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
