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Home / IAS Preparation / Annie Besant

Annie Besant - Overview, Early Life, Contributions in Indian Freedom, Education, Achievements & More

Last Updated on Aug 16, 2023
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Annie Besant was a political activist, freedom fighter, and women’s rights supporter. She was born on October 1, 1847, in Ireland, and in 1893, she came to India. She became head of the Theosophy Society, and later on, in 1916, she established the Indian Home Rule League and also became the president of India’s National Congress. Annie Besant is one of the most important topics for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. 

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Overview of Annie Besant

Quick Overview of Annie Besant

Birth

1, October 1847, Greater London England

Spouse

Frank Besant

Became a theosophist

1889

Came to India

1893

Central Hindu School and College

1898, founded by Annie Besant

Founded Home rule Leauge

1916

President of INC

1917

Death

20,September 1933, Adyar(Madras Presidency)

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Early Life of Annie Besant
  • Annie Besant was born Annie Wood to an Irish family in London.
  • Besant was an outspoken advocate for Irish independence.
  • She began to question her religious convictions and even called the Church of England into question.
  • She was a political and religious activist, along with the idealogy of feminism.
  • Intellectual freedom, secularism, women’s rights, birth control, workers’ rights, and Fabian socialism were among her causes. She was especially against the church interfering in people’s lives.
  • She was an excellent public speaker, and she traveled widely.
  • Besant became a Theosophist after meeting Helena Blavatsky in 1889.
  • Her search for spiritualism and the social cause brought her to the Theosophical Society.
  • Annie Besant joined the Theosophical Society and became interested in Hinduism and its spiritual principles during her time as a member of society.
  • She was the president of the Theosophical Society and remained its head from 1907 to 1933.
  •  In 1898, she founded the Central Hindu School, which was renamed the Banaras Hindu University.
  • The ongoing struggle for India’s independence against the Britishers encouraged her, and she eventually became a freedom fighter.

Annie Besant Time Period in India
  • In 1893, Annie Besant came to India and travelled to India with H. S. Olcott.
  • In 1898, she founded the Central Hindu School and College in Varanasi.
  • In 1902, she wrote an essay regarding the policies of the British.
  • In 1907, she became the President of the Theosophical Society.
  • 1916 she established the All India Home Rule League with Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
  • In 1917, she was elected as President of the Indian National Congress (INC).
  • In 1918, the Indian Scout Movement was founded by her.
  • In 1933, she died in Adyar, Madras, at 85.

Annie Besant’s Contribution to Indian Freedom
  • Annie Besant worked for the promotion of a national awakening.
  • Her work was published in 1902 and in which she said, “India is not controlled for the benefit of the people, but rather for the profit of her conquerors,”.
  • She fought against social issues, including caste prejudice and child marriage.
  • She spent a lot of time and effort in India to improve the education system of India.
  • When Annie Besant joined the Indian National Congress, she became involved in politics and India's freedom struggle.
  • When she initially joined, the Congress was majorly a debating group whose members deliberated on which motions to pass.
  • These motions were moderate, proposing that middle-class Indians be more represented in the British government.
  • Freedom struggle hadn’t yet developed into a broad movement calling for complete independence.
  • During World War I, she launched a movement for India’s freedom.
  • In 1916, she established the All India Home Rule League with Bal Gangadhar Tilak and this was India’s first movement to call for complete independence.
  • Throughout the year, the league attempted to build a network of local branches to make it a PAN India movement and conduct agitations for freedom.
  • As a result of her activity, British authorities placed her under house arrest.
  • But the government was obliged to make concessions to stop the Home Rule League.
  • One of them was that after the war, Britishers prospect the possibility of self-government in India.
  • In September 1917, she was set free from house arrest. She was elected for one year as President of the Indian National Congress (INC) in December 1917.

Annie Besant - Home Rule Movement

  • The Indian Home Rule Movement was based on the Irish Home Rule Movement in British India.
  • Annie Besant founded the Home Rule League in 1916.
  • The Home Rule League was India’s party for the first time to fight for change.
  • Unlike Congress, the League was active throughout the year.
  • It established a robust network of local branches, allowing it to organize protests, public meetings, and agitations.
  • Annie was arrested in June 1917 under the pretext of law and order and held under house arrest.
  • She flew a red and green flag in the garden where she was held to demonstrate her defiance.
  • The Congress and Muslim League have pledged to protest if Annie Besant was not released from arrest.
  • Annie’s imprisonment had provided energy for protests, allowing those who wished for India’s freedom to unite different political parties, and people for a goal of independence.
  • The name of the All India Home Rule League was changed to Swarajya Sabha in 1920.
  • In the Gandhian era, she lost her glory. She respects Gandhi as a man who lived a life driven by honesty and compassion but she called for democratic change through constitutional means.
  • She opposed Gandhi’s non-cooperation and civil disobedience movement as she considered it a threat to the rule of law.
  • Gandhi’s movements became successful and she lost her political status but continued to work for India despite becoming unpopular and losing her favour in the Indian National Congress.

Annie Besant as President Of INC

  • In 1917, she became the first woman to be the President of the Indian National Congress. She led an important meeting in Calcutta.
  • When she arrived in India in 1893, she got deeply involved in the struggle for Indian independence. She liked India so much that she decided to stay here. She did a lot of good work for society and ran various campaigns to help people.
  • Then, on one special day, she achieved something amazing. Annie Besant became the very first woman to become the President of the Indian National Congress. She used her position to do what she believed was right for the Indian people.

Annie Besant’s Contribution to Education
  • When Annie Besant’s father died, her family was left penniless, and her education was funded by another person.
  • As she knew the importance of education, she worked extensively for the spread of education.
  • She was one of the founders of Banaras Hindu University.
  • She also founded the Central Hindu School in Varanasi for the promotion of school education.
  • She promoted ancient Indian religions, philosophies, and beliefs as subjects for study.
  • By 1918, when she was at the peak of her career, established many organizations.
  • Madanapalle College in Andhra Pradesh
  • Girls’ College in Varanasi
  • Her role in the establishment of the Madras Parliament was plausible.
  • Adyar Arts League in Tamilnadu at headquarters of Theosophical Society
  • Women’s Indian Association at Adyar— later on, it grew as All-India Women’s Conference in Poona (now Pune) in 1927 and the Women’s Indian Association at Adyar
  • Order of the Brothers of Service

Study the NCERT Notes Partition of Bengal here!

Annie Besant as President of the Theosophical Society
  • Annie Besant met the founder of the Theosophical Society, Madame Blavatsky, in 1875 and became her disciple. In 1887, she fully embraced theosophy. The Theosophical Society was created to promote brotherhood among nations worldwide.
  • After joining the society in 1889, she started writing and giving lectures about theosophy. She moved to India in 1893 to continue her social work after her guru, Madame Blavatsky, passed away. Later on, she was nominated and became the president of the Theosophical Society after the previous president passed away in 1906. She served as the president until her death in 1933, during which she worked on various social, religious, economic, and political aspects to spread theosophy.
  • She also established the "Theosophical Order of Service and the Sons of India" in 1908 to fulfill her dream of theosophizing different fields. In 1923, she became the general secretary of the National Convention of India, promoting theosophical education there.
  • In 1924, she was honored in London for her 50 years of public service and dedication to improving humanity. In 1926, after lecturing on theosophy, she was declared a World Teacher. She served as the president of the Theosophical Society for the fourth time in 1928.

Annie Besant’s Opinion On Christianity
  • Annie Besant’s opinion was highly anti-Christian, as she believed in atheism.
  • She persisted in speaking and writing in favor of atheism and freethought while denouncing Christianity.
  • She co-authored a pamphlet with Charles Bradlaugh titled “Why I Do Not Believe in God” in 1887.
  • This pamphlet was widely disseminated by secularists and is still regarded as one of the good sources of arguments in favor of atheism today.
  • She advocated for women’s rights, birth control, better education, and freedom of thought.
  • She was a constant critic of traditional marriage, orthodox religion, and the treatment of women in politics, the economy, and other spheres of society.
  • She stood for viewpoints that were in opposition to the prevalent Christianity conventions.

Achievements of Annie Besant
  • She was a famous speaker and writer. She was part of different groups like the National Secular Society and Theosophical Society. In 1888, she supported various causes, including the Bloody Sunday demonstration and the London match girls strike.
  • She became an important speaker for the Fabian Society and the Marxist Social Democratic Federation. She was chosen to work for the Tower Hamlets at London School Board.
  • She played a role in establishing the Central Hindu College in Varanasi in 1898 and also helped set up the Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board in Mumbai, India, in 1922.
  • In 1907, she became the president of Theosophical Society, which is based in Adyar, Madras (Chennai). Later, she joined the Indian National Congress to be involved in Indian politics and eventually became its president in 1917.
  • During the outbreak of World War I in 1914, she helped launch the Home Rule League to promote Indian democracy.

Later Life & Legacy Of Annie Besant
  • Annie Besant was an active member of the Theosophical Society up until her illness in 1931.
  • In Adyar, Madras Presidency, she passed away on September 20, 1933, at the age of 85.
  • After her death, Besant Nagar, a neighbourhood in Chennai close to the Theosophical Society, was named in her honour.
  • The Happy Valley Besant Hill School in California was also established following her demise.
  • She helped promote Indian education and was a strong supporter of Indian self-rule, and for these reasons, she is well-known in India.
  • Last, but not least, she has a huge corpus of work. More than 380 books and pamphlets were authored by her.
  • The popularization of secularism and Eastern ideas, mainly Hindu, religious, and philosophical thought, was greatly aided by Besant’s books and talks.
  • She anticipated numerous facets of the New Age movement in her works.

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Download the PDF on Annie Besant's notes for UPSC Exam here.

Conclusion

Annie Besant was a brave and outspoken woman. She was a freedom fighter, educationalist, feminist, and activist. She remained a Theosophical Society member until she died at the age of 85. She is well-known for establishing the Indian Home Rule League in India along the lines of the Irish Home League.

Previous Year Questions

Which one of the following was NOT the feature of the Home Rule Movement in India?

  • Boycott and Picketing
  • Two separate Home Rule League rather than one All India Home Rule Organization
  • Setting up discussion groups and reading rooms
  • Sale and circulation of pamphlets

We hope that all your doubts regarding Annie Besant will be cleared after going through this article. You can download the Testbook App now to check out various other topics relevant to the UPSC IAS Exam.

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Annie Besant UPSC FAQs

Annie Besant promoted the national awakening. She joined the Indian National Congress, established the All India Home Rule League in 1916 and called for complete independence. She spread awareness regarding the ill policies of the British government

Annie Besant joined the Indian National Congress, and she became involved in politics and the freedom struggle of India. She transformed the working style of Congress and called for the complete independence of India. She started the Home rule with Tilak and was arrested for the same.

Annie Besant started the Home Rule in 1916. It was based on the Irish Home Rule Movement. Unlike Congress, the League was active throughout the year and it established a robust network of local branches, allowing it to organize protests, public meetings, and agitations.

Annie Besant was a political and social activist, freedom fighter, and women's rights supporter. She was born in 1847, in Ireland, and in 1893, she came to India and became head of the Theosophy Society, later on, she established the Indian Home Rule League and also became the president of India's National Congress.

Annie Besant started the "New India" newspaper to bring attention to issues concerning India's independence fight.
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