The Moderate Nationalists played a crucial role in shaping early Indian political activism through various contributions. They critiqued British economic policies with the "drain theory," advocated for constitutional reforms within legislative councils, and campaigned for administrative changes and civil rights. Their efforts included demanding economic independence, reforming legislative processes, and improving civil rights and labor conditions. Key figures such as Dadabhai Naoroji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale led these initiatives, impacting India's political landscape and laying the groundwork for future nationalist movements.
The early nationalists, led by Dadabhai Naoroji, R.C. Dutt, Dinshaw Wacha, and others, critically analyzed the political economy of British rule in India and introduced the “drain theory” to explain British exploitation of India.
They opposed the transformation of a self-sufficient Indian economy into a colonial economy, which involved India becoming a supplier of raw materials and a field for British investment.
Moderates successfully created an all-India public opinion that British rule was the primary cause of India's poverty and economic backwardness.
To address these issues, the early nationalists demanded:
Severance of India's economic subservience to Britain.
Development of an independent economy with Indian capital and enterprise.
Reduction in land revenue and abolition of salt tax.
Improvement in working conditions of plantation labor.
Reduction in military expenditure and encouragement of modern industry through tariff protection and direct government aid.
Constitutional Reforms and Propaganda in Legislature
Legislative councils in India had no real power until 1920. The work done in these councils by the nationalists helped in the growth of the national movement.
The Imperial Legislative Council, constituted by the Indian Councils Act (1861), was designed to disguise official measures as being passed by a representative body. Indian members were few, with only forty-five Indians nominated from 1862 to 1892, mostly wealthy and loyalist.
Notable political figures and independent intellectuals among the nominated members included Syed Ahmed Khan, Kristodas Pal, V.N. Mandlik, K.L. Nulkar, and Rashbehari Ghosh.
From 1885 to 1892, nationalist demands for constitutional reforms focused on:
Expansion of councils—greater participation of Indians in councils.
Reform of councils—more powers to councils, especially over finances.
The early nationalists aimed for a democratic self-government and hoped their demands for reforms would be conceded in the form of the Indian Councils Act.
The reforms were criticized at Congress sessions, leading to demands for:
A majority of elected Indians.
Control over the budget, with the power to vote and amend it.
The slogan “No taxation without representation” was adopted.
Leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji (1904), Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1905), and Lokmanya Tilak (1906) demanded self-government akin to the self-governing colonies of Canada and Australia.
Leaders such as Pherozshah Mehta and Gokhale subjected government policies to severe criticism.
The British intended to use the councils to absorb vocal Indian leaders and let them vent political grievances while the councils remained ineffective. However, the nationalists managed to transform these councils into forums for airing public grievances, exposing bureaucracy flaws, criticizing government policies, and raising economic issues.
Increased number of additional members in Imperial Legislative Councils and Provincial Legislative Councils. The governor-general could now have ten to sixteen non-officials (up from six to ten).
Non-official members were to be nominated by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and provincial legislative councils, with recommendations from universities, municipalities, zamindars, and chambers of commerce. Thus, the principle of representation was introduced.
The budget could be discussed.
Questions could be asked.
Limitations:
Officials retained their majority, making the non-official voice ineffective.
The reformed Imperial Legislative Council met on average for only thirteen days a year, with only five out of twenty-four unofficial Indian members present.
The budget could not be voted upon or amended.
Supplementary questions could not be asked, and answers could not be discussed.
Despite these limitations, the nationalists enhanced their political stature, built a national movement, and undermined the influence of imperialist rule, generating anti-imperialist sentiments among the public. However, they did not broaden the democratic base of the movement to include the masses, particularly women, or demand universal suffrage.
Indianisation of government service: Argued on economic grounds that British civil servants had high emoluments while Indians would be more economical; on political grounds, as British salaries and pensions were drawn from Indian revenue, representing an economic drain; and on moral grounds, as Indians were being excluded from positions of trust and responsibility.
Call for separation of judicial from executive functions.
Criticism of an oppressive and tyrannical bureaucracy and an expensive, time-consuming judicial system.
Criticism of an aggressive foreign policy, including annexation of Burma, attacks on Afghanistan, and suppression of tribals in the North-West, which incurred heavy costs for the Indian treasury.
Call for increased expenditure on welfare (health, sanitation), education (especially elementary and technical), irrigation works, improvement of agriculture, and agricultural banks for cultivators.
Demand for better treatment of Indian labor abroad in other British colonies, where they faced oppression and racial discrimination.
Civil rights included the right to speech, thought, association, and a free press. The nationalists campaigned vigorously to spread modern democratic ideas.
The defense of civil rights became a core part of the freedom struggle, highlighted by public outrage at the arrests of Tiltak and other leaders in 1897 and the arrest and deportation of the Natu brothers without trial.
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