Modern History Notes : Chapter- 12 : Rise of Militant Nationalism (1905–1909) Arora IAS Class Notes (Arora IAS)

Chapter- 12 : Rise of Militant Nationalism (1905–1909)

Modern History Notes 

Arora IAS Class Notes

Growth of Militant Nationalism:

• Emergence of a radical trend in the 1890s, solidifying by 1905.
• Concurrent rise of a revolutionary wing within the movement.

Factors Contributing to Militant Nationalism:

1. Recognition of British Rule’s True Nature:
   • Disillusionment with British government’s reluctance to address Indian demands.
   • Growing belief in the capacity of an Indian government to lead the nation towards progress.
   • Economic hardships of the 1890s exposed exploitative colonial rule.
2. Series of Repressive Measures by British Authorities:
   • Criticism of Indian Councils Act (1892).
   • Deportation of Natu brothers (1897) and imprisonment of Tilak and others on sedition charges.
   • Amplification of repressive laws under IPC Sections 124A and 156A.
   • Reduction of Indian members in Calcutta Corporation (1899).
   • Enactment of Official Secrets Act (1904) and Indian Universities Act.
3. Deteriorating Social and Cultural Conditions:
   • Suppression of education and cultural identity under British rule.
   • New leadership expressed Indian intellectual and moral inspiration.
   • Intellectuals like Swami Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and Swami Dayananda Saraswati played influential roles.
4. Discontent with Achievements of Moderates:
   • Dissatisfaction with moderate methods of peaceful and constitutional agitation.
   • Critique of “Three ‘P’s”—prayer, petition, and protest—as political mendicancy.
5. Reactionary Policies of Lord Curzon:
   • Curzon’s disdainful attitude towards Indian nationalism.
   • Imposition of administrative measures like the Official Secrets Act and Indian Universities Act.
   • Controversial partition of Bengal in 1905, seen as a deliberate attempt to divide and rule.

Emergence of Militant School of Thought:

• A band of nationalist thinkers advocating a more militant approach to political work.
• Key figures included Raj Narain Bose, Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Tilak emerged as a prominent representative, emphasizing self-rule (swaraj) and direct political action.

Basic Tenets of Militant Nationalism:

• Hatred for foreign rule and the belief in Indians’ ability to achieve self-rule.
• Swaraj (self-rule) as the ultimate goal of the national movement.
• Advocacy for direct political action and mass mobilization.
• Emphasis on personal sacrifices for the nationalist cause.

Emergence of a Trained Leadership:

• New leadership capable of channelizing mass energy towards political struggle.
• The movement against the partition of Bengal (1905) provided an outlet for mass participation, particularly through the Swadeshi agitation.

Impact and Legacy:

• Militant nationalism marked a shift towards more aggressive tactics in the Indian freedom struggle.
• The period witnessed increased mass mobilization and political consciousness among Indians.
• Events like the Swadeshi movement and the rise of leaders like Tilak contributed to the growth of nationalist sentiment.
• The era laid the groundwork for future revolutionary movements and the eventual attainment of Indian independence.

 

The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement

British Motive for Partitioning Bengal (December 1903):

• Divide and weaken Bengal, the center of Indian nationalism.
• Achieve this by:
  • Splitting Bengalis based on language: (i) reducing Bengalis to a minority in Bengal (new Bengal with 17 million Bengalis vs 37 million Hindi/Oriya speakers).
  • Splitting Bengalis based on religion: (i) creating a Hindu-majority western Bengal (42 million Hindus out of 54 million) and a Muslim-majority eastern Bengal (18 million Muslims out of 31 million).
• Appease Muslims with a new capital (Dacca) to counter the Congress and Indian nationalism.

Anti-Partition Campaign (1903-1905):

• Leaders: Surendranath Banerjea, K.K. Mitra, Prithwishchandra Ray.
• Methods: Petitions, public meetings, memoranda, pamphlets, newspapers (Hitabadi, Sanjibani, Bengalee).
• Goal: Pressure the government to stop the partition through public opinion in India and England.

Swadeshi Movement Launched (August 7, 1905):

• Public meetings erupt in protest after partition announcement (July 1905).
• Boycott of foreign goods pledged in these meetings.
• Formal proclamation at Calcutta Townhall with passage of Boycott Resolution.
• Leaders spread message to boycott Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt.

Day of Mourning (October 16, 1905):

• Observed throughout Bengal on the day partition takes effect.
• Activities: Fasting, bathing in Ganges, processions singing Vande Mataram.
• Rabindranath Tagore composes “Amar Sonar Bangla” (national anthem of Bangladesh).
• People tie rakhis to symbolize unity.
• Large gatherings raise ₹50,000 for the movement.

Spread of the Movement:

• Poona and Bombay: Led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
• Punjab: Led by Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh.
• Delhi: Led by Syed Haider Raza.
• Madras: Led by Chidambaram Pillai.

 

The Congress Position

• 1905 Congress Meeting (Gokhale President):
  • Condemned partition and Curzon’s policies.
  • Supported Bengal’s anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement.
• Militant Nationalists (Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh):
  • Wanted movement nationwide and focused on Swaraj (self-rule).
• Moderate-Extremist Dispute:
  • Moderates unwilling to go as far as radicals.
  • Disagreement over movement’s pace and methods.
• 1906 Congress Meeting (Dadabhai Naoroji President):
  • Goal declared as “self-government or Swaraj.”
• 1907 Surat Congress Session:
  • Deadlock between Moderates and Extremists.
  • Party split, impacting the Swadeshi Movement.

 

The Movement under Extremist Leadership

Rise of Extremism (After 1905):

• Moderates’ limited success and government repression fueled shift.

Extremist Program:

• Dadabhai Naoroji’s 1906 declaration of Swaraj as the goal emboldened them.
• Called for passive resistance beyond Swadeshi and boycott:
  • Boycott government schools/colleges, services, courts, etc.
• Goal: Make British administration “impossible” (Aurobindo Ghosh).
• Transformed movement into a mass struggle for Indian independence.

New Forms of Struggle and Impact:

• Boycott of Foreign Goods:
  • Included public burning, refusing rituals with foreign goods, etc.
  • Achieved great success at the popular level.
• Public Meetings and Processions:
  • Major methods of mass mobilization and expression.
• Corps of Volunteers or ‘Samitis’:
  • Groups like Swadesh Bandhab Samiti mobilized masses.
  • Provided training, social work, and education.
• Traditional Festivals and Melas:
  • Used to spread political messages, like Tilak’s Ganapati festivals.
• Emphasis on Self-Reliance (“Atma Shakti”):
  • Rebuilding national dignity and social/economic regeneration.
  • Included social reforms against caste oppression, etc.
• National Education Program:
  • Boycott of British institutions led to founding national schools.
    • Bengal National College and Bengal Technical Institute established.
    • Aurobindo Ghosh as first principal of Bengal National College.
    • National Council of Education set up for a national education system.
  • Satishchandra Mukherjee’s Dawn Society and Bhagabat Chatuspathi promoted self-help in education.
• Swadeshi Enterprises:
  • Established textile mills, soap factories, etc., driven by patriotism.
  • O. Chidambaram Pillai’s Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company challenged British dominance.
  • Earlier efforts included melas (fairs) exhibiting Indian handicrafts.
    • Rabindranath Tagore’s Swadeshi Bhandar (1897) and others.
• Bengal Chemicals factory (1893) and porcelain attempts (1901).

Impact in the Cultural Sphere:

• Nationalist Songs:
  • Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajnikant Sen, and others.
  • Tagore’s “Amar Sonar Bangla” became Bangladesh’s national anthem.
  • Subramania Bharati’s “Sudesha Geetham” in Tamil Nadu.
• Painting:
  • Abanindranath Tagore’s shift to Indian art styles.
  • Nandalal Bose, a prominent Indian artist.
• Science:
  • Pioneering research by Jagdish Chandra Bose and Prafullachandra Roy.
• Literature:
  • “Desher Katha” by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar inspired activists.
  • Promoted swadeshi ideas and criticized colonial rule.
  • Became a source for street plays, folk songs, and required reading for activists.

 

Extent of Mass Participation

Students:

• Active participants in Bengal, Maharashtra (Pune), South India (Guntur, Madras, Salem).
• Organized picketing of shops selling foreign goods.
• Faced repression: disaffiliation of schools, scholarship loss, disciplinary action.

Women:

• Traditionally homebound, but urban middle class women actively participated.
• Joined processions and picketing.
• Significant role in the national movement from then on.

Muslims:

• Limited participation: Barrister Abdul Rasul, Liaqat Hussain, Guznavi, Maulana Azad.
• Most upper and middle class Muslims stayed away or supported partition (Nawab Salimullah).
• Reasons for limited participation:
  • All-India Muslim League propped up by British government as an anti-Congress front.
  • Movement leaders evoked Hindu festivals and goddesses.

Labour Unrest and Trade Unions:

• Initial strikes: rising prices, racial insults (foreign-owned companies).
• Examples:
  • September 1905: Bengali clerks’ strike at Burn Company (Howrah).
  • July 1906: East Indian Railway workers’ strike led to union formation.
  • 1906-1908: frequent jute mill strikes.
  • Strikes in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli (Subramania Siva, Chidambaram Pillai).
  • Rawalpindi: arsenal and railway workers’ strike (Lala Lajpat Rai, Ajit Singh).
• Decline by 1908 due to strict government action.

Overall Impact:

• Expanded social base: zamindars, students, women, lower middle class.
• Attempts to address working class grievances through strikes.
• Limited Muslim participation due to divide-and-rule tactics and class-community overlap.

All-India Aspect:

• Movements supporting Bengal and Swadeshi spread across India.
• Tilak: key figure in spreading the movement outside Bengal.
• Saw an opportunity for a united national struggle.

Annulment of Partition (1911)

• Reason: Curb revolutionary terrorism.
• Impact:
  • Upset Muslim political elite.
  • Delhi became new capital (appease Muslims, but not successful).
  • Bengal province reduced (Bihar & Orissa separate, Assam separate).

 

Evaluation of the Swadeshi Movement

Movement Fizzles Out (By 1908):

• Reasons:
  • Severe government repression.
  • Lack of effective organization or party structure.
  • Leaders arrested/deported, others retiring (Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal).
  • Internal squabbles (Surat Split, 1907).
  • Difficulty sustaining a mass movement’s high pitch.
  • Limited reach: upper/middle classes, zamindars, not peasantry.
  • Non-cooperation/passive resistance remained ideas.

Turning Point in Modern Indian History:

• Increased participation: students, women, workers, some urban/rural population.
• Birthed major trends of national movement: moderation, extremism, revolution, socialism, etc.
• Impacted art, literature, science, and industry.
• Aroused people, instilled political participation in new forms.
• Undermined colonial ideas and institutions.
• Provided valuable experience for future struggles.

Moderates vs. Extremists:

• Swadeshi Movement exposed limitations of Moderate methods (petitions, speeches).
• Moderates failed to:
  • Keep pace with changing times.
  • Gain younger generation support.
  • Work effectively among the masses.
• Extremist ideology lacked consistency:
  • Open members vs. secret sympathizers vs. opponents of violence.
  • Differing goals for Swaraj (Tilak vs. Aurobindo).
• Positive aspects of Extremists:
  • Emphasis on mass participation and broadening the movement’s social base.
  • Elevated patriotism from “academic pastime” to “service and sacrifice.”
• Negative aspects of Extremists:
  • Social conservatism and revivalist undertones.
  • Hindu nationalism alienated Muslims.
  • Promoted unhealthy relationship between politics and religion.

 

The Surat Split (December 1907)

Context:

• Rise of revolutionary activity.
• Growing differences between Moderates and Extremists.

Run-up to Surat:

• December 1905 (Benaras Session):
  • Extremists wanted broader Boycott and Swadeshi Movement.
  • Moderates favored limited action.
  • Compromise resolution passed, averting a split.
• December 1906 (Calcutta Session):
  • Moderates’ enthusiasm waned due to popularity of Extremists and revolutionaries.
  • Dadabhai Naoroji elected president.
  • “Swaraj” mentioned as Congress goal for the first time.
  • Resolution supporting Swadeshi, Boycott, and national education passed.

Deepening Divide:

• Extremists called for wider passive resistance and boycotts.
• Moderates hoped for council reforms and toned down Calcutta program.
• Extremists felt ready for a “big push” for independence.
• Moderates saw council reforms as an opportunity.
• Both sides underestimated the other’s role and overestimated their own strategy.

Split Takes Place:

• Extremists wanted Nagpur session with Tilak/Lajpat Rai as president and reiteration of previous resolutions.
• Moderates wanted Surat session to exclude Tilak and drop those resolutions.
• Rigid positions on both sides led to inevitable split.
• Moderates dominated the remaining Congress, focusing on self-government within the British Empire through constitutional methods.

Government Repression:

• Crackdown on Extremists (1907-1911):
  • Seditious Meetings Act (1907)
  • Indian Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act (1908)
  • Criminal Law Amendment Act (1908)
  • Indian Press Act (1910)
• Tilak’s trial and imprisonment (1908-1914) for seditious writings.
• Aurobindo, B.C. Pal, and Lajpat Rai sidelined from active politics.
• Weakening of both Extremist and Moderate movements.

Impact:

• Decline in national movement activity until 1914.
• Missed opportunity for a broad-based nationalist movement.

 

 

The Government Strategy

Shifting Approach:

• Initial hostility towards all nationalists (including Moderates).

New Strategy (Post-Swadeshi Movement):

• “Rallying them” or “carrot and stick” (John Morley, Secretary of State).
• Three-pronged approach:
  1. Repression (Mild):Target Extremists to frighten Moderates.
  2. Conciliation:Offer concessions to Moderates to isolate Extremists.
  3. Suppression:Suppress Extremists with full force once isolated.

Miscalculation:

• Moderates and Extremists didn’t understand the strategy’s purpose.
• Surat Split: A success for the British government’s strategy.

 

Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909

Background:

• Muslim Demands:
  • Simla Deputation (1906) led by Agha Khan demanded:
    • Separate electorates for Muslims.
    • Representation exceeding numerical strength.
  • Muslim League (1906) aimed at loyalty to British Empire and distancing Muslims from Congress.
• Congress Demands:
  • Gopal Krishna Gokhale met John Morley (Secretary of State for India) to seek self-governing system.

The Reforms:

• Key Players:Lord Minto (Viceroy) and John Morley.
• Measures (Indian Councils Act of 1909):
  • Limited elective principle for non-official council members.
  • Separate electorates for Muslims in central council (first time).
  • Increased number of elected members in central and provincial councils.
  • Non-official majority in provincial councils (but some nominated, not elected).
  • Indirect elections through electoral colleges.
  • More power to legislatures: resolutions, questions, budget discussions (limited).
  • One Indian appointed to Viceroy’s Executive Council (Satyendra Sinha, 1st in 1909).

Evaluation:

• Negative Aspects:
  • Not a response to Indian political aspirations.
  • Self-government (Congress demand) rejected by Morley.
  • Aimed to divide nationalists (confuse Moderates, check unity).
  • Separate electorates: appeasement of a small Muslim elite, sown seeds of future divisions.
  • Indirect elections: “infiltration of legislators through sieves.”
  • No true responsibility given to legislatures, led to some irresponsible criticism.
• Limited Positive Aspects:
  • Opportunity for debate on issues like education, repression, and labor.
  • A small step towards eventual self-governance (unintended consequence?).

Overall:

• Reforms offered “shadow rather than substance.”
• “Benevolent despotism” instead of self-government.

 

 

Important Leaders

1.Sri Aurobindo Ghose

Early Life and Education (1872-1892)

• Born: Calcutta, August 15, 1872
• Educated in Christian convent school (Darjeeling) and Cambridge University
• Became proficient in European languages
• Held administrative positions in Baroda and Calcutta

Nationalist Movement (1902-1910)

• Joined Indian freedom struggle (1902)
• Edited nationalist newspaper “Bande Mataram” (1905)
• Imprisoned in Alipore Bomb case (1908)

Spiritual Life (1910-1950)

• Fled to Pondicherry (1910)
• Founded Sri Aurobindo Ashram (1926)
• Developed “integral yoga” philosophy
• Authored spiritual texts like “Bases of Yoga” and “Savitri”

Died: Pondicherry, December 5, 1950

 

2.Bipin Chandra Pal

Early Life and Education (1858-1898)

• Born: Poil village, Habibganj District (now Bangladesh), November 7, 1858
• Educated at Church Mission Society College, Calcutta
• Worked as librarian

Transformation and Activism

• Inspired by social reformers, joined national movement (1886)
• Advocated for Swaraj (self-rule)
• Joined Lal-Bal-Pal trio with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak
• Promoted Swadeshi movement (boycotting British goods)

Contributions

• Participated in Non-cooperation Movement
• Emphasized education and national awareness
• Wrote influential books like “Nationality and Empire” and “The Soul of India”
• Edited national journals like “The Independent” and “The Democrat”

Legacy

• Fought for Indian independence through diverse means
• Remembered for powerful writing and oratory skills

 

3.Rajnarayan Basu(1826-1899)

• Pioneer of Hindu Nationalism

Social and Religious Context

• British colonization led to spread of Christianity and English education
• Weakened Hindu identity, created a crisis within Brahmo Samaj

Basu’s Response

• Advocated for Hindu reform, not destruction
• Believed Hinduism was the foundation of the nation
• Promoted national consciousness and self-respect

Nationalist Activities

• Delivered influential speech “Hindu Dharmer Shreshthata” (1872)
• Authored pamphlet proposing a “Hindu National Congress” (1885)
• Co-founded “Hindu Mela” to promote national feeling (1867)

Legacy

• Considered “Grandfather of Indian Nationalism” by Jadunath Sarkar
• Influenced figures like Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore
• Paved the way for modern Hindu nationalist thought

 

4.Krishna Kumar Mitra (K.K. Mitra)

• Born: 1852, Baghil village, Mymensingh district (now Bangladesh)
• Son of: Guruprasad Mitra (landholder who opposed British indigo planters)
• Education:
  • Mymensingh Hardinge Vernacular School
  • Zilla School
  • Scottish Church College (Bachelor’s degree, 1876)
  • University of Calcutta (Law studies)

 

5.Prithwishchandra Ray

• Moderate Leader in Anti-Partition Movement (1903-1905)
• Role:Key moderate leader
• Goal:Oppose partition of Bengal
• Strategies:
  • Public meetings
  • Petitions
  • Propaganda (newspapers, pamphlets)