Modern Indian History

The Extremists, the Surat split and repression 1905-1909

• Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo: swaraj as birthright, self-reliance, passive resistance, cultural pride
• Differences over goals, methods, social base and the Moderates' faith in British justice
• Surat December 1907: Extremists' distrust of Moderates' capacity, dispute over the president and resolutions, Congress captured by Moderates till 1916
• Seditious Meetings Act 1907, Newspaper Act 1908, Tilak's six years in Mandalay, Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh deported 1907
• Rise of militant nationalism: colonial underdevelopment, educated unemployment, repression, self-confidence and international examples