He was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council during
1923-1925, and a leader of the ‘Swaraj Party’. He was one of
the founding members of the ‘Swaraj Party’ along C R Das, M R JAYAKAR
Motilal Nehru and was also later split away from it to form
‘Responsivist Party’ with Kelkar.
Maulana Abul/Abdul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Azad (1888 –1958)
was an Indian Muslim scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian
independence movement. He was one of the most prominent Muslim
leaders to support Hindu-Muslim unity, opposing the partition of India on
communal lines. He became the first Minister of Education in the Indian
government. Azad was an exponent of the notion of wahadat-i-deen, the
essential oneness of all religions. An active participant in Gandhian
movements and a staunch advocate of HinduMuslim unity, he was
opposed to Jinnah’s two-nation theory
He was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian award, the Bharat MAULANA AZAD
Ratna in 1992. Azad became the leader of the Khilafat Movement during
which he came into close contact with Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.
Azad became an enthusiastic supporter of Gandhi's ideas of non-violent
civil disobedience, and worked actively to organise the Non-cooperation
movement in protest at the 1919 Rowlatt Acts. He became the youngest
person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1923. He
is also credited with the establishment of the ‘Indian Institutes of
Technology’ and the foundation of the University Grants Commission.
He was totally opposed to partition and along with Gandhi was most
disappointed on the Mountbatten Plan.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was one of the founders of the Jamia
Millia Islamia University He was an outspoken supporter of the
‘Khilafat movement’ and also led a medical mission to Turkey
during Balkan war of 1913. He alongwith S Satayamurthi, Asaf Ali, M A ANSARI
Bhulabhai Desai and B C Roy was the one who advocated
constitutional methods for the Central Legislative Assembly
Elections in 1934.
Asaf Ali (1888 – 1953) was an Indian independence fighter and noted Indian
lawyer. He defended Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt as a
lawyer, after they threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April
8, 1929, during the passage of a controversial ordinance. He alongwith S
Satayamurthi, Bhulabhai Desai and B C Roy was the one who advocated
constitutional methods for the Central Legislative Assembly Elections in ASIF ALI
1934when Congress was still in a state of flux after Civil Disobedience had
been called off. He and his wife Aruna Asaf Ali played a lead role during 1942
Quit India Movement when other leaders were in Jail. He was one of the
defendants of the Red Fort trialsalong with Tej Bahadur Sapru, Jawahar Lal
Nehru, and Bhullbhai Desai.
Bhulabhai Desai (1877 – 1946) was an Indian freedom fighter
and acclaimed lawyer. He is well-remembered for his defense
of the three INA soldiers accused of treason during World War II,
and for attempting to negotiate a power-sharing agreement with
BHULLABHAI DESAI
Liaquat Ali Khan of the Muslim League known as Desai Liaqat
Pact.
He was an ascetic, nationalist and peasant leader of India. He
was a social reformer. He is credited with giving birth to Kisan
Sabha movement. He founded Bihar Kisan Sabha (1929) and
played a key role in formation of All India Kisan Mahasabha in
SAHAJANAND SARASWATI
1936. Thus he was one of the pioneers of peasant movements
in India.
Manabendra Nath Roy (1887 - 1954), popularly known as M N Roy, was an
Indian nationalist revolutionary and a communist leader known as father
of communism in India. Roy was a founder of the Communist Party of
India and was a delegate to congresses of the Communist International
in Tashkantand started CPI in 1920 in Tashkant. He was was sentenced to
M N ROY
six years imprisonment for his role in the ‘Kanpur Communist
Conspiracy Case’. He was the one who for the first time advocated for
the establishment of a Constituent Assembly in 1934.
Shripad Amrit Dange (1899 - 1991) was a founding member of the Communist
Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. Dange
played an important role in bringing the labor activists amongst Bombay textile
workers under the communist umbrella. Girni Kamgar Mahamandal was split
and the communists formed their own union, the Girni Kamgar Union during
the general strike of 1928. He was one of the key accused in ‘Meerut S A DANGE
Conspiracy’. He was a key in establishinig ‘Girni Kamgar Union’ and
helped communists to establish a stranglehold in Bombay trade union
movement and it was one of the initial trade unions founded by Communists in
India. He led two major strikes during which he was arrested along with
Muzaffar Ahmed and Shaukat Usmani.
Muzaffar Ahmed (1889 –1973) was a noted Bengali politician, journalist
and communist activist.In 1920, along with Kazi Nazrul Islam he started a
new magazine, ‘Navayug’. He was one of the pioneers to spread the
communist movement in the Indian subcontinent. In 1924, he was MUZAFFAR AHMED
sentenced to four years of imprisonment in the ‘Kanpur Bolshevik
Conspiracy’ Case along with S A Dange, Nalini Gupta and Shaukat
Usmani.
He is termed as ‘father of trade union movement in
India’. He was the one who along with Lala Lajpat
Rai established the landmark trade union ‘All India N M JOSHI
Trade Union Congress’(AITUC) in 1920 while he
was in Congree.
Jayaprakash Narayan (1902 –1979), widely known as JP Narayan,
Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political
leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in
the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution. He was
posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna. After being jailed in 1932 for civil
J P NARAYAN
disobedience against British rule, Narayan was imprisoned in Nasik Jail, where
he met Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani. After his release, the Congress
Socialist Party, or (CSP), a left-wing group within the Congress, was formed
with Acharya Narendra Deva as President and Narayan as General secretary.
He also played crucial role during Quit India movement.
N G Ranga (1900 – 1995), was an Indian freedom fighter,
parliamentarian, and kisan leader. He was an exponent of the peasant
philosophy, and considered the father of the Indian Peasant Movement
after Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. Ranga joined the freedom
movement inspired by Gandhi's clarion call in 1930. He led the ryot
agitation in 1933. Three years later, he launched the Kisan Congress
N G RANGA
party. He held historic discussions with Gandhiji on the demand for a
rythu-coolie state. Post Independence, Ranga became the
founder-president of the ‘Swatantra Party’ and held that post for a
decade.
Tej Bahadur Sapru (1875 –1949) was an eminent lawyer, political and social
leader in India during the British Raj. He carried forward the moderate
policies of Gopal Krishna Gokhale in the radicalized post-Amritsar Massacre
period after World War I. Sapru criticized Mahatma Gandhi's leadership, as
well as the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Salt Satyagraha. He however
acted as mediator on many occasions between the British and Nationalist. He
played a critical role in settling Gandhi-Irwin pact. He along with Malviya also
TEJ BAHADUR SAPRU
acted as initiator of talks between Ambedkar and Gandhi which finally lead to
signing of Poona Pact. He was one of the defendants of the Red Fort trials of
INA soldiersalong with Jawahar Lal Nehru, Asaf Ali, and Bhullbhai Desai. In
1944, he also headed the Sapru Committee to look into the communal
question.
Achyut Patwardhan (1905 – 1992) was an Indian independence
activist and political leader and founder of the Socialist Party of India.
He took a prominent part in the Quit India movement which started in
1942 and led the underground activists. In 1945–46 he went ACHYUT PATWARDHAN
underground, and evading arrest, he ably directed the movement of a
parallel government mainly in the Satara district. He was called
thereafter by many as ‘Sataryacha Sinha’ (The Lion of Satara).
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and
a socialist political leader. His most prominent role was
during Quit India movementwhen most of the big
leaders were in jails and
RAM MANOHAR LOHIA
he along with likes of Achyut Batwardhan, Aruna
Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani, Chootubhai Puranik
and Usha Mehta operated underground and kept
the movement going on.
They belonged to the Royal Indian Naval Ratings that revolted
in 1946 against service conditions and supporting the cause of
freedom. B C Dutt was arrested during the mutiny for scrawling B C DUTT and MADAN SINGH
‘Quit India’ on the ship HMIS Talwar, from where the
mutiny started.
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan was one of the leading Founding
Fathers of modern Pakistan, statesman, lawyer, and political
theorist who became and served as the first Prime Minister of LIAQUAT ALI KHAN
Pakistan. He was second most important leader of Muslim
League after Jinnah.
As Governor General, Hardinge attempted to modernise
the equipment of the army. The Enfield rifles that were
HENRY HARDINGE introduced initially used the greased cartridges the
sepoys rebelled against.
Romesh Chunder Dutt, was an Indian civil servant, economic
historianand writer. He published – ‘The Economic History of
India’ – A seminal work which highlighted the economic
R C DUTT exploitation by British. He along with M G Ranade and Dadabhai
Naroji are credited with doing an economic analysis of British
rule, which is considered as the biggest contribution of
Moderates
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was an Indian educator and politician, and an
Islamic reformer and modernist. Sir Syed in the aftermaths of 1857
rebellion pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India
by founding the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later
developed into the Aligarh Muslim University. He also worked towards
religious orthodoxies and called for contemporary interpretation of Kuran
as well. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 he remained loyal to the
British and was noted for his actions in saving European lives. One of the
SIR SYED AHMED KHAN
most influential Muslim politicians of his time, Sir Syed was
suspicious of the Indian independence movement and called upon
Muslims to loyally serve the British Raj. He denounced nationalist
organisations such as the Indian National Congress. His biggest
contribution lies in promoting western education among the Muslim
middle class whom he wanted to progress and take on
socio-economic opportunities.
Theodoer Beck was a British educationalist working for the
British Raj in India, who was invited by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
THEODORE BECK to serve as the first principal of the Muhammadan
Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, which would later evolve
into the Aligarh Muslim University.
Badruddin Tyabji (Tyab Ali) was the third President
of the Indian National Congress. Badruddin Tyabji
BADRUDDIN TAIYAB was the first Muslim to become the President of
Indian National Congress.
Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and
founder of the Servants of India Society. He was also a close
contributor of Deccan Education Society. Gokhale was famously a
G K GOKHALE mentor (political guru) to Mahatma Gandhi in his formative years.
Gokhale was also the role model and mentor of Mohammed Ali
Jinnah. He was the first Indian to attack salt legislation inside the
Indian legislature.
Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was a distinguished Indian scholar, social
reformer and author. He was a founding member of the Indian National
Congress. During his life he helped establish the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
and the Prarthana Samaj. He along with RC Dutt and Dadabhai Naroji are
credited with doing an economic analysis of British rule, which is
JUSTICE M G RANADE considered as the biggest contribution of Moderates. He was also
vociferous against Purdah, child marriage and other social evils. To
encourage consideration of social problems, he started ‘Indian National
Social Conference’ which held sessions parallel to INC sessions to
provide a forum for the discussion of social issues.
E B Havell was an influential English arts administrator, art historian and author
of numerous books about Indian art and architecture. He was the principal of
the Government School of Art, Calcutta from 1896 to 1905, where, along with
Abanindranath Tagore,he developed a style of art and art education based on
ERNEST BINFIELD HAVELL Indian rather than Western models, which laid to the foundation of the Bengal
school of art. He established the Indian Society of Oriental Art, which sought to
adapt British art education in India so as to reject the previous emphasis placed
on European traditions in favour of revivals of native Indian styles of art, in
particular the Mughal miniature tradition.
Surendranath Banerjee was one of the earliest Indian political leaders during
the British Raj. He was wrongfully removed from Indian Civil Services as he
fell in disfavor of his seniors. He founded the Indian National Association along
with Anand Mohan Bose as one of the earliest He also became the patron of
rising Indian leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Sarojini Naidu. Banerjee
was also one of the senior-most leaders of the moderate Congress. He was the
SURENDERNATH BANARJEE one who spearheaded the initial movement that started after partition of
Bengal. Banerjee supported the Morley-Minto reforms 1909 – which were
resented and ridiculed as insufficient and meaningless by the vast majority of
PEOPLE the Indian public and nationalist politicians. In 1919 after opposition by
Congrees to Montford reforms, he formed a separate party. Banerjee was a
critic of the proposed method of civil disobedience advocated by Mohandas
Gandhi.
He was a moderate who
AMBIKA CHARAN MAJUMDAR presided over the famous
Lucknow Session of 1916.
Pherozeshah Mehta, was a Parsi Indian political leader, activist,
and a leading lawyer. He was a moderate and was hence not
directly opposed to the crown's sovereignty but only demanded
PHIROZSHAH MEHTA more autonomy for Indians to self-rule. He was one of the founders
of INC. He was one of the main moderates who vehemently
opposed the extremists and he blocked re-entry of Tilak till his
death in 1915.
Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861–1946) was an Indian educationist, and
freedom fighter notable for his role in the Indian independence movement
and his espousal of Hindu nationalism. He was also addressed as
'Mahamana'. He is most remembered as the founder ofthe largest residential
MADAN MOHAN MALVIYA university in Asia – Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916. It
was him, who acted as mediator during the talks with B R Ambedkar to
negotiate ‘Poona Pact’. He also helped in founding of UP Kisan
Sabha.
He is well known for his participation in Ahrar Movement
and Khilafat Non-Cooperation Movement and belonged to
HAKIM AJMAL KHAN militant nationalism. Khan was one of the founders of the
Jamia Millia Islamia University, becoming its first
chancellor in 1920.
He proposed to adopt complete independence for the first time as
a goal in 1920 Ahmbdabad session of the Congress. However, it
HASRAT MOHANI was opposed by Gandhi, which led to the rejection of resolution.
He also took part in Khilafat Non Cooperation Movement as a front
Muslim leader.
Satyendranath Tagore was the first Indian to join the
Indian Civil Service. He was an author, song
SATYENDRANATH TAGORE composer, linguist and made significant contribution
towards the emancipation of women in Indian society
during the British Raj.
Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861 –1944) was an Indian academician, a
chemist and entrepreneur. He was the founder of Bengal
Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, India's first pharmaceutical
PRAFULLA CHANDRA RAY company which was founded during the high spirits of Swadeshi
movement. He was one of those who contributed significantly to
what is termed as Bengal Renaissance, with others like of Jagdish
Chandra Basu.
Charles Freer Andrews (1871 –1940) was an English priest of the Church of
England and a Christian missionary and social reformer in India. He was an
educator and participant in the campaign for Indian independence, and
C F ANDREWS became a close friend and associate of Mahatma Gandhi. He was
instrumental in convincing Gandhi to return to India from South Africa. For
Andrews's contributions to the Indian Independence Movement Gandhi and
his students at St. Stephen's College, Delhi named him Deenabandhu.
George Arundale (1878 — 1945) was a theosophist, freemason,
president of the Theosophical Society Adyar. He worked closely
GEORGE ARUNDALE with Annie Besant in formation of her ‘Home Rule League’.
He also remained princilple of Central Hindu College which Besant
helped in establishing.
Narhari Parikh was an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer, who
was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and the chief architect of the
Indian Independence Movement in Gujarat. He especially worked for the
NARHARI PARIKH upliftment of Kaliparaj (a word for depressed class meaning ‘Dark
People’). He along with Ravishankar Vyas and MohanlalPandya were
key in Gujrat in organizing Bardoli Satygraha along with Vallabhai Patel.
Abbas Tyabji (1853 – June 9, 1936) was an Indian freedom fighter from
Gujarat, who once served as the Chief Justice of the (Baroda) Gujarat High
Court. Mahatma Gandhi appointed Tyabji to replace him as leader of the
ABBAS TYABJI Salt Satyagraha in May, 1930 after Gandhi’s arrest. Tyabji was arrested
soon afterward and imprisoned by the British Indian Government. Gandhi
and others respectfully called Tyabji the ‘Grand Old Man of Gujarat’.