Year |
Incident |
|
1611 |
East India Company (EIC) establishes a
factory in Masulipatnam (modern Andhra
Pradesh) |
|
1612 |
Factory established in Surat |
|
1640 |
Factory established in Madras |
|
1688 |
Portuguese Bombay leased by EIC |
|
1700 |
Factory established in Calcutta |
|
1717 |
Farrukhsiyar grants ‘farman’ to EIC to
carry on inland trade in Bengal with several significant concessions
regarding tax concessions |
|
1750s: Carnatic Wars (I: 1746-48 II: 1749-54 III: 1756-63) |
Carnatic
Wars These established the British East India’s
Company’s supremacy amongst all the European companies in India). Around then,
the Carnatic region was nominally a dependency of Hyderabad state (Mughal
control), but was ruled by Nawab Dost Ali Khan |
|
I
Carnatic war was the
Indian theatre of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe, which brought
Britain and France into conflict, and spilled onto the Indian subcontinent as
well. Indian rulers were not involved;
Brits came out on top. First military
adventure of Robert Clive |
||
II
Carnatic war started as a
war of succession after the death of Nawab-ul-Mulk (Nawab of Hyderabad), and
Brits and French saw an opportunity to consolidate influence and joined
warring factions. Brits again came out on top, under Clive. Ended by Treaty of Pondicherry in 1754,
recognizing the British-supported candidate becoming the Nawab |
||
III
Carnatic war was the Indian
theatre of the Seven Years’ War in Europe. Spread as far as Bengal, but was
decided in southern India. Brits occupied Pondicherry (French capital). Gave
it back under Treaty of Paris in
1763, but only as a trading post. This signaled the end of French political
ambitions in India |
||
1757: Battle of Plassey (Brits v/s Bengal Nawabs
(Siraj-ud-Dalulah, later Mir Jafar and Mir Qasim) |
Battle
of Plassey (Robert Clive v/s Siraj-ud-Daulah) When Alivardi
Khan had come to power, he adopted a strict policy with the British, who
had been granted favorable trade rights (including inland ones) by
Farrukhsiyar in 1717. Alivardi had seen how Brits and French were waging
proxy wars in Carnatic using local rulers, and wanted to prevent Bengal from
that fate. Brits kept complaining that farman of 1717 was not being implemented
fully, even as they continued rapacious inland trade that harmed the Nawab’s
revenue (which had been going on since 1717) In 1756, Alivardi Khan died and his grandson
Siraj-ud-Daulah became Nawab of
Bengal. He was suspicious of the British, and asked them to stop
fortification (which the British were doing because of wars with France both
in Europe and in Carnatic; French had also recently occupied Chandernagar in
Bengal. This had infuriated the Nawab, who didn’t want any more of this on
his land). Brits didn’t stop fortifications, and the Nawab attacked the EIC
in Calcutta and ransacked the city (‘black
hole’ incident) EIC officials fled to an offshore island,
and called for help from the company in Madras; under Clive, the Brits seized
Calcutta, and the French fort of Chandernagar (7 years’ war was on in Europe)
French troops now joined the Nawab. In
response, Robert Clive bribed Mir
Jafar (head of Nawab’s army), and defeated the Nawab at Battle of Plassey.
The British were now paramount rulers of Bengal, with all forthcoming Nawabs
at their mercy (as early as 1759, Mir Jafar had grown disillusioned with the
Brits, and started making alliances with the Dutch to repel the British; he
got deposed, Mir Qasim came next) |
|
1761: Battle of Panipat (Marathas v/s Afghans + Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh; Brits not involved) |
Battle
of Panipat Mughal empire was under free-fall after
Aurangzeb. Already during Aurangzeb’s time, Mughals and Marathas had been
fighting for 27 years (1680-1707). Marathas had had rapid territorial gains
(Gujarat, Malwa, Rajputana etc.). By 1737, they also controlled most of
Mughal territories south of Delhi. In 1758, Nana Saheb (Balaji Baji Rao) occupied Punjab as well, and this
brought the Marathas into direct confrontation with the Afghans, under Ahmad Shah Abdali. They started
sending expeditionary forces to mount attacks on the small Maratha garrisons in
Punjab. War seemed imminent; both sides wanted
Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh on their side. Shuja joined Afghans (‘Army of
Islam’), and this was critical, because without his support Afghans wouldn’t
have had the money to stay for as long as they did in India. Afghans laid
siege to Panipat, and cut off supplies to Marathas in Delhi, who started
dying of starvation. Maratha soldiers begged to go to war, and to war they
did go. But the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and Shuja were much
stronger, and convincingly routed the Maraths The
Marathas were to remain absent from the North Indian political scene for the
next decade, until another war in 1771 |
|
1763 |
III
Carnatic War ends in Treaty of Paris; with this, Britain
ends all political ambitions of France in India. Pondicherry returned to the
French, but only as a trading post |
|
Sanyasi
rebellion (Bengal/ East India): Brits imposed a ban on visits to holy places; Sanyasis organized raids
on company |
||
1764: Battle of Buxar |
Battle of Buxar (read immediately after Battle of Plassey) Mir
Qasim was installed as
Nawab of Bengal after Mir Jafar’s rebellious activities. Mir Qasim also
quickly saw that there was no way that British plunder of Bengal could be
allowed to go unchecked. He made alliances with Nawab of Awadh (Shuja-ud-Daulah) and Mughal King Shah Alam II; however, Clive’s army convincingly beat
their combined forces at Buxar. Shah Alam II now signed the Treaty of Allahabad, granting
Diwani rights to the British EIC for Bengal (modern Bengal, Orissa,
Jharkhand, Bihar, and parts of UP) in return for allowing him to hold court
at Allahabad; Mir Qasim was replaced. Shuja-ud-Daulah allowed to return to
Awadh under a subsidiary force. This arrangement made the British virtual
rulers of Bengal (the revenue-collection function had hitherto been
performed by the Nawabs). Now, the Nawab had the responsibility for
administration (Brits weren’t interested in direct administration yet), while
the Brits enjoyed the real power (without responsibility). =>
Led to dual government in Bengal. With the Marathas just having lost to the Afghans
in the Battle of Panipat in 1761, they were to remain absent from North
Indian affairs for about a decade. This gave the British a wide berth in
consolidating their foothold over these parts. |
|
1767 <1767-99: Anglo-Mysore (modern
Karnataka) Wars> (I: 1767-69 II: 1780-84 III: 1789-92 IV: 1799) (Treaties: MMS- Madras, Mangalore,
Seringapatnam) |
I
Anglo-Mysore War (1767): Hyder Ali had become the ruler of Mysore in 1761. Mysore had
enemies Marathas to the north, and Hyderabad to the east. Marathas invaded
Mysore around 1767; initial plan was that Hyderabad’s Nizam will also invade
and plunder, but the British invaded Hyderabad’s Northern Sarkars (to
establish a land route between their holdings in Calcutta and Madras). This
made the Nizam think of allying with Mysore. But Brits pre-empted and
attacked Mysore. No side won decisively; Treaty of Madras in 1769 declared
ceasefire, and Brits were to help out Mysore in case of military aggression
from Marathas. |
|
II
Anglo-Mysore War (1780): Going
against the Treaty of Madras, the British refused to help out in
Mysore-Maratha wars in 1770s, and Hyder Ali allied with the French. After
Britain and France started fighting in Europe, Brits occupied French port of
Mahe on Malabar coast. Hyder Ali used to get his French arms from this port. So,
Hyder Ali launched an attack in response, and included Marathas and Nizam of
Hyderabad. After a long-drawn war, British losses
were high, and London instructed EIC to stop the war and sign a treaty. Treaty of Mangalore was signed in
1784, and all territories won by either side given back. Brits agreed not to
intervene in any future wars between Mysore, Marathas, and Hyderabad. |
||
III
Anglo-Mysore War (1789): Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali’s son,
was now the ruler; he’d been looking to find a way to go to war with the
British. He attacked British ally Travancore (Kerala); Brits said okay let’s
fight. Tipu lost badly; Brits could’ve occupied
Mysore but didn’t because they didn’t want consolidation of Maratha power, or
to incur expenses by appointing someone directly under Brits. They let Tipu
rule, but took 2 of his sons hostage so he would abide by the Treaty of Seringapatnam (1792), whereby
about half of Mysore’s area was given
away to Marathas and Hyderabad. |
||
IV
Anglo-Mysore War (1799): Final
war; Tipu dead. Most of Mysore given away to Marathas and Nizam; core around
Seringapatnam given to pre-Hyder Ali House
of Wodeyars, who ‘ruled’ till 1947 |
||
1773 |
Regulating
Act (GG- Warren Hastings): EIC, before and since Plassey (1757), was
involved in corrupt practices whereby the company constantly veered on the
verge of bankruptcy and couldn’t repay its commitments to the British
government even as the ‘Nabobs’ became spectacularly wealthy. The Regulating
Act was brought in for the better management of the company’s affairs in
India and in Britain. The Company was to act as the Sovereign power on behalf of the Crown. Warren
Hastings was the Governor in Bengal at this time (so became first GG). Key features: 1. GG
+ 4: Created executive
council of 4 members to assist the Governor-General of Bengal 2.
Governors of Bombay and Madras
presidencies made subordinate to GG of Bengal 3. Established Supreme Court in Calcutta 4. Company
servants were forbidden from carrying on private trade or accept ‘presents’
from Indian rulers |
|
1775 1775-1818: Anglo-Maratha Wars (I: 1775-82 II: 1803-05 III: 1817-18) (Salbai, Bassein, Gwalior) |
I
Anglo-Maratha War (1775): Around
this time, the Marathas were the only major Indian power left on the
subcontinent (and to some extent, Mysore). However, there was internal squabbling
for succession. Raghunath Rao signed
a treaty with Brits (but he wasn’t the rightful heir); this treaty led to the
start of the first war; this was virtually a stalemate, ended with Treaty of Salbai whereby both powers
were to follow a policy of peaceful coexistence. |
|
II
Anglo-Maratha War (1803): Nana
Phadnavis died; succession struggle. One side (Raghunath Rao’s son Bajir Rao
II) signed Treaty of Bassein with
the Brits, in effect becoming their
subsidiary. Other side, enraged, attacked the Brits and the first side.
Lost. Marathas lost large part of
their territory |
||
III
Anglo-Maratha War (1817): Mostly
a mopping-up operation; the previous war had been stopped due to fiscal
constraints. At the end of this war, all the Maratha powers had surrendered
to the British, under Treaty of
Gwalior. Brits now controlled all of Southern India, south of the Satluj
river. |
||
1784 |
Pitt’s India Act (GG- Warren Hastings): Passed among
allegations of continuing corruption and misrule even after the 1773
Regulating Act 1.
GG + 3: Governor-General’s council reduced
to 3 members (from 4 after the
Regulating Act) 2.
Modified the relationship between the EIC
and the British Government 3.
Made the EIC subordinate to the British
government by creating the Board of
Control, both to
supervise the East India Company's affairs and to prevent the Company's
shareholders from interfering in the governance of India. The erstwhile Court
of Directors was still to exist, but would manage only commercial affairs;
BoC would manage political affairs 4.
Secretary
of State was to be the President of the Board; +5 members 5.
Bengal
GG kind of made head, but some autonomy to subordinate provincial Governors Failed because boundaries
of work between BoC and CoD were poorly defined and arbitrary. |
|
1789 |
III Anglo-Mysore War (see above): Tipu had
been wanting to fight the brits; attacked their allies Travancore. Lost, had
to sign Treaty of Mangalore. His sons were taken hostage by Brits to ensure
good behavior. |
|
1793 |
Cornwallis introduced Permanent Settlement
in Bengal (demands had been raised by liberals in Britain since Regulating Act
of 1773); this was the first
socio-economic regulation in British India |
|
1795 |
‘Bengal
Regulation’; declared infanticide
illegal. |
|
1799 |
IV Anglo-Mysore War; ended in Tipu’s
defeat, and installation of puppet rulers ‘House of Wodeyars’ on the Mysore
throne. Mysore was now out of the game. |
|
Chuar
uprising (Bengal/ East India (Midnapore)): Happened due
to famine, enhanced land-revenue demand, and general economic distress.
Wasn’t a one-off incident; incidents happened till 1816. |
||
1803 |
II Anglo-Maratha War (see above): ‘Renegade’
Baji Rao II signed Treaty of Bassein with Brits; death knell for Marathas
(although there would be one more war after this) |
|
1813 |
Charter
Act of 1813 (GG- Minto; retired in 1813, succeeded by Hastings (Moira): Passed in the backdrop of great economic
turmoil in Europe; Napoleon had imposed the ‘Continental System’ in Europe,
and British traders were facing hardships. There was clamor for revoking
EIC’s monopoly on trade with India. Key features: 1.
GG + 3 maintained 2.
Ended
the trade monopoly of EIC with India, except for tea and trade with China 3.
Missionaries
now allowed to go to India 4.
EIC
instructed to spend Rs. 1 lakh per annum to strengthen the education systems 5.
Empowered
local governments to impose taxes, subject to jurisdiction of SC |
|
1815 |
Atmiya
Sabha: Raja Ram Mohan Roy
established the Atmiya Sabha, a precursor in the socio-religious reforms in
Bengal. With this, he was known as a campaigners for the rights of women. He
started opposing the Sati system and Polygamy in Hindus. |
|
1817 |
III Anglo-Maratha War (see above): mop-up
operation. All Maratha power now with British, who controlled the entire
Indian territory south of the Satluj. |
|
1828 |
Brahmo
Samaj established |
|
1829 |
William
Bentick brings in ‘Abolishon
of Sati Act’ |
|
1830 |
Dharma
Sabha established by
Radhakant Deb as retaliation to Brahmo Samaj’s growing influence; orthodox
Hindu, status-quoist |
|
1833 |
Charter
Act of 1833 (GG- Bentick) (before this: Regulating Act of 1773,
Pitt’s India Act of 1784) 1.
GG + 4: GG’s
council expanded to include a 4th
member (Macaulay was the first such 4th member); not to be an
executive member, only legislative 2.
Trade
license of EIC revoked altogether (opening up of trade with India to others,
not only EIC); the EIC became a part of the British government, but India’s
administration remained under company officials 3.
Made
the GG of Bengal GG of India (title change); thus, revoked the autonomy of the presidencies of
Madras and Bombay; deprived Governments of Madras
and Bombay of powers of legislation 4.
First step towards codifying India laws; India Law Commission set up 5.
First act that provisioned to freely admit the
natives of India to share in administration |
|
1835 |
Metcalfe (GG) repeals Licensing Act that had imposed restrictions on freedom of press |
|
1839 |
Tattvabodhini
Sabha established by
Debendranath Tagore. When Brahmo Samaj became weak after the death of its
founder Ram Mohan Roy, Debendranath
Tagore took every possible initiative and established the 'Tattvanodhini
Sabha'. Its prime objective was to propagate the spirit of Hindu Scriptures,
including the Vedas. Came together with Brahmo Samaj in 1840s. The Tattvabodhini
Sabha encouraged a balanced attitude towards religion, a feature that
attracted both the groups, conservative like Ishwar Chandra Gupta as well as
modern outlook-ed people
like Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. Debendranath
Tagore, however, modified his philosophy and conflict with many of the views
of the members of the Sabha. Thus came a split in the Sabha in 1859 and
subsequently, the liability of publishing the journal and books for the
circulation of the faith fell on Calcutta Brahmo Samaj. |
|
1853 |
Charter
Act of 1853 (GG- Dalhousie (James Broun-Ramsey)) 1.
GG + 4 + 6: 4th member in council placed on equal
footing with the other 3, and 6 new
‘Legislative Councillors’ added; total council strength = 12 (all
officials; GG + Commander in Chief + 4 executive members + 2 judges + 4
officials) 2.
All
previous Charter Acts had explicitly dictated how long the EIC’s charter was
being renewed for; this one just said unless Parliament decides otherwise,
EIC would administer India 3.
Deprived
the Court of Directors from using appointments to ICS as a patronage device; appointments
thrown open via competitive examinations |
|
1854 |
‘Wood’s
Despatch’ to GG Lord
Dalhousie, asking to: (i) Set up education department in every province; (ii)
Universities on the model of
the London University be established in big cities such as Bombay, Calcutta
and Madras; (iii) At least one
government school be opened in every district; (iv) Indians should also be
taught in their native tongues. Is called Magna-carta of English
Education in India. |
|
1856 |
Hindu Widow Remarriage Act |
|
1858 |
Government
of India Act (GG- Charles Canning) 1.
Abolished the EIC’s rule in India, the Court of Directors, and the Board of
Control 2.
Crown
was now to govern India directly via a ‘Secretary of State for India’ 3.
GG
renamed Viceroy (Canning was thus
first Viceroy) 4.
15
member council to assist SoS |
|
1861 |
Indian
Councils Act (GG- Charles Canning) 1.
GG + 5 + (6-12): Additional member in executive council;
minimum 6 and maximum 12 legislative members, half of whom had to be non-officials (nominated by
provinces and the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce; thus, Indian participation initiated) 2.
Portfolio system introduced 3.
Decentralization: Re-instated legislative powers of
Governments of Madras and Bombay 4.
GG
had veto, could issue ordinances 5.
LC
members could discuss budget, but
couldn’t legislate on budget |
|
1865 |
Split in Brahmo Samaj |
|
1866 |
East
India Association founded
by Dadabhai Naoroji in London. It was one of the predecessor organizations of
the Indian National Congress. The idea was to present the correct
information about India to the British Public and voice Indian Grievances.
Became defunct in 1880s. |
|
1870 |
Mayo’s
Resolution (Fiscal Decentralization
from Centre to Provinces) |
|
1867 |
Poona
Sarvajanik Sabha founded
by Ranade to represent the aspirations
of the people to government. It published a quartely journal to put forth the
problems of people before the government. |
|
1873 |
Satyashodhak
Samaj founded by Jyotiba Phule. Aim was to create caste consciousness; first movement
with leadership from low castes; Raja
Bali used as symbol. |
|
1875 |
Arya
Samaj founded by Dayanand Saraswati; “Back to the
Vedas”, end priestly domination, promote inter-caste and widow marriages, no
idol worship |
|
1878 |
Vernacular Press Act, Arms Act |
|
Keshab Chanda Sen’s ‘Brahmo Samaj of
India’ further splits into two (other branch now called ‘Sadharan Brahmo
Samaj’). |
||
1882 |
Ripon’s
Resolution (Fiscal
Decentralization from Provinces to Local Bodies) |
|
Hunter Education Commission |
||
1883 |
Ilbert
Bill (Ripon): proposed an amendment for existing laws in the
country at the time to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction
to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level, something
that was disallowed at the time. Didn’t pass. Finally, a
solution was adopted by way of compromise: jurisdiction to try Europeans
would be conferred on European and Indian District Magistrates and Sessions
Judges alike. However, a defendant would in all cases have the right to claim
trial by a jury of which at least half the members must be European. |
|
1885 |
Indian National Congress formed; first
President: WC Bonnerji |
|
1890 |
Kadambini becomes the first woman to
address INC (I think she was the first female graduate of Calcutta
University) |
|
1891 |
Act
X : raised the age of
consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from 10
years to 12 years old; everything before would be classified as rape and
attract penal punishment |
|
1892 |
Councils
Act (Lansdowne) |
|
1896 |
Bombay plague; Chapekar brothers shoot
someone important, hanged; Tilak jailed for praising them (they were his
disciples anyway) |
|
1897 |
Ramakrishna
Movement started by
Vivekananda (Narendranath Dutta); aim was to spread the
universal message of Vedanta, love all religions, service of humans = service
of god. |
|
1902 |
Sri
Narayan Guru Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) movement; started among Ezvahas of Kerala (toddy-trappers, untouchables); urged
them to join schools, administration. |
|
1904 |
Official Secrets Act |
|
1905 |
Partition of Bengal, Swadeshi Movement |
|
Shyamji
Krishna Verma starts
Indian Home Rule Society in London |
||
GK Gokhale starts ‘Servants of India Society’; non-religious, aimed at raising cadres for nation-building |
||
1906 |
INC adopts Swaraj as goal during Calcutta session under Dadabhai Naoroji’s presidentship |
|
‘Yugantar’ started in Anushilan Samiti
(which was a revolutionary terrorist organization in Bengal) |
||
Shimla
Deputation: In 1906 a group of Muslim landed magnates and chieftains organized a
deputation of Lord Minto, the Viceroy, at Simla and pleaded for concession to
the Muslim community of India. Within a few
months following the Simla Deputation a political forum of the communalist
Muslims emerged. Nawab Salimullah of
Dacca took initiative in organizing a conference of the communalist
Muslims in which a resolution was adopted in favour of the foundation of the
All India Muslim League. |
||
1907 |
Muslim League founded |
|
INC Surat
split |
||
1908 |
Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose executed
for bomb-carriage incident |
|
Tilak praises them, deported to Mandalay
for 8 years under charges of sedition |
||
1909 |
Indian
Councils Act (GG- Minto:
father of communal electorates)
(‘Minto-Morley Reforms’) 1.
GG
was Minto 2.
GG + 7 + (60): Massively increased the size of
Legislative Council at the center (16 to 60), and also in the provinces; officials still in majority (34
officials, 25 elected (13 general, 8 Muslims, 6 British Capitalists, 2
landlords), 4 nominated) 3.
LCs
could discuss 4.
Separate electorates introduced 5.
Satyendranath Sinha became the first Indian to join the GG’s
executive council |
|
1911 |
Partition of Bengal annulled under
constant opposition from Hindu communalist groups, and because of the rise of
revolutionary terrorism; immediate cause for discontent was a huge famine,
and the simultaneous pomp of the Delhi Durbar for a visiting Royal |
|
1912 |
RB Bose and Sachin Sanyal throw a bomb at
Viceroy Hardinge |
|
1914 |
Tilak returns to India (back from Prison
in Mandalay) |
|
Ghadar
party formed in San
Francisco under Lala Hardayal, after Komagata
Maru incident |
||
1915 |
Amidst WW1, Defense of India rules imposed that curbed all kinds of civil
liberties- entire leadership of Ghadar movement beheaded |
|
Pherozshah Mehta and Gopalkrishna Gokhale
both dead (natural causes) |
||
1916 |
Congress reunites in Lucknow (after Surat
Split of 1907) |
|
Lucknow
Pact (between the Muslim
League and the Congress) |
||
Tilak and Annie Besant start the Home Rule League Movement (instrumental
in making the INC a potent political force again, by bringing the extremists
and moderates under the same fold again) |
||
1917 |
Gandhi enters the nationalist scene; Champaran Satyagraha |
|
Justice
Party founded in Tamil
Nadu; this was a political party focused on securing jobs for non-brahmins in legislature.
Founded by CN Mulaidar, T. Nair, and
P. Thyagaraja. |
||
Russian Revolution (was to lead to rise of
the left ad peasant movements later) |
||
1918 |
Kheda Satyagraha |
|
Ahmedabad Mill Strike |
||
1919 |
Rowlatt Satyagraha, Jallianwala Bagh
Massacre, Gandhi jailed |
|
Government
of India Act (Montague-Chelmsford
Reforms) 1.
GG
was Chelmsford 2.
Replaced Legislative Council with a
bicameral structure; both
houses had majority members elected by direct elections (but
limited franchise- property, tax, or education) 3.
Dyarchy (two executives in Provinces; one responsible to Legislature
(‘Ministers’), and the other to Governor (‘Executive Councillors’) 4.
3
members of GG’s executive council to be Indians 5.
Extended separate electorates to Sikhs,
Christians, Anglos, and Europeans 6.
Separated
provincial budgets from central; provinces could enact their own budgets |
||
1920 |
Congress commits itself to
extra-constitutional mass struggle
(Nagpur session) |
|
Non-Cooperation/ Khilafat Movement starts |
||
MN
Roy founded CPI in
Tashkent |
||
1921 |
Akali Movement; started to liberate
Sikh Gurudwaras from Udasi Mahants; later won and set up SGPC; later turned
communal (think why?) |
|
1922 |
Chaura-Chauri incident; Gandhi calls off
NCM, arrested for 6 years |
|
Mapilla
rebellion in Malabar |
||
1923 |
Swarajist-‘No-changer’ debate |
|
1924 |
Gandhi released on health grounds (check) |
|
Swaraj party (from within the Congress)
fights elections; wins handsomely |
||
Hindustan
Republican Army set up by
Ramprasad Bismil, Sachin Sanyal, and Jogendranath Chatterjee |
||
Vaikom
Satyagraha (temple entry,
led by KV Keshav) |
||
Kanpur
Bolshevik Conspiracy Case: SA
Dange jailed |
||
1925 |
CR Das dies; leads to split in Bengal Congress:
JM Sengupta faction (backed by revolutionary Anushilan group), and other led
by SC Bose (Yugantar group) |
|
Kakori train robbery (Bismil, Ashfaqullah,
Rajendra Lahiri hanged) |
||
1926 |
Swaraj party splits due to differences-
some members like MMM and Lala Lajpat Rai wanted more concession to Hindus,
Nehru and CR Das (?) were secular and left the Swaraj party; elections,
Swaraj party does badly |
|
1927 |
Simon Commission- all white, no Indians;
huge protests, even Muslim League protests. Lala Lajpat Rai killed during
demonstrations |
|
‘Delhi
Proposals’ by the Muslim
League; first ever acceptance of Joint
Electorates |
||
1928 |
Saunders Murder by HSRA; Bhagat Singh and
Batukeshwar Dutt throw bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly to protest
the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill |
|
Calcutta Session |
Nehru
Report |
|
INC declares that if the Government
doesn’t grant dominion status within a year, they will start a satyagraha;
Gandhi tours the country to prepare the masses for the coming struggle |
||
1929 |
INC declares Purna Swaraj as its goal in Lahore; all Congress ministries
resign |
|
League issues Jinnah’s 14 points |
||
Irwin announces that goal of Brits is to
eventually grant dominion status |
||
Meerut Conspiracy Case |
||
‘Delhi
Manifesto’ |
||
1930 |
Launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement
via Dandi March in March; movement
builds up, Gandhi arrested in May |
|
First RTC in London (to discuss Simon recommendations); Congress boycotts |
||
Chittagong Armory Raid (Surya Sen etc.) |
||
Sarda Act |
||
Garhwal Rifles soldiers refuse to open
fire on unarmed crowd |
||
1931 |
Gandhi-Irwin
Pact (Delhi Pact- put INC
and GoI on equal footing) |
|
Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru hanged
(Lahore Conspiracy Case) |
||
INC Karachi session; 2 landmark
resolutions on Fundamental Rights and National Economic Programme passed |
||
Second RTC; Gandhi dismayed at strong
focus on Communal Award to
depressed classes, decides to resume CDM. Arrested upon return to India
without a trial, jailed in Yeravada (Poona) |
||
Gurvayur
Satyagraha (temple entry) |
||
1932 |
Communal
Award announced by Ramsey
Macdonald (SoS) |
|
Gandhi undertakes fast unto death in
Yeravada against this; him and Ambedkar sign the Poona Pact; Gandhi sets up the ‘All India Anti-Untouchability
League’ from jail |
||
Third RTC in London |
||
1933 |
Gandhi released from prison |
|
1934 |
Gandhi retires from active politics (after
dispute in Congress regarding direction), devotes himself to constructive
work; withdraws CDM |
|
1935 |
Government
of India Act 1.
Establishment
of All-India Federation (didn’t happen as Princes didn’t agree) 2.
Abolished
diarchy in provinces (=> provinvial autonomy), and introduced it at the
central level; 3 legislative lists 3.
Responsible
governance in the provinces (implemented for a while); Governor answerable to
legislature 4.
Further
extended separate electorates to depressed classes, women, and labour 5.
Extended
franchise; about 10% eligible to vote 6.
Still,
about 80% of central budget not votable 7.
Established Reserve Bank of India |
|
1936 |
Maharaja of Travancore allows temple entry
(after lots of struggle- think Vaikom, Gurvayur etc.) |
|
1937 |
Provincial elections held, Congress
wins/emerges as single largest party in all provinces but two (check which
two); Muslim League dismayed, moves to extreme communalism |
|
1939 |
WW2 starts; Congress ministries resign;
League observes the day of resignation as Deliverance Day |
|
1940 |
Pakistan
Resolution at the
League’s Lahore session |
|
August Offer (Linlithgow) |
||
Congress launches individual satyagrahas; ‘Dilli Chalo’; first satyagraha was
Vinoba Bhave |
||
1942 |
Quit India Movement (resolution in Bombay
in August); Gandhi and other leaders arrested immediately after resolution |
|
Cripps Mission (‘Blueprint for India’s Partition) |
||
1944/45 |
Wavell’s Plan/ Shimla Conference |
|
Calcutta upsurge 01; elections (communal
polarization, league sweeps muslim areas) |
||
1946 |
Cabinet Mission |
|
Calcutta upsurge 02 + RIN mutiny |
||
August |
Communal riots at an unprecedented scale |
|
September |
Interim congress government (despite INC
opposition to compulsory grouping) |
|
October |
Muslim League joins interim government |
|
1947 |
February |
Attlee’s statement: we’re leaving by June
1948 |
June |
Mountbatten Plan |
|
August 15 |
Independence |