q After the First War of Independence in 1857, many changes and effective reforms were brought in.

q In 1878, Lord Lytton brought in the ‘Domestic Papers Control Act’ to exercise control over Indian publications, and Lord Rippon brought in ‘Ilbert Bill’ to bring in uniformity in the judicial system.

q In 1885, a retired English officer, A.O.Hume established the Indian National Congress.

q The British realised the growing strength of the Congress and started implementing its ‘Divide and Rule’ policy.

q Traditionally, the first 20 years of the beginning of Congress are called the ‘Moderate Age’.

CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL

Lord Lytton

THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE

The First Indian National Congress, 1885

q Dadabhai Naoroji explained the transfer of Indian wealth to England and called it ‘Drain Theory’.

q Tilak declared: “Swaraj is my birthright and I will get it at any cost”.

q In 1911, the British government withdrew the Declaration of the Partition of Bengal.

Dadabhai Naoroji M.G. Ranade

Gopalkrishna Gokhale Surendranath Banerjee

THE MODERATE LEADERS

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Bipin ChandrapalLala Lajpatrai

THE EXTREMIST LEADERS

q Gandhiji got his Barrister degree in England and started his law practice in South Africa.

q The revolutionaries dreamt of a totally free India. They strongly believed that the British could be thrown out of India only by violent means. Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, V. D. Savarkar, Khudiram Bose, Aurobindo Ghosh, Shyam Krishna Verma, Rash Bihari Ghose, Madame Cama, and Ramprasad Bismil were prominent revolutionary leaders.

q The British government brought into force many regulations to supress the increasing revolutionary activities. The most important of them was the Rowlatt Act in 1919, which gave the judges the power to arrest and interrogate people based on mere suspicion.

q In the Jalianwallah massacre, about 379 people died and thousands suffered serious injuries. This incident is called the Jalianwallah Bagh tragedy.

REVOLUTIONARIES

Bhagat Singh Chandrashekar Azad

V. D. Savarkar Khudiram Bose

q About 20,000 protestors had assembled in Jallianwallah Bagh for a peaceful demonstration against the Rowlatt Act. General Dyer arrived at this place with his army without any prior warning and attacked the protestors from all sides with firearms.

General Dyer Depiction of the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre

In 1920, Gandhiji gave a call for a non-cooperation movement against the British.

q The government appointed the Hunter commission to conduct an enquiry into the Jallianwallah Bagh tragedy, but it was of not of much help to the Indians. The atrocities against Indians continued.

q Rabindranath Tagore wrote a letter to the Viceroy and surrendered his ‘Knighthood’.

q The revolutionary Udham Singh killed General Dyer who had massacred innocent Indians.

CONSQUENCES OF JALLIANWALLAH BAGH MASSACRE

Memorial built at Jallianwalabagh, Amritsar to commemorate Jallianwalabagh Massacre.

q The British had plans to demolish the Ottoman Empire during First World War.

q Muslim Khalifs were the Turkish Emperors of the Ottoman Empire .

q The Ali brothers started the Khilafat movement in India to support the Turks.

q In 1922 at Chowri-Chowra in Uttar Pradesh. the police used their force against peaceful protestors.

q Motilal Nehru and C.R.Das, along with some other Congressmen, established the ‘Swaraj Party’ in 1922.

Chowri-Chowra Violence

Protest against Simon Commission

Sir John Simon

q In 1930, Gandhiji travelled from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Surat on foot with his followers to produce salt in the seashore. In t h i s manner, he s t a r ted the C i v i l Disobedience Movement. This event in history is popular as ‘Dandi March’.

q In 1935, the Indian Government Act was promulgated. This act had provisions for an Indian Union and provincial independence.

q On 8th of August 1942, the Congress started the Quit India Movement.

q Gandhiji gave a call to the Indians to ‘Do or Die’.

q Accordingly, in 1927, the British Government appointed the Simon Commission under the leadership of John Simon.

q In 1929, under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru, a Congress Session was held in Lahore.

q On January 26, 1930, the Congress celebrated Independence day all over the country and supported the Lahore declaration.

Quit India Movement

q In the freedom struggle, farmers and labour organisations have also played a prominent role.

q The labour movement started in Calcutta in the year 1827.

q The Santala’s revolt and the Munda movement are prominent.

q The most prominent Indian among the revolutionary fighters was Subhash Chandra Bose.

q Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose established the Congress Socialist Party in 1934.

q Netaji left the Congress and established a separate party called Forward Block.

A very rare picture; Subhash Chandra Bose with Azad Hind Fauj Commanders

q Rash Bihari Bose had established the military wing of the Indian Independence League and named it ‘Indian National Army’. Later he gave the leadership of the INA to Subhash Chandra Bose.

q Subhash Chandra Bose gave the call “Delhi Chalo!” He urged the Indians: “Give me blood, I will give you freedom!”

q There was a ladies wing in the INA named the Jhansi Regiment. Captain Lakshmi Sehgal was its Commandant.

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal

q Dr. B. R. Ambedkar strongly believed that political independence was meaningless without social independence.

q Dr. B. R. Ambedkar established an organisation ‘Bahishkruta Hitakarini Sabha’ and two separate parties named ‘Swatantra Karmika Party’ and ‘Republican Party of India’.

q Dr. B. R. Ambedkar publ ished var ious newspapers like ‘Prabuddha Bharata’, ‘Janata’, ‘Mukanayaka’, and ‘Bahishkruta Bharata’.

q In ‘Mahad’, a place in Maharashtra, untouchables were not allowed to use the lake. The ‘Mahad Movement’ enabled the untouchables to use the water. Similarly, in a temple named ‘Kalaram’, untouchables were not allowed to enter. Even there, Ambedkar started a revolutionary movement that enabled the untouchables to enter the temple.

The Mahad Movement The Kalaram Movement

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Jawaharlal Nehru delivering historic speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’

thto the gathering on 15 Aug, 1947 at Red Fort, Delhi

q Dr. Babu Rajendra Prasad was chosen as the President of the Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr.B.R.Ambedkar was unanimously chosen as the Chairman of the Constitution Draft Committee.

q Nehru entered the freedom struggle through the Home Rule agitation.

q Prime Minister Nehru is seen as the architect of industrialization and modern India.

q Mohammad Ali Jinnah joined the Indian National Congress in 1906 and worked as a private secretary to Dadabhai Naoroji.

q The Muslim League gave a call to observe 16th August 1946 as ‘Direct Action Day’, pressing for the formation of a separate nation.

thq Accordingly, on 15 August 1947, two nations named India and Pakistan came into existence.

q The Radcliff Commission marked the boundaries of these nations.

thq On 30 January 1948, when Gandhiji, the architect of Hindu- Muslim unity, was going to a prayer session, Nathuram Godse assassinated him.