History
National Movement: 1885 to 1919
Moderates and Extremists
Moderates vs Extremists for CGPSC: methods, drain theory, Councils Act 1892, Lal-Bal-Pal, Surat split 1907, Muslim League and Morley-Minto reforms 1909.
Prerequisites
- Founding of the Indian National Congress — the organisation within which the two schools argued
- Constitutional Development — the Indian Councils Acts of 1892 and 1909 in their constitutional sequence
The Hook: Two Newspapers, Two Temperaments
Connect
In 1907, Madhavrao Sapre (माधवराव सप्रे), who had already started Chhattisgarh Mitra from Pendra in 1900, began a Hindi edition of Tilak’s Kesari from Nagpur. Kesari did not plead; it challenged. In the same years, G.K. Gokhale was patiently presenting budget criticism in the Imperial Legislative Council in Calcutta.
Both were patriots. Both wanted self-government. Why did they disagree so sharply about how to get it, and why did the quarrel split the Congress at Surat in 1907?
Why it matters: Prelims tests leaders, newspapers, the drain theory and the 1907–1909 sequence. “Compare the Moderates and Extremists” is among the most predictable Mains questions in modern Indian history.
The Moderates (नरमपंथी), 1885–1905
Leaders
Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjea, G.K. Gokhale, M.G. Ranade, W.C. Bonnerjee, Badruddin Tyabji, R.C. Dutt, D.E. Wacha, Ananda Mohan Bose.
Methods: “constitutional agitation”
- Prayer, petition and protest (3P): resolutions, memorials, deputations and speeches.
- Faith in British justice and liberalism. The problem, they argued, was “un-British” rule in India, not British rule as such.
- Educating public opinion in India and in Britain. The British Committee of the INC was set up in London (1889) and published the journal India (from 1890).
- Gradual, step-by-step reform within the law.
Demands
| Area | Demands |
|---|---|
| Constitutional | Expand the legislative councils and give them elected members and power over the budget; eventually self-government within the Empire |
| Administrative | Simultaneous ICS examinations in India and England and a higher age limit; Indianisation of services; separation of the judiciary from the executive; repeal of the Arms Act; extension of trial by jury |
| Economic | Reduce land revenue and military expenditure; protect Indian industry; lower the salt tax; enquiry into poverty and famines |
| Civil rights | Freedom of speech, the press and association, against measures such as the sedition provisions |
The economic critique: drain theory (धन-निष्कासन सिद्धांत)
The Moderates’ lasting achievement was an economic critique of colonialism.
| Writer | Work | Point |
|---|---|---|
| Dadabhai Naoroji (“Grand Old Man of India”) | Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901, from earlier papers) | Estimated per capita income; argued that a part of India’s wealth was drained to Britain through Home Charges, salaries, pensions and profits, with no return |
| R.C. Dutt | The Economic History of India (two volumes, 1901–1903) | Land revenue burden; ruin of handicrafts; famines |
| M.G. Ranade | Essays on Indian economics | Argued for state-led industrialisation |
The drain theory turned nationalism from a demand for jobs and councils into a charge that colonial rule itself impoverished India.
Achievement: the Indian Councils Act, 1892
- Increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the central and provincial legislative councils.
- Allowed some members to be recommended by bodies such as municipalities, district boards, universities and chambers of commerce, a limited, indirect form of election (the word “election” was avoided).
- Members could discuss the budget and ask questions, but could not vote on the budget or ask supplementary questions.
- The Moderates welcomed it as a beginning but criticised its limits. It is often called the Moderates’ only constitutional gain.
Evaluation
| Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Built an all-India political platform and a common programme | Narrow social base: educated urban middle class, little mass contact |
| Economic critique of colonialism (drain theory) | Too much faith in British fairness; petitioning brought few results |
| Trained a generation in public life, press and law | Slow to demand self-government in clear terms |
| Created secular, democratic political traditions | Did not reach peasants, workers or women in large numbers |
The Extremists (गरमपंथी), c. 1905–1918
Why a new school emerged
- Disillusionment with the meagre results of petitioning (1892 Act fell short).
- Curzon’s policies (1899–1905): Calcutta Corporation Act (1899) reduced elected Indian members; Indian Universities Act (1904) increased official control; Official Secrets Act amendments (1904); and finally the Partition of Bengal (1905).
- Famines and plague of the late 1890s and the harsh plague measures in Poona.
- International events: the Japanese victory over Russia (1905) broke the myth of European invincibility; nationalist movements in Ireland, Egypt, Turkey and Persia were inspiring.
- Cultural self-assertion: Bankim Chandra, Swami Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati.
- Growth of an educated but unemployed youth.
Leaders: Lal-Bal-Pal and Aurobindo
| Leader | Region | Key facts |
|---|---|---|
| Bal Gangadhar Tilak (बाल गंगाधर तिलक), “Lokmanya” | Maharashtra | Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English); public Ganapati festival (1893) and Shivaji festival (1895); sedition trial 1897 (18 months) and 1908 (six years, Mandalay); wrote Gita Rahasya in Mandalay |
| Lala Lajpat Rai, “Punjab Kesari” | Punjab | Deported to Mandalay in 1907 with Ajit Singh after the agitation in the Punjab canal colonies |
| Bipin Chandra Pal | Bengal | Fiery speaker; associated with the paper New India and with Bande Mataram |
| Aurobindo Ghosh | Bengal | Wrote the “New Lamps for Old” articles (1893–94) criticising the Moderates; edited Bande Mataram; principal of Bengal National College; later withdrew to Pondicherry (1910) |
Methods and goals
- Goal: Swaraj (स्वराज), understood by Tilak and Aurobindo as freedom from foreign control, not just reformed administration.
- Methods: Boycott of foreign goods, schools, courts and titles; Swadeshi; national education; passive resistance; mass mobilisation through festivals, songs and the vernacular press.
- Belief: Self-reliance and sacrifice, not prayers to the rulers. Tilak’s slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it” became the movement’s best-known line during the Home Rule campaign.
Moderates vs Extremists
| Point | Moderates | Extremists |
|---|---|---|
| Period of dominance | 1885–1905 | 1905–1918 (overlapping) |
| Social base | Educated urban middle class | Wider: lower middle class, students, some workers and townsfolk |
| Faith in British justice | Yes | No |
| Goal | Reforms; self-government within the Empire, gradually | Swaraj |
| Methods | Constitutional: petitions, memorials, speeches | Boycott, swadeshi, passive resistance, national education |
| Inspiration | Western liberalism | Indian history, culture and religion as well as Western ideas |
| Weakness | Little mass contact | Religious idiom could alienate Muslims; no long-term programme after repression |
The Surat Split, 1907
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | The Calcutta session (1906) under Dadabhai Naoroji had adopted Swaraj and resolutions on swadeshi, boycott and national education. The Extremists feared the Moderates would dilute them |
| Dispute | The 1907 session was first scheduled for Nagpur, the capital of the Central Provinces, where the Extremists were strong; they wanted Tilak or Lajpat Rai as president. The Moderates moved it to Surat, in Tilak’s home province of Bombay, where convention barred a leader of the host province from presiding, and chose Rash Behari Ghosh |
| What happened | The session broke up in disorder in December 1907. The Moderates kept control of the Congress and excluded the Extremists |
| Government response | Repression of the Extremists: Tilak sentenced to six years and sent to Mandalay (1908); Aurobindo tried in the Alipore case; Pal withdrew; Lajpat Rai left for abroad |
| Reunion | At Lucknow, 1916 |
The British strategy: rally the Moderates
The government followed a policy of “rallying the Moderates”: repress the Extremists, and offer the Moderates concessions. The concession was the Morley–Minto reforms (1909). The split weakened the Congress until 1916.
The Muslim League and the Morley–Minto Reforms
Simla Deputation and the Muslim League, 1906
- 1 October 1906: the Simla Deputation, led by the Aga Khan, met Viceroy Lord Minto and asked for separate electorates and weightage for Muslims. Minto was sympathetic.
- 30 December 1906: the All-India Muslim League was founded at Dacca, at a session of the Mohammedan Educational Conference. Nawab Salimullah of Dacca played a leading role, and the Aga Khan became its first permanent president.
- Early aims: promote loyalty to the British government, protect Muslim political rights, and keep Muslims away from the Congress.
Indian Councils Act, 1909 (Morley–Minto Reforms)
Named after John Morley (Secretary of State) and Lord Minto (Viceroy).
| Provision | Detail |
|---|---|
| Councils enlarged | Central and provincial legislative councils were expanded |
| Separate electorates | Muslim members to be elected only by Muslim voters. This “legalised communalism” and is the Act’s most criticised feature |
| Indirect election | Most non-official members were elected indirectly |
| Powers | Members could move resolutions on the budget and ask supplementary questions |
| Executive Council | Satyendra Prasanna Sinha became the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council (Law Member) |
Mains evaluation
The 1909 reforms gave the Moderates something to show, but they gave Indians no real power, the official majority remained at the centre, and separate electorates planted a seed that grew into partition in 1947. Minto is often called the “father of communal electorates”. The Congress later accepted separate electorates in the Lucknow Pact (1916) to secure Hindu–Muslim unity.
Chhattisgarh Angle
Tilak's ideas in the Central Provinces
- Chhattisgarh lay in the Central Provinces, where Tilak’s Marathi-speaking network was strong through Nagpur and Berar. The 1907 Congress session was first fixed for Nagpur before the Moderates shifted it to Surat.
- Madhavrao Sapre of Pendra started Hindi Kesari from Nagpur in 1907, with Tilak’s permission, and later translated Tilak’s Gita Rahasya into Hindi. The paper closed in 1908, the year of the government’s crackdown on the nationalist press and of Tilak’s own conviction.
- This is a good example for a Mains answer on how Extremist ideas reached Hindi-speaking regions. See Leaders of the Freedom Movement in Chhattisgarh.
Memory Tricks
Moderates = 3P; Extremists = 4 resolutions of 1906
Moderates: Prayer, Petition, Protest.
Extremists’ Calcutta 1906 programme: “S-S-B-N”: Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott, National education.
1906 to 1909 in one breath
“Simla, Dacca, Calcutta, Surat, Morley”: Simla Deputation (Oct 1906) → Muslim League, Dacca (Dec 1906) → Swaraj at Calcutta (Dec 1906) → Surat split (Dec 1907) → Morley–Minto Act (1909).
Mandalay twice
Lajpat Rai (1907) and Tilak (1908–1914) were both sent to Mandalay. “L before T, both to M.”
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Councils Act 1892 — limited indirect election, budget discussion | vs | Indian Councils Act 1909 — separate electorates, supplementary questions |
| Kesari (Marathi) | vs | Mahratta (English), both Tilak |
| Tilak 1897 — 18 months (after Rand murder context) | vs | Tilak 1908 — six years, Mandalay |
| Surat 1907 president: Rash Behari Ghosh | vs | Rash Behari Bose: revolutionary, Hardinge bomb (1912) |
| Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (Naoroji) | vs | Economic History of India (R.C. Dutt) |
Common Mistakes
MCQ traps
- “The Surat split happened at the 1906 session.” The Calcutta session (1906) adopted Swaraj and held the party together. The split was at Surat, 1907.
- “Rash Behari Bose presided at Surat.” It was Rash Behari Ghosh, a Moderate lawyer. Bose was a revolutionary.
- “The Morley–Minto reforms introduced dyarchy.” Dyarchy came with the Government of India Act 1919 (Montagu–Chelmsford). 1909 introduced separate electorates.
- “The Muslim League was founded at Aligarh or Lucknow.” It was founded at Dacca (December 1906).
- “Lajpat Rai was called Lokmanya.” “Lokmanya” is Tilak; Lajpat Rai is “Punjab Kesari”.
Practice
All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- Who wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India?
- Who presided over the Surat session of 1907?
- Who became the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council under the 1909 reforms?
Answers
- Dadabhai Naoroji.
- Rash Behari Ghosh.
- Satyendra Prasanna Sinha (Law Member).
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements about the Indian Councils Act, 1909:
- It introduced separate electorates for Muslims.
- It allowed members to ask supplementary questions.
- It introduced dyarchy in the provinces.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(b) 1 and 2 only. The Morley–Minto reforms introduced separate electorates and let members move budget resolutions and ask supplementary questions. Dyarchy in the provinces came with the Government of India Act 1919.
Q2. Match List I (Leader) with List II (Newspaper or work):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Bal Gangadhar Tilak | 1. Economic History of India |
| B. R.C. Dutt | 2. Mahratta |
| C. Aurobindo Ghosh | 3. Hindi Kesari (Nagpur) |
| D. Madhavrao Sapre | 4. Bande Mataram |
- (a) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
- (b) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
- (c) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3
- (d) A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
Answer and explanation
(b) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3. Tilak ran Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English). R.C. Dutt wrote The Economic History of India. Aurobindo edited the English daily Bande Mataram. Sapre started the Hindi Kesari from Nagpur in 1907.
Q3. Which of the following was not a demand of the Moderates?
- (a) Simultaneous ICS examinations in India and England
- (b) Separation of the judiciary from the executive
- (c) Complete boycott of British courts and schools
- (d) Reduction of military expenditure
Answer and explanation
(c). Boycott of courts, schools and goods was an Extremist method from the Swadeshi period. Options (a), (b) and (d) are classic Moderate demands.
Q4. Arrange the following in chronological order:
- Surat split
- Founding of the Muslim League
- Simla Deputation
- Indian Councils Act (Morley–Minto)
- (a) 3, 2, 1, 4
- (b) 2, 3, 1, 4
- (c) 3, 1, 2, 4
- (d) 1, 3, 2, 4
Answer and explanation
(a) 3, 2, 1, 4. Simla Deputation (1 October 1906) → Muslim League at Dacca (30 December 1906) → Surat split (December 1907) → Indian Councils Act (1909).
Q5. The public celebration of the Ganapati festival (1893) and the Shivaji festival (1895) as instruments of political mobilisation is associated with:
- (a) G.K. Gokhale
- (b) M.G. Ranade
- (c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- (d) Bipin Chandra Pal
Answer and explanation
(c) Tilak. He turned the household Ganapati festival into a public one and started the Shivaji festival to carry the nationalist message to ordinary people in Maharashtra.
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (150–200 words) Compare the methods and achievements of the Moderates and the Extremists. Were they rivals or complementary?
Model answer outline
- Intro: Two schools within the Congress: Moderates (1885–1905) and Extremists (from 1905), differing in method more than in patriotism.
- Moderates: constitutional methods (3P); demands on councils, ICS, judiciary, taxation; drain theory (Naoroji, R.C. Dutt); Indian Councils Act 1892; built an all-India platform but had a narrow base.
- Extremists: Swaraj as the goal; swadeshi, boycott, national education, passive resistance; Lal-Bal-Pal and Aurobindo; mass mobilisation in 1905–08; weakened by repression after Surat (1907).
- Complementary: The Moderates’ economic critique gave the Extremists their argument. The Extremists gave the movement a mass base and self-confidence. They reunited at Lucknow (1916).
- Regional example: Tilak’s ideas reached Hindi-speaking Central Provinces through Sapre’s Hindi Kesari (Nagpur, 1907).
- Conclusion: The two schools were successive stages of one movement. Gandhi later combined the Moderates’ non-violence and constitutional discipline with the Extremists’ mass action.
Q2. (60 words) What was the “drain theory”?
Model answer outline
- Propounded by Dadabhai Naoroji (Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, 1901) and developed by R.C. Dutt.
- A part of India’s wealth flowed to Britain as Home Charges, salaries, pensions, interest and profits, with no equivalent return.
- Significance: it showed colonial rule itself impoverished India, giving nationalism its economic foundation.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Moderate method | Prayer, petition, protest; faith in British justice |
| Drain theory | Naoroji, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901); R.C. Dutt, Economic History of India |
| Indian Councils Act 1892 | Limited indirect election; budget discussion; no voting on budget |
| Lal-Bal-Pal | Lajpat Rai (Punjab), Tilak (Maharashtra), Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal) |
| Tilak’s papers | Kesari (Marathi), Mahratta (English) |
| Tilak’s festivals | Ganapati 1893, Shivaji 1895 |
| Tilak’s convictions | 1897 (18 months); 1908 (six years, Mandalay) |
| Calcutta 1906 | Naoroji; Swaraj; swadeshi, boycott, national education |
| Surat 1907 | Split; president Rash Behari Ghosh |
| Simla Deputation | 1 Oct 1906, Aga Khan, Lord Minto |
| Muslim League | 30 Dec 1906, Dacca |
| Morley–Minto 1909 | Separate electorates; S.P. Sinha first Indian in Viceroy’s Executive Council |
| Hindi Kesari | Madhavrao Sapre, Nagpur, 1907 |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- The Moderates used constitutional methods and produced the drain theory, their most lasting contribution. Their main gain was the 1892 Act.
- Extremism grew out of disillusionment, Curzon’s policies, famine and plague, and international events like Japan’s victory over Russia (1905).
- Lal-Bal-Pal and Aurobindo demanded Swaraj and used boycott, swadeshi and national education.
- The Surat split (1907) and the Morley–Minto reforms (1909) with separate electorates reflected the British policy of dividing nationalists and communities.
- Extremist ideas reached the Central Provinces, including Chhattisgarh, through Nagpur and Madhavrao Sapre’s Hindi Kesari (1907).
What’s Next
- Partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi Movement — the Extremists’ great campaign
- Home Rule League and the Lucknow Pact — how the two schools reunited in 1916
- Constitutional Development — the 1892 and 1909 Acts in the constitutional sequence
- Freedom Movement in Chhattisgarh
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