Programmes and Achievements of The Early Nationalists

Programmes and Achievements of the Early Nationalists
Early Nationalists
National movements in Indian history can be divided into three phases:
 The Early Nationalist Phase (1885–1905)
 The Assertive Phase (1905–1918)
 The Gandhian Era (1919–1947)
Early Nationalists
The Indian National Congress from its inception in 1885 to 1905 was dominated by the early nationalists.
These early nationalists were eminent personalities. They were lawyers, barristers, teachers and officials.
Because many of them were educated in England, they believed in the British sense of justice and fair
play. They were however ignorant of the actual conditions of people in India. Some early nationalists were
W. C. Bonnerjee, Rashbehari Ghosh, Surendranath Banerjee, R. C. Dutt, Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal
Krishna Gokhale, Justice Ranade, P. R. Naidu, Ananda Charlu, Madan Mohan Malviya and A. O. Hume.
Beliefs of the Early Nationalists

 The early nationalists had faith in the British sense of justice and fair play.
 They believed that the British would grant ‘Home Rule’ to Indians.
 They believed that the British rule had positively influenced Indian society by banning sati, female
infanticide and by raising the minimum marriageable age of girls and boys.
 They believed in agitating through constitutional and peaceful methods like writing petitions.
Demands of the Early Nationalists

The demands of the early nationalists were
Constitutional Reforms
 Abolition of India Council
 The moderates demanded control over the public purse and raised the slogan, ‘No taxation without
representation’.
 Adequate representation of Indians in the Executive Council of the Viceroy and the Governors.
 By the beginning of the twentieth century, they demanded ‘Swarajya’ or self-government within the
British Empire like the status given to Canada and Australia.
Economic Reforms
 To decrease land revenues and protect peasants against the unjust demands and atrocities of the
zamindars.
 To reduce expenditures on the army and to spend the saved money on welfare of the people.
 To enquire into the reason behind recurrent famines and growing poverty of the people.
 To develop and provide banking, irrigational, health and medical facilities to the people.
 To protect the interests of Indian industries by imposing heavy trade duties on imported goods.
 To abolish the salt tax and duties on sugar.
Administrative Demands
 To hold the Indian Civil Service Examinations in England and India simultaneously.
 To completely separate executive and judicial wings of the government. This demand was made to
protect Indians from the arbitrary acts of the police and the bureaucracy.
 To increase the powers of the local municipal bodies and to do away with excessive official control
over municipal bodies.
 To repeal or annul the Arms and Licence Acts.
 To spread primary education among the Indian masses.
Defence of Civil Rights

 To do away with the restrictions imposed by the British government on the freedom of speech and
press in India.
 To abolish the Preventive Detention Act and restore civil liberties in India.
 To allow Indians to assemble and to form associations.
Methods Followed by the Early Nationalists

The early nationalists or the moderates followed constitutional agitational methods to put forward their
demands. The methods adopted by the moderates had two objectives:
First Set of Methods: Their first objective was to spread education among the masses in India. They
followed the following methods to achieve these aims:
 They held meetings and gave speeches for pressing their demands.
 They criticised the policies of the government through the press.
 Memorandums and petitions were sent by them to government officials and the British Parliament.
Second Set of Methods: The second objective of the early nationalists was to influence the British
government and its policies. This was done in the following ways:
 They followed the three P’s—Petitions, Prayers and Protests. This was done by sending petitions and
request letters to protest against the unjust policies of the government.
 A British Committee of the Indian National Congress was established at London in 1889 which
published a weekly journal, India, to present India’s case before the British public.
 Indian leaders to Britain were sent on deputation to Britain for achieving their aims. For example,
Dadabhai Naoroji spent a major part of his life to create awareness among the British people and
parliamentarians about the plight of the Indians.
Achievements and Criticisms of the Early Nationalists
Achievements of the Early Nationalists

 They created national awakening among the people regarding the fact that they all belong to one
common country.
 They popularised and trained the people in the ideals of democracy, civil liberties, secularism and
nationalism.
 One of the greatest achievements of the early nationalists was that they exposed the true nature of
economic exploitation of India by the British government. Dadabhai Naoroji contended that the British
government was responsible for draining the wealth of India.
 Their political and economic programmes established the truth that India should be ruled in the
interests of the Indians.
 Because of the efforts of the early nationalists, the following reforms were passed:
o The Public Service Commission was appointed in 1886.
o A resolution was passed in the House of Commons for holding the Indian Civil Service
Examinations in India and London.
o The passing of the Indian Council Act of 1892.
Criticisms of the Early Nationalists

 The early nationalists have been criticised for using petitions and prayers to the government as a
method of agitation. It has been contended that such methods could have never resulted in the
independence of the country.
 They failed to realise that the interests of the British and the Indians clashed with one another and that
Britain was using the resources of India to increase its wealth and prosperity.
 They failed in drawing the masses into a national movement. They were only able to influence a
section of urban educated Indians.
Attitude of the Government towards the Congress

 In the early years of its formation, the British looked upon the Congress with favour, so much so that
the first session of the Congress was attended by a few government officials.
 Lord Dufferin wanted the Congress to devote itself to social rather than political affairs. As the
Congress became politically active, the government began to criticise it.
 In 1890, government officials were forbidden to attend its meetings.
 To reduce the effectiveness of the Congress, the government followed the ‘policy of divide and rule’ by
encouraging Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Raja Shiv Prasad of Benares to start an anti-Congress
movement.
Prominent Early Nationalists
Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917)

 He is commonly known as ‘Grand Old Man of India’. He was born in a Parsi family. After teaching at
Elphinstone College in Mumbai, he went to England.
 He returned to Mumbai in 1869 and was elected to the Mumbai Municipal
Corporation and Town Council. He also started a magazine called Dharma
Marg Darshak.
 He started movements against the Vernacular Press Act and the suppression
of peasants by the zamindars.
 His contributions were the following: Dadabhai Naoroji
o While staying in England, he was regarded as an unofficial ambassador of
India fighting for the rights and cause of the countrymen.
o He brought important matters related to India to the notice of the House of Commons. The House
of Commons passed the resolution of holding the Indian Civil Service Examinations in India and
England simultaneously largely because of his efforts.
o He took an active part in the foundation of the Indian National Congress. The four resolutions of
self-government, boycott, swadeshi and national education were passed by the Congress under
his presidentship.
o He did a pioneering work in exposing the root causes of the economic ills of India. He compiled a
book titled Poverty and Un-British Rule in India in which he explained how Indian wealth was
drained to England.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915)

 He was born at Kolhapur and was a professor of history and economics at
Fergusson College in Pune.
 He was influenced by the political philosophy of Justice M. G. Ranade. He joined
the Deccan Educational Society founded by Ranade and went to England on
behalf of the Society to propagate India’s views before the Welby Commission.
 He became one of the most popular Indian leaders of the Indian National Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Congress. His contributions were the following:
o He criticised the government for incurring huge expenditure over the army, imposing taxes over
cotton and for racially discriminating against the Indians in appointment to high posts.
o He played a significant role in the passing of the Minto Morley Reforms of 1909.
o He tried his best to influence upon the British statesmen in London not to partition Bengal.
o His untiring efforts led to a reduction in toll tax.
o He asked the government to reduce land revenues in India.
Surendranath Banerjee (1848–1925)

 He was a nationalist leader, journalist and dedicated educationist.
 After he qualified for the Civil Service Examination, he worked as a magistrate in
Assam but was dismissed because he opposed the policy of racial discrimination
followed by the British.
 In 1921, he was appointed as minister of self-government and health by the Governor
of Bengal. His contributions were
o He founded the Indian Association in 1876 to oppose the unjust policies of the Surendranath
British. The aim of this association was to educate the people and to arouse the Banerjee
political consciousness and unity among the Indians.
o He convened the Indian National Conference in 1883 at Kolkata to create an all India political
organisation. This organisation later merged with the Indian National Congress in 1886.
o He edited a newspaper, Bengalee, which was an important medium for mobilising public opinion.
o He started agitations against the Licence Act, Arms Act and Vernacular Press Act. Surendranath
Banerjee is popularly known as the Father of Indian Nationalism.

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Programmes and Achievements of the Early Nationalists

Beliefs of the Early Nationalists

Demands of the Early Nationalists

Defence of Civil Rights

Methods Followed by the Early Nationalists

Achievements and Criticisms of the Early Nationalists

Achievements of the Early Nationalists

Criticisms of the Early Nationalists

Attitude of the Government towards the Congress

Prominent Early Nationalists

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917)

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866–1915)

Surendranath Banerjee (1848–1925)

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