The split of the Indian National Congress at its Surat session in 1907 into two factions, the Moderates and the Extremists, over differences in aims and methods.
- Occurred at the Surat session of the Congress in 1907, where the Moderates and Extremists openly broke ranks.
- The Moderates (such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Pherozeshah Mehta) favoured constitutional methods, petitions, and gradual reform within the British framework; the Extremists (Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal) favoured swadeshi, boycott, and self-reliance, with the goal of swaraj.
- The immediate dispute was over the choice of president and the wording of resolutions on swadeshi, boycott, and national education following the partition of Bengal.
- After the split the British launched repression on the Extremists; Tilak was tried for sedition and imprisoned in Mandalay (Burma) in 1908.
- The two factions were reunited at the Lucknow session in 1916 (the Lucknow Pact).
The Moderate versus Extremist divide, the leaders of each camp, the 1907 split, and the 1916 reunion are core facts of the early nationalist phase.
The Congress split at Surat in 1907 and reunited at Lucknow in 1916; Gokhale led the Moderates while Tilak led the Extremists.
1907 Surat Split: Congress divided into Moderates (Gokhale) and Extremists (Tilak); reunited at Lucknow in 1916.