The Revolutionary Phase

Militant Nationalism: India’s Revolutionary Phase

The Revolutionary Phase in the National Movement was the result of militant nationalism. The first phase of Revolutionary nationalism emerged as a result of the fallout of the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement and continued till 1917. The second phase started as a fallout of the Non-Cooperation Movement. The revolutionary nationalist believed in individual sacrifice and opted for ways like killing unpopular officials, swadeshi dacoities, military conspiracies, etc. They aimed to instill fear of the masses in the authorities and remove the fear of authorities from people. Through their patriotic acts, they wanted to inspire the people, especially the youth of the nation.

Roots of Revolution: Causes Behind India’s Revolutionary Phase

Despite the emergence of the Extremist faction in the Indian National Congress, the revolutionary movement gained momentum. Following are a few reasons for its emergence: 

• Oppressive policies: The most important factors which led to the rise of revolutionary attitudes among nationalists were exploitative economic policies and the Partition of Bengal.
• Moderates and Extremists failure: The failure of Moderate and Extremist leaders to gain any positive result in favor of Indians, destabilized the trust of young nationalists in them.
• Lack of faith in Parliamentary work: The parliamentary and constructive work failed to satisfy young nationalists. They thought only India could be freed through violent means only.
• Leadership failure: Although the youth were encouraged to make sacrifices by extremist leaders, neither an effective organization nor innovative political work was developed to harness these revolutionary impulses.
• International Influence: The growth of revolutionary activity in India could be attributed to many international events like the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the success of the Soviet state.
• Growing self-confidence: The Young Nationalists’ faith in themselves gave them the confidence to raise their voice against British power.
• Political consciousness: The spread of political knowledge made Indians realize that British rule was not beneficial to India, and it also resulted in the rejection of the White Man’s Burden thesis.

Impactful Terrorism: Seeds of Change in India’s Freedom Struggle

Revolutionary terrorism made a deep impact on the minds of many, especially the youth. The following are various effects of this ideology in the National Movement:

• Sprouting of revolutionary groups: The era of revolutionary terrorism began, and hidden revolutionary groups sprouted up throughout the country. The most prominent and long-lasting secret organization is the Anusilan Samiti.
• Actions are divided into two categories: assassinating of oppressive officials, traitors, and informers, and dacoities to gather finances for the acquisition of guns, among other things.
• Impact on Congress: It had an impact on Congress’s approach to involving youngsters in the short-term rural reconstruction initiative.
• National consciousness: Their sacrifices stir the emotions of the Indian people, assisting in the formation of national consciousness, which undoubtedly led to the country’s freedom.
  

Reasons For The Failure Of The Revolutionary Phase: Factors Behind India’s Struggle’s Setback

The revolutionary movement gained momentum but could not succeed in achieving its objective of India’s independence. The following are the reasons responsible for its decline:

• No mass support: It was unable to mobilize the people. It had no support among the general public. They believed in personal heroics.
• Unable to attain the goal: This movement was unable to attain its goal of independence.
• Leadership vacuum: The assassination of Chandrasekhar Azad in a shooting encounter in a public park in Allahabad in February 1931 effectively ended the revolutionary struggle in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. The martyrdom of Surya Sen also signified the end of terrorist activity in Bengal.
• Rethinking of means: The revolutionaries imprisoned in jails and Andaman began a process of rethinking.
• New ideologies: Marxism was adopted by a huge number of revolutionaries. 
• The arrival of Gandhi: The arrival of Gandhiji in the Indian political scene also contributed to the decline of revolutionary nationalism.
• Absence of all-India organization: For controland direction of nationalist activities, no all-India level organization was there. This also contributed to the early demise of this movement.
• Montagu Declaration of 1917: The Montagu Declaration on self-government in India and the reforms introduced in the Government of India Act of 1919, fizzed out the revolutionary anguish.

Conclusion

The Revolutionary Nationalists although did not achieve their stated goal of achieving independence by armed revolution, they were successful in rallying people, self-governance, and striking horror into the hearts of the authorities. They provided new energy to the national movement.

The Revolutionary Phase FAQs

Q1. What were the methods of revolt adopted by Revolutionary activists in India?

Ans. The revolutionary activists put stress on individual heroic actions and opted for more radical ways like the assassination of unpopular officials, conducting dacoities to finance nationalist agendas, conspiring with other enemies of the British, etc.

Q2. Which factors led to the failure of the Revolutionary Phase in India?

Ans. The decline in the Revolutionary Phase of the Nationalist movement was due to factors like lack of mass support, absence of effective leadership, limitations of heroic actions, etc.

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