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Summary
Modern Indian History Class 28

Constructive work of extremists (05:01 pm)

  • Components:-
  • Apolitical activity.
  • Mobilise the community and give them skills to enhance confidence.
  • Promoting swadeshi goods and enhancing Atmanirbharta.
  • Anti-liquor campaign.
  • Promote Cultural nationalism.
  • Promote Swadeshi/national education that would lead to Atma shakti and cultural nationalism.
  • Promote community unity and focus on community action.
  • Works undertaken:-Anti untouchability, women empowerment, Hindu-Muslim unity etc.

Swadeshi movement(1905-1911)(5:22 pm)

  • Goal:-To obtain Swaraj.
  • Reasons:-
  • Curzonian Administration:-
  • Calcutta Municipal corporation Amendment Act, of 1899 decreased the number of elected members.
  • Indian univ. Act, 1904 brought universities under govt. control as Curzon 9905 believed they are becoming factories of sedition.
  • Indian official secrets Amendment Act, of 1904 reduced the freedom of the press.
  • Partition of Bengal Oct 1905.
  • Why partition?
  • British Justification:-
  • Better administration as undivided Bengal had the highest population and huge area;
  • The size of Assam would increase and East Bengal and Assam (EBA) would be an LG province with its own civil services cadre improving administration in Assam.
  • Assam Bengal railways would come under the single administration of the new province of EBA.
  • Cheaper maritime outlet via Chittagong port to Assam tea garden.

Indian Stand (06: 08 pm)

  • The best administrative decision would have been to divide Bengal on a linguistic basis instead of a religious basis.
  • Therefore, the primary purpose was to decrease the linguistic unity of Bengalis and weaken INM and INC in Bengal which was led by Bengali Bhadra Lok (brahmins).
  • Therefore it was the policy of divide and rule(DNR) as Bengalis would become a linguistic minority in west Bengal while the new province of EBA(East Bengal and Assam) would have Hindus as a minority.
  • Therefore hurting the support base of Bengali Bhadra look in both provinces. (*in imagine state-level election and ILC election Bengali Bhadralok would not win.)
  • It was also an act of appeasement of elite Muslims. (*will become members of councils in PLC  of EBA and ILC).

Events (6:19 pm)

  • Indians came to know about the intent of partition via Risley papers 1903(*Risley was home secretary).
  • It had Curzon's minutes on territorial redistribution that had details of partition.
  • Actual partition in Oct 1905:-
  • Curzon's dispatch to SOS for India had the final detail of the partition.
  • SOS Broderick accepted partition without proper discussion in the British parliament. (*GOI 1858 made SOS for India director of policy and top decision-making authority in India).
  • Moderate phase against Bengal partition(1903-05)
  • Led by S.N Banerjee and C.R Das etc via press campaign in Bengali Sanjeevani and Hitabadi.
  • Failed by October 1905.
  • Extremist phase (1905-08).
  • S.N.Banarjee gave calls for a boycott by passing a resolution for the Boycott of British goods and institutions at Calcutta town hall. (*thumb rule -swadeshi movement was by extremists).
  • Barisal conference April 1906:-Here S.N. Banerjee and Aurbindo distributed badges of Bande Matram and the police brutally repressed it. (*Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 1838-94 gave the idea of Bharat Mata in the novel Anand Math,1882 and composed Bande Matram. (*use in question on cultural nationalism, cultural identity).
  • Now extremists criticised moderate methods and constructive swadeshi as not enough(*CW(Constructive Work) was also on since from 1903. Example-By Shantiniketan ashram 1901 of Rabindra Nath Tagore.)
  • Had a focus on self-reliance i.e Atma shakti via a focus on Swadeshi goods, courts, education and skilling, community unity and spiritualism.
  • Now they advocated the method of passive resistance. (*PR=NC+CD).
  • And to take movements outside Bengal. (*Moderates did not want this outside Bengal).
  • Extremists gave the goal of Swaraj, therefore began the Swadeshi movement that was not limited to the goal of annulment of the Bengal partition.

Methos/activities (6: 44 pm)

  • There was the use of religion for mobilising Masses.
  • Samitis were set up for mass mobilisations.
  • They also did C.W./Constructive Swadeshi.
  • Example Swadesh Bandhab Samitis/Barisal Samitis of Ashwani Kumar Dutt that worked among poor Muslims and therefore contributed to Muslim participation.
  • Picketing of liquor shops and shops selling British goods.
  • Processions in form of Prabhat Pheris and Jatras(theatres).
  • JATRAS i.e plays to increase awareness.
  • Strikes by workers in foreign-owned enterprises in India led by C.R Das, B.C.Pal, and Liyaqat Hussain.
  • Swadeshi education was promoted i.e, Bengal national college was set up with Aurbindo as a principal, and swadeshi enterprises were set up.

Results Extremists Faced( 07 :21 PM)

  • INC Calcutta session 1906 under dada bhai Nairoji-respected by both extremists and moderates.
  • Extremists were successful as INC passed four Calcutta resolutions favouring the swaraj boycott of swadeshi and national education(*one goal, three methods).
  • The Bengal partition was condemned.
  • Extremist party/nationalist party was set up under Tilak within INC to make INC extremist from within.
  • However, extremists failed to build a mass movement as:-
  • Problem with the supply of swadeshi goods therefore prices were high.
  • Therefore no participation of poor sections i.e lower castes, Muslims, peasants and blue-collared workers.
  • The low number of Swadeshi institutions i.e arbitration courts.
  • Use of force and social Boycott against lower castes and Muslims to make them participate hurt participation.
  • Muslim league 1906 (M.L1906) of elite Muslims. For example nawab Salim Ullah of Dhaka supported partition. plus M.L 1906 sought the support of Ulamas who controlled rural masses.
  • High use of Hindu religious symbolism. For example, tilaks, worshipping kali etc plus Jatras depicted Muslims pro-British and favouring partition leading to communal violence.
  • These features hurt Muslim participation.
  • With high caste leadership, lower castes, therefore, did not associate.
  • Therefore boycott failed. And British imports were not impacted.

Surat Split 1907 (7:34 pm).

  • Bombay moderates opposed extremist methods.
  • In 1907 session was to be held in puna or Nagpur, both strongholds of extremists.
  • Therefore moderates shifted venues to surat.
  • Fight over presidency between L.L.Roy and Rash Bihari Ghose.
  • L.L. Roy withdrew to prevent split but now extremists demanded the readoption of four Calcutta resolutions.
  • Morley's budget speech in 1906 in the British parliament hinted at future council reforms.
  • Therefore, the DNR tactic was deployed by the British making moderates oppose extremists.
  • Now shoes were hurled and chairs were broken over issues of the presidency and four Calcutta resolutions leading to split and removal of extremists from INC.
  • 1908 Allahabad convention (*session in December, the special session is meant full session hence not in December. convention means smaller meetings.)
  • Also known as Mehta congress where INC declared 'we are loyal to the raj'.
  • INC remained divided between moderates and extremists until 1920 when M.G. united.
  • Movements became leaderless as now extremists were easily repressed by the British leading to revolutionaries taking charge. (1908-11).

Revolutionaries (1908-11)(07:45 pm)

  • Started after the earlier movement became leaderless.
  • They had two options.
  • Start a popular mass revolt/civil rebellion and cause disaffection in Army/sepoy mutiny that will repeat the 1857 revolt.
  • Or individual heroic action by assassinating hated senior British officials to inspire nationalism, remove the fear of the British and strike terror in the hearts of the British.
  • Since the first was tough it was chosen as a long-term goal.
  • And second, was chosen as the immediate method.
  • From 1905 revolutionaries did propaganda in newspapers in favour of revolutionary methods.
  • For example, weakly Yugantar wrote after the repression of the Barisal conference in April 1906"30 crores Indians should raise their 60 crore hands to end oppression".
  • Some revolutionaries like Savarkar and Madam kama set up secret societies abroad.
  • 1907: attempt on the life of L.G  of Bengal failed.
  • 1908: Barrah dacoity -looted zamindar of Barrah for funds.
  • 1908: Muzaffarpur conspiracy case -Prafful Chaki and Khudiram bose threw a bomb at the carriage of hated magistrate king ford.
  • But failed and instead, two English women were killed.
  • This led to many arrests including of Aurobindo Ghosh in Alipore which came to be known as the Alipore conspiracy case of 1908.
  • Aurbindo was defended by C.R Das and was acquitted as B.C pal did not testify.
  • He later shifted to Pondicherry to pursue spiritualism.
  • Therefore retired from active politics.
  • Tilak in Keshari (*Keshari was Marathi and Mahratta was in English).
  • Tilak in Kesari condemned the violence but still defended Chaki and bose on grounds that British operations will ultimately lead to violence. (Arrival of bomb)
  • He was charged with sedition and imprisoned for six years in Mandalay Burma.
  • Jinnah defended him in court.
  • Result =Repressed by the British but gave back the pride of manhood and many felt that Morley Minto reforms in 1909 were the result of revolutionary activities.
  • In 1911 partition was annulled but Curzon ultimately won as the importance of Bengal in INM decreased with the shifting of capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911.
  • Delhi conspiracy case 1912-Bomb attack on Hardinge 1016 during a procession to celebrate shift of capital to Delhi-in Chandani chowk-Hardinge was on elephant and rash Bihari bose in Balcony threw a bomb.
  • Hardinge survived but stayed in the hospital for months.

Impact of swadeshi movements/Curzonian policies. (08:19 PM)

  • Led the foundation of mass politics plus working-class movements.
  • Led the foundation of revolutionary activities.
  • People became aware of the economic aspects of British and boycotts became a major feature of future INM.
  • The common man would understand the drain because they will ask why boycott. why buy more expensive?
  • Nationalistic symbols became prominent.
  • For example, Vande Matram became the anthem of INM.
  • Tagore's AMAR SONAR BANGLA later became the national anthem of Bangladesh.
  • Method of passive resistance with NC and CD and CW plus use of plays plus Prabhat Pheris, therefore new methods were developed.
  • We permanently moved away from petitions to mass actions and there was a shift in the leadership of INM away from moderates.
  • However, there was a formal beginning of communal politics with the birth of the Muslim League in 1906.

(TOPIC FOR THE NEXT CLASS: MUSLIM LEAGUE AND MUSLIM POLITICS.)