Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

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FREEDOM MOVEMENT

XXIII

- session -1907 - Surat

President:

Rash

Behari

Ghose

The Congress session at Surat (1907) saw

the

split between Moderates and Extrem-

ists

within the Congress over the question of

venue and Presidentship. The effect was that it

weakened the INC movement till the Lucknow

session of 1916.

XXXIII - session - 1917 - Calcutta

President: Annie Besant.

She spoke elaborately on the topics,

The awakening of Asia', 'India’s Rights'

etc, Deliberating on the awakening of Asia

she said,

"The awakening of Asia is part of a world-

movement, which has been quickened into

marvellous rapidity by the worldwar. The

world movement is towards Democracy."

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Dr. Annie Besant and Lokamanya Tilak hoisted

this flag during the Home Rule Movement 1917

Speaking on the

'loss of belief in the supe-

riority of the white race',

she underlined the

work of ‘Arya Samaj’ and 'Theosophical So-

cieties' in bringing about an awareness among

the people about the value of their own civili-

zation; she said:

"The undermining of this belief dates

from the spreading of the Arya Samaj and the

Theosophical Society. Both bodies sought to

lead the Indian people to a sense of the value

of their own civilization

to pride in their past,

creating self-respect in the present and self-

confidence in the future. They destroyed the

unhealthy inclination, to imitate the West in

all things, and taught discrimination, the

using only of what was valuable in Western

thought and culture, instead of a mere slavish

copying of everything. Another great force

was that of Swami Vivekananda, alike in his

passionate love and admiration for India.

Children of India, I am here to speak to you

today about some practical things, and my

object in reminding you about the glories of

the past is simply this: out of the past is built

the future. Look back, therefore, as far as you

can, drink deep of the eternal fountains that

are behind, and after that, look forward,

march forward and make India brighter,

greater, much higher than she ever was. We

must build an India yet greater than what she

has been."

Commenting on

'India's Rights'

she called

for self-determination among Indians to

oppose the British domination, and concluded

with the remark that

"India's eyes are open-

ing ".

She-said,

"It is because it has become

a habit, bred in us from childhood, to regard

the saheb-log as our natural superiors, and

the greatest injury British rule has done to

Indians is to deprive them of the natural in-

stinct born in all free peoples, the feeling of an

inherent right to self-determination, to be them-

selves. Indian dress, Indian food, Indian ways,

Indian customs are looked on as second rate;

Indian mother-tongue and Indian literature

cannot make an educated man. Thank God

that India

eyes are opening ".

President: Lala Lajpat Rai.

M. Gandhi moved the

‘Swaraj Resolution’:

speaking on the Resolution he said, 'the object

of INC is the attainment of Swarajya through

non-voilent means' and highlighted the

concept

‘soulforce'.

To put it in his own words,

“the

object of INC is the attaintment of Swarajya by

the people of India by all legitimate means and

peaceful means....

...I want you to accompany the carrying

out of this Resolution with a faith and a reso-

lution which nothing on earth can move, that

you are intent upon getting swaraj at the

earliest possible moment... and by means that

is legitimate, that is honourable, and by means

that is non-violent that is peaceful... we can-

not give battle to this government by means of

steel... but by exercising what I have often

called ‘soulforce ’ and it is not the prerogative

of.

....

sanyasi or saint. Soulforce is the pre-

rogative of every human being, female or

male..”

XXXVIII - session - 1922 - Gaya

President: Deshbandhu Chittarajan Das.

He highlighted the ideal of nationalism and

concluded with the remark,

“the essential truth

of nationalism lies in this, that it is necessary

for each nation to develop itself express itself

and realise itself so that humanity itself,

express itself and realise itself

.”

XXXIX-session-1923-Cocanada

President: Mohd. Ali.

Mohd. Ali spoke in depth on

non-violence

and opined that our swaraj must be achieved

through non-violent agitation, Proceeding

futher he said,

“our swaraj must be ‘Sarvaraj’, the Raj

of AIL... it must be won by the minimum

sacrifice of the minimum number and

not by the maximum sacrifice of the

maximum number. Since I have full

faith in it I have no need to hanker after

violence

XL - session - 1924 - Belgaum

President: Mahatma Gandhiji.

Presiding over the Belgaum Congress

Mahatma Gandhi expressed his views on

'Boycott', 'Machinery', 'Hindu-Muslim unity',

'Swaraj scheme'

and twelve points: speaking

on the foreign cloth he blamed it for the

idleness of Indian peasants and underlined the

need for teaching the peasant to utilise his

spare hours in carding and spinning cotton and

dress himself in

Khaddar.

He opined that untouchability is another

hindrance to Swaraj,

“This is essentially a

Hindu question and Hindus cannot claim or

take Swaraj, till they have restored the liberty

of the suppressed classes. ”

Deliberating on Swaraj and 12 points he

said,

"Public must know....full definition of

Swaraj.....happily the committee appointed by

the all parties' conference is charged with that

mission.... may I suggest... following points: