Indian Freedom Struggle: Complete Timeline 1857-1947

The Indian Freedom Struggle (1857-1947) is one of the highest-weight topics in PSC exams. Expect 5-10 questions on movements, leaders, acts, and chronology.

Phase 1: The Revolt and Early Nationalism (1857–1905)

The Revolt of 1857

Fact	Detail
Date	10 May 1857 (Meerut)
Immediate cause	Greased cartridges (Enfield rifle — cow/pig fat)
First soldier to revolt	Mangal Pandey (29 March 1857, Barrackpore)
Centres & Leaders	Delhi: Bahadur Shah Zafar; Kanpur: Nana Sahib + Tantia Tope; Jhansi: Rani Lakshmibai; Lucknow: Begum Hazrat Mahal; Bihar: Kunwar Singh
Suppressed by	September 1858
Result	End of East India Company rule; British Crown took over (Government of India Act, 1858)

V.D. Savarkar called it the “First War of Independence.” British called it the “Sepoy Mutiny.”

Key Acts & Events (1858–1905)

Year	Event
1858	Queen’s Proclamation — Crown takes over from EIC; Governor-General becomes Viceroy
1861	Indian Councils Act — Indians allowed in Viceroy’s council (advisory only)
1876	Queen Victoria declared Empress of India (Royal Titles Act)
1878	Vernacular Press Act (Lord Lytton) — censored Indian-language press
1882	Hunter Commission — education reform
1883	Ilbert Bill controversy — Indian judges could try Europeans; withdrawn after white protest
1885	Indian National Congress founded (28 Dec, Bombay); A.O. Hume; first president: W.C. Bonnerjee
1892	Indian Councils Act — expanded legislative councils
1899	Curzon becomes Viceroy — most controversial Viceroy
1905	Partition of Bengal (16 Oct) — Curzon divides Bengal; triggers Swadeshi Movement

Phase 2: Swadeshi and Extremism (1905–1919)

Year	Event
1905	Swadeshi Movement begins; boycott of British goods
1906	Muslim League founded (Dhaka, 30 Dec); INC Calcutta session — “Swaraj” demand (Dadabhai Naoroji)
1907	Surat Split — INC splits into Moderates (Gokhale) and Extremists (Tilak)
1909	Morley-Minto Reforms (Indian Councils Act) — separate electorate for Muslims
1911	Partition of Bengal annulled; capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi
1914	Ghadar Movement (San Francisco); WWI begins — Indians support Britain hoping for reforms
1915	Gandhi returns to India from South Africa (9 Jan)
1916	Lucknow Pact — Congress-Muslim League unity; Home Rule Leagues by Tilak and Annie Besant
1917	Champaran Satyagraha (Bihar) — Gandhi’s first civil disobedience in India (indigo farmers)
1918	Kheda Satyagraha (Gujarat) and Ahmedabad Mill Strike — Gandhi’s early movements
1919	Rowlatt Act (March) — detention without trial; Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April, Amritsar, Gen. Dyer)

Trio of Early Nationalists

Category	Leaders	Approach
Moderates	Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, W.C. Bonnerjee, Pherozeshah Mehta	Prayer, petition, constitutional methods
Extremists	Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai (“Lal-Bal-Pal”)	Boycott, national education, swadeshi
Revolutionaries	Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Khudiram Bose	Armed resistance

Phase 3: Gandhian Era (1919–1947)

Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922)

Fact	Detail
Launched	1 August 1920 (Gandhi)
Causes	Rowlatt Act + Jallianwala Bagh + Khilafat issue
Methods	Boycott of courts, schools, titles, legislatures; promotion of khadi
Khilafat alliance	Ali Brothers (Mohamed Ali, Shaukat Ali) joined with Gandhi
Ended	12 February 1922 after Chauri Chaura incident (UP — mob burned police station; 22 policemen killed)

Key Events 1920s–1930s

Year	Event
1921	Moplah Rebellion (Malappuram, Kerala) — peasant uprising
1922	Chauri Chaura; Gandhi arrested; Swaraj Party formed (Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das)
1927	Simon Commission (all-white; “Simon Go Back” protests); Lala Lajpat Rai injured in lathi charge (died Nov 1928)
1928	Nehru Report (Motilal Nehru) — dominion status demand
1929	Lahore Session (INC) — “Purna Swaraj” (complete independence) declared; 26 Jan 1930 = first Independence Day
1930	Dandi March (12 March–6 April; 390 km; Salt Satyagraha); Civil Disobedience Movement begins
1930	First Round Table Conference (London) — Congress boycotted
1931	Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March); Second RTC — Gandhi attends
1932	Communal Award (Ramsay MacDonald); Poona Pact (Gandhi-Ambedkar — reserved seats instead of separate electorate for depressed classes)
1935	Government of India Act — provincial autonomy, federal structure (never fully implemented); bicameral legislature

Quit India Movement (1942)

Fact	Detail
Date	8 August 1942 (Bombay, Gowalia Tank/August Kranti Maidan)
Slogan	”Do or Die” (Gandhi)
Also called	August Movement, Bharat Chhodo Andolan
Result	All top leaders arrested; underground movement continued (Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted flag; Ram Manohar Lohia, JP Narayan led underground)
Parallel govts	Satara (Maharashtra), Ballia (UP), Midnapore (Bengal)

Other Critical Events (1940s)

Year	Event
1940	Lahore Resolution (Muslim League) — demand for Pakistan
1941	Subhas Chandra Bose escapes to Germany
1943	Azad Hind Fauj (INA) formally organized by Bose (Singapore); “Jai Hind,” “Delhi Chalo”
1943	Bengal Famine — 3 million died
1944	INA’s Imphal campaign fails
1945	Shimla Conference (Wavell Plan) fails
1946	Cabinet Mission (3-member; grouped provinces; rejected by League); Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (Bombay); Direct Action Day (16 Aug — Calcutta riots)
1946	Interim Government formed (Nehru as VP of Viceroy’s Council)
1947	Mountbatten Plan (3 June); Indian Independence Act (18 July); 15 August 1947 — Independence

Important Acts — Quick Reference

Act	Year	Key Provision
Charter Act	1833	Governor-General of India (not Bengal); end of EIC trade monopoly
Government of India Act	1858	Crown rule; Secretary of State for India
Indian Councils Act	1861	Portfolio system; Indians in council
Indian Councils Act	1892	Indirect elections introduced
Morley-Minto Reforms	1909	Separate electorate for Muslims
Government of India Act	1919	Dyarchy in provinces (Montagu-Chelmsford)
Rowlatt Act	1919	Detention without trial
Government of India Act	1935	Provincial autonomy; federal court; All-India Federation (never implemented)
Indian Independence Act	1947	Two dominions: India and Pakistan

Famous Slogans and Their Authors

Slogan	Person
”Swaraj is my birthright”	Bal Gangadhar Tilak
”Inquilab Zindabad”	Hasrat Mohani (popularized by Bhagat Singh)
“Jai Hind”	Subhas Chandra Bose
”Do or Die”	Mahatma Gandhi
”Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi dunga”	Subhas Chandra Bose
”Dilli Chalo”	Subhas Chandra Bose
”Aram Haram Hai”	Jawaharlal Nehru
”Vande Mataram”	Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (song); first sung politically at 1896 INC session
”Simon Go Back”	Lala Lajpat Rai
”Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna”	Ram Prasad Bismil

Viceroys to Remember

Viceroy	Period	Key Event
Lord Canning	1856–62	Last GG & first Viceroy; 1857 revolt
Lord Ripon	1880–84	”Father of Local Self-Government”; Ilbert Bill
Lord Curzon	1899–1905	Partition of Bengal
Lord Hardinge	1910–16	Capital shift to Delhi; Bengal reunited
Lord Chelmsford	1916–21	Jallianwala Bagh; Montagu-Chelmsford reforms
Lord Irwin	1926–31	Dandi March; Gandhi-Irwin Pact
Lord Linlithgow	1936–43	WWII; Quit India; longest-serving Viceroy
Lord Mountbatten	1947	Last Viceroy; Partition; first Governor-General of free India

Quick Recall

• First INC session? 1885, Bombay, W.C. Bonnerjee
• Champaran — which crop? Indigo
• Dandi March distance? 390 km, 24 days
• Poona Pact — between? Gandhi and Ambedkar (1932)
• Government of India Act 1935 significance? Basis for Indian Constitution
• INA slogan? Jai Hind, Delhi Chalo
• Last Viceroy? Lord Mountbatten