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1.The Lightening conductor and conspiracy theory – both the theories were related to establishment of Indian National Congress (INC). The conspiracy theory: – R.P. Dutt opined that the Indian National Congress was born out of a conspiracy to abort a popular uprising in India and the bourgeois leaders were a party to it. The Lightening conductor: – Bipan Chandra observes, the early Congress leaders used Hume as a ‘lightning conductor’, i.e., as a catalyst to bring together the nationalistic forces even if under the guise of a ‘safety valve’.  

2. The first session of the Indian National Congress was attended by 72 delegates and presided over by Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee. Aims and Objectives of the Congress- Initially complete independence was not the main of INC. It became the main aim only after Lahore session 1929. A British committee of the Indian National Congress was established in London in 1889. Its purpose was to raise awareness of Indian issues to the public in Britain, to whom the Government of India was responsible. It followed the work of W.C. Bonnerjee and Dadabhoi Naoroji, who raised India related issues in the British parliament.  

3. Moderate phase of the national movement had a narrow social base and the masses played a passive role. This was because the early nationalists lacked political faith in the masses. Because of the lack of mass participation, the Moderates could not take militant political positions against the authorities. The Moderates campaigned for Indianisation of government services on the economic, political and moral grounds.

 4. The militant nationalists tried to transform the anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement into a mass struggle and gave the slogan of India’s independence from foreign rule. “Political freedom is the life breath of a nation,” declared Aurobindo (Swadeshi movement)) Thus, the Extremists gave the idea of India’s independence the central place in India’s politics. The goal of independence was to be achieved through self-sacrifice.  

5. There hardly existed a major political leader in India who did not possess a newspaper or was not writing for one in some capacity or the other.

• Swadesamitran under the editorship of G. Subramaniya Iyer
• Kesari and Mahratta under B.G. Tilak
• Bengalee under Surendranath Banerjea
• Amrita Bazar Patrika under Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh
• Sudharak under G.K. Gokhale
• Indian Mirror under N.N. Sen
•  Voice of India under Dadabhai Naoroji

6. Features of Act of 1909: Morley-Minto Reforms • It retained official majority in the Central Legislative Council but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have non-official majority. • It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of ‘separate electorate’. Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim voters. Government of India Act of 1919 granted franchise to a limited number of people on the basis of property, tax or education.    

7. The Home Rule Movement was the Indian response to the First World War. The Indian Home Rule Leagues were organized on the lines of the Irish Home Rule Leagues and they represented the emergence of a new trend of aggressive politics. Annie Besant and Tilak were the pioneers of this new trend. The Home Rule agitation was later joined by Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mohammad Ali jinnah, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Lala Lajpat Rai. Some of these leaders became heads of local branches. The League campaign aimed to convey to the common man the message of Home Rule as self-government. The Russian Revolution of 1917 proved to be an added advantage for the Home Rule campaign. 8. League agreed to present joint constitutional demands with the Congress to the Government, the Congress accepted the Muslim League’s position on separate electorates. The joint demands were—

• Government should declare that it would confer self-government on Indians at an early date.
• The legislative councils should be further expanded with an elected majority and more powers be given to them.
• Half the members of the viceroy’s executive council should be Indians.

9. Order:

• The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first satyagraha movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in British India.
• Gandhiji’s second struggle was at Ahmedabad in 1918 when he had to intervene in a dispute between the workers and the mill-owners.
• Satyagraha Sabha founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1919. Satyagraha Sabha was founded in the protest against the Rowlatt Act.
• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919.

NOTE: Champaran-Ahmedad-Satygraha sabha-jallianwala bagh   Gandhi’s Early Activism in India: Champaran Satyagraha (1917)—First Civil Disobedience Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) — First Hunger Strike Kheda Satyagraha (1918). — First Non-Cooperation Rowlatt Satyagraha (1918). — First mass-strike

 10. Major achievements of the Swarajists was that they defeated the ‘Public Safety Bill’ in 1928 .Public Safety Bill in 1928 which was aimed at empowering the Government to deport undesirable and subversive foreigners.  

11. Simon commission, there should be a constitutional reconstruction in the form of a federal constitution. The provinces should be given full autonomy including law. Other major recommendations include: • The number of members of provincial legislative council should be increased. Governor- general should have complete power to appoint the members of the cabinet. • The governor should have discretionary power to relate to internal security and administrative powers to protect the different communities. • The government of India should have complete control over the high court. • There were no Indian members in the commission. No universal franchise was proposed and the position of governor-general remained unaffected. • There was no provision to abolish separate electorate but it was rather extended to other communities as well. No financial devolution was proposed.  

12. After calling off of the non-cooperation movement:  differences over the question of council entry aroused. It resulted in the defeat of the Swarajists’ proposal of ‘ending or mending’ the councils at the Gaya session of the Congress (December 1922). C.R Das and Motilal Nehru resigned from the presidentship and secretaryship respectively of the Congress and announced the formation of Congress-Khilafat Swarajya Party, with C.R. Das as the president and Motilal Nehru as one of the secretaries. Important members of swarajya party are C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru, Vithalbhai Patel and Ajmal Khan. They were known as pro-changers. Those who opposed council entry were known as no-changers. Important leaders belonging to this section were Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari and M.A. Ansari. They advocated concentration on constructive work, and continuation of boycott and non-cooperation, and quiet preparation for resumption of the suspended civil disobedience programme.

 13. The Defence of India Act 1915, also referred to as the Defence of India Regulations Act, was an emergency criminal law enacted by the Governor-General of India in 1915 with the intention of curtailing the nationalist and revolutionary activities during and in the aftermath of the First World War. Unlike the English law which was limited to persons of hostile associations or origin, the Defence of India act could be applied to any subject of the King, and was used to an overwhelming extent against Indians. The act was first applied during the First Lahore Conspiracy trial in the aftermath of the failed Ghadar Conspiracy of 1915, and was instrumental in crushing the Ghadr movement in Punjab and the Anushilan Samiti in Bengal.  

14. The newspapers and journals advocating revolutionary activity after the failure of Swadeshi movement included Sandhya and Yugantar in Bengal and Kal in Maharashtra.  

15. In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known as the Communal Award. Communal award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (scheduled castes). On the basis of round table discussions, a ‘White Paper on Constitutional Reforms’ was prepared and submitted for the consideration of the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament. 

16. The newspapers and journals advocating revolutionary activity after the failure of Swadeshi movement included Sandhya and Yugantar in Bengal and Kal in Maharashtra. 

17. In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister, announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known as the Communal Award. Communal award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (scheduled castes). On the basis of round table discussions, a ‘White Paper on Constitutional Reforms’ was prepared and submitted for the consideration of the Joint Select Committee of the British Parliament.

18. WW1: Different opinions were voiced on the question of Indian support to British war efforts. Gandhiji, who had all sympathy for Britain in this war because of his total dislike of the fascist ideology, advocated an unconditional support to the Allied powers. He said that he was not willing to embarrass the British government during the war. Subhas Chandra Bose and other socialists, such as Acharya Narendra Dev and Jayaprakash Narayan had no sympathy for either side in the war. They thought it was the ideal time to launch a civil disobedience movement, to thus take advantage of the situation and snatch freedom from Britain. Jawaharlal Nehru was not ready to accept the opinion of either Gandhiji or of the socialists. He advocated no Indian participation till India itself was free. However, at the same time, no advantage was to be taken of Britain’s difficulty by starting an immediate civil disobedience movement. 

20. On September 3, 1939, Britain declares war against Germany and declares .India’s support for the war without consulting Indian opinion. On October 23, 1939, the CWC meeting decided not to support the war, and called upon the Congress ministries to resign in the provinces.  

21. Order: The Cripps Mission was a failed attempt in late March 1942 by the British government to secure full Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II. The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in India. The Wavell Plan was first presented at the Shimla Conference in 1945. A Cabinet Mission came to India in 1946 in order to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership, with the aim of preserving India’s unity and granting its independence. Note: Cripps mission->quit India movement ->Wavell plan->cabinet mission

22. August Offer (August 1940) which proposed:

• dominion status as the objective for India;
•  expansion of viceroy’s executive council which would have a majority of Indians (who would be drawn from major political parties);
•  setting up of a constituent assembly after the war where mainly Indians would decide the constitution according to their social, economic and political conceptions, subject to fulfilment of the obligation of the government regarding defence, minority rights, treaties with States, all India services; and
•  no future constitution to be adopted without the consent of minorities

 23. Congress Support for INA Prisoners

• At the first post-War Congress session in September 1945 at Bombay, a strong resolution was adopted declaring Congress support for the INA cause.
• Defence of INA prisoners in the court was organised by Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Kailash Nath Katju, Jawaharlal Nehru and Asaf Ali.
• INA Relief and Enquiry Committee distributed small sums of money and food, and helped arrange employment for the affected.
• Fund collection was organised.

 24. Cabinet Mission Plan—Main Points

• Rejection of the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan.
• A constituent assembly to be elected by provincial assemblies by proportional representation (voting in three groups—General, Muslims, Sikhs).
• Provinces were to have full autonomy and residual powers.
• Princely states were no longer to be under paramountcy of British Government They would be free to enter into an arrangement with successor governments or the British Government.

25. Mountbatten Plan

• independence for princely states ruled out—they would join either India or Pakistan;
• independence for Bengal ruled out
• accession of Hyderabad to Pakistan ruled out
• freedom to come on August 15, 1947
• A boundary commission to be set up if partition was to be effected.

 26. Reason of failed of Revolt 1857:

• Although the rebels received the sympathy of the people, the country as a whole was not behind them. The merchants, intelligentsia and Indian rulers not only kept aloof, but actively supported the British. Meetings were organized in Calcutta and Bombay by them to pray for the success of the British. Despite the Doctrine of Lapse, the Indian rulers who expected their future to be safer with the British liberally provided them with men and materials. Indeed, the sepoys might have made a better fight of it if they had received their support. Almost half the Indian soldiers not only did not Revolt but fought against their own countrymen.
• Apart from some exceptions like the Rani of Jhansi, Kunwar Singh and Maulvi Ahmadullah, the rebels were poorly served by their leaders. Most of them failed to realize the significance of the Revolt and simply did not do enough.
• Bahadur Shah and Zeenat Mahal had no faith in the sepoys and negotiated with the British to secure their safety. Most of the taluqdars tried only to protect their own interests. Some of them, like Man Singh, changed sides several times depending on which side had the upper hand. Apart from a commonly shared hatred for alien rule, the rebels had no political perspective or a definite vision of the future. They were all prisoners of their own past, fighting primarily to regain their lost privileges. Unsurprisingly, they proved incapable of ushering in a new political order.
• The revolt of 1857 did not spread to all parts of the country. Nor was it supported by all groups and sections of the Indian society. South and West India remained largely outside the fold of the revolt. Many Indian rulers refused to help the rebels and some were openly hostile to the rebels and helped the British in suppressing the revolt. The middle and upper classes and the modern educated Indians also did not support the revolt.

27. Tatya Tope: Also known as Ramachandra Pandurang Tope, he was one of the most notable Indian freedom fighters and a general in the Rebellion of 1857. Tatya Tope was defeated by Sir Colin Campbell (later Baron Clyde) on December 6, 1857. He was hanged on April 18, 1859, in General Meade’s camp at Shivpuri.

• In May 1857, Tatya Tope won the battle over the Indian troops of the East India Company at Kanpur.
• He forced General Windham to retreat from the city of Gwalior.
• He collaborated with Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi to seize Gwalior.

  28.Himalayan Blunder: Gandhi’s entry into public life began with the ‘Satyagraha’ in Champaran district of Bihar in 1917. He could mobilize the peasants of this district against the exploitation of European indigo planters. In 1918, Gandhiji led a “no tax campaign” at Kheda in Gujarat where the peasants were not able to pay the revenue due to famine. But, after the Jalianwala Bagh tragedy, the government expressed no sign of regret but went ahead with more repression. Mahatma Gandhi was shocked and suspended the ‘Satyagraha’ declaring it as a “Himalayan Blunder”. It was because he had asked those people to pursue non-violence who could not afford to be non-violent. The Satyagraha movement failed in attaining its object as the government did not withdraw the Rowlatt Act. However, it was the first experiment of non-violence of Gandhiji in Indian politics.  

29. Khudai Khidmatgar was non-violent struggle against the British Empire by the Pashtuns in North West frontier province and M K Gandhi coined the term Harijan to address the depressed classes.

  30. After 1905, the Extremists acquired a dominant influence over the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal. The Extremists believed in the ideology of ‘Swaraj’ which meant complete freedom from British rule. They did not stick to constitutional methods to protest and demand. They resorted to boycotts, strikes, etc.

  31. Gandhiji in 1919 decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919). This Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years. Mahatma Gandhi wanted non-violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws.