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There were a serious of revolt and rebellion against the British rule because of inherent
conflicts in the interests of British Raj and Indians. Among those revolts, the Revolt of 1857
gave a serious jolt to the British Raj in India. Thus the Revolt of 1857 is an important
landmark in the history of India. As per the British historians it was the “Sepoy Mutiny”,
however according to Indian scholars it was the “First war of independence”.
The leaders of the revolt were mainly from the aristocracy and had multiple grievances
against the British rule. For example, Nana Sahib was refused pension, as he was the
adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II. Avadh was annexed in 1856, on charges of mal-
administration. Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur and Sambhalpur were annexed owing to Doctrine of
lapse.
The exorbitant tax rates from the cultivators, introduction of new land revenue
arrangements in India without proper understanding of the ground realities, forcibly
evictions and cruel methods to extract the land revenue resulted in breakdown of
traditional agrarian economy.
The drain of wealth from India to Britain without any quid-pro-quo and distorted pattern
of foreign trade, wherein the raw material were exported from India while finished goods
were imported had serious implications.
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Socio-religious causes of Revolt of 1857
The racial discrimination by British against Indians, forceful conversion to Christianity and
social reforms like abolition of Sati, 1829; legalization of widow remarriage, 1856 etc.
offended the orthodox elements of Indian society.
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S. Date of Date of British
Indian Leader
No. Centre Beginning Ending officer
Commander Tantiya Campbell
Tope
Colin
3 Lucknow 4 June, 1857 21 Mar., 1858 Begum Hazrat Mahal
Campbell
4 Jhansi 4 June, 1857 18 June, 1858 Rani Laxmi Bai Huge Rose
5 Allahabad 5 June, 1857 March, 1858 Liyaqat Ali Colonel Neil
William
Kuer Singh and Amar
6 Jagdishpur Aug., 1857 Dec., 1858 Taylor and
Singh
Vincet Eyre
It was not just the “Sepoy mutiny” because it was a popular revolt against the British
imperialism. The revolt was not just confined to the sepoys or soldiers, but was much
broader in base. The civilian population, aristocracy, peasants, religious leaders etc
played active role in the revolt.
The revolt was also not the first war of independence because of the following reasons:
1. India was merely a geographical term at that time; it was only during the early
20th century that a pan Indian consciousness generated in India.It was also not the
“first” revolt as there were series of civil, tribal and military revolts that took place
before 1857.
2. The leaders of revolt like Rani Luxmi Bai, Nana Sahib, Tantya Tope, Begam Hazrat
Mahal etc had personal grievances against the British Raj.
3. Also the leaders like Nana Sahib, Rani Luxmibai and Bahadur Shah Zafar were
initially reluctant to join the revolt.
4. The aim of the leaders was not the independence of India, but to get back their
kingdoms which were annexed British on one pretext or the other.
It has been said that dead Julius Caesar was more powerful than Julius Caesar alive. The
same may be said about the Revolt of 1857. Whatever might have been its original
character; it soon became a symbol of challenge to the mighty British Empire in India and
remained a shining star for the rise and growth of the Indian national movement.
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Causes of failure of Revolt of 1857
The following were the causes of failure:
1. British Raj was better equipped with the technology and equipments as compared to
the revolutionaries. It had some brilliant officers which played key role in suppressing
the revolt.
2. The revolt didn’t spread to entire country. South India remained quiet and Punjab and
Bengal were only marginally affected.
3. Disunity of Indians and poor planning.
4. There was no vision for the post mutiny institutions and the leaders didn’t have the
forward looking program.
5. Lack of complete nationalism-Scindias, Holkars, Nizam and others actively helped the
British.
6. Lack of coordination between sepoys, peasants, zamindars and other classes.
Book Author
The First Indian War of Independence-1857-59 Karl Marx
Rebellion, 1857 : A Symposium P.C. Joshi
The Sepoy Mutiny & the rebellion of 1857 R.C. Mazumdar
4
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Civil Rebellion in Indian Mutinies S.B. Chowdhury
1857 S.N. Sen
Causes of Indian Revolt Sayed Ahmad Khan
The First War of Indian Independence V.D. Savarkar
S.
Tribe Year Leaders Cause
No.
Excess Revenue demand,
1 Chuar 1766 Raja Jagannath
Bengal famine
2 Bhills 1817 Sewaram Agrarian hardship
British occupation of
3 Hos 1820 …………
Singhbhum
Chittur Singh, Pratap
4 Ramosi 1822 British Rule
Singh, Dattaraya Patkar
5 Kolis 1824 …….. Dismantle of forests
6 Ahom 1828-33 Gomadhar kunwar British occupation
7 Khasi 1829-32 Tiruth Singh British occupation
Land transfer to
8 Kol 1831-32 Buddhu Bhagat
outsiders
9 Santhals 1855-56 Sidhu & Kanhu British Rule
For Dharma Raj against
10 Naikda 1858 Rup Singh ban Joria Bhagat on
grazing and timber
11 Bhuyan & Juang 1867-68 Ratna Nayak Installation of British
12 1891 Dharni Nayak protégé on throne
13 Kacha Nagas 1882 Sambhuden British intervention
Land system, Missionary
14 Munda (Ulgulam) 1899 Birsa Munda activity and Forced
labour
15 Bhills 1913 Govind Guru A temperance and
5
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purification movement
Oraons (Tana
Jatra Bhagat & Other
16 Bhagat) 1914 Religious Reason
Bhagats
Sanyasi (Bengal, 1780): lt was led by religious monks against British restrictions and
ruin of peasantry.
Kattabomman Revolt (1792-98): By Vira Pandya Kattabomman against imposition of
British Suzeraiity.
Paik Revolt (Orissa, 1804-06): Led by Bakshi Jagabandhu against British occupation
and revenue policy.
Velu Thampi (Travancore, 1805): Led by Velu Thampi against British extortions.
Kittur Revolt (Karnataka, 1824): Led by Chinnama and Ryappa against British
interference in Kittur.
Pagal Panthis (Maimansinh, 1825-33): Led by Karam Shah and Tipu. Religious
nature.
Raju (Vizag, 1827): Led by Birabhadra Raju.
Faraizi (1838): Led by Haji Saraitullah and Dadu Mian for cause of tenants.
Satavandi (Maharashtra, 1839): Led by Phond Savant and Anna Sahib against British
rule.
Kuka (1840): Led by Bhagat Jawahar Mal or Sian Saheb in Punjab.
Gadakari (1844): It was against revenue policy in Kolhapur.
Poligar (Karnool, 1846): It was led by Narasimha Reddy.
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The Indian National Congress was not the first organization that was formed in India. From
the mid 19th century there were many organizations which took up the political agenda.
However, all the predecessors of the Indian National Congress were the regional
organization and lacked the pan India orientation.
Some of the organizations that were the predecessors of Indian National Congress were as
follows:
S.
Organization Place Year Founder(s)
No.
1 Landholders Society Calcutta 1837 Dwarka Nath Tagore
2 British India Society London 1839 William Adam
British India Association
3 (Result of the merger of 1 and Calcutta 1851 Devendra Nath Tagore
2)
4 Madras Native Association Madras 1852 C.Y. Mudaliar
5 Bombay Association Bombay 1852 Jagannath Shanker Sheth
6 East India Association London 1866 Dadabhai Naoroji
S.H. Chiplunkar, V.V. Joshi, M.G.
7 Poona Sarvajanik Sabha Poona 1870
Ranade
8 Indian Society London 1872 Anand Mohan Bose
9 Indian League Calcutta 1875 Shishir Kumar Ghosh
Indian Association Anand Surendra Nath Bannerji & Anand
10 Calcutta 1876
Mohan Bose Mohan Bose
Surendra Nath Bannerji & Anand
11 India National Conference Calcutta 1883
Mohan Bose
P.Rangia Naydu, V. Raghavechari,
12 Madras Mahajan Sabha Madras 1884
Anand Charlu, G.S. Aiyer
Bombay Presidency Ferozshah Mehta, K.T. Tailang &
13 Bombay 1885
Association Badruddin Tyebji
Formation of Congress
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The Indian National Union was formed in 1884 by A.O. Hume, an Englishman and a
retired civil servant, in association with various national leaders who called for a
conference in Pune in December 1885.
The venue was shifted to Bombay for various reasons (esp. outbreak of plague at Pune).
Indian National Union was later renamed as Indian National Congress.
The first session of the Indian national Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit
College in Bombay under the presidentship of W.C. Bannerji and it was attended by 72
delegates from all over India.
They believe that British rule should continue in India as it was gradually preparing the
Indians to be capable for self rule
They were of the view that if the British rule is uprooted in India, the anarchy of
medieval age would return in India
The leaders of this phase were of the view that the bad plight of the Indians was due to
the negligence and apathy towards people by the civil servants of the company. They
firmly believed that if the grievances of Indians were notified to the British government
the plight of Indians would improve.
They adopted the 3 “P” i.e. Prayer, Petitions and Protests to ventilate their grievances
The demands of this phase were elitist in nature like expansion to supreme and
legislative councils, more funds for technical education, cuts in military expenditure,
Indianization of ICS exams etc.
Moderate Leaders
Dada Naoroji, A.O. Hume, Badruddin Tayebji, M.G. Ranade, W.C. Bannerji, Ferozshah Mehta,
Surendra Nath Bannerji, C. Shankaran Naiyar, Madan Mohan Malviya, V.S. Shrinivas Shastri,
Tej Bahadur Sapru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Anand Mohan Bose, E. Dinesh Wacha, Ras
Bihari Ghosh, Mohan Lal Ghosh, P. Anand Charlu, C.Y. Chintamani, R.C. Dutt, S.
Subrahmanyam Aiyer, K.T. Tailang, Madhusudan Das, Rahimtulla M. Sayani.
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It was gradually realized that British Raj was exploitative in its character and there are
inherent conflicts in the interests of British Raj and the Indian masses.
The rise in vernacular newspapers and expansion of middle class expanded the political
base of the congress. As a result the elitist demands by Moderate no longer satisfied the
masses.
International influences and events which demolished the myth of European
supremacy. These events included-Abyssinia/Ethopia’s victory over Italy (1896), Boer
wars (1899-1902) in which the British faced reverse, Japan victory over Russia (1905).
Reactionary policies of Curzon such as Calcutta Cooperation Act (1905) and Partition of
Bengal.
Existence of a militant school of thought and emergence of a trained leadership.
A critique of Moderates
The Moderates were the forerunner in generating political consciousness in India, yet they
failed to achieve anything phenomenal in their dominance of two decades on INC. The
following are the reasons for their failure:
1. They failed to realize the true character of the imperial British Raj
2. They lived in an illusion that India was being prepared for the self rule by the British
Raj
3. They also were unable to recognize the fact that miserable condition of Indians was not
due to the apathy of bureaucracy but because of the inherent conflicts in the interests of
the two nations.
4. The moderate style of prayer and petitions was considered as dishonorable and was
considered as political mendicancy
Methods of Extremists
1. They used vernacular languages to propagate their ideas
2. They used the religion and culture as vehicles to gain popularity
3. They tried to evoke pride among the masses for the ancient religion and culture
4. They did not have faith in “prayers and protests”, rather they adopted mechanisms like
boycott, constructive work, political extremism passive resistance and non cooperation
5. They gave great emphasis on self reliance
Extremist leaders
1. Bal Gangadhar Tilak : ‘Lokmanya’ Tilak was the uncompromising leader of extremists
as was influenced by Agarkar, Ranade and Naoroji. He launched two newspapers the
Kesari (in Marathi) and the Maratha (in English). He organized Ganpati Festival (1893)
and Shivaji Festival (1895). He was deported to Mandlay Jail (Burma) for writing
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seditious articles. He started Home Rule League in 1916. He wrote Gita Rahasya. Tilak
asserted that: ‘Swarj is my Birth Right and I will have it.’
2. Lala Lajpat Rai : He was an extremist from Punjab. Under the influence of Arya Samaj
founded National School at Lahore, he presided over the AITUC in 1920. He boycotted
Simon Commission and demonstrated against it at Lohore during which he was brutally
assaulted by the police and succumbed to his injuries.
3. Bipin Chandra Pal: He discarded orthodox Hinduism and entered Brahmo Samaj and
visited England and America. He founded English weekly New India. He led the
Swadeshi movement. He carried gospels of Boycott, Swadeshi, National Education,
Swaraj and the Passive Resistance.
4. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh : He passed ICS exam with record marks in Greek & Latin. He had
European upbringing. He worked for secret societies in Bengal and Maharashtra. He
started Bengali daily Jugantar. He wrote seditious articles in “Vande Matram”. He was
trialed for Maniktalla (Calcutta) Bomb Conspiracy Case. He finally retired to the life of a
Yogi at Pondicherry.
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The events
On Aug 7, 1905, a resolution to boycott British goods was adopted at a meeting of the
INC held in Calcutta. It was started a purely economic measure for the development of
Indian industry.
Many social and political organizations mushroomed up during the Swadeshi wave in
Bengal. For example Krishna Kumar Mitra’s Anti Circular society, Pulin Das’s Dhaka
Anushilan Samiti and Ashwani Kumar’s Barisal Swadeshi Bandhav.
Bone fire of foreign goods was conducted on a large scale in all major cities.
Tilak took the movement to different parts of India especially in Pune and Mumbai.
Ajit Singh and Lala Lajpat Roy spread the Swadeshi message in Punjab and other parts
of Northern India.
Syed Haidar Raza set up the agenda in Delhi. Rawalpindi, Kangra, Jammu, Multan and
Hardwar witnessed active participation in the Swadeshi Movement.
Chidambram Pillai took the movement to Madras Presidency which was also galvanized
by Bipin Chandra Pal’s extensive lecture tour.
The League supported the partition of Bengal, opposed the Swadeshi movement and
demanded special safeguards for its community and a separate electorate of Muslims.
However, for sometime the leadership of League went into the hands of the Young and
nationalist leaders like Mohammad and Shakut Ali, Hasrat Mohani etc. these leaders were
pan-Islamic, militant and accommodating towards the Hindus. They also realized the true
character of British Raj and thus Muslim League and Congress formed a joint front.
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Swaraj
Swadeshi
National education
Boycott
The extremists wanted to extend the agenda of swaraj, boycott, sawdeshi and national
education on the pan –Indian level. The reason for this was the success of Swadeshi
movement in Bengal. However, the moderates anticipated the reforms promised by the
British government and were in no mood to antagonize government with the revolutionary
agenda of the extremists.
After the Surat spilt the government launched a massive attack on the extremists by
suppressing the newspaper and arresting their main leader, Tilak, and sending him to
Mandalay Jail (Burma) for 6 years.
The extremists were not able to organize an effective alternative party or to sustain the
movement. Aurbindo Ghosh gave up politics and left for Pondicherry. Bipin Chandra Pal
also left politics temporarily. Lajpat Rai left for Britain. After 1908, the national movement
as a whole declined.
As per the provisions of the reform Muslims could only vote for Muslim candidates. This
was done to encourage the notion that the political, economic and cultural interests of
Hindus and Muslims were separate and not common. Indian political leaders were however
dissatisfied by these reforms.
In 1916 through the Locknow Pact, Congress and Muslim League joined the hands. One of
the important consequences of this union was the fact that Congress accepted the separate
electorates for Muslims.
12
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B.G Tilak was released from the Mandlay jail in the year 1914. In 1915 he reentered INC.
B.G. Tilak founded Indian Home Rule League at Pune on 28 April, 1916. Annie Besant,
inspired by the Irish rebellion, started Home Rule Movement in India in Sep., 1916. She
started two newspapers i.e. Young India and Commonweal. The leagues advocated passive
resistance and civil disobedience.
The movement spread rapidly and branches of the Home Rule League were established all
over India.
The war over in 1919 and Indians expected reforms as promised by the government.
Ironically instead of introducing reforms in India, the British government extended the
“emergency measures” for indefinite period on the recommendation of Rowlatt committee.
The Rowlatt Act was a law passed by the British in colonial India in March 1919.
Gandhi gave a call for Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act on April 6, 1919 and took
command of the nationalist movement for the first time. On April 6, a "hartal" was
organized where people suspended all the business and fast as a sign of their hatred for the
legislation. This is known as the Rowlatt satyagraha.
13
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In the Punjab the protest movement was very strong, and on April 10, two outstanding
leaders of the congress, Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested and taken
to an unknown place.
To protest against the arrest of the two leaders, the protest took place at several places in
Punjab. A protest was held in Amritsar, which led to the infamous Jalliawalan massarce. At
Jalliawalan Bagh the British General Dyer opened fire at the peaceful protest meeting
without any warning. Gandhi returned back the title Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal and
Rabindra Nath Tagore return back his “Knighthood” to protest against Jallianwala Bagh
massacre.
Khilafat movement
The main objective of the Khilafat movement was to force the British Government to
change its attitude to Turkey and restore the Turkish Sultan to his former position. The All
India Khilafat Conference at Delhi called for the non cooperation and elected Gandhi as its
president (Nov. 1919).
The following events radicalized the Khilafat movement:
Treaty of Serves with Turkey was considered as too harsh by Muslims.
The Hunter commission report on Punjab disturbances which gave clean chit to General
Dyer in Jallianwala massacre
1. The Punjab wrongs and the Hunter commission report after which the House of Lords
in Britain favored the action of General Dyer.
2. The ill treatment of Turkey and Caliph by British after 1st World War. The Muslims
regarded the Caliph of Turkey as their spiritual head and were upset by the Treaty of
Serves by which the Caliph lost control over the holy places.
3. The Montague-Chelmsford reforms introduced diarchy which failed to satisfy Indians.
4. To achieve Swaraj.
The movement changed the goal of Congress. Prior to Non cooperation movement, the
Congress aimed at attainment of self rule by constitutional and legal means, which changed
to attainment of self rule by peaceful and legitimate means.
In order to galvanize the mass movement, the changes were made in the organizational
structure and the working of Congress as well. These changes were:
1. A working committee of 15 members came into being to look after the day-to-day
affairs.
14
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2. The Provincial Congress Committees were organized for the first time on the linguistic
basis
3. In order to penetrate at local level the ward committees were formed at the village
levels
4. The membership fee was reduced to 4 annas per year to allow active participation of
economically weaker section as well.
In this incidence the crowd participating in the Non Cooperation and Khilafat procession
indulged into the violence with the police. As a result the crowd burnt a Police station and
in the incidence 22 policemen were killed.
During this time a new political strategy; to carry forward the struggle against the colonial
rule; was advocated by C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru. These leaders were of the view that the
nationalists should end the boycott of legislative councils (as introduced by the Montague
Chelmsford reforms). These leaders advocated that the nationalists should enter these
councils, in order to expose these councils as “sham parliaments”.
C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru put forward this changed strategy in Gaya session (1922) of the
Congress. There were leaders in Congress like Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad and
C.Rajgopalacharya who opposed these changes of council entry. The group within the
Congress which supported the changed strategy of council entry was called “Pro-Changers”
while those opposing the changes were called “No Changers”. However the proposal of the
15
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council entry was defeated in the Gaya session. C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru resigned from
the Congress and formed the Swaraj Party.
The Swarajist claimed that they would transform the councils into the theatre of political
struggle. The councils would thus be wrecked from within by creating deadlocks on every
measure.
The elections for the legislative councils were held in November 1923, the Swarajist
performed well in the election. They won 42 out of 101 seats in the Central Legislative
Assembly, got a clear majority in the Central Provinces, they were the largest party in
Bengal; and did well in Bombay and U.P. However their performance was not good in
Madras and Punjab.
The Swarajists demanded the release all the political prisoners, provincial autonomy,
repealing of the repressive laws imposed by the government. However, after the death of
C.R. Das in 1925 they drifted towards a policy of cooperation with the government. This led
to dissension and the party broke up in 1926.
The peculiar feature of this commission was that no Indian was included in this
commission which was about to play a crucial role in deciding the future of India.
The Commission was boycotted in India, not only by Congress but also by Liberal
Federation, Hindu Mahasabha and large section in Muslim League.
To meet this challenge All Parties Conferences were held in 1928. A scheme was finalized
which is popularly called “Nehru Report” as Motilal Nehru was its chief architect.
16
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The report defined Dominion Status as its aim (not complete freedom)
It rejected the principle of separate electorates for Muslim.
The report recommended the reservation of Muslim at Centre and in provinces in which
they were in numerical majority, while it discarded reservation for Muslims in the
provinces in which they were in majority
The report recommended universal adult suffrage, equal rights for women, freedom to
form unions etc.
Lahore Session
At its annual session held in Lahore in Dec. 1929, under the presidentship of Jawaharlal
Nehru, the Indian National Congress passed a resolution declaring ‘Poorna Swaraj’
(Complete Independence) to be the goal of the national movement.
On Dec. 31, 1929, the newly adopted tricolor flag was unfurled and Jan 26 fixed as the
Independence Day which was to be celebrated every year, pleading to the people not to
submit to British rule any longer
On 31st January 1930, Gandhi gave his ultimatum to Lord Irwin with his 11 point demand.
The Gandhi asked Irwin either to accept the 11 point demands else the Congress will
launch Civil Disobedience.
The demands were ignored by the British government. Thus Gandhi launched the Civil
Disobedience Movement with the Dandi march. It was from Sabarmati to Dandi . Gandhiji
along with his 78 followers broke the Salt Act.
17
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The soldiers of Gharwal Rifles defied the orders of firing at the mob in North West
Frontier ProvinceThe working class participation was seen in the form of Sholapur mill
strike.
Gandhi was arrested in mid-May 1930
Congress working committee sanctioned non-payment of revenues in the provinces
where Ryotwari system prevailed and no Chowkidari tax campaign in the Zamindari
provinces and violation of forest laws in the central provinces
The no Chowkidari Tax campaign started in Eastern parts of the country
The government retaliated with an iron hand.
The first Round Table Conference was held on 9th July under the chairmanship of the
then Prime Minister of Britain, Ramsay Macdonald. The congress along with most of the
business leaders (except Homi Modi) kept away from the conference. Muslim leaders like
Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Shafi, Aga Khan, Fazlul Haq, Jinnah etc, Hindu Mahasabha
leaders like Moonje and Jayakar, liberals like Sapru, Chintamani and Srinivas Shastri were
present.
The government made a gesture of goodwill by releasing Gandhi and other Congress
leaders. The Viceroy Irwin directly held talks with Gandhi. In Feb. 1931, the talks ended
with the famous Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
In return the Congress agreed to withdrew the Civil Disobedience Movement and
participate in the second Round Table Conference
Second Round Table Conference was held on September 7, 1931. Gandhi was the sole
representative of the Congress. Gandhi demanded that a responsible government must be
established, immediately and in full, both at the Centre and in the Provinces. There was a
18
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deadlock on the minority issue. The separate electorates were now demanded not only by
the Muslims but also by the depressed classes, Indian Christians and Europeans.
Gandhi began the fast unto death in opposition of the separate electorates for the
depressed classes. He demanded that representatives for the depressed classes should be
elected by the general electorates under a wide, if possible universal, common franchise. At
the same time he also didn’t object to the demand for a larger number of the reserved seats
for the depressed classes.
In the end the agreement known as Poona Pact broke the impasse; this agreement took
place between Gandhi and Dr B.R. Ambadkar (the leader of depressed class). As per this
Pact the idea of separate electorates for the Depressed Classes was abandoned but the
seats reserved for them in the provincial legislatures were increased from 71 in the award
to 147 and in the Central Legislature to 18% of the total.
Made ministers responsible to the legislative and federation at the centre. The Act of 1935
was condemned by nearly all sections of Indian public and was unanimously rejected by
the Congress. The Congress demanded itself the convening of a Constituent Assembly
elected on the basis of adult Although the Congress opposed the Act, yet it contested the
19
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elections when the constitution was introduced on April 1, 1937; and formed ministries,
first in 6 provinces and then in another 2. The Muslim League was however, not happy with
the Congress rule, esp. Mr. Jinnah, who described it in those words: ‘Congress was drunk
with power and was oppressive against Muslims’.
The Congress ministries in the seven provinces resigned on 1st November 1939 to manifest
their protest as India was declared to be at war without any consultations from the
nationalists. Muslim League celebrated the resignation of Congress ministries as “Day of
Deliverance” from the rule of Congress.
20
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Individual Satyagraha
The August offer shocked nationalists, and the Congress launched the individual
Satyagraha. As per the strategy of this limited Satyagraha the few individuals would be
selected in every locality that would mobilize people for the goal of complete independence
and preach against the participation in War.
Vinobha Bhave was the first Satyagrahi while Nehru was second.
Cripp’s Mission
The mission was sent to under the pressure from President Roosevelt of the USA and
President Chiang Kai Shek of China
The aim was to secure the active cooperation of Indians in war by promising some
constitutional reforms
The declaration promised India Dominion Status and a constitution making body after
the war whose members would be elected by the provincial assemblies and nominated
by the Princely States
The demand for separate Pakistan was accommodated by the clause that any province
which do not accept the constitution has right to secede.
The Congress objected the proposal of Cripp’s Mission on the following grounds:
The demand for complete independence was not fulfilled, rather the Mission promised
Dominion Status, that too after the war
The Congress leaders objected the nomination of the candidates in the constitution
making body by the rulers of the princely states rather than elected by the people
The Congress was vehemently opposed to the creation of separate Pakistan
Course of Events
Quit India resolution was passed on 6th August 1942 at Bombay.
The Congress envisaged a “mass struggle on the non-violent lines on the widest
possible scale
21
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It was made clear that if Congress leadership gets removed by arrest, “every Indian who
desires freedom and strives for it must be his own guide”.
The government had armed itself with the draconian measures and suppressed the
basic civil liberties.
Gandhi and all the leaders of the Congress working committee were arrested on the
early hours of August 9, 1942.
There was a three month strike in Ahmedabad, the Stalinguard of India
Usha Metha ran an illegal radio station
Rajgopalacharya and Communists opposed the Quit India Movement
The three parallel governments were formed at:
1. Ballia under Chittu Pandey
2. Tamkul- Jatia Sarkar of Satish Samant
3. Satara- Prati Sarkar under Nana Patil
Muslim League was to endorse Congress demand for independence and cooperate in
formation of provisional government. Jinnah objected, as he wanted Congress to accept
two-nation theory and wanted only Muslims of the North-West and East of India to vote in
the plebiscite. Hindu Leaders led by V.D. Savarkar condemned the plan.
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with some sort of plan to satisfy the Indians. After consultations with the British
Government on the Indian problem, Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, issued a statement
known as Wavell Plan. The Plan, which chiefly concerned Viceroy’s Executive Council,
proposed certain changes in the structure of the council. One of the main proposals was
that the Executive Council would be constituted giving a balanced representation to main
communities in it, including equal representation to Muslims and Hindus.
Soon after the Wavell Plan was issued the members of the Congress Working Committee
were released from jails. A conference of 22 prominent Indian leaders called at Shimla to
consider the Wavell Plan, reached no decision. What scutted the conference was Mr.
Jinnah’s unflinching stand that Muslim approved only by the Muslim League should be
included in the Executive Council. Communalism thus again became a stumbling block. For
the Britishers, however, the dissension between the Congress and the Muslim League was a
source of happiness.
INA Trials
The first trial of INA prisoners took place at Red Fort
P.K. Seghal, Shah Nawaz and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon were made accused
The counsels for defense were Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bhadur Sapru, K.N. Kataju, J.L.
Nehru and Asaf Ali
Even though the Court Martial held the INA prisoners guilty, the Government felt it
expedient to set them free.
The question of guilt was not the issue, however it was Britain’s right to decide the
matter concerning Indians.
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B.C Dutta scrawled Quit India on the ships
The HMIS Hindustan in Karachi also mutinied
By the end of February the strike had spread to naval bases all over the country
involving about 20000 ratings
Sardar Patel and Jinnah had to intervene to
Direct Action Campaign (Aug, 16, 1946): Provoked by the success of the Congress (in the
voting for Constituent Assembly), the Muslim League launched a ‘direct action’ campaign
on Aug. 16, 1946, which resulted in heavy communal riots in the country.
24
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Formation of Constituent Assembly (Dec. 9, 1946): This Constituent Assembly met on
Dec. 9, 1946, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected its President. The Muslim League did not
join the Assembly.
Attlee’s Announcement (Feb. 20, 1947): On Feb. 20, 1947, British Prime Minister Attlee
announced that the British would withdraw from India by June 30, 1948 and that Lord
Mountbatten would replace Wavell.
Integration of States
By Aug. 15, 1947, all states except Kashmir, Junagadh & Hyderabad had signed the
Instrument of Accession with India. The Maharaja of Kashmir acceded to India in Oct., 1947
when irregular Pakistani troops invaded his state. The Nawab of Junagadh was a Muslim
whereas most of its people were Hindus. In Feb. 1948, through a referendum the people of
this state decided to join India. The Nawab of Junagadh, therefore, left for Pakistan. The
Nizam of Hyderabad was forced to accede to the Indian Union under the pressure of
internal anarchy and military action against him in Sep., 1948.
French Colonies: By the end of 1954, French colonial rule in Pondicherry, Chandranagar,
Mahe, Karaikal and Yanam came to an end. These territories were integrated with India.
Portuguese Colonies: The Portuguese colonies in India were Goa, Daman, Die, Dadra and
Nagar Haveli. In 1954, Dadra and Nagar Haveli were liberated by freedom fighters. Indian
troops liberated Goa, Daman and Diu from the Portuguese in 1961.
25
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