In the previous post, we have studied the Home Rule League and the imminent leaders associated with it. In this post, we shall read about the features of the Home Rule League.
Features of Home Rule League
Home Rule League was the revival of the mass movement in 1915. Because after the long era of Revolutionary Nationalism in India, there was a mass movement that happened in India. Tilak and Annie Besant started the league. But both of them managed their movement separately in different areas.
The reason for this was given by Annie Besant that, Nature and character of both leaders were different. The followers of both the leaders were also of different ideologies. So, to protect this movement from any internal rivalry or clash both of them decided to manage the movement separately.
Role of Press and Magazine
After a long period of 7years of Revolutionary Nationalism, the press was the important medium to inform the people about the changing dynamics in the country. Therefore Annie Besant published “New India” and “Common Will” newspapers. Tilak published 7newspapers in which two famous were Maratha (in English) and Kesari (in Marathi).
Emergence of New Group of Leadership
The old leader either died or left politics till that time. So, this provided the ground for the entry of new leaders like J.B. Kriplani and Jawaharlal Nehru, etc.
Attack on Communalism and Caste System
Both Tilak and Annie Besant targeted communalism and the caste system. This was evident by the incidences as follows,
- On the issue of transfer of power, Tilak had no objection if the power goes to the Muslim Community.
- On the issue of Caste System, Tilak was of the opinion that if “God believe in Caste System, then I have no faith in God”.
In this way, League again maintained the stream of Freedom Struggle in India. It strengthened the Indian National Movement. One of the important achievements of the Home Rule League was the Lucknow Pact of 1916.
About the Lucknow Pact, we shall read in the next coming post.
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