Why Militant Nationalism Grew

At a Glance

• What it is The causes of the militant or Extremist trend in the national movement
• Trend began The 1890s; concrete shape by 1905
• Leading thinker Bal Gangadhar Tilak
• Basic tenets Swaraj as goal, direct action, faith in the masses, sacrifice
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Era of Militant Nationalism, 1905-1909

Where Does It Fit?

This is the first topic of the category on the era of militant nationalism, 1905-1909. The previous category ended with an evaluation of the Moderates, whose limits are the starting point here. This topic gives the causes of the militant trend. The next topic covers the partition of Bengal. Previous topic: Evaluation of the Early Nationalists.

What Was the Militant Trend?

A radical trend of militant nationalism in political activity started emerging in the 1890s and took concrete shape by 1905. As an adjunct to this trend, a revolutionary wing also took shape. Many factors contributed to its rise.

How Did Indians Recognise the Nature of British Rule?

Having seen that the British government was not conceding any of their important demands, the more militant among the politically conscious got disillusioned and started looking for a more effective mode of political action. The feeling that only an Indian government could lead India on the path of progress started attracting more people. The economic miseries of the 1890s further exposed the exploitative character of colonial rule: severe famines killed 90 lakh people between 1896 and 1900, bubonic plague affected large areas of the Deccan, and there were large-scale riots in the Deccan. The nationalists also saw that instead of giving more rights, the government was taking away even the existing ones.

British rule was also no longer progressive socially and culturally; it was suppressing the spread of education, especially mass and technical education. The Moderates’ work on the 1892 Act is told in Indian Councils Act, 1892: partial concession Administrative Indianisation,…">Constitutional Reforms, Administrative Reforms and Civil Rights Campaigns.

What Role Did Self-Confidence and Education Play?

There was a growing faith in self-effort. Tilak, Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal repeatedly urged nationalists to rely on the character and capacities of the Indian people. A feeling gained currency that the masses had to be involved in the battle against the colonial government, as they were capable of making the immense sacrifices needed to win freedom.

The spread of education raised awareness among the masses, but rising unemployment and underemployment among the educated drew attention to poverty and the underdeveloped state of the economy under colonial rule. This added to the simmering discontent of the more radical nationalists.

How Did International Events Help?

The remarkable progress made by Japan after 1868, and its emergence as an industrial power, opened the eyes of Indians to the fact that economic progress was possible even in an Asian country without external help. The defeat of the Italian army by Ethiopians (1896), the Boer Wars (1899-1902), in which the British faced reverses, and Japan’s victory over Russia (1905) demolished the myths of European invincibility. Nationalists were also inspired by movements in Ireland, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Persia and China. Indians realised that a united people willing to make sacrifices could take on the mightiest of empires. A newspaper of 1905 put it that if Japan could beat Russia, India could beat England with equal ease.

Why Did Westernisation and Curzon Provoke a Reaction?

The new leadership felt the stranglehold of excessive westernisation and sensed colonial designs to submerge the Indian national identity in the British Empire. Its intellectual and moral inspiration was Indian. Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Dayananda Saraswati inspired many young nationalists with forceful arguments, painting India’s past in brighter colours than British ideologues had, and exploding the myth of Western superiority. Dayananda’s political message was India for the Indians, as told in Dayananda Saraswati and the Arya Samaj and Ramakrishna Movement and Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda also taught that weakness is a sin.

Curzon’s seven-year rule, full of missions, commissions and omissions, created a sharp reaction. He refused to recognise India as a nation, insulted nationalists and the intelligentsia by describing their activities as letting off gas, and spoke derogatorily of Indian character. His measures, the Official Secrets Act, the Indian Universities Act, the Calcutta Corporation Act and above all the partition of Bengal, left no doubt about the basically reactionary nature of British rule. The partition is told in Partition of Bengal, 1905.

Why Were the Younger Nationalists Dissatisfied With the Moderates?

The younger elements in the Congress were dissatisfied with the achievements of the Moderates in the first fifteen to twenty years. They strongly criticised the peaceful and constitutional methods, popularly known as the three Ps (prayer, petition and protest), and described them as political mendicancy. The Moderate approach is explained in Era of the Moderates, 1885-1905: Approach and Leaders. Tilak later remarked that the Extremists of today will be the Moderates of tomorrow, as the Moderates of today were the Extremists of yesterday.

Who Were the Militant Thinkers and What Did They Believe?

By the dawn of the twentieth century a band of nationalist thinkers had emerged who advocated a more militant approach. They included Raj Narain Bose, Ashwini Kumar Datta, Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal in Bengal, Vishnu Shastri Chiplunkar and Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Maharashtra, and Lala Lajpat Rai in Punjab. Tilak emerged as the most outstanding representative of this school.

The new leadership could channel the immense potential for political struggle that the masses possessed. This energy got release in the movement against the partition of Bengal, which took the form of the swadeshi agitation.

As an analytical point, the causes fall into three groups: experience (repression, famine, Curzon), ideas (self-reliance, Indian thinkers, world examples) and the failure of the older method. No single cause explains the shift, and the militant trend grew in the 1890s before the partition gave it a mass opportunity.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Core Mains question Causes of militant nationalism are asked in most cycles
• Link to partition It explains why Bengal’s partition became a mass cause
• Contrast It prepares the comparison of Moderates and Extremists

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the partition of Bengal in 1905. Next topic: Partition of Bengal, 1905.

Key People and Terms

• Militant nationalism A radical trend favouring direct political action
• Political mendicancy The label Extremists gave to prayer and petition
• Three Ps Prayer, petition and protest, the Moderate methods
• Swaraj The goal of the militant school
• Official Secrets Act, 1904 A law curbing the freedom of the press
• Indian Universities Act, 1904 A law increasing government control over universities

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask for the causes of the rise of Extremism. These points add depth.

• Failure of prayer and petition The Moderates had few achievements in 15-20 years
• Self-reliance Tilak, Aurobindo and Pal urged reliance on the people
• World examples Japan and others broke the myth of European invincibility