Young India An interpretation and a history of the nationalist movement from within — Story, Setting & Ideas

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Authors: Lajpat Rai, Lala, 1865-1928, Sunderland, Jabez Thomas, 1842-1936 [Author of introduction, etc.] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2015 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: India -- Politics and government -- 1765-1947 Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 78,587

Reading time 342 min

Text sections 9

For Young India An interpretation and a history of the nationalist movement from within — Story, Setting & Ideas, the stored edition analysis reports 78,587 words, 5 hr 42 min estimated reading time, and 9 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “India -- Politics and government -- 1765-1947,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #49329

Lajpat Rai's 1916 work examines the Indian nationalist movement from an insider's perspective, blending historical analysis with political argument. The excerpts reveal a focus on the Indian National Congress's origins, the role of figures like Allan Octavian Hume, and the tension between loyalty to British rule and demands for self-governance.

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ectual ability and in moral worth of any Englishman in India, not excepting the three Viceroys under whom he served. It is no exaggeration to declare that Mr. Justice Renade had qualifications fully fitting him for the position of Viceroy, or if he had lived in England, fitting him for the position of Premier.

This is only another way of saying that among the leaders of the various States and Provinces of India there is abundant material to form National and Provincial Governments little, if at all, inferior in ability and in moral character to the Governments of the Western world.

J. T. SUNDERLAND. New York, June, 1916.

Foreword, by J. T. Sunderland vii

Preface to the Second Edition xxvii

I. THE GENERAL VIEWPOINT OF THE INDIAN NATIONALIST 67

First Invasion of India 68

Chandra Gupta and Asoka 69

India Practically Independent Up to the Twelfth Century 70

Muslim Rule in India not Foreign 73

India Under the British 76

Political Disqualification of the Indians 78

Indians May not Carry Arms 80

Loyalty of Ruling Chiefs 90

Middle Class Desires Political Freedom 92

II. INDIA FROM 1757 TO 1857 95

Conflict of French and English in India 96

How British Rule in India Was Established 96

Methods of Consolidation of British India 97

British Public Ignorant of Facts 98

Conquest of India Diplomatic, not Military 100

The Great Indian Mutiny of 1857 101

How the Mutiny Was Put Down 102

III. INDIA FROM 1857 TO 1905 109

Part I. From 1857 to 1885.

The Bengalee Babu 109

Forces Resisting Denationalisation 114

Political Disappointments 115

Part II. The Birth of the Indian National Congress.

Indian National Congress an English Product 122

Hume, a Lover of Liberty 124

Congress to Save British Empire from Danger 126

The Congress Lacked Essentials of a National Movement 138

Hume’s Political Movement 141

Congress Overawed 142

Congress Agitation in England 144

Causes of Failure of the Congress 145

Part III. The Birth of the New Nationalist Movement.

Swadeshi and Swaraj 148

Men Who Have Inspired the Movement 152

Lord Curzon and Indian Education 156

Lord Curzon’s Secret Educational Conference 158

Indians and Lord Curzon at Cross Purposes 158

The Congress Deputation to England in 1905 159

The Congress of 1905 160

Object of the Passive Resistance Movement 162

IV. THE FIRST YEARS OF THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT 167

Partition of Bengal 167

Boycott of British Goods 167

Government’s Reply 170

The Second Move of the Bengalees: The National University 170

The Nationalist Press 176

Military Measures against Boycotters 177

Indian Press Gagged 180

Deportation of Lajpat Rai 181

Disaffection Driven Underground 183

Lord Hardinge Bombed 184

V. TYPES OF NATIONALISTS 187

Religious Extremists 189

The Mother Worshippers 190

Advocates of Organised Rebellion 195

Hardayalism: Advocation of Full Swaraj 199

Political Freedom the First Condition of Life 200

Arabinda Ghosh--Vedantist and Swarajist 205

Ganesh Vináyak Savarkar 210

Advocates of Constructive Nationalisation 212

Independence, but not at Once 212

Preparing the Nation for Freedom 213

Preparatory Work from Below 214

Brahmo Samaj; Arya Samaj; Ramakrishna Mission 215

Passive Resisters 219

VI. INDIAN NATIONALISM AND THE WORLD-FORCES 221

Inspiration through European Nationalism 221

History of Modern Europe Tabooed in Universities 221

Italian-Turko War 222

Interpretation of India to Western World 223

VII. THE RELIGIOUS AND THE COMMUNAL ELEMENTS IN INDIAN NATIONALISM 225

Mohammedan Revulsion of Feeling against the British 226

Disaffection among the Sikhs 228

Change in Indian Life and Depth of Nationalism 230

Nationalism Fertilised by Blood of Martyrs 232

Wave of Indian Nationalism is on 233

Propitiation and Petty Concessions Futile 234

Internal Division no Valid Plea for Continuance of British Rule 235

Illiteracy the Fault of the British and no Bar to Self-government 237

Internal Troubles 238

Unfitness of Orientals for Representative Institutions 238

Nationalism Has Come to Stay 238

Curzons, Macdonnels, Sydenhams, Responsible for Bombs and Revolvers 240

A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS IN ENGLISH 241

Feudatory Chiefs Powerless 243

Gross Insults to Indians 243

Industrial Ruin of India; Gokhale 244

India a Mere Possession; Gokhale 244

Masses Starved; Sir C. A. Elliot, Sir W. W. Hunter, William Digby 244

Seventy Million Continually Hungry People in British India; William Digby 245

Total Area under Cultivation 245

Famines of Money; not Food; Lord George Hamilton 245

Causes of Famines 246

Drain; Montgomery Martin and Digby 246

Enormous Foreign Tribute; Rev. J. T. Sunderland 246

Government Assessment too High; Sir W. Hunter 246

The Ryot; Herbert Compton 246

Indian Plunder; Adam Brooks 247

Swami Abhedananda 247

“Narrow and Shortsighted Imperial Policy;” Sir A. R. Colquehoun 248

Taxation; Lord Salisbury 248

Plague, Deaths from 249

Trade Figures for 1913 to 1914 251

Personnel of the Government 251

Figures About Education and Literacy 253

The Flogging of Political Prisoners 253

Dadabhai Naoroji _Frontispiece_

Ram Mohan Roy FACING PAGE 111

Swami Vivekananda “ “ 115

Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak “ “ 162

Arabinda Ghosh “ “ 172

G. K. Gokhale “ “ 216

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

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Lajpat Rai's Young India opens with a foreword by Jabez Thomas Sunderland that situates the author as a prominent public figure in the Punjab—a leading member of the bar, active in the Indian National Congress, and a founder of the Anglo-Vedic College in Lahore. The book's subtitle, "An Interpretation and a History of the Nationalist Movement from Within," signals its dual aim: to narrate events and to offer an insider's perspective on the movement's rationale and evolution. The excerpts provided focus heavily on the early Congress, including a detailed account of Allan Octavian Hume's role and the alleged intelligence that spurred its founding. Rai's voice is analytical, often citing documents and speeches, and he does not shy from critiquing the movement's early deference to British rule.

The Congress's Founding and Hume's Memorandum

The excerpts devote considerable space to the origins of the Indian National Congress, particularly through a memorandum by Allan Octavian Hume. Rai reproduces Hume's description of seven large volumes containing reports from over thirty thousand informants, which convinced him of an imminent "terrible outbreak" of violence among the lowest classes. Hume's language is vivid: he speaks of "a sudden violent outbreak of sporadic crimes, murders of obnoxious persons, robbery of bankers, looting of bazaars." Rai uses this evidence to argue that the Congress was founded partly as a safety valve—a channel for discontent that might otherwise explode. He notes that the Congress's early leaders considered British rule "of vital importance to India herself," making political reform a secondary goal. This section shows Rai as a historian who lets primary sources speak, while also framing them within a broader argument about the movement's original intentions.

Rai's Critique of Early Nationalist Deference

Rai does not merely recount the Congress's founding; he offers a pointed critique. He writes that the founders were "anxious to do everything in their power, not only to save that rule from any danger that threatened it, but even to strengthen it." The redress of grievances, he suggests, was "only a by-product and of secondary importance." This is a striking claim from a nationalist leader, and it reveals Rai's willingness to challenge the movement's own mythology. The excerpts do not show how Rai develops this argument across the full book, but the tone is measured and evidence-based. He quotes Hume and Wedderburn at length, allowing their words to support his interpretation. The reader is left to wonder how Rai reconciles this critique with his own active role in the Congress—a tension that the excerpts do not resolve.

The Role of the Arya Samaj and Social Reform

The foreword by Sunderland highlights Rai's leadership in the Arya Samaj, a religious reform movement that "rejects idolatry and caste" and promotes education and women's elevation. This context is essential for understanding Rai's broader worldview, though the excerpts from the main text do not discuss the Arya Samaj directly. Instead, they focus on political history. The juxtaposition suggests that Rai's nationalism was inseparable from social reform—a point that the excerpts hint at but do not elaborate. Sunderland also notes Rai's relief work during famines and his efforts for the "Depressed Classes." These details, drawn from the foreword rather than Rai's own prose, indicate that Young India is as much a personal testament as a historical account. Readers should note that the excerpts are heavily weighted toward the Congress's early years; the book's treatment of later developments or of Rai's own activism remains largely unrepresented.

Readers approaching Young India should be aware that the excerpts represent only a fraction of the work—specifically, the early chapters on the Congress's founding. Rai's full argument likely extends to later movements, including the Swadeshi and Home Rule campaigns, but these are absent from the provided text. The book's value lies in its insider perspective and its willingness to critique nationalist orthodoxy. For a complete understanding, one should read the entire work, paying attention to how Rai balances historical narrative with political advocacy.

Reading Lajpat Rai’s Young India, I felt the ache of a movement straining toward a future it couldn’t yet name. The same quiet longing surfaced later, while revisiting The Gaelic State in the past & future — A Reader’s Guide. Both books seem to hold a people’s breath before the exhale—a shared, tentative hope for something whole.