Indian History Since 1857

Famous News papers during Indian freedom Struggle

Newspaper/Journal = Founder/Editor

1. Bengal Gazette(1780) (India’s first newspaper) = J.K.Hikki

2. Kesari = B.G.Tilak

3. Maharatta = B.G.Tilak

4. Sudharak = G.K.Gokhale

5. Amrita Bazar Patrika = Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh

6. Vande Mataram = Aurobindo Ghosh

7. Native Opinion = V.N.Mandalik

8. Kavivachan Sudha = Bhartendu Harishchandra

9. Rast Goftar (First newspaper in Gujarati) = Dadabhai Naoroji

10. New India (Weekly) = Bipin Chandra Pal

11. Statesman = Robert Knight

12. Hindu = Vir Raghavacharya and G.S.Aiyar

13. Sandhya = B.B.Upadhyaya

14. Vichar Lahiri = Krishnashastri Chiplunkar

15. Hindu Patriot = Girish Chandra Ghosh (later Harish Chandra Mukherji)

16. Som Prakash = Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

17. Yugantar = Bhupendranath Datta and Barinder Kumar Ghosh

18. Bombay Chronicle = Firoze Shah Mehta

19. Hindustan = M.M.Malviya

20. Mooknayak = B.R.Ambedkar

21. Comrade = Mohammed Ali

22. Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq = Sir Syyed Ahmed Khan

23. Al-Hilal = Abdul Kalam Azad

24. Al-Balagh = Abdul Kalam Azad

25. Independent = Motilal Nehru

26. Punjabi = Lala Lajpat Rai

27. New India (Daily) = Annie Besant

28. Commonweal = Annie Besant

29. Pratap = Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi

30. Essays in Indian Economics = M.G.Ranade

31. Samvad Kaumudi (Bengali) = Ram Mohan Roy

32. Mirat-ul-Akhbar = Ram Mohan Roy (first Persian newspaper)

33. Indian Mirror = Devendra Nath Tagore

34. Nav Jeevan = M.K.Gandhi

35. Young India = M.K.Gandhi

36. Harijan = M.K.Gandhi

37. Prabudha Bharat = Swami Vivekananda

38. Udbodhana = Swami Vivekananda

39. Indian Socialist = Shyamji Krishna Verma

40. Talwar (in Berlin) = Birendra Nath Chattopadhyaya

41. Free Hindustan (in Vancouver) = Tarak Nath Das

42. Hindustan Times = K.M.Pannikar

43. Kranti = Mirajkar, Joglekar, Ghate

Viceroys of India

While the British ruled India, the head of the British administration in India was the

Governor General and Viceroy of India. This office was created in 1773, where the officer

had direct control only over Fort William, but supervised other British East India

Company officials in India. Complete authority over all of British India was granted in

1833 and the official became known as the Governor-General of India. And in 1858, India

came under the direct control of the British Crown.

The title "Governor General" applied to his relationship to the British Provinces of India

(Punjab, Bengal, Bombay, Madras, United Provinces, etc.). But much of British India was

not ruled directly by the government and the territory was divided into hundreds of

nominally sovereign princely states or "native states" whose relationship was not with the

British government, but directly with the monarch.

To reflect the Governor General`s role as representative from the monarch to the feudal

rulers of the princely states, the term Viceroy of India was applied to him. The title

remained in existence from 1858 till 1947, when India became independent in 1947. The

office of Governor General continued to exist until India adopted a republican constitution

in 1950. The offices of the Viceroys, included the following:

Lord Dalhousie

Lord Dalhousie was appointed Governor General of India in 1848. His eight years of rule

is considered one of the greatest periods of British rule. His policy of Annexation was a

lethal weapon of conquest that raised the rule of the East India Company to the height of

glory. Dalhousie annexed Satara in 1848, Jhansi in 1853 and Nagpur in 1854 on the

ground of misgovernment. Dalhousie annexed Oudh in 1851 and Berar was taken over

from the Nizam in 1853 as he had delayed his tribute to the paramount power, the British.

The titular Rajaship of Tanjore was abolished in 1855. On the death of the ex-Peshwa

Bajirao II- 1853, his adopted son Nana was refused his pension. Dalhousie recognized the

heir to the last of the Mughals on his agreeing not to use the imperial title.

Dalhousie a fragile man by constitution had an amazing sweep and energy. He laid down

the main Railway lines, telegraph network and brought about many far-reaching changes

in the Secretariat and the other wings of administration. He established universities at

Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. The Act was passed in 1858`and it became operative soon

thereafter.

Lord Canning

Lord Canning was the Governor General of India from 1856 - 1862 and the first Viceroy

in India from 1 November 1858. Well-known as a reflective and industrious, person, he

tried to suppress the Indian`s after they were defeated in the Mutiny of 1857. He adopted a

conciliatory attitude and restored to some of the mutineers, their estates and so avoided

confrontation with them.

Lord Elgin

Lord Elgin (1811-1863) was Governor General and Viceroy of India from 1862 to 1863.

Born on 20 July 1811, Lord Elgin was educated at Eton and Christ Church at Oxford. He

was a British colonial administrator and diplomat, best known as Governor General of the

Province of Canada and Viceroy of India. He was the son of the 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th

Earl of Kincardine. His second wife was Lady Mary Lambton, daughter of the 1st Earl of

Durham, the author of the groundbreaking Report on the Affairs of British North America

(1839) and niece of the Colonial Secretary the 3rd Earl Grey. A contemporary and friend

of his predecessors, Dalhousie and Canning, he had acquired vast experience in colonial

administration as Governor of Jamaica from 1842 to 1846 and Governor General of

Canada from 1846 to 1854.

He was one of the most trained Viceroy`s ever appointed by British Government in India.

Indian Administration under Lord Elgin furnishes a perfect cross section made in the

Government of India at the time when those of the new regime were rapidly superseding

the old company methods. He peculiarly gave Anglo-Indian Administration a new

orientation. His decisive action during early days of Mutiny, in placing himself and every

soldier at disposal of Canning, had greatly helped India at a very critical moment. Elgin`s

career in India was cut short by his sudden death after only twenty months of office,

mostly carrying on Canning`s work. He spent the summer of 1863 at Shimla and died of

heart disease at Darmashala while on tour in upper India and was buried there. The main

event of his time was the Ambala campaign in the Northwest frontier to suppress a tribal

insurrection there.

Lord John Lawrence

He was a British statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1864 to 1869. He soon

became a magistrate and tax collector in Delhi, where he was known for his concern for

the plight of the peasantry.

Lord Mayo

Lord Mayo (1822-1872) was the Viceroy and Governor General of India from 1869 to

1872. Son of the Fifth Earl of Mayo, he was born on 21 February 1822, christened

Richard Southwell Bourke and graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. He had held the

office of chief secretary for Ireland before Disraeli appointed him to succeed Lord

Lawrence.

He inherited his father as the Sixth Earl and came to India as Lord Mayo. He continued

the policy of Noni-ntervention followed by his immediate predecessors and through

diplomatic maneuver secured the good will and friendship of Sher Ali, Ameer of

Afghanistan, who met the viceroy at Ambala in 1869.Mayo secured the Russian

recognition of the Oxus as the Northern Afghan border. Perhaps his great achievement

was the reform of financial management. He increased the salt duty and income tax,

enforced economy in the public administration, introduced decentralized finance with

provision for fixed block grants for five years to the provincial governments and

substantially improved the finances of the country. Formerly the center controlled all

finances and the provinces had to make out cases for allocation of funds and spent what

they could get.

He consolidated the frontiers of India and reorganised the country`s finances; he also did

much to promote irrigation, railways, forests and other useful public works. While visiting

the convict settlement at Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, for the purpose of inspection,

he was assassinated by Sher Ali, a Muslim convict.

It was during his administration that the first general census in India was undertaken in

1870. He organized a statistical survey of the country and created the department of

agriculture and commerce. While he inherited serious deficits, untrustworthy estimates

and accounts in arrears and statistics incomplete, he left behind substantial surplus,

estimates worthy of confidence and accounts and statistics punctual and full. To educate

the young sons of the Indian princes and chiefs he founded Mayo College at Ajmer.

On 8 February 1872 he was stabbed to death by a Pathan convict at the Andamans while

on a visit there. His body was then carried to Ireland.

Lord Lytton

Lord Lytton (1876-1947) was Governor of Bengal from1922 to1927 and for some time

officiating Viceroy of India. Victor Alexander George Robert, Second Earl of Lytton, was

born at Shimla, when his father, the first Earl of Lytton, was the Governor General of

India.

Lord Lytton took charge in 1876. He was appointed the governor of Bengal at a very

crucial time when the colonial government was determined to implement the India Act of

1919 and when Indian National Congress was determined to get this unacceptable Act

annulled. Throughout this period he faced resistance from the Swarajya Party, which

always participated in the elections and got elected with majority seats but consistently

refused to form a ministry. Their policy was to wreck the constitution of 1919 from

within.

Due to their non-co-operation, Lord Lytton had to invite members belonging to splinter

parties and groups willing to form a ministry, although it was ousted within six months by

a motion of no confidence moved by the Swarajya majority. A number of Council parties

were formed at his initiatives, but his `divide and rule` policy could never weaken

Swarajya solidarity.

Lord Lytton is particularly remembered for his unpleasant encounters with Sir Ashutosh

Mukherjee, the vice chancellor of Calcutta University. Lord Lytton tried to interfere in the

working of Calcutta University, but Sir Ashutosh warned him never to do so if he wanted

to retain him as the vice chancellor of the university. During 1876-78 a severe famine

affected Madras, Bombay, Mysore and Hyderabad. In 1878 a Famine commission was

appointed. Lord Lytton`s rule was unpopular.

Though he had excelled as a poet, a novelist and essayist, he was not an able

administrator. He brought reforms in trade bringing the policy of free trade. His policy

towards the Afghans led to the second Afghan war. The Criticisms of the British policy

led to the passing of the Vernacular press Act in 1878 and Indian Arms Act. In the field of

financial reforms he brought reduction of Import duties, financial decentralization and

equality of tax duties.

Lord Ripon

Lord Ripon (1880-1884) was sent with the avowed purpose of reversing the Afghan

policy of Lytton and introducing a more sympathetic system into the administration of

India. He repealed the abhorrent Vernacular Press Act of Lytton. He also introduced a

system of local self-government. His one more measure, the IIbert Bill extending the

jurisdiction of Indian magistrates over Europeans involved in Criminal offences made him

at popular with the Indians. The European community in India opposed the measure tooth

and nail and insulted Lord Ripon publicly.

Lord Dufferin

Dufferin (1884-1888) succeeded Ripon in December1884. During his administration

Burma ceased to be an independent power. In the case of Burma its northern province

Pegu was already annexed for the same reason. The remaining part was also annexed on

January 1,1886.

Lord Curzon

Lord Curzon (l899-1905) was an out and out imperialist. His administration was actionpacked.

He forced the Nizam to cede-permanently the province of Vidarbha (Berar`s 4

districts). He carried his measure of the partitition of the Bengal through, despite severe

opposition of the Bengalese. This gave rise to a countrywide agitation and brought all the

political leaders of all the provinces under the banner of the Indian National Congress, and

India through the" agitation emerged as a modern State.

With the grant of Diwani rights over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the British by Shah

Alam in 1765, a huge province comprising of the three areas became a British

administrative unit. Each successive conquest of the Company in the North was added to

it. By 1810, its borders stretched upto Delhi and beyond in the West. Another province

was carved with headquarters at Agra around 1835 and Bengal borders were confined to

the original three areas of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. In 1874, Assam was separated from

Bengal, attaching to this province the three Bengali speaking districts of Goalpara, Cachar

and Sylhet. Still the province of Bengal, with Bihar, Orissa and Chota Nagpur had an area

of about 1,90,000 square miles. This was too unwieldy for efficient administration.

The obvious solution would have been to separate Bihar, Orissa and Chota Nagpur from

Bengal and thus to correct its unwieldy character. But to Lord Curzon, the then imperialist

Governor General, division of Bengal into two regions viz. East and West, meant the

balancing of the Hindu West with the Muslim East. He envisaged that these two

communities had separate needs and they could thus be considered adequately, when the

Eastern Bengal is separated. The scheme of partition was later revoked in 19l2. But it had

already hurt the national feelings tremendously and shaken the confidence of the Indian

elite in the bona fides of the British professions about the development of self-government

by Indians.

Role of Associated Movements of India's Struggle for Freedom

India’s struggle for freedom had been a long drawnout battle. Though it actually began in

the second half of the 19th century, isolated attempts were made in various parts of the

country to being the British rule in India to an end about a century earlier. The real power

in northern India passed into the hands of the British in 1757. The loss of independence

provided the motive force for the struggle for freedom and Indians in different parts of the

country began their efforts to throw off the voke of the alien rulers. It took over 100 years

for the struggle to gain full momentum. Very seldom, however, during this period (1757 to

1857) was the country free from either civil or military disturbances and there was plenty

of opposition, often from very substantial section of the common people.

Surprisingly enough, the opposition to foreign rule in early years came more from the

peasants, labourers and the weaker sections of the society that from the educated

bourgeois classes. Unscrupulous defiance of moral principle and the reckless exploitation

of the masses that characterized the early activities of the traders made the rule of the East

India Company hateful to the people. The proselytizing activities of the Christian

missionaries were greatly resented all around. The deliberate destruction of Indian

manufacturer and handicrafts aggravated agrarian misery and economic discontent. All

these factors led to local resistance in different parts of this vast country which was

basically united in its opposition to the British rule.

The uprisings of the Chuars in 1799 in the districts of Manbum, Bankura and Midnapore

which took and alarming turn were master minded by the Rani of Midnapore. The Rani

was taken prisoner on April 6, 1799 which only made the Chuars more furious. Equally

important in the annals of India’s struggle for freedom is the rebellion of the Santhals

(1855) occupying Rajmahal Hills against the British Government who in league –with the

mahajans or money lenders oppressed the industrious people, there being even cases of

molestation of women. Under the leadership of two brothers, Sidhu and Kanhu, ten

thousand Santhals met in June 1855 and declared their intention to “take possession of the

country and set up a government of their own”. In spite of the ruthless measures of the

British Government to suppress them, the Santhals showed no signs of submission till

February 1856 when their leaders were arrested and most inhuman barbarities were

practiced on the Santhals after they were defeated.

We need not go into the details of many other revolts and disturbances throughout the

country which have been the subject matter of many dissertations but it is apparent that

there was a cry to “drive out the British” almost throughout the first century of the British

rule in India.

Great Revolt of 1857

The British, however, refused to heed the warning or even to care for it as they had

developed on over weaning confidence in their strength in India. Therefore when the

Great Revolt of 1857 took place, they were completely stunned. It was the first organized

attempt on the part of the Indians for the emancipation of their country. No doubt, the

British came out victorious at the end but the Indians too gained in the sense that the

movement became a symbol of inspiration and sacrifice for the subsequent generations.

The failure of the outbreak of 1857 opened a new phase in India’s struggle for freedom.

The idea of open armed resistance against the British was at a discount, that it was not

altogether discarded as is evident from the various rebellions which broke out in several

parts of the country during the years 1859-1872. The most important of them were the

Indigo Disturbances in Bengal, the movements of the Wahabis in Bihar, Bengal and other

parts of the country and the Kuka in the Punjab.

Wahabi Movement

The great Wahabi Movement covered period of over 50 years and was spread from the

North-West Frontier to Bengal and Bihar. It was not an ephemeral or sudden upheaval:

without any definite aim or organization, like the Revolt of 1857. The movement

continued well over forty years after the death of its leader Saiyid Ahmed in 1831. The

British set over twenty expeditions before they were able to crush the movement.

Important leaders of the movement-Yahya Ali, Ahmadullah, Amiruddin, Ibrahim Mandal,

Rafique Mandal and their comrades were tried at the state trials of Ambala (1864), Patna

(1865), Malda (Sept. 1870) and Rajmahal (October 1870), convicted and transported for

life.

A similar movement known as the Faraizi Movement started in Bengal by Haji

Shhariatullah of Faridpur made incumbent on its followers to carry on struggle against the

political and economic exploitation of the foreigners. His son Dadu Miyan (1819-1860)

asserted that the earth belonged to God and no one has the right to occupy it. The

movement lost much of its vigour after the death of Dadu Miyan in 1860.

Kuka Movement

The Kuka Movement marked the first major reaction of the people in the Punjab to the

new political order initiated by the British after 1849. the Namdhari Movement of which

the Kuka Movement was the most important phase aimed at the overthrow of the British

rule. Ram Singh, who became its leader in 1863, gave military training to his followers. It

seemed inevitable that before long a clash would occur between the Kukas and the British

Government. The clash actually occurred over the question of slaughter of cows. It started

with murderous attacks on butchers of Amritsar and Raikot (Ludhiana District) in 1871

and culminated in the Kuka raid on Malerkotla on January 15, 1872. The Kuka outbreak

of 1872 was visited by terrible punishment, which was equaled in brutality by few events

in our history. A large number of kuka prisoners were blown to death with cannons, their

leader Ram Singh was deported to Rangoon.

There were some of the militant movements which preceded the birth of the Indian

National Congress. However it was the intellectual movement which now dominated

politics. The political ideas and organizations which had taken root before 1857 now

flowered into a new national or political consciousness. This was brought about by sudden

revelation of India’s past glory through the works of foreign and Indian scholars and large

scale ex-cavations carried out by Alexander Cunningham. The preachings of various

associations such as the Arya Samaj, Theosophical Society and Ramakrishna Mission also

helped in this process.

Arya Samaj

Founded in 1875 by Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the Arya Sabha played a notable role in

the development of a new national consciousness among the Hindus. In fact, it became

“the foremost agency for planting a sturdy independent nationalism in the Punjab”. Some

of the important national leaders such as Lajpat Rai and Hans Raj were staunch Arya

Samajists. It also provided a chain of educational institutions which became the centre of

patriotic activities in the national struggle. Sir Valentine Chirol commented on the

seditious role of the Arya Samaj that it “has sometimes barely disguised more than a

merely Platonic desire to see the British quit India. “Sir Denzil Ibbetson was informed that

“where-ever there was Arya Sanaj, it was the centre of seditious talk. “Sir Mechael

O’Dwyer observed that “an enormous population of the Hindus convicted of seditions and

other political offences from 1907 to present day (1925) are members of the Samaj.”

The Servants of India Society

The Servants of India Society was founded by Gokhale in 1905. About its mission he

wrote; “The Servants of India Society will train man prepared to devote their lives to the

cause of the country in a religious spirit and will seek to promote, by all constitutional

means the national interests of the Indian people.” A member could be admitted to the

Society only on the recommendation of the Council consisting of three ordinary members

and the First Member (or President). Every membe4r was required to take seven vows at

the time of enrolment and had to undergo training for a period of five years. The branches

of the Society were soon opened in Madras (1910), Nagpur (1911), Bombay (1911) and

Allahabad (1913) and centres for works were subsequently established in Ambala,

Cuttack and Kozhikode. The official organ of the Society “The Servants of India” was

started in 1918 and continued upto 1939. Besides involving itself in social service and

educational activities, the Society co-operated with the Congress in the political sphere

and helped her in the collection of funds. The Society continued the mission of its

founder, after his demise, and enjoyed the patronage of such renowned persons as Hriday

Nath Kunzru, A.D. Mani, and in recent times of Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Kumaran Asan and his Movement

In this connection reference may be made to another movement in the south which has

received scant attention. Sri Narayana Guru and Kumaran Asan (1873-1924) led a

movement in Kerala which made a great impact on the people, awakened them from their

slumber and revolutionized the life of a large number of people. This socio-economic

movement never found a legitimate place, even as a footnote in the nationalist history of

India, mainly because of the ignorance or lack of appreciation of the movement south of

the Vindhya ranges. Romain Rolland, in his book “The Life of Ramakrishna” refers to the

personality of this “Great Guru whose beneficent spiritual activity was exercised for more

than 40 years in the State of Travencore over some million faithful souls”. He preached,

“if one may say so, afjnana of action, a great intellectual religious, having a lively sense of

the people, and their social needs. It has greatly contributed to the uplifting of the

oppressed classes in Southern India and its activities have in a measure been allied to

those of Gandhi.” Asan’s poetry was an instrument and agent of the revolutionary

movement and it has, therefore, to be studied against the historical circumstances which

obtained in Kerala during those stirring years. He was a great social reformer and

bellwether of a great social renaissance movement. The lower castes Cherumas, called

‘two-legged animals’, the Ezhevas and other depressed classes who had to pay “a tax for

the hair he grew on his head, and each woman had to pay a breast tax. “Kumaran Asan,

through his literary creations, effected tremendous transformations in the intellectual

horizon of Kerala, and paved the way for “the regeneration of the society and growth of

political rights and liberties.” Asan was equally concerned with the freedom of the country

but believed that this goal could be reached only by passing through stages of social

emancipation and inter-caste harmony.

Deoband Movement

Similarly the Deoband Movement started by some of the Muslim Ulemas after the failure

of the Outbreak of 1857, held that it was incumbent upon the Muslims to drive the British

out of the country. Contrary to the views of the Aligarh School led by Sir Syed Ahmed

Khan, the followers of Deoband School associated with the Congress in its struggle for

freedom.

Birsa Movement

The Birsa Movement of 1895 aimed at the overthrow of the British Raj and the

establishment of the Munda Self-Government. It continued for 3 years even after the

arrest of its leader Birsa in January 1898 who was deported to Ranchi. He renewed his

activities after release and exhorted its followers to get rid of the foreign oppressors and

establish their own rule. In the fight that ensured, about 2000 Mundas were killed, Birsa

was captured and died in June 1900 while in jail.

Revolutionary Movement

Meanwhile the Indian National Congress founded in 1883 by Allan Octavian Hume

(1829-1912) and others with the blessings of the then Viceroy Lord Dufferin was

continuing its agitation on constitutional lines. However its critics regarded its policy as

‘Mendicant’, and a new wave of nationalism was sweeping over Bengal and Maharashtra.

Its pioneer in Bengal was Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1835-1894) the renowned author

of Vande Mataram (Hail Mother) hymn. In Maharashtra the message of nationalism was

preached by Bal Gangadhar Tilak whose political views were extremist. In the Punjab

Lajpat Rai (1865-1928) and in Bengal, Bepin Chandra Pal (1858-1932) criticized the

Congress, as its propaganda was confined to a few English educated classes. Swaraj

(independence), Swadeshi (use of home-made goods) and boycott became the battle cry of

these extremists. The climax was reached when Bangal was partitioned in 1905. The

development of terrorism was a notable feature of this movement. Though the objective of

the adherents of this movement was the same as that of the Indian National Congress, yet

they differed in the methods to be adopted to achieve the goal. These revolutionaries had

no faith in the constitutional means followed by the Congress, and had no hesitation to use

arms. Their belief in the efficacy of the cult of violence was fortified by studies of the

methods adopted by freedom fighters in the West. It was also accentuated by the severe

measures of repression taken by the Government to crush the unarmed people’s

aspirations for freedom.

The revolutionary movement in India which continued side by side with the Congress had

its beginning in 1897 when two British officers. W. C. Rand and Lt. Aversi wee murdered

by the two brothers Damodar and Balkrishna Chapekar who were sentenced to death in

fact the first secret revolutionary society was organized by Wasudeo Balwant Phadke of

Maharashtra who died in jail in 1883. The policy of repression adopted by the

Government, especially after the Partition of Bengal, further strengthened this movement

and led to the rise of a new party, later on known as the Revolutionary Party. The

procurement of arms winning over of Indian solders serving under British Command,

imparting military training to their cadres and open rebellion in case of a favourable

international situation formed a part of their strategy. Arms and ammunition were also

smuggled but as the revolutionaries and little capacity to pay, they extorted money from

the rich and affluent. A network of secret societies were set up in different parts of the

country, the most important being the Anusilan Samiti or the Society for the Promotion of

Culture and Training, established by Berindra Kumar Ghose (brother of Aurobindo

Ghose) in 1906 and Yugantar Samiti. V. D. Savarkar founded an association Abhiuava

Bharat in 1904 in Maharashtra while Nilakanta Brahmachari organized a secret society in

Madras. We need not go into details about the several cases of shooting of British officers

by the young revolutionaries which led to the martyrdom of Khudiram Bose. Amir Chand,

Avadh Behari, Bal Mukund, Basanta Kumar Biswas, Vanchi Aiyar, Ashfaqullah and many

others. The Chittagong armoury raid led by Surya Sen in April 1930 was a daring exploit

in the annals of the struggle for freedom. For these years after this raid the revolutionaries

carried on their activities in spite of numcrous arrests. Hindustan Socialist Republican

Association was quite active in the Punjab and U.P. Chandra Shekhar Azad of the favour

Kakori Conspiracy Case and Bhagat singh of the Labore Conspiracy case whose names

are household words belonged to this association. Reference may also be made to the

establishment of secret revolutionary societies in the South by Remandha in Andhra

Pradesh, Rangaraju in Madras and Krishna Kumar in Karnataka.

The revolutionaries from the very beginning realized the need for setting up centres of

agitation and propaganda abroad. These foreign centres of agitation in U.K.France,

Germany, USSR, the USA and Canada, etc. proved to be a thron in the flesh of imperial

Britain, particularly during the First and the Second World Wars. Shyamji Krishna Varma,

Madam Cama and Sardar Singh Raina were some of the leaders of this movement in

London and France. In 1914 occurred the famous episode of Kamagata Maru which

aroused deep anti-British feelings among the Indians settled in USA and Canada. In fact,

it formed a part of the famous Ghadar Movement organized in America by Har Dayal,

Bhai Permanand, Sohan Singh and others. The heroism and sacrifices of these

revolutionaries served to keep alive the flame of patriotism during the dark days of British

imperial rule.

Home Rule Movement

The cleavage between the two wings – the Extremists and the Moderates – of the Indian

National Congress led to the launching of what is known as the Home Rule Movement

independently both by Tilak and Annie Besant. Swaraj or independence, the goal of

Nationalism became the war cry of the Home Rule Movement. Annie Besant founded the

Home Rule League in 1916 and edited two journals, The New India and the

Commonweal. It was at the call of this crusader for India’s freedom that Sarojini Naidu

decided to enter into active politics and joined the Home Rule League. Indeed the

triumphant career of Home Rule Movement made the British Government nervous.

Tilak’s direct appeal to the people in a language easily understood by them ushered in a

movement of incalculable potentiality. The Home Rule Movement marked the beginning

of a new phase in India’s struggle for freedom. It placed before the country a concrete

scheme of self-government. It also emphasized that entire national resources should be

utilized to attain freedom and all national efforts should be geared to this one specific

purpose.

Indian National Liberal Federation

At the end of the World War I, the British Government formulated a scheme of reforms

which was known as the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms and embodied in the

Government of India Act 1919. While the Congress at its session held at Bombay in 1918

under the Presidentship of Hasan Imam condemned the proposals as “disappointing and

unsatisfactory”, the Moderates found them to be acceptable and formed what is known as

the Indian National Liberal Federation. The Liberal leaders dis-associated themselves

from the Congress and declared that the Reform as a great constitutional advance even

without any modification and extended its support to the Government to make them a

success.

Khilafat Movement

Gandhiji had now taken over the stewardship of the Congress after his return from South

Africa. He too was at first in favour of making these reforms work but certain factors,

particularly the economic trouble due to hike in prices and oppressive taxation

accentuated the hardship of the people.

Shaukat Ali and Mohammed Ali, the two brothers, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

organized the Khilafat Movement on the question of dismemberment of Turkey after her

defeat in World War 1. The Ulemas of Deoband and Firangi Mahal and Hakim Ajmal

Khan zealously participated in the Movement.

Though basically a congregation of Ulemas, the Khilafat Movement also contained in its

rank and leadership men of diverse political persuasions nationalists, revolutionary

nationalists, and even Communists and Bolsheviks. They were all combined in their

hatred of British rule. Gandhiji wholeheartedly supported the Khilafat Movement which

provided a rare opportunity to bring Hindas and Muslims closer. He launched a Non-cooperation

Movement (1920-22) on a mass scale to compel the British to grant

independence to India, and to rectify the wrong done to Turkey. Gandhiji’s appeal brought

forth an amazing response. People defied the law and about thirty thousand people were

arrested. The British Government adopted repressive measures and declared both the

Congress and the Khilafat organisaations unlawful. However, there was a case of mob

violence at Chauri Chaura in U.P. resulting in the death of a few policemen which led

Gandhiji to suspend the movement.

Moplah Movement

The Moplah outbreak of 1921 in the wake of Khilapat agitation also deserves to be

mentioned. The Moplahs roes in revolt in Malabar, killed British officers and declared the

establishment of Swaraj. However in the process Moplahs were also guilty of acts of

forcible conversion of Hindus and looting of their property. The British Government came

down with a heavy hand, and in the fierce fighting that followed about 3,000 Moplahs

were killed, and another batch of seventy died in horrible conditions due to asphyxiation

as they were being conveyed by train without any arrangement for ventilation.

Akali Movement

While the Non-Co-operation Movement was still progressing and Gandhiji was in prison,

a new wave of discontent spread in the Punjab due to the Akali agitation. The religiopolitical

struggle of the Akalis primarily directed against the priests and the mahants

eventually turned against the British and lasted for over 5 years (1920-1925). About

30,000 men and women courted arrest, 400 of them died and about 2,000 were wounded.

The Congress gave active support to movement which led to political awakening in the

Punjab and henceforward the Sikhs played a notable role in the country’s struggle for

freedom. Though a martial race, the Sikhs too adopted the Congress creed of non-violent

non-co-operation. In fact, the Akali movement took a turn as a struggle for the liberation

of the country which brought all sections of the people, the Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims

together and it helped them to form a united front against the foreign rulers.

Babbar Akali Movement

In the wake of the Akali Movement came the Babbar Akali Movement, an underground

terrorist movement in 1921 mostly in the Jullundur Doab, the territory between Satluj and

the Beas. Its aim was to overthrow the British Government by a campaign of murders and

terrorism in the Punjab. They committed a number of acts of violence and fought pitched

battles against the police. Many of them were killed in encounters, while out of 67

arrested, 5 were sentenced to death, 11 to transportation for life and 38 to various terms of

imprisonment. The movement of the Babbars was short-lived but because of its intensity,

it set a noble examble of supreme sacrifice.

1923-24 was a critical period in the history of Indian nationalism. There was considerable

deterioration in Hindu-Muslim relations and rise in communal tension leading to riots at

some places. The power of the Muslim League had increased which obliged the

nationalist Muslims to join hands to combat it.

All-India Muslim Nationalist Party

To counter the Muslim League programme against the Congress, the nationalist Muslims

formed a party called the All-India Muslim Nationalist Party on 27 July 1929 with Abul

Kalam Azad as President, Dr. Ansari as treasurer and T.A.K. Sherwani as Secretary. Its

objective was to fight communalism and exhort Muslim to take their due share in India’s

struggle for freedom.

Khudai Khidmatgar Movement

Khudai Khidmatgars was an organization of the Pathans of the North-West Frontier

Province which supported the Congress in its struggle for freedom. It was in September

1929 that Abdul Ghaffar Khan started the Frontier Provincial Youth League known as the

Naujavan-i-sarhad, the Khudai Khidmatgars were a body of volunteers forming part of the

youth League which was intended to improve the religious, Financial and educational

conditions of the people of the province. Perhaps due to its earlier association with the

Communities its members wore Red Shirts but Abdul Ghaffar Khan came under the

influence of Mahatma Gandhi and adopted the aims and objectives of the Congress in

1929. Since then this organization took part in all the activities of the Congress and

followed its programme and policies.

Ahrar Movement

The nationalist Muslims started another organization called the All-India Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-

Islam in 1931 to work for the attamment of independence through constitutional means.

Its followers supported the Congress and worked for the economic, educational and

political advancement of Muslims. The influence of the Ahrars was, however, mostly

confined to the province of Punjab. The total numbers of Ahrars according to the official

records was not more than 3,000 in 1946.

All Parties Muslim Unity Conference

The Ulemas and the nationalist Muslims constituted in 1933 what is known as the All-

Parties Muslim Unity Conference with the avowed objectives of respect for Islam and to

strive for unity with other communities and to organize various seats of Islam to play their

role in the country’s struggle for freedom. Its members included some followers of

Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind. Shia community, and of the All-India Muslim Conference.

Swarajya Party

Meanwhile the reforms of 1919 had been put into effect and the legislative bodies had

been enlarged. But there was a sharp difference of opinion among the Congress leaders

over the question of participating in the Councils and other legislative bodies. Some of the

important leaders such as C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru advocated “Council entry” for

wrecking the Councils from within. The majority did not approve of it. Therefore the pre-

Council group formed the Swarajya Party in 1923 with Deshbandhu C. R. Das as

President and Motilal Nehru as Secretary. The new party contested the elections; they had

some success in so far as they were able to convince the Government that the system of

diarchy introduced in the Provinces was unworkable. The main objective of wrecking the

Councils from within, however, was not fulfilled and the influence of the Swarajya Party

on Indian politics suffered a decline, especially after the death of C. R. Das in June 1925.

It will be interesting to discuss in detail the rise and fall of this party which was, of course,

an off-shoot of the Congress.

All Parties Conference

In reply to a challenge from the Secretary of State that India could not produce an agreed

constitution, an All-Parties Conference under the Chairmanship of Pandit Motilal Nehru,

prepared a scheme according to which India should be given Dominion Status by the end

of 1929. The Congress accepted it but as there was no favourable response from the

Government, the Congress at its session held at Lahore in December 1929, under the

Presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru declared that complete independence was the goal.

This led to the lunching of the Civil Disobedience Movement by Gandhiji in March 1930.

However, Gandhi-Irwin Pact led to suspension of the Movement and Congress

participation in the Round Table-Conference in London.

Congress Socialist Party

The suspension of Civil Disobedience Movement in July 1933 led to the polarization of

the Congress between the Right and the Left. Jawaharlal Nehru’s speeches and writings at

the time clearly showed his inclination towards the latter. The consolidation of the left

forces became inevitable after the Conference of the Congress leaders at Delhi in 1934

when it was decided by the majority to revive the All-India Swarajya Party for the purpose

of contesting elections to the Assemblies, Gandhiji too had given his approval to Council

entry. However, its General Secretary, Sampurnnand made it clear that “while drafting his

tentative socialist programme he had consistently tried to keep before his eyes India’s

cultural, historical, political and economic background making no attempt to follow

Leninism which recognized socialism as a secular concept comprehending such principles

as the dictatorship of the proletariat; class war and the classless society. The goal of his

party was complete independence, Sampurnanand’s programme included abolition of

Zamindari with due compensation, nationalization of key industries, etc. The main leaders

of the party were Acharya Narendra Deo, Jayaprakash Narayan, Abdul Bari, M. R.

Masani, C. C. Banerji, Farid Huq, Ram Manohar Lohia, Mrs. Kamaladevi

Chattopadhyaya and Achyut Patwardhan. This party was against the growing influence of

the Communist Party. The Congress Socialist Party endorsed the stand of the Indian

National Congress during World War II and refused to change its stand even after Russia

Had Joined the Allies. Jayaprakash Narayan, as we all know, played such an important

role in the Quit India Movement of 1942.

All India Communist Party

The influence of the Communist ideas made itself felt in India shortly after the Russian

Revolution in 1917. And as early as 1920 the Communist Party of the USSR decided “to

take concrete measures to spread revolution in the East.” M. N. Roy a member of the

Executive Committee of the Communist International was responsible for sending Indian

communist trained in Russia to spread communist ideology in India and set up its centres.

However his efforts met with no conspicuous success till the Communist Party of Britain

took up the matter and sent some agents to India; Philip Spratt being the most important.

By 1924 the Communist propaganda had made considerable headway. The British

Government felt alarmed and instituted the Cawnpore (Kanpur) Conspiracy case against

some of the prominent leaders including S. A. Dange. Muzaffar Ahmed, Shaukat Usmani

and Nalini Gupta who were all convicted and sent to jail. However, within a few years the

Communist leaders in India with the help of the agents from Britain reorganized the Party

and defined its goal as the overthrow of the British Government in India. A Workers and

Peasants Party was formed in the United Provinces and its branches were also opened in

Bombay and Bengal besides several towns of U.P.

The Trade Union formed under the auspices of the Communist Party continued to play an

important role in demonstrations against the British Government. The main thesis of the

Communist Party in 1930s aimed at a proletariat urban revolution to start with and once it

was achieved to extend it to rural areas. This was to be achieved through the

transformation of individual strikes such as those of peasants against rents, debts, etc. into

All-India movement and spread revolutionary propaganda amongst the police and the

army. By these means the Communist also worked for the overthrow of the British rule

and achieve independence for India. The efforts of some of the Communist leaders as M.

N. Roy to form a united front with congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas

Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi for achieving Indian independence and the stiff

opposition it encountered from others such as Adhikari, P.C.Joshi is an interesting subject

of study for detailed and critical discussion. However, a leftist united front could not be

formed due to the loyalty of the CPI to the Communist International. The Communist

policy of infiltration led to the resignation of such Congress socialists such as Masani,

Ashok Mehta, Ram Manohar Lohia and Achyut Patwardhan. The communist Party,

however, continued to lend its support to the mass movements launched by the Congress

till 1942 when it decided to call off its agitation due to involvement of Russian in the was

in support of the Allies. However, as the confidential records of the Government of India

reveal that it remained linked with the main currents of nationalism to the extent possible.

It took her six months to change from its anti-war policy to its new pro-war line and even

then it did not give up its demand of independence of India from British rule.

Radical Democratic Party

A brief reference may be made here to the Radical Democratic Party formed by M. N.

Roy in August 1940 after he left the Congress along with his followers. He believed that

he would be able to convince the British Government to form coalition ministries by

combining the anti Congress elements in the various provinces. The war, he thought

would be prolonged and would thus leave the Britain exhausted. It would provide him

with an opportunity to launch a mass movement and wrest power from the British.

However, “his strenuous efforts to rope in anti war groups and parties failed and the

confidential note of the Government described him as a ‘political adventurer’ who had

grown from a romantic terrorist and anti-British agitator into an ardent communist and

anti-imperialist and now into an anti-fascist.” He failed to persuade the Government to

form coalition ministries but continued to help them in encouraging production by

persuading the labourers not to go on strike.

All-India Trade Union Congress

In India, the national leaders soon came to realize the importance of industrial strikes to

force the Government to meet their political demands. As early as 1908 the followers of

Tilak had created a great furor among the mull workers of Bombay by informing that the

leader had been arrested for advocating their cause. The first All-India Trade Union

Congress was, however, inaugurated in Bombay in December 1920 by Swami

Shradhanand and was presided over by Lajpat Rai. The Congress continued to meet

annually and even representatives from abroad attended some of its sessions. The

Communists had no doubt gained considerable influence in this organization but were not

able to get support for their stand in 1942. But by 1943 when the membership of the

AITUC rose to 4,70,000 workers organize in 401 unions, the Communists representation

stood at 70 per cent.

Hindustan Mazdur Sevak Sangh

Gulzarilal Nanda who looked after the Congress interests in the organization announced

the formation of the Hindustan Mazdur Sevak Sangh with the concurrence of Gandhiji,

Vallabhbhai Patel was to be the President. Every member was enjoined to sign a pledge

which forbade association with any party which countenanced the use of violent means or

aimed at the establishment of dictatorial or sectional control of the political or economic

life of the country. It clearly excluded the communists who might have been the ordinary

members of the Congress. Thus the Congress had clearly marked its entry in the labour

field. Its leaders now made full use of the pro-war attitude of the Communists and won

over considerable following in the labour circles.

Forward Bloc

Soon after his resignation from the Presidentship of the Indian National Congress on 3

May 1939. Subhas Chandra Bose formed what is known as the Forward Bloc. Its main

objective was attainment of complete independence and establishment of a modern

socialist state, promoting social ownership and state control of large-scale industrial

production for economic development, freedom of worship, social justice and equal rights

for individuals regardless of creed or sex. It became a party at its Nagpur session on 18

June, 1940 and attempted a form a left consolidated front but the Communist Party of

India and the Congress Socialist Party did not join it. However, it collaborated with the

All-India Kisan Sabha and was against any compromise with the British Government. In

the then prevailing situation, it advocated collaboration with Italy, Germany and Japan to

get rid of the imperialists British rule.

All-India Kisan Sabha

The All India Kisan Sabha, mainly a peasants’ organization with Swami Sahajanand as its

President was subject to the influence of Congress Socialist Party and the Communist

Party of India. During the World War II it followed its programme of no-tax campaign,

occupation of Bakasht land in Bihar; travel in railways without tickets and antirecruitment

drive in the rural areas. It completely aligned itself with the Forward Bloc and

stood for no compromise with the imperialist British Government and complete

independence.

FOREIGN WOMEN IN THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT OF

INDIA

Besides the hundreds and thousands of Indian women who dedicated their lives for the

cause of their motherland, there were a number of noble and courageous foreign women

who saw in India – its religion, its philosophy and its culture, a hope for the redemption of

the world. They thought that in India’s spiritual death shall world find its grave.

These noble women were sick of the material west and found in India and in its

civilization, solace for their cramped souls.

First of all we will take up those who were influenced by the great men of India like

Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo Ghosh, Mahatma Gandhi, and came to this country to

serve it.

Sister Nivedita

‘Here reposes Sister Nivedita who gave her all to India’

- Epitaph on her Samadhi.

-

Sister Nivedita was one among the host of foreign women who were attracted towards

Swami Vivekananda and Hindu philosophy. Born in Ireland on 28 October 1867, she

arrived in India in January, 1898, in search of truth. She was impressed by the ideals of

Womanhood in India. She once remarked that India was the land of great women. She,

however, felt that Indian women needed, to cultivate among themselves a wider and

broader concept of the nation, so that they could participate along with men in building a

free and strong nation.

On the death of her spiritual Master, Swami Vivekananda, she freed herself from the

obligations of the Monastic Order, spoke and wrote against the British policy in India. She

attacked Lord Curzon for the Universities Act of 1904 and partition of Bengal in 1905.

She held the British responsible for disastrous state of Indian economy; she attended the

Benares Congress in 1905 and supported the Swadeshi Movement. She helped Nationalist

groups like the Dawn Society and the Anusilan Samiti. She was a member of the Central

Council of Action formed by Aurobindo Ghosh and took up the editorship of the

Karmayogin when he left for Pondicherry.

She propagated for the cause of India throughout America and Europe. Swami

Vivekananda described her as a real Lioness. Rabindranath Tagore regarded her as Lok-

Mata and Aurobindo Ghosh as Agni-sikha.

The Mother

Mira Alphonse, the Mother, was born in Paris in 1978. She had shown depth of vision and

fragrance of expression even in her early childhood. She came to India in 1914 and met

Shri Aurobindo. She was associated with the work of Shri Aurobindo when he started a

philosophical monthly named Arya on August 15, 1914, to express his vision of man and

his divine destiny.

She took charge of Ashram in Pondicherry in 1926. She was the inspirer of Auroville, the

international town near Pondicherry. It was to serve as a meeting place for the followers

of Shri Aurobindo.

Paying her tribute to the Mother at a women’s gathering in Kanpur the late Prime

Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi said: “The Mother was a dynamic lady, who came from

France and adopted the Indian culture. She played an important role in motivating women

like Mrs. Annie Besant and Mrs. Nellie Sen Gupta, The Mother had also contributed to

enrich India’s age-old heritage and culture”.

Mira Behn

Mira Behn, or Mira as she was most often called was the western world’s

acknowledgement of guilt and the will to atone for it. This was not at all in her won

consciousness, but in that which put her forth. Gandhi did not evoke her. The most he did

was to tell her she could come if she wished. She came as a daughter not only of the

western mind but, specifically, of that class which had made and governed the British

empire in India. Her father had been the naval commander-in-chief there.

This is how Madeleine Slade brought up in affluent environment of a proud aristocracy

came to serve the cause of India’s freedom by identifying herself completely with the life

and work of Gandhi, who promised to Romain Rolland that he would leave no stone

unturned, to assist her to become a bridge between the East and the West.

Daughter of a British Admiral Madeleine Slade renounced the life of luxury and worked

in the service of India. She accompanied Gandhi to England in 1931 and undertook a tour

of America and Britain in 1934 to enlist sympathy for the Indian cause. She suffered

imprisonment in 1932-33 and 1942-44 for the cause of India’s Independence.

Dr. Annie Besant

Dr. Annie Besant, along with Charles Braudlaugh, it is said, did more than anyone had

done in a hundred years to break down the barriers of bigotry and prejudice, who won the

greatest victories of their times for the freedom of speech and liberty of the press which

Britain enjoys today.

A strong votary of truth, she came to India in 1893 at the age of 46, impressed as she was

by its great religion and philosophy. On arrival, she found that the state of things in India

were bad, and that the Indians had almost lost their moorings. Through her lectures, she

tried to awaken them to their lost heritage by dedicating herself to the cause of religion,

society and education of India. In doing so, she was watchful that Indian revival must be

through Indian traditions and customs and not through any of the European concepts. As

early as 1898 and later in 1902 she urged Indians to were native dress, use and develop

Indian manufacturers and also develop a national language.

Dr. Annie Besant entered active politics in 1914. She demanded Home Rule for India and

suffered internment for it from June to September 1917. By then she had tried and

achieved unification of the Congress and Hindus and Muslims in 1916. She had done

ample work to formulate favourable opinion about the Indian question in outside world.

The August declaration of 1917 is attributed to her efforts.

She fittingly became the president of Indian National Congress in 1917. Tilak declared

that if we were nearer our goals, it was due to Dr. Annie Besant’s sincere efforts. Gokhale

considered her a true daughter of Mother India. Subash considered her a doughty fighter

for Indian freedom. Jawaharlal Nehru said that in India, her memory would endure,

especially for the part she played in our freedom struggle in the dark days of the Great

War and afterwards. Sarojini Naidu, had this to say.

“Had it not been for her and her enthusiasm, one could not have seen Mr. Gandhi leading

the cause of Indian freedom today. It was Mrs. Besant who laid the foundation of modern

India – Dr. Besant was a combination of Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswati.”

Lord Kingsford Bombing Case - Khudiram Bose & Prafullah Chaki

Khudiram Bose was a freedom fighter, who was one of the youngest revolutionaries of the

Indian independence movement. He was born on 3rd December 1889. Trailokyanath

Basu, his father was a Tahsildar of the town and mother Lakshmipriya Devi was a

religious lady. His birth place was Bahuvaini in Medinipur district, West Bengal.

Khudiram Bose was influenced by the notion of karma in the Bhagvad Gita , and was

involved in revolutionary activities to free mother India from the clutches of British rule.

Dissatisfied with the British policy of the partition of Bengal in 1905, he joined Jugantar -

the party of revolutionary activists. At the tender age of sixteen, Bose left bombs near

police stations and made government officials his victims. On the charges of carrying out

a series of bomb attacks he was arrested.

In Muzzafarpur, Bihar,on 30th April, 1908 Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki planned to

assasinate the Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford. The magistrate was known for his

blatant judgements against the freedom fighters. They waited for Kingsford's carriage to

come in front of the gate of European Club and blew up a carriage which was not carrying

Kingsford. As a result of this unfortunate incident two innocent British ladies -

Mrs.Kennedy and her daughter were killed. Both the revolutionaries fled the crime scene.

Later Prafulla committed suicide and Khudiram was arrested.

On the charges of bomb attacks carried out by Khudiram Bose, he was sentenced to death

at the age of 19.He was hanged to death on 11 August 1908.

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Labels: Indian History

Delhi conspiracy Case - Rash Behari Bose

The British never got a chance to punish freedom fighter Rash Behari Bose for scripting

the 1912 bomb attack on the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge. Bose planned the attack perfectly

and got it executed through Basant Kumar on 23 December 1912 in Delhi. He was back in

Dehradun the same day and on 24 December, he condemned the attack at a meeting here.

The British never doubted his integrity towards them. But, in fact, the truth was entirely

different.

Founder President of the Indian National Army Rash Behari Bose took 37-day leave from

the Forest Research Institute, located here, to script the famous 1912 bomb attack on Lord

Hardinge. Bose took leave from 25 November to 31 December 1912 to fashion the

incident.

In 1912, British India decided to shift the imperial capital from Calcutta to Delhi. To mark

the arrival of Lord Hardinge in the new capital, a procession was taken out. A bomb was

thrown on the Viceroy and his wife when they were passing through Chandni Chowk,

near the Punjab National Bank.

The incident took place at around 11.45 a.m. The explosion was heard six miles away. A

picric acid bomb weighing between half and three-quarters of a pound exploded against

the howdah.The attacked injured Hardinge and killed his Mahawat. The Viceroy’s back

was badly lacerated by some of the nails, screws and gramophone needles with which the

bomb had been packed.

Five hundred uniformed and 2,500 plain clothes policemen officer were deployed in the

processional route. The event sent a shiver down the British spine. As the bomb exploded,

the detectives rushed off in the wrong direction and Rash Behari Bose and his associates

escaped comfortably after committing the act.

After completing his 37 day leave, Bose rejoined office at Forest Research Institute on 2

January 1913. After working for a few months regularly, he took long leave from 10

August 1913 to 10 May 1914. On 14 May 1914, he was terminated for long absenteeism

from service.

The 1912 bomb attack took the British imperialists by surprise. David Peterson, Assistant

Director of Criminal Intelligence (Delhi), was entrusted with the job of conducting an

inquiry into the incident. He took two-years to complete the investigation and termed

Rash Bihari Bose the mastermind of the attack on the Viceroy. But, by the time the British

realised the role of Bose in the attack, this revolutionary had escaped to Japan and

continued the struggle against British rule from abroad.

Rash Behari was born on 25 May, 1886, in Palara-Bighati (Hooghly) village. He served

one of his longest terms as a government employee at the FRI. He joined the Forest

Research Institute on 7 September 1906. Before coming to the Doon Valley, Behari had

served for 4 months at the Foreign Department Press (Shimla) as an examiner. After this,

he joined Government Monotype Office (Shimla) as a copy holder and served there for

seven months. He joined Central Research Institute (Kasauli, HP) as second clerk before

joining FRI as a clerk in 1906.

He was promoted to the rank of Head Clerk, drawing a monthly salary of Rs 65. Rash

Behari formed the Indian National Army (INA) with Captain Mohan Singh and Sardar

Pritam Singh on 1 September, 1942. Bose was elected Founder President.When Rash

Bhirai Bose died on 29 January 1945, highlighting his contribution to India's

independence struggle, Subhash Chandra Bose said, "He was the father of the Indian

independence movement in East Asia."

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Saturday, June 27, 2009

Women & India's Independence Movement

Role of Indian women:

The entire history of the freedom movement is replete with the saga of bravery, sacrifice

and political sagacity of great men and women of the country. This struggle which gained

momentum in the early 20th century, threw up stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Lala

Lajpat Rai, Motilal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad, C. Rajagopalachari, Bal Gangadhar Tilak,

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subash Chander Bose. Their number and

stature often gives us an erroneous impression that it was only a man’s movement. But it

is not so. Many prominent women played a leading role in the freedom movement.

The important place assigned to women in India dates back to the time of the Vedas and

Smritis. Manu declared that where women were adored, Gods frequented that place,

During the Vedic age the position of women in society was very high and they were

regarded as equal partners with men in all respects. Who had not heard of Maitri, Gargi,

Sati Annusuya and Sita?

In keeping with this tradition, burden of tears and toils of the long years of struggle for

India’s freedom was borne by the wives, mothers, and daughters, silently and cheerfully.

The programme of self-imposed poverty and periodical jail going was possible only

because of the willing co-operation of the worker’s family. In the various resistance

movements in the villages, the illiterate women played this passive but contributory part

as comrades of their menfolk.

Rani Laxmibai

The first name that comes to mind is that of the famous Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. Dressed

in men’s clothes, she led her soldiers to war against the British. Even her enemies admired

her courage and daring. She fought valiantly and although beaten she refused to surrender

and fell as a warrior should, fighting the enemy to the last. Her remarkable courage

inspired many men and women in India to rise against the alien rule.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

Another woman whom we remember in this connection was Begum Hazrat Mahal, the

Begaum of Oudh. She took active part in the defence of Lucknow against the British.

Although, she was queen and used to a life of luxury, she appeared on the battle-field

herself to encourage her troops. Begam Hazrat Mahal held out against the British with all

her strength as long as she could. Ultimately she had to give up and take refuge in Nepal.

During the later half of the 20th century the struggle for freedom gained momentum and

more women took leading part in it.

Kasturba Gandhi

The life companion of the Father of the Nation contributed her mite to the freedom

movement in a subtle manner. As the closest associate of Gandhiji during his epic struggle

in South Africa and in India, she suffered in no small measure.

One simply marvels and wonders how this quiet self-effacing woman underwent countless

trails as Gandhiji’s wife, and how gallantly she agreed to the Mahatma’s endless

experiments and self-imposed life of poverty and suffering.

Swarup Rani and Kamala

The mother of Jawaharlal Nehru, Swarup Rani Nehru cheerfully gave her husband and

children to the country’s cause and herself, old and trail entered the pray at its thickest.

Jawaharlal’s brave wife, Kamala; kept smiling all through the long years of travail of her

brief life.

Kamala Nehru was a flame that flickered briefly in the raging storm of the freedom

movement in India. Not everybody knows that she braved lathi-charges, picketed liquor

shops and languished in jail for the cause of Indian independence. She influenced her

husband Jawaharlal and stood by him in his determination to plunge into the movement

started by Mahatma Gandhi, to free the mother Mahatma Gandhi, to free the motherland

from the clutches of the British rulers.

With Jawaharlal away in prison, Kamala took to social work to begin with. She started a

dispensary in her house in Allahabad and also started a movement for women’s education

and to get them out of purdah.

As a member of the Rashtriya Stree Sabha which was set up on a Jallianwala Day in 1921,

Kamala Nehru worked for the entry of Harijan into temples.

amala Nehru was first among the group of volunteers to sell contraband salt during the

Salt Satyagraha. All through the long months of 1930, the Desh Sevika Sangh which she

led along with Kusturba Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu, did hard jobs like policing disturbed

areas in Bombay. While the men were in jail, they took over.

Sarojini Naidu:

Great as a poet and orator, Sarojini Naidu was one of the most enlightened women of

modern India.

She was one among the many men and women who dedicated their lives for the freedom

struggle of the counry under the guidance of Gandhiji. At a very young age she wrote

many patriotic poems which inspired people in India to throw off the foreign yoke. She

joined the Home Rule movement launched by Annie Besant. This was her first step in

politics. On the call of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, she joined the Indian National Congress in

1915. She propounded the idea of Swarajya in her powerful speech at the Lucknow

Conference in 1916. in 1921 she participated in the Non-Cooperation movement launched

by Mahatma Gandhi. She became President of the Congress in 1925. When Mahatma

Gandhi started his Civil disobedience movement in 1930, Sarojini Naidu became his

principal assistant. She was arrested along with Gandhiji and other leaders. But this did

not deter her spirits. In 1931, she was invited along with Gandhiji to the Second Round

Table Conference in London. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu joined the “Quit India” movement

launched by Gandhiji and again was victim of the wrath of the British government and

jailed. The repeated jail terms only gave her more courage and she continued to take

active part in the freedom movement. After India became independent in 1947, she was

appointed Governor of Uttar Pradesh as a token of recognition of her services.

Padmaja Naidu

Sarojini’s daughter Miss Padmaja Naidu devoted herself to the cause of Nation like her

mother. At the age of 21, she entered the National scene and became the joint founder of

the Indian National Congress of Hyderabad. She spread the message of Khadi and

inspired people to boycott foreign goods. She was jailed for taking part in the “Quit India”

movement in 1942. After Independence, she became the Governor of West Bengal.

During her public life spanning over half a century, she was associated with the Red

Cross. Her services to the Nation and especially her humanitarian approach to solve

problems will long be remembered.

Vijay Laxmi Pandit

Sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also played a great role in the freedom movement. She

was elected to Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 1936 and in 1946. She was the first woman in

India to hold a ministerial rank. She was imprisoned thrice for taking part in the Civil

Disobedience Movement in 1932. 1941 and 1942. After Independence, she continued to

serve the country. She was the first woman to become president of the United Nations

General Assembly.

Sucheta Kripalani

The contribution of Sucheta Kripalani in the struggle for freedom is also worthy of note.

She courted imprisonment for taking part in freedom struggle. She was elected as a

member of Constituent Assembly in 1946. She was general secretary of Indian National

Congress from 1958 to 1960, and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1963 to 1967.

Sucheta Kripalani was in the words of Shrimati Indira Gandhi, “a person of rare courage

and character who brought credit to Indian womanhood.”

Indira Gandhi

The most remarkable of women in modern India’s was Indira Gandhi who from her early

years was active in the national liberation struggle. During the 1930 movement, she

formed the ‘Vanar Sena’. A children’s brigade to help freedom fighters.

She became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1938. Soon after her return to

India in March 1941, she plunged into political activity.

Her public activity entered a new phase with India’s Independence in 1947. She took over

the responsibility of running the Prime Minister’s House. The Congress, which had been

her political home ever since her childhood, soon drew her into leading political roles,

first as member of the Congress Working Committee in 1955 and later as member of the

Central Parliamentary Board in 1958. In 1959, she was elected President of the Indian

National Congress. She oriented Congress thinking and action towards basic issues

confronting Indian society and enthused the younger generation the task of nationbuilding.

In the eventful years of her leadership as Prime Minister, Indian society underwent

profound changes. She was unremitting in her endeavour for the unity and solidarity of

the nation. A staunch defender of the secular ideals of the Constitution, she worked

tirelessly for the social and economic advancement of the minorities. She had a vision of a

modern self-reliant and dynamic economy. She fought boldly and vigorously against

communalism, obscurantism, re-vivalism and religious fundamentalism of all types. She

repeatedly warned the nation that communalism and obscuranatism were the tools

employed by the forces of destabilization. She laid down her life in defence of the ideals

on which the unity and integrity of the Republic are founded. The martyrdom of Mahatma

Gandhi and Indira Gandhi for upholding the unity of India will reverberate across the

centuries.

Rarely in history has one single individual come to be identifie do totally with the fortunes

of a country. She became the indomitable symbol of India’s self-respect and selfconfidence.

Death came to her when she was at her peak, when her stature and influence

were acclaimed the world over.

Quiz on Social Reform Movements in India

1. Keshab Chandra Sen is one of the renowned leaders of this movement – it was born out

of differences of opinion amongst members of another movement. This movement (or

rather the organization) was first formed in 1866.

Answer: Brahmo Samaj of India

Brahmo Samaj of India was created by Mr. Sen because he felt the Brahmo Samaj didn’t

address many an important issue. He held radical views that included inter-caste marriage,

removal of purdah for women etc.

2. One of the most famous social reformers, he was born to an orthodox Bengali Brahmin

family in 1774. His first article appeared when he was sixteen, in which he condemned

idol worship by Hindus, as a result of which he was thrown out of his house! To purify

Hinduism from various ‘evils’ that he believed had crept into it, he decided to form a new

society called ‘Brahmo Samaj’. Who was he?

Answer: Raja Rammohun Roy

The Brahmo Samaj (One God society) worked towards removing idol worship, caste

divisions etc. Roy was most instrumental in the abolition of Sati (or Satti or suttee).

Satidaha was the practice of burning Hindu widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands.

3. This social reformist joined the Hindu College of Calcutta in 1826 (at the age of 17) as

a teacher. He encouraged free thought and inquisitiveness of the part of his pupils. His

students were collectively called ‘Young Bengal’ and they refused to accept various rites

and rituals that were prevalent in India at that time. What is the name of the teacher?

Answer: Henry Louis Vivian Derozio

Derozio was dismissed from the college for his teachings. He died in 1831 at the age of

22. However his students ensured that the Young Bengal movement carried on in its

mission.

4. A very famous Bengali, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Hindu Balika

Vidyalaya at Calcutta. This was one of the earliest schools committed towards education

of females. He also campaigned for reformation of the Hindu marriage system. It was

through his efforts that the Widow Remarriage Act, 1856 was enacted by the Government.

Who was this learned and revered person?

Answer: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

He was assisted by a British official called Drinkwater Bethune in his efforts to develop

Female education in India.

5. This society was formed in 1864 by K. Sridharalu Naidu. This movement was inspired

to fight the causes of Brahmo Samaj in South India. In 1871, the name of this society was

changed to Brahmo Samaj of South India. What was this society known before that?

Answer: Veda Samaj

Naidu translated Brahmo Samaj literature into Telugu and Tamil and tried to carry out

social reforms in South India; however his death in 1874 weakened this reform

movement.

6. This movement was based and carried out reforms in Western India. Founded in 1866

by Mahadev Govind Ranade, this movement took inspiration from religious sermons by

Tukaram and Jnaneswara. This society had distinguished scholars like Ramakrisha

Bhandarkar in its ranks. What was the name of this society?

Answer: Prarthana Samaj

Ranade also emphasized the importance of collective action against social evils; to club

various societies together, he formed the Indian National Social Conference in 1887.

7. This religious movement was started with an intention to teach people about Hinduism

in its pure form. Dayanand Saraswati founded this movement in 1875. The members of

this movement were guided by ten principles, one of which was studying of Vedas. The

rest were on virtue, morality and humility. This movement sought to remove caste

distinctions and social inequality (rampant at that time). What was the name of this

religious movement?

Answer: Arya Samaj

Dayanand was born Mula Shankara in 1824 in a place called Kathiawad. He wrote a lot of

books to spread his message, the most famous of them being ‘Satyarth Prakash’.

8. Swami Vivekanand participated in the Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago (U.S.A)

in 1893.

Answer: true

He was a great success at this meeting and was able to impress one and all with his

address on Hinduism. Vivekanand (1863 – 1902 ) was a student of Ramakrishna

Paramahansa.

9. He was a priest at a temple at Dakshineswar (near Kolkatta). Social reformers like

Dayanad Saraswati, Keshab Chandra Sen used to come to him for advice and religious

discussions. After his death, one of his pupils Swami Vivekanand founded a mission

named after him.

Answer: Ramakrishna Paramahansa

The Ramakrishna Mission was founded in 1897 and spread the teachings of Ramakrishna

through out India; it also has many branches in foreign countries.

10. To improve the condition of the Moslems in India, this reformist founded many a

movement. He was known for his efforts to improve Moslem-British relations. His

greatest achievement was the founding of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at

Aligarh in 1875.

Answer: Syed Ahmed Khan

He was strongly opposed to the Indian National Congress. The Mohammedan Anglo-

Oriental College later became the Aligarh University.

1857

First War of Indian Independence

1858

British crown takes over the Indian Government, End of East India Company

Rule

1861

Birth of Rabindra Nath Tagore

1885

Formation of Indian National Congress

1905

Partition of Bengal announced which came in force from October 16, 1906

1906, Dec 31

Muslim League founded at Decca

1908, April 30

Khudiram Bose executed

1908, July 22

Tilak sentenced to six years on charges of sedition

1909, May 21

Minto-Morley Reforms of Indian Councils Act, 1909

1911

The coronation or Delhi Durbar held at Delhi in which the Partition of Bengal is

cancelled

1912

Delhi becomes the new capital of India

1912, Dec 23

Bomb thrown on Lord Hardinge on his state entry into Delhi

1914, Nov 1

Ghadar Party formed at San Francisco

1914, June 16

Bal Gangadhar Tilak released from jail

1914, Aug 4

Outbreak of First World War

1914, Sept 29

Komagatamaur ship reaches Budge (Calcutta Port)

1915, Jan 9

Mahatma Gandhi arrives in India

1915, Feb 19

Death of Gopal Krishan Gokhle

1916, April 28

B.G. Tilak founds Indian Home Rule League with it headquarters at Poona

1916, Sept 25

Another Home Rule League started by Annie Besant

1917, April

Mahatma Gandhi launches the Champaran campaign in Bihar to focus attention

on the grievances of Indigo farmers

1917, Aug 20

The Secretary of State for India, Montague, declares that the goal of the British

government in India is the introduction of Responsible Government

1918

Beginning of trade union movement in India

1918, April

Rowlatt (Sedition) Committee submits its reports. Rowlatt Bill introduced on

Feb 16, 1919

1919, April 13

Jalianwala Bagh Massacre

1919, Dec 5

The House of Commons passes the Montague Chelmsford Reforms or the

Government of India Act, 1919. The new reforms under this Act come into force

in 1921

1920

First meeting of the All Indian Trade Union Congress (under Narain Malhar Joshi)

1920, Dec

The Indian National Congress (INC) adopts the Non-Cooperation Resolution

1920-22

Non-Cooperation Movement, suspended on Feb 12, 1922 after the violent

incidents at Chauri Chaura on Feb 5, 1922

1922, Aug

Moplah rebellion on the Malabar coast

1923, Jan 1

Swarajist Party formed by Motilal Nehru and others

1924

The Communist Party of India starts its activities at Kanpur

1925, Aug

Kakori Train Conspiracy Case

1927, Nov 8

The British Prime Minister announces the appointment of the Simon Commission

to suggest future constitutional reforms in India, Simon Commission arrives in

Bombay on Feb 3, 1928 and all-India hartal, Lala Lajpat Rai assaulted by Police

in Lahore

1928

Nehru Report recommends principles for the new Constitution of India. All

Parties conference considers the Nehru Report, Aug 28-31, 1928

1928, Nov 17

Death of Lala Lajpat Rai

1929

Sarda Act passed prohibiting marriage of girls below 14 and boys below 18 years

of age with effect from 1930

1929, March 9

All-Parties Muslim Conference formulates the "Fourteen Points" under the

leadership of Jinnah

1929, April 8

Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw bomb in the Central Legislative

Assembly

1929, Oct 31

Lord Irwin's announcement that the goal of British policy in India was the grant

of the Dominion status

1929, Dec 31

The Lahore session of the INC adopts the goal of complete independence-

Poorna Swaraj for India, Jawaharlal Nehru hoists the tricolour of Indian

Independence on the banks of the Ravi at Lahore

1930, Jan 26

First Independence Day observed

1930, Feb 14

The Working Committee of the INC meets at Sabarmati and passes the Civil

Disobedience resolution

1930, March 12

Mahatma Gandhi launches the Civil Disobedience movement with his epic Dandi

March (March 12 to April 6), First Phase of Civil Disobedience Movement: March

12, 1930 to March 5, 1931

1930, Nov 30

First Round Table Conference begins in London to consider the report of the

Simon Commission

1931, March 5

Gandhi-Irwin pact signed, Civil Disobedience movement suspended

1931, March 23

Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Rajguru executed

1931, Sept 7

Second Round Table Conference

1931, Dec 28

Mahatma Gandhi returns from London after the deadlock in Second Round Table

Conference. Launches Civil Disobedience Movement. Indian National Congress

(INC) declared illegal

1932, Jan 4

Mahatma Gandhi arrested and imprisoned without trial

1932, Aug 16

British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald announces the infamous "Communal

Award"

1932, Sept 20

Mahatma Gandhi begins his epic "Fast unto Death" in jail against the Communal

Award and ends the fast on Sept 26 after the Poona Pact

1932, Nov 17

The Third Round Table Conference begins in London (Nov 17 to Dec 24)

1933, May 9

Mahatma Gandhi released from prison as he begins fast for self-purification.

INC suspends Civil Disobedience Movement but authorises Satyagraha by

individuals

1934

Mahatma Gandhi withdraws from active politics and devotes himself to

"Constructive Programmes" (1934-39)

1935, Aug 4

The Government of India Act, 1935 passed

1937

Elections held in India under the Act of 1935 (Feb 1937). The INC contests

election and forms ministries in several provinces (July 1937)

1938, Feb 19-20

Haripura session of Indian National Congress (INC). Subhash Chandra Bose

elected Congress president

1939, March 10-12

Tripuri session of the INC

1939, April

Subhash Chandra Bose resigns as the president of the INC

1939, Sept 3

Second World War (September 1). Great Britain declares war on Germany; the

Viceroy declares that India too is at war

1939, Oct 27 - Nov 5

The Congress ministries in the provinces resign in protest against the war policy

of the British government

1939, Dec 22

The Muslim League observes the resignation of the Congress ministries as

"Deliverance Day"

1940, March

Lahore session of the Muslim League passes the Pakistan Resolution

1940, Aug 10

Viceroy Linlithgow announces August Offer

1940, Aug 18-22

Congress Working Committee rejects the "August Offer"

1940, Oct 17

Congress launches Individual Satyagraha Movement

1941, Jan 17

Subhash Chandra Bose escapes from India; arrives in Berlin (March 28)

1942, March 11

Churchill announces the Cripps Mission

1942, Aug 7-8

The Indian National Congress (INC) meets in Bombay; adopts "Quit India"

resolution

1942, Aug 9

Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders arrested

1942, Aug 11

Quit India movement begins; the Great August Uprising

1942, Sept 1

Subhash Chandra Bose establish the Indian National Army "Azad Hind Fauz"

1943, Oct 21

Subhash Chandra Bose proclaims the formation of the Provincial Government of

Free India

1943, Dec

Karachi session of the Muslim League adopts the slogan "Divide and Quit"

1944, Jan 25

Wavell calls Simla Conference in a bid to form the Executive Council of Indian

political leaders

1946, Feb 18

Mutiny of the Indian naval ratings in Bombay

1946, March 15

British Prime Minister Attlee announces Cabinet Mission to propose new solution

to the Indian deadlock; Cabinet Mission arrives in New Delhi (March 14); issues

proposal (May 16)

1946, July 6

Jawaharlal Nehru takes over as Congress president

1946, Aug 6

Wavell invites Nehru to form an interim government; Interim Government takes

office (Sept 2)

1946, Dec 9

First session of Constituent Assembly of India starts. Muslim League boycotts it

1947, Feb 20

British Prime Minister Attlee declares that the British government would leave

India not later than June, 1948

1947, March 24

Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy and Governor-General of India sworn

in (March 24, 1947 to June 21, 1948)

1947, June 3

Mountbatten Plan for the partition of India and the announcement (June 4)

that transfer of power will take place on August 15

1947, Aug 15

India becomes independent.