Historical stories
what is history? A simple fable that we have all accepted. (Napoleon
History of India’s Independence 2-a
Cultural India
Over the course of history, India has faced several
invasions. While most of the invaders made their intentions clear right from
the word go, the British managed to bring India under their control through a
business venture. It all started with the British East India Company, which
started off as a mere joint-stock company, but slowly went about spreading its
wings and influence, before the British government finally took control of the
entire country.
The British company had landed in India in the early
seventeenth century as traders, but began interfering in Indian affairs around
1750s. After the battle of Plassey (1757), it began to transform from a trading
company to a ruling force. As the British began to spread their tentacles over
a large part of India, the exploitation of local resources and people began in
full force. The British were concerned just about consolidating their rule and
power.
The British rule had a damaging effect on the social,
economic, cultural and political life of Indians, which gradually forced common
masses and rulers to rise in revolt against the British rule. Several agrarian,
tribal, and political rebellions broke out against the foreign rule, but it was
the rebellion of 1857, which proved as a launch pad for all the subsequent
struggles against the British rule.
The continuously increasing awareness, contact with
the outside world, and the urge to free the motherland, gave rise to an organized
movement by the end of the nineteenth century, which uprooted the 200-year-old
British rule in 1947.
The History of British Colonialism in India
After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the British
gained the support of many local rulers by offering them help against their
adversaries. Since the British were equipped with huge cannons and newer war
technology their support proved helpful to many Indian rulers. In exchange for
their support, the East India Company managed to set up trading centers in
places like Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. The British gradually started to
extend their fortification. When they were asked to stop their extension by
Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, they defeated him in the Battle of
Plassey (1757). This win against Siraj-ud-daulah played a crucial role in
colonizing the whole of India.
Early Rebellions against the British Rule
For their short-term benefit, many Indian rulers
supported the British colonization in India, but many of them opposed the idea
of foreign rule. This created a conflict between Indian rulers, which was
further used by the British to their advantage. Among the early rebellion,
South Indian rulers, such as Puli Thevar, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, Pazhassi
Raja, Rani Velu Nachiyar, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Dheeran Chinnamalai,
Maruthu Pandiyar, etc. revolted against the British and fought several wars and
battles.
Many rulers like Hyder Ali and Dheeran Chinnamalai
sought the help of Maratha rulers in their fight against the British.
Agitated by the ill-impact of the British rule on the
social, cultural, tribal, and economic fabric of society, many individuals like
Sidhu Murmu, Kanhu Murmu and Tilka Manjhi stood up against the British
colonization.
While the British managed to defeat bigger ruler like
Tipu Sultan via local alliances (supporting one ruler against the other), they
did not have must difficulty in suppressing local agrarian and tribal
rebellions. The British not only used better weapons, but they also resorted to
devious tactics like the ‘divide and rule policy’ in to consolidate their rule
and might.
Even though the British tried their best to suppress rebellions
across India, these revolts would not stop as the British not only subjected
people to a foreign rule but also exploited people economically.
The Revolt of 1857
Often referred to as the ‘First War of Indian
Independence,’ the revolt of 1857 was the result of a series of incidents, but
the immediate reason for the revolt was the issue of ‘greased cartridges.’ The
East India Company mistreated the Indian soldiers and discriminated between the
Indian and the European soldiers. While the soldiers knew that the British were
using factors like religion and caste against them, the news of the newly
introduced Enfield P-53 rifles using cartridges made out of fat extracted from
beef and pork sparked a widespread rebellion against the British. Since the soldiers
had to bite the cartridge in order to load the rifle, it did not go down well
with the Hindu and Muslim soldiers as it hurt their religious belief. Since
consuming beef and pork is against the religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims
respectively, the allegation convinced Indian soldiers that the British were
trying to convert them into Christians.
This, along with many other factors, played a crucial
role in the revolt of the soldiers. Many Indian rulers from different states
followed suit and locked horns with the British. At the end of it all, at least
800,000 people, including many civilians, were killed. As a result of the
rebellion, the British government took control of the administration of India
from the East India Company.
Organized Movements
The revolt of 1857 was the first large-scale rebellion
against the British rule, and inspired the future generation to fight for the
independence of the motherland. Slowly and gradually many organizations were
formed that started to demand for some sort of self-governance and rights for
Indians.
In 1867, Dadabhai Naoroji founded the East India
Association, while Surendranath Banerjee came up with the Indian National
Association in 1876.
With more and more people coming up with the demand
for more rights, several prominent people came forward and decided to form a
platform that will demand for self rights and self governance. It led to the
formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885.
Since the British failed to grant even the moderate
demands set by the Congress, many Indians started questioning the moderate
leaders of the Congress, and advocated more radical approach in dealing with
the British, which gave rise to several revolutionary organizations that
advocated use of force and violence.
Works done by socio-religious groups like Brahmo Samaj
and Arya Samaj played a crucial role in creating awareness among Indians. The
works of reformers like Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, V. O.
Chidambaram Pillai and Subramanya Bharathy evoked a sense of nationalism among
Indians.
The Rise of Nationalism
Radical leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak straightway
pushed for self-rule for Indians. Tilak was also saddened by the fact that the
education system of the British government did not portray India’s history and
culture in a positive light. He advocated complete freedom (Swaraj) and managed
to inspire many Indians with his famous slogan, “Swaraj is my birthright and I
shall have it.” He was joined by other like-minded leaders like Bipin Chandra
Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. The trio together came to be known as ‘Lal-Bal-Pal,’
but they were expelled from the Congress for advocating violence and disorder.
However, they had done enough to instill nationalism into the minds of
thousands of Indians.
The Partition of Bengal
Since pre-independent Bengal was as big as France in
terms of its geography, the then Viceroy and Governor-General, Lord Curzon,
ordered the partition of Bengal in 1905. He argued that the partition would
lead to a better administration and ease the rising conflict between the Hindus
and the Muslims.
The Indian nationalists, however, believed that the
move was an attempt to slow down the momentum gathered by the recent
nationalist movements. They also believed that Lord Curzon was employing the
divide and rule policy to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims. This led to
a large-scale protest against the British rule, including boycotting British
products and publications of several rebellious newspapers and articles. The
government was eventually forced to reunite Bengal in 1911. But a new
partition, based on the languages spoken, was created soon after. The partition
of Bengal left an indelible mark on the people and political scenario of
Bengal.
The Rise of the Muslim League
In 1886, Syed Ahmed Khan, an Islamic reformist and
philosopher, founded the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference. The
conference was set-up in an attempt to provide quality education to Indian
Muslims. The conference organized annual meetings to discuss various methods to
improve the quality of education, among other things. In 1906, during the 20th
session of the conference, the members decided to set up a political party
called the ‘All India Muslim League.’ After the creation of the All India Muslim
League, the party strived towards achieving equal civil rights for the Muslim
population in India. Slowly and gradually, the Muslim league started to
propagate the theory that the Indian National Congress was a pro-Hindu outfit,
and that the political party was incapable of ensuring equal rights for the
Muslim community in India. This belief found many takers, and slowly and
gradually more and more Muslim leaders started contemplating the idea of
creating another political entity where Muslims would form the majority.
National Movement & the First World War
The national movement started picking-up at the end of
the nineteenth century and by the turn of the new century it had gathered a
critical mass, which would propel it further in the coming years. More and more
people were joining hands with nationalist leaders and the Congress to raise
the demand of self-rule. Led by leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar
Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, more and more commoners
began to protest against the British government.
Though the Indian National Congress was still
advocating the importance of the British rule, people had begun to participate
in mass movements, which inspired others as well. Meanwhile, just before the
beginning of the First World War, the British government had promised special
benefits to India in return for their support during the First World War. As
many as 1.3 million Indian soldiers were sent to places like the Middle East,
Europe and Africa to fight for the British in the First World War. Also, many
individual rulers of different princely states supported the British by sending
large supplies of money, food and ammunition.
The Arrival of Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi had mastered the methods of civil disobedience
through non-violent means in South Africa, where he worked as a barrister. In
1914, many political prisoners were freed by General Jan Smuts, thanks to
Gandhi's non-violent protests. Impressed by his methods, a prominent leader of
the Indian National Congress Gopal Krishna Gokhale requested Gandhi to return
to India and join the national movement. Upon his arrival, Gandhi joined the
Indian National Congress and accepted Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor. He
then went on to establish Satyagraha ashram and led a Satyagraha campaign in
1917. For the next three years, Gandhiji led many non-violent protests that
included Satyagraha and fasting. The Kheda Satyagraha and the Champaran
satyagraha were some of the early movements where he applied the concept of
Satygraha to fight for the rights of farmers and other peasants.
The Non-Cooperation Movement
In 1919, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered to
shoot at a peaceful gathering of men, women and children in Jallianwala Bagh,
who had gathered to celebrate Baisakhi and to condemn the arrest of Dr.
Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satya Pal. This inhuman act of the British sent
shockwaves across India, and received strong criticism and protests all over
India. Mahatma Gandhi too denounced this cowardly behavior and strongly
condemned it.
The national movement was slowly building-up and the
Jallianwalah Bagh incident played an important role in the start of the
‘Non-cooperation Movement.’ It was the first big Satyagraha movement under
Gandhi’s leadership. He requested the support of other political and religious
leaders and gave a call to Indians to stop using British products.
Gandhiji advocated the use of Khadi over British textiles.
He also asked government servants to quit their jobs, and return the British
titles and honors. Many Indians refused to pay taxes and many teachers and
lawyers gave up their respective profession. The non-co-operation movement
became a huge success throughout India until it was called off by Gandhiji in
the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident, in which three civilians and 22
policemen were killed.
The Non-cooperation movement had seen an unprecedented
and large-scale participation from the people of all regions and status. The
entire country was transformed into a different zone and the protests were
largely successful, but the unfortunate incident at Chauri Chaura forced Gandhi
to call the movement off. He said that people were still not ready for mass-movements
of this nature.
The decision to call-off the non-cooperation movement
left many disappointed and was criticized by several leaders.
Revolutionary Movement & its Role in Freedom
Movement
While the Indian National Congress, led by leaders
like Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mahatma Gandhi, advocated civil disobedience and
non-violent protests, many firebrand leaders believed in overthrowing the
British with the use of force. The revolutionary movement had begun as early as
the late 1750s, but it was during the Partition of Bengal that it began to take
shape. Under the leadership of Barin Ghosh, many revolutionaries began to
collect arms and explosives. They even started manufacturing bombs and some
were even sent to foreign countries to acquire knowledge about bomb-making and
other military training.
By 1924, Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was
formed and firebrand revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh,
Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil, Shivaram Rajguru, Surya Sen, etc. began to
involve themselves in various revolutionary activities. Some of the famous
revolutionary activities include Alipore bomb conspiracy, Chittagong armoury
raid, Kakori train robbery, Delhi-Lahore conspiracy case, etc.
Subhas Chandra Bose quit the Indian National Congress
and travelled to many countries to seek help for India’s independence. Bose
wanted to raise an Indian army to fight against the British. Based on Hitler’s
advice, he went to Japan and formed the Indian National Army (Azad Hind
Government). During the Second World War, the Indian National Army managed to
capture Andaman and Nicobar islands with the help of the Japanese army.
However, the setback to Japan in the Second World War impacted the prospects of
the INA as well and it’s march was blocked on the Border and many soldiers and
officers were arrested.
Quit India Movement
As the World War II progressed, Mahatma Gandhi intensified
his protests for the complete independence of India. He drafted a resolution
calling for the British to Quit India. The 'Quit India Movement' or the 'Bharat
Chhodo Andolan' was the most aggressive movement launched by the Indian
National Congress. Gandhi was arrested on 9th August 1942, and was held for two
years at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. The Quit India Movement came to an end by
the end of 1943, when the British gave hints that complete power would be
transferred to the people of India. Gandhi called off the movement which
resulted in the release of 100,000 political prisoners.
Partition & Independence of India
Though prominent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and
Jawaharlal Nehru were not willing to accept the formula of partition based on
religion, but communal clashes between religious groups hastened the creation
of Pakistan. The independence cum partition proposal offered by the British
Cabinet Mission in 1946 was accepted by the Congress. Sardar Patel convinced
Gandhi that it was the only way to avoid civil war and the Mahatma reluctantly
gave his consent. The British Parliament passed the famous Indian Independence
Act 1947, and on August 14, Pakistan was declared a free nation. Few minutes
later at 12:02 am, India became a democratic nation, much to the joy and relief
of the entire Indian subcontinent.
After India's independence, Gandhiji focused on peace
and unity among the Hindus and Muslims. He began a fast-unto-death in Delhi,
asking for all communal violence to be stopped and the payment of Rs. 55
crores, as per the Partition Council agreement, to be made to Pakistan.
Ultimately, all political leaders conceded to his wishes.
The Constituent Assembly was given the responsibility
of creating the constitution. Headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the constitution was
adopted on 26 November 1949. On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India came
into effect.
With affection,
Ruben
