Reforms During INC
The Indian National Congress was not the only channel through which the stream of nationalism flowed. Provincial and local associations and nationalist newspapers were the other prominent organs. The press, in particular, was a powerful factor in shaping nationalist opinion and the nationalist movement and played a very important role in various reforms during INC.
This is seen by the fact that many of the founding fathers of the Congress were journalists. The prominent newspapers were Hindu and Swadeshimitran edited by G Subramaniya Iyer, Kesari and Maratha by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bengalee by Surendranath Banerjee, Amrita Bazar Partika by Sisir Kumar Ghosh, Sudharak by Gokhale and Voice of India by Dadabhai Nauroji, besides others.
The Congress met again in Calcutta in 1886 with Dadabhai Nauroji as President while the 1887 session at Madras was headed by Badruddin Tyabji, the first Muslim president of Congress. The fact that the first three sessions were headed by leaders of three different communities, stands a testimony to the fact that the Congress was a secular organization right from its birth.
Some of the great presidents of the National Congress during its early years were Pherozeshah Mehta, P. Ananda Charlu, Surendranath Banerjee, Ramesh Chandra Dutt, Ananda Mohan Bose, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Other prominent leaders of the Congress and the national movement during this period were Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sisir Kumar Ghosh, Madan Mohan Malaviya, G.Subramaniya Iyer, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, and Dinshaw E. Wacha.
The freedom struggle from 1885 to 1905 is referred to as the Moderate phase as this phase was led by people who were loyal to the British rule but demanded greater participation of Indians in policy and administration and change in British policies. The programme of the Indian national movement during its early phase (1885-1905) can be studied under various heads.
Constitutional Reforms During INC
The early nationalists wanted a larger share in the government of their own country and extension of democratic institutions. Their immediate demands were extremely moderate. They hoped to win freedom through gradual steps. They were also extremely cautious, lest the Government suppress their activities. From 1885 to 1892 they demanded that more members in the councils should be elected and that the councils should have greater powers.
The British Government was forced by their agitation to pass the Indian Councils Act of 1892. By this Act, the number of members of the Imperial Legislative Council as well as of the provincial councils was increased. Some of these members could be elected indirectly by Indians, but the officials’ majority remained. The councils were also given the right to discuss the annual budgets though they could not vote on them.
The nationalists were totally dissatisfied with the Act of 1892. They demanded a larger share for Indians in the councils and wider powers for them. In particular, they demanded Indian control over the public purse and raised the slogan ‘No taxation without representation’.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the nationalist leaders advanced further and put forward the claim for Swarajya or self-government within the British Empire on the model of colonies like Australia and Canada. . This demand was made in the Congress by Gokhale in 1905 and by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906. |
Economic Reforms During INC
In the economic field, the early nationalists spoke against India’s poverty and economic backwardness and the failure of modern industry and agriculture to grow. The nationalists blamed the British for the destruction of India’s indigenous industries. The chief remedy they suggested for the removal of India’s poverty was the rapid development of modern industries. They wanted the government to promote modern industries through tariff protection and direct government aid.
The nationalists complained that India’s wealth was being drained to England and demanded that this drain be stopped. They carried on persistent agitation for the reduction of land revenue in order to lighten the burden of taxation on the peasant. They condemned the high military expenditure of the Government and demanded its reduction. As time passed more and more nationalists came to the conclusion that economic exploitation and impoverishment of the country can be ended only by self-government.
Administrative Reforms During INC
The most important administrative reform the Indians desired was the * Indianisation of the higher grades of administrative services. They also demanded separation of the judicial from executive powers and opposed the curtailment of the powers of the juries.
Other reforms During INC
They urged the government to undertake and develop welfare activities of the state. They laid a great deal of emphasis on the spread of primary education among the masses. They also demanded greater facilities for technical and higher education.
The nationalist leaders also spoke up in defence of Indian workers who had migrated to foreign countries such as South Africa, Malaya, Mauritius and the West Indies in search of employment. In many of these countries, they were subjected to severe oppression and racial discrimination. This was particularly true of South Africa where M.K. Gandhi was leading a popular struggle in defence of the basic human rights of the Indians..