On August 15, in the year 2022, India will celebrate her 75th Independence Day. Since the dawn of Independence, India has been struggling to progress in all spheres of life and her constitution has always been at the forefront. From its inception to present day, Indian constitution is one which has been able to guide India through a multitude of challenges and thereby fulfilling the purpose for which it was drafted. The drafting of Indian constitution was meant to guide India on its path to progress, in association with sovereignty and democracy.
But India’s struggle for freedom did not start with the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In fact, it can be traced back to the pre-colonial era when East India Company started interfering with the political administration of India. Even prior to that, British East India company started its operation in 1600’s, when English merchants began to trade in Bengal and established trading posts.
The major contributions of the Indian freedom movements are:
- The Indian National Congress (INC), was founded by Allan Octavian Hume in 1885. It was an organisation that initially brought together educated Indians, public bodies and the press. Its foundation was largely based on the ideas of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The members of the Congress originally got together to discuss ways and means to further their British education and to help the British in bringing about administrative reforms beneficial to the people of India. But as time passed, their objectives and demands changed keeping pace with the social and political developments in the country.
- In 1917, a meeting was held at Bombay. It was attended by prominent leaders including Gopal Krishna Gokhale, A G Places and Dadabhai Naroji proclaimed its objective as “to promote among the citizens of India, feelings of fraternity, devotion to the common good and to create a sense of duty towards the nation freedom.
