NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY BHOPAL

HISTORY- II

VI TRIMESTER

PROJECT ON:

THE ROLE OF MODERATES AND EXTREMIST IN INC

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY:

Prof. (Dr.) Uday Pratap Singh Gaurav Singh

2018BALLB34

1
 Table of Contents
CERTIFICATE ............................................................................................................................................ 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 5
FIRST PHASE (1885-1905) ....................................................................................................................... 5
THE MODERATES................................................................................................................................. 5
Who were in the moderate phase? .................................................................................................... 6
Their main demand continued to be expansion ................................................................................. 7
Economic Dain in INDIA .......................................................................................................................... 7
Evaluation of work .................................................................................................................................. 7
The British Hostility ................................................................................................................................. 8
SECOND PHASE (1909-1919)................................................................................................................... 9
EXTREMIST PHASE............................................................................................................................... 9
Causes for the rise of Extremist ............................................................................................................ 10
Recognition of the true nature of British Rule .................................................................................. 10
Reaction to increase Westernization ................................................................................................ 11
Dissatisfaction with the achievement of the Congress..................................................................... 11
Deteriorating economic condition of India- Famine and Plague ...................................................... 12
Contemporary International Influences ........................................................................................... 12
Curzon’s reactionary policies ............................................................................................................ 13
The partition of Bengal ..................................................................................................................... 13
Dissatisfaction with the Indian Council Act of 1892 ......................................................................... 13
The objective and methods of Extremist group ................................................................................... 14
Signification of the Extremists .............................................................................................................. 15
What happened to extremist leaders ................................................................................................... 16
1. Lala Lajpat Rai ........................................................................................................................... 16
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak ......................................................................................................... 17
Aurobindo Ghose .............................................................................................................................. 17
How Mahatma Gandhi led freedom struggle started a new way......................................................... 18
Rise of Mahatma Gandhi as a Supreme leader ............................................................................ 18
Nature and character of Gandhian movement............................................................................. 19
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................... 20
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................... 21
WEBSITES. ......................................................................................................................................... 21
BOOKS ............................................................................................................................................... 21

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this project on “THE ROLE OF MODARTES AND

EXTREMIST IN INC” has been prepared and submitted by Gaurav Singh who
is currently pursuing B.A. LLB (Hons.) at the National Law Institute University,
Bhopal in fulfilment of HISTORY - II Course. It is also certified that this is this
research is original and this research has not been submitted to any other
University, nor published in any journal.

Date: ……………

Signature of the Student……………………...

Signature of the Supervisor……………………

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to acknowledge and extent my heartfelt gratitude to Prof. (Dr.) Uday
Pratap Singh for guiding me throughout the development of this project work into
a coherent whole by providing helpful insights and sharing his brilliant expertise.
I would also like to thank the officials of The Gyan Mandir, NLIU for helping me
to find the appropriate research material for this project work. I am deeply
indebted to my parents, senior and friends for all the moral support and
encouragement.

I know that despite my efforts some discrepancies might have crept in which I
believe my humble Professor would forgive.

GAURAV SINGH

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 INTRODUCTION

The early years (1885- 1905) saw the evolution of Indian National Congress. During this
period the Congress was dominated by moderate leaders. Gradually a section emerged which
did not agree with the moderate policies and believed in aggressive action. Due to their
aggressive posture this group was called the extremists. Both the groups believed in different
political methods to oppose the British rule. Their differences led to the split in Congress in
1907. In this unit we will study these developments in the Congress and how they affected the
national movement.

Beginning with its first session at Bombay in 1885, the congress became by 1886 (second
session at Calcutta) 'the whole country's Congress'. In 1885, only 72 delegates had, attended
the Congress session, whereas at Calcutta (1886) there were 434 delegates elected by
different local organizations and bodies. Here it was decided that the Congress would meet
henceforth annually in different parts of the country1

FIRST PHASE (1885-1905)

THE MODERATES

The Congress programmed during the first phase (1885-1905) was very modest. It demanded
moderate constitutional reforms, economic relief, administrative reorganization and defense
of civil rights.
The Congress expressed opinions on all the important measures of the Government and
protested the unpopular ones. These demands were repeated year after year, although there
was hardly any response from the Government. During the first twenty years (1885- 1905)
there was practically no change in the Congress programmed. The major demands were
practically the same as those formulated at the first three or four sessions. This phase of the
Congress is known as the Moderate phase. During this period the leaders were cautious in
their demands. They did not want to annoy the government and incur the risk of suppression
of their activities2

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress
2
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/19421/1/Unit-13.pdf.

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 Who were in the moderate phase?

During the early years (1885-1905) the Indian National Congress, henceforth referred to as
INC, provided a common stage for the leaders from diverse parts of the country. Though the
congress represented the entire nation, members of some castes, occupation and provinces were
more conspicuous than others. The members of the educated middle class were predominant
in numbers. The members of the Brahmin caste were comparatively higher to those of other
castes. While several journalists, doctors and teachers were also members, it was the lawyer
who dominated in the occupation. The members from Bombay, Bengal and Madras
presidencies were more in number compared to members from other parts of the country. The
masses and the landed class were conspicuous by their absence. In short, the Congress was by
and large a middle-class affair, and it was but natural that majority of the members of the INC
belonged to the middle class the early years since it was this class that took to modern education
and played a pioneering role in its foundation. The Congress, since its establishment, was under
the influence of Moderate leaders, most of whom were first generation English educated Indian.
The moderate leaders were influenced by Western political ideas and practices, especially by
the political philosophy of liberalism. The liberal philosophy of moderate Congress leaders
gave emphasis on:

1) dignity of the individual

2) individual’s right to freedom

3) equality of all irrespective of caste, creed or sex.

The liberal philosophy guided the moderate leaders of the Congress in opposing the autocratic
attitude of the British government, demanding rule of law and equality before law, and
advocating secularism. Some of the prominent moderate leader who became president of the
Congress in its early years Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, P.
Ananda Charlu, Surendranath Banerjee, Romesh Chandra Dutt, Ananda Mohan Bose and
Gopal Krishna Gokhale some other moderate leaders were Mahadev Ranade, Madan Mohan
Malaviya, G Subramaniya Iyer and Dinshaw E. Wacha.

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 Their main demand continued to be expansion
1. Reform of the Legislative Councils, the membership of the Councils for elected
representatives of the people and also an increase in the powers of these Councils.
2. simultaneous examination for the I.C.S. in India and England,
3. the abolition or reconstitution of the Indian Council,
4. the separation of the Judiciary from the executive,
5. the repeal of the Arms Act,
6. the appointment of Indians to the commissioned ranks in the Army,
7. the reduction of military expenditure,

Economic Dain in INDIA

A strong point made by the nationalists during this phase was about the economic drain of
India. Dadabhai described the British rule as 'an everlasting and every day increasing foreign
invasion' that was gradually destroying the country. In the nationalist opinion, the British were
responsible for the destruction of India's indigenous industries. The remedy for the removal of
India's poverty was the development of modern industries. The Government could promote it
through tariff protection and direct government aid. However, after seeing the failure of the
Government in this regard the nationalists popularized the idea of Swadeshi or use of Indian
goods and boycott of British goods as a means of promoting Indian industries. They demanded:
end of India's economic drain, the reduction of land revenue in order to lighten the burden of
taxation on the peasants, improvement in the conditions of work of the plantation Laboure’s,
abolition of the salt tax, and the reduction in the high military expenditure of the Government
of India. They also fully recognized the value of the freedom of the press and speech and
condemned all attempts at their curtailment. In fact, the struggle for the removal of restrictions
on press became the integral part of the nationalist struggle for freedom.3

Evaluation of work
Whatever may be the drawback in the demands put forward by the Congress, it was a national
body in true sense of the term. There was nothing in its programmed to which any class might
take exception. Its doors were open to all classes and communities. Its programmed was

3
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001946466900600306

7
broad enough to accommodate all interests. It may be said that it was not a party, but a
movement. It must be said to the credit of the nationalist leaders that though they belonged
to the urban educated middle class, they were too broad-minded and free from narrow and
sectional class interests. They kept in mind the larger interests of the people in general. Their
economic policies were not influenced by the short-sighted vision of a job-hungry middle
class. This challenging critique of the financial foundations of the Raj was a unique service
that the early Congress leadership rendered to the nation. The British Hostility The political
tone of the Indian National Congress might have been mild but from the fourth session of the
Congress onwards, the government adopted a hostile attitude towards it. Time passed and
nothing substantial was conceded to the Congress.

The British Hostility

The political tone of the Indian National Congress might have been mild but from the fourth
session of the Congress onwards, the government adopted a hostile attitude towards it. Time
passed and nothing substantial was conceded to the Congress. Elements hostile to the Aligarh
movement against the Congress. As the century was drawing to its close, the British attitude
became more hostile to the Congress under Lord Curzon. His greatest ambition was to assist
the Congress to a peaceful demise. However, he took certain steps which only fanned the
nationalist discontent. In an autocratic manner he tried to control the university education
and decreed the partition of Bengal. This led to a strong national awakening.

During this period general impression grew that they (the Moderates) were political
mendicants, only petitioning and praying to the British Government for petty concessions.
The Moderates had played an important role at a critical period in the history of Indian
nationalism.

If fact, the flowering of the Moderate thought was the culmination of a tradition which can
be traced back to Raja Rammohan Roy, who stood for the rational, liberal tradition of
contemporary Europe. His ideas of reforms ultimately provided the basis for the demands put
forward by the early Congress. As with Rammohan, so with the early Congress leaders, the
presence of the British administration was important for continued political progress. Quite
understandably, their language was cautious and their expectation moderate. But with
changing times, the Moderates also began to alter their position. By 1905 Gokhale had started

8
 speaking of self-rule as the goal and in 1906 it was Dadabhai Naoroji who mentioned the word
Swaraj as the goal of the Congress. Even so, the Moderates found themselves in a tight corner
with the emergence of extremist leadership within the congress. The British authorities also
doubted their bonafides. The extremists were attracting youthful section among the political
activists. The well-meaning, loyal, but patriotic, Moderates could no longer cut ice before
the maneuvering of the British bureaucracy. In the changed situation Extremists came to the
center stage of the Congress.

SECOND PHASE (1909-1919)

EXTREMIST PHASE

The closing decade of the 19th century and early years of the 20th century witnessed the
emergence of a new and younger group within the Indian National Congress that was sharply
critical of the ideology and method of the old leadership. These ‘angry young man’ advocated
the adoption of Swaraj as the goal of the Congress to be achieved by more self – reliant and
independent methods. The new group came to be called the Extremist Party in contrast to the
older one that began to be referred as the Moderate Party.

The process of split in the Congress Party began when Lokmanya Tilak clashed with the
Moderates over the question of Social Reform. In July 1895, Tilak and his group ousted Ranade
and Gokhale from the control of Poorna Sarvjanik Sabha. Gokhale organized a separate
political association called ‘The Deccan Sabha’. There was no love lost between Tilak and
Gokhle. Tilak outmaneuvered Gokhle from national politics over the ‘apology affair’ and
Gokhle was labeled a Kacha reed i.e. spineless fellow who could be brow – beaten by the
Government.

Tilak was made of a different stuff than most of the Congress leaders. He was forthright in
his criticism of the Government and its policies and was prepared to make sacrifices to get
wrong redressed. He was the first Congress leader to suffer several terms of imprisonment
for the sake of the country. As early as 1882, for criticizing in strong language the treatment
meted out to the Maharaja of Kolhapur, the Government tried and sentenced Tilak to four
months’ imprisonment. Again, in 1897, Tilak was charged with ‘exciting feelings of
disaffection to the British Government’ and sent to jail for 18 months’ R.I. At the Congress
session at Amraoti (Dec.1897) the supporters of Tilak made an attempt to push a resolution

9
 demanding the release of Tilak. The Moderate leaders who controlled the Congress did not
permit it. Similarly, the moderates foiled the attempt of martyrdom at the Congress session
at Madras (Dec. 1898). At the Lucknow session of the Congress (Dec. 1899), Tilak’s attempt
to move a resolution condemning Governor Sandhurst’s administration of Bombay was also
blocked by the Moderates on the plea that the matter was of provincial interest and could
not be discussed at the National Congress. It was because of ideological differences with
Tilak and his group that the Moderate leaders were determined to keep Tilak and
Congressmen of his line of thinking out of all positions of power and responsibility in the
Congress and never gave him a chance to become the Congress President.

Causes for the rise of Extremist

The dissatisfaction with the working of the Congress had been expressed by Bankim Chandra
Chatterjee when he described the Congressmen as “place hunting politicians”. Aurbindo
Ghosh wrote a series of articles during 1893-94 entitled ‘New Lamps for Old’ wherein he
described the Congress as being out of contact with the ‘proletariat’, its character as
‘unnational’ and its work as ‘failure’ and added: “Yet more appalling was the general timidity
of the Congress, its glossing of hard names, its disinclinations to tell the direct truth, its fear
of too deeply displeasing our masters”. He thought that the Congress was “dying of
consumption”.

Among the causes and circumstances that helped in the growth of Extremism the following
deserve special mention:
1. Recognition of the true nature of British Rule

The efforts of the early nationalist leaders paved the way for the development of the next
stage of nationalist movement. By their painstaking studies and writings, the early nationalist
leaders had exposed the true nature of British rule in India. They conclusively proved by
elaborate statistical data that British rule and its policies were responsible for the economic
ruin of India and her deepening poverty. Dadabhai Naoroji, for example, exposed the
exploitative nature of British rule in India and proved that Britain was ‘bleeding India white’
and the constant ‘drain of wealth’ from India was directly responsible for India’s economic
miseries. He characterized British rule in India as ‘a constant and continuous’ plunder.
Nationalist leaders like Anand Charlu, R.N. Mudholkar,

10
G.K. Gokhle, Wacha, Madan Mohan Malviya too exposed the exploitative nature of British
rule in India.

The second session of the Congress (Calcutta 1886) brought a resolution on increasing
poverty of India and this resolution was affirmed year after year at subsequent Congress
sessions. The ‘poverty verging on starvation’ of fifty million of the population was described
by the Congress as due to the most extravagant civil and military administration, mounting
Home Charges, discriminating tariff policy (evident from the frequent changes in the Cotton
Duties, Sugar Duties etc.), shortsighted land revenue policy, indifference to technical and
industrial development of India and exclusion of the sons of the soil from a share in the Higher
and Minor services. Scholarly writings of nationalist leaders like Ranade’s Essays in Indian
Economics (1898), Dadabhai Nao roji’s Indian Poverty and un-British Rule in India (1901),
R.C. Dutt’s Economic History of India (1901) were the arsenals from which the new leaders
shot their arrows at the British rule in India. Thus, the Extremist ideology was a natural and
logical next step in the development of Indian political thinking.
2. Reaction to increase Westernization

The new leadership felt the stranglehold of excessive Westernization in Indian life, thought
and politics – Western Civilization was eroding the values of Indian culture and civilization
and the merger of Indian national identity in the British Empire was being attempted. The
intellectual and emotional inspiration of the new leadership was Indian. They drew inspiration
from Indian spiritual heritage, they appealed to heroes of Indian history and hoped to revive
the glories of ancient India. The writings of Bankim, Vivekananda and Swami Dayanand
appealed to their imaginations. Though Bankim, in the beginning, had written in the Bengali
and on Bengal (Anandpath, published in 1880), by 1886 he had emerged an Indian and
dreamed of a united India under the leadership of a superman like Lord Krishna.
3. Dissatisfaction with the achievement of the Congress

The younger elements within the Congress were dissatisfied with the achievements of the
Congress during the first 15-20 years and were disgusted with the cold and reactionary attitude
of the Government. They had lost all faith in the British sense of justice and fair play. They
were strongly critical of the methods of peaceful and constitutional agitation, popularly
nicknamed of 3Ps – Petition, Prayer and Protests – and described these methods as ‘political
mendicancy’. They became impatient with the slow, almost negligible achievements during
the first fifteen years and advocated the adoption of European revolutionary methods to meet
European imperialism.

11
 On his return from England in 1905, Lala Lajpat Rai told his countrymen that the
democracy was too busy with its own affairs to do anything worthwhile for India, that
the British press was not likely to champion their aspirations and that it was very
difficult to get a hearing in England. He exhorted the people that if they really cared
for their country, “they would have to strike a blow for freedom themselves, and they
should be prepared to give unmistakable proof of their earnestness.”
4. Deteriorating economic condition of India- Famine and Plague

The economic miseries of the closing years of the 20th century provided a congenial
environment for the growth of extremism in Indian National activities. The terrible famines
of 1896-97 and 1899-1900 coupled with the bubonic plague, which broke out in Maharashtra,
took a heavy toll of life. The government relief machinery was inadequate, slow moving and
badly organized. Tilak criticized the callous and overbearing Govt. Plague Commissioners
who caused more harm than good. He thundered that fear and anxiety was the cause of the
disease and that “plague is less cruel to us than the official measures”. Riots broke out in the
Deccan and the Government tried to stifle public opinion and suppress lawlessness. These
events revealed to the Indians their plight of utter helplessness. Even recurring famines were
attributed to the antinational policy followed by the Government.

In his presidential speech in 1903 Lal Mohan Ghose referred to the Durbar of 1903 and said
that “Nothing could seem more heartless than the spectacle of a great Government imposing
the heaviest taxation upon the poorest population in the world, and then lavishly spending the
money so obtained over fire-works and pompous pageants, while millions of the poor were
dying of starvation”.
5. Contemporary International Influences

Events outside India exercised a powerful influence on the younger generation. The
humiliating treatment meted out to Indians in British colonies created anti-British feelings.
Further, nationalist movements in Egypt, Persia, Turkey and Russia gave Indians new hopes
and new aspirations. Indian nationalists gained more confidence and drew inspiration from
Abyssinia’s repulsion of the Italian army (1896) and Japan’s thumping victory over Russia
(1905). If Japan could become a great power on its own, what – but for the British grip – was
holding India back. The spell of European invincibility was broken.

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 6. Curzon’s reactionary policies

Curzon’s seven-year rule in India, which was full of ‘missions, omissions and commissions’
created a sharp reaction in the Indian mind. Curzon refused to recognize that India was a
‘nation’ and characterized their activity as the ‘letting off of gas’. The Calcutta Corporation
Act, the official Secrets Act and the Indian Universities Act created great resentment in India.
The Delhi Durbar held in 1903, coming at a time when India had not fully recovered from
devastating effects of the famine 1899-1900 was interpreted as ‘a pompous pageant to a
starving population’
7. The partition of Bengal

The worst and most hated aspect of Curzon’s administration was the partition of Bengal into
two provinces of Bengal and Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905. The reactionary measures
of Lord Curzon had already irritated the people. The partition of Bengal in 1905 added fuel
to fire. The people of Bengal felt they have been ‘humiliated, insulted and tricked’. The
partition of Bengal was considered as a subtle attack on the growing solidarity of Bengal
Nationalism. It was a Machiavellian devise to divide the people based on religion and to put
the Muslims against the Hindus.

The partition forced in teeth of Bengali opposition and protests from the Indian National
Congress showed the contemptuous disregard Curzon and the home authorities had for Indian
public opinion. 16th October 1905 was declared as a day of protest throughout the country.
The tying of Rakhis, observation of fasts, boycott of foreign good, hurtals were important
measures observed by Extremists. Tilak declared from the stage of the Congress ‘Swaraj is my
birth right; I will have it. Our motto is self-reliance and not mendicancy’. The utter disregard
Curzon showed for public opinion gave ample evidence, if any evidence was still needed, that
the Moderates’ policy of 3Ps was barren of results.
8. Dissatisfaction with the Indian Council Act of 1892

The new Act of 1892 did not satisfy even the moderates. It did not give anything substantial
to the Indians. The people now increasingly felt that the policy of appeals and prayers had
yielded nothing.

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 The objective and methods of Extremist group
The extremist group was organized under the leadership of the trio- Lal, Bal and Pal (Lala
Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal). Tilak gave the slogan of the new
group. It was explained by Gokhle when he said, “we are not beggars and our policy is not
mendicancy”. “We are ambassadors of our people at a foreign court to watch and guard the
interests of our country and get as much for her as we can4.

The new leadership sought to create in the people a passionate love for liberty accompanied
by a spirit of sacrifice and a readiness to suffer for the cause of the country. They strove to
root out from the people minds the omnipotence of the ruler and instead give them self-
reliance and confidence in their own strength. B.C. Pal explained: “untrained in the crooks’
ways of civilized diplomacy they had believed what their rulers had said, either of themselves
or on their subjects as gospel truth. They had been told that people were weak and the
government was strong. They had been told India stood on a lower plane of humanity and
England’s mission was to civilize the semi barbarous natives. The Nationalist school took it
upon themselves to expose hollowness of these pretensions. They commenced to make what
are called counter-passes in hypnotism and at once woke the people to a sense of their own
strength and an appreciation of their own culture.” The extremist advocated boycott of foreign
goods, Swadeshi and National Education. The Swadeshi Movement was designed to
encourage house industry and provide the people with more opportunities for work and
employment. Soon it was discovered that economic boycott might prove a powerful weapon
against economic exploitations by the foreigners. It proved a most effective weapon for
injuring British interests in India. It was believed the newly rising Indian manufacturing class
would liberally provide funds for the Congress and thus strengthen it. Lala Lajpat Rai summed
up: “we desire to turn our faces away from Government House and turn then to huts of the
people. This is the psychology; this is the ethics and this is the spiritual significance of the
boycott movement.”

4
www.wikipedia.org/Indian_National_Congress.

14
 Signification of the Extremists

There was a fundamental change in the nature of Indian nationalism under extremist
leadership due to their forceful articulation of the demand for ‘Swaraj’ and use of more radical
methods than those of the moderates. Their concept of nationalism was emotionally charged
and based on rich interpretation of Indian religious traditions. The Extremist leaders tried to
reorient Indian religious traditions to worldly life and link them with the national liberation
struggle. Aurobindo Ghose reinterpreted Vedanta philosophy, which advocated unity of man
and God and based his concept of nationalism on it. To him national work was the work of
God, which should be done in the spirit of Karma Yoga because the true nationalist was an
ideal Karma Yogi, who performed his functions in the spirit of disinterestedness. The service
of the millions of Indians was service of God because God was present in them. The extremists
conceived the nation as ‘Mother India’, which represented united power or Shakti of millions
of her children. Tilak reinterpreted the message of the Gita in his famous book Gita Rahasya.
To Tilak, the Gita gave a message of disinterested action with full self-knowledge rather than
that of Bhakti or Sanyasa. National work done for general welfare was a type of disinterested
action. The new nationalism of the extremists was an “attempt to create a nation in India by
reviving the spirit and action of the ancient Indian character.” They vehemently opposed
foreign rule. According to them, a good or just government was not a substitute for self-
government and freedom was an inalienable right of all human beings. The extremists
emphasized the mobilization of people against foreign rule by launching political movements.
If the nation was not ready to undertake political movement, then it was the duty of the leaders
to prepare the people for it. The extremists were ready to suffer imprisonment, deportation
and other physical suffering for the sake of mobilizing the masses for struggle against foreign
rule. They saw struggle against foreign rule as a full-time activity and devoted their whole life
for it. The demonstrations, processions undertaken by the extremists brought about an
involvement of the common people in agitations against British rule. They also made use of
popular symbols like Shivaji, and religious symbols like God Ganapati and Goddess Kali for
mobilizing the people. Thus, under the Extremist leadership, the Indian National Movement
gradually began to acquire a mass character. However, the extremists could not fully exploit
the potential of mobilized people or of their radical methods like boycott and passive
resistance. They were successful in arousing the urban middle and lower classes, apart from

15
mobilizing the peasants and workers5

What happened to extremist leaders

After split from INC some of the extremist leader works independently or some of them join
other party and some of them rejoin the INC after some time. Here we are discussing some
extremist leader.

1. Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 – 17 November 1928)

Lala Lajpat Rai’s supporters attempted to secure his election to the presidency of the party
session at Surat in 1907, but elements favoring co-operation with the British refused to accept
him, and the party split over the issue.6

Lajpat Rai travelled to the US in 1907, and then returned during World War I. In 1914, he
quit law practice to dedicate himself to the freedom of India and went to Britain in 1914 and
then to the United States in 1917. In October 1917, he founded the Indian Home Rule League
of America in New York. He stayed in the United States from 1917 to 1920. In 1921, he
founded Servants of the People Society, a non-profit welfare organization, in Lahore, which
shifted its base to Delhi after partition.

He returned to India in 1919 and in the following year led the special session of the Congress
Party that launched the non-co-operation movement. He was imprisoned from 1921 to 1923
and elected to the legislative assembly on his release.7

The Indian political parties boycotted the Commission, because it did not include a single
Indian in its membership, and it met with country-wide protests. When the Commission
visited Lahore on 30 October 1928, Lajpat Rai led a non-violent march in protest against
it. The superintendent of police, James A. Scott, ordered the police to lathi (baton) charge the
protesters and personally assaulted Rai. Despite being extremely injured, Rai subsequently
addressed the crowd and said, "I declare that the blows struck at me today will be the last nails
in the coffin of British rule in India.8

5
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001946466900600306.
6
https://selfstudyhistory.com/2015/02/09/the-moderates-and-extremists-partition-of-bengal-1905-and-the-
swadeshi-movement/comment-page-1/
7
Raghunath Rai. History. VK Publications. p. 187
8
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40873491?seq=1

16
2. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Within congress, Tilak was foremost extremist. He was called father of India unrest by
Valentine chixole.

Tilak opposed the moderate views of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and was supported by fellow
Indian nationalists Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal and Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab. They were
referred to as the "Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate". In 1907, the annual session of the Congress Party
was held at Surat, Gujarat. Trouble broke out over the selection of the new president of the
Congress between the moderate and the radical sections of the party. The party split into the
radical’s faction, led by Tilak, Pal and Lajpat Rai, and the moderate faction. Nationalists
like Aurobindo Ghose, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai were Tilak supporters.

On 30 April 1908, two Bengali youths, Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose, threw a bomb on
a carriage at Muzzafarpur, to kill the Chief Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford of
Calcutta fame, but erroneously killed two women traveling in it. While Chaki committed
suicide when caught, Bose was hanged. Tilak, in his paper Kesari, defended the
revolutionaries and called for immediate Swaraj or self-rule. The Government swiftly charged
him with sedition. At the conclusion of the trial, a special jury convicted him by 7:2 majority.
The judge, Dinshaw D. Davar gave him a six years jail sentence to be served in Mandalay,
Burma.9

Tilak developed diabetes during his sentence in Mandalay prison. This and the general ordeal
of prison life had mellowed him at his release on 16 June 1914. When World War I started in
August of that year, Tilak cabled the King-Emperor George V of his support and turned his
oratory to find new recruits for war efforts. He welcomed The Indian Councils Act, popularly
known as Minto-Morley Reforms, which had been passed by British Parliament in May 1909.
Tilak reunited with his fellow nationalists and rejoined the Indian National Congress during
the Lucknow pact 1916.
3. Aurobindo Ghose

In 1907 at the Surat session of Congress where moderates and extremists had a major
showdown, he led along with extremists along with Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

In 1907–1908 Aurobindo travelled extensively to Pune, Bombay and Baroda to firm up

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support for the nationalist cause, giving speeches and meeting with groups. He was arrested
again in May 1908 in connection with the Alipore Bomb Case. He was acquitted in the
ensuing trial, following the murder of chief prosecution witness Naren Goswami within jail
premises which subsequently led to the case against him collapsing. Aurobindo was
subsequently released after a year of isolated incarceration.

In 1910 Aurobindo withdrew himself from all political activities and went into hiding
at Chandannagar in the house of Motilal Roy, while the British were trying to prosecute him
for sedition on the basis of a signed article titled 'To My Countrymen', published
in Karmayogin. As Aurobindo disappeared from view, the warrant was held back and the
prosecution postponed. Aurobindo manoeuvred the police into open action and a warrant was
issued on 4 April 1910, but the warrant could not be executed because on that date he had
reached Pondicherry, then a French colony.10

How Mahatma Gandhi led freedom struggle started a new way.

Rise of Mahatma Gandhi as a Supreme leader

The emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as a supreme leader of national movement during the
period of 1919-20, marked the beginning of a new phase in the history of India’s struggle
against colonial and exploitative British rule. Gandhian phase of national struggle was
commenced in 1919, it continued till India gained Independence from British rule. The
success of early Gandhian movement such as Champaran Satyagraha (1917), Ahmedabad
Mill Satyagarha(1918) and Kheda Satyagraha(1918) paved the way for the rapid rise of
Gandhiji. These movements convinced the masses that only Gandhi method can succeed
against British rule. The circumstances prevailing in India in 1919-20 was extremely
volatile due to the combination of different factors such as a situation of leadership vacuum,
failure of the moderates and extremist policies as well as Jalliawala Bagh massacre pushed
Gandhiji to the forefront of Indian national freedom struggle.

The typical character of Gandhian movement and success of South Africa experiment had
also played the most important role in his rise as a supreme national leader. Gandhiji lived
like most ordinary Indian citizens and used the language of commoners. Gandhiji fought for

10
Aurobindo (2006), p. 102

18
the issues of commoners and because of this every section of Indian society developed a great
faith in Gandhian leadership. During the course of 1919-20, he became symbol of hope and
inspiration of common masses which in turn resulted in the rise of undisputed supreme
national leader.

Nature and character of Gandhian movement

The Gandhian movement was a true mass movement, quite similar to those of moderates and
extremist. He was fully convinced that without the participation of masses no struggle will
succeed against British rule. It was non-violent in character, egalitarian in outlook, secular and
progressive in nature, a strongly anti-colonial in appearance as well as characterized by the use
of both constitutional and extra constitutional methods.

Gandhian movement was pan India movement because it reached even to millions of Indians;
every section of Indian society participated in it easily. It was no longer limited towns and
cities; villagers had started participating in national movement. The peasants, workers, women,
students and the business class had joined nationalist struggle under the leadership of Gandhiji.
The aim of Swaraj was defined by Gandhiji for the first time at Nagpur session of Congress in
December 1920. In order for strengthening freedom movement on a large scale, under the
leadership of Gandhiji Congress adopted the goal of ‘Purna Swaraj’.

The Gandhian movement was essentially a Satyagraha i.e. “the quest for truth”. The
Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first Satyagraha movement led by Gandhiji. Gandhiji
always stood for truth irrespective of consequences. He believed that cooperation with good
and non-cooperation with evil is the responsibility of mankind. He considered British rule as
an evil and that’s why he opposed it.

The Gandhian movement was fundamentally an ethical and moral struggle because of the fact
that Gandhiji always emphasized on using right methods to achieve right objectives. He never
took the advantage of the weakness of anybody.

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Use of strategies of STS(Struggle-Truce-Struggle) and PCP(Pressure-Compromise-Pressure)
was also a significant feature of Gandhian movement. It was highly successful because it was
the pressure built by Gandhian movement only that the British had to leave India in 1947.11

The Gandhian movement had contributed hugely to the success of India’s struggle against
British rule but at the same time it must be emphasized that the Gandhian movement was not
free from limitations completely. The sudden withdrawal of Non-Cooperation Movement in
February 1922 after the Chauri-Chaura incidence was termed as a “national calamity” by
Subhash Chandra Bose. The Non-Cooperation Movement was a significant phase of the Indian
struggle for freedom from British rule. This movement lasted from August 1920 to February
1922. It was launched from Khilafat platform under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and
was supported by the Indian National Congress. The suspension of Civil Disobedience
Movement (CDM) was the example of the same. It was the second great mass movement,
launched by Congress under the leadership of Gandhiji on 12th March 1930. When CDM was
suspended on 5th March 1931 by Gandhiji through a pact signed with Lord Irwin. It developed
an atmosphere of disillusionment in national struggle because Gandhiji completely failed to
take all the leaders into confidence while taking decision.12

CONCLUSION
But whoever may be responsible for the split and whatever may be its cause, it was a great
national calamity. Gokhale was aware of this great disaster. The British bureaucracy was in
jubilation. Lord Minto, the Viceroy, exultingly told Lord Morley, the Secretary of State that the
'Congress Collapse' (Surat split) was 'a great triumph for us'. But Morley knew better. Almost
prophetically he told the Viceroy that, their immediate collapse notwithstanding, the
Extremists would eventually capture the Congress. The split did immense harm to the
Congress and the national movement in general. It can be said that the Moderates were the
brain of the Congress and the nation and the Extremists were the heart; the former were the
'law' and the latter 'impulse'. The unified action of the two was necessary for the proper
functioning of the organization and growth of national movement. With the extremists in the

11
http://heritagetimes.in/understanding-the-gandhian-movement-of-freedom-struggle/
12
https://api7w.ilovepdf.com/v1/download/mr6hpgp1z10hk8bzq6czb2nlmwj4gc5hkz4jmkmyz252px66zkpcyl1z
5p2vpz0A4r1bfAz79c4gA0f6b5d870bfAd3khmhrsl7xbb1j471j1gn3m68l61qlr36t50vbdfl061gm3qd65wq4chwf
ssrpvhd2l3vtxtbpy6A98h6sfnz1ry6q

20
wilderness, the Moderates were to achieve little. For about a decade, the Moderates were not
able to show the kind of strength that was needed to seriously oppose the British. It was only
after 1916, with the re-entry of the Extremists in the Congress and exist of the Moderates from
it that the Congress could be reactivated. But then it was a new story. Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, Gokhale's political disciple, associating himself with the programmed of the
Extremists, with his emphasis on the synthesis of the reason and faith, law and impulse,
representing the abiding strength of the Indian people was to activism and rejuvenate the
Congress and carry a new phase of action.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES.
 http://heritagetimes.in/understanding-the-gandhian-movement-of-freedom-struggle/

 https://api7w.ilovepdf.com/v1/download/mr6hpgp1z10hk8bzq6czb2nlmwj4gc5hkz4
jmkmyz252px66zkpcyl1z5p2vpz0A4r1bfAz79c4gA0f6b5d870bfAd3khmhrsl7xbb1j
471j1gn3m68l61qlr36t50vbdfl061gm3qd65wq4chwfssrpvhd2l3vtxtbpy6A98h6sfnz
1ry6q

 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/remove-portrait-of-judge-who-sentenced-bal-
gangadhar-tilak/989585

 https://selfstudyhistory.com/2015/02/09/the-moderates-and-extremists-partition-of-
bengal-1905-and-the-swadeshi-movement/comment-page-1/
BOOKS

 A New Look at Modern Indian History, S. Chand (S. Chand & Company Ltd.,
New Delhi 2006)

 History of Modern India, J.K. Tomar (Mahaveer & Sons, New Delhi 2007)
 Textbook of History, NCERT, Class X

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