Page 106 - SST Class 05

The important extremist
leaders included Lala Lajpat
Rai , Bal Gangadhar Tilak ,
Bipin Chandra Pal and
Aurobindo Ghosh .

Lala Lajpat Bal Gangadhar Bipin Aurobindo
Rai Tilak Chandra Pal Ghosh

Know It!

v Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the first to demand self-rule. He gave
the slogan : "Freedom is my birthright and I will have it."

Divide and Rule

In 1857, the Hindus and the Muslims had fought against the British together. Once
again, they were struggling together. At this, the British decided to divide these two
communities. For this, they adopted the policy of Divide and Rule. They wanted these
two communities to fight with each other, and not fight against them together.

With this purpose in mind, the British divided Bengal in 1905 into East Bengal for the
Muslims and West Bengal for the Hindus. People saw through this trick and rose in
protest. They held hartals, demonstrations and processions to oppose this. The struggle
for freedom became more aggressive.

Swadeshi and Boycott Movements

To make the British hear, the Swadeshi and Boycott movement was started. People
started to boycott the British goods and promoted the Indian goods. The British clothes
and goods were burnt in bonfires; this became a common sight. The shops which sold
the British goods were burnt down.

The movement grew in intensity all over the country.
The sale of British goods went own drastically. The
British tried to suppress the movement brutally. They
imprisoned and punished many agitators. However,
in 1911, the British had to accept the demands and

revoke the partition of Bengal.

Morley-Minto Reforms Swadeshi Movement

To pacify the people, the government decided to give them some concessions. They
passed a law, popularly called Minto-Morley Reforms. Under it, the Indians were
given some seats in the Central Legislative Council and Provincial Councils. However,
it also sought to divide the Hindus and the Muslims as it reserved some seats for the
Muslims. As such, the Indians opposed this law.

106 Contemporary Social Science-5