mode of political action.
❏ Also, the feeling that only an Indian Government could bring India
on a path of progress started attracting more & more people.

Growth Of Militant Nationalism
❏ The economic miseries of the 1890s further exposed the
exploitative character of colonial rule.
❏ Severe famines killed 90 lakh persons between 1896 & 1900.
❏ Bubonic plague affected large areas of the Deccan leading to
large-scale riots there.
❏ The nationalists were wide awake to the fact that instead of
giving more rights to the Indians, the Government was taking
away even the existing ones.

Continued...
❏ 1892: Indian Councils Act was criticized by nationalists as it
failed to satisfy them.
❏ 1897: The Natu brothers were deported without trial & Tilak &
others, imprisoned on charges of sedition.
❏ 1898: Repressive laws under IPC Section 124 A were further
amplified with new provisions under IPC Section 156 A.
❏ 1899: Number of Indian members in Calcutta Corporation were
reduced.
Continued...
II. Growth of Confidence & Self-Respect:
❏ A feeling started gaining currency that only the masses were
capable of making the immense sacrifices needed to win freedom.
III. Growth of Education:
❏ Led to an increased awareness among the masses & the rise in
unemployment & underemployment among the educated drew
attention to poverty & the underdeveloped state of the country's
economy under colonial rule.

Continued...
IV. Reaction to Increasing Westernization:
❏ The new leadership felt the stranglehold of excessive westernization &
sensed colonial designs to submerge the Indian national identity in the
British Empire
V. Dissatisfaction with Moderates:
❏ Younger elements within the Congress were dissatisfied with the
achievements of the Moderates. They were strongly critical of the
methods of peaceful & constitutional agitation, popularly known as the “3
P's”— prayer, petition & protest & described these methods as 'political
mendicancy’
VI. International Influences:
❏ Progress made by Japan & its emergence as an industrial power.
❏ The defeat of the Italian army by Ethiopians (1896), the Boer

wars (1899-1902) where British faced reverses & Japan's victory
over Russia (1905) demolished myths of European invincibility.
❏ The nationalists were inspired by the nationalist movements

worldwide — in Ireland, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Persia & China.

Previous Year Question
Which one of the following defines the extremists ideology during
the early phase of Indian freedom movement?
(a)Stimulating the production of indigenous articles by giving them
preference over imported commodities.
(b)Obtaining self-government by aggressive means in place of petitions &
constitutional ways
(c)Providing national education according to the requirements of the
country.
(d)Organizing coups against the British empire through military revolt

Reactionary policies of Curzon
● He spoke derogatorily of Indian character in general.
● Administrative measures adopted during his rule:
○ 1904: Official Secrets Act curbed freedom of press.
○ 1904: Indian Universities Act ensured greater government control over

universities, which it described as factories producing political
revolutionaries.
○ The partition of Bengal
● Left no doubts in Indian minds about the basically reactionary nature of British
rule in India.

Continued...
● Risley, the Home Secretary to the GoI, was more blunt.
● He said on 6 December 1904:
‘Bengal united, is power, Bengal divided, will pull

several different ways. That is what the Congress leaders feel: their
apprehensions are perfectly correct & they form one of the great
merits of the scheme...in this scheme... one of our main objects is
to split up & thereby weaken a solid body of opponents to our rule.’
Partition of Bengal
● Day of Partition: 16 Oct 1905
● Reasons for Partition:

○ British Government Explanation:
■ Bengal was a very big state. Very difficult to manage the

administrative work

Nationalist View:
○ Divide & Rule Policy as Calcutta was the hub of Nationalistic
activities
○ Demarcation of boundary in terms of religious & linguistic

basis.
○ If ease of administration was the only reason why wasn’t

Punjab, Bombay or Madras partitioned ?

2009
In the context of the Indian Freedom struggle, 16th October 1905 is

well known for which of the following reasons?
(a)The formal proclamation of Swadeshi movement was made in Calcutta

town hall
(b)Partition of Bengal took effect
(c)Dadabhai Naoroji declared that the goal of Indian National Congres was
Swaraj
(d)Lokmanya Tilak started Swadeshi Movement in Poona

Partition of Bengal-divide people
● On the basis of language:
○ Thus, reducing the Bengalis to a minority in Bengal itself as in
the new proposal Bengal proper was to have 17 million
Bengalis & 37 million Hindi & Oriya speakers.
● On the basis of religion:
○ As the western half was to be a Hindu majority area (42
million out of a total 54 million) & the eastern half was to be
a Muslim majority area (18 million out of a total of 31 million)

Effect of demarcation
● Created divide amongst residents in terms of Hindu & Muslim
religion
● Created a divide in within Hindi, Oriya & Bengali speaking

population
● Changed the Fusion to Fission Culture i.e. from collective

thinking to individualism or community ideology

During the period of 1903-05
● Government's decision to partition Bengal had been made public
in December 1903
● During this period, the leadership was provided by SN Banerjee,

K.K. Mitra & Prithwish Chandra Ray.
● The methods adopted were petitions to the Government, public

meetings, memoranda, & propaganda through pamphlets &
newspapers such as Hitabadi, Sanjibani & Bengali.

Objective
● Exert sufficient pressure on the Government through an
educated public opinion in India & England to prevent the unjust
partition from being implemented.

Swadeshi Movement (After-effects of Partition of Bengal)
● August 7, 1905: The passage of the Boycott Resolution led to
the formal proclamation of Swadeshi Movement.
● People came out on street to protest against decision of
partition.
● They assembled at Town Hall & formed Swadeshi Bandhav

Samiti which propagated swadeshi goods & services.
● Local industries like textile, paper, glass flourished during this
period
Swadeshi Movement
● Lawyers resigned from the bar councils & Panchayats started
hearing the grievances of people
● Social boycott
● Women, who were traditionally home-centred, especially those

of the urban middle classes, took active part in processions &
picketing.

Students
● Teachers & students boycotted English schools
● Students came out in large numbers to propagate & practise
swadeshi, & to take a lead in organising picketing of shops selling
foreign goods.
● Police adopted a repressive attitude towards the students.
● Schools & colleges whose students participated in the agitation
were to be penalised by disaffiliating them or stopping of grants &
privileges to them.
● Students who were found guilty of participation were to be
disqualified for government jobs or for government scholarships,
& disciplinary action— fine, expulsion, arrest, beating, etc. — was
to be taken against them.
Effect of movement
● The value of British cloth sold in some of the mofussil districts
fell by 5-15 times between September 1904 & September 1905.
● 16 October was declared a day of mourning throughout Bengal.
● People fasted & no fires were lit at the cooking hearth.
● In Calcutta a hartal was declared.

Continued...
● People took out processions & band after band walked barefoot,
bathed in the Ganges in morning & then paraded the streets
singing Vande Mataram which, almost spontaneously, became
the theme song of the movement.
● People tied rakhis on each other’s hands as a symbol of the

unity of the 2 halves.

Continued...
❏ ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’, the national anthem of present-day
Bangladesh, was sung by huge crowds marching in the streets.
❏ Later in the day A M Bose & SN Banerjea addressed 2 huge

mass meetings which drew crowds of 50,000 to 75,000 people.
These were, perhaps, the largest mass meetings ever to be held
under the nationalist banner this far.
❏ Within a few hours of the meetings, a sum of Rs. 50K was raised
for the movement.
Spread of Swadeshi Movement
● Soon, the movement spread to other parts of the country:
○ In Poona & Bombay under Tilak
○ In Punjab under Lala Lajpat Rai & Ajit Singh
○ In Delhi under Syed Haider Raza
○ In Madras under Chidambaram Pillai.

Continued...
● It was also galvanized by Bipin Chandra Pal’s extensive lecture
tour.
● In response to the British India Steam Navigation Company

trade monopoly, Chidambaram started an Indian-owned
shipping company. He registered the Swadeshi Shipping
Company in October 1906.
● Rawalpindi, Kangra, Jammu, Multan & Haridwar witnessed active

participation in the Swadeshi Movement.

With reference to Swadeshi Movement, consider the following statements:
1. It contributed to the revival of the indigenous artisan crafts and industries.
2. The National Council of Education was established as a part of Swadeshi
Movement.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Features of Swadeshi Movement
❏ It was the first movement under the Indian National Congress.
❏ Class composition of the movement was everyone from the

high class to low class participated due to which it was not only
an elitist movement.
❏ Mobilization of masses was done by the leaders using religious

symbols & organizing festivals which led to alienation of
religious minority.

Programmes of National Education
❏ One of the major planks of the programme of ‘self reliance’.
➢ Bengal National College, inspired by Tagore's Shanti Niketan

was set up with Aurobindo Ghosh as its principal.
➢ August 15, 1906: the National Council of Education was set

up to organize a system of education—literary, scientific &
technical—on national lines & under national control from the
primary to the university level.
Continued...
➢ Education was to be imparted through the medium of
vernaculars.
➢ A Bengal Institute of Technology was set up for technical

education & funds were raised to send students to Japan for
advanced learning.
➢ Scores of national schools sprang up all over the country

within a short period.
Swadeshi /Indigenous Enterprises
❏ Self-reliance also meant an effort to set up Swadeshi or
indigenous enterprises.
❏ Swadeshi textile mills, soap , match factories, tanneries, banks,
insurance companies & shops, etc mushroomed.
❏ While many of these enterprises, whose promoters were more

endowed with patriotic zeal than with business acumen were
unable to survive for long, some others such as Acharya P.C.
Ray’s Bengal Chemicals Factory, became successful & famous.
Impact in the cultural Sphere
❏ It was, perhaps, in the cultural sphere that the impact of the
Swadeshi Movement was most marked.
❏ The nationalists of all hues took inspiration from songs written

by Tagore, Rajnikanta Sen, Dwijendralal Ray, Mukunda Das,
Syed Abu Mohammad etc.
❏ Tagore’s Amar Sonar Bangla written on this occasion.
❏ In Tamil Nadu, Subramania Bharati wrote Sudesha Geetham.

Continued...
❏ Swadeshi influence could be seen in Bengali folk music popular among
Hindu & Muslim villagers (Palligeet & Jan Gan) & it evoked collections of
India fairy tales such as, Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother’s tales) written
by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar which delights Bengali children to
this day.
❏ Painting: Abanindranath Tagore broke the domination of Victorian
naturalism over Indian art & took inspiration from Mughal, Ajanta &
Rajput paintings.
❏ In science, Jagdish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Roy & others
pioneered original research which was praised the world over.

2020
With reference to the book “Desher Kath” written by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar
during the freedom struggle, consider the following statements:
1. It warned against the Colonial State’s hypnotic conquest of the mind.
2. It inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs.
3. The use of ‘desh’ by Deuskar was in the specific context of the region of
Bengal
Which of the statements given above are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
The song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ written during the Swadeshi
Movement of India inspired the liberation struggle of
Bangladesh and was adopted the national anthem of
Bangladesh. Who wrote this song?
(a)Rajanikanta Sen
(b)Dwijendralal Ray
(c)Mukunda Das
(d)Rabindranath Tagore
Nandalal Bose
❏ Left a major imprint on Indian art, was
the 1st recipient of a scholarship offered
by the Indian Society of Oriental Art,
founded in 1907
❏ To mark the 1930 occasion of
Mahatma's arrest for protesting the
British tax on salt, Bose created a black
on white linocut print of Gandhi walking
with a staff.
Continued...
❏ He was also famously asked by JL Nehru
to sketch the emblems for the
Government of India's awards, including
the Bharat Ratna & the Padma Shri.
❏ Along with his students, Nandalal Bose

took up the historic task of
beautifying/decorating the original
manuscript of the Constitution of India.
Muslim Participation
❏ Some participated — Barrister Abdul Rasul, Liaqat Hussain,
Ghuznavi, Azad (who joined one of the revolutionary terrorist
groups)— but most of the upper & middle class Muslims stayed
away or, led by Nawab Salimullah, supported partition as it
would give them a Muslim-majority East Bengal.
❏ But the movement was not able to garner support of the
Muslims, especially the Muslim peasantry, because of a
conscious government policy of divide & rule helped by overlap
of class & community at places.
❏ To further government interests, League was propped up as an
anti-Congress front.

Social base
❏ The social base of the movement expanded to include certain
sections of the zamindars, the students, the women, & the
lower middle classes in cities & towns.
❏ Hitherto untouched sections— students, women, some sections

of urban & rural population—participated.
❏ Attempt was also made to give political expression to economic

grievances of working class by organizing strikes in British
owned concerns such as Eastern Indian Railways.

Assessment
❏ Despite its gradual decline into inactivity, the movement was a
turning point in modern Indian history.
❏ It proved to be a “leap forward” in more ways than one.
❏ The richness of the movement was not confined to the political

sphere alone, but encompassed art, literature, science &
industry also.

Continued...
❏ People were aroused from slumber & now they learned to take
bold political positions & participate in new forms of political work.
❏ Swadeshi campaign undermined the hegemony of colonial ideas &

institutions.
❏ The future struggle was to draw heavily from the experience

gained.

Decline of Moderate Stature
❏ With the coming of Swadeshi & Boycott Movement, it became
clear that the Moderates had outlived their utility and their
politics of petitions & speeches had become obsolete.
❏ They had not succeeded in keeping pace with time, & this was
highlighted by their failure to get the support of the younger
generation for their style of politics.
❏ Their failure to work among the masses had meant that their
ideas did not take root among the masses.
Continued...
❏ Even the, propaganda by the Moderates did not reach the
masses.
❏ No all- India campaigns of the scale of Swadeshi & Boycott

Movement had been organized earlier by the Moderates & in this
campaign, they discovered that they were not its leaders, which
was rather natural.

Extremists
❏ The Extremist ideology & its functioning also lacked consistency.
❏ Its advocates ranged from open members & secret sympathisers

to those opposed to any kind of political violence.
❏ Laal Bal Pal & Aurobindo had different perceptions of their goal.
❏ For Tilak, swaraj meant some sort of self-government, while for

Aurobindo, it meant complete independence from foreign rule.

Continued...
❏ But at the politico-ideological level, their emphasis was on mass
participation & on the need to broaden the social base of the
movement.
❏ They raised patriotism from a level of 'academic pastime' to one
of 'service & sacrifice for the country'.
❏ But the politically progressive Extremists proved to be social
reactionaries.
❏ They had revivalist & obscurantist undertones attached to their
thoughts.
Continued...
❏ Tilak's opposition to the Age of Consent Bill (which would have
raised the marriageable age for girls from 10 years to 12 years,
though his objection was mainly that such reforms must come
from people governing themselves & not under an alien rule).
❏ His organizing of Ganapati & Shivaji festivals as national

festivals, his support to anti-cow killing campaigns etc.
portrayed him as a Hindu nationalist.

Continued...
❏ Similarly, B.C. Pal & Aurobindo spoke of a Hindu nation & Hindu
interests.
❏ Though these revivalist & obscurantist tactics of the Extremists

were directed against the foreigners, they had the effect of
promoting a very unhealthy relationship between politics &
religion, the bitter harvests of which the Indians had to reap
later.

The `Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott’ were adopted as methods of
struggle for the first time during the
(a) Agitation against the Partition of Bengal
(b) Home Rule Movement
(c) Non-Cooperation Movement
(d) Visit of the Simon Commission to India

Moderates Extremists
❏ Believed & practiced through legal ❏ Practiced boycott & mass

means movement
❏ Wanted changes in system like ❏ Demanded Swaraj & mass

constitutional reforms & share for mobilization
Indians in services but not Swaraj
❏ Social base: zamindars & upper ❏ Social base: educated middle

middle classes in towns. classes in towns & lower middle
class.
❏ Believed in England's providential ❏ Rejected 'providential mission

mission in India. theory' as an illusion.

Moderates Extremists
❏ Focus of the movement was only in ❏ Wanted an all India Movement

Bengal
❏ Ideological inspiration: western liberal ❏ Indian history, cultural heritage

thought & European history. & Hindu traditional symbols.
❏ Professed loyalty to the British Crown. ❏ Believed British Crown was

unworthy of Indian loyalty.
❏ Believed that the movement should be ❏ Had immense faith in the

limited to middle class intelligentsia; capacity of masses to
masses not yet ready for participation participate & to make sacrifices.
in political work.

Extremist Leaders

Banaras Session (1905)
❏ Presided by Gokhale, the Moderate-Extremist differences came
to the fore.
❏ Extremists wanted to extend the Boycott & Swadeshi to outside

Bengal & also to include all forms of associations (such as
government service, law courts, legislative councils, etc. within
the boycott & thus start a nationwide mass movement.
❏ The extremists wanted a strong resolution supporting the
programme at the session.
Continued...
❏ Moderates were not in favor of extending the movement beyond
Bengal & were totally opposed to boycott of councils & similar
associations.
❏ They advocated strictly constitutional methods to protest against
the partition.
❏ As a compromise, a relatively mild resolution condemning the
partition & the reactionary policies of Curzon & supporting the
swadeshi & boycott in Bengal was passed.

Calcutta session(1906)
❏ Moderate enthusiasm had cooled a bit because of the popularity
of the Extremists & the revolutionary terrorists.
❏ Extremists wanted either Tilak or Lajpat Rai as the president,

while the Moderates proposed the name of Dadabhai.
❏ Finally, Dadabhai was elected as the president & as a concession

to the extremists, Swarajya was defined as the goal of Congress.

Continued...
❏ Also 4 compromise resolutions supporting the programme of
swadeshi, boycott , Self-Government & national education was
passed.
❏ The word swaraj was mentioned for the 1st time, but its
connotation was not spelt out, which left field open for differing
interpretations by Moderates & Extremists.

Four resolutions were passed at the famous Calcutta Session of
Indian National Congress in 1906. The question of either retention
or of rejection of these four resolutions became the cause of a split
in Congress at the next Congress session held in Surat in 1907.
Which one of the following was not one of the resolutions?
(a) Annulment of Partition of Bengal
(b) Boycott
(c) National education
(d) Swadeshi

Surat Split (1907)
Extremists:
● Emboldened by the Calcutta session, called for wide passive
resistance & boycott of schools, colleges, legislative councils,
municipalities, courts, etc.
● Thought that the people had been aroused & the battle for
freedom had begun.
● Felt the time had come for the big push to drive the British out &
considered the Moderates to be a drag on the movement.
Moderates:
● Encouraged by the news that council reforms were on the anvil,
decided to tone down the Calcutta programme.
● Thought that it would be dangerous at that stage to associate

with the Extremists whose anti-imperialist agitation, it was felt,
would be ruthlessly suppressed by the mighty colonial rule.
● They saw in the council reforms an opportunity to realise their

dream of Indian participation in the administration.

Continued...
● They felt any hasty action under extremist pressure was bound
to annoy the Liberals in power in England then.
● The Moderates did not realise that the council reforms were
meant by the Government more to isolate the extremists than to
reward the moderates.
● Extremists did not realise that the Moderates could act as their
outer line of defence in face of state repression.
● Both sides did not realize that in a vast country like India ruled
by a powerful imperialist country, only a broad-based nationalist
movement could succeed.

Continued...
● Extremists wanted 1907 session to be held in Nagpur with Tilak
as the president & reiteration of the swadeshi, boycott & national
education resolutions.
● The moderates wanted the session at Surat in order to exclude

Tilak.
● They wanted Rashbehari Ghosh as the president & sought to

drop the 4 resolutions.

Continued...
● 26/12/1907: Session was held, on the banks of the river Tapti.
● Extremists were excited by the rumors that the Moderates

wanted to scuttle the 4 Calcutta resolutions.
● Moderates were deeply hurt by the ridicule & venom poured on

them in mass meetings held at Surat on the previous 3 days.
The delegates, thus, met in an atmosphere surcharged with
excitement & anger.

Continued...
● The Extremists wanted a guarantee that the 4 resolutions would
be passed.
● To force the Moderates to do so they decided to object to the

duly elected President for the year, Rash Behari Ghosh.
● Both sides came to the session prepared for a confrontation.
● In no time, the 1600 delegates were shouting, coming to blows

& hurling chairs at each other.

Continued...
● In the meantime, some unknown person hurled a shoe at the dais
which hit Mehta & SN Banerjea. The police came & cleared the
hall. The Congress session was over.
● The only victorious party was the rulers.
● Minto immediately wrote to Morley that the ‘Congress collapse’ at
Surat was ‘a great triumph for us’.
● The suddenness of the Surat fiasco took Tilak by surprise.

● He had not bargained for it because, as Aurobindo Ghosh wrote
later, Tilak viewed the split as a ‘catastrophe’.
Continued...
● He valued the Congress “as a great national fact & for its
unrealized possibilities.”
● He sent a virtual letter of regret to his opponents, accepted Rash

Behari as the President of the Congress & offered his
cooperation in working for Congress unity.
● But Pherozeshah & his colleagues would not relent.

Continued...
● The Moderates were indulging their own foolish beliefs.
● They gave up all the radical measures adopted at the Benaras &
Calcutta sessions of the Congress, spurned all overtures for
unity from the Extremists & excluded them from the party.
● They thought they were going to rebuild, to quote Pherozeshah

Mehta, a ‘resuscitated, renovated, reincarnated Congress.’
● But the spirit had gone out of the Congress & all efforts to
restore it failed.
Continued...
● They had lost the respect & support of the political Indians,
especially the youth, & were reduced to a small coterie.
● Most of the Moderate leaders withdrew into their shells.
● Only Gokhale plodded on, with the aid of a small band of co-
workers from the Servants of India Society. And the vast
majority of politically conscious Indians extended their support,
however passive, to Tilak & the militant nationalists.
Continued...
● Between 1907 & 1911, new laws were enforced to check anti-
government activity.
○ Seditious Meetings Act, 1907;
○ Indian Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908;
○ Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908;
○ Indian Press Act, 1910.

2015
Which one of the following movements has contributed to a split in the

Indian National Congress resulting in the emergence of ‘moderates’ and
‘extremists’?
(a)Swadeshi Movement
(b)Quit India Movement
(c)Non-Cooperation Movement
(d)Civil Disobedience Movement

2016
What was the main reason for the split in the Indian National Congress at
Surat in 1907?
a)Introduction of communalism into Indian politics by Lord Minto
b)Extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of the moderates to negotiate with
the British Government
c)Foundation of Muslim League
d)Aurobindo Ghosh’s inability to be elected as the President of the Indian
National Congress

The government strategy
● GoI had been hostile to the Congress from the beginning.
● Even after the Moderates, who dominated the Congress, began

distancing themselves from the militant nationalist trend which
had become visible during the last decade of the 19th century
itself, government hostility did not stop.
● This was because, in the Government's view, the Moderates still

represented an anti-imperialist force consisting of basically
patriotic & liberal intellectuals.
Continued...
● With the coming of Swadeshi & Boycott Movement & the
emergence of militant nationalist trend in a big way, the
Government modified its strategy towards the nationalists.
● A 3 pronged approach of repression, conciliation, suppression.

Carrot and Stick
● In the 1st stage extremists were to be repressed mildly, mainly
to frighten moderate
● In the 2nd stage, the moderates were to be placated through

some concessions, & hints were to be dropped that more
reforms would be forthcoming if the distance from the
extremists was maintained. This was aimed at isolating the
extremists.

Continued...
● Now, with the moderates on its side, the Government could
suppress the extremists with its full might. The moderates could
then be ignored.
● Unfortunately, neither moderates nor the extremists understood

the implications of the strategy.
● Surat split suggested that the policy of carrot & stick had
brought rich dividends to the Government.

Suppression
● Government immediately launched a massive attack on the
Extremists.
● Extremist newspapers were suppressed.
● Between 1907 & 1908, 9 major leaders in Bengal including

Ashwini Kumar Dutt & Krishna Kumar Mitra were deported, Ajit
Singh of Punjab were deported & Chidambaram Pillai &
Harisarvothama Rao from Madras & Andhra were arrested.

Continued...
● Tilak, was sent to Mandalay jail for 6 years.
● Aurobindo & B.C. Pal retired from active politics.
● Lajpat Rai, who had been a helpless onlooker at Surat, left for
Britain in 1908 to come back in 1909 & then to go off to the US
for an extended stay.
● Extremists were not able to organize an effective alternative
party to sustain the movement.

Continued...
● Moderates were left with no popular base or support, especially

as the youth rallied behind, the extremists.
● The Government had won, at least for the moment.
● 1914: Tilak was released & he picked up the threads of the

movement.

Why Swadeshi Movement Fizzled out by 1908?
● Severe government repression.
● Movement left leaderless
● Narrow social base: largely remained confined to the upper &
middle classes and zamindars, & failed to reach the masses—
especially the peasantry.
● Surat split
● The movement failed to create an effective organisation or a party
structure.
● It is difficult to sustain a mass-based movement at a high pitch for
too long.

He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shri Krishna
stayed in America for some time and was also elected to the central
assembly he was
(a)Aurobindo Ghosh
(b)Bipin Chandra pal
(c)Lala Lajpat Rai
(d)Motilal Nehru

•1914: Lala Lajpat Rai went to England as a member of the Congress delegation. From there he
proceeded to the US where he stayed for about 5 years. In 1916 he founded the Indian Home Rule
League in the US.
•Lalaji presided over the historic Kolkata Session of Congress in 1920. It was this session that a
resolution on Non-Cooperation was adopted by Congress
•Suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922 disappointed many Congressmen including

Lalaji and hey formed the Swaraj Party. Later he joined hands with Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in
forming the Nationalist Party.
•His Publications: The Call to Young India, England’s Debt to India & The Political Future of India.
•He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Swami Dayanand & Pandit Gurudatta.
•Bhagat Singh launched an ideological campaign against Lajpat Rai, calling him a "Lost Leader", for
Lalaji’s communal politics.

Muslim League
● Formed at Dhaka in 1906
● Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah (Aga Khan III) was appointed the 1st
Honorary President of the League.
● Aga Khan (Not a name but a spiritual post within Shia Muslim
community)
● Nawab Waqar ul Mulk & Nawab Mohsin ul Mulk (political heir)

were the other notable names in its formation.

Continued...
● Shimla deputation
● 58 delegates from all over the Subcontinent were the founding

members of League.
● The headquarters were established at Lucknow.
● To preach loyalty to the British Government & to keep the Muslim

intelligentsia away from the Congress.
Important Leaders
● Muhammad Ali Jinnah
● Muhammad Ali Jauhar

● Shaukat Ali
● Hakim Ajmal Ansari
○ Sole person elected to the Presidency of the Congress, the
Muslim League & the All India Khilafat Committee.
○ Elected 1st chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia University.
● Raja of Mehmoodabad
Hindi-Urdu controversy
● The Muslims resented Hindi in Devanagari script replacing Urdu
in Persian script as the official language & called for protest
meetings all over the Province.
● The Hindus held counter meetings & the controversy continued

for months, as the rift between the communities widened.
● This led to communal polarization, thus it is considered one of

the reasons which led to the formation of Muslim League.
Sample Question
Which of the following events influenced formation of All India Muslim League?
1. Swadeshi Movement.
2. Morley’s Budget speech of 1906.
3. The Hindi-Urdu language controversy.
4. Formation of Hindu Mahasabha.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a)1, 2 and 3 only
(b)1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d)1, 2 and 4 only

Explanation
Only Statement 4 is incorrect: In April 1915, Sarvadeshik (All

India) Hindu Mahasabha was formed as an umbrella organization of
regional Hindu Sabha, at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar whereas AIML
was established way before in 1906. Thus, it was not influenced by
the formation of Hindu Mahasabha.

Modern History: Module - XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

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Indian Freedom Struggle

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

❏ The defeat of the Italian army by Ethiopians (1896), the Boer

❏ The nationalists were inspired by the nationalist movements

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● Administrative measures adopted during his rule:

○ 1904: Official Secrets Act curbed freedom of press.

○ 1904: Indian Universities Act ensured greater government control over

○ The partition of Bengal

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● He said on 6 December 1904:

‘Bengal united, is power, Bengal divided, will pull

● Reasons for Partition:

■ Bengal was a very big state. Very difficult to manage the

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

○ Demarcation of boundary in terms of religious & linguistic

○ If ease of administration was the only reason why wasn’t

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

In the context of the Indian Freedom struggle, 16th October 1905 is

(a)The formal proclamation of Swadeshi movement was made in Calcutta

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● Created a divide in within Hindi, Oriya & Bengali speaking

● Changed the Fusion to Fission Culture i.e. from collective

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● During this period, the leadership was provided by SN Banerjee,

● The methods adopted were petitions to the Government, public

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● They assembled at Town Hall & formed Swadeshi Bandhav

● Women, who were traditionally home-centred, especially those

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● 16 October was declared a day of mourning throughout Bengal.

● People fasted & no fires were lit at the cooking hearth.

● In Calcutta a hartal was declared.

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● People tied rakhis on each other’s hands as a symbol of the

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

❏ Later in the day A M Bose & SN Banerjea addressed 2 huge

○ In Punjab under Lala Lajpat Rai & Ajit Singh

○ In Delhi under Syed Haider Raza

○ In Madras under Chidambaram Pillai.

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

● In response to the British India Steam Navigation Company

● Rawalpindi, Kangra, Jammu, Multan & Haridwar witnessed active

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

❏ Class composition of the movement was everyone from the

❏ Mobilization of masses was done by the leaders using religious

Modern History: Module – XII (Indian Freedom Struggle)

➢ Bengal National College, inspired by Tagore's Shanti Niketan

➢ August 15, 1906: the National Council of Education was set

➢ A Bengal Institute of Technology was set up for technical

➢ Scores of national schools sprang up all over the country

❏ While many of these enterprises, whose promoters were more

❏ The nationalists of all hues took inspiration from songs written

❏ Tagore’s Amar Sonar Bangla written on this occasion.