The Home Rule Movement, led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant between 1916 and 1918, marked a major shift in India’s freedom struggle. It aimed to secure self-government within the British Empire and revive political activity after the Congress split. The movement united moderates and extremists, popularized self-rule, and laid the foundation for later mass movements under Gandhi.

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• Movement launched by Tilak (April 1916) and Annie Besant (Sept 1916)
• Objective: self-government for India within the British Empire
• Inspired by Ireland’s Home Rule agitation
• Congress split of 1907 and Tilak’s imprisonment weakened national politics
• Besant’s influence reunited moderates and extremists at Congress (1915 session)
• Tilak’s League active in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Central Provinces
• Besant’s League spread across Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta
• Movement used newspapers, meetings, and education to spread self-rule idea
• British response: Annie Besant arrested in 1917, strict press laws revived
• Lord Montagu’s August 1917 Declaration promised greater Indian participation
• Decline began after Tilak left for England, Besant lost momentum
• Gandhi’s rise and focus on Satyagraha absorbed the movement by 1920
• Legacy: united Indian groups, inspired Lucknow Pact, revived national spirit