INDIA‘S FREEDOM STRUGGLE

(1857 – 1947)
 1857 – Revolt of 1857
The Revolt
• By Mangal Pandey ( 34th Reginment)
• The revolt is known by several names: the Sepoy Mutiny (by
the British Historians), the Indian Mutiny, the Great
Rebellion (by the Indian Historians), the Revolt of 1857, the
Indian Insurrection, and the First War of Independence (by
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar).
Results of The Revolt
• End of company rule: the great uprising of 1857 was an
important landmark in the history of modern India.
• The revolt marked the end of the East India Company’s rule in
India.
• Direct rule of the British Crown: India now came under the
direct rule of the British Crown.

Government Of India act ( 1858)

• Rule of East India Company Ended
• Governor General Post ended in India
• And Viceroy of India Started

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1885 – Indian National Congress
Formed
• 72 social reformers
• 1st president Of INC – WC Bannerje
• Ist British (non Indian) President - George Yule
• Youngest President – Maulana Abul KalamAzad (He became
the youngest President of the Indian National Congress, who
held that office at the age of 35.) in 1923
• The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by
Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the
people in their struggle for freedom. The first political
occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the
Indian National Congress at Calcutta session.
1901 Victoria Memorial
Queen Victoria, who was the Empress of British
India, died in January 1901, Curzon suggested
building a grand memorial to honor her. He proposed
the memorial to be a stately edifice with a museum
where visitors get a glimpse of the marvels of the
past. The foundation for the memorial was laid on 4
January 1906 by the Prince of Wales, who later
became King George V. The building was formally
inaugurated and opened for public visits in 1921.
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1905 Partition Of Bengal
• Since 1765 (following the Battle of Buxar) the province of
Bengal, which included present-day West Bengal, Bihar,
Odisha, Bangladesh and Assam was under the British.
• It was a very large area and the population rose to almost
80 million by the first few years of the 20th century.
Calcutta was the capital of the province and also of British
India.
• There were difficulties in administering such a large area.
• Partition of Bengal carried out by the British viceroy in
India, Lord Curzon, despite strong Indian nationalist
opposition. It divided Bengal into Hindu dominated west
which consisted of Bihar, Odisha, etc. and Muslim
dominated East Bengal with Assam on October 16, 1905.
• Swadeshi Movement -The swadeshi movement was
started as a response to the partition decision taken
by Lord Curzon.
• The movements included using goods produced in India
and burning British-made goods.. Bal Gandadhar Tilak
encouraged Swadeshi and Boycott movement after the
British government decided the partition of Bengal.
• In 1911 , The partition of Bengal Canceled.
 1907 – Split Of Congress
The Surat Split was the splitting of the Indian National
Congress into two groups - the Extremists and the
Moderates - at the Surat session in 1907.
1909 - Morley-Minto Reform
• Indian Council Act of 1909 is also known as Morley- Minto
Reform.
• The British also introduced communal electorates as a part of
these reforms. This was meant to create disunity between
Hindus and Muslims. Some seats in the councils were
reserved for Muslims to be elected by Muslim voters.
 1911 – Partition of Bengal Canceled
• Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy of India (1910- 1916), is
remembered for the annulment of the Partition of Bengal in
1911.
• Capital Shifted from Calcutta to Delhi 1911.
1919 – Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
• The British colonial government passed the Rowlatt
Act which gave powers to the police to arrest any person
without any reason whatsoever.
• On 13th April 1919 , The peaceful gathering was attended by
men, women and children. General Dyer, a British military
officer, stationed a regiment of soldiers at the only entrance
of the park, declared the meeting illegal and without
warning ordered his soldiers to fire. The firing lasted for ten
minutes, till all the ammunition was exhausted. More than a
thousand people were killed and over twice that number
wounded.
• In 1919 Subash Chandra Bose went to london To give Indian
Civil Services examination and was Selected. He however
rejected.
1920 Non Cooperation Movement
• The Non-cooperation Movement was launched on 5th
September 1920 by the Indian National Congress (INC) under
the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
• The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched in the wake
of a series of events including the Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre and was called off because of Chauri Chaura
incident of 1922.
• In 1921 Subash Chandra Bose Joined INC. And become
President of All India Youth Congress in 1923.
1927 Simon Commission
• Simon Commission, group appointed in November 1927 by
the British Conservative government under Stanley
Baldwin to report on the working of the Indian constitution
established by the Government of India Act of 1919.
• The Commission was strongly opposed by many Indians. It
was opposed by Nehru, Gandhi, Jinnah, the Muslim League
and Indian National Congress because it contained seven
members of the British Parliament but no Indians. Indians
saw it as a violation to their right of self determination and
insult to their self respect.
1929 – Puran Swaraj Lahore session
• The Indian National Congress, on 19 December 1929, passed
the historic ‘Purna Swaraj’ – (total independence) resolution
– at its Lahore session. A public declaration was made on 26
January 1930 – a day which the Congress Party urged Indians
to celebrate as ‘Independence Day’.
1930 Civil Disobedience Movement
• The observance of the Independence Day in 1930 was followed by
the launching of the Civil Disobedience Movement under the
leadership of Gandhi. It began with the famous Dandi March of
Gandhi. On 12 March 1930, Gandhi left the Sabarmati Ashram at
Ahmadabad on foot with 78 other members of the Ashram for
Dandi, a village on the western sea-coast of India, at a distance of
about 385 km from Ahmadabad.
1931 Gandhi Irwin Pact
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact, agreement signed on March 5, 1931,
between Mohandas K. Gandhi, leader of the Indian nationalist
movement, and Lord Irwin.
• It marked the end of a period of civil disobedience (satyagraha) in
India against British rule .
1942 – Cripps India mission
• Cripps came to India in March 1942. Cripps Mission was sent by the
British Government in March 1942 to India with key objective to
secure Indian cooperation and support for British War Efforts.
Headed by Sir Stafford Cripps, this mission sought to negotiate an
agreement with Indian Leaders.
• The Mission declared that entire India was to be a Dominion and
after the war its constitution was to be framed by an elected body
which was to be accepted by the British Government. Gandhi said
that Cripps' offer of Dominion Status after the war was a "post-
dated cheque drawn on a failing bank".
• In 1942 Subash Chandra Bose earned the Title “ Netaji” by the
Indian Soldiers of Azad Hind Fauj.

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 Revolt Of 1857
Revolt of 1857
• First war for Independence.
• By Mangal Pandey ( 34th Regiment)
• But British Government regarded it as “ Mutiny of sepoy”.
• The revolt is known by several names: the Sepoy Mutiny (by the
British Historians), the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion (by the
Indian Historians), the Revolt of 1857, the Indian
Insurrection, and the First War of Independence (by Vinayak
Damodar Savarkar).
 Causes
• ill treat with Indian Soldiers.
1. less pay
2. Indian soldiers were not given posts above that of
subedars. Some sepoys wanted special
bhatta/allowance if sent on oversea duty.
Sometimes they were paid, but most of the time
they were not.
• Doctrine of lapse:
The notable British technique called the Doctrine of Lapse was first
perpetrated by Lord Dalhousie in the late 1840s.
It involved the British prohibiting a Hindu ruler without a natural
heir from adopting a successor and, after the ruler died or
abdicated, annexing his land.
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Rani Lakshmi Bai’s adopted son was not permitted to sit on
the throne of Jhansi.
Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi were annexed under the Doctrine
of Lapse.
Jaitpur, Sambalpur and Udaipur were also annexed.
• Economic Cause
1. In rural areas, peasants and zamindars were infuriated by
the heavy taxes on land and the stringent methods of
revenue collection followed by the Company.
Many among these groups were unable to meet the
heavy revenue demands and repay their loans to money
lenders, eventually losing the lands that they had held for
generations.
2. After the Industrial Revolution in England, there was
an influence of British manufactured goods into India,
which ruined industries, particularly the textile industry
of India.
Indian handicraft industries had to compete with cheap
machine- made goods from Britain.
• Social and Religious Cause
1. The rapidly spreading Western Civilisation in
India was alarming concerns all over the country.
2. The abolition of practices like sati and female
infanticide, and the legislation legalizing widow
remarriage Act 1856 , were believed as threats to
the established social structure.
• Immediate Cause
The Revolt of 1857 eventually broke out over the incident of
greased cartridges.
A rumour spread that the cartridges of the new enfield rifles
were greased with the fat of cows and pigs.
Before loading these rifles the sepoys had to bite off the paper
on the cartridges.
Both Hindu and Muslim sepoys refused to use them.
Why did the Revolt Fail?
• Limited uprising: although the revolt was fairly widespread, a
large part of the country remained unaffected by it.
The revolt was mainly confined to the Doab region. Sind,
Rajputana, Kashmir, most parts of Punjab.The large princely
states, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well
as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the rebellion .
The southern provinces did not take part in it.
• No effective leadership: the rebels lacked an effective leader.
Although Nana Saheb, Tantia Tope and Rani Lakshmi Bai
were brave leaders, they could not offer effective leadership
to the movement as a whole.
• Limited resources: the rebels lacked resources in terms of
men and money. The English, on the other hand, received a
steady supply of men, money and arms in India.
• No participation of the middle class: The English educated
middle class, the rich merchants, traders and zamindars of
Bengal helped the British to suppress the revolt.
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Government Of India act ( 1858)
• Rule of East India Company Ended
• Governor General Post ended in India
• And Viceroy of India Started

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 Indian National Congress
• 72 social reformers
• 1st president Of INC – WC Bannerje
• Ist British (non Indian) President - George Yule
• Youngest President – Maulana Abul KalamAzad (He
became the youngest President of the Indian
National Congress, who held that office at the age
of 35.) in 1923 .
Factors that Led to the Formation Of
INC:
• Between the years 1870 and 1880, Indian people
had become politically conscious and by the
year 1885, there was a platform ready for
establishment of a political organization on
national basis.
• Development of Communication and
transportation
• Spread Of Education
• Discrimination
• Economic Exploitation
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Important Facts
• Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee was the president of
the first session of the Indian National Congress.
• Annie Beasant was the first female President of
the Indian National Congress.
• Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman
president of the Indian National Congress.
• Badruddin Tyabji was the first Muslim President of
the Indian National Congress.
• George Yule was the first European President of
the Indian National Congress.
• Dadhabhai Naoroji was the first Parsi President of
the Indian National Congress.
• Hakim Ajmal Khan was the only person to be
appointed as the President of INC, All India
Muslim League & All India Khilafat Committee.

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Sessions
• First Session: held at Bombay in 1885. President: W.C. Bannerjee
Formation of Indian National Congress.
• Calcutta, 1886 Dadabhai Naoroji
National Congress and National Conference were merged.
• 1896: Calcutta. President: Rahimtullah Sayani
National Song ‘Vande Mataram’ sung for the first time by
Rabindranath Tagore.
• 1901: Calcutta. President: Dinshaw E.Wacha
First time Gandhiji appeared on the Congress platform
• Calcutta, 1906
Dadabhai Naoroji
The word ‘swaraj’ was mentioned for the first time.
• 1907: Surat. President: Rash Bihari Ghosh
Split in Congress- Moderates & Extremist
• 1911: Calcutta. President: B.N. Dhar
First time recital of Jan-Gan-Man in Congress session
• 1916: Lucknow. President: A.C. Majumdar
Unity between two factions-Moderates and Extremists of
CongressLucknow Pact signed between Congress and Muslim
League to build political consensus
• 1917: Calcutta. President: Annie Besant, First Woman President of
Congress
• 1929: Lahore. President: Jawahar Lal Nehru
Passed the resolution on ‘Poorna Swaraj.’
Civil Disobedience movement for complete independence to be
launched
26 January to be observed as ‘Independence Day’.
• Meerut, 1946
Acharya Kripalani
Last session before independence
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 Partition Of Bengal
• The decision to split Bengal into Two came in July
and by October 16, 1905, Bengal had been divided
• Announced on 19th July , 1905
• Came into effective on 16 October , 1905
• Divided into two - Hindu dominated west which
consisted of Bihar, Odisha, etc. and Muslim
dominated East Bengal with Assam.
• Viceroy - Lord Curzon
Swadeshi Movement
Background:
• The movement had its roots in the anti-partition movement which
was started to oppose Lord Curzon’s decision of dividing the
province of Bengal.
• The Anti-Partition Campaign was launched by Moderates to exert
pressure on the government to prevent the unjust partition of
Bengal from being implemented.
• The partition led to protest meetings in Bengal under which the
pledge to boycott foreign goods was first taken.
• After the partition came into force, widespread opposition was
shown by the people of Bengal by singing Vande Mataram.
• Rabindranath Tagore also composed Amar Sonar Bangla.
• People tied Rakhis on each other’s hands as a symbol of unity.

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Congres Reaction:
• The Indian National Congress (INC) in a meeting in 1905
resolved to condemn the partition of Bengal and support the
anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement.
• The radical nationalists wanted the movement to be taken
outside Bengal and go beyond just the boycott of foreign
goods.
• In the 1906 Congress Session held at Calcutta, the INC under
the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji declared self-
government or Swaraj as the goal of INC.
Impact of Swadeshi Movement
• Decline in Imports: It resulted in significant decline in the
foreign imports during 1905-1908.
• Growth of Extremism: Movement resulted in growth of
extreme nationalism amongst youth which took to violence
and wanted to bring an instant end to British dominance.
• Morley-Minto Reforms: It forced British dispensation to offer
some concessions to Indians in forms of Morley-Minto
reforms in 1909.
• Establishment of Swadeshi Institutions: Inspired by Rabindranath
Tagore’s Shantiniketan, the Bengal National College and a number of
national schools and colleges in various parts of the country were
set up.
In August 1906, the National Council of Education was set up to
organise the national education system.
A Bengal Institute of Technology was set up for technical
education.
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Scrapping of the partition
Curzon left for Britain in 1905, but the agitation continued for
many years.
Partition was finally reversed in 1911 by Lord Hardinge in the
face of unrelenting opposition.

Partition annulled
• Owing to mass political protests, the partition was annulled in
1911.
• New provinces were created based on linguistic lines rather
than religious lines. Bihar and Orissa Province was carved out
of Bengal. (Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces in
1936).
• A separate Assam province was created.
• The capital of British India was moved to Delhi from Calcutta
in 1911.

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 Formation Of Muslim League

• On December 30,1906,Muslim league was formed

under the leadership of Aga Khan, the Nawab of
Dhaka and khwaja Salimullah to safeguard the
rights of Muslims.
• Founded in Dhaka (Now in Bangladesh)
• It was the first Muslim Political Party of India.

Factors that promotes the Muslim league are –

• British Plan,
• Lack of Education,
• Loss of Sovereignty by Muslims,
• Expression of Religious Colour,
• Economic backwardness of India.
Objectives
• To safeguard the rights of Muslims
• Feeling of Loyalty Towards the British Government
• To overcome on the feeling of hostility among
Muslims towards other communities.

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 Surat Split, 1907
• In 1905 (Banaras Session of the INC): Gokhale was the
President and for the first time he had a discussion over
‘Swaraj’.
• In 1906, Dadabhai Naoroji (who was the President of the INC
session at Calcutta), and in his Presidential address, used the
word Swaraj. Thus, the word, ‘Swaraj’ wasn’t untouchable to
them, but they were reluctant to pass the resolution over
‘Swaraj’.
• In 1907, Surat Session: The two main objectives placed by the
extremists were that:
1) Demand for the resolution of Swaraj
2) Lala Lajpat Rai to be made the President of the INC
• These two demands were not acceptable to the
moderates. Thus, instead of Lala Lajpat Rai the moderates
supported the idea of Rash Behari Ghosh as the President.
This was the first time that there was to be an election in the
INC for Presidentship. In between the election, the extremists
were expelled from the INC, and the moderates had complete
command over the affairs of the INC. Rash Behari Ghosh
became the President of the Surat session.
• The Surat split was a victory of the British policy of Divide
and Rule, and after a long time, the British believed that they
were in control of the affairs of the moderates over the INC.
• The moderates and extremists were working together
for the Bengal movement. The extremists were of the
view that the movement should be expanded and
should target the government. Both sides thus viewed
each other as the enemy.
• The extremist leader Tilak and moderate leader
Gokhale wanted to avoid split as they knew that
divided congress could be easily subdued by the
British. But they had to kneel before the other leaders
of their factions. Finally on 1907 under president ship of
Rash Bihari Ghosh the party split in Surat.
• Immediately after the split the leaders of the extremists
were repressed by the government and the faction was
left leaderless. Tilak was imprisoned in Burma;
Aurobindo Ghosh gave up politics for religion. Pal
retired from politics and lala lajpat rai went abroad for
an extended stay.
• The moderates too were fooled and no concessions
were given by the Morley Minto reforms. Instead it
sowed the seeds of communal representation and
which finally led to the partition of India. They lost their
credibility and support. The period from 1907-1914 was
a dark period for the congress.

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Important Facts
• Congress Divided Into Two – Extremist and
Moderates
• Done In the Surat session of INC 1907
• President – Ras Bihari Ghosh
• Extremist Camp led by – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala
Lajpat rai and Bipin Chandra Pal
• Moderates Camp led by – Gopal Krishna Gokhle
• Session of 1907 was held at the bank of River Tapti
• Important Leaders
Exteremist –
Lala Lajpat Rai, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Bipin
Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosem

Moderates –
A.O. Hume. W.C. Banerjee. Dadabhai Naoroji
Gopalakrishna Gokhale. Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya.

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 Annulment Of Partition Of
Bengal
• Towards the end of 1910 India had a new Viceroy, Lord
Hardinge, and a new Secretary of State, Lord Crewe, in
place, respectively, of Lord Minto and Lord Morley.
• Both Lord Hardinge and Lord Crewe felt that the unrest
in India was chiefly due to the Partition of Bengal, and
there would be no peace until this grievous wrong was
remedied.
• But as soon as Lord Hardinge realised the seriousness
of the situation in the two Bengals, he made up his
mind and carried his whole Council with him.
• According to the suggestion of the Governor-General-in-
Council, King George V at his Coronation Durbar in
Delhi in December 1911 announced the revocation of
the Partition of Bengal and the two parts of Bengal were
reunited.
Important Announcement
• Owing to mass political protests, the partition was
annulled in 1911.
• A separate Assam province was created.
• The capital of British India was moved to Delhi from
Calcutta in 1911.
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 Lucknow Session , 1916

• The Lucknow Pact was a significant political event

that took place in British India place during the
First World War.
• In 1916, both League and Congress held their
sessions simultaneously at Lucknow.
• Both parties together signed and adopted the joint
scheme of political reforms. This agreement came
to be known as the Lucknow Pact.
• It led to Hindu Muslim unity.
• While Congress accepted the scheme of separate
electorates for the Muslims, the Muslim League
accepted the principle of election and majority
rule.
• Congress was then led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
while Mohammed Ali Jinnah represented the
League.
• In fact, Jinnah was then member of both the
League and the Congress and the chief architect of
the pact.
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• in 1916 freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu described
him as ‘Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’ for
playing key role in signing of The Pact.

Major Demands made in the Pact

• Self rule for India
• One third representation of Muslims in Central
Govt
• Separation of executive from judiciary
• Separate electorates for all communities
• More representation of Indians in Central
Legislative and Provincial Councils.

Important Facts
• Lucknow Pact passed in - December 1916.
• the president of this joint session was Ambica Charan
Mazumdar.
• It is a Pact Of Hindu – Muslim unity
• Congress was then led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, while
Mohammed Ali Jinnah represented the League.
• it was adopted by the Congress at its Lucknow session on
December 29 and by the league on Dec. 31, 1916.

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