Political Life
Sri Aurobindo's life can be divided into two clear phases. The first relates to political activism and the second to spiritual activism.
Aurobindo's political career lasted only four years, from 1906 to 1910. Though he had been active behind the scene surveying, organizing and supporting the nationalist cause, ever since his return to India, especially during his excursions to Bengal.
In 1905 an event occurred that changed the course of Indian history and the freedom movement. This was the Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon, known as Banga bhanga, which immediately created a tremendous reaction in the whole of India and particularly in Bengal. The whole of Bengal galvanised into activity.
Sri Aurobindo resigned his job in Baroda and moved to Calcutta. For five years, from 1905 to 1910, he shone like a meteor in
…show more content…
Having returned to India to join the Baroda service, Sri Aurobindo immediately set about writing on politics. A brilliant writer, his first series of articles was published in a journal called Indu Prakash, in which he castigated the moderate leadership of the Congress. He said that their policy of prayer, petition and protest would lead nowhere. What was needed was a revolutionary movement against the British. A born revolutionary, Sri Aurobindo revolted against the British and the Congress leadership
This change was affected by the advent of the aggressive nationalist thought of Lokmanya Tilak who declared that swaraj was his birthright and Bipin Chandra Pal who demanded "complete autonomy" from Britain. However none went as far as Aurobindo in articulating the legitimacy and necessity of complete independence. He "based his claim for freedom for India on the inherent right to freedom, not on any charge of misgovernment or
Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist and writer who would lead the independence movement of India to free the country of British rule (“Mahatma Gandhi,” 2017). He would prove that a single person could change the course of history and take on the entire British Empire. Gandhi’s principles of nonviolence and civil disobedience are attributed to his success in gaining independence for India. The act of passive resistance allowed Gandhi to generate more support for his movement for independence while making it difficult for the British to find reasons to arrest them. He argued that although violence could be more effective than peaceful
In 1757, Great Britain extended its empire into India. This occupation would not fully end until 1947. In the time between, there were many movements by the Indian people to gain independence from the British. The movement that finally succeeded in winning India’s independence was led by one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi’s methods for fighting against the occupation of the British were very different from those of any of the freedom movements before. And that was why it worked. Gandhi did not agree with the general reasoning of the time: that conflicts could be solved through negotiation and forceful resistance.1 Rather, his faith led him to go
The general cause of the Indian Independence Movement was India’s desire for independence from British, French and Portuguese Rule. The aim of the movement was “Swaraj, a self-governing India” (Sharma, 2005, p. 22). One, more specific, cause of the Indian Independence Movement took place in 1905 when the province of Bengal was divided into two provinces,
In 1939 World War II broke out in Europe. Britain proclaimed India’s involvement in the war without consulting the Indian people. This led to increased protest and volatility. In 1942 India established a national army and proposed the Quit India Movement. This movement promised to lend Indian military support to Britain in return for complete independence. If they refused this treaty the Indian people promised civil disobedience. In 1947 India was granted its independence and became self governing (Luscombe, 2012). On January 26, 1950 the Republic of India was proclaimed and it drafted a constitution. The first democratic elections were held in 1952. However the Hindus and Muslims were not united and colonial India was divided into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India (History, 2010).
British imperialism had a negative impact on the politics of India because of the establishment of the framework for India that leads to their downfall and the Indian Army which they used to control their own kind. According to Dr.Lalvani, the British established the framework for India’s justice system, civil services, loyal army, and the efficient loyal police. (Paragraph #6). While this is true, the framework didn’t include the Indians, because “Of 960 civil offices, 900 are occupied by English men and 60 by natives”(Doc. #2). British laws often benefited the British and were designed to limit the freedom of speech of the Indians, for example, the Rowlatt Act in 1919. (Gandhi). This evidence shows that the British, when creating the framework for the new and improved India wanted to benefit from it while trying to lower the Indian’s and limit the
Throughout the years many historians have compilated and examined why Indian people were so desperate to gain back their independence from the British Empire during their rule over India, from 1612 to 1947. The reasoning can most definitely be found as the British discriminated against Indian people as they believe that they were inferior; it is no surprise that Indian people fought so hard for their independence. Throughout the British Raj, they placed and put forward unbelievably racist acts and laws which discriminated against Indian people. Which of course led to Indians to rebel against the British rule and which the British reacted with causing massacres. Explaining the nationalistic many India’s felt during the British Raj.
Gandhi soon became involved in helping the untouchables, or the lowest and poorest Indian class. Gandhi founded newspapers to spread his ideas and to educate the public. In early 1930, the Indian National Congress declared that India would not be satisfied until India received complete independence from Britain.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Ho Chi Minh are the leaders of national independent movements from late 19th to early 20th century. Both of them defeated the colonial rulers and won national independence. This paper will talk about the influences of ideas and circumstances, the goals that they wanted to get and the historical significance of their behaviors.
Aroused by the massacre of Amritsar in 1919, Gandhi devoted his life to gaining India’s independence from Great Britain. As the dominant figure used his persuasive philosophy of non-violent confrontation, he inspired political activists with many persuasions throughout the world (Andrews 23). Not only was Mahatma Gandhi a great peacemaker, but also his work to achieve freedom and equality for all people was greatly acknowledged. Gandhi’s unconventional style of leadership gained him the love of a country and eventually enabled him to lead the independence movement in India.
A pivotal moment in India’s struggle for independence came on March 12, 1930. This two-hundred mile, twenty-four day walk was taken by seventy-eight men and women with Gandhi, 61 at the
This essay will focus on the decolonisation of India by the British Empire and the problems they encountered. It will also aim to bring recognition to the struggle decolonisation brought upon the world after World War II. Pierce states that “after the War concluded, a worldwide process of decolonisation commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India” (Pierce, 2009). India had struggled with uprisings and conflicts for the many years of British occupation but when Gandhi began sharing his social efforts; the perceptions of colonialism began to change leading to the collapse of the British colonial Empire. Gandhi began changing the lives of regular Indian’s with his popular visions, he also advocated for the people of India in a non-violent
There he witnessed oppression again, but this time he was looking at things from the top. Having served five years in Burma, he resigned in 1927 and turned back to Europe and lived in Paris for more than a year.
from his inspiration leap Tagore’s” (Rolland, 108.)India has already been a meeting place of races and cultures, before the British came to India. The coming of the British from the West further affected Indian life and polity powerfully much that is vital in Eastern culture today is either a response or a reaction from Western civilization. Rabindranath admits that he was struck by the spirit of social service prevailing in the West. He says. 'It was an inspiration to me.” (Radhakrishnan, 156.)He has only express approval of for the western ideals of law, order, and freedom.
Rabindranath defied the determinedly patriot structure that the autonomy development frequently took, and this made him forgo taking an especially
Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo are the first Indian dramatists in English worth considering. Tagore wrote primarily in Bengali but almost all his Bengali plays are now available to us in English renderings. His important plays are Chitra, The Post Office, Sacrifice, Red Oleanders, Chandalika, Mukta Dhara and Natir Puja. The plays are firmly rooted in Indian ethos and present an unusually original dramatic vision. As Jain puts it: