National Activities

The Indian National Congress; Formed in 1885 by A.O.Home an Englishman and a retired civil servant. .The first session in Bombay under W.C.Banerjeee in 1885(72 delegates attended it). .In the first two decades(1885-1905), quite moderate in its approach and confided in British justice and generosity. .But the repressive measure of the British gave rise to extremists within Congress like Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak ad Lala Lajpat Rai(Lal, Bal.Pal).

Partition of Bengal: By Lord Curzon on Oct 16, 1905, through a royal Proclamation reducing the old province of Bengal in size by creating East Bengal and Assam out of rest of Bengal. .The objective was to set up a communal gulf between Hindus and Muslims.

Swadeshi Movement(1905) :.Lal, Bal. Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh played an important role. .INC took the Swadeshi call first at the Banaras Session,1905 presided over by G.K Gokhale. .Bonfires of foreign goods were conducted at various places.

Formation of Muslim League(1906).Setup in 1906 under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk. .It was a loyalist communal and conservative political organization that supported the partition of Bengal.opposed the Swadesh movement, to its community and Muslims. .Passed the infamous Vernacular Press Act(1878).

Demand for Swaraj: In Dec 1906 at Calcutta the INC under Dadbhai Naoroji adopter Swaraj'(Self-govt )as the goal of Indian people.

Surat Session of Indian National Congress(1907):.The INC split into two groups-The the extremists and The moderates, at the Surat session in 1907.

Indian Councils Act or Minto Morley Reforms(1990):.Besides other constitutional measures, it envisaged a separate electorate for Muslims. .Aimed at dividing the nationalist ranks and at rallying the Moderates and the Muslims to the Government’s side.

Ghadar Party(1913):.Formed by Lala hardy, Taraknath Das, and Sohan Singh Bhakra. .HQ was at San Francisco.

Home Rule Movement(1916):.Started by B>G. Tilak(April 1916) at Poona and Annie Besant and S.Subramania layer at Adyar, near Madras (Sept 1916). .Objective; Self -government for India in the British Empire. .Tilak Linked up the question of Swaraj with the demand for the formation of linguistic States and education in vernacular language.

Lucknow Pact(1916):.Happened following a war between Britain and Turkey leading to anti-British feelings among Muslims. .Both INC and Muslim League concluded this (Congress accepted the separate electorates and both jointly demanded a representative government).

August Declaration(1917):.After the Lucknow Pact, British policy was announced which aimed at the “increasing association of Indian in every branch of the administration for the progressive realization of responsible government in India as an integral part of the Habeas Corpus, which had been the foundation of civil liberties in Britain.

Rowlatt Act(March 18,1919):.This gave unbridled powers to the govt. to arrest and imprison suspects without trial for two years maximum. This law enabled the Government to suspends the right of Habeas Corpus, which had been the foundation of civil liberties in Britain. .Caused a wave of anger in all sections. It was the first country-wide agitation by Gandhi and marked the foundation of the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre(April 13, 1919):.People were agitated over the arrest of Dr.kitchlu and Dr.Satyapal on April 10, 1919. .General O, Dyar fired at people who assembled in the Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. .As a result, hundreds of men, women, and children were killed and thousands injured. .Hunter Commission was appointed to enquire into it. .On March 13, 1940, Sardar Udham Singh killed o’Dyer when the latter was addressing a meeting in Caxton Hall, London.

Khilafat Movement(1920):.Muslims were agitated by the treatment done with Turkey by the British in the treaty that followed the First World War. .Two brothers, Mohd. Ali and Shaukat Ali started this movement.
Non-cooperation Movement(1920):.it was the first mass-based political movement under Gandhiji. .Congress passed the resolution in its Calcutta session in Sept 1920.

Chauri-Chaura Incident: A mob of people at Chauri-Chaura(near Gorakhpur) clashed with police and burnt 22 policemen on Fb 5,1922. .This compelled Gandhiji to withdraw the Non-Cooperation movement on Feb.12,1922.

Simon Commission(1927):.Constituted under Jhon Simon to review the political situation in India and to introduce further reforms and extension of parliamentary democracy. .Indian leaders opposed the commission, as there were no Indians in it. .The Government used brutal repression and police attacks to break the popular opposition. At Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was severely beaten in a lathi-charge. He succumbed to him injures on Oct.30,1928.

Lahore Session(1929):.On Dec.19,1929 under the Presidentship of J.L.Nehru, the INC, at its Lahore session, declared Poorna Swaraj as its ultimate goal. .on Dec.31,1929 the newly adopted tri-color flag was unfurled and Jan.26,1930 was fixed as the First Independence Day, which was to be celebrated every year.

Revolutionary Activities: The first political murder of a European was committed in 1897 at Poona by the Chapekar brother, Damodar, and Balkishan. .In 1907. Madam Bhikaji Cama, a Parsi revolutionary unfurled the flag of India at Stuttgart Congress…The Government used brutal repression and police attacks to break the popular opposition. At Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was severely beaten in a lathi-charge. He succumbed to him injures on Oct.30,1928. .In 1909 ML Dhingra shot dead Col William Curzon Wyllie, the political advisor of ‘India Office’ in London. .In 1912 Rashbihari Bose and Sachnndra Nath Sanyal threw a bomb at Lord Hardinge at Delhi. .In 1929 only Jatin Das died in Lahore jail after 63 days fast to protest against horrible conditions in jail. .In 1931, Chandrashekhar Azad shot himself at Alfred Park in Allahabad.

Dandi March(1930):.Also called the Salt Satyagraha. .Along with 78 followers, Gandhiji started his march from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12, 1930, for the small village Dandi to break the salt law. .He reached the seashore on Apr.6,1930. .He picked a handful of salt and inaugurated the Civil Disobedience Movement.

First Round Table Conference(1930):.It was the first conference arranged between the British and Indians as equals. It was held on Nv.12,1930 in London to discuss Simon commission. .Boycotted by INC. Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha. Liberals and some others were there.

Gandhi Irwin Pact(1931):.Moderate statesman, Sapru, jailer and Srinivas Shastri initiated an effort to break the ice between Gandhiji and the government. .In this, the INC called off the civil disobedience movement and agreed to join the second round table conference. .The government on its part released the political prisoners and conceded the right to make salt for consumption for villages along the coast.

Second Round Table Conference(1931):.Gandhiji represented the INC and went to London to meet British P.M. Ramsay Macdonald. .However the session was soon deadlocked on the minorities issue and this time separate electorates were demanded not only by Muslims but also by Depressed Classes, Indian Christians, and Anglo-Indians.

The Communal Award(Aug 16, 1932):.Announced by Ramsay McDonald.it showed the divide and rule policy of the British. .Gandhiji, who was in Yeravada jail at this time. started a fast unto death against it.

Poona Pact (September 25,1932):.After the announcement of the communal award and subsequent fast of Gandhiji mass meetings took place almost everywhere. .Political leaders like Madan Mohan Malviya, B.R.Ambedkar, and M.C.Rajah became active. .Eventually, the Poona pact was reached and Gandhiji broke his fact on the sixth day (Sept 25, 1932). .In this .the idea of separates, the electorate for the depressed classes was abandoned, but seats reserved to them in the provincial legislature were increased.

Third Round Table Conference(1932):.Proved fruitless as most of the national leaders were in prison. The discussion led to the passing of the Government of India Act,1935.

Demand For Pakistan: IN 1930, Iqbal SUGGESTED THAT THE Frontier Province, Baluchistan, Sindh, and Kashmir be made the Muslim State within the federation. .Chaudhary Rehmat Ali gave the term Pakistan in 1932. .Muslim League first passed the proposal of separate Pakistan in its Lahore session in 1940.

The Cripps Mission-1942: in Dec 1941, Japan entered the World War-II and advanced towards the Indian border, By March 7, 1942, Rangoon fell and Japan occupied the entire S E Asia.He offered a draft that proposed dominion status to be granted after the war. .Rejected by the Congress as it didn’t want to rely upon future promises. .Gandhiji termed it as a post-dated cheque in a crashing bank.

The Revolt of 1942 & The Quit India Movement: Called the Vardha Proposal and Leaderless Revolt. .The resolution was passed on Aug.8,1942 at Bombay Gandhiji gave the slogan ‘Do or Die’. .On Aug 9, the Congress was banned and its important leaders were arrested. .The movement was however crushed.

The Indian National Army: Founded by Rasbehari bose with captain Mohan Singh. ..Two INA headquarters were Rangoon and Singapore(formed in Singapore). .INA had three fighting brigades named after Gandhi, Azad, and Nehru. Rani Jhansi Brigade was an exclusive women force. .But, it couldn’t face the British army and surrendered.

The Cabinet Mission Plan(1946):.The struggle for freedom entered a decisive phase in the year 1945-1946. The new Labour Party PM, Lord Attlee, made a declaration on March 15, 1946, that Britsih Cabinet Mission will visit India. .The mission held talks with the INC and ML to bring about acceptance of their proposals. .Both Congress and the Muslim League accepted it.

Formation of Interim Governmet(Sept 2, 1946):.Based on the Cabinet Mission Plan an interim government consisting of Congress nominees was formed on Sept.2,1946.Jl.Nehru was its Vice-President and the Governor-General remained as its President.

Jinnah’s Direct Action Resolution(Aug 16,1946):.Jinnah was alarmed at the result of the election because the Muslim League was in danger of totally eclipsed I the constituent assembly. .Therefore Muslim League withdrew its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan on July 29,146. .Jinnah celebrated Pakistan Day on Mar 27, 1947.
Formation of Constituent Assembly(Dec 9,1946):.The constituent assembly met on Dec 9, 1946, and Dr.Rajendra Prased was elected as its president.

Mountbatten Plan(June 3,1947):.On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten put forward his plan which outlines the steps for the solution of Indian political problems.The outline of the Plan was: (1)India to be divided into India and Pakistan. (2)Bengal and Punjab will be partitioned and a referendum in NEFP and Sylhet district of Assam would be held. (3)There would be a separate constitutional assembly for Pakistan to frame its constitution. .Aug.15, 1947 was the date fixed for handing over power to India or Pakistan. .The British govt. passed the Indian Independence Act of 1947 in July 1947, which contained the major provisions put forward by the Mountbatten plan.

Partition and Independence(Aug 1947):.All political parties accepted the Mountbatten plan. .At the time of independence, there were 562 small and big Princely states in India. .Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the first home minister, used iron hand in this regard. By August 15, 1947, all the states with a few exceptions like Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Junagarh had signed the Instrument of Accession. Goa was the Portuguese and Pondicherry with the French.