India Freedom Struggle

Foundation of INC in 1885 at Bombay by AO Hume as “Safety Valve” with 72 delegates

The period between 1885 to 1905 belongs to Moderates as they dominated its goals, objectives, working and principles

1st Session was presided by WC Banerjee

3rd Session of 1887 was presided by 1st Muslim President i.e. Tayabji

Under the leadership of William Digby, the Congress opened a branch in England in1888 and started publishing a magazine called ‘India’

1st time National Song was sung in the Calcutta Session (1896) of INC. i.e., Vande Mataram

On 19 July 1905 the Government of India formally proposed the partition of Bengal. According to this proposal Chittagong, Rajshahi and Dacca were merged with Assam to form the new province. Curzon announced the partition of Bengal on 16 October 1905

Muslim League was established in 1906 by Aga Khan

In 1907 Surat Session witnessed open clash between Moderates and Extremists, that lead split of congress 4 next 10 years

Morley-Minto Reform came in 1909 which introduce separate representation for Muslim Community

Partition of Bengal restored in 1911 and Capital of British Empire transferred to Delhi from Calcutta

1st time National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana) was sung in Calcutta session (1911) of INC

Gandhi ji returned to India on 9th Jan 1915 from South Africa, which is celebrated as NRI day in India these days

1st Joint Session of Congress and Muslim League held at Lucknow (1916) known as Lukhnow Pact. Here Moderates and Extremists became united again.

The annual session of Congress in 1917 was presided by Annie Besant in form of 1st Woman President of INC

Rowlett Act came in 1919 along with Jaliawala Bagh Massacre

The word Satyagraha was used for the first time in Anti Rowlett agitation

Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms also came in 1919 which introduce Diarchy at provinces

Simon Commission came to India in 1928. Clement Attlee was a member of Simon Commission who subsequently became the British Prime Minister and later was to oversee the granting of independence to India & Pakistan in 1947

Non-Cooperation movement started in 1920 under leadership of Gandhi ji

A group of Industrialist had started anti-non-cooperation association in 1920 Purushottama Das Thakur Das was prominent. Others were Jamnadas Dwarkadas and Setalved

Chauri Chaura incident and Non-Cooperation was suspended by Gandhi

During Ahmadabad Session of INC (1921), C. R. Das was elected its President but Azamal Khan presided over the session because C.R. Das was in prison

C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru organized Swaraj Party in 1922 due to failure of Non-Cooperation Movement

During its Delhi session (1923) INC decided to establish All India Khadi Board

Only session presided over by Gandhi – Belgaum (1924)

Sarojini Naidu became 1st Indian woman president of congress by presiding annual session of 1925

Complete Independence/Puran Swaraj was demand for the first time in Congress Session of 1929 at Lahore

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the youngest president of INC

LAL, BAL, PAL & Aurobindo Ghosh were well known Extremists

Sir Saiyyid Ahmed Khan was founder of Aligarh National Movement. He brought out a paper with the title of the “Loyal Muhammadans of India.” In 1875 he found the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, which later grew into the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. William Graham wrote in the biography of Sir Saiyyid Ahmad Khan. He also founded the ‘Patriotic Association’ with the assistance of Raja Shivprasad of Banaras. He brought out an Urdu Paper with the title of “Tahaib-al-Akhlaq”

Deoband Movement was founded by Maulana Hussian Ahmad and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was associated with it. It was represented by Mohammad Qasim Nanautavi (1832-1880) and Rashid Ahamd Gangohi (1828-1916). Found the ‘Dar-ul-Ulema’ madarsa at Deoband

Wahabi Movement was started by Shah Walliullah

Ahmadia movement by Mirza Gulam Ahmad

Ahrar movement by Mula Mohammad Ali in 1910

The Indian House had been founded by Shyamji Krishna Verma

In Bengal an organization by the name of Anushilan Samiti was founded. Birandra Kumar Ghose and Bhupendra Nath Dutta [Younger Brother of Swami Vivekananda] had started the newspaper “Yugantar” in 1906

Lala Hardayal (1884-1938) had played an important role in the Gadar Movement. He founded Gadar Party along with Sohar Singh Bakhna in 1913 at San Francisco in North America and brought out a Urdu and Gurumukhi weekly viz Gadar

It was Lokmanya Tilak who had set up a Home Rule League at Pune in April 1916. Both Annie Besant and Tilak had agreed to conduct this movement in cooperation with each other

In 1887, Gandhi went to England for higher education and returned to India in 1892 after becoming a Barrister

In 1893 he went to South Africa – for a year – spent twenty two years in that country

He returned to India on 9th January 1915 – NRI Day

Gandhi recorded his initial thoughts in 1909 in Hind Swaraj

Gandhi began his experiments with Satyagraha – Champaran in Bihar in 1917 – Indigo Planters. Committee of enquiry of which Mahatma Gandhi himself was made a member.

In 1918 the mill workers of Ahmadabad got into dispute – 35 Percent increases. He established Ahmadabad Mill Workers Association.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his political Guru (mentor) and he was very much impressed by work of Leo Tolstoy

On 30th March 1919, He launched his first nationwide hartal against Rowlett Act which was called Black Law [empowered arrest without reasons]

Jaliawala Bag massacre [13th April 1919] followed by Hunter Commission [Submit report in 1920 and declared General Dyer as “the defender of the British Empire.”

Rabindranath Tagore renounced knight hood titles as a mark of protest

Khilafat Movement was started just after the finishing of WW-I. Sultan of Turkey was regarded as the Caliph or the religious head of the Muslims all over the worlds – a movement to express the Muslim support for the Caliph of Turkey against the allied powers, particularly Britain was the main objective of Khilafat movement. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr. M.A. Ansari, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, Maulavi Abdulbari (Lukhnow), Hakin Ajmal Khan and the Ali brothers were the prominent leaders of this movement. All India Khilafat Conference was held in 1919 and in March 1920, a committee under the leadership of Maulana Shuakat Ali and Mohammad Ali was also sent to England. British Government – signed Treaty of Tibers on 10 August 1920 – Turkey was partitioned – Sultan was made a prisoner and sent to Constantinople. On 1, August 1920, in a communication to the governor General, Mahatma Gandhi announced his plan to begin non-cooperation with the Government as a sequel to the Rowlett Act, Jaliawala Bagh massacre and the Khilafat movement. Gandhi’s plan was approved by the Indian national congress in a special session at Calcutta in December 1920

Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant and Bipin Chandra Pal were not in agreement with the congress declaration of non-cooperation and, thus they left the Congress. Later in 1922, Khilafat meeting in Malabar incited so much of communal feelings among the Muslims peasants (The Moplah) that it took an anti-Hindu turn in July 1921 – Moplah rebellion followed by Chauri Chaura incident in 1922. Gandhi announced the suspension of the movement. C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru left congress to form “Swaraj Party.”

Failure of Non-Cooperation Movement yield Revolutionary movement by Youngsters
On 9, August 1925 when the money sent by the government from Saharanpur to Lucknow by train was looted at the Kakori railway station. In December 1927, on the charges of conspiracy, *Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Roshan singh and **Ashfaqulla Kahn were hanged.

*Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil occupies a special place. He published book with the title ‘How did America get Freedom’ and a pamphlet with the heading ‘A Message for the countrymen’

**Ashfaqulla Khan was the first Muslim revolutionary of India to be hanged for the sake of the country’s freedom

Secretary of State, Lord Birkenhead, while delivering a speech on the floor of the British Parliament challenged the Indians to produce a Constitution
Congress took the challenge and Report published by this Committee in July 1928 came to be known as the ‘Nehru Report’

Muslim League – Central Sikh League, Sardar Kharak Singh rejected Nehru Report and Jinnah, thereafter convened an All Indian conference of the Muslims where he drew up a list of fourteen point demand

Gandhi reached the coast of Dandi on 5 April 1930 after marching a distance of 200 miles with 78 handpicked followers and on 6 April formally launched the Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the salt laws known as Dandi March

Many Muslims kept themselves aloof from this movement – northwest Frontier Province an organization of Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God) was formed under the leadership of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Most of the volunteers donned red clothes, because of which they came to be known as the Red Shirts. The Khudai Khidmatgar accepted the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and participated in the movement in full measures

On 8 March 1931 the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed. As per this pact Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and participate in the Second Round Table conference but most of the leaders did not like this pact.

On 16 August 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald made an announcement, which came to be as the ‘Communal Award’

Gandhi protested against the Award and went on a fast unto death in the Yerawada jail on 20 September 1932

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Ghan Shyam Das Birla, C. Rajagopalachari and Dr. Ambedkar gathered at Pune and hammered out an agreement with the consent of Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar. This agreement came to be called as the ‘Poona Pact’ British Government also approved of it

After 3rd round of Round conference in March 1933, the British Government issued a White Paper, which became the basis for the enactment of the Government of India Act, 1935