2. Introduction
• After the failure of the revolt of 1857, Indians realized the
strength of unity and lack of cooperation.
• They felt the need for an organization which would help in
educating the Indians about the policies of the British.
• As a result, The Indian National Congress was founded by A O
Hume in 1885.
3. Indian National Congress
• The Indian National Congress conducted its first session in Bombay from 28 to 31
December 1885 at the initiative of retired Civil Service officer Allan Octavian
Hume. In 1883, Hume had outlined his idea for a body representing Indian
interests in an open letter to graduates of the University of Calcutta.[35][36] It
aimed to obtain a greater share in government for educated Indians and to
create a platform for civic and political dialogue between them and the British
Raj. Hume took the initiative, and in March 1885 a notice convening the first
meeting of the Indian National Union to be held in Poona the following December
was issued.[37] However due to a cholera outbreak there, it was moved to
Bombay.
4. The Moderates
• During the early years of the congress, some leaders approached
the British in a peaceful manner
• Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale were popular among
the moderates.
5. The Extremists
• There were a group of people in the Congress who were unhappy
with the British rule.
• They did not have faith in the British Government and were
disappointed with the government’s methods.
• These group of people are known as extremists. They strongly
believed that the British were not interested in the welfare of the
Indians
• Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal were
extremists.
6. Partition of Bengal
• As time passed, the Indian national congress received tremendous
support from the Indians.
• As a result, the British adopted a divide and rule policy. The
British government in 1905 divided Bengal into 2 parts-one for the
Muslim and one for the Hindus.
• This partition angered the leaders of Indian National Congress and
resulted a protest. This protest was so strong that the British were
forced to withdraw the partition in 1911.
7. Swadeshi Movement
• he Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of
the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of
Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition
of Bengal was made public in December 1903, there was a lot of growing
discontentment among the Indians. In response the Swadeshi movement
was formally started from Town Hall Calcutta on 7 August 1905 to curb
foreign goods by relying on domestic production. Mahatma Gandhi
described it as the soul of swaraj (self-rule). The movement took its vast
size and shape after rich Indians donated money and land dedicated to
Khadi and Gramodyog societies which started cloth production in every
household. It also included other village industries so as to make village
self-sufficient and self-reliant. The Indian National Congress used this
movement as arsenal for its freedom struggle and ultimately on 15 August
1947, a hand-spun Khadi 'tricolor Ashok chakra' Indian flag was unfurled at
'Princess Park' near India Gate, New Delhi by Pandit Nehru.
8. Mahatama Gandhiji
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 into a
Gujarati Hindu Modh Bania family in Porbandar (also known as
Sudamapuri), a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula and then
part of the small princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar
Agency of the British Raj. His father, Karamchand Uttamchand
Gandhi served as the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar state. His
family originated from the then village of Kutiana in what was then
Junagadh State.
• In 1912, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.
When he came to know the plight of the Indians, He began the
freedom struggle.
• The freedom movements that started were based on satyagraha
and was supported by all the Indians.
• People from all parts of India supported him and joined the
9. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the
Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919.
• A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala
Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act
and arrest of pro-independence activists Saifuddin Kitchlew
and Satyapal.
• In response to the public gathering, the temporary Brigadier
general, R. E. H. Dyer, came along with the British Troops
and surrounded the Bagh. They blocked the only exit and
began to shoot at the unarmed and the peaceful gathering
until their ammunition almost exhausted.
10. Non-Coorperation Movement
The non-cooperation movement was a reaction towards the oppressive policies of the British Indian government such as the
Rowlatt Act of 18 March 1919, as well as towards the Jallianwala massacre of 13 April 1919.The Rowlatt Act of 1919, which
suspended the rights of political prisoners in sedition trials, was seen as a "political awakening" by Indians and as a "threat"
by the British. Although it was never invoked and declared void just a few years later,[6] the Act motivated Gandhi to
conceive the idea of satyagraha (truth), which he saw as synonymous with independence.Motivation for Gandhi's movement
was further solidified following the events of 13 April 1919, when a large crowd had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh near the
Golden Temple in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal,[citation needed] while
others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi festival. The civilians were fired upon by soldiers under the command of
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, resulting in killing and injuring thousands of protesters. The outcry generated by the
massacre led to thousands of unrests and more deaths by the hands of the police. The massacre became the most infamous
event of British rule in India.Gandhi, who was a preacher of nonviolence, was horrified. He lost all faith in the goodness of
the British government and declared that it would be a "sin" to cooperate with the "satanic" government. Likewise, the idea
of satyagraha was subsequently authorised by Jawaharlal Nehru, for who the massacre also endorsed "the conviction that
nothing short of independence was acceptable."Gandhi derived his ideologies and inspiration from ongoing non-cooperation
movements, particularly that by Satguru Ram Singh, who is credited as being the first Indian to use non-cooperation and
boycott of British merchandise and services as a political weapon. In response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and other
violence in Punjab, the movement sought to secure Swaraj, independence for India. Gandhi promised Swaraj within one
year if his non-cooperation programme was fully implemented. The other reason to start the non-cooperation movement
was that Gandhi lost faith in constitutional methods and turned from cooperator of British rule to non-cooperator
campaigning for Indian independence from colonialism.