Anti-Colonial Movements And The Birth Of Nationalism Online Test 10th Social Science Lesson 13 Questions

On 23 June 1757 the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-daulah was defeated by the East India Company at the Battle of Plassey.

The battle was orchestrated by Robert Clive, commander in-chief of the East India Company managed to get the clandestine support from Mir Jafar the uncle of Siraj-ud-daulah and the chief of the Nawab’s army. Clive was helped by the Jagat Seths the moneylenders from Bengal who was aggrieved by Siraj-ud-daulah’s policy.

Between 1757 and 1760 the company received 22.5 million from Mir Jafar who became the new Nawab of Bengal. The same money was later invested to propel the industrial revolution in Britain, which rapidly mechanized the British textile industry. On the other hand, India was led to the path of de-industrialization and forced to create a market for the products manufactured in Britain.

After Plassey, the British adopted a policy of territorial expansion. Soon the remaining parts of the Indian subcontinent came under their control.

The early Indian response to colonial exploitation and the colonial political and economic domination consisted of two elements. The response in the late 18th and early 19th century was restorative in nature. Tribal uprisings and peasant rebellions made an attempt to restore the old order.

While the urban elite of India was busy responding to the western ideas and rationality by engaging in various socio-religious reform movements, a far more aggressive response to the British rule emerged in rural India. The traditional elite and peasantry along with the tribes revolted. They were not necessarily seeking the removal of British but rather the restoration of the pre-colonial order.

The concept of private property rights in land, rigorous collection of land revenue, encroachment of tribal land by the nontribal people, the interference of Christian missionaries in the socio-religious life of the local people were a few of the many issues which added to the sense of resentment against the British. The tribal people in particular started looking at them as invaders and encroachers. The fundamental aspect of various tribal and peasant revolts was that all of them tried to eliminate the most immediate and visible cause of their misery.

In India there were nearly a hundred peasant uprisings during British rule. They can be classified into four categories. Restorative rebellions, Religious Movements, Social Banditry and Mass Insurrection.

The Restorative rebellions attempts to restore old order and old social relations. The leaders Social Banditry movements were considered criminal by the British and the traditional elite but were looked upon by their people as heroes.

The East India Company restructured the Mughal revenue system across India in such a manner that it increased the financial burden on the peasants. There was no widespread system of private ownership of the land in pre-British India. Similarly Zamindhars and others who were to collect revenue and remit it to the government were never given the possession right on land.

Peasant revolts began to erupt in the early 19th century and continued till the very end of British rule in India. Many of these revolts were led by religious leaders who treated the British rule as an invasion into the socio religious life of the people of India.

Farazi movement launched by Haji Shariatullah in 1818 in the parts of eastern Bengal advocated the participants to abstain from un-Islamic activities.

The Farazi movement was launched by Haji Shariatullah in 1818. After the death of Shariatullah in 1839 the rebellion was led by his son Dudu Mian.

Dudu Mian laid emphasis on the egalitarian nature of religion and declared that “Land belongs to God” and collecting rent or levying taxes on it was therefore against divine law.

The Wahhabi rebellion was an anti- imperial and anti- landlord movement. It originated in and around 1827 in the Barasat region of Bengal.

Wahhabi rebellion was led by an Islamic preacher Titu Mir who was deeply influenced by the Wahhabi teachings. He became an influential figure among the predominately Muslim peasantry oppressed under the coercive zamindari system.

The Wahhabi rebellion was an anti-imperial and anti-landlord movement. The majority of Zamindhars were Hindus gave this movement an anti-Hindu complexion.

On 6 November 1831 the first major attack was launched in the town of Purnea. Titu Mir immediately declared freedom from British rule. Soon there was retaliation from the British and a large number of troops were sent to Narkelberia.

The peasant rebellion clearly showed an awareness of the power structure in rural society and a strong will to restructure authority. The rebels were quite familiar with the political source of demonstrated in their actions against the Zamindhars houses their grain stocks, the moneylenders, and the merchants. At times the British state machinery which came forward to protect these local agents of oppression was also attacked.

Under colonial rule for the first time in Indian history government claimed a direct proprietary right over forests.

The British rule and its encouragement of commercialization of forest led to the disintegration of the traditional tribal system.

The British Government encouraged the incursion of tribal areas by the non-tribal people such as moneylenders, traders, land-grabbers and contractors. This led to the widespread loss of adivasi land and their displacement from their traditional habitats.

One major tribal revolt the Kol uprising of 1831-32 took place in Chota Nagpur and Singbhum region of Jharkhand and Orissa under the leadership of Bindrai and Singhrai.

On 6 November 1831 the first major attack was launched in the town of Purnea by Wahhabi movement. The major tribal revolt the Kol uprising of 1831-32 took place in Chota Nagpur. After the death of Dudu Mian in 1862 the Farazi rebellion was revived by Noah Mian.

The Kol uprising took place in Chota Nagpur and Singbhum region of Jharkhand and Orissa under the leadership of Bindari and Singhrai.

The usury and forcible eviction of tribes from their land led to the resentment of Kol’s. The tribal leaders adopted varied methods to spread their message such as the beating of drums and the circulation of arrows accompanied by a warning to all outsiders to leave.

The Kol uprising took place in Chota Nagpur and Singbhum region of Jharkhand and Orissa under the leadership of Bindari and Singhrai.

The Raja of Chota Nagpur had leased out to moneylenders the job of revenue collection. The initial protest and resistance Kol’s been in the form of plunder, arson and attacks on the properties of outsiders. This was followed by the killing of moneylenders and merchants.

Kol’s organized an insurrection in 1831-32 which was directed against government officers and moneylenders.

Kol’s organized an insurrection in 1831-32 which was directed against government officers and moneylenders. The Kol rebels took control of the king’s palace. They even succeeded in forming an independent government there. The British suppressed the rebellion with great violence.

The Santhalas scattered in various parts of eastern India. They were forced to move out of their homeland during the process of creation of zamins under Permanent Settlement.

The Santhals scattered in various parts of eastern India. They were forced to move out of their homeland during the process of creation of zamins under Permanent Settlement cleared the forest area around the Rajmahal Hills. They were oppressed by the local police and the European officers engaged in the railway construction.

Around 1854 activities of social banditry led by a person named Bir Singh was reported from different places. These were directed against Mahajans and traders.

The Santhals were forced to rely on the moneylenders for their subsistence. Soon they were trapped in a vicious circle of debt and extortion. Besides this Santhals also felt neglected under the corrupt British administration and their inability to render justice to their legitimate grievances.

In 1855, two Santhal brothers Sidhu and Kanu proclaimed that they had received a divine message from the God asking them to lead the rebellion. On June 30, 1855 they announced that God has ordered them “to slaughter all the Mahajans and Darago’s, to banish the traders and Zamindhars and all rich Bengalis from their country.

By July 1855 the Santhal rebellion has taken the form of open insurrection against the Mahajans, the Zamindhars and the British officials. They marched with bows, poisoned arrows, axes and swords taking over the Rajmahal and Bhagalpur by proclaiming that the Company rule was about to end.

The Santhals outbreaks compelled the British government to restructure their policies towards the tribal people. In 1855 an act was passed to regulate the territories occupied by the Santhals.

In 1855 an act was passed to regulate the territories occupied by the Santhals. The Act formed the territory into a separate division called Santhal Pargana division.

Munda Rebellion was one of the prominent tribal rebellions of this period occurred in Ranchi known as Ulugulan rebellion (Great Tumult).

The Munda people were familiar with the cooperative or collective farming known as Khuntkatti (joint holding) land system.

The Munda people were also forcefully recruited as indentured laborers to work on plantations. The corrupt police, lack of access to justice and the disillusionment with Christian missionaries aggravated the miseries of Munda people.

Birsa Munda declared himself as the messenger of God. Birsa claimed that he had a prophecy and promised supernatural solutions to the problem of Munda people and the establishment of Birsaite Raj.

The Munda leaders utilized the cult of Birsa Munda to recruit more people to their cause. A series of night meetings were held and a revolt was planned. On the Christmas day of 1889 they resorted to violence.

The Munda resistance was crushed and Birsa Munda was arrested in February 1900 who later died in jail. Birsa Munda became a folk hero who is to this day celebrated in many folk songs.

The Munda rebellion prompted the British to formulate a policy on Tribal land. The Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 restricted the entry of non-tribal people into the tribal land.

In 1857, British rule witnessed the biggest challenge to its existence by the revolts and mutiny of the Indian soldiers.

Initially there was a mutiny of Bengal presidency sepoy’s which later expanded to the other parts of India involving a large number of civilians especially peasants.

The events of 1857–58 are significant for the following reasons: This was the first major revolt of armed forces accompanied by civilian rebellion. The revolt witnessed unprecedented violence perpetrated by both sides. The revolt ended the role of the East India Company and the governance of the Indian subcontinent was taken over by the British Crown.

In the 1840s and 1850s, more territories in India were annexed through two major policies which are the Doctrine of Paramountcy and the Doctrine of Lapse.

Satara, Sambalpur, parts of the Punjab, Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed by the British through the Doctrine of Lapse.

In 1806 the sepoy’s at Vellore mutinied against the new dress code which prohibited Indians from wearing religious marks on their foreheads. It was feared that the dress code was part of their effort to convert soldiers to Christianity. The sepoy’s were also upset with discrimination in salary and promotion. Indian sepoys were paid much less than their European counterparts.

In 1824 the sepoy’s at Barrackpur near Calcutta refused to go to Burma by sea since crossing the sea meant the loss of their caste.

The precursor to the 1857 revolt was the circulation of rumors about the cartridges of the new Enfield rifle. There was strong suspicion that the new cartridges had been greased with cow and pig fat.

On 29 March a sepoy named Mangal Pandey assaulted his European officer. His fellow soldiers refused to arrest him when ordered to do so. Mangal Pandey along with others were court-martialled and hanged. This only fuelled the anger and in the following days there were increasing incidents of disobedience.

On 11 may 1857 a band of sepoy’s from Meerut marched to the Red Fort in Delhi. The sepoy’s were followed by an equally exuberant crowd who gathered to ask the Mughal Emperor Bhahadur Shah II to become their leader.

On 11 may 1857 a band of sepoy’s from Meerut marched to the Red Fort in Delhi to ask the Mughal Emperor Bhahadur Shah II to become their leader. After much hesitation he accepted the offer and was proclaimed as the Shahenshah-e-Hindustan (the Emperor of Hindustan).

The news of the fall of Delhi reached the Ganges valley cantonment after cantonment mutinied till by the beginning of June British rule in North India except in Punjab and Bengal had disappeared.

The mutiny was equally supported by an aggrieved rural society of north India. The Sepoy’s working in the British army was in fact peasants in uniform. The sepoy revolt and the subsequent civil rebellion in various parts of India had a deep-rooted connection with rural mass.

The first civil rebellion broke out in parts of the North-Western provinces and Oudh. These were the two regions from which the sepoy’s were predominately recruited.

A large number of Zamindhars and Taluqdars were also attracted to the rebellions as they had lost their various privileges under the British government. The dumping of British manufactures had ruined the Indian handicrafts and thrown thousands of weavers out of employment. Collective anger against the British took the form of a people’s revolt.

The mutiny provided a platform to aggrieved kings, Nawab’s, queens and Zamindhars to express the anti-British anger. Nana Sahib the adopted son of the last Peshwa Baji Rao II provided leadership in the Kanpur region.

Dalhousie the Governor General of Bengal had refused Jhansi Rani's request to adopt a son as her successor after her husband died and the kingdom was annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse.

By the beginning of June 1857 the Delhi, Meerut, Rohilkhand, Agra, Allahabad and Banaras divisions of the army had been restored to British control and placed under martial law. The British officers were given the power to judge and take the life of Indians without due process of law.

William Howard Russell the correspondent of the London Times who was in India in 1858 met an officer who was a part of the column that under Colonel Neill’s orders marched from Allahabad to Kanpur.

There is hardly any evidence to prove that the rebellion of 1857 was organized and planned. It was spontaneous. There was a general lack of enthusiasm among the Indian princes to participate in the rebellion. The emerging English-educated middle class too did not support the rebellion. One of the important reasons for the failure of the rebellion was the absence of a central authority. There was no common agenda that united the individuals.

In the end of 1857 revolt, the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the British army. The rebel leaders were defeated due to the lack of weapons, organization, discipline, and betrayal by their aides.

Delhi was captured by the British troops in late 1857. Bhahadur Shah was captured and transported to Burma.

The British Parliament adopted the Indian Government Act in November 1858 and India was pronounced as one of the many crown colonies to be directly governed by the Parliament.

The British Parliament adopted the Indian Government Act in November 1858.The responsibility was given to a member of the cabinet designated as the Secretary of State for India.

As per the Indian Government Act of 1858 the power was transferred to the East India Company to the British Crown also meant that there was a regular parliamentary review of Indian affairs.

British rule and its policies underwent a major overhaul after 1857. British followed a cautious approach to the issue of social reform. Queen Victoria proclaimed to the Indian people that the British would not interfere in traditional institutions and religious matters. It was promised that Indians would be absorbed in government services.

Queen Victoria made two significant changes to the structure of the Indian army. The number of Indians was significantly reduced. Indians were restrained from holding important ranks and position. The British took control of the artillery and shifted their recruiting effort to regions and communities that remained loyal during 1857.

The British Governance exploited the caste, religious, linguistic and regional differences in the Indian society through what came to be known as “Divide and Rule” policy.

Before synthetic dyes were created natural indigo dye was highly valued by cloth makers around the world. By the early 19th century, India supplied the vast majority of the indigo to Britain.

The peasants were forced to grow the Indigo crop. The British planters gave the cultivator a cash advance to help pay for the rent of the land and other costs. This advance needed to be repaid with interest. The planters forced the peasant grow indigo rather than food crops.

The British planter gave the cultivator a cash advance to help pay for the rent of the land and other costs. The planters forced the peasant grow indigo rather than food crops.

The Indigo Revolt began in 1859. The rebellion began as a strike as the peasants of a village in Bengal’s Nadia district refused to grow any more indigo.

The Indigo rebellion began as a strike as the peasants of a village in Bengal’s Nadia district refused to grow any more indigo.

The Indigo rebellion began as a strike as the peasants of a village in Bengal. The movement quickly spread to the other indigo-growing districts of Bengal. The revolt then turned violent. The peasants both Hindu and Muslim participated in the revolt and women armed with pots and pans fought alongside the men.

Indian journalists in Calcutta wrote articles about the brutality of the planters. The 1860 play Nil Darpan known as “Mirror of the Indigo” by Dina Bandhu Mitra did much to draw attention in India and Europe to the plight of the indigo growers.

William Howard Russell the correspondent of the London Times who was in India in 1858.The play Nil Darpan known as “Mirror of the Indigo” by Dina Bandhu Mitra was played in 1860.The Deccan riots was initiated in May 1875.

The first recorded incident of rioting against the moneylenders in the Deccan was in May 1875 in Supa a village near Poona. Similar cases of riots were reported from close to 30 villages in Poona and Ahmadnagar.

The Deccan rioting was directed mostly at the Gujarat moneylenders. Under British rule peasants were forced to pay revenue directly to the government.

The first recorded incident of rioting against the moneylenders in the Deccan was in May 1875.Under British rule peasants were forced to pay revenue directly to the government. Also under a new law moneylenders were allowed to attach the mortgaged land of the defaulters and auction it off. This resulted in a transfer of lands from the cultivators to the non-cultivating classes.

The second half of the 19th century saw the emergence of national political consciousness among a new social class of English educated Indians. The flourishing of print media both in the vernacular and in English played a significant role in circulating such ideas.

The lawyers, journalists, government employees, teachers or doctors took the initiative to float political outfits such as Madras Native Association (1852) East India Association (1866), Madras Mahajana Sabha (1884), Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870), The Bombay Presidency Association (1885) and many others.

India was economically subjugated and transformed into a supplier of raw material to the British industries. Simultaneously it became a market to dump English manufactures and for the investment of British capital. So the colonial economy was a continuous transfer of resources from India to Britain without any favorable returns back to India. This is called "the drain of wealth"

Dadabhai Naoroji, Justice Ranade and Romesh Chandra Dutt played a significant role in making this criticism about colonial economy. They clearly understood that the prosperity of the British lay in the economic and political subjugation of India.

The formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 was intended to establish an all India organization.

The Indian National Congress was formed by the culmination of attempts by groups of educated Indians politically active in three presidencies: Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.

A.O. Hume lent his services to facilitate the formation of the Congress. Womesh Chandra Banarjee was the first President (1885) Indian National Congress.

The early objectives were to develop and consolidate sentiments of national unity but also professed loyalty to Britain. These objectives clearly show the vast gap between the interests of the upper sections of Indian society and the large mass of common people.

The first session of the Indian National Congress was held on 28 December 1885.

Some of the key demands of the Indian National Congress were the following, creation of legislative councils at provincial and central level, increasing the number of elected members in the legislative council, separating judicial and executive functions, reducing military expenditure, reduction of Home Charges, extension of trial by jury, holding civil services exams in India as well as in England, police reforms, reconsideration of forest laws.

According to the early Congress leaders the economic exploitation of India was the primary reason for the abysmal and the growing poverty of India. Therefore, early Indian nationalists advocated industrialization.

The extremists instead of prayers and petitions these militants were more focused on self-help and the use of religious symbols to bridge the gap between the elite and the masses.

In 1899, Lord Curzon was appointed as the Viceroy of India.

The Partition of Bengal in 1905 was the most unpopular of all decisions made by the British India Government. The partition led to widespread protests all across India. The idea of partition was devised to suppress the political activities against the British rule in Bengal by creating a Hindu-Muslim divide.

It was openly stated that the objective of partition was to curtail Bengali influence and weaken the nationalist movement. By placing Bengal under two administrative units Curzon reduced the Bengali - speaking people to a linguistic minority in a divided Bengal. Curzon assured Muslims that in the new province of East Bengal Muslims.

Instead of dividing the Bengali people along the religious line the Bengal partition united them. The growth of regional language newspapers played a role in building a sense of proud Bengali identity.

The day Bengal was officially partitioned 16 Oct 1905 was declared as a day of mourning.

Four major trends can be discerned during the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal. They were the Moderate Trend, Constructive Swadeshi, Militant Nationalism, Revolutionary terrorism.

The constructive programs largely stressed upon self-help. It focused on building alternative institutions of self-governance that would operate free of British control. It also laid emphasis on the need of self-strengthening of the people which would help in creating a worthy citizen for the political agitation.

The Swadeshi shops sprang all over the place selling textiles, handlooms, soaps and earthenware, match and leather goods.

In India Punjab, Bengal and Maharashtra emerged as the hotbed of militant nationalism during the Swadeshi Movement.

From 1906 the Swadeshi Movement took a turn where the repeal of partition was no longer on the agenda. Under this new direction the Swadeshi program included four points boycott of foreign goods, boycott of government schools and colleges, courts, titles and government services, development of Swadeshi industries, national schools, and recourse to armed struggle if British repression went beyond the limits of endurance.

In South India Tuticorin became the most important location of Swadeshi activity with the launch of a Swadeshi Steam Navigation company by V.O. Chidambaranar.

The Partition of Bengal was proposed in 1905 by Lord Curzon. The partition led to widespread protests all across India starting a new phase of the Indian national movement.

Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Bala Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal were three prominent leaders during the Swadeshi period and were referred to as Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate.

The 1916 Annual Session of Congress began with two significant developments. One, moderate leaders Pherozeshah Mehta and Gokhale, two main voices of opposition against the militant faction had died in 1915.

In the Lucknow session of Indian National Congress, 1916 it was decided to admit the militant faction into the party.

In September 1916 after repeated demands of her impatient followers Annie Besant decided to start the Home Rule League without the support of Congress. Both the leagues worked independently.

The Objectives of the Home Rule Movement were, to attain self-government within the British Empire by using constitutional means, to obtain the status of dominion, to use non-violent constitutional methods to achieve their goals.

The response of the government of British India to the Home Rule Movement was not consistent. Initially it stated that there should be reform to accommodate more Indians in local administrative bodies. As the demand for Swaraj was raised by Tilak and Annie Besant gained popularity the British used the same old ploy to isolate the leaders by repressing their activities.

Under the Lucknow Pact 1916, the Congress and the Muslim League agreed that there should be self-government in India as soon as possible. In return the Congress leadership accepted the concept of separate electorate for Muslims.

In 1919 the British government announced the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms which promised gradual progress of India towards self-government.

The Home Rule Movement in India borrowed much of its principles from the Irish Home Rule Movement.

The British government enacted the Rowlatt Act by following the Montagu reforms in 1919 which provided for arbitrary arrest and strict punishment.

One of the common goals of the extremist leaders was to achieve Swaraj or Self Rule. However the leaders differed on the meaning of Swaraj. For Tilak Swaraj was the attainment of complete autonomy and total freedom from foreign rule. Unlike the moderates who were critical of the reckless revolutionaries militant nationalists were sympathetic towards the extremists. However the political murders and individual acts of terrorism were not approved by the militant leaders.

The Indian national movement was revived and also radicalized during the Home Rule Movement (1916-1918) led by Lokamanya Tilak and Annie Besant.

The World War I and Indian’s participation in it was the background for the Home Rule League.

The Boycott and Swadeshi movements were always interlinked to each other and part of the wider plan to make India self-sufficient.

During First World War the Britain declared war against Germany in 1914.

The moderate and liberal leadership extended their support to the British cause in First World War. It was hoped that in return the British government would give self-government after the war. Indian troops were sent to several theatres of World War.

Revolutionary terrorism which was a far more radical response to the British rule in India was to fight British with violent methods. British officials who were anti-Swadeshi or repressive towards the native population were targeted. It also marked the shift from the mass-based movement to individual action.