| The beginnings of the Indian independence | | | | Indian revolutionaries were put on trial |
| movement can be traced back to the Indian | | | | including Sri Aurobindo. In 1909 the Muslims |
| rebellion of 1857. Soldiers fighting for the | | | | also formed their own body to represent their |
| British East India company's rebelled against | | | | interests. |
| British rule. The revolt was harshly defeated | | | | |
| creating a sense of injustice amongst the | | | | During the First World War there was |
| Indian elites. The late 19th Century also | | | | initially a widespread feeling of good will |
| witnessed a resurgence in Indian culture and | | | | towards the British war effort with the |
| with it a sense of cultural pride. Foremost | | | | Indians contributing many men and resources |
| amongst these were people like the | | | | to the war effort. However by the end of the |
| Debendranath Tagore and Raja Ram Mohan Roy. | | | | war with rising casualties, an influenza |
| Roy founded the influential Brahmo Samaj, | | | | epidemic and rising prices there was an |
| which campaigned against the degradation of | | | | increase in nationalistic feeling again. In |
| Hindu culture in particular they opposed | | | | response the British introduced some policies |
| superstitions such as Sati and idol worship. | | | | to appease growing calls for Independence. |
| The religious revival of Hindu culture was | | | | However these tentative reforms were |
| also inspired by spiritual figures such as | | | | overshadowed by the Amritsar massacre of |
| Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda and | | | | 1919. The viceroy of India had allowed the |
| Sri Aurobindo. In particular Swami | | | | army unprecedented powers in controlling any |
| Vivekananda became a hero of the Indian | | | | suspected revolutionaries. On 13 April 1919 a |
| movement because of his exhortations for his | | | | British commander Reginald Dyer ordered his |
| fellow Indians to arise and transform the | | | | men to shoot over 1000 rounds into a large |
| problems facing Indians. | | | | unarmed crowd of civilians who had gathered |
| | | | in Jallianwala Bagh a walled garden to |
| In 1885 at the suggestion of a retired | | | | celebrate a Sikh festival. Over 340 people |
| British civil servant a group of leading | | | | died in the massacre and more than 1000 were |
| Indian elites formed the Indian National | | | | seriously injured. The massacre enraged |
| Congress. In the beginning the National | | | | Indian public opinion swelling the ranks of |
| Congress was a very loose relatively | | | | the Independence movement. Rabindranath |
| apolitical body. It professed allegiance to | | | | Tagore returned his knighthood in protest. |
| the British Raj. However over time Congress | | | | But the lack of action against the British |
| began to attract the attention of radicals | | | | commander only served to fuel the antagonism |
| such as Bipin Pal, and Tilak. These young | | | | to the British. |
| revolutionaries were the first to call for | | | | |
| complete Indian independence and in some | | | | From 1919 -1922 there was a very strong |
| circumstances advocated violent resistance. | | | | movement of civil disobedience led by Mahatma |
| One weakness of Congress however was that it | | | | Gandhi He argued for non violent civil |
| failed to attract any of the Muslim | | | | disobedience, protesting against unjust laws |
| population, it was also weakened by division | | | | and hurting British economic interests. The |
| about what the goals of the Congress were. | | | | movement was remarkably successful and Gandhi |
| | | | became a hero in the eyes of many ordinary |
| In 1905 the partition of Bengal created a | | | | Indians. They viewed Gandhi as a man of the |
| wave of popular unrest as people felt | | | | people. However in 1922 following the brutal |
| threatened by a British decision taken | | | | murder of an Englishman Gandhi called off the |
| without consultation and seemingly promoting | | | | struggle saying the Indians weren't ready. |
| a strategy of divide and rule. It led to the | | | | This put back the independence movement for |
| first organised campaigns of swadesh - the | | | | several years. Although others carried the |
| boycotting of British goods was so successful | | | | fight on, often through violent action. These |
| it would be repeated several times. This also | | | | included men such as Surya Sen and Bhagat |
| escalated the tensions between the British | | | | Singh. But India would have to wait for |
| and Indian revolutionaries. In 1909 there was | | | | another world war until 1947 until they |
| the infamous Alipore bomb trial where several | | | | finally achieved Independence. |