Modern Indian History

Sohan Singh Bhakna was the founding president of the Hind Association of America (also known as the Ghadar Party) established in 1913 in California, which became a major revolutionary organization fighting for Indian independence.

Lala Hardayal was the principal intellectual founder and driving force behind the Ghadar Movement. As a professor and revolutionary, he provided the ideological leadership and organizational vision that mobilized Indian immigrants against British rule.

The Lucknow Pact (1916) accomplished three things: Congress formally accepted separate electorates for Muslims, Congress and the Muslim League cooperated together, and both parties jointly demanded self-government (swaraj) from the British.

V.D Sarkar founded the Abhinav Bharat society in 1904.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak famously declared 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it' - this became one of the most powerful slogans of the Indian independence movement, encapsulating the demand for complete freedom from British rule.

The 'divide and rule' policy was indeed the fundamental strategy of British administration in India. By exploiting religious and regional divisions, the British effectively prevented unified opposition to their rule, making it the cornerstone of their governance approach.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded the Home Rule League in 1916 to advocate for self-rule within the British Empire. While Annie Besant also started a separate Home Rule League around the same time, Tilak is most commonly credited as the primary founder in Indian history questions.

The first session of the Indian National Congress was held in Bombay (now Mumbai) in December 1885. This inaugural session marked the beginning of the organized independence movement in India.

Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, was the first recipient of the Indira Gandhi Award for International Justice and Harmony in 1986. This award was instituted by the Indian government in memory of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to recognize individuals working for peace, justice, and international harmony. Arafat was honored for his efforts in the Palestinian cause and was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.

A.O. Hume, a Scottish civil servant, founded the Indian National Congress in 1885. He envisioned it as a platform for educated Indians to participate in political dialogue and eventually self-governance. While leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahatma Gandhi, and Annie Besant were influential figures in the Congress, Hume was specifically its founder. The first session was held in Bombay with 72 delegates.

India became a Republic on January 26, 1950, when the Constitution of India came into effect, establishing India as a sovereign democratic republic. August 15, 1947 was Independence Day, but the nation was still a dominion under the British Crown until 1950.

Vishwa Bharati University at Santiniketan was founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 as an experimental institution for arts, humanities, and cultural exchange, emphasizing a synthesis of Indian and world cultures. It became a Central University in 1951.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched by Gandhi in 1920 as a major mass movement in India's independence struggle against British rule. It followed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Rabindranath Tagore died on August 7, 1941. He was a Nobel Prize-winning poet, writer, and composer who wrote India's national anthem Jana Gana Mana.

Subhas Chandra Bose escaped from India in 1941 to seek international support for India's independence. He eventually reached Germany and later Japan, forming the Indian National Army.