History & Culture
Early Nationalism: Moderates and Extremists
GS Paper I
Early Nationalism — Quick Revision
One-page UPSC revision of early nationalism: associations, INC sessions, Moderates and Extremists, partition of Bengal, Swadeshi, Surat split, 1892 and 1909 Acts, early revolutionaries.
SyllabusGS I · The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors and contributions from different parts of the country
A last-week sheet for 1838–1911. Prelims tests associations, sessions, Acts and the Swadeshi calendar; Mains tests Moderate vs Extremist and the significance of Swadeshi.
Associations Before 1885
| Association | Year | Founder(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Landholders’ Society | 1838 | Dwarkanath Tagore and others |
| British Indian Association | 1851 | Calcutta landholders and professionals |
| Bombay Association | 1852 | Jagannath Shankarseth and others |
| East India Association (London) | 1866 | Dadabhai Naoroji |
| Poona Sarvajanik Sabha | 1870 | M.G. Ranade and others |
| Indian League | 1875 | Sisir Kumar Ghosh |
| Indian Association | 1876 | S.N. Banerjea, A.M. Bose |
| Madras Mahajan Sabha | 1884 | Viraraghavachari, Subramania Iyer, Anandacharlu |
| Bombay Presidency Association | 1885 | Mehta, Telang, Tyabji |
Congress Sessions to Know
| Year | Place | President | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | Bombay | W.C. Bonnerjee | First session, 72 delegates |
| 1886 | Calcutta | Dadabhai Naoroji | Merger with the National Conference stream |
| 1887 | Madras | Badruddin Tyabji | First Muslim president |
| 1888 | Allahabad | George Yule | First British president |
| 1896 | Calcutta | Rahimtulla Sayani | Vande Mataram sung |
| 1905 | Banaras | G.K. Gokhale | Swadeshi in Bengal endorsed |
| 1906 | Calcutta | Dadabhai Naoroji | Swaraj; four resolutions |
| 1907 | Surat | Rash Behari Ghosh | Split |
| 1916 | Lucknow | A.C. Mazumdar | Reunion |
Moderates vs Extremists
| Moderates | Extremists | |
|---|---|---|
| Period of dominance | 1885–1905 | 1905–1908 |
| Leaders | Naoroji, Mehta, Gokhale, Banerjea, Ranade | Tilak, Lajpat Rai, B.C. Pal, Aurobindo |
| Goal | Reform, self-government within the Empire | Swaraj |
| Method | Petitions, prayers, protests | Boycott, swadeshi, passive resistance |
| Base | Urban educated | Wider — students, lower middle class |
The Swadeshi Calendar
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 1905 | Partition announced (Curzon) |
| 7 August 1905 | Boycott resolution, Calcutta Town Hall |
| 16 October 1905 | Partition in force; day of mourning, raksha bandhan |
| 1906 | National Council of Education; Calcutta session — swaraj |
| 1 October 1906 | Simla Deputation (Aga Khan to Minto) |
| 30 December 1906 | Muslim League founded, Dacca |
| December 1907 | Surat split |
| 1908 | Tilak deported to Mandalay; Muzaffarpur; Alipore case |
| 1909 | Indian Councils Act (Morley-Minto) |
| December 1911 | Delhi Durbar: partition annulled; capital to Delhi |
The Two Councils Acts
| Indian Councils Act 1892 | Indian Councils Act 1909 | |
|---|---|---|
| Election | Indirect, by recommendation | Expanded; separate electorates for Muslims |
| Budget | Discuss, not vote | Move resolutions on it |
| Questions | Yes, but no supplementaries | Supplementary questions allowed |
| Other | — | S.P. Sinha in Viceroy’s Executive Council |
Early Revolutionaries
| Person / body | Remember for |
|---|---|
| Chapekar brothers | Rand, Poona, 1897 |
| Savarkar brothers | Mitra Mela; Abhinav Bharat (1904) |
| Anushilan Samiti | Bengal, 1902; Dacca branch — Pulin Behari Das |
| Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki | Muzaffarpur, 1908 |
| Shyamji Krishna Varma | India House, London; The Indian Sociologist |
| Madan Lal Dhingra | Curzon Wyllie, London, 1909 |
| Bhikaji Cama | Flag at Stuttgart, 1907 |
High-yield facts
- Naoroji — East India Association (1866); drain theory; Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901); MP from Finsbury Central (1892).
- Lytton — Vernacular Press Act and Arms Act (1878); Ripon — Ilbert Bill (1883).
- V.O. Chidambaram Pillai — Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, Tuticorin.
- Ashwini Kumar Dutt — Swadesh Bandhab Samiti, Barisal.
Traps
- Hume founded the Congress but was never its president; Tilak never presided either.
- 1892: discuss the budget, no vote, no supplementaries; 1909: supplementaries allowed.
- Partition in force 16 October 1905; boycott resolution 7 August 1905 — do not swap.
Related Topics
- Rise of Nationalism and the Moderates — main notes
- The Extremists and the Swadeshi Movement — main notes
- Early Nationalism — practice questions
- All quick revision sheets
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