VICEROYs & GOVERNOR GENERAL
- Lord Reading - Only Jewish Viceroy of India
- Lord Cornwalis 1786 to 1793
- A strong ICS was to be strictly based on the principles of merit and competence tested via an examination. Later, Indians were associated too, but the services were called ICS even when Indians were not allowed to take part in it.
- The greatest work of Cornwallis was the purification of the civil service by the employment of capable and honest public servants.
- Cornwallis aimed at cleansing the administration, abolished the vicious system of paying small salaries and allowing enormous perquisites.
- He persuaded the Directors of the Company to pay handsome salaries to the Company servants in order that they might free themselves from commercial and corrupting activities.
- Further, Cornwallis inaugurated the policy of making appointments mainly on the basis of merit thereby laying the foundation of Indian Civil Service.
- A major reform that Cornwallis introduced was the separation of 3 branches of service, namely commercial, judicial & revenue. The collectors, the king-pins of the administrative system were deprived of their judicial powers and their work became merely the collection of revenue.
- Lord Cornwallis introduced a new revenue system under the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793 with a view to stabilize land revenue and create a loyal contented class of Zamindars.
- He defeated Tipu in third Anglo-Mysore war and signed Treaty of Srirangpatanam.
Lord Ripon is known to have granted the Indians first taste of freedom by introducing the Local Self Government in 1882. His scheme of local self government developed the Municipal institutions which had been growing up in the country ever since India was occupied by the British Crown. He led a series of enactments in which larger powers of the Local self government were given to the rural and urban bodies and the elective people received some wider rights.
- Lord Ripon is known as Father of Local Self Government in India.
- This was not enacted by any act, it was a resolution that was passed in 1882.
Lord Curzon :
- He established a Agriculture Research Institute in Pusa (Bihar – Bengal Presidency)
- He passed the ancient Monuments Protection Act and established an Archeological department in 1901.
- He also established a Police Commission under the chairmanship of Andrew Frazer in 1902.
- In each province, a criminal investigation department was set up.
- In 1901, Imperial Cadet Corps was launched.
- A University Commission was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Thomas Raleigh.
- Indian Universities Act 1904 was passed.
- The most important bombshell was the partition of Bengal in 1905.
1. Warren Hastings 1774–1785
- Regulating Act 1773 brought END of the dual systems
- Administrative reforms : Shifting of treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta
- Revenue reforms : Collection of revenue was taken over by the Company.
- Judicial reforms : Zamindars were given judicial powers; Establishment of civil and criminal courts in each district.
- Social reforms in 1781 : He founded the Calcutta Madrasa for promotion of Islamic studies. This was the first educational institute established by the Company’s government.
- Impeachment of Warren Hastings tendered his resignation in protest against the Pits India Bill in 1785.
- He was accused for the Rohilla War 1774; Nand Kumar’s murder; the case of the Chet Singh and accepting of bribes.
- His impeachment lasted for 7 years from 1788 to 1795. He was exonerated for all the charges.
2. The Earl LORD Cornwallis 1786–1793
- Permanent settlement of Bengal : The land was given on permanent basis to the zamindar in 1793, instead of giving it to the highest bidder each year. This system got prosperity to both the Company and zamindar had the cost of the common peasantry.
- Judicial reforms : Re-organisation of the revenue courts; the re-organisation of the criminal courts; depriving the Collectors of the judicial functions; compilation of the Cornwallis Code based on principle of Separation of Powers in 1793
- Police reforms Depriving zamindar of their police functions; establishment of the thanas.
- Present police system in India is largely derived from these reforms, Superintendent of Police was made head of district.
- Cornwallis's grave at Ghazipur is marked by a mausoleum whose construction was begun in 1809.
- Cornwallis realised that in order to consolidate the British rule in India, it was very important to organise the civil services. The civil services were reformed and modernised by Lord Cornwallis and hence he is called the “Father of Indian Civil Service”.
3. Sir John Shore 1793–1798 : Followed a policy of non-intervention , Battle of Kharda
4. The Earl of Mornington or Lord Wellesley 1798–1805:
- He is the famous for introducing Subsidiary Alliance system.
- He opened college to train the Company’s servants in Calcutta. That is why he is also called the Father of the Civil Services in India .
- Described himself “Bengal Tiger”
5. Sir George Hilaro Barlow 1805–1807 : An important event was the Mutiny of Vellore in 1806 in which the Indian soldiers killed many English officials.
6. Lord Minto 1807–1813
- His rule famous for a treaty with Shah of Persia and Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Ranjit Singh.
7. The Earl of Moira 1813–1823 aka Marquess of Lord Hastings
- He was the first to appoint Indians to the highest Ops of responsibility.
- The first vernacular newspaper Samachar Patrika begin to be published during his time.
- Anglo Nepal War , Treaty of Sagauli
8. Lord Amherst 1823–1828
- The first Anglo Burmese War (1824–26)
- Mutiny of Barrackpur (1824)
9. Lord William Bentinck 1828–1835. ——> 1st Governor General of India in 1833<——
- Administrative and judicial reforms : Abolition of provincial courts of appeal and circuit, power of the magistrate increased, appointment of Indians as judges, replacement of Persian by vernaculars and Scott language, introduction of the residuary system, Sardar Diwani Adalat at Allahabad; Codification of Laws.
- Educational reforms : English accepted as the medium of instruction after the famous Macaulay’s recommendation; Medical colleges at Calcutta in 1835.
- Social reforms : Abolition of sati in 1829. Suppression of thuggee in central India; banning of female infanticide; banning of human sacrifice; reform in the Hindu Law of Inheritance.
10. Lord Auckland 1836–1842 :
- Outbreak of first Afghan war
- Tripartite Treaty among the English, Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja of Afghanistan
11. Lord Ellenborough 1842–1844
- Annexation of Sindh
- Abolished Slavery
12. Sir Henry Hardinge 1844–1848
- First Sikh War. (1846–48) , Treaty of Lahore
13. The Earl of Lord Dalhousie 1848–1856
- He was the youngest to hold the office of the Governor General.
- He is famous for the Doctrine of Lapse.
- The 2nd Burnese war, 1852, took place because of Lord Dalhousie’s desire to exclude all European power from Burma.
- The second Anglo Sikh War and did Sikh power and Punjab was annexed.
- Administrative reforms : Separate Lieutenant Governor appointed for Bengal; Shimla made the summer capital.
- Military reforms : Arillery Headquarters moved from Calcutta to Meerut; Army headquarters shifted to Shimla; formation of Gurkha regiments.
- Railways : First railway line was led from Bombay to Thana, in 1853.
- Post and Telegraph Reforming the defects of the Postal System and linking all the important towns Telegraphically.
- Education Served Charles Woods despatch on Education (1854) recommended the setting up of universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
- In 1853, competitive examination for the Indian Civil Services began.
14. The Viscount Lord Canning 1856–1858 as Last Governor General of India
- Annexation of Avadh;
- enactment of Hindu Widow Remarriage Bill, 1857;
- Establishment of universities at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay;
- the revolt of 1857
15. The Viscount Canning 1858–1862 as First Viceroy of India
- Following the Queen’s recommendation in 1858, transferring the Government from the company to the British Crown, Lord Canning was made the first Viceroy of India.
- Financial reforms : Hey 5% income tax was imposed on all are links beyond Rs. 500 a year.
- Judicial reforms : Penal code was prepared by incorporating the suggestions earlier made by the First Law Commission in 1833 headed by Lord Macaulay.
- High courts were set up at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras under the provisions of the Indian High Courts act of 1861.
16. Sir John Lawrence 1864–1869
- War against Bhutan in 1865
- The Punjab and Oudh Tenancy Act, 1860
- Two famines hit India; first in Orrisa and second in 1868–69 in Bundelkhand and Rajputana.
- A Famine Commission was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Campbell .
- Followed a policy of rigid non-interference in Afghanistan called Policy of Masterly Inactivity.
- Set up High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1865).
17. The Earl of Lord Mayo 1869–1872
- For the first time in Indian history CENSUS was held in 1871.
- The college was setup and Ajmer to impart suitable education to the sons of the Indian princess. Subsequently, this college came to known as the ‘Mayo College’ And agricultural department was setup.
- In 1872, a convict Sher Ali stabbed him to death at Port Blair.
18. The Lord Northbrook 1872–1876
- Deposition of Gaekwad in 1874;
- Kuka movement (marked 1st major reaction of the people in the Punjab to the new political order initiated by the British after 1849)
- Visit of Prince of Wales;
- Abolition of income tax;
- Famine in Bihar and Bengal in 1873–1874
- The foundation stone of the Muir Central College was laid by Governor-General of India, Lord Northbrook on 9 December 1873 after Sir William Muir, Lt. Governor of United Province, who was instrumental in its foundation. On 23 September 1887, the University of Allahabad was established, making it the fifth university established in colonial India after Calcutta university, Bombay university, Madras university and Lahore's Punjab university
19. The Lord Lytton 1876–1880
1. Famine in 1876–1878; Famine Commission was appointed in 1878 headed by General Richard Strachey.
1. Famine in 1876–1878; Famine Commission was appointed in 1878 headed by General Richard Strachey.
2. Passed the Royal Title Act of 1876, was held to decorate Queen Victoria with the title “Kaiser-i-Hind”.
3. The Delhi Durbar, January 1, 1877 ( Imperial Delhi Durbar was held 3 times : 1877, 1903, and 1911 )
4. The Vernacular Press Act, 1878 was passed, putting several curbs on seditious news in the vernacular newspapers.
5. Indian Arms act, 1878 forbade the Indian people from keeping or dealing in arms without the permission of the Government.
6. Foundation of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College was laid by Lord Lytton in 1877 at Aligarh. As in 1877, the school was raised to college level and Lord Lytton laid the foundation stone of the college building.
7. Statutory Civil Service in 1879 laid down that the candidates had to appear and pass the civil services examination which began to be held in England. The maximum age for these candidates were reduced from 21 to 19 years in an attempt to prevent Indians from entering into the civil services.
20. The Marquess of Lord Ripon 1880–1884
1. First Factory Act for welfare of child labour 1881
2. First Decennial and Regular Census in 1881, estimated total population to be 254 million.
3. Financial decentralisation in 1882 which was earlier initiated by Lord Mayo under Hunter commission on education (1882).
4. Repeal of Vernacular Press act in 1882.
5. Resolution in 1882 for institution of local self-government in India
6. The maximum age of admission to civil services raised to 21.
7. Introduction of the Ilbert Bill which would authorize India judges to hear cases against the Europeans as well thereby abolished judicial disqualification based on race. There was a strong protest on the part of the Europeans particularly the English and eventually under pressure the government amended the bill and provided for the rights of the European to claim trial by jury of 12, out of which at least 7 were to be Europeans.
8. Famine Code in 1883
21. The Earl of Lord Dufferin 1884–1888
- Third Anglo Burmese war which led to the accession of upper Burma.
- 3 Tenancy Acts were passed to give greater security of tenure or to the tenants.
- Indian National congress 1885 was formed during this period and he commented on Congress saying it was microscope minority.
22. The Marquess of Lansdowne 1888–1894
- Enactment of second factory act;
- Demarcation of the Indo-Afghan border (Durand Line);
- Second Indian council Act (1892).
- Age of Consent Act in 1891 which forbade marriage of girl below 12
23. The Earl of Lord Elgin 1894–1899
A bubonic plague in Bombay in 1896 and sever draught in Bikaner and Hissar district were some of the important events of his period.
24. The Lord Curzon of Kedleston 1899–1905
1. Set up a Famine Commission under Mac Donnell.
2. The Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900, prohibited the sale of agricultural lands for its attachment in execution of a decree.
3. Agricultural banks were established.
4. In 1904, the cooperative credit societies act was passed.
5. The Department of agriculture was established in 1901. Moncrief commission on Irrigation in 1902
6. Founded on agriculture research Institute at Pusa.
7. Commission was appointed in 1901 to consider the problems of education.
8. In order to preserve and protect ancient monuments of India, he passed the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1904, and Archaeological Department was established in 1901.
9. The setup of Police Commission under the Chairmanship of Sir Andrew Frazer in 1902. It recommended for enhancement in salaries and creation of a department of Criminal intelligence. A Criminal Investigation Department was opened in each district. In 1901 the Imperial Cadet Corps was set up.
10. Creation of a new Department of Commerce and Industry
11. Partition of Bengal; Creation of a new province called the North West Frontier Province; Swadeshi movement.
25. The Earl of Lord Minto 1905–1910
- Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909 which provided for separate electorate to Muslims.
- S.P. Sinha was appointed a member of Governor-General’s council
26. Lord Hardinge of Penshurst 1910–1916
- In the honour of King George V and Queen Mary of England, Coronation Delhi Darbar was held at Delhi in 1911.
- In 1911 the capital of country was announced to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. In 1912, Delhi became the new capital.
- 1st World War broke out in 1914.
- In 1916, Lord Hardinge laid the foundation of the Benaras Hindu University. Madan Mohan Malaviya was the Founder-Chancellor of this university.
27. Lord Chelmsford 1916–1921
1. Enactment of Government of India, 1919 (Montague-Chelmsfor Reforms) which introduced dyarchy in the provinces;
1. Enactment of Government of India, 1919 (Montague-Chelmsfor Reforms) which introduced dyarchy in the provinces;
2. Enactment of Rowlatt Act (1919);
3. Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy (1919); and the beginning of the Non-cooperation Movement
4. Foundation of Women’s University at Poona in 1916.
5. Hunter Committee was constituted on Punjab wrongs.
6. Chambers of Princess was established in 1921.
28. The Earl of Lord Reading 1921–1926
1. Held of the Non-Corporation Movement (1922);
1. Held of the Non-Corporation Movement (1922);
2. Arrival of the Prince of Wales (1921);
3. Outbreak of the Moplah Revolt (1921); Chauri Chaura Incident in U.P; Mahatma Gandhi was sent to prison for the first time in India.
4. Foundation of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sang (RSS) by K.B. Hedgewar at Nagpur in 1925.
5. Beginning of Indianisation of the officers cadre of the Indian army
6. Railway budget was separated from General Budget in 1925.
7. Skeen Committee or Indian Sandhurst Committee on Army reforms in 1925 & submitted report in 1926.
8. Lee Commission on Public Service in 1924, Report Submitted in 1924
9. Young Hilton Committee on Currency (1926)
29. The Lord Irwin 1926–1931 (Popularly known as Christian Viceroy)
1. Appointment of Simon commission in 1928.
2. Passing of the resolution for complete independence (Purna Smarajya) in 1929.
3. Launching of the civil Disobedience movement 1931
4. Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931;
5. First Around Table Conference (1930)
6. Appointment of the Indian States Commission under Harcourt Butler (1927) to recommend measures for the establishment of better relations between the Indian states and the Central government.
7. Deepavali Declaration (1929) that India would be granted Dominion status in due course.
8. Royal commission on Indian Labour was appointed (1929), Report (1931).
9. Sharda Act was passed in 1929 Marriages of girl below 14 and boys below 18 years of age was prohibited.
30. The Earl of Willingdon 1931–36
1. The second Around Table Conference, 1931 ;
2. Restarting of the Disobedience Movement, 1931
3. The communal award, 1932; The Poona act;
4. Third Round Table Conference, 1932
5. White Paper on political reforms in India was published (1933).
6. The Government of India Act 1935; GOI Act 1935
7. Earthquake in Bihar on January 15, 1934
8. Burma and Aden was separated from the British Empire (1935)
9. Separate State of Bihar and Orissa
10. Lees-Mody Pact (October 1933) by this Bombay textiles group agreed to further preferences for British textiles in place of Japanese Imports in return for a Lancashire promise to buy more Indian raw cotton.
11. Muslim Conference was founded in Kashmir (1932), renamed National Conference in 1938. Important leaders Sheikh Abdullah and P.N. Bazaz.
31. The Marquess of Linlithgow 1936–1943
1. Longest reign as Viceroy of India
2. Beginning of 2nd World War
3. Coming into force of the Government of India Act 1935 with provinces going to elections.
4. Arrival of the Cripps Mission
5. Beginning of the Quit India Movement,
6. Great Famine of Bengal (1943)
7. October offer by the Viceroy in which he declared the Dominion status as the ultimate goal of British policy in India.
8. At its Haripura Session (February, 1939) Congress declared Poorna Swaraj ideal to cover native states and British India.
32. The Viscount Wavell 1943–1947
1. His period is famous for the Shimla conference, 1945;
1. His period is famous for the Shimla conference, 1945;
2. Arrival of the Cabinet Mission, 1946;
3. The Constituent Assembly boycotted by the Muslim League which launched the heinous “Direct Action Day” on August 16, 1946;
4. The Interim Government under Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s leadership;
5. Attlee’s Declaration that his government was intended to hand over the Administration of India to her people before June 1948, even if no agreement was reached between the Congress and the Muslim League.
33. The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma 1947 as GGI and Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma: 1947–1948 as GGI of Independent India
1. Declaration of 3rd June, 1947- > His plan to make India free on August 15, 1947. Earlier proposed Plan-Balkan i.e. total dismemberment of the Indian territory but soon left the idea. Made it clear to the Princely states that they shall not be granted separate independence and they will have to join either India or Pakistan.
2. Indian Independence Act 1947, Partition of the country between 2 independent states of India and Pakistan with Lord Mountbatten and Mr M.A. Jinnah as their respective Governor generals.
3. G.G. Council held meeting of two kinds one was ordinary meetings which were associated with executive business. Second was known as legislative meetings which were for making laws & regulations.
4. Executive Council & Legislative Council were two terms used to indicate two separate functions of council. Act introduced concept of porfolio system. Members of G.G. Council were made incharge of separate departments.
34. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari: 1948–1950: First & Last Governor General of Independent India
- Impressed with his abilities, Mountbatten made Rajagopalachari his second choice to succeed him after Vallabhbhai Patel, when he was to leave India in June 1948.
- Rajagopalachari was eventually chosen as the Governor-General when Nehru disagreed with Mountbatten’s first choice, as did Patel himself.
- Rajagopalachari fondly called as Rajaji, then served as Governor-General of India from June 1948 until 26 January 1950, and was not only the last Governor-General of India, but the only Indian national ever to hold the office.
- By the end of 1949, an assumption was made that Rajagopalachari, already Governor-General, would continue as President. Backed by Nehru, Rajagopalachari wanted to stand for the presidential election but later withdrew, due to the opposition of a section of the Indian National Congress who were concerned about Rajagopalachari’s non-participation during the Quit India Movement.
Various Commissions :
Maclagan Committee was appointed to review the performance and suggest measures for strengthening “cooperative credit societies”.
Calico Act 1720 : The British government enacted a legislation banning the use of printed cotton textiles – chintz – in England.
Megasthenes (302-298 BC) : An ambassador of Selecus Nikator visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya and wrote an interesting book ‘Indica’ in which he gave a vivid account of Chandragupta Maurya’s reign.
Fa-Hien (405-411 AD) : He came to India during the reign of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya. He was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India to collect Buddhist texts and relics.
Hiuen-Tsang (630-645 AD) : He visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana.
I-tsing (671-695 AD) : A Chinese traveller, he visited India in connection with Buddhism.
Al-Masudi (957 AD) : An Arab traveller, he has given an extensive account of India in his work ‘Muruj-ul-Zehab’.
Al-beruni (1024-1030 AD) : He came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni during one of his Indian raids. He travelled all over India and wrote a book ‘Tahqiq-i-Hind’.
Macro Polo (1292-1294 AD) : A Venetian traveller, visited South India in 1294 A.D. His work ‘The Book of Sir Marco Polo’ gives an account of the economic history of India.
Ibn Batuta (1333-1347 AD) : A Morrish traveller, his book ‘Rehla’ (the Travelogue) throws a lot of light on the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and the geographical, economic and social conditions of that time.
Shihabuddin al-Umari (1348 AD) : He came from Damascus and he gives a vivid account of India in his book, ‘Masalik albsar fi-mamalik al-amsar’.
Nicolo Conti (1420-1421 AD) : A Venetian traveller, gives a comprehensive account of the Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagara.
Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 AD) : He was a Persian traveller, came to India and stayed at the court of the Zamorin at Calicut. He has given a vivid account of the Vijaynagara empire.
Athanasius Nikitin (1470-1474 AD) : He was a Russian merchant, describes the condition of the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III (1463-82).
Durate Barbosa (1500-1516 AD) : He was a Portuguese traveller, has given a valuable narrative of the government and the people of the Vijaynagara empire. was interpreter of the local language, Malayalam.
Dominigo Paes (1520-1522 AD) : He was Portuguese traveller, visited the court of Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijaynagara Empire.
Fernao Nuniz (1535-1537 AD) : A Portuguese merchant, He wrote the history of the empire from its earliest times of the closing years of Achyutdeva Raya’s reign.
John Hughen Von Linschotten (1583 AD) : He was a Dutch traveller, has given a valuable account of the social and economic life of South India.
Fransciso Palsaert (1620-1627 AD) : He was a Dutch traveller, stayed at Agra and gave a vivid account of flourishing trade at Surat, Ahmedabad, Broach Cambay, Lahore, Multan, etc.
Peter Mundy (1630-34 AD) : He was an Italian traveller to the Mughal empire in the reign of Shahjahan, he gives valuable information about the living standard of the common people in the Mughal Empire.
John Albert de Mandesto (1638 AD) : He was German traveller, who reached Surat in 1638.
According to Travernier , Majority of houses in Varanasi during 17th Century were made of
He was an Italian traveller, got service at the court of Dara Shikoh.
His records have been a source of history about Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, Dara Shikoh, Shah Alam, Raja Jai Singh and Kirat Singh.
Manucci is famous for his work "Storia do Mogor", an account of Mughal history and life.
Manucci spent almost his entire life in India.
Bernier in Benaras :
NATIONALISTs
Various Conspiracies :
1. MUZZAFARPUR Conspiracy 1908 — Attempt on life of Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford of Muzaffarpur by Praful chaki and Khudi Ram Bose.
2. ALIPORE bomb Conspiracy Case 1908 or Muraripukur conspiracy, or the Manicktolla bomb conspiracy or Emperor vs Aurobindo Ghosh and others — was a criminal case charged on a number of Indian nationalists Aurobindo Ghosh, Jatin Ghosh & 37 others of the Anushilan Samiti in Calcutta, under charges of "Waging war against the Government" of British Raj. Aurobindo Ghosh was arrested and later retired from active nationalist politics after serving a prison sentence awarded in the trial, beginning his journey into spirituality and philosophy at Pondicherry Ashram. CR Das defended Aurobindo Ghose.
3. Delhi conspiracy case 1911-12 — Balmokand , Basanta Biswas, Amir Chand and Rash Behari Bose were accused of attempting to assassinate Viceroy of India Lord Hardinge on the occasion of transferring the capital of British India from Calcutta to New Delhi. Rash Behari successfully evaded capture for nearly 3 years, becoming involved in the Ghadar conspiracy before it was uncovered, and fleeing to Japan in 1916.
4. First Lahore conspiracy Case 1915, were the trials held in Lahore in the aftermath of the failed Ghadar conspiracy. Jatindra Nath Das 1904-1929 revolutionary activist from Bengal was arrested for his involvement in Lahore Conspiracy Case.
5. KANPUR conspiracy case 1924 — British government started the case against 4 communist – Muzaffar Ahmed, S.A.Dange, Shaukat Usmani and Nalini Gupta. In the case accused were responsible for introduction of Communism to the Indian Public. M N Roy was charged in absentia, so he was not arrested. Ghulam Hussain turned a British informer and was pardoned. Rest all people were arrested and sent to jail for 4 years.
6. KAKORI conspiracy case Aug 1925 -- 10 revolutionaries held up the 8-Down train from Saharanpur to Lucknow at Kakori and looted its official railway cash. Asfaqullah khan, Ramprasad Bismil were hanged. Sachindra Sanyal was jailed for his involvement in the Kakori conspiracy and finally died in Gorakhpur Jail.
7. 2nd LAHORE conspiracy case 1928-31 — Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Raj Guru assassinated Saunder, a police official at Lahore to avenge Lala Lajpat Rai's death.
8. MEERUT Conspiracy Case 1929-1933 was a controversial court case in which Several trade unionists, including 3 Englishmen were arrested for organizing an Indian railway strike. The most important link in a chain of repressive measures : the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill, the prosecution of and death sentences to Bhagat Singh and his comrades and so on.The British Government convicted 33 leftist trade union leaders under a false lawsuit. The trial immediately caught attention in England, where it inspired the 1932 play Meerut by Manchester street theatre group the 'Red Megaphones', highlighting the detrimental effects of colonisation and industrialisation
9. NAGPUR Conspiracy Case 1932 : 14 accused were charged with conspiring to kill Government officials and to commit dacoitiesto obtain money for the expenses of the conspiracy. 10 of the accused were convicted and sentenced by the session judge. On appeal 2 were acquitted and the convictions of the remaining 8 upheld.
Bombay Triumvirate or 3 Stars of Bombay’s public life included Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta and K.T. Telang. (MTT)
All these three veterans had started the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885.
Lal-Bal-Pal :
Romesh Chandra Dutt or R.C. Dutt
- A retired ICS officer and a major economic historian of India of the nineteenth century. In his famous book ‘The Economic History of India’ he has examined in minute detail the entire economic record of colonial rule since 1757.
- His thesis on deindustrialization of India remains forceful argument in Indian historiography.
- He also directed attention to the deepening internal differentiation of Indian society appearing in the abrupt articulation of local economies with the world market, accelerated urban-rural polarisation, the division between intellectual and manual labour, and the toll of recurrent devastating famines.
As R.C. Dutt pointed out later in 1901 in his famous work, The Economic History of India, the effort of the Parliamentary Select Committee of 1812 was “to discover how they (Indian manufactures) could be replaced by British manufactures, and how British industries could be promoted at the expense of Indian industries.
Madam Bhikaji Cama
- Co-founded the Paris Indian Society together with Singh Rewabhai Rana and Munchershah Burjorji Godre.
- Served as private secretary of Dadabhai Naoroji, the president of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress. Together with Naoroji and Singh Rewabhai Rana, Cama supported the founding of Varma's Indian Home Rule Society in 1905.
- In her appeal for human rights, equality and for autonomy from Great Britain, She unfurled what she called the "Flag of Indian Independence" at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart in 1907.
Paris Indian Society : was opened as a branch of the Indian Home Rule Society founded that same year in London under the patronage of Shyamji Krishna Varma to sought to promote the cause of self-rule in British India. The Paris Indian Society also saw active participation from Indian nationalists who at various times were associated with the India House during its short existence. Following the liquidation of the India House in the wake of Curson Wyllie's assassination in 1909 by Madanlal Dhingra, the PIS became the refuge and hub of Indian revolutionaries who fled England.
India House was a student residence that existed between 1905 and 1910 in London. The building rapidly became a hub for political activism, one of the most prominent for overseas revolutionary Indian nationalism. Patrons of India House published an anti-colonialist newspaper, The Indian Sociologist, which the British Raj banned as "seditious”.
DADA BHAI NAIRAOJI
- Of Bombay Parsee origin, he was the first Indian to be elected to Parliament in Britain. He travelled to Britain in 1885 as a business partner of Cama and Company.
- A member of several businesses, he became Professor of Gujarati at University College, London (1856-65). He had also been founder-editor of the journal Rast Goftar in Bombay in 1851.
- He founded the London Zoroastrian Association in 1861. He was also founding member of the East India Association and London Indian Society, and became vocal in promoting Indian rights in regard to the ICS and trade.
- Naoroji was an economist and proponent of the 'drain theory', building up a detailed economic critique of British imperialism in India. He also established links with Irish MPs and was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress in 1885 in Bombay.
- His book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain.
Aurobindo Ghosh : 1872 calcutta - 1950
- 7 yrs aged sent by father to London
- Myrtila poem
- 1893 came back to India
- Made 1st economic policy in baroda riyasat
- He taught Km hedgevkar the founder of rss
- Created Bhavani mandir 1905 to inspire youth
- Journal karmayogi
- Wrote for Journal BANDE Mataram of Bipin chandra pal
- 1908 went jail for Alipur Bomb case
- In jail, he moved to Spiritual views
- CR Das fought his case
- 1910 moved to Pondicherry from calcutta & created Ashram
- Arya named monthly journalist in 1914
- The mother, savitri, the sage of geeta, future poetry, the life of divine, the human cycle
- Humanism
- Shree Maa created International Aurobindo education centre in 1943
Bal Gangadhar Tilak joined congress in 1890. Valentine Chirol called him “Father of Indian Unrest”, who first of all demanded complete “Swarajya”.
Dr. BR Ambedkar :
- He spent his life advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits.
- In 1956 he converted to Buddhism, initiating mass conversions of Dalits.
- RBI was based on the ideas that Ambedkar presented to the Hilton Young Commission. He, however, did not serve as its Governor.
- Ambedkar was the first Indian to pursue a doctorate in economics abroad. He argued that industrialisation and agricultural growth could enhance the Indian economy.
Rabindranath Tagore 1861 – 1941 aka Gurudev
- Received Nobel Prize in Literature at 1913
BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS
NEWSPAPERS And MAGAZINES for INDEPENDENCE in INDIA
- The Hindu and Swadesamitran under the editorship of G. Subramaniya Iyer
- Kesari and Mahratta under Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- Bengalee under Surendranath Banerjee
- Amrita Bazar Patrika under Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh (Both Ghosh)
- Sudharak under Gopal Krishna Gokhale (An ANGLO Marathi newspaper of 1888 by Gopal Ganesh Agarkar)
- Indian Mirror under N.N. Sen, Devendra Nath Tagore
- Voice of India under Dada bhai Naoroji
Indu Prakash --- MG Ranade
Native Opinion --- BN Mandlik
India’s 1st English Newspaper — Hickey’s Bengal gazette in Year 1780 (Named after James Augustus Hickey)
India’s 1st Hindi Newspaper — Udant Martand (The rising sun) by Jugal Kishore Shukla in 1826 in Kolkata
Shom Prakash weekly newspaper was started by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in 1859 & Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan was editor and publisher of it. The entire responsibility of editing and publishing the newspaper vested in Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan.
Kal Newspaper in Pune : Shivram Madhav Prajanpe
Digdarshan : monthly Bengali periodical published by Srirampur (Serampore) Baptist Mission and edited by John Clark Marshman.
Sambad Kaumudi : Bengali weekly newspaper published from Kolkata started in 1821 by Ram Mohan Roy as noted pro-Reformist publication that actively campaigned for the abolition of the Sati Pratha.
Although Ram Mohan Roy was the owner, Sambad Kaumudi was actually published in the name of Bhabani Charan Bandyopadhyay who found Ram Mohan's ideas too radical and parted company to start a rival newspaper called Samachar Chandrika which became an organ of orthodox Hinduism.
- BANGDOOT - RAJA ram mohan roy 1829 calcutta
- Land Systems of British India by B.H. Baden-Powell
- The Economic History of India by RC Dutt
- India Divided by Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- Poverty and Famines by Amartya Sen
- Indian Unrest by Ignatius Valentine Chirol in 1910 on BG Tilak in which Chirol had metioned Tilak as “Father of INDIAN UNREST”.
- Notable Estimators for British India’s Economy — Dada Bhai Naoraoji , William Digby, Findlay Shirras, VKRV Rao, RC Desai
First war of Indian Independence ---> VD Savarkar
Civil Rebellion ---> SB Chaudhary
Causes of Indian Revolt ---> Syed Ahmed Khan
1857 ---> SN Sen
Sepoy Mutiny ---> RC Majumdar
Dash Roja --- periodical published by Abdul Gaffar Khan
Hindustani and Advocate under G.P. Varma and Tribune and Akhbar-i-Am in Punjab, Indu Prakash, Dnyan Prakash, Kal and Gujarati in Bombay, and Som Prakash, Banganivasi, and Sadharani in Bengal
In fact, there hardly existed a major political leader in India who did not possess a newspaper or was not writing for one in some capacity or the other.
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Poverty and unbritish rule in India — Dada bhai Naoraoji
Unhappy India — Lala lajpat rai
The man who divided India (An Insight into Jinnah's Leadership and Its Aftermath ) — Rafiq Zakaria
Guilty man of india's partition — Ram Manohar Lohia
Madan Mohan Malviya :
- Editor of the Hindi daily '‘Hindosthan’' in 1887
- In 1889, he became the Editor of the "Indian Opinion"
- started his own Hindi weekly "Abhyudaya"(1907-1909 under his editorship)
- In 1910 started Hindi paper `Maryada'
- With the help of Motilal Nehru he started an English daily the "Leader" in 1909, where he was Editor 1909-1911 and President 1911-1919
- In 1933 started Sanatana Dharma from BHU, a magazine dedicated to religious, dharmic interests.
- was Editor of 'Hindustan Times' & launched of its Hindi edition 'Hindustan' in 1936.
- was formed in Pune, Maharashtra, in 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
- The Society organized many campaigns to promote education, sanitation, health care and fight the social evils of untouchability and discrimination, alcoholism, poverty, oppression of women and domestic abuse.
- The publication of The Hitavada, the organ of the Society in English from Nagpur commenced in 1911.
Raja Rammohan Roy :
- described Sati system as a “murder according to every shastra”.
- He considered different religions as national embodiments of universal theism.
- He defended the basic and universal principles of all religions—such as the monotheism of the Vedas and unitarianism of Christianity—while attacking the polytheism of Hinduism and trinitarianism of Christianity.
- He believed in the modern scientific approach and principles of human dignity and social equality.
- He wrote Gift to Monotheists (1809) and translated into Bengali the Vedas and the five Upanishads to prove his conviction that ancient Hindu texts support monotheism.
- He died in London England.
- He was given titled as Raja by Akbar second and called as Modern Man of India by Pt. Nehru in his Discovery of India book
Below associations organised various campaigns before the Indian National Congress 1885 appeared on the scene. These campaigns were—
(i) for imposition of import duty on cotton (1875)
(ii) for Indianisation of government service (1878-79)
(iii) against Lytton’s Afghan adventure
(iv) against Arms Act (1878)
(v) against Vernacular Press Act (1878)
(vi) for right to join volunteer corps
(vii) against plantation labour and against Inland Emigration Act
(viii) in support of Ilbert Bill
(ix) for an All India Fund for Political Agitation
(x) campaign in Britain to vote for pro-India party
(xi) against reduction in maximum age for appearing in Indian Civil Service; the Indian Association took up this question and organised an all-India agitation against it, popularly known as the Indian Civil Service agitation.
(xi) against reduction in maximum age for appearing in Indian Civil Service; the Indian Association took up this question and organised an all-India agitation against it, popularly known as the Indian Civil Service agitation.
Abdul Kalam Azad - 1st education minister
- Al-Hilal newspaper for Hindu-Muslim unity.
- Books are -
- India Wins Freedom: The Complete Version
- Azad On Pakistan
- Ideas of a Nation: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- Azad Ke Afsanay
- Indian Opinion (in South Africa during 1903-1915) ( after getting inspired with ‘unto this last’)
- Young India (1919 - 1931)
- Harijan (1933-1942 and 1946-January 1948)
Note : ‘Harijan’ word was first coined by Narsi Mehta for children of devdassis.
Gandhi also published Harijan Bandu in Gujarati, and Harijan Sevak in Hindi. All three papers focused on India's and the world's social and economic problems. The journal was reprinted in USA by the India Home Rule League of America.
Gandhiji wrote seven books and did a Gujarati translation of the Bhagvad Gita. These eight texts form the section Key Texts.
These are
- Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
- Satyagraha in South Africa
- An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth
- From Yervada Mandir
- Ashram Observances in Action
- Constructive Programmes: Their Meaning and Place
- Key To Health
- Gandhi's translation of the Gita as Anasakti Yoga
Mohandas Gandhi translated Unto This Last (of Ruskin Bond) into Gujarati in 1908 under the title of Sarvodaya (Well Being of All). Valji Govindji Desai translated it back to English in 1951 under the title of Unto This Last: A Paraphrase.
Sarvodaya was used three times.
- Gandhi used the term for the ideal of his own political philosophy in the same book.
- Gandhians, like the Indian nonviolence activist Vinoba Bhave, embraced the term as a name for the social movement in post-independence India which strove to ensure that self-determination and equality reached all strata of Indian society.
- Samantabhadra, an illustrious Digambara monk, as early as the 2nd century A.D., called the tīrtha of Mahāvīra (24th Tirthankara) by the name sarvodaya.
- Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Harijan or Satyagraha Ashram)
- It was home to Mohandas Gandhi from 1917 until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle.
- Sabarmati has been declared as a national monument by the Indian government
- Sevagram cottage (not Sabarmati Ashram) served as the last residence of Mahatma Gandhi.
- Gandhiji left to Delhi from Sevargam Cottage in 1946 and then went to Noakhali. From there he did not return to Sewagram while engaged in his task of communal unity and peace making.
- He was martyred in Delhi in 1948.
- On his return from South Africa, Gandhi’s first Ashram in India was established in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad in 1915.
- The Ashram was then shifted in 1917 to a piece of open barren land on the banks of the river Sabarmati.
- Reasons for this shift included:
- he wanted to do some experiments in living eg farming, animal husbandry, cow breeding, Khadi and related constructive activities, for which he was in search of this kind of barren land.
- The Prime Minister has recently released the coin and postal stamp in the honour of Shrimad Rajchandraji on his 150th birth anniversary at Abhay Ghat. Shrimad Rajchandraji was the GURU to Mahatma Gandhi.
Fasts and Strike
Mahatma Gandhi in India, undertook 17 fasts during India's freedom movement. His longest fasts lasted 21 days. Fasting was a weapon used by Gandhi as part of his philosophy of Ahimsa (non-violence)
- Vijaya Laxmi Pandit
- In 1937 she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and was designated minister of local self-government and public health. She held the latter post until 1939 and again from 1946 to 1947
- In 1946 she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces.
- Following India's freedom from British occupation in 1947 she entered the diplomatic service and became India's ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1949
- Between 1946 and 1968, she headed the Indian delegation to the United Nations. In 1953, she became the first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly.
- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur :
- She was the FIRST health minister of India and served for ten years in the capacity.
- She was also a social activist and a member of Constituent Assembly, the body that framed the constitution of India.
- Mahad satyagraha
- It took place in 1927 in Mahad, Raigadh district of present day Maharastra.
- It was an anti-Brahmin movement led by B.R. Ambedkar.
- The Untouchables were not allowed to use water from common water sources like tanks.
- During the satyagraha, the Untouchables exercised their right to draw water from the Chavdar Tank.
- B.R. Ambedkar himself ceremonially took a drink of water from the tank, after which local caste Hindus rioted, and Brahmins took elaborate measure for the ritual purification of the tank.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan or Badshah Khan
- in 1929 , He founded Khudai Khidmatgars(servants of God), a powerful non-violent movement among the Pathans of his province.
- He was close friend of Mohandas Gandhi, Bacha Khan was nicknamed the "Frontier Gandhi" in British India.
- He strongly opposed All India Muslim League’s Partition of India.
- He criticised his Congress colleagues for agreeing to the 1947 division consulting the Khudai Khidmatgar leaders.
- The Pashtun leader from the North West Frontier Province, with his colleagues at a peace march through Bihar, March 1947
He started Bannu Declaration just 7 weeks before the Partition of India demanded that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun territories of British India, instead of being made to join either India or Pakistan. British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution.
In 1962, Bacha Khan was named an "Amnesty International Prisoner of the Year". In 1984, increasingly withdrawing from politics he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He visited India and participated in the centennial celebrations of INC in 1985; He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1967 and later Badshah Khan was awarded with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1987. Bacha Khan died in Peshawar under house arrest in 1988.
Badshah khan last words to congress " you have thrown us to wolves" .
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: 1838 - 1894
- Born 1838 Hoogaly
- studied at Calcutta University
- He joined Bengal Civil Service
- He wrote 15 novels where Rajmohan's wife -- first novel
- Wrote Durgesh Nandini -- Bangla Novel in 1864-65
- Kapaal Kundla , Mrinalini , chandrashekhar , Devi chaudharani , Radha rani
- Bang Darshan in 1872 Journal
- Anand Math in 1882 about Sanyasi Revolt 1773 in Birbhum dist. It had Vande Mataram song by bhavanand named Sanyasi.
- First time RN Tagore sang this song in Calcutta session of INC in 1886.
- He was known as "Rishi of Nationalism" by Aurobindo.
- In 1920 , Lala Lajpat Rai started Journal Vande Mataram at Lahore.
Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
RADIO in India
- After the invention of Radio and the starting of broadcasting in the western countries, broadcasting by private Radio Clubs started in a few cities in India like Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
- The first radio programme was broadcast by the Radio Club of Bombay in June, 1923.
- It was followed by the setting up of a Broadcasting Service that began broadcasting on 23 July 1927 on an experimental basis at Mumbai and Kolkata simultaneously under an agreement between GOI and a private company called the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd.
- When this company went into liquidation in 1930, Indian State Broadcasting Service under the Department of “Controller of Broadcasts” was constituted and in 1935 Lionel Fielden was appointed the Controller of Broadcasting in India. The Indian State Broadcasting Service was renamed as All India Radio in January 1936.
All India Radio
- AIR also has a Transcription and Programme Exchange Service which includes units like Central Archives, Sound Archives, Digital Sound Archives, Digital Library, Radio Autobiography, Transcription Unit and Refurbishing Unit.
- Sound Archives of All India Radio can be called the National Audio Archives of the nation as it is the treasure house of precious recordings of music and spoken word in different categories. It is the largest audio library of Indian Music recordings. The library preserves a separate collection of Mahatma Gandhi’s speeches including his first and the last prayer speeches. Sound Archives of All India Radio can be called the National Audio Archives of the nation as it is the treasure house of precious recordings of music and spoken word in different categories. It is the largest audio library of Indian Music recordings. The library preserves a separate collection of Mahatma Gandhi’s speeches including his first and the last prayer speeches
- Transcription and Programme Exchange Service (T&PES) has taken up a mega project of digitizing all the analogue content.
- DD Bharati Channel was re-launched in 2012 as a niche channel for art and culture to preserve Indian culture and heritage with authenticity and to present it to the wider public. It is the only Channel dedicated to art and culture in India.
- Doordarshan opened its windows to the world by launching its international channel on March 14, 1995. The Channel, initially known as DD-World was renamed DD-India in 2002. External Services Division of All India Radio ranks high among the external radio networks of the world both in its reach and range covering about 100 countries in 27 languages.
Whenever the Assembly met as the Constituent body it was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad and when it met as the legislative body, it was chaired by G V Mavlankar. These two functions continued till November 26, 1949, when the task of making the Constitution was over. On December 11, 1946, Dr Rajendra Prasad and HC Mukherjee were elected as the President and Vice-President of the Assembly respectively
Constituent Assembly elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on January 24, 1950. It’s not just after the independence.
Major Committees and their respective chairpersons (Post Independence)
1. Union Powers Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
2. Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
3. Provincial Constitution Committee – Sardar Patel
4. Drafting Committee – Dr. BR Ambedkar
5. Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Sardar Patel
This committee had the following sub-committes:
- (a) Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee – J.B. Kripalani
- (b) Minorities Sub-Committee – H.C. Mukherjee
- (c) North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas SubCommittee – Gopinath Bardoloi
- (d) Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee – A.V. Thakkar
6. Rules of Procedure Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
7. States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States) – Jawaharlal Nehru
8. Steering Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Drafting Committee :
Among all the committees of the Constituent Assembly, the most important committee was the Drafting Committee set up on August 29, 1947. It was this committee that was entrusted with the task of preparing a draft of the new Constitution. It consisted of 7 members. They were:
1. Dr B R Ambedkar (Chairman)
2. N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
3. Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
4. Dr K M Munshi
5. Syed Mohammad Saadullah
6. N Madhava Rau (He replaced B L Mitter who resigned due to ill-health)
7. T T Krishnamachari (He replaced D P Khaitan who died in 1948)