Indian National Movement Questions for UPSC CSE

Founding and Early Phase of INC (1885-1905)

The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A.O. Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, and Dinshaw Wacha. The early Congress (Moderates) believed in constitutional agitation, petitions, and loyal opposition to British rule. They were not anti-British in spirit but wanted reforms within the colonial framework. Key leaders included Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Surendranath Banerjee. Their methods were prayers, petitions, and protests — the 3 Ps. The economic critique of colonialism was sharpest here: Dadabhai Naoroji's Drain of Wealth theory argued that India's poverty was a direct result of British extraction.

• INC founded 1885, first session in Bombay, W.C. Bonnerjee as first president
• Moderates believed in slow constitutional reform — petitions and resolutions
• Dadabhai Naoroji coined 'Drain of Wealth' theory; wrote 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India'
• Gokhale founded Servants of India Society (1905) for trained public service
• Moderates achieved: establishment of legislative councils, age for ICS exam raised to 23
• Split in Congress ideology grew over effectiveness of moderate methods by early 1900s

Extremists and Partition of Bengal (1905-1909)

Lord Curzon's Partition of Bengal in 1905 was a turning point. It united nationalist opinion against the British and gave birth to the Swadeshi and Boycott movements. Extremists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Lala Lajpat Rai — the Lal-Bal-Pal trio — demanded Swaraj as a birthright, not a favour. They used mass mobilisation, Hindu symbolism (Ganesh festivals, Shivaji festivals by Tilak), and aggressive journalism. The 1907 Surat Split formally divided Congress into Moderates and Extremists. The Morley-Minto Reforms (1909) were Britain's response — introducing separate electorates for Muslims, which the Congress later criticised as divide-and-rule.

• Partition of Bengal 1905: administrative reason given, but seen as divide-and-rule (Hindu-Muslim split)
• Swadeshi movement: boycott British goods, promote Indian industry and education
• Lal-Bal-Pal trio: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal
• Tilak's famous quote: 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it'
• Surat Split (1907): Extremists vs Moderates; Tilak's group expelled
• Morley-Minto Reforms 1909 introduced separate electorates — seed of partition

Gandhian Era and Mass Movements (1919-1942)

Gandhi transformed the freedom struggle into a genuine mass movement by linking it to the everyday lives of peasants, workers, and women. He introduced Satyagraha (truth-force) as a moral weapon against injustice. Key movements: Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) called off after Chauri Chaura violence; Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34) launched with Dandi March against salt tax; Quit India Movement (1942) with the call 'Do or Die'. Each movement had a specific trigger, a clear demand, and a withdrawal logic. Gandhi also addressed social issues — untouchability (Harijan campaign), Hindu-Muslim unity (Khilafat alliance), and rural self-sufficiency (Constructive Programme).

• Non-Cooperation (1920): boycott councils, courts, schools; called off after Chauri Chaura (Feb 1922)
• Simon Commission (1927): all-white committee, boycotted with 'Simon Go Back' protests
• Dandi March (Mar-Apr 1930): 241-mile march to make salt, defying Salt Laws
• Civil Disobedience Movement: Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) led to its suspension; revived 1932
• Quit India (Aug 1942): 'Do or Die'; mass arrests, underground movement, parallel governments
• Wavell Plan (1945) and Shimla Conference preceded final transfer of power

Revolutionary Nationalism and Other Streams

Not all nationalists followed Gandhi. Revolutionary nationalists believed in armed resistance. Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Sukhdev (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) advocated direct action. Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Forward Bloc and later the Indian National Army (INA) with Japanese support. B.R. Ambedkar led the Dalit movement and critiqued Congress's upper-caste dominance. The Left within Congress (Congress Socialist Party under Nehru and Jayaprakash Narayan) pushed for economic justice alongside political freedom. UPSC often contrasts these streams to test ideological nuance.

• HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association): Bhagat Singh, Azad, Sukhdev, Rajguru
• Bhagat Singh threw bomb in Central Legislative Assembly (1929) to 'make the deaf hear'
• INA (Azad Hind Fauj) formed 1943 under Bose with 'Jai Hind' as slogan
• INA trials (1945) created massive public sympathy; backfired on British
• Ambedkar's Poona Pact (1932) with Gandhi: reserved seats instead of separate electorates for Dalits
• Congress Socialist Party founded 1934 inside Congress by Nehru, JP Narayan

Towards Independence: 1945-1947

After World War II, Britain was financially exhausted and politically unable to hold India. The 1946 Naval Mutiny showed even the armed forces were unreliable. The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) proposed a three-tier federal structure but was rejected due to Congress-League disagreements. Direct Action Day (Aug 16, 1946) by the Muslim League led to Calcutta riots. Lord Mountbatten advanced the transfer of power date to August 1947 and the Mountbatten Plan (June 3 Plan) accepted partition. India and Pakistan became independent on August 14-15, 1947.

• Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (Feb 1946): sailors revolted against racial discrimination and poor conditions
• Cabinet Mission Plan (1946): three-tier federal structure; Congress accepted in parts, League rejected
• Direct Action Day (Aug 16, 1946): Muslim League called for protest; massive Hindu-Muslim violence in Bengal
• Mountbatten Plan / June 3 Plan: accepted partition, provinces to vote on joining India or Pakistan
• Radcliffe Line drawn in 5 weeks — caused massive displacement and communal violence
• Indian Independence Act 1947 passed by British Parliament; Dominion status initially

• Confusing the Morley-Minto Reforms (1909) with Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) — both introduced councils but Montagu-Chelmsford brought Dyarchy; remember 'Morley-Minto = separate electorates' specifically
• Stating that Gandhi called off NCM only because of Chauri Chaura — the deeper reason was Gandhi's belief that the nation was not ready for disciplined Satyagraha; UPSC Mains expects this analytical layer
• Mixing up INA formation dates and leaders — INA was first formed by Mohan Singh in 1942, reorganised by Bose in 1943; UPSC distinguishes between these
• Assuming Poona Pact gave Dalits more seats than Communal Award — it actually increased reserved seats from 71 to 148 in provincial legislatures; aspirants often reverse this
• Ignoring the role of women and peasant movements — UPSC Mains frequently asks about grassroots participation; Champaran, Bardoli, Tebhaga, and Telangana movements are distinct PYQ anchors

• 3 Ps of Moderates: Prayers, Petitions, Protests — they were polite, not fierce
• Lal-Bal-Pal: Lala = Punjab, Bal = Maharashtra, Pal = Bengal — three corners of extremism across India
• Gandhi's 3 big movements: NCC — Non-Cooperation (1920), Civil Disobedience (1930), Quit India (1942) — each a decade apart, each bigger than the last
• HSRA vs INA: HSRA fought inside India with bombs, INA fought outside India with arms — both revolutionary but different arenas

• Prelims frequently asks about founding sessions of INC — venue, year, president; keep a list of the first 5 sessions handy as they are direct-answer MCQ staples
• For Mains GS1, questions like 'How did Gandhi transform the freedom struggle into a mass movement?' or 'Evaluate the contribution of revolutionary nationalists' appear every 2-3 years; always include multiple social groups (women, peasants, tribals) in your answers to score higher
• Current-affairs linkage: UPSC sometimes links 75th anniversary events (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) to specific forgotten freedom fighters in Prelims — do not ignore regional or lesser-known revolutionaries
• Chronology traps are common in Prelims — questions ask which movement came AFTER which, or which act was passed in response to which movement; prepare a single timeline from 1885 to 1947
• Do not skip the role of the press — Tilak's Kesari, Gandhi's Young India and Harijan, Ambedkar's Mooknayak are frequently cited in source-based or statement-type Prelims MCQs