Indian Historical Events

Indian Mutiny (Sepoy Mutiny) 1857:

 Who by? Sepoys  Bengali foot soldiers

 What was it? Widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in India in
1857–58.Begun in Meerut by Indian troops (sepoys) in the service of the British East
India Company, it spread to Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, and Lucknow.
 Why did it happen? – Indians had enough of the missionaries trying to convert them

- Rapid introduction of western civilisation

- Dissatisfaction with pay
- Gun cartridges made of cow/pig grease

 Consequence: Lack of trust between the Indians and the British. Caused constant fear
on behalf of the British until 1920s.
 FACTS: Sepoys wished to reinstate Mughal rule, Punjab Sikhs didn’t support this and
helped the British regain power.
 References made throughout the raj , ww2 ‘dilli chalo’ common phrase by mutiniers
was echoed by INA.

Royal Proclamation (1858):

 Transfer of power to the Monarch.

Ilbert Bill (1883):

 Who by? Lord Ripon

 What was it? a controversial measure proposed in 1883, sought to allow senior Indian
magistrates to preside over cases involving British subjects in India.The bill, severely
weakened by compromise, was enacted by the Indian Legislative Council on Jan. 25,
1884.
 Why did it happen? British subjects in 1873 had been exempted from trial by Indian
magistrates, and in cases involving death or transportation they could only be tried by
a high court.
 Consequence: May have caused the Indian Nation Congress to be formed. Although
not true Indian judges seen as incapable of making sound judgements by European
women.
 FACT: 50 % of the jury had to be European if the Judge was Indian

Indian National Congress (1885):

 Who created it? N/A

 What was it? Congress Party, broadly based political party of India. Began with high
caste Hindus who spoke English couldn’t connect to the masses till 1920s when
Gandhi became the leader.
 Why was it formed? In demand of more power to Indians in ruling the country.
  Consequence: Formed in 1885, the Indian National Congress dominated the Indian
movement for independence from Great Britain and has formed most of India’s
governments from the time of independence
 FACT: by 1907 group had 2 factions
- 1 group of moderates led by Gokhale- dominion status wanted
- 1 group of radicals led by Tilak – wanted independence
By 1920 led by Gandhi because Tilak and Gokhale died Besant no longer
important – passive resistance

Tibet expedition (1904):

 Who? Lord Curzon ordered the Tibet expedition.

 What happened? It was an invasion of Tibet by British Indian forces, seeking to
prevent the Russian Empire from interfering in Tibetan affairs and thus gaining a base
in one of the buffer states surrounding British India,
 why did it happen? Rumors that the Chinese government, (who nominally ruled
Tibet), were planning to give it to the Russians, thus providing Russia with a direct
route to British India and breaking the chain of semi-independent, mountainous
buffer-states which separated India from the Russian Empire to the north. These
rumors were confirmed seemingly by the facts of Russian exploration of Tibet.
 Consequence? Whilst British forces were remarkably successful with achieving their
aims militarily, politically the invasion was unpopular in Britain, where it was
virtually disowned post-war <- unarmed monks were attacked by heavily armed
British troops.
 FACTS: funded by Indian money, killed masses of unarmed monks  blow to British
Superiority.

Partition of Bengal (1905):

 Who By? Lord Curzon

 What was it? Division of Bengal carried out by the British viceroy in India, Lord
Curzon, despite strong Indian nationalist opposition.
 Why did it happen? By 1900 the province had grown too large to handle under a
single administration.
 Consequence? It began a transformation of the Indian National Congress from a
middle-class pressure group into a nationwide mass movement. Seen as E.G of divide
and rule. Caused Hindu revivalism, made Muslims think they needed a separate state.
Boycott of British goods.
 FACTS: Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa had formed a single province of British India since
1765. East Bengal, because of isolation and poor communications, had been neglected
in favour of west Bengal and Bihar which had been industrialised by the British.
Reunited in 1911.
Muslim league founded (1906):

 Who by? All India Muhammadan Educational Conference at Dhaka in 1906,

 What was it? political party to secure the interests of the Muslim diaspora in British
India, the Muslim League played a decisive role during the 1940s in the Indian
independence movement and developed into the driving force behind the creation of
Pakistan as a Muslim state in the Indian subcontinent.
 Why did it happen? It was created in the context of the circumstances that were
generated over the partition of Bengal in 1905. Muslims were fed up of the Hindu Raj
and wanted a voice of their own because they weren’t being represented and were a
large underclass.
 Consequence? Led to the demand of a separate state called Pakistan
 FACTS: counter movement to INC, INC was dominated by Hindus the Muslims felt
under represented and left to form the Muslim league.

Simla Deputation (1906):

 Who by? Initiated by Muslims followed through by Minto

 What was it? A proposal for Separate electorates for Muslims and Hindus
 Why did it happen? Protest against divide and rule, muslims wanted to be
safeguarded from the Hindu Raj.

Morley-Minto Reforms/ Indian councils Act (1909):

 Who by? Viceroy Minto and Secretary of State Morley

 What was it? –separate electorates for Muslims and Hindus to protect Muslim
minority also 60 Indians were to be elected to the Viceroy’s executive council ( 27
elected and 33 appointed) reserved seats for Muslims.
 Why did it happen? Civil unrest in India  fear of Indian Mutiny
 Consequence? Indian voice was being heard in Indian politics for the first time
 FACTS: voting restricted to the rich/ privileged. Indians who were elected and
appointed supported the raj, extremists were not represented the call for self govt was
not heard.

Delhi Durbar (1911):

 Who by? Was held by Lord Hardinge

 What was it? A celebration of the coronation of King George V.
 Why did it happen? To encourage British Patriotism from the Indians, make them
feel loyal to the Crown.
 FACTS: Medals were awarded to princely rulers and government officiers.

Cancellation of the Partition of Bengal (1911):

 Who by?
 What was it?
 Why did it happen? The partition started Hindu revivalism this caused great amounts
of unrest in Bengal and east Bengal therefore it was united Swadeshi movement by
Hindus
  Consequence?
 FACTS:

WW1 impact on India (1916):

 What? Indians responded with extreme amounts of loyalty including Tilak. Indian
Troops were sent to Ypres first then to mid-east and Turkey dues to them have low
morale and not coping with the harsh winter. Fighting Turkey caused problems with
Muslims troops who did not want to go against the caliph and caused 3 mutinies of
Muslim battalions.
 Why did India Join? Out of loyalty to the Emperor King George V
 Consequence? Compromised Internal control of India, no British Battalions in India
uprisings would be fatal  no way of stopping them. Mesopotamia caused a blow to
the British invincibility myth and to the British moral superiority myth. Indians began
to apply self-determination and democracy to India, increased Indian self a steam
could now demand more power for Indians.
 Economic Impact of WW1: India experienced food/fuel shortages, increased taxes,
high spending on Army  led to eventual famine along with the monsoons.
 Political Impact of WW1: annulment of the partition of Bengal meant that the
muslim league and congress could come together to form the Lucknow Pact
 FACTS: 27 princely states put their imperial armies at the viceroy’s disposal 
827000 Indians enlisted in the war

Lucknow Pact (1916):

 Who by? Muslim League and Congress (Jinnah)

 What was it? an agreement between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim
League to pressure the British government to adopt a more liberal approach to India
and give Indians more authority to run their country
 Why did it happen? aim to establish friendly relations with the Crown. However,
due to the decision of the British government to annul the partition of Bengal, the
Muslim leadership decided to change its stance. In 1913, a new group of Muslim
leaders entered the folds of the Muslim League with the aim of bridging the gulf
between Muslims and Hindus. The most prominent among them was Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, who was already a member of Indian National Congress. The Muslim League
changed its major objective and decided to join hands with the Congress in order to
put pressure on the British government.
 Consequence? The Lucknow Pact also marked the establishment of cordial relations
between the two prominent groups of the Indian National Congress - the bold, fierce
leaders or garam dal led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and the moderates or the naram dal
led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
 FACTS: - There shall be self-government in India.

- Muslims should be given one-third representation in the central

government.
- There should be separate electorates for all the communities until a
community demanded joint electorates
Home Rule Movement (1916):

 2 home rule leagues were set up -1 led by Tilak, 1 led by Besant

 Backed up congress and ILC’s calls for Home Rule
 Aim was to organise public pressure for home rule
 60,000 members after 1 year
 Were banned in many provinces 1917

Montagu declaration (1917):

 Who by? Lord Montagu a liberal secretary of State

 What was it? A statement of gradual self government for India – not time scale was
indicated but within the British Empire
 Why did it happen? Indians felt they should get some sort of reward for sacrifices
made in WW1  British were inclined to do something due to fear of uprisings
 Consequence? Montagu-Chelmsford reforms 1919
 FACTS: no time line was specified for eventual self government

Montagu-Chelmsford report/ reforms (1919):

 Who by? Sec of state Montagu and viceroy Chelmsford

 What was it? Proposals for eventual self-govt – viceroy to be advised by civilian’s
council. Commander-in-chief of the British army in India was to be Indian.
Introduction of Dyarchy. Electorate extended. Reserved seats for all religions.
 Consequence? Britain – leftists not far enough, rightists too far may lose India. Some
Indians felt it was great, some disappointed  even caused riots in Punjab didn’t go
far enough, reserved seats seen as undemocratic but British were bound by Lucknow
pact
 FACTS: INC boycotted first elections under Mont-ford reforms, and rejected the
reforms. Published July 1918 became law in December 1919.

Rowlatt Acts (March 1919):

 Who by? Scottish judge Rowlatt

 What was it? –reinstated wartime controls eg -imprisonment without trial, trial
without jury, censorship, house arrest
 Why did it happen? To crush Indian opposition fears of rioting and violence
 Consequence? All Indian members of the Indian Legislative Council opposed.

Amritsar massacre (April 1919):

 Who by? By O’Dwyer (governor of Punjab) and Dyer (General)

 What was it? Attack on missionary woman caused the creation of Martial law and
the Crawling order.
 Why did it happen? Had been uprisings due to the Rowlatt acts O’Dwyer saw this as
a threat to Empire, orders of curfew and general bans of public meetings were read
out in English in a few areas but still there was mass pilgrimage in the evening where
Dyer’s men were ordered to shoot at the mass congregation of religious worshippers,
 there was no escape it was an enclosed space, no medical treatment was available
afterwards
 Consequence? British lost all moral superiority over the Indians. Montagu and other
British Liberals were disgusted by dyer and O’dwyer.
 FACTS: 1650 rounds of ammunition was shot, no medical treatment available
afterwards.

Khilfat Movement (1920):

 Who by? The Muslims and Hindus combined

 What was it? Gandhi presented a plan for non-cooperation with the government till
the wrongs in Punjab and those in Turkey were mended by the British. Congress
agreed with the plan of Gandhi and gave a call for boycotting the government
educational institutions, offices and law courts. Call was also given to boycott the
foreign cloth and adopt Khadi. The programme included the actions like resigning
from the government jobs, surrendering the government conferred titles etc.
Gradually, the movement also included mass civil disobedience and refusal to pay
taxes.
 Why did it happen? After the First World War to protect the Ottoman Empire from
dismemberment.
 Consequence? Gandhi linked the issue of Swaraj (self-government) with the Khilafat
issue to associate the Hindus with the Movement meaning the movement was the first
countrywide popular movement.
 FACTS: Muslim community was attracted to the Khilafat Movement because
of the shabby treatment meted out by the British to the Ottoman Empire and
the Caliph of Turkey. The position of the Sultan of Turkey, who was regarded
as head of the Muslim community (Caliph) all over the world, was also
undermined to a great extent.

Hunter Report (1920):

 Who by? Initiated by Montagu who was angered by the massacre report was led by
Hunter the chairman of the Hunter committee.
 What was it? A committee set up in search of the truth behind the Amritsar
Massacre. They got evidence from Indians and Dyer to confirm what had happened,
Dyer said he would have razed Amritsar to the ground to set an example of them.
 Why did it happen? British needed to make amends with the Indians and find out the
truth before reprimanding anyone.
 Consequence? Dyer was forced to resign. A Punjab Sub-committee was formed it
reported of the ‘contempt and distrust’ between the Indians and British, als of the
‘inhumanity towards utterly innocent’ people.
 FACTS: 3 indians sat on the committee, all condemned Dyer and O’dwyer.

How did Gandhi Become Leader of Congress (1920):

 Was close friends with Gokhale, had widespread support in India, could connect to
the Masses and Congress
 Connected with neglected communities  Businessmen and Muslims
 Gokhale died 1915, Tilak died 1920 , Besant was seen as a women of little effect.
  Congress couldn’t find an alternative or gather enough opposition to Gandhi.
 Gandhi was against the raj by 1919 because of  the Rowlatt acts, the Amritsar
Massacre and because Turkey had to pay hude indemnities to Europeans and
Americans (they showed little concern for Islamic nations)  therefore he was able to
connect to Muslims.

Gandhi’s non-cooperation/ chaura chauri incident (1920-22):

 Who by? Gandhi

 What was it? It was non-cooperation on a national scale; boycott elections, remove
children from govt schools, withhold taxes, refuse to buy imported goods, leave all
govt posts, boycott law courts.
 Why did it happen? Aimed to make the Raj ungovernable, force the British out
 Consequence? Unfortunately the masses didn’t understand the morality of the
Satyagraha and Hartals/ communal violence broke out. Chaura Chauri  22
policemen were torched to death in a police station, the incident forced Gandhi to end
Satyagraha and withdraw to ashram.
 FACTS: Muslims declared Jihad and killed wealthy Hindu and Muslim landlords
forcing peasants to convert to Islam. Hindus on the Gangetic plain force Muslims to
become Hindus.

15. Simon Commission (1927):

 Who by? Ordered by Birkenhead led by simon

 Why did it happen? Parliament wanted a check up on 1919 montford
reforms.and suggest amendments
 Consequence? Nehru report – no state religions, joint mixed electorates,
universal adult suffrage, reserved seats for only 10 more years. 1929 dominion
status for india  make Nehru part of leadership of congress to avoid splits
 FACTS: no Indians in committee, congress boycotted all meetings. Britain
saying Indians weren’t allowed to be decide india’s future.

14. (Salt Satyagraha) Dandi march by Gandhi (1930):

 Who by? Gandhi and close supporters

 Why? Salt basic commodity taxing it showed oppression
 What was it? act of protest against the British salt tax
 Consequence? In reaction to this, the British government had incarcerated
over sixty thousand people by the end of the month.
 FACTS: learnt from previous satyagraha that the public couldn’t do it and
violence was imminent so did it with close supporters

- Similar civil disobedience movements erupted throughout the

nation.
- A non-violent "war" on the salt tax was to be continued
- There was also a simultaneous boycott of British made
cloth/goods.
- Salt was sold, "illegally", all over the seacoast of India. Thousands
of people made salt, or bought illegal salt.
 - A pinch of salt made by Gandhi himself sold for 1,600 rupees,
(equivalent to $750 dollars at the time).

13. 1st round table conference (1930):

 Who by? Labour government

 What happened? British liberal and conservative parties against dominion
status, Indians thought it was to draw up constituition
 Why did it happen? To settle india’s constitutional future
 Consequence? – central and provincial powers were axccountable to public

- British india and the princely states should be federally bound.

12.Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931):

 Who by? Irwin

 What was it? Compromise on the current stalemate
 Why did it happen? Due to stalemate in india over its future, avoid violence
 Consequence? – civil disobedience ended

- Gandhi attended 2nd r table conference

- 19,000 released from jail
- Emergency powers relaxed
- Property returned to owners

11. 2nd/ 3rd round table conferences (1931-32):

 Who by? British government

 Why did it happen? To resolve issues left from 1st conference
 Consequence? British announced communal award –rights to separate
representationfor minorities.
 FACTS: Gandhi and others didn’t go to the 3rd conference 2nd was seen as waste
of time, labour govt lost support for the motion

10. Government of India Act (1935):

 Who by? British select committee included some indians

 What ? – expand electorate, remove diarchy, provincial govts, new provinces,
reserve powers for central govt in times of state emergency provinicial autonomy
 Why did it happen? Called for by Indians demands of self govt, no date for self
government .
 Consequence? No great significance would have been effective in 1919 not 1935

9. Provincial Autonomy (1937):

 What was it? Elections from 1935 g of i act

 Consequence? - 1937 elections; congress took 8/11 provincial govts, effectively
ruled india
 - Congress forced viceroy not to overturn any provincial legislation-
congress treat m league badly no muslim politicians in provincial
govts/

 FACTS: muslim position representation fragmented, Jinnah tried to join with

smaller muslim factions, started campaigning on separation basis instead of
nationalist start campaigning for pakistan

8. WW2 impact on India (1939-45):

 Who by? linlithgow

 How it started? Linlithgow didn’t consult any Indians but nominated them for
the war  affront to new Indian politicians 8/11 congress ministers reisgned
 Indian reaction? – 2 million joined army

- Halt federation plans

- Lahore resolution  muslims demanding Pakistan comparision to
Britain and Ireland call for separate states

 Consequence? Caused divergence between muslim league and hindus weakened

the nationalist movement
 British wanted to make weak concessions to avoid having to secure inside of
india rather than fighting outside –by 1940 congress looking for independence
not concessions seen by rejection of the 1940 aug offer

Atlantic charter 1941:

 Who by? Roosevelt and churchill

 What was it? Americans displeased with GB’s treatment of India, if GB wanted
American help needed to give india ‘sovereign rights and self –govt’
 Consequence? Cripps mission would discuss implications of the dominions status
declaration 1940

Cripps Mission (1942):

 What happened? failed

 Why did it happen?- set out arrangement for the rest of the war according to
1935 act avoiding extra Indian representation and dicuss how dominion status
would be achieved
 Consequence? Acknowledge partition of india, congress rejected the cripps
mission- no defence minister they were promised, muslims didn’t have to be in
india, princes selected not elected reps.

Quit India Campaign (1942):

 Who by? Gandhi

 What was it? Non-cooperation
 Why did it happen? Against british due to slow action on nationalist demand
 Consequence?- country on rations, and had blackouts
 - Suppression using 57 battalions  lost full moral superiority

 FACTS: 1942 threat of invasion passed, war going bad for britain

5. Indian National Army formation (1943-44):

 Who by? Bose

 What was it? Separate Indian army to oppose the british,
 Why did it happen? Bose use support of britain’s enemies ie japan to attack
british from inside india, 50,000 volunteers eventually
 Consequence? 10,000 volunteers, volunteers grew as people escaped from
Japanese war camps and joined british when back in india, wanted to get back
because of famine

4. Bengal Famine (1943-44):

 Why did it happen?- low harvest, low imports due to war, shortages of other
foods.

 Disease out breaks , Wavell manages to get imports but situation out of control

 Consequence? Debts mounted, GB govt increase soldiers wages more pressure

on Indians
 FACTS: cost of empire increase by £ 400 million

3. Shimla Conference (1945):

 What was it? Failure

 muslim league wanted to be said to represent all muslims but it didn’t congress
sent azad a muslim to show they represented all Indians.

2. British Cabinet mission (1946):

 Who by? Labour govt

 What was it? Congress argued should be given power to run india as the won
the majority of the elections but Jinnah refused to argue as congress government
would never bring about Pakistan  Sikhs/ princes weren’t represented and felt
vulnerable
 Why did it happen? Push forward the drafting of India’s constitution Promise of
independence
 Consequence? No conclusion reached

Shimla conference (1946):

 Who by?
 What happen? 2 different constitutional plans
 What was 1st option? – minimal union government, foreign affairs, defence
communications included
 - Existing provinces
- Self selecting regional provinces exercising all other governmental
power

 2nd option? Hindustan an Pakistan formal partition

 Consequence?failed to reach conclusions but may statement happened

 May statement: failed led to june statement which failed led to Calcutta killings
 Calcuttakillings Jinnah aimed to use gandhi’s satyagraha to get muslims
Pakistan but the non-cooperation turned into violence and looting

 Caused communal violence hindus began killing muslims after the muslims
Calcutta incident.

Plan Blakan:

 Who by?

 What was it?

 Why did it happen?

 Consequence?

 FACTS:

Menon plan

 Who by?
 What was it?

 Why did it happen?

 Consequence?