Home Rule Movement

Home Rule Movement was organised in British India with the objective of gaining the self-governance within the British commonwealth. In this article, you will learn about home rule movement, definition, objectives, founder of home rule league, founder of home rule movement, leaders, factors and significance, providing key insights for GS Paper-I Indian History section of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• What is Home Rule Movement?
• Need for Home Rule Movement
• Factors Leading to the Movement:          
• Balgangadhar Tilak’s approach towards the movement   
• Annie Besant’s approach towards the movement:
• Formation of Home rule Leagues              
• The Home Rule League Programme         
• Who participated in the Home Rule movement?
• Government’s Attitude to the programme            
• Why the Agitation Faded Out by 1919?
• Significance of the Home Rule Movement            
• Conclusion         
• Frequently Asked Questions       
• Reference           

What is Home Rule Movement?

• The Indian Home Rule movement was a movement that was organised in British India that was similar to the Irish Home Rule movement and other home rule movements during the first world war around the world.
• The Home Rule Movement was emerged as a response from India to the First World War which employed a less confrontational yet highly effective approach as compared to the Ghadr movement organised by Indians abroad.
• Home rule movement was started by leaders such as Balgangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, G.S. Khaparde, Sir S. Subramania Iyer, Joseph Baptista, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Need for Home Rule Movement

• Leaders had recognized the need for a year-roundnational alliance that advocated for self-governance or home rule for India within the British commonwealth.
  • This was in contrast to Indian National Congress’ annual sessions.
  • This alliance was also known as the All-India Home Rule League.
• The alliance had drawn inspiration from the Irish Home Rule League.
• Ultimately, two Home Rule Leagues were established- one led by BalgangadharTilak and the another by Annie Besant.
  • Both aimed to usher in a new era of assertive political action.

Factors Leading to the Movement:

• Nationalists have believed that exerting popular pressure was necessary to achieve concessions from the government.
• The Moderates were angry over the Morley-Minto reforms.
• People were experiencing the burdens of wartime hardships, including high taxes and risingprices.
  • This made them prepared to join any assertive protest movement.
• The war fought between the major imperialist powers exposed the fallacy of white superiority.

Balgangadhar Tilak’s approach towards the movement

• After the release of Tilak in June1914, he was willing to take on leadership and had extended conciliatory gestures to the British government by reassuring his loyalty.
  • He conveyed to the Moderates that he sought administrative reform rather than the overthrow of government.
• He acknowledged that acts of violence had only hindered India’s political progress.
• He called upon all Indians to assist the British government during their time of crisis.

Balgangadhar Tilak:

Annie Besant’s approach towards the movement:

• Annie Besant was the Irish theosophist who had been based in India since 1896.
• Annie Besant had decided to broaden her activities by initiating a movement for home rule, following the model of the Irish Home Rule Leagues.

Annie Besant:

Formation of Home rule Leagues

• Both Tilak and Besant had recognized the importance of gaining the support from both Congress dominated Moderates, and the Extremists for the movement to succeed.
• As they were unable to reach a reconciliation between the Moderates and Extremists during the 1914 Congress session, both decided to revive political activity independently.
• In 1915, Annie Besant had initiated a campaign to demand self-government for India after the war.
  • This was in line with the model of white colonies.
• Annie Besant had utilized her newspapers– New India and Commonweal.
• Annie Besant had organized public meetings and conferences.
• These efforts garnered some success at the annual Congress session in 1915 as it was agreed by the Congress to admit the Extremists into the Congress.
• While Annie Besant’s proposal for Home Rule Leagues did not receive Congress’ approval, the Congress committed to an educational propaganda program and revitalized local-level Congress committees.
• Due to Congress’s lack of response, Annie Besant set a condition that if the Congress failed to fulfill its commitments, she would establish her own league, which she eventually did.
• Tilak and Besant formed their separate leagues to prevent any friction as some of Tilak’s supporters were uncomfortable with the Annie Besant, and vice versa.
• However, both leagues coordinated their efforts by focusing on their respective areas of work and collaborating whenever possible.

Tilak’s League:

• In April 1916, Tilak established the Indian Home Rule League.
• Its first Home Rule meeting was held in Belgaum.
• The Indian Home Rule League operated mainly in Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces, and Berar.
• The Indian Home Rule Leagueconsisted of six branches.
• The first president of Indian Home Rule Leaguewas Joseph Bapista.
• The Indian Home Rule Leaguehadadvocated for swarajya (self-rule), the formation of linguistic states, and vernacular education.
• Tilak had started a special train known as the ‘Congress Special’ and the ‘Home Rule Special,’ which carried delegates from Western India to Lucknow.

Annie Besant’s League

• Annie Besant had established the All-India Home Rule League in September 1916.
• The All-India Home Rule League was started from Madras (now Chennai) and it had strong foundation there.
• The All-India Home Rule League encompassed the rest of India, including Bombay city.
• The All-India Home Rule League had approximately 200 branches.
• The All-India Home Rule League league had a more loosely organized structure as compared to Tilak’s league.
• George Arundale had served as the organizing secretary, while B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar had played key roles in its operations.
• Most of the work was carried though a formal Executive Council of 7 members, which was elected for 3 years by 34 founding branches.

The Home Rule League Programme

• The aim of the League campaign was to spread the idea of home rule as self-government among the common people.
• Unlike the previous movements, it garnered a broader appeal and gained support even in regions like Gujarat and Sindh that were considered as politically less active.
• The campaign promoted political education through discussions, libraries and reading rooms with national politics books, conferences for students, newspapers, pamphlets, posters, illustrated post-cards, plays, and religious songs.
• Also fundraising, social work, and active participation in local government activities were also part of their efforts.
• The Russian Revolution of 1917 had provided an additional advantage to the Home Rule campaign.

Who participated in the Home Rule movement?

• Later, many Moderate Congressmen and members of Gokhale’s Servants of India Society had also joined the movement.
• Leaders such as Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, K.M. Munshi, B. Chakravarti, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Tej Bahadur Sapru, and Lala Lajpat Rai had also joined the Home Rule agitation.
• Some of these leaders took charge of local branches within Annie Besant’s League, where Mohammad Ali Jinnah was leading the Bombay division.
• However, Anglo-Indians, Muslims, and non-Brahmins from the South did not participated as they believed that Home Rule can lead to the dominance of the Hindu majority, particularly the upper castes.

Government’s Attitude to the programme

• The government had responded to the agitation with severe repression, particularly in Madras, where students were prohibited from attending political gatherings.
• Tilak faced legal action, but it was later withdrawn by the high court.
• Tilak was also barred from entering Punjab and Delhi.
• In 1917, Annie Besant and her associates B.P. Wadia and George Arundale, was arrested, triggering nationwide protests.
• In response, Sir S. Subramaniya Aiyar had renounced his knighthood, while Tilak had advocated for a strategy of passive resistance.
• The government’s repressive measures had fuelled the determination of the agitators and increased their resolution to resist.
• Annie Besant was eventually released in late 1917.
• The Home Rule movement had experienced a short-lived existence and was fizzled out by 1919 due to several factors.

Why the Agitation Faded Out by 1919?

• There was a lack of efficient organization.
• The communal riots had erupted during 1917-18, further destabilizing the movement.
• The Moderates who had joined the Congress following Annie Besant’s arrest were appeased by the promise of reforms as per the Montagu’s statement of August 1917 and by Besant’s release.
  • Montagu’s statement of August 1917 hadacknowledged self-government as a long-term objective of British rule in India.
• The Extremists’ advocacy of passive resistance had deterred the Moderates from engaging in activities from September 1918 onwards.
• The announcement of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms in July 1918 had created divisions among the nationalists.
• Annie Besant was indecisive about the league’s utility after the reforms were announced and the efficacy of passive resistance.
• Tilak’s departure to England in September 1918 for a libel case had left the movement without a leader, as Besant was unable to provide strong leadership in his absence.
• Gandhi’s approach to the freedom struggle was gradually capturing the public attention, and the momentum of the mass movement had faded the requirement of the home rule movement.
• In 1920, Gandhi had assumed the presidency of the All India Home Rule League by renaming it as the Swarajya Sabha.
  • However, within a year, the league was merged with the Indian National Congress.

Significance of the Home Rule Movement

• The activities of the Home Rule Leagues had impacted and played a significant role in shaping the future trajectory of the freedom struggle.
• The Home Rule Movement had represented a transition from the relatively passive and deliberative nature of the Congress towards the Gandhian phase characterized by mass participation in the fight for independence.
• The movement had redirected focus from the educated elite to the masses, which altered the course set by the Moderates.
• The movement established an organizational link between urban and rural areas, which would prove crucial when the national movement had entered a true phase of mass mobilization.
• It fostered a generation of passionate nationalists.
• It prepared the masses for the kind of politics advocated by Gandhi.
• The August 1917 declaration by Montagu and the Montford reforms were influenced by the agitation for home rule.
• The efforts of Tilak and Annie Besant to foster a reconciliation between the Moderates and Extremists at the Lucknow session in 1916 had revitalized the Congress as an effective instrument of Indian nationalism.
• The home rule movement had infused the national movement with a new dimension and a sense of urgency.

Conclusion

The Home Rule movement had shaped the course of India’s struggle for independence. It advocated for self-governance and greater autonomy within the framework of British rule. The movement not only mobilized the masses but also provided a platform for leaders like Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak to rally for nationalistic aspirations. Although the Home Rule movement faced challenges, its impact was significant, as it laid the foundation for future independence movements.

Ref: Source-1

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