Home Rule Movement : Objectives, Outcomes & Decline

The Home Rule Movement, inspired by and along similar lines to the Irish Home Rule Movement, was launched in 1916 by Indian nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak and British social reformer Annie Besant, demanding self-government for India within the British Empire. It was a very significant event in the history of India’s freedom struggle. The movement demanded that Indians be allowed to govern themselves without foreign intervention. The Movement quickly gained widespread support among the Indian people and even helped radicalize the Indian National Congress (INC) stance on self-government, given how it was dominated by moderate reformist thoughts before.

The Home Rule Movement was a stepping stone for many more Indian independence movements in the future and helped unite Indian people in their struggle for independence. Read below this article to learn about the overview of the Home Rule Movement in depth, including its background, members, objective, outcome, and significance.

Home Rule Movement

Background of the Home Rule Movement

Here we briefly discuss the background, aka events, that led to the Home Rule Movement; in simpler terms, the events that caused the Home Rule Movement to shape up and take place:

• The Indian Nationalist movement was experiencing a lull due to the split in the Congress party in 1907 and the imprisonment of Bal Gangadhar Tilak from 1908–14. On top of all these events, the Government of India Act of 1909 disappointed Indian people. Tilak’s release and the advent of Annie Besant in India turned things around for the Indian nationalist movement.
• Tilak recognized the importance of Congress in the Indian political scene and the struggle for independence. He knew a moderate-extremist agreement was crucial for the revival of Indian nationalism and hence sought readmission into INC upon his release, which he had left along with a group of extremists before his arrest in 1908 because INC was full of moderates who advocated slow reforms. Bal Gangadhar Tilak lit the fire of revival for the Indian nationalist movement.
• The First World War (1914–18) created a new political climate in India. The war caused taxes to be increased and more people recruited as soldiers to fight the war, aka more burden of wartime hardships, which once again led to the disappointment of Indian people and made people more willing to participate in intensive protests.
• Indian leaders were divided on whether to support Britain in the war, to which Annie Besant famously quoted, “England’s need is India’s opportunity.” In 1915, Besant started a campaign demanding self-rule for India after the war and used newspapers, conferences, and public appearances to promote the cause.
• In the 1915 Congress session, the decision to admit extremists into the party and involve them in the national struggle was taken, largely due to Annie Besant’s persuasion.
• Tilak and Besant were unable to convince Congress to support their proposal of founding Home Rule Leagues but managed to convince Congress to set up local-level committees to educate the masses about self-rule. If Congress failed to meet these conditions by 1916, Besant would be permitted to set up a Home Rule League.
• Tilak and Besant established separate leagues to avoid conflicts, as some of their supporters on either side had some reservations about each other. Yet both leagues coordinated their efforts and collaborated whenever possible.

Foundation of the Home Rule Movement

• Two Home Rule Leagues were launched: Bal Gangadhar Tilak established the Indian Home Rule League in Belgaum in April 1916, and Annie Besant launched the Home Rule League at Madras in September 1916.
• Despite being separate, both leagues aimed to achieve self-rule for India by its people without any foreign interference under the British Commonwealth.

Tilak’s Indian Home Rule League

• The headquarters for Tilak’s Indian Home Rule League were in Poona (Pune). The extent of Tilak’s league influence was limited to specific regions, mainly Maharashtra (excluding Bombay), Karnataka, the Central Provinces, and Berar. The league had six branches.
• The Indian Home Rule League demanded self-rule (swarajya), the creation of linguistic states, and education to be given in vernacular languages.

Besant’s Home Rule League

• Besant’s Home Rule League was established in Madras and had influence over the entire country, including Bombay. It had close to two hundred branches across the country.
• B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar were the main contributors to this league’s work.

Members of the Home Rule Movement

MEMBERS	ROLE
Annie Besant	British social reformer who became significant to the Indian nationalist movement.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak	Nationalist leader and founder of Indian Home Rule League
Muhammad Ali Jinnah	A politician, lawyer who became the founder of Pakistan in the future. He fiercely advocated for India’s self rule.
Srinivasa Iyengar	Was a major contributor to strengthening of the home rule movement in the south.
Joseph Baptista	Played a prominent role in the home rule movement in Bombay.

Major objectives of the Home Rule Movement

The main goal of the Home Rule Movement was to gain self-rule for India within the British Empire via constitutional means.

The aim was also to unify the people of India, awaken a sense of nationality in them, and mobilize the masses for the long-term political independence of India.

The Home Rule Movement wanted the budget for the country and legislative decisions to be handled by Indians without foreign influence. They aimed to do this by establishing a government of councils, whose members were chosen by Indians.

The Home Rule Movement, being India’s response to the First World War, also aimed to revive political activity in India, educate the masses, and demand vernacular education and the formation of linguistic states.

Shaping up the Home Rule Movement

• The Home Rule League was active throughout the year, as opposed to the Congress Party, which got together once a year, so the Home Rule Movement had a broader appeal to the Indian people in comparison to the movement that happened prior to 1916. Even politically underdeveloped regions like Gujarat and Sindh were attracted to the campaign and its goals.
• Public meetings, political education, advertisement through media, public conferences, social work, and fundraising in various regions by the league helped this movement reach a lot of people and influenced them to gather and protest to demand self-rule for India. As a result, a lot of educated Indians came to support this movement. Approximately 40000 members were counted in the two leagues combined.
• Prominent political leaders like Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, K.M. Munshi, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined the Home Rule movement, providing further popularity and legitimacy to the campaign. Many members of Congress and the Muslim League also showed their support for this movement. It briefly united the moderates, extremists, and the Muslim League.

Outcome of the Home Rule Movement

• The most significant outcome of the movement was the Montague Declaration of 1917, which agreed to the inclusion of more Indians in the government and the development of self-governing institutions that would help shape responsible governance in the country over time.
• The Government of India Act of 1919 announced administrative reforms, as a result of which India’s provincial and central governments were established, and the desire for home rule was no longer seen as seditious.
• There was also, however, a harsh crackdown on the supporters of the home rule movement by the Madras government in 1917, as seen in the arrests of Annie Besant, Arundale, and Wadia, as they wanted to quell the popularity of the movement. However,  this only angered the people more, and there were widespread protests against this move, helping further mobilize the Indians towards this campaign.
• Another extremely significant outcome of this movement was a shift in the workings of Congress as they moved past the methods of ‘petition’ and ‘prayer’ and learned the importance of ‘agitation’ and ‘demand’. The movement also brought moderates and extremists closer together.
• The Home Rule Movement paved the way for future freedom struggle movements like the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Civil Disobedience Movement and acted as a precursor to the eventual attainment of Indian independence in 1947.

Why did the Home Rule Movement decline?

A lot of factors were responsible for the eventual decline of the Home Rule Movement; some of these are:

1. The movement was restricted mainly to educated people and college students, and hence was not a “mass movement” in the proper sense.
2. Annie Besant was indecisive about the government’s promise of reforms and was unable to provide sturdy leadership because she herself was not clear about things.
3. The leagues were unable to win support and convince the Muslim League, Anglo-Indians, and non-Brahmins to join their campaign, as these groups believed that home rule would lead to rule and dominance by the upper-class Hindu majority.
4. Some of the moderates were easily convinced and satisfied with the government’s promise of reforms, especially the Montague Declaration of 1917; hence, they did not support the movement.
5. Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s long absences from the league and his not being in the country further weakened the movement.
6. Mahatma Gandhi significantly gained popularity after the war as the leader of the people, and the Home Rule Leagues came to be merged with the Congress in 1920.

Conclusion

The Home Rule Movement, though short-lived, acted as a precursor to the future independence movements for India. It stirred political activities and instilled a sense of unity among the people of India, awakening the willingness to protest and demand among the masses and educating them about swarajya, all of which eventually helped the freedom movement in the future.

The movement was limited to the educated masses mostly; however, it was extremely significant to the Indian political scene as it brought about the eventual Government of India Act of 1919, which allowed more Indian representation in the government and led to the establishment of provincial and central legislatures. It also brought about a transformation in the Congress party, making them move away from their moderate stance of ‘petition’ and ‘prayers’ to ‘agitation’ and ‘demand’, all of which helped shape the future movements of the Indian freedom struggle. The Home Rule Movement paved the way to Indian independence in 1947.

FAQs on Home Rule Movement

1. Who was responsible for the Home Rule Movement?

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian nationalist, and Annie Besant, a social reformer, launched the Home Rule League.

2. What was the major aim of the Home Rule Movement?

The main aim of the movement was to achieve self-rule for Indi within the British commonwealth through constitutional means.

3. What was the famous quote given by Bal Gangadhar Tilak during the Home Rule Movement?

Tilak coined his most famous slogan, “Swaraj (Home Rule) is my birthright, and I shall have it,” during the Home Rule Movement.

4. Which British reforms were influenced by the Home Rule League?

The Montague Declaration of 1917 and the Montford reforms were influenced by the Home Rule League.