Moderate Phase (1885-1905)

The period from 1885 to 1905 is known as the Moderate Phase and moderates were the leaders of this phase. The national leaders who dominated the Congress policies during this period, such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozshah Mehta, D.E. Wacha, W.C. Bonnerjea, and S.N. Banerjea, were staunch believers in ‘liberalism’ and moderate politics and came to be referred to as Moderates to distinguish them from the neo-nationalists of the early twentieth century who were called extremists. Indian nationalism emerged in the latter half of the nineteenth century as a result of a variety of factors such as western education, socio-religious reforms, British policies, and so on.

Features

• Between 1885 and 1905, the Early Nationalists, also known as the Moderates, were a group of political leaders in India whose appearance signaled the beginning of India’s organized national movement.
• Pherozeshah Mehta and Dadabhai Naoroji were two important moderate leaders.
• Members of the group were drawn from educated middle-class professionals such as lawyers, teachers, and government officials, with many of them having received their education in England.
• The moderate political activity involved constitutional agitation within the bounds of the law and demonstrated a slow but orderly political progression.
• The moderates believed that the British essentially wanted to be fair to the Indians but were unaware of the actual circumstances.
• As a result, if public opinion could be formed in the country and public demands presented to the government through resolutions, petitions, meetings, and so on, the authorities would gradually concede these demands.
• To accomplish these goals, they used a two-pronged strategy:
  • First, they created a strong public opinion to arouse consciousness and national spirit, and then they educated and united people on common political issues;
  • Second, they persuaded the British Government and British public opinion to implement reforms in India along the lines laid out by the nationalists.
• In order to accomplish this, a British committee of the Indian National Congress was formed in London in 1899, with India serving as its organ.
• Dadabhai Naoroji devoted a significant portion of his life and fortune to advocating for India’s cause abroad.
• It was decided in 1890 to hold a session of the Indian National Congress in London in 1892, but due to the British elections in 1891, the proposal was postponed and never revived.

Objectives

• To establish a democratic, nationalist movement.
• Politicize and politically educate people.
• Establish a movement’s headquarters.
• To promote friendly relations among nationalist political workers from various parts of the country.
• To create and spread an anti-colonial nationalist ideology.
• Formulate and present popular demands to the government in order to unite the people around a common economic and political program.
• Develop and consolidate a sense of national unity among people of all religions, castes, and provinces.
• To promote and cultivate Indian nationhood with care.

Important Leaders of Moderate Phase

The national leaders who dominated Congress policies during the early period (1885–1905), such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, D.E. Wacha, W.C. Bonnerjea, and S.N. Banerjea, were staunch believers in ‘liberalism’ and ‘moderate’ politics and came to be referred to as Moderates to distinguish them from the neo-nationalists of the early twentieth century. The moderates made significant contributions to the Indian freedom struggle. The Moderates’ main goal was to achieve self-government within the British Empire. They chose a middle path rather than an extreme path against the British Empire. 

Dadabhai Naoroji

Dadabhai Naoroji is known as India’s Grand Old Man and the country’s Unofficial Ambassador. He was the first Indian to be elected to the British House of Commons. He was a founding member of the Indian National Congress and served as president of three congress sessions. In his book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India,’ he proposed the drain theory and explained the British exploitation of India.

Background:

• Dadabhai Naoroji was born on September 4, 1825, in Bombay to a priestly Parsi family.
• Naoroji received the Clare Scholarship as a result of his outstanding performance at Elphinstone College.
• Soon after graduating in 1845, he was appointed the first Indian professor at Elphinstone. He taught in special classes for the advancement of women’s education.
• On June 27, 1855, he left for London to become a partner in Cama & Co., the first Indian company to be established in the city.
• Four years later, he established his own company, Naoroji & Co. Later in his career, he was appointed Professor of Gujarati at University College London.

Contributions & Achievements:

• In 1867, he established the East India Association in London, one of the forerunner organizations of the Indian National Congress, with the goal of presenting the Indian point of view to the British public.
• In 1874, he was appointed Dewan of Baroda but resigned a year later due to disagreements with the Maharaja and the Resident.
• In July 1875, he was elected to the Bombay Municipal Corporation. In 1876, he resigned and relocated to London.
• In 1883, he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace, founded the ‘Voice of India,’ and was elected to the Bombay Municipal Corporation for the second time.
• In August 1885, he accepted an invitation of Governor Lord Ready to join the Bombay Legislative Council.
• When the Bombay Presidency Association was formed on January 31, 1885, he was elected as one of its Vice Presidents.
• At the end of the same year, he played a key role in the formation of the Indian National Congress, becoming its President three times in 1886, 1893, and 1906.
• He was the first British Indian MP when he was elected to the House of Commons in 1902 as a member of the Liberal Party, representing Central Finsbury.
• Foreign travel shaped his character and personality. He was a supporter of the western educational system as a product of liberal western education.
• In India, his friends included social reformer Sorabjee Bengali, Khursetji Cama, Kaisondas Mulji, Orientalist K. R. Cama, Naoroji Furdoonji, Jamshedji Tata, etc.
• He was a staunch supporter of Parliamentary democracy. In the history of Indian economic thought, he is remembered for his pioneering work in calculating India’s national income.
• He founded several significant organizations and was a member of numerous leading societies and institutions in both India and the United Kingdom.
• The Indian National Congress, the East India Association in London, the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay, and other important organizations he helped to establish include the Indian National Congress, the East India Association in London, and the Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay, among others.
• In the second half of the nineteenth century, he was a leading social reformer.
• He did not believe in castes and was a proponent of women’s education as well as equal rights for men and women.
• In his book ‘The Duties of the Zoroastrians,’ he expounded the need for purity in thought, speech, and action, with friends among non-Parsis such as Hume, Wedderburn, Badruddin Tyabji, Dr. Bhau Daji, K. T. Telang, and G. K. Gokhale.
• He was a well-known nationalist with progressive views. He belonged to the moderate school of thought and was a firm believer in constitutional methods.
• Despite his support for Swadeshi, he was not opposed to the use of machines to organize key industries in the country. He urged Tata to secure Indian funding for his iron and steel plants.