Indian Independence Movement

The Indian Independence Movement was a series of revolutions empowered by the people of India put forth to battle the British Empire for complete political independence, beginning with the Rebellion of 1857, reaching its climax with Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India Movement (1942-1945), and Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army invasion of British India during World War II, and freedom came on August 15, 1947.

Rise of organized movements

:Main articles: Indian National Congress, Arya Samaj, Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Mission, Rabindranath Tagore, Syed Ahmed Khan

Related Topics:
Indian National Congress - Arya Samaj - Swami Vivekananda - Ramakrishna Mission - Rabindranath Tagore - Syed Ahmed Khan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The decades following the Sepoy Rebellion were a period of growing political awareness, manifestation of Indian public opinion, and emergence of Indian leadership at national and provincial levels.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The influences of socio-religious groups, especially in a nation where religion plays a vital role cannot be undermined. The Arya Samaj was an important Hindu organization which sought to reform Hindu society of social evils, counter-act Christian missionary propaganda. Swami Dayanand Saraswati's work was important in increasing an attitude of self-awareness, pride and community service in common Indian peoples. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's Brahmo Samaj was also a pioneer in the reform of Indian society, fighting evils like suttee, dowry, ignorance and illiteracy.

Related Topics:
Arya Samaj - Dayanand Saraswati - Raja Ram Mohan Roy - Brahmo Samaj - Suttee

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The inculcation of religious reform and social pride was fundamental to the rise of a public movement for complete independence. The work of men like Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa], Sri Aurobindo, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Rabindranath Tagore and Dadabhai Naoroji spread the passion for rejuvenation and freedom. The flames of the spirit of freedom were ignited by learned men like them, who gave reason for common Indians to feel proud of themselves, demand political and social freedom and seek happiness. They were the teachers who sparked the passion of learning and achievement for thousands of Indians, and the poets expressing the inner fires of the freedom-fighter's soul.

Related Topics:
Swami Vivekananda - Ramakrishna Paramhansa - Sri Aurobindo - Bankim Chandra Chatterjee - Syed Ahmed Khan - Rabindranath Tagore - Dadabhai Naoroji

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Inspired by a suggestion made by A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant, seventy-three Indian delegates met in Bombay in 1885 and founded the Indian National Congress. They were mostly members of the upwardly mobile and successful western-educated provincial elites, engaged in professions such as law, teaching, and journalism. They had acquired political experience from regional competition in the professions and by securing nomination to various positions in legislative councils, universities, and special commissions.

Related Topics:
A.O. Hume - 1885 - Indian National Congress - Law - Teaching - Journalism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It should be noted that Dadabhai Naoroji had already formed the Indian National Association a few years before the Congress. The INA merged into the Congress Party to form a bigger national front.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At its inception, the Congress had no well-defined ideology and commanded few of the resources essential to a political organization. It functioned more as a debating society that met annually to express its loyalty to the British Raj and passed numerous resolutions on less controversial issues such as civil rights or opportunities in government, especially the civil service. These resolutions were submitted to the Viceroy's government and occasionally to the British Parliament, but the Congress's early gains were meager. Despite its claim to represent all India, the Congress voiced the interests of urban elites; the number of participants from other economic backgrounds remained negligible.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By 1900, although the Congress had emerged as an all-India political organization, its achievement was undermined by its singular failure to attract Muslims, who felt that their representation in government service was inadequate. Attacks by Hindu reformers against religious conversion, cow slaughter, and the preservation of Urdu in Arabic script deepened their concerns of minority status and denial of rights if the Congress alone were to represent the people of India. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan launched a movement for Muslim regeneration that culminated in the founding in 1875 of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh (renamed Aligarh Muslim University in 1921). Its objective was to educate wealthy students by emphasizing the compatibility of Islam with modern western knowledge. The diversity among India's Muslims, however, made it impossible to bring about uniform cultural and intellectual regeneration.

Related Topics:
1900 - Muslim - Urdu - Arabic - Syed Ahmed Khan - 1875 - Aligarh - Aligarh Muslim University - 1921 - Islam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Partition of Bengal

In 1905, Lord Curzon, the Viceroy and Governor-General (1899-1905), ordered the partition of the province of Bengal for improvements in administrative efficiency in that huge and populous region, where the Bengali Hindu intelligentsia exerted considerable influence on local and national politics. The partition created two provinces: Eastern Bengal & Assam, with its capital at Dhaka, and West Bengal, with its capital at Calcutta (which also served as the capital of British India). An ill-conceived and hastily implemented action, the partition outraged Bengalis. Not only had the government failed to consult Indian public opinion, but the action appeared to reflect the British resolve to "divide and rule." Widespread agitation ensued in the streets and in the press, and the Congress advocated boycotting British products under the banner of swadeshi. During this period nationalist poet Rabindranath Tagore penned and composed a song (roughly translated into English as "The soil of Bengal, the water of Bengal be hallowed ... ") and himself led people to the streets singing the song and tying Rakhi on each other's wrists. The people did not cook any food (Arandhan) on that particular day.

Related Topics:
1905 - Lord Curzon - Partition of the province of Bengal - Assam - Dhaka - West Bengal - Calcutta - Swadeshi - Rabindranath Tagore - Rakhi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Congress-led boycott of British goods was so successful that it unleashed anti-British forces to an extent unknown since the Sepoy Rebellion. A cycle of violence and repression ensued in some parts of the country. The British tried to mitigate the situation by announcing a series of constitutional reforms in 1909 and by appointing a few moderates to the imperial and provincial councils. A Muslim deputation met with the Viceroy, Lord Minto (1905-10), seeking concessions from the impending constitutional reforms, including special considerations in government service and electorates. The All-India Muslim League was founded the same year to promote loyalty to the British and to advance Muslim political rights, which the British recognized by increasing the number of elective offices reserved for Muslims in the India Councils Act of 1909. The Muslim League insisted on its separateness from the Hindu-dominated Congress, as the voice of a "nation within a nation."

Related Topics:
1909 - Lord Minto - All-India Muslim League

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In what the British saw as an additional goodwill gesture, in 1911 King-Emperor George V visited India for a durbar (a traditional court held for subjects to express fealty to their ruler), during which he announced the reversal of the partition of Bengal and the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to a newly planned city to be built immediately south of Delhi, which became New Delhi.

Related Topics:
George V - New Delhi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~