Indian Independence Movement

Hindu College was founded in 1899 by Krishan Dassji Gurwale in the backdrop of the nationalist struggle against the British Raj. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was appointed teacher in English literature and history at the new Hindu College in 1826. He was a radical thinker and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning and science among the young men of Bengal.

The Early Nationalists included leaders from all parts of the country as:

• W.C. Bonnerjee, Rashbehari Ghosh, Surendranath banerjee and R. C. Dutta from Bengal.
• Dadabhai Naroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhle from Maharashtra.
• P. R. Naidu, Subramania Iyer and Ananda Charlu from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• Pandit Madam Mohan Malviya from Utter Pradesh.

From 1885 to 1905, Congress was led by a group of leaders known as the Early Nationalists. The members of this group were drawn from the educated middle class consisting of professionals like lawyers, barristers, teachers and officials, who drew inspiration from Western Liberal and Radical thoughts. The Early Nationalists included leaders from all parts of the country as:

• W. C. Bonnerjee
• Rashbehari Ghosh
• Surendranath Banerjee
• R. C. Dutta
• P. R. Naidu
• Subramania Iyer

Dadabhai Naoroji was the first Indian to be elected as a member of the British House of Commons. He was of the view that Indians should participate in British political institutions and raise their voice in it. He was accepted by the Liberal Party as a candidate and became the first non-white member of the House of Commons. he represented his constituency well and raised a variety of issues like civil rights situation in India, the condition of Indians in South Africa, etc.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was the first national leader to raise the issue of the salt tax in the Imperial Legislative Council, arguing that it was a regressive tax on the poor.

Womesh Chandra Bannerjee was the first Indian to contest an election to the British House of Commons in 1892, although he was unsuccessful.

The Indian National Association also known as Indian Association was the first avowed nationalist organization founded in British India by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose in 1876. The objectives of this Association were "promoting by every legitimate means the political, intellectual and material advancement of the people". The Association attracted educated Indians and civic leaders from all parts of the country, and became an important forum for India's aspirations for independence. It later merged with the Indian National Congress.

The congress was divided into two camps-Extremist and Moderates at the Surat session of 1907. The Moderates believed in the constitutional methods of protests like petitions, prayers, meetings,etc. Extremists, on the other hand, believed in agitation, strikes and boycotts to force their demands. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was an extremist and was opposed to the moderates' method of petitions especially towards the fight for self-government.

The British Government was not opposed to the formation of Congress. In the beginning, Lord Dufferin encouraged Mr. Hume to form this national organization. In 1886, he invited the Congress Members to a garden party in Calcutta. The British thought the Congress would confine itself to academic discussion of their demands. But later, their attitude towards Congress changed due to increased criticism.

From 1905 to 1918, there emerged a new and a younger group of leaders within the Congress who did not agree with the methods and ideology of the Early Nationalist leaders. This group of leaders came  to be known as Assertive Nationalists. Three prominent leaders of this group were Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal.

A school of Nationalism had existed in the country from almost the beginning of the national movement. This school was represented by leaders like Rajnarain Bose and Ashwin Kumar Dutta in Bengal.

Lokmanya Tilak was the most prominent leader of the extremist wing of the Congress and a dominant figure in the nationalist movement prior to Gandhi's rise to national leadership.

A. O. Hume was a retired British civil servant who played a key role in the formation of the Indian National Congress. He was a moderate and a founder, not an extremist leader.

Bipin Chandra Pal was a prominent extremist leader, whereas the others listed (Naoroji, Charlu, Malviya) were key figures in the moderate faction of the Congress.

• Azad HInd Fauz means Indian National Army
• Azad Hind Fauz was formed by  Rash Behari Bose, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Captain Mohan Singh
• Formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 during World War II
• It was formed through Japanese support.