The growth of militant nationalism ushered in a new era in the national movement by employing more radical methods of agitation than the earlier moderates. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipan Chandra Pal, and Lala Lajpat Rai were among the prominent leaders of this phase of the national movement. Militant nationalism represented a distinct phase in the anti-colonial struggle. It introduced new methods of political agitation, used popular symbols for mobilization, and thus attempted to broaden the movement’s base.

Background

• Militant nationalism (also known as extremism) has gradually grown in the country over the years. It manifested itself in the Bengal anti-partition movement of 1905.
• Even in its early days, the Indian national movement had made a large number of people aware of the dangers of foreign dominance and the importance of cultivating patriotism.
• It had provided educated Indians with the necessary political training. It had, in fact, changed the mood of the people and given birth to a new way of life in the country.
• Simultaneously, the British government’s refusal to accept any of the major demands of the nationalists led to disillusionment among the politically conscious with the principles and methods of the dominant moderate leadership.
• Instead of appeasing moderate nationalists, the British rulers denigrated and mocked them.
• As a result, there was a strong demand for more aggressive political action and methods than meetings, petitions, memorials, and speeches in legislative councils.

Factors Responsible

Recognition of the True Nature of the British

• Recognition that the true nature of British rule was exploitative, and that the British India government, rather than conceding more, was taking away even what was already there.
• The moderate nationalists’ politics were based on the belief that British rule could be reformed from within. However, the spread of knowledge about political and economic issues gradually undermined this belief.
  • To a large extent, this was caused by the moderates’ political agitation.
• Nationalist writers and agitators blamed British rule for the people’s poverty.
• Politically aware Indians were convinced that the purpose of British rule was to economically exploit India, that is, to enrich England at the expense of India.
• They realized that unless British imperialism was replaced by a government controlled and run by the Indian people, India would make little economic progress.
• Nationalists, in particular, came to realize that Indian industries could not thrive without an Indian government to protect and promote them.
• The disastrous famines that ravaged India from 1896 to 1900, killing over 90 lakh people, symbolized the evil economic consequences of foreign rule in the eyes of the people.
• The political events of 1892—1905 also disappointed nationalists and prompted them to consider more radical politics. On the other hand, even the people’s existing political rights were under attack.
• In 1898, a law was passed making it a crime to incite “disaffection” toward a foreign government.