Indian Independence Movement

The Indian Independence Movement refers to the time in India’s history where Indians pushed to liberate their country from British imperial rule. As such, the Indian Independence Movement was a significant event during the time of the British Raj, the rise to prominence of the Indian National Congress and the life of Mahatma Gandhi. In general, the Indian Independence Movement is considered to have occurred from 1857 until 1947.

India's First War of Independence (by this name later a book was published by V.D Savarkar) was a revolt of Indian soldiers and people (rulers and peasants) against British rule. Historians had used the terms like the Indian Mutiny or the Sepoy Mutiny to describe this event. The rebellion by Indian troops of the British Raj started in May 1857 and continued until December 1858. Many reasons had combined to result in this rebellion.

Historians consider the Indian Independence Movement to have occurred over a period of about 90 years from 1857 until 1947. This time period mirrors the period of the British Raj, which is when the British government ruled over India as a colony of the British Empire. In fact, the Sepoy Rebellion of 1858 is considered to be one of the earliest examples of Indian revolt against British rule in India and the starting point of the Indian Independence Movement. As stated above, the Sepoy Rebellion first began on May 10th, 1857 and lasted until November 1st, 1858. It saw Indian soldiers, called ‘sepoys’, protest the cartridges used in their rifles. For instance, India had large populations of both Muslims and Hindus, which meant that these religious faiths were heavily represented among the sepoy soldiers. However, the cartridges for the Enfield rifle, which was the standard issue rifle for sepoy soldiers, were greased with a combination of beef and pork fat. This is significant, because pork was considered repulsive to Muslims, while beef was considered repulsive to Hindus. As such, rumors of the grease in the rifles spread throughout the ranks of the Muslim and Hindu sepoy soldiers, which led to the outbreak of the rebellion. What that said, the Sepoy Rebellion was also spread by other issues that angered the Indian soldiers. First, while sepoys could gain rank in the armies of the British East India Company, they were also outranked by British officers. Second, as the British East India Company expanded its rule over India, it forced taxes on the Indian people including the sepoys. Third, the British officers of the British East India Company pushed European customs, values and religious practises on the sepoy soldiers. These factors combined and led to a growing sense of mistrust towards the British on behalf of the sepoys, which resulted in the 1857 rebellion.

Indian nationalism grew further throughout the early 20th century, especially with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. While the First World War was primarily a European conflict, the colonies of the major European powers also came to play a role in the fighting. For instance, it is estimated that as many as 1.3 million Indian soldiers and workers participated in the war effort on the side of the British. Furthermore, Indian soldiers participated in conflicts throughout Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa. This helped to strengthen Indian nationalism, as it led to a sense of patriotism among people across India. In fact, supporters of the Indian Independence Movement began to argue that India’s role in World War I should gain it some aspects of self-government. This idea continued to grow in popularity, especially with the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India in 1915.

One of the ways that Gandhi promoted the idea of economic non-cooperation was through the concept of ‘Swadeshi’. In general, it involved Indians producing their own goods (or consuming domestically made goods) and rejecting foreign goods. At the time, Britain benefitted economically by selling goods to India from their factories in England. This arrangement deprived India from developing its own economy and sent large amounts of wealth back to England. As a result, members of the Indian National Congress (including Gandhi) began to express the importance of Swadeshi. A major milestone for the Indian National Congress at this time when January 26th, 1930 was declared as “Purna Swaraj Diwas" (Independence Day). This was important, because it highlighted the growing importance for the Indian National Congress to achieve India’s independence from Britain. This led into the major events of the Salt March by Gandhi and other prominent members of the Indian National Congress.

The Salt March took place from March 12th to April 6th in 1930 and saw Gandhi lead a non-violent protest against British laws related to salt harvesting in India. More specifically, the British effectively had total control over the harvesting of salt in India due to the 1882 Salt Act. Because of this act, Indians were forced to pay taxes on salt and could face harsh criminal punishments if they didn’t follow the law. This law angered many in the Indian National Congress because salt had been freely available to Indians for centuries, especially for those who lived along the coastlines of India. As a result, Gandhi and other members of the Indian National Congress decided to carry out a non-violent protest of the law by carrying out a salt march. The goal of the salt march was to openly disobey the British law and gain momentum for the Indian Independence Movement that was being supported by both Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. Gandhi resigned from the Indian National Congress in 1934 in hopes that it would help the political organization grow. He remained active in Indian politics and endorsed candidates for the Indian National Congress that promoted his belief in non-violent civil disobedience.

On midnight of 15th August 1947, Britain handed India its formal political Independence. A short time after that, Gandhi, who was aging and ill, died from a bullet fired by a Hindu extremist named Nathuram Godse. The national leadership was then passed to his chief lieutenant, Jawaharlal Nehru. On 3rd June 1947, the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten announced partition of India into two countries: union of India, and an Islamic Pakistan. In this partition, many people died while others were separated from their families. On 26th January 1950, India adopted their constitution, the longest constitution in the world.