Moderates to Revolutionaries

Following the 1857 revolt, political awareness among Indians grew, leading to emerging leadership at national and provincial levels.
Numerous political associations were established in the 19th century, reflecting growing political consciousness.
A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant, proposed forming a forum to represent Indian interests, leading to the foundation of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885.
The INC held its first session in Bombay in 1885, presided over by Womesh Chandra Banerjee, with delegates like Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozshah Mehta, and William Wedderburn.

The INC aimed to nurture Indian nationalism by fostering a democratic national movement and formulating an anti-colonial nationalist ideology.
Initially, it demanded moderate reforms, focusing on spreading awareness of colonial exploitation.
The Moderates believed in the benevolence of British rule and thought that making the British aware of Indian aspirations would lead to reforms.
They used methods like prayer, petition, and constitutional agitation, contributing significantly to the freedom struggle.

Leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, R.C. Dutt, and Dinshaw Wacha analyzed the colonial economy, proposing the 'drain of wealth' theory, highlighting how Britain exploited India's resources for its industrial needs.
They advocated ending India's economic linkage with Britain to develop independently through indigenous capital and enterprise.
Political demands included expansion of legislative councils, greater Indian participation in administration, free speech and press, Indianization of administration, separation of executive and judicial functions, better treatment of Indian laborers abroad, reduced land revenue and military expenditure, improved working conditions in plantations, and abolition of salt tax.
Despite their contributions, the Moderates lacked faith in the masses, believing they were not ready for political activities, which limited their popular base.
The British administration was hostile to the Congress, labeling its leaders as "seditious Brahmins" and "disloyal babus", and supported reactionary elements like Syed Ahmed Khan and Raja Shiv Prasad to counter the Congress by forming the United Indian Patriotic Association.

Around the turn of the 20th century, dissatisfaction with the Moderates' limited achievements led to the rise of the Extremists, including leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh (“New Lamps for Old”), and Lala Lajpat Rai.
Influenced by figures like Swami Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and Rabindranath Tagore, they advocated active resistance to British imperialism and aimed for Swaraj (self-rule).
The 'drain of wealth' theorists highlighted British exploitation, and indigenous industrialists resented policies hindering local industry.
Events like Ethiopia defeating Italy (1896), British reverses in the Boer War (1899-1902), and Japan defeating Russia (1905) shattered the myth of European invincibility.
Viceroy Lord Curzon's reactionary measures, including the Official Secrets Act, Indian Universities Act, and especially the Partition of Bengal in 1905, became catalysts for intensified opposition.

The Bengal Presidency included Bengal, Bihar, parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Assam, making it the largest province of British India with a population of 78.5 million.
In December 1903, the British proposed partitioning Bengal under the pretext of administrative efficiency.
The plan divided the province into Bengal (Western Bengal, Bihar, Odisha) and Eastern Bengal (merged with Assam), creating Muslim and Bengali minority regions.
Indian leaders saw this as a 'divide and rule' strategy to weaken Indian nationalism by fostering communal and linguistic divides.

Moderate leaders like Surendranath Banerjea and KK Mitra campaigned against the partition, using petitions, public meetings, and newspapers like Hitabadi and Bengalee.
Despite their efforts, Bengal's partition was implemented on 16th October 1905, leading to widespread protests.
The Swadeshi movement began with protest meetings and a resolution to boycott foreign goods in August 1905.
On the day of partition, people mourned by fasting, bathing in the Ganga, and singing patriotic songs like Bande Matram and Amar Sonar Bangla.

The movement spread to other regions, led by
– Tilak in Bombay,
– Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh in Punjab,
– Syed Haider Raza in Delhi, and
– Chidambaram Pillai in Madras.

Extremists wanted to expand the movement nationally, extend the boycott to all forms of associations (government services, law courts, legislative councils), and pursue Swaraj.
Meeting in Benaras in 1905 – with Gokhale as president – the congress party in its resolution condemned the partition of Bengal and approved the anti-partition Swadeshi movement of Bengal.

The extremists led by Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, BC Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh wanted
– the movement to spread outside Bengal
– the boycott to extend beyond foreign goods and include all forms of associations – like government services, law courts, legislative councils, and
– to launch a full-fledged mass struggle with an aim to attain Swaraj.

At this time, the moderates dominated the congress. And they didn’t approve either taking the movement out of Bengal or extending the boycott beyond foreign goods.
In Benaras session, the moderates had an upper hand. The president – Gokhale – too was one of their own.
But the next year at the Calcutta session (1906) – the extremists got a major headaway. There, with Dadabhai Naoroji presiding, the Congress passed resolutions supporting swaraj, swadeshi, boycott and national education.
Remarkably it was for the first time that Congress declared swaraj as its goal.

Tilak declared, ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it,’ while Aurobindo held political freedom as the ‘lifebreath of a nation.’
The extremists were thus able to transform the primary issue of Bengal partition into a demand for national liberty.
New methods included boycotting foreign goods (including foreign-made salt and sugar), public burnings of foreign cloth, and refusal of services involving foreign items (washermen, priests).
Volunteer Corps (Samitis) like Ashwini Kumar Dutt's Swadesh Bandhab Samiti in Barisal mobilized masses, organizing community work, magic lantern lectures, and relief efforts.

In Tamil Nadu, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, Subramania Siva, and others formed the Swadeshi Sangam.
Festivals like Tilak's Ganpati and Shivaji celebrations were used to communicate political messages and reach the masses.

The movement emphasized Atma-Shakti (self-reliance), encouraging confidence, social regeneration, and eradication of social injustices like casteism, dowry system, and liquor consumption.
Educational initiatives included establishing the Bengal National College with Aurobindo Ghosh as principal and forming the National Council of Education in August 1906 to impart education on national lines under Indian oversight.
Indigenous enterprises emerged, such as textile mills, soap and match factories, tanneries, banks, and insurance companies.
V.O. Chidambaram Pillai's Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in Tamil Nadu challenged British monopolies by competing with British shipping companies.

Patriotic songs by Rabindranath Tagore ("Amar Sonar Bangla"), Rajnikant Sen, Dwijendralal Ray, Syed Abu Mohammed, and Subramania Bharati ("Sudesha Geetham") inspired many.
Artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, and others revolutionized Indian painting by drawing inspiration from Ajanta, Mughal, and Rajput styles, breaking away from Victorian naturalism.

In the meantime, the government announced its decision to initiate reforms soon – carrying it out through Morley Minto Reforms of 1909.
The moderates were much pacified by the announcement. They even saw in it an opportunity to realize their wish of greater Indian participation in the administration.
So in order to appease the British, they toned down the far-reaching resolutions passed at the Calcutta session.
The extremists abhorred this u-turn by moderates. They considered the moderates to be a drag on the movement.

With these deep-seated differences, the Congress convened its 1907 session in Surat.
The extremists wanted either Tilak or Lala Lajpat Rai to become the Congress president.
Further, they sought the reiteration of the earlier resolutions on Swadeshi, boycott and national education.
The moderates were not willing to accommodate any demand made by the extremists.

• By convening the Congress session of 1907 in Surat – then in Bombay province – they had already pre-empted the possibility of Tilak becoming the president. The charter of the congress party prohibited anyone from the host province to become its president.
• And when the session convened, the moderates forced their way through.
• They were able to get the moderate Ras Behari Ghosh – different from Ras Bihari Bose – elected as the president.
• They even went back on the earlier resolutions regarding swadeshi, boycott and national education.
• Abuses were hurled, chappals were thrown, culminating into a split between the moderates and extremists.

From early on, the government had been hostile to the congress party – even in its moderate phase.
But with the swadeshi movement, when the militants began to dominate the nationalist agitation, the British changed their attitude.
They now sought to pacify the moderates with reforms, isolate the extremists, and then heavily repress them.
For the British recognised that the extremists were much more dangerous to their rule than the moderates.

And that’s why when the news of Surat split reached their ears, the British were delighted.
They had finally found the opportunity to work out their plan of repression.
New laws were brought about to check anti-government activity. These included the Seditious Meetings Act, Indian Newspapers Act, Criminal Law Amendment act, Indian Press Act.
The government tried Tilak for sedition, declared him guilty, and in 1909 sent him to a jail in Mandalay (Burma) for six years.
Aurobindo and BC Pal retired from active politics, while Lala Lajpat Rai went abroad.

By 1908, the open phase of the Swadeshi Movement declined due to heavy government repression, lack of organizational structure, leader absences, internal splits, and limited reach to the peasantry.
Students participated actively, boycotting foreign goods and facing reprisals like disqualification from jobs and fines.
Urban middle-class women joined in picketing and processions.
Strikes occurred in jute and cotton mills and the Indian Railways.

Muslim participation was low, as leaders like Nawab Salimullah of Dacca supported the partition, favoring a Muslim-majority East Bengal.
Left leaderless, many youths turned to revolutionary activities, adopting the "cult of the bomb" and forming secret societies.
Influenced by Russian nihilists and Irish nationalists, they aimed to challenge British rule through violent means, believing that individual heroic acts could inspire mass uprising.

Vasudeva Balwant Phadke from Bombay established the first secret society aiming for armed revolt.
The Chapekar brothers formed Vyayam Mandal in 1896-97, assassinating British officials in Poona.
V.D. Savarkar founded Abhinav Bharat in 1904, Bombay's first organized revolutionary society.
In Bengal, Jnanendranath Basu organized a revolutionary group in Midnapore in 1902; later, Promotha Mitter and Barindra Kumar Ghosh set up the Anushilan Samiti.

Publications like "Yugantar" (started by Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Bhupendranath Dutta) promoted the motto "force must be stopped by force".
Ras Behari Bose organized revolutionaries in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
In Punjab, Ajit Singh (uncle of Bhagat Singh) and Lala Lajpat Rai were active; Ajit Singh set up the extremist Anjuman-i-Mohisban-i-Watan in Lahore with its journal Bharat Mata.
Sachin Sanyal and Sundarlal led activities in Benaras, including assassinations of oppressive officials and fundraising through dacoities.

• 1907: An unsuccessful attempt was made on the life of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal; Allen, the District Magistrate of Dacca, was killed in December.
• 1908: Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose attempted to bomb Judge Kingsford in Muzaffarpur, resulting in the deaths of two European women. Chaki committed suicide; Bose was tried and hanged.
• The government cracked down on the Anushilan Samiti, leading to the Alipore Conspiracy Case (also known as the Manicktolla Bomb Conspiracy), involving the Ghosh brothers (Aurobindo and Barindra).
• 1909: Anant Lakshman Kanhere assassinated the District Magistrate of Nashik and was sentenced to death.

• 1909: Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated Curzon-Wylie in London.
• 1912: Ras Behari Bose and Sachin Sanyal attempted to assassinate Viceroy Lord Hardinge, wounding him; this led to the Delhi Conspiracy Trial.

Jatindranath Mukherjee ("Bagha Jatin") was a fierce revolutionary who led Jugantar, the western wing of the Anushilan Samiti.
During World War I, he planned an armed uprising against the British with support from Germany, collaborating with Ras Behari Bose and M.N. Roy.
The plan was leaked; in the Battle of Balasore, Bagha Jatin was severely wounded and died the next day.

Due to suppression in India, revolutionaries operated from abroad.
In London, Shyamji Krishnavarma started the Indian Home Rule Society ("India House"), provided scholarships to radical Indian youth, and published "The Indian Sociologist".
In Paris, Madam Bhikaji Cama established contacts with French socialists, published "Bande Mataram", and operated with Ajit Singh. Madam Bhikaji Cama unfurled India’s tricolor flag of freedom at “Stuttgart” in Germany. She is regarded as “Mother of Indian Revolution.”
In Berlin, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya was active in revolutionary activities.

The Ghadar Party was founded in 1913 in San Francisco, with Lala Hardayal as the leader.
Comprised mainly of ex-soldiers and peasants who had migrated to the USA and Canada seeking better jobs.
Prior activities included efforts by Ramdas Puri, G.D. Kumar, Taraknath Das, Sohan Singh Bhakna, and Lala Hardayal, who had set up the Swadesh Sevak Home in Vancouver and the United India House in Seattle.

• Assassinate officials.
• Publish revolutionary and anti-imperialist literature.
• Work among Indian troops serving abroad.
• Procure arms and initiate a simultaneous revolt in all British colonies.