Nationalists in Legislative Councils - Propaganda Strategy
The Basics
The Indian Councils Act of 1892 was designed by the British as a safety valve, not real power.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsModern India · Topic 13 of 20
Militant Nationalism, Swadeshi, and Revolutionary Terrorism
Rise of Extremism, Bengal partition, Swadeshi, and early revolutionary activity (1905-1909)
Growth of Militant Nationalist Trend - Lal-Bal-Pal
The Basics
By the start of the twentieth century, the Moderates still led the Indian National Congress, but their method of prayer, petition and protest had failed to move the British government. Lord Curzon's seven years of rule, from 1899, made this failure obvious. His government passed the Calcutta Corporation Act of 1899, the Official Secrets Act of 1904 and the Indian Universities Act of 1904, each one cutting into existing Indian rights rather than granting new ones. Curzon openly mocked Indian political activity as mere 'letting off of gas'. This convinced a growing number of politically conscious Indians that the Moderates' faith in British justice was misplaced.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsPartition of Bengal 1905
The Basics
By 1905 Lord Curzon, viceroy since 1899, had already angered Indian opinion with measures like the Indian Universities Act and the Calcutta Corporation Act. He had also mocked Indian political activity as mere "letting off of gas". Into this charged atmosphere he brought his biggest measure yet.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsSwadeshi and Boycott Movement
The Basics
The government announced partition on 19 July 1905, and it was clear moderate petitions had failed. Within days spontaneous protest meetings broke out in mofussil towns such as Dinajpur, Pabna, Faridpur, Jessore, Dacca and Barisal. It was in these meetings that people first pledged to boycott foreign goods. Protest had moved from petitioning to direct economic action.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsNational Education Movement during Swadeshi
The Basics
By 1905, swadeshi leaders saw colonial schools as denationalising Indian youth. They also found existing education inadequate for technical and scientific needs. So boycott was paired with building a national education system, based on self-reliance or atma shakti.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsMass Mobilization and Swadeshi Culture
The Basics
Samitis were volunteer corps formed during the Swadeshi movement.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsSurat Split 1907
The Basics
By 1905 the Indian National Congress held two very different moods. The Moderates, led by Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjea and Gokhale, trusted petitions and constitutional protest. The Extremists, led by Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lajpat Rai, wanted a wider struggle. They wanted the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement against the Partition of Bengal to grow into a countrywide mass movement. This included boycott of schools, courts, councils and government service.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsRevolutionary Terrorism - First Phase
The Basics
After the Surat split, the Extremists had no organisation left to channel the anger of Bengal's youth. The government also kept up repression on meetings and the press. Young nationalists who had tasted mass agitation during the Swadeshi movement refused to fall silent. They found every peaceful avenue closed. A section of them decided that the British must be physically expelled by force.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsTilak's Sedition Trials and Press Repression
The Basics
By the 1890s, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, born in 1856, had become Maharashtra's most visible militant leader. In 1881, with G. G. Agarkar, he founded the Marathi paper Kesari and the English paper Mahratta. By 1888 he controlled both papers and used them to spread discontent against British rule. He started the Ganapati festival (1893) and the Shivaji festival (1896) to build anti-colonial sentiment. In 1896 he organised a boycott of foreign cloth in Maharashtra, and in 1896-97 he led a no-tax campaign urging farmers to withhold revenue after crop failures.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsMorley-Minto Reforms (Indian Councils Act 1909)
The Basics
By 1909 the Government of India, led by Viceroy Lord Minto and Secretary of State John Morley, faced a weakened nationalist movement. The Extremists were leaderless after Tilak's imprisonment. The Moderates had been isolated since the Surat Split of 1907. Morley and Minto offered reforms to win over the Moderates. They also wanted to win over a section of Muslim opinion. This kept the nationalist ranks divided.
Sign up free for the full concept, practice MCQs and PYQsPartition of Bengal Annulment and Transfer of Capital to Delhi 1911-12
The Basics
By 1911, the partition of Bengal of 1905 had failed to achieve its aim. Instead of weakening nationalist feeling, it had fuelled the Swadeshi and Boycott movement. It had also sparked a new wave of revolutionary terrorism in Bengal. The British Government found that the division continued to cause unrest rather than calm.
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