What caused the Indian Independence Movement against British rule?

The Indian Independence Movement was an anti-colonial struggle driven by deep-seated political, economic, and social discontent under British rule. The movement’s origins and escalation were shaped by several key factors:1

• Economic Exploitation: British policies reduced India to a supplier of raw materials and a consumer of British manufactured goods, leading to the destruction of indigenous handicraft industries. The "drain of wealth," characterized by ruinous taxation and the transfer of resources to England, caused widespread poverty and recurring famines.23
• Political Disaffection: The Rebellion of 1857 served as a major catalyst, leading the British Crown to assume direct control through the British raj. This shift fostered a heightened sense of nationalism among a growing Western-educated middle class.4
• The Partition of Bengal: The 1905 partition of Bengal was a pivotal trigger. Viewed as a "divide and rule" strategy to weaken nationalist sentiment, it sparked the Swadeshi Movement, the first organized mass action against British authority.53
• Internal Political Evolution: Disenchantment with the moderate, petition-based methods of the Indian National Congress led to the rise of an "extremist" faction that demanded swaraj (self-government) and advocated for more assertive, and sometimes militant, resistance.53