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First Phase 01 th~ Indian National Movement
SYLLABUS
First Phase of the Indian National
Movement (1885-1907)
Objectives and methods of struggle of the
Early Nationalists. Any two contributions of
Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee
and Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
The history of the Indian National Movement
can broadly be divided into three phases:
1. The Early Nationalist Phase ( 1885-1907);
2. The Assertive Phase (1907-1916); and
3. The Gandhian Era (1915-1947).
( THE EARLY NATIONALISTS
In its initial years the Congress was led by a
group ofleaders known as the Early Nationalists .
The members of this group were drawn from the
educated middle class consisting of professionals
like lawyers, barristers, teachers and officials,
who drew inspiration from Western thought.
surendranath
Banerjee
The Early Nationalist Leaders
(I
<
Many of them were educated jn Engla~d and
felt that the British intended to be Just t,, ,
Indians but they were unaware of the true i
state of affairs in I nd ia.
Leaders: The Early Nationalists included
leaders from all parts of the country as·
w.c. Bonnerjee, Rashbeh ari Ghosh
1. Surendranath Banerjee and R.C. Dutt
from Bengal;
2. Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
Pherozeshah Mehta and Justice Ranade
from Maharashtra and Gujarat;
3. P.R. Naidu, Subramania Iyer and Ananda
Charlu from Andhra Prades h and
Tamil Nadu;
] 4. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya from Uttar
Pradesh;
5. Liberal Englishmen like Hume and
Wedderburn.
The Early Nationalist leaders who led
the Congress and the National Movement in
its initial years were staunch believers m
open-minded and 'moderate' politics. The:
Madan Mohan
Malviya
 ·e,·ed in loyalty to the British C
bell . . rown B c cventw1 lly India should move towards democratic
fln early nationalist leader •ct . · · ·
fil I. .. ' sa1 m 188 7 ~elf-governmcnt(Irowcvcr, they did not ask for
' (l ,n loyal to the Bntish govemme n t because, 1mmcdintc achievement of their goal as they
1
tVI.111 me loya. 1ty to the British gov emment is . . th a t t I1e govc111ment -would suppress their
fe·' 1 red
·aeritical with loyalty to my own peopl act1v1tics .) Thcy 1 thc1 cforc , n1mcd nt winning
wn count ry.• •· ,, Th ey wanted that 1ned"1ans
and
1
111 0 freedom through a grndunl process . They made
Y have their proper and legitimate share
sl'lould the following demands :
. the government. (1) Abolition of Jndia Council.
Jl1
'fheY asked for constitutional and th v1I1) Expansion of the Legislative Council and
. h f o er
rorrns within t e ramework of the British 1
re1' ~ .h . h ru e Legislative Assemblies- both at the Centre
a.s theY had 1a1t m t e_ British sense of justice and in the Provinces.
a.nd fair p~~Y- They bel~eved that continuation
tiii) Increase in the membership of Indians
of the British connect10n with India was in
by including some member~ ekcted by
tne interest of both England and India. They local bodies like Chambers of Commerce,
concerned ~hemselves with the demand for Universities, etc., in these Councils and
reforms. Their demands were moderate in nature. by giving greater powers to them. They
BELIEFS OF TRE E ARLY NATIONALISTS demanded Indian control over the public
1. The Early Nationalists had faith in the purse and raised the slogan 'No taxation
sense of justice, fair play, honesty and without representation'.
integrity of the British. (iv) By the beginning of the 20th century, they
made a demand for Swarajya or self-
2. It was their hope that the British would
government within the British empire like
grant 'Home Rule' to Indians. They relied
the self-governing colonies of Canada and
on the solemn pledges made by the British
Australia .
government.
.1~) Adequate representation of Indians in the
3. They believed that the British rule had Executive Council of the Viceroy and those
many benefits. For example, it aided in
of the Governors.
cleansing social ills like sati, untouchability
2. Economic Reforms: The economic issues
~d child marriage.
raised by the •Early Nationalists included:
4. They were of the opinion that Britain would
help Indians govern themselves according
-1i) Reduction in land revenue and protection
of peasants against unjust demands of
~estern~ dards.
the zamindars.
5. They said that the main obstacle in
-4ii) Reduction in expenditure on the army and
India's progress was social and economic
the money thus saved to be spent on welfare
backwardness of Indians and not the
activities such as health and education
British colonial rule.
(iii) An enquiry into India's growing povert)
6. They relied on constitutional and peaceful
1, methods to achieve their aims. They
and famines.
believed in patience and reconciliation (iv) Availability of cheap credit to peasants
rather than in violence and confrontation. through agricultural banks.
(v) Development of banking, irrigation, medical
DEMANDS OF THE EARLY NATIONALISTS
and health facilities for the people.
The demands of the Early Nationalists may be
(vi) Industrial growth through trade protection.
studied under the following heads: That means that a heavy tax should
1. Constitutional Reforms : The Earl_y be imposed on imported goods and the
~ionalists wanted a larger share in the government should give loans for the
~overnment of their country. They believeq that

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io;v;;e;;m
 pm nt of iron, toal, pnpcr and ugar
m Jnd1'
trir.
Tot I 'holtt1on of Salt 1 ax and the duty
on ug LT
3 . Admini ■ trative Demand : The Early
Natmnoh t mad< the following demands in
the admm1 trat1vc sphc re:
(1) Demand for Jndianisation of services
through simultaneous Indian Civil Service
examinations in England and India.
(Ji) Complete separation of the executive and
the judiciary. They made this demand to
protect Indians from the arbitrary acts of
the police and the bureaucracy.
(iii) Increase in the powers of the local
(municipal) bodies and reduction of official
control over them.
(iv) Repeal of the Arms Act and Licence Act.
(v) Wider employment of Indians in the higher
grades of administrative services.
(vi) Spread of primary education among the
masses.
(vii) Improvement of the police system to make
it honest, efficient and popular.
4 . Defence of Civil Rights: The Early
Nationalists defended civil rights whenever the
British government tried to curtail them. In
fact, it was because of the political work done
by the Early Nationalists that democratic ideas
began to take root among Indians. The Early
Nationalists demanded the following civil rights:
(i) Removal of the restrictions imposed by
the British Government on the freedom
of speech, and the freedom of the press.
(ii) Abolition of the Preventive Detention Act
and restoration of individual liberties .
(iii) Restoration of right to assemble and to
form associations.
The Early Nationalists were practical;
they wanted to win freedom by a gradual
process. They did not aim at high demands
because they wanted to work on the lines of
~:P"""I- reaistance. Besides, they did not want to
eenoua opposition.
•
[METHOD OF THE EARLY NATIONALISTS]
The method, popularly known as Constitutional
Agitation Method was followed by the Early
Nationalists. They believed in the policy
of constitutional agitation within the legal
framework, and slow orderly political progress .
The methods adopted by the Early Nationalists
had two objectives.
First Set of Method~ Their first objective
was to educate people in India in modern politics,
to arouse nat10nal political consciousness and
to create a united public opinion) For this
purpose, they relied on the following methods :
(i) They held meetings where speeches were
made and resolutions for popular demands
were passed.
(ii) They made use of the press to criticise
~overnment policies.
,
(iii) They sent memorandums and petitions
to government officials and the British
Parliament. These petitions were carefully
drafted with facts and arguments. Though
these petitions were addressed to the
government, their real aim was to educate
the Indian people.
I
Second Set of Methods The second
'
objective of the Early Nationalists was to
influence the British government and the British
public) To achieve this objective, they followed
the following methods:
{i} ( They made use of three P's i.e. Petitions,
Prayers and Protests. 'They sent
petitions, requests and letters of protest
to the British government to look into the
problems of the Indians.
{ii) ,A British Committee of the Indian National
'-congress was set up in London in 1889,
which published a weekly journal, India, to
present India's case before the British
public)
(iii) (Deputations of Indian leaders were sent to
'Britain. These political leaders cariied on
active propaganda in Britain. For example,
Dadabhai Naoroji spent a major part of his
life in Britain to create awareness among
British people and politicians about the
p11gfit of Indians.
 ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE EARLY
NATIONALISTS
rne Early Nationalists represented the most
rogressive force of the time. They made
~e following contributions to the Indian national
movement:
1. The Early Nationalists created national
awakening among people that they
belonged to one common country-India.
This made Indians conscious of the bonds
of common political, economic and cultural
interests that united them. M.G. Ranade

2. The Early Nationalists trained people in of passing resolutions and sending petitions
politics by popularising the ideas of were criticised as inadequate. They
democracy, civil liberties, secularism and depended on the generosity of the British
nationalism. instead of relying on their own strength
3. The Early Nationalists did pioneering work and challenging the imperialist might.
by exposing the true nature of the British 2. They failed to realise that British and
rule in India. They made people realise Indian interests clashed with each other.
the economic content and character of Britain was using India's resources to
British imperialism. By doing so, they increase its wealth.
weakened the foundations of the British
3. The Early Nationalists failed to draw the
rule in India.
masses into the mainstream of the national
4. Their political and economic programmes movement. Their area of influence was
established the truth that India must be limited to the urban educated Indians. In
ruled in the interest of the Indians. particular, their leadership was confined
5. The efforts of the Early Nationalists led to professional groups such as lawyers,
to the following reforms: doctors, journalists and teachers.
J
(i) The appointment of a Public Service OFFICIAL.ATTITUDE TOWARDS
Commission in 1886; THE CONGRESS
(ii) A resolution of the House of Commons
In the beginning, the British Government looked
(1893) for simultaneous examination
upon the Congress movement with favour. In
for the I.C.S. in London and India;
fact, a few government officials attended the
(iii) Appointment of the Welby Commission first session of the Congress and took part in
on Indian Expenditure (1895); its deliberations . The Congress members were
(iv) the Indian Councils Act of 1892. invited to a garden party by the Viceroy, Lord
These achievements of the Early Nationalists Dufferin in Kolkata (1886) and the Governor
servedas a base for the national movement in of Chennai (1887). But the official attitude
later years. soon changed. Lord Dufferin, tried to divert
the National Movement by suggesting to Hume
CRITICISM OF THE EARLY that the Congress should devote itself to social
NATIONALISTS rather than political affairs. However, instead of
The Early Nationalists have been criticised on being a tool in the hands of the authorities, the
the following grounds: Congress gradually became the focus of Indian
nationalism.
I. 1'he methods used by the Early Nationalists

I r , ilt I r ~ I I l t ~ , • • I • I • I I • i
I
 Council. He fo u nded the Bombay A sociation
cchtcd th e ncwspnpC'r T~ast Goftar ( Speaker of
Ttuth) . He s ta rt ed a mu azme 'Dharma Marg
.
Darshak'. I le started movement~ again t th
Vcrnnrul a r Pt css Act ond the atroc-1ou treatment
of poor pen su nl s by ZAmindars.
His CoNTRIDUTIONS

1. India's Unofficial Ambassador Dunng h1

s tay in Engla nd , Da d abhai was looked upon a
India's unofficia l ambassador, fighting for th
cause of his country) In 1865, he founded the
Lord Dufferin London India Society in collaboration wtth W.C
Bonnerjee to publicise grievances of Indians.
In 188 7, Lord Dufferin attacked the National
He was the first Ind ian to become the member
Congress in his speech and ridiculed it as
of the British House of Commons in England.
representing only 'a microscopic minority of the
people'. British officials criticised the National While he was a member of the British
Congress and branded its leaders as 'disloyal Parliament, he brought to the notice of the
babus' and 'violent villains '. House important m atters related to India. He
was in favour of appointing educated Indians
In 1890, the Government employees were
to high posts. It wa s due to his efforts that
forbidden from participating in the. Congress
in 1893 the House of Commons passed a
deliberations or attending its meetings . Realising
resolution in favou r of hold ing the Imperial
that the growing unity of the Indians posed a
Civil Service (I.C.S.) Examination in England
major threat to their rule , the British pushed
and India simultaneously.
further the policy of 'divide and rule'. They
encouraged Sayyid Ahmad Khan , Raja Shiva In 1866, he found ed the East India Association
Prasad of Benaras (Varanasi), and other pro- in London. The Eas t India Associatio!'l soon
British individuals to start an anti-Congress became popular and its branches were se. up
movement. They sowed seeds of communalism in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai
between the Hindus and the Muslims on th e 2. Role in the Congress· Dada bhai's role in the
one hand and between the Indian masses and Congress was praiseworthy . He took an active
their leaders on the other. They followed a policy part in the found a tion of the Indian ~ aiional
of granting minor concessions to put down the Congress and was elected its Pres ident thr.ce. in
growth of nationalism. However, their policy 1886,_ 1893 and 1906 respectivel}. Resolutions
of repression and hostility made the Congres s on Self-go vernm ent, Boycott, St, ·ut1eshi and
more powerful. National Edu cation were p ns sed by the Congress
under his Presidents h ip .
PROMINENT EARLY NATIONALIST
LEADERS
Daclabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) J,,,d.JaJ_
Dadabhai Naoroji, popularly known as the 'Grand
Old Man of India', was born in a Parsi family
m Mumbai on September 4, 1825. He worked
as a Professor of Mathematics in Efpllffisigne
Collegeat Mumbai for ten years. In 1855, he left
the teaching profession and went to England
er m a firm. In 1869 he returned
Mumbai He was elected to the Mumbai
Co ration and later to the Town I: I
 fhe credit for demanding Swar • f
aJ rom the
ogress platform for the first time (1906)
coto oirn- In h"is p res1.dential
. goes
address, he said that
tJte congress want_ed Self-government or Swaraj
~ke that of the United Kingdom or the Colonies.
3_&xposed ~he Economic Ills of I ,<'· As an
economic thmker' he came to the conclusion
~ root cause for the economic ills of
f;clia was the e~plo~tation of India by the
British. Dadabhru s views on Indian economy
are given in his work entitled 'Poverty and Un-
British Rule in India'. His famous 'Drain Theory'
explained how India's wealth was being 'drained'
to England through various ways.
Dadabhai passed away in 191 7 leaving
behind a lesson of selfless service to the nation.
c.Y. Chintamani had rightly said, "The public
life of India had been adorned by a galaxy of
brilliant intellects and selfless patriots, but there
has been in our time none comparable with
Dadabhai Naoroji."
Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915)
(aopal Krishna Gokhale, was born at Kolhapur
in
Maharashtra in 1866. He was a professor
of Histo17 and Economics at Fergusson College
in Pune)
He was influenced by the ideals of Justice M. G.
Ranade. He joined the Deccan Education Society
founded by Justice Ranade. On behalf of the
Society he went to England to propagate Indian
views before the Welby Commission. He was
awarded the title of C.I.E. (Companion of the
Indian Empire).
Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Gokhale became the most popular leader
of the Indian National Congress. He presided
over the Varanasi session of the Congress in
1905. Havmg faith in British liberalism, he
said "The goal of the Congress should be the
attainment of a form of government similar to
that which existed m the self-governing colonies
of the British empire."
ff1s CONTRIBUTIONS
1. Persuaded the British for Reforms: Gok.hale
favoured the use of constitutional means to
achieve his goals. He opposed the policies of
the British Government whenever necessary. He
criticised the Government on issues such as:
Q) mcurring huge expenditure on the British
army,
(ii) adopting the policy of racial discrimination
in appointments to high posts,
I
(iii) imposing production tax on cotton.
He made a strong plea for the reform of the
Legislative Councils and separation of judiciary
from the executive.
✓He played an important role in the passage
of Minto-Morley Reforms.
..,,,,He also served as a member of the Indian
Public Service Commission and urged it
to increase the share of Indians in higher
services.
/ During his visit to England he tried to
persuade the British statesmen not to give
effect to the Partition of Bengal.
2. Servants of India Society(Gokhale set up
the Servants of India Society in 1905)(l'he main
aim of the Society was to train national leaders
who would dedicate themselves to the service of
India) Some of the important members of the
society were Srinivas Shastri and Hridaynath
Kunzru.
3. Role as a Member of Imperial Legislative Council
'-e In 1902 Gokhale became the member of the
Imperial Legislative Council. He pleaded
in the Council for reduction in Salt Duty
 and the aboliti on of excise duty on cotton
goods .
• H.is relent less efforts led to reduct ion in
toll tax.
• He tried to introd uce a bill with a view to
make prima ry educa tion compu lsory but
he could not achiev e much succes s in it.
• Being an econo mist, he deman ded radica l
chang es in the fiscal policy and better jobs
for the educa ted middle class.
• He impre ssed upon the govern ment to
reduce the land revenu e.
Go~a le and Gandh iji: Gokha le went to South
Afn~a wher~ he helped Gandh iji in his fight
agam st racial discri minat ion. The credit of
~~rsua d_ing Gandh iji to return to India and
JOm Indian public life also goes to Gokha le. In
fact, Gandh iji accep ted Gokha le as his 'politic al
mento r'.
. Gokha le died on Febru ary 15, 1915, when
his popul arity was at its peak.
Suren drana th Baner jee (1848 -1925 )
Suren drana th Baner jee was a nation alist leader
popul ar journa list and dedica ted educat ionist'.
He was born in Benga l in 1848. He was the
first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Servic e
Exami nation . He worke d as a Magis trate in
Assam but he was soon dismis sed becau se
he oppos ed the policy of racial · discrim ination
follow ed by the British .
Suren drana th began his career as a Profes sor
of Englis h at the Metro politan Colleg e. He set
up his own school which later develo ped into
Ripon Colleg e.
Suren drana th was electe d to the Calcu tta
Corpo ration and remai ned its memb er for nearly
two decad es. He was electe d to the Benga l
Legisl ative Counc il four times. In 1921 he was
appoin ted as minist er of self-go vernm ent and
health by the govern or of Benga l. He was the
first Indian to hold that positio n.
He advoc ated use of consti tution al metho ds
e attain ment of India's goals. His famou s
waa, "Oppo sition where neces sary,
:ti.on where possib le."
Surend ranath Banerj ee
HIS 9<>NTR IBUTION S
.;{. Estab lished the Indian Assoc iation : To
fight agains t the wrong policie s of the British
he founde d the Indian Assoc iation in 1876'.
,,(ts aims were to educa te the people ; to create
strong public opinio n in the countr y; and to
arouse politic al consci ousne ss and unity.
2. Creat ed an All-In dia Polit ical
Organ isation : In order to create an all-Ind ia
politic al organi sation Suren drana th conven ed
the Indian Nation al Confe rence in 1883 at
Kolkat a. Suren dranat h Banerj ee's Indian National
Confer ence merge d with the Indian Nation al
Congr ess in 1886 as both organi sation s had
simila r objecti ves. He presid ed over two session s
of the Congre ss in 1895 and 1902.
3. Politi cal Ideas : 'Bane rjee edited a
newsp aper, Benga lee, which served as a powerf ul
mediu m for mobil ising public opinio n . His
book, Nation in the Making , gives an accoun t
of his politic al concer n and his views about
self-go vernm ent.
(Bane rjee starte d agitat ion again st the
Licenc e Act, Arms Act, Verna cular Press Act
and agains t loweri ng the age from 21 to 19
years to appea r in the I.C.S. Exami nation. He
oppose d the Morley -Minto Reform s of 1909 which
introd uced separa te elector ates for the Hindu s
and the Muslim s. He also oppose d the division
of Benga l by Lord Curzon in 1905.
Banerj ee, popula rly known as the Father of
Indian Nation alism, breath ed his last in 1925.
· • i '4' ii I :1 iWN •:f ..
~ ------- '-~"'·,~c•=a>> >
tta• Early Nationalists
,::. In its initial years the C
, ' ongress w 1d
known as the Early Nat· z· as e by a group drawn from the educated middle class,
framework of the Britishiona ists · They as k e d for constitutional and other reforms within the
1 as they
rue had faith in the British sense of justice.
pe111ands of the Early Nationalists
,. The Early Nationalists want d
reduction in taxes d e a larger share of Indians in the governance of the country;
Indianisation of se .
an government ct· . .
expen 1ture, economic growth through trade protection;
rvices complete · . . ..
f Indians in high ' separation of the executive and the Judiciary; employment
o er grades; protection of civil rights.
Methods of th e Early Nationalists
► The Early ~ationali sts relied on constitutional and eaceful methods and avoided violence and
confrontat10n. They mad f P
. b. t· e use O three P's i.e., Petitions, Prayers and Protests to achieve
t h eir o Jee 1ves.
Achievements of the Early Nationalists
, The Early Nationalists aroused the feeling of one nation.
,, They trained Indians in the art of political work.
, They exposed the true nature of the British rule in India.
,, They pressurised the British government to introduce certain reforms like the appointment of
a Public Service Commission (1886); holding of I.C.S. examination simultaneously in London
and India and appointment of the Welby Commission on Indian Expenditure.
Prominent Early Nationalist Leaders
Dadabhai Naoroji, was looked upon as India's unofficial ambassador during his stay in England.
► In 1865, he founded the London India Society in collaboration with W.C. Bonnerjee.
, He presented his 'Drain Theory' in his paper Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.
;,, Naoroji was thrice elected as the President of the Congress.
► He was popularly known as the 'Grand Old Man of India'.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a great patriot, social reformer and educationist.
► In 1905 he founded the Servants of India Society and went to England and South Africa to
'
further the cause of India's struggle for freedom.
► Gokhale persuaded Gandhiji to return to India and join Indian public life.
Surendranath Banerjee was a nationalist leader, popular journalist and dedicated educationist.
► Banerjee was the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service Examination. He was
elected to Bengal Legislative Council four times.
► He founded the Indian Association in 1876 and convened the Indian National Conference in 1883.
► To fight against the wrong policies of the British he founded the Indian Association in 1876.
He convened the Indian National Conference in 1883.
He opposed the Arms Act, the Vernacular Press Act, the lowering of age for appearing in the
ICS Examination from 21 to 19 years, the Morley-Minto Reforms and the Partition of Bengal.