Question

What led to the splitting of Indian National Congress? Why moderates and extremists decided to split?

Answer 1

• The Congress split in 1907owing to the following reasons.
• The Moderates did not want to conform to the use of boycott. They felt that it involved the use of power.
• The Congress in the first twenty years was “moderate” in its objectives and ways of functioning. During this period, it insisted on a bigger share for Indians in the government and administration.
• By the 1890s, many Indians began question the political style of the Congress. In Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab, leaders such as Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai started exploring more radical approaches.
• They disapproved of the Moderates for their kind of politics.
• This dissimilarity in the viewpoint of both the groups led to the split of the Congress.

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