Movements/Organizations

Aligarh MovementSir Sayyed Ahmad Khan
DeobandRepresented  by  Mohammad  Qasim  Nanautavi  &  Rashid  Ahmad  Gangohi.
MovementNanautavi founded the ‘Dar-ul-Ullema’ madrasa at Deoband. This movement was
 strictly  based  on  Islamic  tradition unlike liberal  Aligarh movement.   The  also
 promulgated a fatwa against Sayyid Ahmad’s associations. In 1919, Mufti Liyaqat
 Ullah  Sahib  founded  the,  ‘Jamaitul  Ulema-i-Hind’  to  further  work  in  this
 direction. His role was prominent in the Khilafat movement.
Muslim LeagueNawab Wakar-ul-Mulk presided over a gathering at the invitation of Nawab Salim
 Ullah of Dacca. Muslim league was the result. The constitution of the league was
 prepared in 1907 at Karachi. The first session of the league was held in 1908 at
 Amritsar. The same year Aga Khan became the president. The league supported
 partition of Bengal & was a loyalist organization. After 1913 Aga Khan left the
 league which led to the emergence of new leaders like Muhammad Ali, Shaukat
 Ali & M.A. Ansari.
Home Rule LeagueEstd by Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. She was the president &
 other   members   included   Arundale,   P.C.   Ramaswamy   Iyer,   V.P.   Wadia.
 Balgangadhar Tilak had estd another Home Rule League in April 1916 at Pune.
ChamparanEuropean  planters  forced  the  farmers  to  cultivate  Indigo  on  atleast  3/20
Satyagraha 1917(Tinkathiya) parts of their land. Rajendra Prasad, Mazhur-ul-Haq, J.B. Kriplani,
 Mahadev Desai accompanied him. An enquiry was set up to alleviate miseries of
 which even Gandhi was a member.
Kheda SatyagrahaKheda peasants refused to pay revenue due to failure of crops. After Satyagraha

 

 

 

 

1918the government issued instructions to collect revenue only from those who could
 afford to pay. Indulal Yagnik & Vallabh Bhai Patel supported Gandhi.
Ahmedabad MillMahatma Gandhi considered 35 % increase in salary as just. He undertook a fast
Problem 1918unto death & the strike came to an end. Ambalal Sarabhai’s sister Anasuya Behn
 was main lieutenant of Gandhi here.
Rowlatt ActIn March 1919, the Britishers passed the Rowlatt Act according to which any
 Indian could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. A nationwide satyagraha was
 organized which involved arrest of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Satyapal, Dr. Saiffuddin
 Kitchlew & Arya Samaj leader Swami Shradhananda (shoot if you can rally).
Jallianwala BaghDemanded  to  know  the  whereabouts  of  Satyapal  and  Kitchlew  throught  the
Massacrereciting of  the poem ‘Fariyad’ on the day of Baisakhi (13th  April, 1919). Martial
 law was proclaimed later at Lahore, Gujarat & Layal with curfew at Amritsar. An
 enquiry was setup under Hunter. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his title.
Khilafat MovementSultan of Turkey was the Caliph. The allied powers were arrayed against Turkey.
 Mulana Abul Kalam Azad, M.A. Ansari, Saiffudin Kitchlew, Maulvi Abdulbari,
 Hakim Ajmal Khan & the Ali brothers were prominent leaders. British signed the
 Treaty of Tibers, partitioned Turkey & its Sultan was made a prisoner & sent to
 Constantinople.
Non CooperationApproval at Congress session in 1920. Leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie
1920-22Besant & Bipin Chandra Pal not in agreement & left the congress. Students took
 their names off school. Kashi Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Jamia Milia Islamia
 were set up. No Congress leader contested for elections. Mass demonstrations
 before  Duke  of  Connaught  &  Prince  of  wales.  Tilak  Swarajya  Fund  was
 established. Moplah rebellion was the ugly face. Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, UP
 incidence led to its recall. Congress leaders like Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das
 formed as separate group within the congress known as Swarajya Party with a
 purpose not to let the movement lapse.
AITUCFormed  in  1920  with  Lotvala’s  help.  M.N  Roy,  Muzzafarabad  Ahmad,  S.  A
1920Dange  &  Shaukat  Osmani  led  the  trade  unionist  movements.  The  Britishers
 leveled the kanpur/Meerut conspiracy against them.
Swaraj PartySuspension   of   Non   Cooperation   movement   disoriented   the   leadership.
 Chittaranjan Das & Motilal Nehru were called ‘Pro-Changers’ & did not support
 the non cooperation movement. The other group was ‘no-changers’ & included C.
 Rajgopalachari, M.A. Ansari. In 1923 Das & Nehru formed the Swaraj Party at
 Allahabad with a view to take part in the 1923 Council elections. The swaraj party
 got  clear  majority  in  the  Central  legislature  &  Provincial  legislatures  except
 Bengal. After the passing away of Chittaranjan Das in 1925 the party weakened &
 further some of the leaders became corrupt. Therefore in the election of 1926 it
 suffered miserable defeat in all the provinces except Madras.
HindustanEstablished in October 1924 in Kanpur by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil,
RepublicJogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad and Sachindranath Sanyal. The Kakori
Associaiton 1924Train Action was a notable act of terrorism by this group but trial prooved to be a
 major  setback.However,  the  group  was  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).  Bhagat  Singh,
 Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in March 1931.
Communist PartyWas declared illegal in 1934. This ban continued till 1942 when there was an

 

 

 

of India 1925agreement that the communist will support British in the war effort & sabotage the
 quit India movement. In a memorandum to the Cabinet Mission in 1946, they put
 forward a plan for the division of India into 17 sovereign states.
Bardoli SatyagrahaIn Bardoli district of Surat under Vallabh Bhai Patel. The government had raised
 the tax rate by 30% despite famine.
All India StatesFormed  in  1926  whose  first  session  was  held  under  the  presidentship  of  the
People Conferencefamous leader of Ellore, Diwan Bahadur M. Ramachandra Rai.
SimonThe purpose was the review the Act of 1919 after a gap of ten years. The 7
Commissionmember commission was labeled ‘White Men Commission’. Huge demonstration
 under Govind Vallabh Pant at Lucknow & Lala Lajpat at Lahore. The report of
 Simon  Commission  was  published  in  May  1930.  It   stated  the  constitutional
 experiment  with  Dyarchy  was  unsuccessful  &  in  its  place  recommended  the
 establishment  of  autonomous  government.  It  recommended  special  powers  to
 governor  general  &  governors  to  look  after  the  interest  of  minorities,
 strengthening  the  centre,  increasing  electorate  base  on  communal  basis,
 Indianization of defence forces, delink Burma from India & Sindh from Bombay.
 The Indians rejected the report as it gave no regard to Dominion Status. It became
 a basis for the Govt of India Act 1935.
Nehru Report,Secretary  of  State,  Lord  Birkenhead  challenged  the  Indians  to  produce  a
1928constitution that would be acceptable to all. A meeting held at Bombay set up a 8
 member committee headed by Motilal Nehru & others included Bose, Tej Bahadur
 Sapru, Sir Ali Imam, Shahib Qureshi, Sardar Mangal Singh, MS Anney & G.R
 Pradhan.  The  report  was  placed  before  Congress  Session  in  Calcutta  in  1928
 where it was adopted unanimously. It recommended reservation for minorities
 instead of separate electorates. Jinnah & President of Central Sikh league, Sardar
 Kharak  Singh  rejected  it.  Later  Jinnah  convened  an  All  India  Conference  of
 Muslims & drew up a list of 14 point. Jawahar & Bose were not happy with the
 dominion status.
Dandi MarchReached Dandi after marching with 78 handpicked followers & formally launched
April 1930the Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the Salt laws. Many muslims kept
 themselves  aloof  but  in  the  NWFP  an  organization  of  Khudai  Khidmatgar
 (Servants of Gods – Red Shirts) under Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi)
 participated in full.
I Round tableHeld under the Chairmanship of Ramsay MacDonald. Failed to resolve any issues
Conferenceas it was opposed by congress.
Nov 1930 
Gandhi Irwin PactAs  per  it  Gandhi  agreed  to  suspend  the  Civil  Disobedience  Movement  &
March 1931participate in the Second Round Table conference but most of the leaders did not
 like this pact.
II Round TableAt London. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India as no agreement could be reached.
Conference 1931In January 1932 the civil disobedience movement was resumed.
McDonaldThe British PM Ramsay MacDonald made an announcement according to which
Communal Awardthe depressed classes were considered as separate community. Mahatma Gandhi
1932went on a fast unto death in Yeravada Jail. An agreement was reached with the
 consent of Mahatma Gandhi & Ambedkar which came to be known as ‘Poona
 Act’.  The  British  government  also  approved  it.  Accordingly  148  seats  were
 reserved in different provincial legislatures in place of 71 as per communal award.
III Round TableThe  congress  once  more  didn’t  take  part  in  it.  None  the  less  the  British

 

 

 

Conference 1932Government issued a white paper which became basis for Govt of India Act 1935.
 Individual Civil Disobedience was launched in 1933
Congress Socialistfounded  in  1934  by  Jai  Praksh  Narain  &  Acharya  Narendra  Deva  within  the
Party 1934Indian National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the Communist
 Party of India’s loyalty to the USSR as well as the anti-rational mysticism of
 Mohandas Gandhi. Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru did not join the CSP.
 After independence, the CSP broke away from Congress, under the influence of JP
 Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha), to form the Socialist Party of India.
  
August Offer 1940Envisaged that after the war a representative body of Indians would be set up to
 frame the new constitution.
IndividualStarted in October 1940. In it Vinoba Bhave, Jawahar Nehru & Brahma Dutt were
Satyagraha 1940the first 3 satyagrahis.
Cripps MissionViceroy  Lord  Linlithgow  expanded  is  Executive  council  by  taking  five  more
1942Indians into it. The Indians were dissatisfied as it did not like the rights of the
 princely states to join or stay out of the Indian constitution. The demand for Pak
 also not considered leading to Muslim league rejecting the plan.
Quit IndiaThe fear of an impending Japanese invasion Gandhi launched this campaign. In
Movementthe midst the government arrested all Indian leaders – Gandhi at Poona, others at
1942-44Ahmadnagar fort. Rajendra Prasad was interned in Patna. The Congress Socialist
 Party  whith  its  leaders  like  Ram  Manohar  Lohia,  Achyuta  Patwardhan  played
 important role. Communist Party remained loyal to the British. The Muslims by &
 large remained indifferent.
INACaptain Mohan Singh founded it in 1942. In 1943 he reached Singapore & gave a
 the cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’. He was made the president of the Indian Independence
 League.  The  name  of  the  brigades  were  Subhash,  Gandhi,  Nehru  &  Rani
 Lakshmibai. In Nov 1943, Japan handed over Andamans & Nicobar Islands to
 him. He named  them Shaheed Island & Swaraj Island respectively. The army
 marched towards imphal after registering victory over Kohima. But later Japan
 accepted defeat & Subhas died in a plain crash after crossing Formosa Island.
C.R. Formula 1944To resolve the constitutional impasse Rajagopalachari evolved a formula in March
 1944. But it was rejected by Jinnah who would not settle without Pakistan.
Wavell Plan &The main provisions were akin to Cripps mission proposals. It essentially dealt
Shimla Conferencewith  the  Indian  demand  of  self-rule  &  reconstitution  of  viceroy’s  executive
1945council  giving  a  balanced  representation  to  the  major  communities.  Executive
 council  was  an  interim  arrangement  in  which  all  but  the  Viceory  &  the
 Commander in Chief were to be Indians & all portfolios except defence were to be
 held by Indian members. Conference broke down because of Jinnah’s insistence
 that Muslim league alone represented Indian Muslims & hence no non league
 muslim members could be nominated to viceroy’s council.
Cabinet MissionPathick Lawrence (secretary of state for India), Stafford Cripps & A.B. Alexander.
1946Jinnah stuck his demand for Pakistan. It proposed the formation of Union of India
 comprising  both  British  India  &  princely  states  (only  foreign,  defence  &
 communication).  A  constitutional  assembly  was  to  be  formed  consisting  of
 representatives of Provincial assemblies & princely states, elected on communal
 basis in proportion to the population of each province. Envisaged interim govt &
 said that until the constitution is framed & the govt estd British forces will not
 withdraw. The Congress & Muslim league accepted it in June 1946.
ElectionsFollowing cabinet mission elections were held. Congress secured 205 out of 214

 

 

 

  general seats & had support of 4 sikh members. The Muslim league got 73 out of
  78  Muslim  seats.  Jinnah  became  greatly  disturbed  by  the  election  results.  He
  demanded separate constituent assembly & started instigating violent action. Later
  16  August  1946  was  fixed  as  direct  action  day to withdraw its  acceptance  of
  cabinet  mission  plan.  Communal  riots  broke  out  in  Bengal,  United  Province,
  Punjab, Sindh & NWFP. Interim government was formed with Jawahar Nehru as
  head& 14 members – 6 congress, 5 League, one each Christian, Sikh & Parsi.
  However Muslim league kept out of the Interim government.
INA TrailsHeld at Red Fort in Delhi. Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Tejbahadur Sapru fought the
  case on behalf of three senior INA officers, Shahnawaz khan, P.M. Sehgal & G.S.
  Gurudayal Dhillon led to their acquittal.
RIN Mutiny 1946Indians serving in the Royal Indian Navy mutined. Around 5000 naval ratings put
  up INA badges.
Mountbatten PlanMountbatten came to India as Viceroy. He put forth the plan of partition of India
  in 3 June 1947. Punjab & Bengla would be divided into two parts with muslim &
  non muslim majority. Baluchistan had the right to determine which side to join.
  The power would be transferred on 15 August 1947. Referendum were to be held
  in NWFP, Sylhet (to join Assam or East Bengal). Legislative assembly of Sindh
  was to decide whether to join India or not.
Indian IndependeceThe British Parliament passed the Indian Independence act on 18th    July 1947.
Act 1947Partition on 15th  August. The act provided separate governor generals for the two
  dominions.  Abolition  of  the  post  of  secretary  of  state  for  India.   Pending  the
  adoption  of  new  constitution,  the  administration  of  the  two  dominions  &  the
  provinces  would  be  carried  on  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the
  government of India act 1935 though special powers of the Governor General &
  the  Provincial  governors  would  be  ceased.  Jinnah  became  the  first  governor
  general of Pakistan.
Unification DriveOn 5th July 1947, Vallabhbhai Patel appealed to the Indian provinces to handover.
  He followed up his appeal with a hurricane tour of 40 days in which he invited all
  the native princes to join the Indian union by 5th  August. In Kashmir Hari Singh
  sent  his  PM  Meharchand  Mahajan  with  the  signed  papers  for  the  merger.  In
  Hyderabad  the  nawab  wanted  to  continue  his  arbitary  rule  with  the  help  of
  Rajakars. Finally after military action, Rajakars were expelled & the instrument of
  accession signed.
Pondicherry & GoaThe  other  French  territories  were  Karaikal,  Mahe,Yanam  &  Chanderinagore.
  Chanderinagore had acceded to India on the basis of a plebiscite. In 1954 all the
  French possession in India were formally handed over to India though the legal
  transfer took place in 1962. Operation ‘Vijay’ was carried out for the liberation of
  Goa when satyagraha failed in 1961. It became a state in 1987.
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