History & Civics
(a) Identify the person in the picture and state what he is popularly known as.
(b) What was India's political goal according to Surendranath Banerjee? What were the methods he advocated to attain it?
(c) What was his contribution to India's freedom struggle?

Answer
(a) The person shown in the picture is Surendranath Banerjee. He is popularly known as the 'Father of the Indian Nationalism'.
(b) India's political goal according to Surendranath Banerjee was self-government.
He advocated the use of constitutional methods for the attainment of India's goals. His famous saying was, "Opposition where necessary, co-operation when possible." He used the following methods to attain India's political goal-
- To fight against the wrong policies of the British, he founded the Indian Association in 1876.
- In order to create an all-India political organisation, Surendranath convened the Indian National Conference in 1883 at Kolkata. Surendranath Banerjee's Indian National Conference merged with the Indian National Congress in 1886 as both organisations had similar objectives.
- Banerjee edited a newspaper, Bengalee, which served as a powerful medium for mobilising public opinion. His book, Nation in the Making, gives an account of his political concern and his views about self-government.
(c) Surendranath Banerjee's contribution to India's freedom struggle is quite significant. He contributed to the Indian National Movement in the following ways-
- To fight against the wrong policies of the British, he founded the Indian Association in 1876.
- In order to create an all-India political organisation, Surendranath convened the Indian National Conference in 1883 at Kolkata. Surendranath Banerjee's Indian National Conference merged with the Indian National Congress in 1886 as both organisations had similar objectives.
- Banerjee edited a newspaper, Bengalee, which served as a powerful medium for mobilising public opinion. His book, Nation in the Making, gives an account of his political concern and his views about self-government.
- Banerjee started agitation against the Licence Act, Arms Act, Vernacular Press Act and against lowering the age from 21 to 19 years to appear in the I.C.S. Examination.
- He opposed the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 which introduced separate electorates for the Hindus and the Muslims.
- He also opposed the division of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905.
Related Questions
(a) Identify the person in the given picture. State three policies of the imperial regime which were opposed by this person.

(b) What role did he play as a member of Imperial Legislative Council?
(c) How did he try to arouse national awakening?
Imagine that you got a chance to interview one of the Early Nationalist leaders. On the basis of interview, express your views on the Early Nationalist leader's beliefs as well as the methods used by him.
Suppose you want to present the demands of the people of your area to the MLA of your area. State which methods followed by the Early Nationalists you would choose and why?