Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Montagu- Chelmsford Reforms- 1919

The Montagu- Chelmsford Reforms- 1919

By 1916 all parties in India began to think that some changes in the structure of the government was necessary. As a response to the political pressure in India during the war years and to buy support of the Indians, the Montagu- Chelmsford reforms were introduced by the Government.

In 1918, Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State, and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy, produced their scheme of constitutional reforms, which led to the enactment of the Government of India Act of 1919.The Government of India Act made many changes in the administration of India. The Act provided that in future the Secretary of State was to be paid out of the Indian revenues.

The Act of 1919 set up a bicameral legislature of the centre in place of the Imperial Council. The names of the two houses were the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of State. The life of the Central Legislative Assembly was 3 years and the Council of State 5 years. The franchise was restricted for both houses of the Central Legislature. The governor- General was given the power to summon and dissolve the chambers. The Central Legislature was given very wide powers. It could make laws for the whole of British India. The Act introduced responsive and not responsible Government at the Centre.

The Act provided for two lists of subjects: Central list and Provincial List. It is to be noted that the division was not clear-cut or definite. There was lot of overlapping. The size of Provincial Legislative Council was considerably enlarged.

The Act introduced diarchy in the provinces. Under this system, the subjects to be dealt with by the Provincial Governments were divided into two parts: Transferred and Reserved subjects. The Reserved subjects were administered by the Governor with the help of the Executive Council and the Transferred subjects were dealt with by the Governor with the help of his ministers.

While the members of the Executive Council were nominated by the Governor, the ministers were chosen by the Governor from the members of the legislature. The system of diarchy worked in the provinces from 1921 to 1937, but the experience shows that the system did not work satisfactorily. Many factors were responsible for the failure of the system. The very principle of diarchy was faulty. The division of administration into two parts, each independent of the other, is opposed to political theory and the practice of Governments. The position of the ministers was very weak. They had to serve two masters. Those were the Governor and the Legislative Council.

The Indian nationalists had advanced far beyond such halting concessions. They were no longer willing to be satisfied with the shadow of political power. The Indian National Congress condemned the Reforms as “ disappointing and unsatisfactory” and demanded effective self government instead. Some of the leaders led by Surendranath Banerjea were in favour of accepting the government proposals. They left the Congress and founded the Indian Liberal Federation. They came to be known as Liberals.




Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

The Lucknow Pact of 1916

The Lucknow Pact of 1916

In 1916 the Indian National Congress session was held at Lucknow. It marked the reunion of the moderate and extremist parties after the Surat split of 1907. The Lucknow session provided the Home Rule Leagues an opportunity of demonstrating their strength. In the Session Congress and Muslim League signed the Lucknow Pact. Congress and Muslim League accepted a united scheme of constitutional reforms. The resultant efforts produced the Congress-League scheme and the Nineteen Memorandum to give concrete shape to political thinking in the country.




Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

The Komagata maree case

The Komagata maree case

The Komagata maree case created an explosive situation in the Punjab. Baba Gurdit Singh chartered a Japanese ship Komagata maree for Vancouver and sought to carry 351 Sikhs and 21 Punjabi Muslims to that town. The Canadian authorities refused permission to the ship to land and the ship returned to Budge Budge, Calcutta on 27 September 1914. The inmates of the ship believed that the British Government persuaded the Canadian authorities. The Government of India ordered all the passengers to be carried direct by train to the Punjab. The already exploitative situation in the Punjab worsened with a band of fresh malcontents. Large-scale political atrocities were committed in Jullunder, Amritsar, Ludhiana etc.

The Government unleashed repressive legislation to meet revolutionary activities. The prevention of Seditious Meetings Act[1907], the Explosive Substance Act[1908], the Indian Criminal Law Amendment Act[1908], the Newspaper Act[1908], the Press Act[1910] etc were passed to meet the challenge. A temporary respite came in revolutionary activities with the close of the First World War. The discussions on the new scheme of constitutional reforms also created an atmosphere of compromise and conciliation. Above all Gandhiji’s emergence on the national scene with a new weapon of non violence also halted the pace of revolutionary activities.



Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

The Ghadar movement

The Ghadar movement

Indian revolutionaries in the USA and Canada had established the Ghadar[Rebellion] Party in 1913 at Sanfrancisco. The Party was built around the weekly paper the Ghadar. The ideology of the party was strongly secular. In the words of Sohan Singh Bhakna, “We were not Sikhs or Punjabis. Our religion was patriotism”.

Most of the members of the party were Punjabi Sikh peasants and ex-soldiers, who had migrated there in search of livelihood, and face the full burnt of racial and economic discrimination. Lala Har Dayal, Mohammed Barkatullah, Bhagwan Singh, Ram Chandra and Sohan Singh Bhakna were the prominent leaders of the Ghadar Party. The Party had active members in other countries such as Mexico, Japan, China, Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand, Indo- China and East and South Africa.

The Ghadar Party highlighted the point that Indians were not respected in the world abroad because they were not free. With the outbreak of the First World War, Lala Har Dayal and several other Indians abroad moved up to Germany and set up “The Indian Independence Committee” at Berlin. The Ghhadarites decided to send arms and men to India to start an uprising with the help of soldiers and local revolutionaries. 21 February 1915 was fixed as the date for an armed revolt in the Punjab. Unfortunately the authorities came to know of these plans and took immediate action. The rebellious regiments were disbanded and their leaders were either imprisoned or hanged.


Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

The Home Rule Movement in India

The Home Rule Movement

Many Indian leaders believed that the Government was not likely to give any concessions unless pressure was brought to bear upon it. The World War led to increased misery among the poorer classes of Indians. They were getting ready to join any militant movement of protest. But this mass agitation could not be carried out under the leadership of the Indian National Congress, which had become, under moderate leadership. Therefore, two Home Rule Leagues were started in 1915-1916, one under the leadership of Lokamanya Tilak and the other under the leadership of Annie Besant, an English admirer of Indian culture and S.Subrahmanya Iyer.

The two Home Rule Leagues worked in cooperation and carried out intense propaganda all over the country in favour of the demand for the grant of Home Rule or self-government to India after the War. It was during this agitation that Tilak gave the popular slogan: “ Swaraj is my birth right, and I will have it”. Tilak started two newspapers – ‘the Keasari’ in Marathi and the ‘Mahratta’ in English. Mrs. Annie Besant also started newspapers for propagating the Home Rule movement, ‘the Commonweal’ and ‘the New India’. The reason why the two leagues did not merge was, in Annie Besant’s words, “Some of his followers disliked me and some of mine disliked him. We however, had no quarrel with each other”. Explaining her mission to audience, she said, “I am an Indian tom tom waking up all the sleepers so that they may wake and work for their motherland. This is my task”.

The two Home rule leagues made rapid progress and the cry of Swaraj resounded throughout the length and breadth of India. Many moderate nationalists, who were dissatisfied with the Congress inactivity, joined the Home Rule agitation. The two leagues demarcated their areas of operation. Tilak’s League was to work in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Province and Berar, and Annie Besant’s in the rest of India. The tremendous achievement of the Home Rule Movement was in creating a politically aware and committed band of nationalists who were to play a leading role in the coming mass struggle.

The Home Rule Movement was essentially moderate, mobilizing public opinion, organizing peaceful agitations and basing its claims on India’s contributions to the war effort and Britain’s sense of justice. Newspapers were printed and pamphlets distributed in English as well as in the vernacular languages. Speeches were organized in temples and in more conventional meeting places in the home bases.

The Government could not tolerate the activities of the Home Rule League. Bombay government imposed restrictions on the movement and activities of Tilak. Mrs. Besant too was interned in 1917. These repressive measures however did not weaken the Home Rule Movement. On 20th August 1917 Mr. Montague the new secretary of State made the following statement, “The policy of His Majesty’s government, with whish the Government of India are in complete accord, is that of the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and gradual development of self governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British empire. After this declaration Mrs. Besant dropped her league, but Tilk continued his movement.

The most important contribution of the movement was that it kept alive Indian nationalism during the course of the First World War. It infused the Congress with new strength and vigour.



Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

First World War and Indian politics

First World War and Indian politics

The First World War broke out in 1914. The war period witnessed the maturing of Indian nationalism. In the beginning, the Indian nationalists, including Tilak decided to support the war effort of the government in the mistaken belief that the grateful Britain would repay India’s loyalty with gratitude. They did not realize fully that the different powers fighting the First World War precisely to safeguard their existing colonies.

Gokhale’s Political Testament

Before his death in 1915, Gokhale had prepared on the request of Lord Wellington, a scheme of reforms to be given to India after the War. This so called Gokhale’s Political Testament was published in 1917. Gokhale’s main recommendation was the grant of political autonomy and the lessening of the control of the Government of India in the provincial sphere. He wanted the Executive Council or Cabinet of the Governor to consist of 6 members, three of whom were to be Indians.

The Home Rule Movement

Many Indian leaders believed that the Government was not likely to give any concessions unless pressure was brought to bear upon it. The World War led to increased misery among the poorer classes of Indians. They were getting ready to join any militant movement of protest. But this mass agitation could not be carried out under the leadership of the Indian National Congress, which had become, under moderate leadership. Therefore, two Home Rule Leagues were started in 1915-1916, one under the leadership of Lokamanya Tilak and the other under the leadership of Annie Besant, an English admirer of Indian culture and S.Subrahmanya Iyer.

The two Home Rule Leagues worked in cooperation and carried out intense propaganda all over the country in favour of the demand for the grant of Home Rule or self-government to India after the War. It was during this agitation that Tilak gave the popular slogan: “ Swaraj is my birth right, and I will have it”. Tilak started two newspapers – ‘the Keasari’ in Marathi and the ‘Mahratta’ in English. Mrs. Annie Besant also started newspapers for propagating the Home Rule movement, ‘the Commonweal’ and ‘the New India’. The reason why the two leagues did not merge was, in Annie Besant’s words, “Some of his followers disliked me and some of mine disliked him. We however, had no quarrel with each other”. Explaining her mission to audience, she said, “I am an Indian tom tom waking up all the sleepers so that they may wake and work for their motherland. This is my task”.

The two Home rule leagues made rapid progress and the cry of Swaraj resounded throughout the length and breadth of India. Many moderate nationalists, who were dissatisfied with the Congress inactivity, joined the Home Rule agitation. The two leagues demarcated their areas of operation. Tilak’s League was to work in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Province and Berar, and Annie Besant’s in the rest of India. The tremendous achievement of the Home Rule Movement was in creating a politically aware and committed band of nationalists who were to play a leading role in the coming mass struggle.

The Home Rule Movement was essentially moderate, mobilizing public opinion, organizing peaceful agitations and basing its claims on India’s contributions to the war effort and Britain’s sense of justice. Newspapers were printed and pamphlets distributed in English as well as in the vernacular languages. Speeches were organized in temples and in more conventional meeting places in the home bases.

The Government could not tolerate the activities of the Home Rule League. Bombay government imposed restrictions on the movement and activities of Tilak. Mrs. Besant too was interned in 1917. These repressive measures however did not weaken the Home Rule Movement. On 20th August 1917 Mr. Montague the new secretary of State made the following statement, “The policy of His Majesty’s government, with whish the Government of India are in complete accord, is that of the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and gradual development of self governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the British empire. After this declaration Mrs. Besant dropped her league, but Tilk continued his movement.

The most important contribution of the movement was that it kept alive Indian nationalism during the course of the First World War. It infused the Congress with new strength and vigour.

The Ghadar movement

Indian revolutionaries in the USA and Canada had established the Ghadar[Rebellion] Party in 1913 at Sanfrancisco. The Party was built around the weekly paper the Ghadar. The ideology of the party was strongly secular. In the words of Sohan Singh Bhakna, “We were not Sikhs or Punjabis. Our religion was patriotism”.

Most of the members of the party were Punjabi Sikh peasants and ex-soldiers, who had migrated there in search of livelihood, and face the full burnt of racial and economic discrimination. Lala Har Dayal, Mohammed Barkatullah, Bhagwan Singh, Ram Chandra and Sohan Singh Bhakna were the prominent leaders of the Ghadar Party. The Party had active members in other countries such as Mexico, Japan, China, Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand, Indo- China and East and South Africa.

The Ghadar Party highlighted the point that Indians were not respected in the world abroad because they were not free. With the outbreak of the First World War, Lala Har Dayal and several other Indians abroad moved up to Germany and set up “The Indian Independence Committee” at Berlin. The Ghhadarites decided to send arms and men to India to start an uprising with the help of soldiers and local revolutionaries. 21 February 1915 was fixed as the date for an armed revolt in the Punjab. Unfortunately the authorities came to know of these plans and took immediate action. The rebellious regiments were disbanded and their leaders were either imprisoned or hanged.

The Komagata maree case

The Komagata maree case created an explosive situation in the Punjab. Baba Gurdit Singh chartered a Japanese ship Komagata maree for Vancouver and sought to carry 351 Sikhs and 21 Punjabi Muslims to that town. The Canadian authorities refused permission to the ship to land and the ship returned to Budge Budge, Calcutta on 27 September 1914. The inmates of the ship believed that the British Government persuaded the Canadian authorities. The Government of India ordered all the passengers to be carried direct by train to the Punjab. The already exploitative situation in the Punjab worsened with a band of fresh malcontents. Large-scale political atrocities were committed in Jullunder, Amritsar, Ludhiana etc.

The Government unleashed repressive legislation to meet revolutionary activities. The prevention of Seditious Meetings Act[1907], the Explosive Substance Act[1908], the Indian Criminal Law Amendment Act[1908], the Newspaper Act[1908], the Press Act[1910] etc were passed to meet the challenge. A temporary respite came in revolutionary activities with the close of the First World War. The discussions on the new scheme of constitutional reforms also created an atmosphere of compromise and conciliation. Above all Gandhiji’s emergence on the national scene with a new weapon of non violence also halted the pace of revolutionary activities.

The Lucknow Pact of 1916

In 1916 the Indian National Congress session was held at Lucknow. It marked the reunion of the moderate and extremist parties after the Surat split of 1907. The Lucknow session provided the Home Rule Leagues an opportunity of demonstrating their strength. In the Session Congress and Muslim League signed the Lucknow Pact. Congress and Muslim League accepted a united scheme of constitutional reforms. The resultant efforts produced the Congress-League scheme and the Nineteen Memorandum to give concrete shape to political thinking in the country.
Revolutionary movements inside and outside India

The Montagu- Chelmsford Reforms- 1919

By 1916 all parties in India began to think that some changes in the structure of the government was necessary. As a response to the political pressure in India during the war years and to buy support of the Indians, the Montagu- Chelmsford reforms were introduced by the Government.

In 1918, Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State, and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy, produced their scheme of constitutional reforms, which led to the enactment of the Government of India Act of 1919.The Government of India Act made many changes in the administration of India. The Act provided that in future the Secretary of State was to be paid out of the Indian revenues.

The Act of 1919 set up a bicameral legislature of the centre in place of the Imperial Council. The names of the two houses were the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of State. The life of the Central Legislative Assembly was 3 years and the Council of State 5 years. The franchise was restricted for both houses of the Central Legislature. The governor- General was given the power to summon and dissolve the chambers. The Central Legislature was given very wide powers. It could make laws for the whole of British India. The Act introduced responsive and not responsible Government at the Centre.

The Act provided for two lists of subjects: Central list and Provincial List. It is to be noted that the division was not clear-cut or definite. There was lot of overlapping. The size of Provincial Legislative Council was considerably enlarged.

The Act introduced diarchy in the provinces. Under this system, the subjects to be dealt with by the Provincial Governments were divided into two parts: Transferred and Reserved subjects. The Reserved subjects were administered by the Governor with the help of the Executive Council and the Transferred subjects were dealt with by the Governor with the help of his ministers.

While the members of the Executive Council were nominated by the Governor, the ministers were chosen by the Governor from the members of the legislature. The system of diarchy worked in the provinces from 1921 to 1937, but the experience shows that the system did not work satisfactorily. Many factors were responsible for the failure of the system. The very principle of diarchy was faulty. The division of administration into two parts, each independent of the other, is opposed to political theory and the practice of Governments. The position of the ministers was very weak. They had to serve two masters. Those were the Governor and the Legislative Council.

The Indian nationalists had advanced far beyond such halting concessions. They were no longer willing to be satisfied with the shadow of political power. The Indian National Congress condemned the Reforms as “ disappointing and unsatisfactory” and demanded effective self government instead. Some of the leaders led by Surendranath Banerjea were in favour of accepting the government proposals. They left the Congress and founded the Indian Liberal Federation. They came to be known as Liberals.

References
Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

Morely- Minto Reforms of 1909

Morely- Minto Reforms of 1909

The British Government played the game of Divide and Rule. While suppressing the militant nationalists it tried to win over the moderates so that the militant nationalists could be isolated and suppressed. To placate the moderate nationalists, it announced constitutional reforms through the Indian Councils Act of 1909 which are known as the Morely- Minto Reforms of 1909.

The Morely-Minto reforms increased the number of elected members in the Imperial Legislative Council and the provincial councils. But most of the elected members were elected indirectly. Some of the elected seats were reserved for landlords and British capitalists in India. Moreover the reformed councils still enjoyed no real power, being merely an advisory bodies. The reforms in no way changed the undemocratic and foreign character of British rule or the fact of foreign economic exploitation of the country. They were, in fact, not designed to democratise Indian administration. The real purpose of the Reforms of 1909 was to confuse the moderate nationalists, to divide the nationalist ranks and to check the growth of unity among Indians.

The Reforms introduced the system of separate electorates under which all Muslims were grouped in separate constituencies from which Muslims alone could be elected. This was done in the name of protecting the Muslim minority. But in reality this was a part of the policy of dividing Hindus and Muslims and thus maintaining British supremacy in India. It checked the progress of India’s unification, which had been a continuous historical process. It became a potent factor in the growth of communalism. The system of separate electorates tended to perpetuate their isolation from the developing nationalist movement. It encouraged separatist tendencies. It prevented people from concentrating on economic and political problems, which were common to all Indians.

The moderate nationalists did not fully support the Morely-Minto Reforms. They soon realized that the Reforms had not really granted much. But they decided to cooperate with the government in working the reforms.




Bipan Chandra :India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Tara Chand : Freedom Movement
NCERT Text book

Formation of the Muslim League

Muslim League

Divide and rule has always been the corner stone of the British administration in India. On 1st October 1906 a Muslim deputation under the leadership of Aga Khan met Lord Minto in Simla and asked for a separate representation of their community in all levels of government. The success of the deputation encouraged the Muslims to start a separate political organization of their own.

Nawab Salimullah Khan founded the Muslim League at Dacca on December 30, 1906. The main objectives of the League were to promote among the Muslims of India feelings of loyalty to the British Government , to protect and advance the rights of Indian Muslims and represent their needs and aspirations to the government and to promote friendly relations between Muslims and other communities.

The Amritsar session of the League [1908] demanded a separate electorate for the Muslims, which was conceded to them by the Morelt- Minto reforms in 1909.


Reference
Bipan Chandra : India's Struggle for Independence
NCERT Text book

Gopal Krishna Gokhale - A Short History

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a true disciple of Justice Ranade. He joined the Deccan Education Society founded by Ranade.He was an influencial member of the Indian National Congress. Gokhale advocated moderate and constitutional methods of agitation and gradual reforms. He presided over the Benares session of the Congress in 1905. He strongly criticized the partition of Bengal.

In 1905 he founded the Servants of India S ociety and went to England and South Africa to further the cause of India’s struggle for freedom. He opposed the illtreatment of untouchables and also took up the cause of Indians living in South Africa. Gandhiji accepted him as his guru.

Gokhale was a great nation builder and a great economist. He criticized the policy of the government in excluding the Indians from higher jobs in the country. Tilak called him as the ‘diamond of India’, ‘the jewel of Maharashtra’ and’ the prince of workers’.

Bala Gangadhara Tilak - A short History

Bala Gangadhara Tilak

The most outstanding representative of the militant school was Bal Gangadhara Tilak popularly known as Lokamanya. He was born in 1856. From the day of his graduation from the Bombay university, he devoted his entire life to the service of his country. He helped to found during the 1880s the New English School, which later became the Fergussion College. He started two newspapers; the Mahratta in English and the Kesari in Marathi. He preached nationalism and taught the people to become courageous and selfless fighters in the cause of India’s indeperndence. In 1863, he started using the traditional Ganapathi festival to propagate nationalist ideas and in 1895 he started the Shivaji festival to stimulate nationalism among young Maharashtrians by holding the example of Shivaji for emulation.

During 1896-97 he initiated a no-tax campaign in Maharashtra. He set a real example of boldness and sacrifice when the authorities arrested him in 1897. He refused to apologise to the government and was sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment. In 1916, Tilak started the Home Rule League. Tilak declared, “Swaraj is my birth right; I shall have it”. He explained the demand for Home Rule.

He wanted all regional languages and cultures to develop. He argued for education imparted through vernaculars. He opposed untouchability. He declared, “If a God were to tolerate untouchability, Iwould not recognize him as God at all”. He was died in 1920.

Indian National Congress Surat Split in 1907

Surat Split 1907

There was a much debate and disagreement between the moderates and extremists in the Indian National Congress. The extremists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and Boycott movement from Bengal to the rest of the country and extent boycott to every form of association with the colonial government. The moderates wanted to confine the Boycott movement to Bengal and even there to limit it to the boycott foreign goods. The differences dividing the two wings of the nationalist movement could not be kept in check for long. The moderates had failed to advance to the new stage of the national movement. The split between the two came at the Surat session of the Congress in 1907. The moderate leaders having captured the machinery of the Congress excluded the militant elements from it.

But in the long run, the split did not prove useful to either party. The moderate leaders lost touch with the younger generation of nationalists. The British played the game of Divide and Rule. While suppressing the militant nationalists, it tried to win over moderate nationalist opinion. To placate the moderate nationalists, it announced constitutional concessions through the Indian Councils Act of 1909 which are known as the Morley-Minto Reforms. In 1911, the government announced the annulment of the Partition of Bengal. At the same time the seat of the Central Government was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.


Reference
Bipan Chandra : India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra : Freeddom Struggle edtd
Sumit Sarkar : Modern India
NCERT Text book
SCERT Text book Kerala
Growth of Militant Nationalism [Extremism]

The trend of militant nationalism was growing in India in the beginning of the 20th century. It found expression in the movement against the partition of Bengal in 1905. The failure of the British Government to accept any of the important demands of the nationalists produced disillusionment among the politically conscious Indians with the principles and methods of the dominant moderate leadership. Consequently there was a strong demand for more vigorous political action and methods than those of meetings, petitions, memorials, and speeches in the legislative councils. The following factors caused the growth of militant nationalism in India.

Recognition of the true nature of British Rule: The nationalist writers and agitators blamed the British rule for the poverty of the people. Politically conscious Indians were convinced that the purpose of the British rule was to exploit India economically. They realized that India could make little progress in the economic field unless British imperialism was replaced by a government controlled and run by the Indian people.

Growth of Self-respect and Self-confidence: By the end of the 19th century the Indian nationalists had grown in self-respect and self-confidence. They had acquired faith in their capacity to govern themselves and in the future development of the country. Leaders like Tilak, Aurovindo Ghosh, and Bipin Chandra Pal preached the message of self-respect and asked the nationalists to relay on the character and capacities of the Indian people. They taught the people that the remedy to their sad condition lay in their own hands and that they should threrfore become fearless and strong.Swami Vivekananda declared, “ If there is a sin in the world it is weakness; avoid all weakness, weakness is sin, weakness is death….” He also urged the people to give up living in the glories of the past and manfully build the future.

Growth of Education and Unemployment: By the close of the 19th century, the number of educated Indians had increased perceptibly. Large numbers of them worked in the administration on extremely low salaries, while many others increasingly face unemployment. Their economic plight made them look critically at the nature of the British rule. Many of them were attracted by radical nationalist politics. The educated Indians were influenced by western ideas of democracy, nationalism and radicalism.

Revival of Hinduism: Tilak, Dayanand Saraswathi, Vivekananda, and Mrs.Annie Besant preached India’s past glory and the superiority of vedic culture. Their teacghings revived the spirit of Hinduism in the country.

Reactionary Policies of the Viceroys: During the regime of Lord Lansdowne and Elgin several unpopular measures were enacted to harass the people. Lord Curzon had no sympathy with the aspirations of the people of India. In 1899 the Calcutta Corporation Act was passed which completely officialised the Calcutta Corporation. The Indian Universities Act of 1904 curtailed the powers of the universities. The partition of Bengal added fuel to fire.

Discontent over the reforms of 1892: The rights conferred by the Act were quite inadequate and disappointing. The councils were ridden with official nominees. The government paid no heed to Congress demands of the Indianisation of superior services, reduction of military expenditure or lowering of taxes on the people.
Vernacular Newspapers. The potential base for political activity was expanding rapidly with the increasing circulation of the vernacular newspapers. Some of the most popular journals like Calcutta Bangabas and Kesari were very critical of the moderate policies of the Congress.

Racial Discrimination: Another major factor which contributed to the rise of extremism in India was the British policy of racial discrimination. Higher hobs in the government were monopolized by the Britishers.

International Influences: Several events abroad during this period tended to encourage the growth of militant nationalism. The rise of modern Japan after 1868 showed that a backward Asian country could develop itself without western control. The defeat of the Italian army by the Ethiopians in 1896 and of Russia by Japan in 1905 exploded the myth of European superiority. Revolutionary movements in Ireland, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and China and the Boer War in South Africa convinced the Indians that a united people willing to make sacrifices could challenge even the most powerful of despotic governments.

Impact of Revolutions: The early years of the 20th century witnessed revolutions in China and Turkey. The educated Indians were inspired by these revolutions and a new urge to liberste the country was generated in them.

Illtreatment of Indians Abroad: Indians were treated like slaves noty only in their own country but also in other countries under the British empire. Mahatma Gandhi had to launch a satyagraha movement against this type of racial discrimination in South Africa.

Misrule of the Tory Government: The rise of extremism in India can be traced to the misrule of Tory party government. Lord Hamilton who presided over the India Office from 1895 to 1903 was very unsympathetic to India. During this period war, famine and other calamities visited India but he remained indifferent to the distress of the Indians.

Existence of a Militant Nationalist School of Thought: From the beginning of the nationalist movement a school of militant nationalism existed in India. This school was represented by Rajnarain Bose, Ashwini Kumar Dutt and Vishnu Shastri Chiplunker. The most outstanding leader of this school was B.G.Tilak. The most outstanding leaders of militant nationalism, apart from Tilak were Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurovindo Ghosh and Lala Lajpat Rai.

Dissatisfaction with the Achievements of the Moderates: The youngest elements within the Congress lost all faith in the British sense of justice and fair play. They were strongly critical of the methods of peaceful and constitutional agitation. Tilak described the Congress as a congress of flatterers and the Congress sessions as a holiday recreation. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bala Gangadhara Tilak, and B.C.Pal [ Lal-Bal-Pal] believed that the Congress had no constructive activity.


Programme of the militant nationalists

The militant nationalists believed that Indians themselves must work out their own salvation and make the effort to rise from their degraded position. They declared that great sacrifices and sufferings were needed for this task. Their speeches, writings and political work were full of boldness and self-confidenceand they considered no personal sacrifice too great for the good of their country. They deeply hated foreign rule, and they declared in a clear cut manner that swaraj or independence was the goal of the national movement. They had faith in the strength of the masses and planned to achieve swaraj through mass action.

Surat Split 1907

There was a much debate and disagreement between the moderates and extremists in the Indian National Congress. The extremists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and Boycott movement from Bengal to the rest of the country and extent boycott to every form of association with the colonial government. The moderates wanted to confine the Boycott movement to Bengal and even there to limit it to the boycott foreign goods. The differences dividing the two wings of the nationalist movement could not be kept in check for long. The moderates had failed to advance to the new stage of the national movement. The split between the two came at the Surat session of the Congress in 1907. The moderate leaders having captured the machinery of the Congress excluded the militant elements from it.

But in the long run, the split did not prove useful to either party. The moderate leaders lost touch with the younger generation of nationalists. The British played the game of Divide and Rule. While suppressing the militant nationalists, it tried to win over moderate nationalist opinion. To placate the moderate nationalists, it announced constitutional concessions through the Indian Councils Act of 1909 which are known as the Morley-Minto Reforms. In 1911, the government announced the annulment of the Partition of Bengal. At the same time the seat of the Central Government was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.

Bala Gangadhara Tilak

The most outstanding representative of the militant school was Bal Gangadhara Tilak popularly known as Lokamanya. He was born in 1856. From the day of his graduation from the Bombay university, he devoted his entire life to the service of his country. He helped to found during the 1880s the New English School, which later became the Fergussion College. He started two newspapers; the Mahratta in English and the Kesari in Marathi. He preached nationalism and taught the people to become courageous and selfless fighters in the cause of India’s indeperndence. In 1863, he started using the traditional Ganapathi festival to propagate nationalist ideas and in 1895 he started the Shivaji festival to stimulate nationalism among young Maharashtrians by holding the example of Shivaji for emulation.

During 1896-97 he initiated a no-tax campaign in Maharashtra. He set a real example of boldness and sacrifice when the authorities arrested him in 1897. He refused to apologise to the government and was sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment. In 1916, Tilak started the Home Rule League. Tilak declared, “Swaraj is my birth right; I shall have it”. He explained the demand for Home Rule.

He wanted all regional languages and cultures to develop. He argued for education imparted through vernaculars. He opposed untouchability. He declared, “If a God were to tolerate untouchability, Iwould not recognize him as God at all”. He was died in 1920.

Reference
Bipan Chandra : India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra : Freeddom Struggle edtd
Sumit Sarkar : Modern India
NCERT Text book
SCERT Text book Kerala

Partition of Bengal in 1905

Partition of Bengal

In 1905 the partition of Bengal was announced and the Indian national movement entered its second stage. Lord Curzon issued an order dividing the province of Bengal into two parts: Eastern Bengal and Assam with a population of 31 million, and the rest of Bengal with a population of 54 million, of whom 18 million were Bengalis and 36 million Biharis and Oriyas. It was said that the existing province of Bengal was too big to be administered by a single provincial government. But the British had other political ends in view. They hoped to stem the rising tide of nationalism in Bengal, considered at the time to be the nerve centre of Indian nationalism.

The Indian nationalists saw the act of partition as a challenge to Indian nationalism and not merely an administrative measure. They saw it was a deliberate attempt to divide the Bengalis territorially and on religious grounds and thus to disturb and weaken nationalism in Bengal. In the Eastern part Muslims would be in a big majority and in the Western part Hindus. It would also be a big blow to the growth of Bengali language and culture. They pointed out that administrative efficiency could have been better secured by separating the Hindi-speaking Bihar and the Oriya-speaking Orissa from the Bengali speaking part of the province.

The Anti-Partition Movement

Its most prominent leaders at the initial stage were moderate nationalists like Surendranath Banerjea and Krishna Kumar Mithra. The militant and revolutionary nationalists took over the leadership in the later stages. Both the moderate and militant nationalists cooperated with one another during the course of the movement.

The anti- Partition movement was started on 7 August 1905. On that day a massive demonstration against the partition was organized in Calcutta. The partition took effect on 16 October 1905. The leaders declared it to be a day of national mourning. It was observed as a day of fasting. There was a hartal in Calcutta. Rabindranath Tagore composed the song, Amar Sonar Bangla, for the occasion which was sung by huge crowds parading the streets. The streets of Calcutta were full of the cries of Bande Mataram. The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was utilized in a new way. Hindus and Muslims tied the rakhi in one another’s wrists as a symbol of the unbreakable unity of the two halves of Bengal. The Indian newspapers like Amrita Bazar Ptrika, Sanjivani, Hitavadi, Vasumati, etc. also protested against the partition of Bengal.
The Swadeshi and Boycott

The Bengal leaders felt that mere demonstrations, public meetings and resolutions were not likely to have much effect on the British. They started the Swadeshi and Boycott movements. Mass meetings were held all over Bengal where Swadeshi or use of Indian goods and the boycott of British goods were proclaimed. In many places burning of foreign cloth were organized and shops selling foreign cloth were picketed. The Swadeshi movement was an immense success.

An important aspect of the Swadeshi movement was the emphasis placed on self-reliance or Atmasakti. In the economic field it meant fostering indigenous industrial and other enterprises. The movement had several consequences in the realm of culture. There was flowering of nationalist poetry, prose and journalism. National educational institutions were established by nationalists who regarded the existing system of education as denationalizing and inadequate.

A prominent part in the Swadeshi agitation was played by the students of Bengal. They practiced and propagated Swadeshi and took the lead in organizing picketing of shops selling foreign cloth. Disciplinary action was taken against students found guilty of participating in the nationalist agitation. The students, however, refused to be cowed down.

A remarkable aspect of the Swadeshi agitation was the active participation of women in the movement. They joined in processions and picketing.

The movement was suppressed by the British through repressive measures in 1908. But at last the movement achieved its objective and the partition of Bengal was revoked in 1911 by Lord Hardinge. Mahatma Gandhi wrote that the real awakening of India took place after the partition of Bengal. The anti-partition movement awakened the political consciousness of Indians at large and imparted a new and definite shape to the spirit of natuionalism.

All-India Aspect of the Movement

The anti-Partition movement spread to other provinces of India. Movements in support of Bengal’s unity and boycott of foreign goods were organized in Bombay, Madras and northern India. The leading role in spreading the Swadeshi movement to the rest of the country was played by Tilak. Here was challenge and an opportunity to lead a popular struggle against the British Raj and to unite the entire country in one bound of common sympathy.

Reference
Bipan Chandra : India's Struggle for Independence
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
Sumit Sarkar : Modern India
Trara Chand : Freedom Struggle
NCERT Text Book
SCERT Text Book Kerala

Predecessors of the Indian National Congress

Predecessors of the Indian National Congress

As a result of the growth of national consciousness, many political organizations came into existence during the second half of the 19th century

By the 1870’s it was evident that Indian nationalism had gathered enough strength to appear as a major force on the Indian political scene. The Indian National Congress, founded in 1885 was the first organized expression of the Indian national movement on an all- India scale. It had however many predecessors.

Raja Rammohun Roy was the first Indian leader to start an agitation for political reform in India. After 1836 many public associations started in different parts of India. . The Landholders Society, formed in 1837, was the earliest association formed in India. All these associations were dominated by wealrhy and aristocratic elements and were local in character.

The period after 1858 witnessed a gradual widening of the gulf between educated Indians and the British Indian administration. As the educated Indians studied the character of British rule and its consequences for India, they became more and more critical of British policies in India. The existing associations no longer satisfied the politically conscious Indians.

In 1866, Dadabhai Naoroji organized the East London Association to discuss the Indian question and to influence British public men to promote Indian welfare.Later he organized branches of the Associations in prominent Indian cities. Born in 1825, Dadabhai devoted his entire life to the national movement and soon came to be known as the Grand Old Man of India. He was also India’s first economic thinker. He wrote Poverty and Un British Rule in India and evolved the 'Drain Theory'. In his writings on economics he showed that the basic cause of India’s poverty lay in the British exploitation of India and the drain of its wealth. Dadabhai was honoured by being thrice elected as the President of the Indian National Congress.

The most important of the pre-Congress organizations was the Indian Association of Calcutta. The younger nationalists of Bengal found a leader in Surendranath Banerjea who was a brilliant writer and orator. Led by Surendranath and Anana Mohan Bose, the younger nationalists of Bengal founded the Indian Association of Calcutta in 1876. In order to attract large numbers of people in to its banner, it fixed a low membership fee for the poorer classes. Many branches of the Association were opened in the towns and villages of Bengal and also in many towns outside Bengal. A regulation of 1876 reduced the maximum age for appearing in the Indian Civil Service examination from 21 to 19 years. The Indian association took up this question and organized an all India agitation against it, popularly known as the Civil Service Agitation.

Justice Ranade and others organized the Poona Sarvajanik Sbha in the 1870’s. M.Viraraghavachari, G.Subrahmanya Iyer [founder of The Hindu and the Swadesamitran papers] , Ananda Charlu and others formed the Madras Mahajan Sabha in 1884. Pherozeshah Mehta, K.T.Telang, Badruddin Tyabji and others formed the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885.

The time was now ripe for the formation of an all India organization of the nationalists who felt the need to unite politically against the foreign rule and exploitation. The existing organizations had served a useful purpose but they were narrow in their cause and functioning. They dealt mostly with local questions and their membership and leadership were confined to a few people belonging to a single city or province.

Indian National Congress Attitude of the British Indian Government

Attitude of the Government

The British authorities were from the beginning hostile to the rising nationalist movement and had become suspicious of the National Congress.

Dufferin, the Viceroy, had tried to divert the national movement by suggesting to Hume that the Congress should devote itself to social rather than political affairs. But the Congress leaders had refused to make the change. British officials now began to openly criticize the National Congress. British officials from Dufferin downwards began to brand the nationalist leaders as disloyal babus, seditious Brahmins and violent villains. The Congress was described as factory of sedition.

In 1887, Dufferin attacked the Congress in a public speech and ridiculed it as representing only a microscopic minority of the people and Congress demands as a big jump into the unknown.

Realising that the growing unity of the Indian people posed a major threat to their rule, the British authorities also pushed further the policy of divide and rule. They encouraged Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan, Raja Shiva Prasad of Benaras, and other pro- British individuals to start anti- Congress movement.

Lord Curzon said that the Congress was tottering to its fall and one of my greatest ambitions while in India was to assist it to a peaceful demise.

Indian National Congress Economic Critique of Imperialism

Economic Critique of Imperialism

The early nationalists took note of all the three forms of contemporary colonial economic exploitation, namely, through trade, industry and finance. They clearly grasped that the essence of British economic imperialism lay in the subordination of the Indian economy to the British economy. They strongly opposed the British attempt to develop in India the basic characteristics of a colonial economy. They organized a powerful agitation against official economic policies based on their colonial structure.

The early nationalists complained of India’s growing poverty and economic backwardness and the failure of modern industry and agriculture to grow and they put the blame on British economic exploitation. Dadabhai Naoroji declared that the British rule was “an everlasting, increasing, and every day increasing foreign invasion”. The nationalists criticized the official policies for bringing about the ruin of India’s traditional economic policies for bringing about the ruin of India’s traditional handicraft industries and for obstructing the development of modern industries.

The chief remedy they suggested for the removal of poverty was the rapid development of modern industries. They popularized the idea of Swadeshi or the use of Indian goods, and the boycott of British goods as a means of promoting Indian industries.

The nationalists complained that India’s wealth was being drained to England, and demanded that the drain be stopped. They carried on persistent agitation for the reduction of land revenue in order to lighten the burden of taxation on the peasant. They declared that high taxation to be one of the causes of India’s growing poverty and demanded the abolition of the salt tax. The nationalists agitated for the improvement in the conditions of work of the plantations.

Nationalist agitation on economic issues led to the growth of an all- India opinion that the British rule was based on the exploitation of India, was leading to India’s impoverishment and was producing economic backwardness and underdevelopment.

Indian National Congress and Safety Valve Theory

Indian National Congress

Many Indians had been planning to form an all- India organization of nationalist political workers. But the credit for giving the idea a final shape goes to A.O.Hume, a retired English Civil Servant. He got in touch with prominent Indian leaders and organized with their cooperation the first session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay in December 1885. Hume has been called the Father of the Congress. It was presided over by W.C.Banerjee and attended by 72 delegates. At the second session in Calcutta [1886] there were 434 delegates; at the third session in Madras [1887] there were 607 ; and at the fourth session at Allahabad [1888] there were 1248. The aim of the Indian National Congress were declared to be the promotion of friendly relations between nationalist political workers from different parts of the country, development and consolidation of the feeling of national unity irrespective of caste, religion or province, formulation of popular demands and their presentation before the Government, and the training and organization of public opinion in the country.

Safety valve theory

It has been said that Hume’s main purpose in encouraging the foundation of the Congress was to provide a safety valve or safe outlet to the growing discontent among the educated Indians. He wanted to prevent the union of a discontented educated Indians with a discontented peasantry.

The safety valve theory is, however, a small part of the truth and is totally inadequate and misleading. The National Congress represented the urge of the politically conscious Indians to set up a national organization to work for their political and economic advancement. A national movement was already growing in the country as a result of the working of powerful forces. No one man or group of man can be given the credit for creating this movement. Even Hume’s motives were mixed ones. He was also moved by motives nobler than those of the safety valve. He possessed a sincere love for India and its poor cultivators.
The Indian leaders who cooperated with Hume in starting the Indian National Congress, were patriotic men of high character who willingly accepted Hume’s help as they did not want to arouse official hostility towards their efforts at so early a stage of political activity and they hoped that a retired civil servant’s active presence would ally official suspicions. If Hume wanted to use the Congress as a safety valve, the early Congress leaders hoped to use him as a lightning conductor.

Indian National Congress Moderate Phase 1885-1905

Indian National Congress

Many Indians had been planning to form an all- India organization of nationalist political workers. But the credit for giving the idea a final shape goes to A.O.Hume, a retired English Civil Servant. He got in touch with prominent Indian leaders and organized with their cooperation the first session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay in December 1885. Hume has been called the Father of the Congress. It was presided over by W.C.Banerjee and attended by 72 delegates. At the second session in Calcutta [1886] there were 434 delegates; at the third session in Madras [1887] there were 607 ; and at the fourth session at Allahabad [1888] there were 1248. The aim of the Indian National Congress were declared to be the promotion of friendly relations between nationalist political workers from different parts of the country, development and consolidation of the feeling of national unity irrespective of caste, religion or province, formulation of popular demands and their presentation before the Government, and the training and organization of public opinion in the country.

Safety valve theory

It has been said that Hume’s main purpose in encouraging the foundation of the Congress was to provide a safety valve or safe outlet to the growing discontent among the educated Indians. He wanted to prevent the union of a discontented educated Indians with a discontented peasantry.
The safety valve theory is, however, a small part of the truth and is totally inadequate and misleading. The National Congress represented the urge of the politically conscious Indians to set up a national organization to work for their political and economic advancement. A national movement was already growing in the country as a result of the working of powerful forces. No one man or group of man can be given the credit for creating this movement. Even Hume’s motives were mixed ones. He was also moved by motives nobler than those of the safety valve. He possessed a sincere love for India and its poor cultivators. The Indian leaders who cooperated with Hume in starting the Indian National Congress, were patriotic men of high character who willingly accepted Hume’s help as they did not want to arouse official hostility towards their efforts at so early a stage of political activity and they hoped that a retired civil servant’s active presence would ally official suspicions. If Hume wanted to use the Congress as a safety valve, the early Congress leaders hoped to use him as a lightning conductor.

The Programme and Activities of the Early Nationalists

The early nationalist leaders believed that a direct struggle for the political emancipation of the country was not yet on the agenda of history. What was on the agenda was the arousal of national feeling, consolidation of this feeling, the bringing of a large number of Indians into the vortex of nationalist politics and their training in politics and political agitation.

The first important task was the creation of public interest in political questions and the organization of public opinion in the country. Secondly popular demands had to be formulated on a country-wide basis so that the emerging public opinion might have an all- India focus.
Most important of all, national unity had to be created, in the first instance, among the politically conscious Indians and political workers and leaders. The early national leaders were fully aware of the fact that India had just entered the process of becoming a nation. Indians had to be carefully welded into a nation. Politically conscious Indians had to constantly work for the development and the consolidation of the feeling of national unity irrespective of religion, caste or region.

Economic Critique of Imperialism

The early nationalists took note of all the three forms of contemporary colonial economic exploitation, namely, through trade, industry and finance. They clearly grasped that the essence of British economic imperialism lay in the subordination of the Indian economy to the British economy. They strongly opposed the British attempt to develop in India the basic characteristics of a colonial economy. They organized a powerful agitation against official economic policies based on their colonial structure.

The early nationalists complained of India’s growing poverty and economic backwardness and the failure of modern industry and agriculture to grow and they put the blame on British economic exploitation. Dadabhai Naoroji declared that the British rule was “an everlasting, increasing, and every day increasing foreign invasion”. The nationalists criticized the official policies for bringing about the ruin of India’s traditional economic policies for bringing about the ruin of India’s traditional handicraft industries and for obstructing the development of modern industries.

The chief remedy they suggested for the removal of poverty was the rapid development of modern industries. They popularized the idea of Swadeshi or the use of Indian goods, and the boycott of British goods as a means of promoting Indian industries.

The nationalists complained that India’s wealth was being drained to England, and demanded that the drain be stopped. They carried on persistent agitation for the reduction of land revenue in order to lighten the burden of taxation on the peasant. They declared that high taxation to be one of the causes of India’s growing poverty and demanded the abolition of the salt tax. The nationalists agitated for the improvement in the conditions of work of the plantations.

Nationalist agitation on economic issues led to the growth of an all- India opinion that the British rule was based on the exploitation of India, was leading to India’s impoverishment and was producing economic backwardness and underdevelopment.

Constitutional Reforms

Their immediate demands were extremely moderate. They hoped to win freedom through gradual steps. From 1885 to 1892 they demanded the expansion and reform of the Legislative Councils. The British Government was forced by their agitation to pass the Indian Councils Act of 1892. By this Act the number of members of the Imperial Legislative Council as well as the provincial councils were increased. The nationalists were totally dissatisfied with the Act of 1892. They demanded a larger share for Indians in the councils.

By the beginning of the 20th century the nationalist leaders advanced further and put forward the claim for swarajya or self-government within the British empire.This demand was made from the Congress platform by Gokhale in 1905 and Dadabhai in 1906.

Administrative Reforms

The early nationalists criticized the administrative measures of the British government. The administrative system was corrupt, inefficient and oppressive. The most important administrative reform they desired was Indianisation of the higher grades of administrative services. They put forward this demand on economic, political and moral grounds. Economically the European monopoly of the higher services was harmful to India on two grounds. Firstly, the Europeans were paid at very high rates and this made Indian administration very costly. Secondly, the Europeans sent out of India a large part of their salaries and their pensions were paid in England. This added to the drain of wealth from India. Politically the nationalists hoped that the Indianisation of these services would make the administration more responsive to Indian needs.

Defence of Civil Rights

The early Indian nationalists were attracted to modern civil rights, namely, the freedoms of speech, the Press, thought and association. They put up a strong defence of these civil rights whenever the Government tried to curtail them. The struggle for democratic freedoms became an integral part of the nationalist struggle for freedom. The Government arrested B.G.Tilak and several other leaders in 1897 for spreading disaffection against the Government. The Natu brothers were deported without trial. The entire country protested against this attack on the liberties of the people.

Methods of Political work

The Indian national movement up to 1905 was dominated by moderate leaders. They started constitutional agitation with in the four walls of law. They believed that if public opinion was created and organized and popular demands presented to the authorities through petitions, meetings, resolutions and speeches, the authorities would concede these demands gradually and step by step. Their political work had a two- pronged direction. Firstly, to build up a strong public opinion in India to arouse the political consciousness and national spirit of the people. Secondly, the early nationalists wanted to persuade the British Government and British public opinion to introduce reforms along directions laid down by the nationalists. The moderates were never resorted to rebellion, aiding or abetting a foreign invasion or resort to crime.

Role of the Masses

The basic weakness of the early national movement lay in its narrow social base. It did not penetrate down to the masses. In fact, the leaders lacked faith in the masses. Describing the difficulties in the way of organizing of active political struggle, Gopal Krishna Gokhale pointed to the endless divisions and subdivisions in the country, the bulk of the population ignorant and clinging with a tenacity to the old modes of thought and sentiment, which are averse to all changes and do not understand change. Lacking support of the masses, the early nationalists could not adopt a militant political position.

Attitude of the Government

The British authorities were from the beginning hostile to the rising nationalist movement and had become suspicious of the National Congress. Dufferin, the Viceroy, had tried to divert the national movement by suggesting to Hume that the Congress should devote itself to social rather than political affairs. But the Congress leaders had refused to make the change. British officials now began to openly criticize the National Congress. British officials from Dufferin downwards began to brand the nationalist leaders as disloyal babus, seditious Brahmins and violent villains. The Congress was described as factory of sedition. In 1887, Dufferin attacked the Congress in a public speech and ridiculed it as representing only a microscopic minority of the people and Congress demands as a big jump into the unknown. Realising that the growing unity of the Indian people posed a major threat to their rule, the British authorities also pushed further the policy of divide and rule. They encouraged Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan, Raja Shiva Prasad of Benaras, and other pro- British individuals to start anti- Congress movement. Lord Curzon said that the Congress was tottering to its fall and one of my greatest ambitions while in India was to assist it to a peaceful demise.

Growth of Nationalism in India

The Rise of National Consciousness

The rise of national consciousness in the 19th century was essentially the result of the British rule. The economic, political, and social changes brought about by the British rule resulted in the oppression of all classes of people giving rise to a widespread dissatisfaction among the masses. The uniform system of administration, development of post and telegraph, railways, printing press and educational institutions created by the British Indian Government became instrumental in providing favourable condition for the rise of the nationalism.

The British economic policies in India led to the ruin of agriculture and handicraft industries. The British agrarian policy was mainly aimed at drawing out maximum land revenue. The peasants had to borrow money from moneylenders. The money lenders charged exorbitant rates of interest. The Government helped the zamindars and moneylenders. As a result of British land revenue policy a large number of peasants were reduced to landless labourers. In the field of industry the artisans faced great hardships. Thus almost all the sections of Indian society were suffering under the British rule. This discontent expressed itself in the form of scattered revolts. RevTo overcome the problems the British evolved some administrative measures and new policies. These measures also helped the development of national consciousness among Indians.

Factors for the rise of Nationalism
Several factors were responsible for the rise of nationalism in India. For a better exploitation of Indian resources the British brought large parts of India under a uniform system of administration. The emergence of the Indin nation was a major factor in the rise of nationalism. The British adopted a policy of destruction of local self sufficient economy and introduced modern industry and trade on an all India basis. This made India’s economic life a single one and interlinked the economic life of the Indians. The very existence of foreign rule that oppressed all the Indian people irrespective of their caste, religion or region acted as a unifying factor.

Political Unity under British Rule
India was provided with political and administrative unity under the British rule. Common subjection, common institutions and common laws bagan to shape India in a common mould. This political unity fostered the spirit of nationalism.

Communication Network: Post and telegraph services were extended and improved. All the major towns were linked with telegraph. The first railway line was constructed in 1853 between Mumbai and Thana. People living at distant places got new opportunity to interact with one another. The modern means of communication enabled people living in different parts of the country to maintain regular contacts with one another and promoted the cause of nationalism.

The role of the Press and literature: The introduction of printing press made the transformation of ideas less expensive. A number of newspapers and periodicals started appearing. The Indian press played a notable role in mobilizing public opinion, organizing political movements and promoting nationalism. Newspapers like the Indian Mirror, The Bengalee, The Amrita Bazar Patrika, Bombay Chronicle, The Hindu etc exposed the excesses of the British administration. The press became the mirror of Indian nationalism. National; literature in the form of novels, essays and patriotic poetry also played an important role in arousing national consciousness. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Tagore, in Bengali, Lakshminath Bezbarua in Assamese, Vishnu Shastri in Marathi, Subrahmanya Barati in Tamil, Bharatandu Harishchandra in Hindi and Asaf Husain Hali in Urdu were some of the prominent nationalist workers of the period.

Western Thought and Education: As a result of the spread of modern western education and thought during the 19th century , a large number of Indians imbibed a modern rational, secular, democratic and nationalist political outlook.
They also began to study, admire and emulate the contemporary nationalist movements of European nations. Rousseau, Paine and other western thinkers became their political guides, while Mazzini, Garibaldi, and Irish nationalist leaders became their political heroes. The educated Indians were inspired by the dream of a modern, strong, and united India. Modern education also created a certain uniformity of outlook and interests among the educated Indians. The English language became the medium of communication and exchange of ideas between educated Indians from different linguistic regions of the country.

Economic Exploitation
The impact of British rule on the economy of India was disastrous. The British drained off the resources of India in a most systematic and unjust way. Indian agriculture and industry received a set back. The trade policy of the British in India destroyed Indian trade. Famines became a regular feature of Indian economy.

Rediscovery of India’s past: Many British writers and officials advanced the thesis that Indians had never been able to rule themselves in the past, that Hindus and Muslims had always fought one another. They argued that the Indians were destined to be ruled by foreigners, that their religion and social life were degraded and uncivilized making them unfit for democracy or even self- government. The nationalist leaders tried to arouse the self- confidence and self-respect of the people by countering this propaganda. They pointed to the cultural heritage of India with pride and referred the critics to the political achievements of rulers like Asoka, Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Akbar.
In this task they were helped and encouraged by the work of European [ Max Muller, Monier William etc.] and Indian scholars in rediscovering India’s national heritage in art, architecture, literature, philosophy, science and politics. The re-discovery of India’s past history and culture had a deep impact on the minds of the educated class. This gave a new sense of confidence to the educated Indians and inspired them with a new spirit of patriotism and nationalism.

Racial arrogance of the rulers: Another factor for the growth of national sentiments in India was the tone of racial superiority adopted by many Englishmen in their dealings with Indians. Racial arrogance branded all the Indians irrespective of their caste, religion or class with the badge of inferiority. This made them conscious of national humiliation, and led them to think of themselves as one people when facing Englishmen.

Ilbert Bill controversy: Racial discrimination was carried in judicial matters also. The Ilbert Bill is a typical example. As per the British law a European subject could be tried only by a European judge. To put an end to the judicial disqualification based on race distinction Viceroy Lord Ripon asked the Law member Ilbert to prepare a bill enabling an Indian judge to try a European. There was a great opposition to the Bill among the European community. Finally the Bill had to be modified in such a way that a European can be tried only by a jury, half of whom were to be Europeans. This virtually defeated Ripon’s aim and he resigned. This sort of racial discrimination contributed to the growth of nationalism.

Repressive Measures of Lord Lytton
The reactionary policies of Lord Lytton also caused the rise of nationalism in India. His costly Afhan adventure, the pompous Delhi Durbar in the background of a terrible famine, the abolition of impoert duties, the Vernacular Press Act imposing restrictions on the freedom of the press, the Arms Act and the lowering of the age of admission to ICS examinations were all created feelings of mistrust and suspicion in the minds of the people.

Social Reform Movements
The socal reform movements like Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Theosophical Society and Ramakrishna Mission created in the minds of the people an intense love of the motherland based on deep faith in its past glory and future gratness. Leaders like Swami Vivekananda played leading roles not only in eradicating social evils but also in reviving pride in our ancient culture and heritage. They had roused the people from their slumber and projected their national consciousness.
Rise of Middle Class
The British rule led to the rise of a new middle class comprising businessmen, industrialists and financiers. This class was conscious of the fact that the British rule was a hindrance in the path of industrial progress and perosperity of the country. So they joined the national movement and helped it with money.

Reference
Bipan Chandra : Modern India
Sumit Sarkar : Modern India
Bipan Chandra edtd : Freedom Struggle
NCERT Text book
SCERT Text book Kerala

Friday, June 25, 2010

Social Reform Movements

Social Reform Movements

The major effect of national awakening in the 19th century was seen in the field of social reform. The newly educated persons increasingly revolted against rigid social conventions and outdated customs. Nearly all the religious reformers contributed to the social reform movement. In addition, certain other organizations like the Social Conference, Servants of India Society [founded by Gopalakrishna Gokhale], and the Christian missionaries worked actively for social reform. .

After 1919 the national movement became the main propagator of social reform. While social reform was linked with religious reform in some cases in the later years of the 19th century it was increasingly secular in approach. The twin objectives of the social reform movements were the emancipation of women and the removal of caste rigidities.

Social evils like child marriages, sati, polygamy, the purdah, denial of education etc made the lives of women quite depressing. All the great social and religious reform movements of the period had made female education the chief plank in their programme. Ram Mohan Roy described Sati as “murder according to every Shastra”.

In the 19th century the social reformers were moved by humanitarian and egalitarian considerations launched powerful movement to improve the status of women. Every effort was made to spread education among women. The first Hindu Girl’s school was founded at Calcutta in 1849. With in a short period of eight years, 100 Government girl’s were founded in Bengal. Eswar Chandra Vidyasagar established 40 girls schools between 1855 and 1858. In 1916, Lady Hardinge Medical College was opened in Delhi to train women in medical science. In 1926, Lady Irwin College was started in Delhi by the All India Women’s Conference.

The widow remarriage movement had started in Bengal in the middle of the 18th century. The Hindu widows remarriage Act was passed in 1856 which legalized widow re-marriage. Maharshi Karve of Poona started a school for Hindu widows which later developed into the Indian Women’s University in 1916. The movement against child marriage also gained progress in the 19th century. The Civil Marriage Act was passed in 1872 which abolished child marriage and polygamy. This Act sanctioned widow marriage and intercaste marriage. In1937, the Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act was passed which granted to the Hindu widows claim to a share in their husband’s property.

The growth of the National Movement gave great stimulus to the liberation movement of women. Mahatma Gandhi had accepted the uplift of women as an important part of his programme. Sarojini Naidu became the President of the Indian National Congress in 1925. The All India Women’s conference founded in 1927 gave new initiative and direction to the women’s liberation movement.

Struggle against the Caste System

The Hindus were divided into numerous castes. The caste into which a man was born determined his social position, profession, and everything about the individual. The untouchables had no right to enter the temples or to study the Shastras. Ownership of land was denied to them.The caste system served as a major obstacle in the growth of a united nationalist movement. The caste system hampered social mobility.
The British administration introduced equality before law and opened the doors of administrative services to all castes. Mass contact of castes was also facilitated by industries and transportation facilities.

Nearly all the reformists attacked the caste system. In 1857 M.G.Ranade founded the Indian National Social Conference to fight against caste rigidities. In 1903 the Bombay Social Reform Association was formed and in Madras Mrs. Annie Besant set up the Hindu Association. In 1932 the All India Anti Untouchability League was founded later named as Harijan Sevak Sangh. In 1926 the All India Depressed Classes Association and the All India Depressed Classes Federation were founded.
The Indian National Movement also opposed caste privileges. Mahatma Gandhi campaigned rigorously against the evils of untouchability. His open advocacy of the cause provided inspiration to people all over the country in their fight against untouchability. In 1932, he founded the All Indian Harijan Sangh for the purpose

Features of the religious reform movements

Features of the religious reform movements

The humanist aspect of the religious reform movements was expressed in the general attack on priesthood and rituals, and the emphasis on the individuals right to interpret religious scriptures in the light of human reason and human welfare. Though the reformers tried to reform their religions, their general outlook was universalistic. The religious reform movements fostered among Indians greater self-respect, self-confidence, and pride in their country .

The religious reform movements helped many Indians to come to terms with the modern world. In fact they arose to recast the old religions into a new modern mould to suit the needs of new social groups of society. Thus pride in the past did not prevent Indians from accepting the essential superiority of the modern world in general and modern science in particular.

The religious reform movements had two negative aspects. Firstly, all of them catered to the needs of a small percentage of the population-the urban middle and upper classes. None of them could reach the vast masses of the peasants. The second limitation was the tendency to look backward, appeal to past greatness, and to rely on scriptural authorityThey undermined to some extent the supremacy of human reason and scientific outlook.

Religious Reform among the Sikhs

Religious Reform among the Sikhs
The Khalsa college initiated religious reform among the Sikhs. The reform effort gained momentum after 1920 when the Akali Movement rose in the Punjab. The main aim of the Akalis was to purify the management of the Gurudwaras or Sikh shrines. These GurUdwaras had been heavily endowed with land and money by devout Sikhs. But they had come to be managed by corrupt and selfish mahants. The Akalis started in 1921 a powerful satyagraha against the mahants and the Government which aided them.
The Akali Movement soon forced the Government to pass a new Gurudhara Act in 1922. The Sikhs gradually turned out of Gurudwaras the corrupt mahants.

Religious Reform among the Parsis Rehnumai Mazdayasan Sabha

Religious Reform among the Parsis
Religious reform was begun among the Parsis in the 19th century. In 1851, the Rehnumai Mazdayasan Sabha or Religious Reform Association was started by Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji, S.S.Bengalee, and others. It campaigned against orthodoxy and initiated the modernization of Parsi social customs regarding the education of women, marriage and the social position of women in general. In course of time, the Parsis became the most westernized section of Indian society.

The Wahabi Movement

The Wahabi Movement

The Wahabi Movement in India was influenced by the Wahabi Movement of Arabia. It was the earliest organized Muslim response to western influences. Shah Walliullah was the first Indian Muslim leader of the 18th century. He expressed concern at the degeneration of Muslims. He tried to create a harmony among the four schools of Muslim jurisprudence, which had divided the Indian Muslims. He sought to integrate the best elements of four schools. He emphasized the role of individual conscience in religion.

Shah Abdul Aziz and Sayyed Ahmmad Barelvi popularized the teachings of Walliullah. They aimed at creating a homeland for the Muslims. Barelvi preached for the eradication of all the evils that had crept into Islam. The beginning was made by a Fatwa given by Abdul Aziz declaring India to be dar-ul-harb[land of the Kafers] and the need to make it Dar-ul-Islam. The campaign was initially directed against the British. This Movement was crushed by the British.

Muhammed Iqbal

Muhammed Iqbal[1876-1938]
Muhammed Iqbal was born in 1876. He was a great poet of modern India. Through his poetry he influenced the philosophical and religious outlook of the younger generation of Muslims as well as of Hindus. He emphasized the need for constant change and ceaseless activity. He urged the adoption of a dynamic outlook that would help to change the world. Basically he was a humanist. Nothing was more sinful in his eyes than the passive acceptance of things as they were. He condemned ritualism and other worldly attitude. In his earlier poetry, he extolled patriotism, though later he encouraged Muslim separatism.

The Aligarh Movement and Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan

Muslim Reform Movements
The Aligarh Movement and Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan[1817-1898]

Movements for religious reform were late in emerging among the Muslims. The Muslim upper classes had tended to avoid contact with western education and culture. After the Revolt of 1857 modern ideas of religious reforms began to appear among the Muslims. A beginning in this direction was made when the Muhammedan Literary Society was founded at Calcutta in 1863. This society promoted discussions of religious, social and political questions in the light of modern ideas and encouraged Muslims to take to western education.

The Aligarh Movement and Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan[1817-1898]

The most important reformer among the Muslims was Sayyid Ahmed Khan. He was impressed by modern scientific thought and worked all his life to reconcile it with Islam. He tried to modernize the outlook of the Muslims. He tried to reform the social abuses in the Muslim community.

He declared that Quran alone was the authoritative work and all other Islamic writings were secondary. He interpreted the Quran in the light of rationalism and science. In his opinion any interpretation of the Quran that conflicted with human reason or nature was in reality a misinterpretation. He condemned the institution of slavery. His progressive social ideas were propagated through his magazine ‘Tahadhib-ul-Akhlaq’.

All his life he struggled against blind obedience to tradition, ignorance and irrationalism. He urged the people to develop a critical approach and freedom of thought. He also warned against fanaticism, narrow mindedness, and exclusiveness. He urged students and others to be broadminded and tolerant.

He urged Muslims to give up medieval customs and ways of thought and behaviour. He advocated removal of purdah and spread of education among women. He also condemned the customs of polygamy and easy divorce.

Sayyed Ahmed Khan believed that the religious and social life of the Muslims could be improved only by imbibing modern western scientific knowledge and culture. As an official he founded schools in many towns. He translated many western books into Urdu. In 1857 he founded the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh as a center for spreading western sciences and culture. Later, this college developed as the Aligarh Muslim University.

The college became the centre of the political activities of the Muslims. Ts principal Theodre Beck deeply influenced the ideas of Ahmed Khan. Beck impressed upon him the need for co-operation with Britishers in the interests of his community. Ahmed Khan started a newspaper, ‘Loyal Muhammadans of India’.

Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan laid the foundation of the Annual Muslim Educational Conference in 1886. In 1888 Ahmed Khan and Raja Shiva Prasad of Benares founded the Patriotic Association to act as a rival to the Indian National Congress. In 1863 he founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association.

Sayyid Ahmed Khan was a great believer in religious toleration. He believed that all religions had a certain underlying unity. He condemned any sign of religious bigotry in personal relations. He was also opposed to communal friction. However, towards the end of his life, he began to talk of Hindu domination to prevent his followers from joining the rising national movement. Basically, he was not a communalist. He only wanted the backwardness of the Muslim middle and upper classes to go.

His politics were the result of his firm belief that immediate political progress was not possible because the British Government could not be easily dislodged. On the other hand, any hostility by the officials might prove dangerous to the educational effort which he saw as the need of the hour. So he advised the educationally backward Muslims to remain aloof from politics. In fact, he had become so committed to his college and the cause of education that he was willing to sacrifice all other interests to them. Consequently, to prevent the orthodox Muslims from opposing his college, he virtually gave up his agitation in favour of religious reform. For the same reason he encouraged communalism and separatism. This was a serious political error , which was to have harmful consequences in later years.

Sayyid Ahmed Khan was helped by a band of loyal followers who are collectively contributed as the Aligarh School. Chiragh Ali, the Urdu poet, Altaf Hussain Hali, Nazir Ahmed and Maulana Shibli Nomani were some of the other distinguished leaders of the Aligarh School. The Aligarh Movement brought about the social and political regeneration of Muslims. It raised the status of Muslims, helped them in their education and improved their economic and social status.

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar [1891-1956]

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar was born on 14th April 1891. He was a crusader in the cause of the uplift of the lower castes. In 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha for the moral and material progress of the untouchables. He attended the three Round Table Conferences held at London[1930-32].

The communal award announced by the British Prime Minister, Ramsay Macdonald, in 1932, provided for separate electorate for depressed classes. This upset Gandhiji who went on fast unto death. As a result a final compromise was reached popularly known as Poona Pact. It provided for reservation of seats for the depressed classes in general constituencies.

In depression Ambedkar opposed the Congress and wanted British rule in India to continue to safeguard the interests of lower castes. In 1942 he founded the Scheduled Caste Federation. Later he announced that scheduled castes would leave the Hindu fold altogether. He along with many followers embraced Buddhism.
On the eve of independence Ambedkar was nominated as a member of the Constituent Assembly[ Chairman of the drafting committee]. He is remembered as the emancipator of lower castes.

E.V.Ramaswami Naiker and the Self Respect Movement

E.V.Ramaswami Naiker and the Self Respect Movement

E.V.Ramaswamy Naiker, popularly known as ‘Periyor’ was born in Erode in 1879. He rebelled against the caste rigidity and participated in inter caste dining. He participated in the Vaikom satyagraha. He went to the extent ot advocating the burning of “Manu Smriti” and Ramayana. He became a radical social reformer and published a newspaper, Kudi Arasu.

After a visit to the Soviet Union, Periyor added his version of Marxism to the Dravidian ideology. He argued that the correct path for the self respect movement was to ‘take as our problem the destruction of the cruelties of capitalists and the cruelties of religion’. The Self Respect Movement was started in 1925. He advocated wedding without Brahmin priests, forcible temple entry and burning of the Manusmriti. He supported the use of Khadi and fought for prohibition.

He attacked the supremacy of Brahmins and the caste system. He propagated the concept of equality and the basic dignity of all human beings. The self respect movement of Periyor sought to change the subordinate position of women in family and society. But the self respect movement which tried to bring about structural changes in culture and society could not make a wider impact.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre compelled him to join in the Indian National Congress in 1920. After resigning from INC he joined in the Justice Party. In 1944, the Justice Party was renamed Dravidar Kazhakam. The main object of Dravidar Kazhakam was to create Dravidanadu. However, Naiker’s disrespect for the flag and constitution of independent India , his marriage at the age of 72 and his authoritarian style of party leadership weakened his popularity. His followers left him and formed the Dravidar Munnetta Kazhakam in 1949. [Reference SCERT Kerala]

Subrahmanya Bharati

Subrahmanya Bharati
From about the middle of the 19th century powerful literary trends emerged nearly in all languages. Patriotic poems and songs became major instruments of emancipation of depressed classes. In Tamil Nadu it was Subrahmanya Bharati who took up nationalist and reformist themes for his poems. His poems dealt with caste oppression and the sorry plight of women in Indian society.

Sree Narayana Guru

Sree Narayana Guru [1854-1928]

Sree Narayana Guru was a great social reformer born on August 20th 1856 at Chempayandhi in Kerala.He was inspired by Chattampi Swamikal . He campaigned for the mitigation of caste rigidity. He worked for the establishment of the classless and casteless society.

As an untouchable caste the Ezhavas faced numerous restrictions on their dress,customs and religious practices. They were not admitted in schools and were excluded from government services. They were not allowed to enter into the premises of the temples and they had no proper place of worship.Sree Narayana Guru rebelled against the existence of inequality in the Kerala Soceity. He fought for the right of the untouchables of Kerala.

Sree Narayana Guru consecrated shrines in several parts of Kerala for the worship of the Ezhavas and permitted entry into them by other low castes considered inferior to the Ezhavas in social scale. He consecrated the Shiva shrine at Aruvippuram. To those who questioned his right as an Ezhava to consecrate temples Sree Narayana Guru gave a challenging reply that he was consecrating “the Ezhava Shiva and not the Brahmin Shiva”. At Varkala he installed the idol of Saraswathy. In 1914 at Alwaye he established an Ashram. In 1920 at Karamukku he installed a lamp as idol and declared to the audience, ‘let light radiate’. At Kalavankodam he installed a mirror with the inscription ‘Om Santi’, which would reflect the person who stands before the mirror.

Attached to the temples, there were schools and workshops. Narayana Guru gave importance to the spread of education among the backward people. Guru himself trained the people in coir manufacturing, suggested better methods of cultivation and organized an industrial exhibition at Alwaye. Toddy tapping was considered as an evil and hence it was to be abandoned. He composed poems in Malayalam, Tamil, and Sanskrit. The Darasanamala in Sanskrit is the most important of his iterary works.
He argued that Chaturvarnya was the parent of caste system and untouchability. He gave a new slogan, “one religion, one caste, and one for god man”. He also simplified rituals regarding marriage, religion, worship and funerals.

He campaigned against Talikettu Kalyanam, Tirandukuli, Pulakuli etc. The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam[S.N.D.P] came in to existence on May 15th 1903 under the inspiration of Sree Narayana Guru. Its first annual session was held at Aruvippuram in 1904. Dr.Palpu, and Kumaran Asan later joined in SNDP. The Sadhu Jana Paripalana Yogam founded by Ayyankali was modeled after the SNDP Yogam.He was died in 1928 at Varkala.
Vaikunda Swamikal, Chattambi Swamikal, Vaikkom Abdul Khader Maulavi, Vagbhadananda, V.T.Bhattathiripad and many other social reformers also worked for the eradication of the evils of the Kerala Society.

Caste associations and social reform

By the beginning of the 20th century a number of caste associations began to play a significant role in reform movements. This was observed in the case of the Kongu Vellala Sangam, in Tamil Nadu, the Voccalinga and Ligayat Associations in Mysore, the N.S.S and the S.N.D.P.Yogam of Kerala, etc.

Kandukari Veeresalingam

Veeresalingam [1848-1919]

Kandukari Veeresalingam was a great social reformer lived in the South India. Born in a poor family in 1848. He started his career as a school teacher. He wrote a large number of pamphlets on social reform in the Telugu language.Earlier he was a follower of Prarthana Samaj. He worked for the re-marriage of widows, female education, and the general uplift of women. He started separate journals for women called Satihitabhodini and Hasyavardhini. In 1874, he started a journal Vivekavardhini.

He opened his first girls’ school in 1874. Day schools for adult women, night schools for workers, and schools for Harijans are some of his notable contributions. He started a widow’s home in Chennai. He worked against caste system, child marriage, polygamy, and institutionalization of prostitution. In 1878 he founded the Rajamundri Social Reform Association with the objective of promoting widow re-marriage. The Rajamundri Social Reform Association launched an anti-nautch movement [against the hiring of dancing girls for celebrations]. In 1906 he founded the Hitakarini Samaj to serve the people.
He was called as the Vidyasagar of the south. He wrote the first novel in Telugu, Rajasekhara Charitram. He was known as the father of renaissance movement in Andhra.

Social reform in Maharastra Jyothiba Phule

Jyothiba Phule[1827-1890]

The socio-religious awakening brought a feeling of consciousness among the depressed classes in the west and south India. In opposition to caste system several organizations emerged. The depressed classes in Maharashtra were led by Jyothirao Govindarao Phule.

Jyothiba Phule was born in a family of a gardener in 1827. His forefathers supplied flowers and garlands to the Peshwa’s family and, thus, came to be called ‘Phule’.
He was inspired by the lives of Shivaji and George Washington. He learnt the lessons of fearlessness from Vasudeo Balwant Phadke. He was influenced by the ‘ Rights of Man’ written by Thomas Paine. He tried to bring awakening among the depressed classes. He found certain similarities in religions. He challenged the superiority of the Brahmins through his work the Gulamgiri.

He worked for the female education and established a girl’s school at Poona in 1851. The Brahmins attacked him in several ways. He was forced to close down the school he had opened for girls. In 1863 he established a Foundling home for abandoned babies. In 1873 he founded the Satya Shodak Samaj with the aim was to obtain social justice for the backward classes. He opened a number of schools and orphanages. His critical works included the ‘Sarvajanik Sathya Dharma Pushtak’ ‘Dharma Tritiya Ratna’, ‘Ishwara’, and ‘Life of Shivaji’.
He was popularly known as Jyothiba Phule. 1n 1888 he got the title ‘Mahatma’.Jyothiba died in 1890.