Why Militant Nationalism Grew

Many factors contributed to the rise of militant nationalism.

Recognition of the True Nature of British Rule Having seen that the British government was not conceding any of their important demands, the more militant among

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those politically conscious got disillusioned and started looking for a more effective mode of political action. Also, the feeling that only an Indian government could lead India on to a path of progress started attracting more and more people. The economic miseries of the 1890s further exposed the exploitative character of colonial rule. Severe famines killed 90 lakh persons between 1896 and 1900. Bubonic plague affected large areas of the Deccan. There were large- scale riots in the Deccan.

The nationalists were wide awake to the fact that instead of giving more rights to the Indians, the government was taking away even the existing ones.

1892 — The Indian Councils Act was criticised by nationalists as it failed to satisfy them.

1897 — The Natu brothers were deported without trial and Tilak and others, imprisoned on charges of sedition.

1898 — Repressive laws under IPC Section 124 A were further amplified with new provisions under IPC Section 156 A

1899 — Number of Indian members in Calcutta Corporation were reduced.

1904 — Official Secrets Act curbed freedom of press. 1904 — Indian Universities Act ensured greater government control over universities, which

it described as factories producing political revolutionaries.

Also, British rule was no longer progressive socially and culturally. It was suppressing the spread of education, especially mass and technical education.