Background

• The movement had its roots in the anti-partition movement which was started to oppose Lord Curzon’s decision of dividing the province of Bengal.
• The Anti-Partition Campaign was launched by Moderates to exert pressure on the government to prevent the unjust partition of Bengal from being implemented.
  • The petitions were written to the government, public meetings were held and the ideas were spread through newspapers such as Hitabadi, Sanjibani and Bengalee.
• The partition led to protest meetings in Bengal under which the pledge to boycott foreign goods was first taken

Swadeshi Movement Proclamation

• The formal proclamation of the Swadeshi movement was made on August 7, 1905 with the passing of the ‘Boycott’ resolution in a meeting at the Calcutta town hall which brought about the unification of the hitherto dispersed leadership

• The message was propagated to boycott goods such as Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt

• On the day the partition was put into effect i.e. October 16, 1905, a hartal was called in Calcutta and a day of mourning was declared. People fasted and no fire was lit in the cooking hearth.

• People paraded the streets singing Bande Mataram. The people of Bengal tied rakhis on each others’ wrist as a symbol of solidarity

• Rabindranath Tagore also composed Amar Sonar Bangla

• Although the movement was confined majorly to Bengal, it spread to a few different parts of India:

• In Poona and Bombay under Bal Gangadhar Tilak
• In Punjab under Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh
• In Delhi under Syed Haider Raza
• In Madras under Chidambaram Pillai

• This peculiar form of mass protest of ‘swadeshi and boycott’ attained popularity among the new members of the Congress, who were more impatient than the moderates to see a positive response to their efforts

Congress Reaction

• The Indian National Congress (INC) in a meeting in 1905 resolved to condemn the partition of Bengal and support the anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement.
• The radical nationalists wanted the movement to be taken outside Bengal and go beyond just the boycott of foreign goods.
  • However, the moderates, dominating the Congress, were unwilling to go that far.
• In the 1906 Congress Session held at Calcutta, the INC under the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji declared self-government or Swaraj as the goal of INC

Swadeshi Movement Effect

1. This was a comprehensive movement that lasted 6 years.
2. The swadeshi movement assumed its radical and mass form after 1905 following the contested spatial partition of Bengal.
3. In 1907, swadeshi was officially incorporated within the conceptual and ideological framework of the Indian National Congress in the avowed objective of swadeshi swaraj.
4. Although this was regarded as a cultural movement celebrating the rich harvest of history – the rich traditions like folk music, paintings, the culture of Bengal was highlighted. But very soon, it got integrated with the political upheavals that followed after the partition of Bengal. Krishna Kumar Mitra, in his newspaper, ‘Sanjivani’ highlighted the prospects of national education and ‘Economic Swadeshi’.
5. Very soon, this movement started gaining momentum with the help of the entire Bengali middle-class intelligentsia.
6. After the partition of Bengal, the Swadeshi movement got a big boost, because of the integration of the boycott movement with the Swadeshi movement.
7. Tilak called this movement “Bahishkar Yoga“ and most of the Bengali intelligentsia that was initially not in favour of the boycott movement got integrated with the Swadeshi movement.
8. This was primary learning for the national movement. According to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Lala Lajpat Rai, it was training in ‘self-determination’, ‘self-help’, and ‘self-reliance’.
9. Initially the idea of swadeshi figured in the writings of early nationalists such as Dadabhai Nauroji, M.G.Ranade and Bipin Chandra Pal, who came in defence of the national economy against the colonial economy.
10. In fact, the Swadeshi movement can be called as a nursery of the further course that the Indian National Movement was to take. The programmes and ideas that were practised during the Swadeshi movement became the hallmark of the Gandhian movement as well.
11. Surendranath Bannerjee said that it is a ‘protectionist movement’. And that it ‘generates the material prosperity of the masses’.
12. Very soon, the Swadeshi movement spread to different parts of India, like Bihar, U.P., C.P., Bombay and Madras.
13. Radicalism also became a part of the Swadeshi movement after the partition of Bengal. After the partition of Bengal, industrial strikes became the hallmark of the Swadeshi movement.
14. There were strikes carried out in various cotton and jute factories of Bengal. Railway workers also went on strike. The Burnpur mill also went on strike.
15. But, the context of the anti-partition movement made it a very aggressive movement

Participation of People

• Students: School and college students were the most active participants of the movement.
  • Student participation was visible in Bengal, Poona (Maharashtra), Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Madras and Salem (Tamil Nadu).
  • The police adopted a repressive attitude towards the students. The students found guilty were fined, expelled, beaten, arrested and disqualified for government jobs and scholarships.
• Women: Traditionally home-centered women too took active part in the movement.
• Stand of Muslims: Some of the muslims participated, however, most of the upper and middle class muslims stayed away.
  • They supported the partition on the belief that it would provide them a Muslim-majority East Bengal

Problems with Swadeshi Movement

• But the problem with the Swadeshi movement was that it was not properly directed and it failed to unite the Hindus and Muslims because of the work of Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka and the establishment of the Muslim league.
• The demand of separate electorates became an issue to seek political mileage for the Muslims. Thus, the Swadeshi movement lacked having a large mass-base. The grievances of the peasants were not at all taken into consideration- such as lack of uniformity of the land revenue system, rights of the tenants, prevention of land grabbing, were not taken up by the Swadeshi movement, and thus the peasants did not become a part of the Swadeshi movement

Thank you

2.Partition of Bengal 1905

• Since 1765 (following the Battle of Buxar) the province of Bengal, which included present-day West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Bangladesh and Assam was under the British.
• It was a very large area and the population rose to almost 80 million by the first few years of the 20^th century. Calcutta was the capital of the province and also of British India.
• There were difficulties in administering such a large area. The eastern part, especially in rural areas were neglected.
• That region was lacking in the fields of industry, education and employment. Much of the industry was centred on Calcutta.
• For administrative ease, the partition of the province had been proposed even before Curzon had arrived in India.
• In 1874, Assam was sliced away from Bengal and put under a Chief Commissioner.
• Initially, Lord Curzon proposed the partitioning of the province as an administrative measure solely. In 1904, he undertook a tour of eastern Bengal.
• The idea of using the Bengal partition as a political tool to undermine the growing nationalism in Bengal and other parts of India occurred later.
• As per Curzon, after the partition, the two provinces would be Bengal (including modern West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar) and Eastern Bengal and Assam.
• Bengal would also lose five Hindi-speaking states to the Central Provinces. It would gain Odia-speaking states from the Central Provinces.
• Eastern Bengal would consist of Hill Tripura, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Dhaka divisions. Its capital would be Dhaka.
• Bengal would have a Hindu majority and Eastern Bengal and Assam would have a Muslim majority population. Its capital would remain Calcutta.

• Reaction of partition
• There was widespread political unrest in the province after Curzon announced the partition.
• Many people in Bengal regarded this partition as an insult to their motherland. There was a huge cry for the unity of Bengal. Rabindranath Tagore composed the famous song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ which later became the national anthem of Bangladesh.
• The Indian National Congress protested this move to separate the province on communal lines.
• Most of the Bengalis in the western part protested against this step which would also make them a linguistic minority in their own province. There would be more Odia and Hindi speaking people than Bengalis.
• Many Muslims from the Bengali Muslim community welcomed this move since they thought that it would advance their educational, economic and political interests if they became the majority in the new province.
• Lord Curzon also promised to start a university in Dhaka. This was also seen as an opportunity for Muslims to develop in education and improve their standard of living.
• The general protest in the rest of the country was against this partition. The people saw through the ‘divide and rule’ policy of the British authorities.
• The chief aim of such a partition was only to create a rift between the two communities and hampering the unity and nationalism in the country.
• The agitation had started much before the date of the partition itself. On the date of the partition, people observed a day of mourning. Tagore asked Hindus and Muslims to tie rakhis to each other as a mark of protest.
• A few Muslims also were against the partition.
• The Swadeshi and Boycott movements in the national struggle started as a result of this partition.
• People started boycotting British goods which had flooded the Indian market and had dealt a blow to the indigenous industry.
• The partition did succeed in creating a communal rift in the country and even contributed to the birth of the Muslim League in 1906.

Partition annulled

• Owing to mass political protests, the partition was annulled in 1911.
• New provinces were created based on linguistic lines rather than religious lines. Bihar and Orissa Province was carved out of Bengal. (Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces in 1936).
• A separate Assam province was created.
• The capital of British India was moved to Delhi from Calcutta in 1911.
• Despite the annulment, the partition did create a communal divide among the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal.

What was the result of the 1905 Partition of Bengal?

The partition divides the province between West Bengal, whose majority was Hindu, and East Bengal, whose majority was Muslim, but left considerable minorities of Hindus in East Bengal and Muslims in West Bengal. While the Muslims were in favour of the partition, as they would have their own province, Hindus opposed it.

16th October 1905

• Declared as the Day of National Mourning

• Fasting

• Strike in Culcutta

• People walked barefoot to bath together in Ganga

• Amar sonar Bangla by Ravindra Nath Tagore

• Hindu Muslim observed Raksha Bandhan

The late nineteenth century saw the emergence of Indian nationalism. Indians felt like one and they tried to overthrow the foreign rule. This led to the Indian freedom struggle and finally independence. Read to know about the exciting history of India’s struggle for independence

This Blog Include’s

• Foundation of Indian National Congress in 1885

• Partition of Bengal in 1905

• The Swadeshi Movement

• The split in The Congress (1907)

• Britisher’s policy towards INC

• Morley- Minto Reforms (1909)

• The Gadhar Movement

• The Home Rule Movement

• Champaran Movement in Bihar

• Ahmedabad Satyagraha in Gujrat

• Kheda Satyagraha in Gujrat

• Rowlatt Satyagraha

• Jallianwala Bagh Masscare (1919)

Non Cooperative Movement (1920)

• Khilafat Movement (1919-1924)

• Chauri Chaura Incident (1922)

• Bardoli Satyagraha in Gujrat (1928)

• The Boycott of Simon Commission (1927)

• Nehru Report 1928

• Poorna Swaraj or Total Independence Campaign (1929)

• Civil Disobidience Movement and Dandi March (1930)

• Gandhi Irwin Pact (1931)

• Round Table Conference (1930 -1932)

• The Communal Award

• Tripuri Dispute (1939)

• Cripps Mission (1942)

• Quit India Movement (1942)

• Shimla Conference (1945)

• Mountbatten Plan (1947)

• Indian Independence

1. Foundation of Indian National Congress in (1885)

The indian National Congress was established when 72 delegates from all over the country met at Bombay in 1885.

Prominent Delegates like Dadabhai Naoraji, Firojshah Mehta, Badruddin Tayyabji, Surendranath Banerjee, Womesh Chandra Bannerjee and S Subramaniam Iyer.

The word Congress Was Taken from North America That Means Group of People’s

At first congress name was indian nation union. After the Advice of Dadabhai Naoraji its name was Kept As Indian National Congress

On 28 December 1885 Allen Octavian Hume founded the Indian National Congress at Bombay. The first session of INC was held At Gokuldas Tej prarap inter College Bombay

The First president of Indian National Congress was Womesh Chandra Bannerjee

Reasons behind the creation of Indian National Congress (INC)

Safety Valve Theory:There is a theory that Hume formed the Congress with the idea that it would prove to be a ‘safety valve’ for releasing the growing discontent of the Indians. To this end, he convinced Lord Dufferin not to obstruct the formation of the Congress.

The extremist leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai believed in the ‘safety valve’ theory. Even the Marxist historian’s ‘conspiracy theory’ was an offspring of the ‘safety valve’ notion.

Organization for expression of Indian Demands:Modern Indian historians dispute the idea of ‘safety valve’. In their opinion the Indian National Congress represented the urge of the politically conscious Indians to set up a national body to express the political and economic demands of the Indians. Historian Bipan Chandra observes early Congress leaders used Hume as a catalyst to bring together.

Major Objectives of INC

• A Pan India Organization: To found a democratic, nationalist movement through a pan India organization.
• Politicize and politically educate people: Congress aimed to increase awareness about the colonial exploitative policies the political rights of Indians. To this end congress focused on demanding increasing representation in councils, Indianization of civil services etc.
• Anti-colonialism: Develop and propagate an anti-colonial nationalist ideology; Promote friendly relations among nationalist political workers from different parts of the country.
• Forward looking political and economic programme: Formulate and present popular demands before the government with a view to unifying the people over a common economic and political programme.
• Promote Nationalism: Develop and consolidate a feeling of national unity among people irrespective of religion, caste or province