United Indian Patriotic Association versus Indian National Congress (1888–1893)

Abstract

The article examines the emergence of Anglo-Indian and Muslim opposition to the Indian National Congress (INC) in the second half of the 1880s – early 1890s. By 1887, Congress had lost the support of the Viceroy of India Dufferin, and it greatly influenced the formation of the anti-Congress movement. The social base of opposition to the Congress was formed by the most conservative parts of society – the Anglo-Indians (the British who permanently lived in India) and Indian Muslims. The center of the anti-Congress movement was the Aligarh College, and the leader was the Muslim educator and founder of the college, Syed Ahmad Khan. The movement received support from the Anglo-Indian press and colonial officials. In 1888, United Indian Patriotic Association was founded with the Muslim organizations of Upper India and the conservative Hindu aristocracy in its ranks. The Association believed that the Congress did not represent the interests of the entire Indian people, but only a narrow stratum of European educated Indians. The INC's proposals for the introduction of an elective element in legislative councils and simultaneous examinations for civil service in India and Great Britain were regarded as premature, threatening interests of Muslims and British rule in India. The main goal of the United Indian Patriotic Association was to counter the agitation of the INC in Great Britain, where the British Committee of the INC operated, by holding anti-Congress meetings and pamphleting. After the adoption of the Indian Councils Act of 1892, the leaders of the Association focused on protecting the interests of Indian Muslims, and this solution led to the dissolution of the United Indian Patriotic Association in 1893. The Association became one of the first organizations opposed to the INC and had a significant impact on strengthening the political activity of Indian Muslims. The emergence of Muslim opposition to INC in the second half of the 1880s. became an important factor in the political development of India and the national liberation movement in the first half of the XX century.