Methods of Extremist Leaders

• The extremist goal was ‘swaraj’. This, at that time, either meant complete autonomy and freedom from British control, or a total Indian control over the administration but not necessarily a break away from Britain’s imperial reign.
• The extremist leaders involved wider sections of people in the movement. They involved lower-middle-class people also.
• They did not stick to constitutional methods to protest and demand. They resorted to boycotts, strikes, etc.
• The Swadeshi movement gathered momentum in India because of the extremists’ support.
• This led to the establishment of Indian banks, mills, factories, etc.
• They took pride in Indian culture and history, they looked at the ancient scriptures for inspiration and courage.
• They were very vocal in their opposition to the British rule, unlike the moderates who had faith in British justice.
• They tried to instil self-respect and patriotism in the people by invoking past heroes like Ashoka, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap and Rani Laxmibai.

Morley-Minto Reforms

• The Act of 1909 is also known as Morley-Minto Reforms (Lord Morley was the then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was the then Viceroy of India).
• It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and provincial.
• It retained the official majority in the Central Legislative Council but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have a non-official majority.
• Members were allowed to ask supplementary questions, move resolutions on the budget.
• It provided (for the first time) the association of Indians with the executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors.
• It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of a ‘separate electorate’.
• Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim voters. Thus, the Act ‘legalized communalism’ and Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of Communal Electorate.
• It also provided for the separate representation of presidency corporations, chambers of commerce, universities, and zamindars.

Rise of Extremist Nationalism

• In the beginning of 1908, the Swadeshi movement had faded out due to lack of leadership and suppression by the British government.
• The frustration in the youth of Bengal caused by the suppression of this movement led them towards revolutionary nationalism

• The Congress split into two parts - Moderates and Extremists in the year 1907 at the Surat Session of Congress, which was also popularly known as 'Surat Split'.
• Extremists are not satisfied with the methods and achievements of moderates.
• The most prominent leaders of the Extremists were Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Bipin Chandra Pal, who are known collectively as the Lal-Bal-Pal trio.

Swadeshi movement

• The Swadeshi movement finds its roots in the Partition of Bengal in 1905.
• It was an anti-partition movement by the moderate leaders like Surendra Nath Banerjee and Krishna Kumar Mitra.
• The movement was launched on August 7, 1905, after a mass demonstration at the town hall, Calcutta.
• After the partition of Bengal on October 16, 1905, a hartal was observed in Calcutta and it was declared a day of national mourning.
• The demonstrations were held in the whole of Bengal and people were asked to use Swadeshi products and boycott British products.
• Later along with a boycott of British products, the people started boycotting the British services like postal service, courts, schools and colleges etc.

Partition of Bengal (1905)

• The partition separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas on 16 October 1905 after being announced on 19 July 1905 by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India.
• To appease Bengali sentiment, Bengal was reunited by Lord Hardinge in 1911, in response to the Swadeshi movement's riots in protest against the policy and they began an angry agitation, featuring belief among Hindus that East Bengal would have its own courts and policies.