Who were the Moderates and who were the Extremists?

The Moderates, or Naram Dal, dominated the Congress from 1885 to about 1905 and included Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta and Surendranath Banerjea. The Extremists, or Garam Dal, were led by the trio Lal-Bal-Pal — Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal — along with Aurobindo Ghosh.

How did the methods of the Moderates and Extremists differ?

The Moderates used constitutional methods summarised as the three Ps — prayers, petitions and protests — believing British rule could be reformed by persuasion. The Extremists demanded Swaraj through Swadeshi, boycott, national education and passive resistance, believing that a rule based on exploitation would respond only to pressure.

What was the Surat Split?

At the Congress session of December 1907 at Surat, on the banks of the Tapti, the quarrel between the two wings came to a head. The Extremists wanted Tilak or Lala Lajpat Rai as President while the Moderates secured Rash Behari Ghosh, and the Extremists feared the Calcutta resolutions on Swadeshi and boycott would be dropped. The session collapsed in disorder and the Congress split, with the Moderates keeping the organisation.

Why was the 1907 session held at Surat instead of Nagpur?

Nagpur was strong Extremist ground, so the venue was shifted to Surat in Gujarat, considered safe for the Moderates. Congress convention also barred a President from presiding in his home province, and holding the session in western India conveniently ruled out Tilak taking the chair.

What happened to the Extremist leaders after the split?

The government moved against them once they were isolated. Tilak was tried in 1908 and sentenced to six years in Mandalay jail in Burma, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh withdrew from active politics, and Lala Lajpat Rai spent time abroad. Extremist politics was effectively suppressed for nearly a decade.

What did the Calcutta session of 1906 decide?

With Dadabhai Naoroji presiding as a compromise candidate acceptable to both wings, the session declared Swaraj — self-government — as the goal of the Congress and passed resolutions supporting Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education. Both camps accepted the word Swaraj while meaning different things by it.

When did the Moderates and Extremists reunite?

At the Lucknow session of 1916, nine years after the split. The same session also produced the Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the Muslim League, making 1916 a year of double reunion in nationalist politics.

Moderates vs Extremists — Differences, Lal-Bal-Pal, Surat Split 1907

Petition or pressure? The quarrel over how to fight the British that broke the Congress in two on the banks of the Tapti.

One goal, two roads

Both sides wanted a better deal for India. One believed in asking well; the other believed asking was the problem.

For its first twenty years the Congress was run by the Moderates. Around 1905 a younger, angrier group — the Extremists — challenged their methods, and in 1907 the Congress split at Surat. This page covers who the two groups were, exactly how they differed, and how the split happened.

The two camps compared

	Moderates	Extremists
Also called	Early Nationalists, Naram Dal	Assertive Nationalists, Garam Dal
Main leaders	Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Surendranath Banerjea, W.C. Bonnerjee	Lal-Bal-Pal: Lala Lajpat Rai (Punjab), Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Maharashtra), Bipin Chandra Pal (Bengal), plus Aurobindo Ghosh
Goal	Reforms and self-government gradually, within the British Empire	Swaraj — self-rule, demanded now, not requested later
Methods	The three Ps: Prayers, Petitions, Protests — resolutions, delegations, constitutional argument	Swadeshi, boycott, national education, passive resistance — pressure, not persuasion
Faith in Britain	Believed British rule could be reformed and British justice appealed to	Believed British rule rested on exploitation and would yield only to pressure
Social base	Lawyers, professionals, an educated elite	Sought to bring ordinary people into politics

KEY TERM

Mendicancy

The Extremists mocked Moderate methods as mendicancy — begging. The word means relying on requests and petitions to a power that has no reason to listen. Tilak's answer to it became the most famous sentence of the era: Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it.

BE FAIR TO THE MODERATES

It is easy to remember the Moderates as weak, but their work laid the foundation everything else stood on. They created the national platform, trained a political generation, and — through Naoroji's Drain Theory — built the economic case against British rule that every later movement used. The Extremists inherited an argument the Moderates had already won.

The road to Surat

1905

Partition of Bengal

Curzon's partition outraged the country and made the Moderate response look feeble. The Swadeshi and Boycott movement gave the Extremists their method and their moment.

1906

Calcutta session

Dadabhai Naoroji, respected by both camps, was brought in as a compromise President. The session passed resolutions on Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education, and Naoroji declared the Congress goal to be Swaraj — self-government. Both sides claimed the word; each meant something different by it.

December 1907

The Surat Split

The session met at Surat, on the banks of the Tapti. The Extremists wanted Tilak or Lala Lajpat Rai as President; the Moderates secured Rash Behari Ghosh. The Extremists feared the Calcutta resolutions would be dropped. The session collapsed in uproar — famously, a shoe was flung — and the Congress broke in two. The Moderates kept the organisation.

WHY THE VENUE WAS SURAT AT ALL

The session was originally planned for Nagpur, where Extremist feeling ran strong. It was shifted to Surat, in Gujarat — safe Moderate ground — partly because Congress convention barred a President from his home province, which conveniently ruled out Tilak presiding in western India. The venue itself was a move in the fight.

What followed the split

The government struck at the now-isolated Extremists: Tilak was tried in 1908 and sent to Mandalay jail in Burma for six years
Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh withdrew from active politics; Lala Lajpat Rai went abroad for a period
The Moderates, holding an emptied Congress, accepted the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 — with their separate electorates
The two wings reunited only in 1916, at the Lucknow session, the same session that produced the Congress-League Pact

CHECK YOURSELF

Why did the Extremists reject the Moderate method of petitions?

Because they believed British rule rested on exploitation of India, not on ignorance of Indian conditions. A ruler who profits from the arrangement will not change it because he is asked politely. Only pressure — Swadeshi, boycott, mass mobilisation — could raise the cost of ruling India.

REMEMBER

Lal-Bal-Pal, Punjab-Maharashtra-Bengal. The names and their provinces in one rhythm. And for the split: Surat, Tapti, 1907, Rash Behari Ghosh in the chair.

Everything on one look

The camps, the leaders, the split and the aftermath.

THE TWO CAMPS

Moderates were called Naram Dal, Extremists Garam Dal
Gokhale, Naoroji and Banerjea led the Moderates
Lal-Bal-Pal led the Extremists
Lajpat Rai from Punjab, Tilak from Maharashtra, Pal from Bengal
Moderate methods were the three Ps — prayers, petitions, protests
Extremist methods were Swadeshi, boycott and national education

THE SPLIT

The 1906 Calcutta session declared Swaraj the goal under Naoroji
The Congress split at Surat in December 1907
Surat stands on the banks of the Tapti river
Rash Behari Ghosh was the President at Surat
Tilak was jailed at Mandalay in 1908 for six years
The two wings reunited at Lucknow in 1916

COMMON TRAPS

The Surat Split happened in December 1907, not 1906
Rash Behari Ghosh, not Tilak, presided over the Surat session
Lal is Lajpat Rai, Bal is Tilak, Pal is Bipin Chandra Pal — match names correctly
Naoroji presided at Calcutta 1906 as a compromise candidate
The goal of Swaraj was declared at Calcutta in 1906, before the split
Surat is on the Tapti, and the session was moved there from Nagpur
Tilak was jailed at Mandalay in Burma in 1908
The Moderates kept control of the Congress after the split
The reunion came at Lucknow in 1916, not immediately after 1907
Both camps wanted self-government — they differed on method and pace

QUICK BYTES

The Moderates dominated the Congress from 1885 to about 1905
The Moderates were also called the Naram Dal
Gokhale, Naoroji, Mehta and Surendranath Banerjea were leading Moderates
Moderate methods are summarised as the three Ps — prayers, petitions and protests
Critics mocked Moderate politics as mendicancy, meaning begging
The Extremists were also called the Garam Dal
The Extremist trio was Lal-Bal-Pal
Lala Lajpat Rai led Extremist politics in Punjab
Bal Gangadhar Tilak led Extremist politics in Maharashtra
Bipin Chandra Pal led Extremist politics in Bengal
Tilak declared that Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it
The Partition of Bengal in 1905 strengthened the Extremists
Naoroji presided over the 1906 Calcutta session as a compromise
The Calcutta session of 1906 declared Swaraj as the Congress goal
The Congress split at Surat in December 1907
Surat lies on the banks of the river Tapti
The Surat venue was shifted from Nagpur to keep Tilak from presiding
Rash Behari Ghosh presided over the Surat session
Tilak was sentenced in 1908 to six years at Mandalay jail in Burma
Lala Lajpat Rai went abroad and Pal withdrew from politics after the split
The Moderates retained control of the Congress organisation
The Moderates and Extremists reunited at the Lucknow session of 1916

Moderates and Extremists — Methods, Leaders and the Surat Split of 1907