NATIONAL MOVEMENT IN INDIA

SUBJECT CODE : 18BPA66S

PREPARED BY : Dr.R.Anitha Guest lecturer

DEPARTMENT : PG and Research Department Of Public Administration

CONTACT NO : 9003500812

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Material prepared according to textbook and reference books given in the syllabus.

SYLLABUS British rule in India

Establishment of British rule in India: Factors behind British success against Indian powers:-

● The British had firmly established their position by the middle of the nineteenth century and a large part of India came under their direct rule. ● The areas that remained independent were indirectly under British influence. There are various reasons for the success of the British rule against Indian rulers and some of them are listed as follows:

Vacuum of power:-

● There was a vacuum of power in India after the Mughal Empire got fractured falling under its own weight. ● Its various governors and rebel commanders established their superiority at different places and started fighting against each other. This gave the British the opportunity to establish their trading posts in India.

Flag followed the trade:-

● These trading posts were used to store the goods and for that British built many warehouses, which gave them an excuse to build forts and to build up armies to "protect" them. ● The made treaties with most of the kings to keep them satisfied so that they would not try and fight against the British.

Lack of unity among Indian states:-

● Even though there were powerful Indian states like , Mysore and the Marathas that ruled Indian subcontinent during the mid-19th century, many of them were fighting with each other for different reasons. ● They failed to perceive the danger arising from the East India Company and could not unite against a common foreign enemy.

British were strong at sea:-

● The British came through the sea; they established their naval power in the Indian Ocean before coming to the Indian mainland. ● Since none of the Indian states had a strong navy to challenge the British supremacy, they had an easy run to establish themselves in the coastal regions of India.

Divide and Rule:-

Page 1 of 4 ● The British took advantage of the situation as the Indian rulers failed to create a stable social, political and economic order. The British took advantage of the deep division of Indian, social, political and economic structure. ● They adopted the policy of ‘Divide and Rule,’ policy and played one state against the other. Slowly many Indian states had fallen prey to the British designs and were forced to fight with each other. ● The British also took advantage of the people, training them to be soldiers and employing them for the British army; the new army was better trained and more disciplined then the Indian armies. ● The British made use of their Indian troops sided with an Indian kingdoms in defeating its rivals. The British in fact, caused a total of 111 wars among the Indian states.

Technological and Military superiority:-

● The Indian armies were badly-trained and poorly-paid was no match for the disciplined and well-trained British forces. The Indians were technologically backward as well. ● In comparison the British had technological military and transportation superiority over Indians. The British had developed new techniques of warfare that was unknown to Indians. It was with the help of the Indian soldiers, the British were able to capture most of India. ● The British army’s were a united lot and moved much faster under a unified command. The British would retaliate if their trading fort was attacked by some overconfident governor or prince. ● These are some of the reasons of the success of the British against the Indian rulers that led to the establishment of the British rule in india.

Impact of British Rule in India:-

● With the advent of British rule in India, there had come several changes in the socio-economic-political spheres if the Indian society. ● It is important to know the impact of British Rule in India for the IAS examas pirants and it will help them in both Prelims (History) and Mains (GS-I, Essay.)

Impact of British Rule in India:-

Economic Impact:

Page 2 of 4 ● India became an economic colony of industrial England. Indian handloom weaving industry was hit by the industrialization in England and eventually collapsed. ● Indian handicrafts lost both domestic and foreign market. ● Commercialization of agriculture hard hit the labourers where numbers of landless labourers increased.

Social and Cultural Impact:-

● Amid social issues like Sati, Child Marriages, Infanticides; ideas like Liberty, Equality, Freedom, and Human Rights were brought by the British. ● To improve the condition of the women in society, various legal measures were introduced. ● British showed keenness in introducing the English language in Indian society.The vernacular languages were ignored. ● The British Parliament issued the Charter Act of 1813by which a sum of Rupees One lakh was sanctioned for promoting western sciences in India.

Positive and Negative Impacts of British Rule in India:-

● Broadly, the impact of British rule can be divided into negative and positive aspects.

Impact of British Rule - Positive Aspects:-

● New Job Opportunities: The British introduce new job opportunities that were especially beneficial to the members of the lower caste. With these opportunities, there was a better chance of upward social mobility for them. ● Development of Infrastructure: The British authorities built many important infrastructures such as hospital schools and the most important of all, railways. Of course, this was done not to enhance the lives of the local Indians but rather the facilitate their exploitation. Regardless these infrastructures laid the foundation of India becoming a major economic powerhouse. ● Introduction of new technology and ideas: The introduction of new technology like steamships,telegraphs and trainscompletely changed the economic landscape of the Indian subcontinent. Culturally, the British put an end to social

Page 3 of 4 evils such as Sati (with the passing of the Sati Regulation Act onDecember 4, 1829) and weakened the caste system to an extent. ● Even other western nations like France were deterred from being too involved with India. Though a boon, it turned out to be a bane in the long run as it made India too heavily dependent on the British. ● You can find out more about the Legislations in British India, by visiting the linked article.

Impact of British Rule - Negative Aspects:-

● This led to the local cloth, metal and carpentry industries to fall into disarray. ● It made India a virtual hostage of Britains economic machinations which meant breaking away from it would destroy India’s economy. ● British mismanagement led to famines: The British rule placed more emphasis on the cultivation of cash crops rather than growing crops that would feed India’s huge population. ● The Divide and Rule Policy: The British realised that they could never rule a vast territory like India without breaking up strong kingdoms into small easily conquerable segments. ● The British Empire also made ● it a policy topay religious leaders to speak out against each other, slowlypoisoning relations between different faiths. ● The hostile relationship between India and Pakistan can be attributed as a direct result of this policy. ● Economic improvements were only enacted in order to better plunder the Indian economy. ● Even societal changes would have come out on their own without the need for British intervention.In the end, the negative effects of British Imperialism far outweigh the benefits.

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Page 4 of 4

Unit: 1

QUEEN'S PROCLAMATION -1858 ​

01 Nov 1858 ❖Following the 1857 Rebellion, the East India ​ ​ Company's rule in India came to an end. ​ ​ ​ ​ ❖Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1 November 1858 declared that thereafter India would be governed by ​ ​ and in the name of the British Monarch through a Secretary of State. ❖The Queen’s Proclamation of 1858 assured the Indian ​ Princes that their territories will not be annexed by ​ the British Governments and they shall be given the right to adoption. ❖The British Government ordered its servants in India not to interfere in the religious affairs of the Indians. ​ ​ ​ ❖In framing and administering law in India, due regard was to be shown to the customs, ancient rites and ​ usages of the Indians. ​ ❖Pardon and amnesty were offered to all those Indians ​ ​ who were still in arms against the British Government and who were not guilty of murder of British subjects. ❖The proclamation contained the following declaration about the Indians: “In their prosperity will be our ​ strength, in their contentment our security and in their gratitude our best reward”.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of QueenVictoria's Proclamation, issued in 1858, was to announce that England was assuming control of its Indian colonies, removing them ​ ​ ​ ​ from the administration of the British East India Company. ​

IMPORTANCE

★ The proclamation put an end to the era of further ​ ​ ​ expansion of the British Empire in India. ​ ​ ​ ★ It also promised non- interference in the ​ ​ religious affairs of the people, grant of equal ​ ​ protection of law and respect for ancient rights ​ ​ ​ ​ and customs of the people. ​ ​ ★This proclamation declared the future policy of ​ ​ ​ ​ the British Rule in India

IMPACT

❏ The Crown was empowered to appoint a ​ Governor-General and the Governors of the ​ Presidencies. ❏ An Indian Civil Service was to be created under ​ ​ ​ ​ the control of the Secretary of State. ❏ Here to all the property and other assets of the ​ ​ ​ ​ East India Company were transferred to the ​ Crown. ​ ❏It opened India to the British merchants and capitalist class for Indian’s further economic ​ exploitation.

❏Equal rights and opportunities were guaranteed ​ to the Indians along with other British subjects. ​ ​

Government of India Act 1858

• *This significant Act was enacted in the wake of the Revolt of

1857–also known as the First War of Independence or the.

‘sepoymutiny’.

• The act known as the Act for the Good Government of

India.

• *It abolished the East India Company, and transferred the • powers of Government, territories and revenues to the British

Crown.

Important features:

• *It provided that India, henceforth, was to be governed by,

and in the name of, Her Majesty.

• *It changed the designation

of the Governor-General of India to that of Viceroy of India.

• *He (Viceroy) was the direct representative of the British

Crown in India.

• *Lord Canning, thus, became the first Viceroy

of India

• It ended the system of double Government by abolishing the

Board of Control and Court of Directors.

• *It created a new office, Secretary of State for India, vested

with complete authority and control over Indian

administration.

• *The secretary of state was a member of the

British Cabinet and was responsible ultimately to the British

Parliament.

• 4. *It established a 15-member council of India to assist the Secretary of State for India.

• *The council was an advisory

body.

• *The secretary of state was made the Chairman of the

council.

• . It constituted the Secretary of State-in Council as a body

corporate, capable of suing and being sued in India and in England.

About the Act:

• *‘The Act of 1858 was, however, largely confined to the

improvement of the administrative machinery by which the Indian

Government was to be supervised and controlled in England.

• It did not alter in any substantial way the system of Government that prevailed in India. INDIAN COUNCIL ACT 1861

● The Indian Councils Act 1861 was passed by British Parliament on 1st August 1861 to make substantial changes in the composition of the Governor General’s council for executive & legislative purposes. ● The most significant feature of this Act was the association of Indians with the legislation work.

CONTENTS:- ● Reasons for Enactment of indian Council Act key provisions ● Critical Examination of the Indian Council Act 1861

Reasons for Enactment of Indian Councils Act:- ● The Government of India Act 1858 had introduced significant changes in the manner in which India was governed from England, however, it did not alter in any substantial way the system of government that prevailed in India. Further, in the aftermath of the Mutiny of 1857, there was a general perception in England that it would be very difficult to secure the government in India without the cooperation of Indians in administration. ● These were the main reasons behind enacting some legislation which could overhaul the system of administration in India.

Centralized law making was defective:- ● The Charter act of 1833 had centralized the legislative procedures and deprived the governments of Madras and Bombay of their power of legislation. ● The idea behind centralizing the law making was secure uniformity of laws in the whole territory of East India Company but this system proved to be defective. ● It had only one representative each of the four provinces and it failed to make laws suiting to local conditions. Thus, there was need to allow the provinces to make laws for themselves.

Governor General in Council was overburdened:- ● The Governor General in Council was failing in its legislative functions and was not able to work satisfactorily die to cumbersome procedures leading to delay in enactments.

Absence of representation:- ● It also had no representation of the people in it. There was a growing demand that some representative element should be introduced in legislative council. Key Provisions :- Expansion of executive council of Governor General / ViceroyGeneral / Viceroy The executive council of Governor General was added a fifth finance member. For legislative purpose, a provision was made for an addition of 6 to 12 members to the central executive. At least half of the additional members were to be non-officials. These

Page 1 of 3 members were nominated by the Viceroy for the period of two years. Further, the Governor General / Viceroy had been given some more powers such as: ● He was authorized to nominate a president to preside over the meetings of the Executive council in his absence. ● He had the power of making rules and regulations for the conduct of business of executive council. ● He could create new provinces for legislative purposes and to appoint Lieutenant Governors for them. He was also empowered to alter, modify or adjust the limits of the provinces. ● He could promulgate ordinances, without the concurrence of the legislative council, during and emergency. ● Though the central council was empowered to legislate on all subjects concerning all persons and courts in British India but every bill passed required the assent of viceroy. ● He could withhold his assent or exercise his veto power if he felt that the bill affected the safety, peace and interest of British India. ● He had to communicate all laws to secretary of state for India who could disallow them with the assent of the crown.

Introduction of Portfolio System:- ● The Act empowered the Governor-General to delegate special task to individual members of the Executive council and hence all members have their own portfolio and death with their own initiative with all but the most important matters. This was the first beginning of Portfolio system in India.

Process of Decentralization :- ● The Governments of Bombay and Madras were given the power of nominating Advocate-General and not less than 4 and not more than 8 additional members of the Executive council for purpose of legislation. These additional members were to hold office for two years. ● The consent of the Governor and the Governor-General was made necessary for all legislation passed or amended by the Governments of Madras and Bombay. Further, the act provided for the establishment of new legislative councils for Bengal, North-Western Frontier Province and Punjab, which were established in 1862, 1866, and 1897 respectively.

No distinction between Central and Provincial subjects :- ● No distinction was made between the central and provincial subject. But measures concerning public debt, finances, currency, post-office, telegraph, religion, patents and copyrights were to be ordinarily considered by the Central Government.

Critical Examination of the Indian Councils Act 1861 :-

Page 2 of 3 ● The Act of 1861 was important in the constitutional history because it enabled the Governor-General to associate the people of the land with work of legislation. ● And by vesting legislative powers in the Governments of Bombay and Madras which ultimately culminated in grant of almost complete internal autonomy to the provinces in the 1937. ● However, the legislative councils were merely talk shops with no power to criticize the administration or ask for some information. ● Their scope was fixed in legislation purpose alone; they had no right to move some kind of vote of no confidence. Further, there was no statutory / specific provision for the nomination of Indians. ● This nomination power of the Viceroy could be used only to placate the princes who could help the British to keep their stronghold. ● Further, the ordinance making power of the Governor General allowed him to make laws it his own whim. In summary, the Indian Councils Act 1861 failed to satisfy the aspirations of the people of India.

Page 3 of 3 Rise of Nationalism in India | Indian History

● The second half of the 19th century witnessed he full flowering of national political consciousness and the growth of an organised national movement in India. ● The year 1885 marks the beginning of a new epoch in Indian History. ● was founded in December 1885 by seventy-two political workers. ● It was the first organised expression of Indian Nationalism on an all-India scale. ● The rise and growth of Indian nationalism has been traditionally explained in terms of Indian response to the stimulus generated by the through creation of new institutions, new opportunities, etc. ● In other words Indian Nationalism grew partly as a result of colonial policies and partly as a reaction to colonial policies in fact, it would be more correct to see Indian nationalism as a product of a mix of various factors.

Social and Economic Bases of Nationalism: 1.Understanding of Contradiction in Indian and Colonial Interests: ● People came to realise that colonial rule was the major cause of India’s economic backwardness and that the interests of the Indians involved the interests of all sections and classes. ● The very condition of British rule helped the growth of national sentiment among the Indian people. 2.Political, Administrative and Economic Unification of the Country: ● Nationalist sentiments grew easily among the people because India was unified and welded into a nation during the 19th and 20th centuries. ● The introduction of a uniform and modern system of government by the British throughout the country unified it administratively. ● The destruction of the rural and local self-sufficient economy and the introduction of modern trade and industries on an all- India scale had increasingly made India’s economic life a single whole and interlinked the economic fate of people living in different parts of the country. ● Furthermore, the introduction of the railways, telegraph and unified postal systems had brought the different parts of the country together and promoted mutual contact among the people, especially among the leaders. 3. Western Thought and Education: ● As a result of the spread of modern western education and thought during the 19th century, a large number of Indians imbibed a modern rational, secular, democratic and nationalist political outlook. ● The spread and popularity of the English language helped nationalist leaders of different linguistic regions to communicate with each other. ● Modern education also created a certain uniformity and community of outlook and interests among the educated Indians. ● This English-educated intelligentsia formed the nucleus for the newly-arising political unrest, and it was this section of the society which provided leadership to the Indian political associations. 4. Rediscovery of India’s Past:

Page 1 of 2 ● The historical researches by Europeans scholars, such as Max Mueller, Monier Williams, Roth, Sassoon, and by Indian scholars such as R.G. Bhandarkar, R.L. Mitra and later created an entirely new picture of India’s past glory and greatness. ● The theory put forward by European scholars that the Indo-Aryans belonged to the same ethnic group of mankind from which stemmed all the nations of Europe gave a psychological boost to educated Indians. All these inspired the educated Indians with a new spirit of patriotism and nationalism. 5. Role of Press and Literature: ● With the emergence of the modern press, both English and Vernacular, the latter half of the 19th century saw an unprecedented growth of Indian-owned English and Vernacular newspapers. ● The Indian Press played a notable role in mobilising public opinion, organising political movements, fighting out public opinions and promoting nationalism. 6. Progressive Character of Socio-Religious Reform Movements: ● These reform movements sought to remove social evils which divided the Indian society; this had the effect of bringing different sections of the society together. ● Since many reform movements drew their inspiration from India’s rich cultural heritage, these promoted pan-Indian feelings and spirit of nationalism. 7. Reactionary Policies and Racial Arrongance of Rulers: ● An important factor in the growth of national sentiments in India was the tone of racial superiority adopted by many Englishmen in their dealings with Indians. ● The reactionary policies of the British government were also responsible for the growth of political associations.

Page 2 of 2 SAMAJ

● is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance.

● It is practised today mainly as the after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1839.

● After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from , the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.

Significance and Objectives :

Raja : ● His greatest achievement in the field of religious reform was the setting up of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828 and the Brahmo Samaj was the first important organization of religious reforms. It forbade idol-worship and discarded meaningless rites and rituals. The Samaj also forbade its members from attacking any religion.

● The greatest achievement in the field of social reform was the abolition of Sati in1829. He had seen how the wife of his elder brother was forced to commit Sati. His campaign against Sati aroused the opposition of the orthodox Hindus who bitterly attacked him. Ram Mohan Roy realized that the practice of sati was due to the extremely low position of Hindu women. He advocated the abolition of polygamy, and wanted women to be educated and given the right to inherit property.

● The influence of Brahmo Samaj spread and branches of the Samaj were opened in different parts of the country. The two most prominent leader of the Brahmo Samaj were and Keshab Chandra Sen. To spread the message of Brahmo Samaj Keshab Chandra Sen travelled throughout Madras and Bombay presidencies and, later, the northern India.

● In 1866, there was a split in the Brahmo Samaj when Keshab Chandra Sen and his group held views which were more radical than those of the original Brahmo Samajists. They proclaimed freedom from the bondage of caste and customs, and from the authority of scriptures. They advocated and performed inter-caste marriages and widow remarriages, opposed the custom of purdah and condemned caste divisions. They attacked caste rigidity, started taking their food with the people of the so-called lower castes and other religions, opposed restrictions about food and drink, devoted their life to the spread of education and condemned the old Hindu opposition to sea voyages.

Page 1 of 2 ● This movement influenced similar movements of reforms in other parts of the country. While this group rose in prominence, the influence of the other group, which showed little interest in social reforms, declined.

Page 2 of 2 ​

Dayanand Saraswati :

● Swami , the founder of the Arya Samaj, was one of the makers of modern India. ● With an indigenous orientation, he wanted to bring a new social, religious, economic and political order in India. ● Taking inspiration from Veda, he criticized evil practices like idolatry, caste system, untouchability etc. ● as prevailed in the then Indian society.

Early life :

● Swami Dayananda Saraswati, known as Mulshankar in the childhood, was born in 1824 in a small town of Tankara belonging to Kathiawar of in a conservative Brahmin family. ● After completing his education, he went on with the mission of spreading true Hindu religion and culture all over India. ● With this purpose he established the Arya Samaj at Bombay on 10th April, 1875. ● He travelled throughout the country to propagate his views and established branches of Arya Samaj at different places.

Principles of Arya samaj :

1. Acceptance of the Vedas as the only source of truth. 2. Opposition to idol worship. 3. Opposition to the theory of God-incarnation and religious pilgrimages. 4. Recitation of the mantras of the Vedas and performance of ‘Havan’ and ‘Yajna’. 5. Faith in female education. 6. Opposition to child-marriage and polygamy. 7. Propagation of Hindi and Sanskrit languages.

Reforms:

Swami Dayanada, through the Arya Samaj, tried to reform the Hindu society and religion.

Religious reforms :

● On the basis of the above mentioned principles, the Arya Samaj emphasized on the liberation of the Hindu society. ● The Arya Samaj simplified Hinduism and made Hindus conscious of their glorious heritage and superior value of Vedic knowledge. ● The Hindus should not look towards Christianity, Islam or western culture for guidance.

Social reforms :

● With its opposition to various social evils, the Arya Samaj rendered valuable services to Hindu society. ● He protested against injustice to women and worked for the education of the females. ● The Arya Samaj established a number of educational institutions like Gurukuls, Kanya Gurukuls, D.A.V. Schools and Colleges for the education of both males and females.

Sir Syed Ahammed Khan

. Sir Syed Day is celebrated by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and its alumni every year in the memory of its founder. . Last year marked the bicentenary celebrations of Khan's birth anniversary in which former president Pranab Mukherjee was invited as the chief guest. . He passed away in Aligarh on March 27, 1898.

Khan's efforts in the education sector  The Islamic reformist began to prepare the roadmap for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools  He founded the Scientific Society in 18 instill a scientific temperament into the Muslims and to make the western knowledge available to Indians in their own language  It published Urdu translations of English books on science and other subjects and an English- Urdu journal for spreading liberal ideas on social reforms  The Aligarh Institute Gazette, an organ of the Scientific Society, was launched in March 1866 and succeeded in reforming the ideas of the general Muslim population of north Indian men and women alike  In 1875, Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) college in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he had visited on a trip to England  His objective was to build a college in line with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values.

Founder of the Aligarh movement 1. His aim was not merely restricted to establishing a college in Aligarh but at spreading a network of Muslim managed educational institutions throughout the length and breadth of the country. 2. Keeping this in view, he instituted All India Muslim Educational Conference that revived the spirit of Muslims at the national level. 3. The Aligarh Movement motivated Muslims to help open a number of educational institutions. 4. It was the first of its kind in India, which awakened the Muslims from their deep slumber and infused social and political sensibility into them.

A step in politics  Khan was invited to attend the first session of the Indian National Congress and was also asked to join the organisation but he refused.  He established the Muhammadan Educational Conference and provided a platform for Muslims to discuss their political problems.  Khan founded the Indian Patriotic Association with the support of some Hindu and Muslim leaders to oppose the congress and tried to dissuade the Muslims from joining the congress. He also emphasised on the unity between Hindus and Muslims.

Page 1 of 2  Syed Ahmed Khan breathed last on March 27, 1898, and was buried in the premises of the university mosque in Sir Syed Hall, AMU.

Page 2 of 2 ROLE OF PRESS IN INDIA’S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

 At the time of the first war of independence, any number of papers were in operation in the country. Many of these like Bangadoot of Ram Mohan Roy, Rastiguftar of Dadabhai Naoroji and Gyaneneshun advocated social reforms and thus helped arouse national awakening.

 At was in 1857 itself that Payam-e-Azadi started publication in Hindi and Urdu, calling upon the people to fight against the British. The paper was soon confiscated and anyone found with a copy of the paper was persecuted for sedition. Again, the first Hindi daily, Samachar Sudhavarashan, and two newspapers in Urdu and Persian respectively, Doorbeen and Sultan-ul- Akhar, faced trial in 1957 for having published a ‘Firman’ by Bahadur Shah Zafar, urging the people to drive the British out if India. This was followed by the notorious Gagging Act of Lord Canning, under which restrictions were imposed on the newspapers and periodicals.

NOTABLE ROLE

 In the struggle against the British, some newspapers played a very notable role. This included the Hindi Patriot! Established in 1853, by the author and playwright, Grish Chandra Ghosh, it became popular under the editorship of . In 1861, the paper published a play, “Neel Darpan” and launched a movement against the British, urging the people to stop cultivating the crop for the white traders. This resulted in the formation of a Neel Commission. Later, the paper was taken over by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The paper strongly opposed the Government’s excesses and demanded that Indians be appointed to top government posts. The Indian Mirror was the other contemporary of this paper which was very popular among the reading public.

 Yet anotherweekly, Amrita Bazar Patrikawhich was being published from Jessore, was critical of the government, with the result that its proprietors faced trial and conviction. In 1871, the Patrika moved to Calcutta and another Act was passed to suppress it and other native journals.

MARATHI PRESS

 Mahadev Govind Rande, a leading leader of , used to write in Gyan Prakash as well as theIndu Prakash. Both these journals helped awaken the con-science of the downtrodden masses. Another Marathi weekly, Kesari was started by Tilak from January 1, 1881. He alongwith

Page 1 of 5 Agarkar and Chiplunkar started another weekly journal, Mrathain English. The Editor of the ‘Daccan Star’ Nam Joshi also joined them and his paper was incorporated with Maratha. Tilak and Agarkar were convicted for writings against the British and the Diwan of Kolhapur. Tilak’s Kesari became one of the leading media to propagate the message of freedom movement. It also made the anti-partition movement of Bengal a national issue. In 1908, Tilak opposed the Sedition ordinance. He was later exiled from the country for six years. Hindi edition of Kesari was started from Nagpur and Banaras.

PRESS AND THE FIRST SESSION OF CONGRESS

 The Editors commanded a very high reputation at the time of the birth of the Indian National Congress. One could measure the extent of this respect from the fact that those who occupied the frontline seats in the first ever Congress session held in Bombay in December 1885 included some of the editors of Indian newspapers. The first ever resolution at this Session was proposed by the editor Press and the First Session of Congress The Editors commanded a very high reputation at the time of the birth of the Indian National Congress. One could measure the extent of this respect from the fact that those who occupied the frontline seats in the first ever Congress session held in Bombay in December 1885 included some of the editors of Indian newspapers. The first ever resolution at this Session was proposed by the editor of The Hindu, G. Subramanya Iyer. In this resolution, it was demanded that the government should appoint a committee to enquire into the functioning of Indian administration. The second resolution was also moved by a journalist from Poona, Chiplunkar in which the Congress was urged to demand for the abolition of India Council which ruled the country from Britain. The third resolution was supported by Dadabhai Naoroji who was a noted journalist of his time. The fourth resolution was proposed by Dadabhai Naoroji.

 There were many Congress Presidents who had either been the editors or had started the publication of one or the other newspapers. In this context,particular mention may be made of Ferozeshah Mehta who had started the Bombay Chronicle and Pandit Madan Malaviya who edited daily, Hindustan. He also helped the publication of leader from Allahabad. Moti Lal Nehru was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the leader. Lala Lajpat Rai inspired the publication of three journals, the Punjabi, Bandematram and the People from Lahore. During his stay in South Africa, Gandhiji has brought out Indian Opinion and after settling in India, he started the publication of Young India; Navjeevan, Harijan, Harijan Sevak and Harijan Bandhu. Subash Chandra Bose and C. R. Das were not journalists but they acquired the papers like Forward and Advance which later attained national status. founded the National Herald.

Page 2 of 5 REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT AND THE PRESS

 So far as the revolutionary movement is concerned, it did not begin with guns and bombs but it started with the publication of newspapers. The first to be mentioned in this context is Yugantar publication of which was started by Barindra Kumar Ghosh who edited it also.

 When the Ghadar party was organized in America, Lala Hardayal started publication of the journal ‘Ghadar’. Within one year, millions of copies of this journal were published in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and English and sent to India and to all parts of the world where Indians were residing. In the beginning the copies of the journal were concealed in parcels of foreign cloth sent to Delhi. It was also planned to smuggle the printing press into India for this purpose. But then the war broke out and it became almost impossible to import printing machinery from abroad. Lala Hardayal was attested in America and deported to India. One of his followers Pandit Ramchandra started publishing Hindustan Ghadar in English. With the U.S. joining the war, the Ghadar party workers were arrested by the American Government. When the trail was on, one of the rivals of Pandit Ramchandra managed to obtain a gun and shoot him deadin the jail itself. The death of Ramchandra led to the closure of this paper.

 In 1905 Shyamji Krishna Verma started publication of a journal Indian Sociologist from London. It used to publish reports of political activities taking place at the India House in London. In 1909 two printers of this journal were convicted. Shyamji Krishna Verma left England for Paris from where he started the publication of the journal. Later on, he had to leave for Geneva. He continued to bring out the journal from there for two or three years more. In Paris, Lala Hardayal, in collaboration with Madam Cama and Sardar Singhraoji Rana brought our Vandematram and Talwar.

 After Yugantar, it was Vandematram that played a significant role in the freedom struggle. This journal was established by Subodha Chandra Malik, C. R. Das and on August 6, 1906. its editor, Aurobindo Ghosh, the editor of Sandhya B. Upadhyay and editor of Yugantar B.N.Dutt had to a face a trial for espousing the cause of freedom.

 So far as the Hindi papers were concerned, they looked to government for support for some time. Bhartendu Harish Chandra was the first to start a journal Kavi Vachan Sudha in 1868. its policy was to give vent to the miseries of the people of India. When the Prince of Wales visited India, a poem was published in his honour. The British authorities were given to understand that the poem could also mean that the Prince of Wales should get a shoe-beating.

Page 3 of 5  The government aid to journals like Kavi Vachan Sudha was stopped for publishing what was objectionable from the government point of view. Bhartendu Harish Chandra resigned from his post of an honorary Magistrate. His two friends, Pratap Narain Mishra and Bal Krishna started publication of two important political journals.

 Two friends, Pratap Narain Mishra and Bal Krishna Bhatt started publication of two important political journals Pradeep from Allahabad, and Brahman from Kanpur. The Pradeep was ordered to be closed down in 1910 for espousing the cause of freedom.

 The Bharat-Mitra was a famous Hindi journal of Calcutta which started its publication on May 17, 1878 as a fortnightly. It contributed a lot in propagating the cause of freedom movement. The journal exposed the British conspiracy to usurp Kashmir. Several other papers published from Calcutta which played an important role in freedom struggle included Ambika Prasad Vajpayee’s Swantrantra, Ramanand Chatterjee’s Modern Review in English, Pravasi Patra’ in Bengali and Vishal Bharat in Hindi.

 One of the foremost Hindi journalist who has earned a name for his patriotism was Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi. In 1913, he brought out weekly Pratap from Kanpur. He made the supreme sacrifice in 1931 in the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. Krishna Dutt Paliwal brought out Sainik from Agra which became a staunch propagator of nationalism in Western U.P. The noted Congress leader, Swami Sharadhanand, started the publication of Hindi journal Vir Arjun and Urdu journal Tej. After the assassination of Swami Sharadhanand, Vidyavachaspathi and Lala Deshbandhu Gupta continued the publication of these journals. They were themselves prominent Congress leaders.

 In Lahore, Mahashaya Khushal Chand brought out Milap and Mahashaya Krishna started publishing Urdu journals which helped a lot in promoting the national cause. In 1881, Sardar Dayal Singh Majitha on the advice of Surendra Nath Bannerjee brought out Tribune under the editorship of Sheetala Kant Chatterjee. Bipin Chandra Pal also edited this paper for sometime. Later in 1917, Kalinath Rai joined the paper as its editor.

 There is not a single province in India which did not produce a journal of newspaper to uphold the cause of freedom struggle A. G. Horniman made the Bombay chronicle’ a powerful instrument to promote militant nationalism. He himself took part in the meetings where used to be planned. He published vivid accounts of Jallianwala Bagh carnage for which one correspondent of his paper, Goverdhan Das, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by a military court. Horniman too was arrested and deported to London even though he was ill at that time. Amritlal Shet brought out the Gujarati Journal ‘Janmabhumi which was an organ of the people of the princely states of Kathiawad, but it became a mouthpiece of national struggle. Similarly another Gujarati journal Saanjvartman played a prominent role under the editorship of Sanwal Das Gandhi, who played a very significant role in

Page 4 of 5 the Quit India Movement in 1942. It was soon after independent formed a parallel Government in Junagarh and forced the Nawab of Junagarh to leave the country. The three editors of the Sindhi journal Hindi Jairam Das Daulatram, Dr. Choithram Gidwani and Hiranand Karamchand, were arrested, their press closed and the property of the paper confiscated

 In Bihar the tradition of national newspapers was carried forward by Sachidanand Sinha, who had started the publication of Searchlight under the editorship of Murtimanohar Sinha. Dev Brat Shastri started publication of ‘Nav Shakti and Rashtra Vani’. The weekly yogi and the Hunkar’ also contributed very much to the general awakening.

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