Independence Day: A Day of Pride
Historicity of the Day
India celebrates its Independence Day on August 15th every year. This year it is more special as we will be celebrating 75 years of our Independence. 15th August is the day when we achieved independence after about 200 years of direct or indirect British rule. This day in1947 came in the life of Indian people after a lot of struggles and sacrifices. Millions of Indians participated in the freedom struggle and many thousands gave their lives for this day. This is the day for which many great sons and daughters of mother India and revolutionaries such as Tatya Tope, Kunwar Singh, Rani Laxmi Bai, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad and countless other national and local leaders and activists gave their lives. This is the day for which leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Maulana Azad and so many other leaders dedicated their lives and worked hard day and night to make India independent. This is the day which reminds us of the greatest contributions of our constitution makers prominently Rajendra Prasad, B. R Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B.N Rau, Syama Prasad Mukherji, N.G Ranga, K.M Munshi and all other members of Constituent Assembly without whom we would have not been able to propel India on the road of democracy, progress and prosperity. Therefore, this day reminds us of the beginning of a new life when we not only broke the bondage and slavery of the British Raj but also marched on the road of democracy and modernity.
From Company rule to the Revolt of 1857
The East India Company received a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 to trade with India. The Company came to Surat (in Gujrat) in 1608 as a trading company. By this time Mughal Emperor Akbar had already died and his son Jahangir was the Emperor of India. Gradually and consistently the East India Company, through its immoral and selfish methods converted itself into a political power by annexing local kingdoms and following the policy of divide and rule. After strengthening its position in Second Carnatic War the East India Company captured political and economic power in Bengal and North India by defeating Indian rulers in the battle of Plassey in 1757 and the battle of Buxar in 1764. After these battles the British rule became more brutal and exploitative. By 1793 they introduced Permanent Settlement which resulted in the problem of unpaid revenue. Permanent Settlement was not liked by either the Zamindars, Jotedars or the common people of India. Similarly the British rule was equally bad for the Paharias and the Santhals. The Santhals worked hard on the promise that they will be given their land if they make these lands better for cultivation and settlement. But the land they brought under cultivation were taken away from them. Hence the discontentment was growing against the colonial rule and various section of Indian people were coming together against them. In North India at many places such as Jhansi, Kanpur, Awadh etc. people were against the British policy of Subsidiary Alliance System of Lord Wellesley which was introduced in 1798 and Doctrine of Lapse followed by Lord Dalhousie since 1848. The Zamindars, Taluqdars and common People were fed up with the Firangi Raj due to their various acts and settlements which had posed a threat to their existence. The Rebels wanted to bring the end of the British rule. It was supported by the common Sepoys of the British rule. It started from Meerut where Sepoys in the cantonment broke out in the mutiny. All the sepoys first of all came to the red Fort and took the blessing of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah. The mutiny started and the sepoys seized the bell of arms, plundered the treasury, attacked the government buildings and ordinary people also joined the revolt at many places. They wanted to bring the end of the British rule. However, due to brutal repression followed by the British this movement was also suppressed but at the same time it warned the imperialist power against ignoring the emerging sense of nationalism in the mind of Indian people. The British not only reconquered lost territories by killing and punishing Indians suspected of rebellion but also blamed Indians as violent and brutish simply because the Indians wanted the end of the colonial rule.
India from 1858 to 1947
After recapturing Delhi and other centers of 1857 revolt with brutal measures and reinforcement brought in from Britain, the British government assumed the task of administering India directly through the Government of India Act 1858. It was passed by the British Parliament according to which the rule of East India Company came to end and the territories of the East India Company were transferred to the British Crown. After this change in the composition of British rule in India, the nature of freedom struggle also started changing. Many new political associations such as Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, Prarthana Samaj etc were created by educated reformers. Formation of Indian National Congress in 1885 in Bombay was most important development in this direction. The first Congress session was attended by only 73 representatives and 10 other unofficial delegates. From 1885 to 1905 Congress worked under the leadership of liberal like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Surendra Nath Banarji, Dadabhai Naroji etc. who had faith in the British sense of justice. They did not believe in radical methods for demanding freedom. From 1905 onwards Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal emerged as assertive nationalist leaders who started Swadeshi and boycott movement and helped Congress mobilizing Indians across the country. In 1915 Mahatma Gandhi returned back to India after staying for 21 years in South Africa. On coming to India he visited many places in the country and studied political conditions of the nation on the advice of his political mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi many powerful mass movements such as Non Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement were launched which finally culminated in the realization of the decades long dream of Poorna Swaraj on the Fifteenth of August 1947.
