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