Tag: civics

Tilak ran two newspapers- Kesari in Marathi and Maratha in English. The newspapers were not established as profit making venture but were a way to spread political education and ideas of liberty and justice among the common people and played an important role in the national movement.

Annual festivals in memory of Shivaji and Lord Ganesha were started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. These festivals were organized to build a national spirit among the common people and make them aware about freedom in opposition to colonial rule. But the major drawback of these events was that although they were meant to be a way to oppose colonial rule, they also contributed to religious tensions.

The Bombay Association was formed by  Jagannath Shankarshet in the year 1852. Its notable members were Sir Jamshedji Jejibhai, Naoroji Fursungi, Dadabhai Naoroji and Vinayak Shankarshet. Sir Jamshedji Jejibhai was the first president of the organization. It was established to vent public grievances to the British.

The Sarvajanik Sabha of Pune was a sociopolitical organisation founded by MG ranade in 1870. The primary aim of this organisation was to work as a mediating body between the government and people of India and to popularise the peasants' legal rights. It published a quartely journal to put forth the problems of people before the government.

Heavy Export duties on Indian silk and cotton textile in Britain destroyed Indian Industries. On the other hand, British goods were imported into India at a nominal duty.

The Madras Native Association was formed by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty in the year 1849 in the Madras Presidency. He was an Indian merchant, Indian independence activist and political activist who established the organisation to agitate for the rights of Indians. 

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.

The Charter Act of 1853 introduced the system of open competition for the selection of civil servants, thereby allowing Indians to compete for the first time.

Lord Curzon had a passion for preserving the ancient monuments of historical importance in India. No Viceroy in India before or after him took such a keen interest in archaeological objects. He passed a law called the Ancient Monuments Act, 1904 which made it obligatory on the part of the government and local authorities to preserve the monuments of archaeological importance and their destruction an offence.

Lord Curzon appointed the Police Commission in 1902 to review police administration in India and suggest reforms.