Indian Home Rule movement: Difference between revisions

The '''Indian Home Rule movement''' was a movement in [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] on the lines of [[Irish Home Rule movement]] and other [[home rule]] movements. The movement lasted around two years between 1916–1918 and is believed to have set the stage for the [[Indian independence movement|independence movement]] under the leadership of [[Annie Besant]] and [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] to the educated English speaking upper class Indians.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nehru|first1=Jawaharlal|title=An Autobiography|date=1 March 1945|publisher=Bodell|location=Calcutta|edition=1<!-- |access-date=2 June 2017 -->}}</ref> In 1920 All India Home Rule League changed its name to Swarajya Sabha.<ref>{{cite book|title=Rhetoric and Ritual in Colonial India: The Shaping of a Public Culture in Surat City, 1852-1928|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ij4-7F4Pip4C|page=215|year=1991|author=Douglas E.Haynes|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520067257}}</ref>

Five red and four green horizontal stripes. On the upper left quadrant was the [[Union Flag]], which signified the [[Dominion]] status that the movement sought to achieve. A crescent and a seven-pointed star, both in white, are set in top fly. Seven white stars are arranged as in the [[Saptarishi]] constellation (the constellation [[Ursa Major]]), which is sacred to [[Hindu]]s. {{#tag:ref|In 1916, Suraiya Tayyabji submitted thirty new designs, in the form of a booklet funded by members of the High Court of Madras. These many proposals and recommendations did little more than keep the flag movement alive. The same year, Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak adopted a new flag as part of the Home Rule Movement. The flag included the Union Jack in the upper left corner, a star and crescent in the upper right, and seven stars displayed diagonally from the lower right, on a background of five red and four green alternating bands. The flag resulted in the first governmental initiative against any nationalistic flag, as a magistrate in Coimbatore banned its use. The ban was followed by a public debate on the function and importance of a national flag.<ref>{{Harvnb|Virmani|1999|pp=176–177}}</ref>|group="Note"}}

Indian home rule movement began in India in the background of [[World War I]]. The [[Indian Councils Act 1909|Government of India Act (1909)]] failed to satisfy the demands of the national leaders. However, the [[Surat Split|split in the congress]] and the absence of leaders like Tilak, who was imprisoned in [[Mandalay]] meant that nationalistic response was tepid. The British rule in India was guided by the British interest. Every section of the Indian population was exploited by the British.

By 1915, many factors set the stage for a new phase of nationalist movement. The rise in stature of [[Annie Besant]] (who was of part Irish origin and a firm supporter of [[Irish Home Rule Movement]]), the return of Tilak from exile and the growing calls for solving the split in congress began to stir the political scene in India. The [[Ghadar Mutiny]] and its suppression led to an atmosphere of resentment against British rule.

Most Indians and Indian political leaders had been divided in their response to [[World War I]] and the Indian soldiers fighting on behalf of the [[British Empire]] against [[Germany]], the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The latter's involvement irked India's [[Muslims]], who saw the [[Sultan]] as the [[Caliph]] of [[Islam]].

Between 1916 and 1918, when the war was beginning, prominent Indians like [[Joseph Baptista]], [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], [[G. S. Khaparde]], [[S. Subramania Iyer|Sir S. Subramania Iyer]], Satendra Nath Bose and the leader of the [[Theosophical Society]], [[Annie Besant]], decided to organise a national alliance of leagues across India, specifically to demand ''Home Rule'', or self-government within the British Empire for all of India. Tilak found the first home rule league at the Bombay provincial congress at Belgaum in April 1916.<ref>India's struggle for Independence, Bipan Chandra, p161</ref> then after this Annie Besant founded second league at Adyar Madras in September 1916. While Tilak's league worked in areas like [[Maharashtra]] (excluding Bombay city), [[Karnataka]], [[Central Provinces and Berar|Central provinces and Berar]], Annie Besant's league worked in the rest of India. The members of [[Servants of India Society]] were not allowed to join the movement.

The move created considerable excitement at the time, and attracted many members of the [[Indian National Congress]] and the [[All India Muslim League]], who had been allied since the 1916 [[Lucknow Pact]]. The leaders of the League gave fiery speeches, and petitions with hundreds of thousands of Indians as signatories were submitted to British authorities. Unification of moderates and radicals as well as unity between Muslim League and Indian National Congress was a remarkable achievement of Annie Besant.

The government arrested Annie Besant in 1917 and this led to nationwide protests. The movement actually spread out and made its impact in the interior villages of India. Many moderate leaders like [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] joined the movement. The League spread political awareness in new areas like Sindh, Punjab, Gujarat, [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]], [[Central Provinces, British India|Central provinces]], Bihar, Orissa and Madras, which all sought an active political movement.

The pressure of the movement, especially after Annie Besant's arrest, led to the Montague's declaration on 20 August 1917 which stated that "progressive realization of responsible government in India" was the policy of the British government.<ref>India's struggle for Independence, Bipan Chandra, p168</ref>

During this time various meetings were held in [[Nellore]], [[Kurnool]], [[Bellary]], [[Cuddapah]], [[Kakinada]], [[Rajahmundry]] and [[Vizagapatnam]]. In [[Kurnool]] a prominent leader, Raja Sir P. V. Madhava Rao of [[Panyam]] has supported the home rule league. The speech given by him in a meeting held in kurnool is highlighted here in which he thrashed the British Government saying ''the (bulk of) bureaucracy has failed to understand the needs of the people and the requirements of time''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh (Andhra): 1906-1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUDRAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Andhra Pradesh State Committee Appointed for the Compilation of a History of the Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh|author=Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya|page=368|year=1969}}</ref> Later after the completion of meeting's in Madras Presidency many prominent leaders gave support to the league under the leadership of [[Annie Besant]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh (Andhra): 1906-1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUDRAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Andhra Pradesh State Committee Appointed for the Compilation of a History of the Freedom Struggle in Andhra Pradesh|author=Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya|page=113,286|year=1969}}</ref>

== Significance and Impact of Home Rule Movement in India ==

Its further growth and activity were stalled by the rise of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and his ''[[Satyagraha]]'' art of revolution: non-violent, but mass-based [[civil disobedience]]. Gandhi's [[Hindu]] lifestyle, mannerisms and immense respect for Indian culture and the common people of India made him immensely popular with India's common people. His victories in leading the farmers of [[Champaran]], [[Bihar]] and [[Kheda]], [[Gujarat]] against the British authorities on tax revolts made him a national hero.

After the [[Montagu-Chelmsford Commission|Montagu Declaration]], also known as the August Declaration, the league agreed to suspend its expansion of the movement. After this the moderate candidates gave up the membership of league. The league believed that the British government will gradually reform the administration and local representative system by ushering participation of local Indians.