Role of the Indian National Congress: The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 gave a clear warning to the British with regard to the rising national feeling among Indians. There was a need for a common national organization, which included all classes of people. A. O. Hume (Allan Octavian , Hume) inspired the national leaders, to establish the Indian National Union in 1884, subsequently the Indian National Congress. The first Indian National Congress session was held at Bombay on 27th December 1885, presided over by Womesh Chandra Banerjee. 72 delegates from different parts of India attended it and four of them were from Karnataka.

Aims and objectives of the Congress:

• Promotion of friendly relations among the nationalists and other political workers from different parts of the country. 
• Development and consolidation of the feeling of national unity, irrespective of caste, religion, province etc., 
• Presenting the popular demands of the people before the British Government. 
• Organisation of public opinion in the country. 
• To politically educate the Indian masses and demand to include more Indians in the councils and civil services.

In the beginning, the British Government was friendly towards the Congress. But as its strength and popularity increased, Congress was in favour of a responsible Government in India and began to demand the same. This irritated the British Government and it began to adopt a policy of favouring anti-Congrcss elements. 

Freedom movement in India can be divided into three stages, namely:-

1. The first phase -The period of the Moderates – 1885-1905. 

2. The second phase-The period of the Extremists in 1905- 1920. 

3. The third phase-The Gandhian period or Era-1920-1947.

The first phase – The period of the Moderates in 1885-1905 : 

The early Congress (1885-1905): Leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji (The grand old man of India), Pheroz Shah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjee, G K. Gokhale, BadruddinTyabji, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Anandacharlu and others were the moderates.

Policy of the Moderates: The Moderates were cordial towards the British, and they had strong faith in the British sense of justice and f airplay. They felt that India will get modernized and uplifted by the benevolent and liberal rule of the British.

Moderates followed the principles of Prayers, Petitions and Protests to pressurize the British Government. They organized public meetings, submitted memorandums to the Government to redress the grievances of the people; If the Government was stubborn to their demands, they used to protest against it. Dada bhai Naoroji established the East India Association in 1866. This Association took up the Indian issues at London and attempted to influence the British public and British legislators to enact policies and laws favoring Indians.

The British were hostile towards the Congress since its establishment and they developed a . stem attitude towards the moderates. Their policy was nicknamed as ‘Political Mendicancy’ (begging for political concessions) by the Extremists. They called the Congress as factory of sedition’ and leaders as ‘Seditious Brahmins’ and ‘Disloyal Babus’.

Moderates were true patriots and they brought political maturity to the Indians. They exposed the exploitative character of the colonial rule and policies of the British. They were able to underline that the duty of the Government was to consider the interests of the Indians. The notable results of their demands was the Indian Councils Act of 1892. The Moderates played a very important role in the freedom movement in India. They sowed the seeds of liberalism and nationalist ideas in the minds of Indians.

Second Phase – The period of the Extremists -1905-1920. The Indian National Movement entered a new phase after 1905. The Extremists wen: radical and militant in their approach in contrast to the Moderates. They believed that reform could not be secured by mere talk, and only by action. They blamed the British rule fo all the prevailing problems and were called Extremists or Radical Nationalists.

Extremists convinced the public that Self-Government was essential for the sal of the economic, political and cultural progress of the country. Extremists had grown in self-confidence. The leaders of the extremists were Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Roy.

Important events during the Extremist’s Period: 

1. Partition of Bengal in 1905: In 1905, Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal into two parts as East Bengal and West Bengal. He justified the partition on administrative convenience, as Bengal was too big a province to be administrated by a single provincial Government. The real intention of the order was to curb the growing national feeling in Bengal. The people staunchly opposed this and indulged in the anti-partition movement, boycott of foreign goods and usage of only swadeshi goods.

2. Flic Surat Split -1907: The Extremists and the Moderates differed over issues like election of the President, setting goals and passing resolutions of the Congress. Finally, both the groups agreed to Dadabhai Naoroji for Presidentship of the Congress in 1906. But the Extremists were successful in making Dadabhai Naoroji to declare ‘Swaraj (Self Government) as the goal of the Congress.

The differences once again emerged at the Surat session in 1907. The Moderates wanted Rashbihari Ghosh and the Extremists wanted Lala Lajpat Rai to be the President. Both the groups refused to compromise resulting in the split in the Indian National Congress. This is commonly known as the ‘Surat Split’. The British undertook many repressive measures and also introduced many Acts to suppress the Extremists. Both groups reunited in the Lucknow Congress session.

3. Revolutionary Nationalism (Terrorism): The repressive measures of the British encouraged revolutionary terrorism. The revolutionaries were radical nationalists who did not believe in passive resistance. They were ready for any violent activity in order to drive away the British from India. They organised secret societies like Abhinav Bharat and Anusilan Samiti to achieve their goal. The revolutionaries were able to create a commotion but most of them were either imprisoned, exiled, killed or hanged.

4. Muslim League in 1906: The All India Muslim League was founded by Nawab Aga Khan, Nawab Mohsim ul Mulk and others in 1906. The British tried to check the National movement by following a policy of divide and rule. The League followed a path contrary to that of Congress. They supported the partition of Bengal and also demanded a separate electorate for the Muslims. The Punjab Hindu Sabha was founded in 1909. The Hindu Maha Sabha like the All India Muslim League was also against the Indian National Congress.

5. Morley – Minto Reforms 1909: This act increased the number of elected members to the Central and Provincial Councils and also introduced separate electorates to the Muslims. The number of seats so reserved was in an higher ratio for the Muslim population when compared to the Hindu population. Only Muslims were to vote to the reserved Muslim seats.

6. Home Rule League 1916: The Home Rule Movement was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mrs. Annie Bcsant in 1916. The objective of the movement was to attain Self-Government within the British Empire by all constitutional means. The movement soon spread throughout India and became popular. Tilak gave the popular slogan “Swaraj (Home rule) is my birthright and I shall have it”. Mr. Edwin Montague made a declaration on 20^th August 1917. By this announcement, it was promised to give responsible Government to Indians, by degrees.

7. Montague – Chelmsford Reforms 1919; (Government of India Act of 1919) This Act introduced Bi-Cameral legislatures (Diarchy). The Central Assembly (Lower house) consisted of 144 members, 104 elected and 40 nominated members. The Council of States (Upper I louse) was to have 34 elected and 26 nominated members.

8. Rowlatt act of 919 and Jalian Walabagh Tragedy: The British Government passed the Rovvlatt Act in 1919. This Act empowered the Government to arrest and detain suspected persons without warrant and imprison them without any trial. Indians protested against the Rowlatt Act. A huge meeting was held at Jalian Walabagh on 13th April 1919. About 10,000 unarmed people had gathered there. General Dyer with his troops surrounded the meeting place and opened fire on the innocent people and around 1000 persons were killed and many more were injured.