Indian Nationalism – The Moderate Phase(1885-1905)

Indian nationalism arose in the latter half of the 19th century as a result of various factors like western education, socio-religious reforms, British policies and so on. In 1885, the Indian National Congress was formed which played a significant role in India’s freedom movement.

The time period from 1885 to 1905 can be called the ‘Moderate Phase’. The leaders of this phase are called moderates.

• Formed in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant.
• Other founding members include Dadabhai Naoroji and Dinshaw Wacha.
• First session was held in Bombay under the presidency of Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee in 1885.
• First session was attended by 72 delegates from across the country.
• Viceroy of India at the time was Lord Dufferin who gave his permission to Hume for the first session.
• The Congress was formed with the intention of discussing problems faced by the people of the country irrespective of caste, creed, religion or language.
• It was basically a movement of the upper and middle class, western educated Indians in its moderate phase.
• Second session of the Congress was held in Calcutta in 1886 followed by the third in Madras in 1887.

• Moderate phase of the Congress (or the national movement) was dominated by the ‘moderates’.
• They were people who believed in British justice and were loyal to them.

Dadabhai Naoroji

• Known as the ‘Grand old man of India.’
• He became the first Indian to become a member of the House of Commons in Britain.
• Authored ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’ which focused on the economic drain of India because of British policies. This led to an enquiry on the matter.

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee

• First president of the INC.
• Lawyer by profession. First Indian to act as Standing Counsel.

G Subramanya Aiyer

• Founded ‘The Hindu’ newspaper where he criticised British imperialism.
• Also founded Tamil newspaper ‘Swadesamitran’.
• Co-founded the Madras Mahajana Sabha.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale

• Regarded as Mahatma Gandhi’s political guru.
• Founded the Servants of India Society.

Sir Surendranath Banerjee

• Also called ‘Rashtraguru’ and ‘Indian Burke’.
• Founded the Indian National Association which later merged with the INC.
• Cleared the Indian Civil Service but was discharged due to racial discrimination.
• Founded newspaper ‘The Bengalee’.

Other moderate leaders included Rash Behari Ghosh, R C Dutt, M G Ranade, Pherozeshah Mehta, P R Naidu, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Ananda Charlu, S Subramania Iyer and William Wedderburn.

• Education of the masses and organizing public opinion, make people aware of their rights.
• Indian representation in the Executive Council and in the Indian Council in London.
• Reform of the legislative councils.
• Separation of the executive from the judiciary.
• Decreased land revenue tax and ending peasant oppression.
• After 1892, raised the slogan, “No taxation without representation.”
• Reduced spending on the army.
• Abolishing salt tax and duty on sugar.
• Holding the ICS exam in India along with England to allow more Indians the opportunity to take part in the administration.
• Freedom of speech and expression.
• Freedom to form associations.
• Development of modern capitalist industries in India.
• End of economic drain of India by the British.
• Repealing the Arms Act of 1878.
• Increasing spending on education of Indians.

• They believed in peaceful and constitutional methods to demand and fulfil those demands.
• Used petitions, meetings, resolutions, pamphlets, memoranda and delegations to voice their demands.
• Their method has been called 3P – Prayers, Petition and Protest.
• Had complete faith in the British justice system.
• Confined to the educated classes only. Did not try to employ the masses.
• They aimed only at getting political rights and self-government under British dominion.

• Indian Councils Act of 1892 was the first achievement of the INC.
• This Act increased the size of the legislative councils and also increased the proportion of non-officials in them.
• They were able to sow the seeds of nationalism in the people.
• They popularised ideals like democracy, liberty and equality.
• They exposed many draining economic policies of the British.
• Leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale and M G Ranade were social reformers too and opposed child marriage and imposed widowhood.

• This phase of the national movement excluded the masses and only the educated elites participated in it.
• They did not demand complete independence from foreign rule.
• They did not understand the power of a mass movement of people unlike Gandhi who used this power.
• Drew most of their ideas from western political thinking which further alienated them from the people.