History of Indian Education

History of Indian Reform Movements

Vivekananda

• Published two papers: Prabhudha Bharat in English and Udbodhana in Bengali
• Quotes:
  • No social progress is possible without improving the condition of women
  • So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them
  • Arise, awake, sleep no more. With each of you, there is the power to remove all wants and all miseries
  • Believe in this, that power will be manifested
  • Be proud that you are an Indian, proudly claim I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother

Dharma Sabha

• Initiated by Radhakant Deb (first President of British Indian Association) in 1830
• Opposed to reforms and protected orthodoxy (opposed abolition of Sati), but played an active role in promoting western education even to girls

Lokahitawadi

• Started by Gopal Hari Deshmukh
• Advocated western education and a rational outlook
• Advocated female education for the upliftment of women
• As a votary of national self-reliance, he attended Delhi durbar in 1877, wearing handspun khadi cloth

Young Bengal Movement

• Founded by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-31)
• Urged students to live and die for truth, to cultivate and practice all the virtues, shunning vice in every shape
• Supported women's education and their rights

Indian (National) Social Conference

• Founded by M.G.Ranade and Raghunath Rao
• Held its first session in 1887
• Main focus was on abolition of polygamy and kulinism and it encouraged intercaste marriages
• Also pledged to fight child marriages

Servants of India Society

• Formed by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905 in Poona
• Did notable work in providing famine relief and in improving the condition of the tribals
• Members include MC Setalvad, BN Rao, and Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
• Member Thakkar Bappa (Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar) gave the word 'Adivasi' for tribals

Veda Samaj

• Called Brahmo Samaj of South
• Started by Sridharalu Naidu & Keshab Chandra Sen when Sen visited Madras in 1864
• He translated books of Brahmo Dharma into Tamil and Telegu

Seva Samiti

• Started by Hridayanath Kunzru, a member of the Servants of India Society, in Allahabad in 1914
• Aimed to improve the status of the suffering classes, reform criminals, and to rescue those suffering in society

India's First Women's University

• Started by D.K.Karve in Bombay in 1916 (now called Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) University)

Arya Samaj

• Founded by Swami Dayanand (earlier name, Moolshankar) in Bombay in 1875
• Motto was 'Go back to the Vedas' and 'India for the Indians'
• Disregarded Puranas, idol worship, casteism, and untouchability
• Advocated widow remarriage
• Believed that good governance is no substitute for self-government
• Views were published in his famous work, Satyarth Prakash (in Hindi)
• Also started the 'Shuddhi' movement to convert non-Hindus to Hinduism

Lord Chelmsford (1916–1921)

• August Declaration of 1917: control over the Indian government would be gradually transferred to the Indian people
• The Government of India Act in 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford reforms) was passed
• Rowlatt Act of 1919; Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919)
• Non-Cooperation Movement

Lord Reading (1921–1926)

• Rowlatt Act was repealed along with the Press Act of 1910
• Suppressed Non-Cooperation Movement
• Prince of Wales visited India in November 1921
• Moplah rebellion (1921) took place in Kerala
• Ahmedabad session of 1921
• Formation of Swaraj Party
• Vishwabharati University started functioning in 1922
• Communist Party was founded in 1921 by M.N.Roy
• Kakory Train Robbery on August 9, 1925
• Communal riots of 1923-25 in Multan, Amritsar, Delhi, etc.

Lord Irwin (1926–1931)

• Simon Commission visited India in 1928
• Congress passed the Indian Resolution in 1929
• Dandi March (March 12, 1930)
• Civil Disobedience Movement (1930)
• First Round Table Conference held in England in 1930
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 5, 1931) was signed and Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn
• Martyrdom of Jatin Das in Lahore Jail after 64 days hunger strike (1929)

Lord Willingdon (1931–1936)

• Second Round Table Conference held in London in 1931

History of Swadeshi Movement

• Supported the boycott of British goods and articles
• Urged Indians to use indigenous goods
• Had two aspects:
  • Boycott of British made articles
  • Use of Swadeshi articles
• Lal, Bal, Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh played an important role in the Swadeshi movement
• Students played a significant role by picketing shops and collecting clothes to make bonfires of them
• The anti-partition movement developed a sense of nationalism among Indians
• The Swadeshi movement aimed at reviving moribund small and cottage industries

Demand for Swaraj (1906)

• The INC adopted Swaraj (Self-govt) as the goal of Indian people at their meeting in Calcutta

Surat Session of INC (1907)

• The INC split into two groups at the Surat session in 1907:
  • The Extremists led by Bal, Pal, and Lal
  • The Moderates led by G.K.Gokhale

Indian Councils Act or Minto-Morley Reforms (1909)

• The act aimed at dividing nationalist ranks and rallying Muslims to the government's side
• The act aimed at creating a separate electorate for Muslims

Delhi Durbar (1911)

• King George V and Queen Mary laid the foundation stone of New Delhi at the Delhi Durbar

Ghadar Party (1913)

• The Ghadar Party was founded in the United States and Canada by Punjabi Indians
• The Ghadar Party aimed to secure India’s independence from British rule
• Key members of the Ghadar Party included Lala Hardayal, Taraknath Das, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah, Kartar Singh Sarabha, and Rash Behari Bose
• The Ghadar Party published a weekly paper called The Ghadar that called for brave soldiers to stir up rebellion in India and advocated for the end of British rule
• The Ghadar Party was popular with Indian expatriates in the United States, Canada, East Africa, and Asia.### Elections of 1945-46
• The elections witnessed widespread communalism, unlike the past nationalist upsurges.
• Separate electorates and limited franchise meant only less than 10% of the population could vote in provincial and Central Assembly elections.
• In the North-West Frontier Province, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a non-violence advocate, was acknowledged as the beloved leader of the Pathans, but the Muslim League could not win a single seat.
• In Punjab, the Muslim League was relegated to the background, and a Unionist-Akali coalition under Sir Khizar Hayat Khan assumed power.

Shimla Conference (June 1945)

• The Shimla Conference was held to create a congenial atmosphere for discussing the plan.
• All political leaders were released, and invitations were extended to attend the conference on June 29, 1945.
• Negotiations were carried on for about two weeks with intermittent breaks.
• On July 14, Lord Wavell announced the plan, which was rejected by the Muslim League.
• The plan aimed to scrap Section 93 (like Article 356 of the present Constitution) in the provinces and re-establish normal constitutional governments, making it easier to hold general elections in India.

Why Shimla Conference Failed?

• The Conference started in a charged atmosphere, with the Congress in a no-win situation.
• Hindus, who constituted the majority of the population, advocated the Wavell Plan, but Muslims were not willing to compromise.
• The total Muslim population was around 30% of the consolidated population, with the Congress having won the support of around 20% of them.
• The Muslim League had the most ardent supporters of its anti-Hindu policy.
• The life of parity between Hindus and Muslims was a bitter pill for the Congress to accept.

Second Round Table Conference (1931)

• Gandhiji represented the INC and attended the conference in London, meeting British PM Ramsay MacDonald.
• Gandhiji demanded the immediate establishment of a responsible government at the center and in the provinces, with complete control over defense, external affairs, and finance.
• The session was deadlocked on the minorities, with separate electorates demanded by Muslims, Depressed Classes, Indian Christians, and Anglo-Indians.
• MacDonald ended the session with an address, announcing the creation of a new Muslim majority province, Sind, and setting up a committee on franchise, financial affairs, and states.

Communal Award (August 16, 1932)

• The Communal Award was announced by Ramsay MacDonald, showcasing the British divide and rule policy.
• The Award declared the Depressed Classes as minorities, entitled to separate electorates, and sparked Gandhiji's fast unto death in Yeravada jail.

Poona Pact (September 25, 1932)

• The Poona Pact was reached after mass meetings and negotiations between Gandhiji, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and Madan Mohan Malaviya.
• The Pact abandoned the idea of separate electorate for the Depressed Classes, but increased reserved seats for them in the Provincial Legislature and the Imperial Legislature.
• The Pact agreed upon a joint electorate for upper and lower castes.

Third Round Table Conference (1932)

• The conference proved fruitless, with most national leaders in prison, and led to the passing of the Government of India Act, 1935.

Government of India Act, 1935

• The Act was based on the Simon Commission report and the White Paper on constitutional reforms.
• The Congress rejected the 1935 Act and demanded the convening of a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise to frame a constitution for an independent India.

Factors Promoting the Growth of Indian Nationalism

Political Unity

• The British rule introduced a uniform system of law and government, uniting most regions in India under a single power.

Development of Communication and Transport

• The introduction of railways, telegraphs, and postal services, and the construction of roads and canals facilitated communication among people, bringing Indians closer together.

English Language and Western Education

• The English language played a crucial role in generating a feeling of regard for the motherland among English-educated Indians, who led the national movement.

The Role of the Press

• The Indian Press, both free and vernacular, aroused consciousness and contributed to the national movement.

Social and Religious Movements

• Leaders of various organizations like the Brahmo Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Arya Samaj, and Theosophical Society generated a feeling of regard for the motherland.

Economic Exploitation by the British

• The British economic policy created anti-British feeling by systematically ruining trade and native industries.

Formation of the Indian National Congress (INC)

• The Congress was formed in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, an Englishman and a retired civil servant, to weld Indians together for their political advancements.
• The first session of the Congress was held in 1885, with 72 delegates attending, and was initially called the Indian National Union.
• The name was later changed to the Indian National Congress on the advice of Dadabhai Naoroji.