Revolt of 1857, Reform Movements, Congress and the Swadeshi Movement
Revolt of 1857, Reform Movements, Congress and the Swadeshi Movement
The second half of the nineteenth century brought the first large uprising against Company rule, a wave of social and religious reform, and the founding of the Indian National Congress. NTPC asks leaders and centres of 1857, reformers and the bodies they founded, early Congress sessions, and the Swadeshi movement.
1. Revolt of 1857
| Centre | Leader |
|---|---|
| Delhi | Bahadur Shah Zafar (nominal), Bakht Khan |
| Kanpur | Nana Saheb, Tantia Tope |
| Lucknow | Begum Hazrat Mahal |
| Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai |
| Bihar (Jagdishpur) | Kunwar Singh |
| Barrackpore | Mangal Pandey (29 March 1857) |
Started at Meerut on 10 May 1857; immediate cause: greased cartridges of the Enfield rifle
Result: Government of India Act 1858 ended Company rule
2. Socio-Religious Reformers
| Reformer | Organisation (year) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Raja Rammohan Roy | Brahmo Sabha (1828, Calcutta), later Brahmo Samaj | Campaign against sati |
| Swami Dayanand Saraswati | Arya Samaj (1875, Bombay) | Satyarth Prakash; "Go back to the Vedas" |
| Swami Vivekananda | Ramakrishna Mission (1897) | Chicago speech 1893 |
| Jyotiba Phule | Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) | Girls' school in Pune |
| Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar | Widow Remarriage Act 1856 | |
| Sir Syed Ahmad Khan | Aligarh movement; MAO College (1875) |
3. Indian National Congress
| Session | Facts |
|---|---|
| 1885, Bombay | First session; president W.C. Bonnerjee; founded with A.O. Hume |
| 1906, Calcutta | Dadabhai Naoroji; "Swaraj" declared the goal |
| 1907, Surat | Split into Moderates and Extremists |
| 1929, Lahore | Jawaharlal Nehru; Purna Swaraj resolution |
| Moderates | Extremists |
|---|---|
| Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta | Lal-Bal-Pal: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal |
Swadeshi movement began against the Partition of Bengal (announced 1905 by Curzon, annulled 1911)
✗ The first Congress session was held in Calcutta | ✓ It was held in Bombay in 1885
✗ The Arya Samaj was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy | ✓ Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded it in 1875; Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha
हिंदी नोट: 1857 का विद्रोह 10 मई को मेरठ से शुरू हुआ। कांग्रेस का पहला अधिवेशन 1885 में बंबई में डब्ल्यू.सी. बनर्जी की अध्यक्षता में हुआ; ए.ओ. ह्यूम ने इसके गठन का विचार दिया। राजा राममोहन राय ने 1828 में कलकत्ता में ब्रह्म सभा की स्थापना की।
Exam Pointer: Verified NTPC patterns: the president of the first Congress session (September 2025 UG CBT-1), the person who proposed organising the Congress (August 2025 UG CBT-1) and the city where Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha (July 2021 CBT-1). Revolt-leader and Swadeshi questions are tagged syllabus-based.
Pariksha Pattern: Every Way NTPC Asks This Topic
Pattern 1: Congress sessions and founders
[PYQ: NTPC UG CBT-1 4-Sep-2025 Shift-2 | NTPC UG CBT-1 13-Aug-2025 Shift-2]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Who presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress?
W.C. Bonnerjee, at Bombay in 1885.
Answer: W.C. Bonnerjee
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Who first proposed organising Indian leaders into the Congress, and at which session did the Congress split into Moderates and Extremists?
A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant. The split happened at Surat in 1907.
Answer: A.O. Hume; Surat 1907
Pattern 2: Reformers and their organisations
[PYQ: NTPC CBT-1 24-Jul-2021 Shift-2]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. In which city did Raja Rammohan Roy found the Brahmo Sabha?
Calcutta, in 1828.
Answer: Calcutta
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Who founded the Arya Samaj and the Satyashodhak Samaj, and in which years?
Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in 1875; Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873.
Answer: Dayanand Saraswati 1875; Jyotiba Phule 1873
Pattern 3: Revolt of 1857
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Who led the revolt of 1857 at Lucknow?
Begum Hazrat Mahal.
Answer: Begum Hazrat Mahal
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Where and when did the revolt begin, and who led it at Jagdishpur in Bihar?
At Meerut on 10 May 1857. Kunwar Singh led it at Jagdishpur.
Answer: Meerut, 10 May 1857; Kunwar Singh
Pattern 4: Moderates, Extremists and Swadeshi
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Who were "Lal-Bal-Pal"?
Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.
Answer: Lajpat Rai, Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which event started the Swadeshi movement, who ordered it, and when was it annulled?
The Partition of Bengal, ordered by Lord Curzon in 1905; it was annulled in 1911.
Answer: Partition of Bengal; Curzon; 1911
60-Second Revision
- 1857: Meerut 10 May; Lakshmibai (Jhansi), Hazrat Mahal (Lucknow), Kunwar Singh (Bihar).
- Brahmo Sabha 1828 Calcutta; Arya Samaj 1875; Ramakrishna Mission 1897.
- INC 1885 Bombay, W.C. Bonnerjee, A.O. Hume; split Surat 1907.
- Swadeshi: against the 1905 Partition of Bengal.