Introduction
The Home Rule Movement (1916-18), launched during World War I, revived mass political
activity after the lull following the Surat Split (1907), and is seen as an important bridge between the
Extremist phase and the mass movements of the Gandhian era.
The Two Home Rule Leagues
| League | Founder | Founded | Area of Operation |
|---|
| Indian Home Rule League | Bal Gangadhar Tilak | April 1916, Poona | Maharashtra (excl. Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces, Berar |
| All India Home Rule League | Annie Besant (with support of S. Subramania Iyer and others) | September 1916, Madras | Rest of India, including Bombay city |
- Both leagues had an amicable division of territory to avoid overlap and worked to demand self-government (Home Rule) for India within the British Empire, on the lines of Ireland's Home Rule demand and Dominion status enjoyed by Canada/Australia.
- Used branch networks, public meetings, pamphlets, and libraries/reading rooms to spread the demand for Home Rule to the district and town level — a significant expansion of nationalist reach beyond the earlier urban intelligentsia base.
Key Developments During this Period
Flowchart — Political Context of the Home Rule Movement
World War I (1914-18) — Britain needs Indian support/resources
↓
Lucknow Pact (1916) — INC and Muslim League unite on a joint reform demand; Moderate-Extremist reunification at Congress
↓
Home Rule Leagues intensify agitation for self-government
↓
Montagu's August 1917 Declaration — promises "responsible government" and "increasing association of Indians in every branch of administration"
Annie Besant was interned by the British government in 1917 for her Home Rule activities, but her subsequent release and election as INC President (1917 Calcutta session) marked a high point for the movement.
Decline of the Movement
- The Montford Reforms (Montagu-Chelmsford, 1919) partially addressed demands, reducing momentum.
- Gandhi's rise after his return from South Africa (1915) and his new methods of mass Satyagraha gradually eclipsed the Home Rule Leagues, whose leadership and cadre were largely absorbed into the Congress-led movements of the 1920s.
✅ UPSC Focus: Two Home Rule Leagues — founder, year, and area division · Link to the Lucknow Pact (1916) · Annie Besant's internment and INC presidency (1917) · Montagu's 1917 Declaration as a direct response.