099: Colonialism in India - Part 10: British Raj and Indian National Congress

Published: Oct. 13, 2020, 12:30 a.m.

After the Rebellion of 1857, nationalist movements cropped up across the country. The idea of a free India became prevalent during this time.

Indian National Congress (INC)

Inspired by AO Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji and Surendranath Banerjee founded INC in 1885

It was the first time an organisation recognised India as a country

The organisation initially did not have a well-formed ideology and was a debating society that met annually

The idea was to let Britishers rule India while obtaining some kind of rights for the Indian citizens

But it did not last long and the party was divided into two factions - Moderates and Extremists

Moderates and Extremists

Moderates were led by Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale who opposed the extremists led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai.

The extremists were forced out of INC and the Tilak was later arrested, which led to INC losing its credibility.

Aligarh University and the Muslim League

In 1875, under Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh was founded (renamed Aligarh Muslim University in 1920)

Bengal was divided into two in 1906 - East Bengal and West Bengal

The Muslim faction in the country did not feel INC is inclusive and they formed The Muslim League

The Revolutionaries

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919 was a turning point in the revolutionary movement

The work of the revolutionaries including Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki gained recognition

Both of them tried to assassinate British officials and were captured and executed

Jugantar was established in April 1906 by Aurobindo Ghosh, his brother Barin Ghosh, Bhupendranath Datta, Raja Subodh Mallik.

They collected and manufactured arms and explosives for revolutionary activities.

Ghadar Party and its movement to conduct a Pan-India rebellion in the British Indian Army.

All India Conference of Indian Christians was founded in 1914 with KT Paul as its first president

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Source:

Indian National Congress Wikipedia

Indian Independence Movement Wikipedia

Timeline of Indian History from 1857 to 1947

10 Events That Led to Indian Independence

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