Home Rule agitation

The idea of Home Rule League was initially floated by Mrs. Annie Basant . Several factors came to her aid. As the President of the Theosophical Society she could moblize an organisation of thousand members to her cause. Her contacts with some notable Madras politicians such as Sir Subramania Ayer, C.P. Ramaswami Ayer, G.A.Natesan etc enabled her to broad base her movement. She owned two Madras news papers, New India and Commonweal  which she pressed into service for disseminating her message across Madras Presidency. Having founded the Young Men's Association of Madras, she had the experience of working with the student as well. Thus members of the Theosophical society, Madras Politicians, and the students joined together to spread  the message of Home Rule initially in Madras Presidency and later on in other provinces also.It also drew in its fold huge landed propreitors like the Kumara Maharaja of Vizianagar, Raja of Ramnad, The Zamorin of Calicut and banking and financial interests like the Muslim Badsha family and Calivalla brothers. Also by taking the issues of labour problems she expanded his movement to other sectors of people. Besant's League spread over 200 branches in different parts of India.

While Basant was building up the movement from her Madras base, Tilak was working in the same direction from Maharashtra. Tilak's league was confined to Maharashtra and Karnatak, but was probably more organized and disciplined than the former. Starting in April 1916, it had a membership of 14,000 in April 1917, and 32,000 in early 1918.The entire organizational network was controlled by Tilak and Kelkar from Poona.

The Leagues organized group meetings in cities, sold and distributed pamphlets and carried on lecture tours on a far wider scale than ever before. According to one estimate, in its first year Tilak's league sold 47,000 copies of 6 Marathi and 2 English pamphlets while Basant's League had brought out 300,000 copies of 26 English tracts by Sept 1916. 

Home Rule League also spread in United province with the help of the leaders like Sapru, Matilal Nehru and others.

But it failed to take any deep root in Indian Soil, many like Jawaharlal was dissatisfied with it.  .    

the Congress, The Muslim League and the Raj (1914-18)

The meaning of the terms, "Moderates" and "Extremists", were explained by Tiklak in 1907, " these words have a specific relation to time, and they, therefore, will change with them.The extremists of today will be moderates of tomorrow, just as the Moderates of today were extremists of yesterday... We are all extremists today and our sons will call themselves Extremists and us moderates."
When the War broke out Congress generally stood by the side of the Govt.  Surendranath Banerjea declared at the Lucknow Congess (1914)
"The object of the War is to vindicate the sanctity of treaty obligations -- to uphold the sacredness of scraps and bits of paper... In the same spirit the Royal proclamation and charters to india should be redeemed. The moral law does not workby latitudes and longtudes."
In the same spirit the Imperial Legislative Council unanimously passed Defence of India Act, despite its draconian clauses and voted large sums as grants to Britain.
Gandhi on his return from South Africa (1915) was unwilling to embarrass the Government in its hour of peril In 1918 he even campaigned for military recruitment and, with Tilak, tried to raise money for the British by village tours. Tilak had put it as " purchase war debentures, but look to them as the title deeds of Home Rule".

"The object of the War is to vinduicate the sanctity of  treaty obligaions -- to uphold the sacredness of scraps and bits of paper... The imperial Legislative Counil unanimously passed the Defence of India Act, despite its draconian clauses and voted large sums as grants to Britain.Gandhi,on his return from South Africa (1915) was unwilling to embarrass the Government in its hour of peril. In 1918 he even campaigned for  military recruitment and, with Tilak, tried to raise money for the British by village tours.As Tilak had put it, "Purchase War Debentures, and look to them as the title deeds of Home Rule." Tilak was prepared to patch up the difference with the Moderates. After the death of  Pheroz Shah Mehta in 1915, Tilak group reentered the Congress in Dec 1915.

Another important aspects at this moment was the improvement of the relation of Congress with Muslim League. The trend of cooperation was visible since 1911 when the League moved its headquarter from Aligarh to Lucknow. The Lucknow group headed by the Raja of Mahmudabad and assisted by Wazi Hassan and Salimullah Beg were Striving towards political cooperation with the congress. After the outbreak of the War, they wee joined by M.A.Jinnah of Bombay, Hassan Imam, Ali Immam, and Mazhar ul Haq of Bihar.In Dec 1917 the Ali Brothers' mother was accorded cordial treatment at the Congress platform in Calcutta. 

              

the First World War and the Indian Army

The First World War did not directly concern India. In the second half of the  nineteenth century Indian army periodically to serve the cause of Empire in East Africa, the Sudan, Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan, Burma and China. The annual cost of the enormous army was borne entirely on Indian revenue. On the eve of the War (1913) the Govt of India spelt out the functions of Indian army :
" While India should provide  for her own defence against local agression and, if necessary, for an attack on the Indian Empire by a great power until reinforcements came from home, she is not called upon to maintain troops for the specific purpose of placing them at the disposal of the Home Governmengt for wars outside the Indian sphere, although  -- as has happened in the past  -- she may lend such troops i they are otherwise available "
Initially Indian Army decided that India could spare two infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade for the empire and in Autumn 1914, these were  despatched to France. Soon, however , such niceties were thrown to the winds and India provided troops for Europe and Egypt . During the War the Indian Army was consequently expanded to 1.2 million . More detailed breakdown of figures indicates that the Government of Indian recruited more that 800,000 fighting troops and over 400,000 non-combatants.
This spectacular expansion could only have been carried through with some amount of coercion. Congress enquiry after the 1919 disturbances revealed numerous instances of coercio through lambardars in O'Dwyer's Punjab. Dr. Sumit Sarkar has shown that no less than 355,000 were recruited from Punjab and O'Dwyer in Aug 1918 boasted tha the proportion of soldiers to the adult male population had been forced up from 1:150 to 1:44 in Gujranwala -- a district which was to be noticeably militant during the Rowlatt Act disturbances.
Another recent study indicates that on being requested by the authorities, generally loyalist Oudh lalukdars spared no efforts to aid the Government by collecting material and men for them. James meston, the Lieutenant -Governer of the United Provinces, frankly admitted "that several of the talukdars have already done admirable work in aid of recruiting". Inreality the Oudh peasantlry were compelled to enlist themselves in the army and labour corps. Other regions were not spared either.
The huge army had to be paid for nearly 300% increase in defence expenditure meant a corresponding presure on the exchequer. The Government of India had to take over in March 1917 pound 100 million worth of British government war debt.
According to a recent estimate the total public debt rose substantially from under 4,560 million in 1917 to nearly 6,700 million in 1919.
During the war all tax levels were raised . It was trade and Industry which had to bear the burnt of the enhanced taxes . The collections from income taxes were less than Rs.30 million or 4% of the total tax revenues in 1913-14; by 1918-1919 they had jumped to Rs. 116 million  or 12 %of the total. The burden taxation (excluding land revenue) per head of population roswe from just over Re. 1,5 in 1914-15to just under Rs. 2.5 in 1918-19. Despite protests fromLnchashire its interest had tobe sudordinated to that of the empire and 71/2 %import duty was imposed.

Revolutionary activities during the First World War (1914-1918)

Revolutionary activities within and outside India received a great impetus during the First World War. The movement became more widespread in character, with different reolutionary groups collaborating among themselves, and the revolutionaries, getting direct assistance and in money and arms from the enemies of the British Empire. Germany and her allies The earlier effusions in the writings and speeches of the Indian revolutionaries also gave way to intensive organisation and concrete programme of action.  There was now a greater emphasis on carying out revolutionary propaganda and agitation among the people. Side by side with this went a desire to subvert the established foreign Govt. by an armed national uprising , and with this end in view an attempt was made to tamper with the loyalty of the Indian army. The policy of individual terrorism also was kept in the forefront of this programme. To some extent the the movement had a religious character or association. Members of the Anusilan Samity, for example, had to take their membershipoath before the image of Goddesss Kali. But the relogious character of the revolutionary movement of this oeriod was sentimental or emotional rather than communal or socially reactionary.Members of the revolutionary group came mostly from the youger generation and sometimes includes boys in their teens, Leaders of the movement abroad were, however, mostly grown up persons.           

Dacoits during 1908-1917 (contd-1)

Murder of Officials and Spies (1908-1917)

Revolutionary activity in Paris and America -- Indian Independence Movement

Bhikaiji Rustom Cama (24 September 1861 – 13 August 1936) was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement.
The revolutionary activities of the Indian Nationalist in Paris centred round the figure of Madam Vikaji Rustamji Cama, a Parsee lady of Bombay who had previously been associated with the India House of London, but who settled down in Paris in the spring of 1909. Madam Cama attended the International Socialist Congress which met at Stittgart in August, 1909, and moved a resolution there in favour of India's Freedom.She also unfurled the Indian National Flag designed by herself.
With the assistance of Lala Hardayal and Thirumal Achari, Cama edited a monthly paper, the Bandemataram which was published from Geneva, Virendra Chattopadhyay, another eminent revolutionary, joined Cama in paris in the summer of 1910.  Cama tried her best to secure the release of Savarkar after he had been re-arrested by the French harbour police at Marseilles (1910), but in vain.Her properties in Bombay, worth about a lakh of rupees, were attached by the Government of India in 1910. She returned to India in 193, and died in Bombay two years later.Chattopadhyay also left for Germany in April, 1914, and the Bande Mataram   was suppressed by order of the French Government in June, 1914.
Activity In America:

Taraknath Das (or Tarak Nath Das) (Bengali: তারকনাথ দাস) (15 June 1884 – 22 December 1958) was an anti-British Bengali Indian revolutionary and internationalist scholar. He was a pioneering immigrant in the west coast of North America and discussed his plans with Tolstoy, while organizing the Asian Indian immigrants in favor of the Indian freedom movement. He was a professor of political science at Columbia University and a visiting faculty in several other universities.
In the American continent Taraknath Das started the Indo-American Association in British Columbia early in 1908, with the bi-monthly English paper Free Hindusthan as its organ. Das moved to Seattle in 1908.
Another revolutionary organisation of the Indians in the United States was the Hindusthan Association of Portlandwhich was moulded into a definite political body by Sohan Singh and his associates by 1910. The most important revolutionary organisation in the United States, the Ghadar party was set up by Lala Hardayal in 1913 on the eve of First World War.
In Japan:
Many Indian revolutionaries were scattered during this period in Malaya, Thailand, and other countries of East and South-East Asia, but they failed to acieve any significant before the 1st World War.The Indian revolutionaries also expected some assistance and guidance from Japan, particularly after Okakura's visit to India.