India 1900-47, Key events
1883 The Ilbert Bill – after the Aligarh Movement (a Muslim movement by intellectuals, who
wanted to see a modernised and cooperative class in India, through the creation of colleges e.g.
the Anglo-Oriental College and the Aligarh College), a middle class began to emerge in India,
and as a result, in 1883, the Ilbert Bill was proposed by Indians, which gave them equal rights
in courts and equal jurisdiction to the white British. This resulted in a British outcry, and the
Bill was repealed – this hostile reaction showed to the Indians that the British showed little
respect to the natives, and would refused to hand over power – this increased further the
support for nationalist movements
1885 The Indian National Congress founded at Bombay – initially, it was just meetings that
discussed concessions from the British to further Indian self-governance and respect. One such
concession was the Indian Councils Act
1892 Indian Councils Act increases Indian participation in local and provincial governments. The
act allowed municipalities to ‘recommend’ additional members to the provincial legislative
councils. This gave the first real chance for educated Indians to take part in a formal structure
within the Raj, but despite this, the majority of those on the council remained Raj officials.
1897 B.G. Tilak founds the Shivaji Festival as a way of mobilising the masses – Tilak used the
religious festival thrown in honour of Ganesh, and added anti-British propaganda in dedication
to Shivaji, a traditional Indian war hero.
1905 Viceroy Curzon oversees the Partition of Bengal – against the advice of his advisors,
Curzon announced he was to split the politically unstable and troublesome Bengal region into
two new provinces: Eastern Bengal and Assam (16 October 1905). The Hindus opposed the
partition, as it would create a province in Eastern Bengal that was Muslim dominated, whereas
Muslims welcomed the partition, as it freed them from Hindu control in a region. The partition
resulted in rioting and unrest in Bengal and other parts of India: a Bengali terrorist movement
was carried out and a number of British officials were murdered, and British (esp. Lancashire
Cotton) goods were boycotted in the ‘swadesh’ movement. A petition was presented to Curzon
to rescind the partition, but it was to no avail, and in an instant, Curzon had managed to spark
nationwide protest and unrest, with direct confrontation within the British-Indian relationships.
Also during this time, Lord Minto replaces Lord Curzon as Viceroy, and John Morley becomes
Secretary of State for India.
1906 There were two important Muslim political developments. (1) October 1906 – Simla
Delegation, where some 70 Muslim leaders travelled to London to present their plan for
separate electorates for Muslims in any future political reforms to Lord Minto, as a result of
their fear of a Hindu majority in government. (2) November 1906 - The All India Muslim
League was created. The leader of the Simla Delegation was encouraged by Minto’s
sympathetic response to the Simla Delegation, and so encouraged for the creation of the All
India Muslim League, in Dacca, Bengal. It initially began as a debating society for it’s well-
educated middle-class members.
1907 Extremists present are expelled from Congress after a quarrel with the moderates at Surat,
thus reducing membership from 243 to 202.
1909 Morley-Minto reforms increase Indian participation in provincial legislatures, and
separate electorates are introduced for Muslims. These reforms included: 60 Indian
representatives to be elected to serve on the Viceroy’s Executive Council, and separate
electorates were to be created for Muslims and Hindus in order to allow the minority Muslims
to have a say. These reforms were announced in November 1908 and enshrined in the Indian
Councils Act of 1909. These reforms meant that Indian were now officially involved in policy
making, and although their voice wasn’t loud, they still had a say in the governing of their
country. The Moderates (led by Gokhale) welcomed the reforms, whereas the Extremists (led
by Tilak) felt the reforms weren’t anywhere near enough, as the reforms protected Indian
vested interests, as voting was restricted to the rich and privileged, and so continued their fight
for full Indian self-government. Many see these reforms as simply ‘divide and rule’ on the
British’ behalf, as appeasing the Muslim elite by giving them more electoral power meant that
the government divided Indian opposition, and thus made the rising tide of nationalism more
containable.
