Formation of the Two Leagues
In December 1914 Madras Congress Session, the efforts for re-entry of Extremists failed.
However, Tilak and Annie Besant decided to revive nationalist activity on their own and simultaneously exert pressure on the Congress to re-admit the Extremists. Both began their political activities but Tilak was careful not to alarm the Moderates in any way. Their efforts paid off and finally in December 1915 Bombay Congress session, it was decided that the Extremists be allowed to join the Congress. This was also made possible partly with the passing away of Moderate leaders Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta in 1915 who were most strongly opposed to the Extremists' return.
Annie Besant also succeeded in taking a commitment fromn the Congress that it will start a program of educative propaganda and reviving local level Congress Committees by Septermber 1916. Failing which, Besant will feel free to set up her own League.
Tilak's Home Rule League Post Congress decision of readmitting the Extrernists, Tilak took the lead in setting up the Home Rule League in April 1916 at Belgaum during the Bombay Provincial Conference. GS Khaparde was a founding member of Tiak 's League. Joseph "Kaka" Baptista was another prominent activist of the Home Rule Movement from Bombay.
To spread the message of home rule, the league was organised into six branches-one each in Central Maharashtra, Bombay city, Karnataka and Central Provinces and two in Berar. It published pamphlets in Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada and also in English. But the most important role in gathering the support of the people was played by Tilak's lectures during his tour of Maharashtra.
Explaining the demand for home rule, he said, India was like a son who had grown up and attained maturity. It was nght now that the trustee or the father should give him what was his due'
It was during this agitation that Tilak gave the slogan, 'Swaraj is my birthright and I will have it'. It is widely believed that the slogan was first coined by Joseph Baptista and later popularised by Tilak.
Readers may note that there was a positive change in Tilak's speeches now-there was no trace of any religious appeal, He stated, 'Alienness is not connected with religion, trade or profession: it is a question of interests. He who does what is beneficial to the people of this country, be he a Mohammedan or an Englishman, is not alien'.
Further, his ideas were free of any linguistic chauvinism or even caste bias. He argued in favour of formation of states on linguistic basis and education in vernacular. Do the English educate their people in French language? He asked.
He frontally opposed untouchability and urged Brahmins to be tolerant to the non-Brahmin demands. Tilak declared- 'If a God were to tolerate untouchability, I would not recognise him as God at all.
Soon the government tried to suppress Tilak's movement and he was served a show-cause notice. Tilak was defended by a group of lawyers led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He lost the case in lower court but the High Court exonerated him in November 1916. Encouraged by the court's decision, Tilak went on to declare that Home Rule now had legal sanction. He further intensified his propaganda and by April 1917, his league had registered 14,000 members.
Annie Besant's Home Rule League The Congress failed to keep its promise of starting a program of educative propaganda by September 1916 and reviving local level Congress Committees. Thus, Annie Besant announced the formation of her All India Home Rule League in September 1916 in Madras, with George Arundale as the Organising Secretary. Sir S. Subramania Aiyar agreed to serve as the honorary President.
Sir S. Subramania lyer (1842-1924) Also known as the 'Grand Old Man of South India', he was a lawyer, jurist and founding member of the lIndian National Congress who had led the Madras delegation to its first session at Bombay. He became the first Indian to serve as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court (in 1899, 1903 and 1906). Deeply interested in religion and spirituality, he founded the Dharma Rakhana Sabha (1908), the Suddha Dharma Mandala and joined the Theosophical Society. In September 1916, he became a founding member of the All India Home Rule League set up by Annie Besant in Madras. When, in June 1917, Besant was arrested, he gave up his knighthood in protest.
Even earlier than this, some of Besant's impatient followers could not wait till September and had already setup Home Rule groups. Jamnadas Dwarkadas, Shankerlal Banker and Indulal Yagnik had started the Bombay paper Young India and also set up an All India Propaganda Fund to publish pamphlets,
The League published pamphlets in English and Indian languages to explain the demand for self- rule. From her headquarters at Adyar, Annie Besant along with her lieutenants--Arundale, CP Ramaswamy Aiyar and BP Wadia, brought out the newspapers 'New India' and 'Commonweal'. Arundale wrote a column on 'Home Rule' in New India, urging the members to promote political discussions and debates and persuade people to join the movement. New members who joined the league included: Jawaharlal Nehru in Allahabad, B Chakravarti and J Bannerjee in Calcutta.
Two hundred branches of Besant's League were established. But the strength of the League could not be judged by the mere number of branches as many of them were inactive. Besant's league was more loosely organised than Tilak's as three members could form a branch. The membership to Besant's League also increased at a slower pace.
Program of the Leagues
Both the leagues worked with the aim of achieving home rule or self-government for India. For achieving this aim, both the leagues carried out intense propaganda all over the country in favour of the demand for the grant of Home rule. This aim was to be achieved by promoting political education and discussion through propaganda including public meetings and lectures, holding conferences, organising dasses for students on politics, circulation of pamphlets, press campaign, collection of funds and organisation of social work, setting up libraries containing books on national politics and discussing with friends about the need for self-rule and persuading them to join the movement.
Their objective was to educate the people and unite the country under one common aim. The leagues functioned independently as the Congress was not in a position to adopt such a radical program.
Since the Leagues were only implementing more vigorously the long advocated Moderate program of political education, they enlisted the support of many Moderates. Members of Gokhale's Servants of India Society, though not permitted to become members of the leagues, extended their support in large numbers and toured the country propagating the demand for home rule.
In Annie Besant's words, the reason why the two leagues did not merge was that, some of his (Tilak's) followers disliked me and some of mine disliked him. We, however, had no quarrel with each other. The two Leagues avoided any friction by demarcating their areas of operation-
• Tilak's League- in Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces and Berar
Annie Besant's League- in the rest of India, including Bombay city.
