| Title |
INDIA - FREEDOM
STRUGGLE - HOME RULE MOVEMENT |
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Date-wise Events |
- 1916: Two Home Rule
Movements were launched in the country during this year: one
under the leadership of
Bal
Gangadhar Tilak and the other under
Annie
Besant.
- April 28, 1916 - The All India Home Rule League was a national political
organization founded on this day and the first league was opened
by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Pune, Maharashtra on this day.
Its prime objective was to lead the national demand for
self-government, termed Home Rule, and to obtain the
status of a Dominion within the British Empire.
-
1920: The All India Home Rule League elected Mahatma
Gandhi as its President.
In a year, the body was merged into the Indian National
Congress to form a united Indian political front.
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Description |
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The issue of participation of Indian soldiers in the
first world war divided India's political classes and
consequently the national demand for self-government started
losing due prominence.
-
During 1916 and 1918, the prominent Indians got together and
decided to organize a national alliance of leagues
across India, specifically to demand Home Rule, or
self-government within the British Empire for all of India.
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With the League's national headquarters in Delhi, the main
cities of activity were Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. This move
created considerable excitement and brought together all the
different factions to fight the common cause. The League spread
political awareness across entire Indian sub-continent.
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Further growth and activity of the league were stalled by the
rise of Mahatma Gandhi and his Satyagraha style
of revolution: non-violent, but mass-based civil
disobedience.
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The victories in leading the farmers of Champaran, Bihar and
Kheda, Gujarat against the British authorities on tax revolts
made Gandhi a national hero.
-
Gandhi realized that India was 900,000 villages,
not the cities of Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta and Madras.
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