138-580: (Redirected from Indian Independence ) Indian independence may refer to: Indian independence movement , movement to end British rule in India List of Indian independence activists Revolutionary movement for Indian independence , violent factions of the Indian independence movement Indian independence movement in Tamil Nadu , the movement in
276-569: A subsidiary alliance . The Company subsequently seized control of regions ruled by the Maratha Empire , after defeating them in a series of wars. Much of Punjab was annexed in the year 1849, after the defeat of Sikh armies in the First (1845–46) and Second (1848–49) Anglo-Sikh Wars. Maveeran Alagumuthu Kone was an early revolutionary against the British presence in Tamil Nadu. He became
414-463: A Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan . As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab and Bengal . Abstaining from the official celebration of independence , Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to alleviate distress. In the months following, he undertook several hunger strikes to stop
552-656: A century later, the Dutch and English established trading outposts on the Indian subcontinent, with the first English trading post set up at Surat in 1613. Over the next two centuries, the British defeated the Portuguese and Dutch but remained in conflict with the French. The decline of the Mughal Empire in the first half of the eighteenth century allowed the British to establish a foothold in Indian politics. During
690-556: A child, Gandhi was described by his sister Raliat as "restless as mercury, either playing or roaming about. One of his favourite pastimes was twisting dogs' ears." The Indian classics, especially the stories of Shravana and king Harishchandra , had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. In his autobiography, Gandhi states that they left an indelible impression on his mind. Gandhi writes: "It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number." Gandhi's early self-identification with truth and love as supreme values
828-559: A combined religious school and bomb factory at a garden house in Maniktala suburb of Calcutta . However, the attempted murder of district Judge Kingsford of Muzaffarpur by Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki (30 April 1908) initiated a police investigation that led to the arrest of many of the revolutionaries. Bagha Jatin was one of the senior leaders in Jugantar. He was arrested, along with several other leaders, in connection with
966-684: A common alliance against the British. After Rajguru's death, Bakshi Jagabandhu launched an armed revolution against the East India Company's rule in Odisha. This is now known as the Paik Rebellion , the first uprising against the British East India Company. The Indian war of independence of 1857 was a large uprising in northern and central India against the East India Company. The conditions of service in
1104-419: A daughter, and his third marriage was childless. In 1857, Karamchand sought his third wife's permission to remarry; that year, he married Putlibai (1844–1891), who also came from Junagadh, and was from a Pranami Vaishnava family. Karamchand and Putlibai had four children: a son, Laxmidas ( c. 1860 –1914); a daughter, Raliatbehn (1862–1960); a second son, Karsandas ( c. 1866 –1913). and
1242-594: A family and first employed nonviolent resistance in a campaign for civil rights. In 1915, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against discrimination and excessive land-tax. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability , and, above all, achieving swaraj or self-rule. Gandhi adopted
1380-592: A field hospital since the terrain was too rough for the ambulances. Gandhi and 37 other Indians received the Queen's South Africa Medal . In 1906, the Transvaal government promulgated a new Act compelling registration of the colony's Indian and Chinese populations. At a mass protest meeting held in Johannesburg on 11 September that year, Gandhi adopted his still evolving methodology of Satyagraha (devotion to
1518-628: A law practice in Bombay failed because Gandhi was psychologically unable to cross-examine witnesses. He returned to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants, but Gandhi was forced to stop after running afoul of British officer Sam Sunny. In 1893, a Muslim merchant in Kathiawar named Dada Abdullah contacted Gandhi. Abdullah owned a large successful shipping business in South Africa. His distant cousin in Johannesburg needed
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#17327655890121656-519: A lawyer, and they preferred someone with Kathiawari heritage. Gandhi inquired about his pay for the work. They offered a total salary of £105 (~$ 4,143 in 2023 money) plus travel expenses. He accepted it, knowing that it would be at least a one-year commitment in the Colony of Natal , South Africa, also a part of the British Empire. In April 1893, Gandhi, aged 23, set sail for South Africa to be
1794-532: A military leader in the town of Ettayapuram and was defeated in battle against the British and Maruthanayagam's forces. He was executed in 1757. Puli Thevar opposed the Nawab of Arcot , who was supported by the British. Maruthanayagam Pillai was a commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army . He was born in a Tamil Vellalar caste family in a village called Panaiyur in British India , what
1932-636: A mob of white settlers attacked him, and Gandhi escaped only through the efforts of the wife of the police superintendent. However, Gandhi refused to press charges against any member of the mob. During the Boer War , Gandhi volunteered in 1900 to form a group of stretcher-bearers as the Natal Indian Ambulance Corps . According to Arthur Herman, Gandhi wanted to disprove the British colonial stereotype that Hindus were not fit for "manly" activities involving danger and exertion, unlike
2070-491: A moral movement and that Allinson should therefore no longer remain a member of the LVS. Gandhi shared Hills' views on the dangers of birth control, but defended Allinson's right to differ. It would have been hard for Gandhi to challenge Hills; Hills was 12 years his senior and unlike Gandhi, highly eloquent. Hills bankrolled the LVS and was a captain of industry with his Thames Ironworks company employing more than 6,000 people in
2208-595: A number of attacks of figureheads of the Raj, culminating in the attempt on the life of a British judge in Muzaffarpur. This precipitated the Alipore bomb case , whilst a number of revolutionaries were killed, or captured and put on trial. Revolutionaries like Khudiram Bose , Prafulla Chaki , Kanailal Dutt who were either killed or hanged became household names. The British newspaper, The Empire , wrote: Khudiram Bose
2346-478: A public speaking practice group and overcame his shyness sufficiently to practise law. Gandhi demonstrated a keen interest in the welfare of London's impoverished dockland communities. In 1889, a bitter trade dispute broke out in London, with dockers striking for better pay and conditions, and seamen, shipbuilders, factory girls and other joining the strike in solidarity. The strikers were successful, in part due to
2484-464: A state of things we should have the ability to defend ourselves, that is, the ability to bear arms and to use them... If we want to learn the use of arms with the greatest possible despatch, it is our duty to enlist ourselves in the army." However, Gandhi stipulated in a letter to the Viceroy's private secretary that he "personally will not kill or injure anybody, friend or foe." Gandhi's support for
2622-652: A third son, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar (also known as Sudamapuri ), a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula and then part of the small princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar Agency of the British Raj . In 1874, Gandhi's father, Karamchand, left Porbandar for the smaller state of Rajkot , where he became a counsellor to its ruler,
2760-452: A volunteer mixed unit of Indian and African stretcher-bearers to treat wounded combatants during the suppression of the rebellion. The medical unit commanded by Gandhi operated for less than two months before being disbanded. After the suppression of the rebellion, the colonial establishment showed no interest in extending to the Indian community the civil rights granted to white South Africans . This led Gandhi to becoming disillusioned with
2898-492: A vow in front of his mother that he would abstain from meat, alcohol, and women. Gandhi's brother, Laxmidas, who was already a lawyer, cheered Gandhi's London studies plan and offered to support him. Putlibai gave Gandhi her permission and blessing. On 10 August 1888, Gandhi, aged 18, left Porbandar for Mumbai, then known as Bombay. A local newspaper covering the farewell function by his old high school in Rajkot noted that Gandhi
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#17327655890123036-687: A working committee with M. Rahnasamy of Andhra University serving as president and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore serving as general secretary. In its meeting on 16 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee prepared a 13-point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India , which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the Constitution of India . The temperance movement in India became aligned with Indian nationalism under
3174-550: Is among admirers of Gandhi's efforts to fight against racism in Africa. The general image of Gandhi, state Desai and Vahed, has been reinvented since his assassination as though Gandhi was always a saint, when in reality, his life was more complex, contained inconvenient truths, and was one that changed over time. Scholars have also pointed the evidence to a rich history of co-operation and efforts by Gandhi and Indian people with nonwhite South Africans against persecution of Africans and
3312-601: Is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti , a national holiday , and worldwide as the International Day of Nonviolence . Gandhi is considered to be the Father of the Nation in post-colonial India. During India's nationalist movement and in several decades immediately after, he was also commonly called Bapu , an endearment roughly meaning "father". Gandhi's father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), served as
3450-556: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Indian independence movement The Indian Independence Movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule . It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement for Indian independence emerged in
3588-819: Is now in Nainarkoil Taluk, Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu , India. He converted to Islam and was named Muhammad Yusuf Khan. He was popularly known as Khan Sahib when he became a ruler of Madurai. He became a warrior in the Arcot troops, and later a commandant for the British East India Company troops. The British and the Arcot Nawab employed him to suppress the Polygar (a.k.a. Palayakkarar) uprising in South India . Later he
3726-448: Is traceable to these epic characters. The family's religious background was eclectic. Mohandas was born into a Gujarati Hindu Modh Bania family. Gandhi's father, Karamchand, was Hindu and his mother Putlibai was from a Pranami Vaishnava Hindu family. Gandhi's father was of Modh Baniya caste in the varna of Vaishya . His mother came from the medieval Krishna bhakti-based Pranami tradition, whose religious texts include
3864-399: The dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar state. His family originated from the then village of Kutiana in what was then Junagadh State . Although Karamchand only had been a clerk in the state administration and had an elementary education, he proved a capable chief minister. During his tenure, Karamchand married four times. His first two wives died young, after each had given birth to
4002-582: The Apartheid . In 1903, Gandhi started the Indian Opinion , a journal that carried news of Indians in South Africa, Indians in India with articles on all subjects -social, moral and intellectual. Each issue was multi-lingual and carried material in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil. It carried ads, depended heavily on Gandhi's contributions (often printed without a byline) and was an 'advocate' for
4140-562: The Battle of Plassey , the East India Company's Army defeated Siraj ud-Daulah , the Nawab of Bengal , and the company established itself as a major player in Indian affairs. After the Battle of Buxar of 1764, it gained administrative rights over Bengal , Bihar and the Midnapur part of Odisha . After the defeat of Tipu Sultan , most of southern India came either under the company's direct rule, or under its indirect political control in
4278-710: The Bhagavad Gita , the Bhagavata Purana , and a collection of 14 texts with teachings that the tradition believes to include the essence of the Vedas , the Quran and the Bible . Gandhi was deeply influenced by his mother, an extremely pious lady who "would not think of taking her meals without her daily prayers... she would take the hardest vows and keep them without flinching. To keep two or three consecutive fasts
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4416-657: The Chuar Rebellions in these regions from 1771 to 1809. Syed Mir Nisar Ali Titumir was an Islamic preacher who led a peasant uprising against the Hindu Zamindars of Bengal and the British during the 19th century. Along with his followers, he built a bamboo fort ( Bansher Kella in Bengali) in Narkelberia Village, which gained a prominent place into Bengali folk legend. After the storming of
4554-604: The Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan . On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India established the Republic of India. Pakistan adopted its first constitution in 1956. In 1971, East Pakistan declared its own independence as Bangladesh . The first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama , who reached Calicut in 1498 in search of spice. Just over
4692-469: The East End of London . Hills was also a highly accomplished sportsman who later founded the football club West Ham United . In his 1927 An Autobiography, Vol. I , Gandhi wrote: The question deeply interested me...I had a high regard for Mr. Hills and his generosity. But I thought it was quite improper to exclude a man from a vegetarian society simply because he refused to regard puritan morals as one of
4830-761: The East India Association in 1866 and Surendranath Banerjee founded the Indian National Association in 1876. Inspired by a suggestion made by A.O. Hume , a retired Scottish civil servant, seventy-two Indian delegates met in Bombay in 1885 and founded the Indian National Congress. They were mostly members of the upwardly mobile and successful western-educated provincial elites, engaged in professions such as law, teaching and journalism. At its inception, Congress had no well-defined ideology and commanded few of
4968-698: The Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case . They were tried for treason, the charge being that they had incited various regiments of the army against the ruler. Several leaders of the Jugantar party including Aurobindo Ghosh were arrested in connection with bomb-making activities in Kolkata . Several of the activists were deported to the Andaman Cellular Jail . The Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy , hatched in 1912, planned to assassinate
5106-655: The Indian rebellion of 1857 . His defiance to his British superiors and later his execution ignited the fire for 1857 Indian Rebellion . On 10 May 1857, the sepoys at Meerut broke ranks and turned on their commanding officers, killing some of them. They reached Delhi on 11 May, set the company's toll house on fire, and marched into the Red Fort, where they asked the Mughal emperor , Bahadur Shah II , to become their leader and reclaim his throne. The emperor eventually agreed and
5244-699: The Kingdom of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company (represented chiefly by the Madras Presidency ), and Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad on the other. Hyder Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan fought a war on four fronts with the British attacking from the west, south, and east, while the Marathas and the Nizam's forces attacked from the north. The fourth war resulted in
5382-550: The London Vegetarian Society (LVS) and was elected to its executive committee under the aegis of its president and benefactor Arnold Hills . An achievement while on the committee was the establishment of a Bayswater chapter. Some of the vegetarians Gandhi met were members of the Theosophical Society , which had been founded in 1875 to further universal brotherhood, and which was devoted to
5520-557: The Mahout was killed. The investigations in the aftermath of the assassination attempt led to the Delhi Conspiracy trial. Basant Kumar Biswas was convicted of having thrown the bomb and executed, along with Amir Chand Bombwal and Avadh Behari for their roles in the conspiracy. Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( ISO : Mōhanadāsa Karamacaṁda Gāṁdhī ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948)
5658-531: The Province of Bengal . It later took root in the newly formed Indian National Congress with prominent moderate leaders seeking the right to appear for Indian Civil Service examinations in British India, as well as more economic rights for natives. The first half of the 20th century saw a more radical approach towards self-rule. The stages of the independence struggle in the 1920s were characterised by
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5796-437: The 13-year-old Gandhi was married to 14-year-old Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba", and affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged marriage , according to the custom of the region at that time. In the process, he lost a year at school but was later allowed to make up by accelerating his studies. Gandhi's wedding was a joint event, where his brother and cousin were also married. Recalling
5934-637: The British Colonial Secretary, to reconsider his position on this bill. Though unable to halt the bill's passage, Gandhi's campaign was successful in drawing attention to the grievances of Indians in South Africa. He helped found the Natal Indian Congress in 1894, and through this organisation, Gandhi moulded the Indian community of South Africa into a unified political force. In January 1897, when Gandhi landed in Durban,
6072-480: The British Empire and the abandonment of all British goods. This movement gained traction and huge following of the masses in the western and eastern parts of India. The moderates , led by leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale , on the other hand, wanted reform within the framework of British rule. Tilak was backed by rising public leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai , who held
6210-618: The British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli proclaimed Queen Victoria the Empress of India . The British Liberals objected as the title was foreign to British traditions. The decades following the Rebellion were a period of growing political awareness, the manifestation of Indian public opinion and the emergence of Indian leadership at both national and provincial levels. Dadabhai Naoroji formed
6348-402: The British forces. Chinnamalai engaged in guerrilla warfare and defeated the British in battles at Cauvery in 1801, Odanilai in 1802 and Arachalur in 1804. In 1804 the King of Khordha , Kalinga was deprived of his traditional rights to the Jagannath Temple. In retaliation, a group of armed Paiks attacked the British at Pipili . Jayee Rajguru , the chief of Army of Kalinga requested
6486-407: The British responded by imprisoning him and tens of thousands of Congress leaders. Meanwhile, the Muslim League did co-operate with Britain and moved, against Gandhi's strong opposition, to demands for a totally separate Muslim state of Pakistan. In August 1947, the British partitioned the land with India and Pakistan each achieving independence on terms that Gandhi disapproved. In April 1918, during
6624-436: The British to quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned many times and for many years in both South Africa and India. Gandhi's vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged in the early 1940s by a Muslim nationalism which demanded a separate homeland for Muslims within British India . In August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions ,
6762-466: The British, they aggressively set out to search for Birsa Munda, even setting up a reward for him. They brutally attacked the Dombari Hills where Birsa had repaired a water tank and made his revolutionary headquarters between 7–9 January 1900, murdering a minimum of 400 of the Munda warriors who had congregated there, akin to the attacks on the people at Jallianwallah Bagh , however, receiving much less attention. The hills are known as "Topped Buru" today –
6900-415: The Congress's early gains were slight. "Despite its claim to represent all India, the Congress voiced the interests of urban elites; the number of participants from other social and economic backgrounds remained negligible. However, this period of history is still crucial because it represented the first political mobilisation of Indians, coming from all parts of the subcontinent and the first articulation of
7038-415: The Empire and aroused a spiritual awakening within him; historian Arthur L. Herman wrote that Gandhi's African experience was a part of his great disillusionment with the West, transforming Gandhi into an "uncompromising non-cooperator". By 1910, Gandhi's newspaper, Indian Opinion , was covering reports on discrimination against Africans by the colonial regime. Gandhi remarked that the Africans "alone are
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#17327655890127176-447: The Empire. This trend was personified by Dadabhai Naoroji , who went as far as contesting, successfully, an election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom , becoming its first Indian member. Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Indian nationalist to embrace Swaraj as the destiny of the nation. Bal Gangadhar Tilak deeply opposed a British education system that ignored and defamed India's culture, history, and values. He resented
7314-433: The Hindu-dominated Congress, as the voice of a "nation within a nation". The Ghadar Party was formed overseas in 1913 to fight for the Independence of India with members coming from the United States and Canada, as well as Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Members of the party aimed for Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim unity against the British. In colonial India, the All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC), which
7452-428: The Indian National Congress declared the independence of India. The British did not recognise the declaration, but negotiations ensued, with the Congress taking a role in provincial government in the late 1930s. Gandhi and the Congress withdrew their support of the Raj when the Viceroy declared war on Germany in September 1939 without consultation. Tensions escalated until Gandhi demanded immediate independence in 1942, and
7590-437: The Indian cause. In 1906, when the Bambatha Rebellion broke out in the colony of Natal , the then 36-year-old Gandhi, despite sympathising with the Zulu rebels, encouraged Indian South Africans to form a volunteer stretcher-bearer unit. Writing in the Indian Opinion , Gandhi argued that military service would be beneficial to the Indian community and claimed it would give them "health and happiness." Gandhi eventually led
7728-473: The Indian community organised a farewell party for Gandhi as he prepared to return to India. The farewell party was turned into a working committee to plan the resistance to a new Natal government discriminatory proposal. This led to Gandhi extending his original period of stay in South Africa. Gandhi planned to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote , a right then proposed to be an exclusive European right. He asked Joseph Chamberlain ,
7866-405: The Indian people primarily by Gokhale. Gokhale was a key leader of the Congress Party best known for his restraint and moderation, and his insistence on working inside the system. Gandhi took Gokhale's liberal approach based on British Whiggish traditions and transformed it to make it look Indian. Gandhi took leadership of the Congress in 1920 and began escalating demands until on 26 January 1930
8004-402: The Muslim " martial races ." Gandhi raised 1,100 Indian volunteers to support British combat troops against the Boers. They were trained and medically certified to serve on the front lines. They were auxiliaries at the Battle of Colenso to a White volunteer ambulance corps. At the Battle of Spion Kop , Gandhi and his bearers moved to the front line and had to carry wounded soldiers for miles to
8142-528: The Natal Indian Congress. According to Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed, Gandhi's views on racism are contentious in some cases. He suffered persecution from the beginning in South Africa. Like with other coloured people, white officials denied Gandhi his rights, and the press and those in the streets bullied and called Gandhi a "parasite", "semi-barbarous", "canker", "squalid coolie", "yellow man", and other epithets. People would even spit on him as an expression of racial hate. While in South Africa, Gandhi focused on
8280-400: The Nawab feared Yusuf Khan would come back to life and so had his body dismembered and buried in different locations around Tamil Nadu. In Eastern India and across the country, Indigenous communities organised numerous uprising against the British and their fellow members, especially landlords and moneylenders. One of the earliest of these on record was led by Binsu Manki around 1771 over
8418-439: The Nizam's earlier handover of his estate to them on similar grounds. Narayan Deo II fought the British at Jelmur fort on 4 April 1768 and was defeated due to superior firepower of the British. He fled to the tribal hinterlands of his estate and continued his efforts against the British until his natural death on the Fifth of December 1771. Rani Velu Nachiyar (1730–1796), was a queen of Sivaganga from 1760 to 1790. Rani Nachiyar
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#17327655890128556-455: The Scots–Irish Sister Nivedita , spread the passion for rejuvenation and freedom. The rediscovery of India's indigenous history by several European and Indian scholars also fed into the rise of nationalism among Indians. The triumvirate also is known as Lal Bal Pal ( Bal Gangadhar Tilak , Bipin Chandra Pal , Lala Lajpat Rai ), along with V. O. Chidambaram Pillai , Sri Aurobindo , Surendranath Banerjee , and Rabindranath Tagore were some of
8694-441: The Swadeshi movement changed the entire texture of Indian social and domestic life. The songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore, Rajanikanta Sen and Syed Abu Mohd became the moving spirit for the nationalists. The movement soon spread to the rest of the country and the partition of Bengal had to be firmly inhaled on the first of April 1912. By 1900, although the Congress had emerged as an all-India political organisation, it did not have
8832-419: The Thakur Sahib; though Rajkot was a less prestigious state than Porbandar, the British regional political agency was located there, which gave the state's diwan a measure of security. In 1876, Karamchand became diwan of Rajkot and was succeeded as diwan of Porbandar by his brother Tulsidas. Karamchand's family then rejoined him in Rajkot. They moved to their family home Kaba Gandhi No Delo in 1881. As
8970-484: The age of 24, prepared a legal brief for the Natal Assembly in 1895, seeking voting rights for Indians. Gandhi cited race history and European Orientalists' opinions that "Anglo-Saxons and Indians are sprung from the same Aryan stock or rather the Indo-European peoples" and argued that Indians should not be grouped with the Africans. Years later, Gandhi and his colleagues served and helped Africans as nurses and by opposing racism. The Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela
9108-430: The aim of attacking the British, whom she successfully challenged in 1780. When the inventories of the Britishers were discovered, she is said to have arranged a suicide attack by a faithful follower, Kuyili , dousing herself in oil and setting herself alight and walking into the storehouse. Rani formed a women's army named "Udaiyaal" in honour of her adopted daughter, who had died detonating a British arsenal. Rani Nachiyar
9246-503: The boycott of British goods and the people of India pledged to use only swadeshi or Indian goods and to wear only Indian cloth. Imported garments were viewed with hate. At many places, public burnings of foreign cloth were organised. Shops selling foreign cloths were closed. The cotton textile industry is rightly described as the Swadeshi industry. The period witnessed the growth of swadeshi textile mills . Swadeshi factories came into existence everywhere. According to Surendranath Banerji,
9384-509: The cheapest college he could afford in Bombay. Mavji Dave Joshiji, a Brahmin priest and family friend, advised Gandhi and his family that he should consider law studies in London. In July 1888, Gandhi's wife Kasturba gave birth to their first surviving child, Harilal. Gandhi's mother was not comfortable about Gandhi leaving his wife and family and going so far from home. Gandhi's uncle Tulsidas also tried to dissuade his nephew, but Gandhi wanted to go. To persuade his wife and mother, Gandhi made
9522-441: The committee agreed with Gandhi, the vote was lost and Allinson was excluded. There were no hard feelings, with Hills proposing the toast at the LVS farewell dinner in honour of Gandhi's return to India. Gandhi, at age 22, was called to the bar in June 1891 and then left London for India, where he learned that his mother had died while he was in London and that his family had kept the news from Gandhi. His attempts at establishing
9660-416: The company's army and cantonments had increasingly come into conflict with the religious beliefs and prejudices of the sepoys . The predominance of members from the upper castes in the army, perceived loss of caste due to overseas deployment, and rumours of secret designs of the government to convert them to Christianity led to growing discontent. The sepoys were also disillusioned by their low salaries and
9798-448: The day of their marriage, Gandhi once said, "As we didn't know much about marriage, for us it meant only wearing new clothes, eating sweets and playing with relatives." As was the prevailing tradition, the adolescent bride was to spend much time at her parents' house, and away from her husband. Writing many years later, Gandhi described with regret the lustful feelings he felt for his young bride: "Even at school I used to think of her, and
9936-471: The denial of freedom of expression for nationalists, and the lack of any voice or role for ordinary Indians in the affairs of their nation. For these reasons, he considered Swaraj as the natural and only solution. His popular sentence "Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it" became the source of inspiration for Indians. In 1907, Congress was split into two factions: The radicals , led by Tilak , advocated civil agitation and direct revolution to overthrow
10074-602: The direction of Mahatma Gandhi , who saw alcohol as a foreign importation to the culture of the subcontinent. In July 1905, Lord Curzon , the Viceroy and Governor-General (1899–1905), ordered the partition of the province of Bengal . The stated aim was to improve administration. However, this was seen as an attempt to quench nationalistic sentiment through divide and rule . The Bengali Hindu intelligentsia exerted considerable influence on local and national politics. The partition outraged Bengalis. Widespread agitation ensued in
10212-599: The emancipation of Indian women and their participation in the freedom struggle. Few leaders followed a more violent approach, which became especially popular after the Rowlatt Act , which permitted indefinite detention . The Act sparked protests across India, especially in the Punjab Province , where they were violently suppressed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre . The Indian independence movement
10350-644: The fort by British soldiers, Titumir died of his wounds on 19 November 1831. These rebellions lead to larger regional movements in Jharkhand and beyond such as the Kol Insurrection led by Singhray and Binray Manki, where the Kol ( Munda , Oraon , Bhumij and Ho communities) united to rebel against the "outsiders" from 1830 -1833. The Santhal Hul was a movement of over 60,000 Santhals that happened from 1855 to 1857 (but started as early as 1784) and
10488-722: The idea of India as one nation, rather than a collection of independent princely states. Religious groups played a role in reforming Indian society. These were of several religions from Hindu groups such as the Arya Samaj , the Brahmo Samaj , to other religions, such as the Namdhari (or Kuka ) sect of Sikhism . The work of men like Swami Vivekananda , Ramakrishna , Sri Aurobindo , V. O. Chidambaram Pillai , Subramanya Bharathy , Bankim Chandra Chatterjee , Rabindranath Tagore and Dadabhai Naoroji , as well as women such as
10626-583: The latter part of World War I , the Viceroy invited Gandhi to a War Conference in Delhi. Gandhi agreed to support the war effort. In contrast to the Zulu War of 1906 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when he recruited volunteers for the Ambulance Corps, this time Gandhi attempted to recruit combatants. In a June 1918 leaflet entitled "Appeal for Enlistment", Gandhi wrote: "To bring about such
10764-434: The lawyer for Abdullah's cousin. Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa where he developed his political views, ethics, and politics. During this time Gandhi briefly returned to India in 1902 to mobilise support for the welfare of Indians in South Africa. Immediately upon arriving in South Africa, Gandhi faced discrimination due to his skin colour and heritage. Gandhi was not allowed to sit with European passengers in
10902-699: The leadership Bundu and Konta. The Ho Rebellion took place when the Ho community first came in contact with the British, from 1820 to 1821 near Chaibasa on the Roro River in West Singhbhum , but were defeated by the technologically enhanced colonial cavalry. A larger Bhumij Revolt occurred near Midnapur in Bengal, under the leadership of Ganga Narain Singh who had previously also been involved in co-leading
11040-550: The leadership of Birsa Munda . Birsa Munda belonged to the Munda community and lead thousands of people from Munda, Oraon , and Kharia communities in "Ulgulaan" (revolt) against British political expansion and those who advanced it, against forceful conversions of Indigenous peoples into Christianity (even creating a Birsaite movement), and against the displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands. To subdue these rising tensions which were getting increasingly out of control of
11178-514: The leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Congress's adoption of Gandhi's policy of non-violence and civil disobedience . Some of the leading followers of Gandhi's ideology were Jawaharlal Nehru , Vallabhbhai Patel , Abdul Ghaffar Khan , Maulana Azad , and others. Intellectuals such as Rabindranath Tagore , Subramania Bharati , and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay spread patriotic awareness. Female leaders like Sarojini Naidu , Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit , Pritilata Waddedar , and Kasturba Gandhi promoted
11316-490: The legitimacy of British rule in India in publications such as Jugantar and Sandhya , and were charged with sedition. The Partition also precipitated increasing activity from the then still Nascent militant nationalist revolutionary movement , which was particularly gaining strength in Bengal and Maharashtra from the last decade of the 1800s. In Bengal, Anushilan Samiti , led by brothers Aurobindo and Barin Ghosh organised
11454-498: The mediation of Cardinal Manning , leading Gandhi and an Indian friend to make a point of visiting the cardinal and thanking him for his work. His vow to his mother influenced Gandhi's time in London. Gandhi tried to adopt "English" customs, including taking dancing lessons. However, he didn't appreciate the bland vegetarian food offered by his landlady and was frequently hungry until he found one of London's few vegetarian restaurants. Influenced by Henry Salt's writing, Gandhi joined
11592-573: The mound of the dead. Birsa was ultimately captured in the Jamkopai forest in Singhbhum , and assassinated by the British in jail in 1900, with a rushed cremation/burial conducted to ensure his movement was subdued. The toughest resistance the Company experienced was offered by Mysore. The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of wars fought in over the last three decades of the 18th century between
11730-470: The objects of the society A motion to remove Allinson was raised, and was debated and voted on by the committee. Gandhi's shyness was an obstacle to his defence of Allinson at the committee meeting. Gandhi wrote his views down on paper, but shyness prevented Gandhi from reading out his arguments, so Hills, the President, asked another committee member to read them out for him. Although some other members of
11868-400: The original inhabitants of the land. … The whites, on the other hand, have occupied the land forcibly and appropriated it for themselves." In 1910, Gandhi established, with the help of his friend Hermann Kallenbach , an idealistic community they named Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg. There, Gandhi nurtured his policy of peaceful resistance. In the years after black South Africans gained
12006-485: The overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu (who was killed in the final war, in 1799), and the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company, which won and took control of much of India. Pazhassi Raja was the prince regent of the princely state of Cotiote in North Malabar, near Kannur , India between 1774 and 1805. He fought a guerrilla war with tribal people from Wynad supporting him. He
12144-557: The people. A Muslim deputation met with the Viceroy, Minto (1905–10), seeking concessions from the impending constitutional reforms, including special considerations in government service and electorates. The British recognised some of the Muslim League 's petitions by increasing the number of elective offices reserved for Muslims in the Indian Councils Act 1909 . The Muslim League insisted on its separateness from
12282-540: The prejudice against Gandhi and his fellow Indians from British people that Gandhi experienced and observed deeply bothered him. Gandhi found it humiliating, struggling to understand how some people can feel honour or superiority or pleasure in such inhumane practices. Gandhi began to question his people's standing in the British Empire . The Abdullah case that had brought him to South Africa concluded in May 1894, and
12420-786: The present-day Tamil Nadu state of India Indian Independence League , an Indian nationalist political organisation in Japanese occupied Southeast Asia Indian Independence Committee or Berlin Committee , Indian independence organization and conspiracy circle in Germany during World War I (see Hindu–German Conspiracy ) Indian Independence Act 1947 , an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted de facto independence to India and Pakistan Partition of India ,
12558-484: The prominent leaders of movements in the early 20th century. The Swadeshi movement was the most successful. The name of Lokmanya began spreading around and people started following him in all parts of the country. The Indian textile industry also played an important role in the freedom struggle of India. The merchandise of the textile industry pioneered the Industrial Revolution in India and soon England
12696-466: The racial discrimination practised by British officers in matters of promotion and privileges. The indifference of the British towards native Indian rulers and the annexation of Oudh furthered dissent. The Marquess of Dalhousie 's policy of annexation, the doctrine of lapse and the projected removal of the Mughals from their ancestral palace at Red Fort also led to popular anger. The final spark
12834-625: The racial persecution of Indians before he started to focus on racism against Africans. In some cases, state Desai and Vahed, Gandhi's behaviour was one of being a willing part of racial stereotyping and African exploitation. During a speech in September 1896, Gandhi complained that the whites in the British colony of South Africa were "degrading the Indian to the level of a raw Kaffir ." Scholars cite it as an example of evidence that Gandhi at that time thought of Indians and black South Africans differently. As another example given by Herman, Gandhi, at
12972-471: The rebels, coupled with the military superiority of the British, brought an end to the rebellion. The British fought the main army of the rebels near Delhi, and after prolonged fighting and a siege, defeated them and reclaimed the city on 20 September 1857. Subsequently, revolts in other centres were also crushed. The last significant battle was fought in Gwalior on 17 June 1858, during which Rani Lakshmibai
13110-485: The religious violence. The last of these was begun in Delhi on 12 January 1948, when Gandhi was 78. The belief that Gandhi had been too resolute in his defence of both Pakistan and Indian Muslims spread among some Hindus in India. Among these was Nathuram Godse , a militant Hindu nationalist from Pune , western India, who assassinated Gandhi by firing three bullets into his chest at an interfaith prayer meeting in Delhi on 30 January 1948. Gandhi's birthday, 2 October,
13248-481: The resources essential to a political organisation. Instead, it functioned more as a debating society that met annually to express its loyalty to the British and passed numerous resolutions on less controversial issues such as civil rights or opportunities in government (especially in the civil service). These resolutions were submitted to the Indian government and occasionally to the British Parliament, but
13386-426: The right to vote in South Africa (1994), Gandhi was proclaimed a national hero with numerous monuments. At the request of Gopal Krishna Gokhale , conveyed to Gandhi by C. F. Andrews , Gandhi returned to India in 1915. He brought an international reputation as a leading Indian nationalist, theorist and community organiser. Gandhi joined the Indian National Congress and was introduced to Indian issues, politics and
13524-399: The rights of native princes. The British stopped the policy of seizing land from the princes, decreed religious tolerance and began to admit Indians into the civil service. However, they also increased the number of British soldiers in relation to native Indian ones, and allowed only British soldiers to handle artillery. Bahadur Shah II was exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862. In 1876
13662-540: The same point of view. Under them, India's three great states – Maharashtra , Bengal and Punjab shaped the demand of the people and India's nationalism. Gokhale criticised Tilak for encouraging acts of violence and armed resistance. But the Congress of 1906 did not have public membership, and thus Tilak and his supporters were forced to leave the party. But with Tilak's arrest, all hopes for an Indian offensive were stalled. The Indian National Congress lost credibility with
13800-435: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Indian independence . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_independence&oldid=1259493860 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
13938-532: The short dhoti woven with hand-spun yarn as a mark of identification with India's rural poor. He began to live in a self-sufficient residential community , to eat simple food, and undertake long fasts as a means of both introspection and political protest. Bringing anti-colonial nationalism to the common Indians, Gandhi led them in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930 and in calling for
14076-542: The sole degree-granting institution of higher education in the region. However, Gandhi dropped out and returned to his family in Porbandar. Outside school, Gandhi's education was enriched by exposure to Gujarati literature, especially reformers like Narmad and Govardhanram Tripathi , whose works alerted the Gujaratis to their own faults and weaknesses such as belief in religious dogmatism. Gandhi had dropped out of
14214-721: The split of British India into modern India and Pakistan Independence Day (India) , India's national day and public holiday on August 15 marking independence from the British Empire Indian Independence Day parade Indian Independence Day parade in New York City Indian Independence Medal , an Indian military award Native American self-determination , including independence movements among American Indians See also [ edit ] August 15 (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
14352-425: The stagecoach and was told to sit on the floor near the driver, then beaten when he refused; elsewhere, Gandhi was kicked into a gutter for daring to walk near a house, in another instance thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg after refusing to leave the first-class. Gandhi sat in the train station, shivering all night and pondering if he should return to India or protest for his rights. Gandhi chose to protest and
14490-714: The streets and in the press, and the Congress advocated boycotting British products under the banner of swadeshi , or indigenous industries. A growing movement emerged, focussing on indigenous Indian industries, finance, and education, which saw the founding of National Council of Education , the birth of Indian financial institutions and banks, as well as an interest in Indian culture and achievements in science and literature. Hindus showed unity by tying Rakhi on each other's wrists and observing Arandhan (not cooking any food). During this time, Bengali Hindu nationalists like Sri Aurobindo , Bhupendranath Datta , and Bipin Chandra Pal began writing virulent newspaper articles challenging
14628-678: The study of Buddhist and Hindu literature. They encouraged Gandhi to join them in reading the Bhagavad Gita both in translation as well as in the original. Gandhi had a friendly and productive relationship with Hills, but the two men took a different view on the continued LVS membership of fellow committee member Thomas Allinson . Their disagreement is the first known example of Gandhi challenging authority, despite his shyness and temperamental disinclination towards confrontation. Allinson had been promoting newly available birth control methods , but Hills disapproved of these, believing they undermined public morality. He believed vegetarianism to be
14766-660: The support of most Indian Muslims. Attacks by Hindu reformers against religious conversion, cow slaughter, and the preservation of Urdu in Arabic script deepened their concerns of minority status and denial of rights if the Congress alone were to represent the people of India. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan launched a movement for Muslim regeneration that culminated in the founding in 1875 of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh , Uttar Pradesh (renamed Aligarh Muslim University in 1920). Its objective
14904-650: The then Viceroy of India , Lord Hardinge , on the occasion of transferring the capital of British India from Calcutta to New Delhi. Involving revolutionary underground in Bengal and headed by Rash Behari Bose along with Sachin Sanyal , the conspiracy culminated on the attempted assassination on 23 December 1912, when the ceremonial procession moved through the Chandni Chowk suburb of Delhi . The Viceroy escaped with his injuries, along with Lady Hardinge, although
15042-493: The thought of nightfall and our subsequent meeting was ever haunting me." Gandhi later recalled feeling jealous and possessive of her, such as when Kasturba would visit a temple with her girlfriends, and being sexually lustful in his feelings for her. In late 1885, Gandhi's father, Karamchand, died. Gandhi had left his father's bedside to be with his wife mere minutes before his passing. Many decades later, Gandhi wrote "if animal passion had not blinded me, I should have been spared
15180-644: The torture of separation from my father during his last moments." Later, Gandhi, then 16 years old, and his wife, age 17, had their first child, who survived only a few days. The two deaths anguished Gandhi. The Gandhis had four more children, all sons: Harilal , born in 1888; Manilal , born in 1892; Ramdas , born in 1897; and Devdas , born in 1900. In November 1887, the 18-year-old Gandhi graduated from high school in Ahmedabad . In January 1888, he enrolled at Samaldas College in Bhavnagar State , then
15318-784: The transfer of Jharkhand to the East India Company . The Rangpur Dhing took place from 1782 to 1783 in nearby Rangpur, Bengal . Following the Binsu Manki's revolt in Jharkhand, numerous uprising across the region took place including the Bhumij Revolt of Manbhum from 1798 to 1799; the Chero Uprising of Palamu in 1800 under the leadership of Bhukan Singh, and two uprising of the Munda community in Tamar region, during 1807 led by Dukan Mank, and 1819–20 under
15456-570: The truth), or nonviolent protest, for the first time. According to Anthony Parel, Gandhi was also influenced by the Tamil moral text Tirukkuṛaḷ after Leo Tolstoy mentioned it in their correspondence that began with " A Letter to a Hindu ". Gandhi urged Indians to defy the new law and to suffer the punishments for doing so. His ideas of protests, persuasion skills, and public relations had emerged. Gandhi took these back to India in 1915. Gandhi focused his attention on Indians and Africans while he
15594-681: The war campaign brought into question his consistency on nonviolence. Gandhi's private secretary noted that "The question of the consistency between his creed of ' Ahimsa ' (nonviolence) and his recruiting campaign was raised not only then but has been discussed ever since." According to political and educational scientist Christian Bartolf, Gandhi's support for the war stemmed from his belief that true ahimsa could not exist simultaneously with cowardice. Therefore, Gandhi felt that Indians needed to be willing and capable of using arms before they voluntarily chose non-violence. In July 1918, Gandhi said that he could not persuade even one individual to enlist for
15732-539: The world war. "So far I have not a single recruit to my credit apart," Gandhi wrote. He added: "They object because they fear to die." Gandhi's first major achievement came in 1917 with the Champaran agitation in Bihar . The Champaran agitation pitted the local peasantry against largely Anglo-Indian plantation owners who were backed by the local administration. The peasants were forced to grow indigo ( Indigofera sp.),
15870-480: The world. Born and raised in a Hindu family in coastal Gujarat , Gandhi trained in the law at the Inner Temple in London and was called to the bar at the age of 22. After two uncertain years in India, where he was unable to start a successful law practice, Gandhi moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. He went on to live in South Africa for 21 years. There, Gandhi raised
16008-421: Was a Kongu Nadu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who fought against the East India Company. After Kattabomman and Tipu Sultan's deaths, Chinnamalai sought the help of Marathas and Maruthu Pandiyar to attack the British at Coimbatore in 1800. The British forces managed to stop the armies of the allies, forcing Chinnamalai to attack Coimbatore on his own. His army was defeated and he escaped from
16146-467: Was allowed to board the train the next day. In another incident, the magistrate of a Durban court ordered Gandhi to remove his turban, which he refused to do. Indians were not allowed to walk on public footpaths in South Africa. Gandhi was kicked by a police officer out of the footpath onto the street without warning. When Gandhi arrived in South Africa, according to Arthur Herman, he thought of himself as "a Briton first, and an Indian second." However,
16284-474: Was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist , and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule . He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (from Sanskrit , meaning great-souled or venerable), first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is now used throughout
16422-531: Was captured by the British and his fort was razed to the ground. In 1766 the Nizam of Hyderabad transferred the Northern Circars to the British authority. The independent king Jagannatha Gajapati Narayan Deo II of Paralakhemundi estate situated in today's Odisha and in the northernmost region of the then political division was continuously revolting against the French occupants since 1753 as per
16560-625: Was entrusted to administer the Madurai country when the Madurai Nayak rule ended. He later fought war against the British and the Arcot Nawab. A dispute arose with the British and Arcot Nawab, and three of Khan's associates were bribed to capture him. He was captured during his morning prayer (Thozhugai) and hanged on 15 October 1764 at Sammatipuram near Madurai. Local legends state that he survived two earlier attempts at hanging, and that
16698-585: Was excommunicated from his caste. Gandhi ignored this, and on 4 September, he sailed from Bombay to London, with his brother seeing him off. Gandhi attended University College, London , where he took classes in English literature with Henry Morley in 1888–1889. Gandhi also enrolled at the Inns of Court School of Law in Inner Temple with the intention of becoming a barrister . His childhood shyness and self-withdrawal had continued through his teens. Gandhi retained these traits when he arrived in London, but joined
16836-551: Was executed this morning;... it is alleged that he mounted the scaffold with his body erect. He was cheerful and smiling. Jugantar was a paramilitary organisation. Led by Barindra Ghosh , with 21 revolutionaries, including Bagha Jatin , started to collect arms and explosives and manufactured bombs. Some senior members of the group were sent abroad for political and military training. One of them, Hemchandra Kanungo obtained his training in Paris. After returning to Kolkata he set up
16974-482: Was founded in 1914, played a role in the Indian independence movement, advocating for swaraj and opposing the partition of India . The AICIC also was opposed to separate electorates for Christians, believing that the faithful "should participate as common citizens in the one common, national political system". The All India Conference of Indian Christians and the All India Catholic Union formed
17112-440: Was imported to India and sold at very high prices. This was draining India's economy, causing the textile industry of India to suffer greatly. This led to great resentment among cotton cultivators and traders. After Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal in 1905, there was massive opposition from the people of Bengal. Initially, the partition plan was opposed through press campaign. The total follower of such techniques led to
17250-416: Was in South Africa. Initially, Gandhi was not interested in politics, but this changed after he was discriminated against and bullied, such as by being thrown out of a train coach due to his skin colour by a white train official. After several such incidents with Whites in South Africa , Gandhi's thinking and focus changed, and he felt he must resist this and fight for rights. Gandhi entered politics by forming
17388-411: Was in constant ideological evolution. Essentially anti-colonial , it was supplemented by visions of independent, economic development with a secular, democratic, republican, and civil-libertarian political structure. After the 1930s, the movement took on a strong socialist orientation. It culminated in the Indian Independence Act 1947 , which ended Crown suzerainty and partitioned British India into
17526-479: Was killed. Sporadic fighting and guerrilla warfare , led by Tatya Tope , continued until spring 1859, but most of the rebels were eventually subdued. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a turning point. While affirming the military and political power of the British, it led to a significant change in how India was to be controlled by them. Under the Government of India Act 1858 , the East India Company's territory
17664-629: Was nothing to her." At the age of nine, Gandhi entered the local school in Rajkot , near his home. There, he studied the rudiments of arithmetic, history, the Gujarati language and geography. At the age of 11, Gandhi joined the High School in Rajkot, Alfred High School . He was an average student, won some prizes, but was a shy and tongue-tied student, with no interest in games; Gandhi's only companions were books and school lessons. In May 1883,
17802-500: Was one of the few rulers who regained her kingdom, and ruled it for a decade more. Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an eighteenth-century Polygar and chieftain from Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu , India who waged the Polygar war against the East India Company. He was captured by the British and hanged in 1799 CE. Kattabomman refused to accept the sovereignty of East India Company, and fought against them. Dheeran Chinnamalai
17940-565: Was particularly led by siblings – brothers Sidhu, Kanhu , Chand and Bhairav and their sisters Phulo and Jhano from the Murmu clan in its most fervent years that lead up to the Revolt of 1857 . More than 100 years of such escalating rebellions created grounds for a large, impactful, millenarian movement in Eastern India that again shook the foundations of British rule in the region, under
18078-655: Was proclaimed Shahenshah-e-Hindustan by the rebels. The rebels also murdered much of the European, Eurasian , and Christian population of the city, including natives who had converted to Christianity. Revolts broke out in other parts of Oudh and the North-Western Provinces as well, where civil rebellion followed the mutinies, leading to popular uprisings. The British were initially caught off-guard and were thus slow to react, but eventually responded with force. The lack of effective organisation among
18216-501: Was producing cotton cloth in such great quantities that the domestic market was saturated, and the products had to be sold in foreign markets. On the other hand, India was rich in cotton production and was in a position to supply British mills with the raw material they required. This was the time when India was under British rule and the East India Company had already established its roots in India. Raw materials were exported to England at very low rates while cotton cloth of refined quality
18354-402: Was provided by the rumoured use of tallow (from cows) and lard (pig fat) in the newly introduced Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle cartridges. Soldiers had to bite the cartridges with their teeth before loading them into their rifles, ingesting the fat. This was sacrilegious to both Hindus and Muslims. Mangal Pandey was sepoy who played a key part in the events immediately preceding the outbreak of
18492-658: Was the first Bania from Kathiawar to proceed to England for his Barrister Examination. As Mohandas Gandhi waited for a berth on a ship to London he found that he had attracted the ire of the Modh Banias of Bombay. Upon arrival in Bombay, he stayed with the local Modh Bania community whose elders warned Gandhi that England would tempt him to compromise his religion, and eat and drink in Western ways. Despite Gandhi informing them of his promise to his mother and her blessings, Gandhi
18630-420: Was the inspiration, political mentor and role model of Mahatma Gandhi and inspired several other freedom activists. Nationalistic sentiments among Congress members led to a push to be represented in the bodies of government, as well as to have a say in the legislation and administration of India. Congressmen saw themselves as loyalists, but wanted an active role in governing their own country, albeit as part of
18768-513: Was to educate students by emphasising the compatibility of Islam with modern western knowledge. The diversity among India's Muslims, however, made it impossible to bring about uniform cultural and intellectual regeneration. The Hindu faction of the Independence movement was led by Nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak , who was regarded as the "father of Indian Unrest" by the British. Along with Tilak were leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale , who
18906-479: Was trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam (fighting using stick), horse riding and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency with languages like French, English, and Urdu. When her husband, Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar, was killed in battle with British soldiers and the forces of the Nawab of Arcot , she was drawn into battle. She formed an army and sought an alliance with Gopala Nayaker and Hyder Ali with
19044-604: Was transferred to the British government. At the apex of the new system was a Cabinet minister , the Secretary of State for India , who was to be formally advised by a statutory council ; the Governor-General of India (Viceroy) was made responsible to him, while he in turn was responsible to the government. In a royal proclamation made to the people of India, Queen Victoria promised equal opportunity of public service under British law, and also pledged to respect
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