Q.274) To what extent was the emergence of the Congress in 1885 the culmination of a process of political awakening that had its beginning in the 1870s? (10mark) (150words)
On Monday, 28 December 1885 seventy-two persons met in the hall of Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay. They were attending the inaugural session of the Indian National Congress.
Earlier political associations
- During the 1860s and 1870s ideas of nationalism and
patriotism were very much in the air. A number of political associations were established in different parts of the country during this period to propagate the cause of reform in various spheres of administration and to promote political consciousness among various sections of people. - The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, established by M.G. Ranade, G.V. Joshi, S.H. Chiplankar and his associates in 1870, proved to be the most important. This Sabha brought out a journal from 1878 which did much for arousing political consciousness.
- To carry on political propaganda in England, some Indian students like Pherozeshab Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji, Dadabhai Naoroji and Manmohan Ghose founded the East lndia Association in December, 1866.
- Many other political bodies were established in other parts of India, like the Madras Mahajan Sabha, the Bombay Presidency Association, the Allahabad People’s Association, the Indian Association of Lahore etc. After 1885 these became the regional arms of the Congress.
Newspapers and journals
- The newspapers and journals played a creditable role in building up public opinion in favour of Indian national interests and against the excesses and inequities of the colonial administration.
- Some well-known English language papers of this period were Amrita Bazar Patrika, Hindoo Patriot and Som Prakash, published from Calcutta, Indu Prakash and Native Opinion from Bombay and The Hindu from Madras.
- Some important papers published in Hindi were Hindustan, Bharat Mitra and Jagat Mitra. Jam-e-Jahan Numa and Khushdil Akhhar were well known Urdu newspapers.
Reactionary policies
- The Vernacular Press Act, the Arms Act and Ilbert bill controversy caused deep resentment among the Indian societies. During the agitation on these issues huge mass meetings.
In this way, the emergence of the Congress in 1885 was the culmination of a process of political awakening that had its beginning in the 1870s.
Q.275) What significant role did women play in the Indian National Movement? (15mark) (250words)
There is no doubt that women participated in the Indian anti-imperialist struggle in large numbers. If we were to recall the names of women leaders in our national movement, we will find that the list is a very long one.
- One of the forerunners of India’s struggle for freedom was Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, who became a legendary figure in the history of Indian nationalism.
- Many women stood up to the colonial patriarchy, such as Pandita Ramabai, Anandi Gopal and Savithribai Phule. Gandhiji was also instrumental in bringing women into the fold of the national movement.
- Annie Besant was the leader of the Theosophical Movement in India. She advocated emancipation of Indian women. In fact, many Indian women joined her Home Rule Movement. She considered child marriage to be a social evil and wanted its removal from the Indian society. She wholeheartedly supported the drive to educate women and believed that this would assist in successfully solving the vital problems of national life.
- Sarojini Naidu was one of the forerunners of women’s participation in the National Movement. Sarojini Naidu worked as an active politician and freedom fighter. In 1917, she led the delegation to meet Mr. Montagu for women’s suffrage. In 1918, she had a resolution passed at the special congress session in Bombay, supporting women’s franchise. In 1919, she became a campaigner for women’s satyagraha, traveling all over India to propagate the cause. She appealed, in particular, to women to agitate against the Rowlatt Act.
- Women were active in participating in the Swadeshi movement, or the boycott of foreign goods, non-payment of taxes, picketing of liquor shops, and so on. There was mass participation of women in the non-cooperation movement of 1921 and the civil disobedience movement of 1930.
- Revolutionary Activities: The organization of the revolutionaries was very active in Dhaka, Comila and Chittagong and young college girls came into its fold. The famous group of the women revolutionaries consisted of Samiti and Suniti, Bina Das, Kalpana Dutta and Preetilata Waddedar.
Women held public meetings, organized picketing of shops selling foreign alcohol and articles, sold Khadi and actively participated in National Movements. Hundreds and thousands of Indian women dedicated their lives for obtaining freedom of their motherland.