The first phase of revolutionary activities lasted from 1907 to 1917. The activities of revolutionary heroism arose as a result of the rise of militant nationalism. The first phase, which lasted until 1917, took on a more activist tone as a result of the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement. As a result of the Non-Cooperation Movement, the second phase began.

Reasons for Surge in Revolutionary Activities

• After the open movements demise, the younger nationalists who had been a part of it found it impossible to drop out and fade into the background.
• They looked for ways to express their patriotic energies, but were disillusioned by the failure of the leadership, including the Extremists, to find new forms of struggle to put the new militant trends into practise.
• Although the extremist leaders called on the youth to make sacrifices, they were unable to establish an effective organisation or find new forms of political work to channel these revolutionary energies.
• Because all avenues of peaceful political protest were closed to them due to government repression, the youth believed that if nationalist goals of independence were to be met, the British had to be expelled by force.

Revolutionary Programme

• The revolutionaries considered, but did not find it practical to implement, the options of launching a violent mass revolution across the country or attempting to undermine the Army’s loyalties.
• Rather, they chose to follow in the footsteps of Russian nihilists or Irish nationalists.
• Individual heroic actions included organising assassinations of unpopular officials as well as traitors and informers among the revolutionaries themselves.
• They conducted swadeshi dacoities to raise funds for revolutionary activities; and (during the First World War) organized military conspiracies with the expectation of assistance from Britain’s enemies.
• The plan was to instill fear in the hearts of the rulers, arouse the people, and remove their fear of authority.
• The revolutionaries hoped to inspire the people by appealing to patriotism, particularly among the idealistic youth who would eventually drive the British out.
• Extremist leaders failed to ideologically counter the revolutionaries because they failed to distinguish between a revolution based on mass activity and one based on individual violent activity, allowing individualistic violent activities to take root.

Revolutionary Activities During First Phase

India’s struggle for independence was accompanied by many revolutionary activities that had been raised from different parts of the country. Revolutionaries are those people who believed in overthrowing the British Government by means of mass movements. Several internal and external influences worked on the minds of the youth in India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, resulting in the emergence of revolutionary ideology. The revolutionary movement in India began in Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, and Madras provinces, but it was primarily active in Bengal, Maharashtra, and Punjab because these regions were more politically active than the rest of the country.