1. The **** of the extremists 1905-1920: The Indian National Movement entered a new phase after 1905. The **** between 1905 and 1920 is known as the ** of the extremists. Extremists believed that reforms could not be secured by mere talk, only by action and they blamed the British rule in India for all the problems and economic backwardness.
They were also called *** nationalists. The prominent leaders of the extremists were Laia Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. The trio were popularly known as Lal-BalPal. Extremists convinced the public that self- government was essential for the sake of the economic, political and cultural progress of the country, and they grew in self-confidence.
2. Causes for the rise of extremism:
a. The moderates ** to achieve any noteworthy results through their constitutional methods of prayers, petitions, and protests. This angered the extremists and the moderates themselves were disillusioned by the British attitude. The approach of the moderates towards the foreign invaders was termed by the extremists as ‘political mendicancy’.
b. The lethargy of the British Government in handling the terrible famine and plague attacks of 1896-1901 resulted in thousands of people becoming victims of starvation, **, and . The government took some measures to check the ***, but they were inadequate.
The British were interested only in the economic exploitation of India and not in the ** of the people. The Plague Commissioner Mr. Rand was murdered and Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested for the same. This further increased the ** nationalism.
c. The Indian Council Act of 1892 did not satisfy the Congress, which expected more power. It was just an eye-wash. The act gave some additional powers to the elected representatives, but Viceroy was the final authority.
d. Viceroy Lord Curzon followed an anti-Indian ** policy and introduced many reactionary measures 1 like Calcutta Corporation Act (1899), Official Secrets Act (1904), Indian University Act (1904), Partition of Bengal (1905), etc. His actions curbed Indians and increased the dominance of the British.
He held that only Englishmen were fit to rule India. The intention of the British was to create a Hindu – ** divide under the pretext of making the partition for better administration. The ***** reactions of the Indian population gave scope to extremist sentiments.
e. The efforts of leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati, Aurobindo Ghosh, Tilak, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and others, instilled confidence and self-respect among the Indians.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak initiated the public celebration of Ganesha festival and Shivaji jayanthi, which encouraged the nationalist sentiments.
f. International events like the nationalist movements in Egypt, Turkey, Persia, unification of Italy, Germany and China influenced the Indian thought process. Nationalists began to think that Indians too can unite and drive away the British.
