Aligarh Movement (contd-3)

Beck took charge of the Institute Gazette, the literary organ of the Aligarh College, and edited it on behalf of Syed Ahmad. he promoted the idea that India is unsuitable for Parliamentary form of Government as it contained two ntaions of different strengths.When in 1889, Charles Bradlaugh introduced a bill in the British House of Commons for setting up democratic form of government in India, Beck prepared a memorial against it on behalf of the Muslims. Beck took a batch of Aligarh College of boys to Delhi, and posted them at the gate of Jama Masjid. There, on a certain Friday after prayers, he obtained the signatures of 20;735 Muslims on this memorial falsely reprsenting to the signatories thatthat the memorial was intended as a protest against the Hindu effort to stop cow- slaughter.
It was mainly through Beck's efforts that in Aug, 1888, was established the 'United Indian Patriotic Association' at Aligarh in which both Hindus and Muslims joined. The objects of the Association  wete to carry on anti-Congress propaganda in England. But soon the idea and the name of the association was changed to ' Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association of Upper India "was founded in 1893, at the instance of Mr. Beck. The main objects of the association of the werre;
1. to place the opinions of the Musalmans before Englishmen and the Government of India and to protect their political rights;
2. to prevent political agitation from spreading from spreading among the Musalmans,
and 3. to strengthen British rule and create a sense of layalty among the people.
 Beck became the Secretary of the organizationmussalmans were separated from other Indian communities but joined the Englihmen. The name " defence association was borrowed from Anglo-Indian Defence Association established in 1883 at the time of Ilbert bill but ceased to function after ompleting its work.
Mr. Beck made a systematic effort to alienatethe Muslims from the Hindus. Beck's contribution to the anti-hindu bias in Aligarh movement was very considerable. one muslim sarcastically remarked that "the college is of Syed Ahmad and the Order is of beck".
Mr. Morrison, succeeded Mr. Beck in 1899, and continued the office till 1905, along with the footsteps of his predecessor.                     

Aligarh Movement (contd-2)

Beck took charge of the Institute Gazette, the literary organ of the Aligarh College, and edited it on behalf of Syed Ahmad. he promoted the idea that India is unsuitable for Parliamentary form of Government as it contained two ntaions of different strengths.When in 1889, Charles Bradlaugh introduced a bill in the British House of Commons for setting up democratic form of government in India, Beck prepared a memorial against it on behalf of the Muslims. Beck took a batch of Aligarh College of boys to Delhi, and posted them at the gate of Jama Masjid. There, on a certain Friday after prayers, he obtained the signatures of 20;735 Muslims on this memorial falsely reprsenting to the signatories thatthat the memorial was intended as a protest against the Hindu effort to stop cow- slaughter.
It was mainly through Beck's efforts that in Aug, 1888, was established the 'United Indian Patriotic Association' at Aligarh in which both Hindus and Muslims joined. The objects of the Association  wete to carry on anti-Congress propaganda in England. But soon the idea and the name of the association was changed to ' Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association of Upper India "was founded in 1893, at the instance of Mr. Beck. The main objects of the association of the werre;
1. to place the opinions of the Musalmans before Englishmen and the Government of India and to protect their political rights;
2. to prevent political agitation from spreading from spreading among the Musalmans,
and 3. to strengthen British rule and create a sense of layalty among the people.
 Beck became the Secretary of the organizationmussalmans were separated from other Indian communities but joined the Englihmen. The name " defence association was borrowed from Anglo-Indian Defence Association established in 1883 at the time of Ilbert bill but ceased to function after ompleting its work.
Mr. Beck made a systematic effort to alienatethe Muslims from the Hindus. Beck's contribution to the anti-hindu bias in Aligarh movement was very considerable. one muslim sarcastically remarked that "the college is of Syed Ahmad and the Order is of beck".
Mr. Morrison, succeeded Mr. Beck in 1899, and continued the office till 1905, along with the footsteps of his predecessor.                     

Aligarh Movement (contd-1)

Congress was fighting for representative government. But As early as 1883, Syed ahmed delivered a lecture deprecating the system of representative institutions even for local self government, and particularly principle of election, pure and simple, in constituting Local Boards and District Boards, for fear that "the larger community would totally override the interests of the smaller community."
As a matter of fact Syed Ahmed and his followers, in their speeches and writings , were never tired of empasizing thatIndia was inhabited by different nations with different social,political, religious and historical traditions.All these ideas were brought to a head in a violent opposition to the Indian National Congress since its very inception.Syed Ahmed looked upon  the system of representative government demanded by the Congress as dangerous to the interests of Muslims.He thought that in a country like India homogeneity does not exist in any one of these fields (nationality, religion,ways of living, customs, culture, and hi8storical traditions ).
Inspite of the theory of one nation propounded by Syed Ahmed in a speech in 1884, inaugurated the movement of the two nation theory. The object and Ideal of the Aligarh Movement were as follows;
1.The Hindus and Muslims form two separate political entities with separate outlook and conflicting interests,
2. The grant of representative institutionms based on democratic principles of appointment to high offices by open competitive examinaion in India would be detrimental to Muslims as they would be subject to Hindu domination which is far worse than British rule,
3. Consequently the muslims should regard the paramountcy of the British as the chief safegurd of their interests and keep themselves aloof from political agitation against the Government,
4. As the Muslim interests are safe at the hands of the British, the Muslims should invove themselves in cultural aspects avoiding political issues except in so far as it is necessary for counter balancing the Hindu political agitation.
In support of the last two points it may be pointed out that he declined to support the "National Muhammadan Association" founded in Calcutta in 1877 by Amir Ali and a young group of Muhammadans. The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh became the chief centre of the propaganda        
 
Association with MAO College and Aligarh Movement:

In May 1883, Hennery George Impey Siddons, founder principal of MAO College resigned from Principalship of MAO College. Sir Syed wrote a letter to Syed Mahmood in England and authorized him to find a suitable person for English and Philosophy who can also be appointed as Principal of MAO College as and when if needed. Syed Mahmood was on a personal trip to England. He contacted his old friend of Cambridge, Theodore Beck and offered him the position of English and Philosophy Professor and persuaded him to accept the position and move to India. Theodore Beck had just finished his education from Cambridge University and was just 24 years old. But he accepted the challenge and moved to India and joined the MAO College as a Professor of English and Philosophy and also assumed the office of Principal of MAO College on 28th January, 1884.

He could have never imagined that his career will start as MAO College Principal at the age of 24 and will end his with his last breath at the age of 40 as Principal of MAO College and will become the longest serving Principal of MAO College and champion of Muslims education in India. When he joined MAO College at the age of 24 years, some of his students at MAO College were older than him. He was a soft spoken, humble and very cooperative young man. Very soon became very popular among the students. His abilities and interests in College administration made him indispensable for Sir Syed and MAO College. His attitude towards students made him popular among the students. He used to do evening walk with senior students, visit dining halls to have meals with students and do some formal chat in an informal way. He used to make sure to visit those students who are sick and spend sometime with them so that they can not miss their families at the tough time. He used to help needy students from his pocket. He was a very hard working teacher also. At one point of time due to lack of staff members he taught four subjects so that students can not suffer due to lack adequate staff strength. His friendly as well as disciplined attitude made him insensible for Aligarh Movement and he was associated Aligarh Movement till his last breath.

Sir Syed was a big admirer of Theodore Beck’s administrative abilities and commitment for Aligarh Movement. In 1886 when Sir Syed started Muslim Educational Conference and became Founder Secretary of Muslim Educational Conference, he appointed Principal Beck as Assistant Secretary of Muslims Educational Conference. Principal Beck promoted the idea to have to have a debating club for students. The idea was originally put forward by his predecessor, Principal H.G.I. Siddon. Principal Beck named the debating club as SIDDON’s CLUB to honor The Founding Principal of MAO College. It was Siddon’s Club contribution that MAO College and Aligarh Movement have prolific orator and debators like, Sahebzada Aftab Ahmad Khan, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and Sarfaraz Hussain. He also started the famous Riding Club.

Sir Syed’s political ideology was to distance himself and Muslims of India from active politics and never have confrontation viewpoints with the British rule. He was convinced that Muslims of India can not bear the burden of another mutiny. Principal beck was an ardent supporter of Sir Syed’ political thoughts and always promoted Sir Syed’s political thought to help Muslims of India to uplift them on educational front to compete with others. There is a common mis-conception that Sir Syed’s political vies were inspired by Principal Beck. This concept does not have strong roots as Sir had already expressed his political views even before starting The MAO College and he never deviated from his political ideology.

Aligarh Movement

The Muslims found themselves in a very awkward  position after the supression of outbreak of 1857 because the British thought that the chief instigators and ringleaders of the outbreak were Muslims. It was at this juncture Syed Ahmed appeared as he saviour of the Muslim community. He did two fold tusks, 1. He brought about the repproachment between the British Government and the Muslim, and 2. he convinced the Muslims to take up modern education with the help of English.The appeal of Syed Ahmed to the British Government to kindly take his community came at very opportune moment. The British , like all Imperial powers, took it as a "divide and rule policy". The fair deal of the British attitude was revealed in the book published by hunterin 1871. Syed ahmed not only established a good relation of the British Government with the Muslims but also founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Collegeat Aligarh in 1877. He also published a bilingual journal for spreading liberal ideas on social reform he visited England in 1869 and after his return in 1870carried on a vigorous propaganda for the spread English education and western culture among his community. 

Sir Syed Ahmed October 17, 1817 – March 27, 1898), commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist. Sir Syed pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India by founding the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later developed into the Aligarh Muslim University. His work gave rise to a new generation of Muslim intellectuals and politicians who composed the Aligarh movement to secure the political future of Muslims of India.

The efforts of Syed Ahmed were not confined to the social and religious reforms. He gave a distinctly new turn to Muslim politics which becam anti-Hindu, and therefore also anti-Congress, for he looked the Indian National Congress as a Hindu organisation.
It is not an easy task to find out the basic principles on which his political views rested. He expressed some contradictory views. Ina speech delivered in 1884, he emphasized the fact that the terms Hindu and Mohamedan were only meant for religious distinction, but they formed one nation. In 1888, however, he referred to the Hindus and Muslims as two warring nations who could not lead a common life if the British  were to leave India.
He once bestowed high praise upon the Bengalees whom he described as the "head and crown of all the different communities of Hindustan". But later, the abuses of Bengalees formed a prominent feature of the Aligarh Institute Gazette edited by him. In 1877 he organized and presided over a meeting at Aligarh in which Surendranath Nath Banerjee delivered a speech in favour of simultaneous examinations for Indian Civil Service in England and India,and a revolution in favour of it was unanimously passed, but, later, Syed Ahmed opposed the idea as it would mean Hindu predominance in higher appointments.

The Relation between Hindus and Muslims (contd-1)

It was nottill the third quarter of ninetenth century that the Muslims appreciated the value of English education and seriously took to it. As a result, in the race for progress, the Muslims were handicapped by a time-lag of about fifty years. This is evident from the writings of W.S. Blunt, a liberal minded Englishman who openly protested against the British polocy in Egypt.
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840–1922) was a British poet and writer. He was born in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. He married Lady Anne Noel and together they travelled extensively in the Middle East and India.
Blunt opposed British imperialism, and his championship of Irish causes led to his imprisonment in 1888.
His own books, Secret History of the English and the Future of Islam endeared him to the whole Muslim World, and he found a warm welcome awaiting in India, when he visited this country in 1883. He mixed freely and intimately with the Muslim leaders of all shades of opinion, and his observations on Muslim politics should, therefore, command both  respect and confidence.
When Mr. Blunt arrived in Tuticorin, the local Muslims complained "of being subject to annoyance from the Hindus."
In Calcutta Maulavi Sayid Amir Hussain, deputy magistrate and a  friend of Amir Ali, told him that " the Bengali Mohammedans were an oppressed community".
Ilbert Bill;
The Ilbert Bill was a bill introduced in 1883 for British India by Viceroy Ripon that proposed an amendment for existing laws in the country at the time to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level, something that was disallowed at the time. It was named after Courtenay Ilbert, the recently-appointed legal adviser to the Council of India, who had proposed it as a compromise between two previously suggested bills. However, the introduction of the bill led to intense opposition in Britain and from British settlers in India that ultimately played on racial tensions before it was enacted in 1884 in a severely compromised state. The bitter controversy deepened antagonism between the British and Indians and was a prelude to the formation of the Indian National Congress the following year
The Muslims and Hindus had different opinions on Ilbert Bill. The difference between the two communities became accentuated  in connection with the legislation for local self-government on elective basis.It is on this occasion that for the first time a demand was made for separate representation of the Mohammadans,.It seems, however, that as in in later days, the ball was set rolling by the English officials More than thirty years ago, the English or official view emphasized the communal difference in political matters in connection with the creation of Legislative Council. Lord Ellenborough suggested the creation of two separate legislatures for the two communities. In those early days a vigorous protest against this was made by a Hindu Politician, and no Muslim is known to have come forward to support the British or official view.But Muhammad Yusuf changed the situation. 
In the mean time Pan-Islamic sentiments had strong influence on India Muslims.
Pan-Islamism (Arabic: الوحدة الإسل poitical movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state — often a Caliphate. As a form of religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example Pan-Arabism, by excluding culture and ethnicity as primary factors towards unification

The Hunter Commission, demanding entirely separate arrangements for the education of the Hindus and Muslim boys, insisting upon Urdu as a medium of instruction even in a Province like Bengal where 99 pc of the Muslims were ignorant of that language and their spoken language, Bengali,lways been the medium of instruction. 
Hunter Commission officially known as the Indian Education Commission, 1882, was the first education commission in the history of modern India. Appointed by the Government of India, it was to review in depth, the state of education in India since wood's education despatch of 1854, and to recommend necessary measures for further progress. The other consideration, which prompted the Government to launch this enquiry, was the agitation of the missionaries, particularly in England, accusing lapses of the Government in implementing the provisions of the Despatch of 1854. Because of the great importance, which the Government attached to primary education, higher education was excluded from the Commission's purview and instead was directed to concentrate chiefly on primary education.

Relation between the Hindus and Muslims

In most of the the relation between Hindus and Muslims were zamindars and tenants before the British rule.After the advent of the British, the hostile attitude of the Musilms towards the British and their strong aversion to merely secular education kept them severely aloof from English education imparted in schools and colleges. The foundation of Hindu College in 1817 gave a great impetus to the English education in Hindus, but the Muslims made very little progress in it during the next fifty years. The comparative position of the Hindus and Muslims in English education will be evident from the following figures:
In 1865, 9 Hindus and no Muslims passed the M.A. examination,
              41 Hindus and 1 Muhammadan passed the B.A. examination,
               17 students, all Hindus , passed the Law Examination.
               All the Medical graduates were also Hindus.
In 1867,   88 Hindus and not a single Muhammadans passed the M.a. examination and B.A. examinations.
The disparity in progress widened the gulf between Hindus and Muslims. For more knowledge in English the Hindus were given high positions in British administration and their political ideas were also widened.
A liberal Muslim Leader Mr. M.R. Sayani in his presidential address in the 12th session in 1896 held in Calcutta, admirably delineates the sentiments of the Muslims which powerfully influenced them.
Before the advent of the British in India, Mussalmans were the rulers of the country. The Mussalmans had, therefore, all the advantages appertaining to the ruling class.he court language was their own.
The learning of an entirely unknown foreign language, of course, required hard application and industry. The Hindus were accustomed to this, as even under the Mussalmans rule they had practically to master a foreign tongue, and so easily took to the new education. The result was that so far as education was concerned, the Mussalmans who  were once superior to the Hindus now actually became their inferiors. Of course, they grumbled and groaned, but the irony of fate was inexorable.
Mussalmans were gradually ousted from their lands, offices, and other worldly advantages of their former masters. they were soon reduced to a utter poverty. This was clearly manifested in the Wahabi Movement mentioned earlier. The Musalmans did not participated so far in any political organisation in general including Cngress.There was hardly any muslim in the committees of Landholders Society, British India Society, and the British Indian Association. But formed an organisation of their own on 31st January 1856, namely "Mohammedan Association". The British Indian Association welcomed the the organisation. When the Hindu Mela and the National Society were started by the Hindus on communal basis, the Muslim Leader, Nawab Ali Amir Khan, organised the " National Mommedan Association" in Calcutta with a view to  uniting all classes of Muhammadans so that they might work together for the common good. In 1863 Abdul Latif founded the "Mohammedan Literary Society", its object being to interest its memberin present day politics and modern thought and leaning.
The first Muslim uprising began with the Muslim Sultan, Tipu Sultan in 1766, whose famous armed resistance of Mysore, using bamboo Rockets, was the catalyst for the demise of the British from India and earned him the title Father of the Indian Rocket. In fact, the battle against the British in Mysore, 1766 seems to be at the pinnacle of unrest in the colonised lands of all the European colonisers.

The first organized expressions began with Muslim scholars and reformers like Syed Ahmed Khan, Syed Ameer Ali and the Aga Khan who had an influential major hand in the Anti-British Resistance movements during the "Indian Revolution".
Expression of Muslim separatism and nationhood emerged from modern Islam's pre-eminent poet and philosopher, Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal and political activists like Choudhary Rahmat Ali

Abdul Latif (1828–1893) or Nawab Abdul Latif (Bengali: নবাব আবদুল লতীফ) was a nineteenth century educator and social worker in Bengal, later Bangladesh. His title, Nawab was awarded by the British in 1880. Abdul Lateef was one of the first Muslims in nineteenth century India to embrace the idea of modernization. He was a professor at Calcutta Madrasah. His achievements include working to turn Hindu College into Presidency College and thus open it for non-Hindus as well. He also established numerous educational institutes, including Rajshahi Madrasah

1821 - 1846 Nawab Amir 'Ali Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Malerkotla, only son of Nawab Muhammad Wazir Khan, Nawab of Malerkotla, educ. privately. Succeeded on the death of his father, 4th September 1821. Served in person during the First Afghan War 1839-1942. Granted a salute of 9-guns with the personal style of His Highness 1840. He d. at Fort Kotla, 8th April 1846 (bur. there at the Shahi Muqbara), having had issue, one son:

     

Reactions of the Government

Inspite of the moderation and loyalty of the Congress, the English public opinion looked upon the emergence of the Congress as a potential danger to the British power in India.A distinct change in tone and spirit of the Congress was noticeable during its session in Calcutta, and this was undoubtedly due to the greater advance in political life in Bengal during the preceding half a century, as noted earlier.
The reaction of the British Government to the establishment of the Congress and its constitutional demands was not very favourable.
Dufferin in a public speech on 30 Nov 1888, ridiculed the Congress as "taking a big jump into the unknown" and slighted the Congressmen as a "microscopic minority."

George Hamilton, Secretary fo state for India, accused the Congress leaders of possessing "seditious and double sided" character.Towards the end of 1887 a "Special Branch" was created in the police with the object of dealing with specially confidential political movements and meetings, excitement, wandering character of a suspicios nature, public feeling,, illicit trade  in arms and ammunition .The organizers of the fourth session of the Congress at Allahabad in 1888 were obstructed by the local officialsin their attempt to procure a suitable site in he city. In 18888 the Viceroy warned some Princely States not to support the Congress.They patronized the Aligarh movement to implement 'divide and rule " policy.. Lord Curzon wrote to the Secretary  of State on 18  Nov 1900, " My own belief is that the Congress is tottering to its fall, and one of my greatest ambitions wwhile in India is to assist it to a peaceful demise."
Curzon's assesment , however, soon proved to be off the mark.This was mainly due to the fact that the moderate Congress reflected as Dr. J.R.maclane remarked, "only a small segment of nationalist sentiment" British unpopularity was on the icrease under the impact of famines and plagues, the countervailing cotton excise and Curzon's package of aggressive measures including the Indian Universities Act, 1904,  .

  

First 20 years of Indian National Congress (contd -1)

On account of a outbreak of cholera epidemic in Poona, the venue of the conference ( Dec., 1885) was shifted to Bombay.  

The first two decades (1885-1905) in the history of the Indian National Congress, generally described as the Moderate Phase, saw a board uiformity in objectives and methods of work.The Congress met at the end of each year for three days in what turned out to be a great social occasion as well as a political assembly and heard and applauded Presidential addresses as well as other eloquent speeches. Resolutions that were passed dealt broadly with three sorts of grievances caused by alen rule, - political, administrative, and economic.
The main political demand was reform of the Legislative Councils in order to give them greater powers and to make them representative in character by including some members elected by local bodies , chambers of commerce , universities, etc. True, the Congress leaders did not demand voting right for all Indian citizens, and  universal adult suffrage was unknown even to England at that time. The Congress demand had some influence on the making of the Indian Councils Act of 1892. But when the Act of Council Reform was passed in 1892, the Congress regretted " that it did not, in terms, concede to the people the people the right of electing their own representatives to the Council". In the next two sessions of 1893 and 1894 , the Congress passedthe resolutions  pointing out "material alterations are necessary".  There was also an expectation that freedom would gradually broaden from precedent to precedent on the British pattern till India entered the promised but distant land of what Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906 described as "Self-Government or Swaraj like that of United Kingdom or the colonies."
Considering the honesty,  integrity and goodness of the British people, Congress carried on political propaganda in England, formed a British Committee of the Indian National Congress in 1889, voted a sum of Rs. 45,000 per annum for its support, and the Journal India  with Wlliam Digby as the editor was also started for the same purpose in 1890.Among administrative reforms, however, the most important demand was the Indianization of services through simultaneous ICS examination in England and India.. The demend was "raised  not really just to satisfied the tiny elite who could hope to get into the ICS,  as has been sometimes argued, but connected with much broader themes."  Indianization was advocated as a blow against racism. It would also reduce the drain of wealth by the fat salaries and pensions of the injoyed by the Englishmen. The other demands included separation of trial by jury, repeal of the Arms Act, higher jobs in the army for Indians, and the raising of an Indian volunteer force -- demands which combined pleas for racial equality with a concern for civil rights.
Inspite of the moderation and loyalty of the Congress, the English public opinion looked upon the emergence of the Congress as a potential danger to the British power in India. The second Congress was composed of delegates, elected at public meetings held for the purpose in different Provinces. Five hundred delegates were elected of which 434 actually registered their names.

Syed Ahmed delivered a speech on the eve of the third session to be held at Madras, (1897) asked to dissuade the Muslims from attending it.   In the 3rd Conference a Committee of 34 persons was formed for drafting a constitution for Congress. But no such constitution was drafted during these 20 years .The 4th session of the Congress was held at Allahabad where out of 1200 delegates 200 were Muslims.   

              

First 20 years of Indian National Congress

During the one hundred year of the English East India Company, nationalistic feelings had begun growing within the Indian society. Such feelings received a major boost during the Revolt of 1857, which created in many Indians for the first time, a sense of nationhood.
The growth of nationalism was an inevitable result after a century of oppression by a foreign power. The standard of living of the average Indian had deteriorated considerably, and the condition of the peasants was shocking. The Indian people began to realize that their country was being run solely for the interests of a foreign economy and the longer this continued the greater harm it would bring to the country. The economic backwardness of India would prove to be the backbone for the freedom struggle, for every Indian had been adversely affected economically because of the British rule. With this as a common base it became a simpler task for nationalistic leaders to raise popular support for their movement. The work of the social reformers had also managed to raise support for the national movement, for they had educated the people about India's former greatness and encouraged them to attempt to return India to it. The early nationalists were the educated class of India, for they had been exposed to the ideas of liberty, equality, democracy and free speech. They saw that the British had implemented such ideas in their own country but were denying it to India. This class would prove to be the major force behind the early years of the nationalistic movement in India. The press would also play an important role in spreading nationalistic ideas, in fact it was so effective that the British passed a law preventing the vernacular press from publishing material that was anti-British. What was now required was an organization where Indian nationalists could share a common platform and discuss their strategies. Many small organizations came up, but eventually a particular one would come up, which would be instrumental in organizing India's struggle for freedom, it was known as the Indian National Congress. The Indian National Congress was founded ironically by an Englishmen, A.O. Hume a retired civil servant. He got in touch with the prominent nationalists and organized the first session of the Indian National Congress at Bombay in December, 1885. W.C. Bonerjee became the president and it was attended by seventy two delegates. They pledged to promote the idea of nationalism amongst all sections of Indian society and unite Indian opinion on the above matter. The Indian National Congress represented the first small step in the organized struggle for freedom. The Indian National Congress quickly expanded, and the next year there were four hundred and thirty six delegates. The Indian National Congress now met in the December of every year, in a different part of the country each time. The number of delegates increased rapidly, and soon were numbering several thousand. They came from a variety of professions like law, journalism, trade, industry and education. Even landlords joined the organization. One of the greatest presidents of the Indian National Congress was Dadabhai Naorji, also known as the grand old man of India. An extremely learned and educated man, he lived in England for many years and even got elected to the British parliament.
The Indian National Congress gave the freedom struggle direction, which so far had been missing. The Indian National Congress did not immediately begin efforts to free the country. They realized that they first had to create the environment before such efforts could be made. India was essentially a 'nation in making'. Hence the initial priorities were to increase awareness about the concept and to improve the lives of average Indians. They also realized that directly confronting the British at such an early stage would be futile and could in fact be detrimental. This period is dominated by a set of nationalists known as the moderates, who aimed to establish some form of democracy and autonomy within the framework of the British rule. They did not press for total independence and instead simply asked for more representation of Indians in the governing of their own country. Some moderates were not averse to the concept of British rule, they believed that if the British were made aware of the Indian point of view, they would modify their ways. Thus the moderates would send many petitions to the British authorities requesting for fulfillment of various demands. The British rarely agreed to most of their demands.
The British were initially un-perturbed by the Indian National Congress for they did not view it as a serious threat, but as the demands of the Indian National Congress grew, they began to grow suspicious of its motives. Realizing the potential, if the Indian National Congress was able to gather popular support, they began pursuing the policy of Divide and Rule and made efforts to encourage communal forces.
The nationalist movement began during this period but otherwise did not do anything particularly significant. The involvement of the masses of India had still not begun. The moderates perhaps failed to realize the true nature of the British rule in India, and instead falsely believed that if requested in a proper manner, the British would agree to their demands. To their credit it may be said that the the early nationalists did manage to bring in a few reforms, like persuading the British to hold the Indian civil service exams simultaneously in India and England. They were also able to get the Legislative councils expanded, and take the first steps to securing some Indian representation. More importantly ,however, they started a process which would eventually result in India's freedom.
 The Indian National Congress gave the freedom struggle direction, which so far had been missing. The Indian National Congress did not immediately begin efforts to free the country. They realized that they first had to create the environment before such efforts could be made. India was essentially a 'nation in making'. Hence the initial priorities were to increase awareness about the concept and to improve the lives of average Indians. They also realized that directly confronting the British at such an early stage would be futile and could in fact be detrimental. This period is dominated by a set of nationalists known as the moderates, who aimed to establish some form of democracy and autonomy within the framework of the British rule. They did not press for total independence and instead simply asked for more representation of Indians in the governing of their own country. Some moderates were not averse to the concept of British rule, they believed that if the British were made aware of the Indian point of view, they would modify their ways. Thus the moderates would send many petitions to the British authorities requesting for fulfillment of various demands. The British rarely agreed to most of their demands.
The British were initially un-perturbed by the Indian National Congress for they did not view it as a serious threat, but as the demands of the Indian National Congress grew, they began to grow suspicious of its motives. Realizing the potential, if the Indian National Congress was able to gather popular support, they began pursuing the policy of Divide and Rule and made efforts to encourage communal forces.
The nationalist movement began during this period but otherwise did not do anything particularly significant. The involvement of the masses of India had still not begun. The moderates perhaps failed to realize the true nature of the British rule in India, and instead falsely believed that if requested in a proper manner, the British would agree to their demands. To their credit it may be said that the the early nationalists did manage to bring in a few reforms, like persuading the British to hold the Indian civil service exams simultaneously in India and England. They were also able to get the Legislative councils expanded, and take the first steps to securing some Indian representation. More importantly ,however, they started a process which would eventually result in India's freedom

List of Presidents of Indian National Congress ( 1884-1905)

Name of President Life Span Year of Presidency Place of Conference
Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 29 December 1844- 1906 1885 Bombay
Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1886 Calcutta

Badruddin Tyabji 10 October 1844- 1906 1887 Madras

George Yule 1829–1892 1888 Allahabad
Sir William Wedderburn 1838–1918 1889 Bombay
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta 4 August 1845- 1915 1890 Calcutta
P. Anandacharlu August 1843- 1908 1891 Nagpur
Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 29 December 1844- 1906 1892 Allahabad

Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1893 Lahore

Alfred Webb 1834–1908 1894 Madras
Surendranath Banerjea 10 November 1848- 1925 1895 Pune
Rahimtulla M. Sayani 5 April 1847- 1902 1896 Calcutta
Sir C. Sankaran Nair 11 July 1857- 1934 1897 Amraoti
Ananda Mohan Bose 23 September 1847- 1906 1898 Madras
Romesh Chunder Dutt 13 August 1848- 1909 1899 Lucknow
Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar 2 December 1855- 1923 1900 Lahore
Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha 2 August 1844- 1936 1901 Calcutta
Surendranath Banerjea 10 November 1825- 1917 1902 Ahmedabad
Lalmohan Ghosh 1848–1909 1903 Madras

Womesh Chandra Bannerjee was born on December 29, 1844 at Calcutta, in the present-day state of West Bengal in an upper middle class Brahmin family of considerable social standing. In 1859, he married Hemangini Motilal. His career began in 1862 when he joined the firm of W. P. Gillanders, Attorneys of the Calcutta Supreme Court, as a clerk. In this post he acquired a good knowledge of law which greatly helped him in his later career. In 1864 he was sent to England where he joined the Middle Temple with a scholarship and was called to the Bar in June, 1867. On his return to Calcutta in 1868, he found a patron in Sir Charles Paul, Barrister-at-Law of the Calcutta High Court. Another barrister, J. P. Kennedy, also greatly helped him to establish his reputation as a lawyer. Within a few years he became the most sought after barrister in the High Court. He was the first Indian to act as a Standing Counsel, in which capacity he officiated four times. In 1883 he defended Surendranath Banerjee in the famous Contempt of Court Case against him in the Calcutta High Court.

Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) , known as the Grand Old Man of India, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political leader. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons between 1892 and 1895, and the first Asian to be a British MP. He is also credited with the founding of the Indian National Congress, along with A.O. Hume and Dinshaw Edulji Wacha
Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) (1844-1906) was the third President of the Indian National Congress. He was succeeded by George Yule.

Badruddin Tyabji was the "First Muslim" to become the "President of Indian National Congress".
He was born on October 10, 1844 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. He was the son of Mullah Tyab Ali Bhai Mian, a Sulaimani Bohra, and a scion of an old Cambay emigrant Arab family.

He sent all of his six sons to Europe for further studies, at a time when English education was considered an anathema for Muslims in India. Badruddin Tyabji returned to India in 1858 as the first Indian Solicitor, one of the other brother was sent to Najran for religious studies. Apart from Badruddin Tyabji (who at one time was the vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University ), all of his other brothers were prominent and well respected members of Indian establishment. Their accomplishments included the first Muslim Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, the first Indian barrister and the first Muslim to qualify as an Engineer.

He passed the London Matriculation and joined the Middle Temple. He became the first Indian Barrister in Bombay in April, 1867. He accepted a Judgeship of the Bombay High Court in 1895. In 1902, he became the first Indian to hold the post of Chief Justice in Bombay

Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) (1844-1906) was the third President of the Indian National Congress. He was succeeded by George Yule.
George Yule (1829–1892) was a Scottish businessman in India who notably became the fourth President of the Indian National Congress in 1888, the first non-Indian to hold that office. He was succeeded by Sir William Wedderburn.
He was the chief of the well-known Andrew Yule and Co. in Kolkata; was also Sheriff of Kolkata for sometime and President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce
Sir William Wedderburn, 4th Baronet, JP DL (25 March 1838 – 25 January 1918) was a Scottish civil servant and politician.




Born in Edinburgh, the fourth son of Sir John Wedderburn, 2nd Baronet, he was educated at Hofwyl Workshop, then Loretto School and finally at Edinburgh University.
He entered the Indian Civil Service in Bombay in 1860, served as District Judge and Judicial Commissioner in Sind; acted as secretary to Bombay Government, Judicial and Political Departments; and from 1885 acted as Judge of the High Court, Bombay. He retired when acting Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay in 1887. Along with Allan Octavian Hume he was a founder of the Indian National Congress and served as its president in 1889 and 1910.
He was an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate in North Ayrshire in 1892 and served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Banffshire from 1893 to 1900

List of Presidents of Indian National Congress ( 1884-1998)

List of presidents of the partyMain article: Congress President


Name of President Life Span Year of Presidency Place of Conference

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 29 December 1844- 1906 1885 Bombay

Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1886 Calcutta

Badruddin Tyabji 10 October 1844- 1906 1887 Madras

George Yule 1829–1892 1888 Allahabad

Sir William Wedderburn 1838–1918 1889 Bombay

Sir Pherozeshah Mehta 4 August 1845- 1915 1890 Calcutta

P. Anandacharlu August 1843- 1908 1891 Nagpur

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 29 December 1844- 1906 1892 Allahabad

Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1893 Lahore

Alfred Webb 1834–1908 1894 Madras

Surendranath Banerjea 10 November 1848- 1925 1895 Pune

Rahimtulla M. Sayani 5 April 1847- 1902 1896 Calcutta

Sir C. Sankaran Nair 11 July 1857- 1934 1897 Amraoti

Ananda Mohan Bose 23 September 1847- 1906 1898 Madras

Romesh Chunder Dutt 13 August 1848- 1909 1899 Lucknow

Sir Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar 2 December 1855- 1923 1900 Lahore

Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha 2 August 1844- 1936 1901 Calcutta

Surendranath Banerjea 10 November 1825- 1917 1902 Ahmedabad

Lalmohan Ghosh 1848–1909 1903 Madras

Sir Henry Cotton 1845–1915 1904 Bombay

Gopal Krishna Gokhale 9 May 1866- 1915 1905 Benares

Dadabhai Naoroji 4 September 1825- 1917 1906 Calcutta

Rashbihari Ghosh 23 December 1845- 1921 1907 Surat

Rashbihari Ghosh 23 December 1845- 1921 1908 Madras

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861- 1946 1909 Lahore

Sir William Wedderburn 1838–1918 1910 Allahabad

Pandit Bishan Narayan Dar 1864–1916 1911 Calcutta

Rao Bahadur Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar 1857–1921 1912 Bankipur

Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur ?- 1919 1913 Karachi

Bhupendra Nath Bose 1859–1924 1914 Madras

Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha March 1863- 1928 1915 Bombay

Ambica Charan Mazumdar 1850–1922 1916 Lucknow

Annie Besant 1 October 1847- 1933 1917 Calcutta

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861- 1946 1918 Delhi

Syed Hasan Imam 31 August 1871- 1933 1918 Bombay (Special Session)

Pandit Motilal Nehru 6 May 1861- 6 February 1931 1919 Amritsar

Lala Lajpat Rai 28 January 1865- 17 November 1928 1920 Calcutta (Special Session)

C. Vijayaraghavachariar 1852- 19 April 1944 1920 Nagpur

Hakim Ajmal Khan 1863- 29 December 1927 1921 Ahmedabad

Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das 5 November 1870- 16 June 1925 1922 Gaya

Maulana Mohammad Ali 10 December 1878- 4 January 1931 1923 Kakinada

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 1888- 22 February 1958 1923 Delhi (Special Session)

Mahatma Gandhi 2 October 1869- 30 January 1948 1924 Belgaum

Sarojini Naidu 13 February 1879- 2 March 1949 1925 Kanpur

S. Srinivasa Iyengar September 11, 1874- 19 May 1941 1926 Gauhati

Dr. M A Ansari 25 December 1880- 10 May 1936 1927 Madras

Pandit Motilal Nehru 6 May 1861- 6 February 1931 1928 Calcutta

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964 1929 & 30 Lahore

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 31 October 1875- 15 December 1950 1931 Karachi

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861- 1946 1932 Delhi

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya 25 December 1861- 1946 1933 Calcutta

Nellie Sengupta 1886–1973 1933 Calcutta

Dr. Rajendra Prasad 3 December 1884- 28 February 1963 1934 & 35 Bombay

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964 1936 Lucknow

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964 1936& 37 Faizpur

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose 23 January 1897- 18 August 1945? 1938 Haripura

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose 23 January 1897- 18 August 1945? 1939 Jabalpur

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 1888- 22 February 1958 1940-46 Ramgarh

Acharya J.B. Kripalani 1888- 19 March 1982 1947 Delhi

Dr Pattabhi Sitaraimayya 24 December 1880- 17 December 1959 1948 & 49 Jaipur

Purushottam Das Tandon 1 August 1882- 1 July 1961 1950 Nasik

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964 1951 & 52 Delhi

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964 1953 Hyderabad

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14 November 1889- 27 May 1964 1954 Kalyani

U N Dhebar 21 September 1905- 1977 1955 Avadi

U N Dhebar 21 September 1905- 1977 1956 Amritsar

U N Dhebar 21 September 1905- 1977 1957 Indore

U N Dhebar 21 September 1905- 1977 1958 Gauhati

U N Dhebar 21 September 1905- 1977 1959 Nagpur

Indira Gandhi 19 November 1917- 31 October 1984 1959 Delhi

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 19 May 1913- 1 June 1996 1960 Bangalore

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 19 May 1913- 1 June 1996 1961 Bhavnagar

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 19 May 1913- 1 June 1996 1962 & 63 Patna

K. Kamaraj 15 July 1903- 2 October 1975 1964 Bhubaneswar

K. Kamaraj 15 July 1903- 2 October 1975 1965 Durgapur

K. Kamaraj 15 July 1903- 2 October 1975 1966 & 67 Jaipur

S. Nijalingappa 10 December 1902- 9 August 2000 1968 Hyderabad

S. Nijalingappa 10 December 1902- 9 August 2000 1969 Faridabad

Jagjivan Ram 5 April 1908- 6 July 1986 1970 & 71 Bombay

Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma 19 August 1918- 26 December 1999 1972- 74 Calcutta

Dev Kant Baruah 22 February 1914- 1996 1975- 77 Chandigarh

Indira Gandhi 19 November 1917- 31 October 1984 1978- 83 Delhi

Indira Gandhi 19 November 1917- 31 October 1984 1983 -84 Calcutta

Rajiv Gandhi 20 August 1944- 21 May 1991 1985 -91 Bombay

P. V. Narasimha Rao 28 June 1921- 23 December 2004 1992 -96 Tirupati

Sitaram Kesri November 1919- 24 October 2000 1997 -98 Kolkata

Sonia Gandhi 9 December 1946- 1998–present Kolkata

In the early years the Congress had, however, no permanent organisation. " There were no paying members,no officials other than a general secretary, no central office, and no funds".Every Christmas a session was held in a different city with a different President, and it was managed by a local Reception Committee with locally collected funds. The Committee arranged the printing and distribution of the Congress proceedings after the session ended . Yet the Congress grew from strength to strength , acquiring a later significance in Indian political life and it was attended by a steadily growing number of delegates ;
72 in 1885, 434 in 1886, 607 in 1887, 1248 in 1888, and 1889 in 1889.

History of Armed Revolution -- for Indian Independence

Bengal Anushilan SamitiMain article: Anushilan Samiti
Established by Pramath Nath Mitra in Kolkata in 1902, Anushilan Samity became one of the most organized revolutionary associations , especially in the Eastern Bengal where the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti had several branches and carried out major activities . Jugantar was initially formed by an inner circle of the Kolkata Anushilan Samiti, like the Palmach of Haganah. In the 1920s, the Kolkata faction supported Gandhi in the Non-Cooperation Movement and many of the leaders held high posts in Congress.
[edit] JugantarBarin Ghosh was the main extremist leader. Along with 21 revolutionaries including Bagha Jatin, he started to collect arms and explosives and manufactured bombs. The headquarters of Jugantar was located at 93/a Baubazar Street, Kolkata.
Some senior members of the group were sent abroad for political and military training. One of them, Hemchandra Qanungo obtained his training in Paris. After returning to Kolkata he set up a combined religious school and bomb factory at a garden house in Maniktala suburb of Calcutta. However, the attempted murder of district Judge Kingsford of Muzaffarpur by Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki (30 April 1908) initiated a police investigation that led to the arrest of many of the revolutionaries.
Jatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin) in 1910Bagha Jatin was one of the top leaders in Jugantar. He was arrested, along with several other leaders, in connection with the Howrah conspiracy case. They were tried for treason, the charge being that they had incited various regiments of the army against the ruler.
Jugantar, along with other revolutionary groups, and aided by Indians abroad, planned an armed revolt against the British rulers during the First World War. This plan largely depended on the clandestine landing of German arms and ammunitions in the Indian coast. This plan came to be known as the Indo-German Plot. However, the planned revolt did not materialize.
After the First World War Jugantar supported Gandhi in the Non-Cooperation Movement and many of their leaders were in the Congress. Still, the group continued its revolutionary activities, a notable event being the Chittagong armoury raid.
 Bengal VolunteersMain article: Bengal Volunteers
Bengal Volunteers was a group formed by Subhash Chandra Bose during the Kolkata session of Indian National Congress in 1928 to help the organisation of the session. However, afterwards the group turned into a revolutionary group with notable revolutionaries like Benoy-Badal-Dinesh being its members
Punjab Hindustan Socialist Republican AssociationMain article: Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was established in October 1924 in Kanpur by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad, Yogendra Shukla and Sachindranath Sanyal. The aim of the party was to organize armed revolution to end the colonial rule and establish in a Federal Republic of the United States of India. The Kakori train robbery was a notable act of mutiny by this group. The Kakori case led to the hanging of Ashfaqullah Khan, Ramprasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri. The Kakori case was a major setback for the group. However, the group was soon reorganized under the leadership of Chandrashekhar Azad and with members like Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev on 9 and 10 September 1928- and the group was now christened Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
In Lahore on 17 December 1928, Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru assassinated Saunders, a police official involved in deadly lathi-charge on Lala Lajpat Rai. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb inside the Central Legislative Assembly. The Assembly Bomb Case trial followed. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in 23 March 1931.
 South IndiaThe uprising against the British was evidenced at Halagali (Mudhol taluk of Bagalkot district). The prince of Mudhol, Ghorpade had accepted British overlordship. But the Bedas (hunters), a martial community, were seething with dissatisfaction under the new dispensation. The British proclaimed the Disarming Act of 1857 whereby men possessing fire arms had to register them and secure a license before November 10, 1857. Babaji Nimbalkar, a soldier thrown out of job from Satara Court, had advised these people not to loose their hereditary right to own arms.
One of the leaders of the Bedas, Jadgia was invited by the administrator at Mudhol and was persuaded to secure a license on November 11, though Jadgia had not asked for it. The administrator’s expectation that others would follow Jadgia was belied. So he sent his agents to Halagali on November 15, 20 and again on 21. But the entreaties of the agents did not succeed, and the agents sent on November 21 were attacked by Jadgia and Baalya, another leader and they were forced to return. Another agent sent on November 25 was not allowed to enter the village.
Meanwhile, the Bedas and other armed men from the neighbouring villages of Mantur, Boodni and Alagundi assembled at Halagali. The administrator reported the matter to Major Malcolm, the Commander at the nearby army headquarters, who sent Col. Seton Karr to Halagali on November 29.
The insurgents, numbering 500 did not allow the British to enter Halagali. There was a fight during the night. On November 30, Major Malcolm came with 29th Regiment from Bagalkot. They set fire to the village and many insurgents, including Babaji Nimbalkar died. The British, who had a bigger army and better arms arrested 290 insurgents; and of these 29 were tried and 11 were hanged at Mudhol on December 11, and six others, including Jadagia and Baalya were hanged at Halagali on December 14, 1857. No prince or jagirdar was involved in this uprising, but it was the common soldiers. Violent revolutionary activities never took firm root in South India. The only violent act attributed to the revolutionaries was the assassination of Collector of Tirunelveli (Tinnevelly). On June 17, 1911, the Collector of Tirunelveli, Robert Ashe was killed by R. Vanchi Aiyer, who subsequently committed suicide. This was the only instance of a political assassination by a revolutionary in South India.
 Outside India: India HouseMain article: India House
The India House was an informal Indian nationalist organisation that existed in London between 1905 and 1910. Initially begun by Shyamji Krishna Varma as a residence in Highgate, in NorthLondon, for Indian students to promote nationalist views and work, the house became a centre for intellectual political activities, and rapidly developed to be an organisation that became a meeting ground for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain at the time, and of the most prominent centres for revolutionary Indian nationalism outside India. The Indian Sociologist published by the house was a noted platform for anti-colonial work and was banned in India as "seditious literature".
The India house was the beginnings of a number of noted Indian revolutionaries and nationalists, most famously V.D. Savarkar, as well as others of the like of V.N. Chatterjee, Lala Har Dayal, V.V.S. Iyer, M. P. T. Acharya who were, over the next decades, key members of revolutionary conspiracies in India as well as the founding fathers of Indian Communism. The house came to be the focus of Scotland Yard's work against Indian sedetionists, as well as the focus of work for the nascent Indian Political Intelligence Office. India house ceased to be potent organisation after its liquidation in the wake of the assassination of William Hutt Curzon Wyllie by a member of the India House by the name of Madan Lal Dhingra. This event marked the beginnings of London Police's crackdown on the activities of the house and a number of its activists and patrons, including Shyamji Krishna Varma and Bhikaji Cama moved to Europe from where they carried on works in support of Indian nationalism. Some Indian students, including Har Dayal, moved to the United States. The network that the House founded was key in the nationalist revolutionary conspiracy in India during World War I.
 Gadar PartyMain article: Gadar Party
Gadar party was a predominantly Sikh organization that started operating abroad in 1913 "with the view to do-away with the British rule in India".. The party collaborated with revolutionaries inside India and helped them get arms and ammunition. Lala Hardayal was a prominent leader of the party and pramotor of the Gadar newspaper. The Komagata Maru incident in 1914 inspired several thousand Indians residing in the USA to sell their businesses and rush home in order to participate in the anti-British activities in India. The party had active members in India, Mexico, Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaya, Indo-China and Eastern and Southern Africa. During World War I, it was amongst the chief pariticipants of the Hindu German Conspiracy.
 Berlin CommitteeThe "Berlin committee for Indian independence" was established in 1915 by Virendra Nath Chattopadhya, including Bhupendra Nath Dutt & Lala Hardayal under "Zimmerman plan" with the full backing of German foreign office.
Their goal was mainly to achieve the following four objectives:
1: Mobilize Indian revolutionaries abroad. 2: Incite rebellion among Indian troops stationed abroad. 3: Send volunteers and arms to India. 4: Even to Organized an armed invasion of British India to liberate the country

History of armed revolution- Anushilan samity

Some notable Jugantar membersJatindranath Mukherjee alias Bagha Jatin (1879–1915)


Rash Behari Bose (1885–1945)

Taraknath Das

Nanigopal Sengupta

Hemendrakishore Acharya Chaudhuri (1881–1938)

Narendra Bhattacharya alias M.N. Roy (1887–1954)

Atulkrishna Ghosh

Amarendra Nath Chatterjee (1880–1957)

Jadugopal Mukherjee (1886–1976)

Bhavabhushan Mitra (1888–1965)

Bipin Behari Ganguli (1887–1954)

Purnachandra Das

Nolinikanta Kar

Bhupendra Kumar Datta(1894–1979)

Bhupati Majumdar (1890–1970)

Shibdas Ghosh (1923–1976)[13][14][15]



Shibdas GhoshNihar Mukherjee (1919–2010)[13]



Nihar MukherjeeSurendra Mohan Ghosh alias Madhu Ghosh (1893–1976)

Satish Chandra Mukherjee alias Swami Prajnanananda (1884–1921)

Manoranjan Gupta (1890–1976)

Arun Chandra Guha (1892 born)

Narendra Ghosh Chaudhuri (1894–1956)

Kiran Chandra Mukherjee (1883–1954)

Harikumar Chakrabarti (1882–1963)

Gopen Ray

Jibanlal Chatterjee

Debabrata Bose, later Swami Pragyananda

Ullaskar Dutta
Notable Members of Dhaka Anushilan SamitiMakhanlal Sen


Jogesh Chandra Chattopadhyay (1898–1969)

Narendra Mohan Sen (1887–1963)

Niranjan Sen Gupta

Pratul Chandra Ganguli (1884–1957)

Promode Das Gupta (1910–1985)

Rabindra Mohan Sen (1892–1971)

Sachindra Nath Sanyal (1892–1971)

Satish Chandra Pakrashi (1893–1931)

Troilokya Nath Chakrobarty (1889–1970)

History of Armed revolution - The Role of News Papers

News Papers in English and Bengali at the beginning of 20th century was propagating paptriotism and Nationalism amongst the people of India. Though the most of the papers were not revolutionary such as Amrita Bazar Patrika, Bengali, Sanjibani, Hitabadi, The Don and Don Socities Magazine, Bengali Weekly NabaShakti, Barishal Hitaishi, Chattogramer Jyoti etc. News papers were also published in different Districts. These news papers used to organise mass opinion against the British Rule.Apart from those papers there were evening paper published by Brahmabandha Upadhyay namely  " and Sandhya" (1904), English weekly published by Bipin Chandra Pal, namely "New India".
Naturally, Aurabindo felt the necessity of publishing a paper to rouse the sentiment of the people of Bengal. He published a Bengali weekly "Yugantar" from Calcutta, on 12th March, 1906. The logo of this paper was belief of two religions. Trishul and Chakra as a symbol for Hindu and Sword and Half moon as a symbol for Muslim. The aim of this paper was to propagate directly for open rebellion. This paper used to publicise  the ideals of Aurobindo in respect of religion, Complete Independence and construction of new India.

"Yugantar" directly propagated for open rebillion, It also pubilicised the opinion of Karl Marx in favour of workers movement and describe that to  protect the rights of the working class strike is a strong weapon.  
This "paper" circulated movements of the working Class in diffrent countries such as  America, Russia and other places which shows the belief in internationalism.
Moreover Aurobindo was also consciousness about the importance of the relation between the two religions, Hindus and Muslims. Yugantar explained the tradition of India as Unity in Diversity. Different people of Yehudi, Persian, Muslim, Christian etc  came and took shelter in India. The editorial board constituted with the following members,
Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Upendranath banerjee, Debabrata Basu and Bhupendra Nath Dutta. Among the writers there were Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal and Sakharam Ganesh Deoskar.
An English daily named "Bandemataram" came to light on 6th Aug 1906 published by Bipin Chandra Pal. At his request Aurobindo Ghosh became the Assistant editor of Bandemataram. This paper accelerated the movement against Division of Bengal and Swadeshi movement.     

History of Armed Revolution -- Aurobindo Ghosh

 The booklet, " Bhabani Mandir", reveals that Aurobindo organised the youth in all India perspective to make a success of the 'Bengal Partition' movement. In his plan one gets the reflection of the thoughts of Swami Vivekananda. Aurobindo stressed that the political freedom of a country is just like breathing of a human being.If this aim is not clear then all other things such as social reform, educational reform, expansion of Industry and moral upliftment of a nation becomes meaningless and hence on the point of Swaraj he was just opposite to the moderates. The demand of the moderates is to get  Dominion Status under the British umbrella  where as the revolutionary followers of Auronindo demanded complete independence.In the year 1906, Aurobindo explained the meaning of the term Swaraj as  complete Independence. The followers of Aurobindo took the path of sacrifice on the demand of complete independence.
Aurobindo explained to his followers another important issue i.e. the role of religion in a  multi-religious country like India. He quoted some sayings from Upanishad and explained in his own way  what should be the role of religion in India. In his explanation he took the help of Ramkrishna and Vivekananda.
Rabindranath had close relation with the revolutionaries of India and he attented several open meetings organised by them.    

History of Armed Revolution -- Anushilan Samity (contd-1)

Political activities began taking an organised form in Bengal at the beginning of the 20th century. By 1902, Calcutta had three societies working under the umbrella of Anushilan Samity, a society earlier founded by a Calcutta barrister by the name of Pramatha Mitra. These included Mitra's own group, another led by a Bengalee lady by the name of Sarala Devi, and a third one led by Aurobindo Ghosh- one of the strongest proponents of militant nationalism of the time. The Anushilan Samiti had Sri Aurobindo and Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das as the vice-presidents, Suren Tagore the treasurer. Jatindra Nath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami), Jatindra Nath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin), Bhupendra Nath Datta (Swami Vivekananda's brother), Barindra Ghosh younger brother of Aurobindo Ghose, were among other initial leaders. By 1906, the works of Aurobindo and his brother Barindra Ghosh allowed Anushilan Samity to spread through Bengal. The controversial 1905 partition of Bengal had a widespread political impact: it stimulated radical nationalist sentiments in the Bhadralok community in Bengal, and helped Anushilan acquire a support base amongst of educated, politically conscious and disaffected young in local youth societies of Bengal. The Dhaka branch of the Anushilan Samiti was formed by Pulin Behari Das, who was once a teacher in the Dhaka Government College and, later, a founding headmaster of 'National School' (Dhaka), along with his followers, in 1906. He, like Barindra Ghosh, believed in a highly centralised one-leader organisation. Under their leadership, respectively in Dhaka and elsewhere, in a spirit of a boastful showdown, Anushilan Samiti slowly adopted untimely terrorism programmes during the first decade of 20th century, with 1905 Partition of Bengal acting as a major catalyst. The Dhaka branch of Anushilan was led by Pulin Behari Das and spread branches through East Bengal and Assam. Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal, a Bengali politician, began in 1907 the radical Bengali nationalist publication of Jugantar (Lit:Change), and its English counterpart Bande Mataram. Among the early recruits who emerged noted leaders where Rash Behari Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee, and Jadugopal Mukherjee.

History of Armed Revolution -- Anushilan Samity

The revolutionary movement for Indian Independence, at first started as a stray incidence at the end of the 18th century but it gradually formed groups in different parts of India. Such Revolurionary groups existed in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bengal, Orissa, Uttarpradesh, and Punjab. Some more groups were scattered around India since the beginning of 19th century.These groups and individuals had at theirsource of inspiration from Inside and outside India.

In Bengal three groups at different times and under different  leaderships were formed.

1. Anushilan Samity,

2. Jugantar, 

3. Bengal Volunteers.  

Anushilan Samiti (Bengali: অনুশীলন সমিতি "Self-Culture Association", meaning to follow the teachings of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee) was an armed anti-British organisation in Bengal and the principal secret revolutionary organisation operating in the region in the opening years of the 20st century.

Background :

Impact of European Secret Societies

The revolutionaries of India got inspiration from the secret organisation of diffeent countries of the world at the end of 19th century. Specially,

1. Mazzini and Garibaldi of Italy,

2. Nikolai Chernyshevisky of Russia,

Mazzini of Italy

Garibaldi of Italy