Role of Organisations in Indian Freedom Struggle

The organized resistance against British colonial rule in India evolved from early nineteenth-century regional associations into national political parties, revolutionary networks, and class-based unions. These bodies transformed localized grievances concerning land revenue, administrative discrimination, and economic drain into a structured movement for self-determination. By deploying diverse strategies—ranging from constitutional agitation and policy petitions to armed rebellions and mass non-violent campaigns—political, social, and revolutionary organizations created the institutional framework necessary to unite the country and secure independence in 1947.

Early Political Associations and Regional Mobilization

Before the establishment of the Indian National Congress, early political associations operated in Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. Spearheaded by western-educated intellectuals, merchants, and landlords, these organizations laid the foundation for organized constitutional agitation and public debate.

Early Regional Organizations

• Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha (1836): Formed in Bengal by associates of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, it is recognized as the first political organization in India.
• Zamindari Association / Landholders’ Society (1838): Founded in Calcutta by Dwarkanath Tagore, Prasanna Kumar Tagore, and Radhakanta Deb to protect landlord interests using constitutional methods.
• Bengal British India Society (1843): Established to gather and disseminate information regarding the actual socio-economic conditions of Indians under colonial rule.
• British Indian Association (1851): Created by merging the Landholders’ Society and the Bengal British India Society, it submitted petitions to the British Parliament demanding legislative representation and fiscal relief.
• East India Association (1866): Founded in London by Dadabhai Naoroji to inform the British public and Parliament about Indian grievances and the drain of wealth.
• Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (1870): Established by M. G. Ranade, G. V. Joshi, and S. H. Chiplunkar to serve as a bridge between the government and the public.
• Indian Association of Calcutta (1876): Founded by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose, it organized nationwide protests against lowering the maximum age limit for Civil Service examinations.
• Madras Mahajan Sabha (1884): Established by M. Veeraraghavachariar, B. Subramania Aiyer, and P. Anandacharlu to coordinate local political demands in southern India.
• Bombay Presidency Association (1885): Founded by Pherozeshah Mehta, K. T. Telang, and Badruddin Tyabji to oppose the reactionary policies of Viceroy Lord Lytton.

Mass Nationalist Parties and All-India Formations

The formation of all-india organizations allowed the freedom struggle to transition from isolated regional petitions to coordinated national movements.

• Indian National Congress (1885): Founded in Bombay by Allan Octavian Hume, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, and leading nationalists. It served as the main political driver of the national movement through its Moderate, Extremist, and Gandhian phases.
• All-India Muslim League (1906): Established in Dacca under Nawab Salimullah, Aga Khan III, and Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk to represent Muslim political interests, later demanding a separate state under M. A. Jinnah.
• Home Rule Leagues (1916): Launched independently by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Belgaum and Annie Besant in Adyar to demand self-government (Swaraj) through mass political education.
• Swaraj Party (1923): Formed within the Congress by C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru to contest legislative council elections and wreck colonial administration from within after the suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Congress Socialist Party (1934): Founded inside the Congress by Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Deva, and Minoo Masani to steer the national movement toward economic equality and socialist policies.

Revolutionary Organizations in India and Abroad

Revolutionary organizations sought the immediate overthrow of British rule through secret societies, political dacoities, military mutinies, and political assassinations.

Domestic and Overseas Revolutionary Networks

• Anushilan Samiti (1902): Established in Calcutta by Pramathanath Mitra, Jatindranath Banerjee, and Satish Chandra Basu, with a major branch founded in Dhaka by Pulin Behari Das in 1906.
• Abhinav Bharat Society (1904): Founded in Nashik by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Ganesh Savarkar as a secret revolutionary society evolved from the earlier Mitra Mela (1899).
• India House (London, 1905): Established by Shyamji Krishna Varma as a center for Indian students, publishing the journal The Indian Sociologist.
• Ghadar Party (1913): Formed in Astoria, Oregon, and headquartered at Yugantar Ashram in San Francisco by Sohan Singh Bhakna and Lala Hardayal to organize an armed military mutiny in India.
• Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (1928): Reorganized at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, by Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru from the earlier Hindustan Republican Association (1924) to establish a socialist republic.
• Indian Republican Army (1930): Formed in Bengal by Surya Sen (Master Da), executing the Chittagong Armoury Raid on April 18, 1930.

Trade Unions, Peasant Associations, and Social Bodies

Organized labor, peasant movements, and social reform groups broadened the social base of the anti-colonial movement by integrating economic rights with political freedom.

• Servants of India Society (1905): Founded in Pune by Gopal Krishna Gokhale to train national missionaries for selfless social service and civic duty.
• All India Trade Union Congress (1920): Established in Bombay with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first President to organize industrial labor and coordinate with international labor bodies.
• All India Kisan Sabha (1936): Founded at the Lucknow Congress session with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati as President and N. G. Ranga as General Secretary to organize peasant resistance against feudal land tenure systems.
• All India States’ Peoples’ Conference (1927): Established in Bombay to coordinate political rights and democratic reforms for citizens living in the Princely States (Praja Mandal movements).

Key Organizations at a Glance

Key Facts in Bullets

• Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha (1836) was the earliest political organization formed in Bengal.
• The Landholders’ Society (1838) introduced systematic constitutional agitation methods to India.
• Dadabhai Naoroji established the East India Association in London in 1866 to educate the British public on Indian affairs.
• Surendranath Banerjea organized the Indian National Conference in Calcutta in 1883 and 1885, serving as a precursor to the Indian National Congress.
• The Indian National Congress held its first session at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay in December 1885.
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in 1905 and launched the English paper The Hitavada in 1911.
• The Ghadar Party operated from its headquarters named Yugantar Ashram in San Francisco.
• Lala Lajpat Rai served as the first President of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) upon its formation on October 31, 1920.
• Bhagat Singh, Chhabil Das, and Yashpal established the Naujawan Bharat Sabha in Lahore in 1926 to cultivate socialist consciousness among youth.
• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was elected the founding President of the All India Kisan Sabha at Lucknow in April 1936.