Indian National Movement (Part-IV)

• Upon repeated instance from home rule leaguers, Gandhi did accept the presidentship of the Home Rule League only in 1920 and changed its name to "Swarajya Sabha". While we are at it, let's also gain knowledge about the wrong statements, lest it's asked in future exam!
• South India Liberal Federation (SILF), aka Justice Party, as was officially known at the time of its founding in 1916. EV Ramaswamy Naicker aka Periyar is prominent personality associated with it.
• The Servants of India Society was formed in Pune. Maharashtra, on June 12, 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who left the Deccan Education Society to form this association.
• Hindu Mahasabha was founded by Madan Mohan Malviya and some Punjabi leaders in 1915.

• Gandhi supported the resolution to recruit Indians for World War I.
• Gandhi’s decision was a strategic one, aiming to prove India’s worthiness for self-government (Swaraj) by helping the British in their time of need.
• He wrote to Viceroy Lord Chelmsford, conveying his personal commitment to the war effort, though he also stated his personal belief in not harming anyone, friend or foe.
• Gandhi saw the war as an opportunity to build trust and goodwill with the British government, which he hoped would lead to concessions in favor of India’s independence.
• This was a complex position, as it appeared to reconcile his commitment to non-violence with his support for military recruitment. He believed that supporting the empire in its hour of need was a way to achieve his larger goal of Indian independence.

Sir Sapru was associated with the All India Liberal Federation (AILF), a political group that emerged after the split between moderates and extremists in the Indian National Congress. The AILF consisted mainly of moderate leaders who believed in constitutional reforms and constructive engagement with the British government to gain self-governance.

K. C. Neogy was one of the Members of the Constituent Assembly of India, the body responsible for drafting the Indian Constitution. The assembly was formed in 1946, and its task was to lay down the framework of governance for a newly independent India
P. C. Joshi became the General Secretary of the CPI in 1935. Under his leadership, the CPI aligned itself with the broader national movement against British colonial rule, despite ideological differences with the Indian National Congress.

The Munda Rebellion, also known as the Ulgulan or “Great Tumult,” was a significant tribal uprising led by Birsa Munda that took place between 1899 and 1900 in the Chotanagpur plateau of present-day Jharkhand. This revolt marked a critical chapter in the history of India’s tribal resistance against the British colonial government and local exploiters like landlords and moneylenders.

The rebellion was driven by the Munda tribe’s desire to protect their traditional land rights and cultural identity from the colonial and feudal systems that had eroded their way of life.

Sakharram Ganesh Deuskar’s book Desher Katha warned against the colonial state’s “hypnotic conquest of the mind,” highlighting the psychological impact of colonialism on Indian society.
The book inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs, significantly influencing the cultural landscape during the Swadeshi Movement. It became a vital part of the discourse around self-reliance and nationalism.
While Deuskar used the term ‘desh’ (country) in his writings, it was not limited to the specific context of Bengal. The term had broader implications that encompassed the Indian nation as a whole.

• Gandhi-Irwin Pact-5th March 1931-Alsoknownas Delhi Pact
• Outcome of the Congress starting the Civil Disobedience Movement
• Solution by Viceroy Irwin- proposed congress to suspend civil disobedience movement and participate in the second meeting of the round table conference
• Gandhiji also demanded release of political prisoners not convicted of violence from jails and other demands of withdrawal of ordinances
• Enquiry into the police excess was not part of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
  UPSC has removed this question.

The Quit India Movement, launched on August 8, 1942, under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership, was a significant anti-colonial struggle. Gandhi’s slogan, “Do or Die,” marked a decisive call for ending British rule. Initially a civil disobedience movement, it soon turned violent, aiming to dismantle the colonial regime. Acknowledging the nation’s mood, Gandhi deemed resistance against state oppression morally justified, even if it led to riots.

Also called the “August Kranti Movement,” it represented a firm rejection of British rule rather than traditional Satyagraha and set the stage for transformative events in Indian history over the next five years.

• Mahatma Gandhi shaped the entire history of India under a system in which Indian freedom itself became a mass movement for truth and non-violence.
• His first important intervention was the Champaran Satyagraha (1917) to redress the grievances of indigo cultivators, followed by the Kheda Satyagraha (1918) to support peasants against unjust taxation, and the Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) to stand with industrial workers.
• Through these struggles, the methods of satyagraha were established. Thereafter, Gandhi started the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22), getting millions into its fold to boycott British goods and institutions.
• The Civil Disobedience Movement (1930), the historic Dandi March at its center, defied salt laws directly. The Quit India Movement (1942) offered the unwavering resolve of “Do or Die,” demanding immediate British withdrawal.
• Gandhi united the whole of rural and urban India, peasants, and elites, converting freedom into a common national aspiration.
• His role shaped the moral and political foundation of India’s independence movement.
• Songs from Prison Written during his imprisonment in Yeravada Jail, Poona, Translated hymns from the Upanishads and poems by Indian saint poets into English and that collection was published as Songs from the prison

• Indian National Army Azad Hind Fauj, was formed in 1942 by Captian Mohan Singh with the help of the Japanese, but due to differences it was disbanded.
• Again in July 1943, Netaji Subhash Chandrabose reorganised the Indian National Army along with Ras Behari Bose and Japanese help.
• The INA campaign was headed towards Kohima under the leadership of Capt. Shahnawaz Khan, which resulted into defeat.
• After the end of WW-2, the INA was had to surrender to the British Army and later on 3 officials were court-martialled by Lord Wavell at Red Fort
• Red Fort Trials were defended by a series of lawerys, including KN Katju, TejbahadurSapru, JL. Nehru- resulting into INA agitation across the country