Q. Critically examine the contribution of moderate phase of the Indian National Congress Movement. [69th BPSC]

Q. Critically examine the contribution of moderate phase of the Indian National Congress Movement. [69th BPSC]

Ans:

The early phase of the politics of Congress is called the moderate phase. Moderate leaders of early phase of Congress, also known as early nationalists, laid the foundation of Indian Nationalism. They believed in gradual reforms, dialogue with the British government and the Constitutional way of agitation to achieve socio-economic and political development of India. Some prominent moderate leaders were Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Sir Dinshah Wacha, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Surendra Nath Banerjee etc.

The contribution of moderate phase of the Indian National Congress Movement:

Petitions and representation:
- Early Congressman had an implicit faith in the efficacy of peaceful and constitutional agitation as opposed to popular mean of agitation. It was well explained by Gokhle in his journal Sudhar as 3P method: Petition, Prayer and Protest.
  - They often submitted petitions to the British government, requesting reforms and greater Indian representation in the administration.
  - The press and platform of the annual sessions were their agency of agitation.
- They believed that the government should be guided by expediency.
  - And the constitution was to be considered inviolable.
  - They did not demand equality; they equated liberty with class privilege and wanted gradual or piecemeal reforms.
- This approach of relying on petitions and prayers have been seen by some as political mendicancy as they were begging for reforms from the British rather than actively fighting for independence.
During the period, the Congress demanded a few concessions and not freedom for the nation.
- Presiding over the Poona Congress in 1895, Surendranath Banerjee declared that the Congress had never asked for “representative institutions for the masses but “representative institutions of a modified character for the educated community, who by reason of their culture and enlightenment, their assimilation of English ideas and their familiarity with English methods of Government might be presumed to be qualified for such a boon.”

(a) Constitutional field

Their immediate demand was not for full self-government or democracy; they demanded democratic rights only for the educated members of the Indian society, who would substitute for the masses.
Their constitutional demands included:
- Expansion of councils—i.e., greater participation of Indians in councils,
- Reform of councils—i.e., more powers to councils, especially greater control over finances.
- expansion of Legislative Councils with enlarged powers and more representation of Indians in them;
- representation of Indians in the Secretary of State’s Council, Viceroy’s Executive Council and Governors’ Executive Councils;
- new councils for North-Western Provinces and Punjab
- to abolish the Indian Council which prevented the secretary of state from initiating liberal policies in India.
- The budget should be referred to the legislature, which should have the right to discuss and vote on it and also the right of interpellation.
- right to appeal to the Standing Committee of the House of Commons against the Government of India.
The expectation of the moderate politicians was that full political freedom would come gradually and India would be ultimately given the limited self-governing right like those enjoyed by the other colonies as Canada or Australia within the imperial framework.
With an intrinsic faith in the providential nature of British rule in India, they hoped that one day they would be recognized as partners and not sub-ordinates in the affairs in the affairs of the empire and be given the rights of full British citizenship.
They gave the slogan— “No taxation without representation”.
The nationalists were able to transform these councils into forums for ventilating popular grievances, for exposing the defects of an indifferent bureaucracy, for criticising government policies/proposals, raising basic economic issues, especially regarding public finance.
Some Moderates like Ranade and Gokhale favoured social reforms.
- They protested against child marriage and widowhood.
- They believed that by focusing on education and social progress, Indians could gain the necessary skills and knowledge to participate in the political process.
- For example, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a prominent moderate leader, established the Servants of India Society in 1905. This organization aimed to promote education, sanitation, and agricultural improvements among the Indian population.

(b) Administrative system

The first demand of the moderates was for the Indianisation of the services.
- Moderates argued that an Indianised civil service would be more responsive to the Indian needs.
- It would stop the drainage of money, which was annually expatriated through the payment of salary and pension of the European officers.
- Also this reform was being advocated as a measure against racism.
They demanded simultaneous civil service examination both in India and London and raising of the age limit for appearing in such examinations from 19 to 23.
Criticism of an oppressive and tyrannical bureaucracy and an expensive and time-consuming judicial system.
They demanded Separation of judiciary from executive functions in District administration;
The other administrative demands of the moderates:
- - the extension of trial by jury,
  - repeal of the arms act,
  - complaint against over-assessment of land revenue and demand for the extension of the Permanent Settlement,
  - demand for the abolition of salt tax,
  - a campaign against the exploitation of the indentured labour at the Assam tea gardens,
  - Increase in expenditure on welfare (i.e., health, sanitation), education—especially elementary and technical— irrigation works and improvement of agriculture, agricultural banks for cultivators, etc.
  - better treatment for Indian labour abroad in other British colonies, who faced oppression and racial discrimination there.
- All these demands represented a plea for racial equality and a concern for civil rights and also perhaps reflected a concern for the lower orders, though of a very limited nature.
- But it is needless to mention that hardly any of the demands were even considered by the colonial administration.

(c) Military

The British Indian army was being used in imperial wars in all parts of the world, particularly in Africa and Asia. These and the Indian frontier wars of the 1890s put a very heavy burden on the Indian finances.
Moderates demanded reduction of military expenditure and more expenditure on development of education.
The moderates demanded that this military expenditure should evenly shared by the British government; Indians should be taken into the army as volunteers and more and more of them should be appointed in higher ranks.
Criticism of an aggressive foreign policy which resulted in annexation of Burma, attack on Afghanistan and suppression of tribals in the North-West.

(d) Economic Critique of Imperialism

The most significant historical contribution of the moderates was that they offered an economic critique of colonialism.
The early nationalists took note of all the three forms of contemporary colonial economic exploitation, namely, through trade, industry and finance.
- They clearly grasped that the essence of British economic imperialism lay in the subordination of the Indian economy to the British economy.
Names important to remember in this respect: Dinshaw Wacha, Dadabhai Naoroji, a successful businessman, Justice M.G. Ranade (wrote ‘Essays in Indian Economics’ (1898) and R.C Dutt, a retired ICS officer, who published The Economic History of India in two volumes (1901-1903).
The early nationalists complained of India’s growing poverty and economic backwardness and the failure of modern industry and agriculture to grow and they put the blame on British economic exploitation.
Dadabhai Naoroji in his famous book Poverty and Indian Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India wrote his Drain Theory.
- He showed how India’s wealth was going away to England in the form of salaries, savings, pensions, payments to British troops in India and, profits of the British companies.
What the moderates wanted was a change in economic policies. Their recommendations included
- reduction of expenditure and taxes,
- reallocation of military charges,
- a protectionist policy to protect Indian industries,
- abolition of salt tax,
- reduction of land revenue of land revenue assessment,
- extension of Permanent Settlement to Ryotwari and Mahalwari areas, (this was pro Zamindar demand),
- reduction in military expenditure,
- encouragement of cottage industries and handicrafts, and
- encouragement to modern industry through tariff protection and direct government aid.

(e) Defence of Civil Right:

The early Indian nationalists were attracted to modern civil rights, namely, the freedoms of speech, the Press, thought and association.
- They put up a strong defence of these civil rights whenever the Government tried to curtail them.
- They demanded the abolition of the Vernacular Press Act, which allowed the British government to censor and control Indian language newspapers, and sought greater press freedom.
The Government arrested B.G. Tilak and several other leaders in 1897 for spreading disaffection against the Government. The Natu brothers were deported without trial. The entire country protested against this attack on the liberties of the people.
They demanded improvement of the lot of Indians in South Africa and the Empire in general.

Extent to which they were able to fulfil the aspirations of the people:

Achievements:

The moderates played a crucial role in laying the foundation for the Indian nationalist movement and raising awareness about Indian grievances, political rights and the exploitative nature of British rule.
They worked to procure for Indians freedom from race and creed prejudices, equality between man and man, equality before law, extension of civil liberties, extension of representative institutions etc.
One of the most historical significance of the early Congress lay in the fact that by providing an economic critique of colonialism and by linking Indian poverty to it, the moderate politicians had constructed a discursive field within which the subsequent nationalists attack on colonialism could be conceptualized.
Their methods the use of prayers, press and protests brought about political maturity.
Despite limitations, they have some credits like:
- bringing the economic critique of the colonialism in the for of ‘Drain of wealth’
- Reforms in Civil Services
  - appointment of a Public Service Commission in 1886
- their efforts resulted in a resolution of the House of Commons (1893) for simultaneous examination for the I.C.S, in London and India and appointment of the Welby Commission (with Dadabhai as the first Indian as its member) on Indian Expenditure (1895).
- political reforms, such as the expansion of the legislative councils under the Indian Councils Act of 1892 and the introduction of the Indian Police Commission.
- On request of Moderates, Calcutta University Act of 1904 and Calcutta Municipal Corporation Act of 1904 were passed.
- they started the political unity of Indians initiating political training to the people and inculcating nationalistic sentiment among people in organised manner.
- contributed to the growth of Indian industries by promoting the establishment of financial institutions like the Punjab National Bank and the Tata Iron and Steel Company.

Limitations:

The policy of the Moderate leaders was criticised as ‘political mendicancy’. A big charge against the moderates was their loyalty to the Crown.
- The moderate politicians could not or did not organize an agitation against British rule because they still shred an intrinsic faith in the English political tradition.
- They did not understand true nature of British rule in India.
The basic weakness of the early national movement lay in its narrow social base.
- It did not penetrate down to the masses. In fact, the leaders lacked faith in the masses.
- Moderates mostly belonged to the propertied classes.
- Between 1892 and 1909, nearly 90% of the delegates who attended the Congress sessions are Hindus and only 6.5% were Muslims and among the Hindus again, nearly 48% were Brahmans and the rest were upper-caste Hindus.
- This social composition inevitable resulted in social orthodoxy as social questions were not to be raised in the congress sessions till 1907.
The early congress could not take a logical stand on peasant questions.
- They demanded extension of the Permanent Settlement only in the interest of the zamindars and opposed cadastral survey in 1893-94, though it was meant to protect the peasants from the manipulations of the zamindars.
- The small pro-tenant lobby within the Congress led by R.C. Dutt was soon outmanoeuvred, as their opposition in 1898 to the pro-zamindar amendment to the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885 put them in a difficult situation. Opposition to the Punjab Land Alienation Bill in 1899 also betrayed their pro-landlord sympathies.
Representation of the commercial classes among its members also prevented Congress from taking a pro-working class position.
- They were opposed to factory reforms like factory reforms like the Mining Bill which proposed to improve the living condition of women and children and restrict their employment under certain age.
- Their advocacy of indigenous capitalism as a panacea for Indian poverty revealed their true colours. It was the pro-landlord and pro-bourgeois policies of the early Congress politicians that allowed the colonial government to project itself as the real protector of the poor.
Indian Council’s Amendment Act of 1892, which only provided for marginal expansion of the legislative councils
- These councils were actually to be constituted through selection rather than election:
- The budget was to be discussed in the legislatures, but not to be voted on.
- The Government of India was given the power to legislate without even referring to the legislatures.
Army reforms were also rejected.
- British agreed to share only a small fraction of military expenditure and demand for appointing Indian in commissioned ranks were rejected as no European officer would cherish the thought of being ordered by Indian Commander.
- Commander-in-chief Roberts abhorred the idea of volunteer service, as he feared that the Maratha and Bengali volunteers, disaffected and untrustworthy as they were because of their association with nationalism, would surely find their way into the army and subvert its integrity.
Despite their efforts, the early nationalists were unable to achieve their broader objectives of self-government and complete independence for India. Their moderate methods of protests and petitions were seen as ineffective in the face of the British government’s reluctance to make significant concessions.

Hence the moderate politics remained quite limited in nature, in terms of its goals, programmes, achievements and participation. Lord Dufferin, therefore, could easily get away with his remark at the St. Andrew’s Day dinner at Calcutta in November 1888 that Congress represented only a “microscopic minority” of the Indian people. They were unable to fulfil the aspiration of Indian people completely for complete social, economic and political independence. But they created a solid base for a more vigorous, militant, mass-based national movement in the following years.

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