Modern Indian History - Lecture Summary
I. Recap & Context (Post-1857 Revolt)
Previous Class: Covered the 1857 Revolt (Causes, Leaders, Failure, Nature, Impact).
The revolt was characterized as a "love failure" - an initial attempt that didn't succeed.
Path to Independence: Achieving independence requires 7 major steps/movements after 1857.
Next Focus: The first of these 7 movements.
II. The First Major Movement: Swadeshi Movement
Name: Swadeshi Movement (also known as Vande Mataram Movement).
Structure: This topic includes several interconnected sub-topics:
Partition of Bengal (1905): The primary trigger/cause for the Swadeshi Movement.
Swadeshi Movement: The movement launched in direct opposition to the Partition. (Will cover incidents, leaders, success/failure).
INC Split (Surat Split, 1907): Differences over the methods and scope of the Swadeshi Movement led to a split within the Indian National Congress between Moderates and Extremists.
Formation of the Muslim League (1906): Alienation of Muslims due to certain methods used in the Swadeshi Movement (perceived Hindu religious overtones like Ganges bath, oaths before deities, influence of Anandmath) and British 'Divide and Rule' policy contributed to its formation.
Minto-Morley Reforms (1909): Introduced partly to appease Muslims and further the 'Divide and Rule' policy, following the formation of the Muslim League.
Syllabus Coverage: Completing these 7 major movements covers approximately 80% of the Indian National Movement syllabus.
III. Partition of Bengal (Focus of the First Class in this series)
British Intention First Revealed: December 1903.
Proposal Origin: The idea was first proposed by William Ward (Assam Commissioner), not originally by Lord Curzon.
Official Reasons Given by British:
Administrative Convenience: Bengal province was too large (Population: 78.5 million in 1901 Census, approx. 1/4th of British India population), making administration difficult.
Lack of Development in Assam: Due to the large size of Bengal, Assam was neglected and needed separate focus for development.
Real British Intention (The Hidden Agenda):
Weaken Bengal: Bengal was the nerve center of rising Indian Nationalism. The British wanted to weaken this hub.
Quote (Risley, Home Secretary): "United Bengal is a power. Divided, it will fall."
Divide and Rule: To break Hindu-Muslim unity, which was evident during the 1857 Revolt.
Religious Basis: Divide the province into Muslim-majority East Bengal (+Assam) and Hindu-majority Bengal (+Bihar+Orissa).
Linguistic Basis: Make Bengali speakers a minority in the new Bengal province by adding Hindi (Bihar) and Oriya (Orissa) speakers. (Bengalis became ~18 million out of 54 million in the new Bengal province).
Key Dates:
Intention Announced: December 1903
Official Announcement of Partition: July 20, 1905
Partition Implemented/Enforced: October 16, 1905 (This date marks the division).
IV. Anti-Partition Agitation (Initial Phase led by Moderates)
When it Began: Started around 1903-1905 after the British intention became clear, before the Swadeshi Movement was formally named/launched with full vigour.
Led By: INC Moderates.
Methods (The "3 Ps"):
Pray: Making requests to the British government.
Petition: Submitting formal written appeals and memoranda.
Protest: Holding mild, non-violent demonstrations and public meetings.
Key Newspapers & Voices: Used newspapers to voice opposition and publish articles against partition.
Sanjivani: Edited by K.K. Mitra. First newspaper to suggest 'Boycott' of British goods.
Bengalee: Edited by Surendranath Banerjee.
Hitabadi: Edited by Debendranath Tagore.
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