Write a imaginary dialogue between moderates and extremists activists of Indian National Congress in their a) main demands and b) mode of mobilising
Answers
The politics of Congress during its first twenty years is roughly referred to as Moderate politics. The early years of the 20th century witnessed the influence and dominance of Extremists whose goal was to achieve Swaraj through self-reliance and independent methods.
The difference between the demand of the Moderates and the Extremists lies in the fact that Administrative and Constitutional Reform was the main goal of the Moderates, on the other hand, Extremists wanted nothing more than Swaraj. The goal of Moderates did not include the end of the British Rule in India, therefore, they worked in the framework of the Constitution and passed resolutions, persuasion, etc., on the other the approach Extremists used was radical and they were Aggressive. As a weapon against domination, Extremists believed in Atmashakti or Self-Reliance and that they used Militant methods. Moderates received their support from the Urban Middle class and the Western Philosophers and the Extremists gained the support of the lower middle-class farmers etc. The social base of the Moderates was very confined in comparison to that of the Extremist since they drove their inspiration from India's Past rather than Western Ideology.
Dialogue between moderates and extremists within one religious group is equally
important as debate between different religious groups. “We have to keep in mind that
internal dialogue is made much more possible when people feel less under siege. …The
sense of threats amplifies the voices of extremists—of people who are claiming to stand
up…for the core values of the society,” said Dalia Mogahed, senior analyst and
executive director of the Center for Muslim Studies at the Gallup Organization, at a
recent symposium on religion and the open society. The symposium was part of a two-
year project on religion and foreign policy funded by the Henry R. Luce Foundation and
organized by Council Adjunct Senior Fellow Timothy S. Shah and Walter Russell
Mead, the Council’s Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy.