Modern Indian History
🔒 Log in to trackCongress, Moderates & Extremists (1885–1916)
🔒 Log in to trackMilestones
| Year | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1885 | INC founded | Bombay, 28 Dec; A.O. Hume; 72 delegates |
| 1905 | Partition of Bengal | Announced by Curzon; effective 16 Oct 1905 → Swadeshi & Boycott movement |
| 1906 | Muslim League | Founded at Dhaka; Calcutta INC session (Dadabhai Naoroji) first used the word Swaraj |
| 1907 | Surat split | Moderates vs Extremists (president Rash Behari Ghosh) |
| 1909 | Morley–Minto Reforms | Separate electorates for Muslims |
| 1911 | Delhi Durbar | Partition annulled; capital to shift from Calcutta to Delhi |
| 1916 | Lucknow Pact | Congress–League unity; Moderates & Extremists reunite |
| 1916 | Home Rule Leagues | Tilak (April, Belgaum) and Annie Besant (Sept, Madras) |
Moderates vs Extremists
| Moderates | Extremists (Lal–Bal–Pal) |
|---|---|
| Dadabhai Naoroji ("Grand Old Man"; drain theory in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India) | Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab) |
| Gopal Krishna Gokhale (Gandhi's political guru; Servants of India Society 1905) | Bal Gangadhar Tilak — "Swaraj is my birthright"; Kesari (Marathi), Mahratta (English); Gita Rahasya |
| Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee | Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal); Aurobindo Ghosh |
Early revolutionaries: Chapekar brothers (1897, Poona); Khudiram Bose & Prafulla Chaki (Muzaffarpur, 1908); India House, London (Shyamji Krishna Varma); Ghadar Party (1913) — Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna, HQ Yugantar Ashram, San Francisco; Komagata Maru (1914).
Detailed notes
The Congress is born (1885)
A retired ICS officer, A.O. Hume, brought 72 Indian delegates together at Bombay (Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College) in December 1885 — the first session of the Indian National Congress. Its first president was W.C. Bonnerjee. The "safety-valve" reading — that Hume wanted a yearly talking-shop to let out discontent — was argued by Lala Lajpat Rai in his book Young India; modern historians see it as the first all-India political platform.
The Moderates (1885–1905)
Leaders: Dadabhai Naoroji (thrice president; first Indian MP in the British House of Commons, 1892; the 'Grand Old Man of India'), S.N. Banerjea (Indian Association, 1876; paper Bengalee), Gokhale (Servants of India Society, 1905; Gandhi's political guru), Pherozeshah Mehta ('Lion of Bombay'), R.C. Dutt (Economic History of India). Methods: petitions, prayers and protests — the '3P' path — trusting British justice. Their lasting contribution was economic criticism: Naoroji's Drain of Wealth theory (Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, 1901) showed how India's money flowed out as salaries, pensions and profits.
Extremists (1905–1919)
Lal-Bal-Pal — Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab Kesari), Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal — plus Aurobindo Ghosh. Tilak ran Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English), started the Ganapati (1893) and Shivaji (1895) festivals, and declared "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it." Jailed for six years (1908–14) in Mandalay, where he wrote Geeta Rahasya. They wanted self-rule, not petitions, and believed in mass action, swadeshi and national education.
Partition of Bengal (1905) and Swadeshi
Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal (effective 16 October 1905) on the plea of administrative convenience — really to break Bengali nationalism: a Muslim-majority East Bengal and Assam, a Hindu-majority west. The answer was the Swadeshi movement: boycott of foreign cloth and salt, Rakhi bandhan (Tagore's idea), Amar Sonar Bangla as the marching song, national schools (the National Council of Education, 1906) and volunteer samitis. The partition was annulled in 1911.
Split, League, reforms, reunion
- Surat, 1907: the session split — Moderates (Rash Behari Ghosh) vs Extremists (Tilak). The two wings reunited at Lucknow in 1916.
- Muslim League, 1906: founded at Dacca (Nawab Salimullah's initiative); it backed the partition and soon demanded separate electorates.
- Calcutta session, 1906 (Naoroji president): the word Swaraj entered the Congress resolution.
- Morley-Minto reforms, 1909: first Indians in the executive councils (Satyendra P. Sinha), but also separate electorates for Muslims — Minto is called the father of communal electorates.
- Home Rule Leagues, 1916: Tilak's (April, Maharashtra-Karnataka-CP-Berar) and Annie Besant's (September, Madras; papers New India and Commonweal); Besant became Congress president in 1917.
Quick revision
- INC 1885, Bombay, Hume; first president W.C. Bonnerjee; 72 delegates.
- Moderates: Naoroji (drain theory), Gokhale, S.N. Banerjea, Mehta, R.C. Dutt.
- Tilak: Kesari + Mahratta, Ganapati 1893, Mandalay 1908–14, Home Rule 1916.
- Curzon's partition 1905 → Swadeshi → annulled 1911; Surat split 1907, Lucknow reunion 1916.
- League 1906 Dacca; Morley-Minto 1909 = separate electorates.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Founding of the Congressvery common2 practice Q
'The first session of the INC was held at…', who founded it, first president, number of delegates.
- December 1885, Bombay (Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College).
- Founder-organiser: A.O. Hume; first president: W.C. Bonnerjee; 72 delegates.
- Watch the trap: Hume was an Englishman, but the president was Indian.
Example: The first session of the Indian National Congress (1885) was presided over by —
W.C. Bonnerjee — with A.O. Hume as founder-organiser, at Bombay.
Type 2: Moderate leaders ↔ work or epithetvery common2 practice Q
'Drain of Wealth theory was given by', 'Grand Old Man of India', Gandhi's political guru, first Indian MP in Britain.
- Naoroji = drain theory, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, first Indian MP (1892), thrice Congress president.
- Gokhale = Servants of India Society (1905), Gandhi's political guru.
- S.N. Banerjea = Indian Association 1876, Bengalee; R.C. Dutt = Economic History of India.
Example: The Drain of Wealth theory was systematically expounded by —
Dadabhai Naoroji, in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901).
Type 3: Extremists ↔ slogan, paper, festivalvery common2 practice Q
'Swaraj is my birthright' — who said it, Kesari's editor, Ganapati/Shivaji festivals, Lal-Bal-Pal identification.
- Tilak: Kesari + Mahratta; Ganapati 1893, Shivaji 1895; 'Swaraj is my birthright…'; Mandalay 1908–14; Geeta Rahasya.
- Lajpat Rai = 'Punjab Kesari'; Pal = Bengal; Aurobindo = Bande Mataram.
- Don't mix Lajpat Rai's Young India (book, 1916) with Gandhi's Young India (journal, 1919).
Example: The slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it' is associated with —
Bal Gangadhar Tilak — editor of Kesari and Mahratta.
Type 4: Partition of Bengal ↔ Swadeshi responsevery common2 practice Q
'Partition of Bengal 1905 was annulled in…', which Viceroy, what were the two provinces, Swadeshi facts.
- Curzon, effective 16 October 1905: East Bengal & Assam (Muslim-majority) + west Bengal (Hindu-majority).
- Response: Swadeshi-boycott, Rakhi, national education (NCE 1906), samitis.
- Annulled 1911; the capital also moved from Calcutta to Delhi that year.
Example: The partition of Bengal (1905) was annulled in —
1911 — under Lord Hardinge, at the Delhi Durbar.
Type 5: Surat split, Muslim League, Lucknow reunioncommon2 practice Q
'The Congress split at Surat in…', League's founding year and place, the Congress-League pact.
- Surat 1907 = Moderates vs Extremists; Lucknow 1916 = reunion + Congress-League pact.
- Muslim League 1906, Dacca (Nawab Salimullah); soon demanded separate electorates.
- The 1916 Lucknow Congress accepted separate electorates — remember it as the year of compromise.
Example: The All India Muslim League was founded in 1906 at —
Dacca, on the initiative of Nawab Salimullah.
Type 6: Morley-Minto 1909 and Home Rule Leaguescommon2 practice Q
'Separate electorates were introduced by which reform', Home Rule Leagues of 1916 — who started what and where.
- Morley-Minto 1909 = separate electorates for Muslims (Minto: 'father of communal electorates'); S.P. Sinha in the Viceroy's council.
- Home Rule 1916: Tilak (April; Maharashtra, Karnataka, CP, Berar) and Annie Besant (September; Madras, rest of India).
- Besant's papers: New India, Commonweal; she became Congress president (1917).
Example: The separate electorates for Muslims were first introduced by —
The Morley-Minto reforms (Indian Councils Act, 1909).
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Five-six-seven-nine: "Split, League, Split, Separate"
1905 Bengal split → 1906 Muslim League → 1907 Congress split (Surat) → 1909 separate electorates (Morley–Minto).
Example: Separate electorates for Muslims were first introduced by —
1909 → Morley–Minto Reforms (Indian Councils Act 1909).
⚡ Home Rule twins
Tilak first (April, Belgaum) → Besant next (Sept, Madras). "TAB then BSM".
Where students lose marks
Surat split = 1907, not 1905.
Gokhale (Moderate) was Gandhi's political guru, not Tilak.
Lucknow Pact (1916) was between the Congress and the Muslim League.
Practice sets — 15 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.