Category: History

Early Trade Networks and Pre-Settlement Context

• Ancient Commercial Links: India traded extensively with the Mediterranean world (Greeks and Romans) over two millennia ago, supplying spices, cotton, ivory, gems, sandalwood, teakwood, and wootz steel. Oceanic trade had thrived for centuries, with the Indian subcontinent serving as a crucial focal point in the Indian Ocean trading networks.
• Pre-Colonial Economic Strength: Prior to the 16th century, India was a manufacturing and cultural powerhouse, producing at least one-fourth of the world’s GDP alongside China. European visitors and merchants consistently noted India’s agricultural diversity, manufacturing prowess, and prosperous trade networks.
• Commodities Driving European Interest: European trading enterprises sought Indian textiles (cotton, fine muslins, silk, brocades, satin) and spices (pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon), which commanded massive demand and lucrative markets in Europe.

Portuguese Settlements and Dominance

• Arrival at Calicut: The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama reached Kappad (near Calicut / Kozhikode in Kerala) in May 1498, discovering the ocean route around the Cape of Good Hope and opening the way for European settlement in India.
• Headquarters at Goa: In 1510, the Portuguese captured the strategic port of Goa, which became the administrative capital of their Indian colony.
• Coastal Settlements: The Portuguese built trading posts and forts along both the Malabar coast and the Coromandel coast.
• The Cartaz System: The Portuguese established maritime dominance across the Arabian Sea through the cartaz (pass) system; ships navigating without these purchased permits were intercepted and seized, enabling a century-long Portuguese monopoly over the India–Europe spice trade.
• Religious Establishments and Repression:
  • In 1560, the Portuguese set up the Inquisition in Goa (which operated until it was abolished in 1812).
  • It subjected Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and converted Christians to severe persecution, forced conversions, and the widespread destruction of Hindu temples.
• Local Resistance:
  • When the Portuguese repeatedly attempted to capture the port town of Ullal in southern Karnataka during the late 16th century, Queen Rani Abbakka I forged regional alliances to thwart them before eventually being captured and dying in prison.
  • Her successor, Rani Abbakka II, attacked Portuguese naval vessels using fireballs crafted from coconut shells.

Dutch Settlements and Operations

• Arrival and Primary Focus: Dutch traders arrived in the Indian Ocean during the early 17th century, prioritizing commercial spice trade over religious proselytization.
• Trading Posts and Factories: The Dutch East India Company established outposts and factories across India’s coastline:
  • Western Coast: Surat, Bharuch, and Cochin (Kochi).
  • Eastern Coast: Nagapattinam and Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam).
• Displacement of Rivals and Stronghold: The Dutch established their main presence along the Malabar region of Kerala, where they expelled and displaced the Portuguese from several trading strongholds.
• Decline at Colachel: Dutch ambitions suffered a decisive setback at the Battle of Colachel in 1741, where the armed forces of Travancore under King Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch on land and sea—a rare instance of an Asian power defeating a European colonial army.

French Settlements and Empire Ambitions

• Founding of Settlements:
  • French merchants established their first trading outpost at Surat in 1668.
  • In 1674, the French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes Orientales) set up a key settlement at Pondicherry (Puducherry).
• Colonial Tactics under Dupleix (1742–1754):
  • Governor-General Dupleix organized French ambitions to build a territorial empire in India.
  • He trained Indian soldiers in European military methods to create disciplined infantries known as sepoys.
  • He introduced indirect rule by backing puppet Indian princes during succession disputes.
• Urban Form and Religion:
  • Pondicherry was constructed with grid planning and strong defensive fortifications containing a sea-facing fort, batteries, and company installations.
  • Although the French generally refrained from interfering in local social and religious practices, Dupleix ordered the destruction of Pondicherry’s large Vedapurishwaran temple in 1748 at the urging of Jesuit priests and his wife to assert Christian dominance.
• Loss to the British: During the Carnatic Wars (1746–1763), despite initially capturing Madras in 1746, French power was dismantled by the British, leaving France confined to Pondicherry and a few minor enclaves for modest commerce.

English East India Company Settlements

• Royal Charter (1600): Queen Elizabeth I granted the East India Company a royal charter securing the exclusive English right to trade with the East, eliminating rivalry from other English companies and granting authority to maintain private arms.
• Early Coastal Footholds (1612–1690): The English East India Company established early coastal trading stations at Surat, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta, presenting themselves as mere merchants to avoid alerting local rulers:
  • Surat: Served as a primary English trading post and the premier hub of western Indian Ocean maritime trade during the 17th and early 18th centuries.
  • Madras: Established as a major fortified settlement and trading center on the Coromandel coast.
  • Bombay: Maintained as a key western trading base.
• Establishment and Growth in Bengal (Hugli and Calcutta):
  • Hugli Factory (1651): The Company established its first Bengal factory on the banks of the river Hugli, housing warehouse storage for export goods and administrative offices for its agents (“factors”).
  • Fortification: In 1696, the Company began constructing a fort around the Hugli settlement.
  • Zamindari over Three Villages (1698): The Company bribed Mughal officials to obtain zamindari rights over three villages, including Kalikata, which later expanded into the city of Calcutta.
  • Duty-Free Trade & Conflict: Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb issued a royal farman granting the Company the privilege of duty-free trade. Company officials misused this by running private trade without paying customs duties, causing massive revenue loss for Bengal and triggering conflict with Nawab Murshid Quli Khan.

Inter-Company Warfare and Fortification Dynamics

• Commercial Rivalry: Because the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English all competed for the identical goods (cotton, silk, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom), purchase prices soared and profits dwindled.
• Armed Conflict and Enclosure: To secure trade monopolies and eliminate competitors, companies engaged in mutual warfare through the 17th and 18th centuries—sinking opposing vessels, blockading sea routes, moving trade goods under armed protection, and enclosing their settlements with heavy artillery and fortifications.
• Shift to Territorial Expansion: Fortifying settlements, building private armies, and meddling in local dynastic rivalries pulled European companies into Indian regional politics, transforming commercial trading posts into bases for territorial conquest.

Reference Ncert Notes

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs201.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess202.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees104.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess303.pdf

Context and Factors Drawing Europeans to India

• India’s Economic Pre-eminence:
  • Before European powers arrived, India was a vibrant economic and cultural powerhouse, contributing at least one-fourth of the world GDP alongside China.
  • European travellers described India as flourishing, noting its extensive internal and external trading networks, manufacturing prowess, and diverse agricultural output.
  • For centuries, the Indian Ocean had a bustling trade network where the Indian subcontinent was central to the movement of goods, people, customs, and knowledge.
• Commodities in High Demand:
  • European trading companies were attracted by Indian commodities such as fine qualities of cotton and silk, which enjoyed a massive market in Europe.
  • Spices—notably pepper, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon—as well as indigo, ivory, sandalwood, teakwood, gems, and wootz steel were in great demand.
• Commercial Dynamics and Inter-Company Rivalry:
  • Because all European companies sought to purchase the same goods, intense competition pushed up purchase prices in India and squeezed profits.
  • The only way to survive and flourish was by eliminating rivals.
  • Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, European companies engaged in fierce armed battles, sinking rival ships, blockading trade routes, and fortifying trading posts.
  • These efforts to fortify settlements and secure commercial dominance brought them into direct conflict with local Indian rulers, blurring the boundary between commerce and territorial politics.

The Portuguese: Discovery, Commerce, and Exploitation

• Arrival and Sea Route:
  • Portuguese navigator and explorer Vasco da Gama reached Kappad (near Calicut / Kozhikode in Kerala) in May 1498.
  • This discovered sea route—sailing down the western coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, and across the Indian Ocean—initiated the European colonial presence in India.
• Early Relations and Coercion:
  • Though initially received well, Vasco da Gama failed to foster friendly terms due to his aggressive conduct.
  • On his second voyage four years later, he bombarded Calicut from the sea and seized, tortured, and killed Indian merchants.
• Bases and Naval Dominance:
  • The Portuguese captured strategic ports and established bases, seizing Goa in 1510, which served as the capital of Portuguese India.
  • They set up trading outposts along both the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.
  • They enforced the cartaz (pass) system, requiring all ships navigating the Arabian Sea to buy Portuguese permits; vessels lacking a cartaz were confiscated.
  • This naval monopoly over the spice trade between India and Europe was maintained for nearly a century.
• Local Resistance:
  • In the late sixteenth century, the Portuguese repeatedly tried to capture the port town of Ullal (in southern Karnataka).
  • Rani Abbakka I formed strategic alliances with neighboring kingdoms and resisted their attempts, though she was eventually captured and died fighting in prison.
  • Her successor, Rani Abbakka II, set several Portuguese naval ships on fire using fireballs made of coconut shells.
• Religious Persecution:
  • In 1560, the Portuguese instituted the Goa Inquisition (which lasted until its abolition in 1812).
  • The Inquisition severely persecuted Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christian converts suspected of clinging to original beliefs, carrying out forced conversions and destroying many Hindu temples.

The Dutch: Commercial Focus and Displacement

• Arrival and Focus:
  • Arriving in the early seventeenth century, the Dutch focused primarily on commercial trade (especially spices) rather than religious conversion or extensive territorial control.
• Trading Posts:
  • The Dutch East India Company established trading posts across India:
    • West Coast: Surat, Bharuch, and Cochin (Kochi).
    • East Coast: Nagapattinam and Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam).
  • Their most notable presence was along the Malabar region of Kerala, where they displaced the Portuguese from multiple trading centers.
• Decline at the Battle of Colachel (1741):
  • Dutch presence in India was sharply curtailed after suffering defeat in the Battle of Colachel in 1741.
  • Forces of the Kingdom of Travancore under King Marthanda Varma decisively defeated the Dutch on land and sea, marking a rare historical event of an Asian power repelling a European colonial force.

The French: Compagnie des Indes Orientales

• Establishment:
  • Arriving later than the Portuguese and Dutch, French traders established their first trading outpost at Surat in 1668.
  • In 1674, they founded a major settlement and trading base at Pondicherry (Puducherry) under the Compagnie des Indes Orientales.
• Colonial Ambitions and Tactics under Dupleix:
  • Under Dupleix (Governor-General of French India from 1742 to 1754), the French developed plans for an empire in India.
  • Dupleix pioneered methods later copied by the British, including:
    • Training Indian soldiers in European military techniques to form disciplined infantry called sepoys.
    • Establishing indirect rule through puppet rulers installed by intervening in local dynastic succession disputes.
• The Carnatic Wars (1746–1763):
  • A series of conflicts broke out between the British and French in India.
  • Although Dupleix initially captured Madras in 1746, the French were steadily overcome by the British.
  • French possessions were subsequently reduced to Pondicherry and a few minor enclaves, restricting them to modest trade.
• Religious Policy:
  • Unlike the Portuguese, the French rarely interfered in local religious life.
  • A notable exception occurred in 1748 when Dupleix ordered the destruction of Pondicherry’s large Vedapurishwaran temple following requests by Jesuit priests and his wife to assert Christian dominance.

The English East India Company: Foundation and Coastal Footholds

• Royal Charter (1600):
  • In 1600, the East India Company received a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I, granting it the exclusive privilege among English merchants to trade with the East.
  • This eliminated competition from other English companies and empowered the Company to venture overseas, buy goods cheap, and sell them in Europe at higher prices.
  • The charter also gave the Company special powers, including raising a private army.
• Establishment of Coastal Outposts (1612–1690):
  • Operating initially under the guise of ordinary traders, Company merchants established coastal trading centers with minimal local resistance at Surat, Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.
  • Indian rulers originally welcomed them as foreign trade had long been practiced.
• Expansion in Bengal:
  • First Factory: Established in 1651 on the banks of the river Hugli, housing offices and a warehouse for export goods where Company agents (called “factors”) operated.
  • Fortification: In 1696, the Company began fortifying its Hugli settlement.
  • Zamindari Rights: In 1698, the Company bribed Mughal officials to obtain zamindari rights over three villages, one of which was Kalikata (which developed into Calcutta / Kolkata).
  • Farman and Misuse: The Company persuaded Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to issue a royal farman granting duty-free trade. Company officials carrying on private trade refused to pay duty, causing vast revenue losses for the government of Bengal and prompting objections from Nawab Murshid Quli Khan.

Transition from Trade to Political Dominance (The British)

• Rising Tensions with Bengal Nawabs:
  • After Aurangzeb died in 1707, strong regional rulers in Bengal (Murshid Quli Khan, Alivardi Khan, and Sirajuddaulah) resisted the Company’s demands.
  • The Nawabs stopped the Company from expanding fortifications, denied it the right to mint coins, demanded large tributes, and accused it of cheating revenues and writing disrespectful communications.
• The Battle of Plassey (1757):
  • When Sirajuddaulah captured the English factory at Kassimbazar and took the Company’s fort at Calcutta, British reinforcements were dispatched from Madras under Robert Clive.
  • Clive struck a secret deal with the Nawab’s military commander, Mir Jafar, promising him the throne in return for turning traitor on the battlefield.
  • At the Battle of Plassey (1757), Mir Jafar’s large wing of the army refused to fight, resulting in Clive’s victory.
  • This became the Company’s first major victory in India, transforming it from a trading entity into a kingmaker.
• Battle of Buxar (1764) and Assumption of the Diwani (1765):
  • Finding puppet rulers difficult to control (deposing Mir Jafar for Mir Qasim, then fighting and defeating Mir Qasim at Buxar in 1764), Clive proclaimed that the Company must become “nawabs ourselves”.
  • In 1765, the Mughal emperor granted the Company the Diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.
  • Prior to this, the Company purchased Indian goods using imported British gold and silver; the Diwani ended this drain of bullion, allowing Indian land revenues to pay for Indian goods, military forces, and Company buildings.
• Technological Edge:
  • In the early nineteenth century, the development of steamships cut sea journey times from six to eight months down to three weeks, accelerating the influx of British personnel, officials, and families.
  • By 1857, the East India Company held direct territorial control over roughly 63 percent of the subcontinent’s land and 78 percent of its population, holding virtually the whole of India through direct or indirect dominance.

Reference Ncert Documents

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees104.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess202.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess303.pdf

Origins and Foundation

• Foundational Role of Rash Behari Bose: Years after escaping from India to Japan following revolutionary activities, Rash Behari Bose laid the foundation of the Indian National Army.
• Ideological Shift of Subhas Chandra Bose: Subhas Chandra Bose, a radical nationalist with socialist leanings and a former Congress leader, broke away from Mahatma Gandhi’s ideal and policy of non-violence (ahimsa), though he respected Gandhi as the “Father of the Nation”. Bose was convinced that India’s freedom would come only through armed struggle.
• Bose’s Journey to the Axis Powers:
  • Believing that raising an army within India was unrealistic, Bose decided to seek assistance from Britain’s enemies during World War II.
  • In January 1941, he secretly escaped house arrest from his Calcutta residence.
  • He journeyed through Afghanistan and Russia to reach Germany, where he spent almost two years seeking support from anti-British forces.
  • Concluding that he stood a better chance with Japan (Germany’s ally against Britain and most European nations), he travelled through Indonesia and Japan, arriving in Singapore.
• Formation and Reorganization in Singapore (1943):
  • In Singapore in 1943, Bose raised and reorganized the Indian National Army (also known as the Azad Hind Fauj).
  • The army was formed from Indian prisoners of war (POWs) and volunteers.
  • In 1943, Bose also proclaimed the formation of the provisional government of Azad Hind (“Free India”).

Military Campaigns and Operations

• Allied Offensives with Japan: As Japan expanded World War II into Southeast Asia, the INA fought alongside the Japanese army.
• The 1944 Invasion Campaign: In 1944, the INA launched campaigns to enter India and free it from British control, advancing through Burma into northeastern India, particularly targeting Imphal and Kohima in Manipur and Nagaland.
• Defeat: The northeast India campaigns failed; the INA was militarily defeated and could not establish a base inside India.

Reception, Trials, and Historical Impact

• Public Perception of Bose’s Strategy: While many within India admired Bose for his courageous defiance, others criticized his wartime alliance with Nazi Germany and Japan.
• Imprisonment and the INA Trials: Following the failure of the campaign, INA members were taken prisoner by the British and placed on trial.
• Mass Public Outrage: Across India, people from all walks of life rose up and participated in widespread protest movements against the INA trials.
• Erosion of British Authority: The 1946 INA trials, alongside the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny and the Cabinet Mission Plan, severely weakened British colonial authority in India.
• Role in Indian Independence: Historians recognize that the actions of the INA, the widespread public movements surrounding the trials, and the subsequent unrest in the armed forces demonstrated that Britain could no longer depend on the Indian military to maintain its empire, serving as a key factor in Britain’s eventual exit from India.

Background and Preceding Events Leading to the Movement

• Constructive Work and Groundwork (Mid-1920s): Following the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922, followers of Mahatma Gandhi undertook sincere social and constructive work across rural India (promoting khadi, spinning, and working against untouchability). This village-level work significantly broadened the support base that later proved vital for launching the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.
• Economic Turmoil (Late 1920s): The impact of the worldwide economic depression caused agricultural prices to decline from 1926 and collapse entirely after 1930. Peasants across the countryside faced extreme distress as demand and exports dwindled, leaving them unable to sell their produce or pay government revenue demands.
• The Simon Commission (1927–28): In 1927, the British government appointed a Statutory Commission headed by Sir John Simon to examine the constitutional system in India and recommend reforms. Because it contained entirely British members and not a single Indian, it triggered universal outrage and widespread boycotts with black flags and the slogan “Simon Go Back!”. During a peaceful march against the commission in Lahore in October 1928, police brutally lathi-charged demonstrators, severely injuring Lala Lajpat Rai, who died two weeks later.
• The Dominion Status Controversy and Rise of Radicals: The 1928 report drafted under Motilal Nehru proposed “Dominion status” (internal self-government under the British Crown). In October 1929, Viceroy Lord Irwin made a vague offer of future dominion status and proposed a Round Table Conference. Younger radical leaders within the Congress, led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, rejected these half-measures and advocated for full independence, while moderate and liberal influence waned.
• The Lahore Resolution for Purna Swaraj (December 1929): Presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Lahore Congress session formally adopted the goal of Purna Swaraj (complete independence).
  • The declaration asserted the inalienable right of the Indian people to freedom, to enjoy the fruits of their toil, and to alter or abolish an oppressive government that deprives them of these rights.
  • It declared that the British government had ruined India economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually, requiring India to sever all connection with Britain.
• Observance of Independence Day (26 January 1930): The Congress resolved that 26 January 1930 would be celebrated as Independence Day nationwide.
  • Gandhi issued precise instructions for the day: meetings across cities and villages were to be held at the exact same minute announced by the beating of drums, beginning with the hoisting of the national flag.
  • The rest of the day was to be devoted to constructive work (spinning, serving untouchables, promoting Hindu-Muslim unity, or prohibition work) and taking the solemn pledge for freedom.
  • However, the celebrations drew limited public enthusiasm, making Gandhi realize that the abstract ideal of freedom had to be linked to concrete grievances of everyday life.

The Salt Issue and Gandhi’s 11 Demands

• Selection of Salt as a Universal Symbol:
  • Under colonial law, the British state maintained a strict monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt and imposed a heavy salt tax.
  • Salt was an indispensable daily food item consumed equally by the rich and the poor.
  • Gandhi called the tax “sinful” and characterized the salt monopoly as a “fourfold curse”: it deprived people of a simple village industry, led to wanton destruction of natural salt by government officers to prevent untaxed use, imposed an exorbitant tax (often over 1,000 percent of value), and squandered state funds on destroying what nature freely produced.
  • Targeting salt united every section of Indian society without creating friction between the rich and the poor.
• Ultimatum to Viceroy Lord Irwin (31 January 1930):
  • Gandhi sent an eleven-point demand letter to Viceroy Lord Irwin addressing issues affecting diverse segments, from peasants to industrialists.
  • Abolition of the salt tax formed the centerpiece of these demands.
  • The letter served as an ultimatum: if these demands were not met by 11 March 1930, the Congress would inaugurate a civil disobedience campaign. Irwin was unwilling to negotiate and failed to grasp the political weight of the impending action.

The Salt March to Dandi (March–April 1930)

• The Journey: On 12 March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi departed his Sabarmati Ashram on foot with 78 chosen volunteers. They covered over 240 miles (approx. 380 km) in 24 days (averaging about 10 miles a day) to reach the coastal village of Dandi in southern Gujarat.
• Speeches Along the Way: Massive gatherings welcomed Gandhi at every halt. Gandhi urged the public to defy colonial laws peacefully and called upon village officials to quit government employment (prompting widespread resignations). At the village of Wasna, he urged upper castes to realize that Swaraj was unattainable without serving and making amends to the untouchables, and maintaining unity among Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, and Sikhs.
• Breaking the Law (6 April 1930): Gandhi arrived at Dandi, addressed the gathering on 5 April stating that civil disobedience was based on the faith that a roused nation needed no single leader, and on the morning of 6 April 1930, he ceremonially picked up a fistful of natural salt from the seashore and boiled seawater, formally violating the salt law.

Course and Forms of Civil Disobedience (1930–31)

• Difference from Non-Cooperation: Unlike the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22), which emphasized refusing voluntary association and cooperation with the British, Civil Disobedience called upon people to actively break colonial laws alongside withholding cooperation.
• Nationwide Salt Defiance: Thousands across India manufactured illicit salt, boiled seawater, and staged peaceful demonstrations outside government salt depots and factories.
• Spread of Parallel Protest Methods:
  • Boycott of foreign goods and foreign textiles, with merchants refusing to import or finance foreign goods.
  • Picketing of liquor shops and foreign cloth establishments.
  • Refusal by peasants to pay land revenues and chaukidari taxes (notably in Bihar and Gujarat).
  • Resignation of local and village officials.
  • Defiance of forest regulations: forest and tribal communities entered “Reserved Forests” without permits to graze cattle and gather wood and fruit.
• Notable Local Incidents & Revolts:
  • Peshawar (23 April 1930): Following the arrest of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (the leader of the Khudai Khidmatgars), huge unarmed crowds demonstrated in Qissa Khwani Bazaar facing armored cars and police gunfire, leaving many dead. In a famous act of defiance, two platoons of the Royal Garhwal Rifles led by Chandra Singh Garhwali refused orders to fire on their unarmed countrymen, courting arrest and imprisonment instead.
  • Sholapur (May 1930): Following Gandhi’s arrest, industrial workers attacked railway stations, courts, police outposts, and municipal offices—all symbols of colonial rule.
  • Other Centers: Defiance occurred widely in places such as Agra, Cawnpore, Benaras, Allahabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Rae Bareli, Midnapore, 24-Parganas, and Vizagapatam. In Jubbalpore, Seth Govinddas attempted the manufacture of chemical salt. Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested at Cheoki railway station on 14 April 1930 on his way to a Youth League meeting and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in Naini Central Jail.

Social Groups and Their Participation

• Rich Peasants:
  • Communities such as the Patidars of Gujarat and the Jats of Uttar Pradesh were major commercial crop growers.
  • Severely impacted by the collapse in agricultural prices and loss of cash income, they found it impossible to pay colonial revenue demands.
  • They organized their communities and forced members into boycott programs, viewing Swaraj essentially as the fight against high land revenue.
  • When Gandhi called off the movement in 1931 without obtaining revenue revisions, they felt deeply disillusioned, leading many to refuse participation during the second phase in 1932.
• Poor Peasants and Small Tenants:
  • Cultivating rented lands, small tenants suffered as depression reduced their cash flow, making it impossible to pay rents to landlords.
  • They joined radical campaigns spearheaded by Socialists and Communists, demanding the remission of rent payments.
  • The Congress leadership, reluctant to antagonize rich peasants and landlords, refused to sponsor “no-rent” campaigns, creating enduring tension and ambiguity between poor peasants and the Congress.
• Business and Industrialist Classes:
  • Enriched during World War I, Indian businessmen sought protection against foreign imports and opposed restrictive colonial policies, demanding a favorable rupee-sterling foreign exchange ratio.
  • Having organized into bodies like the Indian Industrial and Commercial Congress (1920) and the Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI, 1927), prominent industrialists like G.D. Birla and Purshottamdas Thakurdas backed the 1930 movement with funds and by boycotting imported commodities.
  • They envisioned Swaraj as an unhindered economic space free from colonial trade constraints.
  • However, after the inconclusive Round Table Conference, they grew fearful of prolonged strikes, militant violence, and the growing socialist leanings among younger Congress leaders (like Nehru), leading to waning enthusiasm.
• Industrial Working Class:
  • Overall, factory laborers stayed largely aloof, particularly because of the visible closeness between Congress and wealthy industrialists.
  • A notable exception was the Nagpur region, where workers participated in strikes and rallies.
  • Pockets of resistance occurred: railway strikes in 1930, dockworkers’ strikes in 1932, and Chotanagpur tin miners wearing Gandhi caps in boycott rallies.
  • The Congress declined to integrate labor demands into its official agenda to avoid fracturing the anti-imperialist front.
• Women’s Mass Mobilization:
  • The Salt Satyagraha represented the first time women took part in nationalist politics in massive numbers.
  • Women from diverse backgrounds—urban high-caste families, rich rural households, liberal homes, and conservative households emerging directly from purdah (seclusion)—joined marches, manufactured salt, and picketed shops.
  • Notable leaders included Sarojini Naidu (who led marches and had to actively persuade Gandhi initially to allow women to participate) and socialist activist Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (who urged Gandhi not to limit protests to men and courted arrest herself).
  • Exemplars like Ambabai of Karnataka (widowed at sixteen) threw herself into picketing liquor and cloth shops in Udipi, serving repeated jail sentences, teaching spinning, and organizing prabhat pheris.
  • Despite their active role, Gandhi and the Congress saw the domestic realm (as mothers and wives) as woman’s primary sphere and long hesitated to confer actual administrative positions on women within the party.

Limits and Internal Debates of the Movement

• Dalit (Depressed Classes) Participation:
  • Long neglected by the Congress to avoid antagonizing conservative high-caste Hindus (sanatanis), Dalits maintained limited participation, especially in strongholds like Maharashtra and Nagpur.
  • Under Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (who founded the Depressed Classes Association in 1930), Dalits demanded separate electorates and reserved legislative seats, arguing that social dignity and relief from caste oppression required political empowerment.
  • Gandhi opposed separate electorates, believing they would permanently segregate lower castes from mainstream Hindu society and perpetuate the stigma of untouchability.
• Muslim Participation and Communal Alienation:
  • Large sections of Muslims largely kept aloof from the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  • Following the collapse of the Khilafat-Non-Cooperation alliance, mutual suspicion deepened as Congress appeared increasingly allied with Hindu religious groups like the Hindu Mahasabha.
  • Communal clashes and competing militant religious processions widened divisions during the late 1920s.
  • Compromise negotiations failed; in 1928, M.R. Jayakar of the Hindu Mahasabha opposed Jinnah’s compromise proposal (which offered to drop separate electorates in exchange for reserved seats in the Central Assembly and population-proportionate representation in Punjab and Bengal).
  • In his presidential address to the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal defended separate electorates and proposed a separate autonomous territory for Muslims in northwestern India to protect Islamic identity, providing the intellectual rationale for future demands for Pakistan.

British Reaction and Repression (1930)

• Crackdown and Mass Incarceration: The colonial administration used widespread force: peaceful demonstrators were beaten with batons, women and children were assaulted, and around 60,000 to 100,000 satyagrahis were imprisoned, including Gandhi and other top leaders.
• Official Perception: Confidential fortnightly Home Department police reports dismissed the early Salt March as theatrical posturing and claimed the public was indifferent, yet records showed officials were gripped by deep anxiety over the political fallout of arresting Gandhi.
• International Impact: The movement garnered immense international press coverage, especially in American publications like Time magazine (which initially mocked Gandhi’s physical frame but soon praised him as an astute statesman and saint).

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the Round Table Conferences (1931)

• The Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March 1931):
  • Seeking to defuse the agitation, Viceroy Irwin initiated direct talks with Gandhi (who had been released from prison in January 1931).
  • This was the first time the British administration sat with the Congress leadership on an equal footing.
  • Under the terms of the pact:
    • The Congress agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement.
    • The Congress agreed to participate in the Second Round Table Conference in London (having boycotted the first conference in November 1930).
    • The government agreed to release political prisoners not implicated in violence.
    • Private manufacture of salt for personal use was permitted along the coasts.
  • Radical and younger nationalists criticized the pact because Gandhi was unable to secure any concrete commitment to Purna Swaraj from the Viceroy.
• The Second Round Table Conference (Autumn 1931):
  • Gandhi travelled to London representing the Congress.
  • The conference ended in deadlock because Gandhi’s claim that the Congress spoke for the entirety of India was challenged by:
    1. The Muslim League (claiming sole representation of the Muslim minority).
    2. The Princely States (claiming Congress held no standing in their territories).
    3. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (asserting that the Congress failed to represent the lowest castes).
  • The British conceded Ambedkar’s demand for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, prompting Gandhi’s fierce opposition.

Resumption, Relaunch, and Suspension (1932–1934)

• Resumption and Relaunch (1932):
  • Gandhi returned from London empty-handed to find the new Viceroy, Lord Willingdon (who held a deeply hostile view of Gandhi), enforcing an intense cycle of repression.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru and Abdul Ghaffar Khan had been jailed, the Congress had been outlawed, and prohibitions were clamped on public meetings, demonstrations, and boycotts.
  • Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932.
• The Poona Pact (September 1932):
  • In protest against the British grant of separate electorates to the Depressed Classes, Gandhi began a “fast unto death” in jail.
  • Ambedkar conceded to a compromise, known as the Poona Pact of September 1932.
  • Instead of separate electorates, the Depressed Classes received an increased share of reserved seats in provincial and central legislatures, elected by the general electorate.
• Loss of Momentum and Formal Withdrawal (1934):
  • The relaunched struggle was met with massive arrests and could not sustain the initial public fervor and enthusiasm.
  • Rich peasants and business groups largely stayed away.
  • Over 40,000 satyagrahis were jailed during this second phase (1931–34).
  • The movement gradually ran out of momentum and was formally withdrawn by Gandhi in 1934.

Aftermath and Significance

• Turn Toward Constitutional Politics: With the withdrawal of Civil Disobedience, the Congress pivoted toward constitutional agitation and legislative politics.
• Government of India Act of 1935: The prolonged nationalist pressure compelled the British to pass the Government of India Act of 1935, which introduced provincial autonomy and representative institutions.
• 1937 Elections: In the provincial elections of 1937, the Congress achieved a major electoral victory, forming ministries in 7 out of 11 provinces (with a Congress “Prime Minister” in eight provinces supervised by a British Governor).
• Realization of British Decline: The Civil Disobedience Movement demonstrated that the British could no longer rule India without challenge, compelling the colonial government to realize that its authority was fragile and that devolution of real power was inevitable.

Reference Ncert Documents

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess302.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs303.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess208.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees202.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lefl105.pdf

Introduction & Prelude to the Final Phase

• Provocation and Resignations: The outbreak of the Second World War and Britain’s decision to involve India without consulting provincial Congress ministries provoked the leaders of the Indian National Congress and Gandhi. The Congress ministers resigned in protest.
• Individual Satyagraha (October 1940): Gandhi launched Individual Satyagraha to keep up the morale of the Congress.
  • Unlike earlier mass campaigns, this strategy was chosen so the war against fascism was not hampered.
  • Satyagrahis were handpicked by Gandhi, and their demand was limited to asserting freedom of speech to preach against participating in the war.
  • Chosen satyagrahis informed the District Magistrate in advance of the date, time, and venue, publicly declared: “It is wrong to help the British War effort with men or money. The only worthy effort is to resist all war efforts with non-violent resistance,” and offered arrest.
  • It commenced on October 17, 1940, with Vinobha Bhave offering satyagraha near his Paunar ashram in Maharashtra.
  • Suspended in December 1940, revived in January 1941 with groups offering satyagrahas, and finally withdrawn in August 1941.
• August Offer (August 8, 1940): Viceroy Lord Linlithgow offered:
  • Dominion status at an unspecified future date.
  • Expansion of the Viceroy’s Executive Council to include more Indians.
  • Establishment of a War Advisory Council with Indians.
  • Recognition of minority rights.
  • A promise to recognize the right of Indian people to frame a constitution at some future date after the war.
  • Individual Satyagraha served as the Congress response to this offer, which came too late for negotiations.
• Developments within Congress & Subhas Chandra Bose:
  • Congress membership declined from 4.5 million in 1938–39 to 1.4 million in 1940–41.
  • Subhas Chandra Bose was elected Congress President, which upset Gandhi, leading to Bose’s resignation.
  • Isolated by top leaders refusing cooperation, Bose resigned, and the Calcutta AICC elected Rajendra Prasad as president.
  • Bose formed the Forward Bloc to operate within Congress but was removed from all official positions in August 1939.
  • Unlike other leaders who supported the British war effort due to the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) being fascist, Bose advocated non-cooperation with the Allies and active cooperation with the Axis powers.
• Lahore Resolution (March 23, 1940):
  • The Muslim League passed a resolution demanding separate units/states for Muslims in contiguous majority areas in Eastern and North-Western India.
  • Colonial administrators gave encouragement to this demand, providing them leverage to avoid negotiating with the Congress.

The Cripps Mission (1942)

• Background & Japanese Advances:
  • By 1941, Axis advances were severe; France, Poland, Belgium, Norway, and Holland had fallen.
  • Japan bombed Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, and rapidly conquered the Philippines, Indo-China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, arriving at India’s northeastern frontier.
  • British troops retreated, abandoning Indian soldiers of the British Indian Army as Prisoners of War (POWs).
  • Fearing the fall of Calcutta and Madras, and pressured by US President F.D. Roosevelt and Chinese President Chiang Kai-Shek, Prime Minister Winston Churchill dispatched Sir Stafford Cripps to India.
  • In December 1941, the Congress Working Committee offered war cooperation on the condition of an immediate substantial transfer of power and full independence after the war.
• Proposals of Cripps (March 1942):
  • A delegation led by Sir Stafford Cripps (a Labour member of the British War Cabinet) arrived in March 1942.
  • Offered Dominion Status and a post-war constitution-making body (partially elected by provincial assemblies and partly nominated by Princely States).
  • Provinces unwilling to accept the new constitution reserved the right to enter separate agreements with Britain (laying the groundwork for Pakistan).
• Rejection:
  • Rejected because Dominion Status fell short of full independence, Princely States’ members were nominated rather than elected, and it held the potential for partition.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru stated that reading the proposals left him “profoundly depressed”. Negotiations completely collapsed.

The Quit India Movement (1942)

• Factors Leading to the Struggle:
  • Breakdown of the Cripps Mission.
  • Severe economic distress: commodity prices rose sharply and food-grain shortages worsened.
  • Subhas Chandra Bose’s broadcasts from Germany over Azad Hind Radio in March 1942.
• Congress Wardha Meeting (July 14, 1942):
  • The Congress Working Committee resolved to launch a mass civil disobedience movement.
  • C. Rajaji and Bhulabhai Desai had reservations and resigned from the Working Committee; Nehru accepted the majority decision despite personal hesitations.
• “Do or Die” Call:
  • Gandhi demanded that the British “Leave India to God. If that is too much, then leave her to anarchy…”.
  • He gave the call to “Do or Die”, framing the campaign as a “fight to the finish”.
• Outbreak and First Phase (Urban Phase):
  • In the early morning of August 9, 1942, Gandhi and the entire Congress leadership were arrested.
  • Spontaneous hartals, strikes, and violent police clashes erupted nationwide.
  • Workers joined massive strikes: Tata Steel Plant at Jamshedpur shut for 13 days starting August 20, and Ahmedabad textile workers struck for over three months.
• Brutal Colonial Repression:
  • 57 military battalions were deployed to put down protests, and aircraft were used to strafe demonstrators.
  • Viceroy Linlithgow confessed to Churchill that it was “by far the most serious rebellion since 1857”.
• Second Phase (Rural & Guerrilla Warfare):
  • Spread into rural areas driven by peasant resentment over a 60-point surge in food-grain prices between April and August 1942.
  • Underground Socialist leaders who evaded arrest (Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Asaf Ali, Yusuf Meherally, and Ram Manohar Lohia) organized youth into rural guerrilla groups.
  • Coordinated attacks targeted communications: telegraph lines severed, railway tracks damaged, post offices destroyed, and government buildings torched (especially in Eastern UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Bengal).
  • Parallel “National Governments”: Formed in liberated enclaves, notably the “Tamluk Jatiya Sarkar” in Midnapore district, Bengal (survived until September 1944), and another parallel government in Satara.
• Movement Statistics & Severity:
  • By late 1943: 91,836 people were arrested; 1,060 shot dead by police; 208 police outposts, 332 railway stations, and 945 post offices destroyed or badly damaged; and at least 205 policemen defected to the rebels.
  • Collective punitive fines were levied across whole villages.
  • Azamgarh District Collector R.H. Niblett was sacked for being too lenient and recorded in his diary that the colonial government used “white terror” and an “incendiary police” burning down villages.
• Clandestine Radio Broadcasts:
  • Bypassing press censorship, an underground radio transmitter operated out of Bombay, frequently shifting locations.
  • Usha Mehta was the central operator; broadcasts were received as far as Madras.
• Gandhi’s Fast & Release:
  • Gandhi began a 21-day fast in prison on February 10, 1943, revitalizing the movement.
  • Released on medical grounds on May 6, 1944.
  • He restarted the Constructive Programme, allowing Congress committees to resume public activities and bypass the ban.
  • Lord Archibald Wavell succeeded Linlithgow as Viceroy in October 1943 and initiated moves for fresh negotiations.

Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA)

• Origins of the INA:
  • British Indian Army units abandoned as POWs in Malaya and Burma were organized by Mohan Singh (an officer of the British Indian Army in Malaya) with Japanese backing.
• (Further narrative covered in subsequent sections of the unit summarizes Bose taking charge of the INA in Singapore, the formation of the Provisional Government of Free India, the INA trials, and the 1946 Royal Indian Navy Revolt which accelerated the transfer of power and partition under the Mountbatten Plan).

Reference

12th History Samacheer: Unit 7: Last Phase of Indian National Movement

1. Background and Causes

• First World War Hardships (1914–1918):
  • Created severe economic and political distress, including a massive increase in defense expenditure funded by war loans, increased taxes, higher customs duties, and the introduction of income tax.
  • Prices doubled between 1913 and 1918, causing intense hardship.
  • Food shortages arose due to widespread crop failures in 1918–19 and 1920–21, alongside an influenza epidemic, leading to the death of 12 to 13 million people (1921 census). Food exports during the war also depleted supplies.
  • Forced recruitment of soldiers in rural areas caused deep anger. Returning soldiers brought awareness of imperialist exploitation worldwide and desired to oppose colonial rule.
• The Rowlatt Act (1919):
  • Hurriedly passed by the Imperial Legislative Council despite unanimous opposition from Indian members.
  • Enabled detention of political prisoners without trial for up to two years and curbed civil liberties.
  • Sparked nationwide protests, hartals (April 6, 1919), strikes, and arrests.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919):
  • Brigadier-General Dyer ordered troops to fire upon an unarmed gathering in Amritsar, killing hundreds (over 400 according to official counts; over 1,000 per Indian estimates).
  • The ensuing martial law, torture, public floggings, and “crawling orders” deeply scarred public trust and catalyzed nationwide outrage.
• Khilafat Agitation:
  • After Ottoman Turkey’s defeat in WWI, harsh peace treaty terms threatened the powers of the Ottoman emperor/Sultan (the Khalifa), the spiritual head of the Islamic world.
  • The Khilafat Committee was established in Bombay in March 1919. Leaders including the Ali brothers (Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali) and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad sought mass action.
  • Demands included: the Khalifa retaining control over Muslim sacred places in the Ottoman empire; jazirat-ul-Arab (Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Palestine) remaining under Muslim sovereignty; and the Khalifa retaining sufficient territory to defend the Islamic faith.

2. Conceptualization and Adoption

• Premise of Non-Cooperation:
  • In Hind Swaraj (1909), Mahatma Gandhi posited that the British Empire survived solely through Indian cooperation; if Indians refused to cooperate, British rule would collapse within a year, leading to Swaraj.
  • Non-cooperation was conceived as “pure soul-force” / satyagraha, demanding intense self-discipline, peaceful denial, and non-violence.
• Hindu-Muslim Unity:
  • Gandhi viewed coupling Non-Cooperation with Khilafat as an essential strategy to unite Hindus and Muslims against colonial rule and draw all communities into the nationalist fold.
• Congress Endorsement and Compromise:
  • September 1920 (Calcutta Special Session): Gandhi convinced Congress leaders to launch non-cooperation in support of Khilafat as well as Swaraj.
  • Internal Tussle: Reluctance surfaced among some members over boycotting the November 1920 council elections and fears that the movement could trigger violence.
  • December 1920 (Nagpur Session): Following national tours by Gandhi and Shaukat Ali, a compromise was reached, and the Non-Cooperation programme was formally ratified.
• Planned Stages of the Movement:
  • Surrender of government-awarded titles and honors.
  • Boycott of civil services, the army, police, law courts, legislative councils, and government schools.
  • Boycott of foreign goods.
  • If the colonial regime responded with repression, a full civil disobedience campaign would follow.

3. Spread and Dimensions of the Movement

A. Towns and Urban Areas

• Educational and Legal Boycott:
  • Thousands of students abandoned government-run schools and colleges.
  • Headmasters and teachers resigned.
  • Renowned lawyers—including Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari, and Asaf Ali—gave up their practices.
• Elections:
  • Council elections were boycotted in most provinces, except in Madras where the Justice Party (representing non-Brahmans) contested to enter councils and gain political voice.
• Economic Boycott:
  • Foreign cloth was discarded and burnt in public bonfires.
  • Picketing of liquor shops and foreign cloth shops took place extensively.
  • Foreign cloth imports were halved between 1920/1921 and 1922, dropping in value from Rs 102 crore to Rs 57 crore.
  • Merchants refused to finance or trade in foreign goods, which boosted indigenous Indian textile mills and handlooms.
• Urban Slowdown:
  • Khadi was far more expensive than British mill-made cloth, making prolonged boycott difficult for the poor.
  • Alternative national educational institutions and Indian courts were slow to develop, leading students, teachers, and lawyers to slowly return to British institutions.

B. Working-Class Actions

• Strikes broke out in numerous cities; official data noted 396 strikes in 1921 alone, involving roughly 600,000 workers and causing seven million lost workdays.

C. Rebellion in the Countryside (Peasants & Tribals)

• Awadh (Peasant Uprising):
  • Led by Baba Ramchandra (a sanyasi and former indentured labourer in Fiji) against oppressive talukdars and landlords demanding extortionate rents, cesses, and unpaid forced labour (begar).
  • Demanded reduced revenue, elimination of begar, and social boycott through nai-dhobi bandhs organised by panchayats.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru toured the region in June 1920; the Oudh Kisan Sabha was founded in October 1920, establishing over 300 branches within a month.
  • Under the banner of the movement in 1921, peasant action often turned violent—looting bazaars, raiding talukdar homes, and seizing grain supplies. Rumours circulated that Gandhi had promised no taxes and land redistribution.
  • On 6 January 1921, police fired on peasants near Rae Bareli.
• Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh (Tribal Guerrilla Warfare):
  • Caused by colonial closures of large forest tracts (depriving locals of grazing rights, firewood, and fruits) and the imposition of forced begar for road construction.
  • Led by Alluri Sitaram Raju, who claimed special healing and bullet-proof powers and was regarded as an incarnation of God.
  • Raju praised Gandhi, adopted khadi, and campaigned against alcohol, but insisted liberation required armed force rather than non-violence.
  • Guerrillas attacked police stations, attempted to kill British officials, and waged armed rebellion until Raju was captured and executed in 1924.
• Kheda (Gujarat):
  • Patidar peasants led non-violent campaigns refusing high British land revenue demands.
• Guntur (Andhra Pradesh):
  • Peasants and tribals conducted “forest satyagrahas”, sending cattle into closed reserves without paying grazing fees.
• Kumaun:
  • Peasants refused to carry loads or luggage for colonial administrators.
• Assam (Plantation Workers):
  • Plantation laborers faced strict restrictions under the Inland Emigration Act of 1859, which prevented them from leaving tea estates without permission.
  • Interpreting Swaraj as freedom to return home and acquire land in their native villages, thousands deserted plantations, shouting “Gandhi Maharaj ki Jai”.
  • Stranded by railway and steamer strikes, many were caught and brutally beaten by police.
• Punjab (Akali Agitation):
  • A Sikh movement aimed at expelling corrupt, government-backed mahants from gurdwaras aligned closely with the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Sind:
  • Muslim peasants and merchants enthusiastically backed the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation call.

4. Popular Perception of Mahatma Gandhi

• Gandhi was regarded by peasants as a messiah, “sadhu”, “deota”, or “Gandhi Maharaj” who would end taxes, abolish forest laws, prevent evictions (bedakhli), and bring about “Gandhi Raj”.
• Rumours attributed supernatural and miraculous powers to him, including miraculous occurrences (e.g., sugarcane pans cracking, crops transmuting) and misfortunes befalling opponents.
• Gandhi’s ascetic lifestyle, simple dress (adopting a simple dhoti/loincloth during his 1921 South India tour), use of the spinning wheel (charkha), and speaking in regional tongues established an unprecedented mass bond across classes.

5. Organizational Expansion & Dissent

• Mass Organizing: Congress set up Praja Mandals in princely states, created Provincial Congress Committees based on linguistic regions rather than colonial borders, and encouraged mother-tongue communication.
• Dissent and Opposition:
  • Some Congress members opposed linking the Khilafat issue to Indian nationalism, viewing the Turkish Caliph as external.
  • Mohammad Ali Jinnah warned against combining religion with politics and resigned from the Congress at the 1920 session.

6. Chauri Chaura and Suspension

• Incident (February 1922):
  • At Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, United Provinces, a peaceful demonstration in a bazaar was fired upon by police.
  • In retaliation, the crowd attacked and set fire to the local police station, killing 22 policemen (several constables).
• Withdrawal:
  • Viewing the incident as inhuman and maintaining that satyagrahis were not yet adequately trained for non-violent mass struggle, Gandhi abruptly halted the entire movement.
  • The sudden suspension caused deep dismay and disapproval among prominent leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das, and Subhas Chandra Bose.

7. Immediate Aftermath

• Repression and Gandhi’s Trial:
  • Over 40,000 participants were imprisoned during the course of the movement.
  • Gandhi was arrested in March 1922 and charged with sedition.
  • Judge C.N. Broomfield sentenced Gandhi to six years’ imprisonment, while praising his high ideals and patriotism. (Gandhi was released early in February 1924).
• Split in Strategy (The Swarajists):
  • C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru advocated entering legislative councils to disrupt colonial policies from within, leading to the formation of the Swaraj Party.
  • Younger leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose pressed for full independence and more radical mass struggle.
  • Dedicated Gandhians refocused on constructive rural work (khadi promotion, self-reliance, and the eradication of untouchability), which laid the foundation for the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.
• Fade of Khilafat:
  • Mustafa Kemal abolished the Turkish Sultanate in 1922 and the Caliphate in 1924, ending the Khilafat campaign.

Reference Ncert Documents

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess302.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess208.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs303.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees202.pdf

• Background and British Fear of Russia: In the late 1830s, the East India Company grew worried that Russia might expand across Asia and enter India from the north-west.
• Objective to Secure the North-West: Driven by the fear of Russian expansion, the British sought to secure their control over the north-west region.
• War in Afghanistan: Prior to taking over Sind, the British fought a prolonged war with Afghanistan between 1838 and 1842 and established indirect Company rule there.
• Takeover of Sind: Following these developments in the north-west, Sind was taken over in 1843.
• Subsequent Expansion: After Sind, the next territory in line for the Company was Punjab, which was eventually annexed in 1849 after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and two prolonged wars.

Reference Ncert Document

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess202.pdf

1. Background and Factors Leading to Formation

• Rise of Political Consciousness: In the second half of the 19th century, a modern Indian intelligentsia emerged—including lawyers, journalists, government servants, doctors, and teachers—who began spreading ideas of democracy, civil rights, and nationhood across India.
• Precursor Associations: Before the founding of the INC, regional bodies emerged to voice grievances:
  • Madras Native Association (1852)
  • British Indian Association (1851, Bengal)
  • Bombay Association (1852, Dadabhai Naoroji)
  • East India Association (1866, London)
  • Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870, M.G. Ranade)
  • Indian Association (1876, founded by Surendranath Banerjee)
  • Madras Mahajana Sabha (May 1884; established by P. Rangaiah Naidu, P. Anandacharlu, G. Subramaniam, and others, later amalgamating its efforts with the INC)
  • Indian National Conference (1883, convened by Surendranath Banerjee, merged with the INC in 1886)
• Catalysts and Agitations (1875–1885): Discontent with colonial policies was sparked by issues like the campaign for cotton import duties (1875), calls for Indianisation of civil services (1877), protests against the Vernacular Press Act and Arms Act (1878), and agitation surrounding the Ilbert Bill (1883).
• Need for an All-India Platform: Leaders recognized that sporadic and isolated protests lacked impact on imperial policy without a unified, central organization.

2. Foundation and Early Sessions

• Idea Genesis: In December 1884, Allan Octavian Hume (a retired British ICS officer) presided over a meeting of the Theosophical Society in Madras, where the idea of establishing an all-India political body took shape.
• First Session:
  • Date and Venue: Held on 28 December 1885 in Bombay.
  • First President: W.C. Bonnerjee (Womash Chandra Banarjee).
  • Attendance: Attended by 72 delegates from across the country.
  • Key Attendees: Included Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and G. Subramania Iyer (who moved the very first resolution).
  • Foundational Composition: About one-third of the initial members were journalists.
• Subsequent Early Sessions:
  • Second Session (1886): Held in Calcutta (where Viceroy Lord Dufferin hosted a garden party for the members).
  • Third Session (1887): Held in Madras under the presidency of Badruddin Tyabji. In this session, an attempt by some members to introduce a resolution making cow killing a penal offense was rejected by the leadership to maintain secular character and reassure minorities.

3. Early Objectives, Demands, and Methods (Moderate Phase: 1885–1905)

• Core Missions:
  • To foster national unity and weld diverse peoples into a single nation.
  • To act as a common platform for political workers from all parts of India.
  • To remain loyal to the British crown while seeking administrative, financial, and political concessions within a constitutional framework.
• Specific Demands:
  • Constitutional & Representation: Expansion and reform of Legislative Councils at both provincial and central levels; increased proportion of elected non-official members.
  • Administrative: Holding the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination simultaneously in India and England; raising the recruitment age limit; appointment of Indians to higher posts.
  • Judicial: Complete separation of executive and judicial functions; expansion of trial by jury.
  • Economic & Financial: Reduction of land revenue and military expenditure; curtailment of Home Charges; reduction of taxes; elimination of unfair internal excise duties and tariffs on Indian goods; protection of peasants from zamindari exploitation.
  • Civil Rights: Protection of freedom of the press and speech; right of association; abolition of the Indian Council in London; review of forest laws; police reforms; educational expansion.
• Methods of the Moderates:
  • Relied entirely on constitutional mechanisms: appeals, petitions, memorandums, leaflets, pamphlets, resolutions, and sending deputations to Britain.
  • These cautious, non-violent tactics were critically termed “Political Mendicancy” by radical leaders.
• Key Achievements of the Moderate Era:
  • Built an indigenous anti-colonial ideology and awakened national consciousness.
  • Popularized ideas of representative democracy and civil liberties.
  • Economic Critique & Drain Theory: Formulated primarily by Dadabhai Naoroji (in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India), Justice Ranade, and Romesh Chandra Dutt. Demonstrated how resources were drained via Home Charges, pensions, troop expenses, and profits without fair return, leading to the appointment of the Welby Commission.
  • Legislative Concession: Influenced the British Parliament to pass the Indian Councils Act of 1892, which enlarged legislative councils and permitted discussion on the budget.

4. Ideological Factionalism and the Surat Split (1905–1907)

• Rise of Militant Nationalists (Extremists):
  • Led by the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate—Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab), Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Maharashtra), Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal)—and Aurobindo Ghose.
  • Disillusioned with moderate methods and British intransigence, they advocated direct mass action, swadeshi, national education, and passive resistance.
  • Redefined political goals toward Swaraj (self-rule / political independence).
• Partition of Bengal (1905) & Swadeshi Movement:
  • Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal in 1905, triggering intense nationwide opposition.
  • In the 1906 Calcutta session (presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji to prevent a split), four resolutions were adopted under militant pressure: Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education, and Self-Government (Swaraj).
• Surat Split (1907):
  • The venue for the 1907 session was shifted from Poona (a militant bastion) to Surat by the moderates led by Pherozeshah Mehta.
  • Militants proposed Lala Lajpat Rai for President, while moderates backed Rash Behari Ghosh. Rai stepped aside to prevent a clash, but conflict arose over whether to retain the four 1906 Calcutta resolutions.
  • The session dissolved in chaos, splitting the Congress into moderates and militants.
  • The post-split organization (known as the “Mehta Congress”) reaffirmed loyalty to the British, while the extremists were excluded and severely targeted by colonial prosecution and imprisonment.

5. Reunion and the Lucknow Pact (1916)

• Constitutional Amendment (1915): At the December 1915 Bombay session, through efforts by Tilak and Annie Besant, the INC altered its rules to allow the readmission of the extremist wing.
• Reunion at Lucknow (1916):
  • Presided over by Ambika Charan Mazumdar, who hailed the return of the extremists after ten years of separation.
  • Working in tandem with Annie Besant’s and Tilak’s Home Rule Leagues, the reunited Congress revitalized the nationalist movement.
• The Lucknow Pact (1916):
  • An agreement made between the INC and the All India Muslim League (with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as chief architect).
  • Provisions:
    • Broadening legislative franchise; ensuring 4/5ths of central and provincial legislative councils were elected and 1/5th nominated.
    • Half of executive council members were to be elected Indians.
    • The INC officially conceded separate electorates for Muslims and weightage in provincial councils.
    • Bound central and provincial governments to act in accordance with council resolutions unless vetoed.
    • Demanded equal status for India with British Dominions.
• Calcutta Session (1917): Dr. Annie Besant, after being released from detention, was elected President of the Calcutta INC session in 1917.

6. Special Sessions and Reorientation (1918–1920)

• Response to Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1918):
  • A special session was convened in Bombay in August 1918 to discuss the constitutional proposals, resolving that the scheme was “disappointing and unsatisfactory”.
  • Moderates who favoured accepting the reforms, led by Surendranath Banerjee, broke away from the Congress to establish the Indian Liberal Federation.
• Launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920):
  • Calcutta Special Session (September 1920): Approved Mahatma Gandhi’s proposal for non-violent non-cooperation to protest the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Khilafat wrongs, and to demand Swaraj.
  • Nagpur Regular Session (December 1920):
    • Formally ratified the Non-Cooperation resolution.
    • Reorganized the Congress organizational structure along linguistic lines by creating Provincial Congress Committees (PCCs).
    • Broadened the social base by reducing the annual membership fee to four annas (25 paise) to draw in peasants and rural masses, transforming the Congress from an elite assembly into a mass nationalist party.

7. Swarajists vs. No-Changers (1922–1923)

• Suspension of Non-Cooperation: Following the Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922, Gandhi suspended the movement; this was ratified by the Congress Working Committee at Bardoli.
• Internal Split:
  • Pro-Changers (Swarajists): Led by Motilal Nehru and C.R. Das (with S. Satyamurti in Madras), they advocated council entry to obstruct imperial functioning from within the legislatures under the 1919 Act.
  • No-Changers: Led by C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Rajendra Prasad, they opposed electoral politics and advocated constructive work (spinning khadi, promoting temperance, removal of untouchability, and Hindu-Muslim unity).
• Formation of Swaraj Party (1 January 1923):
  • Formed as a separate wing within the Congress, later approved at a special Congress session.
  • Secured substantial representation in the Central Assembly (winning 42 of 101 elected seats) and provincial councils before weakening after C.R. Das died in 1925.

8. Purna Swaraj and the Civil Disobedience Phase (1927–1934)

• Boycott of the Simon Commission (1927): At the Madras session in December 1927, the Congress unanimously resolved to boycott the all-white Simon Commission.
• The Nehru Report (1928): Drafted by an all-party committee headed by Motilal Nehru; advocated dominion status, fundamental rights, provincial autonomy, and joint electorates with reservation for minorities.
• Calcutta Session (1928): Selected Jawaharlal Nehru to succeed his father as President for the upcoming session.
• Historic Lahore Session (December 1929):
  • Presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • Officially adopted Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) as the goal of the Congress.
  • Hoisted the tricolor flag of freedom on 31 December 1929 along the banks of the Ravi.
  • Declared 26 January 1930 to be observed nationwide as Independence Day.
  • Authorized Gandhi to initiate the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• Round Table Conferences & Agreements (1930–1932):
  • Congress boycotted the First Round Table Conference (1930).
  • Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931): Signed to suspend civil disobedience and enable Congress participation in the Second Round Table Conference.
  • Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference in London (1931) as the sole representative of the Congress.
  • Karachi Session (March 1931): Presided over by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; ratified the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and adopted pioneering resolutions on Fundamental Rights and Duties and the National Economic Programme, heavily shaped by Gandhian principles and Jawaharlal Nehru’s socialist vision.
  • Poona Pact (1932): After Gandhi undertook a fast-unto-death in Yerwada jail against the Communal Award’s provision for separate electorates for depressed classes, an agreement was reached with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar replacing separate electorates with reserved seats in joint electorates.
  • Civil Disobedience resumed in 1932, leading to the banning of the Congress, before being suspended in 1933 and officially withdrawn in May 1934.

9. Provincial Ministries under Government of India Act 1935 (1937–1939)

• 1937 Elections: Although critical of the limitations in the Government of India Act 1935, the Congress contested elections and formed ministries in seven of the eleven provinces (and emerged as the largest party in three others).
• Internal Ideological Regulations: In December 1938, the Congress Working Committee resolved that membership in communal organizations like the Hindu Mahasabha or RSS was a disqualification for remaining in the Congress.
• Resignation (1939): In October/November 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, the British Viceroy (Lord Linlithgow) declared India a belligerent without consulting the provincial ministries; in protest, all Congress ministries resigned.

10. The Final Phase of Freedom Struggle (1940–1947)

• Rejection of the August Offer (1940): Viceroy Linlithgow offered Dominion status at an unspecified future date, expansion of the Executive Council, and a post-war constitution-making body; the INC rejected this offer.
• Individual Satyagraha (1940–1941): Launched by Gandhi to assert free speech against participation in the war; Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the first satyagrahi, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Rejection of the Cripps Mission (March 1942): Sir Stafford Cripps offered post-war Dominion status and provincial options to secede; rejected by the Congress, with Gandhi calling it a “post-dated cheque”.
• Quit India Movement (August 1942):
  • The All India Congress Committee met in Bombay on 8 August 1942 and passed the Quit India Resolution.
  • Gandhi delivered the slogan “Do or Die”.
  • Top leadership (Gandhi, Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and CWC members) were arrested on 8–9 August, triggering an unguided mass uprising, strikes, and parallel administrations across the subcontinent.
• Cabinet Mission & Interim Government (1946):
  • The Cabinet Mission (Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, A.V. Alexander) proposed a three-tier federation and an Interim Government.
  • In July 1946 elections for the Constituent Assembly, the Congress secured 205 of the 214 general seats.
  • On 2 September 1946, an Interim Government was formed headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Mountbatten Plan and Independence (1947):
  • Lord Mountbatten’s June 3 Plan proposed the partition of India into two dominions; both the Congress and the Muslim League accepted.
  • The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act in July 1947, and on 15 August 1947, India achieved independence, with Jawaharlal Nehru taking office as its first Prime Minister and Dr. Rajendra Prasad later becoming President of the Republic.

Introduction

• India had commercial contacts with European countries from ancient times through overland routes.
• Following the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 A.D., the land route linking Europe and India was closed.
• This development compelled European nations to invent a direct sea route to India.
• The Portuguese were the pioneers in geographical explorations and discovery of sea routes.
• Prince Henry of Portugal, known as the “Navigator,” inspired and motivated sailors to undertake voyages into unknown seas.
• In 1487, Bartholomew Diaz rounded the southern tip of Africa and reached the Cape of Good Hope.
• Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, crossed the Indian Ocean, and landed at Calicut on the Malabar Coast in May 1498 A.D.
• He was warmly received by the local Hindu ruler Zamorin.
• Vasco da Gama returned to Portugal with a cargo of spices that brought a huge profit.
• He visited India a second time in 1502 A.D. and set up trading posts at Calicut, Cochin, and Cannanore.
• Cochin became the early capital of the Portuguese possessions in India.

The Portuguese

• Francisco de Almeida was appointed the first Governor of the Portuguese possessions in India (1505–1509).
• Almeida followed the “Blue Water Policy” to maintain naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean rather than expanding territories on land.
• In 1509, Alfonso de Albuquerque became the Governor.
• Albuquerque was the real founder of the Portuguese power in India.
• In 1510, Albuquerque captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur.
• Goa became the political headquarters and capital of the Portuguese empire in the East.
• He conquered Malacca in the Far East (1511) and Ormuz on the Persian Gulf (1515).
• Albuquerque encouraged Portuguese men to marry Indian women to build local permanent roots.
• He maintained friendly ties with the rulers of the Vijayanagar Empire.
• Nino de Cunha (1529–1538) transferred the Portuguese capital from Cochin to Goa in 1530.
• He acquired Diu and Bassein from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat.
• During the sixteenth century, the Portuguese held settlements along the Indian coast, including Goa, Daman, Diu, Salsette, Bassein, Chaul, Bombay, San Thome near Madras, and Hooghly in Bengal.

Causes for the Decline of the Portuguese Power

• The successors of Albuquerque were weak, inefficient, and incompetent.
• Portuguese officials were corrupt, greedy, and lacked administrative discipline.
• Their policy of forceful religious conversions to Christianity generated resentment and hostility among both Hindus and Muslims.
• The discovery of Brazil distracted Portugal’s interest and resources from India towards the West.
• In 1580, the Portuguese crown was merged with Spain, causing Portugal to lose its independence and become drawn into Spain’s European wars.
• Rise of rival European naval powers, notably the Dutch and the English, completely shattered Portuguese monopoly.
• By the end of the sixteenth century, Portuguese power had largely diminished in India, eventually holding only Goa, Daman, and Diu until 1961.

The Dutch

• Merchants of the Netherlands founded the United East India Company of the Netherlands (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie – VOC) in 1602.
• The Dutch aimed mainly at establishing a monopoly over the spice trade in the East Indies (modern Indonesia).
• In India, the Dutch established factories at:
  • Masulipatnam (1605)
  • Pulicat (1610)
  • Surat (1616)
  • Bimilipatnam (1641)
  • Karaikal (1645)
  • Chinsura (1653)
  • Kasimbazar, Baranagore, Patna, and Balasore (1658)
  • Nagapattinam (1658)
  • Cochin (1663)
• Pulicat served as the main Dutch headquarters in India until it was replaced by Nagapattinam in 1690.
• Fort Geldria was constructed by the Dutch at Pulicat.
• They traded extensively in Indian textiles, raw silk, indigo, saltpetre, and opium.
• Decline of the Dutch:
  • The primary interest of the Dutch was concentrated on the Spice Islands of the Malay Archipelago, making India a secondary interest.
  • The Dutch faced fierce commercial rivalry from the English.
  • In the Battle of Bedara (1759), the English decisively defeated the Dutch, ending their political influence and power in India.

The English

• The English East India Company was established on 31 December 1600 by a Royal Charter issued by Queen Elizabeth I.
• The charter gave the Company exclusive rights to trade in the East Indies for fifteen years.
• In 1608, King James I dispatched Captain William Hawkins to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir to secure trading rights.
• Due to Portuguese intrigue at the Mughal court, Hawkins failed to obtain permission to establish a factory at Surat.
• In 1612, Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese naval squadron in the Battle of Swally near Surat, breaking the Portuguese maritime prestige.
• Impressed by this victory, Emperor Jahangir issued an imperial firman in 1613 permitting the English to erect a factory at Surat.
• In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe arrived at Jahangir’s court as the official ambassador of King James I and stayed until 1619.
• Sir Thomas Roe obtained permission to open factories at Agra, Ahmedabad, and Broach.
• On the south-east coast, the English opened their first factory at Masulipatnam in 1611.
• In 1639, Francis Day obtained a lease of land from the ruler of Chandragiri, Damarla Chennappa Nayaka, and built Fort St. George at Madras.
• Madras became the headquarters of the English on the Coromandel Coast.
• In 1661, King Charles II of England married Princess Catherine of Braganza of Portugal and received Bombay as a dowry.
• In 1668, Charles II leased Bombay to the East India Company for an annual rent of £10.
• Bombay was fortified and replaced Surat as the headquarters of the Western Presidency in 1687.
• In 1690, Job Charnock established an English factory at Sutanuti.
• The English later purchased the zamindari rights of three villages: Sutanuti, Kalikatta, and Govindpur.
• These villages merged and developed into the city of Calcutta.
• The factory at Calcutta was fortified and named Fort William in 1700, after King William III.
• In 1717, the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar granted a firman (known as the Magna Carta of the Company) granting extensive trade privileges, including duty-free trade in Bengal, Gujarat, and Hyderabad, and permitting the issue of dastaks (passes).

The Danes

• The Danish East India Company was formed in Denmark in 1616.
• The Danes established settlements at Tranquebar (Tarangambadi) on the Tamil Nadu coast in 1620 and at Serampore in Bengal in 1676.
• Serampore was their headquarters in India.
• The Danes failed to strengthen their position against other European competitors and finally sold all their Indian settlements to the British in 1845.

The French

• The French East India Company (Compagnie des Indes Orientales) was created in 1664 by Colbert, the finance minister of King Louis XIV.
• The first French factory in India was founded at Surat in 1668 by Caron.
• In 1669, Mercara founded a French factory at Masulipatnam.
• In 1673, François Martin obtained a site from Sher Khan Lodi, the governor of Valikandapuram, and laid the foundations of Pondicherry.
• Pondicherry became the capital and headquarters of the French settlements in India, and François Martin was its first Governor.
• In Bengal, the French established a flourishing settlement at Chandernagore in 1690 on land granted by Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal.
• The French also acquired:
  • Mahe on the Malabar Coast (1725)
  • Karaikal on the Coromandel Coast (1739)
• The appointment of Joseph François Dupleix as Governor of Pondicherry in 1742 marked a new era of French political and territorial ambitions in India.

Anglo-French Rivalry (Carnatic Wars)

• Between 1746 and 1763, the British and the French engaged in a prolonged struggle for military and commercial supremacy in South India.
• The conflict was known as the Carnatic Wars because most of the engagements were fought in the Carnatic region (the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu extending inland to the Eastern Ghats).

First Carnatic War (1746–1748)

• Causes:
  • An extension of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe between Britain and France.
  • Growing commercial rivalry between the English at Madras and the French at Pondicherry.
• Course:
  • English naval commander Commodore Curtis Barnett captured French merchant ships.
  • Dupleix sought assistance from La Bourdonnais, the French Governor of Mauritius.
  • A French fleet attacked and captured Madras in 1746.
  • The Nawab of Carnatic, Anwaruddin, sent an army under Mahfuz Khan to liberate Madras from the French.
  • Battle of San Thome / Adyar (1746): A small, well-disciplined French force led by Captain Paradise defeated the large army of the Nawab on the banks of the river Adyar.
  • This battle demonstrated the military superiority of European-trained disciplined troops using modern firepower over the large, undisciplined native armies.
• Result:
  • The First Carnatic War ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which concluded the War of the Austrian Succession in Europe.
  • Madras was restored to the English, and the French received their lost territories in North America (Louisburg) in return.

Second Carnatic War (1749–1754)

• Causes:
  • Disputed succession to the thrones of Hyderabad and the Carnatic.
  • Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad died in 1748; a conflict broke out between his son Nasir Jang and grandson Muzaffar Jang.
  • In the Carnatic, the appointment of Anwaruddin as Nawab was contested by Chanda Sahib, the son-in-law of former Nawab Dost Ali.
  • Dupleix supported Muzaffar Jang in Hyderabad and Chanda Sahib in the Carnatic.
  • The English backed Nasir Jang in Hyderabad and Anwaruddin (and later his son Muhammad Ali) in the Carnatic.
• Course:
  • Battle of Ambur (1749): The combined armies of Dupleix, Muzaffar Jang, and Chanda Sahib defeated and killed Anwaruddin.
  • Chanda Sahib became the Nawab of Carnatic and rewarded Dupleix with 80 villages around Pondicherry.
  • Anwaruddin’s son, Muhammad Ali, escaped and took refuge in the strong rock fort of Tiruchirappalli.
  • In Hyderabad, Nasir Jang was killed; Muzaffar Jang became Nizam and appointed Dupleix governor of all Mughal territories south of the Krishna river.
  • Dupleix sent French troops under Bussy to Hyderabad to safeguard French influence.
  • After Muzaffar Jang was assassinated, Bussy placed Salabat Jang on the throne of Hyderabad; Salabat Jang ceded the Northern Circars to the French.
  • Siege of Arcot (1751):
    • While Chanda Sahib was besieging Muhammad Ali inside Tiruchirappalli, Robert Clive, a young clerk in the English East India Company, proposed an attack on Arcot (capital of the Carnatic) to divert Chanda Sahib’s forces.
    • Clive captured Arcot with a small force of 200 British soldiers and 300 Indian sepoys.
    • Chanda Sahib dispatched an army of 4,000 men under his son Raza Sahib to recapture Arcot.
    • Clive heroically defended the fort for 53 days against overwhelming odds, forcing the enemy to lift the siege.
    • For this daring achievement, Clive was hailed as the “Hero of Arcot”.
  • The French and Chanda Sahib were defeated at Tiruchirappalli; Chanda Sahib was captured and executed by the Tanjore general.
  • Muhammad Ali was recognized as the undisputed Nawab of Carnatic.
• Result:
  • The French government, alarmed by the heavy expenditure and financial losses of the war, recalled Dupleix to France in 1754.
  • Godeheu succeeded Dupleix and signed the Treaty of Pondicherry (1754) with the English.
  • Both sides agreed not to interfere in the internal conflicts of Indian rulers and retained the territories they held at the conclusion of the treaty.

Third Carnatic War (1756–1763)

• Causes:
  • Outbreak of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) in Europe between England and France.
• Course:
  • The French government sent Count de Lally as Commander-in-Chief of French forces in India.
  • Lally captured Fort St. David near Cuddalore in 1758 and laid siege to Madras.
  • Lally committed a blunder by recalling Bussy from Hyderabad, completely ending French political influence in the Deccan.
  • Robert Clive dispatched Colonel Forde from Bengal to the Northern Circars, where he defeated the French and captured Masulipatnam.
  • Battle of Wandiwash (1760):
    • The decisive battle of the war took place on 22 January 1760 at Wandiwash (Vandavasi in Tamil Nadu).
    • The English army commanded by General Sir Eyre Coote thoroughly routed the French forces under Count de Lally.
    • Bussy was taken prisoner.
  • In 1761, Sir Eyre Coote captured Pondicherry after an eight-month siege; Lally surrendered.
  • Jinji and Mahe were also captured by the English, completely shattering French power in India.
• Result:
  • The Seven Years’ War concluded with the Treaty of Paris (1763).
  • Pondicherry, Chandernagore, Karaikal, and Mahe were restored to the French, but under strict restrictions:
    • The French were prohibited from fortifying their settlements or maintaining troops in them.
    • They were permitted to function purely as commercial trading entities.
  • The dream of establishing a French empire in India came to an end, leaving the British East India Company without any European rival in the subcontinent.

Causes for the French Failure and British Success

• The English East India Company was a private commercial joint-stock enterprise whose directors took quick, business-driven, independent decisions; the French company was a government-run enterprise dependent on the state, marred by red tape and political interference.
• The British had absolute naval superiority over the French, allowing them to bring supplies, reinforcements, and money freely from England and across regions of India.
• The British held possession of the fertile and wealthy province of Bengal after the Battle of Plassey (1757), which supplied them with inexhaustible financial resources; the French possessions in the south were commercially poor and incurred heavy debts.
• The British had brilliant and capable military commanders like Robert Clive, Sir Eyre Coote, and Stringer Lawrence, whereas the French had internal squabbles and lack of co-operation among leaders like Dupleix, Lally, and La Bourdonnais.
• Dupleix committed a mistake by prioritizing political conquests in the Deccan over commercial activities, causing the financial ruin of the French company.

Learning Outcome

• Explains the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama and Portuguese settlements.
• Details the rise and fall of the Portuguese and Dutch trade posts.
• Traces the emergence of the English East India Company and the acquisition of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.
• Accounts for the arrival of the French and the development of Pondicherry.
• Analyzes the three Carnatic Wars and the factors contributing to British victory and French defeat.

Reference

Unit 23 of the Class 11 textbook, pages 175–181

• Date and Location: The incident occurred on April 13, 1919, in the enclosed ground/peaceful garden of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab.
• Background and Gathering:
  • Following countrywide hartals and protests against the Rowlatt Act—which permitted detention without trial and curbed civil liberties—tensions had grown intense in Punjab.
  • Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi, detained while proceeding to Punjab, and prominent local Congress leaders in Amritsar were arrested.
  • On April 10, police firing on a peaceful procession in Amritsar provoked attacks on banks, post offices, and railway stations, leading to the imposition of martial law under General Dyer.
  • On April 13 (Baisakhi day), a large crowd of thousands consisting of men, women, and children assembled in Jallianwala Bagh.
  • Part of the crowd gathered to peacefully protest against the repressive Rowlatt Act and the arrest of local leaders, while others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair and celebration.
  • Many villagers attending from outside the city were unaware that martial law had been imposed.

• The Firing and Atrocities:
  • Brigadier-General Dyer entered the area with his troops, blocked/sealed the main exit points, and without warning opened fire on the unarmed gathering.
  • The firing continued for about ten minutes, with troops raining down 1,650 rounds of ammunition.
  • Troops deliberately targeted the thickest parts of the crowd and shot at those attempting to flee through exits.
  • Many people were shot, some were trampled during the panic, and others leapt into a well to escape the gunfire.

• Dyer’s Stated Objective: Dyer later declared that his objective in ordering the firing was to “produce a moral effect” and instill a sense of terror and awe in the minds of satyagrahis.
• Casualties and Toll:
  • Official British counts admitted to nearly 400 dead (or more than 400 killed) and over 1,200 wounded.
  • Indian estimates placed the death toll at over 1,000.
• Immediate Government Repression:
  • As news of the massacre spread, crowds demonstrated, went on strike, clashed with police, and attacked government buildings across north Indian towns.
  • The colonial administration retaliated with brutal measures to terrorize and humiliate the public: satyagrahis were flogged, forced to crawl on streets under Dyer’s “crawling orders”, made to rub their noses on the ground, and forced to do salaam to all sahibs.
  • Villages around Gujranwala in Punjab were subjected to bombing.
• National and Leader Reactions:
  • The massacre sent shockwaves across India, permanently destroyed public trust in the British administration, and united people across backgrounds in their determination to achieve freedom.
  • Lala Lajpat Rai led protests in 1919 against the Rowlatt Act and the massacre.
  • Rabindranath Tagore renounced his British knighthood in protest, conveying the country’s pain and indignation in a strongly worded letter to the Viceroy.
  • Seeing the spread of violence following the Rowlatt satyagraha and the massacre’s aftermath, Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement.
  • The outrage over the massacre—often referred to as the “Punjab wrongs”—became one of the central issues (alongside the Khilafat cause and the demand for Swaraj) that led Gandhi and the Congress to launch the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Official Inquiries and Dyer’s Removal:
  • Dyer earned the moniker “Butcher of Amritsar” and proudly defended his actions before a British-dominated inquiry committee.
  • The committee condemned his conduct but did not recommend any penal action.
  • Amid widespread public outcry, Dyer was ultimately removed from India.
  • The British government has never formally apologised for the atrocity, limiting its remarks to describing it as a “deeply shameful event in British history”.
• Later Retaliation (Udham Singh):
  • Michael O’Dwyer, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab at the time and had ruthlessly suppressed civil rights, openly defended Dyer’s actions.
  • Two decades later, Indian revolutionary and Ghadar Party member Udham Singh tracked down O’Dwyer in London and shot him dead.
  • Udham Singh was arrested, asserted the legitimacy of his action during his trial, and was executed by hanging.
• Memorial: A Martyrs’ Memorial was erected at the site of Jallianwala Bagh to commemorate those who lost their lives.

Reference Ncert Documents

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess302.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess208.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs303.pdf

https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hees202.pdf