The basic weakness of the early national movement lay in its narrow social base. It did not yet penetrate down to the masses. In fact, the leaders lacked political faith in the masses. The basic weakness of the early national movement lay in its narrow social base. It did not yet penetrate down to the masses. In fact, the leaders lacked political faith in the masses.
Describing the difficulties in the way of the organisation of active political struggle, Gopal Krishna Gokhale pointed to “endless divisions and sub-divisions in the country, the bulk of the population ignorant and clinging with a tenacity to the old modes of thought and sentiment, which are averse to all changes and do not understand change”.
Thus, the Moderate leaders believed that militant mass struggle against colonial rule could be waged only after the heterogeneous elements of Indian society had been welded into a nation. But, in fact, it was mainly in the course of such a struggle that the Indian nation could get formed.
The result of this wrong approach towards the masses was that the masses were assigned a passive role in the early phase of the national movement.
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It also led to political moderation. Without the support of the masses, they could not adopt a militant political position. As we shall see, the later nationalists were to differ from the Moderates in precisely this respect.
The narrow social base of the early national movement should not, however, lead to the conclusion that it fought for the narrow interests of the social groups which joined it.
Its programme an lieges championed the cause of all sections of the Indian people and represented the interests of the emerging Indian nation against colonial domination.