Revolutionary Movements in India: First Phase

Revolutionary Movements in India Phase I (1907-1917)

People who wanted to overthrow the British government in our nation through mass uprising are known as revolutionaries of India. Due to the fallout of the Boycott and Swadeshi Movement, the first phase was a more activist side. However, the non-cooperation Movement called out in the second phase. As  a group of non-cooperation movement participants clashed with local authorities, attacked police officers, and burnt police stations which unfortunately led to the death of 22 police officers and three civilians leading to calling-off the non-cooperation Movement. 

Although most of India’s freedom struggle was free of violence, however, there were several revolutionary movements launched that aimed at winning independence for India. In these, many men and women participated as they believed, India could only be delivered from British rule through armed struggles. Although many lost lives, their stories of heroism motivated the new blood of India and motivated people to live and die for the nation. 

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Reasons for the Revolutionary movements in India 

The following are the causes of revolutionary movement in India:

• The revolutionaries of India activities took place as a by-product of militant nationalism
• The Revolutionary movement in India Phase I responded to the repressive policy followed by the government towards the extremist in the wake of the Congress split at Surat. At the end of an open phase of the Swadeshi movement
• Several political assassinations in Europe of Italy Emperor, president of France, Spain’s Prime Minister were successful in convincing young Indians to achieve objectives through violence and force
• The Extremist leaders, although they called upon the youth to make sacrifices, failed to create an effective organization or find new forms of political work to tap these revolutionary energies
• They were inspired by the rich culture of sacrifice for the motherland

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Revolutionary Activities Across India

Maharashtra

• 1879- Ramosi Peasant Force by Vasudev Balwant Phadke
• The 1890s- Tilak also had revolutionary ideas which inspired the youth towards militancy. Tilak used public events such as the Shivaji and Ganapati festivals. Also, his journals Kesari and Maharatta spread his ideas
• 1897- Chapekar brothers kill Rand, the plague commissioner of Poona and Lt. Ayerst
• 1899- Mitra Mela—a secret society organized by Savarkar and his brother
• 1904- Mitra Mela merged with Abhinav Bharat (started by V. D. Savarkar)

Bengal

• 1902- Anushilan Samiti (armed revolution). They preached disloyalty, sedition, and evolution
• 1906- Yugantar, starting revolutionary weekly
• 1905-06- Revolutionary terrorism began to appear in several newspapers
• 1908- Dacca Anushilan did Burrah dacoity
• 1912- Sachin Sanyal and Rashbehari Bose throw Bomb at Viceroy Hardinge
• Sandhya and Yugantar were the newspaper’s revolutionary activities

Punjab

Revolutionary activity by Ajit Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhai Parmanand, Agha Haidar Syed Haidar Raza, Sufi Ambaprasad, and Lalchand’ Falak’

Madras

• In Madras, the people were excited by the speeches of B. C. Pal
• Chidambaram Pilai openly spoke of complete Independence. His arrest led to riots in Tuticorin and Tirunelveli resulting in an open fire in the crowd by the police authority. Robert Ashe, who had ordered the firing at Tirunelveli, was assassinated by Vanchi Aiyar

Other Regions

Bihar, Orissa, and the UP were the Muzaffarpur and Nimez murders and the Benaras conspiracy case. Though these provinces were comparatively less attested by the revolutionary movement

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Abroad Revolutionary Activity

• 1905- India House and Indian Home Rule Society was set up by Shyamji Krishna Varma and introduced the journal in London called “The Sociologist.” 
• 1909- Curzon-Wyllie was killed by Madan Lal Dhingra
• Virendranath Chattopadhyay and his mates established the Berlin Committee for Indian Independence
• Missions were sent to Persia, Turkey, Baghdad, and Kabul
• Lala Hardayal, sohan singh bakhna, Bhawan Singh, Ramchandra, Barkatullah, Kartar Singh Saraba, and Bhai Parmanand organized Ghadr in North America. To deal with Ghadrites, in 1915, the Defence of India Act was passed.

Chandra shekhar azad contribution in freedom struggle

Chandrashekar Azad’s contribution in the freedom struggle was considerable as he played an instrumental role in the Non-Cooperation Movement, and when Gandhi called off the movement, following the Chauri-Chaura incident in 1922, Azad was disappointed. Gandhi believed that people were yet not ready for a non-violent movement. Also, he felt, adequate training needs to be provided to the people. 

After the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922, it was pretty evident that the nationalists were impulsive and making wrong decisions. Depicting it as criminal discounts the local roots of political discontent. According to Gandhi, the violence at Chauri Chaura was terrible as it showcased exceptional moral conviction in pulling back.

It was then that he came in contact with Ram Prasad Bismil of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He assassinated Saunders, who was responsible for the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai. In 1931, he was surrounded on all sides by British forces in Allahabad, and it was here that he shot himself, not wanting to be captured by the enemy.

Indian Revolutionaries 

Here are the revolutionaries of India:

• On 17th December 1928 in Lahore, Azad, Rajguru, B.K Dutt, and Bhagat Singh assassinated Saunders, a police officer engaged in the lathi charge of Lala Lajpat Rai
• The revolutionary under-trials undertook a prolonged hunger strike as a protest against the horrific conditions in jails. They demanded that they be treated as political prisoners. On 13th September, Jatin Das died on the 64th day of the fast whereas the legislative assembly was bombing
• A large number of revolutionary activists were convicted and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in the Lahore Conspiracy Case and other similar cases; many of them were sent to the Andaman
• Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were sentenced to death, which was carried out on 23rd March 1931

Conclusion 

Candidates preparing for civil services, Revolutionary Movements In India, is one of the most important topics that plays a significant role in deciding your rank. Also, these notes will be extremely useful for other competitive exams such as SSC, state civil services exams, banking PO, and so on. Candidates can explore the diverse range of study material provided by Unacademy for better understanding. Kickstart your UPSC preparation today with us!