Shodh Prabha: A Multidisciplinary Journal

The Evolution of Indian Nationalism: From Moderates to Extremists (1885–1919)

Indian nationalism of 1885-1919 is one of the most decisive ways of Indianism. This was a time of slow but decisive change in the character, ideology and approach of the Indian National Congress (INC) to the constitutional and reformist politics of the Moderates to the radical, assertive and mass oriented politics of the Extremists. The colonial economic exploitation, racial discrimination, and deprivation of political rights of Indians in the British rule were deep-rooted in the emergence of nationalism in late nineteenth century India. Nonetheless the nationalist consciousness did not come into being in a vacuum but there was intricate interplay between political leaders, the educated elites, vernacular press, reform movements, and awakening of the socio-religious and cultural identities. The moderate stage (1885-1905) was marked by devotion to the British Crown, belief in constitutional approach and dependence on petitions and persuasion. At the beginning of the twentieth century however, this disillusionment in British policies, coupled with influences on an international scale like the Russo-Japanese War and the emergence of anti-colonial movements, resulted in a new breed of leaders Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai who were the embodiments of militant nationalism. The Extremist stage (1905-1919) reorientated the aims and the means of Indian nationalism with the focus on self-reliance, swadeshi and mass mobilization. The paper delves into the historical arc of Indian nationalism in this revolutionary period examining the ideological discussions, socio-political forces and cultural trends that informed the shift in politics between the Moderate and Extremist politics. The paper also puts this development into the context of the wider world of the anti-imperialist movements and holds that the synthesis of these two stages gave rise to the later Gandhian era of mass nationalism.