EXCELL CAREER INDIA THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT

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1 THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT Indian nationalism was the child of the British Raj, and British authorities blessed its cradle. Nationalism is really only anti-colonialism. R. Coupland -A.D. Smith The Year 1885 marks the beginning of a new epoch in Indian History. In the year an all- Indian political organization was set on foot under the name of the Indian National Congress. The Indian mind became increasingly conscious of its political position. A retrospective examination of the National Movement suggest three broad stages in its development. In the first stage of its existence ( ). the vision of the Indian National Congress was dim, vague and confused. The movement was confined to a handful of the educated middle class intelligentsia who drew inspiration from Western Liberal and Radical Though. During the second stage ( ), the Congress came of age and its aim and scope were considerably extended. It aimed at an all-around uplift of the people social, cultural, economic and political. Swaraj or self government was the goal on the political front. Some progressive elements within the Congress adopted Western revolutionary methods to liquidate Western Imperialism. The final stage ( ) was dominated by the objective of Purna Swaraj or complete independence to be achieved under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi by the characteristically Indian method of non-violent non-cooperation. (A) Factors Favouring Growth of Indian Nationalism Stimulus- Response Debate. Traditional Indian historiography explains rise and growth of Indian nationalism in terms of Indian response to stimulus generated by British Raj through creation of new institution, new opportunities, resources etc. In other words, Indian nationalism grew partly as a result of colonial policies and partly as a reaction to colonial policies. The growth of Indian national consciousness in the latter half of the nineteenth century was not to the link Bring of British colonial rulers. At first, British scholars and administrators denied the existence of any feeling of nationally in India. In 1883 J.R. Seeley described India as mere geographical expression with no sence whatever of national unity. In 1884 John Strachey, an ex-indian civil servant, told the alumni of Cambridge University. This is the first and most essential thing to learn about India that there is not, and never was an India. This is the first and most essential thing to learn about India-that is not, and never was an India. He further forecast that India will never become a united nation. When the closing decade of the 19 th century and first decade of the 20 th century demonstrated that nationalism had grown and was gaining strength, British scholars struck a new 1

2 posture. The authors of the Montford Report claimed credit that British rule was the harbinger of nationalist upsurge in India; it wrote, The politically minded Indians are intellectually our children. They have imbibed ideas which we ourselves set before them and we ought to reckon to our work. R. Coupland in a more forthright language wrote Indian nationalism was the child of the British Raj. Coupland in a more forthright language wrote Indian nationalism was the child of the British Raj, Coupland forgot to mention that Indian nationalism was an unwanted child of the Raj whom it refused to feed at birth and sought to strangle it subsequently. It would be more correct to say that Indian nationalism was partly the product of a world-wide upsurge of the concepts of nationalism and right of self- determination initiated by the French Revolution, partly the result of Indian Renaissance, Party off shoot of modernization initiated by to British in Indian an partly developed as a strong reaction to British imperial policies in India. 1. Impact of British Rule. British colonial rulers followed modern methods- political, military, economic and intellectual to establish and continue their stranglehold over India and for fuller economic exploitation of India s resources. A dose of modernization was an essential concomitant of the colonial scheme of administration and this modernization distorted though it was generated some developments and one of these was growth of Indian nationalism. 2. Political Unity of India. Imperial Britain conquered the whole of India from the Himalayas in the north to Cape Comorin in the South of from Assam in the east to the Khyber pass in the west. They created a larger state than that of the Mauryas or the great Mughals. While Indian provinces were under direct British rule, Indian states were under indirect British rule. The British sword imposed political unity in India. Common subjection, common institutions, common laws began to shape India in a common mould. Despite imperial efforts to sow communal, regional and linguistic dissensions, pan-indianism grew. The establishment of political unity fostered the spirit of one-mindedness. 3. Establishment of Peace and Administrative Unification of India. After the chaotic conditions of 18 th century ( partly created by the aggressive wars waged by European trading companies), the British rulers established peace and orderly government in India. British scholars take pride in the fact that Pax Britannica brought prolonged peace and order for the first time in India. The British also established a highly centralized administrative system in India. Percival Griffiths refers to the impersonality of British administration to be its most important characteristic i.e. the fundamental character of administration did not change with the change of top-administrators like Secretaries of State and Viceroys (as had been the case with all previous empires in India). Further administrative Unification had important effects in many other fields. A highly trained professional Indian Civil service managed the district administration in all parts of India. A unified judicial setup, codified civil and criminal law rigorously enforced throughout the length and breadth of the country imparted a new dimension of political unity to 2

3 hitherto cultural unity that had existed in India for centuries. In the words of Edwyn Bevan, the British Raj was like a steel-frame which held the injured body of India together till the gradual process of internal growth had joined the dislocated bones, knit up torn fibres, and enabled the depatient to regain inner coherence and unity. 4. Development of rapid means of transport and Communications. The necessities of administrative convenience, consideration of military defence and urge for economic penetration and commercial exploitation were the drives behind planned development of modern means of transport. A network of roads linked one province with another and the metropolitan centers with mofussil areas. For more than anything else the development of railways have unified the country. The construction of railways began in Indian in the 1850s and by 8500 miles of rail track had been built, extending to miles by Apart from many other advantages, the railways have facilitated the growth of nationalism. As early as 1865 Edwin Arnold wrote, Railways may do for India what dynasties have never done- what the genius of Akbar the Magnificent could not effect by government, nor the cruelty of Tipu Saheb by violence, they have made India a nation. The development of the modern postal system and the introduction of electric telegraph in the 1850s helped to unify the country. A cheep ½ anna uniform postage rate for inland letters and still cheaper rates for transmission of newspapers and parcels brought about a transformation of newspapers and parcels brought about a transformation in the social, education, intellectual and political life of the people. National literature could be circulated through the post offices that operated in every nook and corner of the country. The electric telegraph brought about a revolution in the speedy transmission of messages. Thus, the modern means of communication enabled people living in different parts of Indian to maintain regular contacts with one another and thus promoted the cause of nationalism fact, modern political organizations like the Indian National Congress, the All- Indian Trade Unions Congress, the All- Indian Kisan Sabha, the All- Indian Muslims League could neither have come into existence nor could function on a national scale without the facilities provided by modern railways motor buses or the communication facilities provided by the Post and Telegraph Department. 5. Introduction of Modern Education. The introduction of modern system of education afforded opportunities for assimilation of modern Western ideas which in turn gave a new direction to Indian political thinking. Sir Charles E. Trevelyan, T.B. Macaulay and Lord William Bentick (then Governor General) took a momentous decisions in 1835 when they inaugurated the system of English education in India. Asked to give his opinion about the possible effect of English education upon the probable maintenance of the British Government in India, Trevelyan argued before the Indian committee of the House of Lords in 1835 that the British raj in India could not last for ever. It was bound to die one day, either at the hands of 3

4 those who had been educated in English and subscribed to the new British model of political change. If it was die at the hands of the latter, it would take a long time and the severance of the British connection with India would be neither violent nor harmful to Britain, for cultural and commercial bonds would continue. Macaulay struck a different note though the end result the envisaged was not very different. In the course of a speech before the House of commons in 1833, Macaulay said, It may be that the public mind of India may expand under our system until it has out grown that system, that by good government we may educate out subjects into a capacity for better government; that having become instructed in European language, they may, in some future age demand European institutions. The English system of education though conceived by the rulers in the interests of efficient administration opened to the newly educated Indians the floodgates of liberal European thought the liberal and radical thought of European writers like Milton Shelley, Bentham, Mill, Spenser, Rousseau and Voltaire inspired the Indian intelligentsia with the ideals of liberty, nationally and self-government and made clear to them the anachronism of British rule in India. The newly educated class usually adopted the professions of junior administrators, lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc. Some of them visited England to receive higher education. While in England they saw with their own eyes the working of political and slavish with the total denial of basic rights to citizens. These vilayat-returned Indians with the ever-expanding English educated class formed the middle class intelligentsia. This English educated intelligentsia, some what conscious of political rights, found that despite the promises contained in the charter Act of 1833 and the Queen s proclamation of 1858 the doors of higher services remained closed to the Indians. This realization drove discontent and frustration among them and this discontent proved infectious. Men like Surendranath Banerjee, Manmohan ghose,lanmohan Ghose, Aurobindo turned nationalist only after the doors of the coveted services were closed to them. These intelligent and well- informed persons formed the nucleus for the newly arising political of unrest and it was this section of the society which provided leadership to the Indian political association. The spread and popularity of the English language in all parts of India gave to the educated Indians a common language a lingua franca through the medium of which they could communicate with one another and transact their conferences and congress. In the absence of such a lingua franca it would have been very difficult for the Bengalis, the panjabis, the Tamilians, the Maharastrians etc., to come on a common platform or organize a movement of all-india character. 6. Emergence of a Modern Press. The emergence of the modern press both English Vernacular was another offshoot of British rule in India. It were the Europeans who set up printing presses in India and published newspapers and other cheap literature. Gradually the Vernacular press came into existence and developed on the Western pattern. Inspite of the 4

5 numerous restrictions imposed on the press by the colonial rulers from time to time Indian journalism made rapid strides. The later half of the 19 th century saw an unprecedent growth of Indian-owned English and Vernacular newspaper there were about 169 newspapers published in vernacular language and their circulation reached the neighbourhood of The Indian press has played a notable role in mobilizing public opinion, organizing political movements, fighting our public controversy and promoting nationalism. Newspapers like the Indian Mirror, the Bengalee, the Amrita Bazar patrika, Bombay chronicle. The Hindu Patriot, the Mahratta, kesai, Andra Prakasika, The Hindu, Indu Prakash, Kohinur etc. in English and different Indian languages exposed the excesses of British Indian administration apart from popularizing among the people the ideas of representative government, liberty, democratic institutions, home rule and independence. It may be no exaggeration to state that the press become the mirror of Indian nationalism and the primary medium of popular public education. 7. Rise of the Middle Class Intelligentsia. British administrative and economic innovations gave rise to a new urban middle class in towns. The new class readily learnt English for it promoted employment and gave a sence of prestige. This class, prominent because of its education, new positions and its close ties with the ruling class came to the forefront. P.Spear writes, The new middle class was a well- integrated all India class with varied background but a common foreground of knowledge, ideas and values.. It was a minority of Indian society, but a dynamic minority It had a sense of unity of purpose and of hope. This middle class proved to be the new soul of modern India and in due course infused the whole of India with its spirit. This class provided leadership to the Indian National congress in all its stages of growth. 8. Influence of Historical Researches. Historical researches in ancient Indian history conducted mostly by European scholars like Max Muller, Monier Willam, Roth, Session etc. opened new vistas of India s rich cultural heritage. In particular the excavations conducted by archaeologists like Marshall and Conningham created a new picture of India s pastlory and greatness no less impressive than that of ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. The scholoars praised the Vedas and Upanishads for their literary merit and excellent analysis of the human mind. The theory put forward by European scholars that the Indo- Aryans belonged to the same ethnic group of mankind from which stemmed all the nations of Europe gave a psychological boost to educated Indian. All these gave new sense of confidence to the educated Indians and inspired them with a new spirit of patriotism and nationalism. 9. Impact of contemporary European Movements. Contemporary strong currents of nationalist ideas which pervaded the whole of Europe and south America did stimulate Indian nationalism. A number of national states came into existence in south America on the ruins of the Spanish and Portuguese empires. In Europe the national liberation movements of Greece and Italian general and of Ireland in particular deeply stirred the emotions of Indians. Educated Indians touring Europe were greatly impressed by these nationalist movements. We find 5

6 Surendranath Banerji delivering lectures on joseph Mazzini and the Young Italy movement organised by him. Lajpat Rai very often referred to the campaigns of Garibaldi and the activities of Carbonaris in his speeches and writings. Thus, European nationalist movement did Lend strength to the developing nationalism in India. 10. Progressive Character of Socio- Religious Reform Movements. In the 19 th century educated Indians began to examine afresh their religious beliefs and customs and their social practices in the light of new knowledge of Western Science and philosophy which they had acquired. The result was various religious and social reform movements in Hindu religion like the Brahmo Samaj, the Prarhana Samaj, the Arya Samaj the Ramakrishna Mission, the Theosophical Society. Similar movements reformed Muslim, Sikh and Parsi societies also. In the religious sphere the reform movements combated religious superstition, attacked idolatry, polytheism and hereditary priesthood. In the social sphere, these movements attacked the caste system, untouchability and other social and legal inequalities, these movements were progressive in character for they sought recognisation of society on democratic lines and on the basis of ideas of individual equality, social equality, reason, enlightenment and liberalism. Most of the religious societies had no political mission, all the same whosever came under their influence rapidly developed a sence of self-respect and spirit of patriotism. Since many reforms movements drew their inspiration from India s rich cultural heritage, these promoted pan- Indian feelings and spirit of nationalism. 11. Racialism. One unfortunate legacy of the Rebellion of 1857 was the feeling of racial bitterness between the rulers and the ruled. The Punch cartooned Indians as half- gorialla, halfnegroes. The Anglo- Indian bureaucracy developed an attitude of arrogance and contempt towards the Indians. They somehow came to the conclusion that the only argument that worked effectively with the Indians was superior force. Thuse, Europeans developed their own social code of ethics and worked out the theory of a superior race. The Indians were dubbed as belonging to an inferior race and no longer worthy of any trust. The Indians were frequently referred to as a nation of liars, perjurers and forgers. The Anglo- Indian lobby produced books, races particularly the English. This narrow approach evoked a reaction in the Indian mind and put the educated Indians on the defensive. 12. Economic Exploitation. The impact of British rule on the Indian economy was disastrous. Jawaharlal Nehru has summed up the Indian viewpoint when he writes. The economy of Indian had advanced to as high a stage as it could reach prior to the Industrial Revolution but foreign political domination led to rapid destruction of the economy she had built up, without anything positive or constructive taking its place. The net result being, Poverty and degradation measure. The general object of British policies-even though claimed to be social welfare by some British Scholars- was a systematic destruction of traditions Indian economy. 6

7 The sharp reaction to discriminatory British economic and fiscal policies gave rise to economic nationalism in India. In the first half of the nineteenth century Britain was in the vanguard of Industrial Revolution and needed cheap raw material and a market for her industrial products. Interests of imperial Britain required that Indian economy policies of Indian in all fields agriculture, heavy industry, finance, tariffs, foreign capital investment, foreign trade, banking etc were all greated to the preservation of the colonial economy. In spite of British intentions to the Contrary, modern capitalist enterprise made a beginning in India in the 1860s. This development alarmed the British textile manufactures who started clamouring for revision of Indian tariff rates to suit their sectional interests. The classic example is the controvery over cotton Duties which were frequently shuffled at the lobbying of British capitalists. The Re exchange ratio was also manipulated to the disadvantage of Indian industry and foreign trade. All these development made it clear that whenever British economic interests clashed with Indian economic development, the latter had be sacrificed. The extravagant civil and military administration, the denial of high post to Indians, the ever mounting Home Charges, the continuous drain of wealth from India resulted in stagnation of Indian economy. The cumulative effect was increasing misery for the people. Periodical famines became a regular feature of Indian economic life. During the second half of the 19 th century 24 famines visited various parts of India taking an estimated toll of 28/1/2 million souls. What is worse is that even during the famine times, export of foodgrains from India continued. Indian nationalist developed the theory of increasing poverty in India. And attributed it to Britain s anti-india economic policies. They tagged poverty and foreign rule. This psychology developed a hatred for foreign rule and love for swadeshi goods and Swadeshi rule. The spirit of nationalism received a powerful stimulus in the process. 13. Lord Lytton s Reactionary policies. The short sighted acts and policies of Lord Lytton acted like catalytic agents and accelerated the movement against foreign rule. The maximum age limit the I.C.S examination was reduced from 21 years to 19 years, thus making it impossible for Indians for compete for it. The grand Delhi Darbar of 1877, when the country was in the severe grip of famine, solicited remark from a Calcutta journalist that Nero was fidding while Rome was burning. Lytton put on the statute book two obnoxious measures- the Vernacular Press Act and Indian Arms Act(1878). Lytton s unpopular acts provoked a great storm of opposition in the country and led to the organization of various political association for carrying on anti- Government propaganda in the country. 14. The Ilbert Bill Controversy. The Ilbert Bill controversy raised passions on both sides which did not easily subside. Ripon s government sought to abolish judicial disqualification based on race distinctions and Ilbert Bill sought to give Indian members of the convenanted civil Service the same powers and rights as their European colleagues enjoyed. The Bill raised a storm of agitation among the members of the European community and they all 7

8 stood united against the bill. Ripon had to modify the bill which almost defeated the original purpose. The Ilbert Bill controversy proved an eye-opener to the Indian intelligentsia. It became clear to them that justice and fairplay could not be expected where the interest of the European community were involved. Further it demonstratred to them the value of organised agitation. (B) Growth of Modern Political Ideas and Political Associations craze. Associations, like cricket, were British innovation and, like cricket, became an Indian Western domination of India generated certain forces- some as a result of its impact and some as a reaction to it- which ultimately challenged Western imperialism. As early as 1833 Lord Macaulay, in the course of a speech before the House of Commons, had explained the implication of his educational policy. It may be that the public mind of Indian may expand under our system until it has outgrown that system, that by good government we may educate our subject into a capacity for better government; that having become instructed in European language, they may, in some future age demand European institutions. One important effect of the introduction of Western culture in India was the growth of Modern Political concepts like nationalism, nationality, political rights etc. The Indian sub-continent witnessed the growth of political ideas and political organization hitherto were unknown to the Indian world. And it were political association which heralded 19 th century India into modern politics. What distinguished these new political association from earlier religious and caste associations of the country were the secular interests that bound together the new classes. Political Association in Bengal Presidency. Raja Rammohan Roy was the pioneer of political movement in India. He was greatly influenced by Western ideas. He was a widely-read man. His extensive studies had freed his mind from bigotry that characterized an average Bengali. His sympathies in the domain of politics were cosmopolitan and his heart went it sympathy for popular movements all over the world. In 1821 the Raja celebrated in Calcutta the establishment of a constitutional government in span. Rammohan Roy was the First, Indian to focus the attention of the Englishmen on the grievances of Indian and to ask for remedial measures. He demanded liberty of the press, appointment of Indians in civil courts and other higher posts, codification of law etc. It was generally believed that some of the beneficent provisions in the Charter Act of 1833 were due to his lobbying in England. The task of organizing political associations was, however, left to the associates of Rammohan Roy. The first such association called Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha was formed in The association discussed topics connected with the policy and administration of the government and sought redress by sending petitions and memorials to the government. 8

9 In July 1838 the Zamindary Association more popularly known as the Landholders society was founded to safeguard the interests of the landlords. Although limited in its objectives, the Landholders Society marks the beginning of an organised political activity and use of methods of constitutionally agitation for the redressal of grievances. The Landholders Society of Calcutta cooperated with the British India Society founded by Mr. Adams in London in July In April 1843 another political association under the name of the Bengal British Indian Society was founded with the object of the collection and dissemination of information relating to the actual condition of the people of British India and to employ such other means of peaceful and lawful character as may appear calculated to secure to welfare, extent the just right, and advance the interest of all classes of our fellow subjects. However, the Landholders society and the Bengal British Indian Society did not Flourish well and on 29 October 1851 the two associations, were merged into a new one named the British Indian Associations. This Associations was dominated by members of the landed aristocracy and its primary objective was safeguarding their class interests. However, the Association struck a liberal note and when the time came for the renewal of the Character of the East India Company it sent a petition to the parliament praying for establishment of a separate legislature of a popular character, separation of judicial from executive functions, reduction in the salaries of higher officers, abolition of salt duty, abkari and stamp duties etc. The prayers of the Associations were partially met and the Character Act of 1853 provided for the addition of six members to the Governors General Council for legislative purposes. The British Indian Association continued its existence as a political body down to the 20 th century even though it was over-shadowed by the more popular Indian National Congress. By 1870s there were signs of change inside Indian society. In the Presidency towns higher education was well established and the members of the new professions were acquiring status and developing new ambitions. A new elite had grown in all the presidencies whose aspiration and status were roughly comparable. These were good development for the formation of more popular and broad-based association. In September 1875 Babu Sisir Kumar Ghose founded the Indian League with the object of stimulating the sense of nationalism amongst the people and of encouraging political education. With in a year of its foundation, the Indian League was superseded by the Indian Association founded on 26 july 1876 by Ananda Mohan Bose and Surendranath Banerjee. The Indian Association hoped to attract not only the middle classes but also the masses, and therefore kept its annual subscription at Rs5 as opposed to the subscription of Rs 50 p.a. fixed by the British Indian Association. Soon the Indian Assocation became the centre of the leading representatives of the educated community of Bengal. Lytton s unpopular measures whipped up political activity in India. A regulation of 1876 reduced the maximum age for appearing in the Indian Civil service examination from 21 to 19 years. Since the examination was held only in London, young Indians had to face innumerable 9

10 difficulties. The Indians Association took up this question and organised all-india agitation against it, popularly known as the Indian Civil Service Agitation. Surendranath Banerjee went on a Whirlwind tour of northern India in May 1877 and visited Benaras, Allahabad, Kanpur, lucknow, Aligarh, Delhi, Meerut, Amritsar and Lahore. At certain centres he visited, new political organization to act in concert with the Indian Association of Calcutta were set up. Next Year, Banerjee went on a similar mission to the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras. Political Associations in Bombay Presidency. While to the Bengali Hindus the English might have appeared as deliverers from the tyrannical rule of the Muslim nawabs, in Maharashtra the British were looked upon as foreign tyrants who had displaced indigenous rulers. Commenting on the nature of British rule, Shri Bhaskar Pandurange Tarkhadkar wrote in the Bombay Gazette in 1841, If I were to give you ( the English ) credit for your having saved us from the Pindaris and Ramosis, your trading system stands in the way which had indeed more effectually emptied out purses in a few years than the predatory excursions of these tribes could do in some five or six hundred years. In short, it must be knowledge that your progress in cunning and craftiness has kept pace with your advancement in knowledge and wisdom. On the lines of the British India Association of Calcutta, on 26 August 1852 was founded the Bombay Association with object of memorializing from time to time the Government authorities in India or in England for the removal of existing evils, and for the prevention of proposed measures which may be deemed injurious or for the introduction of enactments which may tend to promote the general interests of all connected with this country. The Bombay Association sent a petition to the British Parliament urging the formation of new legislative councils to which Indians should be also represented. It also condemned the policy of exclusion of Indians from all higher services, lavish expenditure on sinecure posts given to European. However, the Bombay Association did not survive for long. The reactionary policies of Lytton and the Ilbert Bill Controversy caused political commotion in Bombay. The credit for organization of the Bombay presidency Association in 1885 goes to the popularly called brothers-in- law- Mehta, Telang and Tyabji, representing the three chief communities on Bombay town. At poona the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was established in 1867 with the object of serving as a bridge between the government on the one hand and the people on the other. The Bombay Presidency Association and the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha worked in close collaboration. Political Association in Madras Presidency. A branch of the British Indian Association of Calcutta was set up at Madras under the name of the Madras Native Association. The Madras Association also sent petition to the Parliament on the eve of the passing of the Charter Act of 1853 making demands similar to that of the British Indian Association and the Bombay Association rights from its inception was worked by some officials, possessed very little vitality, had hardly and hold upon the public mind and languished into obscurity after

11 Political trends similar to other presidencies were at work in Madras presidency also. A number of small local associations came into existence during the viceroyalty of Ripon. The Madras Mahajana Sabha was formed in May 1884 to co-ordinate the activities of local associations and to provide a focus for the non- official intelligence spreading through the presideny. At its conference held on 29, 31 December 1884 and 1-2 January 1885 the Sabha demanded expansion of legislative councils, representative of Indians in it, separation of judicial from revenue functions etc. Trends Towards a Grand United National Political Organisation. Although the ideas of a common political organization for the whole country was as old as the first stirrings of constitutional politics in India, it took decades to ferment and materialize. The East Indian Association founded in London in October 1866 had hoped to set up branches in Calcutta and Bombay and claimed to work for the public interest and welfare of the inhabitants of India generally. In 1877 the poona Sarvajanik Sabha had urged the representative of Bombay and Bengal to work together and the following year sent a deputation to Calcutta for the interchange of ideas. There were protests all over India over the imposition of the License Tax (1878) and abolition of Cotton Duties (1879). In the 1880s certain development gradually pushed the hesitant leaders of the various regional association to common and concerted action. Various schemes were in the air. In 1882 there was a plan for a national meeting. The Indian Association of Calcutta had plans to hold a national conference. In 1883 Telang went from Bombay to Calcutta to arrange for more political concert between Calcutta and Bombay. There was a plan to form a Federation of the Native Press, a scheme to start a National Newspaper, a plan to set up an Indian Constitutional Reform Association. During the various local associations in the Presidency towns were forging towards unity. In Calcutta the Indian Association, the British Indian Association,the National Mohammedan Association and the Indian Union and worked together to call the National Conference. During November- December 1884 there were spontaneous demonstrations throughout India to mark Ripon s departure from India. These demonstrations marked a spirit of organization which India had never known before, commented the editor of the Times of India. It will not be correct to trace the genesis of the Indian National Congress of the efforts of a single individual like A.O. Hume or assume that it appeared as a sudden efflorescence. The various political organizations in different parts of India and the ferment of ideas had prepared the ground and the foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was only a visible embodiment of that national awakening. The efforts of the Indian Association of Calcutta and its leader Surendranath Banerjee in Organising the India National Conference deserve special mention. In December 1883 met the first Indian National Conference to which representative drawn from all the major towns of India 11

12 were invited. Shri Ananda Mohan Bose, the president, expressed the hope that the conference would prove to be the first stage in the formation of a National Parliament. The second National conference met at Calcutta during the X-mas week of However, the Indian National conference was soon eclipsed by the more popular and more representative Indian National Congress. It was left to Mr. Hume a retired official of the government of India, to give a practical and definite shape to an organization of an all-india character. W.C. Bonnerjee popularized the view that the idea of the Indian National Congress was a product of Lord Dufferin s brain that he suggested it to Mr. Hume who undertook to work it out. Dufferin s idea was to have a political organisation though which the Government could ascertain the real wishes of the people and thus save the administration from any possible political outburst in the country. Lala Lajput Rai maintained that the Indian National congress was organised to serve as a safety- valve for the growing unrest in the country and strengthen the British Empire. The idea was writes Lala Lajpat Rai, not only to save the British rule from any danger that threatened it but even to strengthen it.. the redress of political grievances and political advance of India was only a by product and of product and of secondary importance. Whatever might have been the motive of Lord Duffering and Mr. Hume, it cannot be denied that Mr. Hume was a true liberal and deadly earnest about the necessity and desirability of a political organization. Mr. Hume s open letter to the graduates of the Calcutta university is revealing. He wrote, Scattered individuals however capable and however well-meaning, are powerless singly. What is needed is union, organization and well defined line of action and to secure these an association is required, Hume asked for fifty volunteers to join in a movement to promote the mental, moral, social and political regeneration of the people of India. Mr. Hume secured the sympathy and support of the and political regeneration of the people of India. Mr. Hume secured the Sympathy and support of the Government officials and public men in Indian and England for the Indian National Congress. Thus the movement was a child both of England and India. Recent researches have proved that Allan Hume was an elightened imperialist. He was alarmed at the growing gulf between the rulers and the ruled. Hume saw with considerable misgivings the establishment of the Indian National Conference in 1883 by S.N. Banerjee, a dismissed government servant of advanced political views, who had done much to popularize the ideas and teaching of Italian nationalists like Mazzini and Garibaldi. Hume decided to by pass this Indian National conference and instead organize a loyal and innocuous political organisation. And Hume did succeed in organizing the Indian National congress and made it, at least in the beginning a forum for pro-british and anti-russian Propaganda. 12

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