Early Nationalists

For other uses, see Moderate Party (disambiguation).

Indian National Congress
LeaderW.C. Bonnerjee [1]
Rash Behari Ghosh


Moderates

Surendranath Banerjee
R. C. Dutt
Dadabhai Naoroji
Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Pherozeshah Mehta
Mahadev Govind Ranade
P. R. Naidu
S. Subramanian Iyer
Ananda Charlu
Madan Mohan Malaviya
A.O. Hume
William Wedderburn
FounderA.O. Hume[2]
Founded1885 (1885)
Dissolved1907 (1907)
Preceded byLandholders' Society
Succeeded byAssertive Nationalists
NewspaperDharma Marg Darshak (magazine)
IdeologyRegain Self-government without violation

The Early Nationalists,[3] also known as the Moderates,[4] were a group of political leaders in India active between 1885 and 1907. Their emergence marked the beginning of the organised national movement in India. Some of the important moderate leaders were Pherozeshah Mehta and Dadabhai Naoroji.[5] With members of the group drawn from educated middle-class professionals including lawyers, teachers and government officials, many of them were educated in England.

They are known as "Early Nationalists" because they believed in demanding reforms while adopting constitutional and peaceful means to achieve their aims.[6][7] The Early Nationalists had full faith in the British sense of justice, fair play, honesty, and integrity while they believed that British rule was a boon for India.[8] The Early Nationalists were staunch believers in open-minded and moderate politics.[9][10]

Their successors, the "Assertives", existed from 1905 to 1919 and were followed by nationalists of the Gandhian era, which existed from 1919 until Indian Independence in 1947.

  1. ^ "Indian National Congress UK".
  2. ^ Bevir, Marks (9 February 2013). "Theosophy and the Origins of the Indian National Congress". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 1 January 2003.
  3. ^ Ralhan, Om Prakash, ed. (1995). Encyclopedia of Political Parties – India – Pakistan – Bangladesh – National – Regional – Local. Vol. 23. Moderate phrase in India. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. pp. 29–36. The phase from 1885 to 1905 is known as the period of the Early Nationalists.
  4. ^ Porter, Robin J. (2001). "Imperial India, 1858–1914". Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century. pp. 345, 434.
  5. ^ Burke, S. M.; Al-Din, Salim (1997). The British Raj in India: An Historical Review. USA: Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 325–332. ISBN 978-0195-7773-45. One of the most distinguishing features of the second half of the 19th century was the birth of national awakening in India. It originated from the concepts of nationalism and right of self-determination initiated by the French Revolution, the socio-religious reform movement, the spread of western education and the reaction of Indians to British Raj. The political awareness generated by these trends gave birth to various political associations. This trend culminated in the establishment of the Early Nationalists in 1885, which was the starting point of the organised national movement in India
  6. ^ Sequeira, Dolly Ellen; Raj, S. Irudaya (2009). History & Civics. Morning Star Publishers. pp. 27, 35–41, 45. ISBN 978-8131-7033-11.
  7. ^ Stein, Burton (21 September 2023). A History of India. Vol. I. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-0-19-565446-2. Avoiding confrontations, the early Congress leaders were patient, moderate and conciliatory in their demands
  8. ^ Kundra, D. N. (2012). History & Civics PART II. Goyal Brothers Prakashan. pp. 91, 93, 98–106, 111.
  9. ^ Seth, Sanjay (1999). "Rewriting Histories of Nationalism; The politics of "Moderate Nationalism" in India". The American Historical Review. 104 (1): 102, 115. doi:10.2307/2650182. JSTOR 2650182. (subscription required)
  10. ^ Ludden, David (2002). India and South Asia: a Short history. pp. 135–197.