Home Rule Movement (1916-1918): India’s Fight for Self-Governance [UPSC Notes]

Home Rule Movement

The Home Rule Movement, initiated by leader’s Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1916, Marked a significant phase in India’s independence struggle. It aimed at achieving self-governance within the British Empire through constitutional means, energizing the nationalistic fervor across the country and laying the groundwork for future protests against British rule.

The Home Rule movement in India started in the background of the ongoing world war and inactivity within the Congress after the Surat split. The differences between the moderates and the extremists led to the split in Congress and the exit of the extremists from Congress in the Surat session of Congress in 1907. After this, Congress was in a condition of almost total inactivity.

Politics in the Aftermath of the Surat split

• Inactivity within Congress: Many moderate leaders were also unhappy about the split, which had caused a state of inactivity in Congress. They were sympathetic to Tilak’s proposal.
• Change in Tilak’s attitude: Tilak understood that the sanction of the Indian National Congress is a necessary precondition for the success of any political action. Hence, to convince the moderates, he denounced violence and any activity that sought to overthrow the government. After release from jail in 1914, Bal Gangadhar Tilak sought readmission of himself and other extremist leaders in Congress.
• Pressure from Annie Besant: There was also considerable pressure from Annie Besant, who had just joined Congress in 1914 and sought to re-admit the extremists in Congress to revive the political activity.
• However, the Bombay moderate group led by Pherozshah Mehta persuaded Gokhale and the Bengal moderates to keep the extremists out.
• After that, Tilak and Annie Besant decided to restart the political activity on their own while maintaining pressure on Congress to re-admit the extremists.

History of Home Rule Movement

• There was growing resentment in the people due to high inflation and high taxation to fund the world war and the brutal repressions of the Ghadr movement.
• Annie Besant had just joined Congress and wanted to revive political activity by starting a movement similar to the Irish home rule league to demand self-rule for Indians within the British Commonwealth.
• In 1915, after the efforts of Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Congress decided to re-admit the extremists. However, she failed to gain the support of Congress and the Muslim League to set up the home rule Leagues. However, Congress agreed to the revival of local congress committees and a programme for educational propaganda.
• Tilak had already set up his Home rule League in April 1916, and finally, Annie Besant also set up her Home rule League since there was no response from Congress.
• Tilak and Annie Besant set up separate Home rule league`s to avoid friction since there were some differences of opinion among their followers.

Tilak’s Home Rule League

• Tilak set up his League in April 1916 at the Bombay Provincial Conference in Belgaum.
• His home rule League was restricted to Maharashtra (excluding Bombay City), Karnataka, Central Province and Berar.
• Through his tours and lectures, he popularised the demands for home rule. He also linked the question of Swaraj or self-rule with the demand for the formation of linguistic states and the promotion of Vernaculars for education.

Annie Besant’s Home Rule League

• Besant’s League was formally established in September 1916 in Madras, and it covered Bombay and the rest of India.
• Her home rule League was loosely organized as compared to Tilak’s. George Arundale, BP Wadia and CP Ramaswamy Aiyer were his associates.
• Besides members of the theosophical society, many others, including Jawahar Lal Nehru in Allahabad, B Chakravarti and J Banerjee in Calcutta, joined her League.
• To spread the movement, she organized public meetings and campaigned through her newspapers, New India and Commonweal.