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I AS BA BA

Integrated Learning Program (ILP) - 2024

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MODERN HISTORY
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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

Contents
DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE .......................................... 5
QUICK GLANCE ............................................................... 34
INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 5
THE BATTLES OF PANIPAT ............................................... 36
MUGHAL EMPIRE TIMELINE ................................................... 5
THIRD ANGLO-MARATHA WAR....................................... 38
AURANGZEB .................................................................... 5
LATER MUGHALS ............................................................. 7 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE PEOPLE IN
BAHADUR SHAH I (1707-1712) ............................................ 8 18TH CENTURY ............................................................... 39
JAHANDAR SHAH ................................................................. 8 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ................................................ 39
FARRUKH SIYAR (1713 - 1719) ............................................. 9
MUHAMMAD SHAH (1719-1748) ....................................... 10 AGRICULTURE .................................................................... 39
NADIR SHAH .................................................................. 11 TRADE .............................................................................. 39
AHMED SHAH ABDALI ................................................... 11 INDIA IMPORTED: ............................................................... 39
CAUSES OF DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE .................... 13 SOCIAL CONDITIONS ....................................................... 40
QUICK GLANCE .................................................................. 16
HINDU ............................................................................. 40
INDIAN STATES AND SOCIETY IN THE 18TH CENTURY ......18 MUSLIM ........................................................................... 41
POLITY AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATES ........................ 18 FAMILY SYSTEM AND STATUS OF WOMEN .............................. 41
ECONOMY: ....................................................................... 18 CULTURAL LIFE ................................................................... 42
NORTH INDIAN STATES IN 18TH CENTURY ................... 19 PAINTING ......................................................................... 42
SAFDAR JUNG.................................................................... 20 POETRY ............................................................................ 42
SCIENCE ............................................................................ 43
THE RAJPUT STATES.........................................................21 VALUES ............................................................................ 43
RAJA SAWAI JAI SINGH: ...................................................... 21 RELATION BETWEEN HINDUS AND MUSLIM ............................ 43

THE JATS ..........................................................................22 THE BEGINNINGS OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS ............. 45

SURAJ MAL ....................................................................... 22 A BRIEF DESCRIPTION ..................................................... 45

BANGASH PATHANS AND ROHELAS .................................23 THE PORTUGUESE ........................................................... 48

THE SIKHS ........................................................................23 THE DUTCH ..................................................................... 49

GURU GOBIND SINGH ......................................................... 23 BRITISH ENTRY IN TRADE ................................................ 50

BANDA BAHADUR .............................................................. 23 DUTCH AND BRITISH FIGHT .................................................. 50
MISLS OR CONFEDERACIES................................................... 24 THE GROWTH OF THE EIC TRADE & INFLUENCE (1600-1714) ... 50
THE PUNJAB UNDER RANJIT SINGH ....................................... 24 EMERGENCE OF BIG CITIES ................................................... 51
THE BENGAL AND ITS NAWABS .......................................25 THE ANGLO-FRENCH STRUGGLE IN SOUTH INDIA ........... 52
MURSHID QULI KHAN......................................................... 25 FIRST CARNATIC WAR (1746 -1748).................................... 53
ALI VARDI KHAN ................................................................ 26 SECOND CARNATIC WAR (1749-54)..................................... 54
MARATHA EMPIRE ..........................................................28 THIRD CARNATIC WAR (1758-63) ........................................ 55

CHATRAPATI SHIVAJI .......................................................... 28 BRITISH OCCUPATION OF BENGAL .................................. 55

SONS OF SHIVAJI- SAMBHAJI AND RAJARAM........................... 29 BACKGROUND ................................................................... 55
SHAHUJI BHONSLE (1708–1749) ........................................ 29
BALAJI VISHWANATH (1713-1720) ..................................... 29 BATTLE OF PLASSEY ........................................................ 56
BAJI RAO I (1720 - 1740) .................................................. 30 IMPORTANCE OF BATTLE OF PLASSEY ..................................... 57
BALAJI BAJI RAO (1740 - 1761) .......................................... 31 MIR QASIM AND EIC .......................................................... 58
BATTLE OF PANIPAT ........................................................31 BATTLE OF BUXAR .......................................................... 58
MADHAV RAO (1761 – 1772) ............................................ 32 DUAL SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION OF BENGAL ...................... 59
SAWAI MADHAV RAO (1774 – 1795) .................................. 32
SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATES OF MARATHA ............................. 33 EXPANSION OF BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA ....................... 61
MAHADJI SINDHIA ............................................................. 33 EXPANSION UNDER LORD WELLESLEY (1798 - 1805) .... 61
BAJI RAO II (1796-1818) .................................................. 33 SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE................................................... 61

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SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE AND INDIAN STATES ................ 64 BHIL UPRISING ................................................................ 127
EXPANSION UNDER LORD HASTINGS (1813 - 22).......... 66 KHASI UPRISING .............................................................. 127
THE CONSOLIDATION OF BRITISH POWER (1818 - 57) .. 67 MUNDA REVOLT .............................................................. 127
DALHOUSIE AND THE POLICY OF ANNEXATION (1848 - PAGAL PANTHIS ............................................................... 128
56).................................................................................. 68 AHOM REVOLT ................................................................ 128
SANYASI REVOLT .............................................................. 128
QUICK GLANCE ................................................................70
KHOND UPRISING ............................................................ 128
ANGLO-FRENCH STRUGGLE .................................................. 70
POST-1857 REVOLT UPRISINGS ..................................... 129
BRITISH ADMINISTRATIVE AND ECONOMIC POLICY ........73
POST-1857 REVOLT UPRISINGS ..................................... 130
BRITISH ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY ................................ 73
PEASANT MOVEMENTS ..................................................... 130
REGULATING ACT OF 1773 .................................................. 74
INDIGO REVOLT – BENGAL 1859-60 ................................... 130
PITT’S INDIA ACT ............................................................... 74
BENGAL TENACY ACT ........................................................ 130
CHARTER ACT OF 1813 ....................................................... 75
EFFECT OF AMERICAN CIVIL WAR – 1864 ............................ 130
BRITISH ECONOMIC POLICIES ..........................................75 DECCAN RIOTS OF 1875 ................................................... 130
COMMERCIAL POLICY ......................................................... 75 PABNA PEASANT UPRISING (1873-76) ............................... 130
DRAIN OF WEALTH ........................................................ 76 RANI GAIDINLIU’S NAGA MOVEMENT ................................. 132
DEVELOPMENT OF MEANS OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION TRIBAL & CIVIL REBELLION ............................................ 133
....................................................................................... 77
EARLY NATIONALISM 1857-1906 .................................. 136
LAND REVENUE POLICY ................................................. 79
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT ................................................... 79 LORD CANNING ........................................................... 136
RYOTWARI SETTLEMENT...................................................... 80 LORD MAYO................................................................. 137
MAHALWARI SYSTEM ......................................................... 81 INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT, 1872: ........................................... 138
INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT, 1872............................................. 138
ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL
LORD LYTTON .............................................................. 138
POLICY .............................................................................83
LORD RIPON ................................................................ 140
BRITISH ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM .............................. 83 LORD CURZON ............................................................. 142
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL POLICY .................................... 86 OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT, 1904 ............................................ 143
HUMANITARIAN MEASURES ........................................ 88 CURZON’S FOREIGN POLICY ............................................... 143
ORIENTALIST-ANGLICIST CONTROVERSY ..................... 88 NATIONALIST MOVEMENT.......................................... 145
WOOD'S DESPATCH (1854) ........................................... 89
THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS ............................... 153
QUICK GLANCE ................................................................91
THE EARLY NATIONALISTS ........................................... 154
ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPEANS ....................................... 91
QUICK GLANCE ............................................................. 163
REVOLT OF 1857 ............................................................112
REVOLT OF 1857 .......................................................... 165
THE MAJOR CAUSES OF 1857 REVOLT WERE AS FOLLOWS. ...... 112
SOCIO-CULTRUAL AWAKENING .................................... 170
ECONOMIC CAUSES ..................................................... 112
POLITICAL CAUSES ....................................................... 112 INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 170
ADMINISTRATIVE CAUSES .......................................... 112 REFORM MOVEMENTS................................................ 170
SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CAUSES .......................................... 113
REFORM MOVEMENTS AND LEADERS .......................... 178
INFLUENCE OF OUTSIDE EVENTS................................. 113
DISCONTENT AMONG SEPOYS .................................... 113 RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY .............................................. 178
BEGINNING AND SPREAD OF THE REVOLT ............................. 113 BRAHMO SAMAJ .............................................................. 181
SUPPRESSION OF THE REVOLT............................................. 115 MAHARISHI DEBENDRANATH TAGORE (1817-1905) .. 181
CAUSES FOR THE FAILURE OF THE REVOLT............................. 116 PRARTHANA SAMAJ .................................................... 182
FAILURE OF REVOLT .......................................................... 119 DEROZIO AND YOUNG BENGAL .................................. 183
IMPACT OF THE REVOLT..................................................... 119 PANDIT ISHWAR CHANDRA VIDYASAGAR .................. 183
PARAMHANSA MANDALIS .......................................... 184
PRE-1857 REVOLT UPRISINGS ........................................123
SATYASHODHAK SAMAJ AND JYOTIBA PHULE ........... 184
VELLORE MUTINY ............................................................ 125 THE SERVANTS OF INDIA SOCIETY ............................... 185
CIVIL REBELLION .............................................................. 125 THE RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT ............................... 185
TRIBAL UPRISING ............................................................. 126 DAYANAND SARASWATI AND ARYA SAMAJ ............... 186
PAIKA REBELLION -1817 ................................................... 126 SEVA SADAN ................................................................ 187
SANTHAL REVOLT 1854-55 ............................................... 126 DHARMA SABHA ......................................................... 187

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BHARAT DHARMA MAHAMANDALA .......................... 187 THE TOLSTOY FARM .................................................... 240
SRI NARAYANA GURU DHARMA PARIPALANA (SNDP)
GANDHIJI IN INDIA ....................................................... 242
MOVEMENT ................................................................ 187
JUSTICE MOVEMENT ................................................... 187 CHAMPARAN SATYAGRAHA ....................................... 242
SELF-RESPECT MOVEMENT ......................................... 187 AHMEDABAD MILL STRIKE .......................................... 243
TEMPLE ENTRY MOVEMENT ....................................... 188 KHEDA SATYAGRAHA .................................................. 243
INDIAN SOCIAL CONFERENCE ..................................... 188 ROWLATT SATYAGRAHA .................................................... 244
WAHABI/WALLIULLAH MOVEMENT........................... 188 JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE .................................. 245
TITU MIR’S REVOLT ..................................................... 188
FARAIZI MOVEMENT ................................................... 189 HUNTER COMMISSION REPORT .......................................... 246
AHMADIYA MOVEMENT ............................................. 189 KHILAFAT MOVEMENT ................................................. 246
ALIGARH MOVEMENT AND SAYYID AHMAD KHAN.... 189
THE DEOBAND SCHOOL ............................................... 190 THE NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT .......................... 247
REFORM MOVEMENTS AMONG PARSIS ..................... 191 THE CHAURI CHAURA INCIDENT ................................... 250
RELIGIOUS REFORM AMONG SIKHS............................ 191
THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND ANNIE BESANT .... 192 THE SWARAJISTS AND THE NO CHANGERS ................... 251

QUICK GLANCE ..............................................................194 THE STAGNATION PERIOD.................................................. 251

MANIFESTO OF SWARAJ PARTY .......................................... 252
SWADESHI PHASE ..........................................................205
THE REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES ................................. 252
POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS BEFORE INDIAN NATIONAL
CONGRESS ................................................................... 205 INFLUENCE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISTS .... 252
FORMATION OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS ......... 208 LISTING OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES ............ 253
MODERATE PHASE OF INC (1885-1905) ...................... 209 SIMON COMMISSION ................................................... 255
RISE OF THE EXTREMISTS ............................................ 211
RESPONSE IN INDIA .......................................................... 255
ANTI PARTITION MOVEMENT ..................................... 216
NEHRU REPORT, 1928 ................................................... 256
ALL INDIA MUSLIMS LEAGUE .........................................218
THE FOURTEEN POINTS................................................. 257
MODERATES VS. EXTREMISTS ..................................... 219
PARTITION OF BENGAL AND SWADESHI MOVEMENT- DELHI PROPOSALS ........................................................ 258
REVISE ......................................................................... 221
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT ................................. 258
THE SURAT SPLIT ........................................................222
THE DANDI MARCH....................................................... 260
ACT OF 1909 MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS ............................ 223
GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE................................................ 262
RISE OF REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISM – PHASE 1..........225 1ST –ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE....................................... 262
LIST OF REVOLUTIONARIES AND THEIR REVOLUTIONARY GANDHI IRWIN PACT .................................................... 262
ACTIVITIES .....................................................................226
GANDHI-IRWIN PACT 5 MARCH 1931................................. 262
REVOLUTIONARY TERRORIST MOVEMENT ................ 227
KARACHI SESSION OF 1931 ........................................... 263
SECOND PHASE OF REVOLUTIONARY TERRORIST MOVEMENT (AFTER
1922)............................................................................ 228 THE COMMUNAL AWARD/MACDONALD AWARD ........ 263
GHADAR PARTY ........................................................... 230 THE POONA PACT ......................................................... 264
GHADAR MOVEMENT ................................................. 230
KOMATA MARU INCIDENT .......................................... 231 THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT 1935 ........................ 265
THE BERLIN COMMITTEE FOR INDIAN INDEPENDENCE IMPORTANT POINTS RELATED TO 1935 ACT ......................... 265
..................................................................................... 233 CREATION OF AN ALL-INDIA FEDERATION ............................. 265
HOME RULE MOVEMENT...............................................234 DIVISION OF POWERS ........................................................ 265
PROVINCIAL AUTONOMY ................................................... 265
THE PROGRAMME OF HOME RULE LEAGUE ............... 234
DIARCHY AT THE CENTRE ................................................... 265
THE LUCKNOW SESSION OF CONGRESS – 1916 .......... 235 BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE ................................................... 266
MONTAGUE’S STATEMENT OF 1917/THE AUGUST FEDERAL COURT ............................................................... 266
DECLARATION ............................................................. 236 INDIAN COUNCIL .............................................................. 266
THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT – 1919 ......................237 REORGANIZATION ............................................................ 266
OTHER POINTS ................................................................. 266
GANDHIJI’S STAY IN SOUTH AFRICA ..............................238
CONGRESS STAND ON THE EVE OF WORLD WAR 2 ....... 268
THE INDIAN NATAL CONGRESS ......................................239

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LINLITHGOW’S STATEMENT ................................................ 268 SIMON COMMISSION AND SIMON BOYCOTT
MOVEMENT (1927-29) ................................................ 279
AUGUST OFFER- AUGUST 1940 ......................................268
REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITY DURING THE 1920’S ........ 280
INDIVIDUAL SATYAGRAHA ............................................269 CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT (CDM) (1930-34) ... 281
CRIPPS MISSION ............................................................269 INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT DURING THE SECOND
WORLD WAR ............................................................... 286
QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT................................................270 QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT ............................................. 288
IMPORTANT EVENTS-REVISE .........................................272 INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY ............................................ 289
POST-WAR NATIONAL MOVEMENT (1945-47) ........... 291
HOME RULE MOVEMENT ............................................ 272 FREEDOM OF INDIA, 1947 ........................................... 292
INITIAL GANDHIAN MOVEMENTS ............................... 274
KHILAFAT AND NON – COOPERATION MOVEMENT ... 275 REVISE ONCE AGAIN ..................................................... 294
SWARAJISTS AND CONSTRUCTIVE WORK (1922-29) .. 278

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE

some of the defects and weaknesses of India’s
medieval social, economic and political structure
INTRODUCTION which were responsible for the eventual
Have you ever wondered how we have defined the subjugation of the country by the English East
India Company.
different ages in History?
Mughal Empire Timeline
As in how do we call a history, Ancient or medieval Ruler Period
or Modern? Babur 1526 to 1530 AD
Every age is characterized with a significant Humayun 1530-1540, 1555-
change, whether it is in the form of a new 1556 AD
discovery or a change in economic state, political Akbar 1556 - 1605 AD
structure or philosophy. For example, Neolithic
Jahangir 1605 - 1627 AD
age is differentiated from Mesolithic age by
domestication of plants. i.e. in Neolithic age Shahjahan 1628-1658 AD
agriculture started. Similarly, ancient history and Aurangzeb 1658 - 1707 AD
medieval history is differentiated by the political
changes that the world saw. Since these changes
came at different times in different parts of the
World, the change of a phase in history is different
for different geographical regions.
According to world history, the modern history
starts from 15th C AD with the start of
Renaissance period when new thoughts and ideas
enlightened the world. With India, the case is
totally different. In India, the modernization did
not come as a gradual process, but it came as a
shock. This is one of the reasons why our society is
still unique. We are modern yet traditional.
In India, modern history starts roughly from 18th
century, with the advent of Europeans. They
brought new modern ideas of freedom, AURANGZEB
democracy, fraternity etc. which deeply
influenced the modern Indian thinkers. They also
brought new economic trend of commercializing
almost everything from manufacturing to
agriculture. Scientific ideas and discoveries also
reached India and that made us realize that with
the contemporary system of governance we were
centuries back from the world.
Always go through history as a subject with
mapping of significant events, its significance
important personalities etc. Keep referring to
previous years question papers.
The study of the process of decline of the great
Mughal Empire is most instructive, as it reveals

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Aurangzeb, often described as the "last effective only wife Rubiad Daurani at Aurangabad in
Mughal emperor" ruled India for nearly 50 years Maharashtra. It is known as Bibi ka Makabara. It is
from 1658 to 1707. otherwise known as Mini Tajmahal as it was the
blind imitation of Tajmahal.
• And in comparison, with other Mughal
rulers, he fared badly - his great-
grandfather Akbar was described as the
benign secular ruler, grandfather Jahangir
was known for his love for art and
architecture and father Shah Jahan was the
great romantic who built the Taj Mahal.
• But Aurangzeb, the sixth emperor and a
devout Muslim, was often described as a
ruthless tyrant who was an expansionist,
imposed tough Sharia laws and brought
back the discriminatory jizya tax that Hindu
residents had to pay in return for In the same year he reimposed jaziya upon all the
protection. non-Muslims, which was earlier abolished by
• He was also described as someone who Akbar.
hated music and other fine arts, and
Aurangzeb called Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj a
ordered the destruction of several
‘mountain rat’ and gave him the title Raja because
temples.
of his guerilla tactics. In 1660 he entrusted
Aurangzeb imprisoned his father and made
Shaisthakhan to defeat C. Shivaji. Later in 1665 the
himself the Padushah in 1658. But his actual
treaty of Purandar was signed between Maharaja
coronation was conducted in 1659. Alamgir was
Jai Singh of Amber and Shivaji. Jaisingh was
the name adopted by Aurangzeb when he became
deputed by Aurangzeb. The Mughal Rajput
the Padushah. Aurangzeb is known as ‘Zinda Pir’
relation became worse during the period of
or living saint because of his simple life.
Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb imprisoned his father Shah Jahan and
Aurangzeb is considered as religiously fanatic. He
made himself the Padushah in 1658. But his actual
was also a temple breaker. He persecuted the
coronation was conducted in 1659. Alamgir was
Hindus and imposed prohibition against the free
the name adopted by Aurangzeb when he became
exercise of Holi and Diwali. Aurangzeb died in 1707
the Padushah. Aurangzeb is known as ‘Zinda Pir’
February 20, at Ahmednagar. Aurangzeb’s tomb is
or living saint because of his simple life.
situated at Daulatabad in Maharashtra.
He banned music and dance. He ousted all the
The unity and stability of the Empire had been
artists from his court. At the same time, he was an
shaken up during the long and strong reign of
accomplished Veena player. Aurangzeb was the
Aurangzeb; yet in spite of his many harmful
last great Mughal Emperor.
policies, the Mughal administration was still quite
In 1675 he executed 9th Sikh Guru, Guru Tej efficient and the Mughal army quite strong at the
Behadur because of his reluctance to accept Islam. time, of his death in 1707. Moreover, the Mughal
Teg Behadur was executed at the Chandni Chauk. dynasty still commanded respect in the country.
In 1679 Aurangzeb constructed the tomb of his

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

Do You Know? LATER MUGHALS

• Zafarnama is the name given to the letter • Bahadurshah I came to the throne after
sent by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind the death of Aurangzeb. His real name was
Singh in 1705 to Aurangzeb. Muassam.
• In 1689, the second Maratha Chhatrapati • In 1739 Nadirshah Quli the Persian
Sambhaji was brutally executed by conqueror attacked India during the period
Aurangzeb after he was found guilty of of the Mughal Emperor Muhammed Shah
murder and violence, atrocities. or Rustan Khan (1719-1748) and took away
• François Bernier, the personal physician to Shah Jahan’s famous Peacock Throne and
Aurangzeb, observed versatile Mughal Kohinoor Diamond.
gun-carriages each drawn by two horses. • Ahmedshah’s (1748 -1754) period saw the
He also wrote Travels in the Mughal mighty invasion of Ahmed Shah Abdali of
Empire, which is mainly about the reigns of Afghanistan.
Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. • Akbar Shah II (1806 - 1837) conferred the
• The textile industry in the Mughal Empire title ‘‘Raja’’ upon Ram Mohan Roy.
emerged very firmly during the reign of the • Bahadurshah II (1837-1862) was the last
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and was Mughal emperor. On 17th May 1857
particularly well noted by Francois Bernier, Bahadurshah II was declared the
a French physician of the Mughal independent Emperor of India by the
Emperor. Francois Bernier writes how Mutineers. He was surrendered to Lt
Karkanahs, or workshops for the artisans, W.S.R. Hodson at Humayun’s Tomb in
particularly in textiles flourished by Delhi. In 1859 he was deported to Rangoon
"employing hundreds of embroiderers, who in December where he expired on Nov. 7,
were superintended by a master". He 1862. The Tomb of Bahadurshah II is in
further writes how "Artisans manufacture Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.
of silk, fine brocade, and other fine muslins, • Bahadurshah II was also a famous Urdu
of which are made turbans, robes of gold Poet.
flowers, and tunics worn by females, so • Bahadurshah II was also known as
delicately fine as to wear out in one night, Bahadurshah Zafar. Zafar means gifted
and cost even more if they were well poet.
embroidered with fine needlework".
• In 1667, the French East India Company
ambassadors Le Gouz and Bebert
presented Louis XIV of France's letter
which urged the protection of French
merchants from various rebels in the
Deccan. In response to the letter,
Aurangzeb issued a firman allowing the
French to open a factory in Surat.
• Some of the wars and rebellions in his
period- Mughal-Maratha Wars, Satnami
Revolt, Pashtun Opposition and Sikh
Opposition etc.
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Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) Deccan continued to be a prey to disorder.
The peace and order of Deccan
deteriorated as the Marathas fought
themselves and with Mughal empire.
• Bahadur Shah had tried to conciliate the
rebellious Sikhs by making peace with Guru
Gobind Singh and giving him a high mansab
(rank), But after the death of the Guru, the
Sikhs once again raised the banner of
revolt in the Punjab under the leadership
of Banda Bahadur. Thus, the hostility
between Sikhs and Mughals continued.
• Bahadur Shah conciliated Chatarsal, the
After Aurangzeb’s death, Bahadur Shah emerged Bundela chief, who remained a loyal
victorious among the 3 brothers. feudatory, and the Jat chief Churaman,
who joined him in the campaign against
• He followed a policy of compromise and Banda Bahadur.
conciliation, and there was evidence of the
reversal of some of the narrowminded • Due to the reckless grants of jagirs and
policies and measures adopted by promotions the financial condition of the
empire further deteriorated. He tried to
Aurangzeb. He adopted a more tolerant
attitude towards the Hindu chiefs and find solution to these problems but his
rajas. There was no destruction of temples untimely death in 1712 opened new
dimension in the history of Mughal politics.
in his reign.
Jahandar Shah
• He tried to have a greater control over the
Rajput states of Amber and Marwar
(Jodhpur) by replacing Jai Singh by his
younger brother Vijai Singh at Amber and
by forcing Ajit Singh of Marwar to submit
to Mughal authority.
• Bahadur shah’s policy towards the
Maratha sardars (chiefs) was that of half-
hearted conciliation. He granted them the
sardeshmukhi of the Deccan and he failed • After the death of Bahadur Shah, the war
to grant them the chauth and thus to of succession got new dimension in
satisfy them fully. Mughal politics. Until now nobles only
• He also did not recognize Shahu as the supported the aspirants to the throne, and
rightful Maratha King. He thus let Tara Bai now they themselves aspired for the
and Shahu tight for supremacy over the power and used princes as mere pawns to
Maratha Kingdom. capture the seats of authority.

• The result was that Shahu and the Maratha • In the succeeding wars of succession
sardars remained dissatisfied and the Jahandar Shah, won because he was

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

supported by Zulfiqar Khan, the most the power of envy to destroy. Never underestimate
powerful noble of the time. that”- Oliver Stone
• Jahandar Shah was a weak and degenerate • Many jealous nobles secretly worked
prince who was wholly devoted to against Zulfiqar Khan. Worse still, the
pleasure. He lacked good manners and emperor too did not give him his trust and
dignity and decency. Sailendra Sen cooperation in full measure. The emperor’s
describes him as "a worthless debauch ears were poisoned against Zulfiqar Khan
[who] became emperor after liquidating by unscrupulous favorites.
his three brothers".
• He was told that his wazir was becoming
Zulfiqar Khan, who had become his wazir made too powerful and ambitious and might
efforts towards improving the conditions of the even overthrow the emperor himself. The
empire in the fields of politics, finance, governance cowardly Emperor dared not dismiss the
and military. Zulfiqar Khan believed that it was powerful wazir, but he began to intrigue
necessary to establish friendly relations with the against him secretly. Nothing could have
Rajput rajas and the Maratha sardars and to been more destructive of healthy
conciliate the Hindu chieftains in general in order administration.
to strengthen his own position at the Court and to
• Jahandar Shah’s inglorious reign came to
save the Empire.
an early end in January 1713 when he was
• He abolished Jaziya. defeated at Agra Farrukh Siyar, his
• Jai Singh of amber was given title of Mirza nephew.
Raja Sawai and appointed governor of Farrukh Siyar (1713 - 1719)
Malwa
• He became Emperor by defeating his uncle
• Ajit singh of Marwar was awarded Title of
Jahandar Shah at Agra in 1713. He was
Maharaja and appointed governor of
supported by the Abdullah Khan and
Gujarat
Husain All Khan Baraha, who were
• In a nutshell their demands during the therefore given the offices of wazir and Mir
period of Bahadur Shah I was accepted.
Bakshi respectively.
Maratha ruler was granted the chauth and
• Farrukh Siyar lacked the capacity to rule.
sardeshmukhi of Deccan with a condition that
He was coward, cruel, undependable, and
collection would be done by Mughal officials and
faithless. Moreover, he allowed himself to
then handed over to Maratha officials.
be influenced by worthless favorites and
Tried to improve finances by taking some steps – flatterers. The Sayyid brothers soon
acquired dominant control over the affairs
• Checked the reckless growth of jagirs and
of the state. This was not acceptable to the
offices
Farrukh Siyar, he repeatedly intrigued to
• Compelled the mansabdars (nobles) to
overthrow the two brothers, but he failed
maintain their official quota of troops
repeatedly.
• Encouraged Ijarah or revenue farming.
• In the end of 1719, the Sayyid brothers
deposed Farrukh Siyar and killed him. In
Downfall of Zulfiqaar Khan Farrukh Siyar place, they raised to the
throne in quick succession two young
“Never underestimate the power of jealousy and
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princes' namely Rafi-ul Darjat and Rafi ud- • Many nobles declared that the Sayyids
Daulah (cousins of Farrukh Siyar), but they were following anti-Mughal and anti-
died of consumption. Islamic policies. They thus tried to arouse
• The Sayyid brothers now made the fanatical sections of the Muslim
Muhammad Shah the Emperor of India. nobility against the Sayyid brothers.
The Sayyid brothers made a rigorous effort • The anti- Sayyid nobles were supported by
to control rebellions and to save the Emperor Muhammad Shah who wanted to
Empire from administrative disintegration. free himself from the control of the two
They failed in these tasks mainly because brothers.
they were faced with constant political
• In 1720, Haider Khan killed Hussain Ali
rivalry, quarrels, and conspiracies at the khan on 9 October 1720, the younger of
court. the two brothers. Abdullah Khan tried to
• The financial position of the state fight, back but was defeated near Agra.
deteriorated rapidly as zamindars and Thus, ended the domination of the Mughal
rebellious elements refused to pay land Empire by the Sayyid brothers (they were
revenue, officials misappropriated state known in Indian history as 'king makers').
revenues, and central income declined
because of the spread of revenue farming.
Muhammad Shah (1719-1748)
• The salaries of officials and soldiers could
• Muhammad Shah's long reign of nearly 30
not be paid regularly, and soldiers became
years (1719-1748) was the last chance of
undisciplined and even mutinous.
reviving and saving the Empire. But
Did the KARMA take the lives of ‘King Makers’?? Muhammad Shah was not the man of the
• The Sayyid brothers killed Farrukh Siyar to moment. He was weak-minded and
ensure provide good governance and to frivolous and over-fond of a life of ease and
maintain their power clout in the empire, luxury.
they also faced the same end as that of • Muhammad Shah neglected the affairs of
Farrukh Siyar. state. Instead of giving full support to
• Many nobles were jealous of the 'growing knowledgeable and abled wazir such as
power’ of the Sayyid brothers. The Nizam-ul-Mulk, he fell under the evil
deposition and murder of Farrukh Siyar influence of corrupt and worthless
frightened many of them: if the emperor flatterers and intrigued against his own
could be killed, what safety was there for ministers. He even shared in the bribes
mere nobles? taken by his favorite courtiers.

• Moreover, the murder of the emperor • Disgusted with the fickle-mindedness and
created a wave of public revulsion against suspicious nature of the emperor and the
the two brothers. They were looked down constant quarrels at the court, Nizum-ul-
upon as traitors. Mulk, the most powerful noble of the time,
decided to follow his own ambition.
• Many of the nobles of Aurangzeb's reign Nizum-ul-Mulk decided to leave the
also disliked the Sayyid alliance with the Emperor and his Empire to their fate and to
Rajput and the Maratha chiefs and their strike out on his own.
liberal policy towards the Hindus.
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Flight of loyalty and rise rebellions of the Indus once again opened the Empire
• He relinquished his office in October 1724 to the threat of invasions from the North-
and marched south to find the state of West. A vital line of defense had
Hyderabad in the Deccan. "His departure disappeared.
was symbolic of the flight of loyalty and AHMED SHAH ABDALI
virtue from the Empire.” • After the death of Muhammad Shah in
• After the withdrawal of Nizum-ul-Mulk, 1748, bitter struggles, and even civil war
many other zamindars, rajas, and nawabs broke out among unscrupulous and power-
of many states raised the banner of hungry nobles. Furthermore, as a result of
rebellion and independence. For example, the weakening of the north-western
Bengal, Hyderabad, Avadh, Punjab, and defenses, the Empire was devastated and
Maratha. plundered by the repeated invasions of
Ahmed Shah Abdali, one of Nadir Shah's
• The Marathi sardars began their northern
ablest generals, who had succeeded in
expansion and overran Malwa, Gujarat and
establishing his authority over Afghanistan
Bundelkhand. Then, in 1738-1739, Nadir
after his master's death.
Shah descended upon the plains of
northern India, and the Empire lay • Abdali repeatedly invaded and plundered
prostrate. northern India right down to Delhi and
NADIR SHAH Mathura between 1748 and 1767.

• In 1738-39, Nadir Shah attacked upon the • Abdali in 1761, defeated the Maratha in
plains of northern India. The visible the Third Battle of Panipat and thus gave a
weakness of the Mughal Empire made him big blow to their ambition of controlling
to plunder Delhi and the Emperor the Mughal Emperor and thereby
Muhammad Shah was taken as prisoner. dominating the country.

• The greedy invader Nadir Shah took • After defeating Mughal and Maratha,
possession of the royal treasury and other Abdali did not, found a new Afghan
royal property, levied tribute on the kingdom in India. He and his successors
leading nobles, and plundered Delhi. Nadir could not even retain the Punjab which
Shah also carried away the famous Koh-i- they soon lost to the Sikh chiefs.
nur diamond and the Jewel-studded • As a result of the invasions of Nadir Shah
Peacock Throne of Shahjahan. Abdali and the suicidal internal feuds of the
• Nadir Shah forced Muhammad Shah to Mughal nobility, the Mughal Empire had
cede to him all the provinces of the Empire (by 1761) ceased to exist in practice as an
falling west of the river Indus. all-India Empire.

• Nadir Shah's Invasion inflicted immense

Shah Alam II, who ascended the throne of Mughal
damage on the Mughal Empire. It caused
an irreparable loss of prestige and exposed Empire in 1759, spent the initial years as an
Emperor wandering from place to place far away
the hidden weaknesses of the Empire to
from his capital, for he lived in mortal fear of his
the Maratha Sardars and the foreign
trading companies. own war.

• The loss of Kabul and the areas to the west

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Why were so many empire-shaking battles Granting of Diwani Rights to English Company
fought at Panipat? • The emperor had to sign the Treaty of
• The area of Panipat occupies one of the most Allahabad in the year 1765.
prominent positions in the history of India as for as • The Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 12
battles are considered. This prominence is due to August 1765, between the Mughal
the following reasons. Emperor Shah Alam II, and Robert, Lord
• The way to capture the power at Delhi passes Clive, of the East India Company, as a result
through the battle field of Panipat. Delhi is the of the Battle of Buxar of 22 October 1764.
power center through which the India was ruled • Shah Alam II was forced to grant the
throughout history; hence the Panipat acted as the Diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal
axis to this center. (which included Bihar and Odisha) to the
British East India Company in return for an
• Most of the invaders came from the north-
western region, for them Panipat enroute to Delhi annual tribute of 2.6 million rupees to be
and positioned as a suitable battle field. paid by the company from the collected
revenue.
• Panipat is a plain, less sloped area and had less
• Mughals had ceased to exist in 1759 itself
population. This geographical feature gave an
but they were able to continue because of
advantage to the rulers to use tactical weapons and
to employ sound war strategy.
their powerful hold on the minds of people
of India as symbolical unity of country.
• The area is drained by rivers like Yamuna and
Ganga, these rivers were used by the rulers as
strategic communication lines for war supplies and
escape.

The grand trunk roads build by Sher Shah Suri

passes nearby Panipat. The invaders entered India
through the passes like Khyber and landed into the
battle fields of Panipat.

Shah Alam II was a man of some ability and ample • Shah Alam II left the British shelter in 1772
courage. But the Empire was by now beyond and returned to Delhi under the protective
redemption. arm of the Marathas.
• The British occupied Delhi in 1803 and
In 1764, Shah Alam II joined Mir Qasim of Bengal
since that time to till 1857, when the
and Shuja-ud-Daula of Avadh in declaring war
Mughal dynasty was finally extinguished,
upon the English East India Company.
the Mughal Emperors merely served as a
Defeated by the British at the Battle of Buxar political front for the English.
(October 1764), Shah Alam II lived for several
years at Allahabad as a pensioner of the East
India Company.

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CAUSES OF DECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIRE • But later due to his short-sighted attempt
V. A. Smith writes, "The collapse of the Empire reduce the strength of the Rajput rajas and
came with a suddenness which at first sight may extend the imperial sway over their lands
seem surprising. But the student who has acquired led to the subsequent withdrawal of their
even a moderately sound knowledge of history will loyalty from the Mughal throne.
be surprised that the Empire lasted so long rather • The strength of Aurangzeb’s
than it collapsed suddenly." administration was challenged at its very
nerve center around Delhi by Satnam, the
There were many causes which were responsible
Jat, and the Sikh uprisings. This is due to
for the downfall of the Mughal Empire; some of
the oppression by the Mughal revenue
them were as follows:
officials on the peasantry.
Political Cause: Religious Cause:
• Establishing a stable centralized
•
The most important cause of the downfall
administration throughout the country
of the Mughal Empire was the religious
was a practically difficult task due to the
policy of Aurangzeb.
prevalent socio-economic structure,
• The Mughal state in the days of Akbar,
political and communication difficulties.
Jahangir, and Shahjahan was basically a
• Aurangzeb’s objective of unifying the
secular state. Its stability was essentially
entire country under one central political
founded on the policy of noninterference
authority was, though justifiable in theory,
with the religious beliefs and customs of
not easy in practice.
the people, fostering of friendly relations
• His repeated invasions on Marathas
between Hindus and Muslims.
drained the very resources of the empire
• Aurangzeb alienated the sympathy and
and ruined the trade and commerce in the
support of the Hindus by committing all
Deccan.
sorts of atrocities on them. He imposed
• In the 18th century, Maratha’s expansion
Jizyah (tax on non-Muslims) on all the
in the north weakened central authority
Hindus in the country.
still further.
• The jizyah was abolished within a few years
• Aurangzeb’s absence from the north for
of Aurangzeb’s death. Amicable relations
over 25 years and his failure to subdue the
with the Rajput and other Hindu nobles
Marathas led to deterioration in
and chiefs were soon restored.
administration; this undermined the
• The Hindu and the Muslim nobles,
prestige of the Empire and its army.
Zamindars, and chiefs ruthlessly oppressed
• Alliance with the Rajput rajas with the
and exploited the common people
consequent military support was one of
irrespective of their religion.
the main pillars of Mughal strength in the
Wars of succession:
past, but Aurangzeb's conflict with some of
• To quote Erskine, "The sword was the
the Rajput states also had serious
grand arbiter of right and every son was
consequences.
prepared to try his fortune against his
• At the beginning Aurangzeb himself had
brothers."
adhered to the Rajput alliance by raising
• the absence of the law of primogeniture in
Jaswant Singh of Kamer and Jai Singh of
the matter of succession to the throne. The
Amber to the highest of ranks.
result was that every Mughal Prince
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considered himself to be equally fit to and treachery.
become the ruler and was prepared to • The mutual quarrels exhausted the Empire,
fight out his claim. affected its cohesion, led to its
• After the death of Bahadur Shah, the dismemberment, and, in the end, made it
various claimants to the throne were an easy prey to foreign conquerors.
merely used as tools by the leaders of rival Deterioration and Demoralization in the Mughal
factions to promote their own personal Army:
interests. This is evident in the acts of • During the 18th century, the Mughal army
Zulfikar Khan, Sayyid brothers (King lacked discipline and fighting morale. Lack
makers) and after their death Mir of finance made it difficult to maintain a
Mohammad Amin and Asaf Jah Nizam-ul- large number of armies. Its soldiers and
Mulk acted as king-makers. officers were not paid for many months,
• The wars of succession became extremely and, since they were mere mercenaries,
fierce and destructive during the 18th they were constantly disaffected and often
century and resulted in great loss of life verged on a Mutiny.
and property. Thousands of trained
• In the words of Irvine, "Excepting want of
soldiers and hundreds of capable military
personal courage, every other fault in the
commanders and efficient and tried
list of military vices may be attributed to
officials were killed. Moreover, these civil
the degenerate Mughals; indiscipline, want
wars loosened the administrative fabric of
of cohesion, luxurious habits, inactivity and
the Empire.
commissariat and cumbrous equipment."
•
The source of the weakness was the
Civil Wars and Rebellions:
composition of the army which consisted
• The eighteenth century also produced a chiefly of contingents maintained by the
large number of capable nobles and great nobles from the revenues of
distinguished generals. Their personal assignments held by them for that
ambitions were unlimited, and they purpose. As the authority of the sovereign
preferred to carve out independent relaxed, the general tendency among the
principalities for themselves rather than great nobles was naturally to hold as their
serve the Mughal Emperors loyally and own those assignments which maintained
devotedly. their troops.
• The major weakness of the Mughal nobility Mughals Suffered from Intellectual Bankruptcy:
during the 18th century was in their • The Mughals suffered from intellectual
selfishness and lack of devotion to the Bankruptcy. That was partly due to the lack
state and this, in turn, gave birth to of an efficient system of education in the
corruption in administration and mutual country which alone could produce leaders
bickering. of thought. The result was that the
• In order to increase emperors’ power, Mughals failed to produce any political
prestige, and income, the nobles formed genius or leader who could "teach the
groups and factions against each other and country a new philosophy of life and to
even against the king. In their struggle for kindle aspirations after a new heaven on
power, they took recourse to force, fraud, earth.

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Rise of the Marathas: What were the Consequences of Decline of

• Another important factor which Mughal Empire?
contributed to the decline of the Mughal • None of the Indian powers rose to claim the
Empire was the rise of the Marathas under heritage of the Grand Mughals for they were strong
the Peshwas. They consolidated their enough to destroy the Empire but not strong
position in Western India and then started enough to unite it or to create anything new in its
entertaining plans for a Hindupad Padshahi place.
or a Greater Maharashtra Empire. The • They could not create a new social order which
dream could be realised only at the cost of could stand up to the new enemy from the West. All
the Mughal Empire. The gains of the of the powers which were against Mughals were
Marathas were the loss of the Mughals. suffering from same weakness which Mughals
Foreign Invasion: suffered.

• The invasion on India by Nadir Shah and • Degenerated state of Mughals invited
Ahmad Shah Abdali gave a serious blow to Europeans to knock at the gates of India.
the already tottering Mughal Empire. The
• They had the benefit of coming from societies
easy victory of Nadir Shah and the which had evolved a superior economic system and
repeated invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali which were more advanced in science and
exposed to the world the military technology.
weakness of the Mughal state.
• The centuries-old socio-economic and political
• The emergence of the British challenge structure of the country was replaced by a colonial
took away the last hope of the revival of structure.
the crisis-ridden Empire.
• The stagnation of Indian society was broken
and new forces of change emerged.

Because the motives of Europeans were colonial,

they brought extreme misery, national
degradation, economic, political, and cultural
backwardness.

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Quick Glance

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INDIAN STATES AND SOCIETY IN THE 18th CENTURY

After 17th century, Indian politics had undergone local and petty chiefs who were
many major changes. With the gradual weakening challenging the higher authorities.
and decline of the Mughal Empire, local and • They had decentralized the political
economic forces began to arise and assert authority in Chiefs, Jagirdars and
themselves. Zamindars. Politics of these states were
non-communal or secular.
These changes were rising of large number of
independent and semi-independent powers such Economy:
as Bengal, Avadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and the • None of these states succeeded in curbing
Maratha Kingdom on the debris of Mughal Empire. the economic crisis started in the 17th
century. All of them remained rent
These powers had challenged the British attempt extracting states.
at supremacy in India. • Zamindars and Jagirdars, whose number
Succession States - Bengal, Awadh and Hyderabad kept on increasing, kept fighting over
are ‘succession states’ because they arose as a income of agriculture while the peasant’s
result of the assertion of autonomy by governors suffering had increased.
of Mughal provinces. • States tried to promote foreign trade but
they had not taken steps to modernize the
Rebellion States - Maratha, Afghan, Jat and Punjab
industrial and commercial structure.
states were the product of rebellions by local
chieftains, zamindars and peasants against
Mughal authority.

There was a 3rd zone also which comprised of

south-west coast, south –east coast and north
eastern India where Mughal influence had not
reached.

Polity and Administration of the States

• While the overall political and
administrative framework were same in
these two states or zone but politics were
different because of local conditions.
• Most of the rulers had acknowledged the
nominal Mughal supremacy to legitimize
their positions. While the successions
states had inherited the Mughal
administration methods, other states had
adopted Mughal structure and institutions
including revenue system in varying
degrees.
• The rulers of all the zones had established
law and order and tried to conciliate the

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

THINK- Break-up of Mughal Empire was followed 8. Birjis Qadra 1857-1858 AD
by ‘anarchy’ or breakdown of law and order. Authority of Awadh rulers extended up to
Comment. Rohillakhand. A large number of Afghans from the
mountain ranges of North-West frontier, called
the Rohillas, were settled there.

Rohilla chiefs were trying to carve out their own

independent principalities in their own in the area.
Nawabs of Awadh organized a powerful army
which was composed of besides Muslims and
Hindus, Naga sanyasis as well.

The founder of the autonomous kingdom of Avadh

was Saadat Khan Burhanul-Mulk who was
appointed as Governor of Avadh in 1722. He was
an extremely bold, energetic, iron-willed, and
intelligent person.

Mughal Emperor honorably awarded him the

title Khan Bahadur for his steadfast services in
campaign against Marathas in Deccan. He was
bold, energetic, iron-willed, and intelligent person.

NORTH INDIAN STATES IN 18TH CENTURY When he was appointed, there were many
Following were the important North Indian States rebellious Zamindars who refused to pay the land
in 18th Century tax, organized their own private armies, erected
forts, and defied the imperial government. For
Awadh years he had to wage war upon them.
During the 139 years of Awadh reign following
rulers ruled: He succeeded in suppressing lawlessness and
disciplining the big Zamindars and thus, increasing
1. Burhanul- 1719-1737 AD the financial resources of his government.
Mulk Nawab
Sadat Khan Most of the defeated zamindars were, however,
2. Nawab 1737-1753 AD not displaced. They were usually confirmed in
Safdarjung their estates after they had submitted and agreed
3. Nawab Shuja- 1753-1775 AD to pay their dues (land revenue) regularly.
ud-daula On this success Muhammad Shah was very
4. Nawab Asaf- 1775-1797 AD pleased and given him the title of "Burhan-ul-
ud-daula Mulk".
5. Nawab Wazir 1797-1798 AD
Fresh revenue settlement:
Ali Khan
He had carried out a new revenue settlement in
6. Nawab Sadat 1798-1814 AD
1723.
Ali Khan
7. Nawab Ghazi- 1814-1819 AD
ud-din Haider

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He had levied equitable land revenue on peasants • He secured Maratha military help by
and protected them from oppression by the big paying a daily allowance of rupees 25000
zamindars. per day and jat support by paying rupees
15000 a day. Later he entered into an
Religious policy:
agreement with Peshwa.
He did not discriminate between Hindus and
• According to agreement peshwa was to
Muslims. Many of his commanders and high
help Mughal empire against Ahmad Shah
officials were Hindus He curbed refractory
Abdali and protected from internal rebels
zamindars, chiefs, and nobles irrespective of their
as Rajputs and Pathans. In return 50000 to
religion.
be paid to Peshwas, granted the chauth of
Army: Punjab, Sindh and several districts of
His troops were well -paid, well-armed, and well- northern India, and made the Governor of
trained Ajmer and Agra.
Administration: • Agreement failed as Peshwa sided with
His administration was efficient. Before his death Safdar Jung’s enemies who promised him
in 1739, he had become virtually independent and governorship of Awadh and Allahabad.
had made the province a hereditary possession.
He was succeeded by his nephew Safdar Jang.

Safdar Jung

Safdar Jung had

succeeded his
uncle Saadat
Khan Burhan-ul-
Mulk in 1739. He
was •Maintained high standards of personal
simultaneously morality. Not only Safdar Jung but also
appointed the founders of Hyderabad, Bengal and Awadh
wazir of the were also men of high personal morality.
Empire in 1748 • Nearly all of them led simple and austere
and granted in life which proves that not all the leading
addition the nobles of 18th century led extravagant and
province of Allahabad. luxurious lives. It was only in their public
and political dealings that they resorted to
He gave long period of peace to people of Awadh.
fraud, intrigue and treachery.
He suppressed rebellious Zamindars and made an
Religious policy:
alliance with the Maratha sardars so that his
• Policy of impartiality in the employment of
dominion was saved from their incursions.
Hindus and Muslims. The highest post in
• He won the loyalty of Rajputs and his government was held by a Hindu,
Shaikhzadas. He carried warfare against Maharaja Nawab Rai.
Rohelas and Bangash Pathans.

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Different culture: Raja Sawai Jai Singh:
• Long period of peace and of economic • The most outstanding Rajput ruler of the
prosperity under the Nawabs resulted in 18th century was Raja Sawai Jai Singh of
the growth of a distinct Lucknow culture Amber (1681-1743).
around the Awadh court. • Raja Sawai Jai Singh was a distinguished
• Lucknow, for long an important city of statesman, law-maker, and reformer. But
Awadh, and the seat of the Awadh Nawabs most of all he is known as a man of science
after 1775, soon rivaled Delhi in its in an age when Indians were oblivious of
patronage of arts and literature. It also scientific progress.
developed as an important center of
handicrafts.

The Rajput States

• The principal Rajput states took advantage
of the growing weakness of Mughal power
to virtually free them from central control.
• At the same time, they increased their
influence in the rest of the Empire.
• In the reign of Farrukh Siyar and
Muhammad Shah the rulers of Amber and
Marwar were appointed governors of
important Mughal provinces such as Agra, •He was the Rajput ruler of the kingdom of
Gujarat, and Malwa. (remember Zulfiqar Amber (later called Jaipur). He was given
khan). title of Sawai at the age of eleven by the
Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb in the year
1699. "Sawai" means one and a quarter
time superior to his contemporaries.
• He founded the city of Jaipur in the
territory taken from the Jats. He made it a
great seat of science and Art. Jaipur was
built upon strictly scientific principles and
• Bigger states expanded themselves at the according to a regular plan. Its broad
cost of their weaker neighbors, Rajput and streets are intersected at right angles.
non-Rajput. Most of the larger Rajput Science
slates were constantly involved in petty • Jai Singh was above everything a great
quarrels and civil wars. astronomer. Five observatories were built
• The internal politics of these states were at Delhi, Mathura (in his Agra province),
often characterized by the same type of Benares, Ujjain (capital of his Malwa
corruption, intrigue, and treachery as province), and his own capital of Jaipur.
prevailed at the Mughal court. Ajit Singh of Only the one at Jaipur is still operational.
Marwar was killed by his own son. • Relying primarily on Indian astronomy,
these buildings were used to accurately
predict eclipses and other astronomical
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events. The observational techniques and The Jats
instruments used in his observatories were • The Jats, a caste of agriculturists, lived in
also superior to those used by the the region around Delhi, Agra and
European Jesuit astronomers he invited to Mathura. Oppression by Mughal officials
his observatories. drove the Jat peasants around Mathura to
• Termed as the Jantar Mantar they revolt.
consisted of the Ram Yantra (a cylindrical • They revolted under the leadership of their
building with an open top and a pillar in its Jat zamindars in 1669 and then again in
center), the Jai Prakash (a concave 1688. These revolts were crushed but the
hemisphere), the Samrat Yantra (a huge area remained disturbed. After the death
equinoctial dial), the Digamsha Yantra (a of Aurangzeb, they created disturbances all
pillar surrounded by two circular walls), around Delhi.
and the Narivalaya Yantra (a cylindrical • Though originally a peasant uprising, the
dial). Jat revolt, led by zamindars, soon became
• He drew up a set of tables, entitled Zij predatory. They plundered all and sundry,
Muhammadshahi, to enable people to the rich and the poor, the jagirdars and the
make astronomical observations. peasants, the Hindus and the Muslims.
• They took active part in the Court intrigues
at Delhi, often changing sides to suit their
own advantage. The Jat state of Bharatpur
was set up by Churaman and Badan Singh.

Suraj Mal
• The Jat power reached its highest glory
under Suraj Mai, who ruled from 1756 to
1763. He was an extremely able
administrator and soldier and a very wise
statesman.
Mathematics
• He extended his authority over a large area
• He had Euclid’s, “Elements of Geometry”,
which extended from the Ganga in the East
translated into Sanskrit as also several
to Chambal in the South, the Subah of Agra
works on trigonometry, and Napier’s work
in the West to the Subah of Delhi in the
on the construction and use of logarithms.
North.
Social
• His state included among others the
• Jai Singh was also a social reformer.
districts of Agra, Mathura, Meerut, and
• He tried to enforce a law to reduce the
Aligarh.
lavish expenditure which a Rajput had to
A contemporary historian has described him as
incur on their daughter’s wedding and
follows: “Though he wore the Dress of a farmer
which often led to infanticide.
and could speak only his own Brai dialect, he was
• This remarkable prince ruled Jaipur for
the Plato of the Jat tribe. In prudence and skill, and
nearly 44 years from 1699 to 1743.
ability to manage the revenue and civil affairs he
had no equal among the grandees of Hindustan
except Asaf Jah Bahadur.”
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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

After his death in 1763, the Jat state declined and • He was known chiefly for his creation of
was split up among petty Zamindars most of the Khālsā (Khalsa), the military
whom lived by plunder. brotherhood of the Sikhs (Sikhism) and
introduction of Five Ks, the five articles of
Bangash Pathans and Rohelas
faith that Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times.
• Muhammad Khan Bangash, an Afghan
• They are: Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (a
adventurer, established his control over
wooden comb for the hair), Kara (an iron
the territory around Farrukhabad,
bracelet), Kachera (100% cotton tieable
between what are now Aligarh and Kanpur,
undergarment (not an elastic one) and
during the reigns of Farrukh Siyar and
Kirpan (an iron dagger large enough to
Muhammad Shah.
defend yourself).

• Similarly, during the breakdown of

administration following Nadir Shah’s
invasion, Ali Muhammad Khan carved out
a separate principality, known as
Rohilkhand, at the foothills of the
Himalayas between the Ganga in the south
• The 6th Sikh Guru – Guru Har Gobind Singh
and the Kumaon hills in the north with its
was his grandfather and 9th Guru – Guru
capital at first at Aolan in Bareilly and later
Teg Bahadur was his father. He waged
at Rampur. The Rohelas clashed constantly
constant war against the armies of
with Avadh, Delhi, and the Jats.
Aurangzeb and the hill rajas.
• After Aurangzeb's death Guru Gobind
The Sikhs Singh joined Bahadur Shah’s camp as a
• Founded at the end of the 15th century by noble of the rank of 5000 Zat and 5000
Guru Nanak (550th birth anniversary), the sawar and accompanied him to the Deccan
Sikh religion spread among the Jat where he was treacherously murdered by
peasantry and other lower castes of one of his Pathan employees.
Punjab.
• The transformation of the Sikhs into a Banda Bahadur
militant, fighting community was begun by • After Guru Gobind Singh's death the
Guru Hargobind (1606-1645). institution of Guruship came to an end and
the leadership of the Sikhs passed to his
trusted disciple Banda Singh, who is more
Guru Gobind Singh
widely known as Banda Bahadur.
• Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1664-1708), the 10th
• Banda rallied together the Sikh peasants of
and the last Guru of Sikhs, had made Sikhs
the Punjab and carried on a vigorous
a political and military force.
though unequal struggle against the
Mughal army for eight years.
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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Sikhs were organised

into 12 misls or confederacies which operated in
different parts of the province.

• Although the misls were unequal in

strength, and each misl attempted to
• He was captured in 1715 and put to death. expand its territory and access to resources
His death gave a set-back to the territorial at the expense of others, they acted in
ambitions of the Sikhs, and their power unison in relation to other states.
declined. • The misls held biannual meetings of their
legislature, the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar.
After the Invasions of Nadir shah and Ahmad • They were originally based on the principle
shah Abdali of equality, with all members having an
• The invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad equal voice in deciding the affairs of a misl
Shah Abdali and the consequent and in electing its chief and other officers.
dislocation of Punjab administration gave • Gradually the democratic character of the
the Sikhs an opportunity to rise once again misls disappeared and powerful chiefs
• In the wake of the marches of the invaders’ dominated them. The spirit of brotherhood
armies, they plundered all and sundry and and unity of the khalsa also disappeared as
gained wealth and military power. these chiefs constantly quarreled with one
• With the withdrawal of Abdali from the another and set themselves up as
Punjab, they began to fill the political independent chieftains.
vacuum. Between 1765 and 1800 they The Punjab under Ranjit Singh
brought the Punjab and Jammu under their At the end of the 18th century, Ranjit Singh, chief
control. of the Sukerchakia Misl rose into prominence. A
strong and courageous soldier, an efficient
administrator, and a skillful diplomat, he was a
Misls or Confederacies
born leader of men.
• He captured
Lahore in 1799
and Amritsar in
1802. He brought
all Sikh chiefs of
the Sutlej under
his control and
established his
own kingdom in
the Punjab.
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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

• Later he conquered Kashmir, Peshawar Ranjit Singh was similar to other states in
and Multan. The old Sikh chiefs were India in 18th century.
transformed into big zamindars and His diplomacy
jagirdars.
• When the British forbade Ranjit Singh in
• The land revenue system during his period
1809 to cross the Sutlej and took the Sikh
was same as it was under Mughals.
states east of the river under their
Amount of land revenue was calculated on
protection, he kept quiet for he realized
the basis of 50% of the gross Mughals.
that his strength was no match for the
Army
British.
• With the help of European instructors and • Thus, by his diplomacy he temporarily
along the European lines he built powerful, saved his kingdom from British
disciplined and well-equipped army. His encroachment. But he had not removed
new army included not only Sikhs but also the threat and so after his death, when
Gurkhas, Biharis, Oriyas, Pathans, Dogras, successors were struggling for power,
and Punjabi Muslims. British took advantage of it and conquered
• To manufacture canon, he set up modern it.
foundries at Lahore and employed
Muslims gunners to man them.
The Bengal and its Nawabs
• It is said that he possessed the second-best
• Taking advantage of the growing weakness
army in Asia, the first being the army of the
of the central authority, two men of
English East India Company.
exceptional ability, Murshid Quli Khan and
His court
Alivardi Khan, made Bengal virtually
• He had great capacity for choosing his independent. Even though Murshid Quli
ministers and officials. His court was Khan was made Governor of Bengal as late
studded with outstanding men. as 1717, he had been its effective ruler
• He was tolerant and liberal in religious since 1700, when he was appointed its
matters. He patronized not only Sikh but Dewan.
also Muslim and Hindu holy men.
• While a devout Sikh he was “known to step Murshid Quli Khan
down from his throne to wipe the dust off
the feet of Muslim mendicants with his
long grey heard.”
• Many of his important ministers and
commanders were Muslims and Hindus.
The most prominent and trusted of his
ministers was Fakir Azizuddin, while his
finance minister was Dewan Dina Nath.
• Political power was not used for exclusive
Sikh benefit. Sikh peasant was oppressed
by Sikh chiefs as was that Hindu or Muslim
peasant. Structure of the Punjab under

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Murshid Quli Khan was diwan of Bengal Ali Vardi Khan
under Aurangzeb. He had been effective • Ali Vardi Khan was the Nawab of Bengal
ruler of Bengal since 1700. Farrukh Siyar during 1740–1756. He toppled the Nasiri
made him the Governor of Bengal in 1717. Dynasty of the Nawabs and took powers of
• He soon freed himself from central control the Nawab.
though he sent regular tribute to the • He is also one of the few Mughal-era
emperor. Shifted his capital to a town in leaders known for his victory during the
central Bengal which he renamed Battle of Burdwan against the Maratha
Murshidabad. He established peace by Empire. In 1733- Assigned as the Naib
freeing Bengal of internal and external Nazim (Deputy Subahdar) of Bihar.
danger.
Bengal was now free of uprisings by zamindars.
There were only three major uprisings during his
rule.

• 1st - Sitaram Ray, Udai Narayan and Ghulani

Muhammad
• 2nd - Shujat Khan
• 3rd - Najat Khan
•A year later he was titled Shuja ul-Mulk
After defeating them, Murshid Quli Khan gave (Hero of the country), Hassemm ud-Daula
their zamindaris to his favourite, Ramjivan. (Sword of the State) and Mahabat Jang
(Horror in War) and the rank of Paach
Economy in the administration
Hazari Mansabdar (The rank holder of
Reorganized the finances of Bengal by transferring 5000) by Nawab Shuja ud-Din and returned
large parts of Jagir lands into khalisah (crown) to Azimabad.
lands by – • On 10 April 1740 in the Battle of Giria, he
defeated and killed Shuja ud-Din's
Fresh revenue settlement
successor, Sarfaraz Khan. Thus, he took
• Introducing the system of revenue-
control of Bengal and Bihar.
farming, he also granted agricultural loans
• Defeated Rustam Jang (deputy governor of
(taccavi) to the poor cultivators to relieve
Orissa) in 1740, in the battle of Phulwarion
their distress and enable them to pay land
and so, Orissa also came under control of
revenue in time.
Alivardi Khan.
• He was thus able to increase the resources
Religious Policies of Nawabs
but increased economic pressure on the
• Gave equal opportunities for employment
peasant because of revenue-farming
to Hindus and Muslims. They filled the
system. Revenue was collected with
highest civil posts and many of the military
strictness.
posts with Bengalis, most of whom were
• Another result of his reforms was that
Hindus.
many of the older Zamindars were driven
• In choosing revenue farmers Murshid Quli
out and their place taken by upstart
Khan gave preference to local zamindars
revenue- farmers.
and mahajans (money-lenders) who were
mainly Hindus. Thus, he laid the

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

foundations of a new landed aristocracy in • They had neglected to build a strong army
Bengal. and paid a heavy price for it. For example,
Trade and Commerce the army of Murshid Quli Khan consisted of
• All the Nawabs knew that trade benefitted only 2000 cavalry and 4000 infantries.
people and so they gave encouragement to Alivardi Khan was constantly troubled by
all merchants, Indian or Foreign. Regular the repeated invasions of the Marathas
thanas and chowkies were established so and, in the end; he had to cede a large part
that roads and rivers remain safe from of Orissa to them.
thieves and robbers. • In 1756-1757 Siraj-ud-daula, the successor
• They checked private trade by officials. of Ali Vardi Khan, was defeated by EIC in
They prevented abuses in the customs Battle of Plasey and credit goes to absence
administration. They have maintained of strong army.
strict control over the foreign trading • Failed to check the growing corruption
companies and their servants and among their officials. Even judicial officials,
prevented them from abusing their the Qazis and muftis, were taking bribes.
privileges
• Servants of EIC were compelled to obey
laws and to pay same rent as paid by other
merchants English and French were not
allowed to fortify their factories at Calcutta
and Chandernagore by Ali Vardi Khan.

How the Bengal Nawab’s short-sightedness,

negligence, ignorance and lack of contact with
other world cost the state dearer?
• They did not firmly put down the
increasing tendency of the English. After
1707 EIC had started to use military force,
or to threaten its use, to get its demands
accepted.
• Nawabs were having the power to deal
with the Company’s threats, but they
continued to underestimate the EIC power.
• They failed to see that the English
Company was no mere company of traders
but was the representative of the most
aggressive and expansionist colonialism of
the time.
• If they would have known the devastation
caused by the Western trading companies
in Africa, South-East Asia, and Latin
America would have got alert and acted
differently.

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MARATHA EMPIRE outlook and program, which were

• The most important challenge to the necessary for founding an all-India empire.
decaying Mughal power came from the Chatrapati Shivaji
Maratha Kingdom, which was the most
powerful of the Succession states. In fact,
it alone possessed the strength to fill the
political vacuum created by the
disintegration of the Mughal Empire.
• The Maratha Kingdom produced a number
of brilliant commanders and statesmen
needed for the task. But the Maratha
Sardars lacked unity, and they lacked the

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

• Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1630-1680) Why Civil war broke out between Shahu and his
was a Maratha aristocrat of the Bhosle clan aunt Tarabai?
who is considered to be the founder of the Both wanted supremacy over Maratha kingdom.
Maratha Empire.
Tarabai had carried out an anti-Mughal struggle at
• Shivaji led a resistance to free the Marathi
Kolhapur, since 1700 in name of her son Shivaji II
people from the Sultanate of Bijapur from
after the death of her husband Rajaram.
1645 and establish Hindavi Swarajya (self-
rule of Hindu people). As what happened in the Mughal Empire like the
• He created an independent Maratha rise of nobles in the Mughal politics, the same
kingdom with Raigad as its capital and thing started in Maratha empire. Maratha Sardar
successfully fought against the Mughals to started to take sides
defend his kingdom. • by bargaining they increased their power
• He was crowned as Chhatrapati and influence
(sovereign) of the new Maratha kingdom in • even conspired against them with Mughal
1674. The state Shivaji founded was a viceroys
Maratha kingdom comprising about 4.1%
of the subcontinent but spread over large This conflict aroused a new system of Maratha
tracts. government evolved under the leadership of
Sons of Shivaji- Sambhaji and Rajaram. Balaji Vishwanath, the Peshwa of King Shahu.
• Widow of Rajaram, Tarabai, assumed • With this change began the second
control in the name of her son, Ramaraja period—the period of Peshwa domination
(Shivaji II) after the death of Rajaram. She in Maratha history in which the Maratha
led the Marathas against the Mughals and state was transformed into an Empire.
by 1705 they had crossed the Narmada • Peshwa - the office of chief minister among
River and entered Malwa, then in Mughal the Maratha people of India. The peshwa,
possession. also known as the Mukhya Pradhan,
originally headed the advisory council of
Shahuji Bhonsle (1708–1749) the Raja Sivaji (reigned c. 1659–80).
He was the • After Sivaji’s death, the council broke up
grandson of Shivaji, and the office lost its primacy, but it was
also known as revived when Sivaji’s grandson Shahu
Chattrapati Shahu. appointed Balaji Visvanāth Bhat, a
He was Prisoner in Chitpavan Brahman, as peshwa in 1714.
hands of Balaji ‘s son Baji Rao I secured the
Aurangzeb since hereditary succession to the peshwa-ship.
1689 and was
released in 1707 Balaji Vishwanath (1713-1720)
(Aurangzeb’s • Balaji Vishwanath, a Brahmin, started life
death) by Bahadur as a petty revenue official and then rose
Shah I. step by step as an official. He had helped
Shahu to suppress his enemies.

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• He excelled in diplomacy and won over Baji Rao I (1720 - 1740)
many of the big Maratha Sardars. In 1713 – • He served as Peshwa (Prime Minister) to
Shahu made Balaji as Peshwa or Mukhya the 4th Maratha Chhatrapati (King) Shahu
Pradhan. He consolidated his and Shahu’s
hold over most of Maratha sardars and
Maharashtra except region of Kolhapur
(Rajaram’s descendent ruled there)
• He had increased Maratha power by taking
advantage of internal conflicts of Mughal
officials. Induced Zulfiqar Khan to pay
Chauth and Sardeshmukhi of Deccan.
Agreement with Shahu in later years.
Allowed them to collect sardeshmukhi and
chauth in 6 provinces of Deccan.
• In return Shahu agreed to place a body of
15000 cavalry troops at emperor service
and annual tribute of 10 lakh rupees.
Helped the Sayyid brothers in
overthrowing Farrukh Siyar.

Collection of Chauth and Sardeshmukhi

• For the efficient collection of the chauth
and sardeshmukhi, he assigned separate from 1720 until his death. He was a general
areas to Maratha sardars who kept the of the Maratha Empire in India. Also known
greater part of the collection for their by the names Bajirao Ballal and Thorale
expenses. (Marathi for Elder) Bajirao
• This system of assignment enabled the • He is credited with expanding the Maratha
Peshwa to increase his personal power Empire, especially in the north, which
through patronage. Number of ambitious contributed to it reaching a zenith during
sardars began to flock to his side. his son's reign twenty years after his death.
• At Delhi, Balaji Vishwanath and the other In his brief military career spanning 20
Maratha Saradars witnessed at first hand years, Bajirao never lost a battle.
the weakness of the Empire and were filled According to the British Army officer Bernard
with the ambition of expansion in the Montgomery, Bajirao was "possibly the finest
North. cavalry general ever produced by India".
• Balaji Vishwanath died in 1720 and his 20-
year-old son Baji Rao I succeeded as • All his life Baji Rao worked to contain
Peshwa. In spite of his youth, Baji Rao I was Nizam-ul-Muik's power in the Deccan. In
a bold and brilliant commander and an 1733 – he started a long campaign against
ambitious and clever statesman. the Sidis of Janjira and expelled them from
mainland.
• Simultaneously, a campaign against the
Portuguese was started. Salsette and
Bassein were captured but the Portuguese

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

continued to hold their other possessions helped Imad-ul-Mulk to become the wazir.
on the west coast. The new wazir was puppet in their hands.
• Just in 20 years changed the character of • From Delhi they turned to the Punjab and
Maratha state. Transformed kingdom of brought it under control after expelling the
Maharashtra into empire expanding in the agent of Ahmad Shah Abdali. This brought
north but failed to lay strong foundation of them into conflict with the doughty
it. warrior-king of Afghanistan, who once
• He constantly conquered new territories, again marched into India to settle accounts
but little attention paid to their with the Maratha power.
administration. The chief concern of the
successful sardars was with the collection
BATTLE OF PANIPAT
of revenues.
• Major conflict had started between Ahmad
Shah Abdali and Maratha for control of
Balaji Baji Rao (1740 - 1761)
North India. Najib-ud-daulah of Rohilkhand
• Baji Rao's 18-year-old son Balaji Baji Rao
and Shuja-ud-daulah of Awadh had
(also known as Nana Saheb) was the
suffered at the hands of the Maratha
Peshwa from 1740 to 1761. He was as able
sardars. Both had made alliance with
as his father though less energetic.
Ahmad Shah Abdali
• King Shahu died in 1749 and by his will left
• Peshwa had dispatched a powerful army
all management of state affairs in the
under the nominal command of his son
Peshwa's hands. Office of the Peshwa had
Vishwas Rao, and actual command in
already became hereditary and the
hands of his cousin Sadashiv Rao Bhau to
Peshwa was the de facto ruler of the state.
fight with Ahmad Shah.
• Now he became the official head of the
• European style infantry and artillery under
administration and, as a symbol of this fact,
command of Ibrahim khan Gardi was part
shifted the government to Poona, his
of force. Battle started - 14 Jan 1761 in
headquarters.
Panipat.
• Result – Marathas were defeated. This
Empire extension by Balaji Baji Rao
battle proved very costly to Marathas as
• Followed father’s footsteps & extended
they lost the cream of their army. Vishwas
empire in different directions. Maratha
Rao, Sadashiv Rao and 28000 army men
control over Malwa, Gujarat, and
perished in the battle field.
Bundelkhand was consolidated. Bengal
• Peshwa, who was marching north to
was repeatedly invaded and, in 1751, the
render help to his cousin, was stunned by
Bengal Nawab had to cede Orissa.
the tragic news. Already seriously ill, his
• In south – Mysore and minor principalities
end was hastened, and he died in June
were forced to pay tribute. In 1760 – Nizam
1761.
of Hyderabad defeated at Udgir and had to
• It gave an opportunity to English to
cede territories yielding annual revenue of
consolidate itself in Bengal and South
rupees 62 lakhs.
India. The way was cleared for the rise of
• Marathas became power behind the
British power.
Mughal throne. Reached Delhi in 1752 and

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Madhav Rao (1761 – 1772) • Narayan Rao (younger brother of Madhav
Rao)
• To Remember Balaji Baji Rao had 3 sons –
Madhav Rao, Narayan Rao and Rishwas
Rao
• In 1773 – Narayan Rao was killed on the
orders of Raghunath Rao

Sawai Madhav Rao (1774 – 1795)

Madhav Rao I (or Pantpradhan Shrimant

Madhavrao (Ballal) Peshwa I aka Thorle Madhav
Rao Peshwa). He had succeeded his father Balaji
Baji Rao in 1761. He is the 4th Peshwa of the
Maratha Empire.

• During his tenure, the Maratha Empire

recovered from the losses they suffered
during the Panipat Campaign, a
phenomenon known as the "Maratha He is also known as
Resurrection". • Sawai Madhav Rao Peshwa
• He is considered one of the greatest • Madhav rao II
Peshwas in Maratha history, a talented • Peshwa Madhav Rao II
soldier and statesmen. Just in 11 years he
• Madhav Rao Narayan
restored the lost prestige of Maratha
Empire. He defeated the Nizam, compelled He succeeded his father Narayan Rao and Peshwa
Haidar Ali of Mysore to pay tribute, and of Maratha Empire from infancy.
reasserted control over North India by
• After Narayanrao's murder, Raghunathrao
defeating the Rohelas and subjugating the
became Peshwa but was soon deposed by
Rajput states and Jat chiefs.
the courtiers and knights of the Maratha
• In 1771, the Marathas brought back to
Empire.
Delhi Emperor Shah Alam who now
• In the greed of power Raghunath Rao tried
became their pensioner. Once again,
to capture power with the help of British.
however, a blow fell on the Marathas for
This resulted in 1st Anglo-Maratha war.
Madhav Rao died of consumption in 1772.
• Peshwa power started declining. There
Some facts to get connected……
were continuous conspiracies between
• Raghunath Rao (Balaji Baji Rao’s younger
supporter of Sawai Madhav and supporters
brother)
of Raghunath Rao. Sawai Madhav Rao died
in 1795.
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• The British had by now decided to put on Mahadji Sindhia
end to the Maratha challenge to their
supremacy in India.
• The British divided the mutually-warring
Maratha Sardars through clever diplomacy
and then overpowered them in separate
battles during the second Maratha War,
1803-1805, and the Third Maratha War,
1816-1819.
• While other Maratha mates were
permitted to remain as subsidiary states,
the house of the Peshwas was
extinguished. • Amongst the most important Maratha
Semi-independent States of Maratha rulers in the North:
In meantime big Maratha sardars had carved out • Organized a powerful army with French
semi- independent states in north. officers’ help and established control over
Emperor Shah Alam in 1784.
• Gaekwad – Baroda
• From the Emperor he secured the
• Bhonsle – Nagpur
appointment of the Peshwa as the
• Holkar – Indore Emperor’s Deputy (Natb-i-Munaib) on the
• Sindhia – Gwalior condition that Mahadji would act on behalf
of the Peshwa.
• But he spent his energies in intriguing
against Nana Phadnis.
• Bitter enemy of Holkar of Indore.
• He died in 1794. He and Nana Phadnis, who
died in 1800, were the last of the great
soldiers and statesmen.

Baji Rao II (1796-1818)

• Baji Rao II, son of Raghunath Rao
succeeded Sawai Madhav Rao.
• Challenge to British supremacy in India i.e.
Administration – similar to Mughal pattern.
Marathas were overpowered in 2nd and
Separate army and nominal allegiance to Peshwa. 3rd Anglo Maratha wars through clever
diplomacy.
Started intriguing against Maratha Empire.
• House of Peshwas was extinguished while
other Maratha states remained as
subsidiary states.

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The Maratha dream of controlling the Mughal • The Maratha sardars did not try to develop
Empire and establishing their own Empire over a new economy
large parts of the country could not be realized. • Raising revenue from the helpless
Why? peasantry
• For example, they too collected nearly half
• Same decadent social order & weakness as
of agricultural produce as tax.
the Mughal Empire
• They failed even to give sound
• Maratha chief similar to Mughal nobles in
administration to the people outside
intriguing
Maharashtra
• Remained united in a loose union against
• They could not inspire the Indian people
common enemy
with any higher degree of loyalty
• Failed to encourage science and
• Their dominion too depended on force and
technology
force alone.
• Failed to take much interest in trade and
• They failed to transform their state into a
industry.
modern state.

Quick Glance

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The battles of Panipat

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Third Anglo-Maratha war

Mains Questions
1. The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why were so many empire-shaking battles fought at
Panipat? 12.5 marks (2014)
2. Why was Mysore-considered a threat by the British to their possessions and mercantile interests in the
south. Do you think that Tipu Sultan’s posturing became his undoing? 15 marks (2009).

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE PEOPLE IN 18TH CENTURY

• Even though it was peasants’ produce that
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS supported the rest of the society, their own
• India of the 18th century failed to make reward was miserably inadequate.
progress economically, socially, or
culturally at a pace, which would have Trade
saved the country from collapse. • Even though the Indian villages were
• The increasing revenue demands of the largely self-sufficient and imported little
state, the oppression of the officials, the from outside and the means of
greed and rapacity of the nobles, revenue- communication were backward, extensive
farmers, and zamindars, the marches and trade within the country and between
countermarches of the rival armies, and India and other countries of Asia and
the depredations of the numerous Europe was earned on under the Mughals.
adventurers roaming the land during the
first half of the 18th century made the life India imported:
of the people quite despicable. • Pearls, raw silk, wool, dates, dried fruits,
• India of those days, was also a land of and rose water from the Persian Gulf
contrasts. Extreme poverty existed side by region.
side with extreme rich and luxury. On the • Coffee, gold, drugs, and honey from
one hand, there were the rich and Arabia;
powerful nobles steeped in luxury and • Tea, sugar, porcelain, and silk from China;
comfort; on the other, backward, • Gold, musk and woolen cloth from Tibet;
oppressed, and impoverished peasants • Tin from Singapore;
living at the bare subsistence level and • Spices, perfumes, attack, and sugar from
having to bear all sorts of injustices and the Indonesian islands;
inequities. • Ivory and drugs from Africa; and
• Even so, the life of the Indian masses was • Woollen cloth, metals such as copper, iron,
by and large better at this time than it was and lead, and paper from Europe.
after over 100 years of British rule at the
end of the 19th century. India's most important article of export was
Agriculture cotton textiles, which were famous all over the
• Indian agriculture during the 18th century world for their excellence and were in demand
was technically backward and stagnant. everywhere.
The techniques of production had India also exported raw silk and silk fabrics,
remained stationary for centuries. hardware, indigo, saltpeter, opium, rice, wheat,
• The peasants tried to make up for technical sugar, pepper and other spices, precious stones,
backwardness by working very hard. They, and drugs.
In fact, performed miracles of production;
• Constant warfare and disruption of law and
moreover, they did not usually suffer from
order, in many areas during the 18th
shortage of land. But, unfortunately, they
century, banned the country's internal
seldom reaped the fruits of their labor.
trade and disrupted its foreign trade to
some extent and in some directions.

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• Many trading centers were looted by the • Jaunpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, and Agra in
Indians as well as by foreign invaders. U.P.;
Many of the trade routes were infested • Multan and Lahore in Punjab;
with organized bands of robbers, and • Masulipatam, Aurangabad, Chicacole, and
traders and their caravans were regularly Vishakhapatnam in Andhra;
looted. • Bangalore in Mysore; and
• The road between the two imperial cities, • Coimbatore and Madurai in Madras.
Delhi and Agra, was made unsafe by the
marauders. With the rise of autonomous Kashmir was a center of woolen manufactures.
provincial regimes and innumerable local Ship-building industry flourished in Maharashtra,
chiefs, the number of custom houses or Andhra, and Bengal.
chowkies grew by leaps and bounds. SOCIAL CONDITIONS
• Every petty or large ruler tried to increase • Social life and culture in the 18th century,
his income by imposing heavy customs were marked by stagnation and
duties on goods entering or passing though dependence on the past.
his territories.
• There was, of course, no uniformity of
• The impoverishment of the nobles, who culture and social patterns all over the
were the largest consumers of luxury country. Nor did all Hindus and all Muslims
products in which trade was conducted, form two distinct societies.
also injured internal trade.
• People were divided by religion, region,
Many prosperous cities, centers of flourishing
tribe, language, and caste.
industry, were sacked and devastated.
• Moreover, the social life and culture of the
• Delhi was plundered by Nadir Shah; upper classes, who formed a tiny minority
• Lahore, Delhi, and Mathura by Ahmad of the total population, was in many
Shah Abdali; respects different from the life and culture
• Agra by the Jats; of the lower classes.
• Surat and other cities of Gujarat and the Hindu
Deccan by Maratha chiefs; • Caste was the central feature of the social
• Sarhind by the Sikhs, and so on. life of the Hindus.
• Apart from the four vanes, Hindus were
The decline of internal and foreign trade also hit
divided into numerous castes (Jatis), which
the industries hard in some parts of the country.
differed in their nature from place to place.
Nevertheless, some industries in other parts of the
• The caste system rigidly divided people and
country gained as a result of expansion in trade
permanently fixed their place in the social
with Europe due to the activities of the European
scale. The higher castes, headed by the
trading companies.
Brahmins, monopolized all social prestige
The important centers of textile industry were: and privileges.
• Dacca and Murshidabad in Bengal; • Caste rules were extremely rigid. Inter-
• Patna in Bihar; caste marriages were forbidden. There
• Surat, Ahmedabad, and Broach in Gujarat; were restrictions on inter-dining among
• Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh; members of different castes. In some
• Burhanpur in Maharashtra; cases, persons belonging to higher castes

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would not take food touched by persons of • Females were expected to remain wives
the lower castes. and mothers though they were respected
• Castes often determined' the choice of ' and honoured in that role. Even during war
profession, though exceptions did occur. women were respected.
Caste regulations were strictly enforced by • A European traveller, Abbe J.A. Dubois,
caste councils and panchayats and caste commented, at the beginning of the 19th
chiefs through fines, penances century: “A Hindu woman can go
(prayaschitya) and expulsion from the anywhere alone, even in the most crowded
caste. places, and she need not fear the
• Caste was a major divisive force and impertinent looks and jokes of idle
element of disintegration in India of 18th loungers ….A house inhabited solely by
century. women is a sanctuary which the most
Muslim shameless libertine would not dream of
• Muslims were no less divided by violating.”
considerations of caste, race, tribe, and • But women possessed very little
status, even though their religion enjoined individuality though there were exceptions
social equality. like Ahilya Bai (administered Indore (1766-
• The Shia and Sunni (two sects of Muslim 96)) and others who worked in politics.
religion) nobles were sometimes at • Higher classes women – not supposed to
loggerheads on account of their religious work outside home. Purdah (veil) practiced
differences. by them in north, but not in south.
• The Irani, Afghan, Turani, and Hindustani • While lower classes women have to work
Muslim nobles, and officials often stood in fields to supplement family income.
apart from each other. Marriage
• A large number of Hindus converted to • All marriages were arranged by the family
Islam carried their caste into the new heads. Normally men had only one wife,
religion and observed its distinctions, but polygyny was also allowed. While
though not as rigidly as before. women were expected to marry only once
• Moreover, the sharif Muslims consisting of in a lifetime.
nobles, scholars, priests, and army officers, Child marriage
looked down upon the ajlaf Muslims or the • Custom of early marriages existed all over
lower-class Muslims in a manner similar to the country. Child marriage was also
that adopted by the higher caste Hindus prevalent.
towards the lower caste Hindus. Dowry
• Prevailed in upper classes, especially in
Bengal and Rajputana.
Family System and status of Women
• Maharastra – curbed because of the action
• Primarily patriarchal – like our family is
taken by Peshwas
headed by father (male) and inherited by
Sati and widow
male.
• Right of a Hindu widow burning herself
• Kerala exception – matrilineal.
along with the body of her dead husband.
• Other than Kerala females were under
• Mostly prevalent – Rajputana, Bengal and
complete control of males.
Northern India

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• Only by Families of rajas, chiefs, big • Later on, this style also reached Mandi,
zamindars and upper castes Suket, Kulu, Arki, Nalagarh and Tehri
• In south – uncommon Garhwal to be collectively known as Pahari
• Widows in higher classes could not painting
remarry though in some regions and in • Pahari painting, as the name suggests,
some cases, remarriage common in Non- were paintings executed in the hilly regions
Brahmin in Maharastra, jats and hill region of India, in the sub-Himalayan state of
of northern India. Himachal Pradesh.
• Kangra paintings belong to the school of
Condition of Hindu widow was pitiable. Why? Pahari paintings that were patronized by
• Lot of restrictions on her clothing, diet, the Rajput rulers between the 17th and
movements etc. She was expected to 19th centuries.
renounce all the pleasures and serve
selflessly the members of her husband’s
family.
• Raja Sawai Singh of Amber and Maratha
General Parshuram Bhau were touched by
the hardship of widows and they tried to
promote widow remarriage but failed.

Cultural life Krishna playing a flute, 1790-1800 Rajput

period.
• Culturally India was exhausted during 18th
century. Cultural continuity was kept but it Poetry
remained traditionalist. Cultural activities • It was in most of the languages. Most of the
were financed by royal courts, rulers and poem’s content reflected the
nobles and decline of these institutions led impoverishment of the spiritual life of its
to decline of those branches of arts which patrons, the feudal nobles and kings.
depended them on. • Tayaumanavar – exponent of sitar poetry
• Mughal architecture and painters migrated in Tamil Protested against the abuses of
to provincial courts after decline of Mughal temple rules and caste system.
Empire and revealed a new taste. Urdu
• Imambara of Lucknow and Jaipur – • Urdu language and Urdu poetry, were wide
architecture spread. Gradually it became medium of
• Kangra and Rajput schools – painting social intercourse among upper classes of
northern India.
• It had produced brilliant poet’s like Mir,
Painting
Sauda, Nazir et al. Shah Abdul Latif
Kanagara Painting
composed his famous collection of poems,
• Pictorial art of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
Risalo in Sindhi.
Main centre of Kangra paintings are Guler,
Basohli, Chamba, Nurpur, Bilaspur and • Sachal and Sami were the other great
Sindhi poets of the century.
Kangra.

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Malayalam Science
• Malayalam literature was under the • It was one of the main weaknesses of
patronage of the Travancore ruler Indian Culture during this century. In 18th
Martanda Varma. century India remained far behind the
• Kunchan Nambiar – one of the greatest West in science and technology.
poets in Kerala. • From last 200 years, Europeans were
• Development of Kathakali, literature, experiencing science and economic
drama and dance also taken during this revolution leading to inventions and
time. discoveries. They also seen revolution in
• Padmanabhapuram palace (Tamilnadu) philosophy, polity etc.
which was constructed during 18th century • In compare to Europe, Indians who had
has remarkable architecture and mural once contributed significantly during the
paintings. early ages in mathematics and science
• Assam - literature developed under the were now neglecting science for centuries.
patronage of the Ahom kings. • Indians were traditional and superstitious.
Dayaram They were not aware of achievements of
• Dayaram, the great lyricists of Gujarat, West. Indian rulers had not adopted the
wrote during the second half of the 18th new techniques and technology in military.
century. He was a Gujarati poet of Only few like Haider Ali, Sindhia had shown
medieval Gujarati literature. interest in them.
• He was known for his literary form called Values
Garbi in Gujarat. He was a follower of • Nobles were so much blinded in the greed
Pushtimarg of Hindu Vaishnavism. of luxury and power that they ignored
• Dayaram, along with Narsinh Mehta and virtues of loyalty, gratitude and
Meera, is considered as major contributor faithfulness. Most of them corrupted. They
during Bhakti Movement in Gujarati took bribes in office.
literature. • This had a deep and harmful effect on
• Dayaram was follower of "Nirgun bhakti population’s moral but to the surprise the
sampraday" (pushti sampraday) in common people were having no such
Gujarat. So he gave many Garbi describing traits.
Krishna as human-being. • Even British officials praised this. John
• Nirgun brahma means GOD without Malcolm remarked in 1821:
attributes • “I do not know, the example of any great
• Warris Shah composed Heer Ranjha, the population, in similar circumstances,
famous romantic epic in Punjab. Other preserving through such a period of
romantic epics are Mirza Sahiba and Sohni changes and tyrannical rule, so much virtue
Mahiwal. and so many qualities as are to be found in
• For Sindhi literature, the 18th century was a great proportion of the inhabitants of the
a period of enormous achievement. Shah country.”
Abdul Latif composed his famous
collection of poems, Risalo in Sindhi. Relation between Hindus and Muslim
Sachal and Sami were the other great • There was secular politics and religious
Sindhi poets of the century. tolerance in the country
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• The Hindu - Muslim culture kept on
evolving
• Hindu writers wrote in Persian while
Muslim wrote in Hindi, Bengali and other
languages often dealing with subjects of
Hindu social life and religion, such as Radha
and Krishna, Sita and Ram, and Nal and
Damyanti.
• The development of Urdu language and
literature provided a new meeting ground
between Hindus and Muslims.
• In religious sphere the mutual influence
and respect kept on increasing
• One of the biggest factors for it was the
development of Bhakti movement among
Hindus and Sufisim in Muslims.
• Many Hindus worshipped Muslim saints
and many Muslims worshipped Hindu
GODS. They used to visit each other’s
sacred places or pilgrimages.
• The two participated in each other’s
festival like Hindu’s Holi, Diwali and
Muslim’s Muharram. It must be noted that
departure in social and cultural life was
because of region or areas and religious
affiliation had played a very little role in
that.

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THE BEGINNINGS OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS

powers, India became the actual theatre of
conflicts by the middle of the 18th century.

A Brief Description Vasco De Gama: Died on Christmas Eve in 1524 in

• In 1498, Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese India, of Malaria.
voyager landed on Indian soil. This was the
European discovery of India. Well in order
to understand, we can put it this way that
it was our discovery of white men too. :P
• That was the day, when we were swayed
by the fairness and opened our doors to
Europeans. This finally lead to the
discovery of fairness creams.. But this was
much later. ☺
• Soon, under the leadership of Portuguese
General, Albuquerque, Portuguese
captured Goa and became the center of
Routes Taken by Vasco De Gama
Portuguese power in India. Europeans
• Soon English, Dutch and French also
realized that India was indeed ‘Sone ki
started trading with India to have their
Chidiya’ (Golden Bird). They were stunned
share of profits.
by seeing the Indian prosperity.
• After the Portuguese, the Dutch also
• The factors of the emergence of nation
wanted to have their share in the trade
states, renaissance and reformation,
with India. In 1602, the Dutch East India
agricultural and industrial revolution, new
Company was established. The rising Dutch
economic doctrine of mercantilism,
power was looked as a threat by the British
competition between nation states for
and a truce was concluded between them
breaking the mercantile monopoly of the
in 1619 but it did not last long. By 1795, the
merchants of Venice and Geneva over sea-
British expelled the Dutch from India
borne trade, and a great advance in
totally.
navigational technologies like compass
• You need to remember that this trade was
gave strong impetus for geographical
highly beneficial for India. India’s balance
discoveries leading to the finding of new
of trade was positive. And Indian exports of
worlds and new sea routes. As a
spices and textiles had captured the world
consequence of the above factors, a new
market. Indian manufacturers and artisans
route to the east via the Cape of Good
gained huge profits.
Hope was discovered. This led to the
• India became an arena of European politics
European monopoly over the seas and the
and to gain supremacy in India, these
advent of Europeans into India in search of
forces frequently fought. This led to the
trade and commerce in spices, which were
famous Carnatic Wars fought between the
essential requirements of their food
Dutch and the English in India. (You must
habits. Owing to the rivalry of European
have read about them from NCERT.) There

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

were three wars. The third war was Trade between Europe and India and South-East
conclusively won by the English which lead Asia
to almost monopoly of British in India. India’s trade relations with Europe go back to the
• Meanwhile the central Mughal power ancient days of the Greeks.
started to decay and many feudal lords and
Several routes were used to trade between Europe
Nawabs under Mughals declared
and India and South-East Asia.
themselves independent or at least started
behaving like one. To gain power they 1st Route - via the sea along the Persian Gulf, and
started taking European help to settle local from there overland through Iraq and Turkey, and
quarrels. They used to hire European then again by sea to Venice and Genoa.
troops in local battles.
2nd route - via the Red Sea and then overland to
Alexandria in Egypt and front there by sea to
(Note: A European troop doesn’t mean that only
Venice and Genoa.
European soldiers were fighting. European troops
had majority of Indian recruits who were trained 3rd route - through the passes of the North-West
on European style.) frontier of India, across Central Asia, and Russia to
the Baltic.
• Soon it was realized that Indian Battalions
were no match for a handful of trained and
disciplined European soldiers. Every local
ruler wanted European soldiers to fight on
his side and was ready to pay whatever
price the company demanded. From this
the concept of ‘Subsidiary Alliance’
originated.
• Many historical records tell that it was
introduced by General Dupleix of France
but in its final form it was shaped by Lord
Wellesley. Many books tell that it was
introduced by Lord Wellesley. Whatever be
The Asian part of the trade was carried on mostly
the case, for exam we will follow Lord
by Arab merchants and sailors. The Mediterranean
Wellesley.

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and European part was the virtual monopoly of • Consequently, European food was as
the Italians. highly spiced as Indian food till the 17th
century.
Goods from Asia to Europe passed through many
• After the Ottoman conquest of Asia Minor
states. Every state levied toll and duty while every
and the capture of Constantinople in 1453,
merchant made a substantial profit.
the old trading routes between the East
Obstacles in trade - pirates and natural calamities and the West came under Turkish control.
on the way. • The merchants of Venice and Genoa
• Between the middle of the 16th century monopolized the trade between Europe
and the middle of the 18th century India’s and Asia and refused to let the new nation
overseas trade steadily expanded. This was states of Western Europe, particularly
due to the trading activities of the various Spain and Portugal, having any share in the
European companies which came to India trade through these old routes.
during this period. India had commercial Why west Europeans started finding safer Sea
relations with the western countries from routes for India and Indonesia?
time immemorial.
• Here the trade couldn’t be given up
• But from the seventh century A.D. her sea-
because of huge demands and profits and
borne trade passed into the hands of the
also fabulous wealth of India.
Arabs, who dominated the Indian Ocean
• During this time Europe was facing
and the Red Sea. It was from them that the
shortage of gold and it was essential as a
enterprising merchants of Venice and
medium of exchange if trade was to grow
Genoa purchased Indian goods.
unhampered. During that time spice
• This monopoly of Indian trade by the
islands of Indonesia was known as East
Arabs, and the Venetians was sought to be
Indies
broken by direct trade with India by the
• To break the Arab and Venetian trade
Portuguese.
monopolies
• To bypass Turkish hostility
Though there were so many obstacles in the trade • To open direct trade relations with the
but still merchants traded and made high profit. East.
How?
Trade in 16 to 18th centuries and era of
• Trade remained highly profitable mostly geographical discoveries
due to the demand of Europe for Eastern
spices which fetched high prices in The geo-graphical discoveries of the last quarter of
European markets. the 15th century deeply affected the commercial
relations of the different countries of the world
• The Europeans needed spices because
and produced far-reaching consequences. The
they lived on salted and peppered meat
discovery of a new all-sea route from Europe to
during the winter months, when there was
India via Cape of Good Hope by Vasco da Gama
little grass to feed the cattle, and only a
had far-reaching reper-cussions on the civilized
liberal use of spices could make this meat
world.
palatable.

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The arrival of the Portuguese in India was followed THE PORTUGUESE
by the advent of other European communities and •The Portuguese under the leadership of
soon India’s coastal and maritime trade was Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut on the
monopolized by the Europeans. The European 17th May, 1498 and were received warmly
merchants who came to India during this period by the Hindu ruler of Calicut bearing the
differed from the earlier foreign merchants and hereditary title of Zamorin.
had the political and military support of their • The arrival of Pedro Alvarez Cabral in India
respective governments. in 1500 A.D. and the second trip of Vasco
• Portugal and Spain were the 1st whose da Gama in 1502 led to the establishment
seamen, sponsored and controlled by their of trading stations at Calicut, Cochin and
governments, began a great era of Cannanore.
geographical discoveries. • Cochin was the early capital of the
• In 1494 - Columbus of Spain wanted to Portuguese in India.
reach to India and discovered America • As per the new policy adopted in 1505, by
instead. which a Governor was to be appointed on
• In 1498 - Vasco da Gama of Portugal a three-year term. Francisco de Almeida
discovered a new sea route from Europe to was the first Portuguese Governor (1505-
India. 09) who defeated the combined alliance of
▪ This route was all sea route the Sultans of Gujarat, Bijapur and the
▪ He sailed round Africa via the Cape of Egyptians in 1509 in a naval battle near Diu.
Good Hope and reached Calicut. • It was Alfonso de Albuquerque who laid
▪ He returned with a cargo which sold for the real foundation of Portu-guese power
60 times the cost of his voyage. in India. He first came to India in 1503 as
• These discoveries started a new chapter in the commander of a squadron and was
the history of the world. appointed Governor of Portuguese affairs
• Adam Smith wrote that the 2 discoveries in India in 1509.
were “the two greatest and most • Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa in
important events recorded in the history of 1510. Portuguese has established their
mankind.” domination over the entire Asian coast
• 17th and 18th centuries - enormous (from Hormuz to Indonesia).
increase in world trade. • This means they seized Indian territories
• The New continent of America was opened also & safeguarded their trade monopoly
to Europe. from European rivals.
• It was rich in precious metals like gold and • Piracy, plunder, inhuman cruelties, and
silver. By using this gold and silver in lawlessness were part of Portuguese. They
Europe, Europe became most advanced indulged in forcible conversion “offering
nation in trade, industry and science. people the alternative of Christianity or
• It was also inexhaustible market for sword.
European markets. They survived for a century because –
• Asia – Europe relations were completely • Enjoyed control over the high seas
transformed. • Their soldiers and administrators
maintained strict discipline

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• They did not have to face the might of the
Mughal Empire as South India was outside
Mughal influence.

Portuguese clashed with the Mughal power in

Bengal in 1631 and were driven out of their Touch in with Portugal & greater profits
settlement at Hugli. help them to build better ships, scientific
sailing techniques and efficient business
• The Portuguese and the Spanish had left
• Dutch revolted against Spanish because of
the English and the Dutch far behind during
their domination on Netherlands, Dutch’s
the 15th century and the first half of the
homeland, and merging of Portugal with
16th century.
Spain
• But, in the latter half of the 16th century,
• In 1602 – Dutch East India Company was
England and Holland, and later France, all
formed and parliament gave it a Charter
growing commercial and naval, powers,
empowering it to make war, conclude
waged a fierce struggle against the Spanish
treaties, acquire territories and build
and Portuguese monopoly of world trade.
fortresses.
• Portuguese hold over the Arabian Sea had
• Dutch were mainly interested in spices,
been weakened by the English and their
produced by Indonesia. Soon they
influence in Gujarat had become
established themselves in Malay straits
negligible.
and Indonesia by turning out Portuguese
The reason for the decline of Portuguese
• They had established trading depots at
• Portugal was, however, incapable of
Surat, Broach, Cambay, and Ahmedabad in
maintaining for long its trade monopoly or
Gujarat in West India, Cochin in Kerala,
its dominion in the East because of:
Nagapatam in Madras, Masulipatnam in
• Its population was less than a million;
Andhra, Chinsura in Bengal, Patna in Bihar,
• Its court was autocratic and decadent;
and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.
• Its merchants enjoyed much less power
• They exported indigo, raw silk, cotton
and prestige than its landed aristocrats;
textiles, saltpetre, and opium from India.
• It lagged behind in the development of
Similar to Portuguese they were cruel and
shipping, and
exploiter for Indians.
• It followed a polity of religious intolerance.
English defeated them in the battle of Bidara in
• It became a Spanish dependency in 1530. 1759.
• Rise of English and Dutch commercial
aspirations in India.
• In 1588, the English defeated the Spanish
fleet called the Armada and shattered
Spanish naval supremacy forever.
• More attention of Portuguese towards
West.

THE DUTCH
• Dutch used to purchase eastern produce
from Portugal & sold it in northern Europe.

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BRITISH ENTRY IN TRADE • This resulted in loss of all the possessions

• It was the commercial trade that attracted of Portuguese in India except Goa and
English taking inspiration from Portuguese. Daman and Diu.
• A company of group of merchants called
merchant adventurers was formed to Dutch and British Fight
trade with east. In 1600 Queen Elizabeth • The two had mistrust in relations over
granted East India Company (EIC) a royal division of spice trade of Indonesian
charter and exclusive privilege to trade. islands. The war between the two during
• In 1608, company decided to open a 1654-1667 resulted in English giving up all
“factory” at Surat and sent Captain William claims to Indonesia while Dutch agreed to
Hawkins to receive royal favor from leave alone the English settlements in
Mughal emperor Jahangir. India.
• In 1613, a permanent factory of EIC was • The English, however, continued their
established in Surat. efforts to drive out the Dutch from the
• At royal court Portuguese were intriguing Indian trade and by 1795, they had
against the English. The English wanted to expelled the Dutch from their last
get rid of them and so they defeated possession in India.
Portuguese naval power two times near • The English East India Company had very
Surat. humble beginnings in India. Surat was the
• This convinced Mughals that English naval center of its trade till 1687.
power will deter Portuguese in case of • Throughout the trading period, the English
danger from Portuguese. Company was refrained petitioners before the Mughal
given royal Farman to open factories at authorities. By 1623, they had established
several palaces. factories at Surat, Broach, Ahmedabad,
• In 1615 English Ambassador Sir Thomas Agra, and Masulipatam.
Roe succeeded in getting an imperial
Farman to trade and establishes factories The Growth of the EIC trade & influence (1600-
all over Mughal Empire. 1714)
• In 1616, EIC established its first factory in • Initially they were very humble and
the South in Masulipatnam. remained as petitioners before Mughal
• To get Farman they exerted pressure on authorities
Mughals, taken advantage of India’s naval • They established factories at Surat, Broach,
weakness and harassed Indian traders and Ahmedabad, Agra, and Masulipatnam.
shipping to red sea and mecca. Roe’s • They always tried to combine trade and
success angered Portuguese. diplomacy with war. Mughal Empire was
• British and Portuguese fought a naval war still in vigor and any attempt by British to
in 1620 resulted in English victory. The threat its authority was punished.
hostility between two ended in 1630. In • While in south they faced less resistance
1662 Portugal gave Island of Bombay in because of number of petty & weak rulers.
dowry to English in marriage of Portugal’s
• Soon Madras became their activity center.
princess with English King Charles II.
They took it on lease from a local Raja in

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1639. They built a small fort around their Hostilities between the English and the Mughal
factory called Fort St. George Emperor broke out in 1686, after the former had
• From the very beginning this Company of sacked Hugli and declared war on the Emperor.
profit- seeking merchants was also But the English had seriously miscalculated the
determined to make Indians pay for the situation and underestimated Mughal strength.
conquest of their own country.
Result of this misadventure was – English lost.
• In 1662 Portugal gave Island of Bombay in
They were driven out from their factories.
dowry to English in marriage of Portugal’s
princess with English King Charles II. Island Factories at Surat, Masulipatnam and
of Bombay was fortified immediately. Vishakhapatnam were seized. Fort at Bombay
Surat was superseded because – was besieged.

• Island of Bombay was found to be large Reason for loss – underestimated the power of
and easy to defend port. Mughal empire. English realized that they have
• Maratha power threatening English trade underestimated Mughal power and so once again
in main land. became humble.

In Eastern India, the English Company had opened • They apologized for their mistake and
its first factories in Orissa in 1633. English expressed their willingness to trade under
Company was given permission to trade at Hugli in the protection of the Indian rulers.
Bengal. • Once again started the flattery and
humble entreaties- Mughal authorities
It soon opened factories at Patna, Balasore, Dacca, had no idea about evil intentions of those
and other places in Bengal and Bihar. harmless looking foreign traders.
Englishmen’s easy success in trade and in • They thought that trade will enrich the
establishing independent and fortified state treasury and benefit Indian artisans
settlements at Madras and at Bombay, and the and merchants. And so, they readily
preoccupation of Aurangzeb with the anti- pardoned them.
Maratha campaigns led the English to abandon the • English, though weak on land, were,
role of humble petitioners. because of their naval supremacy, capable
of completely ruining Indian trade and
shipping to Iran, West Asia, Northern and
Why company was dreaming of establishing Eastern Africa, and East Asia.
political power in India? • Aurangzeb therefore permitted them to
resume trade on payment of Rs. 150,000 as
• So that they can compel the Mughals to
compensation.
allow them a free hand in trade.
• To force Indians to sell cheap and buy dear.
Emergence of Big Cities
• To keep the rival European traders at bay.
• In 1698 – The Company acquired the
• To make their trade independent of the
zamindari of the three villages Sutanati,
policies of the Indian powers.
Kalikata, and Govindpur where it built Fort
• To appropriate Indian revenue and
William around its factory. These villages
conquer country with its own resources.
soon grew into a city known as Calcutta.

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• In 1717 – Farrukh Siyar confirmed the Indian cotton and silk textiles in England to
privileges granted in 1691 Farman and protect the English textile industry and to
extended them to Deccan and Gujarat. prevent export of silver from England to
• During 1st half of the 18th century Bengal India.
was ruled by strong Nawabs such as • Thus, at a time when the English were
Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi Khan. pleading for free trade in India, they were
(Remember their strictness over traders restricting freedom of trade in their own
and underestimation of English power in country and denying access to Indian
previous sections). manufactures.
• They exercised strict control over the
English traders and prevented them from THE ANGLO-FRENCH STRUGGLE IN SOUTH
misusing their privileges. Nor did they INDIA
allow them to strengthen fortifications at
• In Southern India, however, conditions
Calcutta or to rule the city independently. were gradually becoming favorable to
Here the East India Company remained a foreign adventurers, as the central
mere zamindar of the Nawab. authority had disappeared there after the
British settlements in Madras, Bombay, and death of Aurangzeb (1707) and Nizam-ul-
Calcutta became the nuclei of flourishing cities. Mulk Asaf Jah (1748).
Large numbers of Indian merchants and bankers
• The Maratha chiefs regularly invaded
were attracted to these cities due to –
Hyderabad and the rest of the South for
• Partly because of new commercial collecting Chauth (tax).
opportunities available in these cities and • The absence of central power gave the
partly to the unstable conditions outside foreigners an opportunity to expand their
cities, caused by the break-up of the political influence and control over the
Mughal Empire. affairs of the South Indian states.
• For nearly 20 years from 1744 to 1763, the
By the middle of the 18th century, the population
French and the English were to wage a
of Madras had increased to 300,000, of Calcutta to
bitter war for control over the trade,
200,000 and of Bombay to 70,000.
wealth, and territory of India.
All the 3 cities had English fortified settlements • The French East India Company was
and immediate access to sea. In case of conflict founded in 1664. It made rapid progress
with any Indian authority they can escape from and it was reorganized in the 1720's and
sea. In case of political turmoil in country, they can soon began to catch up with the English
use these cities as springboards for conquest of Company.
India. • It was firmly established at Chandernagore
near Calcutta and Pondicherry on the East
Demand for Indian products in England.
Coast.
• Commercially company was flourishing.
• The French Company had some other
Demand for Indian products was increasing
factories at several ports on the East and
day by day. Imports increased from £
the West coasts. It had also acquired
500,000 in 1708 to £ 1,795,000 in 1740.
control over the islands of Mauritius and
• This increase was record high, although the
Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
English Government forbade the use of

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• The French East India Company was heavily • In 1745, the English navy captured French
dependent on the French Government, ships off the South-East coast of India and
which helped it by giving it treasury grants, threatened Pondicherry.
subsidies, and loan, etc. • Dupleix, the French Governor-General at
• The French East India Company was largely Pondicherry at this time, retaliated and
controlled by the Government, which occupied Madras in 1746.
appointed its directors after 1723. • The British appealed to the Nawab of
• The French state of the time was Carnatic, in whose territory Madras was
autocratic, semi-feudal, and unpopular situated, to save their settlement from the
and sniffled from corruption, inefficiency, French.
and instability.
• Instead of being forward-looking, it was
decadent, bound by tradition, and in
general unsuited to the times. Control by
such a state could not but be injurious to
the interests of the Company.
• In 1742, war broke out in Europe between
France and England. One of the major
causes of the war was rivalry over colonies
Anwar-ud-din as overlord of the Carnatic had
in America. Another was their trade rivalry
ordered the European companies to desist from
in India. This rivalry was intensified by the
commencing hostilities within its territories and
knowledge that the Mughal Empire was
disturbing the peace of the country.
disintegrating and so the prize of trade or
territory was likely to be much bigger than Reason of battle – custody of Madras
in the past. • Nawab wanted custody of madras but
• Anglo-French conflict in India lasted for Dupleix was not keeping his promise of
nearly 20 years and led to the handing over to nawab.
establishment of British power in India. • Dupleix defeated nawab’s army (Captain
French and English fought 3 wars in India paradise defeated 10000 soldiers with just
called as Carnatic Wars. India was theatre 230 European and 700 Indian soldiers at St.
of these wars. All this started with Austrian Thome on river Adyar under Mahfuz Khan)
war of succession & ended with 7 years’ • The Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle (1748)
war (both in Europe but at same time brought the Austrian war of succession to
Carnatic wars was going in India). a conclusion. Under the terms of this treaty
Madras was handed back to English.

First Carnatic War (1746 -1748)

Result (French versus English) – Draw
• This war was extension of Anglo-French
• The war had ended but not the rivalry in
war in Europe (Austrian war of succession -
trade and over the possessions in India.
1740)
This war had shown the weakness of Indian
• This war is memorable for the battle of St.
government and armies and so both
Thome fought between French and Indian
English and French EICs wanted to expand
forces of nawab of Carnatic, Anwar-ud-din.
territories.

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After this war Dupleix had learned some lessons • He rewarded French with a grant of 80
and evolved a strategy. villages around Pondicherry. Nasir Jang lost
1st – INTERVENE – intervene in mutual his life in encounter of December 1750.
quarrels of Indian princes. Muzaffar Jang became Deccan’s subhadar.
• He rewarded French with territories near
2nd – SUPPORT IN FIGHT FOR ONE SIDE.
Pondicherry as well as the famous town of
3rd – GET FAVOR – Get favour in their own side Masulipatam. Masulipatam is now
in commercial, money, territories. Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh
4th – USE LOCAL ARMIES AND RESOURCES - • Dupleix stationed his best officer, Bussy, at
use local armies and resources to serve French Hyderabad with a French army. While the
interest and expel the English from India. ostensible purpose of this arrangement
was to protect the Nizam from enemies, it
Barrier to the success of this strategy could have was really aimed at maintaining French
been the refusal by Indian rulers. But absence of influence at his court.
patriotism and for selfish ambitions and gains they • When Muzaffar Jung was accidentally
permitted foreign intervention This strategy was killed, his son, Salabat Jang was succeeded
executed by Dupleix in 2nd Carnatic war (1749- to throne by Bussy.
54). • The French had started out by trying to win
Second Carnatic War (1749-54) Indian states as friends; they had ended by
Reasons – Political ambitions of Dupleix. Disputed making them clients or satellites.
succession to thrones of Hyderabad & Carnatic. • English had not remained silent spectator.
After the death of Nasir Jung, they decided
• In 1748, a situation arose in the Carnatic to throw their entire strength behind
and Hyderabad which gave full scope to Muhammad Ali. Robert Clive, a clerk
Dupleix’s talents for intrigue. proposed that a surprise attack be made
• In the Carnatic, Chanda Sahib began to on Arcot {Arcot – near Vellore (Tamil
conspire against the Nawab, Anwaruddin. Nadu)}, the capital of the Carnatic, in a bid
In Hyderabad the death of Asaf Jang, to divert pressure on Trichinopoly.
Nizam-uI-Mulk, was followed by civil war • He rightly calculated that Chanda sahib
between his son Nasir Jang and his must rush to save his capital. The plan was
grandson Muzaffar Jang (nephew of Nasir well conceived. Robert Clive with a force of
Jang). only 210 men stormed and captured Arcot
• Dupleix supported Muzaffar Jang and in August 1751. A large force of 4000 men
Chanda sahib. Now British inevitably found diverted by Chanda Sahib from Trichinpoly
themselves with Nazir Jang and Anwar-ud- to Arcot failed to retake the town.
din • The French forces were repeatedly
• Combined armies of Muzaffar Jang, defeated. Chanda Sahib was soon captured
Chanda sahib and French defeated & killed and killed.
Anwar-ud-din at Battle of Ambur near
Vellore. Anwar’s son fled to Trichinopoly.
Chanda sahib became nawab of Carnatic in Result – British victory.
1751

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Third Carnatic war (1758-63) • And since the Indian soldier too lacked a
Reasons – Again extension or echo of struggle in feeling of nationalism, he could be hired
Europe (7 years’ war). and employed by anyone who was willing
to pay him well. The English now set out to
Counte de Lally (French commander) came to
create a powerful army consisting of Indian
India (meantime British defeated Siraj-ud-daula
soldiers, called sepoys, and officered by
and captured Bengal in 1757). British got jackpot
Englishmen.
(lot of resources, money)

What happened in war? BRITISH OCCUPATION OF BENGAL

• Count de Lally captured St. David in 1758 &
Background
also attacked Tanjore. Next, he wanted to
The Company had secured valuable privileges in
siege Madras but because of presence of
1717 under a Royal Farman by the Mughal
British naval power he had to abandon this
Emperor Farrukh Siyar, which had granted the
& he summoned Bussy from Hyderabad.
Company the freedom to export and import their
• This was a very big mistake of Lally because goods in Bengal without paying taxes and the right
it had weakened French position in that to issue passes or Dastaks for the movement of
capital. English beat French fleet and
such goods.
compelled D’ Ache to retire from Indian
waters and final blow to French was given DASTAK – Dastak was a Trade permit.
by sir Eyre Coote at Wandiswash (1760). Dastak, in 18th-century Bengal, a permit
Result - The 3rd and final round of the struggle exempting European traders, mostly of the British
proved decisive. Mahe and Jinji were lost by East India Company, from paying customs or
French to English. transit duties on their private trade. The name
Pondicherry and some other French settlements came from the Persian word for “pass.”
were returned to French by the Treaty of Paris The Indian merchants and company’s servant
(1763) but these were to be never fortified. were equal in paying taxes. This Farman was a
What are the lessons learnt by English after the perpetual source of conflict between the Company
struggle with French and Indian rulers? and the Nawab’s of Bengal.
• First - That in the absence of nationalism in How?
the country, they could advance their First - it meant loss of revenue to the Bengal
political schemes by taking advantage of Government.
the mutual quarrels of the Indian rulers.
• Second - The Western trained infantry, Second- the power to issue Dastak for the
European or Indian, armed with modern Company’s goods were misused by the Company’s
weapons and backed by artillery could servants to evade taxes on their private trade.
defeat the old-style Indian armies with • All the Nawabs of Bengal, from Murshid
ease in pitched battles. Quli Khan to Alivardi Khan, had objected to
• Third - It was proved that the Indian soldier the English interpretation of the Farman of
trained and armed in the European 1717.
manner made as good a soldier as the • The nawab Ali Vardi Khan linked the
European. Europeans to bees who would make him
honey if left in peace but would sting an

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intruder to death. Alivardi Khan was four women were locked in a small room in
succeeded by his grandson Siraj-ud-daula. fort William. 123 of them died inside due
• He had rival claimants to the throne like to suffocation. This incident is known as
Shauakat Jung and Ghasiti Begum. Black-hole tragedy.
Company was supporting these rivals BATTLE OF PLASSEY
against Nawab. Nawab had warned In due time the news of capitulation of Calcutta
company several times, but this only reached Madras. The authorities immediately sent
evoked evasive replies. their armies to Calcutta.
Black Hole Tragedy
In the meantime, they organized a web of intrigue
• English had started to mount guns on walls
and treachery with the leading men of the
of fort William. They gave offence to
Nawab’s court. Chief among these were
Nawab by giving a helping hand to his rivals
to claim throne. • Mir Jafar - the Mir Bakshi
• Finding his authority flouted in his own • Manik Chand - the Officer-in-Charge of
dominions, Siraj launched the offensive Calcutta
against English. • Amichand - a rich merchant
• Moreover, he feared that if he permitted • Jagat Seth - the biggest banker of Bengal
the English and the French to fight each • Khadim Khan - he commanded a large
other on the soil of Bengal, he too would number of the Nawab’s troops.
meet the fate of the Carnatic Nawabs.
• In other words, Siraj, was willing to let the Colonel Clive commanded the expedition sent by
Europeans remain, as merchant but not as Madras. He re-conquered Calcutta in the
masters. He ordered both the English and beginning of 1757 and compelled the Nawab to
the French to demolish their fortifications concede all the demands of the English.
at Calcutta and Chandernagore and to • Treaty of Alinagar- restored the English
desist from fighting each other. their former privileges of trade, grant
• White the French Company obeyed his permission to fortify Calcutta and
order, the English Company refused to do promising compensation for the losses
so, for its ambition had been whetted and suffered by the English.
its confidence enhanced by its victories in • But English wanted more and they started
the Carnatic. intriguing with Mira Jafar and others
• Siraj-ud-Daulah had the statesmanship to against Nawab.
see the long-term implications of the • English kept a set of impossible demands in
English designs. He decided to make them front of Nawab and it became necessary to
obey the laws of the land. Fort William was fight to finish.
besieged in 1756. • In 23 June 1757 – rivals faced each other in
• Siraj had acted in undue haste and with battlefield of Plassey. It was fought on the
inadequate preparation. Fort William was banks of Bhagirathi River.
occupied on 20 June 1756 and then he • Battle of Plassey was a battle only in name.
retired to his capital to celebrate his In reality it was a conspiracy against Nawab
victory. by enemies to fulfill their selfish motives.
• And 146 British prisoners including their • An advanced party of Nawab’s army was
commander John Zepheria Holwell and led by Mir Mudan and Mohan Lal forced
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Clive to withdraw his forces behind the Importance of Battle of Plassey
trees. English killed Mir Mudan. • The battle of Plassey was of immense
• Siraj summoned his army officers and historical importance as it had benefitted
sought their advice. Mir Jafar found the the British in lot of ways.
fears of nawab and told him to retire from • It paved the way for the British mastery of
battlefield leaving the operations to his Bengal and eventually of the 'whole of
Generals. India’. The rich revenues of Bengal enabled
• Battle of Plassey was “a night of eternal them to organize a strong army.
gloom for India”. • Control over Bengal played a decisive role
• The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory in the Anglo-French struggle. Enabled the
of the British East India Company over the Company and its servants to amass untold
Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on wealth at the cost of the helpless people of
23 June 1757. The battle consolidated the Bengal.
Company's presence in Bengal, which later • Mir Jafar was Milch cow for English.
expanded to cover much of India over the Company was no longer just trader, now it
next hundred years. started control over provinces. Wealth of
Bengal was drained.
Rewards by Mir Jafar to English EIC Deposition of Mir Jafar

• Soon Mir Jafar repented the bargain. He

realized it was impossible to meet English
demands forever. His treasury was
emptied.
• Soon English officials began to criticize the
Nawab for his incapacity in fulfilling their
expectations.
• They forced him to abdicate throne in
favour of his son-in-law Mir Qasim.
o He was charged with anti-English
activities, intriguing with Dutch.
o In reality his main crime was
poverty.
Mir Jafar succeed to throne with the help of
English and so he rewarded them with trade rights, Treaty with Mir Qasim (September 1760)
compensation, large sums as ‘gifts’ or bribes. • Mir Qasim found it as an opportunity and
The Company was granted undisputed claimed for Nawabship. He promised
right to free trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It English to take measures immediately to
also received the zamindari of the 24 Parganas relive the financial distress of company.
near Calcutta. Mir Jafar paid a sum of Rs Finding his palace surrounded by the
17,700,000 as compensation for the attack on company’s army, Mir Jaffar decided to
Calcutta to the Company and the traders of the resign in favor of Mir Qasim.
city. • Mir Jaffar was paid back in his own coin. He
had betrayed Siraj. now he was betrayed
by Mir Qasim.
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• On becoming nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim destroyed. He took the drastic step of abolishing
heavily bribed the ‘King makers’. He all duties on internal trade, thus giving his own
granted the Company the Zamindari of the subjects a concession that the English had seized
districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, and by force.
Chittagong, and gave handsome presents
But alien merchants don’t want equality, they
totalling 29 lakhs of rupees to the high
demanded re-imposition of tax on Indian
English officials.
merchants. English didn’t like his activities.

BATTLE OF BUXAR
Mir Qasim and EIC
• Conflict started again- Truth was no two
Nawab belied English hopes and became threat to
masters could exist together.
their position and designs in Bengal. He was an
able, efficient, and strong ruler, determined to • Nawab believed himself as independent
free himself from foreign control ruler while English wanted him to act as
their puppet.
He believed that since he had paid the Company • Mir Qasim was defeated in a series of
adequately for putting him on the throne, they battle in 1763. He formed alliance with
should now leave him alone to govern Bengal. He Shuja-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Avadh, and
realized full treasury and an efficient army were Shah Alam II, the fugitive Mughal Emperor.
essential to maintain his independence. • The three allies met with English at Buxar
• He took some measures to assert his on 22 October 1764 and were thoroughly
independence- prevented public disorder. defeated. One of the most decisive battles
• To increase his income, he removed of Indian history because it demonstrated
corruption from revenue administration. the superiority of English arms over
• Raised a modern and disciplined army combined armies of two major Indian
along European lines. provinces.
• Nawab of Awadh, Shuja-ud-daulah was
He attempted to check the misuse of the Farman made to pay war indemnity of 5 million
of 1717 by the Company’s servants. These abuses rupees to the company.
ruined the honest Indian traders through unfair • Nawab and English became alliance.
competition and deprived the Nawab of a very According to alliance company will help
important source of revenue. nawab in any outside attack but nawab had
The Company and its servants got intoxicated by to pay for the services of troops. In
their new-found power and they began to oppress nutshell, nawab became dependent on
and ill-treat the officials of the Nawab and, the company.
poor people pf Bengal. • Nawab was living with a wrong belief that
a trading body, company, was a transitory
They compelled the Indian artisans, peasants, and power and Mughal and Afghans were his
merchants to sell their goods cheap and to buy real enemies.
dear from them. People who refused were often • Clive had gradually started to transfer the
flogged or imprisoned. authority of Government from the Nawab
These years were “the period of open and to the Company. Clive restored Mir Jafar in
unashamed plunder.” The prosperity for which 1763 and collected huge sums
Bengal was renowned was being gradually
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• In 1765 after Mir Jafar’s death, his second controlled the army and the revenue while the
son, Nizam-ud-daulah, was placed by Clive nawab was supposed to look after the
on throne, A treaty was signed with new administration.
nawab.
• EIC – had authority but no responsibility.
• According to treaty, Nawab was to disband
They controlled the finances of the
most of his army and to administer Bengal
province and its army directly and its
through a Deputy Subahdar who was to be
administration indirectly.
nominated by the Company and who could
• Nawab – The Nawab and his officials had
not be dismissed without its approval.
the responsibility of administration but not
• The Company thus gained supreme control
the power to discharge it.
over the administration (or nizamat) of
• Now the Bengal was completely under the
Bengal.
control of company. So, it’s servant and
How battle of Buxar had made British a masters
company itself started to plunder the
of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa?
Bengal.
Company had obtained the Diwani (right to collect • Company authorities used the collected
to revenue) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from titular revenue to purchase the Indian goods and
head of Mughal Empire. sold them abroad. It was known as
company’s investment and it was part of its
Dual System of Administration of Bengal
profit. Government also shared in this
• The real master of Bengal was company
profit.
from 1765.
• Company had completely drained the
• Bengal’s defense was in hands of EIC army.
Bengal. In years -1766 - 68 5.7 million
• Political power was in hands of EIC.
pound was drained from Bengal. Dual
• Revenue power – EIC is Diwan so collected
government and drain of wealth gifted an
revenue.
impoverished and exhausted province
• Police and judicial power - EIC appointed
• In 1770, Bengal suffered from one of the
the Deputy Subahdar
most terrible famines known in human
history. Lakhs of people died. Though the
Dual or double government – from 1765 to 1772 famine was due to failure of rains, its
there was dual government in Bengal because effects were heightened by the Company’s
there were 2 separate authorities. The British policies.

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Mains Questions

1. “The Verdict at Plassey was confirmed by the English victory at Buxar.” – 15 marks
(2002).
2. Discuss the causes that led to the ‘economic drain’ in Bengal following the Battle of
Plassey. – 15 marks (2004).
3. How did the East Indian Company become the dejure power in India? – 10 marks
(2009).
4. “Duplex made a cardinal blunder in looking for the key of India in Madras: Clive
sought and found it in Bengal.” – 10 marks (2013).
5. “Plassey did not complete the British conquest of India. Had the English been
convincingly defeated in any subsequent battle in India, then (the battle of) Plassey
would have remained as a minor episode in the history of India.” – 10 marks (2014).
6. Clarify how mid-eighteenth-century India was beset with the spectre of a
fragmented polity. – 10 marks. (2017).
7. Why did the armies of the British East India Company – mostly comprising of Indian
soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better equipped armies
of the then Indian rulers? (2022)
8. Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial India since the mid-eighteenth
century? Give reasons. (2022)

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EXPANSION OF BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA

The battle of Plassey marked the British Conquest •The Censorship of Press Act, 1799 was also
of India. Later under the governorship of Lord brought under his tenure and Fort William
Wellesley, Lord Hastings, Lord Dalhousie, etc. the College was established in 1800 to train
expansion of the British Empire in India took place. civil servants.
Now we will go through how the British Empire in • After Warren Hastings & Cornwallis,
India expanded? Wellesley was next governor general of
India. Under his period a large-scale
EXPANSION UNDER LORD WELLESLEY (1798 -
expansion of British rule took place. Before
1805)
him British were following policy of
consolidation of resources and gains.
• Territorial expansion was made when it
was safe & without antagonizing major
Indian powers. Wellesley believed that
time had ripe to bring as many Indian
states as possible under British control.
• In 1797, two major Indian powers, Mysore
and Marathas were declined. Business
class in British and company was also in
favor of this policy as more Indian portion
under British control, more markets for
British.
To achieve his political aims Wellesley relied on
three methods:
• The system of Subsidiary Alliances,
• Lord Wellesley (as Governor General) came outright wars, and assumption of the
to India in 1798 at a time when the British territories of previously' subordinated
were locked in a life and death struggle rulers.
with France all over the world. • Helping Indian states by paid British force
• Lord Wellesley remained Governor was old technic. Wellesley shaped it and
General of Fort Williams from 1798 to used to subordinate Indian states under
1805. During his tenure, the Fourth and paramount authority of the Company.
last Anglo-Mysore war was fought and Tipu
was killed in this war. The Second Anglo SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE
Maratha war also happened in which • Wellesley came to India with a
Bhonsle, Scindia and Holkar were determination to launch a forward policy in
defeated. order to make ‘the British Empire in India’
• Wellesley followed the policy of into ‘the British Empire of India’. The
“subsidiary alliance”, which was accepted system that he adopted to achieve his
by the rulers of Mysore, Jodhpur, Jaipur, object is known as the ‘Subsidiary Alliance’.
Bundi, Macheri, Bharatpur, Oudh, Tanjore,
Berar, Peshwa and Nizam of Hyderabad.

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maintain internal peace. The protected
state should give some money or give part
of its territory to the British to support the
subsidiary force.
• The protected state should cut off its
connection with European powers other
than the English and with the French in
particular. The state was also forbidden to
have any political contact even with other
Indian powers without the permission of
the British.
• The ruler of the protected state should
keep a British Resident at his court and
disband his own army. He should not
Lord Wellesley: Known as the Akbar of East India employ Europeans in his service without
Company the sanction of the paramount power.
• He also called himself ‘The Bengal Tiger’. • The paramount power should not interfere
But now we know that only DADA (aka in the internal affairs of the protected
Saurav Ganguly) is Bengal Tiger. So, we state.
refused to mention this fact in our Value
Benefits to the British
Add. :P (Just Kidding)
• The predecessors of Wellesley concluded Wellesley’s Subsidiary System is regarded as one
alliances with Indian princes like the of the masterstrokes of British imperialism.
Nawab of Awadh and the Nizam of • It increased the military strength of the
Hyderabad. They received subsidies from Company in India at the expense of the
the Indian rulers for the maintenance of protected states.
British troops, which were used for the
• The territories of the Company were free
protection of respective Indian states.
from the ravages of war thereby
Wellesley enlarged and consolidated the
establishing the stability of the British
already existing system.
power in India.
• The position of the British was
Main Features of Subsidiary Alliance strengthened against its Indian and non-
Indian enemies.
• Any Indian ruler who entered into the • Under the system, expansion of British
subsidiary alliance with the British had to power became easy.
maintain a contingent of British troops in
his territory. It was commanded by a Thus, Wellesley’s diplomacy made the British the
British officer. The Indian state was called paramount power in India.
‘the protected state’ and the British Negative impact of the Subsidiary System on
hereinafter were referred to as ‘the Indian Princes
paramount power’. It was the duty of the
British to safeguard that state from • The immediate effect of the establishment
external aggression and to help its ruler of subsidiary forces was the introduction of
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anarchy because of the unemployment of ruler without consulting the Governor-
thousands of soldiers sent away by the General.
Indian princes. • British also promised non-interference in
• The freebooting activities of disbanded the internal affairs of the allied state. But
soldiers were felt much in central India residents often intervene in internal affairs
where the menace of Pindaris affected the of state.
people. Subsidiary alliance disadvantages to Indian
• Further, the subsidiary system had a states –
demoralizing effect on the princes of the
They lost the –
protected states. Safeguarded against
external danger and internal revolt, they • right of self-defense
neglected their administrative • right of maintaining diplomatic relations
responsibilities. They preferred to lead • right of employing foreign experts
easy-going and pleasure-seeking lives. As a • right of settling its disputes with its
result, misgovernment followed. neighbors
• In course of time, the anarchy and misrule • all vestiges of sovereignty in external
in several states had resulted in their matters
annexation by the British. Thus, the • became increasingly subservient to the
subsidiary system proved to be a British Resident
preparation for annexation. • interference by resident in the day to day
• Furthermore, the British collected very administration of the state
heavy subsidies from the protected princes • Give rise to internal decay of the protected
and this had adversely affected their state.
economy. • cost of the subsidiary force provided by the
British was very high
REVISE • sometimes beyond the paying capacity of
• Subsidiary alliance – States had to disband the state
their army & British army was stationed • payments were arbitrarily fixed
permanently in Indian ruler state and ruler
• disbandment of the armies of the
had to pay for the services rendered by the
protected states led to unemployment
army. Sometimes a small territory was problems
given by rulers instead of annual subsidy.
• As Lakhs of soldiers and officers were
The ruler was told it was to protect them
deprived of their hereditary livelihood,
from outside attacks. A British resident was
spreading misery and degradation in the
also posted in court.
country.
• But in reality, it was not to protect but was
• Law and order problem because Many of
a kind of tribute to company and signing off
disbanded soldiers joined the roaming
states’ independence.
bands of Pindarees which ravaged people.
• British resident was posted to check the
• Rulers had no incentive to become good
employing of any European in his services
rulers because they tended to neglect the
without the approval of English and that he
interests of their people and to oppress
would not negotiate with any other Indian
them as they no longer feared them.

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Subsidiary alliances advantages to British India Mysore
• They can maintain a large army at the cost • Tipu Sultan loved his independence and so
of the Indian states. he never agreed to subsidiary alliance. He
• This enabled them to fight wars far away worked hard to strengthen forces against
from their own territories. British.
• Since any war would occur In the territories • He entered into negotiations for an
either of the British ally or of the British alliance with Revolutionary France and
enemy. sent missions to Afghanistan, Arabia and
• Controlled the defense and foreign Turkey to forge an anti-British alliance.
relations of the protected ally and had a • Fourth Anglo Mysore war - In 1799 British
power army stationed in ally land and defeated Tipu but still he had not signed
could, therefore, at a time of their the treaty. He proudly declared that it was
choosing, overthrow ruler and annex his “better to die like a soldier than to live a
territories by declaring him to be miserable dependent on the infidels, in the
“inefficient‟. list of their pensioned, rajas and nabobs.”
• He died a hero’s death on 4 May 1799
The system of Subsidiary Alliances was “a system
while defending his capital Seringapatam.
of fattening allies as we fatten oxen, till they
After his death half of his dominions were
were worthy of being devoured.”
divided between British and their ally
SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE AND INDIAN STATES Nizam. (see map below)
Hyderabad • The Reduced kingdom was restored to the
• Treaty of subsidiary alliance was signed descendants of original Rajas from whom
with Hyderabad in 1801. Haider Ali had seized the power.
• The pay for army was so high that Nawab • A special treaty of subsidiary alliance was
had to surrender half of his kingdom. signed with new Rajas. According to treaty
• His own army was disbanded. governor general can take over the state in
• British had right to station the army case of necessity. Mysore was, in fact,
anywhere in state. made a complete dependency of the
Company.

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Carnatic capital at Ava. Peace was established in 1826
• In 1801, Wellesley forced a new treaty with the Treaty of Yandabo.
upon the puppet nawab of Carnatic.
According to treaty he had to cede half of • The British conquest of Burma was done
kingdom to company in return for pension. through three successive wars in the
• The Madras Presidency as it existed till, 19th century. The conflict was initiated
1947 was now created, by attaching the by border clashes. It was further fanned
Carnatic to territories seized from Mysore, by expansionist urges.
including the Malabar. • The British merchants cast covetous
• Similarly, the territories of the rulers of glances on the forest resources of
Tanjore and Surat were taken over and Burma and were keen to promote
their rulers pensioned off. exports of their manufacture among
Do you know? their people. The British authorities also
wanted to check the spread of the
• The Gorkhas wrested control of Nepal French commercial and political
from the successors of Ranjit Malla of influence in Burma and the rest of south
Bhatgaon in 1760. east Asia.
• They began to expand their dominion • The British declared the first war on
beyond the mountains. They found it Burma in 1824, as a result of the
easier to expand in the southern Burmese occupation of Arakan and
direction, as the north was well Assam, along the ill-defined borders
defended by the Chinese. between Bengal and Burma. The British
• In 1801, the English annexed Gorakhpur forces occupied Rangoon in 1824.
which brought the Gorkhas’ boundary Peace came in 1826 with the Treaty of
and the Company’s boundary together. Yandabo.
• The conflict started due to the Gorkhas’ • The second Burmese War, which broke
capture of Butwal and Sheoraj in the out in 1852, was almost wholly the
period of Lord Hastings (1813-23). The result of British commercial greed, as
war, ended in the Treaty of Sagauli, the British timber firms had begun to
1816 which was in favour of the British. take interests in the timber resources of
Upper Burma.
Features of Sagauli Treaty:
• Nepal accepted a British resident. Marathas
• Nepal ceded the districts of Garhwal It was the only major power which was not under
and Kumaon, and abandoned claims to British control. Wellesley began aggressive
Terai. interference in their internal affairs. During this
• Nepal also withdrew from Sikkim. time Maratha empire was confederacy of 5 big
chiefs
First Burma War (1824-26) ended after the
• Peshwa – Poona
British expeditionary forces occupied Rangoon
• Gaekwad – Baroda
in May 1824 and reached within 72 km of the
• Bhonsle – Nagpur
• Holkar – Indore
• Sindhia – Gwalior
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Peshwa was nominal head of confederacy. They EXPANSION UNDER LORD HASTINGS (1813 - 22)
were busy in fighting among themselves and not • Marquess of Hastings (Lord Hastings) was
seen the foreign threat. Wellesley had offered appointed Governor-General of India on
subsidiary alliance to Peshwa and Sindhia but November 11, 1812. His tenure in India as
Peshwa had declined because of far-sightedness Governor-General was a notable one, as he
of Nana Phadnis. won two wars namely the Gurkha War
(1814–1816) and the Maratha War (1818).
In 1802, Holkar had defeated the combined armies
• Even after defeat at second Anglo-Maratha
of Peshwa and Sindhia, cowardly Peshwa Baji Rao
war, Marathas had not lost the hope and
II signed the subsidiary alliance at Bassein.
they had made a last try to regain the
The Marathas had not united even against the independence and old prestige in 1817.
common enemy. Sindhia and Bhonsle were • Peshwa led and tried to organize a united
fighting with British while Holkar was watching the front with the Maratha chiefs. Peshwa
episode and Gaekwad gave a helping hand to attacked British residency at Poona in
British. November 1817. Appa Sahib of Nagpur
In 1803 Wellesley defeated combined armies of attacked residency at Nagpur. Madhav Rao
Sindhia and Bhonsle at Assaye. Both signed Holkar made preparations for war.
Subsidiary Alliance Treaty. As a result of treaty • Governor General, Lord Hastings retaliated
vigorously. As a result of this Sindhia –
• Part of territory ceded to British compelled to accept suzerainty.
• Admitted British resident • Peshwa – dethroned and pensioned off at
• Promised will not employ any European Bithur near Kanpur. Territories annexed
without British approval. and enlarged the presidency of Bombay
brought into existence.
Now Wellesley turned to Holkar. But Yeshwant
• Holkar and Bhonsle – accepted subsidiary
Rao Holkar gave a firm resistance to Wellesley
forces.
Holkar’s ally, the Raja of Bharatpur, inflicted heavy
losses on Lord Lake. Sindhia also gave a thought of • For satisfaction of Maratha pride, the small
forgetting the fratricidal strife and joining Holkar. Kingdom of Satara was founded out of the
Peshwa’s lands and given, to the
Wellesley had been called back because of – descendant of Chatrapati Shivaji. Like
• Profits of shareholders of EIC decline descendants of Mysore rajas, they were
because of company’s costly wars. made completely dependent to British.
• Company debt had also increased. • Sindhia and Holkar dominated Rajputana
• Britain finance were exhausted. states for several years and after their
• British statesmen and company directors downfall they were not capable enough to
felt that now it’s time to stop further reassert their independence and easily
expansion & digest and consolidate recent accepted British supremacy.
gains in India. • By 1818 the entire India except Punjab and
Sikh states was under control of British. It
Peace was signed with Holkars in 1806 by the
was partly controlled by British directly and
Treaty of Raighat, giving back Holkar greater part
rest by Indian rulers under paramount
of his territories.
power of British.

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• The British protected states had virtually • As early as 1775 the East India Company
no armed forces of their own, nor did they had established a factory at Thatta.
have any independent foreign relations. • Fear of French designs prompted Lord
However, they were autonomous in their Minto to send British mission to Kabul,
internal affairs, but even in this respect, Persia, Lahore and Sindh.
they acknowledged British authority • A Treaty of Eternal Friendship was signed
wielded through a Resident. with the Amirs in 1809 providing for
THE CONSOLIDATION OF BRITISH POWER (1818 - mutual intercourse through envoys and
57) the Amirs promised not to allow the French
To consolidate its power, the British completed to settle in Sindh.
the task of conquering the whole of India from • It also settled border disputes between the
1818 to 1857. two parties on the side of Kutch where the
frontiers of Company met with Sindh
Conquest of Sindh region.
• It was result of Anglo – Russian rivalry and • The treaty was renewed in in 1820 with the
fear of British that Russia might attack additional article which excluded the
India through Afghanistan or Persia. Americans from the Sindh.
• To counter this British government
decided to increase its control over
Afghanistan or Persia. British believed that
for successful execution of above plan,
Sindh must be brought under its control.
• The commercial possibilities of the river
Sindh were an additional attraction. In
1832 William Bentinck sent his
representative to sign a new commercial
treaty with Amirs (chiefs of Sind).
• A free passage for English travelers and
merchant through Sind, and the use of the
Indus for commercial pursuits; no vessel of
war to come by the said river.
• In 1839, a subsidiary treaty was signed with
Amirs. This treaty was accepted by Amirs
under threat of superior forces.
The terms of treaty were similar to subsidiary
alliance.
• Troops were to be stationed at Shikarpur In spite of previous assurances that its territorial
and Bukkar. integrity would be respected, Sindh was annexed
• No foreign affairs without asking British. in 1843 by Charles Napier.
• Paying maintenance for force.
“We have no right to seize Sind, yet we shall do so,
Do you know? and a very advantageous, useful humane piece of
Treaty of Eternal Friendship rascality it will be.”

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The Conquest of Punjab • It had given full authority to British
• ‘Punjab’ is made up two words- ‘Punj’ resident at Lahore over all matters in state.
meaning five and ‘ab’ meaning water. Troops can be stationed in any part of the
• Political instability and rapid changes of Punjab.
government followed in Punjab after the • But British officials were still unsatisfied.
death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in June They wanted to impose direct British rule
1839. over the Punjab.
• Though power fell into patriotic leaders, • Lord Dalhousie was waiting for opportunity
but army was not well disciplined and so to subsume the last independent state into
British thought of seizing this opportunity British Empire. This opportunity was given
and looking greedily towards Punjab. by local revolts.
• British had signed a treaty of perpetual • Revolts were led by Mulraj at Multan and
friendship with Ranjit Singh in 1809. British Chatter Singh Attanwala near Lahore. Lord
agent, Broad foot in Ludhiana repeatedly Dalhousie can’t afford to lose, and he
indulged in hostile actions and gave annexed the Punjab.
provocations.
• There were lots of corrupt chiefs in Punjab,
DALHOUSIE AND THE POLICY OF ANNEXATION
who know that soon they will lose their
(1848 - 56)
position because army will not able to
• Lord Dalhousie (Real name James Andrew
stand against British.
Ramsay) served as Governor General of
• So, they thought of saving themselves by
India from 1848 to 1856. During this
embroiling army with British.
period, Second Anglo-Sikh War (1849) was
• In 1845, British started preparing to march
fought in which the Sikhs were defeated
towards Punjab. The Punjab Army, now
again, and Dalhousie was successful in
convinced that the British were
annexing the whole of Punjab to the British
determined to occupy the Punjab, took
administration.
counter measures. War started on 13
• He annexed many states by doctrine of
December 1845
lapse. During his tenure, first railway line
• The Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs forget their
between Bombay and Thane was opened
internal conflicts and united against
in 1853 and in the same year Calcutta and
common enemy. Punjab army fought
Agra were connected by telegraph. His
heroically. But some leaders like Prime
other reforms include setting up of P.W.D.
minister, Raja lala Singh, and commander-
and passing of the Widow Remarriage Act
in-chief, missar Tej Singh had betrayed
(1856).
Punjab.
• Lord Dalhousie came to India as the
• Punjab Army was forced to concede defeat
Governor-General in 1848. He was from
and to sign the humiliating Treaty of
the beginning determined to extend direct
Lahore on 8 March 1846. Jalandhar doab
British rule over as large area as possible.
was annexed and Jammu and Kashmir
• He believed that British administration was
were sold to raja Gulab Singh Dogra.
far superior to the corrupt and oppressive
• Punjab army reduced, and strong British
administration of the native rulers. In
force stationed at Lahore. In December
reality motive of this policy was the
1846, Treaty of Bhyrowal was signed.
expansion of British exports to India.
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He implemented his policy of annexation by the administration and it was painful for people. But
Doctrine of Lapse Dalhousie’s philanthropic feelings were just
excuse.
Doctrine of Lapse - when the ruler of a protected
state died without a natural heir, his state was not In reality Awadh had immense potential as a
to pass to an adopted heir as sanctioned by the market for Manchester goods. Berar province
age-old tradition of the country. Instead, it was to from Nizam was also taken away on similar
be annexed to the British dominions unless the pretext.
adoption had been clearly approved earlier by the
You need to remember, that Awadh was not
British authorities.
annexed by ‘Doctrine of Lapse’. The Nawab of
States annexed under Doctrine of lapse – Awadh by Ousted by the British by giving a reason
• Satara – 1848 of poor administration. Some books have given
• Jaitpur & Sambhalpur – 1849 that it annexed by ‘DoL’, that is an incorrect fact.
• Nagpur and Jhansi – 1854 After annexation of Awadh, the first British
• Tanjore and Arcot – 1855 revenue settlement of Awadh was known as the
• Udaipur (chattisgarh) and oudh - 1856 Summary Settlement of 1856.
• The annexation of Awadh displaced not
He refused to recognize the titles of many ex- just the Nawab. It also dispossessed the
rulers or to pay their pensions. Titles of the taluqdars of the region.
Nawabs of Carnatic and of Surat and the Raja of • It was based on the assumption that the
Tanjore were extinguished. taluqdars were interlopers with no
permanent stakes in the land.
Refused to extend pay or pension to adopted son • The countryside of Awadh was dotted with
of Baji Rao II, Nana Saheb, after death of Baji Rao the estates and forts of taluqdars who for
II. many generations had controlled land and
power in the countryside.
He wanted to annex the kingdom of Awadh, but • Before the coming of the British, taluqdars
there were some difficulties. maintained armed retainers, built forts,
• Nawabs of Awadh had been British allies and enjoyed a degree of autonomy, as long
since the Battle of Buxar. as they accepted the suzerainty of the
Nawab and paid the revenue of their
• Most obedient to the British over the
taluqs.
years. • The British were unwilling to tolerate the
• Nawab of Awadh had many heirs and could power of the taluqdars. Immediately after
not therefore be covered by the Doctrine the annexation, the taluqdars were
of Lapse. disarmed and their forts destroyed.
• It was believed that taluqdars have
So, some other pretext had to be found for established their hold over land through
depriving him of his dominions. Finally, Lord force and fraud. The Summary Settlement
Dalhousie hit upon the idea of alleviating the plight proceeded to remove the taluqdars
of the people of Awadh. He accused Nawab Wajid wherever possible.
• The British land revenue policy further
Ali Shah of mis-governance and of refusing to
undermined the position and authority of
introduce reforms.
the taluqdars.
His state was therefore annexed in 1856. There is
no doubt that Nawabs of Awadh didn’t care about

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Quick glance
Anglo-French struggle

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Burmese War Lord Dufferin served as Governor General of India and Viceroy from 1884 to 1888.
(1886) During his tenure, the Third Burmese war led to annexation of whole of Burma and
Burmese ruler was exiled to India.
Bhutan War The Bhutan war is also known as Duar War and this ended in the defeat of the
(1865) Bhutanese army. The peace was brought by “Treaty of Sinchula” which was signed
on 11 November 1865.

Bhutan War (1865) was during the Viceroyship of Lord John Lawrence (1864 -69)
Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the British East India Company
and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. Initially, the British successfully
intervened in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad and former emir
Shah Shujah, whom they installed upon conquering Kabul in August 1839.
First War (1839)
Invasion of Afghanistan was ordered by the governor-general of India, Lord
Auckland, with the object of restoring exiled Afghan ruler Shah Shojāʿ to the
throne.
Second War
(1878)

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Lord Lytton, the viceroy of India, ordered a diplomatic mission to set out for Kabul
in September 1878 but the mission was turned back as it approached the eastern
entrance of the Khyber Pass, triggering the Second Anglo–Afghan War.

Do you know?

Panjdeh Incident

• The Panjdeh incident of 1885 was a diplomatic crisis between the British Empire and the Russian
Empire caused by the Russian expansion south-eastwards towards the Emirate of Afghanistan and
the British Raj (India). After nearly completing the Russian conquest of Central Asia (Russian
Turkestan) the Russians captured an Afghan border fort. Seeing a threat to India, Britain came close
to threatening war but both sides backed down and the matter was settled by diplomacy. The effect
was to stop further Russian expansion in Asia, except for the Pamir Mountains and to define the
north-western border of Afghanistan.

Mains Questions

1. Examine the essential principles of the Subsidiary Alliance system. How far did it
contribute in making the British Company the supreme sovereign authority in
India? – 15 marks (2005).
2. “Dalhousie’s predecessors had acted on the general principles of avoiding
annexations, if these could be avoided. Dalhousie acted on the principles of
annexation, if lie could do so legitimately. His annexations were both of war and
peace.” Analyse. – 12 marks (2010).

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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

BRITISH ADMINISTRATIVE AND ECONOMIC POLICY

India. This anomalous state of affairs posed
BRITISH ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY many problems for the British
• British had acquired the vast empire of Government.
India. Now they needed to devise suitable • It was closely interwoven with party and
methods of government to control and parliamentary rivalries in Britain, the
administer it. political ambitions of English statesmen,
• During 1757-1857 the administrative and the commercial greed of English
policies changed frequently. merchants.
Such policies’ main objectives were Opposition of Company by Merchants
• To make profit to Company. • Company and its officials were making a lot
• To enhance the profitability of its Indian of profits. Many sections of the society and
possessions to Britain merchants who were kept out of the east
• To maintain and strengthen the British started to attack the monopoly of
hold over India company.
• Everyone wanted a share in the profitable
All other purposes were subordinated to these trade and riches of India which company
aims. The administrative machinery of GoI was to and its servants were enjoying alone.
serve the above objectives. • The administration of company in Bengal
Main emphasis was on maintenance of law and was attacked. Officials of company who
order, so trade and exploitation of resources can returned to Britain were special targets.
be carried out with without disturbance. • They were called as “nabobs” and ridiculed
in press and on stage. Boycotted by
The Structure of the Government aristocracy. They were condemned as the
• After acquiring control over Bengal in exploiters and oppressors of the Indian
1765, EIC had little intention of making any people.
innovations in its administration. Their • Two main targets were Robert Clive and
only desire was to carry on their profitable Warren Hastings. In parliament also,
trade and to collect taxes. members of parliament and ministers
• During 1765 to 1772, there was Dual wanted benefits from acquisition of
Government in Bengal. The Indian officials Bengal.
had responsibility but no power while the • They forced company to pay tributes which
Company’s officials had power but no was to be used to reduce the taxation or
responsibility. public debt of England.
• Similarity between two officials was – both Opposition of Company by Members of
were venal and corrupt men. Parliament
• In 1772 the Company ended the Dual • Many political thinkers and statesmen of
Government and undertook to administer Britain were afraid that the powerful
Bengal directly through its own servants. Company and its rich officials would
• EIC was a commercial body designed to completely debauch the English nation and
trade with the East, but it had acquired its politics, so they wanted to control
political power over millions of people in company and its politics.

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• During this time parliament of British was an Executive Council of four members to
extremely corrupt and retired officials assist him.
used their agents to purchase the seats in • The first such Governor-General was Lord
house of commons. Warren Hastings.
• If company was not controlled, the • It provided for the establishment of a
Company as master of India would soon Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774)
come to control British administration and comprising one chief justice and three
be in a position to destroy the liberties of other judges.
the British people. • This act was having some flaws. It had not
Opposition of Company by Economists given the British Government effective and
• Rising school of economists representing decisive control over the Company.
free trade manufacturing capitalism also • Governor general was at mercy of his
attacked the exclusive privileges of council.
company. • The Governor-General’s control over the
Control over Company by Parliament other two Presidencies also proved
• Thus, reorganization of the relations inadequate in practice.
between the British state and the • It had failed to resolve the conflict between
Company’s authorities became necessary the Company and its opponents in England
and the occasion arose when the Company
had to ask the Government for a loan of £ Pitt’s India Act
1,000,000. • It corrected the defects of regulating act of
• Company was having enemies with power, 1784.
but it also had friends in Parliament like • It gave the British Government supreme
King George III, was its patron. And so, control over the Company’s affairs and its
company was able to fight back. administration in India.
• In the end parliament made a balance • It established six Commissioners for the
between company and various influential affairs of India, called as “Board of
sections of British society. Control”, including two Cabinet Ministers.
• Parliament decided that British • Board of Control was to guide and control
Government would control the basic the work of the Court of Directors and the
policies of the Company’s Indian GoI.
administration so British rule in India • In important and urgent matters, it had the
remained in British upper-class favor. power to send direct orders to India
through a secret committee of Directors.
Regulating Act of 1773
• The Act placed the GOI in the hands of the
• The first important parliamentary act
Governor- General and a Council of three,
regarding the Company's affairs.
so the Governor-General can have say with
• Court of director’s constitution was
even one-member support.
changed, and their actions were
• It clearly subordinated the Bombay and
supervised by British government.
Madras Presidencies to Bengal in all
• Directors have to correspondence of civil,
questions of war, diplomacy, and
military and revenue affairs with ministry.
revenues.
• It designated the Governor of Bengal as the
‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and created

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• It started a new phase of the British • The purposes which it was designed to
conquest of India. serve were to accomplish the aims and
• The Company having saved its monopoly of objects of its rulers.
the Indian and Chinese trade was satisfied. • Chief aim - to enable them to exploit India
Its Directors retained the profitable right of economically to the maximum advantage
appointing and dismissing its British of various British interests.
officials in India.
In 1793, Lord Cornwallis defined TWO primary
• The company was directed not to indulge
objectives –
in offensive war & battles in India. It was
• ‘ensure its political safety’
asked not to enter in any treaty with native
• ‘Render the possession of country as
states.
advantageous as possible to the EIC and
• It laid down the general framework in
British nation.’
which the Government of India was to be
carried on till 1857.
BRITISH ECONOMIC POLICIES
• Later enactments gradually diminished the
Commercial Policy
powers and privileges of the Company.
• From 1600-1757 EIC was a trading
Charter Act of 1813 company which exchanged goods with
• Abolished company’s trading monopoly Indian goods like textiles and spices.
except tea trade and trade in china. • These textiles and spices were sold abroad,
• Asked company to keep aside a sum of and it tried constantly to open new
rupees 1 lakh per annum for promotion of markets for Indian goods in Britain and
learning of education in India. other countries.
• The act guaranteed full support to • Thereby, it increased the export of Indian
Christian missionary act. manufactures and thus encouraged their
• As a result of this they become extremely production. That’s why the Indian rulers
aggressively in India. tolerated and even encouraged the
• It provided for the separation of company’s establishment of the Company’s factories
commercial and territorial revenue. in India.
• Company continued to appoint its official But British manufacturers were jealous of Indian
in India. textiles popularity.
• The debts of company were taken over by • Light cotton textiles of India began to
GOI. replace the coarse woollens of the English.
• Because of pressure by British
Thus, the various acts of Parliament completely manufacturers, government restricted and
subordinated the Company and its Indian prohibited the sale of Indian goods in
administration to the British Government. England.
Parliament recognized that day to day • Heavy duties were imposed on the import
administration of India could not be run or even of plain cloth.
superintended from a distance of 6,000 miles. • Other European countries, except Holland,
also either prohibited the import of Indian
The British created a new system of
cloth or imposed heavy import duties.
administration in India to serve their purposes.

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• In spite of these laws, however, Indian silk This development was aided by several factors –
and cotton textiles still held their own in • Expansion of Export industries because of
foreign markets, until English textile monopoly in many foreign countries
industry began to develop on the basis of (colonies)
new and advanced technology in middle of • Particularly true of the cotton textile
18th century. industry which served as the main vehicle
of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
After the Battle of Plassey company acquired
• Colonies exported raw materials at low
political power and by using political power,
cost while Britain sold the manufactured
company established monopoly in trade and
products at high prices.
production in Bengal by ousting the Indian traders.
• Capital – sufficient capital was there for
Revenue of Bengal was used to finance its export investment in new machinery and the
of Indian goods. This should have encouraged factory system.
Indian manufacturers, but it didn’t happen • Capital concentrated in hands of
because of – merchants and industrialists
• Weavers of Bengal were forced to sell their • Immense wealth drawn from colonies.
products at a cheaper and dictated price • Cheaper labor – population growth had
• Many of them were compelled to work for helped in availability of cheap labor
the Company for low wages and were • Government influenced by commercial
forbidden to work for Indian merchants. and manufacturing interests and ready to
• Company eliminated its rival traders, both fight other countries determinedly for
Indian and foreign, and prevented them markets and colonies.
from offering higher wages or prices to the • Developments in technology – demands
Bengal handicraftsmen. for increased production met by developed
• Sale of raw material at higher prices to technology.
weavers. • Inventions by Hargreaves, Watt,
• Thus, the weaver lost both ways, as buyer Crompton, Cartwright, and many others.
as well as seller.
DRAIN OF WEALTH
Indian textiles had to pay heavy duties on entering • EIC exported part of Indian wealth and
England to protect its rising machine industry resources to Britain for which no return
whose products could still not compete with the was there.
cheaper and better Indian goods. • ‘Economic Drain’ is peculiar to British rule.
The real blow on Indian handicrafts fell after 1813 Even the earlier rulers spent the collected
when they lost not only their foreign markets but revenue in one form or another.
market in India itself. • But British were foreigners i.e. they came
in India, plundered it for their benefits and
The Industrial Revolution (IR) in Britain completely left while the earlier rulers came and
transformed Britain’s economy and its economic settled in India. Indian government was
relations with India. controlled by a foreign company of
During 18th & 19th century British had undergone merchants and govt. of Britain.
through social and economic transformation and • As a result, all the moisture was sucked
British industry expanded rapidly. from Indian land and rained to Britain. In

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other words, whatever taxes and revenue • Salary and pensions of officials working in
was collected from India was used in London.
Britain for reducing tax burden or public • Pension of officials worked in India but had
debt etc. retired to London.
• It started in 1757 when company servants • Cost of civil and military purchases from
started to take immense wealth extorted London
from kings, zamindars, and common
people. From 1758 to 1765 they sent £ 6 Impact of drain of wealth –
million. This didn’t include trading profits • Portion of national income not available to
of the Company which were often no less Indian people.
illegally derived. • Extreme exploitation.
• After acquiring Diwani of Bengal in 1765 • No capital investment in India.
company drained more wealth than its • Indian handicrafts ruined.
servants. Company purchased goods out of • Rapid industrialization in British.
revenue of Bengal and then exported these • Impoverished India.
goods to Britain. These purchases were • Later helped in emergence of nationalism.
known as ‘investments’
Development of Means of Transport and
• By the end of 18th century drain was 9% of
Communication
India’s national income. Actual drain was
• Up to the middle of the 19th century, the
even more than that.
means of transport in India were
• It consists of large parts of the salaries and
backward. Confined to bullock-cart, camel,
other incomes of the English. Actual
and packhorse.
amount of drain of wealth was differently
• British soon realized that a cheap and easy
estimated by different historians but it was
system of transport was a necessity if
at least from 1757 to 1857 was widely
movement of goods have to be done easily
accepted by British officials.
and fast. They introduced steamships on
• It also continued even after the 1857 but
the rivers and improved the roads.
British administrators and imperialist
• Work on the Grand Trunk Road from
writers now deny it. By 19th century – 6%
Calcutta to Delhi began in 1839 and
of India’s national income and 1/3rd of its
completed in the 1850's. Efforts were also
saving
made to link by road the major cities, ports,
• The drain was one of important factor in IR
and markets of the country.
in Britain. During that time, it was 2% of
Railways
Britain’s national income.
• The first railway engine designed by
Home Charges?
George Stephenson was put on the rail in
Expenditure carried out by company up to 1858
England in 1814. Railways developed
and by British government after 1858 in London on
rapidly during the 1830s and 1840s.
behalf of India. Home charges include –
• The earliest suggestion to build a railway in
• Dividend paid to shareholders by company. India was made in Madras in 1831. But the
• Interest paid by company on the loans wagons of this railway were to be drawn by
raised in London. horses.
• Construction of steam-driven railways in
India was first proposed in 1834 in England.
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It was given strong political support by •Second - they were for the first 50 years
England's railway promoters, financiers, financially losing concerns which were not
and mercantile houses trading with India, able to pay interest on the capital invested
and textile manufacturers. in them.
• Real improvement only with the coming of • Third - in their planning, construction and
the railways. Opened the vast and hitherto management, the economic and political
untapped market in the interior of the development of India and her people were
country and to facilitate the export of not kept in the forefront.
Indian raw materials and food-stuffs to • The primary consideration was to serve the
feed their hungry machines and economic, political, and military interests
operatives. of British imperialism in India.
• The British bankers and investors found • The railway lines were laid primarily with a
railway development in India as a channel view to link India’s raw material producing
for safe investment of their surplus capital. areas in the interior with the ports of
• Reasons- If railways come then it may help export.
GoI to administer the country more • The needs of Indian industries regarding
effectively and efficiently, stop rebellion or their markets and their sources of raw
external aggression by enabling more rapid materials were neglected.
mobilization and movement of troops. • Railway rates were fixed in a manner so as
• First proposal – 1831 – horse drawn to favour imports and exports and to
railways. discriminate against internal movement of
• Second proposal – 1834 - steam drawn goods.
railways. Postal System and Telegraph
• It was decided that the Indian railways • The first stamp of independent India shows
were to be constructed and operated by the new Indian Flag. It was meant for
private companies who were guaranteed a foreign correspondence.
minimum of 5% return on their capital by • The British also established an efficient and
the GoI modern postal system and introduced the
• The first railway line in India was Bombay telegraph.
to Thana - opened to traffic in 1853. • First telegraph line in 1851 – Between
• Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India Calcutta and Diamond Harbour along the
in 1849, was an ardent advocate of rapid busy shipping route on the Hooghly. And
railway construction. In 1853, he laid down then expanded from Calcutta to Agra -
an extensive programme of railway 1853.
development. • Lord Dalhousie introduced postage
• By 1905, nearly 45000 kms of railways had stamps. Previously cash payment had to be
been built. Three important aspects of the made when a letter was posted. He also
development of Indian railways should be cut down postal rates and charged a
kept in view. uniform rate of half an anna for a letter all
• First - over 350 crores of rupees invested in over the land.
them was provided by British investors, • Before his reforms, the postage on a letter
Indian capital contributing negligible share depended on the distance it was to travel.
of it.

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“In many ways, Lord Dalhousie was the founder continue the old system of revenue
of modern India.” Elaborate. (200 words) collection though it increased the amount
to be collected.
Youngest Governor General of India (36 Years),
and also known as
Need of permanent settlement
• Father of Indian Telegraph • In 1773, it decided to manage the land
• Father of Indian Railways revenues directly. Warren Hastings
• Father of Indian Postal system auctioned the right to collect revenue to
• Father of Indian Engineering Services the highest bidders. This experiment failed.
• Maker of modern India • Because amount of land revenue was
• Worked for social causes- Widow pushed high by zamindars and other
Remarriage, Educational Reforms (Woods speculators bidding against each other, the
Dispatch Act, 1854). actual collection varied from year to year
and seldom came up to official
LAND REVENUE POLICY expectations.
Why company needed Indian revenues? • Neither the Ryot nor the zamindar would
• Purchase of Indian handicrafts and other do anything to improve cultivation because
goods for export (remember term they did not know what the next year’s
“investment”) assessment would be or who would be the
• To cost of conquest of whole of India. next year’s revenue collector.
• To Pay for employment of 1000s of • In 1793 – Lord Cornwallis – introduced
Englishmen in administration and military permanent settlement – in Bengal and
positions. Bihar
• The Cost of economic and administrative • Permanent settlement – fixing of land
and military charges. revenue at a permanent amount.
• This enabled colonialism to fully penetrate • John shore - the man who planned the
Indian villages and far flung areas. Permanent Settlement
All the above had to be borne by Indian peasant or
Ryot by paying revenue. Why Permanent Settlement failed?
Two special features of permanent settlement –
• Since time memorial part of agriculture
produce was as land revenue. • First – zamindars and revenue collectors
• Directly collected by servants or indirectly were converted into so many landlords.
by intermediaries like zamindas, revenue They were to act as agents of the
farmers etc. Government in collecting land revenue
• They kept a part of it as commission and from the ryot.
deposited rest with authority. • They had been given the ownership of
land, and their right of ownership was
Permanent Settlement made hereditary and transferable.
Background • Cultivators were reduced to mere tenants.
• After getting the Diwani (right to collect They were deprived of long-standing rights
revenue), in 1765, of Bengal, Bihar, and to the soil and other customary rights
Orissa. The EIC made an attempt to
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• The use of the pasture and forest lands, supporters who would act as a buffer
irrigation canals, fisheries, and homestead between them and the people of India.
plots and protection against enhancement • Second – financial - financial security –
of rent were some of their rights which constant financial crisis, finance army in
were sacrificed. wars, “investment”.
• So that zamindars might be able to pay on • Third – administrative expediency -
time the exorbitant land revenue demand expected to increase agricultural
of the Company. production.
(The tenant of Bengal was left at the mercy of the • Permanent settlement was later extended
zamindars. Why?) to Orissa, northern districts of Madras and
Varanasi.
Second - the zamindars were to give, 10/11th of
• Temporary zamindari settlement -
the rental they derived from the peasantry to the
Zamindars were made owners of land but
state, keeping only 1/11th for themselves.
the revenue they had to pay was revised
• The sums to be paid by them as land periodically. Introduced in central India
revenue were fixed in perpetuity. and Awadh.
• If the land revenue is increased of a
zamindar’s estate, he would keep the
Ryotwari Settlement
entire amount of the increase. The state
Background
would not make any further demand upon
• Introduced by Thomas Munro, Governor of
him.
Madras, Madras presidency in 1820 and in
• But, the zamindar had to pay his revenue
1825 – introduced in Bombay presidency
rigidly on the due date even if the crop had
• In 1792-99 - Alexander Reed carried out
failed for some reason; otherwise, his lands
early experiments related to Ryotwari
were to be sold.
system in Baramahal region. Thomas
The initial fixation of revenue was arbitrary and Munro was subordinate to him. In 1817 –
without any consultation with the zamindars. introduced in Coimbatore, Arcot and
Nallore.
• Officials wanted to secure the maximum
amount and so fixed rates of revenue was Why it had been introduced?
very high. • Failure of Permanent settlement.
• Result of fixing high revenue rate was half • Utilitarians were against the extension of
of zamindari lands were put up for sale permanent settlement in new areas.
between 1794 and 1807. • Removal of intermediaries will yield more
revenue.
Before 1793 zamindars didn’t have proprietary
• Madras govt. was short of funds and it
rights over most of the land.
needed a settlement in which it could
What were the factors which guided to recognize revise land revenue amount.
the zamindars as proprietors? • It was kind of traditional Indian settlement
• First - political - need to create political and so probably suitable to Indian
allies - British realized that as they were conditions
foreigners in India, their rule would be
Features:
unstable unless they acquired local

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• The settlement was made with individual •Places where this system was introduced -
peasants- he was recognized as the owner In the Gangetic valley, the North-West
of land and they had to deposit the Provinces, parts of Central India, and the
revenue with company’s official directly. Punjab.
• Revenue was to be assessed with surveys • In the Punjab a modified Mahalwari
and measurement of land. Quality of soil System known as the village system was
and types of crops were also considered. introduced.
• Rate vary from – 1/3 to 2/5. Why it had been introduced?
• Peasants were free to refuse cultivation on • Failure of Permanent Settlement and
land if they felt the burden of Land revenue Ryotwari Settlement.
was too high. • To protect the Government's revenue.
• This land was given to other peasants on • Profits not go to cultivator; they should be
same terms and if no one agrees the land reaped by British.
was left fallow.
Features:
After some time, positive elements were • In Mahalwari areas also, the land revenue
abandoned. The total production began to be was periodically revised.
estimated by officials through rough guess. The • All over the country land was now made
estimations were roughly inflated as a result of saleable, mortgagable, and alienable.
which the actual burden of land revenue on • This was done primarily to protect the
peasants was 80% more than of total produce. Government's revenue.
The Ryot’s rights of ownership of his land were • Now he could borrow money on the
also negated by three other factors: security of his land or even sell part of it
and pay his land revenue.
• In most areas the land revenue fixed was
exorbitant; the Ryot was hardly left with • If he refused to do so, the Government
bare maintenance even in the best of could and often did auction his land and
seasons. realize the amount.
• The Government retained the right to • Beliefs that, only the right of ownership
enhance land revenue at will. would make the landlord or the Ryot exert
him in making improvements.
• The Ryot had to pay revenue even when his
produce was partially or wholly destroyed The British by making land a commodity which
by drought or floods. could be freely bought and sold introduced a
fundamental change in the existing land systems
Mahalwari System
of the country. The stability and the continuity of
• Mahalwari system was introduced in 1833
the Indian villages were shaken. In fact, the entire
during the period of William Bentick.
structure of rural society began to break up.
Mahalwari system is the modified version
of the Zamindari settlement Do you know?
• The revenue settlement was to be made
Dadni System
village by village or estate (mahal) by
estate with landlords or heads of families • Dadni comes from the Persian word dadan
who collectively claimed to be the or advance. One who made an advance as
landlords of the village or the estate. a mark of any business deal was called

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dadandar. The Dadni system was a phase through a second-degree intermediary
of business management of the English called dalals (agents) or paikars (local
East India Company in Bengal in the stockists).
eighteenth century.
• The dadni merchant did the job for a fixed
• The company used to engage local
commission, which he often shared with
merchants to procure goods from the
middlemen. Dadni system was abolished in
market on its behalf. They were called
1753 on the ground that many dadni
dadni-merchants, because they received
merchants failed to deliver goods in time
advances from the company for delivering
and many even disappeared with
goods under stipulated terms.
company.
• Money was advanced to them so that they
could go into the local market and transfer
the advance, if necessary, to the actual
manufacturers for delivery of goods
according to a stipulated time and
specifications.
• Dadni merchants passed the dadan to
actual manufacturers, either directly, or

Mains Questions

1. Examine the impact of British rule on Indian Society in the 19th Century. – 15 marks (2004).
2. Examine the major factors shaping the British land-revenue policy in India. How it affected
Indian society? – 10 marks (2007).
3. What role did the economic ideas play; the early phase of the British rule in the shaping of land
tenure policy? - 10 marks (2010)
4. “The railways, instead of serving as the catalyst of an industrial revolution as in Western
Europe and the USA, acted in India as the catalyst of complete colonization’.”— Examine - 30
marks (2012).
5. Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal industry in colonial India crippled the rural
economy. – 10 marks (2017).

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ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL POLICY

In the beginning, the Company left the who were paid low wages but who were permitted
administration of its possessions in India in Indian to trade privately.
hands, confining its activities to supervision. But
Later, when the Company became a territorial
soon found `that British aims were not adequately
power, the same servants assumed administrative
served by following old methods of
functions. They now became extremely corrupt
administration. Consequently, the Company took
by:
all aspects of administration in its own hand.
• Oppressing local weavers and artisans,
Under Warren Hastings and Cornwallis, the
merchants, and zamindars,
administration of Bengal was completely
• Extorting bribes and 'gifts' from rajas and
overhauled and found a new system based on the
nawabs, and
English pattern.
• Indulging in illegal private trade. They
The spread of British power to new areas, new amassed untold wealth with which they
problems, new needs, new experiences, and new retired to England.
ideas led to changes in the system of
administration. But the overall objectives of Clive and Warren Hastings made attempts to put
imperialism were never forgotten. an end to their corruption but were only partially
successful.
BRITISH ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM
The British administration in India was based on • Cornwallis, who came to India as
three pillars: Governor-General in 1786, was
determined to purify the administration,
a. The Civil Service,
but he realized that the Company's
b. The Army, and
servants would not give honest and
c. The Police.
efficient service so long as they were not
The chief aim of British-Indian administration was given adequate salaries.
the maintenance of law and order and the • Cornwallis, therefore, enforced the rules
perpetuation of British rule. Without law and against private trade and acceptance of
order, British merchants and British presents and bribes by officials with
manufacturers could not hope to sell their goods strictness. At the same time, he raised the
in every nook and corner of India. salaries of the Company's servants. For
example, the Collector of a district was to
The British, being foreigners, could not hope to
be paid Rs 1,500 a month and one per cent
win the affections of the Indian people; they, commission on the revenue collection of
therefore, relied on superior force rather than on his district.
public support for the maintenance of their
• Cornwallis also lay down that promotion in
control over India.
the Civil Service would be by seniority so
Civil Service that its members would remain
The Civil Service was introduced by Lord independent of outside influence.
Cornwallis. • In 1800, Lord Wellesley pointed out that
even though civil servants often ruled over
The East India Company had from the beginning
vast areas, they came to India at the
carried on its trade in the East through servants
immature age of 18 or so and were given
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no regular training before starting on their though these qualities obviously served
jobs. They generally lacked knowledge of British and not Indian interests.
Indian languages. • Satyendranath Tagore was the first Indian
• Wellesley, therefore, established the who passed the Indian Civil Service
College of Fort William at Calcutta for the examination in 1863 and hold 4th Rank. He
education of young recruits to the Civil was an author, linguist, song composer. He
Service. made significant contribution towards the
• The Directors of the Company disapproved emancipation of women in Indian society
of his action and in 1806 replaced it by during the British Rule.
their own East Indian College at Haileybury Army
in England.
• Till 1853, all appointments to the Civil
Service were made by the Directors of the
East India Company who placated the
members of the Board of Control by letting
them make some of the nominations.
• The Directors fought hard to retain this
lucrative and prized privilege and refused
to surrender it even when their other
economic and political privileges were
taken away by Parliament. Second most important pillar of British
• The Directors lost it finally in 1853 when administration.
the Charter Act decreed that all recruits to Four important functions of the army were –
the Civil Service were to be selected • instrument through which the Indian
through a competitive examination. powers were conquered
• A special feature of the Indian Civil Service • defended the British Empire from foreign
since the days of Cornwallis was the rigid rivals
and complete exclusion of Indians (from it). • safeguarded British supremacy from threat
• It was laid down officially in 1793 that all of internal revolt
the higher posts in administration worth • chief instrument in extending and
more than £ 500 a year in salary were to be defending British empire in Asia and Africa
held by Englishmen. This policy was also
applied to other branches of Government, Soldiers – mostly Indians, chiefly from present UP
such as the army, police, judiciary, and and Bihar.
engineering. Officers – exclusively British
• The Indian Civil Service gradually Highest post for Indian – subedar
developed as one of the most efficient and large number of Indians has to be employed
powerful civil services in the world. because British troops were too expensive.
• Its members exercised vast power and Population of British was too small to provide large
often participated in the making of policy. base of soldiers
They developed certain traditions of Counterweight - army was officered entirely by
independence, integrity, and hard work, British officials and a certain number of British

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troops were maintained to keep the Indian Structure
soldiers under control. • India was ahead of Britain where a system
of police had not developed yet.
It appears surprising today that a handful of
• Thanas headed by a Daroga, who was an
foreigners could conquer and control India with a
Indian.
predominantly Indian army.
• District Superintendent of Police head the
This was possible because of two factors. police organization in a district
First – absence of modern nationalism in the • Indians were excluded from all superior
country at the time. posts
• Villages - duties of the police continued to
Second – not realize that he was being anti-Indian be performed by village-watchmen who
+ long tradition of loyally serving those who paid were maintained by the villagers.
his salary (popularly known as loyalty to the salt). • The police gradually succeeded in reducing
In other words, the Indian soldier was a good major crimes such as dacoity.
mercenary, and the Company on its part was a • Major achievement was the suppression of
good paymaster. thugs who robbed and killed travellers on
the highways, particularly in Central India.
Police
(William Bentinck is credited with
suppression of thugs.)
• It also prevented the organisation of a
large- scale conspiracy against foreign
control
• When the national movement arose, the
police was used to suppress it.
• In its dealings with the people police
adopted an unsympathetic attitude.

Judicial Organization
• British founded a new system of dispensing
justice through hierarchy of civil and
criminal courts.
• Started by – Warren Hastings
• Stabilized by – Cornwallis in 1793
Third pillar of British administration. • Each district – has Diwani Adalat or Civil
Court. Presided by - district judge
Creation (belonged to civil service).
• Creator – Cornwallis • Below the District Court were Registrars’
• Relieved zamindar from their police Courts and a number of subordinate
function courts.
• Established a regular police force to • Registrars’ court headed by – Europeans
maintain law & order and Subordinate court headed by - Indian
• Modernized old system of Thanas (police judges known as Munsifs and Amins. Civil
station) courts applied customary law which

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prevailed in that area or section from time •The Charter Act of 1833 conferred all
immemorial. lawmaking power on the Governor-
• Cornwallis separated civil judge post and General-in-Council.
collector. • In 1863 – govt. appointed a law
• Appeal from district court lay 1st to 4 commission to codify Indian laws –
provincial court and then finally to the chairman lord Macaulay. Indian penal
Sadar Diwani Adalat. code, codes of civil and Criminal Procedure
• Criminal cases tried by – court of circuit in and other codes of laws.
each division of province. Headed by - civil • The same laws now prevailed all over the
servants. country and they were enforced by a
• Below circuit of courts – a large number of uniform system of courts. Thus it may be
Indian magistrates to try petty cases. said that India was judicially unified.
Appeals from the Courts of Circuit lay with The Rule of Law
the Sadar Nizamat Adalat. • Introduced by British. It was obedience to
• The criminal courts applied Muslim laws, which clearly defined the rights,
Criminal Law in a modified and less harsh privileges, and obligations of the subjects
form so that the tearing apart of limbs and and not according to the caprice or
such other punishments can be prohibited. personal discretion of the ruler.
1831 – William Bentinck abolished the • In practice opposite things happened.
provincial court of appeal and circuit. Important feature - any official could be
• Their works was first to Commissions and brought before a court of law for breaches
later to District Judges and District of official duty or for acts done in excess of
Collectors. his official authority.
• Bentinck also raised the status and powers • The rule of law was to some extent a
of Indians in the judicial service and guarantee of the personal liberty of a
appointed them as Deputy Magistrates, person. In previous times rulers were
Subordinate Judges and Principal Sadar bounded by tradition and custom but
Amins. sometimes they take steps by their own
• In 1865, High Courts were established at wish and there was no authority to check
Calcutta, Madras and Bombay to replace them.
the Sadar Courts of Diwani and Nizamat. • While British administration was carried by
• British established a new system of law according to laws, but many laws were
though the process of enactment and defective and not made by people through
codification of old laws. democratic process. Instead, they were
• Traditional system of law in India was made by autocratic British and vested
largely based on Shastra, shariyats and power in hands of civil servants and police.
time immemorial traditions of area. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL POLICY
• They were continued and British • Till 1813 – British followed policy of non-
introduced regulations, codified the interference in socio, religious affairs but
existing laws, and often systematized and after 1813 it took active steps to transform
modernized them through judicial society and culture of India. This followed
interpretation. the wave of change which was going in
Britain.

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• The manufacture class knew that only Older attitude – also known as “conservative or
peace is not sufficient and transformation traditional attitude”.
and reforms are required in society to
Warren Hasting, Munro, Malcom, Metcalfe were
create big markets for their goods.
representatives of this attitude. They were
• Great ferment of new ideas in Britain and
cautious of introducing any innovation as they
Europe which influenced the British
believe that Sweeping or hasty innovations, they
outlook towards Indian problems.
felt, would produce a violent reaction in the
• Whole Europe was witnessing “new country.
attitudes of mind, manners, and morals”.
• The great French Revolution of 1789 with They looked down upon India and consider it as
its message of Liberty, Equality, and uncivilized, corrupt, decadent, narrow and
Fraternity generated powerful democratic unscientific. But all this was to justify political and
sentiments and unleashed the force of economic enslavement of India.
modem nationalism. Radicals
• Thinkers and philosophers like Voltaire, • Radicals went beyond narrow criticism and
Rousseau inspired world by their thoughts. applied the three characteristics of new
• In literature – Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, thought. According to them answer to all
and Charles Dicken. The effect of French Indian ills lie in rapid modernization i.e.
revolution and industrial revolution have introduction of modern Western sciences,
naturally felt by Indians. Leaders like philosophy, and literature.
Derozio were inspired by French • The British India can never accept new idea
revolution. or adopt reforms until it is beneficial to
Emergence of new thoughts their imperialistic and exploitative
Three characteristics of new thought were – motives.
Rationalism, Humanism and Confidence in the • Radicals were not true to their self-beliefs
capacity of man to progress when they discussed Indian problems.
Rationalism - only that was true which was in They wanted more authoritarian regime in
conformity with human reason and capable of India.
being tested in practice. Application of science to • Modernization of India was also
industry was visible proofs of the power of human encouraged by Christian missionaries.
reason. Radicals supported people like Rajaram
Mohan Roy, Vivekananda who emphasized
Humanism - Every human being was an end in
on rationalism.
himself and should be respected and prized as
• One reason of British following policy of
such. The humanistic outlook gave birth to the
cautious innovation was continuous
doctrines of individualism, liberalism, and
prevalence of the conservative outlook
socialism.
among the British officials in India and the
Doctrine of Progress - Society must change with belief that interference with, their religious
time: nothing was or could be static. beliefs and social customs might produce a
revolutionary reaction among the Indian
Conflict between old attitude and new attitude
people. Other was safety of empire.
In Europe there was clash of attitudes between old
outlook and new currents

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HUMANITARIAN MEASURES Two minor exceptions –
Banning of Sati
• In 1781, Warren Hastings set up the
• Sati was a monstrous custom. Biggest
Calcutta Madrasah for the study and
achievement of British in this – banning
teaching of Muslim law and related
sati (burning of a widow on her husband’s
subjects
funeral pyre).
• In 1791, Jonathan Duncan started a
• In 1829 - William Bentick banned it.
Sanskrit College at Varanasi, where he was
• Earlier apathetic and afraid of arousing
the Resident, for the study of Hindu Law
anger of orthodox Hindus. British banned it
and Philosophy.
only after agitations of Raja Ram Mohan
Roy, missionaries. In past, rulers who Both these institutions were designed to provide a
attempted to ban it but remained regular supply of qualified Indians to help the
unsuccessful - Akbar and Aurangzeb, the administration of law in the courts of the
Peshwas, and Jai Singh of Jaipur. Company.
Female infanticide and widow remarriage
Missionaries, and humanitarian pressured govt. to
Practice of killing female children at the time of
provide education to its subjects
their birth. It was prevailed – in Rajput’s and upper
caste. Humanitarians believed – modern knowledge
would be best for socio, economic and political.
Why followed?
• Because of the difficulties of earning a Missionaries believed - education will end their
livelihood in unfertile areas faith in their religion
• Because of the prevalence of the evil
1813 charter act - directed the Company to spend
custom of dowry
the sum of one lakh of rupees for the purpose. But
Regulations banning this practice had been passed even this petty amount was not made available by
in 1795 and 1802, but they were sternly enforced the Company authorities till 1823.
only by Bentinck and Hardinge. Hardinge also ORIENTALIST-ANGLICIST CONTROVERSY
suppressed the practice of making human Within the General Committee on Public
sacrifices that had prevailed among the primitive Instruction, the Anglicists argued that the
tribe of Gonds. government spending on education should be
In 1856 the Government of India passed an Act exclusively for modern studies.
enabling Hindu widows to remarry. The The Orientalists - while western sciences and
Government acted after Pandit Ishwar Chandra literature should be taught to prepare students to
Vidyasagar and other reformers had carried on a take up jobs, emphasis should be placed on
prolonged agitation in favour of the measure. The expansion of traditional Indian learning.
immediate effects of this Act were negligible.
Even the Anglicists were divided over the question
Spread of Modern Education of medium of instruction—
Important role played by - Christian missionaries
and a large number of enlightened Indians. In first • One faction was for English language as the
60 years took little interest as was a trading medium
company • The other faction was for Indian languages
(vernaculars) for the purpose.

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Unfortunately, there was a great deal of confusion Efforts of Thomson
over English and vernacular languages as medium • James Thomson, lieutenant-governor of
of instruction and as objects of study. NW Provinces (1843-53), developed a
comprehensive scheme of village
Lord Macaulay's Minute (1835), This famous
education through the medium of
minute settled the row in favor of Anglicists—the
vernacular languages. In these village
limited government resources were to be devoted
schools, useful subjects such as
to teaching of western sciences and literature
mensuration and agriculture sciences were
through the medium of English language alone.
taught. The purpose was to train personnel
for the newly set up Revenue and Public
Works Department.
Lord Macaulay held the view that "Indian learning
was inferior to European learning"—which was
true as far as physical and social sciences in the WOOD'S DESPATCH (1854)
contemporary stage were concerned. In 1854, Charles Wood prepared a despatch on an
educational system for India. Considered the
The Government soon made English as the "Magna Carta of English Education in India", this
medium of instruction in its schools and colleges document was the first comprehensive plan for
and opened a few English schools and colleges the spread of education in India.
instead of a large number of elementary schools,
thus neglecting mass education. • It asked the Government of India to
assume responsibility for education of the
The British planned to educate a small section of masses, thus repudiating the 'downward
upper and middle classes, thus creating a class filtration theory', at least on paper.
"Indian in blood and color but English in tastes, in
• It systematized the hierarchy from
opinions, in morals and in intellect" who would
vernacular primary schools in villages at
act as interpreters between the Government and
bottom, followed by Anglo-Vernacular
masses and would enrich the vernaculars by which
High Schools and an affiliated college at the
knowledge of western sciences and literature
district level, and affiliating universities in
would reach the masses. This was called the
the presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay
'downward filtration theory'.
and Madras.
Modern ideas, if not education, did filter down to • It recommended English as the medium of
the masses, though not in a form desired by the instruction for higher studies and
rulers, but through political parties, press, vernaculars at school level.
pamphlets, public platforms, etc. Modern • It laid stress on female and vocational,
education only helped this process by making education, and on teachers' training.
available the basic literature on physical and social • It lay down that the education imparted in
sciences to nationalists, thus stimulating their government institutions should be secular.
capacity to make social analysis—otherwise the • It recommended a system of grants-in-aid
content, structure and curricula of modern to encourage private enterprise.
education served colonial interests.
In 1857, universities at Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras were set up and later, departments of
education were set up in all provinces.

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• The Bethune School founded by Bethune Female education lacked immediate usefulness in
at Calcutta (1849) was the first fruit of a the eyes of the foreign officials since women could
powerful movement for education of not be employed as clerks in the Government.
women which arose in 1840s and 1850s.
Scientific and Technical Education
Bethune was the president of the Council
Neglected by Company’s administration and only
of Education. Mostly due to Bethune's
three medical colleges – by 1837. Only one good
efforts, girls' schools were set up on a
engineering college – Roorkee – open for only
sound footing and brought under
Europeans and Eurasians.
government's grants-in-aid and inspection
system.
• Agriculture Institute at Pusa (Bihar) and
Engineering Institute at Roorkee were
started.
• The ideals and methods of Wood's
Despatch dominated the field for five
decades which saw rapid westernization of
education system in India, with
educational institutions run by European
headmasters and principals. Missionary
enterprises played their own part.
Gradually, private Indian effort appeared
in the field.
Factors which prevented the spread of education
to the masses
• Neglect of mass education
• Emphasis on English as the medium of
instruction in place of the Indian
languages.
• It further tended to create a wide gulf
between educated persons and the
masses.
• Education was quite costly.
• Virtual monopoly of richer classes and city
– dwellers

Women Education
Total neglect of the education of girls for which no
funds were allotted. Because British did not want
to hurt the susceptibilities of orthodox Indians.

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QUICK GLANCE

ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPEANS

THE PORTUGUESE

Year Personality Important events

1394 – 1460 Prince Henry the • Key figure in the early days of Portuguese
Navigator Empire.
• Remembered more as a great patron and
sponsor of voyages than as a sailor.
• Nicknamed as ‘Navigator’.

1487 Bartholomew Diaz • Reached the southernmost tip of Africa.

• First known European to reach the Indian
Ocean from the Atlantic.
• Portuguese later renamed the cape as
‘Cape of Good Hope’.

1498 Vasco Da Gama • Headed the ‘First Portuguese India

Armada’.
• Discovered a new route to India from
Europe.
• First European to reach India by sea.
• Sent under the patronage of King Manuel I
of Portugal.

1500 Pedro Alvarez Cabral • He aimed at making treaty with Zamorin of

Calicut and setting up a Portuguese
factory.
• He ran into a conflict with local merchants.

1502 Vasco Da Gama • In 1503, 1st Portuguese factory came up in

Cochin.
• In 1505, 2nd factory was set up in
Cannanore (or Kashmir).

1503-04 • Portuguese State of India established.

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1505-09 Francisco De Almeida • 1st Portuguese Viceroy of India.
• Adopted ‘Blue Water Policy’ aimed at
establishing naval supremacy of
Portuguese in the Indian Ocean.
• Credited with the construction of Fort
Anjediva.
• In 1508, Almeida defeated joint Muslim
naval force in the Battle of Diu.

1509-15 Alfonzo-De-Albuquerque • Known as real founder of Portuguese

power in India.
• Set up his headquarter in Cochin.
• Encouraged his countrymen to marry
Indian women and propagate Christianity.
• Abolished sati in regions under his control.

1529-1538 Nino de Cunha • In 1530, he transferred the government

head office from Cochin to Goa.

Impact of the • They began to propagate Christianity in

Portuguese the Malabar and the Konkan coast.
• In 1540, all temples of Goa were
destroyed.
• Christian missionaries started schools and
colleges.
• Medium of instruction was native
language.
• They brought printing press to India.
Several types of fruits, vegetables, crops
were introduced by Portuguese in India.
• Its influence also established the
significance of navy in sea trade.

THE DUTCH

Year Personality Important events

1596 Cornelius de • First Dutch traveller to reach India.
Houtman

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1602 Dutch East India • 1st Dutch factory was established at Masulipatnam
Company in Andhra (in 1606).
• 2nd factory was set up at Pettopoli (Nizampatam).

1610 • Dutch signed a treaty with the king of Chandragiri.

• They established their headquarters at Pulicat.
• Here, they minted their gold coins named pagodas.

1623 • Amboyna massacre took place in Indonesia where

the Dutch killed 10 Englishmen and 9 Japanese.

1690 • Dutch headquarters were transferred from Pulicat

to Nagapattinam.

1759 • Dutch were defeated by the English in the decisive

Battle of Bedara, ending the Dutch power in India.

THE ENGLISH

Year Personality Important events

1600 The East India • Company was granted a royal charter by
Company (EIC) Queen Elizabeth giving it the exclusive privilege
of the Cape of Good Hope for 15 years.

1608 Captain Hawkins • Sent as a representative of the English

Company to the court of Jahangir to obtain
permission to open factory at Surat.
• First British to set foot on Indian soil.
• Obtained permission to open factories on the
west coast but Company was not happy since it
wanted permission for whole country.

1611 - • The English opened their 1st factory in the

south at Masulipatnam.
• The English defeated the Portuguese in the
Battle of Swalley Hole in Surat.

1613 - • English were allowed to set up permanent

factory at Surat.

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1615 Sir Thomas Roe • Sent by King James I as an ambassador to the
court of Jahangir.
• He was successful in obtaining royal farman
permitting the British to trade and set up
factories in all parts of the Mughal Empire.

1632 - • Sultan of Golconda issued a Golden Farman in

favour of the English.
(Madras) • It permitted them to trade freely from the
ports of Golconda on annual payment of 500
pagodas.

1639 Francis Day • Was able to obtain Madras on lease from the
Raja of Chandragiri.
• English set up the factory.
• He built a small fort around it called Fort St.
George.

1651 • First English factory was set up in Hugli upon

receiving permission from Sultan Shuja, the
(Bengal) Subahdar of Bengal.

1658 • All establishments of the English Company of

Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Coromandel Coast
were brought under the control of Fort St.
George.

1690 Job Charnock • Established a factory at Sutanuti which was

fortified in 1696.
• It was called Fort Williams.

1698 • The English Company obtained from Subahdar

of Bengal Azim-us-Shan, the zamindari of
Sutanuti, Kalikata and Gobindapur.

1700 • Bengal factories were placed under Fort

William.
• Soon, the villages grew into a city known as
Calcutta.

1662 • King Charles II received Bombay as dowry on

marrying a Portuguese princess.

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(Bombay) • In 1668, the king transferred Bombay to the
Company on an annual rent of 10 pounds.

1717 • Farrukhsiyar granted the English Company

valuable trading privileges under the Farman
of 1717 described as Magna Carta of the
Company.

THE FRENCH

Year Personality Important events

1664 French trading company • Colbert formed the Companie des Indes
Orientales.
• The French trading Company (under
governorship of Colbert) was granted a
license by King Louis IV to trade with India and
East Indies.

1667 Francis Caron (Director • 1st French factory at Surat.

General)

1669 • Factory was set up at Masulipatnam.

1672 Francois Martin • Received a village as grant from the king of

Bijapur Sher Khan Lodhi.
• He founded it as Pondicherry which later
emerged as French capital of India.

1674 • French received a site near Calcutta where

they built a town of Chandernagore (1690-
92).

1693 • The Dutch snatched Pondicherry.

• It was restored to the French under the Treaty
of Reswick.

1697-1739 • Other French factories – Mahe, Karaikal,

Balasore and Kasimbazar.

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THE CARNATIC WARS (1740-1763)

Wars / Events Important details

First Carnatic War, • Immediate context: war of Austrian succession in
Europe.
1740 – 48, • England and France had joined opposite camps.
• Main battle fought: Battle of Saint Thomas
• It was Dupleix who first showed the way of
intervening in disputes of the Indian rulers and
People involved: Joseph François Dupleix thereby acquiring political control - a technique
(French Governor-General), Major Stringer which was later perfected by the English
Lawrence (British), Anwaruddin Khan company.
(Nawab of the Carnatic), • Result: ended with the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle
in Europe.
• It was a drawn struggle.
• Madras was given back to the English in
Result: Inconclusive.
exchange for Louisburg in North America to
France.
• Dupleix understood the superiority of the
European armies who used this advantage to
influence Indian princes and establish French
hegemony in South India.

Second Carnatic War, • Immediate context: succession disputes at

Carnatic and Hyderabad.
1749-54 • Dupleix was able to interfere in the war of
succession that started after the death of a
subject
• Pledged French support to Muzaffar Jung and
People involved: Muhammad Ali and Chanda Sahib.
Chanda Sahib (for the Nawabship of the • A tripartite understanding was developed
Carnatic or Arcot); Muzaffar Jung and Nasir among the French, Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar
Jung (for the post of the Nizam of Jung.
Hyderabad). • The three allies ambushed and killed
Anwaruddin at the Battle of Amber.
• Chanda Sahib became the Nawab of Karnataka
• Awarded the French with a grant of 80 villages
Result: Muzaffar Jung became Hyderabad’s
near Pondicherry
Nizam. Muhammad Ali became the Nawab
• Feeling the extension of French influence, the
of the Carnatic.
British decided to support Nasir Jung.
• Battle for the Throne of The Nizam has begun
the second phase of Anglo-French war known as
second Carnatic War
• French Army surprised and killed Nasir Jung in
Hyderabad
• Installed French protege Muzaffar Jung.
• He awarded Dupleix by giving him honorary
governor Siege of Arcot.
• Chanda Sahib got captured and was beheaded by

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the Raja of Travancore.
• Muhammad Ali then became the Undisputed
Nawab of the Carnatic.
• Dupleix was recalled.
• Signed a peace Treaty- the Treaty of Pondicherry
with the English in 1755.
• According to it, both the companies agreed not
to interfere in the quarrels of the Indian princes.
• Result: it proved inconclusive though the English
had an edge over the French.

Third Carnatic War, • Immediate context: Seven years’ war in Europe.

• Once again England and France joined opposite
1757-63, camps ending the short peace between
European companies in India as well.
• Main battle fought: Battle of Wandiwash in 1760.
• The English Army led by General Eyre Coot totally
People involved: Count de Lally (French routed the French Army.
General), British Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre • The war ended with the Treaty of Paris.
Coote • According to which, Pondicherry and some
other French settlements were returned to
France but they were never to be fortified again
and could only function as main trading centres
Result: British victory
• Result: the British decisively defeated the
French in India.

Reasons for defeat of the French against • Continental ambitions of France: France
the English remained preoccupied with its Continental
ambitions. It diverted its energies away from
colonial acquisitions. England, on the other
hand, followed its single-minded objective of
colonial expansion.

Different systems of government: French

government was autocratic and suffered from
corruption and inefficiency the English
government was run by an enlightened
oligarchy.

Difference in the organisation of the two

companies: The French company has been
formed with the majority of capital contributed
by the monarch the British company was an
independent commercial corporation which
was interested in the Welfare of the company.
• Responsibility of Dupleix: He could never escape
the responsibility for French defeat he failed to

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attend to the fast deteriorating financial and
trading aspects of the company.
• Impact of British success in Bengal: British had
occupied Bengal and its resources were liberally
used in the third Carnatic War.
• Recall of Dupleix: It proved to be a mistake of the
French.
• Rashness and arrogance of Lally: He was rash,
arrogant. His behaviour alienated his
subordinates.
• Absence of permanent Naval presence: The
French had no permanent Naval presence British
had a formidable naval presence.

BATTLE OF PLASSEY (1757) AND BATTLE OF BUXAR (1764)

Events Important details

Battle of Plassey, Sirajuddaulah 1756-1757

1757, • His succession was challenged by two other

contenders Shaukat Jung and Ghaseti Begum.
• This resulted in intense court factionalism.
• Zamindars and others were also opposed to Siraj.
People involved: Siraj-ud-Daulah (Last • This seriously destabilized the administration of
independent nawab of Bengal) Bengal.
• The advantage was taken up by the English East India
Robert Clive (British East India Company.
Company)
Causes

1. Farman of 1717
Result: British victory • Gave many trading privileges to British East India
company leading to loss of revenue to the Bengal
Government.
• The dastaks were also misused by companies’
servants.
2. Shelter to Krishna Das
• English company gave shelter to Krishnadas who fled
with treasures against Nawaab’s will.
• Company also gave some support to Ghaseti Begam.
3. Fortification of Fort William
• Became the immediate cause of the Battle of Plassey.
• When Siraj Ud daulah surrounded Fort William, some
English man escaped to Fulta and waited for help from
Madras. After fort fell, Nawab renamed Calcutta as
Alinagar.

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• Several Englishmen imprisoned in the Fort died in the
black hole tragedy.
• Help came from Madras in the form of a strong Naval
force under the command of Robert Clive.
• In 1757, Nawab had to make peace with English &
humiliating Treaty of Alinagar, according to which,
Nawab had to restore to the English their former
privilege of trade, grant permission to fortify Calcutta
and even pay compensation amount for the loss
suffered by the English.
• English decided to replace the Nawab with Mir Jafar
and organised the Plassey conspiracy of 1757.
• In the Battle of Plassey, the English forces led by Clive
easily defeated the Nawab’s army as Mir Jafar and
others had joined the conspiracy and did not
participate.
• The Nawab was captured and killed.

Consequences

• Mirzapur was proclaimed as Nawab of Bengal.

• Robert Clive was confirmed as Governor of Bengal.
• Company was granted undisputed right to free trade
in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
• British officials no longer needed to pay any taxes on
the private trade.
• Company received its zamindari of 24 Parganas near
Kolkata.
• All the French settlement in Bengal was surrendered
to the English.

Significance

• Since Mir Jafar was appointed as the Nawab by the

British, the real power laid in the hands of the British.
• Mr. Watts, the British president at Murshidabad,
began to wield considerable influence.
• After Plassey, the company emerged supreme and
established its Monopoly over Bengal trade.
• Vast resources of Bengal placed at British disposal.
• With the revenues of Bengal, the English were able to
meet the cost of conquest of rest of the country.
• British victory in Plassey marked the beginning of
British conquest of Bengal and later of India.

Mir Jafar (1757-60)

• Appointed as Nawab of Bengal by the British known as

Clive's jackal.

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• Jafar began intriguing with the Dutch against the
British.
• This design was thwarted by Clive by defeating the
Dutch in the decisive Battle of Bedra.
• English grew suspicious of the Nawab.
• They decided to replace him.
• Vansittart decided to support the claim of Mir Qasim,
son-in-law of Mir Jafar to the throne.
• Mir Jafar was forced to step down.

Mir Qasim or Itmad ud Daulah (1760-63)

Granted the company, the zamindari of Burdwan, Midnapore

and Chittagong.

• His relationship with British embittered due to

following reasons:
• Shifted the capital from Murshidabad to Munghyr in
Bihar.
• He sought to modernize his Army.
• Dismissed Ram Narayan - a protégé of the British.
• Misuse of the dastaks.
• Mir Qasim abolished all inland duties to bring the
Indian merchants on the same footing as the English.

This led to an open war.

He fled to Awadh and formed an alliance with Shuja Ud

Daulah and Shah Alam II in a final bid to overthrow the
English

This led to Battle of Buxar.

Battle of Buxar, ImCause

• The abuse of the dastaks (duty free trade permits) by
1764, the company's events for the private trade.
• Heavy casualties on both sides ended in the victory of
the superior military power, the British.
• One of the most decisive battles in Indian history.
People involved: Mir Qasim – • Firmly established the British as masters of Bengal,
(Administering Bengal in place of Mir Bihar and Orissa.
Jafar – Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-Ud-
Daulah – Nawab of Awadh (Oudh), Consequences
Shah Alam II – Mughal Emperor,
• Power was transferred into the hands of English
company.
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Hector Munro – British Army Major, • Mir Jafar was brought back to the Throne of Bengal
Robert Clive with harsher terms.
• After Mir Jafar’s death his minor son Najim ud Daulah
was appointed as a Nawab.
• Clive was made as Governor and Commander in Chief
Result: English became a great power of Bengal again
in northern India. • First Treaty of Allahabad (16th August 1765) was
signed between Robert Clive and Shuja ud Daulah at
Allahabad.
• As per the Treaty, Nawab of Awadh was made to pay
a war indemnity of rupees 50 lakh to the company. He
was made to surrender Allahabad and Kohra to
Emperor Shah Alam.
• He was made to enter the Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance
with the company. Company promised to support the
Nawab against an outside attack after paying for the
services of the Troops.
• Nawab of Awadh became dependent on the company.
• Second Treaty of Allahabad was signed between
Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and Robert Clive in
August 1765.
• As per the Treaty, Emperor was taken into company’s
protection and given the districts of Kora and
Allahabad.
• The emperor issued a Farman granting the company,
the Dewani right to collect revenue of Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa in return for the company making an annual
payment of Rupees 60 lakh settlement with the
Nawab of Bengal.
• Najm-ud-Daulah was allowed to succeed his father on
following conditions: (1) He would surrender Defence
and Foreign Affairs in the hands of company and civil
administration into the hands of Naib Subahdar
nominated by the Company. (2) Infamous Dual System
was established also known as diarchy. It was a dual
system where, in theory, Company exercised Dewani
functions while the Nawab of Bengal exercised the
Nizamat functions. However, in practice, the Company
acquired all real powers while the responsibility for
administration rested with the Nawab.
• It had consequences for the people of Bengal as
neither the Company nor the Nawab cared for their
welfare.
• Drain of wealth from Bengal began as company
stopped sending money from England to buy Indian
goods.
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• The goods were purchased from the revenues of
Bengal.
• Drain of wealth greatly impoverished Bengal.
• It was a major factor responsible for terrible Bengal
famine of 1770.
• Adverse impact of Dual System - Complete breakdown
of Administration and law and order in Bengal.
• Bengal now faced the spectre of famines.
• Dual government lead to destruction of trade and
commerce in Bengal.
• Indigenous industry and skilled cotton weavers of
Bengal were compelled to buy raw material from and
sell woven clothes to the Company exclusively.
• Overall moral degradation of Bengal society.

Significance

• British once again emerged as a Supreme Power.

THE ANGLO MYSORE WARS (DURING 1767-99)

Wars Important details

Reason for British intervention in • Haider’s and Tipu’s control over the rich trade of Malabar
Mysore and Maratha States Coast.
• Mysore seen as a threat to English control over Madras.
• French Alliance with Mysore seen as a threat.
• Maratha seen as a threat to the English trade from Bombay.
• Development in infantry and gunnery in both the states.
• British home government was in need of finances. Thus, it
encouraged an aggressive expansionist policy of the
company.

First Mysore war, Reasons:

1767-99, • Haider Ali's friendship with the French.

• Mysore Border dispute between the Madras Government
and the Nawab of Carnatic.

Immediate context:

• Rivalry over Control of Northern Circars.

• Rivalry ultimately led to a tripartite treaty between the
Marathas, the Nizam and the English against Haider Ali.
• They attacked Mysore in 1766.
• Haider persuaded the Nizam and the Marathas to join

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hands with him against the English.
• Forced the Madras Council to sign peace on his terms.
• The war ended with the Treaty of Madras in 1769.
• As per the Treaty both the powers agreed to help each
other in case of an attack by a third party.

Result:

• Haider Ali had an edge over the English.

Second Mysore war, Immediate context:

1780-84, • Capture of Mahe by the English.

• In this war, the Marathas and the Nizam sided with the
English.
• Main battle fought: Battle of Port Novo
• Haider Ali was defeated.
• Ended with the Treaty of Mangalore.
• Was signed on the basis of mutual restitution of each
other’s territories.
• Last British treaty with an Indian ruler on an equal footing

ReResult:
• It was a drawn struggle.

Third Mysore war, Immediate context:

1790-92, • Provided by Tipu's attack on Travancore.

• In this war too, the Marathas and the Nizam sided with the
English.
• Ended with the Treaty of Seringapatam.
• According to which, Tipu had to surrender half of his
territory to the company and its allies.
• He also had to pay war indemnity of Rs 3 Crore.

Result:

• Tipu Sultan lost his son and half of his territory to the
Company and its allies.
• The company acquired Baramahal, Dindigul and Malabar.
• 2 sons of Tipu were kept as prisoners with Cornwallis.

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Fourth Mysore war, Immediate context:

1799, • Provided by Napoleon's plans to invade India and Tipu’s

consequent negotiations with the French.
• Main battle fought: Battle of Seringapatam.

Result:

• Tipu was killed during the defence of the city.

• Mysore lost independence.

THE ANGLO MARATHA WAR (DURING 1775-1818)

Wars Important details

First Maratha war, Immediate context

1775-82 • Sawai Madhav Rao succeeded as Peshwa, which gravely

frustrated Raghunath Rao.
• Tried to capture power with British help.
• Began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty
of Salbai.
• Treaty of Surat - It was decided that the British would help
Raghunath Rao in becoming the Peshwa. In return, Raghuba
would cede territories of Salsette, Bassein and revenues
from Surat and Bharauch to the British.
• Treaty of Salbai - Madhav Narayan Rao will be accepted as
Peshwa. British will give up the cause of Raghoba.
• Main battles fought: Battles of Adas, Talegaon and Sipri

ReResult:
• It ended in a draw.
• Treaty of Salbai gave the Marathas 20 years of peace.

Second Maratha war, Immediate context

1803-05 • In 1801, Peshwa Bajirao II killed Holkar's brother Vithoji Rao

Holkar.
When Holkar launched the counter attack Peshwa fled, took
refuge in Bassein and approached Wellesley for help.
• Began with the Treaty of Bassein - A Treaty of Subsidiary
Alliance. Peshwa accepted the Company's protection.
• Ended with the Treaty of Rajpurghat - Holkar agreed to

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renounce all claims to the north of the river Chambal. He
got back the major part of his lost Kingdom.
• Main battles fought - Battles of Assaye, Argaon, Delhi,
Laswari and Ding.

ReResult:
• The English had an edge over the Marathas.
• Separate treaties were signed with Scindia, Bhonsle and
Holkar by the company which tore apart the Maratha
confederacy.

Third Maratha war, Immediate Context

1817-18 • The war began as a campaign against the Pindaris, the

irregular Maratha forces.
• Began with the Treaty of Gwalior - Daulat Rao Sindhiya
pledged to help the company in suppressing the Pindaris.
• Ended with the Treaty of Mandsaur - Holkar had to
surrender all his territories south of the Narmada.
• He became the last Maratha chief to sign a Subsidiary
Alliance with the British.
• Main battles fought - Battles of Khadki, Sitabaldi, Mehidpur,
Koregaon and Ashti.

ReResult
• Maratha forces were decisively defeated.
• Peshwa's territories were annexed by the British.
• The house of the Peshwa was extinguished.

BRITISH EXPANSION BEYOND INDIAN FRONTIERS (NEPAL. BURMA AND AFGHANISTAN)

Wars/ events Important details

Nepal war, • Immediate context: Gorkha attack on 3 police stations of
Butwal 1814, under the English East India Company's
1814-16, authority.
Lord Hastings • Main battles fought - Battles of Butwal, Almora Malaon
and Makwanpur; all went in favour of the English.
• Ended with the Treaty of Sagauli.
• As per the Treaty, the British gained the districts of
Garhwal and Kumaon.
• Resident was placed at Kathmandu.

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First Burma war, • Immediate Context - The Burmese military in its pursuit of
rebels entered and occupied Assam and Manipur.
1824-26, • Prepared to attack Chittagong.
• These territories were claimed by the British.
Lord Amherst • Ended with the Treaty of Yandabo.
• As per the Treaty, English regained control of Assam,
Manipur.
• King lost most of his coast.
• The king was forced to accept a British resident.

Second Burma war, • Immediate Context - Two British captains were heavily
fined by the Burmese government.
1852-53, • Dalhousie decided to attack Burma on the pretext of
storing the dignity of the English back.
Lord Dalhousie • Result: The English annexed Rangoon and Pegu.

Third Burma war, • The British annexed upper Burma.

• Burma lost its independence.
1885,

Lord Dufferin

First Afghan war, • Immediate Context: Failure of Burnes Mission.

• Result: Afghan invasion was a failure.
1839-42, • The English were forced to retreat.
• Shah Shuja was killed.
Lord Auckland • Dost Mohammad re-established his authority in Kabul.

Second Afghan war, • Ended with the Treaty of Gandamak.

• Result - Aamir Yakub Khan agreed to station a permanent
1878-82, British resident at Kabul.
• Conducted his foreign policy with the advice of the
Lord Lytton Government of India.
• Afghanistan was created as a buffer state between British
India and Russian Empire.

BRITISH EXPANSION IN NORTH INDIA

Wars/ events Important details

Conquest of Sindh, • Causes:
To counter Russian threat, Sindh was seen as a necessary
1843, prelude to the annexation of Afghanistan.
• To gain commercial benefits from the Sindh River.
Lord Ellenborough
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• To regain the English prestige which had suffered during
the first Afghan war.
• Main battles fought: Battles of Miani and Dabo.
• Result - English led by Sir Charles Napier emerged
victorious.
• Sindh was annexed,
• It was later made part of British India as Bombay
Presidency in 1847.

First Sikh war, • Causes:

• British desire to expand their influence and control over
1845-46, Punjab.
• Glorious wealth of the kingdom of Punjab.
Lord Hardinge • Political instability after the death of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh.
• Indiscipline of the Khalsa Army.
• Instigating role of Major Broadfoot.
• English attempt to regain the prestige which had suffered
during the First Afghan War.
• Main battles fought: Battle of Mudki, Firozshah, Baddoval
and Aliwal.
• Decisive battle was the battle of Sabbraon.
• Ended with the Treaty of Lahore.
• Maharaja gave up all his territories lying to the South of
river Sutlej.
• Sikhs had to pay rupees 1.5 crore as war indemnity.
• Minor Dalip Singh was accepted as king with queen Jindan
as guardian.
• Sir Henry Lawrence became the British president at
Lahore.

Second Sikh war, • Immediate context: Revolt of Multan.

• Main battles fought: Battle of Ramnagar, Chillianwala and
1848-49,
Gujarat.
Lord Dalhousie • Army was defeated in Battle of Gujarat.
• It surrendered before the English led by Charles Napier.
• Result - Dalhousie annexed Punjab
• Maharaja Dalip Singh was pensioned and sent to England
for education.
• Kohinoor Diamond was taken away from him and placed in
the British royal crown.

Annexation of Awadh, • Awadh annexed on the pretext of maladministration based

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1856, on Outeram's report.

Lord Dalhousie

NEW LAND REVENUE SETTLEMENTS AND IMPACT ON ECONOMY

Changes introduced Important details Impact on economy

Permanent settlement – • It was a settlement with • Zamindars found it
Bengal, Zamindar. very difficult to pay
• Zamindars were now the high tax and many
1793, considered the owners of lost their zamindari.
the entire land of their • High tax encouraged
Lord Cornwallis zamindari. oppression of the
• Land revenue was fixed at cultivators.
a very high level of Rs2 • The hereditary rights
crore and 65 lakhs. of the peasants on
• Zamindar had to pay a land was taken away
fixed tax (10/11) upon it. and given to the
• As long as he paid the tax, zamindars.
he remained the owner of • The cultivators were
his land. reduced to tenants of
• It was introduced in the zamindars but also
Bengal, Bihar Orissa, deprived of other
Varanasi and Gazipur customary rights,
regions of UP and example,and rightto
Northern Karnataka. use pasture and forest
• Covered 19% area of land.
British India. • Zamindars resorted to
rack renting as well as
oppression and
ejection of tenants for
non-payment of rent.

Ryotwari system, • Settlement with the ryots • Revenue fixed at a

or actual cultivators. very high rate (45-
1820, • Assessment was done 50%).
after field survey based on • Ryots had to pay the
Sir Thomas Munro and captain soil quality and farm area revenue even when
Alexander Reed revised after every 20 or 30 his crop was
years. destroyed.
• First implemented in • Caused widespread
Baramahal district of oppression.
Colonel Reed. • Peasantry sank deep in
• System was extended to poverty and fell into
most of Madras the clutches of the
Presidency. money lenders.
• Implemented in Madras, • Resulted in
Bombay, Entire Deccan, indebtedness and
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East Bengal and Coorg frequent evictions
covered 51% of British • Significantly
India. contributed to the
terrible Madras
famine of 1867-78.

Mahalwari system, • Settlement with the • Land tax demanded

Mahal or village. was very heavy.
1822, • Tax collected through the • Led to
headman or Lambardar. impoverishment and
Lord William Bentinck • Was introduced in North dispossession of the
West province of Ganga cultivating
Valley or UP, Punjab communities.
province and Central • The resentment soon
provinces. found expression
during the revolt of
1857.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BRITISH RULE

Disruption of traditional • British main interest lay in exploitation of Indian resources

economy and enrichment of their own people.
• New land revenue policies, discriminatory trade
restrictions, domination of markets and continuous
conquests had an adverse impact on all classes of Indian
people.
• The policies brought about ruin of Indian agriculture, trade
and industry.
• Resulted in a complete breakdown of traditional economic
structure.
• Self-sufficiency of the villages was destroyed.
• Indian economy was transformed into colonial economy.

Ruin of old zamindars and rise of • New class of landlords came up under the land revenue
new land classes settlements of Warren Hastings.
• Merchants and moneyed classes came up who lived in
towns.
• Had no permanent interest in land and tried to extort as
much revenue as possible.

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Ruin of artisans and craftsmen - • Traditional Indian craft industries were completely
deindustrialisation and destroyed.
ruralization of Indian economy • Wealth from India played a significant role in the
accumulation of capital in England needed for
industrialization.
• Weavers and artisans of Bengal were forced to sell their
products at low and dictated prices.
• Indian educated middle class imitated European standard
lead to the decline of these handicraft industries.
• Import restrictions led to the ruin of the foreign market
for Indian citizens.
• Transportation of Indian goods was costly than that of
British goods through Railways.
• Import of cheap synthetic dyes destroyed dyeing industry
of Indian villages.

Commercialization of agriculture • After the industrial revolution the East India Company
brought about commercialization of those crops and agri -
products which would not compete with British products
and have a demand in the European market at the same
time.
• These were grown at the cost of food grains in India.
• The British goods were purchased from revenue collected
from Indian subjects.
• This resulted in drain of wealth from India.
• Commercialization of agriculture also caused deep poverty
which also resulted in Bundela rebellion of 1842.
• Commercialization also contributed to famines by
substituting food grains for commercial crops.

Drain of wealth • The continuous transfer of wealth from India to England

has been termed as drain of wealth.
• Drain of Wealth from India
refers to all those payments which were made by India to
Britain without any adequate Returns.
• Land revenue, Company's remittance to England, interest
on loans, bribes etc constituted drain of wealth.
• Newspapers like Amrit Bazar Patrika, Hindustan Review
and Kayastha Samachar opposed the drain of wealth from
India.

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Poverty and famines • Widespread poverty and starvation among the masses due
to British economic policies.

Rise of modern Industries under • British constructed Railways, Post and Telegraph lines for
the British better Imperial control.
• Many industrial capitalist classes and the working class
emerged due to this.
• Grand Trunk Road from Calcutta to Delhi was started.
• The first railway engine designed by George Stephenson
was put on rails.
• In 1814, Lord Dalhousie after becoming Governor General
of India advocated Rapid railway construction.
• First railway line in India was laid in between Bombay and
Thane in 1853.
• First telegraph line was opened from Calcutta to Agra in
16th century.
• Press was first introduced in India by the Portuguese in
1780.
• The first newspaper in India was published by James
Augustus Hickey titled the Bengal gazette.

Rise of new Indian bourgeoisie • Indian traders, money lenders and bankers emerged as
the new Indian middle class.
• These classes initially formed the westernized loyalists
but later they raised the banner of the National
Movement in second half of the 19th century. Example:
Dadabhai Naoroji.

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REVOLT OF 1857
• In 1857, a Revolt broke out in Northern and forfeited with frequent use of a quo
Central India and nearly swept away British warranto by the administration. This
rule. resulted in a loss of status for them in the
• The Revolt began with a mutiny of the villages.
sepoys, or the Indian soldiers of the • In Awadh, the storm center of the revolt,
Company's army, but soon engulfed wide 21,000 taluqdars had their estates
regions and people. Millions of peasants, confiscated and suddenly found
artisans, and soldiers fought heroically for themselves without a source of income,
over a year and by their courage and "unable to work, ashamed to beg,
sacrifice wrote a glorious chapter in the condemned to penury". These
history of the Indian people. dispossessed taluqdars seized the
• The Revolt of 1857 was much more than a opportunity presented by the sepoy revolt
mere product of sepoy discontent. It was, to oppose the British and regain what they
in reality, a product of the accumulated had lost.
grievances of the people against the
Company's administration and of their
POLITICAL CAUSES
dislike for the foreign regime.
• The East India Company's greedy policy of
aggrandizement accompanied by broken
The major causes of 1857 Revolt were as follows. pledges and oaths resulted in loss of
political prestige for it, on the one hand,
and caused suspicion in the minds of
ECONOMIC CAUSES almost all ruling princes in India, on the
• The colonial policies of the East India other, through such policies as of 'Effective
Company destroyed the traditional Control', 'Subsidiary Alliance' and
economic fabric of the Indian society. The 'Doctrine of Lapse'.
peasantries were never really to recover • The right of succession was denied to
from the disabilities imposed by the new Hindu princes. The house of Mughals was
and a highly unpopular revenue settlement humbled when on Prince Faqiruddin's
(see chapter on "Economic Impact of death in 1856, whose succession had been
British Rule in India" for details). recognized conditionally by Lord
• British rule also meant misery to the Dalhousie. Lord Canning announced that
artisans and handicraftsmen. The the next prince on succession would have
annexation of Indian states by the to renounce the regal title and the
Company cut off their major source of ancestral Mughal palaces, in addition to
patronage. Added to this, British policy renunciations agreed upon by Prince
discouraged Indian handicrafts and Faqiruddin.
promoted British goods. The highly skilled
Indian craftsmen were forced to look for
alternate sources of employment that ADMINISTRATIVE CAUSES
hardly existed. • Rampant corruption in the Company's
• Zamindars, the traditional landed administration, especially among the
aristocracy, often saw their land rights police, petty officials and lower law courts,

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and the absentee sovereignty-ship Company's expenses) were interpreted by
character of British rule imparted a foreign Indian sepoys, who were generally
and alien look to it in the eyes of Indians. conservative by nature, as interference in
their religious affairs.
SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CAUSES
• To the religious Hindu of the time, crossing
• Racial overtones and a superiority complex
the seas meant loss of caste. In 1856 Lord
characterized the British administrative
Canning's Government passed the General
attitude towards the native Indian
Service Enlistment Act which decreed that
population. The activities of Christian
all future recruits to the Bengal Army
missionaries who followed the British flag
would have to give an undertaking to serve
in India were looked upon with suspicion
anywhere their services might be required
by Indians.
by the Government. This caused
• The attempts at socioreligious reform such
resentment.
as abolition of sati, support to widow-
• The Indian sepoy was equally unhappy
remarriage and women's education were
with his emoluments compared to his
seen by a large section of the population as
British counterpart.
interference in the social and religious
• A more immediate cause of the sepoys'
domains of Indian society by outsiders.
dissatisfaction was the order that they
• These fears were further compounded by
would not be given the foreign service
the Government's decision to tax mosque
allowance (batta) when serving in Sindh or
and temple lands and legislative measures,
in Punjab. The annexation of Awadh, home
such as the Religious Disabilities Act, 1856,
of many of the sepoys, further inflamed
which modified Hindu customs, for
their feelings.
instance declaring that a change of religion
• There had been a long history of revolts in
did not debar a son from inheriting the
the British Indian Army—in Bengal (1764),
property of his heathen father.
Vellore (1806), Barrackpore (1825) and
INFLUENCE OF OUTSIDE EVENTS during the Afghan Wars (1838-42) to
• The revolt of 1857 coincided with certain mention just a few.
outside events in which the British suffered
serious losses—the First Afghan War
Beginning and Spread of the Revolt
(1838-42), Punjab Wars (1845-49),
Crimean Wars (1854-56), Santhal rebellion • The Revolt began at Meerut, 36 miles from
(1855-57). These had obvious Delhi, on 10 May 1857 and then gathering
psychological repercussions. force rapidly spread across Northern India.
It soon embraced a vast area from the
Punjab in the North and the Narmada in
DISCONTENT AMONG SEPOYS
the South to Bihar in the East and
• The conditions of service in the Company's
Rajputana in the West.
Army and cantonments increasingly came
• Even before the outbreak at Meerut,
into conflict with the religious beliefs and
Mangal Pande had become a martyr at
prejudices of the sepoys. Restrictions on
Barrackpore.
wearing caste and sectarian marks and
• Mangal Pande, a young soldier, was
secret rumors of proselytizing activities of
hanged on 29 March 1857 for revolting
chaplains (often maintained on the

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single-handed and attacking his superior • More than 20,000 of Gwalior's troops went
officers. This and many similar incidents over to Tantia Tope and the Rani of Jhansi.
were a sign that discontent and rebellion • Many small chiefs of Rajasthan and
were brewing among the sepoy, and then Maharashtra, revolted with the support of
came the explosion at Meerut. the people, who were quite hostile to the
• On 24 April 1857, ninety men of the 3rd British. Local rebellions also occurred in
Native Cavalry refused to accept the Hyderabad and Bengal.
greased cartridges. On 9 May 1857, eighty- • The tremendous sweep and breadth of the
five of them were dismissed, sentenced to Revolt were matched by its depth.
10 years' imprisonment, and put into Everywhere in Northern and Central India,
fetters. This sparked off a general mutiny the mutiny of the sepoys was followed by
among the Indian soldiers stationed at popular revolts of the civilian population.
Meerut. • After the sepoys had destroyed British
• The very next day, on 10 May, sepoys authority, the common people were up in
released their imprisoned comrades, killed arms often lighting with spears and axes,
their officers, and unfurled the banner of bows and arrows, lathis and scythes, and
revolt. As if drawn by a magnet they set off crude muskets.
for Delhi after sunset. • It was the wide participation to the Revolt
• When the Meerut soldiers appeared in by the peasantry and the artisans which
Delhi the next morning, the local infantry gave it real strength as well as the
joined them, killed their own European character of a popular revolt, especially in
officers, and seized the city. the areas at present included in Uttar
• The rebellious soldiers proclaimed the Pradesh and Bihar.
aged and powerless Bahadur Shah the • The popular character of the Revolt of
Emperor of India. 1857 also became evident when the British
• Delhi was soon to become the center of the tried to smash it. They had to wage a
Great Revolt and Bahadur Shah its great vigorous and ruthless war not only against
symbol. the rebellious sepoys but also against the
• Bahadur Shah, in turn, under the people of Avadh, Northwestern Provinces
instigation and perhaps the pressure of the and Agra, Central India, and Western Bihar,
sepoys, soon wrote letters to all the chiefs burning entire villages and massacring
and rulers of India urging them to organize villagers and urban people.
a confederacy of Indian states to fight and • The sepoys and the people fought
replace the British regime. staunchly and valiantly up to the very end.
• The entire Bengal Army soon rose in revolt They were defeated but their spirit
which spread quickly. Avadh, Rohlikhand, remained unbroken.
the Bundelkhand, Central India, large parts • Much of the strength of the Revolt of 1857
of Bihar, and the East Punjab, all shook off lay in Hindu-Muslim unity. Among the
British authority. soldiers and the people as well as among
• In many of the princely states, rulers the leaders there was complete
remained loyal to their British overlord, cooperation as between Hindus and
but the soldiers revolted or remained on Muslims.
the brink of revolt.

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In fact, the events of 1857 clearly bring out that Sindh and other Sikh chieftains and the
the people and politics of India were not basically Maharaja of Kashmir.
communal in medieval times and before 1858. • Man Singh of Indore, Rajas of Patiala,
Jhind, Hyderabad helped British in
• Once British rule had collapsed, the rebels
suppression.
in places like Delhi, Lucknow and Kanpur
• In the movements of crisis Lord Canning
tried to establish some kind of structure of
said: “If the Sindhia joins the mutiny, I shall
authority and administration.
have to pack off tomorrow,”
• These attempts were, of course, short-
lived but the attempts show that the rebel Suppression of the Revolt
leadership wanted to restore the pre- • The Revolt was suppressed. Sheer courage
British world of the eighteenth century. could not win against a powerful and
• The administrative structures established determined enemy who planned its every
by the rebels were primarily aimed at step.
meeting the demands of war. • The rebels were dealt an early blow when
• The leaders went back to the culture of the the British captured Delhi on 20 September
court. 1857 after prolonged and bitter fighting.
• Orders were issued to stop loot and • The aged Emperor Bahadur Shah was taken
plunder. prisoner. The Royal Princes were captured
• Appointments were made to various posts, and butchered on the spot. The Emperor
arrangements made for the collection of was tried and exiled to Rangoon where he
land revenue and the payment of troops. died in 1862.
• Side by side plans were made to fight • John Lawrence, Outran, Havelock, Neil,
battles against the British. Chains of Campbell, and Hugh Rose were some of
command were laid down in the army. the British commanders who earned
• In Awadh, where resistance to the British military fame in the course of the revolt.
lasted longest, plans of counter-attack • One by one, all the great leaders of the
were being drawn up by the Lucknow court Revolt fell. Nana Sahib was defeated at
and hierarchies of command were in place Kanpur. Defiant to the very end and
as late as the last months of 1857 and the refusing to surrender, he escaped to Nepal
early part of 1858. early in 1859, never to be heard of again.
• Tantia Tope escaped into the jungles of
STORM CENTRES AND LEADERS OF THE REVOLT
Central India where he carried on bitter
• Delhi - General Khan
and brilliant guerrilla warfare until April
• Kanpur - Nana Saheb
1859 when he was betrayed by a zamindar
• Lucknow -Begum Hazrat Mahal
friend and captured while asleep. He was
• Bareilly - Khan Bahadur
put to death after a hurried trial on 15 April
• Bihar - Kunwar Singh 1859.
• Faizabad - Maulvi Ahmadullah • The Rani Jhansi had died on the field of
• Jhansi – Rani Laxmibai battle earlier on 17 June 1858.
• Most Indian rulers refused to join, and • By 1859, Kunwar Singh, Bakht Khan, Khan
often gave active help to the British. Rulers Bahadur Khan of Bareilly, Rao Sahib
who did not participate included the brother of Nana Sahib, and Maulavi
Sindhia of Gwalior, the rulers of Patiala,
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Ahmadullah were all dead, while the • Modern nationalism was yet unknown in
Begum of Avadh was compelled to hide in India. Patriotism meant love of one's small
Nepal. locality or region or at most one's state.
• By the end of 1859, British authority over • In fact, the Revolt of 1857 played an
India was fully reestablished, but the important role in bringing the Indian
Revolt had not been in vain. It was the first people together and imparting to them the
great struggle of the Indian people for consciousness of belonging to one country.
freedom from British imperialism. It paved
the way for the rise of the modern national Do you know?
movement. • Shah Mal lived in a large village in pargana
Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a
Causes for the Failure of the Revolt clan of Jat cultivators whose kinship ties
extended over chaurasee des (eighty-four
• Indian sepoys and people were short of
villages).
modern weapons and other materials of
war. Most of them fought with such • Many of the villagers were prosperous and
ancient weapons as pikes and swords. saw the British land revenue system as
oppressive: the revenue demand was high
• Indian sepoys and other revolt participants
and its collection inflexible. Consequently,
were also poorly organized. There was
cultivators were losing land to outsiders, to
communication gap and they lacked
traders and moneylenders who were
consensus.
coming into the area.
• The rebel units did not have a common
• Shah Mal mobilised the headmen and
plan of action, or authoritative heads, or
cultivators of chaurasee des, moving at
centralized leadership.
night from village to village, urging people
• The sepoys were brave and selfless but
to rebel against the British.
they were also ill-disciplined. Sometimes
• Shah Mal’s men attacked government
they behaved more like a riotous mob than
buildings, destroyed the bridge over the
a disciplined army.
river, and dug up metalled roads – partly to
• The uprisings in different parts of the
prevent government forces from coming
country were completely uncoordinated.
into the area, and partly because bridges
• Once the Indian people overthrew British
and roads were seen as symbols of British
power from an area, they did not know
rule.
what sort of power to create in its place.
• Locally acknowledged as the Raja, Shah
• They failed to evolve unity of action. They
Mal took over the bungalow of an English
were suspicious and jealous of one another
officer, turned it into a “hall of justice”,
and often indulged in suicidal quarrels. For
settling disputes and dispensing
example, the Begum of Avadh quarreled
judgments. He also set up an amazingly
with Maulavi Ahmadullah and the Mughal
effective network of intelligence.
princes with the sepoy-generals.
• For a period, the people of the area felt
• The peasants destroyed revenue records
that firangi raj was over, and their raj had
and money-lenders' books, and
come.
overthrown the new zamindars, became
• Shah Mal was killed in battle in July 1857.
passive not knowing what to do next.

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The revolt of 1857 marks a turning point in the beyond redemption. - John Lawrence
history of India. It led to changes in the system of (WROTE Indian Rebellion of 1857)
administration and the policy of the Government. • The revolt of 1857 was a struggle of the
soldier-peasant democratic combine
1. The direct responsibility for the
against foreign imperialism as well as
administration of the country was assumed
indigenous landlordism. - Marxist
by the British Crown and Company rule
Interpretation.
was abolished. The assumption of the
• Here lay the woman who was the only man
Government of India by the sovereign of
among the rebels. - Hugh Rose (a tribute
Great Britain was announced by Lord
to the Rani of Jhansi from the man who
Canning at a durbar at Allahabad in the
defeated her).
'Queen's Proclamation' issued on
• It was far more than a mutiny, yet much
November 1, 1858.
less than a first war of independence. -
2. The era of annexations and expansion
Taniey Volpert.
ended and the British promised to respect
the dignity and rights of the native princes. • V.D. Savarkar who in his book ‘The Indian
3. The Indian states were henceforth to War of Independence’, published in
recognise the paramountcy of the British London in 1909, described it “a planned
Crown and were to be treated as parts of a war of national independence”.
single charge. • Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote: “Essentially it
4. The Army, which was at the forefront of was feudal outburst headed by feudal
the outbreak, was thoroughly reorganised chiefs and their followers and aided by the
and British military policy came to be widespread anti-foreign sentiment.”
dominated by the idea of "division and Important Leaders Place
counterpoise".
5. Racial hatred and suspicion between the • Mangal Pandey- Barrakpore
Indians and the English was aggravated. • Soldiers- Meerut Cant.
• Bahadur Shah Zafar- Delhi
Views
• Zeenat Mahal- Delhi
• It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that
• Bakhtawar khan- Delhi
the so-called Firs National War of
• Nana Sahib - Kanpur
Independence of 1857 is neither first, not
National, nor War of Independence. - R.C. • Tatya Tope - Kanpur
Majumdar. He wrote ‘Revolt of 1857’. • Azimullah - Kanpur
• The Mutiny became a Revolt and assumed • Maharaj Kunwar Singh-Arrah (Bihar)
a political character when the mutineers of • Khan Bahadur Khan -Bareilly
Meerut placed themselves under the king • Begum Hazrat Mahal -Lucknow
of Delhi a section of the landed aristocracy • Maulvi Ahmadullah -Faizabad
and civil population decided in his favour. • Maulavi Sayyed Allauddin, Bhimrao
What began as a fight for religion ended as Mundargi And Chhota Singh- Karnataka
a war of independence. - S.N. Sen • Sonaji Pant- Hyderabad
• A single leader of ability arisen among • Rao Tularam- Haryana
them (the rebels), we must have been lost • Liaqat Ali- Allahabad

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LET’S REVISE

British Officials Causes

• Economic
• General John Nicholson- Delhi
o Destruction of traditional Indian
• Major Hudson- Delhi (Killed Bahadur
Economy
Shah's sons and grandsons in Delhi)
o Ruin of agriculture by draconian
• Sir Hugh Wheeler-Defence against
land reforms
Nana Sahib's forces till 26th June, 1857.
o Annexation of princely states = no
British forces surrendered on 27th on
patronage for artisans =
the promised of safe conduct to
destruction of Indian handicrafts
Allahabad.
o Loss of status for Zamindars =
• General Hewitt- commanded the ashamed to work = anger against
Forces at Meerut. British
• General Neil-Recaptured Banaras and • Political
Allahabad in June 1857. At Kanpur, he o Aggressive policies of Subsidiary
killed Indians as revenge against the Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse
killing of English by Nana Sahib's forces. o Rampant corruption and
Died at Lucknow while fighting against exploitation especially at lower
the rebels. levels of administration (police,
• Sir Colin Campbell-Final recovery of local courts etc)
Kanpur on 6th December, 1857. Final • Army
reoccupation of Lucknow on 21 st o Restriction on wearing caste
March, 1858. Recapture of Bareilly on specific clothing and items. Eg.
5th May, 1858. turban
• Henry Lawrence-Chief Commissioner o Forced to travel overseas, which
of Awadh. Who died during the seizure was forbidden in Hindu tradition
of British residency by rebels at o Unequal pay for Indian sepoys +
Lucknow on 2nd July, 1857! racial discrimination and
• Major General Havelock-Defeated the subordination
rebels (Nana Sahib's force) on 17th July, o Newly introduced Enfield rifles had
1857. Died at Lucknow in December beef fat coatings (trigger point)
1857.
• William Taylor and Eyre-Suppressed
the revolt at Arrah in August 1857.
• Hugh Rose-Suppressed the revolt at • Socio-Religious
Jhansi and recaptured Gwalior on 20th o Racial discrimination towards
June, 1858. The whole of Central India native Indians (Theory of White
and Bundelkhand was brought under Man’s Burden)
British control by him. o Religious propagation by the
• Colonel Oncell-Captured Banaras Christian Missionaries
o Reforms like Abolition of Sati,
Widow-Remarriage Act, Women’s

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Education were seen as • No long-term perspective and political
interference in the traditional goals
Indian Society

o Taxation on mosques, temples etc Impact of the Revolt

• Outside Influences • First war of independence (As per V D
o Crimean Wars 1854-56 Savarkar). Symbolically important
o Punjab Wars 1845-49 • Changed dynamics of British Rule forever.
o First Afghan War 1838-42 Transfer of administration to British Crown
o The British suffered serious losses + Abolition of the Company Rule
in these wars = psychological boost • Era of annexation and expansion ended.
for Indians Princely states were promised partial
Failure of Revolt autonomy while remaining under British
• Restricted to northern India. Lack of unity protection
as modern nationalism was yet to born in • British policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ would
India dominate future events (to weaken Hindu-
• Certain classes did not join – Big Muslim unity showcased in the Revolt of
Zamindars, Moneylenders, Rulers etc 1857)
(These zamindars were the new zamindars Do you know?
who were appointed by the British. Since • Azamgarh Proclamation was a
they derived their power from British remarkable document which was
authority, they were loyal to British.) published in the town of Azamgarh in
• Modern educated Indians viewed the Eastern Uttar Pradesh during the Revolt
revolt as backward and violent + they of 1857.
hoped British Rule would bring • This declaration was issued (most
modernization of Indian Society. probably) by Firoz Shah, a grandson of
• Indian soldiers were poorly equipped the Mughal Emperor who fought in
• Revolt was poorly organized + no Awadh and aims to set out a manifesto
coordination for what the rebels were fighting for.

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• This Proclamation, also called ishtahar, Local Bodies: Financial difficulties led the
was secular and largely democratic in Government to further decentralize
tone, appealing to “both Hindoos and administration by promoting local government
Mahommedans” who were “being through municipalities and district boards. Local
ruined under the tyranny and bodies like education, health, sanitation and water
oppression of the infidel and supply were transferred to local bodies that would
treacherous English”. finance them through local taxes.
• Moreover, its main appeal was to
Changes in the army: The Indian army was
economic sentiment, laying out in great
carefully re-organised after 1858, most of all to
details how the British had ruined each
prevent the recurrence of another revolt. Firstly,
class of citizen - zamindar, merchant,
the domination of the army by its European
civil servants, soldiers, artisans and
branch was carefully guaranteed. The proportion
even the clergy - and promised them a
of Europeans to Indians in the army was raised.
better deal after the revolution.
The European troops were kept in key
geographical and military positions. The crucial
Note: For every event the outcome is most
branches of artillery, tanks and armored corps
important from the examination point of view
were put exclusively in European hands. The
especially for mains:
Indians were strictly excluded from the higher
The Revolt of 1857 gave a severe jolt to the British posts. Till 1814, no Indian could rise higher than
administration in India and made its re- the rank of a subedar. Secondly, the organization
organization inevitable. The Government of India’s of the Indian section of the army was based on the
structure and policies underwent significant policy of ‘divide and rule’ so as to prevent its
changes in the decades following the Revolt. chance of uniting again in an anti-British uprising.
A new section of army like Punjabis, Gurkhas and
Changes in Administration: By the Act of Pathans were recruited in large numbers.
Parliament of 1858, the power to govern India was
transferred from the East India Company to the Relations with princely state / native states or
British Crown. The authority over India, wielded by British attitudes towards the Indian princes after
the Directors of the Company and the Board of the Revolt of 1857: After the Revolt of 1857 the
Control, was now to be exercised by a Secretary of British reversed their policy towards the Indian
State for India aided by a Council. states. Most of the Indian princes had not only
remained loyal to the British but had actively aided
Provincial Administration: The British had divided the latter in suppressing the Revolt. Their loyalty
India for administrative convenience into was now rewarded with the announcement that
provinces, three of which- Bengal. Bombay and their right to adopt heirs would be respected and
Madras- were known as Presidencies. The the integrity of their territories guaranteed against
Presidencies were administered by a Governor future annexation. The experience of the Revolt
and his Executive Council of three, who were had made them decided to use the princely states
appointed by the Crown. The other provinces were as firm props of British rule in India.
administered by Lieutenant Governor and Chief
Change in administrative policies: The British
Commissioners appointed by the Governor-
attitudes towards India and consequently, their
General.
policies in India changed for the worse after the
Revolt of 1857. While before 1857 they had tried,

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however half-heartedly and hesitatingly, to as a dam against the rise of popular and nationalist
modernize India, they now consciously began to movement. The lands of most of the talukdars of
follow reactionary policies which were reflected in Awadh were restored to them. The zamindars and
many fields. landlords were now hailed as the traditional and
(a) Divide and Rule: After the Revolt of 1857 the ‘natural’ leaders of the Indian people. Their
British increasingly continued to follow their policy interest and privilege were protected and they, in
of divide and rule by turning the princes against turn, became the firm supporters of British rule in
the people, province against, caste against caste, India.
group against groups and above all, Hindus against
Muslims. Immediately after the revolt their Do you know?
suppressed Muslims, confiscated their lands and • After the Revolt of 1857 the British
property on a large scale, and declared Hindus to reversed their policy towards the Indian
be their favorite. After 1870, this policy was states.
reversed and an attempt was made to turn • Most of the Indian princes had not only
Muslims against the nationalist movement. The remained loyal to the British but had
Government cleverly used the attraction actively aided the latter in suppressing the
government service to create a split between the Revolt. In this context, Lord Canning had
educated Hindus and Muslims. The Government given them the epithet of ‘Breakwaters in
promised official favor on a communal basis in the storm’.
return for loyalty and so played the educated • Their loyalty was now rewarded with the
Muslims against the educated Hindus. announcement that their right to adopt
heirs would be respected and the integrity
(b) Government attitudes towards educated
of their territories guaranteed against
Indians: The official used to favor the educated
future annexation.
Indians before 1857 but their attitudes changed
• The experience of the 1857 Revolt had
after the Revolt because some of them had started
made them decided to use the princely
to use their recently acquired modern knowledge
states as firm props of British rule in India.
to analyse the imperialistic character of British rule
• However, the British made it clear that the
and to put forward demands for Indian
princes ruled their states merely as agents
participation in administration. The officials
of the British crown.
became hostile to the educated Indians when the
• The princes accepted this subordinate
latter began to organise a nationalist movement
position and willingly became junior
among the people and founded the Indian
partners in the empire because they were
National Congress.
assured of their continued existence as
(c) Government attitudes towards the zamindars: rulers of their states.
After the revolt, the British changed their attitudes
towards the zamindars and landlords to use them

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Mains Questions

1. ‘Whatever might have been its original character, it (Rebellion of 1857) soon
became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British power in India.’ – 15 marks
(2005).
2. “The Revolt of 1857 seemed to call the very presence of the British into question.
What it did not do was reverse these changes.” - 15 marks (2007).
3. “The annexation of Awadh shook the loyalty of the Sepoys, as it was for them an
ultimate proof of untrustworthiness of the British.” – 10 marks (2009).
4. “In 1857, the robel sepoys showed a remarkable centripetal tendency to
congregate at Delhi.” Do you agree? Substantiate. - 30 marks (2011).
5. “The military, feudal and traditional overtones of the Revolt of 1857 were
overshadowed by its nationalist or proto-nationalist character.” - 15 marks (2014).

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PRE-1857 REVOLT UPRISINGS

Bengal and Eastern India Western India Southern India Northern India
Paika Rebellion (1817) Vellore Mutiny
The Sanyasi Revolt (Bengal, Bhil uprising Revolt of Raja of Wahabi Movement
1770-1820s) Vizianagaram

Fakir Uprising (Bengal, 1776- Cutch Rebellion Poligar’s Revolt Kuka Revolt
77)

Chuar Uprising Waghera Rising Diwan Velu Thampi

(1818-1820) Revolt

Ho Rising Koli Risings Rampa Revolt

(1829-1848)

Kol Mutiny (1831) Ramosi Risings

Khond Uprisings (1837-56) Surat Salt

Agitations

Santhal Rising (1855) Kolhapur and

Savantvadi
Revolts

Ahom Revolt (1828)

Khasi Uprising (1829-33)

Pagal Panthis

Farazi Revolt

Munda Revolt

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Rani Gaidinliu’s Naga
Movement

Rampa Revolt Ramosi Risings Munda Revolt Bhil Uprisings

The hill tribesmen of Rampa The Ramosis, the hill For over three The Bhils, an
in coastal Andhra revolted in tribes of the Western decades, the Munda aboriginal tribe
1879 against the Ghats, had not sardars of concentrated
depredations of the reconciled to the Chhotanagpur had around Khandesh,
government-supported British rule and the been struggling revolted against
mansabdar and the new British pattern of against the their new
restrictive forest administration. They destruction of their masters, the East
regulations. Only after a rose under Chittur system of common India Company,
large military operation Singh in 1822 and land-holdings by the fearing agrarian
could the rebels be defeated plundered the country intrusion of jagirdars, hardships and the
in 1880. around Satara. Again, thikadars (revenue worst under the
there were eruptions farmers) and traders- new regime. One
in 1825-26 and the moneylenders. During of their leaders
disturbances the last decade of the was Sewaram.
continued till 1829. nineteenth century, The Bhils revolted
the Mundas rose in 1817-19, and
under Birsa Munda in again in 1825,
a religious movement 1836 and 1846.
or rebellion ("ulgulan")
with an agrarian and
political content. They
aimed to establish a
Munda rule in the land
by killing thikadars,
jagirdars, rajas and
hakims. To bring about
the liberation, Birsa
gathered Mundas
armed with swords,
spears, battle-axes,
and bows and arrows.
Birsa was, however,
captured in 1900 and
he died in jail the
same year.

Popular uprisings can also be grouped as follows: • Movements by the dependents of the
• Political – Religious Movements e.g. Faqir deposed ruler e.g. Ramosi Uprising,
Uprising, Sanyasi Uprising etc. Savantwadi Revolt etc.
• Movements by deposed rulers and • Tribal movements: e.g. Santhal Rebellion,
zamindars e.g. Velu Thampi’s Revolt, Munda Uprising, Khond Uprising, Rampa
Poligar Revolt etc. Rebellion, Khasi Uprising etc.
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Do you know? • In Revolt of 1857, cartridges of New Enfield
rifle greased in fat of cow and pig was one
Vellore Mutiny
of the main causes of revolt. Suspicion over
• The Vellore mutiny on 10 July 1806 was the
conversion to Christianity, bone in flour,
first instance of a large-scale and violent
ignorance to caste rules etc. were other
mutiny by Indian sepoys against the East
prominent religious reasons.
India Company, predating the Indian
• In both the places English treated the
Rebellion of 1857.
Indian sepoys as their inferior. There was
• The immediate causes of the mutiny
the racial prejudice.
revolved mainly around resentment felt
• The Vellore uprising was preceded by a
towards changes in the sepoy dress code,
series of protests by the Indian troops. In
introduced in November 1805.
May 1806, the 4th Regiment rose in revolt
• Hindus were prohibited from wearing
against the new turban. Similar revolts
religious marks on their foreheads while on
took place before 1857 revolt.
duty, and Muslims were required to shave
• The Vellore rebels proclaimed Futteh
their beards and trim their moustaches. In
Hyder, Tipu’s first son, as their new ruler
addition, General Sir John Craddock,
and hoisted tiger-striped flag of Tipu
Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army,
Sultan. The 1857 revolt rebels proclaimed
ordered the wearing of a round hat
Bahadur Shah II as their leader.
resembling that associated at the time with
• Both the uprisings failed in short term but
both Europeans in general and with Indian
had long term implications.
converts to Christianity.
• The new headdress included a leather Civil Rebellion
cockade and was intended to replace the • Led by deposed ‘rajas’ and ‘nawabs’ and
existing turban. These measures offended impoverished Zamindars, landlords etc.
the sensibilities of both Hindu and Muslim • Major cause = Rapid changed introduced
sepoys and went contrary to an earlier by British Economy, administration and
warning by a military board that sepoy land revenue system (in less than 30 years
uniform changes should be "given every land revenue doubled)
consideration which a subject of that • No part of the enhanced revenue was
delicate and important nature required" spent on the development of agriculture
Similarities between Vellore Mutiny and 1857- • Zamindars were replaced by new “men of
Revolt money”
• Prevalence of corruption at lower levels of
Similarities between the two uprisings: judiciary, administration and police
• In Vellore the native sepoys rose in revolt • Ruin of Indian artisan and handicraft
in 1806. In Meerut sepoys started the industry due to free imports and heavy
revolt on 10 May, 1857. tariffs on exports of Indian finished goods
• In Vellore Mutiny the trigger point was • Patronage to priestly class came to an end
introduction of a new form of turban, + British policies seen as an attack on Hindu
resembling a European hat. Prohibition on religion.
wearing of ear rings and caste marks.

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Tribal Uprising Year 2017 was 200 years since the army led by King
Tribal uprisings were the most violent and bloody of Khurda revolted against the British on April 2,
amongst all. They were charged by emotions and 1817.
superstitious beliefs like foreign bullets cannot kill
The Union Human Resource Development
them. They were usually targeted against the
Minister Prakash Javadekar has announced that
outsider Landlords and money lenders who were
Paika rebellion (Paika Bidroha) of 1817 will be
directly perceived as the enemy, rather than the
named as First War of Independence against
British.
British Rule in history books from next academic
• Loss of land, influx of Christian missionaries session.
in tribal areas
Santhal Revolt 1854-55
• Placed restriction on access to forest
• Santhals lived in the southern part of the
produce
chhottanagpur plateau and tilled land for
Paika Rebellion -1817 livelihood.
The Paik Rebellion, also called the Paika Bidroha, • Under the permanent settlement of 1793
was an armed rebellion against the British East the lands which the santhals had been
India Company's rule in Odisha in 1817. cultivating traditionally passed on to the
Zamindars.
The Paikas rose in rebellion under their leader
• The santhals then shifted to villages in the
Bakshi Jagabandhu and, projecting Jagannath as
hills of Raj Mahal but these lands were also
the symbol of Odia unity, the rebellion quickly
claimed by the cultivation of indigo by
spread across most of Odisha before being
European planters. This brought them in
ruthlessly put down by the company's forces.
confrontation with the British.
When the British started tinkering with the
revenue system in 1803, the farming community The atrocities perpetrated on the tribals took the
of Odisha rose in rebellion. shape of an unrest, which erupted in the form of
an armed revolt in 1855 – 56.
At that critical juncture, Bakshi Jagabandhu
Bidyadhar — the military chief of the King of Nearly 10,000 men armed with bows & words &
Khurda — led his motley army of Paikas forcing the spears gathered in Bhagha Dihi village and made a
British East India Company forces to retreat. The solemn declaration under the leadership of Siddhu
rebellion came to be known as Paika Bidroh (Paika and Khanhu that there is no governmentt,
rebellion). thanedar & hakim over us.

The rebellion, by the landed militia of Khurda The establishment of a santhal state was also
called Paiks, predates the first war of announced.
independence in 1857 but did not get similar The infuriated santhals made the houses of
recognition. It took place when the British East moneylenders, zamindars, revenue officers,
India Company wrested the rent-free land that railway stations and indigo factories their main
had been given to the Paiks for their military target of attack. Their slogan was destruction of
service to the Kingdom of Khurda. zamindars, moneylenders and government
officials.

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To suppress the santhal rebellion the British army area. The leader of this uprising was Tirath
was put under the command of Brigader General Singh.
Lyoed. • After having occupied the hilly region
between Garo and Jaintia Hills, the East
The revolt was brutally crushed, the two
India Company wanted to build a road
celebrated leaders Sidhu and Kanhu were killed.
linking the Brahmaputra Valley with Sylhet.
Although its impact was largely shadowed by that For this, a large number of outsiders
of the other rebellion, the Indian Rebellion of including Englishmen, Bengalis and the
1857, the legend of the Santhal Rebellion lives on labourers from the plains were brought to
as a turning point in Santhal pride and identity. these regions.
This was reaffirmed, over a century and a half later • The Khasis, Garos, Khamptis and the
with the creation of the first tribal province in Singhpos organized themselves under
independent India, Jharkhand. Tirath Singh to drive away the strangers
Bhil Uprising from the plains. The uprising developed
into a popular revolt British rule in the
• The Bhils were mostly concentrated in the
area. By 1833, the superior English military
hill ranges of Khandesh. The British
force had suppressed the revolt.
occupation of Khandesh in 1818 enraged
the Bhils because they were suspicious of Munda Revolt
outsiders’ incursion into their territory. • Birsa Movement was led by Birsa Munda in
• It was believed that Trimbakji, rebel areas of modern Bihar and Jharkhand
minister of Bari Rao II, instigated the Bhils • The Mundas were the frustrated tribal
against the British occupation of Khandesh. people who resorted to rebel several times
• There was a general insurrection in 1819 in 1789, 1807, 1812, 1819 and 1832 in
and the Bhils in several small groups Bihar & modern Jharkhand. These revolts
ravaged the plains. were because of the undue interference by
• There were similar types of insurrection the administration and the attitude of the
quite often by the Bhil chiefs against the landlords.
British. • For over three decades, the Munda sardars
• The British government used its military of Chhotanagpur had been struggling
force to suppress the rebels and at the against the destruction of their system of
same time tried to win them over through common land-holdings by the intrusion of
various conciliatory measures. But the jagirdars, thikadars (revenue farmers) and
British measures failed to bring the Bhils to traders-moneylenders. During the last
their side. decade of the nineteenth century, the
• One of their leaders was Sewaram. The Mundas rose under Birsa Munda in a
Bhils revolted in 1817-19, and again in religious movement or rebellion
1825, 1836 and 1846. (“ulgulan”) with an agrarian and political
content.
Khasi Uprising
• They aimed to establish a Munda rule in
• The Khasi uprising took place in 1833 in the
the land by killing thikadars, jagirdars,
regions between the Khasi hills and Jaintia
rajas, and hakims. To bring about the
Hills, against a planned British Road in that
liberation, Birsa gathered a force of 6000

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Mundas armed with swords, spears, rebellion was the restrictions imposed on
battleaxes, and arrows. Birsa was, visits to holy places estranged the sanyasis
however, captured in 1900 and he died in (generally Hindu Nagas and Giri).
jail the same year. • The sanyasis retaliated by organizing raids
on the Company’s factories and state
Pagal Panthis
treasuries. Only after prolonged military
• Karam Shah was the founder of the Pagal
action could Warren Hastings contain the
Panth – a semi-religious sect having
raids by the sanyasis which included
influence in the northern districts of
massacre of 150 sanyasi in 1771. After
Bengal.
nearly half a century long strife, the Sanyasi
• An activist fervor to the sect was imparted
Uprising ended in the second quarter of
by Tipu, the son and successor of Karam
the nineteenth century.
Shah.
• Historians have not only debated what
• Tipu was motivated by both religious and
events constitute the rebellion, but have
political motives and took up the cause of
also varied on the significance of the
the tenants against the oppression of the
rebellion in Indian history. While some
zamindars.
refer to it as an early war for India’s
• Tipu captured Sherpur in 1825 and independence from foreign rule, since the
assumed royal power. The insurgents right to collect tax had been given to the
extended their activities to Garo Hills. The British East India Company after the Battle
area remained disturbed in the 1830s and of Plassey in 1757, others categorize it as
1840s. acts of violent banditry following the
Ahom Revolt depopulation of the province, post the
• The British had pledged to withdraw after Bengal famine of 1770.
the First Burma War (1824-26) from • Area affected included Murshidabad and
Assam. But after the war, instead of Baikunthupur forests of Jalpaiguri, in West
withdrawing, the British attempted to Bengal.
incorporate the Ahom’s territories in the • Anandmath, written by India’s first
company’s dominion. modern novelist, Bankim Chandra
• This sparked off a rebellion in 1828 under Chatterjee, from which the song Vande
the leadership of Gomdhar Konwar. Mataram was taken and declared to be
Finally, the Company decided to follow a India’s National song, is the best reminder
conciliatory policy and handed over Upper of the Sanyasi Rebellion.
Assam to Maharaja Purandar Singh Khond Uprising
Narendra and part of the kingdom was
• The Khond uprising included tribals from
restored to the Assamese king.
Ghumsar, China-ki-Medi, Kalahandi and
Sanyasi Revolt Patna.
• The coming of the British brought with it • The movement was led by Chakra Bisoi in
economic hardships symbolised by the the name of the young Raja.
massive famine of 1770, and a general • The main issue was the attempt by the
callousness on the part of the Company’s government to suppress human sacrifice
stooges. The immediate cause of the (mariah), introduction of new taxes by the

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British and the influx of zamindars and
sahukars (moneylenders) into their areas,
which was causing the tribals untold
misery.
• The British formed a Mariah Agency,
against which the Khonds fought with
tangi, a kind of battle axe, bows, arrows
and even swords. Later, Savaras and some
local militia clans also joined in, led by
Radhakrishna Dandasena.

POST-1857 REVOLT UPRISINGS

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POST-1857 REVOLT UPRISINGS

Peasant Movements o Reasons for success – awareness of
In order to increase their profits, the British law on part of the peasants
government changed the agricultural revenue o Shortcoming – aim was limited to
system. personal grievances

The exorbitant rate of revenue made the peasants Bengal Tenacy Act
impoverished. The negative thing was that the • Passed in 1885 as a direct outcome of the
money received as the revenue was siphoned out peasant movements
to England and very less amount was invested in • Aim = to protect tenants from worst
agriculture to improve the crop and land practices of Zamindari
condition. This triggered a vicious circle of poverty • Defined rights of Zamindars and the
where peasants were dependent on money peasants
lenders, who again charged a very high rate of Effect of American Civil War – 1864
interest. This distress of peasants resulted in many
• Cotton exports dried; prices crashed
revolts.
• Also, government increased the prices by
Indigo Revolt – Bengal 1859-60 50%
• Planters forced peasants to get into shoddy
Deccan Riots of 1875
contracts causing great loss to peasants
• The unrest was caused due to the increase
• Forced to use the best lands and got paid a
of land revenue followed by bad harvests.
price below Market Price.
• In 1867 the government raised land
• Famous slogan ‘je rakhak te bhakak’
revenue by nearly 50% and the situation
• Got support from Bengali middle class and
worsened by a succession of bad harvests.
lawyers
Initially the movement was peaceful with
• Finally, Ryots won and Indigo plantation
peasants resorting to social boycott of
was wiped out when government issued a
outside moneylenders. Later the
notification in 1860 that peasants cannot
movement turned into riots and the
be compelled
peasants attacked moneylender houses
• Features of the movement – cooperation,
and shops. They seized and publicly burnt
organization and
debt bonds and deeds during the riots.
discipline of the
peasants complete Pabna Peasant Uprising (1873-76)
unity among Hindu • It was a resistance movement by the
and Muslims, role of peasants (“Ryots”) against the lords of the
Intelligentsia lands in Bengal (“zamindars”) in the
• Neel Darpan – Deen Yusufshahi pargana (now the Sirajganj
Bandhu Gupta’s play District, Bangladesh) in Pabna.
which portrayed the • The Pabna rebellion was different from
movement most contemporary peasant rebellions.
This movement began as the peasants
Fig: Cover page of Neel Darpan organised an agrarian league in May 1873
to resist the demands of the zamindars.

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• The peasants were much more organised accepted peasant combinations as lawful
than in other revolts via meetings, appeals even while condemning violence.
and marches. They moved to the court and
challenged the zamindars, raised funds to
pay for legal expenses, to meet the cost of
legal battle.
• Pabna agitation was not anti-British: the
most extreme demand raised in fact was
that the raiyats wanted “to be the ryots of
Her Majesty the Queen land of Her only”.
• Officials like Lt. Governor Campbell
supported pro-peasant moves and
Name of the movement Main cause(s) Course of the movement and
consequences
Movement of Pagal Panthis Resentment of the peasants Under Karam Shah (founder),
against the oppression of It was mainly a religious
zamindars movement, but under tipu
(son of successor of Shah) it
Area: Sherpur (East Bengal) became a political movement
against the oppressive
zamindars and British, its
final suppression by British
Year: 1825-33 after large scale military
operations.

Leader: Karam Shah and Tipu

Kuka Movement Degeneration of Sikh religion Though it started as a
and loss of sikh sovereignty religious reform movement,
it became a movement for
the restoration of Sikh
Area: Punjab sovereignty after the
annexation of Punjab by the
British.

Year: 1854-72

Leader: Bhagat Jawahar Mal

(founder)
Pabna Movement Enhanced rent Beyond the Govt. accepted the Demands
legal Limit & prevention of & promised to protect
tenants from acquiring the Tenants. It enacted Bengal
occupancy rights tenancy Act 1885.
Area: Bengal

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Year: 1873
Deccan Riots Against the acquisition of the Punjab Land Alienation Act of
land by the money lenders 1902 enacted prohibiting
transfer of the land from the
peasants to the money
Area: Poona & Ahmadnagar lenders & mortgages for
more 20 years.

Year: 1874

Rani Gaidinliu’s Naga Movement

• A leader of the Naga tribals of Manipur,
Jadonang (1905-31) resented the presence
of the British in his state.
• He also wanted to purge his community of
decadent orthodox customs and at the
same time preserve the community’s real
culture.
• At the age of 13, Gaidinliu joined the
Heraka religious movement of her cousin
Haipou Jadonang. The movement later
turned into a political movement seeking
to drive out the British from Manipur and
the surrounding Naga areas.
• From this internal reform and unity, the
movement turned outward during its
second phase to become a political
struggle against the British rule and for the
establishment of ‘Naga Raj’. Jadonang
declared himself and the 17-year-old
Gaidinliu as deities to be worshipped.
• Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of
16, and was sentenced to life
imprisonment by the British rulers.
Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in
1937, and promised to pursue her release.
Nehru gave her the title of "Rani"
("Queen"), and she gained local popularity
as Rani Gaidinliu.

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TRIBAL & CIVIL REBELLION colonialism and was often attacked by the
Tribals are aboriginals living in the isolated areas rebels.
and leading an autonomous and insulated life. • Colonialism also transformed tribal
The tribal people, spread over a large part of India, people’s relationship with the forest. They
organized hundreds of militant outbreaks and practiced shifting cultivation, taking
insurrections during the 19th century. These recourse to fresh forest lands when their
uprisings were marked by immense courage and existing lands showed signs of exhaustion.
sacrifice on their part and brutal suppression and But the colonial government usurped the
veritable butchery on the part of the rulers. The forest lands and placed restrictions on
tribals had cause to be upset for a variety of access to forest products, land and village
reasons. common lands. It refused to let cultivation
shift to new areas.
Causes of Revolts
• Imposition of land revenue settlement,
• Extension of settled agriculture in to the expansion of agriculture by non-tribals to
tribal areas led to influx of non-tribals tribal areas or over forest cover led to
(dikkus) in the tribal areas. These erosion of the tribal traditions of joint
outsiders (dikkus) exploited them and ownership and increased the socio-
extension of settled agriculture led to the economic differentiation in the egalitarian
loss of land by the tribals which reduced structure of the tribal society.
them to agriculture labourers. So, this • Some important tribal uprisings include –
disruption of the old agrarian order of the Santhal rising, Khond uprisings, Kols
tribal communities provided the common mutiny, Rampa revolt, bhil uprising etc.
factor for all the tribal uprisings.
Characteristics of Tribal Uprising
• Increasing demand for the wood from the
early 19th century, first for the Royal Navy • Tribal uprisings were basically against the
and then Railways, led to increasing colonial administration’s effort to destroy
control of government over the forest their aboriginality, and their traditional
lands. Some of the tribal uprisings took thread of a protected social and economic
place in reaction to the efforts of the life.
landlords to impose taxes on the • Ethnic ties were a basic feature of the tribal
customary use of the timber and grazing rebellions. The rebels saw themselves not
facilities, police exactions, exploitation by as discreet class but as having a tribal
middlemen which were generally identity. At this level the solidarity shown
outsiders. was of a very high order. Fellow tribals
• Colonial administration encouraged influx were never attacked unless they had
of Christian missionaries into the tribal collaborated with the enemy. At the same
areas, which were responsible for bringing time not, all outsiders were attacked as
about changes in the socio-economic and enemies. Often there was no violence
cultural aspects of the tribal life and the against the non-tribal poor, who worked in
mainstream society. Also, the tendency of tribal villages in supportive economic roles,
the missionaries to discourage people from or who had social relations with the tribals,
rising against the government made the such as telis, gwalas, lohars, carpenters,
missionaries to be viewed as extensions of potters, weavers, washerman, barbers,

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drummers, and bonded labourers and came from the rack-rented peasants, ruined
domestic servants of the outsiders. artisans and demobilized soldiers.
• These uprisings were localized and
Some important civil rebellions include: The
isolated, and lacked any modern feeling of
Sanyasi Revolt, Diwan Velu Thampi Revolt, Kittur
nationalism.
Uprising, Poligars Revolts, Bhil uprisings, Revolt of
• Often, religious and charismatic leaders –
Gadkaris etc.
messiahs – emerged at this stage and
promised divine intervention and an end to Causes
their suffering at the hands of the • The major cause of all these civil rebellions
outsiders, and asked their fellow tribals to taken as whole was the rapid changes the
rise and rebels against foreign authority. British introduced in the economy,
Most of these leaders claimed to derive administration and land revenue system.
their authority from God. e.g. Santhal These changes led to the disruption of the
leaders Sido and Kanhu and Munda. agrarian society, causing prolonged and
• The warfare between the tribal rebels and widespread suffering among its
the British armed forces was totally constituents.
unequal. On one side were drilled • The colonial policy of intensifying
regiments armed with the latest weapons demands for land revenue and extracting
and on other were men and women as large an amount as possible produced a
fighting in roving bands armed with veritable upheaval in Indian villages. In
primitive weapons, believing in the magical Bengal, for example, in less than thirty
powers of their commanders. years land revenue collection was raised to
nearly double the amount collected under
From above discussion it is evident that the the Mughals. And aggravating the
colonial rule witnessed numerous uprisings and unhappiness of the farmers was the fact
disturbances. The nature of these disturbances that not even a part of the enhanced
varied from elitist to popular grass-root or revenue was spent on the development of
people’s movement. These varied grievances agriculture or the welfare of the cultivator.
reached their climax in the revolt of 1857, which in
• Thousands of zamindars and poligars lost
spite of targeting certain groups of Indians control over the land and its revenue
remains the prominent uprising against the British either due to the extinction of their rights
before the beginning of the Indian Freedom by the colonial state or by forced sale of
Movement. their rights over land because of their
Civil Rebellion – Causes Characteristics and inability to meet the exorbitant land
Significance revenue demanded. They resented the loss
The series of civil rebellion, were often led by even more when they were displaced by
deposed rajas and nawabs or their descendants, rank outsiders – the government officials,
uprooted and impoverished zamindars, landlords merchants and moneylenders.
and poligars (landed military magnates in South • The new landlords, bereft of any
India), and ex-retainers and officials of the traditional paternalism towards their
conquered Indian states. The backbone of the tenants, pushed up rents to ruinous
rebellions, their mass base and striking power heights and evicted them in case of non-
payment.

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• The new courts and legal system gave a • They were the result of local causes and
further fillip to the dispossessors of land grievances, and were also localized in their
and encouraged the rich to oppress the effects.
poor. Flogging, torture and jailing of the • They often bore the same character not
cultivators for arrears of rent or land because they represented national or
revenue or interest on debt were quite common efforts but because they
common. represented common conditions though
• The ordinary people were also hard hit by separated in time and space.
the prevalence of the corruption at the • Socially, economically and politically, the
lower levels of the police, judiciary and semi-feudal leaders of these rebellions
general administration. The petty officials were backward looking and traditional in
enriched themselves freely at the cost of outlook. They still lived in the old world,
the poor. William Edwards, a British blissfully unaware and oblivious of the
official, wrote in 1859 that the police were modern world which had knocked down
‘a scourge to the people’ and that ‘their the defences of their society.
oppression and exactions form one of the
chief grounds of dissatisfaction with our These revolts were local and isolated from each
government.’ other. British government ruthlessly suppressed
• The ruin of Indian Handicrafts industries, them for e.g. Velu Thampi, the rebellious Dewan
as a result of the imposition of free trade of Travancore was publicly hanged. The
in India and levy of discriminatory tariffs suppression of civil rebellions was a major reason
against Indian goods in Britain, pauperized that revolt of 1857 did not spread to South India
millions of artisans. The misery of the and most of Eastern and Western India.
artisans was further compounded by the Significance: The historical significance of these
disappearance of their traditional patrons civil rebellions lies in that they established strong
and buyers, the princes, chieftains, and and valuable local traditions of resistance to
zamindars. British rule. The Indian people were to draw
• The traditional rulers and ruling elite had inspiration from these traditions in the later
financially supported scholarly and nationalist struggle for freedom.
priestly classes like religious preachers,
priests, pundits, maulvis, scholars etc. Weaknesses of Uprisings
With the coming of the British and the ruin • These uprisings were massive in totality
of the traditional landed and bureaucratic but were, in fact, localized and isolated.
elite, this patronage came to an end, and • They were the result mostly of local
all those who had depended on it were grievances.
impoverished. • The leadership was semi-feudal in
• Another major cause of the rebellions was character; backward-looking, traditional in
the very foreign character of British rule. outlook and their resistance represented
Like any other people, the Indian people no societal alternative.
too felt humiliated at being under a • These rebellions were centuries old in form
foreigner’s heel. This feeling of hurt pride and ideological-cultural content.
inspired efforts to expel the foreigner from • The less recalcitrant of these were pacified
their lands. through concessions by the authorities.

Characteristics On the whole, however, these rebellions were able

• These rebellions were massive in totality, to establish valuable traditions of local resistance
but were wholly local in their spread and to authoritarianism.
isolated from each other.

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EARLY NATIONALISM 1857-1906

We request all the sincere students to kindly keep Which means were adopted to achieve the
a tab on previous year’s prelims questions from same?
concerned topics. As you know, we have three
phases of Nationalism, Q. Compare and contrast the nationalism of
Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna
• Moderate Phase- (1885-1905) Gokhale.
• Extremist Phase- (1906-1918)
• Gandhian Phase- (1919-1947) Q. Indian Nationalism had a unique
emergence. While it was a product of colonial
In this VAN, we will discuss the first phase i.e
modernity, it took several years to create a
Moderate Phase and Extremist Phase (only for a
nationalistic ideology and national
comparison between Moderates and Extremists).
consciousness. Critically analyse.
Let us look at some of the Mains Questions to
understand in the dimensions to consider while
Q. The freedom struggle was deeply
preparing.
influenced by the Press started by various
Q. “Nationalist movement in India before the National
arrival of M. Gandhi was a movement leaders, in both English and other vernacular
representing the classes as opposed to the languages. Critically examine this
masses”. Critically Analyze phenomenon and also comment on the
reactions of the British on this peculiar
Q. Evaluate the contributions of revolutionary national awakening.
groups and terrorism to the cause of India’s
struggle for Independence.
We have already studied how the revolt of 1857
Q. Discuss the growth of revolutionary ignited the movement against British
terrorism in different parts of India in the early administration. Moving on our focus will be on the
twentieth century. events, personalities and figures post 1857.

Between 1857 to 1905 following personalities

Q. Failure of moderates to elicit the desired
were important (not covering the less important
response from the British and the losing
ones here)
appeal of moderate ideology made the rise of
extremism in Indian nationalism inevitable. LORD CANNING
Analyse. • He served as Governor General, 1856-
1858 and during 1858-1862 as Viceroy.
Q. Why the nationalist movement during 1885 • He was the first Viceroy and last Governor
to 1905 is branded as the moderate phase? General of India.
Discuss. Did the moderate phase achieve any • Doctrine of lapse was withdrawn in his
success? Critically examine. tenure.
• Indigo revolt 1859-1860
Q. The emphasis on Atmashakti or self-
• White mutiny by European troops in 1859
reliance was an integral aspect of the
• Establishment of three universities at
Swadeshi movement. Why so much
Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
importance was attached to this philosophy?

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• Indian Council Act 1861: The imperial Note- Read about Government of India, 1858 Act
legislative council came into existence and 1861 Council Act from Polity VAN
after the act.
• Indian High court Act 1861 introduced
judicial reforms and reorganized the police LORD MAYO
department. • Fourth Viceroy of India who held office
• The recommendations of the Police from 1869 to 1872.
Commission led to the Indian Police Act of • First ever Census that was conducted in
1861. India in 1871 under his patronage.
• Indian Civil Services Act 1861 theoretically • He gave importance to the promotion of
opened the services to all subjects but irrigation, railways, forests and other
exams only in London. Satyendra Nath essential public works.
Tagore became the first Indian to qualify • He was also instrumental in arranging a
for the Civil Services. Statistical Survey of India during his
• Introduced the portfolio system of cabinet tenure.
in the Indian Council Act of 1861. • With respect to the railways, he
• Set up forest department for utilization of emphasized the extension of railways with
forest resources. aids from government funds instead of
• General Service Enlistment Act was passed privatization,
in 1856. • His public reforms included allocation of
• Issued the Queen’s Proclamation at a funds to the local or provincial
durbar in Allahabad on Nov 1 1858 by governments for public works, medical
which the British crown assumed direct facilities and education. They in their turn
responsibility for the administration of the were expected to rely on local taxation. He
country. was of the view the localization of fund
would promote growth of self-government
• The Mutiny of 1857, which he was able to
suppress successfully. and at the same time facilitate a close
association between the citizens of the
• Withdrawal of “Doctrine of Lapse” in
Indian provinces and the British.
which was one of the main reasons of
(Decentralization of finance)
mutiny of 1858.
• Based on his reforms with respect to local
• Introduction of Code of Criminal
administration, Madras North-West
Procedure,
Province, Punjab and West Bengal
• Enactment of Indian High Courts Act,
introduced municipal taxes.
Indian Penal Code (1858), Bengal Rent Act
• Department of Revenue and Agriculture
(1859),
and Commerce was set up in June 1871 to
• Introduction of Income tax on
deal with all the agricultural matters in
experimental basis etc.
India. Until this ministry was established,
• Set up forest department for utilization of
matters related to agriculture were within
forest resources.
the portfolio of the Home Department.
• General Service Enlistment Act was passed
• His administration introduced salt tax and
in 1856.
increased income tax. Mayo reduced

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unnecessary military expenses and other different social groups and communities of
civil expenses. India and were different for different
• Mayo gave priority to primary education people depending on caste, community,
among the Indian citizens. Special faith and social position. The Indian
attention was given to promotion of Evidence Act introduced a standard set of
education among the Muslim population. law applicable to all Indians.
• He introduced disciplinary guidelines for • When the Indian Evidence Act was
the convicts who were imprisoned in the enacted, India was a part of the British
Cellular Jail located in the Andaman and Empire. Over a period of more than 125
Nicobar Islands. His codified laws, covering years since its enactment, the Indian
convicts aimed at betterment of the Evidence Act has basically retained its
prisoners. original form except certain amendments
• Mayo in 1872 went on a trip to Anadaman from time to time.
to see how his prison reforms were • In other words, the Act continued to be in
implemented by the jailers there. It was a force throughout the Republic of India
fatal a journey that cost him his life. On 8th even after the independence.
February, 1872, Lord Mayo was brutally
assassinated by a convict named Sher Ali Do you know?
Afridi. • The Indian Evidence Act framed in 1872
Indian Evidence Act, 1872: has been amended only once in 2000.
The most important reform during his • Recently, the union government is
tenure. The enactment and adoption of the considering changes to the Evidence Act to
Indian Evidence Act was a path-breaking make it easier to deal with cases of
judicial measure introduced in India, which cybercrime.
changed the entire system of concepts • Presently, there is provision for online
pertaining to admissibility of evidences in submission of evidence under the Act.
the Indian courts of law. Since law enforcement agencies have started
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 accepting online complaints, experts say that
• The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed there should be a provision for online submission
of evidence also.
in India by the Imperial Legislative Council
in 1872, during the British Raj, contains a The law is mainly based upon the firm work by Sir
set of rules and allied issues governing James Fitzjames Stephen, who could be called the
admissibility of evidence in the Indian founding father of this comprehensive piece of
courts of law. legislation.
• The enactment and adoption of the Indian LORD LYTTON
Evidence Act was a path-breaking judicial • Lord Lytton (1876- 1880) was termed as
measure introduced in India, which ‘reactionary Viceroy’ for his ill designed
changed the entire system of concepts policies and conservative outlook.
pertaining to admissibility of evidences in • He reduced age for civil services from 21
the Indian courts of law. to 19: this caused much resentment
• Until then, the rules of evidences were among Indians.
based on the traditional legal systems of

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• Venracular Press Act, 1878 curbed the employed, and there was no vested
press freedom of local newspapers. It interest of India in war.
empowered a magistrate to force a printer • Great Famine of 1876 during his tenure.
and publisher of any vernacular newspaper • He also held a grand Delhi Durbar while
to sign a bond undertaking, not to publish country was mired in famine, he organized
anything against the government or any a lavish Durbar in 1877. This is one of the
matter which could create animosity major criticisms of Lytton for his
between persons of different races, castes mishandling of the famine. Queen Victoria
and religions. The publisher had to deposit was proclaimed with the title of Kaiser-i-
security money which the magistrate could Hind.
forfeit, if the newspaper failed to follow
Lord Lytton started a new foreign policy of ‘proud
the regulations. In case the offence was
reserve’, which was aimed at having scientific
repeated, the press premises and
frontiers and safeguarding ‘spheres of influence’.
equipment could also be seized.
o The action of the magistrate was • Lytton made an offer of a favourable treaty
final and no appeal could be made to Sher Ali, but the Amir wanted friendship
to a court of law. with both his powerful neighbours, Russia
o To get exemption from the Act, a and British India, while keeping both of
vernacular newspaper was them at an arm’s length.
required to submit proofs of the • Later, Sher Ali refused to keep a British
paper to a Government censor. envoy in Kabul, while having earlier
o The nationalists, naturally, granted a similar concession to the
condemned the Act and called it a Russians. Lytton was displeased and when
‘Gagging Act’ signifying that it was the Russians withdrew their envoy from
gagging the voice of the country by Kabul, Lytton decided to invade
imposing such restriction on its Afghanistan. Sher Ali fled in face of the
media. British invasion, and the Treaty of
o The Act was discriminatory in Gandamak (May 1879) was signed with
nature as it applied to only Yakub Khan, the eldest son of Sher Ali.
vernacular press and not to English
Treaty of Gandamak (May 1879)
press. Newspaper like Som
prakesh, The Dacca prakash, The The Treaty signed after the Second-Anglo Afghan
Bharath Mihir and the Samachar War provided that:
suffered sue to this Act. • the Amir conduct his foreign policy with
o Due to continuous opposition from the advice of the Government of India;
various quarters, the Vernacular • a permanent British resident be stationed
Press Act was repealed in 1882 by at Kabul; and
the Government of Lord Ripon. • the Government of India give Amir all
• Arms Act 1878-80 made it compulsory for support against foreign aggression and an
Indians (Europeans were exempted) to annual subsidy.
hold a license to carry arms.
• Afghan War (2nd Anglo Afghan War): It Do you know?
was objected as Indian resources were What was Statutory Civil Service?

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• The introduction of competitive • He is also known as ‘Father of Indian Local
examination in 1853 technically opened Self Governance’
the gates to the Indians; but they were still • He gave autonomy to Local Bodies.
effectively barred, as the recruitment • First factory Act, 1881: To improve the
examination was held only in England. condition of the factory workers in towns,
• And in spite of repeated petitions from the he passed the first Factory Act in 1881.
Indian nationalists in the late nineteenth o The Act prohibited the
century, the opposition of the European employment of children under the
bureaucracy prevented the holding of a age of seven, limited the number
simultaneous examination in India. of working hours for children
• Yet the government could neither ignore below the age of twelve and
the nationalist demands and so the required that dangerous
compromise formula was the introduction machinery should be fenced
in 1878 of a 'Statutory Civil Service'. properly.
• 'Statutory Civil Service' was introduced o The Act also made provision for
during Lord Lytton's rule. one-hour rest during the working
• Under this 'Statutory Civil Service', 1/6th of period and four days leave in a
the total vacancies to be nominated from month for the workers.
high status Indian families. o Inspectors were appointed to
• Members of this service had lower status supervise the implementation of
and lower salary. these measures.
• 'Statutory Civil Service' allowed o Thus, for the first time the British
nomination of Indians who had ability and Government tried to improve the
merit to a few positions hitherto reserved working conditions of labourers in
for the European covenanted civil servants. factories.
• However, Indians chosen for such positions • Hunter Commission on Educational
were usually those with respectable family Reform, 1882:
background or belonging to the indigenous o The commission laid emphasis on
princely families. the special responsibility of the
state for the improvement and
LORD RIPON expansion of primary education.
One of the most famous viceroys of India because o It recommended that the
of his famous reforms. Ripon was liberal in his management of elementary
attitude and made some remarkable changes in
schools was to be entrusted to the
the administrative system of India.
newly established local and
In 1880, there was a change of Government in municipal boards under the
England and the Liberal Party under William supervision and control of the
Gladstone came into power. He was known for his Government.
liberal ideas and was a believer in moral principles. o The commission made suggestions
He sent Lord Ripon, a close friend and follower, to for the spread of female education
“reform the structure of the Indian Government”. o It also made suggestion for the
• Lord Ripon repealed Vernacular Press Act. improvement in commercial and
vocational education.

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• During that time the recruitment to Indian Analysis
Civil Service examination was held in
• Though the Ilbert Bill controversy widened
England only and the age limit was 19.
the racial feeling between the Indian and
Ripon urged for the simultaneous
the Europeans yet it helped the Indians to
examination both in India and in England.
learn the lesson that a powerful
He failed in his objective because he could
Government could be deviated from its
not motivate the Government. However,
purpose by organized agitation.
he succeeded in enhancing the age limit
• It also intensified the feeling of unity
from 19 to 21.
among the Indian people.
Illbert Bill (1883-84) and controversy: Lord Ripon • Ripon resigned from his post in 1884
was a Liberal and he did not believe in castecism. before the term of his viceroyalty was over.
So, he sought to abolish “Judicial disqualifications He was very popular with the Indians.
based on race distinction.” According to the • According to Pandit Madan Mohan
criminal procedure code of 1873 no magistrate or Malviya, “Ripon was the greatest and the
sessions judge except in presidency towns could most beloved Viceroy whom India has
try a European British subject unless he himself
known.” Ripon is remembered according
was of European birth.
to Surendra Nath Banarjee for, “the Purity
• Hence Lord Ripon sought the help of Sir of his intentions, the loftiness of his ideas,
C.P. Ilbert, the law member of the viceroy’s righteousness of his policy and his hatred
council to abolish the “judicial of Racial disqualifications.”
disqualification based on race distinction”.
Local Self Government:
Sir Ilbert introduced a bill popularly known
• Brought in through the 1882 Resolution
as the Ilbert Bill on 2nd February 1883 and
• In rural areas District Boards and Local
through this bill the British European
Boards known as “tahsil or “taluk boards
subjects were brought under the
were established.
jurisdiction of Indian magistrates and
• The members were to be elected by rent-
judges.
payers rather than nominated by the
• But the bill was vehemently opposed by
Government. In towns the powers and
the European Community in India who
responsibilities of the Municipalities were
formed a Defence Association to defence
enlarged. The members were to be partly
their special privileges. They passed
elected and partly nominated.
resolutions urging the British Government
• The chairman was to be a non-official
to recall him before the expiration of the
member. The nominated members should
period of his office. After a prolonged tug
not be more than one third of the total
of war Ripon bowed before the storm of
strength.
agitation and modified the bill.
• The management of health, education,
• The amended bill provided that every
roads and communications were to
European subject brought before a District
remain under the control of the local
Magistrate or Session Judge whether an
boards. The local bodies were given certain
Indian or European could claim to be tried
financial powers but the Government
by a Jury of twelve, at least seven of whom
retained the powers of inspection.
were to be Europeans.

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• The local bodies were kept free from • He also enacted the Police Act (Police
government control. But if the Boards Commission): This led to formation of CID.
were not discharging their duties properly, • He is credited with reorganization of
then the Government had the right to Indian police and lowering of taxes on
dissolve them. But usually, the government peasants ad protection of peasants against
did not interfere in the affairs of the local eviction.
bodies. • A separate Department of Commerce was
• The Local Self Government Acts were first created in the Government of India in
passed in different provinces during 1883- 1921. Earlier, the subject under the
85. Department were dealt with by the
• The work of lighting, cleaning of streets, Department of Commerce and Industry
sanitation, education, water supply, (set-up in 1905).
medical aid etc. was assigned to the local • Department of Agriculture and
bodies of Madras, Punjab and Bengal. Agriculture Research Institute were
started by him.
LORD CURZON
• He also started Archeology Department
In January 1899, Lord Curzon was appointed
Viceroy of India. He passed the Indian Coinage and Imperial Library at Cacutta.
and Paper Currency act (1899) and put India on a • Raleigh Commission:
global standard. o With an idea to bring the
Universities under control, Lord
• Lord Curzon (1899–1905) is also termed as
Curzon appointed Raleigh
reactionary viceroy like Lytton.
Commission under Sir Thomas
• Official Secrecy Act (OSA) 1904 and Raleigh.
Partition of Bengal, 1905 (Partition of o This commission submitted its
Bengal is covered later) were some of the report in 1902 and this followed
most unpopular steps during his time. OSA introduction of a Bill called Raleigh
was passed mainly to curtail Indian press. Bill. The Raleigh Bill when became
No work procedure of government can be an act, it was called Indian
leaked to public. If anyone divulges Universities Act 1904.
government secrets, they were to be o Focused on Higher Education only.
punished under this act
• Indian University Act, 1904:
• Bengal Municipality Act was also passed o After the implementation of the
during his time and under this the provisions of University Act, though
Municipality of Bengal was again brought the number of colleges declined,
under the rule of the British and its yet the number of students
autonomy was taken away which was increased considerably. Between
given during time of Rippon. He 1902 to 1907 the number of
inaugurated a new province – NWFP. colleges decreased from 192 to
• He also held Delhi Durbar, and like his 174.
predecessor Lytton, this time also the o Governor-General in Council was
country was mired in Famine and he was authorized to define the territorial
criticized for it. jurisdiction of the Universities.

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o Rules pertaining to affiliation of the information, and the person receiving
Colleges to a University were made the information, can be punished.
stricter • For classifying a document, a government
o Universities were empowered to Ministry or Department follows the
appoint their own staff including Manual of Departmental Security
the teaching staff Instructions, 1994, not under OSA. Also,
o The number of Fellows of a OSA itself does not say what a “secret”
University was limited within 50 to document is. It is the government’s
100 and their tenure of office was discretion to decide what falls under the
reduced to five years. ambit of a “secret” document to be
• Ancient Monuments Act, 1904: Made it charged under OSA. It has often been
obligatory to government and local bodies argued that the law is in direct conflict with
to preserve monuments of archaeological the Right to Information Act, 2005.
importance. • Between the RTI Act and OSA, which has
primacy?
Official Secrets Act, 1904
• Section 22 of the RTI Act provides for its
• OSA in short, it has its roots in the British
primacy vis-a-vis provisions of other laws,
colonial era. The original version was The
including OSA. This gives the RTI Act an
Indian Official Secrets Act (Act XIV), 1889.
overriding effect, notwithstanding
This was brought in with the main
anything inconsistent with the provisions
objective of muzzling the voice of a large
of OSA. So if there is any inconsistency in
number of newspapers that had come up
OSA with regard to furnishing of
in several languages, and were opposing
information, it will be superseded by the
the Raj’s policies, building political
RTI Act. However, under Sections 8 and 9
consciousness and facing police
of the RTI Act, the government can refuse
crackdowns and prison terms. It was
information. Effectively, if government
amended and made more stringent in the
classifies a document as “secret” under
form of The Indian Official Secrets Act,
OSA Clause 6, that document can be kept
1904, during Lord Curzon’s tenure as
outside the ambit of the RTI Act, and the
Viceroy of India. In 1923, a newer version
government can invoke Sections 8 or 9.
was notified. The Indian Official Secrets Act
(Act No XIX of 1923) was extended to all Curzon’s Foreign Policy
matters of secrecy and confidentiality in Curzon was a keen student of geopolitics. He gave
governance in the country. problem of frontiers a ‘scientific basis’ and
developed British India as an ‘Empire’ claiming to
What comes under its purview?
be heard in its own right, often forcing the home
• It broadly deals with two aspects — spying
authorities into policies, with which it was not in
or espionage, covered under Section 3, and
full agreement and considerably influencing the
disclosure of other secret information of
British policy towards the Asiatic countries.
the government, under Section 5. Secret
information can be any official code, Tibet:
password, sketch, plan, model, article, • At the time of Curzon’s arrival in India, the
note, document or information. Under relations with Tibet had reached the point
Section 5, both the person communicating of deadlock. The Chinese suzerainty over

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Tibet was ineffective. Also, Russia’s the Waziri country and the task of the
influence over Tibet was increasing. defence of these advanced posts entrusted
Curzon, who had tried to forestall Russian to the tribal militia (like Khyber Rifles,
influence towards North-West in Kurram Militia etc) trained and
Afghanistan and Persia, could not remain commanded by British officers. As support
indifferent to the Russian advances in to these tribal levies, mobile columns of
Tibet. British troops were stationed at strategic
• In 1903, Curzon sent Colonel stations like Malakand, Dargai, Peshawar,
Younghusband, with a small Gorkha Kohat Bannu etc., to rush for support
contingent, on a special mission to Tibet to whenever necessary. Communications in
oblige the Tibetans to come to an the rear were developed and a number of
agreement. The Tibetans refused to strategic railway lines were laid down.
negotiate and offered non-violent Besides, at a Darbar held at Peshawar in
resistance. Younghusband reached Lhasa. April 1902 and largely attended by the
• Dalai Lama fled away from the capital, tribal chiefs, Curzon assured the chiefs of
leaving the charge of administration in the the peaceful and non-aggressive aims of
hands of senior officials. Younghusband British policy, but at the same time warned
dictated the terms of 7th September, 1904, them of consequences of violating the
which provided that Tibet would pay an frontier. Curzon created a new North-West
indemnity of Rs 75 lakhs at the rate of one Frontier Province, consisting of settled
lakh per annum. districts of Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat,
• As a security for the payment, the Indian Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and the trans-
Government was to occupy the Chumbi border tracts lying between the
Valley (territory between Bhutan and administrative frontier and Durand line.
Sikkim) for 75 years. The Tibetans were The Kitchener Controversy:
also to respect the frontiers of Sikkim. • In the Viceroy’s Executive Council, there
Further clauses provided that Tibet would used to be two members representing the
not grant any concessions for railways, Military Department – The Commander-in-
roads, telegraphs etc. to any foreign state, Chief, who was the executive head of the
but give Great Britain some control over army in India and Military Member (an
the foreign affairs of Tibet. ordinary Executive Department and
adviser to the Governor-General on
North-West Frontier: military affairs).
• Curzon followed the policy of withdrawal • Lord Kitchener, who came to India as
of the British forces from advanced Commander-in-Chief in 1902, objected to
positions, employment of tribal forces in this and desired an end to this dual control
defence of tribal territory concentration of of military affairs. Kitchener wanted
British forces in British territory behind abolition of the office of the Military
them as a safeguard and a support and Member of the Viceroy’s Executives
improvement of communications in the Council and all functions regarding military
rear. Regular British troops were administration to be entrusted to the care
withdrawn from advanced position in the of the Commander-in-Chief.
tribal area, like Gilgit, Khyber, Kurram and

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• Curzon strongly opposed this proposal, • The root of the matter lay in the clash of
maintaining that the proposal would interests of the Indian people with British
subvert the military authority of the interests in India. The British had
Government of India as a whole and conquered India to promote their own
substitute for it a military autocracy in the interests and they ruled it primarily with
person of the Commander-in- Chief. that purpose in view, often subordinating
• The Government in Britain, apprehensive Indian welfare to British gain. The Indians
of a war with Russia, was not inclined to gradually realized that their interests were
support the dual system and was more being sacrificed to those of Lancashire
likely to support Kitchener. A compromise manufacturers and other dominant British
was stuck where the position of the interests.
Military Member was not abolished, but he • The foundations of the Indian nationalist
was reduced to the position of the Military movement lay in the fact that increasingly
Supply Member, whose duties were more British rule had become the major cause
of a civilian than of a military nature. of India’s economic backwardness. It
• All purely military functions of the became the major barrier to India’s further
Department were transferred to the economic, social, cultural, intellectual and
Commander-in-Chief. Curzon was urged to political development. Moreover, this fact
accept the compromise. However, sharp began to be recognized by an increasingly
differences arose between Curzon and larger number of Indians.
Kitchener over who should be appointed as • Every class, every section of Indian society,
the Military Supply Member. The Home gradually discovered that its interests were
Department did not support Curzon’s suffering at the hands of the foreign rulers.
choice. Curzon took it as lack of confidence • The peasant saw that the government
in him and tendered his resignation in took away a large part of his produce as
August, 1905. land revenue; that the government and its
machinery— the police, the courts, the
NATIONALIST MOVEMENT officials—favored and protected the
The various facets of British rule in India led to zamindars and landlords, who rack-rented
the rise of Nationalist Movements. The factors them, and the merchants and
which were responsible for the rise of moneylenders, who cheated and exploited
nationalism are as follows: them in diverse ways and who took their
land away.
Foreign Domination:
• Whenever the peasant struggled against
• Basically, modern Indian nationalism arose
landlord and moneylender oppression, the
to meet the challenge of foreign
police and the army suppressed him in the
domination. The very conditions of British
name of law and order.
rule helped the growth of national
• The artisan or the handicraftsman saw that
sentiment among the Indian people. It was
the foreign regime had helped foreign
British rule and its direct and indirect
competition ruin them and had done
consequences which provided the
nothing to rehabilitate.
material, and the moral and intellectual
• Later, in the twentieth century, the worker
conditions for the development of a
in modern factories, mines, and
national movement in India.
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plantations found that, in spite of lip and twentieth centuries. The British had
sympathy, the government sided with the gradually introduced a uniform and
capitalists, especially the foreign modern system of government throughout
capitalists. the country and thus unified it
• Whenever they tried to organize trade administratively.
unions to improve their lot through strikes, • The destruction of the rural and local self-
demonstrations, and other struggles, sufficient economy and the introduction of
government machinery was freely used modern trade and industries on an all-India
against them. scale had increasingly made India’s
• Moreover, people soon realized that the economic life a single whole and
growing unemployment could be checked interlinked the economic fate of people
only by rapid industrialization which only living in different parts of the country.
an independent government could bring • Here again, the very existence of foreign
about. rule that oppressed all the Indian people
• Other sections of Indian society were no irrespective of their social class, caste,
less dissatisfied. The rising intelligentsia— religion or region acted as a unifying factor.
the educated Indians—used their newly All over the country people saw that they
acquired modern knowledge to were suffering at the hands of a common
understand the sad economic and enemy—British rule.
political condition of their country. Those
who had earlier, as in 1857, supported
Western Thought and Education:
British rule in the hope that, it would
• As a result of the spread of modern
modernize and industrialize the country
Western education and thought during the
were gradually disappointed.
nineteenth century, a large number of
• Economically, they had hoped that British
Indians imbibed a modern rational,
capitalism would help develop India’s
secular, democratic and nationalist
productive forces as it had done at home.
political outlook.
Instead, they found that British policies in
• They also began to study, admire and
India, guided by British capitalists at home,
emulate the contemporary nationalist
were keeping the country economically
movements of European nations.
backward or underdeveloped and checking
Rousseau, Paine, John Stuart Mill and
the development of its productive forces.
other Western thinkers became their
• Politically, educated Indians found that the
political guides, while Mazzini, Garibaldi
British had abandoned all previous
and Irish nationalist leaders became their
pretensions of guiding India towards self-
political heroes.
government. Most of the British officials
• In fact, in the schools and colleges, the
and political leaders openly declared that
authorities tried to inculcate notions of
the British were in India to stay.
docility and servility to foreign rule.
Administrative and Economic Unification of the Nationalist ideas were a part of the general
Country: spread of modern ideas. In other Asian
• Nationalist sentiments grew easily among countries such as China and Indonesia, and
the people because India was unified and all over Africa, modern and nationalist
welded into a nation during the nineteenth ideas spread even though modern schools
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and colleges existed on a much smaller • In their columns, the official policies were
scale. constantly criticized; the Indian point of
• From Dadabhai Naoroji, Sayyid Ahmed view was put forward; people were asked
Khan and Justice Ranade to Tilak and to unite and work for national welfare, and
Gandhiji, they agitated for a bigger role for ideas of self-government, democracy,
the Indian languages in the educational industrialist ion, etc., were popularized
system. In fact, so far as the common among the people. The press also enabled
people were concerned, the spread of nationalist workers living in different parts
modern ideas occurred through the of the country to exchange views with one
developing Indian languages, the growing another.
literature in them, and most of all the • National literature in the form of novels,
popular Indian language press. essays and patriotic poetry also played an
important role in arousing national
Q. “India broke her British fetters with
consciousness.
Western hammers.” (2002)
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and
The Role of the Press and Literature: Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali,
• The chief instrument through which Lakshminath Bezbarua in Assamese,
nationalist-minded Indians spread the Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar in Marathi,
message of patriotism and modern Subramanya Bharati in Tamil, Bharatendu
economic, social and political ideas, and Harishchandra in Hindi and Altaf Husain
created an all-India consciousness was the Hali in Urdu were some of the prominent
press. Large numbers of nationalist nationalist writers of the period.
newspapers made their appearance during
the second half of the nineteenth century.
Some of the prominent ones from examination point of view are:

1780 Bengal Gazette English James Augustus Hicky

1819 Samvad Kaumudi Bengali Weekly Ram Mohan Roy

1822 Mirat-ul-Akbar Persian Journal Raja Ram Mohan Roy

1826 Udant Martand Hindi Jugal Kishor

1832 Bombay Darpan Marathi Bal Shastri

Harish Chandra
1853 Hindu Patriot English Mukherjee and Girish
Chandra Ghosh

1854 Rast Goftar Gujarati Dadabhai Naoroji

1859 Som Prakesh Bangla Weekly Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

1861 Times of India English Robert Knight

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1862 Indian Mirror English Devendra Nath Tagore

1864 Native Opinion English V.N. Mandalik

1865 Pioneer English George Allen

1866 Gyan Pradayini Hindi Naveen Chandra Rai

1867 Kavivachan Sudha Hindi Bharatendu Harishchandra

Sisir Kumar Ghosh and

1868 Amrita Bazar Patrika Bangla
Motilal Ghosh

1871 Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq Journal Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

1872-73 Harishchandra Magazine Hindi Bharatendu Harishchandra

1877 The Tribune English Sir Dayal Singh Majithia

1877 Hindi Pradeep Hindi Bal Krishna Bhatt

Vir Raghavacharya and G.S.

1878 Hindu English
Aiyar

1879 Bangali English Surendra Nath Banerjee

1881 Kesari Marathi B.G. Tilak

1881 The Tribune English Jawahar Lal Nehru

1888 Sudharak Newspaper G.K. Gokhale

1892 Hindu Patriot English Weekly Girish Chandra Ghosh

1896 Prabuddha Bharata English Journal Swami Vivekananda

1899 Udbodhana Magazine Swami Vivekananda

1899 Hindustan Standard English Sachidanand Sinha

1903 Indian Opinion English M. K Gandhi

1905 Bande Mataram English Aurobindo Ghosh

1910 Bombay Chronicle English Firoze Shah Mehta

1911 Comrade English Weekly Maulana Mohammad Ali

1912 Al-Balagh Urdu Weekly Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

1912 Al-Hilal Urdu Weekly Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

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1913 Pratap Hindi Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi

1913 Hamdard Urdu Mohammad Ali

Lala Hardayal, Kartaar

1913 Gadar Urdu, Panjabi
Singh

1914 Common Wheel English Annie Besant

1914 New India English Annie Besant

1919 Nav Jeevan Hindi, Gujarati Mahatma Gandhi

1919 The Independent English Motilal Nehru

1919 Young India Weekly Journal M. K Gandhi

1920 Mook Nayak Marathi Weekly B.R. Ambedkar

1924 Hindustan Times English K.M Panikkar

English, Hindi,
1933 Harijan M. K Gandhi
Gujarati

1936 Free Hindustan Journal Tarak Nath Das

1936 Hindustan Dainik Hindi M.M. Malviya

1938 National Herald English Jawahar Lal Nehru

Rediscovery of India’s Past: heritage of India with pride and referred

• Many Indians had fallen so low that they the critics to the political achievements of
had lost confidence in their own capacity rulers like Ashoka, Chandragupta
for self-government. Also, many British Vikramaditya and Akbar.
officials and writers of the time constantly • In this task they were helped and
advanced the thesis that Indians had never encouraged by the work of European and
been able to rule themselves in the past, Indian scholars in rediscovering India’s
that Hindus and Muslims had always national heritage in art, architecture,
fought one another, that Indians were literature, philosophy, science and politics.
destined to be ruled by foreigners, that
Racial Arrogance of the Rulers:
their religion and social life were degraded
• An important though secondary factor in
and uncivilized making them unfit for
the growth of national sentiments in India
democracy or even self-government.
was the tone of racial superiority adopted
• Many of the nationalist leaders tried to
by many Englishmen in their dealings with
arouse the self-confidence and self-respect
Indians. A particularly odious and frequent
of the people by countering this
form taken by racial arrogance was the
propaganda. They pointed to the cultural

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failure of justice whenever an Englishman • By the 1870s it was evident that Indian
was involved in a dispute with an Indian. nationalism had gathered enough
momentum to appear as a major force on
Rise of Middle-Class Intelligentsia:
the Indian political scene. The Indian
• British administrative and economic
National Congress, founded in December
innovations gave rise to a new urban
1885, was the first organized expression of
middle class in towns. According to Percival
the Indian national movement on an all-
Spear, "The new middle class was a well-
India scale. It had, however, many
integrated all-India class with varied
predecessors.
background but a common, foreground of
• Raja Rammohun Roy was the first Indian
knowledge, ideas and values. It was a
leader to start an agitation for political
minority of Indian society, but a dynamic
reforms in India. Many public associations
minority. It had a sense of unity of purpose
were started in different parts of India
and of hope.
after 1836.
• This class, prominent because of its
• All these associations were dominated by
education, new position and its close ties
wealthy and aristocratic elements—
with the ruling class, came to the forefront.
known in those days as ‘prominent
The leadership to the Indian National
persons’— and were provincial or local in
Congress in all its stages of growth was
character.
provided by this class.
• They worked for reform of administration,
association of Indians with the
Impact of Contemporary Movements Worldwide: administration, and spread of education,
Rise of a number of nations on the ruins of Spanish and sent long petitions, putting forward
and Portuguese empires in South America, and the Indian demands, to the British Parliament.
national liberation movements of Greece and Italy • The period after 1858 witnessed a gradual
in general and of Ireland in particular deeply widening of the gulf between the educated
influenced the nationalist ranks. Indians and the British Indian
In nutshell administration. As educated Indians
• External events like American War of studied the character of British rule and its
Independence, French Revolution, Russian consequences for India, they became more
Revolution. and more critical of British policies in India.
• Internal Turmoil like retrospective policies, The discontent gradually found expression
Revolt of 1857, economic policies. in political activity. The existing
• Socio-religious movements associations no longer satisfied the
• Self-realization politically conscious Indians.
• Western education and Macaulavian • In 1866, Dadabhai Naoroji organized the
system of education East India Association in London to discuss
the Indian question and to influence British
• Liberal and radical thoughts of European
public officials to promote Indian welfare.
writers
Later he organised branches of the
• Better Communication means such as
Association in prominent Indian cities.
roads, ports, railways, posts & telegraph
Born in 1825, Dadabhai devoted his entire
Predecessors of the Indian National Congress life to the national movement and soon

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came to be known as the ‘Grand Old Man nationalists of Bengal founded the Indian
of India’. He was also India’s first economic Association in July 1876.
thinker. • The Indian Association set before itself the
• In his writings on economics, he showed aims of creating strong public opinion in
that the basic cause of India’s poverty lay the country on political questions and the
in the British exploitation of India and the unification of the Indian people under a
drain of its wealth. Dadabhai was common political programme.
honoured by being thrice elected president • In order to attract large numbers of people
of the Indian National Congress. In fact, he to its banner, it fixed a low membership fee
was the first of the long line of popular for the poorer classes. Many branches of
nationalist leaders of India whose very the Association were opened in the towns
name stirred the hearts of the people. and villages of Bengal and also in many
• The most important of the pre-Congress towns outside Bengal.
nationalist organizations was the Indian • The younger elements were also active in
Association of Calcutta. The younger other parts of India. Justice Ranade and
nationalists of Bengal had been gradually others organised the Poona Sarvajanik
getting discontented with the conservative Sabha in 1870. M. Viraraghavachari, G.
and pro-landlord policies of the British Subramaniya Iyer, Ananda Charlu and
India Association. They wanted sustained others formed the Madras Mahajan Sabha
political agitation on issues of wider public in 1884. Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T. Telang,
interest. They found a leader in Badruddin Tyabji and others formed the
Surendranath Banerjee who a brilliant Bombay Presidency Association in 1885.
writer and orator was. • The time was now ripe for the formation of
• He was unjustly turned out of the Indian an all-India political organisation of
Civil Service as his superiors could not nationalists who felt the need to unite
tolerate the presence of an independent- politically against the common enemy—
minded Indian in the ranks of this service. foreign rule and exploitation. The existing
He began his public career in 1875 by organizations had served a useful purpose
delivering brilliant addresses on but they were narrow in their scope and
nation-alist topics to the students of functioning.
Calcutta. Led by Surendra Nath and
Ananda Mohan Bose, the younger

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Some of the very important societies to note for examination:
Lanholder’s Society (1838): It was originally founded to take up the interests of Zamindars and
Landlords, but later it took the cases of peasants as well. It was perhaps the first organization which
made the start of political activities for achieving its ends which laid the foundation of national
movement.

Bengal British India Society (1839): While landholder’s Society worked in India, it worked for Indian
cause in England.

Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1867): This was the first important organsisation setup post 1857 uprising. It
was a brainchild of Mahadev Govind Ranade – first Indian Judge – It protested against vernacular Press
Act (1878) and also demanded introduction of Local Self-government. It started with the aim of working
as a mediating body between the government and people of India. It started as an elected body of 95
members elected by 6000 persons in 1870. The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha provided many of the
prominent leaders of national stature to the Indian freedom struggle including Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Indian League (1875): It was established in Bengal and one of the founding members was Sisir Kumar
Ghosh (founder of Amrita Bazar Patrika). This organization truly represented first political awakeing of
people. The nationalist leaders like Ananda Mohan Bose, Durgamohan Das, Nabagopal Mitra,
Surendranath Banerje and others were associated with this organisation. The League represented the
middle class and worked to stimulate the sense of nationalism among the people and to encourage
political education.

Indian Association (1876): The India League was soon replaced by Indian Association. It was led by
Anand Mohan Bose and Surendranath Banarjee. It was the most important political organisation before
formation of INC. It mainly composed of educated middle class and gave rise to an intellectual ferment
on nationalism. It published ‘The Bengalee’– a daily which highlights the intellectual developments of
that time. It came into highlight when it took a firm stance over the ‘Ilbert Bill’ Controversy (1883). It
conceived as an ‘All India National Conference’ and it met in Calcutta in 1883. This conference is
considered as a precursor of Indian National Congress which was formed two year later in 1885.

Madras Mahajan Sabha (1884) formed by P Anada Charlu, M Viraragahavchari, G Subramania Aiyer
was the first political organization of South India.

Deccan Education Society (1884): Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian Political Leader, founded the Deccan
Education Society (1884) which aimed at educating the masses, especially in the English language; he
and his associates considered English to be a powerful force for the dissemination of liberal and
democratic ideals.

Bombay Presidency Association (1885) formed by Pherozshah Mehta, K T Telang, Badruddin Taiyabji.

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• We have already seen above that a
THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS national movement was already growing in
• Many Indians had been planning to form the country as a result of the working of
an all-India organisation of nationalist powerful forces. No one man or group of
political workers. But the credit for giving men can be given credit for creating this
the idea concrete and final shape goes to movement. Even Hume’s motives were
A.O. Hume, a retired English Civil Servant. mixed ones. He was also moved by motives
• He got in touch with prominent Indian nobler than those of the ‘safety valve’.
leaders and organised with their • He possessed a sincere love for India and
cooperation the first Session of the Indian its poor cultivators. In any case, the Indian
National Congress at Bombay in leaders, who cooperated with Hume in
December 1885. It was presided over by starting this National Congress, were
WC. Bonnerjee and attended by 72 patriotic men of high character who
delegates. willingly accepted Hume’s help as they did
• The aims of the National Congress were not want to arouse official hostility
declared to be the promotion of friendly towards their efforts at so early a stage of
relations between nationalist political political activity and they hoped that a
workers from different parts of the retired Civil Servant’s active presence
country, development and consolidation of would allay official suspicions. If Hume
the feeling of national unity irrespective of wanted to use the Congress as a ‘safety
caste, religion or province, formulation of valve’, the early Congress leaders hoped to
popular demands and their presentation use him as a ‘lightning conductor’.
before the government, and most • Thus, with the foundation of the National
important of all, the training and Congress in 1885, the struggle for India’s
organisation of public opinion in the freedom from foreign rule was launched
country. in a small but organised manner. The
• It has been said that Hume’s main purpose national movement was to grow and the
in encouraging the foundation of the country and its people were to know no
Congress was to provide a ‘safety valve’ or rest till freedom was won. The Congress
a safe outlet to the growing discontent itself was to serve from the beginning not
among the educated Indians. He wanted to as a party but as a movement.
prevent the union of a discontented • In 1886 delegates to the Congress,
nationalist intelligentsia with a numbering 436, were elected by different
discontented peasantry. local organizations and groups. Hereafter,
• The ‘safety valve’ theory is, however, a the National Congress met every year in
small part of the truth and is totally December, in a different part of the
inadequate and misleading. More than country each time. The number of its
anything else, the National Congress delegates soon increased to thousands. Its
represented the urge of politically delegates consisted mostly of lawyers,
conscious Indians to set up a national journalists, traders, industrialists, teachers
organisation to work for their political and and landlords.
economic advancement. • In 1890, Kadambini Ganguli, the first
woman graduates of Calcutta University,

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addressed the Congress session. This was Romesh Chunder Dutt, was an Indian Civil
symbolic of the fact that India’s struggle for Servant, economic historian, writer, and
freedom would raise Indian women from translator of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
the degraded position to which they had
been reduced for centuries past. In 1874, in 'The Peasantry of Bengal,' a
• The Indian National Congress was not the collection of articles which he had contributed
only channel through which the stream of serially to the 'Bengal Magazine,' he urged
nationalism flowed. Provincial that the permanent settlement was unwise
conferences, provincial and local and ill-conceived, unfairly benefiting the
associations, and nationalist newspapers zamindars at the cost both of the cultivators
were the other prominent organs of the and of the state.
growing nationalist movement. The press,
in particular, was a powerful factor in
THE EARLY NATIONALISTS
developing nationalist opinion and the
nationalist movement. • Early nationalist leadership believed that a
direct struggle for the political
• Of course, most of the newspapers of the
emancipation of the country was not yet
period were not carried on as business
on the agenda of history. What was on the
ventures but were consciously started as
agenda was the arousal of national feeling,
organs of nationalist activity. Some of the
consolidation of this feeling, the bringing of
great presidents of the National Congress
a large number of the Indian people into
during its early years were Dadabhai
the vortex of nationalist politics, and their
Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah
training in politics and political agitation.
Mehta, P. Ananda Charlu, Surendranath
Banerjea, Romesh Chandra Dutt, Ananda • The first important task in this respect was
Mohan Bose and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. the creation of public interest in political
questions and the organization of public
• Other prominent leaders of the Congress
opinion in the country.
and the national movement during this
period were Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal • Second, popular demands had to be
Gangadhar Tilak, the brothers Sisir Kumar formulated on a country-wide basis so that
and Motilal Ghose, Madan Mohan the emerging public opinion might have an
Malaviya, G. Subramaniya Iyer, C. all-India focus.
Vijayaraghava Chariar and Dinshaw E. • Most important of all, national unity had to
Wacha. be created, in the first instance, among the
• They dealt mostly with local questions and politically conscious Indians and political
their membership and leadership were workers and leaders.
confined to a few people belonging to a • The early national leaders were fully aware
single city or province. Even the Indian of the fact that India had just entered the
Association had not succeeded in process of becoming a nation—in other
becoming an all-India body. words, India was a nation-in-the-making.
Indian nationhood had to be carefully
promoted. Indians had to be carefully
welded into a nation.

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• Politically conscious Indians had to • The nationalists criticized the official
constantly work for the development and economic policies for bringing about the
consolidation of the feeling of national ruin of India’s traditional handicraft
unity irrespective of region, caste or industries and for obstructing the
religion. The economic and political development of modern industries.
demands of the early nationalists were • Most of them opposed the large-scale
formulated with a view to unifying the investment of foreign capital in the Indian
Indian people on the basis of a common railways, plantations and industries on the
economic and political programme. grounds that it would lead to the
suppression of Indian capitalists and the
Economic Critique of Imperialism: further strengthening of the British hold on
• Perhaps the most important part of the India’s economy and polity.
early nationalists’ political work was their • They believed that the employment of
economic critique of imperialism. They foreign capital posed a serious economic
took note of all three forms of and political danger not only to the present
contemporary colonial economic generation but also to generations to
exploitation, namely, through trade, come. The chief remedy they suggested for
industry and finance. They clearly grasped the removal of India’s poverty was the
that the essence of British economic rapid development of modern industries.
imperialism lay in the subordination of the • They wanted the government to promote
Indian economy to the British economy. modern industries through tariff
• They vehemently opposed the British protection and direct government aid.
attempt to develop in India the basic They popularized the idea of swadeshi or
characteristics of a colonial economy, the use of Indian goods, and the boycott of
namely, the transformation of India into a British goods as a means of promoting
supplier of raw materials, a market for Indian industries. For example, students in
British manufactures, and a field of Poona and in other towns of Maharashtra
investment for foreign capital. They publicly burnt foreign clothes in 1896 as
organised a powerful agitation against part of the larger swadeshi campaign.
nearly all important official economic • The nationalists complained that India’s
policies based on this colonial structure. wealth was being drained to England and
• The early nationalists complained of India’s demanded that this drain be stopped. They
growing poverty and economic carried on a persistent agitation for the
backwardness and the failure of modern reduction of land revenue in order to
industry and agriculture to grow; and they lighten the burden of taxation on the
put the blame on British economic peasant. Some of them also criticized the
exploitation of India. Thus, Dadabhai semi-feudal agrarian relations that the
Naoroji declared as early as 1881 that the British sought to maintain.
British rule was “an everlasting, • The nationalists also agitated for
increasing, and every day increasing improvement in the conditions of work of
foreign invasion” that was “utterly, the plantation labourers. They declared
though gradually, destroying the high taxation to be one of the causes of
country”. India’s poverty and demanded the

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abolition of the salt tax and the reduction peaceably and subtly—he starves in peace
of land revenue. They condemned the high and perishes in peace, with law and order!
military expenditure of the Government of • Nationalist agitation on economic issues
India and demanded its reduction. led to the growth of an all-India opinion
• As time passed more and more nationalists that British rule was based on the
came to the conclusion that economic exploitation of India; leading to India’s
exploitation, impoverishment of the impoverishment and producing economic
country and the perpetuation of its backwardness and under-development.
economic backwardness by foreign These disadvantages far outweighed any
imperialism more than outweighed some indirect advantages that might have
of the beneficial aspects of the alien rule. followed British rule.
Thus, regarding the benefits of security of
Constitutional Reforms:
life and property, Dadabhai Naoroji
• From the beginning the early nationalists
remarked:
believed that India should eventually move
• The romance is that there is security of life
towards democratic self-government. But
and property in India; the reality is that
they did not ask for the immediate
there is no such thing. There is security of
fulfillment of their goal. Their immediate
life and property in one sense or way—i.e.
demands were extremely moderate.
the people are secure from any violence
• They hoped to win freedom through
from each other or from Native despots….
gradual steps. They were also extremely
But from England’s own grasp there is no
cautious, lest the government suppress
security of property at all and, as a
their activities. From 1885 to 1892 they
consequence, no security for life.
demanded the expansion and reform of
• India’s property is not secure. What is
the Legislative Councils.
secure, and well secure, is that England is
• The British government was forced by their
perfectly safe and secure, and does so with
agitation to pass the Indian Councils Act of
perfect security, to carry away from India,
1892. By this Act the number of members
and to eat up in India, her property at the
of the Imperial Legislative Council as well
present rate of £30,000,000 or
as the provincial councils was increased.
£40,000,000 a year…. I therefore venture to
Some of these members could be elected
submit that India does not enjoy security of
indirectly by Indians, but the officials’
her property and life … To millions in India
majority remained.
life is simply ‘half- feeding’, or starvation,
• The nationalists were totally dissatisfied
or famine and disease.
with the Act of 1892 and declared it to be
With regard to law and order, Dadabhai said: a hoax. They demanded a larger share for
• There is an Indian saying: ‘Pray strike on Indians in the councils as also wider powers
the back, but don’t strike on the belly’. for them.
Under the native despot the people keep • In particular, they demanded Indian
and enjoy what they produce, though at control over the public purse and raised
times they suffer some violence on the the slogan that had earlier become the
back. Under the British Indian despot, the national cry of the American people during
man is at peace, there is no violence; his their War of Independence:
substance is drained away, unseen,
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• ‘No taxation without representation’. At is a moral evil which, if anything, is even
the same time, they failed to broaden the greater. A kind of dwarfing or stunting of
base of their democratic demands; they the Indian race is going on under the
did not demand the right to vote for the present system.
masses or for women. • We must live all the days of our life in an
• By the beginning of the twentieth century, atmosphere of inferiority, and the tallest of
the nationalist leaders advanced further us must bend…. The full height of which our
and put forward the claim for swarajya or manhood is capable of rising can never be
self-government within the British empire reached by us under the present system.
on the model of self-governing colonies • The moral elevation which every self-
like Australia and Canada. This demand governing people feel cannot be felt by us.
was made from the Congress platform by Our administrative and military talents
Gokhnle in 1905 and by Dadabhai Naoroji must gradually disappear, owing to sheer
in 1906. disuse, till at last our lot, as hewers of wood
and drawers of water in our own country,
Administrative and other Reforms:
is stereotyped.
• The early nationalists were fearless critics
• The nationalists demanded the separation
of individual administrative measures and
of the judicial from executive powers so
worked incessantly for the reform of an
that the people might get some protection
administrative system ridden with
from the arbitrary acts of the police and
corruption, inefficiency and oppression.
the bureaucracy. They agitated against the
The most important administrative
oppressive and tyrannical behaviour of the
reform they desired was the Indianisation
police and other government agents
of the higher grades of the administrative
towards the common people.
services. They put forward this demand on
• They criticized the delays of the law and
economic, political and moral grounds.
the high cost of judicial process. They
• Economically, the European monopoly of
opposed the aggressive foreign policy
the higher services was harmful on two
against India’s neighbours. They protested
grounds: Europeans were paid at very high
against the policy of the annexation of
rates and this made Indian administration
Burma, the attack upon Afghanistan and
very costly—Indians of similar
the suppression of the tribal people in
qualifications could be employed at lower
North-Western India.
salaries, and, Europeans sent out of India a
• They urged the government to undertake
large part of their salaries and their
and develop welfare activities of the
pensions were paid in England.
state. They laid a great deal of emphasis on
• This added to the drain of wealth from
the spread of primary education among
India. Politically, the nationalists hoped
the masses. They also demanded greater
that the Indianisation of these services
facilities for technical and higher
would make the administration more
education.
responsive to Indian needs. The moral
• They urged the development of
aspect of the question was stated by Gopal
agricultural banks to save the peasant
Krishna Gokhale in 1897:
from the clutches of the moneylender.
• The excessive costliness of the foreign
They wanted the government to undertake
agency is not, however, its only evil. There
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a large-scale programme of extension of government. They were sentenced to long
irrigation for the development of terms of imprisonment.
agriculture and to save the country from • At the same time two Poona leaders, the
famines. They demanded extension of Natu brothers, were deported without
medical and health facilities and trial. The entire country protested against
improvement of the police system to make this attack on the liberties of the people.
it honest, efficient and popular. Tilak, hitherto known largely in
• The nationalist leaders also spoke up in Maharashtra, became overnight an all-
defense of Indian workers who had been India leader.
compelled by poverty to migrate to foreign
countries such as South Africa, Malaya,
Methods of Political Work:
Mauritius, the West Indies and British
• The Indian national movement up to 1905
Guyana in search of employment.
was dominated by leaders who have often
• In many of these foreign lands they were been described as moderate nationalists
subjected to severe oppression and racial or Moderates. The political methods of the
discrimination. This was particularly true of Moderates can be summed up briefly as
South Africa where Mohandas constitutional agitation within the four
Karamchand Gandhi was leading a popular walls of the law, and slow, orderly
struggle in defense of the basic human political progress.
rights of Indians.
• They believed that if public opinion was
created and organized and popular
Defence of Civil Rights: demands presented to the authorities
• From the beginning, politically conscious through petitions, meetings, resolutions
Indians had been powerfully attracted not and speeches, the authorities would
only to democracy but also to modern civil concede these demands gradually and step
rights, namely, the freedoms of speech, by step.
the press, thought and association. They • Their political work had, therefore, a two-
put up a strong defence of these civil rights pronged direction.
whenever the government tried to curtail • First, to build up a strong public opinion in
them. India to arouse the political consciousness
• It was during this period and as a result of and national spirit of the people, and to
nationalist political work that democratic educate and unite them on political
ideas began to take root among the Indian questions. Basically, even the resolutions
people in general, and the intelligentsia in and petitions of the National Congress
particular. In fact, the struggle for were directed towards this goal.
democratic freedoms became an integral • Though ostensibly their memorials and
part of the nationalist struggle for petitions were addressed to the
freedom. government, their real aim was to educate
• In 1897 the Bombay government arrested the Indian people. For example, when in
B.G. Tilak and several other leaders and 1891 the young Gokhale expressed
newspaper editors, and tried them, disappointment at the two-line reply of the
spreading disaffection against the government to a carefully proposed

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memorial by the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, • They, therefore, planned not to expel the
Justice Ranade replied: British but transform the British rule to
• “You don’t realise our place in the history approximate national rule. Later, when
of our country. These memorials are they took note of the evils of the British
nominally addressed to government. In rule and the failure of the government to
reality they are addressed to the people, so accept nationalist demands for reform,
that they may learn how to think in these many of them stopped talking of loyalty to
matters. This work must be done for many the British rule and started demanding self-
years, without expecting any other results, government for India.
because politics of this kind is altogether • Moreover, many of them were Moderates
new in this land”. because they felt that the time was not yet
• Second, the early nationalists wanted to ripe to throw a direct challenge to the
persuade the British government and foreign rulers.
British public opinion to introduce reforms
along directions laid down by the
Role of the Masses:
nationalists. The Moderate nationalists
• The basic weakness of the early national
believed that the British people and
movement lay in its narrow social base. It
Parliament wanted to be just to India but
did not yet penetrate down to the masses.
that they did not know the true state of
In fact, the leaders lacked political faith in
affairs there.
the masses.
• Therefore, next to educating Indian public
• Describing the difficulties in the way of the
opinion, the Moderate nationalists worked
organisation of active political struggle,
to educate British public opinion. For this
Gopal Krishna Gokhale pointed to “endless
purpose, they carried on active
divisions and sub-divisions in the country,
propaganda in Britain. Deputations of
the bulk of the population ignorant and
leading Indians were sent to Britain to
clinging with a tenacity to the old modes of
propagate the Indian view.
thought and sentiment, which are averse
• In 1889, a British Committee of the India to all changes and do not understand
National Congress was founded. In 1890 change”.
this Committee started a journal called
• Thus, the Moderate leaders believed that
India. Dadabhai Naoroji spent a major part
militant mass struggle against colonial
of his life and income in England
rule could be waged only after the
popularising India’s case among its people.
heterogeneous elements of Indian society
• A student of the Indian national movement had been welded into a nation. But, in
sometimes gets confused when he reads fact, it was mainly in the course of such a
loud professions of loyalty to the British struggle that the Indian nation could get
rule by prominent Moderate leaders. formed.
These professions do not at all mean that
• The result of this wrong approach towards
they were not genuine patriots or that they
the masses was that the masses were
were cowardly men. They genuinely
assigned a passive role in the early phase
believed that the continuation of India’s
of the national movement. It also led to
political connection with Britain was in the
political moderation. Without the support
interests of India at that stage of history.
of the masses, they could not adopt a
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militant political position. As we shall see, growing unity of the Indian people posed a
the later nationalists were to differ from major threat to their rule, the British
the Moderates in precisely this respect. authorities also pushed further the policy
• The narrow social base of the early of ‘divide and rule’.
national movement should not, however, • They encouraged Sayyid Ahmad Khan,
lead to the conclusion that it fought for the Raja Shiva Prasad of Benaras, and other
narrow interests of the social groups which pro-British individuals to start an anti-
joined it. Its programme and policies Congress movement. They also tried to
championed the cause of all sections of the drive a wedge between Hindus and
Indian people and represented the Muslims.
interests of the emerging Indian nation • They followed a policy of minor
against colonial domination. concessions on the one hand and ruthless
repression on the other to put down the
growth of nationalism. Opposition by the
Attitude of the Government:
authorities failed, however, in checking the
• The British authorities were from the
beginning hostile to the rising nationalist growth of the national movement.
movement and had become suspicious of
the National Congress. Dufferin, the Evaluation of the Early National Movement:
Viceroy, had tried to divert the national • According to some critics, the nationalist
movement by suggesting to Hume that the movement and the National Congress did
Congress should devote itself to social not achieve much success in their early
rather than political affairs. phase. Very few of the reforms for which
• But the Congress leaders had refused to the nationalists agitated were introduced
make the change. It soon became a tool in by the government.
the hands of the authorities and it was • There is a great deal of truth in this
gradually becoming a focus of Indian criticism. But the critics are not quite
nationalism. British officials now began to correct in declaring the early national
openly criticize and condemn the National movement a failure. Historically viewed,
Congress and other nationalist spokesmen. its record is quite bright if the immediate
• British officials from Dufferin downwards difficulties of the task they had undertaken
began to brand the nationalist leaders as are kept in view.
‘disloyal babus’, ‘seditious Brahmins’ and • It represented the most progressive force
‘violent villains’. The Congress was of the time. It succeeded in creating a wide
described as ‘a factory of sedition’. In 1887, national awakening, in arousing among
Dufferin attacked the National Congress in the people the feeling that they belonged
a public speech and ridiculed it as to one common nation—the Indian nation.
representing only “a microscopic minority It made the people of India conscious of
of the people”. the bonds of common political, economic,
• In 1900, Lord Curzon announced to the social and cultural interests and of the
Secretary of State that “the Congress is existence of a common enemy in
tottering to its fall, and one of my great imperialism and thus helped to weld them
ambitions, while in India is to assist it to a in a common nationality.
peaceful demise.” Realising that the
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• It trained people in the art of political which the Indian people could gather and
work, popularized among them the ideas wage political struggles later on. It
of democracy, civil liberties, secularism established the political truth that India
and nationalism, propagated among them must be ruled in the interests of the
a modern outlook and exposed before Indians.
them the evils result of British rule. Most of • It made the issue of nationalism a
all, the early nationalists did pioneer work dominant one in Indian life. Moreover, the
in mercilessly exposing the true character political work of the Moderates was based
of British imperialism in India. on a concrete study and analysis of the
• They linked nearly every important hard reality of the life of the people rather
economic question with the politically than on narrow appeals to religion, mere
dependent status of the country. Their emotion or shallow sentiments.
powerful economic critique of • While the weaknesses of the early
imperialism was to serve as the main plank movement were to be removed by the
of nationalist agitation in the later years of succeeding generation, its achievements
active mass struggle against British were to serve as a base for a more vigorous
imperialism. national movement in later years. It can,
• They had, by their economic agitation, therefore, be said that in spite of their
undermined the moral foundations of the many weaknesses, the early nationalists
British rule by exposing its cruel, laid strong foundations for the national
exploitative character. The early national movement to build on and that they
movement also evolved a common deserve a high place among the makers of
political and economic programme around modern India.

Dadabhai Naoroji- The man who brought statistics into politics

• Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) – one of the makers of modern India- passed away on June 30,
1917. His death centenary is an apt occasion to revisit his legacy. Two features of his long and
distinguished career stand out prominently a) sustained advocacy of Indian cause abroad and b)
use of statistics to shape public discourse.
• He was the first Indian to be elected to the House of Commons (1892). He formulated the
famous drain-of-wealth theory, which became India’s cornerstone argument against the British
rule. In his late years, he was the first to give expression to the demand for Swaraj from platform
of Indian National Congress (1906). He served the cause of India’s political emancipation for six
decades.
• Born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in a poor Parsi family, he began his career as a teacher of
mathematics and natural philosophy at Elphinstone Institute (later Elphinstone College). He was
the first Indian to become a full professor. As a member of the Students Literary and Scientific
Society formed in the Institute, he acted as a pioneer of women’s education.
• He was an active member of the Bombay Association (1852), the first association in the western
India to consider political issues. Its meetings were held in the hall of the Institute. In 1851, he
founded Rast Goftar (Truth Teller), a Gujarati fortnightly with a Persian name. It was a progressive
journal educating readers on duties of citizenship.
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• In 1855, he resigned from his professorial job; and relocated to Britain to set up a mercantile firm.
The company he founded in partnership with Muncherji Hormmusji and Kharshedji Rustamji
Cama was the first Indian firm to operate in Britain. Through this commercial venture, Dadabhai
had hoped to make Britain confident about Indian entrepreneurship. But having a fastidious sense
of ethics, he could not long survive in that commercial environment.
• In 1859, he opened his own mercantile firm in London viz. Dadabhai Naoroji & Co in partnership
with Jamshedji Palanji Kapadia and Pestanji Ratanji Colah. He established it beyond doubt that
ethical values and business acumen could co-exist. He wanted Indian businessmen to learn from
the methods and devices of their British counterparts.
• But politics was his true calling. In 1867, he founded the East Indian Association. It was a political
advocacy group for India having both British and Indians on its membership roll. It was the first
political organization with members from different provinces of India.
• Two young law students viz. W.C. Bonnerji (1844-1906) and Pherozeshah M. Mehta (1845-1915)
became his disciples. In their mature years both served as the President of Indian National
Congress (estd.1885).
• Dadabhai read the paper ‘England’s Duties to India’ before a pre-dominantly British audience at
East India Association on May 2, 1867. It was in that paper he accused of Britain siphoning off
wealth from India. An extract reads-
• “In the shape of “home charges” alone there has been a transfer of about 100 million of pounds
sterling, exclusive of interest on public debt, from the wealth of India to that of England since
1829, during the last thirty-six years only. The total territorial charges in India since 1829 have
been about 820 million. Supposing that out of the latter sum only one-eighth represents the sum
remitted to England by Europeans in Government service for maintenance of relatives and
families, for education of children, for savings made at the time of retiring, the sums expended
by them for purchases of English articles for their own consumption, and also sums paid in India
for Government stores of English produce and manufacturers- there is then another 100 million
added to the wealth of England”.
• Where from he got those statistics in the paper? These were based on Parliamentary Returns of
Indian Accounts. He also relied upon the Second Customs Report, 1858. His speeches were tinged
with such mathematical data. But he knew that audience could lose patience with figures. But a
reader can revisit them as often he/she wants. Thus, his essays were laced with heavy statistics.
His speeches were lucid.
• Dadabhai turned price rise, wages, taxation, tariff, rents, lending rates, agricultural output,
industrial production data, import & export figures and currency exchange rates into political
talking points. He tried to establish that British rule had led to economic ruination of India. It had
steeply increased the poverty. He argued that such a malevolent policy militated against British
principles themselves. Therefore, he named his magnum opus ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in
India’ (1901).
• Dadabhai himself was not satisfied with the method of collection of statistics by the provincial
governments. In the paper titled ‘Poverty of India’, read before the Bombay Branch of East Indian
Association of 1876, he pointed at statistical fallacies and means to improve them. He went into
nitty-gritty of acreage, crop production, prices, domestic consumption pattern, imports and
exports. It requires a great deal of imagination, thorough collection of figures and meticulous data

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crunching to establish how British rule was impoverishing India. Dadabahi was actually laying
down the path for future leaders. The opinion of a lawmaker with grasp over figures, as much
over facts, carries greater credibility.
• The other important legacy of Dadabhai was advocacy of India’s cause abroad. He did it through
the East Indian Association. He then espoused the Indian cause in the British Parliament. He was
the first Indian to be elected to the House of Commons. He represented the Central Finsbury
constituency as a candidate of Liberal party between 1892 and 1895. He twice served as the
President of Indian National Congress (1886 and 1893) besides representing India at
International Congress of Social Democrats at Amsterdam in 1905. He permanently returned to
India from Britain in 1908 at the ripe age of 83. He passed away in Bombay on June 30, 1917
leaving a weighty bequest of experience and achievements behind.

QUICK GLANCE
Regulating Act 1773 • The regulating act was passed in the British parliament in June 1773.
• It was first parliamentary ratification and authorization defining the
power and authority of the East India company (EIC) w.r.t its Indian
possessions.
• Provisions of the Act:
1. It introduced the element of centralized administration; it did not
take over the power completely, hence regulated.
2. The directors of the Company were directed to make all
correspondence on revenue affairs, civil and military matters
before British government.
3. In Bengal, the administration was to be carried out by governor-
general and a council consisting of 4 members, representing civil
and military government.
4. As per this Warren hasting appointed as Governor General of the
presidency of fort William.
5. Supreme Court was established at Calcutta. Judges were from
England. It had civil and criminal jurisdiction over the British
subjects and not Indian Natives.
6. Governor General Control over council of Bombay and Madras.
7. Amendments (1781) - Jurisdiction of SC were confined to Calcutta.
Immune to government servants.

Pitt's India Act, 1784 1. This act made a distinction between the commercial and political
activities of the East India Company.
2. For the first time, the term ‘British possessions in India’ was used.
3. This act gave the British government direct control over Indian
administration.
4. This act resulted in dual control of British possession in India by
British government and company with final authority resting with
the government.
5. The Company became a subordinate department of the State.

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6. It introduced Board of control who in charge of civil, military and
revenue affairs, Court of directors to trading activity.
7. Governor General was given veto, Madras and Bombay
presidencies became sub ordinates.

The Charter Act of 1793 1. The act continued company's trade monopoly in India for 20 more
years.
2. All expenses were charged on company now from the Indian
revenues, was to pay 5 lakh pounds annually to the British
government.
3. Governor General was given more power to override his council
decision.
4. The Company was empowered to give licenses to individuals as
well as the Company’s employees to trade in India. The licenses,
known as ‘privilege’ or ‘country trade’, paved the way for
shipments of opium to China.
5. The revenue administration was separated from the judiciary
functions and this led to disappearing of the Maal Adalats.

The Charter Act of 1813 1. Passed by British parliament renewed the EIC charter for another
20 years.
2. Defined for 1st time constitutional position of British Indian
territories.
3. Company's monopoly with trade ended except for trade in tea and
with China.
4. The regulations made by the Councils of Madras, Bombay and
Calcutta were now required to be laid before the British
Parliament.
5. Act allowed Christian missionary to preach their religion.

The Charter Act of 1833 1. Also called GOI Act 1833 or Saint Helena act 1833.
2. EIC exclusive administrative body.
3. Trade link with china was also ended.
4. The act legalized the British colonization of the country.
5. Governor General of Bengal re-designated as governor general of
India. Lord William Bentinck the first GGI.
6. Bengal, Madras, Bombay and all other territories were placed
under complete control of the governor general.
7. Governor General Member’s council to have four member and
fourth member with limited power.
8. Law member was added and Indian law to be codified and
consolidated.
9. Access to public employment for Indians irrespective of their class,
caste, etc.
10. Slavery was abolished.

The Charter Act of 1853 1. The Company was to continue possession of territories unless the
Parliament provided otherwise.
2. The law member became full time member with right to vote.
3. Patronage system to civil service ended.
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4. COD strength was reduced to 18, 6 people were nominated by
British crown.
5. Separated governor general of Bengal from GGI.
6. The legislative wing came to be known as the Indian Legislative
Council.

REVOLT OF 1857

CAUSES

Political Causes Annexations of • The Company made several annexations

Princely States under Wellesley's subsidiary alliance and
Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse – Satara (1848),
Jaitpur (1849), Sambalpur (1849), Baghat
(1850), Udaipur (1852).

Abolition of Regal • In 1856, Lord Canning(who was also the

Titles Governor-General during the Revolt of
1857)declared that the prince next in
succession would have to renounce the regal
title.
• This grievously hurt the feelings of Muslim
subjects.
• The British also abolished the regal titles of
the Nawabs of Carnatic and Tanjore.

The Alien Rule of • British never intended to settle down in lndia

the British and make it their home.
• The officials of the Company wanted to make
as much money as possible and then quickly
go back to England.
• As a result, the British remained perpetual
foreigners in India.

Economic and Exploitative Land • The various land revenue

Administrative Causes Revenue • Settlements (Permanent, Ryotwari and
Settlements Mahalwari settlements) were heavy and
Introduced by the oppressive,
British
• This made the cultivators heavily indebted.

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• The economic decline of the peasantry also

found expression in 12 major and several
minor famines from 1770 to 1857.
• The complex judicial system.
• Flogging and jailing of cultivators.

Destruction of • Company's traders enjoyed various privileges

Indian Trade, such as duty-free trade.
Handicraft and • The Company destroyed Indian handicrafts
Industry and industry in an attempt to convert India
into a market for British manufactures.

Alienation of the • Indians could serve only as subordinates and

Upper and Middle occupied all petty posts.
Classes • Loss of job for cultural persons such as the
poets, dramatists, writers and musicians.
• In 1852, the Inam Commission was appointed
in Bombay and confiscated neariy 20,000
estates.

Social and Religious Arrogant Attitude • The British were arrogant and rude towards
Causes of the British and their subject population.
Racial • They felt racially superior.
Discrimination • Treated the Indians with contempt.
• Indian sepoys were treated roughly, abused
and humiliated.

British Interference • Conversion of Indians into Christianity began

in Religion and by christian missionaries.
Culture • Interference in the social cultural affairs of
the country.
• Prohibition of female infanticide, sati and
slavery.
• Passing of Religious Disabilities Act in 1850
which stated that a change of religion would
not bar a son from inheriting the property of
his father.

Military Causes Grievances of • Annexation of princely states did not go down

sepoys well with these sepoys.

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• They were treated roughly abused and

humiliated.
• There was a racial discrimination in matters of
promotion and pension.
• In 1954, the Post Office Act was passed which
withdrew the free postage privilege of the
sepoys.

Religious grievances • The high caste sepoys resented the fact that
army discipline treated them at par with the
low caste recruits.

Invincibility of • Major defeats in wars of First Afghan War

British rule (1838-42), Punjab war (1845-49) etc. lowered
shattered the general morale of the British soldiers.

Immediate Cause in 1857 • Musket was replaced by the new Enfield rifle.
• Its cartridges were covered with a greased
paper which had to be bitten off before the
cartridge was loaded into the rifle.
• Rumour spread in the Bengal Army that this
grease was made of pig and fat.
• This completely outraged the religious
sentiments of both Hindu and Muslim sepoys.

CAUSES OF THE FAILURE

• It could not embrace the entire country - half the Indian soldiers did not participate and fought
against their own countrymen.

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• For example, while the sepoys in Bengal were revolting, those in Punjab and South India sided with
the British.
• The Revolt did not receive the support of vast section of Indian people including the Indian rulers’
merchants zamindars.
• Rebels were driven by their own narrow and selfish motives which sapped the movement of its
very strength and vitality.
• Had no ideal before them - The Hindus and Muslims differences were not yet dead. Rebels United
only in their hatred for the British they were divided in vision for future.
• Leadership of old Bahadur Shah created political weakness.
• Company's Army was led by men of exceptional abilities and experience.
• Revolt was poorly organised - Lacked a plan of action
• British had modern weapons of War, Indians fought with Spears and sword.

IMPACT OF REVOLT OF 1857

Change Of Power • Government of India Act 1858 was passed which abolished the
East India company and its rule in India.
• Power was transferred from East India Company to the British
crown.
• Governor general was now called as Viceroy.
• First Viceroy was Viscount Canning.

Changes In Military Policy • Number of European soldiers were increased, they were placed at
key areas.
• Indian troops were organised on the policy of divide and rule,
regiments were found along the lines of caste community and
region to prevent development of feelings of solidarity and
nationalism.

Changes In Policy Towards • British abandoned the policy of annexation because princely states
Upper Classes remained loyal to the British during the revolt - princes were
rewarded as well.
• The Indian states were made to acknowledge British as the
Paramount power.

Changes In Attitude Towards • The British became hostile to higher education in India & took
Educated Indians active steps to control it.

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• Indian Civil Service act of 1861 was passed which provided for an
annual competitive exam to be held in London making it
impossible for Indians to appear for it.
• Indian councils act of 1861 marked a humble beginning towards
representative institution in India.

Change In Policy To The • Policy of Limited social intervention was abandoned by the British.
Common Masses • They decided that Indians must be governed by the British for an
indefinite period of time.

Divide And Rule • The policy of divide and rule was introduced among the masses
immediately after the revolt of the Muslims were repressed.
• Later this policy was reversed and policy of appeasement of
Muslims was introduced

Racial Discrimination • The British began to assertive vigorously the doctrine of racial
Supremacy to assert their authority and humiliate the Indians.

SIGNIFICANCE

• Major milestone in modern Indian history.

• Last effort to save India under traditional leadership.
• First great popular effort to rid India of the foreign rule.
• Paved the way for the rise of modern National struggle.

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SOCIO-CULTRUAL AWAKENING
country. For example, in Bengal reform
efforts were afoot at the beginning of the
Introduction
nineteenth century, but in Kerala they
• India in the 19th century witnessed a series
came up only towards the end of the
of reform movements under- taken in
nineteenth century.
various parts of the country. These
• Despite this, there was considerable
movements were oriented toward a re-
similarity in their aims and perspectives. All
structuring of the Indian society along
of them were concerned with the
modem lines. This chapter presents a
regeneration of society through social and
general and analytical view of these
educational reforms even if there were
socioreligious reform movements. The
differences in their methods.
chapter also seeks to highlight the
significance of these movements. Scope of Reforms
• The conquest of India by the British during • The reform movements of the nineteenth
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, century were not purely religious
exposed some serious weaknesses and movements. They were socio-religious
drawbacks of Indian social institutions. As movements. The reformers like
a consequence, several individuals and Rammohun Roy in Bengal, Gopal Hari
movements sought to bring about changes Deshmukh (Lokhitavadi) in Maharashtra
in the social and religious practices with a and Viresalingam in Andhra advocated
view to reforming and revitalizing the religious reform for the sake of "Political
society. These efforts, collectively known advantage and social comfort".
as the Renaissance, were complex social • The reform perspectives of the movements
phenomena. It is important to note that and their leaders were characterized by
this phenomenon occurred when India was recognition of interconnection between
under the colonial domination of the religious and social issues. They attempted
British. to make use of religious ideas to bring
about changes in social institutions and
REFORM MOVEMENTS practices.
Features • For example, Keshub Chandra Sen, an
• Each of these reform movements was important Brahman leader, interpreted
confined, by and large to one region or the the "unity of godhead and brotherhood of
other. Brahamo Samaj and the Arya Samaj mankind" to eradicate caste distinctions in
did have branches in different parts of the society.
country, yet they were more popular in The major social issues/problems which came
Bengal and Punjab respectively, that within the purview of the reform movements
anywhere else. were:
• These movements were confined to a • Emancipation of women in which sati,
particular religion or caste. infanticide, child and widow marriage were
• An additional feature of these movements taken up
was that they all emerged at different • Casteism and untouchability
points of time in different parts of the

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• Education for bringing about marriage, civil marriage and increase in the
enlightenment in society age of consent.
• They, however, failed to comprehend that
In the religious sphere the main issues were:
the interest of the British government in
• Idolatry social reform was linked to its own narrow
• Polytheism politico-economic contemplations and
• Religious superstitions that it would intervene only if it did not
• Exploitation by priests adversely affect its own interests.
• Moreover, they also failed to realize that
Methods of Reform
the role of the legislation as a tool of
In the attempts to reform the socio-religious change in a colonial society was limited
practices several methods were adopted. Some of because the lack of sanction of the people.
them are as follows.
Reform through Symbol of Change
Reform from Within • The third trend was an attempt to make
• This technique was initiated by Rammohun symbols of change through non-conformist
Roy and followed throughout the individual activity. This was limited to the
nineteenth century. The advocates of this 'Derozians' or 'Young Bengal' who
method believed that any reform to be represented a radical stream within the
effective had to emerge from within the reform movement.
society itself. As a result, the main thrust of • The members of this group, prominent of
their efforts was to create a sense of them being Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee,
awareness among the people. Ram Gopal Ghose and Krishna Mohan
• They tried to do this by publishing articles Banerjee, stood for a rejection of tradition
and organizing debates and discussions on and revolt against accepted social norms.
various social problems. • They were highly influenced by "the
• Rammohan's campaign against sati, regenerating new thought from the West"
Vidyasagar's pamphlets on widow and displayed an uncompromisingly
marriage and B.M. Malabari's efforts to rational attitude towards social problems.
increase the age of consent are the Ram Gopal Ghose expressed the rationalist
examples of this. stance of this group when he declared: "He
who will not reason is a bigot, he who
Reforms through Legislation
cannot is a fool and he who does not is a
• The second trend was represented by a
slave".
faith in the efficacy of legislative
intervention. The advocates of this method Reform through Social Work
-Keshub Chandra Sen in Bengal, Mahadev • The fourth trend was reform through social
Govind Ranade in Maharashtra and work as was evident in the activities of
Viresalingam in Andhra, they all believed Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Arya Samaj
that reform efforts cannot really be and Ramakrishna Mission. There was a
effective unless supported by the state. clear recognition among them of the
• They appealed to the government to give limitations of purely intellectual effort if
legislative sanction for reforms like widow undertaken without supportive social
work.

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• Vidyasagar, for instance, was not content the Renaissance, the Reformation, the
with advocating widow remarriage Enlightenment and democratic revolution,
through lectures and publication of tracts. or reform.
Perhaps the greatest humanist India saw in • In India the social roots not lay in the
modem times, he identified himself with industry or trade, increasingly controlled
the cause of widow marriage and spent his by British managing agency firms and their
entire life, energy and money for this Marwari subordinates, but in government
cause. service or the professions of law,
• Despite that, all he was able to achieve was education, journalism or medicine—with
just a few widow-marriages. Vidyasagar's which was very often combined some
inability to achieve something substantial connection with land in the shape of the
in practical terms was an indication of the intermediate tenures.
limitations of social reform effort in
Ideological Base
colonial India.
• The important intellectual criteria which
• The Arya Samaj and the Ramakrishna
gave these reform movements an
Mission also undertook social work
ideological unity were rationalism,
through which they tried to disseminate
religious universalism and humanism.
ideas of reform and regeneration. Their
limitation was an insufficient realization on
their part that reform on the social and Rationalism
intellectual planes is inseparably linked • A rationalist critique of socio-religious
with the overall character and structure of reality generally characterized the
the society. nineteenth century reforms. The early
• Constraints of the existing structure will Brahmo reformers and members of 'Young
define the limits which no regenerative Bengal' had taken a highly rational attitude
efforts on the social and cultural plane can towards socio-religious issues.
exceed. As compared to the other reform
movements, they depended less on the
Akshay Kumar Dutt, who was an uncompromising
intervention of the colonial state and tried
rationalist, had argued that all natural and social
to develop the idea of social work as a
phenomena could be analyzed and understood by
creed.
our intellect purely in terms of physical and
Social Base for the reforms mechanical processes. Faith was sought to be
• The social base of this quest was the newly replaced by rationality and socio-religious
emerging middle class and traditionally as practices were evaluated from the standpoint of
well as western educated intellectuals. social utility.
• The predominantly non-bourgeois social • In Brahmo Samaj the rationalist
base of nineteenth century intelligentsia perspective led to the repudiation of the
searched for its model in the European infallibility of the Vedas and in Aligarh
'middle class'. movement founded by Sir Sayyid Ahmad
• This middle class learnt through western Khan, to the reconciling of the teaching of
education, had brought about the great Islam with the needs and requirements of
transformation in the West from medieval modem age. Holding that religious tenets
to modern times through movements like
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are not immutable, Sayyad Ahmad Khan conceived Brahmo Samaj as a universalist
emphasized the role of religion in the Church.
progress of Society: if religion did not keep • He was a defender of the basic and
in step with the times and meet the universal principles of all religions-
demand of society, it would get fossilized monotheism of the Vedas and
as had happened in the case of Islam in Unitarianism of Christianity-and at the
India. same time he attacked the polytheism of
• Although reformers drew upon scriptural Hinduism and trinitarianism of Christianity.
sanction e.g. Rammohun's arguments for • Sayyid Ahmad Khan echoed almost the
the abolition of sati and Vidyasagar's for same idea: all prophets had the same din
widow marriage, social reforms were not (faith) and every country and nation had
always subjected to religious different prophets.
considerations. A rational and secular • This perspective found clearer articulation
outlook was very much evident in positing in Keshub Chandra Sen who tried to
an alternative to the then prevalent social synthesize the ideas of all major religions in
practices. the breakaway Brahmo group, Nav
• In advocating widow marriage and Bidhan, that he had organized. "Our
opposing polygamy and child marriage, position is not that truths are to be found
Akshay Kumar was least concerned with in all religions, but all established religions
searching for any religious sanction or of the world are true."
finding out whether they existed in the • The universalist perspective was not a
past. His arguments were mainly based on purely philosophic concern; it strongly
their noticeable effects on society. Instead influenced political and social outlook,
of depending on the scriptures, he cited until religious particularism gained ground
medical opinion against child marriage. in the second half of the nineteenth
• Compared to other regions there was less century.
dependence on religion in Maharashtra. To • For instance, Rammohun considered
Gopal Hari Deshmuk whether social Muslim lawyers to be more honest than
reforms had the sanction of religion was their Hindu counterparts and Vidyasagar
immaterial. If religion did not sanction did not discriminate against the Muslim in
them, he advocated that religion itself be his humanitarian activities.
changed, as what was laid down in the • Even to the famous Bengali novelist
scriptures need not necessarily be of Bankim Chandra Chatterji who is credited
contemporary relevance. with a Hindu outlook dharma rather than
specific religious affiliation was the
criterion for determining the superiority of
Universalism
one individual over the other.
• An important religious idea in the
• This, however, does not imply that
nineteenth century was universalism a
religious identity did not influence the
belief in the unity of godhead and an
social outlook of the people in fact it did
emphasis on religions being essentially the
very strongly. The reformer's emphasis on
same. Rammohun considered different
universalism was an attempt to contend
religions as national embodiments of
with this particularizing pull. However,
universal theism and he had initially
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faced with the challenge of colonial culture • All social ills like untouchability and
and ideology, universalism, instead of gender-based inequity derived legitimacy
providing the basis for the developing of a from religion in one way or the other. The
broader secular ethos, retreated into social reform movements formed an
religious particularism. integral part of the religious reforms
primarily because of this reason.
• In the beginning the reform movements
Humanism
had a rather narrow social base—they
• The social reform movements were also a
were limited to the upper and middle
quintessence of a new humanitarian
classes and upper castes who tried to
morality which included the belief that
adjust their modernized views with respect
humanity can progress and has
to the existing social conditions.
progressed, and that moral values are
• But later, the social reform movements
ultimately those which favor human
penetrated the lower strata of society to
development.
revolutionize and reconstruct the social
• An emphasis on the individual's right to
sphere. In later years though, the social
interpret religious scriptures in the light of
reform movement gradually dissociated
human reason and human welfare and a
itself from religion and, adopted a secular
general attack on priestly control of
approach.
religious practices underlined the
humanist aspect of religious reform
Emancipation of women/the fight for the
movements.
betterment of women
• These reform movements could broadly be
• The position and condition of the women
classified in two categories— reformist and
was worse. They were generally accorded
revivalist movements. This is based on the
a low status, and were inferior adjuncts to
fact that the movements dependence on
men, with no identity of their own. Their
or the degree to which it relied on
craving to give expression to their talents
tradition or on reason and conscience.
and energies were further suppressed by
Reformist movements viz. the Brahmo Samaj, the
practices such as purdah, early marriage,
Prarthana Samaj, the Aligarh movement.
ban on widow-remarriage, sati, etc.
The revivalist movements viz. Arya Samaj and the • Both Hindu and Muslim women were
Deoband movement. economically and socially dependent,
Both the reformist and revivalist movements while education was generally denied to
depended, with varying degrees, on an appeal to them. Polygamy was prevalent among
the lost, purity of the religion they sought to Hindus as well as Muslims.
reform. • The reformers basically appealed to the
doctrines of individualism and equality,
Social Reforms and argued, to bolster their appeal, that
• The humanistic ideals of social equality and true religion did not sanction an inferior
the equal worth of all individuals which status to women.
inspired the newly educated middle class • They raised their voice against degrading
had a major impact on the field of social customs such as polygamy, purdah, child
reform. marriage, restrictions on widow

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remarriage, and worked relentlessly to legitimate, was passed by the Government.
establish educational facilities for women, Vidyasagar cited Vedic texts to prove that
to persuade the Government to enact the Hindu religion sanctioned widow
favorable legislations for women and in remarriage.
general to propagate giving up of • Jagannath Shankar Seth and Bhau Daji
medieval, feudal attitudes. were among the active promoters of girls'
schools in Maharashtra. Vishnu Shastri
Abolition of Sati
Pandit founded the Widow Remarriage
• The efforts by the enlightened Indian
Association in the 1850s. Another
reformers led by Raja Rammohan Roy, the
prominent worker in this field was
Government declared the practice of sati
Karsondas Mulji who started the Satya
or the burning alive of widows illegal and
Prakash in Gujarati in 1852 to advocate
punishable by criminal courts as culpable
widow remarriage.
homicide.
• Similar efforts were made by Professor
• The regulation of 1829 was applicable in
D.K. Karve in western India and by
the first instance to Bengal Presidency
Veerasalingarn Pantulu in Madras. Karve
alone but was extended in slightly
himself married a widow in 1893. He
modified forms to Madras and Bombay
dedicated his life to the upliftment of
Presidencies in 1830.
Hindu widows and became the secretary of
Female Infanticide the Widow Remarriage Association. He
• The practice of murdering female infants opened a widows' home in Poona to give
immediately after birth was common the high caste widows an interest in life by
among upper class Bengalis and Rajput’s providing them with facilities for
who considered females to be an economic vocational training.
burden. • He crowned his work by setting up an
• The Bengal regulations of 1795 and 1804 Indian Women's University at Bombay in
declared infanticide illegal and equivalent 1916. The right of, widows to remarriage
to murder, while an Act passed in 1870 was also advocated by B.M. Malabari,
made, it compulsory for parents to register Narmad, Justice Govind Mahadeo Ranade
the birth of all babies and provided for and K. Natarajan 'among others.
verification of female children for some
Child Marriage
years after birth, particularly in areas
• The Native Marriage Act (or Civil Marriage
where the custom was resorted to in
Act) signified the coming of legislative
utmost privacy.
action in prohibiting child marriage in
Widow Remarriage 1872. It had a limited impact as the Act was
• The Brahmo Samaj had the issue of widow not applicable to Hindus, Muslims and
remarriage high on its agenda and did other recognized faiths.
much to popularize it. The efforts of Pandit • The persistent efforts of a Parsi reformer,
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91), the B.M. Malabari, were rewarded, by the
principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta, that enactment of the Age of Consent Act
the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856, (1891) which forbade the marriage of girls
which legalised marriage of widows and below the age of 12.
declared issues from such marriages as
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• The Sarda Act (1930) further pushed up • After 1920, aware and self-confident
the marriage age to 18 and 14 for boys and women led a women's movement. Many
girls respectively. organizations and institutions such as the
All-India Women's Conference
Education of Women
(established in 1927) came up.
• The first effort was by the Christian
missionaries, set up the Calcutta Female
The Fight Against Caste-Based Exploitation
Juvenile Society in 1819. The Bethune
According to concept of Hindu
School, founded by J.E.D. Bethune,
chaturvarnashrama, the caste of a person
president of the Council of Education in
determined the status and relative purity of
Calcutta in 1849 was the result of the
different sections of population.
powerful movement for women's
education that arose in the 1840s and • Caste, determined
1850s. • who could get education or ownership of
• Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was landed property,
associated with no less than 35 girls' • the kind of profession one should pursue,
schools in Bengal and is considered one of • whom one could dine with or marry, etc.
the pioneers of women's education.
In general, the caste of a person decided his/ her
• Charles Wood's Dispatch on Education
social loyalties even before birth. The dress, food,
(1854) laid great stress on the need for
place of residence, sources of water for drinking
female education. In 1914, the Women's
and irrigation, entry into temples—all these were
Medical Service did a lot of work in training
regulated by the caste.
nurses and midwives.
• The Indian Women's University started by
Professor Karve in 1916 was one of the
What are the factors which undermined the caste
outstanding institutions imparting
rigidities?
education to women. In the same year
The British rule in India unleashed certain forces,
Lady Hardinge Medical College was
sometimes through direct administrative
opened in Delhi.
measures and sometimes indirectly by creating
• Participation in the swadeshi and anti-
favorable circumstances. These forces spanned
partition and the Home Rule movements
over socio-economic and political dimensions.
during the opening decades of the
twentieth century was a major liberating For instance, the creation of private property in
experience for the otherwise home- land and free sale of land upset caste equations.
centred Indian women. Close interlink between caste and vocation could
• They actively participated in trade union hardly continue in a state of destruction of village
and kisan movements, or revolutionary autocracy.
movements. They voted in, stood for and
Besides, modern trade and industry gave birth to
got elected to various legislatures and local several economic opportunities and the growing
bodies. urbanization and modern means of transport
• Sarojini Naidu went on to become the added to the mobility of populations.
president of the Indian National Congress
(1925) and later the governor of the United The British administration introduced the concept
Provinces (1947-49). of equality before law. In a uniformly applied
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system of law which upset to social and legal Conference and individuals worked to uplift the
inequalities, while the judicial functions of caste untouchables by spreading education among
panchayats were taken away. untouchables, removing the caste-based
discriminations such as entry to temples, ponds,
The administrative services were made open to all
tanks etc. During the national movements the
castes and the new education system was on
freedom fighters took the inspiration from
totally secular lines.
principles of liberty and equality. The national
The social reform movements also endeavored to leaders and organizations opposed caste
undermine caste-based exploitation. From the privileges, fought for equal civic rights and free
mid-19th century onwards, numerous, development of the individual.
organizations, associations and groups such as the
Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj,
Ramakrishna Mission, the Theosophists, the Social

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REFORM MOVEMENTS AND LEADERS

then prevailing religious system of the
Hindus was ill-suited for the promotion of
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY
their political interests.
• The multitude of religious rites and
ceremonies and the unnatural distinctions
of caste and laws of purification, Roy
argued, had deprived the Hindus of any
kind of common political feeling. Hindus
must accept some changes in their religion
at least for the sake of their political
advantage and social comfort.
• Reinterpretation of Hinduism, to Roy, was
Rammohun Roy represented a synthesis of the thus the starting point for the programme
thought of East and West, He was a learned of socio-political reform. Roy sought to
scholar who knew over a dozen languages combine the deep experiences of spiritual
including Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English, life with the basic principle of social
French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. democracy.
As a Youngman he had studied Sanskrit literature • He denounced all superstitions and the evil
and Hindu philosophy al Varanasi and the Koran practices based on them because he was
and Persian and Arabic literature at Patna. He was convinced that these longstanding
also well acquainted with Jainism and other customary practices really did not form the
religious movements and sects of India. Later he core of their religious faith. They, in fact,
made an intensive study of Western thought and had no place or support in the religious
culture. texts of the Hindus.
• Roy wanted to draw the attention of his
To study the Bible in the original he learnt Greek countrymen to the ancient purity of their
and Hebrew. In 1809 he wrote in Persian his religion. To him, this purity was well
famous work Gift to Monotheists in which he put reflected in the Vedas and the Upanishads.
forward weighty arguments against belief in many • At the age of 16, Roy wrote a book
gods and for the worship of a single God. challenging the validity of the practice of
Reinterpreting Hinduism idol worship, which according to him was
• Roy devoted all his energies to fighting the root cause of many other social evils. It
sectarianism and other medieval led to the multiplication of deities and a
tendencies prevailing in the Hindu society, multitude of modes of worship.
such as polytheism, idolatory and • This, in turn, had resulted in dividing the
superstitions. He was a firm believer of the society into innumerable castes and
Advaita philosophy which left no scope for groups, each worshiping an idol different
such tendencies. from others. The process of division and
• Roy was quite sure that unless the Hindu subdivision was unending.
society underwent a religious and social • Roy considered idolatry to be opposed to
transformation, it would not become fit for reason and common sense. Besides, it had
political progress. According to him, the no sanction in the ancient religious texts.

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Roy preached monotheism and a fraternity would be accepted by all, and
collective prayer from the platform of the where man would be free from the
Brahmo Samaj. traditional shackles which had enslaved
• Roy fought against the superstitions which him for ages. He yearned for a new society
had resulted in evolving many inhuman which would be cosmopolitan and
and cruel customs and traditions in Hindu modern.
society. He tried. to convince the people
On Caste System
that the superstitions had nothing to do
• Caste divisions destroyed social
with the teachings of original Hinduism.
homogeneity and the integrated texture of
• Roy not only preached but also practiced
society and weakened it politically. Caste
what he preached. Travelling across the
divisions deprived the people completely
ocean was considered to be a sin by the
of political feeling, i.e. the feeling of
orthodox Hindus. Roy was the first Hindu
commonality, of solidarity.
to break this superstition. He himself
• A people so divided become incapable of
undertook overseas travel. This courage of
undertaking any great task. Besides the
conviction on his part made Roy's efforts
divisive role of caste system, Roy was also
more effective.
critical about its discriminatory nature.
As a Social Reformer • He was in favor of inter-caste and inter-
• According to Roy, the factor responsible racial marriages, which he thought, could
for the political deterioration of India was effectively break the barriers of the caste
her social decadence. He had no doubts divisions.
that here the social reform was an
On Women's Rights
essential precondition of political
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a champion of
liberation. He did pioneer work in the field
women's rights in India. He laid the
of social reform.
foundations of the women's liberation
• Roy started his public life in 1815 with the
movement in this country. He revolted
establishment of the Atmiya Sabha. This
against the subjection of women and
sabha vehemently protested against the
pleaded for the restoration of their rights.
prevalent practice of selling young girls to
• The condition of the Hindu women in those
prospective husbands due to some
days was very pitiable. They were
pecuniary interests, in the name of the
subjected to different kinds of injustices
Kuleen tradition. It also opposed polygamy
and deprivations. According to Roy, the
and worked for the removal of caste
root cause of the all-round deterioration
disabilities.
of Hindu women was the complete denial
• Roy believed in, the progressive role of the
of their property rights. In 1822, Roy wrote
British rule in India and sought government
a book entitled Brief Remarks Regarding
held in the matter of social reforms,
Modern Encroachments on the Ancient
especially in the form of socially
Right of Females.
progressive legislations.
• The utter helplessness and humiliation of
• Roy's aim was the creation of a new society
the Hindu widow was one of the major
based on the principles of tolerance,
reasons that prompted the inhuman
sympathy and reason, where the
practice of Sati. Roy vehemently opposed
principles of liberty, equality, and
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polygamy and with utmost vigor brought had emerged as the most valuable product
to light, its shameful evil consequences. of renaissance and reformation in Europe.
It captured some of the best brains in the
On Sati
19th century Europe and America. It
Perhaps the greatest social reform with which
became the dominant ideology of the first
Roy's name will be permanently associated is the
phase of religious and social reform in'
abolition of the cruel practice of sati. Roy used all
India.
the means at his disposal to stop this inhuman
practice, which forced the helpless widow to burn On Liberty
herself alive on the funeral pyre of her husband. • Liberty was a pivot around & which the
entire religio-socio-political thought of Roy
Roy fought against the practice of sati on three
revolved. His protest idolatry, his agitation
fronts:
against Sati, his demand for modern
• The first and the most important was that western education and his insistence on
of public opinion. Roy through writings, freedom of press, right of women, and his
speeches, agitation and discussions demands for "separation for powers" and
prepared the minds of the people in favor for the codification of laws were all
of the abolition of sati and explained how expressions of his intense love for liberty.
the practice had no support in any of the For him, liberty was a priceless possession
religious texts and hence governmental of mankind. He was the first to deliver the
action in the matter could not be message of political freedom to India.
interference in religious affairs. • Although Roy recognized the positive gains
• Secondly, he tried to convince the rulers India would get from British rule, he was
that it was their responsibility as civilized never in favor of an unending foreign rule
rulers to put an end to the cruel custom. in India. He considered the British
• The third front was the inquiry into the connection necessary for India's social
causes that led a Hindu widow to commit emancipation. Political freedom was
Sati and to make arrangements to bound to follow.
eliminate those causes. Roy found that • His lave for liberty however was not limited
ignorance of the women about their to one nation or community. It was
legitimate rights, their illiteracy, customary universal. He supported all struggles which
denial of the property rights to some aimed at human freedom. Freedom for
widow and the consequent helplessness, him was indivisible. He celebrated the
dependence, misery and humiliation were establishment of constitutional
some of the causes behind this practice. governments in Spain and Portugal and
Roy pleaded strongly restoration of was pained when such a government
property rights of the women as well as for collapsed in Naples in 1821.
facilities for women's education. • Freedom was the strongest passion of
Roy's mind. He believed equally in the
freedom of body and mind, so also the
Roy's Political Liberalism
freedom of action and thought. He
• Roy can be described as the earliest
shunned all restrictions imposed by
advocate of liberalism and the precursor of
consideration of race, religion and customs
the liberal movement in India. Liberalism
on human freedoms.
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On Rights of the Individual and kept its emphasis on human dignity,
• Roy was the first to create awareness for opposition to idolatry and criticism of
civil rights amongst the Indians. He was social evils such as sati.
grateful to the British because they made • Roy's progressive ideas met with; strong
available to Indians all those civil rights opposition from orthodox elements like
which were enjoyed by the Queen’s Raja Radhakant Deb who organized the
subjects in England. Though Roy did not Dharma Sabha to counter Brahmo Samaj
specifically enlist the civil rights, he seems propaganda. Roy's death in 1833 was a
to include in it the following rights. Right to setback for the Samaj's mission.
life and liberty, right to have opinions and
freedom of expression, Right to Property, MAHARISHI DEBENDRANATH TAGORE (1817-
Right to Religion etc. 1905)
Father of Rabindranath Tagore and a product of
the best in traditional Indian learning and western
On Law and Judicial Administration
• Law, Roy claimed, was the creation of thought, gave a new life to Brahma Samaj and a
passionless reason. It was the command of definite form and shape to the theist movement,
the sovereign. Hence, even the highest when he joined the Samaj in 1842.
officer in the East India Company did not
possess the competence for enacting the
laws for India. The king-in-Parliament
alone could have that authority. What is
more, Roy argued that the English
parliament, before finalizing every piece of
legislation relating to India should take into
account the views of the economic and
intellectual elites in this country.

Brahmo Samaj
Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha
in August 1828; it was later renamed, Brahmo • Earlier, Tagore headed the Tattvabodhini
Samaj. Prayers, meditation of the Upanishads Sabha (founded in 1839) which, along with
were to be the forms of worship and no graven its organ Tattvabodhini Patrika in Bengali,
image, statue or sculpture, carving, painting, was devoted to the systematic study of
picture, portrait etc., were to be allowed in the India's past with a rational outlook and to
Samaj buildings, thus underlining the Semaj’s the propagation of Roy's ideas. A new
opposition to idolatry and meaningless rituals. vitality and strength of membership came
to be associated with the Brahmo Samaj
• The long-term agenda of the Brahmo
due to the informal association of the two
Samaj—to purify Hinduism and to preach
sabhas.
monotheism—was based on the twin
pillars of reason and the Vedas and • Gradually, the Brahmo Samaj came to
include prominent followers of Roy, the
Upanishads. The Samaj also tried to
Derozians and independent thinkers such
incorporate teachings of other religions

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as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Ashwini new organization, the Sadharan Brahma
Kumar Datta. Samaj.
The overall contribution of Brahmo Samaj may be
The Bramho Samaj summed thus—
experienced • it denounced polytheism and idol worship;
another phase of • it discarded faith in divine avataras
energy, vigour and (incarnations);
eloquence when • it denied that any scripture could enjoy the
Keshub Chandra status of ultimate authority transcending/
Sen was made the human reason and conscience;
acharya by • it took no definite stand on the doctrine of;
Debendranath Tagore soon after the former karma and transmigration of soul and left
joined the Samaj in 1858. it to- individual Brahmos to believe either
Keshub Chandra Sen was instrumental in way;
popularizing the movement, and branches of the • It criticized the caste system. In matters of
Samaj were opened outside Bengal in the United social reform, the Samaj attacked many
Provinces, Punjab, Bombay, Madras and other dogmas and superstitions. It condemned
towns. the prevailing Hindu prejudice against
going abroad. It worked for a respectable
• Keshub Chandra Sen was dismissed from status for women in society—condemned
the office of acharya in 1865 because of his sati, worked for abolition, of purdah
radical ideas such as cosmopolitanizing of system, discouraged child marriages and
the Samaj's meetings by inclusion of polygamy, crusaded for widow remarriage
teachings from all religions and his strong and for provisions of educational facilities,
views against the caste system, even open etc. It also attacked casteism and
support to inter-caste marriages, which untouchability though in these matters it
were not liked by Debendranath. attained only limited success.
• Keshub and his followers founded the
Brahmo Samaj of India in 1866, while PRARTHANA SAMAJ
Debendranath Tagore's Samaj came to be • Prarthana Samaj was founded by
known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj. Atmaram Pandurang in 1867 when Kesab
• In 1878, Keshub's bizarre act of getting his Chandra sen visited Maharashtra, with an
thirteen-year-old daughter married with aim to make people believe in one God and
the minor Hindu Maharaja of Cooch-Behar worship only one God. It became popular
with all, the orthodox Hindu rituals caused after Mahadev Govind Ranade joined.
another split in Keshub's Brahma Samaj of • The Prarthana Samaj adhered to the
India. tradition of Bhakti that believed in spiritual
• Earlier, Keshub had begun to be considered equality of all castes. Many of these
as an incarnation by some of his followers, reformers and members of reform
much to the dislike of his progressive associations were people of upper castes.
followers. Further, Keshub had begun to be Often, in secret meetings, these reformers
accused of authoritarianism. After 1878, would violate caste taboos on food and
the disgusted followers of Keshub set up a

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touch, in an effort to get rid of the hold of • For instance, they demanded induction of
caste prejudice in their lives. Indians in higher grades of services,
They relied on education and persuasion and not protection of ryots from oppressive
on confrontation with Hindu orthodoxy. There was zamindars, better treatment to Indian
a four-point social agenda also: labour abroad in British colonies, revision
of the Company's charter, freedom of
• disapproval of caste system,
press and trial by jury.
• women's education,
• widow remarriage, and
PANDIT ISHWAR CHANDRA VIDYASAGAR
• raising the age of marriage for both males
• The next towering personality to appear on
and females.
the Indian scene was Pandit Ishwar
• The Prarthana Samaj had as its prominent
Chandra Vidyasagar, the great scholar and
leaders Mahadeo Govind Ranade (1842-
reformer. Vidyasagar dedicated his entire
1901), R.G. Bhandarkar (18371925) and
life to the cause of social reform Born in
N.G. Chandavarkar (1855-1923).
1820 in a very poor family, he struggled
DEROZIO AND YOUNG BENGAL through hardship to educate himself and in
• Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, a teacher at the end rose m 1851 to the position of the
Hindu College, Calcutta, in the 1820s, principalship of the Sanskrit College.
promoted radical ideas and encouraged his • Though he was a great Sanskrit scholar, his
pupils to question all authority. Referred to mind was open to the best in Western
as the Young Bengal Movement, his thought, and he came to represent a happy
students attacked tradition and custom, blend of Indian and Western culture. His
demanded education for women and greatness lay above all in his sterling
campaigned for the freedom of thought character and shining intellect. Possessed
and expression. of immense courage and a fearless mind he
• The Derozians, however, failed to have a practiced what he believed.
long-term impact. Derozio was removed • There was no lag between his beliefs and
from the Hindu College in 1831 because of his action, between his thought and his
his radicalism. The main reason for their practice. He was simple in dress and habits
limited success was the prevailing social and direct in his manner. He was a great
conditions at that time, which were not humanist who possessed immense
ripe for the adoption of radical ideas. sympathy for the poor, the unfortunate
Further, support from any other social and the oppressed.
group or class was absent. • In Bengal, innumerable stories regarding
• The Derozians lacked any real link with the his high character, moral qualities, and
masses; for instance, they failed to take up deep humanism are related till this day. He
the peasants' cause. In fact, their resigned from government service for he
radicalism was bookish in character. But, would not tolerate undue official
despite their limitations, the Derozians interference. His generosity to the poor
carried forward Roy's tradition of public was fabulous. He seldom possessed a
education on social, economic and political warm coat for he invariably gave it to the
questions. first naked beggar he met on the street.

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• Vidyasagar’s contribution to the making of movement for women’s education that
modern India is many- sided. He evolved a arose in the 184G‟s and 1850‟s. While the
new technique of teaching Sanskrit. He education of women was not unknown in
wrote a Bengali primer which is used till India, a great deal of prejudice against it
this day. By his writings he helped in the existed.
evolution of a modern prose style in
Bengali. PARAMHANSA MANDALIS
• He opened the gates of the Sanskrit college • Founded in 1849 in Maharashtra, the
to non-Brahmin students for he was founders of these Mandalis believed in one
opposed to the monopoly of Sanskrit God. They were primarily interested in
studies that the priestly caste was enjoying breaking caste rules. At their meetings
at the time. To free Sanskrit studies from food cooked by lower caste people was
the harmful effects of self-imposed taken by the members. These Mandalis
isolation, he introduced the study, of also advocated widow remarriage and
Western thought in the Sanskrit College. women's education. Branches of
He also helped found a college which is Paramhansa Mandalis existed in Poona,
now named after him. Satara and other towns of Maharashtra.
• In the year 1855, a large number of
petitions from Bengal, Madras, Bombay, SATYASHODHAK SAMAJ AND JYOTIBA PHULE
Nagpur and other critics of India were • Jyotiba Phule belonged to the Mali
presented to the Government asking it to (gardener) community and organized a
pass an act legalizing the remarriage of powerful movement against upper caste
widows. This agitation was successful and domination and brahminical supremacy.
such a law was enacted. Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj
• The first lawful Hindu widow remarriage (Truth Seekers' Society) in 1873, with the
among the upper castes in our country was leadership of the Samaj coming from the
celebrated in Calcutta on 7 December 1856 backward classes, Malis, Telis, Kunbis, Saris
under the inspiration and supervision of and Dhangars. The main aims of the
Vidyasagar. Widows of many other castes movement were social service, and spread
in different parts of the country already of education among women and lower
enjoyed this right under customary law. caste people.
• In 1850, Vidyasagar protested against • Phule's works, Sarvajanik Satyadharma and
child-marriage. All his life he campaigned Gulamgin, became sources of inspiration
against polygamy. He was also deeply for the common masses. Phule used the
interested in the education of women. As a symbol of Rajah Bali as opposed to the,
Government Inspector of Schools, he brahmins' symbol of Rama.
organized thirty-five girls’ schools, many of • Phule aimed at the complete abolition of
which he ran at his own expense. As the caste system and socio-economic
Secretary to the Bethune School, he was inequalities; he was against Sanskritic
one of the pioneers of higher education for Hinduism.
women.
• This movement gave a sense of identity to
• The Bethune School, founded in Calcutta in the depressed communities as a class
1849, was the first fruit of the powerful against the brahmins, who were seen as
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the exploiters. Phule opened, with the help practical spirituality, from among whom
of his wife, a girls' school at Poona and was teachers and workers would be sent out to
a pioneer of, widow remarriage movement spread the universal message of Vedanta
in Maharashtra. as illustrated in the life of Ramakrishna,
• An outstanding champion of new learning and
and social reform in Maharashtra was • in conjunction with lay disciples to carry on
Gopal Hari Deshmukh, who became preaching, philanthropic and charitable
famous by the pen name of works, looking upon all men, women and
“Lokahitawadi‟. He advocated the children, irrespective of caste, creed or
reorganization of Indian society on rational colour, as veritable manifestations of the
principles and modern humanistic and Divine.
secular values.
Paramhansa sought salvation through traditional
• Jotiba Phule, born in a low caste Mali
ways of renunciation, meditation and bhakti
family, was also acutely aware of the
amidst increasing westernization and
socially degraded position of non-
modernization. He recognized the fundamental
Brahmins and untouchables in
oneness of all religions and emphasized that
Maharashtra. All his life he carried on a
Krishna, Hari, Ram, Christ, Allah are different
campaign against upper caste domination
names for the same God, and that there are many
and Brahmanical supremacy.
ways to God and salvation. Paramhansa's
spirituality and compassion for the suffering
THE SERVANTS OF INDIA SOCIETY humanity inspired those who listened to him. He
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the liberal leader of used to say, "Service of man is the, service of God."
Indian National Congress, founded the
Servants of India Society in 1905. The aim Narendranath Datta (1862-1902), who later came
of the society was to train national to be known as Swami Vivekananda spread
missionaries for the service of India; to Ramakrishna's message and tried to reconcile it to
promote, by all constitutional means, the, the needs of contemporary Indian society. He
true interests of the Indian people; and to emerged as the preacher of neo-Hinduism.
prepare a cadre of selfless workers who • Certain spiritual experiences of
were to devote their lives to the cause of Ramakrishna, the teachings of the
the country in a religious spirit. After Upanishads and the Gita and the examples,
Gokhale's death (1915), Srinivasa Shastri of the Buddha and Jesus are the basis of
took over as president. Vivekananda's message to the world about
human values.
THE RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT • He subscribed to the Vedanta which he
The teachings of Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1834- considered a fully rational system with a
86), a poor priest at the Kali temple in superior approach. His mission was to
Dakshineshwar, Calcutta, formed the basis of the bridge the gulf between ararnartha
Ramakrishna Movement. Two objectives of the (service) and vyavahara (behaviour), and
movement were— between spirituality believed in the
fundamental oneness of God and said, "For
• to bring into existence a band of monks
our own motherland a junction of the two
dedicated to a life of renunciation and

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great systems, Hinduism and Islam, is the propagate his views and established
only hope." branches of Arya Samaj at different places.
• Emphasizing social action, he declared that Principles of Arya Samaj:
knowledge without action is useless. He • Acceptance of the Vedas as the only source
lamented the isolationist tendencies and of truth.
the touchme-not attitude of Hindus in • Opposition to idol worship.
religious matters. He frowned at religion's • Opposition to the theory of God-
tacit approval of the oppression of the incarnation and religious pilgrimages.
poor by the rich. • Recitation of the mantras of the Vedas and
• He believed that it was an insult to God and performance of ‘Havan’ and ‘Yajna’.
humanity to teach religion to a starving • Faith in female education.
man. He called upon his countrymen to • Opposition to child-marriage and
imbibe a spirit of liberty, equality and free polygamy.
thinking. • Propagation of Hindi and Sanskrit
• Vivekananda was a great humanist and languages.
used the Ramakrishna Mission for
Reforms:
humanitarian relief and social work. The
Mission stands for religious and social • Swami Dayanada, through the Arya Samaj,
reform. Vivekananda advocated the tried to reform the Hindu society and
doctrine of service—the service of all religion.
beings. is itself is religion. service, the • On the basis of the above-mentioned
Divine exists within man. principles, the Arya Samaj emphasized on
the liberation of the Hindu society.
Dayananda claimed that only Vedas were
DAYANAND SARASWATI AND ARYA SAMAJ
the repositories of true knowledge and the
• Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder
only religion was the religion of the Vedas.
of the Arya Samaj, was one of the makers
• The principles of economics, politics, social
of modern India. With an indigenous
sciences, humanities can be found in the
orientation, he wanted to bring a new
Vedas. His clarion call “Go Back to the
social, religious, economic and political
Vedas” created consciousness among the
order in India.
people. He rejected other scriptures and
• Taking inspiration from Veda, he criticized
‘Puranas’. He strongly opposed idol
evil practices like idolatry, caste system,
worship, ritualism, practice of animal-
untouchability etc. as prevailed in the then
sacrifice, the concept of polytheism, the
Indian society.
idea of heaven and hell and fatalism.
• He established the Arya Samaj at Bombay
• The Arya Samaj simplified Hinduism and
on 10th April, 1875. A number of twenty-
made Hindus conscious of their glorious
eight rules were framed which were
heritage and superior value of Vedic
approved by the members present in the
knowledge. The Hindus should not look
meeting. As a writer of eminence,
towards Christianity, Islam or western
Dayananda wrote books like ‘Satyarth
culture for guidance.
Prakash’, Vedanga Prakash, ‘Ratnamala’
‘Sankarvidhi’, ‘Bharatinivarna’ etc. He
travelled throughout the country to

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SEVA SADAN non-Brahmin castes. It was started by. Sri
• A Parsi social reformer, M. Malabari, Narayana, Guru Swamy among the Ezhavas
founded the Seva Sadan in 1885. The of Kerala, who were a caste of toddy-
organisation specialised in taking care of tappers and were considered to be
use women who were exploited and then untouchables.
discarded by society. It catered to all castes • The Ezhavas were the single largest caste
and women with education, medical and group in Kerala constituting 26 per cent of
welfare services. the total population. Sri Narayana Guru
initiated a programme of action—the Sri
DHARMA SABHA Narayana Guru Dharma Paripalana (SNDP)
• Radhakant Deb founded this sabha in Yogarn—in 1902.
1830. An orthodox society, it stood for the • The movement as a whole brought
preservation of the status quo in socio- transformative structural changes such as
religious matters, opposing even the upward social mobility, shift in traditional
abolition of sati. However, it favoriting of distribution of power and a federation of
western education, even for girls. 'backward castes' into a large
conglomeration.
BHARAT DHARMA MAHAMANDALA
• An all-India organization of the orthodox JUSTICE MOVEMENT
educated Hindus, it stood for a defense of • This movement in Madras Presidency was
orthodox Hinduism against the teachings started by C.N. Mudaliar, T.M. Nair and P.
of the Arya Samaj, the Theosophists, and Tyagaraja to secure jobs and
the Ramakrishna Mission. Other representation for the non-brahmins in the
organizations created to defend orthodox legislature In 1917, Madras Presidency
Hinduism were the Sanatana Dharma Association was formed which demanded
Sabha (1895), the Dharma Maha Parishad separate representation for the lower
in South India, and. castes in the legislature.
• Dharma Mahamandaii in Bengal. These
organizations combined in 1902 to form SELF-RESPECT MOVEMENT
the single organization of Bharat Dharma • This movement was started by E.V.
Mahamandala, with headquarters at Ramaswami Naicker, a Balija Naidu, in the
Varanasi. This organization sought to mid-1920s. The movement aimed at
introduce proper management of Hindu nothing short of a rejection of the
religious institutions, open Hindu brahmanical religion and culture which
educational institutions, etc. Pandit Madan Naicker felt was the prime instrument of
-Mohan Malaviya was a prominent figure exploitation of the lower castes. He sought
in this movement. to undermine the position of brahmin
priests by formalising weddings without
SRI NARAYANA GURU DHARMA PARIPALANA brahmin priests.
(SNDP) MOVEMENT
• This movement was an example of a
regional movement born out of conflict
between the depressed, classes and upper
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TEMPLE ENTRY MOVEMENT WAHABI/WALLIULLAH MOVEMENT
• Significant work in this direction had Shah Walliullah (1702-62) enthused this revivalist
already been done by reformers and movement in response to western influences and
intellectuals like Sri Narayana Guru, N. the degeneration which had set in among Indian
Kumaran Asan, T.K. Madhavan etc. In 1924, Muslims. He was the first Indian Muslim leader of
Vaikom Satyagraha led by K.P. Kesava, was the 18th century to organize Muslims around the
launched in Kerala demanding the two-pronged ideals of this movement:
throwing open of Hindu temples and roads
• desirability of harmony among the four
to the untouchables.
schools of Muslim jurisprudence which had
• The satyagraha was reinforced by jathas
divided the Indian Muslims (he sought to
from Punjab and Madurai. Gandhi
integrate the best elements of the four
undertook a tour of Kerala in support of
schools); recognition of the role of
the movement. Again in 1931 when the
individual conscience in religion where
Civil Disobedience Movement was
conflicting interpretations were derived
suspended, temple entry movement was
from the Quran and the Hadis.
organized in Kerala.
• The teachings of Walliullah were further
• Inspired by K. Kelappan, poet
popularized by Shah Abdul Aziz and Syed
Subramaniyam Tirurnambu (the 'singing
Ahmed Barelvi who also gave them a
sword of Kerala') led a group of sixteen
political perspective. India was considered
volunteers to Guruvayur. Leaders like P.
to be dar-ul-Harb (land of the kafirs) and it
Krishna Pillai and A.K. Gopalan were
needed to be converted to dar-ul-Islam
among the satyagrahis.
(land of Islam).
• Finally, in 1936 the Maharaja of Travancore
• At first the movement was directed against
issued a proclamation throwing open all
Sikhs in Punjab but after the British
government-controlled temples to all
annexation of Punjab (1849), the
Hindus. A similar step was taken by the C.
movement was directed against the
Rajagopalachari administration in Madras
British. The movement fizzled out in the
in 1938.
face of British military might in the 1870s.

TITU MIR’S REVOLT

INDIAN SOCIAL CONFERENCE
• In Bengal, the Wahabi Movement found its
• Founded by M.G. Ranade and Raghunath
leader in Mir Nishar Ali or Titu mir (1782-
Rao, the conference met annually from its
1831). Born in Haidarpur, Baduria, of 24
first session in Madras in 1887 at the same
Parganas, he met Syed Ahmed during Haj
time and venue as the Indian National
pilgrimage at the age of 39 and embraced
Congress. It focused attention on the social
the Wahabi faith. He was a deft organizer
issues of importance; it could be called the
and founded a big association of oppressed
social reform cell of the Indian National
Muslims.
Congress, in fact. The conference
• Titu Mir started an intense movement in
advocated inter-caste marriages, opposed
the 24 Parganas, Nadia, Jessore, Rajsahi,
polygamy and kulinism. It launched the
Dhaka and Malda. He declared end of
"Pledge Movement" to inspire people to
British rule in extensive parts of Barasat
take a pledge against child marriage.
and Basirhat and proclaimed himself as

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`Badshah’. He built a bamboo fortress at • The Faraizi movement was widely received
Narkelberia village, 10 km from Baduria, in the districts of Dhaka, Faridpur, Barisal,
and set up his headquarters there. Mymensingh and Comilla.
• He started raising taxes from zamindars of • Under the leadership of Haji's son, Dudu
Taki and Gobardanga; this is known in Mian, the movement became
history as the Barasat Uprising. The ocal revolutionary from 1840 onwards. He gave
zamindars, indigo planters and the the movement an organizational system
Company resented such measures and from the village to the provincial level with
Lord William Bentinck sent troops against a khalifa or authorized deputy at every
him. level. The Fara'idis organized a paramilitary
• His bamboo fortress was destroyed. Titu force armed with clubs to fight the Hindu
Mir and some of his followers fought landlords and even the police. Dudu Mian
bravely and died as heroes in the was arrested several times, and his arrest
battlefield (19 November 1831). The in 1847 finally weakened the movement.
captured soldiers were hanged and many The movement survived merely as a
were imprisoned for long. religious movement without political
overtones after the death of Dudu Mian in
FARAIZI MOVEMENT 1862.
The Faraizi movement was founded in 1818 by Haji
Shariatullah to give up un-Islamic practices and act AHMADIYA MOVEMENT
upon their duties as Muslims (fard). The • This movement was founded by Mirza
movement protected the rights of tenants to a Ghulam Ahmed in 1889. It was based on
great extent. liberal principles. It described itself as the
standard-bearer of Mohammedan
The Faraizis adhered to the Hanafi school with
Renaissance, and based itself, like the
certain differences in practices.
Brahmo Samaj, on the principles of
• Tawbah i.e. to be penitent for past sins as universal religion of all humanity, opposing
a measure for the purification of soul jihad (sacred war against non-Muslims).
• To observe strictly the obligatory duties of • The movement spread western liberal
Faraiz education among the Indian Muslims.
• Strict adherence to Tawhid However, the Ahmadiya Movement, like
• India being Dar al Harb, Friday prayers and Baha'ism which flourished in the West
Eid prayers were not obligatory. Asian countries, suffered from mysticism.
• Denouncing all cultural rites and
ceremonies, which had no reference to the ALIGARH MOVEMENT AND SAYYID AHMAD
Quran and Sunnah, as bidah or sinful KHAN
innovations. • The most notable of the Muslim reformers
The leader of the Faraizis was called Ustad or was Sayyid Ahmed of Rai Bareilly, in Uttar
teacher, and his disciples xagird or students, Pradesh. He attracted the Muslim artisans
instead of using the terms like pir and murid. A of the declining weaving towns of
person so initiated into the Faraizi fold was called Allahabad and Patna finding a ready
Tawbar Muslim or Mumin. audience and giving the common people

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dignity and an identity through a common • He got many Western books translated
faith at a time of social dislocation. into Urdu. He started the Muhammedan
• He realised that unless the Muslims Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 at Aligarh. It
adapted themselves to the changed was meant to be a centre for spreading
circumstances of British rule, they would Western sciences and culture. Later, this
be deprived of all new opportunities for college grew into the Aligarh Muslim
status and prosperity. He was highly University.
impressed by modern scientific thought • The liberal, social and cultural movement
and worked all his life to reconcile it with started by Sayyid Ahmad Khan among the
Islam. Muslims is known as the Aligarh
• He interpreted the Quran in the light of Movement as it originated in Aligarh. The
rationalism and science. He urged the Anglo-Oriental College was the centre of
people to develop a critical approach and this movement. It aimed at promoting
freedom of thought. He also warned modern education among Muslims
against fanaticism, narrow-mindedness without weakening the ties with Islam. It
and exclusiveness. He asked the people to became the central educational institution
be broadminded and tolerant. In 1883 he for Indian Muslims.
said: • The Aligarh Movement was largely
• “Now both of us (Hindus and Muslims) live responsible for the Muslim revival that
on the air of India, drink the holy waters of followed. It provided a focal point for the
the Ganga and Jamuna. We both feed upon scattered Muslim population in different
the products of the Indian soil… we are a parts of the country. It gave them a
nation and the progress and welfare of the common fund of ideas and a common
country, and both of us, depend on our language - Urdu. A Muslim press was
unity, mutual sympathy, and love, while developed for the compilation of works in
our mutual disagreement, obstinacy and Urdu.
opposition and ill feeling are sure to • Sayyid Ahmad’s efforts extended to the
destroy us”. social sphere as well. He worked for social
• Syed Ahmed Khan rightly felt that isolation reforms. He wanted women to be
would harm the Muslim community and to educated and advocated the removal of
prevent that he did his best to create a link the purdah. He was also against polygamy.
with the progressive cultural forces of the
outside world. He worked hard to remove THE DEOBAND SCHOOL
the hostility of the British rulers towards
• The Deoband Movement was organized by
the Muslims whom they considered as
the orthodox section among the Muslim
their real enemies.
ulema as a revivalist movement with the
• He felt that the religious and social life of twin objectives of propagating pure
the Muslims could be improved only with teachings of the Quran and Hadis among
the help of modem Western scientific Muslims and keeping alive the spirit of
knowledge and culture. Therefore, jiliad against the foreign rulers.
promotion of modern education was the
• The Deoband Movement was established
first task. As an official, he founded schools
in Deoband in Saharanpur district (United
at many places.
Provinces) in 1866 by Mohammad Qasim
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Nanotavi (1832-80) and Rashid Ahmed and initiated the modernization of Parsi
(1828-1905) to train religious leaders for social customs regarding the education of
the Muslim community. girl’s marriage and the social position of
• The aim of the Deoband Movement was women in general. In course of time, the
moral and religious regeneration of the Parsis became socially the most
Muslim community. The instruction westernized section of Indian society.
imparted at Deoband was in original
Islamic religion.
RELIGIOUS REFORM AMONG SIKHS
• On the political front, the Deoband school
• Religious reform among the Sikhs was
welcomed the formation of the Indian
started at the end of the 19th Century
National Congress and in 1888 issued a
when the Khalsa College started at
fatwa (religious decree) against Syed
Amritsar. Through the efforts of the Singh
Ahmed Khan's organisations, The United
Sabhas (1870) and with British support, the
Patriotic Association and the
Khalsa College was founded at Amritsar in
Mohammaden Anglo-Oriental Association.
1892. This college and schools set up as a
Some critics attribute Deoband's support
result of similar efforts, promoted
to the nationalists more to its determined
Gurumukhi, Sikh learning and Punjabi
opposition to Syed Ahmed Khan than to
literature as a whole.
any positive political philosophy.
• After 1920 the Sikh momentum gained
• Mahmud-ul-,Flasan, the new Deoband
momentum when the Akali Movement
leader, gave a political and intellectual
rose in Punjab. The chief object of the
content to the religious ideas of the school.
Akalis was to improve the management of
He worked' 'out a synthesis of Islamic
the Gurudwaras or Sikh Shrines that were
principles and nationalist aspirations. The
under the control of priests or Mahants
Jamiat-ul-Ulema gave a concrete shape to
who treated them as their private
Hasan's ideas of protection of the religious
property. In 1925, a law was passed which
and political rights of the Muslims in the
gave the right of managing Gurudwaras to
overall context of Indian unity and national
the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak
objectives.
Committee.

REFORM MOVEMENTS AMONG PARSIS

Singh Sabha Movement
• Religious reform began among the Parsis in
• The rationalist and progressive ideas of
Mumbai in the middle of the 19th century.
19th century also influenced the Sikh
In 1851, the Rehnumai Maz’dayasan
community. In 1873 the Singh Sabha
Sabha or Religious Reform Association was
movement was founded at Amritsar. Its
founded by Nauroji Furdonji, Dadabhai
objectives were twofold.
Naoroji, S.S. Bengalee and others.
• It planned to bring to the Sikh community
• They started a journal Rast Goftar, for the
the benefits of Western enlightenment
purpose of social-religious reforms among
through modern education. It also
the Parsis. They also played an important
countered the proselytizing activities of
role in the spread of education, especially
the Christian missionaries as well as Hindu
among girls. They campaigned against the
revivalists.
entrenched orthodoxy in the religious field

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• The Sabha opened a network of Khalsa philosophical traditions. Annie Besant was
schools and colleges throughout the the founder of the Central Hindu College in
Punjab. The Akali movement was an Banaras, which later developed into the
offshoot of the Singh Sabha movement. Banaras Hindu University. Annie Besant
The Akali movement aimed to liberate the herself made India her permanent home
Sikh gurdawaras (temples) from the and played a prominent role in Indian
control of corrupt mahants who enjoyed politics. In 1917, she was elected
the support of the government. President of the Indian National Congress.
• In 1921 the Akalis launched a non-violent,
non-cooperation satyagraha movement Positive contributions of Reform Movements
against the mahants. The Government • These movements contributed towards
resorted to repressive measures but had to liberation of the individual from the
bow before popular opinion and pass the conformity born out of fear and from
Sikh Gurdawaras Act in 1922, which was uncritical submission to exploitation by the
later amended in 1925. priests. The translation of religious texts
• The Akali movement was a secretarian or a into vernacular languages, emphasis on an
regional movement but not a communal individual’s right to interpret the scriptures
movement The Akali leaders played a and simplification of rituals made worship
notable role in national liberation struggle a more personal experience.
though some dissenting voices were heard • The movements emphasized the human
occasionally. intellect’s capacity to think and reason. By
weeding out corrupt elements, religious
THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND ANNIE BESANT
beliefs and practices, the reformers
• Many Europeans were attracted towards
enabled their followers to meet the official
Hindu philosophy. In 1875, a Russian
taunt that their religions and society were
spiritualist named Madame Blavatsky and
decadent and inferior.
an American called Colonel Olcott founded
• It gave the rising middle classes the much-
the Theosophical Society in America. The
needed cultural roots to cling to, and
society was greatly influenced by the
served the purpose of reducing the sense
Indian doctrine of karma. In 1886 they
of humiliation which the conquest by a
founded the Theosophical Society at
foreign power had produced.
Adyar near Madras.
• A realization of the special needs of
• Annie Besant, an Irish woman who came to
modern times, especially in terms of
India in 1893, helped the Theosophist
scientific knowledge, and thus promoting a
movement to gain strength. She
modern, this-worldly, secular and rational
propagated Vedic philosophy and urged
outlook was a major contribution of these
Indians to take pride in their culture. The
reform movements.
Theosophists stood for the revival of the
ancient Indian religion and universal • Socially, this attitude reflected in a basic
brotherhood. change in the notions of ‘pollution and
purity’. Although traditional values and
• The uniqueness of the movement lay in the
customs were a prominent target of attack
fact that it was spearheaded by foreigners
from the reformers, yet the reformers
who glorified Indian religious and
aimed at modernization rather than

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outright westernization based on blind Sikhs and Parsis, as also alienating high
imitation of alien western cultural values. caste Hindus from low caste Hindus.
• In fact, the reform movements sought to • An overemphasis on religious and
create a favourable social climate for philosophical aspects of the cultural
modernisation. To that extent, these heritage got somewhat magnified by an
movements ended India’s cultural and insufficient emphasis on other aspects of
intellectual isolation from the rest of the culture art, architecture, literature, music,
world. The reformers argued that modern science and technology.
ideas and culture could be best imbibed by • To make matters worse, the Hindu
integrating them into Indian cultural reformers confined their praise of the
streams. Indian past to its ancient period and
• The underlying concern of these reformist looked upon the medieval period of Indian
efforts was revival of the native cultural history essentially as an era of decadence.
personality which had got distorted by • This tended to create a notion of two
colonial domination. This cultural separate peoples, on the one hand; on the
ideological struggle was to prove to be an other, an uncritical praise of the past was
important instrument of evolution of not acceptable to the low caste sections of
national consciousness and a part of Indian society which had suffered under
national resolve to resist colonial cultural religiously sanctioned exploitation
and ideological hegemony. precisely during the ancient period.
• However, not all these progressive, • Moreover, the past itself tended to be
nationalist tendencies were able to placed into compartments on a partisan
outgrow the sectarian and obscurantist basis. Many in the Muslim middle classes
outlook. This was possibly due to divergent went to the extent of turning to the
duality of cultural and political struggles, history of West Asia for their traditions
resulting in cultural backwardness despite and moments of pride.
political advancement. • The process of evolution of a composite
culture which was evident throughout
Negative fallouts of the Reform Movement Indian history showed signs of being
• The tendency of reformers to appeal to the arrested with the rise of another form of
greatness of the past and to rely on consciousness communal consciousness
scriptural authority encouraged mysticism along with national consciousness among
in new garbs and fostered pseudo- the middle classes.
scientific thinking while exercising a check • Many other factors were certainly
on full acceptance of the need for a responsible for the birth of communalism
modern scientific outlook. in modern times, but undoubtedly the
• But, above all, these tendencies nature of religious reform movements also
contributed, at least to some extent, in contributed to it. On the whole, however,
compartmentalizing Hindus, Muslims, whatever the net outcome of these reform
movements, it was out of this struggle that
a new society evolved in India.

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QUICK GLANCE
Movements/Association /Leaders Important details
associated

Raja Ram Mohan Roy, • Morning Star of reform movement.

The Brahmo Samaj, • He believed in the synthesis of the East and the West.
• He held that all principal texts of the Hindus preached
1774-1833 & 1828 monotheism or worship of one God.
• In 1805, he published in Persian his first philosophical work,
Tuhfat-ul-Muwahiddin (Gift to Monotheists).
• In 1820, he published the Precepts of Jesus.
• In 1814, he formed the Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta to carry on
a socio-religious reform.
• In 1925, he founded the Vedanta College that imparted
Indian as well as Western learning.
• In 1828, he founded the Brahmo Sabha, later renamed as
Brahmo Samaj.
• His struggle led to the abolition of sati in 1829 through a
legislation passed by William Bentinck.
• He represented the first sparkle of nationalist
consciousness in India.
• He is aptly known as the father of Indian Renaissance and of
Modern India.
• The Brahmo Samaj primary purpose was to teach
monotheism and rid Hinduism of its Religious & Social evils.
• The activities of Brahmo Samaj were opposed by the
Dharma Sabha, founded by Radhakant Deb.

Debendranath Tagore, • He was the father of Rabindranath Tagore.

1817-1905 • In 1839, he established the Tattvabodhini Sabha to
propagate Ram Mohan's ideas.
• The Sabha also published the Tattvabodhini Patrika (1843).
• In 1843, Debendranath Tagore joined Brahmo Samaj and
began putting new life into it.

Keshub Chandra Sen, • He joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1858.

1838-84 • He was appointed as Acharya of the Samaj by Debendranath
Tagore.
• Under him, branches of the Samaj were opened up in UP,
Punjab, Bombay, Madras, etc.

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• He laid stress on universalism as opposed to

Debendranath's stress on national Hindu identity, leading to
a split in Brahmo Samaj.
• Keshub had his followers left the parent body and formed
the Brahmo Samaj of India in 1865. Tagore's Samaj
henceforth came to be known as Adi Brahmo Samaj.
• Keshub married his own 13-year-old daughter with the
Maharaja of Kooch-Bihar.
• Feeling disgusted, many of Keshub's followers set up a new
called the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj,

Henry Vivian Derozio, • He was an Anglo-Indian teacher of the Hindu College.

Young Bengal Movement, • He was inspired by French Revolution and followed the
most radical organisation.
1809-31 &1820s-30s • His followers, known as Derozians or Young Bengal,
attacked the old and decadent customs of Hindu society
and religion.
• In 1831, Derozio was dismissed from the Hindu College
owing to his radicalism.

Ishwar Chandra • He was a Sanskrit scholar and rose to the position of the
Principal of the Sanskrit College, Calcutta,
Vidyasagar,
• He opened the gates of the college to Western thought as
1820-91 well as non-Brahmin students.
• Both Vidyasagar and Rabindranath Tagore wrote Bengali
primers.
• He devoted his entire life to the specific cause of widow
remarriage.
• His efforts culminated in the passing of the Hindu Widows
Remarriage Act 1856.
• As Secretary of the Bethune School he led the movement
for women's education.
• He also struggled against child marriage and polygamy.
• His prominent literary works include books such as
Bahubibaha and Bidhaba Bibaha,
• He also started the Bengali newspaper Shome Prakash
(1858).

Ramkrishna Paramhansa, • He was a poor priest át the Kali temple in Dakshineswar

near Calcutta.
1834-86

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• He had great compassion for human suffering, and taught

his disciples- 'yatra jiv, tatra shiv'.
• Ramakrishna's main stress remained on religious salvation
rather than social salvation.

Swami Vivekananda, • He was the greatest disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa.

1863–1902 • In 1893, Swami Vivekananda leapt into fame at the
Parliament of Religions held at Chicago.
• He stressed on the need for a healthy balance between
spiritualism materialism. His teachings are termed as Neo-
Hinduism.
• He immensely contributed to the concept of nationalism in
colonial India.
• Like his guru, he too believed that the best way to serve God
was to serve mankind. In this way, he gave a new social
purpose to Hinduism.
• In 1897, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission to carry out
humanitarian and social work.
• His famous literary works include Bartaman Bharat,
Lectures from Colombo to Almora, The East and the West

Balshastri Jambhekar • He was the pioneer of the intellectual movement in

Maharashtra.
• In 1832, he started a weekly, the Darpan.

Dadoba Pandurang Tarkhadkar • In 1849, he assumed leadership of Paramhansa Mandali the

first reform organisation of 19th-century Maharashtra.
• It functioned as secret society.
• The chief objective of this Mandali was the demolition of all
caste distinctions.

Jyotiba Phule • Phule was born in a low-caste Mali family.

• In 1854, he became the first Indian to start a school for the
untouchables.
• He was a pioneer of the widow remarriage movement in
Maharashtra.
• In 1851, Jyotiba and his wife started a girl’s school in Poona.

Students' Literary and • These were also known as Gyan Prakashak Mandalis.
Scientific Society

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Karsondas Mulji • In 1852, he started the 'Satva Prakash' in Gujarati to

promote the cause of widow remarriage.

"Lokahitwadi' Gopal Hari Deshmukh • He was better known by his pen-name 'Lokahitwadi'.
• He wrote his famous 100 letters 'Shatapatren' in the
Prabhakar, a Marathi weekly.

Vishnu Parshuram Shastri Pandit • In 1850s, he founded the Widow Remarriage Association.
• In 1865, he founded the Vidhava Vivaha Uttejaka Mandal.

The Brahmos in Maharashtra, • In 1867, under the guidance of Keshab Chandra Sen, the
Prarthana Samaj was set up in Bombay
RG Bhandarkar, Justice MG Ranade
and NG Chandavarkar.

Narayan Mahadev Parmanand • He was a great social reformer and he wrote under the pen
name of 'Political recluse'.

Mahadev Govind Ranade • In 1867, he helped in the setting up of the Prarthana Samaj
by reorganising the Paramhansa Mandali.
• In 1870, he helped in the establishment of Poona Sarvajanik
Sabha.
• He edited the Bombay daily Induprakash founded on his
ideology.
• In 1887, he founded the Indian National Social Conference
(social reform cell of the Congress).
• It launched the famous 'Pledge Movement' to inspire
people to take oath to prohibit child marriage.

Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar • In 1874, he started a monthly magazine 'Nibandhamala',

devoted to the cause of social reform.
• In 1880, Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and BG Tilak founded the
New Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar English School in Pune.
• Soon afterwards, they established Fergusson College with
Tilak and Agarkar as early lecturers.
• In 1884, they created the Deccan Education Society with GG
Agarkar, MB Namjoshi and others.

KT Telang • He played a prominent role in introducing compulsory

primary education in Bombay.

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• He was the first Indian Vice-Chancellor.

Prof. DK Karve • Prof. Dhondo Keshav Karve started his career as a teacher
in a Girls' school in Bombay.
• In 1899, he established a Widow's Home in Poona.
• He culminated his work by opening an Indian Women's
University at Bombay in 1916.

Behramji M. Malabari • Behramji Malabari was a Parsi social reformer, best known
for his advocacy of women's rights.
• In 1885, he founded Seva Sadan, an organisation which took
care of exploited women.
• His efforts led to the passing of the Age of Consent Act 1891
which forbade the marriage of girls below the of 12.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale • In 1905, he left the Deccan Education Society and founded
the Servants of India Society.
• The main aim of the Society was to train national
missionaries for service of India.
• In 1911, the Society began the publication of the Hitavada
in English from Nagpur.

Vitthal Ramji Shinde • In 1906, he established the Depressed Classes Mission.

Narayan Malhar Joshi • In 1911, he established the Social Service League in Bombay
to carry out relief and welfare work.
• In 1921, he started the All India Trade Union Congress
(AITUC) along with Lala Lajpat Rai and served as its general
secretary.
• In 1931, he left AITUC and started the All India Trade Union
Federation.

The Arya Samaj , • He was born as Mulshankar in a Brahmin family in the old
Morvi state Leaders and Movements in Gujarat.
Swami Dayanand Saraswati,
• He denounced Western ideas and sought to revive the
(1824-83) & 1875 ancient religion of the Aryans.
• His slogan was 'Go back to the Vedas which meant revival
of Vedic learning.
• Hence his movement is called revivalist in form, not in
content.

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• He displayed modernity in many aspects and held patriotic

views on national problems.
• He asserted every Hindu's right to read and interpret the
Vedas.
• He rejected the caste system though he subscribed to the
Varna system based on occupation.
• He gave his own interpretation of the Vedas and published
it in his work 'Satyartha Prakash'.
• In 1875, Swami Dayanand founded the first Arya Samaj unit
in Bombay.
• Later, the headquarters of the Arya Samaj were established
at Lahore.
• Arya Samaj movement emerged as a reaction to Western
influences.
• The Samaj established the D.A.V. (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic)
Institutions all over the country.
• It started the 'Shudhi' movement to convert non-Hindus to
Hinduism.
• On the political front, it raised the slogan of 'India for
Indians'.
• It produced several national leaders like Lala Hans Raj,
Pandit Guru Dutt and Lala Lajpat Rai.

Shiv Narain Agnihotri, • In 1887, he resigned from the Brahmo Samaj to form a new
society, the Deva Samaj.
(1850-1929)
• Deva Samaj was originally' established as a theistic society,
but later it emerged as an atheistic society and emphasised
on ethical conduct.
• Its teachings were compiled in a book, Deva Shastra.

Kandukari Veersalingam • He was a Telugu reformer who contributed in the spread

of Brahmo activities in South India.
• He is also known as the father of modern Telugu prose
literature.

Theosophical Society • The Theosophical Society was started by Westerners

inspired by Indian philosophy.
• It was started in the USA by a lady of Russo-German birth,
Madame Helena Blavatsky who was later joined by Col.
Henry Steel Olcott of the US Army.

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• In 1882, they shifted their headquarters to India at Adyar,

near Madras.
• In 1889, Mrs. Annie Besant joined the Theosophical Society.
• In 1893, Besant represented the Society at the World
Parliament of Religions in Chicago.
• In 1907, Besant was elected President of the Theosophical
Society.

The Wahabi /Waliullah Movement, • It was the first Muslim movement to emerge in response to
Western influences.
Abdul Wahab of Arabia & Delhi saint
• It was a revivalist movement which tried to purify Islam of
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. all the un-Islamic practices.
(1830s-60s) • In India, their teachings were popularised by Syed Ahmad
Barelvi and Shah Abdul Aziz.
• Aziz declared that India was Dar-ul-harb and the need was
to make it Dar-ul-Islam.
• During the Revolt of 1857, the Wahabis played a significant
role in spreading anti-British sentiments.
• The movement marked the beginning of sedition law in
India.

Titumir's Movement, • Titu Mir, a disciple of Sayed Ahmad Barelvi, organised a

peasant agitation of the Muslim peasants of Bengal against
1831
the Hindu landlords and the British indigo planters.

The Faraizi Movement • The movement originally began as a peasant movement.

Haji Shariatullah of Faridpur • Under the leadership of Dudu Mian (founder's son), the
Faraizis turned into a religious sect, advocating radical
eastern Bengal, 1838-51 religious and socio-political changes.
• Dudu Mian propagated an egalitarian ideology- that all men
are equal and that all land belongs to God and no one has
the right to levy tax on it.

The Muhammadan Literary Society, • It promoted Western education among the Muslims and
also encouraged discussions on religious, social and
Calcutta, 1863
political issues.

The Aligarh Movement • During the Revolt of 1857, he remained loyal to the British
and blamed the British policies for the revolt, and saw the
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,
urgent need to restore the previous respect and status
enjoyed by the Muslims in India.

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(1817-98) & 1875 • Thus, he started a movement in order to give respectable

position to Muslims is society as they had in the past and
this movement came to be known as the Aligarh
Movement.
• The nucleus for the movement was provided by the
Muhammadan Anglo Oriental Collegiate School founded at
Aligarh in 1875.
• The School provided the basis for the formation of Aligarh
Muslim University (AMU) in 1920!
• Soon Aligarh emerged as the centre of religious and cultural
revival of the Muslim community.
• He propagated his progressive social ideas through his
magazine Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq.
• Syed Ahmad wrote the booklet Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind
in which he rejected the notion of the revolt of 1857 as
Muslim conspiracy.

Deoband School • The Deoband School was organised by the orthodox section
among the Muslim ulema who stressed on the traditional
Islamic learning.
• It was a revivalist movement which focused mainly on the
attainment of two objectives-
• Pure teachings of the Quran and the Hadis among the
Propagating the Muslims.
• Keeping alive the spirit of Jihad against the British rulers.
• The School was founded under the leadership of
Muhammad Oasim Nanotvi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
• The School welcomed the formation of the Congress and
opposed Syed Ahmad Khan's organizations 'the Patriotic
Association' and 'The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental
Association'.
• Shibli Nomani , a supporter of the Deoband School,
favoured the introduction of English language and Western
sciences in the education system.

Ahmadiyya Movement, • Proclaimed that Muslim religion and society has

deteriorated to the point requiring divine intervention and
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
that Allah has chosen him as the renewer(Mujaddid) of
(Punjab, 1889) Islam.

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• He stated that all the major world religions were

propounded by God himself, though Islam as the most
complete of them all.
• Thus, the movement stressed non-violence and tolerance of
other faiths.

The Nirankari Movement • It was started by, one of the first reformers of Sikh
community & a contemporary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Baba Dayal Das
• He taught his followers to believe in one formless God
1783-1855 Rawalpindi, Punjab (hence the name Nirankari).
• He popularised a simple version of marriage named 'Anand
Karaj'.

Namdhari or Kuka Movement, • It was popularly called 'Kuka' as its followers resorted to
shrieks (kukan) while in ecstasy.
Bhagat Jawahar Mal (Sian Saheb) and
Baba Balak Singh. • It emerged as a socio-religious reform movement under
Baba Ram Singh.
Western Punjab, 1840 • In 1872, a group of 62 Namdhari Sikhs were blown up by
cannon for protesting against the British, while Ram Singh
was deported to Rangoon.

Singh Sabha Movement, • It was founded with two fold objectives- promote Western
education and oppose the proselytising activities of the
1873
Christians, Muslims, the Brahmos and the Arya Samajists.
• The Sabha opened a number of Khalsa schools and colleges
throughout Punjab, including Khalsa College at Amritsar
(1892).

Akali Movement or Gurdwara Reform • It was launched to liberate the Sikh gurdwaras from the
Movement, control of corrupt the Mahants (priests) who enjoyed the
1920–25 support of the government.
• It led to the passing of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925.
• This legislation ended the hereditary control of the Mahants
and introduced democratic control in the Gurdwara
management.

Rahnumai Mazdayasan Sabha , • This Religious Reform Association was formed by a group of
English educated Parsis.
Naoroji Furdunji (President),
• It published the Anglo-Gujarati newspaper Rast-Goftar
Sorabji Shapurji Bengali (Secretary), (Truth-Teller) started by Naoroji and Kama in 1851.
KN Kama and Dadabhai Naoroji,

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(Bombay, 1851)

Satya Shodhak Samaj, Jyotirao • Phule campaigned for the cause of education and for
Govindrao Phule, equaliy between Leaders and Movements and classes as
1827-90 & 1873 also between men and women.
• In 1851, Jyotiba and his wife started a girl's school in Poona.
• In 1854, he became the first Indian to start a school for the
untouchables.
• In 1873, Phule started the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society for
Finding Truth) to attain equal rights for the people of lower
castes.
• His prominent literary works included- Deen Bandhu,
Gulamgin.

Justice Party, • The party claimed to represent the interests of all non-
Brahmins in the Madras Presidency including Muslims,
TM Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetti and
Christians and Untouchables.
C. Natesa Mudaliar.
(Madras, 1916)

Self-Respect Movement, • In 1924, Naicker emerged as the hero of the Vaikom

Satyagraha.
EV Ramasamy Naicker,
• In 1925, he resigned from the INC as he felt that the party
1879-1973 was serving only upper caste interests. Later, he even broke
off with Gandhi on the issue of Varnashrama dharma.
• He emerged as a leader of Self-Respect Movement in Tamil
Nadu.
• He popularised 'Self-Respect marriages'.
• In 1925, Ramasamy started is paper 'Kudi Arasư to
propagate his ideas.
• In 1939, he became elected the President of the Justice
party.
• He was popularly known as Thanthai (father) and Periyar
(great soul).

Tripuraneni Ramaswami Chowdary, • He was a non-Brahmin leader of the Self-Respect

Movement in Coastal Andhra.
1887-1943)
• He tried to propagate his ideas through his literary works
such as Kurukshetra Sangraman, Sambuka Vadha, and Vivah
Vidhi.

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SNDP Yogam , • Narayan guru emerged as the leader of the Ezhava Caste
(untouchables).
Shri Narayan Guru,
• He established the SNDP (Shri Narayan Dharma Paripalana)
1854-1928) & 1903 Yogam in 1903 with the aim of:
1. Giving up the practice of untouchability.
2. Building temples which would be open to all castes.
• He gave the slogan, 'one religion, one caște and one God for
mankind'.

Bhim Rao Ambedkar, • Popularly known as Baba Saheb, he initiated the Dalit
Buddhist movement and championed the cause of the
1891-1956)
Dalits as well as women and labour.
• He founded the Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha (Bombay, 1924)
for the moral and material progress of the untouchables.
• In 1930, he founded the Depressed Classes Federation,
entered national politics and demanded separate
electorates for the untouchables.
• In 1936, he founded the Independent Labour Party.
• In 1942, one of his earlier political parties transformed into
the All India Scheduled Caste Federation, as an all-India
party. It later evolved into the Republican Party of India.
• In 1956, he converted to Buddhism and initiated mass
conversions of Dalits.
• His famous literary works include- The Annihilation of
Castes, The Buddha and his Dhamma, who were the
Shudras?
• In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Aravippuram Movement, • It began when Shri Narayan Guru, despite belonging to

lower caste, installed an idol of Shiv at Aravippuram in
Shri Narayan Guru,
Kerala.
(Kerala, 1888) • The event inspired several reform movements, including
the Temple Entry Movement.

Temple Entry Movement • In Kerala, the struggle for the rights of the avarnas was
being led by intellectuals such as Shri Narayan Guru, N
(Kerala, 1920s-30s)
Kumaran Asan and TK Madhavan.
• In 1924, Vaikom Satyagraha was launched by KP Kesava
Menon at Vaikom, Kerala demanding the throwing open of
Hindu temples and roads to the untouchables.

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• On 1 November 1931, the Guruvayur Satyagraha took place

demanding the entry for the untouchables inside the
Guruvayur Temple in Thrissur district of Kerala.
• The above efforts culminated in the Temple Entry
Proclamation of 1936 in which Maharaja of Travancore
proclaimed that the temples.
• Under his administration would be opened to all Hindus,
without any on caste basis.

SWADESHI PHASE
Let us revisit few connecting events from previous phase of Modern History.
POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS BEFORE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
Association Leaders associated Year Important details

Bangabhasha 1836 • Founded by the Associates of

Prakashika Sabha Raja Ram Mohan Roy aim was
discussing government policy.
• It worked to focus the attention
of the Englishmen on the
grievances of India and asked
for remedial measures.
• Seeking redressal through
petitions and memorandum.

Landholders society Dwarkanath Tagore, Radhakanta 1838 • To safeguard the interests of the
Deb and others. landlords of Bengal Bihar and
Orissa.
• Credited with the launching of
organised political activity in
India.
• The use of constitutional
methods for grievance
redressal.
• Cooperated with the British
India society founded by William
Adam in London.

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Bengal British India 1843 • Objective protecting and

Society promoting general public
interest.
• Aimed at disseminating
information by lawful and
peaceful means.

British Indian 1851 • Landholders society and Bengal

Association British India society merged into
one and named the British
Indian Association.
• Through this association charter
of 1853 provided for the
addition of 6 members in the
governor general's council for
legislative purpose.

Indian League Shishir Kumar Ghosh 1875 • Objective stimulating

nationalism among the people.
• Promoting political education.
• Ghosh was founder of Amrita
Bazar Patrika.

Indian Association Anand Mohan Bose and 1876 • Most important of the pre-
Surendra Nath Banerjee Congress organisations.
• Based on the concept of United
India derived from the
inspiration of Mazini.
• Aims included establishing
contact with the masses
spreading awareness among
them developing a strong public
opinion promoting Hindu
Muslim Unity.
• IT became the leading
representative of the educated
community.
• Indian Association took up
Indian Civil Service agitation
against decreased age in ICS
from 21 to 19 years.

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Bombay Association 1852 • Founded on the lines of British

Indian Association of Calcutta.
• Objective sending prayers and
petitions to the government to
advance Indian interests.

Poona Sarvajanik MG Ranade, Ganesh Vasudev • Formed in Pune by aim serving

Sabha Joshi and SH Chiplunkar as a bridge between the
government and the people.
• Worked in close Association
with Bombay Presidency
Association.
• Played an important role in
arousing political
consciousness.
• Considered as a precursor to the
Indian National Congress.
• Produced many early leaders
like to Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Bombay Presidency Formed by Firoz Shah Mehta, KT 1885

Association Telang and Badruddin Tyabji

Madras native 1852 • Branch of the British Indian

Association Association of Calcutta.
• Faded into of security after
1857.

Madras Mahajan M. Viraraghavachariar, G. 1884 • To co-ordinate the activities of

Sabha Subrahmaniya Ayer, P. Ananda local Association demanded
Charlu reforms in Legislative councils
like expansion of councils and
greater representation for
Indians.

East India Association Firoz Shah Mehta, Badruddin 1866 • To carry on political propaganda
Tyabji, Dadabhai Naoroji and in England discussing the Indian
Manmohan Ghose question.

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FORMATION OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
Formation of INC

Events Leading Up to the Accumulated dissatisfaction • The unpleasantness of the British

Birth of INC against the British rule Raj.
• Feeling of subordination.
• Limited opportunities.

Emergence of the Educated • New English educated middle class

Indians as new Leaders now emerged as the new leaders.
• They were professionals such as
lawyers’ journalists’ teachers.
• They first emerged in the
presidencies of Calcutta Bombay and
Madras.

Role of Nationalist art and • Some Bengali leaders organised

literature Hindu Mela to promote indigenous
art and craft.
• British policies were blamed for
Indian Poverty Swadeshi goods were
emphasized.
• Bengali play called ‘Neel Darpan’
became popular written by
Dinabandhu Mitra
• Anand Math is Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee most celebrated work
which also contains The Immortal
song Bande Mataram.

Role of Political Associations • They did a good job in studying

prior to INC political momentum.
• However, people became dissatisfied
because subscription fee was too
high for the middle class.
• They tended to promote their class
interests.
• Also found to be active in their own
provinces.
• Had little influence over the rest of
the country.

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• Need was felt for an All India

Association Surendranath Banerjee
and Anand Mohan Bose were the
main Architects of the INC.

Formation Event

• First meeting of the Congress was organised by AO Hume in 1885 at Bombay.

• WC Banerjee of Bengal was the first Congress President.
• They demanded greater representation of Indians in government and higher posts.
• The Congress relied on petitions and discussions made no attempt to associate with the masses
proceedings were conducted in strict parliamentary fashion.

MODERATE PHASE OF INC (1885-1905)

Leaders Womesh Chandra Banerjee, Dadabhai Naoroji,
Badruddin Tyabji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
Mahadev Govind Ranade Ranade, Bal Gangadhar
Tilak
Ideology • India's Nationhood needed to be carefully
nurtured.
• The time was not yet right for direct struggle for
freedom.
• They were full of admiration for British culture,
believed that the British rule was much needed
in India.
• Believed that the progress of the country was
being hindered because of the socio-economic
backwardness of the country.
• Moderates felt that the British connection of
India was a necessary evil of that time.

Method of Work of the • Peaceful constitutional agitation.

Moderates • Prayers and petitions.
• Meetings speeches and resolutions.
• Their intention was to reach out to the people
and government and educate them about the
concerns of the Indian people.

Demands of Moderates Political Demands • Expansion of Legislative councils with more

powers and more representation of Indians.
• Separation of Judiciary from the executive work
more opportunities for Indians and civil service.

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Economic • End of economic drain.
Demands • Reduction of land revenue.
• Abolition of salt tax.
• Extension of irrigation facilities to save the
people from famines.

Military Demand • Repeal of Arms Act.

• Appointment of Indians to commissioned ranks
in the army.
• Reduction of military expenditure.

Social Demands • More expenditure on welfare activities like

education health and sanitation.
• Civil rights like freedom of speech basic human
rights for Indian workers in South Africa.

British Reaction to • Congress was described as a factory of sedition.

Congress Demands • The British pushed further the policy of divide
and rule to increase the divide between Hindus
and Muslims.
• British began to encourage through British
elements like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Raja
Shiv Prasad of Banaras.
• The Aligarh movement and United India
patriotic Association was formed to counter the
Congress.

Criticisms • Their methodology of three Ps – prayer, petition

and protest were described as political
mendicancy.
• Political activity included excessive speeches
accused of limiting Congress to a narrow social
base that is the middle class.
• They lacked political faith in the masses.

Achievement of the Political • Indian Councils Act of 1892 - British government

Moderates Achievements was forced to pass the Indian Councils Act of
1892.
• It did not fully satisfy the Congress leaders; they
raised the slogan no taxation without
representation.
• ICS examination in India in 1893, the house of
commons passed a resolution for simultaneous
examination for ICS in London and in India.
• Demand for Swaraj in 1905 Banaras session, the
Congress first demanded Swaraj or self-rule for
Indians within the British Empire.
• Birth of Democratic ideas - political work of the
early Nationalist contributed in germination of

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Democratic ideals among the Indian people.
• Training of Indians in political work - they
contributed in training the people in political
work popularising among them modern ideas.

Economic • Moderates were economic critique of British

Achievements rule in India.
• Dadabhai Naoroji, RC Dutt and others put forth
the theory of drain of wealth.
• Naroji first mentioned the drain theory in his
book Poverty and Unbritish Rule in India.
• RC Dutt mentioned it in his book Economic
History in India.
• In 1895 the Welby Commission on Indian
expenditure was appointed to enquire into
Indian expenditure.

Social • Defence of civil rights became an integral part

Achievements of the freedom struggle due to their campaign

RISE OF THE EXTREMISTS

Causes for the rise of Recognition of the • Politically conscious Indians were able to see
Extremists true nature of the the true nature of British rule.
British rule • They were convinced that its main purpose was
to exploit India economically.
• They were able to see that the Indian economy
and industry could progress only under an
Indian government which would protect and
promote it.

Increasing miseries • Destitution famines and diseases increased.

of Indian life Plight of the Indians in their own country
moved many Indian leaders into extremism.
• On the social cultural front, no progress was
being made under the British rule.
• Primary and Technical Education was already
neglected.
• In 1904 the Indian Universities Act was passed
to tighten British control over higher
education.

Rise in number of • Educated Indians worked in the administration

Educated Indians at very low salaries and many others face
and Unemployment unemployment.
• This attracted them powerfully towards radical
politics

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• Indians were thoroughly influenced by the
Western ideas of democracy, nationalism and
radicalism.

Social Cultural • The writings of Vivekananda the Dayanand and

Reforms after 1858 Bankim had begun to grasp the imagination of
the educated Indians.
• This kind of literature filled the Indians with
new confidence and common vision for a new
India.

International • Despised the humiliating treatment meted out

Influences to Indians in other British colonies.
• Boer War 1899-1902 in South Africa show the
Indians that United people willing to make
sacrifices could challenge even the most
despotic governments.
• They felt' inspired by the Nationalist
movements in Turkey Egypt.
• Defeat of the Italian army at the hands of
Abyssinians and the defeat of Russia by Japan
increased the confidence of Indians.

Disillusionment with • The Congress had achieved little in its first 20

the methods of the years of existence.
Moderates • Their existing rights were being taken away.
• Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak were
main critics of the methods.

Rise of Bal • Militant Nationalism found extemplary

Gangadhar Tilak and personification in Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
other Militant • He felt that the Indians should withdrawal all
Nationalism cooperation with the foreign government and
attains swaraj through self-help.
• He gave the slogan Swaraj is my birthright and
I will have it.
• Other outstanding leaders of militant
nationalism were bipin Chandrapal Aurobindo
Ghose and Lala Lajpat Rai.

Reactionary policies • He has the very low opinion of Indian

of Lord Curzon intelligentsia refused to recognize India as a
nation.
• Condemned Nationalist activities as letting go
of gas under his tenure the Delhi Durbar was
held in 1903 at a time when India had not fully
recovered from the famines.

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The Partition of • The partition of Bengal into two provinces was
Bengal the most hated act of curzon administration.

Extremist leaders Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo

Ghosh, Lala Lajpat Rai
Ideology • Firmly believe that the remedy to Indian
problems lay in the hands of Indian
themselves, had no faith in British
benevolence.
• Declared Swaraj as the goal of the National
Movement.
• Believed that Swaraj could be obtained
through self-reliance self-sacrifice and strong
will.
• Worked to make both the Congress and the
National Movement as mass movements.
• Inspired by India's glorious past.
• Inspired by the ideology of Swami
Vivekananda, Dayanand Saraswati and Bankim
Chandra Chatterjee.
• Emotionally charged nationalism was the
Hallmark of extremist ideology.

Work of the extremists • Bal Gangadhar Tilak used Ganpati festival to

propagate nationalism.
• He also introduced the Shivaji festival to
further stimulate nationalism.
• Gokhale and Ranade were ousted from the
Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, control of the Saba
came into the hands of the extremists.
• Deccan Sabha formed by Gokhale completed
the division between the extremist and the
moderates in Maharashtra.

Extremist program Boycott and • Extremist promoted boycott of British made

Swadeshi goods.
• Use of Swadeshi goods were encouraged.
• They both proved to be one of the most
effective weapons.

National Education National scheme of education was set up for

students who boycotted the government schools
and colleges.
Non-Cooperation or Tilak was the most ardent preacher of Non-
Passive Resistance Cooperation.

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Cooperative • The extremist also encouraged Cooperative
organisation bodies
• Organisations were formed on voluntary basis
for rural sanitation organising fairs and
pilgrimages

• Severe famines killed 90 lakh persons

between 1896 and 1900. Bubonic plague
Possible introduction to any question in and
affected large areas of the Deccan.
around 1905
The period in and around 1905, along with the
Growth of Confidence and Self-Respect
Partition of Bengal in 1905, saw a major leap
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh and
forward in Indian National movement. The
Bipin Chandra Pal repeatedly urged the
richness of the movement was not confined to
nationalists to rely on the character and
politics alone, it led to expanse of the Revolt to the
capacities of the Indian people.
common Indian masses. The Partition of Bengal
• There was the widespread feeling that
and the revolt against it led to the emergence of
only masses were capable of making the
almost all the major political trends of the Indian
immense sacrifices needed to win
national movement.
freedom.

What were the Different Phases of Indian

Growth of Education:
National Movement in the Upcoming Decades?
• The spread of Education led to an
(You can use this to enhance your answers) increased awareness among the masses,
on the other hand, the rise in
From conservative moderation to political
unemployment and underemployment
extremism, from terrorism to incipient socialism,
among the educated drew attention to
from petitioning and public speeches to passive
poverty and the underdeveloped state of
resistance and boycott, all had their origins in the
country's economy under colonial rule.
movement.
Reaction to Increasing Westernization
• The new leadership felt the stranglehold of
Q. Explain the Factors that Lead to the Rise of excessive westernization and sensed
Nationalism around 1903? colonial designs to submerge the Indian
Recognition of the True Nature of British Rule: national identity in the British Empire
• The Government was not concealing their
demands Myths of Western Superiority Busted
• Militant among those politically conscious • The intellectual and moral inspiration of
got disillusioned and started looking for a the new leadership was Indian.
more effective mode of political Intellectuals like Swami Vivekananda,
action. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Swami
• The economic miseries of the 1890s Dayanand Saraswati inspired many young
further exposed the exploitative character nationalists with their forceful alai
of colonial rule. articulate arguments, painting India's past

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in brighter colors than the British
• 1898- Further repressive laws under IPC
ideologues had. These thinkers exploded
124A
the myth of western superiority by
• 1898-No of members in Calcutta
referring to the richness of
cooperation were reduced
Indian civilization in the past Dayanand's
• 1904-Official Secrets Act curbed the
'India for the Indians'
freedom of Press
Dissatisfaction with Achievements of Moderates • 1904-Indian universities act led
• The younger elements within the Congress to greater Government control Over
were dissatisfied with the achievements of Universities
the Moderates first 15-20 years. They were
strongly critical of the methods of peaceful Important Events
and constitutional agitation, popularly • Decision to Partition – 1903
known as the "Three 'P's"— prayer,
• Anti-partition campaign under
petition and protest—and described these
Surendranath Banerjee, KK Mitra & Ray-
methods as 'political mendicancy'.
1903-1905
• Announcement of Partition -July 1905
A Trained Leadership Had Emerged
• Boycott resolution in Calcutta town hall -
• This leadership could provide a proper di-
formal proclamation of swadeshi: 7 -8-
annelisation of the immense potential for
1905
political struggle which the masses
• Day of mourning: Oct 16,1905
possessed and, as the militant nationalists
thought, were ready to give expression to. • Annulment of Partition - 1911 – (Governor
This energy of the masses got a release General: Hardinge)
during the movement against the partition • Moderate - Extremist dispute about
of Bengal, which acquired the form of the spread of the movement
swadeshi agitation. • 1906 - Dadabahai President of Congress –
The Calcutta Session led to 4-point agenda
of: Self-government (SWARAJ), declaration
Different Acts that proved that Government
& passive resistance + Swadeshi/boycott +
was taking away the Rights of Citizens
national education
(Remember Facts for Prelims, also adding this • 1907 - Surat Split
would make your Mains Answers more
objective)- We have already covered them Q. What was the Intention of Partition of Bengal?
before in Polity and History VAN. Revise them • Bengal with a population of78 million
again. (about a quarter of the population of
British India) had indeed become
• 1892-Indian Council Act Failed and was administratively unwieldy. Equally there
Criticized by Nationalist that it failed to was no escaping the fact that the real
satisfy them. motive or partitioning Bengal was political.
• 1897-Deportation of Natu brothers Indian nationalism was gaining in strength
without trial & Tilak was imprisoned and partition expected to weaken what
without trial was perceived as the nerve centre of Indian
nationalism at that time.

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• The main Intention was to dethrone
4. Chidambaram Pillai -- Madras
Calcutta’ from its position as the ‘centre
from which the Congress Party is
manipulated throughout Bengal, and
indeed which the Congress Party centre of Under the Militant leadership
successful intrigue’ and ‘divide, the Bengali
speaking population.’ The partition of the Q. Explain why did the Partition Movement move
state intended to curb Bengali influence by towards Militant Nationalism?
not only placing Bengalis under two After 1905, the Extremists acquired a dominant
administrations but by reducing them to a influence over the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal.
minority in Bengal itself. There were three reasons for this:
• Also, the partition was meant to foster
• The Moderate-led movement had failed to
another kind of division— this time on the
yield results.
basis of religion.
• The divisive tactics of the Governments of
• The policy of propping up Muslim
both the Bengals had
communalists as a counter to the Congress
embittered the nationalists.
and the national movement was to be
implemented. • The Government had resorted to
suppressive measures, which included
atrocities on students—many of whom
ANTI PARTITION MOVEMENT
were given corporal punishment; ban
Q. Trace the origin of Swadeshi Movement. How
on public singing of Bande Mataram;
did it involve the masses?
restriction on public meetings;
Under the Moderates prosecution and long imprisonment of
Leaders in Charge: Surendranath Banerjee, swadeshi workers; clashes between
K.K.Mitra and Prithwishchandra Ray. the police and the people in many towns;
arrests and deportation of
Objective was: To exert sufficient pressure on the
leaders; and suppression of freedom of the
Government through an educated public opinion
press.
in India and England and to prevent the unjust
partition of Bengal from being implemented. The Extremist gave a call for Passive Resistance.
Methods Adopted: What all things did Passive Resistance Include?
Petitions to the Government, public meetings,
memoranda, and propaganda through pamphlets • The boycott of Government schools and
and newspapers such as Hitabadi, Sajibani and colleges, Government Service, courts,
Bengalee legislative councils, municipalities,
government titles etc.
Swadeshi Movement elsewhere (Important • The militant nationalists tried to transform
for Prelims) the ant partition and Swadeshi Movement
into a mass s struggle and gave the slogan
1. Tilak- Maharashtra of India's independence from foreign rule.
2. Lala lajpat Rai - Punjab The Extremists gave the idea of India's
3. Syed Haider Raza - Delhi independence the central place in India's

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politics. The goal of independence was to • VP Chidambaram -- National Shipbuilding
be achieved through self-sacrifice. • Swadesh Bandhab Samiti- Ashwini Kumar
Dutt
“What we could not have accomplished in 50 or
• Tagore -- AMAR Sonar Bangla
100 years, the great disaster, the partition of
• Subramanium Bharati -- Swadesh Geetam
Bengal, has done for us in six months. Its fruits
- in TN
have been the great national movement known
• Abanindranath Tagore- broke the
as the Swadeshi movement.” - Abdul Rasul.
domination of victorian naturalisation &
took inspiration from mughal,ajanta &
rajput paintings-- BHARAT MATA
The work of extremist relied on 3 criteria’s PAINTING
(Important for Prelims) • Nandlal Bose- first recipient of scholarship
- from Indian society of oriental art
• Self-development through constructive
work • Science- JC bose & Prafulchandra Roy
• Passive resistance & mass mobilization
In December 1906: ALL INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE
• Freedom through certain techniques
was formed.

Arobindo Ghosh - first to systematically criticize

the moderate leadership- in new lamps for old in
induprakash

Tilak - was known as father of Indian unrest

New Forms of Struggle

• Boycott of foreign goods

• Public meetings & Processions
• Corps of volunteers, Samitis
• Popular festival use
• Emphasis to self-reliance- Atma shakti
• Programme of swadeshi & national
education
• Swadeshi & indigenous Enterprises
• Impact of cultural sphere.

Important Facts for Prelims

Cultural Significance of Partition movement of

1905.

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All India Muslims League

Following three factors were responsible for the
formation of the Muslim League in India:

Loss of Sovereignty by Mughal Rulers - The British

established their absolute rule over the Indian
peninsula when they dethroned the Mughal
rulers. Since the Mughal throne had a symbolic
importance and emotional value for common
Muslims in India it was seen as an attack on
Muslim identity itself.
Q. Inspite of the Swadeshi movement capturing
British Policy of Divide and Rule - In order to the nerve of the common man, it was short lived
maintain their hold over India, the British and soon fizzled out. Explain the factors that lead
government began to follow their infamous policy to the weakening of the Swadeshi Movement.
of ‘Divide and Rule’. In 1871, the government
adopted a resolution which made Urdu the The Reasons that lead to fizzling out of the
medium of instruction for Muslims in primary and Swadeshi Movement were as follows-
secondary schools and increased the government • There was severe government repression.
aid to Muslim education institutions. Muslim • The movement failed to create an effective
rulers were portrayed as plunderers and Hindu organization or a party structure. It threw
rulers as cruel to their Muslim subjects. The up an entire gamut of techniques that
partition of Bengal was also publicized as a move came to be associated with Gandhian
in the interest of Muslims. Caste and religion fault politics—noncooperation, passive
lines were magnified on purpose through the resistance, filling of British jails, social
Press, posters, literature, etc., and communal reform and constructive work—but failed
leaders were accepted as authentic to give these techniques a disciplined
representatives of their communities. focus.
• The movement was rendered leaderless
Relative Backwardness of Muslim Community -
with most of the leaders either arrested or
The communal and separatist trend of thinking
deported by 1908 and with Aurobindo-
grew among the Muslims because of their then
Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal retiring from
relative backwardness in education, trade and
active politics.
industry. Because of the hostility of upper-class
• Internal squabbles among leaders,
Muslim zamindars and aristocrats towards the
magnified by the Surat split (1907), did
British, Muslim largely remained aloof from
much harm to the movement.
modern western education. Since the British also
• The movement aroused the people but did
regarded them as responsible for the 1857
not know how to tap the newly released
rebellion, they were discriminated against.
energy or how to find new forms to give
Immediate Causes: expression to popular resentment.
• Hindi Urdu Controversy in United Province • The movement largely remained confined
• Swadeshi Movement to the upper and middle classes and
• Morley's budget Speech in 1906

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zamindars, and failed to reach the • It was decided to annul the partition of
masses—especially the peasantry. Bengal in 1911 mainly to curb the menace
• Non-cooperation and passive resistance of revolutionary terrorism.
remained mere ideas. • The annulment came as a rude shock to the
• It is difficult to sustain a mass-based Muslim political elite. It was decided to
movement at a high pitch for too long. shift the capital to Delhi as a sop to the
Muslims, as it was associated with Muslim
glory, but the Muslims were not pleased

Backgrounder- the difference between the

MODERATES and the EXTREMISTS
The era around 1903-1908, was significant in
Indian National Movement, not only for the
reason that, it led to the “Partition of Bengal” and
the “Swadeshi Movement”, but also for one more
Important event - THE SURAT SPLIT

Annulment of Partition of Bengal

• It was decided in 1911(Delhi Durbar) under
the viceroy ship of Lord Hardinge.
• Lord Minto-II was appointed the Viceroy of
India in the year 1905 after the resignation
of Lord Curzon and served office till 1910.

MODERATES vs. EXTREMISTS

No. MODERATES EXTREMISTS

Extremists aimed at nothing short of swaraj

Moderates aimed at administrative as it existed in the United Kingdom and its
1
and constitutional reforms. self-governing colonies. Tilak said, “Swaraj
is my birth right and I shall have it”.

Moderates wanted more Indians in

2 the administration and not to an Extremists wanted to end the British rule.
end of British rule.

Extremist drew their supporters’ included

Moderate leaders had faith in the peoples from all sections including the
3
British sense of justice and fair play. lower middle class, workers, and farmers.
Extremists thus had a wider social base.

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Extremists drew their inspiration from

India’s past. Extremists revived the
Moderates Believed political Ganapati and Sivaji festivals to arouse the
connections with Britain to be in masses. Extremists wanted to
4
India’s social, political and cultural inculcate pride in India’s glorious culture to
interests. generate the spirit of nationalism.
Extremists invoked goddesses Kali or Durga
for strength to fight for the motherland

Extremist denounced British rule and defied

Most of the moderate leaders were it. Many of them (Extremists) Were
loyal to British. Many of them held arrested because of anti-British activities.
5
high ranks under the British
government.

Moderates believed in
constitutional means and worked
within the framework of the law. Extremist were radical in their approach.
6
Their methods including passing Demands of extremists were aggressive.
resolutions, persuasion, sending
petitions and appeals.

Moderates received their support

from the intelligentsia and urban Extremists believed in atma shakti or self-
7
middle class. Moderates had a reliance as a weapon against domination.
narrow social base.

Extremists believed in militant methods

Moderates believed in cooperation
8 including swadeshi and boycott. According
and reconciliation.
to Tilak, freedom to be fought for.

Examples of moderate leaders- Examples of extremist leaders- Bala

9 Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gangadhara Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and
Gokhale etc. Lala Lajpat Rai, Aurobindo Ghosh.

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This is UPSC’s Favorite area of asking questions in Prelims and Mains: Mains Questions over the Years
asked in this area

1. What were the attitudes of Moderates and Extremists towards the Freedom Movement in India?
What lead to the show down in Surat? (UPSC 1986)
2. Analyse the main differences of Tilak and Gokhale on social and political issues (UPSC 1983)
3. What were the contributions of the Moderates in the formative stage of Indian National Congress
(UPSC 1992)
4. Why did the “Moderates fail’ carry conviction with the nation about their proclaimed ideology and
political goals by the end of nineteenth century (UPSC 2017)

PARTITION OF BENGAL AND SWADESHI MOVEMENT-REVISE

• Bengal originally comprised of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam.
• A vast province with the diverse population.
• According to British authorities, Bengal had grown too big to be efficiently administered.
• The real intention: Lord Curzon and his Advisors decided to partition Bengal along religious lines to
hurt the Bengali speaking educated middle class that was spearheading the National Movement in
Eastern India.
• A plan to make the Bengalis suffer both Physical and Mental division.
• On 20th July 1905, Curzon issued the order dividing Bengal into two parts:
1. Eastern Bengal and Assam comprising of Chittagong, Dacca, Rajashahi divisions, Hill Tippera,
Malda and Assam.
2. Another part was rest of Bengal.
• On 16th October 1905, the new province came into existence.
• During 1903 to 1905 leadership of the anti-partition movement was provided by the moderates. They
adopted methods like prayers, petitions to the government etc.
• On 7th August 1905, Swadeshi movement was formally announced. The famous Boycott Resolution
was passed.
• The leaders began touring the country urging people to Boycott Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt.
• The partition day was declared as a national mourning throughout the Bengal.
• People took to the streets singing Vande Mataram, Rabindranath Tagore composed the song Amar
Sonar Bangla.
• In 1905 Banaras session of the Congress, presided by GK Gokhale the INC took up the issue of Bengal
partition.
• Both moderates and extremists supported the cause of Swadeshi and Boycott for Bengal.
• Differences arose between moderates and extremists regarding the manner in which the partition
was to be imposed.
• The extremists wanted to turn anti partition movement into nationwide mass movement.
• The moderates wanted to confine the boycott to Bengal and to foreign goods.
• In 1906, Calcutta session of the INC, presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji, four resolutions on Swaraj,
Swadeshi Boycott and National Education were passed.
• For the first time, Swaraj was declared as a political goal of the Congress.
• Matters came to a head in 1907 Surat session where the party split with disastrous consequences for

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the Swadeshi Movement
• The participation of peasants remained negligible because the Swadeshi activists did not raise any
voice to protest against peasants’ grievances.
• The Swadeshi Movement was unable to gain support of the mass of the Muslims due to British divide
and rule policy.
• In 1906 October, British efforts culminated in the formation of the All India Muslim League under the
leadership of Nawab Salimullah of Dacca.
• Some outstanding Muslim leaders played a lead role in the agitation such as Liaqat Hussain, Abdul
Rasul, Abdul Hakeem Ghaznavi.
• British unleashed powerful repressive measures to deal with the movement such as expulsion of
student participants, giving free hand to the police to launch physical assault.
• Partition of Bengal was finally annulled in 1911.
• Reasons for decline of Swadeshi movement
1. No support of the Muslim masses
2. Methods were new and unfamiliar
3. Predominant Hindu overtone of the Swadeshi Movement
4. Better government repression split in the Congress in 1907

THE SURAT SPLIT

Congress Sessions around this period: (Very Important for Prelims)

YEAR PLACE PRESIDENT HAPPENINGS

1905 Benaras G.K.GOKHALE Extremist wanted to take the movement out of

Bengal and make it Pan-India, the Moderates
wanted to be restricted to Bengal

1906 Calcutta Dadabhai Nowroji It was declared that goal of the Indian National
Congress was ‘self-government’ or Swaraj

1907 Surat Rashbihari Bose It led to the Split between Moderates and
Extremists

Q- Congress a hitherto homogenized entity that as government service, law courts, legislative
captured the imagination of Indian masses, split councils, etc.) within the boycott programme and
into two factions in 1905.What were the factors thus start a nationwide mass movement.
that led to Surat Split?
The Moderates, on the other hand, were not in
The Extremists wanted to extend the Boycott and favour of extending the movement beyond Bengal
Swadeshi Movement to regions outside Bengal and were totally opposed to boycott of councils
and also to include all forms of associations (such and similar associations. They advocated strictly

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constitutional methods to protest against the Any hasty action by the Congress, the
partition of Bengal. Moderates felt, under Extremist pressure
was bound to annoy the Liberals in power
At the Calcutta session of the Congress in
in England then.
December 1906, the Moderate enthusiasm had
• The Moderates did not realize that the
cooled a bit because of the popularity of the
council reforms were meant by the
Extremists and the revolutionary terrorists and
Government more to isolate the Extremists
because of communal riots. Here, the Extremists
than to reward the Moderates. The
wanted either Tilak or Lajpat Rai as the president,
Extremists did not realise that the
while the Moderates proposed the name of
Moderates could act as their outer line of
Dadabhai Naoroji, who was widely respected by all
defense in face of state repression. Both
the nationalists.
sides did not realise that in a vast country
Different Interpretations of Swaraj like India ruled by a powerful imperialist
country, only a broad-based nationalist
• In 1906 Dadabhai Naoroji was elected as
movement could succeed.
the president and as a concession to the
militants, the goal of the Indian National
Congress was defined as ‘swarajya or self- Act of 1909 Morley-Minto Reforms
government like the United Kingdom or Lord Morley, the then secretary of state of India
the colonies. Also, a resolution supporting and Lord Minto, the then viceroy of India,
the programme of swadeshi, boycott and announced some reforms in the British
national education was passed. Parliament. They were announced to placate the
• The word swaraj was mentioned for the moderate nationalists by giving some
first time, but its connotation was not speit constitutional concessions. At the same time, they
out, which left the field open for differing suppressed the militant nationalists there by
interpretations by the Moderates and the creating a divide and rule after the Surat split of
Extremists. 1907.

1. It considerably increased the size of the

Different Perception Regarding the Method of
legislative councils, both central and provincial.
Struggle
The number of members in the central legislative
• The Extremists, emboldened by the
council was raised from 16 to 60. Now the
proceedings at the Calcutta session, gave a
viceroy’s executive council consisted of viceroy + 1
call for wide passive resistance and boycott
extra-ordinary member+ 7 members.
of schools, colleges, legislative councils,
municipalities, law courts, etc. The • Although it increased the number of
Moderates, encouraged by the news that elected members in the Imperial
council reforms were on the anvil, decided Legislative Council and Provincial
to tone down the Calcutta programme. Legislative Council, most of the elected
members were indirectly elected by the
provincial councils in the case of Imperial
Anticipation of Council Reforms
council and by municipal committees and
• The Moderates saw in the council reforms
district boards in the case of the provincial
an opportunity to realise their dream of
councils. Some of the elected seats were
Indian participation in the administration.
reserved for landlords and British

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capitalists in India. Moreover, the Q. The Partition of Bengal made by Lord Curzon in
reformed councils still enjoyed no power, 1905 lasted until (UPSC 2014)
being merely advisory bodies.
a) The First World War when Indian troops
2. Retained official majority in the Central were needed by the British and the
legislative council, but allowed non-official partition was ended.
majority in the provincial legislative council. b) King George V abrogated Curzon's Act as
the Royal Durbar in Delhi in 1911
3. It enlarged deliberative functions of the
c) Gandhiji launched his Civil Disobedience
legislative councils at both the levels i.e. members
Movement.
could now ask supplementary questions, move
d) The Partition of India in 1947 when East
resolution on the budget, discuss bills etc.
Bengal became East Pakistan.
4. It provided (for the first time) for the
Q. Four resolutions were passed at the famous
association of Indians with the executive councils
Calcutta session of Indian National Congress in
of viceroy and governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha
1906. The question of either retention OR of
was the first Indian to join viceroy’s executive
rejection of these four resolutions became the
council. He was appointed as the law member.
cause of a split in Congress at the next Congress
5. Introduced a system of communal session held in Surat in 1907. Which one of the
representation for Muslims by accepting the following was not one of those resolutions? (UPSC
concept of ‘separate electorate’. Under this the 2010)
Muslim members were to be selected only by
a) Annulment of partition of Bengal
Muslim voters. Thus, the act legalised
b) Boycott
communalism and Lord Minto came to be known
c) National education
as Father of Communal Electorate.
d) Swadeshi
Q. The `Swadeshi’ and ‘Boycott’ were adopted as
Q. In the context of the Indian freedom struggle
methods of struggle for the first time during the
16th October 1905 is well known for which one of
(UPSC 2016)
the following reasons? (UPSC 2009)
a) agitation against the Partition of Bengal
a) The formal proclamation of Swadeshi
b) Home Rule Movement
Movement was made in Calcutta town hall
c) Non-Cooperation Movement
b) Partition of Bengal took effect
d) visit of the Simon Commission to India
c) Dadabhai Naoroji declared that the goal of
Indian National Congress was Swaraj
Q. Which one of the following movements has d) Lokmanya Tilak started Swadeshi
contributed to a split in the Indian National Movement in Poona
Congress resulting in the emergence of 'moderates'
and 'extremists'? (UPSC 2015) Q. What was the main reason for the split in the
Indian National Congress at Surat in 1907? (UPSC
a) Swadeshi Movement 2016)
b) Quit India Movement
c) Non-Cooperation Movement a) Introduction of communalism into Indian
d) Civil Disobedience Movement politics by Lord Minto

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b) Extremists’ lack of faith in the capacity of RISE OF REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISM –
the moderates to negotiate with the British PHASE 1
Government Why violence now-at this stage?
c) Foundation of Muslim League
d) Aurobindo Ghosh’s inability to be elected •
This was primarily because they could find
as the President of the Indian National no other way of expressing their
Congress patriotism It is necessary at this point to
reiterate the fact that, while the youth of
Q. What was the immediate cause for the launch of Bengal might have been incensed at the
the Swadeshi movement? (UPSC 2010) official arrogance and repression and the
a) The partition of Bengal done by Lord ‘mendicancy’ of the Congress Moderates.
Curzon They were also led to ‘the politics of the
b) A sentence of 18 months rigorous bomb’ by the Extremists’ failure to give a
imprisonment imposed on Lokmanya Tilak positive lead to the people.
c) The arrest and deportation of Lala Lajpat • They had talked and written about direct
Rai and Ajit Singh; and passing of the action; The Extremists had failed to find
Punjab Colonization Bill forms through which all these ideas could
d) Death sentence pronounced on the find practical expression. The Extremists
Chapekar brothers could not create a viable organization to
lead the movement nor could they really
define the movement in a way that
CONCLUSION: That can be used for any Mains differed from that of the Moderates.
Answer related to the section (Do amend according “The Extremist way of struggled had come to a
to the Question, this is on a general basis) dead End”- according to the Youth who moved
towards militant nationalism.
GOKHALE – said
“The thirty crores of people inhabiting India must
“Our achievements would be small, our failures raise their sixty crores of hands to stop this curse
frequent, but we must contain with serving our of oppression. Force must be stopped by force”-
country with our failures - with this our strength Yugantar
will grow”
Method of Oppression Decided by the Militant
The period between 1903-1908, was one of the Youth
most important transitional periods in India-It • They decided to organize the assassination
raised confidence of Indians, brought different of unpopular British officials. Such
opinions and people from all sections to the assassinations would strike terror into the
mainstream. hearts of the rulers, amuse the patriotic
instincts of the people, inspire them and
remove the fear of authority from their
minds.
• Each assassination, and if the assassins
were caught, the consequent trial of the
revolutionaries involved, would act as
‘propaganda by deed’’ All that this form of

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struggle needed was numbers of young steadily increasing number of young men
people ready to sacrifice their lives. It turned to this form of political struggle
aroused their latent sense of heroism. A

List of Revolutionaries and their Revolutionary activities

Name of the Revolutionary Organization Revolutionary
Activity

Pramathanath Mitra Anushilan Samiti

Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Inner circles of Anushilan Abortive attack on Lt

Dutta Samiti- started YUGANTAR governor Fuller

Secret Society of far-flung

Rashbihari Bose & Sachin Sanyal
areas

Prafulla Chaki & Khudiram bBose Bombed Kingsford

aimed to get rid of Bristish

by armed revolt- raised
Ramosi Peasant Force
Vasudev Balwant Phadke funds through dacoities-
prematurely suppressed

killed plague commisioner

Chapekar Brothers of Pune

Organised Mitra Mela, LATER

V.D.Savarkar
merged with Abinav Bharat

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Started “Punjabee”
Lala Lajpat Rai

Ajit Singh Bharat Mata (journal)

India Home Rule Society -

Shyamji Krishna Verma London, India house - center

Madanlal Dhingra

Attack on viceroy
hardinge ( delhi
Rashbihari bose & Sachin Sanyal conspiracy)

brought out Bande

Madam bhikaji Cama Mataram (was operated by
ajit singh )

Pulin Das Barrah Dacoity

REVOLUTIONARY TERRORIST MOVEMENT

Reasons • Failure of moderate methods.
• After 1905 Bengal partition, a group of Nationalist realised the futility
of praying and petitioning to the government.
• Were convinced with the extremists’ critique of moderate politics
• Extremists were unable to give a practical expression to these ideas.
• Extremists failed to organise an effective body that could direct the
Revolutionary energies.
• Violent oppression of the Swadeshis by the government.
• The Congress split in 1907 facilitated this and the government

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launched an all-out attack on the extremists.

Methods of the • They believed imperialism could be countered by western methods

revolutionaries of violence alone.
• Took to the cult of revolver and the bomb.
• Recruited young persons, trained them in values of action and
sacrifice.
• Based their style on the lines of Irish terrorists and the Russian
Nihilists.
• Resorted to assassinations of a unpopular officials.
• Aimed to terrorize the British into submission and consolidate the
feelings of nationalism.

Government response • The Government of India passed several repressive legislations:

• The Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act 1907.
• The Indian Criminal Law Amendment Act 1908.
• Newspaper Incitement to Offences Act 1908.
• The Press Act 1910.

Decline of Revolutionary • Stern government repression.

Trend • Lack of popular response.
• World War 1 ended and the government released all political
Prisoners.
• Gandhi arrived on the national scene and emphasized on non-violent
means.

Second phase of Revolutionary terrorist movement (After 1922)

Hindustan Republican • Organised by Sachindranath Sanyal, Ram Prasad Bismil and Jogesh
Association or Army (HRA) Chatterjee.
• Objectives: work to overthrow the British rule through an armed
revolution.
• To establish a federal Republic of United States of India on the basis
of adult franchise.
• Kakori robbery - 9th August 1925 - The HRA leaders decided to
organise government dacoities to finance their activities as well as for
propaganda and collection of arms.
• Kakori robbery was one such robbery
• A large number of them were arrested and tried in Kakori robbery
case.
• At the end of the trial Ashfaqulla Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan

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Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were sentenced to death and hanged.

Hindustan Socialist • Chandrashekhar Azad reorganised HRA with the support of new
Republican Association or cadre of young revolutionaries that included Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev,
Army, • Saunders murder case - on 17th December 1928 at lahore Bhagat
Delhi, Sep, 1928. Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sukhdev and Rajguru assassinated a
police officer Saunders.
• Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt also threw harmless bombs in the
central assembly on 8th April 1929.
• They were tried along with several others in what came to be known
as the Second Lahore conspiracy case.
• They were hand on 23rd March 1931.

Chittagong Armoury Raid, • Surya Sen, Ganesh Ghosh, Ambika Chakraborty, Anant Singh and
Loknath Paul.
18th April 1930 • They decided to radar armouries to equip themselves with arms
starting with chittagong armoury.
• Surya Sen was later on arrested, tried and hanged on 12th January.

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GHADAR PARTY
Ghadr was an early 20th-century movement among Indians, principally Sikhs living in North America, to end
British rule in their homeland of India. The movement originated with an organization of immigrants in
California called the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast. Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, many
of the Ghadrites returned to India and for several months during 1915 carried on terrorist activities in central
Punjab. Attempted uprisings were quickly crushed by the British. After the war, the party in America split
into Communist and anti-Communist factions. The party was dissolved in 1948, after India had achieved
independence.

Main Leaders Lala Hardylal, Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh etc.

Organization established Swadesh Sevak Home -- Vancouver & United India House -- Seattle
& their Head Quarters

1. to organize assassinations,
Method of Working 2. publish revolutionary & anti imperialistic behaviour
3. preached militant nationalism with secular approach

GHADAR MOVEMENT
Ghadar Revolutionaries • Punjabi immigrants settled in the West Coast of North America since
1904.
• They had to face the hostility of white labour force.
• They decided to organise themselves with the aim of securing India's
freedom from the British rule.

Founded by • Lala Hardayal

• Baba Sohan Singh
• Bhakna Ramchandra Barkatullah

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• Baba Gurmukh Singh

Ideology • Ghadar party pledged to wage Revolutionary war against the British
in India
• Ideology was particularly secular

Main events during Gadar • Hardayal was arrested by the US authorities on pretext of spreading
Movement Anarchy.
• He was released on bail and decided to jump bail and escape to
Switzerland.
• In 1913, Japanese ship named Komagata Maru carried 376 Indian to
Vancouver.
• Upon its arrival, the ship was not allowed to land in Vancouver.
• To fight for the rights of the passengers Shore committee was
formed.
• Lead by Husain Rahim, Sohanlal Pathak and Balwant Singh.
• Yet Komagata Maru was forced out of Canadian waters.
• On 27 September 1914, the ship reached Budge Budge Calcutta.
• The Clash between the police and the passengers resulted in the
death of 18 passengers.
• This created widespread discontentment in Punjab.
• Political dacoities erupted in the districts of Jalandhar, Amritsar and
Ludhiana.
• Outbreak of the First World War was the most significant event that
affected the Gadar Movement.
• The party issued Ailan-e -Jung or proclamation of War.
• Ghadar activists urged people to return to India in large numbers.

Government repression • Large number of people were put to death and sentenced to long
terms in Prison in first Lahore Conspiracy Case involving Ghadar
activists

KOMATA MARU INCIDENT

Note: Question can be asked on this, as UPSC has developed a new habit of asking questions on concepts
which were in news a year or more

Why was it in News?

• Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons apologized for an incident that
occurred just over a century ago in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. More than 350 people were denied
entry to Canada and sent back across the Pacific Ocean —some of them to their deaths — because
they weren’t the right colour or religion.

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The event was emblematic of an entire period of Canadian history characterized by xenophobia, racism and
exclusionary immigration policies.

What was the Komagata Maru?

• The Komagata Maru was a coal-transport steamship that had been converted into a passenger ship
by Hong Kong-based businessman Gurdit Singh. It set off from Hong Kong in April
1914, reaching Vancouver’s harbour a month later with 376 people on board, most of them Sikhs
like Singh.

Why was the ship turned away?

• The Komagata Maru was, in a sense, designed as a test of Canada’s increasingly strict immigration
policies. Among the most cumbersome requirements for new arrivals was the Continuous Passage
regulation, instituted by the Canadian government in 1908. It stated that immigrants must “come
from the country of their birth, or citizenship, by a continuous journey” and using tickets “purchased
before leaving the country of their birth or citizenship.”
• That means if you were born in India, went to China, and then continued on to Canada, you were
illegal

What happened to everyone else?

• Eventually, after a two-month standoff in the waters just off Vancouver, the ship was escorted back
out to sea by the Canadian military. During the span of time, it sat in the harbour, the Komagata Maru
became something of a media sensation, and drew plenty of attention from the public at large. 19 of
the passengers were killed by gunfire upon disembarking. Others were imprisoned.

Facts Important for Prelims

The year in which the incidence took place: 1914

Who lead the movement in India: Rashbehari Bose (later fled to Japan) and Sachin Sanyal (Later was
transported for Life)

The movement was Militant but completely secular

Do you Know?

What was Hindu German Conspiracy?

The “Hindu-German conspiracy” involved India’s revolutionary exiles in the US and Europe. Turkish
officials and Irish Republicans lent some extra colour to the effort. Moving arms from America to the
subcontinent was only one part of the German ambition to turn Britain’s greatest advantage — the
possession of India — into a liability.

Germany looked for allies among the Bengal revolutionaries, the Ghadar Party in Punjab, the Deobandis,
Hindu princes and Muslim nawabs. The German effort peaked with the establishment of a provisional
government of India in Kabul exactly a century ago this year in December 1915.

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The plan was to bring 20,000 Turkish and German soldiers to Afghanistan and assist Kabul in launching a
war against the Raj. The attack on the North West Frontier would be reinforced by a mutiny in the Indian
army and a popular upsurge against British rule.

What was Zimmerman Plan? Who was “Arthur Zimmerman”?

Arthur Zimmermann (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1940) was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German
Empire from 22 November 1916 until his resignation on 6 August 1917. His name is associated with the
Zimmermann Telegram during World War I. However, he was closely involved in plans to support
rebellions in Ireland and in India, and to assist the Bolsheviks to undermine Tsarist Russia.

prisoners of war in Germany, first of all in the so-

THE BERLIN COMMITTEE FOR INDIAN
called Halbmondlager in Wünsdorf
INDEPENDENCE
YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT: 1915 by “Virendranath
The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a (UPSC 2014)
Chattopadhyay”
a) revolutionary association of Indians with
MAJOR LEADERS: Lala Hardayal, Bhupendranath
headquarters at San Francisco.
Dutta and others
b) nationalist organization operating from
During the First World War, Berlin became an Singapore.
organizational hub for Indian nationalist and c) militant organisation with headquarters at
revolutionary activities. By September 1914, a Berlin
group of South Asian emigrants had organized – d) Communist movement for India's freedom
with permission of and in cooperation with the with head-quarters at Tashkent
German Foreign Office – the Berlin Indian
Independence Committee (IIC). The Foreign Office
together with the Political Office of the Reserve
General Staff cooperated with exiles,
revolutionaries and opposition groups from
various nationalities (for example Egyptians,
Persians and Georgians) in order to implement a
strategy to "revolutionize" the enemies' colonies.

Aims and Activities of the IIC

The main tasks of the Berlin Indian Independence
Committee included: to prepare a mission to the
Persian Gulf “in order to convince Indian troops
there not to fight the Turkish and Persian armies”;
to organise a mission to the Emir of Afghanistan in
order to get permission to enter India with an
Indian battalion from the Afghan territory and to
carry out propaganda among South Asian

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

HOME RULE MOVEMENT Factors Leading to - Home Rule Movement.

Home Rule League, either of two short-lived • Moderates were disillusioned by Morley
organizations of the same name in India Minto reforms (followed + Morley-Minto
established in April and September 1916, Reforms)
respectively, by Indian nationalist Bal Gangadhar • People feeling burden of wartime miseries
Tilak and British social reformer and Indian • Tilak was ready to assume leadership
independence leader Annie Besant. The term, • Annie Besant, an Irish Theosophist based
borrowed from a similar movement in Ireland, in India has decided to enlarge the sphere
referred to the efforts of Indian nationalists to of her activities
achieve self-rule from the British Indian
government.

PRELIMS SPECIFIC POINTS – Regarding Home Rule Movement

• Annie Besant Started two newspapers - New India & Commonweal (don’t get confused with
Young India, which was started by Mahatma Gandhi)
• Who Started the Movement First? - TILAK (April 1916, then Besant in September 1916)
• Extent of Tilak’s Movement: Maharashtra (excluding Bombay), Central province & Karnataka,
Berar - it had 6 branches.
• Extent of Besant’s Movement: Rest of India (including Bombay City)
• Who’s Movement was more tightly organized: TILAK
• Leaders who Joined the Movement (find out whom among them showed their first presence
in Indian National Movement): Both Nehrus (Motilal and Jawaharlal, C. Das, Bhullabhai desai
,M.A.Jinnah, Sapru, LL Rai, Madan Mohan Malaviya
• Who were the people who joined Annie Besant: George Arundale, B.W.Wadia & C.P.
Ramaswamy Aiyar
• Who gave up the Knighthood during the Home Rule Movement: S Subramanian Iyer (don’t
get confused with Rabindranath Tagore who gave up Knighthood after “Jallianwala Baug
Massacre")

pamphlets, posters, illustrated

post-cards, plays, religious songs, etc.,
THE PROGRAMME OF HOME RULE LEAGUE
collecting funds, organizing
• To Convey to common man message of
social work, and participating in local
home rule & self-government
government activities
• Attracted Politically backward regions
• The Russian Revolution was a motivation
• Promoting political education & discussion
for the Home Rule League
through public meetings, organizing
libraries and reading rooms etc. Reasons why the Home Rule Movement faded off
• They fulfilled their aim through holding
conferences, organizing classes for • The Movement was also left leaderless
students on once Tilak left for England to pursue a libel
politics, propaganda through newspapers,

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case he had filed and Annie Besant was united they stand, but divided they fall, and
largely satisfied by the promise of Reforms. brothers have at last met brothers... “
• Its further growth and activity were stalled
Why was the Lucknow Pact Significant?
by the rise of Mahatma Gandhi and his
It presented the Home Rule Leaguers with the
Satyagraha art of revolution: non-violent,
long-awaited opportunity of demonstrating their
but mass-based civil disobedience.
strength. Tilak’s Home Rule League established a
Gandhi's Hindu lifestyle, mannerisms and
tradition that was to become an essential part of
immense respect for Indian culture and the
later Congress annual sessions.
common people of India made him
immensely popular with India's common The Lucknow Congress was significant also for the
people. His victories in leading the farmers famous Congress League Pact, popularly known as
of Champaran, Bihar and Kheda, Gujarat the Lucknow Pact. The Lucknow Congress also
against the British authorities on tax demanded a further dose of constitutional
revolts made him a national hero. reforms as a step towards self-government.
• After the Montagu Declaration the league Another very significant proposal made by Tilak —
agreed to suspend its expansion of the that the Congress should appoint a small and
movement. After this the all-moderate cohesive Working Committee that would carry on
candidate gave up the membership of the day-to-day affairs of the Congress and be
league. The league believed that the British responsible for implementing the resolutions
government will gradually reform the passed at the annual sessions- However; it was
administration and local representative quashed by the opposition by the Moderates.
system by ushering participation of local But, why did the Moderates and Extremists get
Indians. Also, there was lack of Effective together?
Organization.
• They realized that the Split had led to
THE LUCKNOW SESSION OF CONGRESS – 1916 Political Inactivity.
POINTS IMPORTANT FROM PRELIMS POINT OF • The Old Controversies had become
VIEW meaningless now.
• PRESIDENT: Ambika Charan Muzumdar • The Home Rule League members had
• IMPORTANT NEWSPAPERS ---- made significant efforts for the Reunion.
Maulona Azad's paper – “Al Hilal”, Mhd • The death of the Moderates who had
Ali's – “comrade” leaded the opposition of reunion.

Do you know?
Words by the Congress President - Ambika
A special train, known variously as the ‘Congress
Charan Muzumdar
Special’ and the ‘Home Rule Special,’ was
“After nearly 10 years of painful separation and organized to carry delegates from Western India
wanderings through the wilderness of to Lucknow.
misunderstandings and the mazes of unpleasant
controversies... both the wings of the Indian
Nationalist party have come to realize the fact that

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And, guess who Apart from the Moderates and MAINS QUESTIONS
Extremist came together?
• “The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was signed
CONGRESS & THE MUSLIM LEAGUE (unexpected without regard for its consequences”.
Alliances, are not just a feature of present day) Elucidiate. (UPSC 1993)
• Explain the Role Played by Annie Besant in
Why did the League come with the Congress?
the Home Rule Movement. (UPSC 1994)
• Announcement of cancelation partition of
• Trace the growth of Indian Home Rule
Bengal in 1911 had annoyed the faction of the
Movement (UPSC 2002)
League who had supported the Partition.
• Britain’s refusal to help Turkey had infuriated Q. Annie Besant was
the Muslims.
1. Responsible for starting the Home Rule
• The older issues had become a bit meaningless
Movement
• The younger league members had become
2. The founder of the Theosophical Society
bolder nationalists.
3. Once the President of the Indian National
MONTAGUE’s STATEMENT OF 1917/THE AUGUST Congress
DECLARATION Select the correct statement/statements using
the codes given below.

a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

“T Governments Policy is of increasing

participation of Indians in every branch of
Administration and gradual development of
Indians in every branch of administration and
gradual development of self-governing
institutions with a view to Progressive
Realization of Responsible Government in India
as an integral part of British Empire”

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THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT – 1919 authorised the provincial legislatures to

Introduction of Diarchy at the PROVINCES i.e. enact their budgets.
classification of the central and • It provided for the appointment of a
provincial subjects. The provincial subjects were statutory commission to inquire into and
divided into two groups: One was reserved report on its working after ten years of its
subjects (essential areas of law enforcement such coming into force.
as justice, police, revenue) were kept with the
Q. In the context of Indian history, the principle of
Governor and transferred subjects (public health,
‘Dyarchy (diarchy)’ refers to (UPSC 2017)
public works, education etc.) were kept with the
Indian Ministers. This division of subjects was a) Division of the central legislature into two
basically what they meant by introducing the houses.
Diarchy. b) Introductions of double government i.e.,
Central and Statement governments.
It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and
c) Having two sets of rulers; one in London
direct elections in the country. Thus, the Indian
and another in Delhi.
Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral
d) Division of the subjects delegated to the
legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council
provinces into two categories.
of State) and a Lower House (Legislative
Assembly). The majority of members of both the Q. The Montague-Chelmsford Proposals were
Houses were chosen by direct election. related to (UPSC 2016)

• It required that the three of the six a) social reforms

members of the Viceroy’s executive b) educational reforms
Council (other than the commander-in- c) reforms in police administration
chief) were to be Indian. d) constitutional reforms
• It extended the principle of communal Q. The Government of India Act of 1919 clearly
representation by providing separate defined (UPSC 2015)
electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians,
Anglo-Indians and Europeans. a) The separation of power between the
• It granted franchise to a limited number of judiciary and the legislature.
people on the basis of property, tax or b) The jurisdiction of the central and
education. provincial governments.
• It created a new office of the High c) The powers of the Secretary of State for
Commissioner for India in London and India and the Viceroy
transferred to him some of the functions d) None of the above
hitherto performed by the Secretary of
State for India. Q. Which of the following is/are the principal
• It provided for the establishment of a feature(s) of the Government of India Act, 1919?
public service commission. Hence, a (UPSC 2012)
Central Public Service Commission was set
up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants. 1. Introduction of diarchy in the executive
government of the provinces.
• It separated, for the first time, provincial
2. Introduction of separate communal
budgets from the Central budget and
electorates for Muslims.

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

3. Devolution of legislative authority by the The Train Incident:
centre to the provinces Gandhi refused on the grounds that he had a valid
Select the correct answer using the codes given ticket, and was ejected from the train in
below: Pietermaritzburg. Here he spent a freezing night in
the waiting room at the station, brooding on what
a) 1 only
had just happened and whether he should return
b) 2 and 3 only
to India.
c) 1 and 3 only
Today, there is a plaque at the station in
d) 1, 2 and 3
Pietermaritzburg that reads: 'In the vicinity of this
plaque MK Gandhi was evicted from a first-class
compartment on the night of 7 June 1893. This
GANDHIJI’S STAY IN SOUTH AFRICA incident changed the course of his life. He took up
South Africa was the crucible that forged Gandhi’s the fight against racial oppression. His active non-
identity as a political activist and was an important violence started from that date.'
prelude to his return to India, where he played a
pivotal role in securing its independence from
British rule in August 1947.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (his birth name)
arrived in South Africa in 1893 at the relatively
tender age of 24 as a newly qualified lawyer on a
temporary assignment to act on behalf of a local
Indian trader in a commercial dispute. What was
meant to be a short stopgap for the struggling
young lawyer turned into a 21-year stay, with
spells in India and England.
During his time here, he developed the strategy
known as satyagraha (truth-force), in which
campaigners went on peaceful marches and
presented themselves for arrest in protest against
unjust laws.
This form of action was to become one of the great
political tools of the 20th century, influencing the
civil rights movement in the United States and the
African National Congress in its early years of
struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
Do you know?
Even though Gandhi had studied law London, he
had been battling to land work in India, both in
Bombay (now Mumbai) and his hometown of
Porbandar in Gujarat. His break came when
Dada Abdulla and Sons in South Africa needed a
lawyer who could speak Gujarati to settle a
dispute with a cousin who was failing to pay
money owed to the firm.

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Do you Know?

“Gandhi thought himself to be British first and

Indian Later”, then how this “HRIDAY
PARIVARTAN”?
In another incident apart from the Train one,
the magistrate of a Durban court ordered
Gandhi to remove his turban, which he refused
to do. Indians were not allowed to walk on
public footpaths in South Africa. Gandhi was Gandhi leads the march from Natal to the
kicked by a police officer out of the footpath Transvaal. 1913.
onto the street without warning. Indian Ambulance Corps
When Gandhi arrived in South Africa, according
to Herman, he thought of himself as "a Briton The Natal Indian Ambulance Corps was created by
first, and an Indian second". However, the Mahatma Gandhi for use by the British as
prejudice against him and his fellow Indians stretcher bearers during the Second Boer War,
from British people that Gandhi experienced with expenses met by the local Indian community.
and observed deeply bothered him. He found it Gandhi and the corps served at the Battle of Spion
humiliating, struggling to understand how some Kop. It consisted of 300 free Indians and 800
people can feel honour or superiority or indentured labourers.
pleasure in such inhumane practices.] Gandhi Why did they do this?
began to question his people's standing in the The large Indian population of the British colonies
British Empire. in South Africa, led by Gandhi, saw in the Anglo-
Boer War an opportunity. Through dedicated
military service to the British Raj, Indians could
THE INDIAN NATAL CONGRESS demonstrate to the white colonists their loyalty as
The NIC (Natal Indian Congress) was the first of the British subjects with all the rights, privileges and
equal treatment under British law.2 Gandhi
Indian Congresses to be formed. It was established
encouraged the recruitment of Indian soldiers for
in 1894 by Mahatma Gandhi to fight service in South Africa with his organization of the
discrimination against Indian traders in Natal. Indian Ambulance Corps despite his sympathies
From the 1920s the organization functioned under for the Boer cause. The objective of Gandhi's
the umbrella organization, the SAIC (South African service to the British Crown in the Anglo-Boer War
Indian Congress). was to force the British to recognize Indians as
equal citizens of the British Empire.
The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) came into being in
1894 and was formed by Mahatma Gandhi to fight
discrimination against Indian traders in Natal. The
NIC, was the first of the Indian Congresses
followed by the formation of the Transvaal Indian
Congress (TIC) and the Cape Indian Congress, the
three later went on to form the South African
Indian Congress (SAIC) in 1919. Indian Ambulance Corps: M. K. Gandhi,
middle row 5th from left

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IASBABA 2024 – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Why was Gandhiji awarded Kaiser-i-Hind?
The most famous recipient is Mohandas Gandhi, who was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind in 1915 by The Lord
Hardinge of Penshurst for his contribution to ambulance services in South Africa.

About Kaiser-i-hind
The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the British monarch between
1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have
distinguished himself (or herself) by important and useful service in the advancement of the public interest
in India

When did Gandhiji Return – Kaiser-i-Hind?

Gandhi returned the medal in 1920 as part of the national campaign protesting the Jallianwala Bagh
massacre.

THE TOLSTOY FARM

Extract from His Autobiography
The Tolstoy Farm was named such by Herman Kallenbach, Gandhi's associate It was founded in 1910 and
disbanded in 1913 proved to be an ideal laboratory for Gandhi's educational experiments. "Tolstoy Farm
was a family in which I occupied the place of the father," wrote Gandhi, and that I should so far as possible
shoulder the responsibility for the training of the young".1 The routine of the children on the farm was
divided between attending classes and contributing to the maintenance of the farm. As at the Phoenix
settlement manual work was combined with instruction on a daily basis, but Gandhi took this concept one
step further at Tolstoy by introducing vocational training to give "all-round development to the boys and
girls". Although at this stage there was no attempt to educate the children through the medium of a
specific handicraft, Gandhi enabled each child to become self-supporting by supplementing their
education with vocational training. Their ages ranging from six to sixteen, the children had on an average
eight hours of manual training per day, and one or, at the most two hours of book learning"

An added dimension of the Tolstoy Farm was the decision to hold co-educational classes, and indeed to
encourage the boys and girls to do everything together.
The activities which the young contributed their energies to at Tolstoy Farm included general labouring,
cooking, scavenging, sandal- making, simple carpentry and messenger work. But Gandhi did not
recommend manual activities merely because they were materially productive or remunerative. In
addition to productive crafts, manual work of a purely constructive nature was also essential for the
maintenance and development of community life. The contribution of work such as sweeping, scavenging
and water fetching was seen to be invaluable to the psychological, social and moral well-being of an
integrated community. Gandhi's objective in this context was to inculcate the ideals of social service and
citizenship through all the activities of children from the earlier formative years.

The Tolstoy Farm was the second of its kind of experiments established by Gandhi. The first, the Phoenix
settlement in Natal, was inspired in 1904 by a single reading of John Ruskin's Unto This Last, a work that
extolled the virtues of the simple life of love, labour, and the dignity of human beings. Gandhi was not as
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IASBABA 2024 – MODERN INDIAN HISTORY

personally involved in the daily running of the Phoenix settlement as he was to become in his stay of
interrupted duration at the Tolstoy Farm which lasted for about four years. In part this was because the
political struggle had shifted to the Transvaal after 1906, and he controlled it from its Johannesburg
headquarters.

NOTE:- GANDHI also established the Phoenix farm in the Natal

2. He was able to unite Indians belonging

to different religions and classes.
3. He came to know that Leaders have to
SUMMARY OF HIS STAY IN SOUTH AFRICA- sometimes take unpopular decisions
Remember the Chronology! with enthusiastic supporters.
4. He developed his new style of
1. Moderate Phase (1894-1906) Leadership and new Techniques for
1. He set up Natal Indian Congress struggle.
2. Started newspaper- India's opinion
2. Phase of Satyagraha (1906-1914)
1. Satyagraha against registration
certificates
2. Passive resistance association
3. Campaign against restrictions on Indian
migration
4. Setting up of Tolstoy Farm
5. Campaign Against poll Tax &
Invalidation of Indian marriages (Then
Indian viceroy - Hardinge)
3. TOLSTOY FARM
1. For Education and to sustain the
families of the Satyagrahis.
2. also, PHEONIX farm - was established
by him -- in NATAL in 1904
4. Experience
1. Gandhiji found that masses have
immense capacity.

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GANDHIJI IN INDIA
planters, he agreed that only 25 per cent of the
money taken should be compensated.
Did he support the Home Rule Movement?
Champaran Satyagraha- 1917- First Civil
He did not support home rule agitation (not the
disobedience
best time to agitate as BRITAIN was in middle of
War) • RAJKUMAR SHUKLA called Gandhiji.
• Tinkathia system issue with Indigo
Farmers (indigo to be cultivated on
CHAMPARAN SATYAGRAHA 3/20th of the total land)
• Joined by Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul
The Champaran Satyagraha catapulted
Haq, Mahadeo Desai, Narhari Pradad, JB
Mahatma Gandhi as the true leader of the Indian Kriplani
national movement. Do you agree? Substantiate. • 25 % as compensation to the peasant
Gandhi was requested by Rajkumar Shukla to agreed
• Effect -- planters left within one year &
look into the problems of the indigo planters, of
tinkatha was abolished
Champaran in Bihar. The European planters had • Rajendra prasad, Anugrah Sinha,
been forcing peasants to grow indigo on 3/20 of Brajkishore Prasad ---were notable
the total land (called tinkathia system). When leaders
towards the end of the nineteenth century • Rents had increased due to increase in
German synthetic dyes replaced indigo, the GERMAN competition
European planters demanded high rents and More About Champaran
illegal dues from the peasants in order to • It was in 3 stages
maximize their profits before the peasants could • 2nd stage in 1907-09 --- was violent
shift to other crops. Besides, the peasants were • Agitators were united irrespective of
forced to sell the produce at prices fixed by the religion, caste etc against the planters
Europeans. • PIR MUNIS --was important personality
associated with it
When Gandhiji, joined now by Rajendra Prasad,
Mazharul-Haq, Mahadeo Desai, Narhari Parekh,
J.B. Kripalani, reached Charnparan to probe into MOVEMENT FIRST
the matter, the authorities ordered him to leave
the area at once. Gandhi defied the order and
Champaran First Civil
preferred to face the punishment. This passive
Satyagraha Disobedience
resistance or civil disobedience of an unjust order
was a novel method at that time. Finally, the Ahmedabad Mill Strike First Hunger Strike
authorities retreated and permitted Gandhi to
make an enquiry. Now, the Government
Kheda Satyagraha First Non-
appointed a committee to go into the matter and Cooperation
nominated Gandhi as a member. Gandhi was able
to convince the authorities that the tinkathia
system should be abolished and that the peasants Rowlatt Satyagraha First Mass Strike
should be compensated for the illegal dues
extracted from them. As a compromise with the
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AHMEDABAD MILL STRIKE UPSC MAINS QUESTIONS
ISSUE: Dispute between Mill owners of
“Mahatma Gandhi’s succession, during 1916-
Ahmedabad and the workers over the issue of
1920.in getting the technique of non-violent
discontinuation of plague bonus.
satyagraha accepted by the nation a weapon of
What did Gandhi Do? struggle against the British was phenomenal”.
• Gandhi asked the workers to go on a strike Elucidiate (UPSC 1993)
and demand a 35% increase in wages. The
employers were willing to pay 20% bonus
only. Gandhi advised the workers to Trace the Emergence of Gandhiji in National
remain non-violent while on strike, he Scene till the Champaran Satyagraha of
undertook fast unto death to strengthen 1917.What was the basic philosophy of
the workers. Satyagraha enunciated by him (UPSC 1997)
What was the consequence?
• The mill owners finally agreed to give the
workers a 35% increase in wages. You can add the following ADVANTAGES/GAINS
Who formed the “Ahmedabad Textile Labour if a question comes on these topics
Association? (Prelims-specific) • Gandhiji demonstrated to the people the
It was Anusuya Sarabhai along with Mahatma efficacy of his technique of Satyagraha.
Gandhi. • He found his feet among the masses and
came to have a surer understanding of the
Do you Know?
Strength and weaknesses of the masses
Anusuya was the sister of Ambala Sarabhai, who • He gained many followers in the process,
was a mill owner and against whom they were especially from the youth.
fighting. Anusuya supported the workers and • Gandhiji gained in confidence; he was on
was the chief lieutenant of Gandhi the road of becoming a mass leader in true
sense.

KHEDA SATYAGRAHA Q. Consider the following statements: (UPSC

Because of drought in 1918, the crops failed in 2010)
Kheda district of Gujarat. Revenue Code, if the 1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad persuaded Mahatma
yield was less than one-fourth the normal Gandhi to come to Champaran to
produce, the farmers were entitled to remission. investigate the problem of peasants.
The authorities refused to grant remission. 2. Acharya J.B. Kriplani was one of Mahatma
Gandhi supported the peasants' cause and asked Gandhi‟s colleagues in his Champaran
them to withhold revenue. The authorities, not investigation.
willing to openly concede the peasants' demands, Which of the statements given above is/are
issued secret instructions that only those who correct?
could afford to pay should pay. During the Kheda
Satyagraha, many young nationalists such as a) 1 only
Sardar Patel and Indulal Yaanik became Gandhi's b) 2 only
followers. (Remember for Prelims) c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

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Q. What was the reason for Mahatma Gandhi to coordinated and organized the biggest
organize a satyagraha on behalf of the peasants Satyagraha ever.
of Kheda? (UPSC 2011)
On April 6, 1919, an all-India strike was organized.
1. The Administration did not suspend the There was mob violence in Bombay, Ahmadabad
land revenue collection in spite of a and all other major towns. The Satyagraha lost
drought momentum with the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy on
2. The Administration proposed to introduce April 13, 1919.
Permanent Settlement in Gujarat
The term 'Himalayan Blunder' was used in the
Which of the statements given above is/are context of failure of Rowlatt Act Satyagraha.
correct?

a) 1 only Q. With reference to Rowlatt Satyagraha, which

b) 2 only of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC
c) Both 1 and 2 2015)
d) Neither 1 nor 2
1. The Rowlatt Act was based on the
Rowlatt Satyagraha recommendations of the 'Sedition
First Mass Strike Committee'.
On the basis of the finding of the Rowlatt 2. In Rowlatt Satyagraha, Gandhiji tried to
Committee aka Sedition Committee Rowlatt bill utilize the Home Rule League.
was introduced in the Imperial Legislative Council 3. Demonstrations against the arrival of
aka “Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of Simon Commission coincided with Rowlatt
1919, in March 1919. Satyagraha.

This act authorized the government to imprison Select the correct answer using the codes given
for a maximum period of two years, without trial, below.
any person suspected of terrorism. The act a) 1 only
provided speedy trial of the offenses by a special b) 1 and 2 only
cell that consisted of 3 High Court Judges. There c) 2 and 3 only
was no court of appeal above that panel. This d) 1, 2 and 3
panel could also accept the evidences which were
not even acceptable in the Indian Evidences Act. Q. The Rowlatt Act aimed at (UPSC 2012)

This act gave a new direction to the movement. a) Compulsory economic support to war
Gandhi organized a mass protest at all India level. efforts
By March 23, 1919, the volunteers started b) Imprisonment without trial and summary
courting arrests. Gandhiji suggested that a procedures for
Satyagraha to be launched against the Rowlatt trial
Act. A Satyagraha Sabha was formed in 1919. c) Suppression of the Khilafat Movement.
d) Imposition of restrictions on freedom of
The three organizations viz, the Home Rule
the press.
league, Muslim league and the Satyagraha Sabha
along with some other small organizations

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Q. During the Indian Freedom Struggle, why did The crowd had a mix of men, women and children.
Rowlatt Act arouse popular indignation? (UPSC They all gathered in a park called the Jallianwala
2009) Bagh, walled on all sides but for a few small gates,
against the orders of the British. The protest was a
a) It curtailed the freedom of religion
peaceful one, and the gathering included pilgrims
b) It suppressed the Indian traditional
visiting the Golden Temple who were merely
education
passing through the park, and some who had not
c) It authorized the government to imprison
come to protest.
people without
trial While the meeting was on, Brigadier-General
d) It curbed the trade union activities. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, who had crept up to
the scene wanting to teach the public assembled a
lesson, ordered 90 soldiers he had brought with
Q. Who was the Viceroy of India when the
him to the venue to open fire on the crowd. Many
Rowlatt Act was passed? (UPSC 2008)
tried in vain to scale the walls to escape. Many
a) Lord Irwin jumped into the well located inside the park.
b) Lord Reading
While official death toll in the Jallainwalla Bagh
c) Lord Chelmsford
massacre stood at 379, with 192 wounded,
d) Lord Wavell
sources had suggested that more than 1,000
people had lost their lives, while 1,200 people
were wounded.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Not all those who died fell to the soldiers’ bullets.
Many died in the ensuing stampede while others
DATE: APRIL 13, 1919 jumped into the well of the park. Officials
reportedly dug out close to 120 bodies from the
WHERE: Jallianwala Baug, Amritsar –Punjab
well. Some of the severely wounded passed away
Officer in Charge: General Dyer as they could not get up.
Why people had gathered: To protest against the General Dyer ordered his soldiers to kneel and
arrest of their leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew and open fire on the crowd. It has been reported that
Satyapal. some soldiers initially fired in the air but Dyer
screamed at them to target the crowd.
April 13, 1919, marked a turning point in the Indian
freedom struggle. It was Baisakhi that day, a A total of 1,650 rounds were fired by the soldiers
harvest festival popular in Punjab and parts of in a span of 10 minutes on the unarmed crowd,
north India. Local residents in Amritsar decided to which was not given any prior warning to disperse.
hold a meeting that day to discuss and protest
Considered the ‘The Butcher of Amritsar’ in the
against the confinement of Satya Pal and Saifuddin
aftermath of the massacre, General Dyer was
Kitchlew, two leaders fighting for Independence,
removed from command and exiled to Britain with
and implementation of the Rowlatt Act, which
a gift of 26,000 pounds, which was a huge sum in
armed the British government with powers to
those days. He died in 1927 after suffering a series
detain any person without trial.
of heart strokes.

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It asserted that the rioting in Amritsar had turned
into rebellion. The declaration of martial law was
viewed as justifiable in firing and that its
application was, in the main, not oppressive.

The report concluded that Brigadier General Dyer

was justified in firing on the mob, though notice
should have been given and its duration
shortened. The Indian members of the Hunter
Committee issued a minority report. It questioned
In protest, Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhiji the need for martial law to have been used and
gave up disputed the level of severity of the Indian
disturbances.
• Rabindranath Tagore: KNIGHTHOOD
• Mahatma Gandhi: Kaiser-i-hind KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
The Khilafat movement (1919-1924) was an
agitation by Indian Muslims allied with Indian
Hunter Commission Report
nationalism in the years following World War I.
On the 29 Oct 1919, the legislative Council of the
Govt. of India named an investigatory Committee Its purpose was to pressure the British
to be led by Lord William Hunter (1865-1957) and government to preserve the authority of the
assisted by 5 Englishmen and four Indians. This Ottoman Sultan as Caliph of Islam following the
was named as the Hunter Committee. breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the
war.
The Hunter Committee was charged with the
examination of the violence which had occurred in The movement collapsed by late 1922 when
Amritsar and elsewhere in Punjab, in consequence Turkey gained a more favourable diplomatic
of the catastrophic Jallianwalabagh Amritsar position and moved towards secularism. By 1924
massacre. Turkey simply abolished the roles of the Sultan and
Caliph.
The Hunter Committee convened in Delhi and
then took further testimony in Ahmedabad, The Khilafat issue was not directly linked to Indian
Bombay and Lahore over a period of 46 days. politics but it provided the immediate declaration
to the movement and gone and added advantage
On 14th Nov, the Indian National Congress
of cementing Hindu-Muslim unity against the
appointed a Punjab sub-committee with Mahatma
British.
Gandhi at its head.
The British attempt at clipping the power of the
He was to conduct his own investigation of events
Sultan of Turkey and fragmentation of his territory
in Punjab and at Amritsar 1919. As a counter
after the World War I aroused publics are against
measure to the Hunter Committee, its work also
British in India. In early 1919 a Khilafat Committee
possessed some shortcomings.
was famed. It demanded first that the Khalifa’s
On 26th May, the Hunter Report was published. It control over Muslim sacred places should be
concluded that the Indian gathering was not the restored and secondly, he should be left with
result of a pre-arranged conspiracy. sufficient territories.

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Initially the Khilafat leaders limited their actions to • What were the effects of the NCM in
meeting, petitions deputations in favour of the India? When was the movement
Khilafat. However, later on a militant trend suspended and why? (UPSC 1986)
emerges demanding an active agitation such as
stopping all cooperation with the British.
Why was the Non-Cooperation Movement
The All-India Khilafat Conference held in Delhi in launched?
November 1919; a call made for Boycott of British
With much cause, The Rowlattct, the Jallianwala
goods.
Bagh massacre and martial law in Punjab had
The Khilafat leaders also clear spilt out that unless belied all the generous wartime promises of the
peace terms after the war were favourable to British. The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms
Turkey, they would stop all cooperation with the announced towards the end of 1919, with their ill-
government. The movement succeeded in considered scheme of dyarchy satisfied few.
bringing a radical nationalist trend among the The Indian Muslims were incensed when they
Muslim youth. It made traditional Muslim scholars discovered that their loyalty had been purchased
critical of the British. during the War by assurances of generous
treatment of Turkey after the War- a promise
The Congress-support made it inter-religious and
British statesman had no intention of fulfilling.
mass based. Its most important success was that it
ensured Hindu-Muslim unity which was inevitable Hunter Committee appointed by the Government
for the success of freedom struggle. The Khilafat to enquire into the Punjab disturbances was an
issue, however, lost its value and merged along eye wash and that the House of Lords had voted
the Non-cooperation Movement of 1921. in favour of General Dyer’s action and that the
British public had demonstrated its support by
Discuss the aims and objectives of Khilafat
helping the Morning Post collect 30,000 pounds
Movement. To what extent was it successful
for General Dyer.
(UPSC 2001)
What opportunity did Gandhiji see?
• It was a golden opportunity to cement the
The Non-Cooperation Movement Hindu-Muslim unity and to bring the
• “Non-Cooperation movement” gave a Muslim masses into the national
new direction and energy to the National movement.
Movement. Explain (UPSC 2008) • Now different communities could come
• What were the consequences that together and fight for their rights and
changed Gandhiji’s attitude of responsive realize that colonial rule was opposed to
cooperation to non-cooperation in 1920? them.
What were the consequences? (UPSC • The Congress was aware that the masses
1996) were eager to fight.
• Why did Gandhiji launch the NCM on the • The Congress was losing faith in
Khilafat Question? How were the two Constitutional struggle, especially after
issues joined to it later on? Discuss the Punjab incidents and Hunter Committee
constructive programme of the Non- Report
Cooperation Movement? (UPSC 1989)

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Quick Prelims Specific Points with respect to What all things did the Non-Cooperation
the Non-Cooperation Movement Movement include?

• Khilafat Committee Leadership: Ali • The programme of non-cooperation

brothers, Maulana Azad, Ajmal khan & included within its ambit the surrender of
Hazrat Mohani titles and honors, boycott of government
• Who was appointed as the President of affiliated schools and colleges, law courts,
All India Khilafat Committee- Gandhiji? foreign cloth, and could be extended to
• September 1920 Congress Special include resignation from government
session @ Calcutta- formally launched service and mass civil disobedience
NCM including the non-payment of taxes.
• National schools and colleges were to be
Nagpur Session -1920 set up, panchayats were to be established
President: C. Vijayaraghavachariar for settling disputes, hand-spinning and
weaving was to be encouraged and people
1. Programme of non-cooperation was were asked to maintain Hindu- Muslim
enforced unity, give up untouchability and observe
2. Extra constitutional methods to be strict non-violence.
carried out decided • Gandhiji promised that if the programme
3. CWC of 15 members set up- to lead was fully implemented, Swaraj would be
congress from now on ushered in within a year.
4. Gandhi said if we continued like this
independence within one year Changes made in the Structure of the Congress
5. Jinnah, Annie Besant, Kharopade & B.C • To enable the Congress to fulfill its new
Pal left congress- as they believed in commitment, significant changes were
Constitutional methods introduced in its creed as well as in its
6. Also, Surendranath Banerjee formed his organizational structure.
own party • The goal of the Congress was changed
7. The NCM was withdrawn by BARDOLI from the attainment of self-government
RESOLUTION by constitutional and legal means to the
attainment of Swaraj by peaceful and
legitimate means.
• The new constitution of the Congress, the
handiwork of Gandhiji, introduced other
important changes. The Congress was now
to have a Working Committee of fifteen
members to look after its day-to-day
affairs.
• This proposal, when first made by Tilak in
1916, had been shot down by the
THINK- Do You Think Gandhi’s support to khilafat Moderate opposition.
diluted his secular credentials? • Gandhiji, too, knew that the Congress
could not guide a sustained movement

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unless it had a compact body that worked strike to force the managements of their
round the year. institutions to disaffiliate themselves from the
• Provincial Congress Committees were Government. C.R. Das played a major role in
now to be organized on a linguistic basis, promoting the movement and Subhas Bose
so that they could keep in touch with the became the principal of the National Congress in
people by using the local language. Calcutta. The Swadeshi spirit was revived with
• The Congress organization was to reach new vigour, this time as part of a nation-wide
down to the village and the mohalla level struggle. Punjab, too, responded to the
by the formation of village and mohalla or educational boycott and was second only to
ward committees. Bengal, Lala Lajpat Rai playing a leading part
• The membership fee was reduced to four despite his initial reservations about this item of
annas per year to enable the poor to the programme.
become members. Mass involvement
The most successful item of the programme was
would also enable the Congress to have a
the boycott of foreign cloth. Volunteers would go
regular source of income.
from house to house collecting clothes made of
• In other ways, too, the organization foreign cloth, and the entire community would
structure was both streamlined and collect to light a bonfire of the goods. Government
democratized. The Congress was to use revenues showed considerable decline on this
Hindi as far as possible. count and the Government was forced to actually
Congress was enabled to become more pro poor carry on propaganda to bring home to the people
in and around Non-Cooperation Movement as the the health effects of a good drink.
organization structure was both streamlined and Congress membership reached a figure roughly
democratized. Critically Examine. 50 lakhs. The Tilak Swaraj Fund was
Q. The adoption of the Non-Cooperation oversubscribed, exceeding the target of rupees
Movement by the Congress gave it a new energy one crore. Charkhas were popularized on a wide
and, from January 1921. Explain. scale and khadi became the uniform of the
national movement.
The adoption of the Non-Cooperation Movement
(initiated earlier by the Khilafat Conference) by the FAMOUS LOCAL MOVEMENTS IN OTHER PARTS
Congress gave it a new energy and, from January • Midnapore (Bengal) & Guntur (Assam) :
1921, it began to register considerable success all No Tax Movements
over the country. Gandhiji, along with the Ali • Assam- Strikes in Tea Plantations – J.M.
brothers (who were the foremost Khilafat Sengupta was prominent leader.
leaders), undertook a nationwide tour/during • Awadh Kisan Sabha – UP, Eka
Movements (Malabar), Mapilla
which he addressed hundreds of meetings and
Movement (Malabar)
met a large number of political workers. In the first
• Sikh Agitation to remove corrupt
month itself, thousands of students (90,000 Mahants in Punjab
according to one estimate) left schools and
colleges and joined more than 800 national
schools and colleges that had sprung up all over
the country. The educational boycott was
particularly successful in Bengal, where the
students in Calcutta triggered off a province-wide
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THE CHAURI CHAURA INCIDENT the principle that the forces of repression would
Irritated by the behavior of some policemen, a always stand exposed since they would be using
section of the crowd attacked them. The police armed force against peaceful civil resisters. It was,
opened fire. At this, the entire procession attacked therefore, not enough to assert that there was no
the police and when the latter hid inside the police connection between Chauri Chaura and Bardoli.
station, set fire to the building. Policemen who You can take this stand, if someone says that it
tried to escape were hacked to pieces and thrown had led to Demoralization of the masses
into the fire. In all twenty-two policemen were
done to dead. By taking the onus of withdrawal on himself and
on the Working Committee, Gandhiji was
On hearing of the incident, Gandhiji decided to protecting the movement from likely repression,
withdraw the movement. He also persuaded the and the people from demoralization. True, the
Congress Working Committee to ratify his decision withdrawal itself led to considerable
and thus, on 12 February 1922, the Non- demoralization, especially of the active political
Cooperation Movement came to an end. workers, but it is likely that the repression and
DEFENSE: An Answer to the Critics of Gandhiji on crushing of the movement (as happened in 1932)
withdrawal would have led to even greater demoralization.

It seems that Gandhiji’s critics have been less than EVALUATION: Was the movement a failure?
fair to him. First, the argument that violence in a One could hardly answer in the affirmative. The
remote village could not be a sufficient cause for Non-Cooperation Movement had in fact
the decision is in itself a weak one. Gandhiji had succeeded on many counts. It certainly
repeatedly warned that he did not even want any demonstrated that it commanded the support and
non-violent movement in any other part of the sympathy of vast sections of the Indian people.
country while he was conducting mass civil After Noncooperation, the charge of representing
disobedience in Bardoli, and in fact had asked the a ‘microscopic minority,’ made by the Viceroy,
Andhra PCC to withdraw the permission that it had Dufferin, in 1888,’ could never again be hurled at
granted to some of the District Congress the Indian National Congress. Its reach among
Committees to start civil disobedience. One many sections of Indian peasants, workers,
obvious reason for this was that, in such a artisans, shopkeepers, traders, professionals,
situation of mass ferment and activity, the white-collar employees, had been demonstrated.
movement might easily take a violent turn, either The spatial spread of the movement was also
due to its own volatile nature or because of nation-wide. Some areas were more active than
provocation by the authorities concerned (as had others, but there were few that showed no signs
actually happened in Bombay in November 1921 of activity at all.
and later in Chauri-Chaura); also, if violence
occurred anywhere, it could easily be made the The capacity of the ‘poor dumb millions’ of India
excuse by the Government to launch a massive to take part in modem nationalist politics was also
attack on the movement as a whole. The demonstrated.They had shown a lot of courage,
Government could always cite the actual violence sacrifice, and fortitude in the face of adversity and
in one part as proof of the likelihood of violence repression. This was the first time that nationalists
in another part of the country, and thus justify its from the towns, students from schools and
repression. This would upset the whole strategy of colleges or even the educated and politically
non-violent civil disobedience which was based on aware in the villages had made a serious attempt

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to bring the ideology and the movement into their SWARAJISTS NO CHANGERS
midst.

The fraternization that was witnessed between They opposed entry

Hindus and Muslims, with Gandhiji and other into leg council,
They wanted to
Congress leaders speaking from mosques was advocated
enter legislative
great to watch. constructive work &
councils
continuation of
The Swarajists and the No Changers boycott
The Stagnation Period
The withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation
CR Das, Motilal
Movement in February 1922 was followed by the C Rajagopalachari,
Nehru, Ajmal Pasha-
arrest of Gandhiji in March and his conviction and Vallabbhai Patel,
formed Congress
imprisonment for six years for the crime of Rajendra Prasad
Khilafat Swaraj Party
spreading disaffection against the Government.
The result was the spread of disintegration,
disorganization and demoralization in the Parliamentary work
nationalist ranks. There arose the danger of the They wanted to fill would lead to neglect
movement lapsing into passivity. Many began to political vaccum, use of constructive work,
question the wisdom of the total Gandhian council as an arena revolutionary zeal,
strategy. Others started looking for ways out of political corruption
the impasse.

A New Line of Political Activity

It was now advocated by C.R. Das and Motilal SWARAJISTS/PRO CHANGERS-
Nehru. They suggested that the nationalists should • CR DAS, HAKIM AHMED KHAN,
end the boycott of the legislative councils, enter VITHALBHAI PATEL, MOTIILAL NEHRU --
them, expose them as ‘sham parliaments’ and as also known as end or mean council
‘a mask which the bureaucracy has put on,’ and
obstruct ‘every work of the council. ‘This, they
NO CHANGERS-
argued, would not be giving up non-cooperation
• RAJAJI, VALABHBHAI PATEL, MA ANSARI,
but continuing it in a more effective form by
RAJINDRA PRASAD
extending it to the councils themselves. It would
be opening a new front in the battle.
RESPONSIVISTS—
Another section of the Congress, headed by
• Kelkar, Jaykar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan
Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad and C.
Mohan Malviya—
Rajagopalachari, opposed the new proposal which
was consequently defeated by 1748 to 890 votes.
What did the Responsivists wants?
They wanted to work the reforms and to hold
office wherever possible. The Responsivists joined
the Government in the Central Provinces. Their
ranks were soon swelled by N.C. Kelkar, M.R.
Jayakar and other leaders. Lajpat Rai and Madan

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Mohan Malaviya too separated themselves from for the Montague-Chelmsford reforms, the
the Swaraj Party on Responsivist as well as Government released most of them under a
communal grounds general amnesty in early 1920. Soon after, the
National Congress launched the Non-Cooperation
• Trace the origin of the Swaraj Party.What
Movement and on the urging of Gandhiji, C.R. Das
was the manifesto of the Swaraj Party?
and other Leaders, most of the revolutionary
What were the Swarajists demands and
activists either joined the movement or
the reactions to the British? (UPSC 1990)
suspended their own activities in order to give the
• Trace the formation of the Swaraj Party,
Gandhian mass movement a chance.
what were its demands. (UPSC 1992)
Why did so many youths take the route of
Revolutionary Activities in Mid and Late 1920s?
Manifesto of Swaraj Party The sudden suspension of the Non-Cooperation
• The Swarajists would present the Movement shattered the high hopes raised
Nationalist demand of Self-government in earlier. Many young people began to question the
the Council very basic strategy of the national leadership and
• The guiding motive of British in governing its emphasis on non-violence and began to look for
India lay in self-interest of their own alternatives. They were not attracted by the
country parliamentary politics of the Swarajists or the
• It had the aim of wrecking the council from patient and undramatic constructive work of the
within. no-changers. Many were drawn to the idea that
• The understood that the so-called reforms violent methods alone would free India.
were only blind to further said interests Revolutionary terrorism again became attractive.
under the pretense of granting responsible It is not accidental that nearly all the major new
government. leaders of the revolutionary terrorist politics, for
example, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjea, Surya Sen,
The achievements of Swaraj Party Jatin Das, Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh,
• They outvoted the Government several Sukhdev, Shiv Varma, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and
times on various issues. Jaidev Kapur, had been enthusiastic participants in
• They agitated through various speeches, the non-violent Non-Cooperation Movement.
civil liberties, industrialization etc
INFLUENCE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISTS
• They Defeated the Public Safety Bill (which
They could see the revolutionary potential of the
was aimed at deporting the undesirable
new class and desired to harness it to the
and subversive foreigners)
nationalist revolution. The second major influence
• They filled the political vacuum by their
was that of the Russian Revolution and the success
activities
of the young Socialist State in consolidating itself.
The youthful revolutionaries were keen to learn
THE REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES
from and take the help of the young Soviet State
Why Revolutionary Activities did not take place
and its ruling Bolshevik Party. The third influence
earlier?
was that of the newly sprouting Communist
The revolutionary terrorists were severely
groups with their emphasis on Marxism, Socialism
suppressed during World War I, with most of the
and the proletariat.
leaders in jail or absconding. Consequently, in
order to create a more harmonious atmosphere

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LISTING OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES
Revolutionary Special Mention
Activity/Organization
Founder /Revolutionary

Aim- to overthrow
Founded @ kanpur colonial government &
by- Bismil, Sachin Sanyal, JC Hindustan Republican Army place a Federal United
Chatterjee States of India, socialism
its objective

Hanged-Ramprasad Bismil,
Ashfaqullah Khan, Roshan Singh,
Rahendra Lahiri
Kakori Robbery

(Many others also involved with them)

In retaliation of murder
Saunders Murder-(DEATH
Bhagat Singh, Azad, Rajguru
sentence for this) during discussion of
Bhagat & Buttukeshwar Dutt public safety & trade &
Bomb - Legislative council
disputes bill

killed in police encounter

Chandrashekhar Azad tried to blow viceroy Irwin's train
@ park in Allahabad

after CR Das’s death 2 factions under Anushilan Samiti supported him

these

JM Sengupta/

Subhash Bose most active & famous

Yugantar supported S.C Bose
Chittagong group
Surya Sen, Ganesh Ghosh,
Lokenath Paul

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Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha

Bhagat Singh (move towards marxism)
and Lahore Students Union

KAKORI TRAIN ROBBERY

On 9 August 1925, ten men held up the 8-Down train at Kakori, an obscure village near Lucknow, and
looted its official railway cash. The Government reaction was quick and hard. It arrested a large number
of young men and tried them in the Kakori Conspiracy Case. Ashfaqulla Khan, Ramprasad Bismil, Ràshan
Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged, four others were sent to the Andamans for life and seventeen
others were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

On Saunders Murder

By: Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru

Why?-He was a police official involved in the lathi charge of Lala Lajpat Rai.

“The murder of a leader respected by millions of people at the unworthy hands of an ordinary police official
. . . was an insult to the nation. It was the bounden duty of young men of India to efface it. . . We regret to
have had to kill a person but he was part and parcel of that inhuman and unjust order which has to be
destroyed”-Bhagat Singh.

IMPORTANT POINTS FOR PRELIMS

1. BANDI JIWAN - Sachin Sanyal (Journal)

2. Pather dabhi -- Sharatchandra Chatterjee (Journal)
3. Bhagat Singh - founded Punjab Naujawan Bharat Sabha & Lahore Students Union
4. The activities of Bhagat Singh and associates were fully Secular
5. Surya Sen also had --Muslims within his group like -- Mir Ahmed, Tunu Mian , Fakir Ahmed

Kalpana Dutt Arrested & tried with Surya Sen

Bina Das Fired @ governor during convocation

Santi Ghosh & Sunita Chandheri School girls who shot dead DM

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British India and princely states, continuation of

communal electorate and so on.
SIMON COMMISSION
To consider the proposals of the commission, the
British Government convened three round table
Why a Commission in 1927, when reforms were conferences of the representatives of the British
due in 1929? Government, British India and Indian princely
In 1927, however, the Conservative Government states
of Britain, faced with the prospect of electoral & On the basis of these discussions, a “White Paper
feat at the hands of the Labour Party, suddenly on Constitutional Reforms‟ was prepared and
decided that it could not leave an issue which submitted for the consideration of the Joint Select
concerned the future of the British Empire in the Committee of the British Parliament.
irresponsible hands of an inexperienced Labour
Government and it was thus that the Indian The recommendations of this committee were
Statutory Commission, popularly known as the incorporated (with certain changes) in the next
Simon Commission after its Chairman, was Government of India Act of 1935. Lala Lajpat Rai
appointed. died due to lathi charge in the Anti-Simon
Commission protest.
In November 1927 itself (i.e., 2 years before the
schedule), the British Government announced Response in India
the appointment a seven-member statutory
commission under the chairmanship of Sir John
Simon to report on the condition of India under
its new Constitution.

All the members of the commission were British

and hence, all the parties
boycotted the commission except Justice Party
(Madras) and Unionist Party (Punjab).
The response in India was immediate and
The commission submitted its report in 1930 and
unanimous. That no Indian should be thought fit
recommended the abolition of dyarchy,
to serve on a body that claimed the right to
extension of responsible government in the
decide the political future of India was an insult
provinces, establishment of a federation of
that no Indian of even the most moderate political

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opinion was willing to swallow. The call for a Principal Author: Motilal Nehru
boycott of the Commission was endorsed by the
Liberal Federation led by Tej Bahadur Sapru, by
the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress,
arid by the Hindu Mahasabha the Muslim League
even split on the issue, Mohammed Ali Jinnah
carrying the majority with him in favour of
boycott.

The Congress had resolved on the boycott at its

annual session in December 1927 at Madras, and
in the prevailing excitable atmosphere, Jawaharlal
Nehru had even succeeded in getting passed a
snap resolution declaring complete independence
as the goal of the Congress.

Everywhere that Simon went —Calcutta, Lahore,

Lucknow, Vijayawada, Poona — he was greeted by
a sea of black-flags carried by thousands of Recommendations of the Nehru Report
people. And ever new ways of defiance were being • This report defined Dominion Status as the
constantly invented. form of government desired by India.
• It also rejected the principle of separate
Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Bose emerged as communal electorates on which previous
the leaders of this new wave of youth and constitutional reforms had been based.
students, and they travelled from one province to • Seats would be reserved for Muslims at the
another addressing and presiding over Centre and in provinces in which they were
innumerable youth conferences. in a minority, but not in those where they
had a numerical majority.

NEHRU REPORT, 1928

Why was Nehru Report Drafted?
Lord Birkenhead, the Conservative Secretary of
State responsible for the appointment of the
Simon Commission, had constantly harped on the
inability of Indians to formulate a concrete scheme
of constitutional reforms which had the support of
wide sections of Indian political opinion. This
challenge, too, was taken up and meetings of the
All-Parties Conference were
held in February, May and August 1928 to finalize
• The Report also recommended universal
a scheme which popularly came to be known as
adult suffrage, equal rights for women,
the Nehru Report.
freedom to form unions, and dissociation
of the state from religion in any form.

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Why did Jinnah come up with his 14 points • Any territorial distribution that might at
agenda? any time be necessary shall not in any way
• A section led by Jinnah would not give up affect the Muslim majority.
the demand for reservation of seats for • Full religious liberty, i.e. liberty of belief,
Muslims especially in Muslim majority worship and observance, propaganda,
provinces. The dilemma in which Motilal association and education, shall be
Nehru and other secular leaders found guaranteed to all communities.
themselves was not one that was easy to • No bill or resolution or any part thereof
resolve: if they conceded more to Muslim shall be passed in any legislature or any
communal opinion, then Hindu other elected body if three fourths of the
communalists would withdraw support members of any community in that
and if they satisfied the latter, then Muslim particular body oppose it as being
leaders would be estranged. In the event, injurious to the interests of that
no further concessions were forthcoming community or in the alternative, such
and Jinnah withdrew his support to the other method is devised as may be found
report and went ahead to propose his feasible and practicable to deal with such
famous ‘Fourteen Points’ which were cases.
basally a reiteration of his objections to the • Sindh should be separated from the
Nehru Report Bombay Presidency.
• Reforms should be introduced in the North
The Fourteen Points West Frontier Province and Balochistan
• The form of the future constitution should on the same footing as in the other
be federal, with the residuary powers provinces.
vested in the provinces; • Provision should be made in the
• A uniform measure of autonomy shall be constitution giving Muslims an adequate
guaranteed to all provinces; share, along with the other Indians, in all
• All legislatures in the country and other the services of the state and in local self-
elected bodies shall be constituted on the governing bodies having due regard to the
definite principle of adequate and requirements of efficiency.
effective representation of minorities in • The constitution should embody adequate
every province without reducing the safeguards for the protection of Muslim
majority in any province to a minority or culture and for the protection and
even equality; promotion of Muslim education, language,
• In the Central Legislature, Muslim religion, personal laws and Muslim
representation shall not be less than one charitable institutions and for their due
third; share in the grants-in-aid given by the state
• Representation of communal groups shall and by local self-governing bodies.
continue to be by means of separate • No cabinet, either central or provincial,
electorate as at present: provided it shall should be formed without there being a
be open to any community, at any time to proportion of at least one-third Muslim
abandon its separate electorate in favour ministers.
of a joint electorate. • No change shall be made in the
constitution by the Central Legislature

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except with the concurrence of the States b) Simon Commission recommended the
constituting of the Indian Federation. abolition of Dyarchy (Diarchy) in the
Provinces
DELHI PROPOSALS c) There was no Indian member in the Simon
A large number of Muslim communal leaders met Commission
at Delhi in December 1927 and evolved four basic d) The Simon Commission suggested the
demands known as the Delhi Proposals. These partition of the country
proposals were:

• Sind should be made a separate province Q. With reference to Simon Commission’s

• The North-West Frontier Province should recommendations, which one of the following
be treated constitutionally on the same statements is correct? (UPSC 2010)
footing as other provinces;
a) It recommended the replacement of
• Muslims should have 1/3 per cent diarchy with responsible government in
representations in the central legislature
the provinces
• In Punjab and Bengal, the proportion of b) It proposed the setting up of inter-
representation should be in accordance provincial council under the Home
with the population, thus guaranteeing a Department
Muslim majority, and in other provinces, c) It suggested the abolition of bicameral
where Muslims were a minority, the legislature at the Centre
existing reservation of seats for Muslims d) It recommended the creation of Indian
should continue. Police Service with a provision for
Q. With reference to the period of Indian increased pay and allowances for British
freedom struggle, which of the following recruits as compared to Indian recruits
was/were recommended by the Nehru report?

1. Complete Independence for India.

2. Joint electorates for reservation of seats CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT
for minorities The Lahore Congress of 1929 authorized the
3. Provision of fundamental right for the Working Committee to launch a programme, Civil
people of India in the constitution. Disobedience including non-payment of taxes. In
Select the correct answer using the codes given mid-February, 1930, the Working Committee,
below: meeting at Sabarmati Ashram, invested Gandhiji
with full powers to launch the Civil Disobedience
a) 1 only
Movement at a time and place of his choice.
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only The acknowledged expert on mass struggle was
d) 1, 2 and 3 already ‘desperately in search of an effective
formula.” Gandhiji’s ultimatum of 31 January to
Lord Irwin, stating the minimum demands in the
Q. The people of India agitated against the arrival
form of 11 points, had been ignored, and there
of Simon Commission because (UPSC 2013)
was now only one way out: civil disobedience.
a) Indians never wanted the review of the
working of the Act of 1919

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Lord Irwin’s Tenure (1926-1931) • What was the Mc.donald Award? How was
it modified? (UPSC 1996)
• Visit of Simon Commission to India
(1928) and the boycott of the
commission by the Indians.
• An All-Parties Conference held at Lord Irwin’s Statement
Lucknow (1928) for suggestions for the
(future) Constitution of India, the “In view of the doubts which have been expressed
report of which was called the Nehru both in Great Britain and in India regarding the
Report or the Nehru Constitution. interpretation to be placed on the intentions of the
• Appointment of the Harcourt Butler British government in enacting the statute of 1919,
Indian States Commission (1927). I am authorized on behalf of his Majesty’s
• Murder of Saunders, the assistant Government to state clearly that in their judgment
superintendent of police of Lahore;
it is implicit in the Declaration of 1917 that the
bomb blast in the Assembly Hall of
natural issue of India’s constitutional progress as
Delhi (1929); the Lahore Conspiracy
Case and death of Jatin Das after there contemplated is the attainment of Dominion
prolonged hunger strike (1929), and status.”
bomb accident in train in Delhi (1929).
• Lahore session of the Congress (1929);
Purna Swaraj Resolution. The Course of Civil Disobedience Movement
• Dandi March (March 12, 1930) by Civil Disobedience Movement was started by
Gandhi to launch the Civil Disobedience
Gandhiji against British laws and unjust
Movement.
commands. In March 1930, Gandhiji wrote in the
• ('Deepavali Declaration' by Lord Irwin
(1929) newspaper, Young India, that he might suspend his
civil disobedience or law-breaking movement if
• Analyze Mahatm Gandhi’s main demands the government accepted his eleven-point
presented to Irwin. How did Salt Emerge as demands.
the central issue for launching of
Satyagraha (UPSC 1988) But Lord Irwin’s government did not respond. So,
• What was Gandhi-Irwin Pact? Why was it Gandhiji started the Civil Disobedience
signed and what were its consequences? Movement.
(UPSC 1988) Eleven –point demands by Gandhiji included:
• Why did Mahatma Gandhi Launch the Civil • Prohibit intoxicants,
Disobedience movement? Analyse the • Change the ratio between the rupee and
intensity of the Movement in different the sterling,
parts of India? (UPSC 1992) • Reduce the rate of land revenue,
• In what way did CDM affect different • Abolition of salt tax,
provinces of India? How did it foster the • Reduce the military expenditure,
peasant movement in India? (UPSC 1995) • Reduce expenditure on civil
• Write a Short Note on Communal Award administration,
(UPSC 1998) • Impose custom duty on foreign cloth,
• Why did Gandhi launch the Salt Satyagraha • Accept the Postal Reservation Bill,
in 1930 and with what results? (UPSC • Abolish the CID department,
2001)
• Release all political prisoners, and

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• Issue licenses of arms to citizens for self- aroused and expectant, waiting restlessly for the
protection. final signal.

On the Other hand

THE DANDI MARCH The Indian National Congress was declared an
illegal body and Gandhi was arrested on 5 May,
It was started with Dandi March (also Salt march,
1930. The arrest of Gandhi infuriated the masses
Salt Satyagraha) by Mahatma
and they voluntarily expressed their solidarity with
Gandhi on 12th March, 1930 from the Sabarmati
the movement.
Ashram to “Dandi” on the
Gujarat coast. It was a distance of 200 miles. At While the civil disobedience was going on, the
Dandi a few days later they violated the salt laws British government convened the Round Table
by making salt from sea-water. Thus, began the Conferences. Gandhi did not attend the first one
civil disobedience Movement. The British held in 1930
government resorted to cruel repression in spite
Civil Disobedience Movement Elsewhere-
of the total non-violent conduct of the movement
• Malabar, K. Kelappan, the hero of
by issuing more than a dozen ordinances.
the Vaikom Satyagraha, walked from
Calicut to Payannur to break the salt
Why was Salt chosen? – In words of Gandhiji law.
‘There is no article like salt outside water by taxing • A band of Satyagrahis walked all the
which the State can reach even the starving way from Sylhet in Assam to Noakhali
millions, the sick, the maimed and the utterly on the Bengal Coast to make salt.
helpless. The tax constitutes therefore the most • In Andhra, a number of sibirams
inhuman poll tax the ingenuity of man can (military style camps) were set up in
devise.’-Gandhiji different districts to serve as the
headquarters of the salt Satyagraha
• bands of Satyagrahis marched
Gandhiji- Having a Nation by his side through villages on their way to the
As Gandhiji began his march, staff in hand, at the coastal centres to defy the law
head of his dedicated band, there was something
in the image that deeply stirred the imagination of VERY IMPORTANT POINTS FOR PRELIMS
the people. News of his progress, of his speeches, 1. Surya Sen-raid on armouries
of the teeming crowds that greeted and followed 2. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan-started
the marchers, of the long road lovingly strewn khudai khidmadgars/ Red Shirts
with leaves and festooned with banners and flags, Movement
of men and women quietly paying their homage by 3. Dharsana Salt March – By Sarojini
spinning yam on their charkas as Gandhiji passed, Naidu, Iman Sahib- led Dharsana salt
of the 300 village officials in Gujarat who resigned workers
their posts in answer to his appeal, was carried day 4. C Rajaji --- Vedaranayam Salt March
after day by newspapers to readers across the 5. Payyanur, Kerela – Movement by
country and broadcast live by thousands of Kelappan who was called the Kerala
Congress workers to eager listeners. By the time Gandhi
Gandhiji reached Dandi, he had a whole nation,

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6. Assam- Strike against cunningham fighter, art enthusiast, social activist, actor, youth
circular – which forced parents, leader, and forward-thinking women's movement
guardians & students of good behavior organiser.
7. Muslims participation less than NCM
The Google Doodle, designed by Finland-based
artist Parvati Pillai, depicts Kamaladevi
Prelims Specific Points
Chattopadhyay "surrounded by many of the
• Parallel government in Sholapur in cultural objects and practices she fought to
Maharashtra elevate and protect, including the bhangra, the
• Anti Chowkidari Revolt in Different parts sitar, the sarangi, kathak, chhau dance,
of the Country embroidery, basket weaving, and Kathaputli,"
• Bengal: anti-chowkidari tax Google wrote in a post.
• Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Central
Provinces - the movement against forest She had a rebellious streak and a questioning mind
laws since her childhood. She pressed for Uniform Civil
• Rani Gaidinliu -- Manipur Code to ensure gender equality and spoke against
the caste bias and child marriage.
• Cunningham Circular -Assam. While the
entire country was getting ready for the • Born in Mangalore, Kamaladevi
start of the Civil Disobedience Chattopadhyay was a bright child. Her
Movement in 1930, students in Assam rebellious streak was visible even as a
played a key role in the freedom child, when she questioned the aristocratic
struggle. To stem the students' division of her mother's household and
participation in the Civil Disobedience preferred to mingle with her servants and
Movement, the 'Cunning Circular' was their children to understand their life.
implemented in 1930 by the British. This • She got married at the age of 14 and was
ruling forbade students from widowed two years later. At a time when
participating in political activities and so, widow remarriage was considered a taboo,
evoked strong response. Students quit she married Harindranath Chattopadhyay
schools in protest and many educational when she was 20.
institutions like Kamrup Academy of • Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay had many firsts
Guwahati and Sibsagar Vidyapeeth were to her credit. She was the first woman in
established. India to run for Legislative office and also
the first woman in India to set up some of
the first national institutions to archive,
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
protect, and promote Indian dance,
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the firebrand social
drama, art, puppetry, music, and
reformer, has been honored with a Google Doodle
handicrafts.
on her 115th birth anniversary, this year
• Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was also one
From persuading Mahatma Gandhi to call upon of the few women of her time to propose
women to march with him in the Indian that women's rights, religious freedoms,
Independence Movement to reinvigorating the environmental justice, political
culture of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and independence, and civil rights are all
theatre, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay wore several interrelated movements.
hats during her lifetime - the one of freedom

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• In 1974, she was awarded the Sangeet (b) To release all political prisoners except those
Natak Akademi Fellowship the highest who were guilty of violence,
honour conferred by the Sangeet Natak
(c) To restore the confiscated property of the
Akademi. For her numerous contributions
Satyagrahis,
to India, she was awarded the Ramon
Magsaysay Award in 1966, Padma Bhushan (d) To permit peaceful picketing of liquor, opium
in 1955 and Padma Vibhushan in 1987. and foreign cloth shops, and

What was the Chowkidari Revolt? (e) To permit the collection or manufacture of salt,
• Eastern India became the scene of a new free of duty, by persons residing within a specific
kind of no-tax campaign — refusal to pay distance of the sea shore,
the chowkidara tax. Chowkidars, paid out (f) The Congress agreed not to press for
of the tax levied specially on the villages, investigation into police excess,
were guards who supplemented the small
police force in the rural areas in this region. (g) To suspend the civil disobedience movement,
They were particularly hated because they and
acted as spies for the Government and (h) To stop boycott and to participate in the
often also as retainers for the local Second Round Table Conference.
landlords
Government’s Response
1st –Round Table Conference

• First ever conference British and Indians as

equals
• Muslim League & Hindu Mahasabha,
Liberals, Princes- attended it.
• Congreess- boycotted
• Ambedkar attended as depressed class
representative
• British PM extended OLIVE branch to the
congress In 1931 certain events – coming to power of
• FICCI also boycotted. conservatives, replacement of the Viceroy, and
execution of Bhagat Singh – created an
Gandhi Irwin Pact atmosphere of dejection in Gandhi and other
Gandhi agreed to attend the Second Round Table younger Indian leaders. The Congress decided to
Conference of 1931 and, in this background, only restart the movement in January 1932.
Gandhi-Irwin pact was concluded, which was
variously described as a “truce” and a provisional As usual, the British government took steps to
settlement. suppress the movement and in the meanwhile the
Gandhi-Irwin Pact 5 March 1931. British Prime Minister announced communal
(a) To withdraw all ordinances and pending award in 1932. The civil disobedience movement
prosecutions, continued up to 1934 and it was suspended in
that year.

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The Communal Award/MacDonald Award

Q. Who of the following organized a march on the The reason behind introduction of this 'Award'
Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930? was that Ramsay MacDonald considered himself
(UPSC 2015) as 'a friend of the Indians' and thus wanted to
resolve the issues in India. The 'Communal Award'
a) V.O. Chidambaram Pillai was announced after the failure of the Second of
b) C. Rajagopalachari the Three Round Table Conferences.
c) K. Kamaraj
d) Annie Besant The Communal Award was made by the British
Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald on 16 August
1932 granting separate electorates in India for the
Q. Which one of the following began with the Forward Caste, Scheduled Caste, Muslims,
Dandi March? (UPSC 2009) Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians,
a) Home Rule Movement Europeans and Depressed Classes (now known as
b) Non-Cooperation Movement the Scheduled Caste) etc. The principle of
c) Civil Disobedience Movement weightage was also applied Based on the findings
d) Quit India Movement of which committee: Indian Franchise Committee
(Lothian committee)

Reactions of Gandhi and Ambedkar on the Award

Karachi Session of 1931
The Award was highly controversial and opposed
President: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
by Gandhi, who was in Yerwada jail, and fasted in
• The Gandhi Irwin Pact was endorsed. protest against it. Gandhi feared that it would
• The goal of Purna Swaraj was reiterated. disintegrate Hindu society. However, the
• Two Resolutions were adopted – One on Communal Award was supported by many among
Fundamental Rights and Second on the minority communities, most notably the
National Economic Programme. leader of the Scheduled Castes, Dr. B. R.
• First Time the Congress Spelt out, what Ambedkar.
Swaraj would mean. According to Ambedkar, Gandhi was ready to
award separate electorates to Muslims and Sikhs.
Note: The Events Around 1931-1932 are closely
But Gandhi was reluctant to give separate
placed, remember this sequence for
electorates to scheduled castes. He was afraid of
Chronology related questions
division inside Congress and Hindu society due to
The Sequence: separate scheduled caste representations. But
• 1st RTC Ambedkar insisted for separate electorate for
• Gandhi Irwin pact scheduled caste.
• March- Karachi Congress Session After lengthy negotiations, Gandhi reached an
• 2nd RTC- London - December
agreement with Ambedkar to have a single Hindu
electorate, with scheduled castes having seats
reserved within it. This is called the Poona Pact.
Electorates for other religions like Muslims,
Buddhists, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians,
Europeans remained separate.

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Akali Dal, the representative body of the Sikhs, principle of joint electorates and reserved seats by
was also highly critical of the Award since only 19% the method of primary election in the manner
was reserved to the Sikhs in Punjab, as opposed to provided for in clause above for their
the 51% reservation for the Muslims and 30% for representation in the provincial legislatures.
the Hindus. 4. In the Central Legislature 19% of the seats
allotted to the general electorate for British India
in the said legislature shall be reserved for the
THE POONA PACT Depressed Classes.
5. The system of primary election to a panel of
The Poona Pact refers to an agreement between
candidates for election to the Central and
B. R. Ambedkar and M. K. Gandhi on the
Provincial Legislatures as herein-before
reservation of electoral seats for the depressed
mentioned shall come to an end after the first ten
classes in the legislature of British India
years, unless terminated sooner by mutual
government. It was made on the 24th of
agreement under the provision of clause 6 below.
September 1932 at Yerwada Central Jail in Poona,
6. The system of representation of Depressed
India and was signed by Madan Mohan Malviya,
Classes by reserved seats in the Provincial and
Ambedkar and some other leaders as a means to
Central Legislatures as provided for in clauses (1)
end the fast that Gandhi was undertaking in jail as
and (4) shall continue until determined otherwise
a protest against the decision by British Prime
by mutual agreement between the communities
Minister Ramsay MacDonald to give separate
concerned in this settlement.
electorates to depressed classes for the election of
7. The Franchise for the Central and Provincial
members of provincial legislative assemblies in
Legislatures of the Depressed Classes shall be as
British India. They finally agreed upon 148
indicated, in the Lothian Committee Report.
electoral seats
8. There shall be no disabilities attached to any
The terms of the Poona Pact were as follows. one on the ground of his being a member of the
1. There shall be electoral seats reserved for the Depressed Classes in regard to any election to
Depressed Classes out of general electorate local bodies or appointment to the public services.
2. Election to these seats shall be by joint Every endeavor shall be made to secure a fair
electorates’ subject, however, to the following representation of the Depressed Classes in these
procedure – respects, subject to such educational
• All members of the Depressed Classes qualifications as may be laid down for
registered in the general electoral roll of a appointment to the Public Services.
constituency will form an electoral college 9. In every province out of the educational grant
which will elect a panel of four candidates an adequate sum shall be ear-marked for
belonging to the Depressed Classes for providing educational facilities to the members of
each of such reserved seats by the method Depressed Classes.
of the single vote and four persons getting
the highest number of votes in such Dr.Ambedkar and others after signing the Poona
primary elections shall be the candidates Pact at Yerwada jail
for election by the general electorate.

3. The representation of the Depressed Classes in

the Central Legislature shall likewise be on the

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• There were three lists which gave the
subjects under each government.
i. Federal List (Centre)
ii. Provincial List (Provinces)
iii. Concurrent List (Both)
• The Viceroy was vested with residual
powers.

Provincial autonomy
• The Act gave more autonomy to the
provinces.
• Diarchy was abolished at the provincial

The Government of India Act 1935 levels.

There was a growing demand for constitutional • The Governor was the head of the

reforms in India by Indian leaders. India’s support executive.

to Britain in the First World War also aided in • There was a Council of Ministers to advise

British acknowledgment of the need for the him. The ministers were responsible to the
inclusion of more Indians in the administration of provincial legislatures who controlled
their own country. them. The legislature could also remove
the ministers.
The Act was based on: • However, the governors still retained
• Simon Commission Report special reserve powers.
• The recommendations of the Round Table • The British authorities could still suspend a
Conferences provincial government.
• The White Paper published by the British
government in 1933 (based on the Third
Diarchy at the Centre
Round Table Conference)
• The subjects under the Federal List were
• Report of the Joint Select Committees
divided into two: Reserved and
Important Points Related to 1935 Act Transferred.
• The reserved subjects were controlled by

Creation of an All-India Federation the Governor-General who administered

• This federation was to consist of British them with the help of three counselors
India and the princely states. appointed by him. They were not
• The provinces in British India would have to responsible to the legislature. These
join the federation but this was not subjects included defense, ecclesiastical
compulsory for the princely states. affairs (church-related), external affairs,
• This federation never materialized because press, police, taxation, justice, power
of the lack of support from the required resources and tribal affairs.
number of princely states. • The transferred subjects were
Division of powers administered by the Governor-General
• This Act divided powers between the
with his Council of Ministers (not more
centre and the provinces. than 10). The Council had to act in
confidence with the legislature. The

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subjects in this list included local • This Act introduced direct elections in India
government, forests, education, health, for the first time.
etc. • About 10% of the whole population
• However, the Governor-General had acquired voting rights.
‘special powers’ to interfere in the
Reorganization
transferred subjects also.
• Sindh was carved out of Bombay
Bicameral legislature Presidency.
• A bicameral federal legislature would be • Bihar and Orissa were split.
established. • Burma was severed off from India.
• The two houses were the Federal Assembly • Aden was also separated from India and
(lower house) and the Council of States made into a Crown colony.
(upper house). Other points
• Federal assembly had a term of five years. • The British Parliament retained its
• Both houses had representatives from the supremacy over the Indian legislatures
princely states also. The representatives of both provincial and federal.
the princely states were to be nominated • A Federal Railway Authority was set up to
by the rulers and not elected. The control Indian railways.
representatives of British India were to be • The Reserve Bank of India was established
elected. Some were to be nominated by as per this Act.
the Governor-General. • The Act also provided for the
• There were to be separate electorates for establishment of federal, provincial and
the minority communities, women and the joint Public Service Commissions.
depressed classes.
EVALUATION
• Bicameral legislatures were introduced in
• The Act was a milestone in the
some provinces also like Bengal, Madras,
development of a responsible
Bombay, Bihar, Assam and the United
constitutional government in India.
Provinces.
• The Government of India Act 1935 was
Federal court replaced by the Constitution of India after
• A federal court was established at Delhi for independence.
the resolution of disputes between • The Indian leaders were not enthusiastic
provinces and also between the centre and about the Act since despite granting
the provinces. provincial autonomy the governors and the
viceroy had considerable ‘special powers’.
• It was to have 1 Chief Justice and not more
• Separate communal electorates were a
than 6 judges.
measure through which the British wanted
Indian Council to ensure the Congress Party could never
• The Indian Council was abolished. rule on its own. It was also a way to keep
• The Secretary of State for India would the people divided.
instead have a team of advisors.

Franchise

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PRELIMS

Q. Consider the following statements:

1. The discussions in the Third Round Table Conference eventually led to the passing of the Government
of India Act of 1935.
2. The Government of India Act of 1935 provided for the establishment of an All India Federation to be
based on a Union of the provinces of British India and the Princely States.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

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

MAINS

• How did the Government of India, 1935 Act mark a point of no return in the history of
Constitutional Development in India? (UPSC 2006)
• It would have been difficult for the Constituent Assembly to complete its historic task of drafting
the Constitution for Independent India in just three years but for the experience gained with the
Government of India Act, 1935. Discuss (UPSC 2015)
• What were the main features of Act of Government of India 1935? What was Jawarlal Nehru’s
Reaction to it? Why did he contest the elections of 1937 and with what effect? (UPSC 1990)

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Congress Stand on the Eve of World War • emergency powers- acquire provincial
2 subjects
It said to cooperate in war if: • To invoke defense of India ordinance- to
• Freedom was given after the war curb civil liberties
• Some form of genuinely responsible govt • To draft revolutionary movement
was immediately set up ordinance –which would allow to launch
pre-emptive strikes on congress.
September 1, 1939- WW2 broke out
Debate on Immediate Satyagraha
September 10-14, 1939 - CWC meet at Wardha
Gandhi was against it, as he felt that –
Congress Divided over the issue of Support to • The allies cause was just in the war.
World War 2 • There was hardly any communal
sensitivity, there was lack of HM unity
• Gandhiji: He wanted to go for
• He said that the masses were not ready.
unconditional support to Britain's war
• He felt that the Congress organization was
efforts
in shambles
• Bose & Leftist: They were for taking
advantage of Britain's difficulties & starting Bose & forward bloc: They wanted to go for All-
mass movement out war; Bose was also in the favor of Parallel
• Nehru: He was hesitant- He recognized Congress.
imperialist nature of war but was against
taking advantage of Britain’s difficulties Nehru: He was hesitant but, in the end, went with
• CWC resolved- by zeroing down on the Gandhi.
following stand
AUGUST OFFER- August 1940
o No Indian participation unless
• The dominion status to India was stated as
freedom is granted
the objective
o Government should declare war
aims soon • It provided for the expansion of viceroy
executive council
Linlithgow’s Statement • It was in favor of setting up of Constituent
He refused to define Britain’s war aims beyond assembly after war- comprising of mainly
stating that Britain was resisting aggression. He Indians
said it would be part of future arrangement to • It stated that no future constitution would
consult all representatives of several communities be done without consent of minorities
on how the Act of 1935 might be modified. He said • It agreed for separate state for Muslims
consultative committee to be formed whose • A National defense council was set up.
advice could be sought whenever required.
Note: Rights of Indians to make the constitution
It was perceived that Britain’s hidden plan was- was recognized for the first time

• To provoke congress into confrontation

with the govt- use extraordinary draconian CONGRESS REJECTED, Muslim League Supported
powers the AUGUST OFFER

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Individual Satyagraha Official Negotiators from the Congress: Nehru &

The Individual Satyagraha had a dual purpose — Maulana Azad were official congress negotiators
while giving expression to the Indian people’s
• It was sent with constitutional proposals to
strong political feeling; it gave the British
Government further opportunity to peacefully seek Indian support for war
• The Government perceived a possibility of
accept the Indian demands. It wanted to show
that, threat of Japan invading India
• It had the pressure from allies
• The patience was not due to weakness • The Indian Nationalist had agreed to
• The people made no distinction between support war if power was transferred
Nazism & double autocracy that ruled India immediately.

The demand of satyagrahi’s was to prevent -- Proposals of the Cripps Mission

freedom of speech against war through anti-war 1. That dominion status would be given to
declaration. India.
2. After war – Constitution Committee would
First Satyagrahi Acharya Vinoba be formed.
Bhave 3. British Government would accept new
Second Satyagrahi Jawaharlal Nehru constitution provided

• any new province not willing to join

More importantly, Gandhiji was beginning to
would have separate constitution &
prepare the people for the coming struggle. The
separate union
Congress organization was being put back in
• meanwhile defense of India would
shape; opportunist elements were being
remain in Britain’s hands
discovered and pushed out of the organization;
and above all the people were being politically Departures from the Past
aroused, educated and mobilized. • The making of Constitution to be solely in
By 15 May 1941, more than 25,000 Satyagrahis Indian hands
had been convicted for offering individual civil • A concrete plan for the same was provided.
disobedience. Many lower-level political workers • Free India could withdraw from
had been left free by the Government. commonwealth.

CRIPPS MISSION Congress objected to

After the signing of the Atlantic Charter which 1. The provision dominion status- and not
guaranteed the “right of all people to choose the complete Independence.
form of Government under which they will live.” 2. Right of provinces to secede.
Stafford Cripps with this aims and directives 3. No provision for immediate transfer of
arrived in Delhi on 22nd March, 1942. He brought power.
with him a new constitutional scheme approved 4. The retention of Governor General's
by the British Cabinet. But no body from the supremacy.
Congress expected any good thing from him. The
Congress however agreed to have dialogues with
Cripps only with an aim to know the British mind.

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Muslim League Objected to The decision was thrashed out in the Working
1. Pakistan’s creation not being explicitly Committee during July 1942 and confirmed by a
offered meeting of the All Congress Committee in Bombay
2. The machinery for creation of Constitution on 8th August, 1942. This historic decision of the
assembly Congress inaugurated a new chapter in the history
3. It denied Muslims right to self- of Modern India.
determination.
QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT
The Muslim League welcomed the implicit Quit India Movement launched by the Congress in
recognition of the possibility of Pakistan but 1942 at the height of the Second World War, when
rejected the proposals because it had given India was confronted with Japanese aggression in
greatest importance and priority to the creation of Southeast Asia coupled with domestic issues such
one Indian Union. The League reaffirmed its as the failure of the Cripps Mission and war-time
conviction that the “only solution of India’s inflation.
constitutional problem is the partition of India into
It was in 1942 when the world was going through
independent Zones.
the havoc caused by World War II. India too was
Who all opposed overall? facing the heat and after the Cripps Mission had
• Liberals, Hindu Mahasabha, Muslim failed, and on 8 August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi
League, Depressed Classes and Sikhs along made a Do or Die call through the Quit India
some others movement. Large protests and demonstrations
were held all over the country. However, as the
Gandhi described it as- “A post-dated cheque” movement didn’t get too much support from the
outside, it was crushed and the British refused to
On 4th April an unhappy Gandhi advised Cripps
grant immediate Independence, saying that it
to take the first plane home and leave India.
could happen only after the war had ended.
Cripps admitting his failure left India on 12th April,
1942. The Quit India movement was started by Mahatma
Gandhi in 1942 but drew protests from the All-
On the next day Gandhiji commented on his ill-
India Congress Committee demanding what
fated mission in the following words “It is a
Gandhi called was “An Orderly British
thousand pities that the British Government
Withdrawal” from India. This forced the British to
should have sent a proposal for dissolving the
act immediately and soon all the senior INC
political dead lock which on the face of it was too
leaders were imprisoned without trial within
ridiculous to find acceptance anywhere. And it
hours of Gandhi’s speech.
was a misfortune that the bearer should have
been Sir Stafford Cripps acclaimed as a radical On 14th July 1942, the Congress Working
among radicals and a friend of India.” exposed Committee at Wardha had passed a resolution
the real imperialistic character of Churchill demanding complete independence from the
Government which wanted only the Balkanization British government.
of India.
On August 8, 1942, Mahatma Gandhi made a Do
The Congress could wait no further, when the or Die call in his Quit India speech which was
British rule was sure to harm India in a disastrous delivered in Bombay at the Gowalia Tank Maidan.
way. Gandhiji therefore came to his final decision Even though the speech caused some turmoil
that the British rule in India must come to an end. within the party and even leaders like Jawaharlal
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Nehru and Maulana Azad were apprehensive and • When Russia joined the war on behalf of
critical of the call, but backed it and stuck with the Allies, the communists began to
Gandhi’s leadership until the end. demand the withdrawal of the movement
and pleaded all support to the government
There was also a difference of opinion among the in its war effort. The Muslim League
Indian leaders. considered the movement as the attempt
of the Congress to turn out the British
• While Gandhiji demanded that the British forcefully as a result of which Muslims
should immediately withdraw from India, would be enslaved by the Hindus. Even the
Subhash Chandra Bose from Berlin urged depressed class leader Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
for co-operation with Japan as with this described the movement as irresponsible
and an act of madness.
means India would be liberated.
• The difficulties of Britain would be the The movement collapsed as it lacked leadership
opportunities of India. Since the Congress and organisation from the beginning.
was opposed both to British and Japanese • Jayaprakash Narain said that the
imperialism, the call of Subhas did not movement failed due to lack of co-
appeal to them. Another eminent leader of ordination among the Congress people
the Congress, C. Rajagopalachari did not agitating in different parts of the country.
support the proposal of immediate There was absence of a clear-cut
programme of action. Another weakness
withdrawal of Britishers. He was, rather in
of the movement was that it was confined
favour of accepting the Cripps proposal
only to students, peasants and lower
and the principle of Pakistan. Being unable middle class. But the upper middle class
to agree with the proposals of Gandhiji, had lost their faith in the Gandhian
Rajagopalachari resigned from Congress. methods of action.

RESPONSE Thus, the movement did not enjoy widespread

• The people disrupted railway lines, burnt popularity which greatly contributed to its failure.
But the movement was not a dismal failure; rather
out police and railway stations, destroyed
the movement of 1942 gave the death blow to the
telephone and telegraph poles. British rule. India’s march towards freedom was
• The revolt was spearheaded by the hastened. This movement sparked off an
students, peasants, workers and lower aggressive national consciousness. Many people
middle-class people. sacrificed their careers, property and even lives.
• People set up parallel government at some The movement also created a World-wide opinion
places. The government was able to crush particularly in U.S.A. and China in favour of India’s
the open movement with a heavy hand. independence.
• But the underground movement President F.D. Roosevelt of U.S.A, put pressure on
continued for a long period. the British Government to grant the right of self-
• The Socialist Party under the leadership of determination to India.
Jaya Prakash Narain, Ram Manohar Lohia, On the whole, the movement had its own
and Mrs. Aruna Asaf Ali etc. largely importance and facilitated the freedom
participated in organizing underground movement in India.
movement.

The Quit India Movement was not supported by

the Muslim League and the Communists.

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IMPORTANT EVENTS-REVISE

HOME RULE MOVEMENT

Factors leading to the Rise Outbreak of the First • The movement began in the background of
of the Home Rule World War the First World War.
Movement • The war left a deep impact on Indian
economy and society.
• Affected different classes differently.
• War time made the people desperate to join
any movement against the government.

Disillusionment with • Constitutional reforms of 1909 thoroughly

the reforms of 1909 failed to satisfy the Nationalist leaders.
• Repression of the Ghadar Movement also
aroused the feeling of resentment.
• Tilak's release from Mandalay and efforts for
re-entry into Congress.

Annie Besant entry • Mrs Annie Besant, the President of

into Indian politics Theosophical Society, decided to expand her
activities and build up the Home Rule
movement on the lines of Irish Home Rule
League.

Formation of the two Tilak’s Home Rule • In December 1914 Congress Session the
leagues League efforts for re-entry of extremists failed.
• Tilak and Annie Besant decided to revise the
Nationalist activity on their own.
• In December 1915, Congress Session it was
decided that the extremists be allowed to
join the Congress.
• In April 1916 at Belgaum Tilak launched his
Home Rule League.
• GS khaparde was a founding member of the
League.
• It was during this agitation that Tilak gave
the slogan, ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I will
have it.’

Annie Besant Home • The Congress failed to keep its promise of

Rule League starting a program of educated propaganda
by September 1916.
• Thus, Annie Besant announced the
formation of her all India Home Rule League
in September 1916 in Madras
• Sir S. Subramania Iyer agreed to serve as the

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honorary president.

Program of the leagues • Aim of achieving Home Rule or self-

government for India.
• It was to be achieved by promoting political
education and discussion, through
propaganda including public meetings,
circulation of pamphlets, press campaign,
setting up libraries.
• Objective was to educate the people and
unite the country under one common aim.
• The two leagues did not merge and avoided
any friction.
• Demarcated their areas of operation:
Tilak's League operated in Maharashtra
Karnataka Central provinces and Berar
Annie Besant league operated in the rest of
India including Bombay city.

Decline of the Home Rule • The moderates lost interest due to bait of
movement fresh reforms.
• Communal riots were witnessed
during1917-18.
• Increased talk of civil disobedience among
the League.
• Annie Besant herself could not take a
definite stand and remained inconsistent.
• Tilak left for England at the end of 1918 in
matter of a libel case.

Significance of Home Rule • Most remarkable achievement was the

movement change in British attitude.
• Acceptance of the demand for home League
as a legitimate demand.
• Change in Policy was reflected in the
Montagu declaration.
• The creation of a rich cadre of Nationalist
workers including the likes of Jawaharlal
Nehru.
• Narrowed the urban-rural divide in National
politics.
• The reunion of moderates and extremists.

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Lucknow Pact, 1916

• Extremists were readmitted to congress.

• It was the coming together of the Muslim League and the Congress and the presentation of joint
demands by them to the government and congress accepted league position on separate electorates.

Reasons for Muslim League changing its stand

• Britain’s refusal to help Turkey during World War I

• Annulment of Bengal’s partition
• Refusal by British government to set up university at Aligarh with powers to affiliate colleges
• Rise of younger members in the League who were more anti-imperialistic- Maulana Azad (his work ‘Al
Hilal’), Mohammad Ali (his work ‘Comrade’)
• Congress agreed to the League’s demand of separate electorate. Muslims were granted a fixed
proportion of seats at all-India and provincial levels.

Joint demands made by them include: self-government, representative assemblies, reforms in viceroy’s
council, secretary of state to be paid by British treasury

Montagu statement of August 1917

The Statement Said: “The government policy is of an increasing participation of Indians in every branch of
administration and gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive
realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British Empire”.

INITIAL GANDHIAN MOVEMENTS

Champaran Satyagraha 1917 - 1st Civil • Rajkumar Shukla invited Gandhi to look into the
Disobedience problems of farmers in the context of Indigo planters in
Bihar.
• Peasants were forced to grow indigo on 3/ 20th part of
the land. (Tinkathia System).
• European planters demanded high rents and illegal
dues to maximise their profits.
• A committee was constituted to look into the issue, and
Gandhi was a member of the committee.
• The tinkathia system was abolished and 25 percent of
the compensation was provided. (Not full)
• Other leaders associated were- Rajendra Prasad,
Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mahadeo Desai, Narhari Parekh, J.B.
Kripalani etc.

Ahmedabad Mill Strike 1918 - 1st Hunger • Dispute between cotton mill owners and workers over
Strike the issue of discontinuation of plague bonus.

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• Workers demanded for a rise of 50 percent in wages.
• Gandhi demanded for a 35 percent hike and took a fast
unto death. Anusuya Sarabhai was a social worker who
invited Gandhi to fight for workers.

Kheda Satyagraha 1918 - 1st Non- • Crops failed in Kheda district of Gujarat.
Cooperation • The farmers were entitled to remission according to
revenue code if yield is less than 1/4th of normal
produce.
• Government was adamant to the demands and
ordered seizure of property if taxes were not paid.
• Gandhi asked the farmers not to pay the taxes.
• Other leaders associated with the movement were-
Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Narhari Parekh, Mohanlal
Pandya etc.

Rowlatt Act 1919 - 1st All India Mass • The act officially called Anarchical and Revolutionary
Strike Crimes Act.
• It recommended imprisonment of activists without
trial for two years. Gandhi called for a mass protest at
all India level.
• He organized Satyagraha Sabha and roped in
youngsters of Home rule leagues and Pan Islamists.
• Form of protest finally chosen included observance of
a nationwide hartal accompanied by fasting and prayer
and civil disobedience was against specific laws etc.

KHILAFAT AND NON – COOPERATION MOVEMENT

Date Event Important Details
1919-22 Causes • The First World War ended with the Treaty of
Versailles.
• Victorious British dethroned the Sultan of Turkey
who was also regarded as the Khalifa or Caliph.
• Indian Muslims organised the Khilafat
Movement.
• Aim of Khilafat Movement:
1. The Khalifa's position should be restored
2. The Khalifa's control over the Muslim sacred
places should be retained

3. In territorial adjustments after the war,

Khalifa should be left with sufficient territories.

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• The Home Rule Movement started by Annie
Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak set the stage for
the non-cooperation movement.
• Economic hardships due to World War I: Prices
of goods began to soar which affected the
common man.
• The Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre: The repressive Rowlatt Act and the
brutal massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar
had a profound effect on the Indian leaders and
the people.
• The extremists and the moderates of the INC
were united and the Lucknow Pact also saw
solidarity between the Muslim League and the
Congress Party

1919 (Bombay) Khilafat Committee Leaders-Ali brothers, Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal
Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Dr. MA Ansari.
November 1919 All India Khilafat Dr. Hasrat Mohani made a call for boycott of British
Conference goods.

Non-cooperation with the British government.

1920 Alliance with Congress Gandhi appointed as the President of the All-India
Khilafat Committee.

His attitude hardened after Hunter Committee

Report on Punjab Disturbances.
June 1920 Central Khilafat • Attended by both Congress and Khilafat leaders.
(Allahabad) Committee Meet • Ultimatum given to govt- unless the Khilafat and
Punjab wrongs were undone, the movement
shall be launched from 1st August 1920.
• Tilak opposed Hindu-Muslim alliance over a
religious question.

1st August 1920 Non-Cooperation Non-Cooperation movement launched.

Movement
Tilak passes away.

20th December Nagpur Congress • President C.Vijayraghavachariar.

1920. (Nagpur) Session • CR Das turns from a critic to Gandhi's supporter
• Resolution of non-violent non-cooperation
endorsed with
the triple purpose of Non-Cooperation as the
follows:
1. Satisfactory solution to the Khilafat question.
2. Redressal of the Punjab wrongs and
3. Attainment of swaraj
• A new constitution of the Congress party

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(handwork of Gandhi himself) was adopted.
• Gandhi gave the slogan, 'Swaraj in one year'.
• Mohammad Ali Jinnah, GS Khaparde, Bipin
Chandra Pal and Annie Besant left the Congress,
they still believed in
the lawful methods of agitation.

January to March First Phase of Non- • Emphasis was on boycott of schools, colleges,
1921 CooperationMovement law courts and promotion of Charkha.
• CR Das played a key role in encouraging boycott.
• Subhas Chandra Bose became the principal of
the National College in Calcutta.
• Many leading lawyers like CR Das, Motilal Nehru,
Asaf Ali gave uplucrative legal practice.

December 1921 Government Congress and Khilafat Volunteer Corps were

Repression declared unlawful.

1st February 1922 Gandhi sends • Gandhi threatens with mass civil disobedience
ultimatum to Viceroy. unless government repression was abandoned
and political
prisoners were released.
• The Viceroy was unmoved.
• Gandhi decided to begin mass civil disobedience
and no
tax campaign from Bardoli taluqua of Surat
district.
• 5th February 1922 was fixed as the date of the
launch.

5th February 1922 Chauri Chaura • At Chauri Chaura (Gorakhpur district, UP), a mob
violence of angry peasants attacked a local police station.
• Set it on fire, killing 22 policemen.
• Shocked by this incident of violence, Gandhi
withdrew the movement calling it a 'Himalayan
blunder'.

12th February 1922 CWC Meeting, Bardoli CWC endorses the withdrawal of the civil
(Bardoli) disobedience movement, known as Bardoli
Resolution.

10th March 1922 Gandhi arrested Gandhi sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment.

was lodged in Yerawada jail, Poona.

November 1922 End of Khilafat Issue Mustafa Kamal Pasha declared Turkey as a secular
state.

Later abolished the Caliphate itself (1924).

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Thus, ended the issue of the Khilafat the world
over.

Analysis of the • The movement was not successful in achieving

movement Swaraj.
• It was a mass movement where lakhs of Indians
participated in the open protest against the
government through peaceful means, it reached
nooks and corner of the country.
• The Indian merchants and mill owners enjoyed
good profits during this period as a result of the
boycott of British goods. Khadi was promoted.
• This movement also established Gandhiji as a
leader of the masses.
• It drew many Muslims towards the movement.
• Although most Congress leader's remained
firmly behind Gandhi, the determined broke
away. The Ali brothers would soon become
fierce critics.

SWARAJISTS AND CONSTRUCTIVE WORK (1922-29)

Date Event Important Details
1st January 1923 Formation of Congress- Congress gets divided into Pro-Changers
Khilafat Swarajya Party (later called the Swarajists) and No-
Changers (or orthodox Gandhians).
September 1923 (Delhi) Delhi, Special Congress • Maulana Azad (President).
Session • Swarajists allowed to contest elections
due in November.

December 1924 (Belgam) Belgam Congress • Gandhi (President).

Session • Congress endorsed Gandhi's decision to
allow the Swaraj Party to carry on work
in the legislatures on behalf of the
Congress.

16th June 1925 CR Das passes away • Swaraj Party becomes a house divided
and loses credibility.
• The Nationalist Party also breaks into
three groups-
• The Swaraj Party (or the Congress
Party)
• The Nationalist Party led by Madan
Mohan Malaviya and Lala Lajpat Rai (It
included Responsive Cooperators like
Hindu Mahasabha and Independent
Congressmen).

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• The Independent Party led by MA
Jinnah.

1927 Simon Commission • Boycotted by all nationalists.

announced • Lord Birkenhead challenges Indians to
frame their own constitution.

1928 All Parties Conference • Appoints a sub-committee headed by

Motilal Nehru to draft a constitution.
• Nehru Committee drafted a
constitution-
known as Nehru Report.

1928 (Calcutta) Calcutta Congress • Swarajists and No-changers

Session unanimously give ultimatum- if demand
of complete independence not
accepted by 31stDecember 1929, Civil
Disobedience will be launched.
• Congress prepares for next round of
massaction.
• Council entry program becomes
irrelevant.
• Swaraj Party remerges with Congress.

SIMON COMMISSION AND SIMON BOYCOTT MOVEMENT (1927-29)

Event Year Important Details
Simon Commission 1927 • An Indian Statutory Commission comprising seven
members.
• All members were British.
• Chairman- Sir John Simon assisted by Clement
Attlee.
• Aim- to enquire into the working of the Government
of India under the Act of 1919 and suggest fresh
reforms.
• The Congress decided to boycott the commission
during the Madras Congress Session, presided by Dr.
Ansari, in December 1927.
• It was also called "White Commission."
• Upon landing, Simon was greeted with the
slogan “Go back, Simon".
• Lala Lajpat Rai (Sher-e-Punjab) faced lathi-charge
while leading an anti-Simon agitation at Lahore and
later succumbed to his injuries
• A report was published on 7th Jun 1930.
• It recommended abolition of Dyarchy in the
provinces and establishment of responsible unitary

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government in the provinces.

Nehru Report (1928) • Confined itself to British India.

• Recommended Dominion status as the desired form
of government in India.
• It rejected separate communal electorates.
• Recommended that elections should be held on the
basis of joint electorates.
• Recommended 19 Fundamental Rights.
• In December 1928, All Parties Conference was held
at Calcutta.
• The Conference failed to pass the Report as
objections were raised by the Muslim League, the
Hindu Mahasabha and the Sikh League.
• Jinnah went back to separate electorates.
• J L Nehru and Bose opposed the Nehru Report.
• Founded Independence for India League.
• They demanded the adoption of
complete independence as the immediate goal.
• Congress decided to declare complete
independence as its goal and
launch a Civil Disobedience Movement in case the
government would not accept the report.

Lahore Congress Session (1929) • On 31st Dec 1929, the annual session of the Congress
was held at Lahore.
• President Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the newly
adopted tricolour and declared Purna
Swaraj as the goal for India.
• Launching of a civil disobedience movement was
announced.
• Congress decided to celebrate 26th Jan 1930 as the
first Independence Day.

REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITY DURING THE 1920’S

Hindustan Republic Association • HRA was founded in October 1924 in Kanpur.
(Later renamed as Hindustan • Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin
socialist Republic Association) Sanyal were the founders.
• To organise armed rebellion to overthrow colonial
government and establish federal republic of United States
of India.
Punjab- United Provinces- Bihar
Kakori robbery incident, HRA was • The members of HRA looted the official railway cash at
involved in it Kakori.
• Bismil, Ashafaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were
hanged in the case.

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Regrouping of HRA into HSRA • Under the leadership of Chandra Shekhar Azad.
• The participants include Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Bhagwati
Charan Vohra, Bejoy Kumar Sinha etc.,
• It decided to work under a collective leadership and adopted
Feroz Shah Kotla socialism as its official goal.

Saunders Murder, by HSRA • Saunders, police official responsible for the lathi charge in
Lahore and for death of Lala Lajpat Rai during anti- simon
commission protest.
• Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru shot dead Saunders.

Bomb in the Central Legislative • To protest against the passage of the Public safety Bill and
Assembly Trade disputes bill which are restrictive on civil liberties.
• The bombs had been deliberately made harmless and were
aimed at making the ‘deaf hear’.
• The objective was to get arrested and to use the trial court
as a forum for propaganda of their ideology.

Chittagong Armoury raid by Indian • Led by Surya Sen.

Republican Army- Chittagong • The plan was to occupy two main armouries in Chittagong to
branch seize and supply arms to revolutionaries.
• The raid was successful and Sen hoisted the national flag and
proclaimed provisional revolutionary government.
• But later, they got arrested.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT (CDM) (1930-34)

Date Event Important details
December 1929 Lahore Congress Session • Congress authorised to start CDM.

January 1930 Gandhi's Eleven Points • Gandhi placed 'Eleven Points' of

administrative reforms before Lord
Irwin and gave an ultimatum of
January 31, 1930 to accept or reject
these demands.
• With no positive response from the
government, Gandhi decided to
launch a civil disobedience movement,
making salt Satyagraha his central
theme.

12th March Civil Disobedience • Gandhi started his historic 'Dandi

1930 begins March' from Sabarmati Ashram to
Dandi.
• Thus, began CDM.

6th April 1930 Gandhi breaks salt law • Gandhi reached Dandi, picked up a
handful of salt and broke the salt law

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as a symbol of defiance to British laws.
• 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, non-
payment of tax, boycott court, resign
from government service etc.
• Gandhi’s arrest came on May 4, 1930
when he had announced that he
would lead a raid on Dharasana Salt
Works on the west coast.

1930s Chittagong armoury • Carried out by the Bengal

raid revolutionaries led by Surya Sen.

• Tamil Nadu: C Rajagopalachari

organised march from Thiruchinapalli
to Vedaranniyam on tanjore coast.
Malabar: Kelappan known for Vaikom
Satyagraha organized salt marches.
• Andhra: Sibirams were organized.
• Orissa: Gopal Bandhu Chaudhuri
organized in Balasore, Cuttack etc.
• Bihar: Non chowkidari tax was
imposed.
• Manipur and Nagaland: Rani gaidinliu
at age of 13 years raised the banner
against British.
• Forms of Mobilization: Parbhat
pheries, vanar senas, manjari senas,
secret patrikas and magic lattern
show.

Role of Khan Abdul • Active in NWFP for several years.

Gaffar Khan • Had set up a band of non-violent
revolutionaries, the Khudai
Khidmatgars or the Red Shirts who
played an active role in the
CDM.

Anti-Cunningham • In Assam, a powerful agitation by

Circular agitation students against the
infamous 'Cunningham Circular' was
launched which prohibited students
from participating in political activities
associated with the national
movement.

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No-revenue No- rent • Was started in UP, Agra and Rae
campaign Bareilly emerged as important
centres.

• Participation of women was the most

remarkable feature of
CDM.
• Students participated in huge
numbers, merchants and traders were
enthusiastic, active participation of
tribals, workers and peasants.
Whereas Muslim participation was
nowhere near the 1920-22 level.

November1930-January First RTC (London) • Chaired by Brítish PM Ramsay

1931 MacDonald of Labour Party.
• First conference between the Indians
and the British as equals.
• Boycotted by Congress as it had
launched the CDM,
• Its proceedings proved to be quite
meaningless.
• It recommended-
1) Formation of an All India
Federation of British Indian Provinces
and the Indian States.
2) A responsible government at the
centre with certain 'reservations and
safeguards' for the transitional
period,
• Three RTCs were held in London to
discuss the Indian constitutional
question.
• INC participated only in the 2d RTC.
• Ambedkar attended all the three RTCs.

25th January Gandhi released • Truce period begins.

1931

14th February Gandhi – Irwin talk • By the efforts of Sir TB Sapru and Sir
1931 initiated MR Jayakar.

5th March Gandhi-Irwin Pact (Delhi • Signed by Gandhi on behalf of the

Pact), End of First Phase Congress and by Irwin on behalf of the
1931 of CDM government.
• First pact to be signed between the
Congress and the government on an
equal footing.

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• As per the Pact, the Congress agreed
to withdraw the CDM
immediately and participate in the
next RTC.

29th March Special Congress • Was called to ratify the Gandhi-Irwin

1931 Session at Karachi Pact.
• Was presided by Sardar Patel.
• Adopted resolutions on Fundamental
Rights and National Economic
Programme.

April-Aug 1931 Change of • Lord Irwin replaced by Lord Willingdon

Government as Viceroy.
• Sir Samuel Hoare became Secretary of
State for India.
• Changed government adopted a
hardened stand, saw Delni
pact as a mistake.

September- 1931 Second RTC • Congress participated and was

(London) represented by Gandhi.
• Gandhi gave a carte blanche to Jinnah,
yet the communal
problem could not be resolved.

September 1931 Government • While Gandhi was away to London,

Repression Willingdon decided to
launch a hard and immediate blow to
the revival of national movement.
• Policy of 'Civil martial law' was
launched.
• Involved passing of sweeping
ordinances banning all Congress
organizations.
• Gandhi was arrested as soon as he
returned from the RTC
(4 Jan 1932).

28th December 1931 Gandhi returned • Gandhi returned to a changed political

from London situation.

29th December 1931 Second CDM • 4 Jan 1932, Gandhi was arrested
launched • The movement was
effectively crushed within a few

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months.
• Afterwards it just lingered on.

16th August 1932 Communal Award • MacDonald announced

the proposal on minority
(MacDonald representation, known as the
Award) Communal Award.
• It declared depressed classes as
'minority’.
• Entitled them toseparate electorate.
• The Congress strongly disagreed with
the communal award.
• It decided neither to accept nor reject
it.
• 20 Sep 1932, Gandhi (in Yerawada jail)
sat on a fast unto deathto oppose the
Communal Award.

24th September Poona Pact • Was concluded between Gandhi and

Ambedkar with the efforts of
Ambedkar, MC Rajah and Madan
Mohan Malaviya.

November- December Third RTC • It was attended by only 46 delegates

1932 and
• Was boycotted by the INC as well as
the Labour Party in Britain.
• In March 1933, a White Paper was
published &
• It contained four major proposals-
Federation, Provincial Autonomy,
dyarchy at the centre and safeguards.
• White Paper later became the basis of
the Govt, of India Act
of 1935.

April 1934 CDM withdrawn • In May 1933, Gandhi temporarily

suspended the movement.
• Formally withdrew it in April 1934.

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INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Year Events Details
1st September 1939 Outbreak of WW2 • Viceroy Linlithgow unilaterally declared
India as a belligerent state on the British
side.

10-14th September, 1939 CWC Meeting, Wardha • The Congress finally decided to adopt
Nehru's view and extend conditional
support to the British

17th October 1939 Viceroy Linlithgow's • British government refused to make any
Statement promises and commit itself in advance on
the post-war constitutional status of India.
• Talked about setting up of a 'consultative
committee'.

22nd October 1939 Congress Ministries • Congress Ministries resign to protest

resign against Britain's
unilateral decision of dragging Indian into
the war.

22nd December 1939 Day of Deliverance • Muslim League celebrates day of

deliverance' upon resignation of Congress
Ministries.

March 1940 / Pakistan Resolution • Muslim League passed Pakistan

Lahore Resolution calling
formation of Pakistan as a separate
homeland for the, Muslims.

March 1940 Ramgarh Congress • Presided by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Session • A resolution was passed which declared
that a civil disobedience movement shall
be launched for the purpose.
• A coalition of various Left-wing groups
held an anti-compromise conference
at Ramgarh under the leadership of
Subhas Chandra Bose and resolved to
prepare themselves for a
militant struggle.

8th August 1940 August Offer • For the first time, the inherent right of
Indians to frame their own constitution
was recognized and demand for
Constituent Assembly was conceded.

17th October 1940 Individual • Acharya Vinoba Bhave became the First
Satyagraha Satyagrahi.
• Initiated a movement which came to be

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known as 'Delhi Chalo' movement.
• Later, Jawaharlal Nehru became the
second individual Satyagrahi.

22nd March 1942 Cripps Mission • In March, Japan occupied Rangoon

bringing the war to India's doorstep which
forced the British to send Cripps Mission
to India.
• Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent the
Sir Stafford Cripps, with the aim of
securing India's active support in the war
effort.
• Cripps declared that the aim of new British
policy in India was 'the earliest possible
realisation of self-
government in India'.
• Proposals included- Dominion Status,
Constituent Assembly, Right of Non-
Accession of Provinces, Right of Secession
of provinces, Protection of racial and
linguistic minorities and British control
over defence.
• Gandhi rejected the proposals calling the
Cripps offer for Dominion Status after the
war as 'a post dated
cheque on a crashing bank'.
• Cripps adopted a 'take it or leave it'
attitude which added to the deadlock.

14th July 1942 CWC Meeting at • The CWC adopted the Quit India
Wardha Resolution which was to be later ratified
by the AICC in its Bombay meeting.

8th August 1942 Quit India • AICC met at Gowalia, Tank Maidan
Movement (QIM) Bombay and ratified the Quit India
Resolution.
• The next day morning, all prominent
leaders of the Congress, including Gandhi,
were arrested.

23rd March 1943 Pakistan Day • Even as the QIM, continued the League
observed the 'Pakistan Day' and also
adopted a new slogan 'Divide and Quit'.

March 1944 Rajagopalachari • It was a formula to bring about Congress-

Formula League cooperation, accepting the idea of
Pakistan on the basis of a plebiscite after
the war.

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• The formula was evolved with full
approval of Gandhiji.

Jan 1945 Desai - Liaquat Plan • It proposed the formation of an Interim

Government at the Centre, consisting of
an equal number of persons nominated by
the Congress and the League in the Central
Legislature.

14th Jun 1945 Congress leaders • On 8th May 1945, the war in Europe
released from jail ended with the surrender of Germany.
• The Congress leaders were released from
jail in anticipation of the Simla
Conference, marking the official end of
the Quit Indian Movement.

QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT

Quit India Resolution • Demand an immediate end to British rule in India.
• Declare commitment of free India to defend itself against all types
of Fascism and imperialism.
• Form a provisional Government of India after British withdrawal.
• Sanction a civil disobedience movement against British rule.

Gandhi’s General • Government servants: Do not resign but declare your allegiance to
Instructions the Congress.
• Soldiers: Do not leave the Army but do not fire on Compatriots.
• Students: If confident, leave studies.
• Peasants: If zamindars are anti-government, pay mutually agreed
rent, and if not, do not pay rent.
• Princes: Support the masses and accept sovereignty of your people.
• Princely states’ people: Support the ruler only if he is anti-
government and declare yourselves to be a part of the Indian
nation.

Public on Rampage • The general public attacked symbols of authority, and hoisted
national flags forcibly on public buildings.
• Bridges were blown up, railway tracks were removed and telegraph
lines were cut.
• Most intense activities in eastern United Provinces and Bihar.
• Students responded by going on strike in schools and colleges,
participating in processions, writing and distributing illegal news
sheets (patrikas) and acting as couriers for underground networks.
• Workers went on strike in Ahmedabad, Bombay, Jamshedpur,
Ahmednagar and Poona .

Underground Activity • The participants in these activities were the Socialists, Forward Bloc

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members, Gandhi ashramites, revolutionary nationalists and local
organisations in Bombay, Poona, Satara, Baroda and other parts of
Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra, United Provinces, Bihar and
Delhi.
• The main personalities taking up underground activity were Ram
Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha Mehta,
Biju Patnaik, Chhotubhai Puranik, Achyut Patward han, Sucheta
Kripalani and R.P. Goenka.
• Usha Mehta started an underground radio in Bombay.
• This phase of underground activity was meant to keep up popular
morale by continuing to provide a line of command and guidance to
distribute arms and ammunition.

Parallel Government s • Ballia under Chittu Pandey, he got many Congress leaders released.
• Tamluk (Midnapore)— Jatiya Sarkar undertook cyclone relief work,
sanctioned grants to schools, supplied paddy from the rich to the
poor, organised Vidyut Vahinis, etc.
• Satara —named “Prati Sarkar”, was organised under leaders like
Y.B. Chavan, Nana Patil, etc. Village libraries and Nyayadan Mandals
were organized, prohibition campaigns were carried on and ‘Gandhi
marriages’ were organised.

Extent of Mass Participation • Youth: - the students of schools and colleges, remained in the
forefront.
• Women: especially school and college girls, actively participated,
and included Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kripalani and Usha Mehta.
• Workers: went on strikes and faced repression.
• Peasants: of all strata were at the heart of the movement. Even
some zamindars participated. There was complete absence of anti-
zamindar violence.
• Government officials: especially those belonging to lower levels in
police and administration, participated resulting in erosion of
government loyalty.
• Muslims: helped by giving shelter to underground activists. There
were no communal clashes during the movement.
• The Communists did not join the movement; in the wake of Russia
being attacked by Nazi Germany, the communists began to support
the British war against Germany and the ‘Imperialist War’ became
the ‘People’s War’.
• The Muslim League opposed the movement, fearing that if the
British left India at that time, the minorities would be oppressed by
the Hindus. The Hindu Mahasabha boycotted the movement. The
Princely states showed a low-key response.

INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY

First phase of INA • Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed forces
formed by Indian Nationalists in Southeast Asia during Second

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World War.
• Conceived by Captain Mohan Singh.
• In 1942, first INA was formed comprising Indian prisoners of
war
• Aim was to fight for India’s independence
• Overall leadership came to rest with Rash Behari Bose.
• In March 1942 he announced the formation of Indian
Independence League.
• In June 1942 the league met at Bangkok known as Bangkok
Conference
• Subhas Bose was invited to lead the INA movement.

Second phase of INA • Revived by Subhas Chandra Bose in July 1943 in Singapore.
• Bose was now called Netaji by the soldiers.

Activities of Bose and INA • He set up the provisional government of free india
• Declared in himself as a prime minister and Commander in
Chief.
• In November 1943, the Japanese handed over the
administration of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the
provisional government.
• In April 1944, the Azad Hind Bank was inaugurated at Rangoon.
• In 1944 Subhas became the first person to address Gandhiji as
Father of the Nation.
• Raised the famous slogans of Jai Hind, Delhi Chalo and most
famous ‘tum mujhe khoon do main tumhe azadi dunga’.
• The INA also made regular broadcasting on Azad Hind Radio.

Imphal campaign • INA accompanied the Japanese army in its Imphal campaign
• It ended in failure because INA battalion faced discriminatory
treatment from Japanese units
• The monsoon also prevented their advance
• It is believed that Subhas Bose was killed in an air crash near
Formosa Island.

Significance of INA • It failed to achieve its goal of liberating India through an armed
struggle
• Activities of INA ensured that the British could no longer
depend on the loyalty of Indian soldiers.
• Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs fought together as one Nation
under the flag of INA.
• Rani Jhansi Brigade brought to the forefront the capabilities of
Indian women

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POST-WAR NATIONAL MOVEMENT (1945-47)
Wavell Plan • Lord Wavell succeeded Lord Linlithgow as Governor-General in
October, 1943.
• He went to England for consultations in March 1945.
• He broadcast to the people of India the proposals of the British
Government to resolve the deadlock in India on 14th June which is
called Wavell Plan.
• It is also known as Breakdown Plan.

Provisions
• Formation of a new Executive Council at the centre in which all the
members except the Viceroy and the Commander in Chief would
be Indian.
• All portfolios except Defence were to be under the control of Indian
members.
• In the Proposed Executive Council which was to have 14 members,
the Muslims who constituted only about 25 % of the total
population were given the right to be over represented by selecting
6 representatives.
• The Congress while objecting the demand asserted its rights to
select the representative of any community, including Muslims, as
the Congress nominees to the Council.

Simla Conference • Lord Wavell invited a conference of 21 Indian Political leaders at

the Summer Capital British India to discuss the provision of Wavell
Plan.
• The Wavell Plan convened to agree for Indian self-government
which incorporated separate representation to Muslims and
reduced majority powers for both communities in their majority
regions.
• Discussion was stuck at a point of selection of Muslim
representatives.
• Jinnah said that no non-league Muslim should be represented to
the Executive Council because only Muslim League has right to
represent the Muslims of India whereas Congress said that they
had no right to nominate any Muslim in the Executive council.
• Wavell had given place to 6 Muslims in the Executive Council of 14.
• British had given it the power of Veto to any constitutional proposal
which was not in its interest.
• But Muslims represented only 25% of Indian Population. Thus,
these unreasonable demands were rejected by Congress.
• The Muslim league did not relent and Wavell dropped the plan.

Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 Objectives

• Devise a machinery to draw up the constitution of Independent
India.

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• Make arrangements for interim Government.
• Thus, the mission was like a declaration

Recommendations
• The cabinet mission plan of 1946 proposed that there shall be a
Union of India which was to be empowered to deal with the
defense, foreign affairs and communications.
• The cabinet mission recommended an undivided India and turned
down the Muslim league’s demand for a separate Pakistan.
• The Cabinet mission restricted the Communal representation.
• It provided that all the members of the Interim cabinet would be
Indians and there would be minimum interference by the Viceroy.
• It also provided for formation of the constituent assembly on
democratic principle of population.
• It recognized Indian Right to cede from the Commonwealth.
• The Union Government and its legislature were to have limited
powers.
• All subjects other than the Union Subjects and all the residuary
powers would be vested in the provinces.
• The Princely states would retain all subjects and all residuary
powers.

Reaction
• The Congress accepted the proposals related to the Constituent
assembly. But since, the Muslim league had been given
disproportionate representation; it rejected the idea of the Interim
Government. Congress also rejected the idea of a weak centre and
division of India in small states.
• Congress was against decentralization and the idea was to have a
strong centre.
• The Muslim league first approved the plan. But when Congress
declared that it could change the scheme 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 the Muslim League.
• On July 29, it rejected the plan and called the Muslims to resort to
“Direct Action” to achieve the land of their dream “Pakistan”.
August 16, 1946 was fixed as “Direct Action Day”.

FREEDOM OF INDIA, 1947

Events Year Important Details
Attlee's Announcement 20th February • As per the announcement, the British
1947 would withdraw from India by 30th June
1948.
• Wavell would be replaced by
Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy and Power

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could be transferred to more than one
authority if the Constituent Assembly did
not become fully representative, i.e. if the
Muslim majority provinces did not join it.

Mountbatten Plan 3rd June 1947 • It declared that transfer of power would
take place by 15th Aug 1947 on the basis
of dominion status to two successor
states, India and Pakistan if the Legislative
Assemblies of Bengal and Punjab voted in
favour of partition.
• It also provided for a referendum in the
NWFP and Sylhet (Assam) and for setting
up of a Boundary Commission.
• The Indian states would be free to join any
dominion they liked, India or Pakistan.

Indian Independence Act 1947 18th July 1947 • The Act was passed by the Labour
government of Clement Attlee after the
Indian leaders agreed on the
Mountbatten Plan.
• Among other things, the Act stated the
following-
• On pending the adoption of a new
constitution, the existing Constituent
Assembly of each Dominion would
function as Dominion Legislature and
each Dominion shall be governed by the
provisions of the Government of India Act
1935.
• The Office of the Secretary of State was
abolished and his work was to be taken
over by the Secretary of Commonwealth
Affairs.

Independence Day 15th August 1947 • India woke up to the dual reality of
independence and partition.
• Jawaharlal Nehru was sworn in as the first
Prime Minister of free India.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the
Home Minister.

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REVISE ONCE AGAIN

Decline of the Mughal Empire
The Great Mughal Empire began in 1526 with Zahiruddin Babur's accession to the throne followed by
Akbar in the second half of the sixteenth century, and lasted in 1707 with Aurangzeb's death. The
death of Aurangzeb signalled the end of an era in Indian history.

• The Mughal empire was the largest in India when Aurangzeb died. However, within fifty years,
the traces of this enormous empire's decline were unmistakable.

Reasons for the decline

• Divisive policies- Aurangzeb's radical policies, including as religious policies, alienated the Hindu
majority of the subject population.
• Expansionist policies - Military operations in western India against the two autonomous republics
of Bijapur and Golconda, as well as against the Marathas, are thought to have depleted the
empire's strength.
• Weak successors- With incompetent successors and no effective leadership, wars of succession
erupted, leading to a decline in the military superiority of the Mughals.
• External invasion: Following Aurangzeb's death, multiple foreign invasions struck the empire,
owing to the weakness of later Mughals. Such invasions resulted in the looting of much of the
empire's wealth. It harmed the economy of an empire that was already in decline.
o Example -Marathas, Nadir shah and Ahmed shah Abdali’s invasion to the empire
• Centralized administrative power- The Mughals relied heavily on their military force, with the
majority of power concentrated in their capital. With weak leaders, the entire empire crumbled
like a pyramid of cards.
• Jagirdari Crisis: The empire's economy deteriorated as a result of the Jagir crisis, as numerous
Jagirdars competed for a restricted number of jagirs, resulting in a further political conflict
between the nobility.
o To maximise profit with a restricted number of jagirs, the Jagirdars began to keep fewer
men than planned, weakening the Mughal empire's army.
• Role of the nobles: Following Aurangzeb's death, the nobility assumed a great deal of authority,
and the path of politics and state activity was driven by their own interests.
o The Turanis, Iranis, Afghans, and Indian-born Muslims comprised the Mughal court's
four noble groups. These factions were continuously fighting for more power, jagirs, and
high offices, which eventually led to the empire's demise.
• Empty Treasury: Shah Jahan's construction ardour (for example, the Taj Mahal) emptied the
treasury. Aurangzeb's long conflicts in the south had impoverished the exchequer much more.
• Lack of robust finances: As a result of the development of multiple autonomous states, revenue
resources were drained, and ongoing battles further reduced the treasury.
• The arrival of the British: The entry of British and other European colonial powers in India was
the final nail in the coffin of the Mughal empire's chances of survival. Western colonial powers
were militarily and financially superior, as well as politically aware of Indian realities.

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The Mughal system persisted even after the empire's de facto extinction, which was followed by the
rise of a number of regional powers. In Indian history, the eighteenth century is neither a gloomy nor a
declining epoch. The fall of one pan-Indian empire was followed by the establishment of another, with
the interregnum dominated by a number of powerful regional states.

EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL POWERS

With the decline of the Mughal Empire, a number of provinces seceded from the empire, resulting in
the formation of many separate states in the 18th century.

Hyderabad:

• Qamar-ud-din Siddiqi, who was appointed Viceroy of the Deccan and given the title of Nizam-ul-
Mulk by Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1712, founded the state of Hyderabad.
• During the reign of Emperor Mohammad Shah, he formed a quasi-independent state before
returning to Delhi.

Bengal

• Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa were all part of Bengal in the 18th century.
• Under Aurangzeb, Murshid Quli Khan was the Diwan of Bengal.
• In 1717, Farrukhsiyar named him Subedar (Governor) of Bengal.

Awadh:

• Awadh's subah included Benaras and a few districts surrounding Allahabad.

• The Mughal Emperor nominated Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk as Governor of Awadh.
• However, he quickly became self-sufficient.

The Marathas

• In Western India, the Marathas solidified their hold.

• They began making preparations for a larger Maharashtra empire.

Social, economic, political, and institutional issues all had a role in the decline of the Mughal Empire. By
1813, the British government had stripped the East India Corporation of its monopolistic power, and
the company began to work on behalf of the government. The Indian Rebellion took place in 1857,
prompting the British colonial administration to exile the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, and seize
control of the Indian subcontinent.

UPSC CSE 2017 - Clarify how mid-eighteenth-century India was

beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity.

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Factors that contributed to the British victory over Indian powers during the establishment of British
administration in India
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the British had firmly cemented their position and had taken
direct control of a major portion of India. The areas that stayed independent were influenced indirectly
by the British. The British reign against Indian monarchs was successful for a variety of reasons, some of
which are stated below:

• Vacuum of power: After the Mughal Empire was shattered and collapsed under its own weight,
India experienced a power vacuum. Its many governors and rebel leaders asserted their
superiority in separate locations and began fighting one another. The British were able to build
trading posts in India as a result of this.
• Strong Financial Backing: The British had sufficient finances to pay good dividends to their
shareholders, forcing them to fund the English wars in India. Furthermore, the British trade
brought huge wealth to England, prompting the government to assist them indirectly or directly
with money, materials, and men.
• The flag followed the trade: These trading posts were used to store commodities, so the British
erected a lot of warehouses, giving them a pretext to build forts and armies to "defend" them.
The East India Company signed deals with the majority of the rulers to keep them happy and
prevent them from fighting the British.
• Leadership quality: Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, Elphinstone, Munro, and others demonstrated
outstanding leadership quality. The British also had the benefit of second-line leaders like Sir Eyre
Coote, Lord Lake, Arthur Wellesley, and others who battled for their country's cause and honour.
• Lack of unity among Indian kingdoms - Despite the fact that powerful Indian states such as
Punjab, Mysore, and the Marathas governed the Indian subcontinent in the mid-nineteenth
century, many of them were at odds with one another for various reasons. They failed to
recognise the threat posed by the East India Company and were unable to unite against a common
foreign foe.
• Divide and Rule: The British utilised efficient methods like the Doctrine of Lapse and Subsidiary
Alliance to take conquer most of India.
• At sea, the British were formidable: The British arrived via water, establishing naval strength in
the Indian Ocean before arriving on the Indian mainland. They had an easier time establishing
themselves in India's coastal regions because none of the Indian states had a powerful navy to
resist the British dominance.
• Military and technological superiority: The poorly-trained and poorly-paid Indian army were no
match for the disciplined and well-trained British forces. The Indians were also technologically
behind the times.

THE IMPACT OF VARIOUS SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS IN BRITAIN ON THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA

• Orientalism emerged as a result of Britain's intellectual revolution and colonial officials'

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consultative engagement with locals.
o It described India as a "rich culture in decadence."
o As a result, it took on the responsibility of reversing the current decline in Indian culture.
o Incorporated into real policies at the time of implementation
o Warren Hastings saw the need to "legitimise" colonial control in Indian terms.
o It began the process of Reverse Acculturation, which entails teaching European rulers about
Indian customs and traditions in order to assimilate them into the subject community. This
was reflected in the political perspective of Fort Williams College's Estd.
o However, by instilling in Indians a sense of kinship with the British that dated back to the
classical period, orientalism made it morally binding for them to accept colonial rule through
language of "love."
o A side effect of this school of thought was that it emphasised India's classical glory and
sparked a yearning to reclaim that glory—through colonial domination.

However, Lord Cornwallis and Wellesley abandoned orientalism in favour of Anglicist principles.

o The policies reflected Edmund Burke's emerging Conservatism in England (in context of rising
threat of Jacobinism)
• While Anglicist Cornwallis advocated Permeant Settlement in Bengal to teach ideals of rule
of law and private property, Orientalist Thomas Munro established the Ryotwari system in
Madras, which was based on Indian village life values and attempted to preserve India's
village communities. Because taxes were collected directly from Ryots by British authorities
in the later, it reflected Tipu Sultan's strategy of "Military Fiscalism" in Mysore.
o As a result, Munro argued that a portion of India should be administered indirectly. He
demanded, however, that the Central sovereign be ruled by individuals who were
knowledgeable and sympathetic. As a result, this authoritative paternalism opposed the idea
of Indians directly participating in politics.
o As a result, British control in India was built on two pillars: respect and paternalism.
• Missionaries: Christian missionaries at Srirampur, near Calcutta, spread the notion in India. The
notion was the motivating factor for the 1813 Charter Act, which made it possible for missionaries
to enter India without limitation.
• Free Trade concept, which was aligned with Evangelicalism, urged for companies to change from
"trader" to "ruler." As a result, the Charter Act of 1833 put an end to corporation monopolies in
trade.
• British Liberalism, of which Thomas Macaulay was a proponent, believed that the job of British
administrators should be to civilise rather than conquer, and so created a liberal agenda for India's
emancipation through active governance.
• After 1857, however, Liberal ideology suffered a setback, and Utilitarian and other ideas urged
Paternalistic control, citing Indians' inability to modernise. As a result, racial segregation and
superiority policies began to pervade every facet of government policy.
• With the passage of the Ilbert Bill, this technique was proven to be successful.
o Conservative Liberalism- Liberals began to assume that Indians were beyond reform and

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hence advocated for stringent non-interference in Indian society's traditional structure.

BRITISH REVENUE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM

RYOTWARI

• Introduced by Alexander Reed in 1792 and perpetuated by Thomas Munro in 1802, the method
was a blend of Revenue objectives and preserving Indian Village culture, according to Munro.
• Though Cornwallis intended to continue permanent settlement in Madras, as instructed by
Wellesley, the results were not satisfying since, unlike in Bengal, there was no large middle class
in Madras.
• Munro's approach is founded on the premise that revenue will be collected directly from
peasants who will own Propriety rights. A thorough study will be carried out in order to
determine the revenues for each farm.

Impact of Revenue Settlement System

• No proper surveys are undertaken, and revenue is frequently fixed on the entire farm, regardless
of whether it is under cultivation or irrigated.
• As a result, variations in farm productivity are not taken into consideration.
• Munro's Right to Contraction (that is, a peasant's right to limit cultivation and taxation on a
certain parcel of land if other land is not under cultivation) was repealed in an 1833 revision.
• Exorbitant taxation left land uncultivated.
• Intermediaries were not eliminated in South India because specific rights of mirasidars were
recognised and caste privileges of Brahmans were protected, resulting in a village organisation
that scarcely changed.
• In the countryside, dominant groups or mirasidars of good agriculturist castes such as the
Vellalas hacked ground level revenue administration and acquired revenue collection, as well as
police duties.
• According to the Madras Torture Commission Report of 1855, such power consolidation resulted
in bribery and extortion by these junior officers.
• However, in rich and well-irrigated places like the Godavari delta, such disparities were more
pronounced. Absentee Landlordism, on the other hand, is on the decline in south India.
• Social fallout—as a result of the development of mirasidars, local society has become more
polarised.

In 1928-29, roughly 19 percent of land was under Zamindari, 52 percent was under Ryotwari, and 29
percent was under Mahalwari, according to preliminary estimates.

UPSC CSE 2017 Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal

industry in colonial India crippled the rural economy.

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UPSC CSE 2014 Examine critically the various facets of economic
policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century till
independence.

BRITISH INDIA'S JUDICIAL SYSTEM

After acquiring the Diwani powers over Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1765, the English East India
Company maintained the Indian legal system until 1772.

The Development of Judicial Organization Under British Rule

• The business wielded judicial authority through the Deputy Diwan. The earlier legal system was
despised by Company leaders. This was due to the fact that the Mughal system was not
centralised and relied heavily on local faujdars and their executive discretion.
• Although it was founded on Sharia, Islamic law, its application varied greatly due to differing
interpretations provided by qazis and muftis. Furthermore, the approach prioritised mutual
conflict resolution over punitive justice.
• Soon after, the need for an unified legal system for the Company's territory became apparent as
a means of asserting the Company's sovereignty. On Warren Hastings' proposal, the court system
was removed from the power of the local zamindars and centralised in 1772.

Hastings' Reforms are the new system.

• Each district was to have two courts under the new system, a civil court known as a Diwani
Adalat and a criminal court known as a Faujdari Adalat.
• The Mughal nomenclature was preserved, and the applicable laws were Muslim laws in criminal
justice and Muslim or Hindu laws in personal concerns like as inheritance, marriage, and so on.
• The European District Collectors were to preside over the civil courts, who would be supported
by Maulvis and Brahman gurus who would translate local laws for their understanding. These
courts heard cases involving personal property, inheritance, marriage, and so on.
• In Calcutta, there would be an appeals court named Sadar Diwani Adalat or Sadar Nizamat
Adalat. Sadar Diwani Adalat was presided over by the president and two Supreme Council
members, whereas Sadar Nizamat Adalat was presided over by Deputy Nizam, who was
accompanied by Chief Qazi and Chief Mufti.
• The criminal courts were to be presided over by a qazi and a mufti, but they would be overseen
by European Collectors.

For a time, the Nawab's nominal authority was maintained, and all orders were conveyed to him for
ultimate approval.

Changes introduced after 1773 - The Regulating Act

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• The idea of separation of the government and the judiciary was established, and District
Collectors were relieved of their judicial responsibilities.
• The Regulating Act of 1773 established a Supreme Court in Calcutta to serve as a court of appeal.
This court was supposed to try all "British subjects." It had jurisdiction over all people in Calcutta,
Indian or European. Outside of Calcutta, it could only hear disputes between Indians with their
assent.
• The Supreme Court was in charge of enforcing English law. Because this court's jurisdiction
conflicted with those of others, a chief justice was appointed.
• Instead of district courts, provincial and mofussil courts were established, to be presided over
only by European covenanted officers of the Company, who were given the title of 'Judges.'
• Another significant feature was the civil judicial system's systematisation or institutionalisation.
The Code of 1781 sets strict rules and regulations to be observed in all civil courts, all the way
down to the lowest level, and all judicial orders were to be in writing from then on.
• Hindu and Muslim rules were gathered and translated into English to minimise the element of
doubt.
• Law's standardisation needed professional knowledge, necessitating the need for a
professionally trained group of persons known as attorneys.

Cornwallis Code (1793)

• It separated revenue collection from civil justice administration as a safeguard for property
rights against abuse of power by revenue officials and their agents, based on the principle of
Separation of Powers.
• The Collector was stripped of judicial powers, and the position of District Judge was established
to judge over District courts. They also served as magistrates and police officers.
• The new system established a court hierarchy, ranging from district and city courts to four
province courts and the Sadar Diwani Adalat, which had appellate jurisdiction.
• All courts were to be presided over by European judges, with the option of appointing "local
commissioners."
• The Faujdari Adalats were abolished and replaced by circuit courts presided over by European
judges. Appeals from here passed to Provincial courts, and from there to The Sadar Nizamat
Adalat (for criminal appeals), which was put directly under the Governor-General-in-Council in
Calcutta's control.
• The authority of these criminal courts did not extend to subjects born in the United Kingdom.
They remained subject to the Supreme Court's jurisdiction in Calcutta.
• The Cornwallis Code is a manifestation of the system's complete exclusion of Indians, which
became more authoritarian and racially superior in tone.

In 1795, the Cornwallis Code was extended to Banaras, and in 1803 and 1805, it was extended to the
Ceded and Conquered Provinces.

• A separate approach was implemented in Madras and Bombay since they were ryotwari
settlement zones where the Collector simultaneously served as a Settlement Officer. Greater

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Indianization of the system occurred at the lower levels (village panchayats, district and city
courts), and magisterial, revenue collecting, and some judicial functions were concentrated in the
office of the Collector.

The 1833 Charter Act

• This opened up judicial places for Indians and provided for the establishment of a law commission
to codify laws. Lord Macaulay's Law Commission codified the laws into the Code of Civil
Procedure (1859), the Indian Penal Code (1860), and the Criminal Procedure Code (1862). The
new codes aimed to establish universal jurisprudential norms.

Crown-Administered Judicial Administration

• The judicial system was substantially altered during the 1857 rebellion. The Indian High Courts
Act was passed in 1861, resulting in the establishment of high tribunals in Calcutta, Bombay, and
Madras in 1862, which supplanted the Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat Adalats as courts of
appeal.
• Following that, High Courts were formed in Allahabad (1869), Patna (1916), Lahore (1919), and
other cities. The High Courts had the same authority over all people and estates. To some extent,
this resulted in the introduction of the concept of 'Rule of Law.'

The 1935 Government of India Act

• The Federal Court was founded as a result of this act. The Privy Council in London would hear
appeals from the Federal Court. The Crown had the authority to hear appeals from India as a
matter of right or by special leave. The Privy Council performed this function on behalf of the
Crown.

Impact on Indians as a whole:

• Laws have become difficult for ordinary people to comprehend and comprehend.
• Because indigenous people did not understand sophisticated court procedures, justice became
physically and psychologically remote.
• A new class of lawyers formed, monopolising the legal system. As a result, the system grew costly.
• The pending nature of the cases resulted in a delay in the administration of justice.
• Because of the combination of judicial prudence and cultural particularism (or indigenous
people's civilizational inferiority), the concept of
• As a result of the disparity in treatment of Europeans, equality before the law diminished.

UPSC CSE 2013 “In many ways, Lord Dalhousie was the
founder of modern India.” Elaborate.
UPSC CSE 2014 Examine critically the various facets of
economic policies of the British in India from mid-
eighteenth century till independence.

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POLICE

• Sir Charles Napier's Sindh Model of police, which was applied in Sindh after its acquisition in
1843: IG at the top level and SP at district levels, both of which were responsible to both the
District Magistrate and the IG- therefore a self-contained and independent organisation.
• The idea was reproduced throughout India, beginning in Punjab in 1849, then in Bombay in 1853,
and in Madras in 1859.
• This concept was based on the Royal Irish Constabulary Model (which was established in Ireland
in 1757 to combat increasing sectarian and peasant movements).

ARMY

• Mughal utilised a technique to recruit peasants into the military, which became known as the
"military labour market."
• Some of their successors, like as the Nawab of Awadh and the Raja of Benares, perfected the
recruitment technique and formed sophisticated trained peasant armies separated from civilian
communities.
• This custom was inherited by EIC when it began recruiting its own force, known as the sepoy
army.
• Initiated by the French in 1721–19.
• Hastings did not interfere with caste rules in army matters, and hence continued to recruit upper
castes such as Brahmins and Rajputs from Awadh.Bihar Rajputs and Bhumihar-Brahmins- The
preconception that wheat eaters were more suitable for the army than rice eaters played an
essential influence in recruitment.
• People were attracted to occupations due of perks like pay, pensions, and benefits. Furthermore,
unlike many other princely realms, the corporation paid sepoys on a regular basis.
• For certain socially ambitious castes, such as Bhumihar-Brahmins, who fulfilled their social
mobility ambitions, recruitment became a tactic for social mobility.
• Cornwallis, despite his Anglicanism, did not buck the trend.As a result, the Sepoy force evolved
into an Upper Caste army, prone to rebellion when original privileges were abolished in the 1820s.
• Later, when the company's territories grew eastward beyond Bengal, EIC began recruiting Hill
tribes into the army using the Mughal system of ghatwaliservice tenure.
• Later, in the late 18th century, vanquished empires such as Mysore and Maratha built vast
reservoirs of army, which were absorbed to some extent by the sepoy army
• The Gurkha regiment experiment began in 1815, with the skilful melding of Nepali atrial tradition
with European training for Nepalis, garwahlis, and Simouri hill warriors.
• As a result, the sepoy army incorporated a diverse range of socioeconomic groups and castes.
While the Bengal army remained more homogeneous, the Bombay and Madras armies became
more heterogeneous.
• The deterioration of the army's status and growing discontent can be explained as follows:
o 1820s- most Indian powers were weakened, thus the firm began to focus more on financial
problems, decreasing army privileges. Dissatisfaction in the upper caste
o 1830s- reforms aiming at levelling rank disparities and creating universal military culture

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caused resentment, particularly in the Bengal army.
• Reforms in the 1840s affected the caste position of sepoys, disrupting power dynamics within the
army, which resulted in a mutiny in 1857.
• After 1857, the Peel Commission advised a deliberate blend of ethnic groups in the army.
• By the 1880s, the ideology of 'Martial Races' had formed, and recruitment from certain places
such as the NWFP, Nepal, Rajputs, and Jats was encouraged.
• Except for the Canal Colony agitations in Punjab (1907) and the Sikh Gurdwara movement, such
soldiers of martial races were never touched/affected by political agitations and remained loyal
to the King-Emperor (1920)

UPSC CSE 2020 Evaluate the policies of Lord Curzon and their
long-term implications on the national movements.

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICES

• The procedure for nominating people to the ICS was established by the India Act of 1784 and the
Charter Act of 1793: members of the CoD could nominate people for the ICS on written assurance
that they had not been paid for such nomination.
• Later, CoD viewed Wellesley's effort to educate servant's Indian languages at Fort Williams
College with disdain, believing that ICS loyalty would be switched from London to Calcutta.
• As a result, Fort Williams was closed, and East India College was established at Haileybury.
• Because of this nomination method, no Indian was permitted to hold posts worth 500 pounds.
• Later, in the 1830s, collectors' responsibilities grew enormously due to the re-concentration of
Revenue operations, Magisterial role, and Judicial authority in their hands. As a result, the need
for effective administrators was realised, prompting the Charter Act of 1833 to open competition,
but only to individuals chosen by the CoD.
• The Charter Act of 1853 established the ICS for "natural born subjects of Her Majesty," and
annual examinations began in England.

Evolution of ICS:

• Prior to 1813, only uncovenanted civil services were available. Warren Hastings began gradual
indigenization of subordinate services, primarily in the judiciary, after 1813.
• Lord Bentick urged for the inclusion of Indians in order to direct management toward local needs
and on cost grounds.
• Lord Lytton, as a compromise, brought Statutory Civil Services, although only from Aristocratic
Indian families were nominated.
• Lord Ripon recognised the political importance of the middle class and claimed that the exclusion
of Indians would endanger the empire. Thus, a simultaneous exam in India was proposed, which
was vigorously opposed by European rank.
• Other attempts at indigenization, such as the Local Self-Government Act of 1882 and the Ilbert
Bill of 1883, were met with opposition, particularly among Anglo-Indians.
• Acceptance of the proposals of the Public Service Commission of 1887 in 1892:
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o Exclusion from covenanted civil services was maintained, and it was known as ICS.
o Uncovenanted Civil Services, now known as Provincial Civil Services, was established.
o Statutory Civil Services were abolished and replaced by PCS promotes.
o Although Indians can apply for the ICS, the exam is only held in London.
• Under patriotic pressure, the GoI Act of 1919 mandated a separate, rather than simultaneous,
examination for the ICS in India (1st held in Allahabad in feb 1922) As a result, Indians
outnumbered Europeans in the ICS in 1941.

THE EMPIRE AND THE ECONOMY

Colonial Indian Economy Issues:

• Buffer for British Economy: During WW I, India consumed roughly 85 percent of cotton piece
goods produced in Lancashire, while 17 percent of British iron and steel production was
absorbed by Indian Railways.
o Unequal Competition: Until World War I, there was no import duty on such goods. Even after
1919, when policies were supposed to shift under the 'Fiscal Autonomy Convention,' the
Lancashire lobby successfully rejected successive recommendations of Indian Tariff Boards to
boost cotton taxes.
o Military spending Often on expeditions to distant colonies utilising Indian armies—costing
almost one-third of Indian income.
o British Capital Investment- A guaranteed return on investment in railways by British Capital.
o 'Home charges'- expenditures incurred by the SoS and India Office in London.
o Wealth drain- interest payments on EIC's foreign debt, government purchases of all stationary
from Britain, military spending, and so on.
o However, it must be noted that there were periods of growth (1860-1920) and prosperous
regions (PN, Coastal Madras, Western UP), but such regional variances could not affect
universal colonial policies.
o Commercialization of Agriculture- In order to meet the demands of English manufacture,
crops such as cotton, indigo, and jute were coerced on farmers, resulting in riots.
Furthermore, the benefits of cash crops were primarily felt by wealthy farmers with ample
resources. It also had an impact on food security, as evidenced by the Bengal Famines.
o Railways- was basically a 'Private Enterprise at Public Risk,' as capital was invested by British
capitalists with a guaranteed return of 5% and a 99-year lease on property. Even technological
transfer remained limited to low-tech fields such as bridge construction, etc.
o British laws, such as the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, which ensured a stable supply of
unskilled labour tothe tea business in Assam.

Thus, the lack of general economic progress in the Indian economy was the result of the government's
strategy of discriminatory intervention and economic favouritism, which wiped out Indian firms and
industries.

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Some examples of Indian Industrial Success:

• Jute Mills: Marwaris from Calcutta challenged the monopoly of British companies by joining
boards of European Managing Agencies. In 1922, people like Birla and Swarupchand
Hukumchand established their own mills. By the 1940s, they had begun to overtake certain
European firms as well.
• Cotton Industry: Due to WWI disruption and 7.5 percent import charge on British cotton along
with call for Swadeshi spurred Indian communities such as Gujaratis, Parsis, Bohras, and Bhatias
to begin exporting cotton to China in 1917. By the 1930s, Indian industry had acquired a monopoly
in the domestic market and had begun to challenge the Lancashire lobby in international markets.
• Iron and Steel Industry: TISCO's development, which shattered the Birmingham steel industry's
monopoly
• Niche market: In the intermediate level bazaar between Westernized enclave and subsistence
economy, local enterprises thrived and then extended to Burma, the Middle East, and other
countries by leveraging British capital such as railways and telegraphs.

Early Indian Responses: Reforms and Rebellions

India's English Education

• 'Class of persons between us and the millions whom we control, class of persons Indian in blood
and colour, but English in taste, views, morals, and intellect (TOMI)', says Macaulay.
• The goal of the EIC is to develop a class of people to handle subordinate offices in order to cut
administrative spending while also including Indians in administration to pacify growing unrest.
As a result, downward filtration was implemented, in which only the wealthy and upper classes
received education, while the rest was passed on to the remaining people.
• Another goal of EIC was to ensure that as workers are needed, downward filtration will ensure
that a lesser population is skilled enough to work.
• Such regulations established a social divide in education, as seen by B.T. McCully's estimation
that in 1881-81, just 2 million people attended elementary school out of a total population of
195 million. There were 55,000 English-educated people among them.
• The following examples demonstrate Indians' desire for Western education:
o 1825- Society for translating European Sciences
o 1838- Society for Acquisition of General Knowledge
o 1876- Mahendra lal Sircar estd Indian Association for the cultivation of science.
o 1861- Benares Debating Club
o 1864- Aligarh Scientific Society
o 1868- Bihar Scientific Society
• One possible goal of the Orientalist class was that: in order to achieve the social changes
envisioned by the Orientalists, they needed a group of indigenous individuals to support the
reform from inside the society, and so they needed an intellectual base in Indian culture.

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Social Reforms

• While some reforms were huge achievements, many reforms from on high, specifically through
legislation, remained unsuccessful.
o I. C. Vidyasagar's battle for widow remarriage, which culminated in the Hindu Widow
Remarriage Act of 1856, did not legitimate the practise and did not acquire social
approval. According to his biographer Asoke Sen, the "Movement ended in inevitable
Defeat."
o The fight for widow remarriage by Vishnushatri Pandits in Maharashtra was deemed a
public failure when they were determined to be at fault by Sankaracharya of Kavir Math
in Pune.
o Veerasalingam Pantulu's Society for Social Reforms was unable to garner popular
support for practise.
o The Thugee Act of 1836 is an example of a challenge to curtailing the practise of thugee-
looting in the guise of religion.
o The abolition of slavery in 1843 had minimal effect on existing agrarian relations where
slavery was practised. Bonded laborers continued to exist for very long time
• Why Indian intellectuals agitated for reforms: Because Western society continues to criticise
India, particularly the lesser status of women.
o Even liberals like James Mill, in his book The History of British India, criticised India in this
area.
• Another reaction of the educated class in India was to reform Hinduism in light of post-
Enlightenment rationalism. This was afterwards referred as as the "Bengal Renaissance" or "19th
Century Indian Renaissance."
• Raja Rammohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj were forerunners of the Indian Renaissance.
o Ideological schism within Brahmos after RRR- Debendranath's segment wished to pursue
reform while remaining in Hinduism, whilst K.C. Sen's side believed that identity
independent from Hinduism was vital.

The Drawbacks of Indian Social Reform Movements:

1. Narrow social base- the reformist spirit was only appealing to a small privileged minority.
2. People's involvement: In Bengal, mobility was limited to Bhadraloks who were economically well-
off and settled.
3. Diff groups' participation:
o Maharashtra: Prathna Samaj, led by Chitpawan and Saraswat Brahmins, with few Parsis.
o Bengal: Brahmins, Kayasthas, and Vaidyas monopolise Brahmo.
4. Reform language: difficult for regular people to understand
o RRR's virginity Bengali prose in Sanskrit
5. Geographical spread: In Madras, where Brahmin caste dominance remained unbroken, reforms
took time to emerge.
6. Concerns addressed: Though some reformers raised the issue, issues such as untouchability as a
social reform had to wait till the commencement of the Gandhian Era.

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7. Attitude Toward British Rule: Belief in the Beneficial Nature of Colonial Rule
8. The nature of the measures: primarily legislative reforms
9. Movement divergences: numerous movements shifted from Reformism to Revivalism. a. Swami
Sahajanad's Arya samaj challenged Hindu orthodoxy, but adherents such as Pandit Guru Dutta
launched the Shuddhi movement.

Indian reformers saw the necessity to build a modernity that would exist inside Indian cultural space.

o As a result, they undertook religious changes in order to adapt them to Western modernity
while keeping the heart of Hindu heritage.

Peasant and Tribal Uprisings

Kathleen Gough: Rebellions in the First Century of British Rule were “Restorative Rebellions,” as they
were begun by disgruntled local rulers or dispossessed Zamindars. Local peasants who wanted to
restore the old system backed them up.

• Such rebellions, according to Gough, were subdued with what he called “Exemplary Savagery.”

Rebellions:

• Raja Chait Singh and other Awadh zamindars revolt in 1778-81, followed by Nawab of Awadh
Vazier Ali in 1799
• The Bundela Rajput Chieftains’ Rebellion of 1842
• The Tirunelveli district of North Arcot saw the Poligar uprising in 1799-1805.
• The Pazhassi Raja’s Revolt in Malabar, 1796-1805
• Rangpur Rebellion of 1783-against Debi Singh’s and Ganga-Govind Singh’s oppressive revenue
collection.

Many peasant uprisings were organised along religious lines. Religion supplied an ideology for revolt,
particularly in pre-capitalist society where class consciousness was underdeveloped. Religion gave
legitimacy to movements by imbuing resistance with a divinely appointed aspect through references to
higher authority:

• In 1763-1800, there was the Sanyasi and Fakir Rebellion in north Bengal and Bihar.
• Dasnami Sanyasis a landholding, trading, and moneylending organisation noted for its martial art
legacy.
• Madari Fakirs- originated in the sufi order founded by Shah-iMadar, who had rent-free estates
and armed followers.
• Both groups of monks were on the move.

Reasons for peasant revolts include:

• Disrupted economic policy—extraction of maximal excessPeasant economy centred on

subsistence
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• Introduction of the capitalist economic model- The introduction of property rights in land and
the rise of the land market led in the contracting out of customary production relationships.
• Landlordism peasants turned into tenants-at-will are revitalised.
• The Zamindar-Daroga nexus — became peasant oppressors. British legislation dramatically
increased the ability of landlords to oppress. As a result, grievances against landlords were easily
turned into grievances against the states.
• Judicial processes—added to coercive authority by a delay in action
• Land Market Development- As the rate of land alienation increased, a need for credit arose,
enhancing the authority of moneylenders and merchants in rural society.

Tribal Rebellions:

• Bhil Rebellion, which occurred after the Maratha annexation in 1818 and again in 1831, when
Ramoshi commander Umaji Raje of Purandar was apprehended and hanged.
• In 1829, local rivals of the Bhils, the Kolis, raised a rebellion in Ahmadnagar district.
• Kol insurrection at Chotanagpur and Singhbhum, Bihar and Odisha, in 1831-1832, against
outsiders called Sud hired by Rajas under British pressure to take huge revenues
• The Santhal Hool (rebellion) of 1855-56, which was waged against an unholy trinity of oppressors
(Zamindars, Mahajans, and the government) who invaded Damani-Koh and abolished Santhal
autonomy.

THE 1857 REVOLT

Reasons

• One of the things to blame was the Bengal army’s high caste composition and its opposition to
privilege cuts.
• The annexation of Awadh was devastating since it contained the largest number of soldiers in
the Bengal Army; Sir James Outram warned Dalhousie about this before the annexation.
• Sepoys were “peasants in uniform,” hence they were concerned about revenue practises
deteriorating. The fact that 14,000 sepoys filed petitions over revenue system problems
demonstrates this.
• Eagerness of Feudal Lords and Rulers: British policies such as the Doctrine of Lapse shattered the
old system of inheritance, affecting the entire aristocracy associated with royal dynasties.
• As a result, deposed princes were ready to take command, giving the insurrection legitimacy.
o Dissatisfaction among Taluqdars and zamindars as a result of policies such as the Awadh
Summary Settlement of 1856.
• Differential impact of policies on peasants: peasants with rich land and irrigation facilities
escaped the policies, whereas poor peasants were “relatively deprived.”
• The emergence of an interest in ‘talukdar-Peasant Complementarity’
• The idea of a danger to one’s religious identity was the main, if not the only, common thread
that ran through all tiers of rural culture.This may have resulted in Hindu-Muslim unity in

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uprising. Earlier socioreligious movements paved the way for these challenges, which were later
exacerbated by Christian missionaries’ efforts.

UPSC CSE 2019 The 1857 Uprising was the culmination of the
recurrent big and small local rebellions that had occurred in the
preceding hundred years of British rule. Elucidate
UPSC CSE 2016 Explain how the Uprising of 1857 constitutes an
important watershed in the evolution of British policies towards
colonial India.

Emergence of Indian Nationalism

Nation building is an ongoing process of modifications, accommodations, and contestations. This was
also true in the case of India, where there is controversy over whether Indian nationalism was the
result of "elite nationalism" or "subaltern nationalism of the masses." There is also debate about
whether it was a reaction to Western modernity or indigenous progress.

AGRANIANS SOCIETY AND PEASANT DISCONTENT

After 1857, changes in the tenets of peasant movements:

• Increased understanding of colonial institutions and laws, as well as increased use of these
machineries such as Courts
• Educated middle-class intelligentsia became spokespeople for disgruntled peasants, tying
agitations to a broader movement against colonial control.

Indigo Lobby and Industry Fall:

• Titu Mir and Faraizi resistance groups led by Dadu Mian

• Loss of economic prominence as an export commodity in the second half of the nineteenth
century
• In 1847, the Union Bank, which was the primary financier for planters, failed.
• In 1859, sympathetic Lt Governor John Peter Grant gained office in Bengal and implemented pro-
peasant measures in response to planters' repressive techniques
• Tough movement in the areas of Nadia, Murshidabad, and Pabna in 1859.
• No rent campaign in defiance to court judgments requiring Indigo cultivators to respect
contractual obligations.
• Tenants' legal dispute for their rights as occupancy ryots under Rent Act X of 1859
• Intervention of the educated middle class and a few English missionaries: Church Missionary
Society published James Long.
• In English, Dinabandhu's Neel Darpan. Peasants' rights were championed by newspapers such as

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the Hindoo Patriot and Somprakas. The British India Association backed the cause.

NEW MIDDLE CLASS AND THE EMERGENCE OF NATIONALISM

• Some trace the origins of Indian nationalism back to pre-colonial times. It arose from "traditional
patriotism," which was defined as "a socially active emotion of devotion to country, language,
and culture" that existed long before westernisation.
• After 1857, with the growth of communication, education, and print capitalism, this old
patriotism was moulded and reformed to produce a 'new colonial modernity' that was distinct
from the West. This transformative process attempted to bring all regional, local, and fractured
identities together into a modern nation.
• Intelligentsia and organisations such as the Landlords' Association and the British India
Association believed in the beneficent nature of British rule and hence remained loyal during the
18th century. However, there was a rising awareness of a growing state of subordination behind
this loyalty. Loyalty in 1857 was fraught with peril, as Hindoo Patriot put it: "This loyalty... comes
nearer from the mind than from the heart."
• Cultural heritage, India's cultural past and customs, not only helped Indians restructure and
sanctify their private spheres of life; it also inspired them to oppose the colonial state in newly
developing public space. As a result, it served as the ideological framework for modern Indian
nationalism, which emerged in the late nineteenth century.
• In the early half of the nineteenth century, nationalism was aimed at obtaining equal rights as
citizens of a country. Such demands can be seen in the desire for equal representation, for
example.
• In the second half of the nineteenth century, educated Indians began to protest exploitative
colonial policies such as the imposition of an income tax in 1867 and the reduction of spending
on English education in Bengal in 1870. In addition, there was rising concern over the drain of
wealth to Britain. Lytton's lowering of the ICS and Vernacular Press Acts, as well as his racist
Arms Act, exacerbated the problem.
• Despite Liberal Viceroy Ripon's conciliatory gestures, the Illbert bill debate proved the final nail
in the coffin.
• Various organisations arose from the ashes of earlier ones, including the Indian Asso, Poona
Sarvajanik Sabha, Madras Mahajan Sabha, Lahore Indian Asso, and Allahabad Peoples' Asso.
o The groups raised public awareness while remaining mostly loyal to colonial authorities. They
also linked the peasant cause to the movement, as evidenced by support for the Indigo riots,
Deccan riots, and Chenab canal controversy. They requested equality and participation in
administration aspects where they differed from the previous organisation, which was dominated
by the landlord.
• However, the new organisation maintained their bourgeoisie image by defending landlords'
interests, as demonstrated in their united opposition to the Bengal Tenancy Bill in 1885, which
promised to guarantee peasants' occupation rights and limit landlords' ability to raise rent
arbitrarily.
• Furthermore, many high-ranking Hindu leaders were unable to shed their social conservatism.
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This may be observed in the debate over the Age of Consent bill between Tilak and Gokhale of
the PSS. As a result, Muslims were repelled by the waving of Indian nationalism around Hindu
identity.
• Thus, the concept of Indian nationalism and India as a nation had to cope with the issue of variety
and distinctions from the start. In this setting, INC was founded to try, with varying degrees of
success, to overcome these inconsistencies.

FOUNDATION OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (INC)

• Due to setbacks in the agitations for the Lex loci Act (1850), Income Tax agitation (1867), ICS
demands, VPA protest (1878), and Ilbert Bill agitation (1883), political leaders recognised the
necessity for an All-India Association.
• Efforts were made from the beginning, as evidenced by the BIA creating regional chapters in
Madras and Bombay in 1851, and the call for a union of Indian journalists under the Native Press
Assoc.
• Indian Associations organised national conferences to debate the importance of national
organisation. Mutual jealousy was the greatest impediment to such efforts, therefore there was
a need for a mediator who could bring all of these regional leaders together under one canopy.
Because of his supra-regional identification and well-known liberal ideals, A. O. Hume was an
appropriate mediator.

INC's key features are as follows:

• Overarching goal: Development and consolidation of national unity.

• Every year, a session is held in a different portion of the country with the Extraregional President
to break down regional barriers and misunderstandings.
• No resolution shall be passed if the majority of Hindus or Muslims are against.
• Conducting sessions in a democratic manner.

Important Drawbacks

• Uneven representation and elite composition- until 1909, around 17 percent of delegates were
landlords, 39 percent were attorneys, and 15 percent were traders.
• Geographic disparities
• Bengal's leadership role has been taken over by Bombay.
• Delegate social composition: till 1909, 90% of delegates were Hindus, 6.5 percent Muslims.
Brahmins accounted for 40% of Hindus.
• Conspiracy theories such as the Safety Valve to weaken the national movement- The Congress
movement limited elitist politics to limited measures.
• Pro-landlord policies in Bombay include opposition to the Mining Bill and other labour reforms.

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ECONOMIC NATIONALISM AND MODERATES

Moderates were opposed to "un-British Rule," not colonial rule.

They desired only limited self-government inside the framework of the British empire, rather than
complete independence from the British empire.

Other requirements:

• The abolition of the India Council, which inhibits the SoS from making liberal decisions.
• 50% of elected members in the Centre and Province legislatures
• New NWFP councils in Punjab
• Two Indians serve on the Viceroy's Executive Council. 1 in the Bombay and Madras Exe Council.
• The right of the legislature to debate and vote on a budget.
• The right to make an appeal to the House of Commons Standing Committee against the GoI.
• Cost-cutting measures for army excursions and household expenses
• Civil service indigenization
• Arms Repeal Act
• Permanent settlement expansion to the Ryotwari and Mahalwari areas.
• Elimination of the salt tax

Economic nationalism as practised by moderates: In 1899, Dadabhai Naoroji projected Indian per
capita income to be Rs.20, while William Digby calculated it to be Rs.18.

• The government rejected it because Ripon's finance secretary judged it to be Rs.27, whereas Lord
Curzon estimated it to be Rs.30 in 1901.

Economic critic's political significance: Undermining the moral authority of the Raj by questioning the
very premise of paternalistic imperialism

• Instilled fury in the broader populace, but was unable to channel that hostility due to inherent
faith in British control.

Criticism of some of INC's earlier policies:

• Pro-landlord policies, as demonstrated above, provided an opportunity for Britain to portray itself
as pro-peasants.
• Social orthodoxy as a result of composition: Congress's silence on the 1893 cow-killing riots + No
social issues taken up by Congress until 1907.

UPSC CSE 2017 Why did the ‘Moderates’ failed to carry conviction with the
nation about their proclaimed ideology and political goals by the end of
the nineteenth century?

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Politics and Hindu Revivalism
The distinction between revivalism and reformism is as follows:

• Reformism: Attempts to bring about changes in Hindu social institutions.

• Organizations and procedures are being reformed to adhere to Western rationalism.
• Revivalism: developed as a critic of Western rationalism, Revivalism is the notion of a glorious
past and the desire to re-establish previous splendour.
• Because nationalism and reformism were perceived as diametrically opposed, Revivalism arose
as a reaction to western civilizational criticism. The late nineteenth century saw the fall of
reformism and the growth of revivalist impulses.
• The Age of Consent Bill's Story Rukhmabai, a child wife, refused to recognise her husband's
conjugal rights after reaching adulthood. This case was brought to court, and she lost. Malabari
was a member of the Rukhmabai Defense Committee, which was formed afterwards.
• Reformists exerted moral pressure on the British government to adopt the Age of Consent Bill in
1891 to avoid garbhadan, or early marriage consummation.
• The act aimed to raise the age of child marriage from 10 years (in the 1860 act) to 12 years.
• Tanika Sarkar says of the opposition to the AoC bill, "The Hindu woman's body became the scene
of battle that for the first time declared war on the basic fundamentals of a foreign power
knowledge system."
• A significant effect of this dispute was that even anti-reformists received a lot of attention. As a
result, Hinduism became a useful rhetorical tool for mobilising a more vocal, and sometimes
aggressive, opposition to foreign domination.

Issues that fueled Cultural Nationalism in the late Nineteenth Century

• Cow protectionism began in 1893, spearheaded by the Arya Samaj and the Kuki sect of Sikhism.
Cow became a symbol of mobilisation for the Hindu faith, breaking down regional,
socioeconomic, and linguistic barriers. Riots broke out in Mau, Azamgarh district, when
communal fault lines were drawn.
• The silence of the INC on the matter, Tilak's strong relationship with the Gaurakshini Sabha
leader, and the presence of cow protectionist leaders like Sriman Swami in the Allahabad
Congress in 1893 alienated Muslim masses from the INC.
• The Hindi-Urdu Controversy: It began in the NWFP and Awadh.
• Both languages are fundamentally the same, however Hindi written in Devanagari script had
greater Sanskrit influence, whilst Urdu written in Persian script had more Arabic vocabulary.
• Both languages were soon associated with Hindus and Muslims. The formation of the Nagari
Pracharani Sabha in 1893, as well as the publication of Taraqqi-e-Urdu, sparked further debate.
• The association of leaders such as MMM gave it political heft.
• Tilak's Ganapati festival in 1894 and Shivaji festival in 1895 both made use of religious
symbolism. Despite the fact that the government prohibited them in 1910.

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• The issue of Christian missionary activity, particularly in Madras, where the Vibhuti Sangam
(Sacred Ashes Society) was founded with the goal of converting radicalised Shanar Christians.
• With the establishment of the Theosophical Society in 1882, cultural revivalism gained traction
in Madras. It was reinforced once more with the entrance of Anne Besant, who established a link
between nationalism and congressional politics.
• Sikh nationalism: The Singh Sabha Movement began in response to the Arya Samaj's conversion
movement and attack on Guru Nanak.
• However, it was deeply entrenched in alienation of Sikhs in the workplace, education,
stereotyping of Sikh identity, official control over Sikh locations, and so on. The first Singh Sabha
was held in Amritsar in 1873. It claimed to have rediscovered the lost splendour of the Tat Khalsa,
to have purified Sikhism by upholding the 5 k's, and to have made Gurumukhi script and Punjabi
language prevalent.
• As a result of the complex interaction between legendary past and rationalist present, a
consciousness conflict was generated, which was overcome by seeking refuge in a "imaginary
history."
• As a result, Hindu revivalism became a well-established political movement, more closely
identified with fanatical response to reformist moderate Congress members.

RISE OF EXTREMISM AND THE SWADESH MOVEMENT

Reasons for the emergence of extremist politics include:
Factionalism can be found in practically every region of India, and in almost every aspect of public
life:
• Bengal: split into Brahmo samaj, Bengalee versus ABP, Aurobindo versus Bipin Chandra Pal.
• Tilak vs. Gokhale
• PN: Arya samaj division after Sahajanad (moderates VS Radical revivalist)
• Madras: three factions (Mylapur clique, Egmore clique, Suburban elites)
Dissatisfaction with moderate politics
- The question of a new constitution for Congress, which was adopted in 1899 at Tilak's request
but never implemented.
• Curzonian administration: Indian University Act (1904), Amendment to Indian Official Secrets Act
(1905). (1904)
• Hinduism or Vedic civilization was essentially a "imagined history" with the explicit historical
goal of developing a sense of pride in the minds of a chosen set of Indians involved in the process
of imagining their nation.
Bengal partition and Swadeshi:
• Bengal was too large to rule, with borders extending to the Sutlej in the northwest, Assam in the
northeast, and Arakan in the southeast. Partition of Bengal has been hotly debated since the 1866
famine in Orissa.
• Assam was divided in 1874, with 3 million people added to it from the Bengali-speaking provinces
of Sylhet, Goalpara, and Cachar.
• Swadeshi is divided into four groups: moderate trend, constructive swadeshi, political

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extremism, and revolutionary terrorism.
For the first time, moderates in Swadeshi departed from their traditional approaches and called for a
boycott of foreign goods. As a result, for the first time, they attempted to mobilise those who were not
literate.
1906: Politics was in a state of confusion:

• Bengal moderates valued their ties with Bombay moderates, but they also supported the boycott
(thus radical tendencies).
• Non-Bengali extremists, such as Lala Lajput, were in a mode of moderation and desired a patch-
up of moderate-extremists. Even Tilak was not prepared for total radicalism.
• This uncertainty resulted in the 1906 Calcutta session, where extremists were successful in
passing four resolutions with the aid of Bengal moderates: Boycott, Swadeshi, National
Education, and Swaraj.
• It was here that the Extremist faction, led by Tilak, was born. Their major goal was to keep these
four resolutions, which Bengal Moderates planned to change in the next session.
• The final rift: the 1907 session was supposed to take place in Pune, the radical stronghold.
Moderates, on the other hand, transferred it to Surat. The name Lala was proposed by
extremists, but Rashbihari was proposed by moderates.
• The question was eventually narrowed down to four resolutions, with Pherozshah Mehta
successfully keeping one of them off the Congress agenda. As a result, extremists opposed
Rashbihari's appointment.
• Surendranath Banerjee and Auribindo Ghosh had already split the Bengal Congress. The Surat
session divided Congress vertically.
• With the demise of extremists, Swadeshi resorted to a more aggressive method: individual
attacks on British officers. This reoriented the mass movement to the elite movement,
recognising the failure of mass mobilisation efforts.
• Later revolutionary operations demonstrated that the militant spirit of Indian nationalism
persisted even after the defeat of the 1857 insurrection.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE MUSLIM LEAGUE AND MUSLIM POLITICS

Muslims in the nineteenth century were dispersed: both geographically and sectionally.

• While Bengali Muslims were relatively poor, other north Indian Muslims were a favoured minority
group as a result of Mughal rule.
• Within Bengali Muslims, there are two groups: Ashrafs and Ajlafs.

In 1855, the Mohammedan Association or Anjuman-i-Islami became Bengal's first Muslim

organisation.

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In the 1860s, there were two separate strands: Abdul Latif Khan and his Mohammedan Literary Society
fought for Western education inside the traditional Islamic education system, while emphasising Arabic
and Persian learning.

• Sayyid Amir Ali and his Central National Mohammedan Association (1877) promoted a secular
and Western style of education, i.e. the Anglicization of Muslim education.
• The government used this schism to divide and rule: A resolution passed by the Government of
India in 1871 enhanced aid to Muslim educational institutes. Lord Northbrook's Resolution of
1875 was renewed, and finally adopted by the Education Commission, which created special
provisions for Muslim education.
• To ensure political control for Muslims, the policy was finally codified in the division of Bengal,
which created a Muslim majority Eastern Bengal. - As a result, Muslims saw the anti-partition
movement as anti-Muslim, and only a few aristocratic Muslims with ties to Calcutta joined the
movement.
• Following Khan's death, Muslim politics were reoriented from westernisation to gradual
Islamization with the engagement of Ulamas (who opposed Khan's emphasis on westernisation).
Leaders such as Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali were forerunners in integrating Ulamas into
mainstream Islamic politics.
• This shift is partly ascribed to Governor MacDonnell's unfriendly measures toward UP Muslims,
such as the acceptance of Nagari Script alongside Persian. As a result, the younger segment, who
were disillusioned with Aligarh's leadership, threatened to join INC. As a result, elder leaders and
colonial administration felt compelled to develop an independent political platform because
many Bengal, PN, and Bombay Muslims were unwilling to accept Aligarh's leadership.
• As a result, Simla delegation delegates agreed to organise the community in the political arena.
In light of this, it was resolved to form the Muslim League during the next annual Mohammedan
Educational Conference, which was to be held in Decca in 1906.

Arrival Of Mahatma Gandhi

• Gandhi gave a way forward to a younger generation tired of squabbles between moderates and
extremists. In an era of moral void and physical depression, he offered a spiritually honourable
political programme.
• WW-I caused social and economic upheavals for practically all classes of Indians, resulting in the
required social mobilisation for an oncoming public upsurge. The conflict also revealed the nasty
side of Western Civilization, disillusioning educated Indians.
• Gandhi's ideology—fully conscious of the variegated fabric of Indian society—argued that
ideology must be based in India and its historic civilization. He found religion as a more important
determinant of popular allegiance than class.
• Gandhi used religious idioms to rally the masses after assessing the influence of religion on
people's thinking. However, it was not revivalism because Gandhi was referring to religious
morality rather than history. Because it was a moral aim, it was elusive. His political goal of
Swaraj was not defined by him, so it might unify all communities and interests. As a result,

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Gandhi's distinct political style became known as "Inclusivism."
• Gandhi jeopardised the dominant culture's internal legitimacy by criticising the concept of
"Modern Civilization."
• He was opposed to Industrial Capitalism. In fact, he felt that because Indians supported
capitalism and its related legal and political frameworks, they were culpable for their servitude.
"The English did not capture India; we gave it to them." His solution was to return to the self-
sufficient village economy of ancient times.
• Parliamentary democracy does not reflect Gandhi's notion of popular will. For him, achieving
independence and then perpetuating "English rule without the Englishmen" was not enough; an
Indian alternative to western liberal political frameworks was also required.
• His alternative was 'popular sovereignty,' in which each individual controls/restricts his or her
own self. "Such Swaraj must be experienced by each individual."
• Satyagraha was his technique for achieving the aforementioned aim. It was founded on the
concept that protestors possessed superior moral force capable of transforming the oppressor's
heart through a display of moral strength.
• Gandhi's Muslim policy: seeing the schism between Aligarh's old guard and newer generation,
Gandhi sided with the younger generation and supported the Khilafat cause. He emphasised its
anti-British and pan-Islamic tendencies, uniting Hindus and Muslims against the British for the
first time.
• Gandhi's mass appeal: his plain dress, use of colloquial Hindi, and reference to the popular
Ramrajya tale made him understandable to the common man.
• Rowlatt agitation: Gandhi's demand for a statewide satyagraha beginning on April 6th. Following
Gandhi's imprisonment on April 9, the agitation devolved into violence, with Gandhi's associates
having little control over it.
o Gandhi admitted to making a Himalayan error by distributing satygraha weapons to
individuals who did not fully comprehend nonviolence. With no past experience dealing
with such extensive popular dissent, the British responded with unparalleled suppression.
Due to the failure of communication systems, the provincial government replied to the best
of its abilities.
o While Bombay maintained caution, Punjab made the Jallianwala Bagh blunder. Despite
failing to achieve its goal, the Movement was the first countrywide public campaign to shift
political momentum away from elites and toward the masses.
• The failure of the Rowlatt agitation forced Gandhi to recognise the need for an impersonal
political organisation such as Congress.

Non-Cooperation And Khilafat

Muslim discontent in the early twentieth century:

• Aligarh's younger generation rejects the Old Guards' assertion of a dichotomy between Muslim
self-affirmation and nationalism.
• Muslim University Bill (1920)- provided for a non-affiliated university under stringent

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government control, which Muslims rejected.
• The partition of Bengal is declared null and void.
• Firangi Mahal and Deoband School Sayyid Ahmad Khan urged on the young generation closing
the gap with the ulamas.
o The Delhi session of the ML (1918) invited ulamas for the first time, bringing them onto the
political stage.
• The Khilafat Movement was divided into two factions: one of moderate Delhi businessmen and
the other of extremist leaders such as Maulana Azad and Shaukat Ali. When the Movement met
British Prime Minister David Cameron, it was led by the latter group.
• In 1920, the proclamation of the Treaty of Severs and the Report of the Hunter Commission drew
the INC and the ML together, and the agitation began under the leadership of Ali brother and
Gandhi.
o INC was not on board. However, the Special Calcutta Session (1920) adopted Gandhi's
proposal despite strong opposition from Jinnah, C.R. Das, and Pal.
o The programme included Boycott, Khadi, and national schools

Why did the leaders of the INC agree to Gandhi's demands of the NCM?

• Gandhi's demonstrated ability as a political organiser

• Politically inert areas such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh backed Gandhi.
• The Independent Peasant Movement has already begun in Midnapur (Bengal), Awadh (UP), and
Kheda (GJ).
• Labor unrest and trade unionism were at an all-time high, with large strikes in the Bombay textile
sector, as well as the formation of the Madras Labor Union and the AITUC.
• Surprising turnout and response at the Nagpur session of Congress in 1920, where the NCM was
authorised

NCM's Accomplishments:

• Peasant and working-class participation

• Except in Madras, the boycott of council elections was successful.
• Foreign cloth imports have really decreased.
• Anti-alcohol initiatives were successful in PN, Madras, Bihar, and OD.
• Except in Malabar, the Hindu-Muslim alliance remained unbroken.
• Mahatma Gandhi brought the Anti-Untouchability Movement to the forefront by putting an
appeal "to cleanse Hinduism of the reproach of untouchability" in the Historic 1920 resolution.
• Involvement of formerly politically marginalised groups such as RJ, Sindh, GJ, Awadh, Assam, and
MH
• Badridutt Pande of Almora organised the Movement Against Utar or Forced Labor in response
to tribal involvement by forest satygrahas in Andhra delta and Bengal. Madari Pasi's Eka
Movement.
• Unrest at the workplace
• Generational inspiration: personal examples of local leaders, such as C.R. Das, foregoing lucrative

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law profession influenced a younger populace.

NCM's limitations:

• Riots in Bombay on the eve of the Prince of Wales' visit, chauri chaura
• Justice Party: transformed the Movement into a Brahmin-Non-Brahmin issue and completely
abandoned it by participating in elections.
• Regional variations- South India was mostly untouched. The movement was only successful when
there were already existing peasant agitations in place, such as the UP Kisan Sabha Movement,
Patidar's No Revenue Campaign in Kheda, Bihar Anti-planters agitation, and Orissa anti-feudal
demonstrations, which were later merged into the NCM.
• This demonstrates that it was internal regional dynamics, rather than Congress's nationalist
effort, that contributed for NCM's victory.
• Causes from several regions: each region was protesting for its own causes. Local leaders had
little influence over it.
• Hindu-Muslim rift: the employment of religious language by Khilafat leaders such as Shaukat Ali
culminated in disturbances such as the Moplah riots.
• The Rise of Hindu Revival
• Major industrialists remained mostly loyal to the government.
• The Akali Movement is regarded as a side effect of NCM. However, Sikhs never allowed the
Movement to morph into a larger Congress effort. This movement may be traced back to the
Singh Sabha Movement, which began in 1920 with the formation of the SGPC.
o Demand: Liberate the shrines from government control. Akali dal was created for this
purpose. Already irritated by Jallianwala Bagh, the Akalis clashed with the government when
the government took over the Golden Temple in 1921. The Akalis employed Satyagraha to
gain ownership of the temple through the Gurdwara Reform Act of 1925.

The nature of the "Mass Movement" established during Gandhi's phase is as follows:

• The Gandhian movement relied on a vertical leadership system that included a central authority,
regional leaders, and local leaders. Through this structure, Gandhi's message reached a large
number of people.
• However, as different cultures perceived the message, it was altered and transfigured into their
imaginations. The level of mass militancy was defined by the formation of these meanings, which
depended on specific community structures, local contexts, and the character of existing
organisations.
• Thus, the Gandhian mass movement encompassed varied levels of consciousness inspired by
distinct conceptions of liberation. If projected through such a Movement, the concept of
Congress's nationalism was opposed from inside the Movement. This was also a feature of the
subsequent Congress mass movement.

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UPSC CSE 2020 Since the decade of the 1920s, the national movement
acquired various ideological strands and thereby expanded its social
base. Discuss.

Civil Disobedience Movement

After the NCM, there was a crisis of unity in Congress due to rising factionalism among No and Pro-
changers. The Hindu-Muslim Pact established by C.R. Das in Bengal was in shambles, and large-scale
rioting erupted. Similarly, the Muslim League was divided between supporters of joint and separate
elections.

• The defeat of Motilal Nehru by MMM marked the pinnacle of political communalization.
Untouchables were torn between M.C. Rajah and Ambedkar for leadership.

Reasons for mass discontent and the beginning of a mass movement:

• The Great Depression of 1930-31 wreaked havoc on India's export-based colonial economy. Food
crop prices began to decline, affecting both rich and poor peasants. The credit crunch
exacerbated the problem, forcing peasants to sell their land.
• Protests by poor Muslims in Bengal, tribals such as the Santhals, and untouchables such as the
Namasudras are taking place beyond the purview of the Congress.
• Discontent within Industrialist: Indian industrialization occurred accidently as a result of the GoI's
protectionist policies during WW I. These industrialists formed themselves under FICCI and came
into direct conflict with the government, changing their opinion of Congress and emphasising the
necessity to collaborate with it.
• Labor Activism: As industrialization progressed, the importance of the labour class grew. The
growing Communist influence on the working class led to their unification. Congress attempted
to entice them by portraying itself as pro-labor.
• Simon Commission – An opportunity for a latent national movement was provided by the all-
white commission. Despite being on fragile foundation, the Nehru Report united all parties in
their aspiration for self-rule.
• Gandhi's reappearance, particularly after the Bardoli Satygraha, in which Gandhi demonstrated
the efficiency of his satygraha once more. Gandhi was cleansed of political inconsistencies and
melancholy as a result of this.
• Gandhi was successful in getting a resolution passed that gave the British an ultimatum to accept
his demands. In response, the Irwin Offer was presented in October 1929, suggesting an RTC to
resolve the disputes.
o Talks fell down over the subject of Dominion status: INC demanded that the whole scope of
Dominion status be explored.

Thus, Gandhi was able to pass the "Purna Swaraj" resolution in the Lahore Session in 1929. Many
people, however, were averse to a full-fledged struggle:

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• Muslims in Congress pushed for H-M unification first.
• The Muslim Conference and Muslim League criticised the movement as a plot to establish
"Hindu Raj."
• Sikhs, Hindu Mahasabha, and the Justice Party all opposed the movement.
• Business groups were concerned about unknown prospects.
• Gandhi issued an 11-point ultimatum to Lord Irwin in order to combine all such issues under the
abstract concept of independence.
• It was an attempt to unite each group's demands, the most important of which was the
elimination of the salt tax.
• Following the rejection of this ultimatum, Gandhi launched the Dandi March, which was followed
by a non-revenue payment campaign in Ryotwari areas, a No Chaukidari tax campaign in
Zamindari districts, and forest law violations in Central India.
• However, the agitation quickly turned violent, particularly after the Chittagong Armory attack.
Violence raged across India, particularly following Gandhi's incarceration. As a result, the
movement was a clear victory for radicals over the NCM.

Participation- While Muslims, labours, and the intelligentsia stayed away, business class participation
was notable. They funded and supported the boycott. Another important characteristic was large-
scale female participation (rich Bhadralok woman as well as Peasant woman). The rich peasantry's
aspirations were successfully linked to the Swaraj movement, increasing their participation.

Movement Repercussions: Repressive measures, such as the arrest of leaders, damaged the
movement. The mercantile class sustained losses as a result of the 1930s Depression. The middle class
was first uninterested since the youth were more drawn to revolutionary terrorism. Working-class
support was non-existent (except in Nagpur), and Gandhi was hesitant to involve them because to their
radical tendencies. Richer peasantry (Patidars of GJ, Jats of UP) dissipated as a result of property
seizure and sale. However, a sharp drop in agricultural prices resulted in lesser peasantry participation
in the No-tax campaign, which had major societal ramifications. As a result, Gandhi chose to end the
campaign through the Gandhi-Irwin Pact of 1931.

When Gandhi attempted to resurrect the movement after the failure of the 2nd RTC, he received a
lukewarm reception from all sections above. By 1934, the Movement had faded.

The movement gained widespread acceptance in Congress and rallied political support for it. This may
be seen in Congress's massive electoral triumph in the 1937 elections. The formation of ministries in
eight provinces, on the other hand, was viewed as a victory by the right wing of Congress, which valued

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constitutional struggle over Gandhi's agitation methods. As a result, despite battling the British Raj, the
Congress became the Raj, progressively straying away from Gandhi's dream of Swaraj.

UPSC CSE 2019 Many voices had strengthened and enriched the
nationalist movement during the Gandhian phase. Elaborate

THE ACT OF 1935

Provisions relating to the centre were never implemented due to distrust of the Federal system among
three major players:

• A Muslim League-led federation would harm the interests of Muslim-majority provinces.

• Congress: A one-third reservation for princely states will put the concept of democratic India in
the hands of these dictatorial rulers.
• Princely States: The Bombay session resolution of the Chamber of Princes demonstrates
apprehension about joining the federation because the issue of monarchy has not been resolved.
Another concern was that elected authorities in British India would have little sympathy for rulers,
which would foster Democratic movements in states.
• Labor opposition in England: attacked Federation as a scheme to maintain British interests in
India by sharing power with loyalists.

The relationship between British India and the Princely States in the twentieth century:

• Minto's laissez faire policy renewed the friendship. Minto's doctrine was to insulate princely
kingdoms from the increasing tide of nationalism.
• WW I demonstrated the importance of princes to the empire: they contributed to the war fund,
recruited troops, and served in the military. In exchange, they requested constitutional restraints
on the domineering inclinations of the Political Department, more assurance of insularity against
political tides in British India, and greater participation in the empire's consultative process. In
1919, they demanded the Chamber of Princes and direct access to the GoI.
• The Act of 1919 established a 120-member Narendra Mandal to advise the Raj on all subjects
pertaining to states and their relationship with the supreme power.
• The chamber ended princes' physical and political isolation.

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UPSC CSE 2015 It would have been difficult for the Constituent Assembly to complete
its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India in just three years,
but its experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935.Discuss

THE MUSLIM ALIENATION

• The adoption of the status of "perpetual minority" by a separate electorate in 1909, the abrupt
withdrawal of the NCM, religious conversion movements, the rise of extreme Hindu rightists and
their electoral collaboration with Congress in the 1920s, the growing tendency to view community
and nation as binary opposites, suspicion about Congress's secularism, changing opinions of early
leaders who previously demanded unity (e.g., Dr. Kirchlew), the rejection of the Bengal Pact of
C.R.Das by Congress
• The topic of "Music Before the Mosque" became an emotive issue, and the conflict between
religious and secular nations was one of the key reasons that provoked riots in 1923 and 1927.
This became an issue as well, dividing the electorate along communal lines.
• Under duress, Motilal Nehru was forced to propose pro-Mahasabha candidates. In 1926, there
was not a single Muslim candidate among the Congress candidates in Bengal or Punjab.
• After the end of the NCM, Congress returned to the constitutional fight. Thus, anti-agitation
Muslim leaders like Jinnah were willing to work with Congress in exchange for a revision of the
Lucknow Pact.
• However, the process was halted following Mahasabhites' resistance at the All-Parties
Conference in Delhi in 1928.
• In the Guwahati Congress session, Mahasabhites even attempted to pass a resolution
denouncing Separate Electorates for Muslims.
• Beginning in 1937, the work of Congress ministries was viewed as discriminating toward Muslims.
The Pirpur committee findings fueled this concern, particularly among Muslims in minority
provinces.
• Refusing to share power with the Muslim League in minority regions such as Uttar Pradesh sent
the incorrect message.
• Jinnah's entry into national politics as Muslim League leader from 1934 onwards, the enactment
of the Shariat Application Act in 1937, and Jinnah's mass contact program gave the Muslim
League with much-needed political backing and credibility.
• The concept of Muslim nationhood gained traction in 1930, when Sir Mohammad Iqbal, then
head of the Muslim League, demanded the creation of a Centralized Territory for Muslims in India
by combining four provinces: PN, NWFP, Sindh, and Baluchistan.
• Karachi gathering of the Sindh branch of the Muslim League, presided over by Jinnah, which
passed a resolution expressing the necessity for "political self-determination of two nations."
• The Muslims were formally recognized as a nation at the Lahore session in 1940. It called for the
formation of "independent states" for Muslim-majority provinces.
• In this sense, in the 1940s, for Muslim leaders who perceived no conflict between their
Indianness and Muslim identity in 1921, acknowledgement of their unique Muslim nationhood
became a non-negotiable minimum requirement.

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• The class approach in Congress policy, as well as its emphasis on individual citizenship, failed to
address Muslims' community-centric concerns.

Non-Brahman and Dalit Protest

• Non-Brahmin Movement in Maharashtra

• In an attempt to mobilize Dalits, Mahatma Phule also sought to attract Kunbi peasants.
• The Non-Brahmin Movement in Maharashtra had two trends: one of conservatives led by
wealthy non-Brahmins who trusted the British government and stayed loyal, and the other of
radicals represented by Satyasodhak samaj.
• Although initially opposed to the Brahmin-dominated Congress, such movements were lured into
Gandhian Congress in the 1930s.

India's southern region Non-Brahmin Movement

• The non-Brahmin movement in this region was linked to Vellalas and Dravidian identity.
• The dispute came down to language, with non-Brahmin factions contending for Tamil's
independent origin from Sanskrit. They also rejected the Shudra status that had been bestowed
on them.
• Thus, there was an attempt to bring various groups of people into a "devotional community"
through the use of language.
• On the political front, the movement arose in response to the publication of the "NonBrahmin
manifesto" and the establishment of the Justice Party in 1916. It opposed Congress and wanted
separate electorates for minorities such as Muslims, a demand that was incorporated after 1919
reforms. In the 1920 elections, the Justice Party ran and obtained a majority. However, Dalits
began to defect from the Justice Party as a result of this.
• After winning the government, the Justice Party was dominated by wealthy non-Brahmin castes
such as the Reddis, Vellalas, and Nairs. Thus, untouchables, led by M.C. Rajah, abandoned the
party, resulting to defeat in the 1926 elections.
• Simultaneously, under Periyar's guidance, a "Self-respect Movement" formed in south India. He
argued against Gandhi's pro-Brahmin and pro-varnashram views. He prioritized self-respect over
self-rule.
• However, the Movm, which was heavily concentrated on Tamilian identity, resulted in a battle
between Tamilian and Dravidian identities.
• As Congress grew in power throughout the 1930s, Non-Brahmin groups became more radical and
populist in their appeal. The emphasis was shifting to a boycott of Brahmin priests, as well as the
burning of Manusmriti and Temple entrances.

The 1937 anti-Hindi movement in response to a C. Rajaji government decision paved the way for the
concept of "Dravida Nadu" to arise.

UPSC CSE 2012 “The Indian independence movement was a mass-based

movement the encompassed various sections of society. It also underwent
the process of constant ideological evolution.” Critically examine.

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Dalit Movement

• Christian missionary initiatives accomplished one important thing: they instilled a message of self-
respect in Dalits, resulting in movements such as Ezhavas (Kerala), Nadars (TN), Mahars, Chamars
(PN), Balmikis (Delhi), and Namasudra (Bengal)

Dalit Movement has the following characteristics:

• Intentional use of high caste symbols such as sacred thread when visiting temples- Vaikkom
(1924-25), Guruvayur (1931-33), Kalaram (1930-35)
• Demand for Social Rights from Hindus of High Caste:
• Satyagraha of the Mahad Tank (1927),
• Kayathas' mov for Namasudras' funeral service (1872),
• Nadar's move to the right of the woman to cover her breasts like a high caste woman

The revival of the Bhakti tradition, which instilled in Dalits a spirit of protest and social solidarity in
the pursuit of social equality:

o SNDP among the Ezhava

o Among the Namasudras, there is a Matua sect.
o Satnampanth, a Chamar from CH, declared ritual superiority over Brahmins.
o Balahari sect of Bengali Hadis- inverted ritual hierarchy with Brahmins at the bottom and
Hadis at the top.
• Seeking a secular or political solution to social and religious disabilities:
o Ambedkar's education advocacy
o Demand for "Protective Discrimination" in Education and Employment (reservn)
o This concept was extended with the demand for a separate electorate.

Dalit alienation from Congress:

• The colonial bureaucracy's divide-and-rule policy of enacting favourable policies (though not
implemented many of it)
• The vehement opposition of Congress to separate electorates
• Congress's approach to caste and untouchability averse attitude to take up social issues due to
Brahman rule and early Congress's social conservatism
• Hindu nationalist approach What they saw as a "golden age" was a "terrible age" for Dalits.
• Problems with Gandhi's approach, including his argument for Varnashram and disagreements
with Ambedkar, as well as an overemphasis on the social component of untouchability while
ignoring the political and economic aspects. ("Gandhi elevated the untouchables but did not
empower them")
• The main difference between Gandhi's and Ambedkar's approaches is that Gandhi focused on

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social solutions, whilst Ambedkar focused on economic and political solutions to untouchability.

Dalit Movements all over India:

In 1920, the Kolhapur Maharaja presided over the first gathering of the All India Depressed Class
Conference in Nagpur.

• In Nagpur in 1926, the All India Depressed Classes Leaders' Conference (AIDCLC) was held, and
the AI Depressed Classes Association was formed, with M.C. Rajah as president and Ambedkar as
one of the vice presidents.
• 1930 – Ambedkar establishes the AI Depressed Class Congress after resigning from the AIDCA.
• Ambedkar's proposal for a distinct electorate to Simon Communications and the RTC
• AIDCLC in Bombay in 1931- official resolution for separate electorate- Gandhi opposed in 2nd
RTC
• Rajah-Munje Pact (1932)-between AIDCA and Hindu Mahasabha leaders advocating for Joint
Electorates. As a result, the Dalit leadership is divided on the issue of electorate.
• The Poona Pact
• The Congress formed the All India Depressed Classes League under the leadership of Jagjivan
Ram in order to politically mobilize Dalits.
• Ambedkar created the Independent Labor Party in
1936 to rally poor and Dalits on a broader platform; in
1937, he won a significant electorate victory from
Bombay.
• In 1942, he founded the All India SC Federation after
being appointed as a Labor member of the VC's
council.

• However, this organization could not compete with Gandhi's QIM and eventually disintegrated as
Gandhi's movement gained legitimacy and accelerated, which AISCF could not equal. It was
soundly defeated in the 1946 elections.
• Cabinet Mission recognised Congress as the Dalit representative based on electoral win. As a
result, Ambedkar's sponsorship disappeared, leaving him with no choice except to affiliate with
Congress.
• Following his resignation as Law Minister, he converted to Buddhism, which is seen as the
ultimate public gesture of protest against Hinduism and despotism.

UPSC CSE 2017 Highlight the importance of the new objectives that got
added to the vision of Indian Independence since the twenties of the last
century.

WORKING CLASS MOVEMENTS

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• As a result of a combination of British policies and the advent of industrialization, India's working
class grew dramatically.
• Workers in India were not directly employed, but rather through jobbers known as sardars in
eastern and western India and Mistri in the north.
• The working class was divided horizontally based on religious, regional, and caste differences.
Employers frequently used such division to undercut industrial activity.
o For example, during the Madras textile strike in 1921, Adi-Dravidas or untouchables were
utilized to intimidate caste Hindu and Muslim unions.
o Talia riots in Calcutta in 1897 between Hindu and Muslim laborers over the demolition of a
mosque.
• Initially, despite the slow emergence of trade unionism, widespread worker strikes occurred in
Bombay, Sholapur, and Madras.
• Workers' relationship with the colonial state and nationalism was thus determined by a complex
matrix of class, community, and collective action.
• Some industries were, in fact, what was referred to as "industrial variants of Zamindari estate."
Indenture labour in Assam tea gardens and service tenancy agreements in Eastern Coal Mines are
examples of this.

Factors that contribute to the expansion of Trade Union (TU) include:

• Need for a Route of Negotiation: In the 1920s, the colonial authorities and certain employers saw
the TU as a valid channel of negotiation in the case of periodic strikes.
• Employer-State Collusion: Employers used to suppress strikers with the states always on their
side. As a result, workers felt the need for TU.
• Suppression of existing TUs, such as the Madras Labor Union, which was temporarily destroyed
by British textile magnates, and the Jamshedpur Labor Association, which was suppressed by
TISCO management.
• Issues during WW I included a drop in real wage growth and deteriorating working conditions,
company downsizing, and increased workloads.
• Rising working-class militancy: in cotton, jute, and steel sectors, militancy had reached a point
where it could no longer be ignored by established political groupings.
o Amritsar Congress Session (1919): approved resolution asking provincial committees to
"encourage Labor Unions across India."
• The formation of AITUC by an Indian delegation to the ILO remained mostly fictitious. Gandhi
advised ATLA not to join since it intends to use labour strikes for political purposes.
• Despite Congress's organizational lethargy, the working class participates wholeheartedly in the
national struggle.
o Strikes in the NW railways, Madras Cotton Mills, and the Assam Bengal railways during
the NCM in 1921.
o The Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railway strike during CDM in 1930.
• Congress leaders were rarely directly responsible for organizing such strikes. Labour's approach
was to connect its interests with the Nationalist Movement in order to get more legitimacy for
their struggle.

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• Gandhi debunked such autonomous worker militancy, particularly after the Chandpur tragedy
in 1921. Even Nehru, as president of the AITUC in 1929, attempted to strike a balance between
industrialists and labors.
• Congress's dual role: encouraging labor strikes in non-congress areas (such as Bengal under the
Fazlul Huq government) while condemning alienated working class in Congress-ruled states.
• As a result of Congress's quandary, there was a Communism wave in the labor movement.
Communists became popular in labor groups due to their consistent resistance to the
government. The rise of the Workers and Peasants Party and the Girni Kamgar Union
demonstrates the impact of the red wave on the labor movement.
• Communist TUs targeted groups dissatisfied with Congress, such as Ahmedabad's Mill Mazdoor
Sangh, which drew support from Muslim workers dissatisfied with Gandhian ATLA, and Kanpur
Mazdoor Sabha, which targeted alienated workers.
• However, enthusiastic communist labor strikes in the 1920s were confronted with government
repression in the shape of two measures, the Public Safety Bill and the Trades Disputes Act,
which were passed without congressional opposition. The Meerut Conspiracy case (1929) further
damaged the labor movement. The advent of the CDM under Gandhian leadership shifted public
attention away from the national movement.

Women's Participation

The women's education movement was backed by several groups, each with its own point of view. It
was never motivated by women's emancipation.

• Colonial Government: desired educated brides for Indian Civil Servants so that they would not
experience the agony of a broken household. Furthermore, English-educated moms were
expected to produce loyal subjects.
• Educated Indian intelligentsia: Bhadramahila figured as the perfect partner to enlightened
Bhadralok in the Victorian ideal of companionate marriage.
• As a result, education, far from emancipating women, limited them to romanticized domestic
duties as good husbands and mothers. The national movement constructed nationalist
structures of public and private areas, associating them with a material-spiritual contradiction.
• The 'outside,' or public realm, was a traditionally male domain of dispute and negotiation with
the modernizing colonial state, whereas "home" was an interior sphere of sovereignty beyond
colonization—where women were viewed as protectors and nurturers of Indian national
identity's spiritual essence.
• Gandhi's arrival marked a significant shift in women's participation in the nationalist movement.
Though Gandhi stayed within the middle-class tradition of conceptualizing womanhood and did
not strive to flip the notion of "two separate spheres" of public and private space, he redefined
women's political engagement by making room for politics at home. He urged for their
involvement in spinning and picketing. Men and women were equal in his eyes, but they played
separate roles.
• Congress leaders were just uninterested in women's issues and, with the exception of a symbolic

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presence, never included women in any decision-making process. Sarala Devi Chaudharani,
unhappy, stated that Congress wanted them to be "law breakers exclusively, not legislation
builders."
• The supremacy of women's social groups was seriously challenged in the 1940s, when women of
all classes and religions took a more active role in public space and fought as comrades-in-arms,
particularly in QIM. Leaders like as Aruna Asif Ali, who politely refused Gandhi's request to
surrender, provided leadership to underground activities. Sucheta Kriplani oversaw nonviolent
resistance. Women's participation was boosted further once the Communist Party's restriction
was lifted in 1942. Many women took part in the Labor Movement. The role in the Communist
Movement grew further in the Tebhaga Movement, where dalit and tribal women created Nari
Bahinis and fought against colonial police.

QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT

• Following the withdrawal of the CDM, the rise of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), and the
problem of election contestation and office acceptance factionalized the Congress. However,
after winning elections and taking government, the actions of Congress ministries not only
alienated Laborers, but also the general public.
• Peasants and Dalits, confirming Nehru's and the CSP's concerns about office acceptability correct.
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati founded the Kisan Sabha Movement in Bihar in 1929 with the BPKS.
N.G. Ranga, a CSP activist who organized peasant marches and the Ellore Zamindari Ryots
Conference in 1933, urged the elimination of Zamindari.
• Ranga and Namboodripad brought the peasant movement to the
presidency of Madras and founded the South Indian Federation of
Peasants and Agri Labor. They sparked the necessity for an All-India
Peasant Body.
• The All-India Kisan Sabha (ALKS) was established at a Congress
session in Lucknow in 1936, with Sahajanand as the first President.
AIKS remained a component of Congress and maintained close
relationships with Provincial Congress Committees thanks to the
work of CSP members and Communists.

• Congress, too, was given a more radical orientation by socialist members in the 1936 Faizpur
session, where Congress ultimately endorsed the Agrarian Programme. Despite Gandhi's
opposition, the AICC adopted a resolution in 1937 to grant moral and material support to
people's movements in princely states.
• While right-wingers opposed the rise of the left, they were powerless to stop the election of 1937,
which saw an unprecedented response to Congress's Socialist programmes.
• Right-wingers began clipping the wings of peasant militancy by collaborating with landlords,
particularly in Bihar. This infuriated peasants, who launched the Bakasht land struggle through
Kisan Sabha. Under pressure from landlords, Congress attempted to stifle the Movement and has

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since distanced itself from Kisan Sabha.
• The decisive break between Congress and Kisan Sabha occurred in 1938, when Kisan Sabha
rejected Gandhian principles of class solidarity and called for an agrarian revolution. Congress
prevented Congressmen from becoming members of Kisan Sabhas during the Haripura Session.

Congress and its approach toward Princely States

• Non-intervention policy in the affairs of princely states in the 1920s and

1930s to protect rulers' sovereignty. As a result, people organised
themselves into Praja Mandals and expressed modest demands for
constitutional amendments and democratisation. In 1927, the All India
States' People Conference (AISPC) was formed.
• In the late 1930s, Congress left-wingers like as Bose and Nehru were
more adamant on more engagement in princely states. Right-wingers,
who want to power at the projected federal centre, have also begun to
demand revisions.
• The rejection of the Federation Act of 1935 by princely states caused a
shift in Congress policy. In 1938, the Haripura Congress passed a
resolution to promote people's movements in states where individual
involvement was permitted. A CWC Special Subcommittee was also
formed.
• Nehru was elected President of the AISPC, and the Tripuri Session of
1939 called for Joint Action. This resulted in a remarkable escalation of
public unrest in princely realms such as Mysore, Jaipur, Rajkot, and
Travancore in 1938 and 39, with Gandhi himself participating in the
Rajkot agitation.
• However, with the assistance of the British, the Movm were subdued and
turned violent, eventually igniting sectarian flames in the Southern
Deccan, forcing Gandhi to withdraw it in 1939. The princely kingdoms
became even more adamant in their opposition to the planned
federalism proposal of the 1935 Act.
• This princely state policy issue has also been a point of contention for
Left and Right wingers, as seen by the election of Subhash Bose as
President of the Tripuri Congress.

Quit India Movement- its Formation

• By the 1940s, there was growing dissatisfaction with Congress and a more militant tone, laying
the groundwork for a mass movement. Between 1938 and 1941, the number of members in
Congress dropped from 4.5 million to 1.4 million.
• The outbreak of World War II, as well as Congressional hesitation about supporting it, created a
state of disarray. Linlithgow's failure to meet two congressional requests resulted in the defeat
of the August Offer.
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• With a Japanese invasion on the horizon, Congress needed to prepare the populace as soon as
possible. This prompted Gandhi to declare at the Ramgarh Session (1940) the beginning of civil
disobedience with "individual Satygraha." The only goal was to deliver anti-war statements.
• With the danger of a Japanese invasion becoming a genuine possibility, Gandhi was in an
unusually aggressive mood in 1942, accepting the need for Indians to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, economic and social lives of Indians deteriorated as a result of war miseries,
therefore Indians were on the verge of a decisive battle with British Imperialism.

The Reasons for the Quit India Movement

• Economic hardship:
o Industrialists and wealthy peasants: profits increased, but profits were taxed excessively, a
war fund was forced to be collected, and war bonds were forced to be sold.
o Common people: lack of basics, particularly rice, as a result of a drop in Burmese imports,
stringent British procurement standards, and divergence to military.
• Destruction of the illusion of British invincibility: experiences of Burmese and Malay refugees,
as well as their stories of how the British failed.
• British Policies: such as the "Denial Policy," in which the British began destroying all means of
communication in Coastal Bengal.
• Atrocities committed by Australian and American forces against Indian civilians
• External influence: Axis propaganda, as well as Subhash Bose's Azad Hind radio broadcasts
regarding the potential of weakened British departing India soon.
• Other organisations have already set the ground for militancy within the masses for
confrontation with authorities: CSP, Forward Block, Kisan Sabha, and AITUC.
• Congress' policies: Gandhi's demand for mass struggle, which enraged Nehru and Rajaji within
Congress, and the passage of the "Quit India Resolution" by the AICC in Bombay in 1942. The
motto "Do or Die" sparked the imaginations of an already irritated Indian public. Gandhi also
called for individuals to take action if leaders were arrested.

In QIM, there are three phases:

• Urban revolt: strikes, picketing. The phase is rather brief.

• Peasant revolts in the countryside: large peasant rebellions, destruction of communication
channels, and visible symbols of power Formation of a "national government" in various places.
This stage drew severe repression.
• Revolutionary activities: undermine the war effort through propaganda. There are three primary
groups: Aruna Asaf Ali's volunteer mobilisation group, Jayaprakash Narayan's guerilla warfare
from the Nepal border, and Sucheta Kripalani's Gandhian group promoting constructive
programmes.

By the end of 1942, QIM had been brutally suppressed, with Churchill defending it as a "wartime
necessity."

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Turbulent Forties

The Azad Hind Army and the issue of the INA trials drew a pan-India response, with practically all
parties supporting the cause and taking up the issue in the 1946 elections.

Communistism in the 1940s

• Following the declaration of the "Unity Front" by the Comintern in Moscow in 1935, Communists
joined forces with Congress and Socialists.
• After the prohibition was lifted in 1942, the CPI was once again actively involved in public
mobilisation.
• Though Congress was ready for a truce with the government in 1943-44, the Communists were
not. The Bengal Famine of 1943 necessitated yet another movement in Bengal. Communists
attempted to exert influence of the Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) and spread unrest.
• Against this backdrop, BPKS started the Tebhaga Movement.
• It afflicted a larger area of Bengal and included middle-to-low-income peasants. Peasants
established tebhaga elaka, or liberated zones, in which they organised alternative administration
and arbitration courts.
• In 1947, the Muslim League administration in power in Bengal responded by drafting the Bargadar
Bill. However, it was dropped due to opposition from the Muslim League and Congress. Police
repression and landowners' lathiyals stifled mobilisation, and BPKS opted to retreat.
• The movement revealed the intricate mosaic of community and class in Bengali society. It
demonstrated how peasants were able to organise around class ties while overcoming communal
tensions.
• The state of Maharashtra The Kisan Sabha took up the cause of Varli tribal agri labourers in Thane
district, whose main complaint was vethi, or forced labour, and their desire for minimum wages.
The movement was also organised by Communists, who met Vethi's demands successfully. As a
result, communism gained favour among tribals.
• In South India, communists established themselves in peasant unions in North Malabar in the
early 1940s, during a period of severe food shortage and famine. Kerala Communist Party
attempted to engage with landlords, but negotiations failed in 1946. It was the result of a fight
between Peasant volunteers and Malabar Special Police.
• Punnapara Vayalar, in the industrial city of Alleppyye, was the most popular communist
rebellion in South India in 1946. It all started with Diwan's statement that Travancore will become
an independent state. Food scarcity and a coir industry shutdown aided the communist cause
against Diwan. The revolt, on the other hand, was put down with violent breakdowns.
• Communists also exploited the plight of industrial workers, and certain strikes were organised,
such as the Southern Railways strike.

UPSC CSE 2019 Assess the role of British imperial power in

complicating the process of transfer of power during 1940s.

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Towards Freedom and Partition

Following the outbreak of WWII, British policy was trapped between two polarities:

• Churchillian pessimism and Crippsian optimism. While Churchill intended to keep the empire
together and postpone concessions for as long as possible, Sir Stafford Cripps, the Labour Party's
representative in the war cabinet, was devoted to Indian independence.
• However, under pressure from Roosevelt, Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter granting the right
to self-determination, but only to Europeans subjected by Nazi Germany.
• With Japanese gains in Southeast Asia in 1942, allies such as Roosevelt and Chiang Kai Shek
increased pressure on Churchill to resolve the Indian problem.
• As a result, Britain dispatched the Cripps Mission to India, which recognised India's right to self-
determination.

Though rejected forth two key arguments that were mainstays of British decolonization strategy in
the post-war period:

• one was the ultimate objective of Indian independence within or outside the empire, and the
other was that unity was no longer a precondition for independence.
• In the aftermath of the war, in addition to the upheaval in India, Britain was financially dependent
on the United States through loans. Furthermore, anti-imperialist feeling was at an all-time high.
The United Nations Charter and its rigorous trusteeship provisions rendered empire ethically
unacceptable.
• Indian usefulness to the British was dwindling: Indian fiscal and economic policies were shifting,
protective tariffs were being imposed during wartime, Indian opposition to using the Indian
army as an asset to defend colonies in Southeast Asia was growing, military expenditure was a
key issue, and Britain's debt to India was piling up.
• As a result, India became less manageable as a colony—it could only be kept at a high expense,
both financially and militarily. As a result, it was agreed that the best way to protect British
interests in India was to treat it as an independent nation. The overwhelming Labour win in July
1945 provided an environment conducive to such political transformation.
• However, the Hindu-Muslim issue has now become a source of contention. With the passage of
the Lahore resolution (1940) of the Muslim League, which elevated the status of Muslims from
minority to nation, support for Pakistan as a sovereign nation increased. The failure of the Cripps
and Rajaji formula exacerbated the situation and pushed India into community rioting.
• At that point, the British government directed Wavell, then Viceroy of India, to begin
negotiations with both groups. Wavell was successful in persuading Churchill to form a Congress-
League coalition government as a preventive step to avoid the political disaster that he
anticipated would follow the war. As a result, in 1945, he offered the Simla offer to the entire
Indian executive council, with the exception of the VC and CIC. The conference was ruined by
Jinnah's demand for the exclusive right to nominate Muslims.
• Jinnah declared the 1946 election to be a referendum on Pakistan, and Muslims in Punjab, Sindh,
and Bengal voted strongly in favour of it. As a result, Jinnah's demand was further

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constitutionally legitimised.
• In the midst of this political upheaval, the RIN mutiny broke out, the day after Atlee presented
his Cabinet Mission proposal.
• While the Muslim League in April 1946 described Pakistan as a sovereign independent state
comprising Muslim majority provinces in a lawmakers' convention in Delhi, Congress in April
1946 affirmed complete independence for united India as a demand of Congress.
• Jinnah withdrew his support and called for Direct Action in response to Congress's stance. The
Great Calcutta Massacre of August 1946 followed. This was the outcome of a clash between elite
and common communalism, which was shattered by swords.
• In September 1946, the situation deteriorated, and Wavell established a Congress-led
government. League was later persuaded to join. However, this has shifted slightly, as the CWC
voted a resolution on partition as the only alternative in March.
• The arrival of Lord Mountbatten as a result of Atlee's discontent with Wavell's defeatist attitude
as represented in the "Breakdown Plan" accelerated proceedings. In February 1947, Atlee
indicated that authority will be transferred by June 1948.
• When Mountbatten arrived, he knew that transferring power to United India would be
impossible. As a result, he offered his "Plan Balkan" of giving provinces the right to self-
determination, which was violently rejected by both Congress and the League of Nations.
Mountbatten then proposed a plan to divide ToP into two dominions, India and Pakistan, which
was declared on June 3rd.
• Sikhs, on the other hand, had their own reservations. Since the ML resolution in Lahore, there
has been talk of Khalistan, which has been rejected by the Akali Dal. When Pakistan appeared to
be a legitimate country, demands for a separate Sikh state heated up.
• The Sikh All Parties Committee's Memorandum to the Cripps Mission, on the other hand,
reaffirmed their attempt to fight the secession of Punjab from Indian union. Later, relations
between Sikhs and Muslims deteriorated, and when property and lives were lost, partition was
viewed as the best option.
• Bengal, on the other hand, began advocating for "United Sovereign Bengal" under H.S.
Suhrawardi. The campaign was opposed by Hindu Bhadraloks and Hindu organisations such as
Mahasabha, and the plan died.
• For many Indians, freedom came with a sense of loss as a result of partition, yet for many
Muslims in Pakistan, notably their state ideologues, separation itself represented freedom.
• Partition was Primordial Divide, a 50-year-old and 5000-year-old divide.

UPSC CSE 2014 In what ways did the navel mutiny prove to be the last nail
in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India?

Karachi Session of 1931

It is also known as Karachi Resolution.

The Session was conducted in the backdrop of three major events:

• Mahatma Gandhi had just been released from prison following his Salt Satyagraha.

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• Gandhi-Irwin pact had just been concluded which had brought the civil disobedience movement to
an end.
• British government had, a week before the session, executed Bhagat Singh in connection with the
Kakori Conspiracy case.

President: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

• The Gandhi Irwin Pact was endorsed.

• The goal of Purna Swaraj was reiterated.
• Two Resolutions were adopted – One on Fundamental Rights and Second on National Economic
Programme.
• First Time the Congress Spelt out, what Swaraj would mean.
• The Resolution for the first time put forward a list of socio-economic principles/rights that the Indian
state had to adhere to:
o These included: protections for industrial workers, abolishing of child labour, free primary
education and protections for agricultural labour. The Resolution also, which seems to be a
Gandhian influence, prohibited intoxicating drinks and drugs.

Note: The Events Around 1931-1932 are closely placed, remember this sequence for Chronology related
questions
The Sequence:

• 1st RTC
• Gandhi Irwin pact
• March- Karachi Congress Session
• 2nd RTC- London - December

Note: The socio-economic provision in the Karachi Resolution went on to influence the Constituent Assembly
in drawing up Part IV of the Indian Constitution – the Directive Principles of State Policy.

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