Consequence of Foreign Domination

The very conditions of British rule helped the growth of national sentiment among the Indian
people
Administrative and Economic Unification of the Country
Western Thought and Education
it was not the modern educational system that created the national movement which was the
product of the conflict of interests between Britain and India. That system only enabled the
educated Indians to imbibe western thought and thus to assume the leadership of the national
movement and to give it a democratic and modern direction. In fact, in the schools and colleges,
the authorities tried to inculcate notions of docility and servility to foreign rule.
The Role of the Press and Literature
Hindu Patriot, the Amrita Bazar Patrika, the Indian Mirror, the Bengalee, the Som Prakash and the Sanjivani in Bengal; the Rast
Goftar, the Native Opinion, the Indu Prakash, the Mahratta, and the Kesari in Bombay; the Hindut the Swadcsamitran, the
Andhra Prakasika, and the Kerala Palrika in Madras; the Advocate, the Hindustani, and the Azad m U. P.; and the Tribune, the
Akhbar-i-Am, and the Kofhi-Noor in the Punjab National literature in the form of novels, essays, and patriotic poetry also played
an important role in arousing national consciousness. Ban- kim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali,
Lakshmt- nath Bezbarua in Assamese; Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar in Marathi, Sub- ramanya Bharali in Tamil; Bharatendu
Harishchandrd in Hindi; and Altaf Husain Hall in Urdu were some of the prominent nationalist writers of the period.

Racial Arrogance of the Rulers

IMMEDIATE FACTORS

The Arms Act of 1878, which disarmed the people, appeared to them as an effort to
emasculate the entire nation.

The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was condemned by the politically conscious Indians as
an attempt to suppress the growing nationalist criticism of the alien government

The holding of the Imperial Durbar at Delhi in 1877 at a time when the country was
suffering from a terrible famine

In 1878, the government announced new regulations reducing the maximum age limit for
sitting in the Indian Civil Service Examination from 21 years to 19.

The spark was provided by the Ilbert Bill controversy. In 1883, Ripon, who succeeded Lytton as
the Viceroy, tried to pass a law to enable Indian district magistrates and session judges to try
Europeans in criminal cases. The Europeans in India organised a vehement agitation against this
Bill which came to be known after Ilbert, the Law Member.
Predecessors of the Indian National Congress

Landholders Societyan association of the landlords of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, founded in
1837 with the purpose of promoting the class interests of the landlords. Then, in 1843, was
organised the Bengal British Indian Society to protect and promote general public interests.

These two organisations merged in 1S5I to form the Rritish India Association. Similarly, the
Madras Native Association and the Bombay Association were established in 1852 Similar,
though lesser known clubs and associations, such as the Scientific Society founded by Sayyid
Ahmad Khan, were established in different towns and parts of the country. All these associations
were dominated by wealthy and aristocratic elements
Justice Ranade and others organised the Poona
Sarvajanik Sabha in the 1870Y The Madras Mahajan Sabha was started in 1881 and the Bombay
Presidency.
National Con-gress during its early years were Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, P.Ananda Charlu,
Surendranath Baneijea, Ramesh Chandra Dfltt, Ananda Mohan Bose, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Other prominent leaders of
the Congress and the national
movement during this period were Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal , Gangadhar Tilak, the brothers Sisir Kumar

and Motilal Ghosh, Madari Mohan Malaviya, G. Subramaniya Iyer, C. Vijayaraghavachariar,

and-Dinshaw E. Wacha.
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
They were moving very cautiously and slowly.From 1885

to 1892 they demanded the expansion and

reform of the Legislative Councils. They demanded membership of the councils for elected
representatives of the people and also an increase m the powers of the councils. Parliament
passed Indian council Act of 1892 due to agitation but it was not satisfactory to nationalists.By
this Act the number of members of the Imperial Legislative Council as well as of the provincial
councils was increased. Some of these members could be elected indirectly by Indians, but the
officials majority remained. The councils were also given the right to discuss the annual budgets
though they could not vote on them. They raised slogan "No taxation without representation".
Forward the claim for swarajya or self-government within the British Empire on the model of selfgoverning colonies like Australia and Canada. This 'demand was made front the Congress platform by
Gokhale in 1905 and by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906.

ECONOMIC REFORMS
British were accused to draining indias wealth and cause of poverty. People wanted them to promote industries
by tariff protection and direct government aid. They populaused (he idea of swadeshi or the use of
Indian goods and the boycott of British goods as a means of promoting Indian industries
.They demanded abolition of the salt tax and reduction of land revenue. They condemned

the high

military expenditure of the Government of India

Administrative and other Reforms
Indianisation of the higher grades of administrative services.

They urged the development of agricultural banks to save the peasant from the clutches of the
money-lender.
Emphasis on the spread of primary education among the masses. They also demanded greater
facilities for technical and higher education.
Moderates believed that the British people and Parliament wanted to be just to India but that they
did not know the true state of affairs there but failure of the government to accept nationalist
demands for reform, many of them stopped talking of loyalty to British rule and started
demanding self-government for India
Deputations of leading Indians were sent to Britain to propagate the Indian view. In 1889, a British Committee of the Indian
National Congress was founded. In 1890 this Committee started a journal called India, padabhai Naoroji spent a
major part of his life & income in it.

Attitude of the Government

Govt thought that congress is too little to harm them. They never openly criticised it later became suspicious
& branded the nationalist leaders as 'disloyal babus, seditious brahmins' and violent villains.

In
December 1886, the Viceroy even invited tjae delegates to the National Congress to a garden
party but soon realised its potential. In 1887, Dufferin attacked the National Congress-in a public
speech and ridiculed it as representing only a microscopic minority of the people.
Evaluation of the Early National Movement
According to some critics, the nationalist movement and the National Congress did not achieve
much success in their early phase. Very few of the reforms for which the nationalists agitated
were introduced by tbe government. Critics also point out that tbe national movement during
these years had no roots among themasses.