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Indian History Chapter 1

Indian History Chapter 1


INDIAN HISTORY
CHAPTER 1

The Rise and Growth of Indian Nationalism/Feelings of oneness) /1885 – 1905)

The East India Company who came as traders gradually began to interfere in the internal politics of the country. For instance, they took part in the internal politics which cemented them in rising in the real power. Some of the  puppet rulers who helped the EIC in establishing their power were Nawabs like Mir Zafar, Mir Kasim, etc…. from the historical point of view, the battle of Buxar greatly helped the EIC in assuming the real power in the disguise of dual administration. Similarly in the Bengal area, with the grant of Diwani Right (State Right 1765), the British got the right of collecting the revenues on behalf of the Mughal Emperor. All in all, these helped the company to start the policy of expansion throughout India.
Gradually, for the next hundred years, the rule of the Company became consolidated though the resistance against this alien rule continued by the Indians. The great revolt of 1857 was the culmination of this resistance against the alien rule. Slowly the EIC who first came as traders began to extend their power through various means. With their policy of expansion and exploitation, they started introducing railways, Telegraph, postal system and all these indirectly had tremendous impact on the Indians. For instance, the foundation of Culcutta, Bombay and Madras universities were kind of tacit recognition of the demand of the Indians for higher education.
Slowly Indians began to open their eyes and came to know the true colors of the British rule. Thus Indians surmise that the EIC in India was not at all to benefit any Indians but to exploit whole of India. Hence, the period 1885-1905 is very important in the history of India because it was during this period that witnessed the growth of Nationalism.

Factors responsible for the Rise of Nationalism
i)                    Administrative and Economic Unity
  Ø  To rule and apply uniform law, the British government has introduced railways, telegraph and postal system but such facilities created opportunities to the people of different parts of contact especially the political leaders
  Ø  With easy transport facilities, books and journals reached the other parts of country and thus the love for mother land gradually developed among Indians
  Ø  These facilities could also open contacts among the people because they could travel from one place to another breaking the isolation and this developed a feeling of oneness.
  Ø  Also, all the Indians had to follow same laws and uniform administration which promoted the sense of belongings to one nation and share common identity as Indians, which enhanced the growth of Nationalism.

Impact

v  The improvement in communications and increasing travelling facilities created opportunities to the people to exchange their ideas.
v  Easier/accessible contact made the people to develop a feeling of oneness
v  The printing materials like books, newsletter, and journals are easily reached the other parts of India.

ii)                  Western Thoughts and Education

Ø  John Macaulay introduced western education in India with good intention but they were influenced by the western writers like Milton and Shelly.
Ø  He said that the Indians having western knowledge will benefit the European Institutions.
Ø  It gave rise to the new class known as ENGLISH EDUCATED INDIANS who led the national movement.
Ø  Many Indians went to England for further western education.
Ø  There they saw the different British political institution and it was just opposite in India.The humiliation of British rule and its colonial attitude made the Indians annoyed with the British.

Impact

v  It brought liberal ideas of the west such as freedom, democracy and nationalism
v  English became a link language/ medium of instruction
Unemployment increased and forced the educated youth to join the movement.

iii)                The Role of the Press and Literature

  Ø  In the 19th century, newspaper like Hindu Patriot, Sambad Prabhakar and Indian Mirror have not only criticized the government but also exposed the Indian views.
  Ø  In the second half of the 19th century, newspaper like –the times of India, Pioneer and statesman have supported the government policies but people were informed about the political developments of the country
  Ø  Others like Amrita Bazar and the Hindu have not only criticized the government but also Indians were instructed to unite against the British Rule.
  Ø  Tilak has written articles in Keshari through which people were reminded to seek the natural rights and freedom from the British Government.
  Ø  Indian Literatures like Anandanath of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee has greatly inspired the youths regarding the idea of fighting against the British rule and it has become a bible of the Bengal revolutionaries
  Ø  Thus, press and literature had greatly promoted the sense of Nationalism

Impact

v  The papers strongly criticized the government policy and put forward Indian view points
     v  The Indian literature of the period also helped the cause of Indian Nationalism

iv)                Economic Exploitation of India

Ø  The Economic Policy of East India Company was Permanent Settlements, the Ryotwars and Mahalwari Settlements.
Ø  This economic policy affected the peasants, artisans and labourers.
Ø  Peasants were so poor that they could not contest in the court of law.
Ø  Their lands were evicted easily by the landlords.
Ø  The Indian market was flooded with the machine-made products of England.  This compelled the Indian craftsmen to leave their age-old profession.
Ø  EIC ruined the cottage industry and handicrafts in India.
Ø  Indians lost their livelihood.  Hence, the peasants, artisans and labourers revolt took place.

Impact

Ø  The peasants were in poor condition.
Ø  Indian handicraft industry was totally shattered.
Ø  A huge art of money/resources were drained off from India and nothing was left for welfare of Indian people.

v)                  Racial Discrimination

Ø  The British people, administrators and the army officers were very arrogant towards the Indians and did not mix freely with the Indians, treated them as niggers.
Ø  British followed the following racial discriminatory policies;
o   Indians were not allowed to use parks, clubs, hospitals and travel in the first class trains.
o   Indians were not given any powers in the legislative council
o   All important posts were given to the british
Ø  The higher posts were exclusively for the Europeans.  For example, Surendranath Banerjee was dismissed from the ICS service.
Ø  Pandit Jawaharlal Nehuru had described the situation as THERE WERE TWO WORLS- THE WORLD OF BRITISH OFFICIALS AND THE WORLD OF INDIANS MILLIONS AND THERE WAS NOTHING IN COMMON BETWEEN THEM EXCEPT A COMMON DISLIKE FOR EACHOTHER.
Ø  Such kind of anti-Indian policies adopted  by British was totally hated by the Indians and thus, promoted the sense of Nationalism among Indians

Impact

o   The British rulers considered themselves to be racially superior and considered Indians as sub-human
o   Higher services remained exclusively for the Europeans
ü  Lord Lytton’s Arms Act- 1878
ü  Vernacular press Act- 1878

vi)                Socio-Religious movements and the Discovery of India’s Past

Ø  Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the founder of Brahma Samaj, he was the first man who started political agitation in India and he was the first modern man of India.
Ø  Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founded the Arya Samaj and Suddhin movement that is conversion of non-Hindus to Hinduism.
Ø  Swami Vivekananda instilled feelings of patriotism and was known as the prophet of Nationalism
Ø  The Indian researchers made Indians proud of their heritage and ancient glory.

Impact

v  The various socio-religious movements of the 19th century prepared the ground for the growth of nationalism
ü  Raja Ram Mohan Roy- the first modern man of India led Bramo Samaj
ü  Swami Vivekananda- prophet of nationalism
ü  Mrs. Annie Besant- the theosophical movement.
India’s past gave the sense of pride in culture and heritage

vii)              Role of Lord Lytton

Ø  Lord Lytton was Viceroy of India from 1876 – 1880.
Ø  His tenure is well known for his Anti-Indian Attitude due to the following works:
§      He reduced the age limit for the civil service examination from 21 to 19, thus making it impossible for Indians to compete for it.
§      He enacted Vernacular Press Act 1878 which did not permit the Vernacular Press to publish any anti-government news.
§      If any printer was found guilty, they were heavily fined and their machines confiscated and they were severely punished.
§      He enacted the Indian Arms Act in 1878, Indians were not allowed to sell or purchase any arms without permission of British authority.  This act was not applicable to the Europeans.

Impact

Ø  Age limit for civil service examination was reduced to 21-19 years.
Ø  He enacted vernacular press act (1878) by not permitting the vernacular press to publish any anti-news (gagging Act)
Ø  He also enacted the Indian Arms Act (1878) whereby, the Indians were not allowed to sell or purchase any arms without the permission of the authority.
Ø  This was not applicable to the Europeans.


viii)            Ilbert Bill Controversy (1883-1884)

(The Ilbert Bill was a bill introduced in 1883 for British India by Lord Ripon that proposed an amendment for existing laws in the country at the time to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level, something that was disallowed at the time. However, the introduction of the bill led to intense opposition in Britain and from British settlers in India that ultimately played on racial tensions before it was enacted in 1884 in a severely compromised state. The bitter controversy deepened antagonism between the British and Indians and was a prelude to the formation of the Indian National Congress the following year.)
The next Viceroy who came to rule India was Lord Ripon and he was a liberal minded person.  He knew that Indians were suffering in the hands of British.  So he wanted to remove discrimination in the field of Judiciary.  According to the existing law, Indian Judges had no authority to take cases against the Europeans.  Lord Ripon wanted to remove this anomaly.  So he introduced a Bill (Law) known as ILBERT BILL.  According to this bill, he wanted the Indian Judges to decide the cases of the Europeans.  All the Europeans were united and were against Lord Ripons new bill.  So Lord Ripon changed the bill, like the Indians can try the case only with the help of the Europeans and they cannot do alone.
The Indians learnt that organized agitation could deflect the government from its purpose.  So it was an eye-opener to the India leaders.

Impact

o   The controversy on this bill passed by lord Ripon became an eye-opener to the Indian leaders
o   They learnt that the value of organized agitation could deflect the government from its purpose

ix)                Current International events and its impacts
Ø  The International events like the American War of Independence and the Greek War of Independence inspired the Indians to believe in their power against the British for their Independence.
Impact
v  The international events like the American war of independence, the French revolution etc. greatly fired the imagination of the young Indians
v  It served as great source of inspiration to the educated Indians.

x)                  Contribution of Important Personalities

Ø  Surendranath Banerjee influenced the students with his lectures on the rise of Sikh power and Italian Freedom Movement.
Ø  He inspired Gokhale who served the motherland.
Ø  Rabindranath Tagore inspired the Indian with his poems like Shivaji, Sikh Guru Banda and Guru Govind.

Impact

v  Important personalities like SN Banerjee, M.G Ranade, Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, had greatly influenced and stirred the Indian minds.
v  Leader like Derozio taught and infused in them the spirit of patriotism

Beginning of Political Agitation

Ø  Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the first person to start political agitation in India as follows
ü  In 1823 when the Acting Governor General Adam issued a Press Ordinance taking away the liberty of the press. He submitted a petition to the Supreme Court and to the King in London against the Ordinance.
ü  He opposed the Jury Act of 1926 which introduced religious discrimination.
ü  He demanded the replacement of Persian by English as the official language.
ü  He demanded separation of executive and judiciary.
ü  He demanded appointment of Indians in the Civil Service.
Ø  Although all his above demand remained unfulfilled, the political agitation was continued by other people in India. In this way, the agitation tradition started by Raja Ram Mohan Roy was carried on.

FORMATION OF VARIOUS POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS IN INDIA BEFORE THE FORMATION OFINDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS BETWEEN THE PERIODS (1870-1885)

Ø  The land holder’s society of Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa (1837) to protect the class interest
Ø  British India society in England (1839) -It was established to protect free traders in England
Ø  Bengal British India Society (1843/48)- to protect and promote general public interest
Ø  British Indian Association(1851)- It is an culmination of the landholders society and Bengal British to have an organized All India Movement
Ø  Formation of Bombay Association and Madras Native Association in 1852
Ø  Formation of madras Native Association in 1852
Ø  Formation of India League in 1857 which was targeted to instill the sense of Nationalism in the minds of Indians
Ø  Formation of new association ‘Indian league’ (1875) later replaced by ‘Indian Association’ (26 July,1876) in Calcutta by Surrendranath Banerjee. It had three objectives;
1)      Creation of a strong body of public opinion in the country
2)      Unity among all the Indian races based on common political interests and aspiration
3)      To promote friendly feelings between Hindus and Muhammadans and to involve the great masses in the great public movement of the day.

SOME OF THE ISSUES RAISED BY THE “INDIAN ASSOCIATION”

v  Regarding the reduction of age limit for civil service examination (21-19 yrs) to be raised to 22 years.
v  Against Vernacular Press Act which denied the freedom of press for Indians
v  M.G. Ranade- ‘Poona Sarvajanik Sabha’.
ü  It brought out a journal arousing political consciousness
ü  Its aim was to educate the public opinion
ü  To draw the attention of the government to the economic hardships of the people
v  The Bombay Presidency Association led by Dadabhai Naraoji, Pheroz Shah Mehta, Badrudin Tyabji were also raised and worked successfully.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VARIOUS POLITICAL ASSOCIATION/FORERUNNERS OF INC (INDIANNATIONAL CONGRESS)

v  It laid the foundation for the formation of INC
v  After 1885, these associations became the regional branch of the INC


The Foundation of the Indian National Congress (INC):

Since the situation was already created with the formation of various associations by different leaders like S.N. Banerjee, M.G Ranade etc. It became easier for the formation of INC. Thus the situation was well prepared for the formation of an All India Political Organization. So, the Indian association took advantage of the international exhibition which is going to be held at Calcutta and invited all prominent leaders and other associations of the country. Thus the Indian Association has been rightly described as the precursor of INC.
It can also be said that the INC was formed by the combined efforts of both the English men and the Indian Leaders. A.O. Hume, a retired official is said to be the founder of INC. The first meeting of INC was held at Bombay in 1885 with W.C Bannerjee (a renowned barrister of Bengal) as its first President of INC. After the foundation of INC, political movement started in an organized manner and decided to meet every year.

Factors responsible for the origin of INC

Ø  As a result of the growth of national consciousness, many political organizations came into existence during the second half of the 19th century. The gulf between the educated Indians and the British Officials was widening. This paved the way for the formation of an organization which could build public opinion against the government. So, we can say that the formation of the congress cannot be ascribed to the initiative of an individual only. The situation was already ripe/ready for the formation of all-India Organization.
Ø  The role of A.O. Hume (a retired Indian Civil Servant) – A.O Hume wanted to set up an organization that would draw the attention of government towards the drawbacks of administration and also suggest the means to remove it. In fact many Indian leaders had been planning to form an all-India Organization of Nationalist political workers, but it was British official A.O Hume who was successful in doing so.
Ø  The role of Lord Dufferin- the INC got the blessings of Lord Dufferin because his idea was to have a political organization through which the government could ascertain the real wishes of the people and thus save the administration from any possible political outburst in the country.
Ø  Similarly, the Indian leaders co-operated with A.O Hume to avoid official hostility at an early stage of their political work. Thus it can be concluded that the formation of the Indian National Congress was the result of the combined efforts of Englishmen and Indians though both the parties were having different motives.
According to W.C Bannerjee in 1898, A.O Hume had acted under the direct advice of Viceroy Lord Dufferin. His view is that A.O Hume and viceroy had planned to use the congress as the ‘safety valve’ (a way of getting rid of strong feelings without causing harm)so that grievance of the middle class would exhaust themselves by criticizing the government and its actions. However, the formation of the INC cannot be ascribed to the initiative of an individual only. The situation was ready for the formation of an All-India Organization. Surrendranath Bannerjee and Hume tried to take advantage of the situation. Thus Anil seal of the Cambridge Group suggested that it was the ‘Age of the Association’ and congress or something like it was bound to emerge under the compulsion of the history.

Official Attitude towards the Congress

The INC was formed by the combined efforts of both the Englishmen and Indian leaders to fulfill their own motives/purposes. That is why in the beginning, the congress was not anti-British in its attitude. They respected British liberalism and justice. Similarly, in the initial stage, many government officials attended the meeting of the congress and even took part in the deliberation and drafting of the resolution.
However, the general attitude of the British people was not very cordial from the very beginning. E.g. the British press from the beginning regarded the congress as the greatest enemy of the British rule. Gradually the official attitude of sympathy changed when the congress leaders demanded more constitutional reforms especially after the second and third sessions. The congresses were regarded as the ‘Factory of Sedition’ and congress leaders were regarded as ‘Disloyal Baboos’ and ‘seditious Brahmins’ by the British officials.  Viceroy Dufferin branded Congress as a ‘Microscopic minority’. Another Viceroy Lytton remarked that the members “represent nothing but the social anomaly of their own position”.However, they feared that the few intelligent minorities would determine the course of history or the fate of a nation. In other words, the officials feared that the few educated intelligentsia would disrupt their Administration. So, the government started adopting Anti-Congress elements against the congress. Following are the some of the measures implemented by the government against the congress:
Ø  Most important measure was to create misunderstanding between Hindus and Muslim by encouraging Syed Ahmed Khan
Ø  The Government became more hostile under the viceroy Curzon and started following a policy of favoring the anti-congress elements like pressurizing the rich and aristocratic to withdraw their patronage from the congress. However, the British officials failed to realize that the middle, not the rich and the wealthy class was the backbone of INC.

THE PROGRAMME AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE EARLY MODERATES/NATIONALISTS [1885-1905]

The early moderates/nationalist leaders followed the policy of Prayers and petition. They didn’t want to annoy the government at an early stage and were cautious in their demands. They believe in the policy of agitation through constitutional means of holding public meetings and sending petitions. At the session, the government policy was discussed and resolutions were passed in a force full manner and lasted for only three days a year. That’s why it is also known as “Three days tamasha” by Aswini Kumar Dutta.

DEMANDS OF THE EARLY CONGRESS/MODERATES

v  CONSTITUTIONAL DEMAND AND ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANISATION
ü  The organization of the provincial council
ü  The abolition or reconstitution of the Indian Council
ü  Separation of the judiciary from the executive
v  CIVIL RIGHTs
ü  Simultaneous examination for ICSE in India and England
ü  The appointment of Indians to the commissioner ranks in the army
v  ECONOMIC RELIEF
ü  The reduction of military expenditure
ü  The total abolition of duty on salt and sugar
ü  Reduction  of land tax for the benefit of the peasantry
*      Of all the demands, the economic demands were radical in nature- they wanted to change the existing economic relation between India and England by opposing the alien/foreign rulers to convert India into a supplier of raw materials and a market for British products. Criticisms were made on government policy on trade, tariff, transports and taxation.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE EARLY MODERATES

Though the early nationalists didn’t achieve success in the early period (1885-1905), their contributions cannot be underestimated.
Ø  The early nationalists/moderates were successful in creating a wide national awakening.
Ø  The congress was true national body in true sense of term- ‘the door was open to all the classes and communities’. The program was broad enough to accommodate all interests.
Ø  Throughout their economic propaganda the early nationalists exposed the exploiting nature of the British government. (draining of wealth)
Ø  The moderates were also successful in popularizing the democratic ideas, civil rights/liberty and the values of representative institutions and also gave a reality to the ideal of Indian unity; develop patriotic feelings among all classes of people.
Ø   Most importantly, the early nationalists laid strong foundations for the national movement to grow upon and they deserve a high place among the makers of Modern India.

CRITICISM ON EARLY MODERATES/WHY THE NATIONAL CONGRESS LOST POPULARITY

The early moderates have been criticized for their moderation. Following are the some of the reasons why the early moderates could not achieve much.
o   The early moderate leaders followed the policy of prayer and petition. Their methods and demands were moderates in nature, referred by Tilak as “Political Mendicancy”.
o   The moderates gradually lost their significance/popularity with emergence of the extremist leaders.
o   The moderate were mostly Anglicized in their personal life and maintained highly elitist (sophisticated) life style. So, didn’t have contact with the masses/common people.
But still the moderates made valuable contributions for the country which bore fruits in the long-run.


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