Political Organisations before Indian National
Congress
Organization Description
- Year: 1837
- Founder: Dwarkanath Tagore
- Place: Kolkata
- Other members: Radhakant Deb, Prasanna Kumar Tagore,
Rajkamal Sen and Bhabani Charan Mitra
- Objectives: It was an association of landholders of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa, and its principal objective was to guard its
class interests.
Landholders’
Society - Membership: Also extended to non-official Britishers engaged
in trade and commerce in Bengal.
- It was the first to adopt the path of constitutional
demonstration for the fulfilment of its objectives.
- Spread: It failed to take root in areas outside the Bengal
Presidency, where the Permanent Settlement was not in
vogue.
- Suppression: It became inactive around 1842, although it
maintained a precarious existence till 1850. The Bengal British
India Society took its place.
- Founded in 1843
- Place: Calcutta
Bengal British - Aims/objectives: To promote good citizenship qualities in the
India Society Indian people, raise public awareness about the state of
governance, and work toward their realisation through peaceful
and legal means consistent with loyalty to the person and
government of the reigning sovereign in England.
- Founded in October 1851
- Place: Calcutta
- Its President and Secretary are Raja Radhakant Deb and
Debendranath Tagore, respectively.
British Indian - Other members of the Association: Ramgopal Ghosh, Peary
Association
Chand Mitra and Krishnadas Pal.
- Its membership was kept exclusive to Indians.
- Objective: To secure improvements in the local administration
of the country and in the system of government laid down by
Parliament.
- Founded in 1852
- Place: Calcutta
Bengal - Aims/objectives:It petitioned the British Parliament to form an
Association Indian legislative council entirely composed of Indians only.
- It also condemned the policy of excluding Indians from all
higher-level positions, as well as the lavish spending on
European postings.
National Indian
Association - Founded in 1870
(NIA) - Founder: Mary Carpenter in Bristol, with the assistance of
Keshub Chunder Sen.
- The organization's full name was originally ‘National Indian
Association in Aid of Social Progress in India’.
- The initial goal of this organizationwas to promote female
education in India.
They also attempted to educate and inform the British on
Indian issues.
- As the number of Indians in Britain grew, it became more
important to facilitate social interaction between Indian visitors
and British residents.
- Founded in 1875
- Founded by Sisir Kumar Ghose.
Indian League
- Aims: The League aspired to represent not only the middle
class but the masses as well and to stimulate a sense of
nationalism among the people.
- Founded in 1876
- Founder: Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose.
- Background: In 1875, Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Sambhu
Charan Mukherjee founded 'The India League to represent the
middle class and foster a sense of nationalism among the people.
- The Indian National Association was founded as the Bharat
Sabha, and its first annual conference was held in Calcutta. In
1886, this organization merged with the Indian National
Congress.
Indian National
- Its main objectives were:
Association
establish a powerful public opinion on political issues;
bring Indians together behind a common political agenda.
- It opposed the removal of the age limit for Indian Civil Service
candidates in 1877.
- The organization advocated for concurrent civil service
examinations in both England and India, as well as the
Indianization of higher administrative positions.
- The Indian National Association spearheaded an effort to
repeal the repressive Arms Act and the Vernacular Press Act.
Political organisations in Maharashtra
The indulgence of the educated middle class of Maharashtra in political activities gave rise to a
number of political organizations in Maharashtra as well as outside India. Some of those
organizations are being mentioned here.
Organization Description
- Founded in 1865
- Place: London
- Founded under the guidance of Dadabhai Naoroji.
- Of the founding group of students included W. C. Bannerjea,
Manmohan Ghose, Pherozeshah Mehta and Badruddin
Tyabji.by Dadabhai
London Indian
Society - It was founded by Indian students as a forum for airing political
grievances.
- Honorary membership was allowed for Europeans, but they
could not vote or hold office.
- The London Indian Society was taken over by the East India
Association in 1866, though it continued to exist in some form
for a few more years.
East India
Association - Year: 1866
- Founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in collaboration with Indians
and retired British officials.
- Place: London
- First President: Lord Lyveden
- It superseded the London Indian Society.
- It was a platform for discussing matters and ideas about India
and to provide representation for Indians to the Government.
- From its inception, the East India Association published a
journal (Journal of the East India Association).
- Udham Singh assassinated the former Governor of Punjab at
the time of the Amritsar Massacre in March 1940, following a
lecture delivered by Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall.
- Merger: In 1949, the East India Association merged with the
National Indian Association to form the Britain, India, and
Pakistan Association.
It merged with the former India Society, now known as the
Royal India, Pakistan, and Ceylon Society, in 1966 to
form the Royal Society for India, Pakistan, and Ceylon.
- Founded in April 1870.
- Place: Pune, Maharashtra
- Founders: It resulted from the labour of many great men like
G.V. Joshi, S.H. Sathe, S.H. Chiplonkar and Mahadev Govind
Ranade (Joined in 1871).
- Aims/objectives: The Sabha was created to act as an
intermediary between the government and the Indians.
Poona
- In 1872, the Sabha established a sub-committee to investigate
Sarvajanik the state's peasant and agricultural conditions and protect them
Sabha
from exploitation.
- In 1876, the Sabha organised famine relief in the Deccan
region.
- It set up arbitration courts (nyayn sabhas) for the private
settlement of civil disputes in order to save people from the high
costs of litigation.
- In 1875, the Sabha petitioned the House of Commons for
Indian representation in the British Parliament.
Bombay
Presidency - Founded in 1885
Association - Founded by Pherozshah Mehta, K.T Telang, and Badruddin
Tyabji.
- It was founded in response to Lytton's reactionary policies and
the Ilbert Bill controversy.
- The association has always had cordial relations with the
Poona Sarvajanik Sabha.
- In September 1885, the Bombay Presidency Association,
Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, Madras Mahajana Sabha, and Indian
Association of Calcutta sent a joint deputation to England to
present India's case to the British electorate.
- The delegation was led by N. Chandavarkar of Bombay,
Ramaswami Mudaliar of Madras, and Manmohan Ghosh of
Calcutta.
- The Triumvirate' or 'The Three Stars' of Bombay's public
life were Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Kashinath
Telang.
Political organisations in Madras
On the lines of Bengal and Bombay presidencies, the middle-class intelligentsia of the Madras
presidency also showed interest in political activities. They, too, needed political organizations
to protest against British policies and to awaken the masses. Some of those significant
organizations are being described here.
organization Description
Madras Native
Organization - Established in 1852
(MNA) - Place: Chennai
- Founded by Gajula Lakshminarasu Chetty.
- It was the first Indian political association to be formed in the
Madras presidency.
- It was the political centre of the presidency's landed gentry,
who had grievances against Company rule.
- Factors that led to the establishment of the organization:
The impending discussion in the British Parliament regarding
Company rule in India provided the impetus for MNA's
formation.
- Dissatisfied with the Company administration, the MNA
petitioned the British Parliament to end the Company regime
following the passage of the Charter Act of 1853.
The association presented the ryots' grievances under
the land settlement systems in its first petition to
Parliament in 1852, urging immediate action.
This was followed by a visit from H.D. Seymour,
Chairman of the Indian Reform Society, leading to the
formation of the Torture Commission in 1854.
- Dissolution of the organization: The MNA was dissolved in
1867. Despite the efforts to revive it in the 1870s, it ceased to
exist by 1881.
- Founded in May 1884.
- Place: Madras
- Founded by M Veeraraghavachariar, G Subramania Iyer, and
P Ananda Charlu.
- First president: P Rangaiah Naidu
- Aim: As stated at the Adayar Theosophical Society
conference, the goal is to free the country from British rule and
to resolve national issues.
Madras Mahajan
Sabha - The Sabha has advocated for a variety of measures while
remaining moderate, including
tax reduction,
cuts in government and military spending,
abolition of the Council of India in London,
concurrent Civil Service exams in England and India,
fundamental rights for its fellow citizens, such as national
freedom.
- The Madras Mahajana Sabha launched the Salt Satyagraha
in George Town in April 1930
