Second Phase of the Indian National Movement

(R) contradicts (A)

Explanation — The actual reason behind the partition of Bengal was to stop rising nationalism but the reason given to Indian people was large size of Bengal which made the administration difficult.

(A) and (R) are independent of each other.

Explanation — The differences between the Assertive Nationalists and Early Nationalists arose soon after the division of Bengal but they parted ways in 1907.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — The Early Nationalist did not want to extend support to boycott movement for whole India and wanted it confined in Bengal only as it was against their policy of petition and persuasion.

(A) and (R) are independent of each other.

Explanation — Lord Curzon initially refused to concede to the demands of annulling the Partition of Bengal but later revoked it in 1911. A new scheme of partition of Bengal was implemented on linguistic basis and then the administrative capital of British India was shifted from Kolkata to Delhi

(A) is true but (R) is false

Explanation — A new scheme of Partition of Bengal was implemented on the basis of language rather than on religion.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — The Assertive Nationalists advocated more radical approaches, including active resistance and challenging British imperialism directly. The failure of the Early Nationalists gave an opportunity to Assertive leaders to lead the national movement.

(R) is the reason for (A)

Explanation — The Early Nationalists had faith in British rule so they believed in changes through persuasion and petition but the Assertive Nationalists denounced the British rule and defied it. Their main objective was the immediate attainment of Swaraj.

Partition of Bengal

Religious

Assertive Nationalists because they used Vernacular press as a medium.

non-cooperation

Victory of Japan over Russia

India's past

the masses

(a) The picture 'A' shows Dadabhai Naoroji and the picture 'B' shows Lala Lajpat Rai.

Dadabhai Naoroji belonged to the Early Nationalists section of the Congress and Lala Lajpat Rai belonged to the Assertive Nationalists section of the Congress.

Dadabhai Naoroji wanted to achieve self-government and strove for autonomy within the Empire and not for absolute independence while Lala Lajpat Rai aimed at nothing short of Swaraj (i.e., Complete Independence).

(b) Three different methods of struggle adopted by each section of the Congress were-

(c) Two contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji in the freedom struggle are as follows —

1. India's Unofficial Ambassador — Dadabhai Naoroji spent a major part of his life in England fighting for the cause of his country. He founded London India Society and East India Association in London to further the cause of India in Britain.
2. Exposed the Economic Ills of India — Through his works, 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' and his famous 'Drain Theory' he explained how India's wealth was being 'drained' to England through various ways.

Two contributions of Lala Lajpat Rai in the freedom struggle are as follows —

1. An Educationlist and a Forceful Writer — Lala Lajpat Rai was a prolific writer. When he was in the USA, he started a monthly magazine 'Young India' to spread the message of the right of India to attain Swaraj. His publications included: 'The Call to Young India', 'England's Debt to India' and 'THe Political Future of India'.
2. A Social Reformer — Lajpat Rai was associated with the Arya Samaj Movement. He was instrumental in the expansion of D.A.V. College at Lahore in 1886.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed the Bande Mataram.

The reaction of the masses to the proclamation of the Partition of Bengal was as follows:

1. The leaders of the protest movement declared it a day of national mourning throughout Bengal.
2. It was observed as a day of fasting.
3. There was strike in Kolkata.
4. People walked barefooted and bathed in the Ganga in the early morning hours.
5. The streets of Kolkata were full of the cries of 'Bande Mataram' which became the theme song of the national movement.
6. Rabindranath Tagore composed the patriotic song, 'Amar Sonar Bangla' (My Golden Bengal), for the occasion which was sung by huge crowds parading the streets.
7. The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was celebrated in a new way. Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis on one another's wrists as the symbol of unbreakable unity of the Bengalis and the two halves of Bengal.
8. In the afternoon, there was a great demonstration when the veteran leader Ananda Mohan Bose laid the foundation of a Federation Hall to mark the indestructible unity of Bengal. All gathered there took the vow to follow Swadeshi.

Rabindranath Tagore composed the patriotic song, 'Amar Sonar Bangla' (My Golden Bengal), during the Anti-partition agitation which was sung by huge crowds parading the streets.

In the second phase of the national movement, there emerged a new and a younger group of leaders within the Congress who did not agree with the methods and ideology of the Early Nationalist leaders. These 'angry young men' stood for complete Swaraj to be achieved by more self-reliant methods. They also wanted to have a mass-base for their movement. This group of leaders came to be known as Assertive Nationalists.

They were so called because they had a different outlook that advocated active resistance to British imperialism. They condemned the British rule in India and held it responsible for the country's downfall. They called upon the people of India to make sacrifices for the sake of their country.

The three prominent Assertive Nationalist leaders are Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal. They are famous as the Lal-Bal-Pal trio.

The main aim of the Assertive Nationalists was the immediate attainment of 'Swaraj'. This means complete independence and not just self-government as in the colonies of Australia, New Zealand, etc.

The Assertive Nationalists expanded the social base of the national movement by adopting the following methods-

1. Swadeshi and boycott — Economic boycott of British goods and use of Swadeshi was designed to encourage Indian industries and provide the people with more opportunities for employment.
2. National Education — The national leaders advocated national universities that were free from government control. A large number of national schools were established in East Bengal.
3. Passive Resistance — The Assertive leaders believed in adopting the policy of non-violent resistance and vigorous political action to achieve their aims. They asked the people to refuse to cooperate with the government and to boycott government service, courts, schools and colleges.
4. Other methods — Besides the above said methods, the other methods included revivalism, personal sacrifices and mass involvement.

The two methods adopted by the Assertive Nationalists in the freedom struggle were-

1. Swadeshi and boycott — Economic boycott of British goods and use of Swadeshi was designed to encourage Indian industries and provide the people with more opportunities for employment.
2. National Education — The national leaders advocated national universities that were free from government control. A large number of national schools were established in East Bengal.

One reason for the rise of Assertive Nationalism was the recognition of the true nature of the British Rule. The Assertive Nationalists felt that the British rule was responsible for the economic ruin of India and her growing poverty.

The educated Indians turned against the British because a large number of educated Indians were employed in the administration on low salaries, while many others faced unemployment. Their grievances made them look critically at the nature of the British rule. These educated low paid or unemployed Indians became the followers of Assertive Nationalism.

Two international events that shattered the myth of European superiority are-

1. For the first time, Japan, an Asian country, defeated Russia.
2. Italian forces were defeated by the Abyssinians in Ethiopia.

Two measures that show that Lord Curzon's policies were repressive are-

1. The Act of 1898 which made it an offence to provoke people against the British.
2. The Calcutta Corporation Act (1899) which reduced the strength of elected members from India, thereby giving the British a majority.

Two books written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak are-

1. The Gita Rahasya
2. The Arctic Home of the Vedas

Bal Gangadhar Tilak left the Indian National Congress in 1907 after there was a split in the Congress.

Tilak left the Indian National Congress because he did not agree with the methods and ideology of the Early Nationalist leaders. He stood for complete Swaraj to be achieved by more self-reliant methods. He also wanted to have a mass-base for their movement. He condemned the British rule in India and held it responsible for the country's downfall.

In 1893, Bal Gangadhar Tilak started using the traditional religious Ganapati festival to propagate nationalist ideas through songs and speeches. In 1895, he glorified Shivaji and started the Shivaji festival to encourage young Maharashtrians.

Two contributions of Bipin Chandra Pal are:

1. As a journalist, he worked for 'Bengal Public Opinion', 'The Tribune' and 'New India' to propagate his brand of nationalism.
2. He wanted to bring about social reforms and opposed caste system and other rigid rules concerning inter-dining and inter-mixing.

Two achievements of the Assertive Nationalists were-

1. These leaders were able to inculcate national pride by extolling India's past. Tilak revived the Ganapati and Shivaji festivals to arouse national sentiments. Through his writings in Mahratta and the Kesari, Tilak preached nationalism.
2. They gave new slogans to the Indian nationalist movement like 'non-cooperation, passive resistance, mass agitation, and self-reliance'.

(a) The Anti-Partition Movement had the following impact:

1. The Partition of Bengal along with the Anti-Partition Movement accelerated the Nationalist Movement by spreading it among the general masses. The people rose in unity to resist, to suffer and to sacrifice.
2. Swadeshi and Boycott were used as weapons of political agitation and a training in self-sufficiency for the attainment of Swaraj. British goods were burnt at public places and shops selling them were picketed. The spirit of Swadeshi spread to almost every walk of life — industries, education, culture, literature, etc.
3. The people lost their faith in the fair play and justice of the British. Lord Curzon refused to concede to the demands of annulling the partition.
4. The Anti-Partition agitation backfired the plans of Lord Curzon. It gave added strength to the National Movement. The methods adopted by the Early Nationalists lost their appeal and gave an opportunity to the Assertive Nationalists to lead the National Movement.

The Partition of Bengal was revoked in 1911. A new scheme of partition of Bengal was implemented on linguistic rather than on religious grounds. Hindi, Oriya and Assamese speaking areas were separated from Bengal to form separate administrative units. The administrative capital of British India was shifted from Kolkata to Delhi in 1911.

(b) People started a strong movement against the partition, known as the Anti-partition Movement.

1. The Partition of Bengal led to a mighty upsurge which brought people and political leaders together.
2. The Indian National Congress and the nationalists of Bengal opposed the partition. Within Bengal, different sections of the population — zamindars, merchants, lawyers, students and women — rose up in opposition to the partition of their province.
3. Many protest meetings were held by eminent leaders like Surendranath Banerjee, Krishna Kumar Mitra, P.C. Ray, B.C. Pal and Ananda Mohan Bose.
4. The Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists cooperated with one another during the course of the movement.
5. The leaders condemned partition through newspapers like Bengali, Hitabadi and Sanjibani. They declared it a day of national mourning throughout Bengal.
6. There was strike in Kolkata.
7. The streets of Kolkata were full of the cries of 'Bande Mataram' which became the theme song of the national movement.
8. Rabindranath Tagore composed the patriotic song, 'Amar Sonar Bangla' (My Golden Bengal), for the occasion which was sung by huge crowds parading the streets.
9. The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was celebrated in a new way. Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis on one another's wrists as the symbol of unbreakable unity of the Bengalis and the two halves of Bengal.
10. In the afternoon, there was a great demonstration when the veteran leader Ananda Mohan Bose laid the foundation of a Federation Hall to mark the indestructible unity of Bengal. All gathered there took the vow to follow Swadeshi.

(c) Lord Curzon stated that the main motive for the Partition of Bengal, was administrative necessity. The government said that the province of Bengal was too big to be efficiently administered by a single provincial government.

The Indian nationalists clearly saw the design behind the Partition and condemned it.

1. They saw that it was a deliberate attempt to divide the Bengalis on religious and territorial grounds and thereby, disrupt and weaken nationalism in Bengal.
2. They felt that administrative efficiency could have been better secured by separating Hindi-speaking Bihar and the Odiya-speaking Odisha from the Bengali-speaking part of the province.
3. Moreover, the manner in which the announcement of partition was made without any regard for the public opinion, hurt the sentiments of sensitive Bengalis.

(a) The issues on which the two wings of the Congress had differences of opinion were-

1. The Assertive Nationalists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and boycott to the rest of India and make it a vehicle for a full-fledged political mass struggle leading to Swaraj. The Early Nationalists, however, did not approve it for the whole of India and wanted it to be confined to Bengal only.
2. There was also a disagreement over the candidature of the next President. The Assertive Nationalists proposed the name of Lala Lajpat Rai as President of the Surat Session. The Early Nationalists proposed the name of Rashbehari Ghosh. When the session at Surat began in December 1907 there was utter confusion.

The British exploited the differences between the Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists. The British adopted a policy of 'concession and repression' — concession for the Early Nationalists as well as the Muslims and repression to the Assertive Nationalists.

(b) The split in the Congress was unfortunate because it gave an opportunity to the British to exploit the situation to their advantage.

1. They adopted a policy of 'concession and repression' — concession for the Early Nationalists as well as the Muslims and repression to the Assertive Nationalists.
2. The Surat Split weakened the national movement.
3. The Early Nationalists, however, were largely able to capture the Congress organisation and in the Allahabad convention, held in April 1908, the split was formalised.

(c) The Assertive Nationalists adopted the policy of non-cooperation with the British Government due to the following reasons:

1. The main focus of the Assertive Nationalists was to get a larger share for Indians in the administration of their country and to end Britain's economic exploitation of India.
2. They believed that these objectives could not be realised without pressure tactics and some sort of direct action.
3. Hence, they adopted the policy of non-cooperation and resistance to unjust acts of the British government.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the first nationalist leader who sought close contact with the masses. With this objective and to inculcate courage, self-defence and patriotism, he organised many akharas and lathi clubs where physical training was imparted.

(a) Lord Curzon refused to recognise India as a nation. He was not in favour of giving freedom to India because he believed that the English were destined to rule over India. Therefore, he took several repressive measures to crush Indian Nationalism. These measures included —

1. The Act of 1898 which made it an offence to provoke people against the British
2. The Calcutta Corporation Act (1899) which reduced the strength of elected members from India, thereby giving the British a majority
3. The Official Secrets Act
4. The Indian Universities Act of 1904 which imposed strict official control over the Indian universities because Curzon considered them as the centres of nationalism.

All these measures created resentment in India.

Assertive nationalism was inspired by the examples of international events.

1. For the first time, Japan, an Asian country, defeated Russia.
2. Italian forces were defeated by the Abyssinians in Ethiopia.
3. In South Africa, the Boers fought for three years (1899-1902) against the British Empire.
4. In Ireland people were waging a full-scale Home Rule agitation.

These events broke the myth of the invincibility of the Europeans. The Assertive Nationalists felt that the united masses could throw out the British yoke.

(b) The Assertive Nationalist leader who was wounded when he was leading a protest against Simon Commission was Lala Lajpat Rai.

On the day he was wounded, he said, 'Lathi blows inflicted on me would prove some day as nails in the coffin of the British empire.' His words, when he was wounded, turned out to be prophetic. This statement turned out to be significant, as it reflected the growing sentiment and determination of Indians to free themselves from British colonial rule. His words became symbolic of the resistance movement and inspired many to join the struggle for independence. His sacrifice galvanized the Indian nationalist movement and intensified the call for self-governance.

(c) The difference between the Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists in their objectives is as follows-

The difference between the Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists regarding their achievements is as follows-

(a) Bipin Chandra Pal started his political career as a social reformer attached to the Brahmo Samaj, visited a number of European countries and the United States of America.

1. It was during these visits that he observed how people resisted foreign domination.
2. In 1886 he joined the Indian National Congress.
3. He belonged to the Assertive Nationalist group.
4. He wanted complete independence from the British.
5. As a journalist he worked for Bengal Public Opinion, The Tribune and New India to propagate his brand of nationalism.

(b) Bipin Chandra Pal wanted National Education to be the basis of the freedom movement.

1. It would arouse nationalistic passions and become an effective instrument of social progress.
2. Educating women, he believed, was the most effective way of elevating their position.

(c) Bipin Chandra Pal proposed the following remedies to eradicate India's poverty and unemployment-

1. He stressed the need to develop indigenous industries in the country.
2. He preached the use of Swadeshi and the Boycott of foreign goods to eradicate poverty and unemployment.
3. To establish equality in society, he wanted to tax the rich more heavily than the poor
4. He demanded forty-eight hours of work in a week and an increase in the wages.

(a) The main aim of the Swadeshi movement, as referred to in the excerpt, was to promote self-reliance, economic independence, and reduce dependence on British goods. It encouraged Indians to use Indian-made goods and actively boycott foreign products. The British government continued drain by imposing a protective duty and there was a need to start self-help.

The Swadeshi movement and the concept of ‘boycott’ were closely intertwined. Indians actively boycotted British-manufactured goods. The movement emphasized using Khadi (hand-spun cloth) and other Indian-made or swadeshi products. The boycott of foreign goods gave an economical jolt to the government and Indian goods were there to fulfill the demand generated by the boycott.

(b) The primary aim of the Swadeshi movement was to promote self-reliance and reduce dependence on British goods. Indians wanted to create an indigenous economy by supporting Indian-made products. Swadeshi aimed to revive traditional crafts and promote local industries. By supporting Indian products, people could strengthen their own economy. Also, the movement fostered a sense of national identity and unity.

(c) Tilak was the forerunner of Mahatma Gandhi in following ways:

• Tilak’s idea of Swaraj was akin to Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of complete independence.
• Tilak sought close contact with the masses as Mahatma Gandhi did.
• Tilak preached the idea of Swadeshi, Boycott and Prohibition. These ideas were preached and followed by Mahatma Gandhi later on.
• Tilak had to suffer several terms of imprisonment for the sake of the country, an example followed by Mahatma Gandhi and other nationalist leaders.