Moderate Phase of Indian National Congress

Moderate Phase: During its initial two decades, the Indian National Congress made moderate demands, presenting them to the Government in the form of petitions and adhering to the legal framework. Due to this reason, the early INC leaders were referred to as ‘Moderates’. The efforts of the moderates led to significant legal and constitutional changes, while their critique of government policies also served as essential political training for the public.

Leaders of the Moderate Phase such as Dadabhai Naoroji meticulously documented the economic exploitation perpetuated by the British Government in India. As a result of the proactive endeavours of these leaders during this phase, the government implemented crucial constitutional and agricultural reforms.

Who were the Moderates?
The Indian National Congress (INC) programme during 1885-1905 was very moderate. It called for moderate constitutional reforms, economic relief, administrative reorganisation, and the protection of civil rights.

Most leaders of this phase were staunch believers in ‘liberalism’ and ‘moderate’ politics and came to be labelled as Moderates to distinguish them from the neo-nationalists of the early 20th century, who were referred to as the Extremists.
Response of British Government: Right from the start, the British authorities displayed hostility towards the growing nationalist movement and became distrustful of the INC. British officials, starting from Dufferin downwards, labelled the nationalist leaders as 'disloyal babus, seditious brahmins,' and dangerous villains.
Important Moderate Leaders: Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, D.E. Wacha, W.C. Bonnerjea, S.N. Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Methods adopted during Moderate Phase
The moderate phase congressmen had implicit faith in the efficacy of peaceful and constitutional agitation within the four walls of the law and slow, orderly political progress.

They believed in patience and reconciliation rather than violence and hostility. They adhered to the 3P: Petition, Prayer, and Protest.

Freedom through gradual steps: They believed that if public opinion was created and organised and popular demands were presented to the authorities through petitions, meetings, resolutions, and speeches, the authorities would gradually and incrementally accommodate these demands.
Medium of communication: The press and the platform at the annual sessions were their agencies. Nevertheless, the press served as the sole medium for disseminating Congress propaganda throughout the year.
The annual session of INC:
During these gatherings, Government policy was vigorously discussed, and resolutions were emphatically passed. However, the most significant limitation was that the Congress sessions lasted merely three days annually. It had no machinery to carry on the work in the interval between the two sessions.

Major Demands during Moderate Phase
During the Moderate phase of INC, there was practically no change in the Congress programme. The major demands were practically the same as those formulated in the first three or four sessions.

Throughout this period, the leaders exercised caution in making their demands, aiming to avoid provoking the government and the potential risk of having their activities suppressed.

The Key Demands:
The organisation of the provincial councils
Simultaneous examination for the I.C.S. in India and England
The abolition or reconstitution of the Indian Council
The separation of the Judiciary from the executive
The repeal of the Arms Act
The appointment of Indians to the commissioned ranks in the Army
The reduction of military expenditure
The introduction of Permanent Settlement to other parts of India
The freedom of speech and expression.
No taxation without representation: They demanded Indian control over the public purse and raised the slogan that had earlier been raised by the Americans during their War of Independence, 'No taxation without representation'.
Demand of Swaraj: It was during the Moderate Phase i.e., in 1905, the Congress put forth the demand for Swaraj or self-rule for Indians within the British Empire on the model of the self-governing colonies like Australia or Canada. The first mention of this demand was made by G.K. Gokhale in 1905 during a speech in Banaras, and it was later explicitly articulated by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1906 at a gathering in Calcutta.

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