In 1924,
Mahatma Gandhi wrote: The influence of the Hindu renaissance movements was such that by the turn of the 20th century, there was a confluence of ideas of Hindu cultural nationalism with the ideas of
Indian nationalism. On 30 April 1908 at
Muzaffarpur, two revolutionaries,
Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki, threw bombs at a British convoy aimed at British officer Kingsford. Both were arrested trying to flee. Aurobindo was also arrested on 2 May 1908 and sent to
Alipore Jail. The report sent from
Andrew Fraser, the then Lt Governor of Bengal to Lord Minto in England declared that although Sri Aurobindo came to Calcutta in 1906 as a Professor at the National College, "he has ever since been the principal advisor of the revolutionary party. It is of utmost importance to arrest his potential for mischief, for he is the prime mover and can easily set tools, one to replace another". But charges against Aurobindo were never proved and he was acquitted. Many members of the group faced charges and were transported and imprisoned for life. Others went into hiding. In 1910, when, Aurobindo withdrew from political life and decided to live a life of renounciate, The movement had become well known for its activities in the Indian expatriates in London. When Gandhi visited London in 1909, he shared a platform with the revolutionaries where both the parties politely agreed to disagree, on the question of adopting a violent struggle and whether
Ramayana justified such violence. Gandhi, while admiring the "patriotism" of the young revolutionaries, had "dissented vociferously" from their "violent blueprints" for social change. In turn, the revolutionaries disliked his adherence to
constitutionalism and his close contacts with moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress. Moreover, they considered his method of "passive resistance" effeminate and humiliating. The India House was soon to face closure following the assassination of
William Hutt Curzon Wyllie by the revolutionary
Madan Lal Dhingra, who was close to
India House.
Savarkar also faced charges and was transported.
Shyamji Krishna Varma fled to Paris. and of the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh (the present-day ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party) under another euphemistic relabelling
Bharatiyata (Indianness).
Indian National Congress Lal-Bal-Pal of
Punjab,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak of
Maharashtra, and
Bipin Chandra Pal of
Bengal. The triumvirate was popularly known as
Lal Bal Pal, who changed the political discourse of the Indian independence movement. "
Lal-Bal-Pal" is the phrase that is used to refer to the three nationalist leaders Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
Bipin Chandra Pal who held sway over the Indian Nationalist movement and the independence struggle in the early parts of twentieth century.
Lala Lajpat Rai belonged to the northern province of Punjab. He was influenced greatly by the Arya Samaj and was part of the Hindu reform movement. He started numerous educational institutions. The National College at
Lahore started by him became the centre for revolutionary ideas and was the college where revolutionaries like
Bhagat Singh studied. While leading a procession against the
Simon Commission, he was fatally injured in the
lathi charge. His death led revolutionaries like
Chandrashekar Azad and Bhagat Singh to assassinate the British police officer
J. P. Saunders, who they believed was responsible for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890. Under the influence of such leaders, the political discourse of the Congress moved from the polite accusation that colonial rule was "un-British" to the forthright claim of Tilak that "Swaraj is my birthright and I will have it".
Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal was another prominent figure of the Indian nationalist movement, who is considered a modern Hindu reformer, who stood for Hindu cultural nationalism and was opposed to sectarian communalism and Hindu majoritism.
Gandhi and Rāmarājya never called himself a Hindu nationalist, but preached Hindu
Dharma and concept of "Rama Rajya". Though
Mahatma Gandhi never called himself a "Hindu nationalist"; he believed in and propagated concepts like
Dharma and introduced the concept of the "Rāma Rājya" (Rule of
Lord Rāma) as part of his social and political philosophy. Gandhi said "By political independence I do not mean an imitation to the
British House of Commons, or the
soviet rule of Russia or the
Fascist rule of Italy or the
Nazi rule of Germany. They have systems suited to their genius. We must have ours suited to ours. What that can be is more than I can tell. I have described it as Ramarajya i.e., sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority." Gandhi emphasised that "Rāma Rājya" to him meant peace and justice, adding that "the ancient ideal of Ramarajya is undoubtedly one of true democracy in which the meanest citizen could be sure of swift justice without an elaborate and costly procedure". He also emphasised that it meant respect for all religions: "My Hinduism teaches me to respect all religions. In this lies the secret of Ramarajya". While Gandhi had clarified that "by Ram Rajya I do not mean Hindu Raj. I mean by Ram Rajya, Divine Raj, the kingdom of God," his concept of "Rama Rajya" became a major concept in Hindu nationalism.
Madan Mohan Malviya Madan Mohan Malviya, an educationist and a politician with the
Indian National Congress was also a vociferous proponent of the philosophy of
Bhagavad Gita (Bhagavad Gītā). He was the president of the
Indian National Congress in the year 1909 and 1918. He founded the
Benaras Hindu University in 1919 and became its first Vice-Chancellor.
Keshav Baliram Hedgewar , the founding
Sarsanghachalak (or "Supreme Executive") of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Another leader of prime importance in the ascent of Hindu nationalism was
Keshav Baliram Hedgewar of
Nagpur. Hedgewar as a medical student in Calcutta had been part of the revolutionary activities of the Hindu Mahasabha, Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar. He was charged with sedition in 1921 by the British Administration and served a year in prison. He was briefly a member of the Indian National Congress. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh started by him became one of the most prominent Hindu organisation with its influence ranging in the social and political spheres of India. In 1930, when Mahatma Gandhi started
Satyagraha movement against the British Government, Hedgewar participated in the movement in his capacity and did not let the RSS join the freedom movement officially. The RSS portrayed itself as a social movement rather than a political party, and did not play a central role in any of the
Indian independence movement. However, the RSS emphatically rejected the Congress policy of cooperation with the Muslims. After the Muslim League passed the
Lahore Resolution demanding a separate Pakistan, the RSS campaigned for a Hindu nation, but stayed away from the independence struggle. When the British colonial government banned military drills and the use of uniforms in non-official organisations, Golwalkar terminated the RSS military department. nor the
naval revolt. == Post-independence ==