🤝 Lucknow Pact (1916)

• Signed at the Lucknow session of Congress (December 1916)
• Key architects: Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Congress) and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Muslim League)
• Brought Congress and Muslim League together — a significant moment of Hindu-Muslim unity

Key Terms of Lucknow Pact:

• Congress agreed to separate electorates for Muslims — Muslims could only vote for Muslim candidates
• Congress agreed to weightage for Muslims in provinces where they were a minority
• Both Congress and Muslim League demanded self-government for India within the British Empire
• Both demanded expansion of legislative councils and more Indian representation

🏛️ Home Rule League (1916)

Two separate Home Rule Leagues were founded in 1916:

1. Tilak’s Home Rule League (April 1916):

• Founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in April 1916
• Area: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Provinces, Berar
• Demanded Home Rule (self-government) within the British Empire
• Similar to Ireland’s demand for Home Rule

2. Annie Besant’s Home Rule League (September 1916):

• Founded by Annie Besant in September 1916
• Area: Rest of India (except Tilak’s area)
• Annie Besant was president of the Theosophical Society
• She was arrested in 1917 — which increased support for the movement
• Her arrest led to the Montagu Declaration (1917)

🏛️ Montagu Declaration (August 20, 1917)

• British Secretary of State Edwin Montagu declared that British policy was “increasing association of Indians in every branch of administration”
• This was the first official British acknowledgement of Indian self-government as a goal
• Led to the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) — Government of India Act 1919