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Quick recap: Rise of nationalism and the early Congress on one page

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವರಣೆ

Rise of nationalism and the early Congress · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

Both parts of the chapter condensed for quick revision: the forces behind nationalism, the press, Lytton's measures and the Ilbert Bill, the associations from 1838 to 1885, the founding of the Congress and the safety-valve theory, the early sessions, the Moderates' methods, demands and economic critique, the Indian Councils Act 1892 and the verdict on the Moderates.

Each idea is explained first in Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Kannada and revise it in English.

ಈ ಅಧ್ಯಾಯದ ಕಥೆ: ಜಾತಿ, ಪ್ರದೇಶ, ರಾಜ, ಧರ್ಮದ ಮೂಲಕ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಗುರುತಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಜನ 1885ರ ವೇಳೆಗೆ ಒಂದೇ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರವಾಗಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಮಾತಾಡತೊಡಗಿದರು, ಅವರ ಮೊದಲ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ಏನು ಮಾಡಿತು. ಭಾಗ 1 — ಬದಲಾವಣೆಯ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿಗಳು, ಮೊದಲೇ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಸಂಘಗಳು; ಭಾಗ 2 — ಭಾರತೀಯ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಹುಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ 1905ರವರೆಗೆ, ಮಂದಗಾಮಿಗಳ ನಾಯಕತ್ವ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೊಳಗಾಗುವವರೆಗೆ. ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಮನೆಗಳವರು ಒಂದೇ ಬೀದಿಯವರು ಎಂದು ಅರಿತಂತೆ. (→ English: Indian National Congress · Moderates · हिन्दी: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस · नरमपंथी)

In exam EnglishThis chapter explains how people who had thought of themselves mainly through caste, region, ruler or faith came, by 1885, to speak as members of one nation, and what their first national organisation did with that idea. Part 1 traced the forces behind the change and the associations that prepared the ground; Part 2 followed the Indian National Congress from its founding to 1905, when the leadership of the Moderates began to be questioned.
At a glance: the road to the Congress and its first twenty years
YearEvent or bodyKey point
1838Landholders' SocietyFirst political association; zamindars' interests
1851British Indian AssociationMerger of Bengal bodies; petition before the Charter Act of 1853
1866East India AssociationFounded in London by Dadabhai Naoroji
1876Indian AssociationSurendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose; ICS agitation
1878Vernacular Press Act; Arms ActLytton's measures; press Act repealed in 1882
1883–84Ilbert BillEuropean agitation forced a compromise
1885Indian National CongressBombay, 28 December; W. C. Bonnerjee; 72 delegates
1892Indian Councils ActLarger councils, budget discussion, questions, disguised indirect election
1901Poverty and Un-British Rule in IndiaNaoroji's drain theory collected

ಶಕ್ತಿಗಳು: ಒಂದೇ ಆಡಳಿತದ ಅಡಿ ಏಕೀಕರಣ — 1853ರಿಂದ ರೈಲು, ತಂತಿ, ಅಂಚೆ; ಪಾಶ್ಚಾತ್ಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ — 1857ರ ಮೂರು ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಗಳು ಹಕ್ಕುಗಳ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಭಾಷೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟವು; ಭೂತಕಾಲದ ಮರುಶೋಧ; ಉದ್ಯೋಗ, ಕಂದಾಯ, ಕರಕುಶಲ ನಾಶ, ಸಂಪತ್ತಿನ ಸೋರಿಕೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ನೋವು. ಭಾರತೀಯ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳು ಇದನ್ನು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯವಾಗಿಸಿದವು. ಲಿಟ್ಟನ್ ಕಾಲ (1876–80) ಬೆಂಕಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿತು — ಬರದಲ್ಲಿ 1877ರ ದೆಹಲಿ ದರ್ಬಾರ್, 1878ರ ದೇಶೀಯ ಭಾಷಾ ಪತ್ರಿಕಾ ಕಾಯ್ದೆ, ಶಸ್ತ್ರ ಕಾಯ್ದೆ, ಐಸಿಎಸ್ ವಯೋಮಿತಿ ಇಳಿಕೆ. 1883ರ ಇಲ್ಬರ್ಟ್ ಮಸೂದೆ ಯುರೋಪಿಯನ್ನರ ಆಂದೋಲನದಿಂದ 1884ರಲ್ಲಿ ದುರ್ಬಲವಾಯಿತು — ಸಂಘಟಿತ ಆಂದೋಲನದ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಭಾರತೀಯರು ಕಲಿತರು. (→ English: Drain of wealth · Vernacular Press Act · Ilbert Bill · हिन्दी: धन का निष्कासन · वर्नाक्युलर प्रेस एक्ट · इल्बर्ट बिल)

In exam EnglishThe forces were unification under one administration, with railways from 1853, the telegraph and the post; Western education, with the three universities of 1857 giving a common language of rights; the rediscovery of India's past; and shared grievance over jobs, revenue, ruined crafts and the Drain of wealth. Indian-owned newspapers turned these into public opinion. Lytton's years (1876–80) sharpened it: the Delhi Durbar of 1877 during famine, the Vernacular Press Act and the Arms Act of 1878, and a lower ICS age limit. The Ilbert Bill of 1883, watered down in 1884 after European protest, taught Indians the power of organised agitation.

ಸಂಘಗಳು ಭೂಮಾಲೀಕರ ಹಿತಾಸಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಯಾವಂತ ಮಧ್ಯಮವರ್ಗದತ್ತ ಸಾಗಿದವು. ಬಂಗಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್‌ಹೋಲ್ಡರ್ಸ್ ಸೊಸೈಟಿ (1838), ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷ್ ಇಂಡಿಯನ್ ಅಸೋಸಿಯೇಷನ್ (1851); ಲಂಡನ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನೌರೋಜಿಯ ಈಸ್ಟ್ ಇಂಡಿಯಾ ಅಸೋಸಿಯೇಷನ್ (1866); ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಪೂನಾ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಸಭಾ (1870). ಸುರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥ ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ಜಿ, ಆನಂದಮೋಹನ ಬೋಸ್ ನಡೆಸಿದ ಕಲ್ಕತ್ತಾದ ಇಂಡಿಯನ್ ಅಸೋಸಿಯೇಷನ್ (1876) ಐಸಿಎಸ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ದೇಶವ್ಯಾಪಿ ಪ್ರಚಾರ, 1883ರಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂಡಿಯನ್ ನ್ಯಾಷನಲ್ ಕಾನ್ಫರೆನ್ಸ್. ಮದ್ರಾಸ್ ಮಹಾಜನ ಸಭಾ (1884), ಬಾಂಬೆ ಪ್ರೆಸಿಡೆನ್ಸಿ ಅಸೋಸಿಯೇಷನ್ (1885) — ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳ ನಡುವಿನ ಕಾಲುದಾರಿಗಳು ಸೇರಿ ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿಯಾದಂತೆ, ಅಖಿಲ ಭಾರತ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗೆ ದಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದವು. (→ English: Indian Association · हिन्दी: इंडियन एसोसिएशन)

In exam EnglishThe associations moved from landed interests to the educated middle class. In Bengal came the Landholders' Society (1838) and the British Indian Association (1851); in London, Naoroji's East India Association (1866); in western India, the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870). The Indian Association of Calcutta (1876), led by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose, ran an all-India campaign on the ICS and held the Indian National Conference in 1883. The Madras Mahajan Sabha (1884) and the Bombay Presidency Association (1885) completed the network that made an all-India body possible.

ಭಾರತೀಯ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್‌ನ ಮೊದಲ ಅಧಿವೇಶನ 28 ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 1885ರಂದು ಬಾಂಬೆಯಲ್ಲಿ — ಕಾಲರಾದಿಂದ ಪೂನಾದಿಂದ ಬದಲಾಯಿತು; ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯು. ಸಿ. ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ಜಿ, 72 ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಗಳು, ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಶಿ ಎ. ಒ. ಹ್ಯೂಮ್. ಸುರಕ್ಷತಾ ಕವಾಟ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತ (ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ವೆಡರ್‌ಬರ್ನ್ 1913ರ ಜೀವನಚರಿತ್ರೆಯಿಂದ) — ಅಸಮಾಧಾನ ಹಾನಿಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೊರಹೋಗಲು ಹ್ಯೂಮ್ ದಾರಿ ಬಯಸಿದ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತದೆ; ಇಂದು ಇತಿಹಾಸಕಾರರು ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳ ಫಲ, ಹ್ಯೂಮ್ ಉಪಯುಕ್ತ ಸಂಘಟಕ ಮಾತ್ರ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮದುವೆಗೆ ಪುರೋಹಿತ ಮುಖ್ಯ, ಆದರೆ ಮದುವೆ ಕುಟುಂಬಗಳದ್ದು. ಮೊದಲ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರು ನೌರೋಜಿ (1886), ತಯ್ಯಬ್ಜಿ (1887), ಯೂಲ್ (1888); 1889ರಿಂದ ಲಂಡನ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಿಟಿಷ್ ಸಮಿತಿ; 1892ರಲ್ಲಿ ನೌರೋಜಿ ಹೌಸ್ ಆಫ್ ಕಾಮನ್ಸ್‌ಗೆ. (→ English: Indian National Congress · safety-valve theory · हिन्दी: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस · सेफ़्टी वाल्व सिद्धांत)

In exam EnglishThe Indian National Congress met first at Bombay on 28 December 1885, moved there from Poona because of cholera, with W. C. Bonnerjee presiding over 72 delegates and A. O. Hume as general secretary. The safety-valve theory, drawn mainly from Wedderburn's 1913 biography of Hume, holds that Hume wanted a harmless outlet for discontent; historians now see the Congress as the outcome of Indian efforts, with Hume as a useful organiser. Early presidents included Naoroji (1886), Tyabji (1887, the first Muslim) and Yule (1888, the first Briton); a British Committee worked in London from 1889, and Naoroji entered the House of Commons in 1892.

ಮಂದಗಾಮಿಗಳು — ನೌರೋಜಿ, ಫಿರೋಜ್‌ಷಾ ಮೆಹ್ತಾ, ಸುರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥ ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ಜಿ, ಗೋಖಲೆ, ಆರ್. ಸಿ. ದತ್ — ಸಾಂವಿಧಾನಿಕ ಆಂದೋಲನ: ಭಾಷಣ, ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ, ನಿರ್ಣಯ, ಮನವಿ, ಬ್ರಿಟನ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒತ್ತಡ. ಚುನಾಯಿತ ಪರಿಷತ್ತುಗಳು, ಏಕಕಾಲ ಐಸಿಎಸ್ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ, ನ್ಯಾಯಾಂಗ-ಕಾರ್ಯಾಂಗ ಬೇರ್ಪಡಿಕೆ, ಸೇನಾ ವೆಚ್ಚ ಮತ್ತು ಕಂದಾಯ ಇಳಿಕೆ, ನಾಗರಿಕ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಕೇಳಿದರು. ನೌರೋಜಿಯ ಸಂಪತ್ತಿನ ಸೋರಿಕೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತ, ದತ್ತರ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಇತಿಹಾಸ — ಶಾಶ್ವತ ಬಳುವಳಿ. 1892ರ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಪರಿಷತ್ತುಗಳ ಕಾಯ್ದೆ — ದೊಡ್ಡ ಪರಿಷತ್ತುಗಳು, ವೇಷ ಬದಲಿಸಿದ ಪರೋಕ್ಷ ಚುನಾವಣೆ, ಬಜೆಟ್ ಚರ್ಚೆ, ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ; ಆದರೆ ಮತ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಪೂರಕ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಡಫರಿನ್ (1888), ಕರ್ಜನ್ (1900) ವೈರತ್ವ; ಅರವಿಂದ, ತಿಲಕ್, ಪಾಲ್, ಲಜಪತ್ ರಾಯ್ ಅಂಥ ಯುವಕರಿಗೆ ಬುನಾದಿ ಕಿರಿದು, ಲಾಭ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಎನಿಸಿತು — ಅರ್ಜಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಸುಸ್ತಾದ ರೈತನಂತೆ. (→ English: Moderates · Indian Councils Act · हिन्दी: नरमपंथी · भारतीय परिषद अधिनियम)

In exam EnglishThe Moderates, among them Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjea, Gokhale and R. C. Dutt, used constitutional agitation: speeches, the press, resolutions, petitions and lobbying in Britain. They asked for elected councils, simultaneous ICS examinations, separation of the judiciary from the executive, lower military spending and land revenue, and civil liberties. Their economic critique, Naoroji's drain theory and Dutt's economic history, was their lasting legacy. The Indian Councils Act of 1892 enlarged the councils, brought in disguised indirect election and allowed budget discussion and questions, but no vote and no supplementaries. Officials turned hostile, Dufferin in 1888 and Curzon in 1900, while younger critics such as Aurobindo, Tilak, Pal and Lajpat Rai found the Moderates' base too narrow and their gains too small.

ನೆನಪಿಡಬೇಕಾದ ಸರಪಳಿ: ಕಾರಣಗಳು → ಸಂಘಗಳು → ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್; ಮಂದಗಾಮಿಗಳ ಮನವೊಲಿಕೆ → ನಂತರದ ಅಸಹನೆ. ಏಕೀಕರಣ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ, ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ, ನೋವು ಒಂದು ಜನಸಮುದಾಯ ರೂಪಿಸಿದವು; ಸಂಘಗಳು ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟವು; ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಒಂದೇ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವೇದಿಕೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು. ಬೀಜ, ಮೊಳಕೆ, ಮರದಂತೆ. ಮಂದಗಾಮಿಗಳ ವಾದ ಅವರ ವಿಧಾನಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಾಲ ಉಳಿಯಿತು; 1905ರ ಬಂಗಾಳ ವಿಭಜನೆ ಮುಂದಿನ ಹಂತ ತೆರೆಯಿತು. (→ English: Moderates · Partition of Bengal · हिन्दी: नरमपंथी · बंगाल विभाजन)

In exam EnglishThe chain to hold on to runs from causes to associations to the Congress, and from the Moderates' persuasion to the impatience that followed. Unification, education, the press and grievance created a public; the associations gave it organisation; the Congress gave it one national platform. The Moderates' case against colonial rule outlived their methods, and the partition of Bengal in 1905 opened the next stage.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Which one of the following is generally described as the first political association of modern India?

  1. British Indian Association
  2. Landholders' Society
  3. Indian Association
  4. East India Association
Show answer

Answer: B. Landholders' Society

(b) is correct: the Landholders' Society was formed at Calcutta in 1838. (a) is wrong: the British Indian Association came later, in 1851. (c) is wrong: the Indian Association was founded in 1876. (d) is wrong: the East India Association was founded in London in 1866.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. The Vernacular Press Act was passed during the viceroyalty of Lord Lytton.
2. The Vernacular Press Act was repealed by Lord Curzon.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct. Statement 1 is right: the Act was passed in 1878 under Lytton. Statement 2 is wrong: it was repealed in 1882 under Ripon, long before Curzon. So (b) and (c) are wrong because statement 2 is false, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q3. The Ilbert Bill (1883) aimed to:

  1. allow Indian judges to try European British subjects in criminal cases
  2. restrict newspapers in Indian languages
  3. lower the age limit for the ICS examination
  4. introduce indirect election to the legislative councils
Show answer

Answer: A. allow Indian judges to try European British subjects in criminal cases

(a) is correct: the bill sought to end the racial bar that stopped Indian magistrates and judges from trying Europeans. (b) is wrong: that was the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. (c) is wrong: the ICS age limit was lowered under Lytton, not by the Ilbert Bill. (d) is wrong: disguised indirect election came with the Indian Councils Act of 1892.

Q4. Match List I (association) with List II (founder or leader):
List I
A. East India Association
B. Indian Association
C. Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
List II
1. M. G. Ranade
2. Surendranath Banerjea
3. Dadabhai Naoroji
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-3, B-2, C-1
  2. A-2, B-3, C-1
  3. A-3, B-1, C-2
  4. A-1, B-2, C-3
Show answer

Answer: A. A-3, B-2, C-1

(a) is correct: Naoroji founded the East India Association, Banerjea led the Indian Association, and Ranade was the guiding figure of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha. (b) is wrong because it swaps Naoroji and Banerjea. (c) is wrong because it gives the Indian Association to Ranade. (d) is wrong because it gives the East India Association to Ranade and the Poona Sabha to Naoroji.

Q5. The first session of the Indian National Congress was shifted from Poona to Bombay because of:

  1. a government ban on meetings in Poona
  2. an outbreak of cholera in Poona
  3. a famine in the Deccan
  4. a dispute between Hume and the Poona leaders
Show answer

Answer: B. an outbreak of cholera in Poona

(b) is correct: cholera broke out in Poona, so the session met at Bombay on 28 December 1885. (a) is wrong: there was no government ban on the meeting. (c) is wrong: famine was not the reason for the change of venue. (d) is wrong: the move was not caused by any quarrel; Hume and Indian leaders planned the session together.

Q6. Consider the following statements about the safety-valve theory:
1. It holds that A. O. Hume wanted the Congress to serve as a harmless outlet for discontent.
2. Most historians today accept it as a complete explanation of the Congress's origin.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

(a) is correct. Statement 1 states the theory correctly. Statement 2 is wrong: most historians find the theory too thin, since Indian associations were already moving towards an all-India body. So (b) and (c) are wrong because statement 2 is false, and (d) is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Q7. With reference to the economic critique of the Moderates, which one of the following statements is correct?

  1. R. C. Dutt wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.
  2. Dadabhai Naoroji traced India's poverty to the drain of wealth to Britain.
  3. The Moderates demanded higher land revenue to fund industry.
  4. The Moderates supported higher military spending.
Show answer

Answer: B. Dadabhai Naoroji traced India's poverty to the drain of wealth to Britain.

(b) is correct: Naoroji argued that the drain of wealth lay at the root of Indian poverty. (a) is wrong: that book is Naoroji's; Dutt wrote The Economic History of India. (c) is wrong: the Moderates wanted land revenue lowered, not raised. (d) is wrong: they called for cuts in military spending.

Q8. Which one of the following was a provision of the Indian Councils Act, 1892?

  1. Members could vote on the annual budget.
  2. Separate electorates were created for Muslims.
  3. Members could discuss the annual budget.
  4. Elected members formed a majority in the councils.
Show answer

Answer: C. Members could discuss the annual budget.

(c) is correct: the Act allowed discussion of the budget. (a) is wrong: members could not vote on the budget. (b) is wrong: separate electorates came with the Indian Councils Act of 1909. (d) is wrong: official majorities remained under the 1892 Act.

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Sources