Freedom movement in Maharashtra
Foundation
The political associations like the Bombay Associations, the Bombay Presidency Association, the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and many other associations provided forums to articulate the various aspirations of people. However, the politically conscious people realised the need to organize an all India forum to formulate a common programme of activity and carry on public education to create broad based freedom struggle. These aspirations led the leaders to establish the All India National Congress in 1885 in the hall of the Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Mumbai. The venue of the Congress was shifted from Poona to Mumbai on account of outbreak of Cholera an epidemic in Poona.
After the foundation of Indian national Congress, there arose different forms and factions in the Indian nationalism in Maharashtra. They were as moderates, extremists, revolutionaries and Gandhi age. The first three forms were represented by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vinayak Damodar Sarvarkar respectively where as due to the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, his period came to be known as Gandhi age. Although, the Congress leaders had different approaches towards the national movement, all they aimed the achievement of independence based on the unity of people, which was evolved due to common customs, civil institutions and historical traditions.
The moderate phase
Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji, Phirozshah Mehta and Mahadev Govind Ranade were theleaders of this Congress. These leaders believed in the British liberal traditions, their rule of law and sense of judiciary. The moderates wanted reforms first with the help of British as freedom of speech, association and press, reforms in the executive and legislative councils at the centre and in the provinces. The moderates wanted the British stop exploiting Indians and destructing Indian crafts and cottage industries. They should stop investing in Indian Railways, plantations mines and factories. The British should help the rising Indian capitalists in building Indian industries by way of loans, aid and subsidies where ever required. The moderates demanded a reduction in heavy taxes, land revenue and free the peasants from the debts of money lenders by giving them loans at reasonable interest. In order to help the Indian peasantry, the British should establish land banks and advance loan for irrigation. The British should reduce the military expenditure taking place on its maintenance in India. The moderates wanted that the British should reform and reorganize the civil services, raise the age criteria from 19 to 21 years and hold examinations simultaneously in India and England.
They believed in the sense of justice and traditions of liberalism of the British. They, therefore, under took petition and appeals to get sanctioned their demands. They also undertook public meetings and writing extensively in Indian now’s papers, journals and pamphlets. Although, the moderates put forth various demands and adopted all legal and constitutional strategies to get them passed, they could not succeed in getting them passed. Leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and other Extremist Congress members were very critical about strategies and programme the moderates. Although the moderates could not reach to the masses, they could keep alive the Indian national movement for a long period.
The Home Rule Movement
During the absence of Tilak for Six years in Mandalay, Burme many things had happened in India as the Morley-Minto Reforms and cancellation of the partition of Bangali were some of them. Tilak come back to India on 16th June, 1914 and the national movement got new spirit. After the outbreak of the First Word War and the death of G. K. Gokhale and Sir Pherozshah Mehta, the Moderate leaders, Annie Besant began to explore the possibility of reuniting the Moderates, Extremists and Muslim League together. She also prepared for the Congress-league pact in 1616 to revigourate the Indian national Congress and pressurise the British to grant the self Government to India.
Although, these events took place during the First World War, the national movement remained dormant. In order to infuse a new life in it, Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak established Home Rule Leagues on the basis of Irish Home Rule League in Madras and Pune respectively. Tilak appointed Kaka Joseph Baptista as the President of Home Rule league of Pune in 1916. The objective of the Home Rule League movement was to attain Home Rule or self Government within the British Empire by constitutional means and to educate and organize public opinion towards the attainment of the same without any violence.
In order to achieve the objective of the movement, Tilak and Annie Besant cooperated with each other and travelled together acrossed the country. They secured cordial response from the people every where. This led the British Government to suppress the movement. The British prosecuted Tilak many times for delivering seditious speeches across the country. Although, the people supported the movement, it declined following the August Declaration of 1917 of the British Government by Montague, the then secretary of State for India.
The militant nationalism
The nationalists in twentieth century India were divided into the moderates, the Extremists and the Revolutionary nationalists. The moderates drew their inspiration from the constitutional history of England and wanted to achieve self-Government through peaceful and constitutional means. The extremists wanted to Swaraj through the policy of boycott and promoted swadeshi movement-vehemenitly. The revolutionary nationalists also believed in swaraj but undertook the practices followed in Russia and other western countries to achieve it.
There were several factors contributed to the rise of militant nationalism as the emergence of English educated middle class, that was enough sensitive to the miseries of Indian people and was not able to speak openly. There were other causes also responsible like unemployment, recurring famines, the Vernacular press Act, the Arms Act and the failure to pass the Ilbert Bill, which grew indignation among the people. The revolutionary nationalists derived their moral encouragement from the Hindu religion, its philosophy, the fearless rational journalists and positive intellectuals in the country. They believed that they would demoralize the British administration in India by Coercaing their officials and would certainly achieve freedom for the country.
The land of Maharashtra was in forefront of Indian national Movement. It had contributed a lot in the freedom struggle movement. Since the establishment of Indian National Congress, the leaders of Maharashtra were actively involved in freedom movement. They dominated the moderate and extremist phase and opposed the inhuman policies of British government. Revolutionaries from Maharashtra also wage a war against the British rule and contributed in Indian National Movement.
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