द इण्डियन स्ट्रगल / भारतीय स्वाधीनता संग्राम (नेताजी सुभाष चन्द्र बोस - ऐतिहासिक विश्लेषण)

34 THE INDIAN STRUGGLE at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress, a compromise was effected between the two wings of the Congress and once again Extremists and Moderates appeared on the same platform. A further compromise was effected between the Congress and the All-India Moslem League at Lucknow. The upshot of this rapprochement was that the Congress and the Moslem League put forward the same demand for self-government and agreed about the representation to be given to Moslems in the legislatures under the reformed constitution, on the basis of 'separate electorate.' About this time a new factor appeared in Indian politics in the person of Mr. M. K. Gandhi, who had returned to India from South Africa in December 1914, after winning laurels for himself in the passive-resistance movement against the South African Government. After the Lucknow Congress, an intensive campaign was started by Lokamanya Tilak, Mrs. Annie Besant and Mr. M. A. Jinnah for demanding Home Rule for India. Mrs. Besant was interned by the Government in this connection in 1917, but was released some months later, owing to the pressure of public agitation. The Extre- mists wanted to make Mrs. Besant the President of the next session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta, but the Moderates were opposed to it. At the eleventh hour an agreement was reached and Mrs. Besant became President with the support of both parties. That was however the last Congress attended by the Moderates, for, the next year, they broke away and formed a separate organisation of their own, called the All-India Liberal Federation. In 1917, a statement was made by the Secretary of State for India, Mr. Montagu on the behalf of the British Government to the effect that the progressive realisation of responsible govern- ment was the goal of British rule in India. Soon after this Mr. Montagu came to India and together with the Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, made a report on the coming reforms, called the Montagu-Chelmsford report. This report was considered by a special session of the Congress held at Bom- bay, presided over by the late Mr. Hassan Imam, a dis- tinguished advocate of Patna and ex-Judge of the High Court and was rejected by the Congress as unacceptable.