The Surat Split of the Indian National Congress in 1907 into Moderate and Extremist factions took place in the aftermath of the partition of Bengal. Around that time, the country was in the grip of the Swadeshi and Boycott movements against the British government, and militant nationalism was on the rise.

The various factors leading to the Split include:

• Disagreement over the extension of the Swadeshi and Boycott movements: The Extremists did not subscribe to the methods of the Moderate leaders, which they thought bore no results. They believed in the capacity of the masses and wanted to extend the movements all across India to overthrow the British government. However, the Moderate leadership wanted to keep the movements localised due to the fear of reprisals.
• Issue of Swaraj: Despite their agreement on the negative consequences of the British rule over India and the need for self-government (Swaraj), the Moderates were reluctant to declare it as the goal of the Congress, which increased the frustration of the Extremists.
• Tussle over the Presidentship of the Congress: The Extremists wanted Tilak or Lala Lajpat Rai to be the President of the Congress whereas the Moderates wanted Rash Behari Ghose as the President.
• British policy of divide and rule: The Extremists were severely repressed by the British government while the Moderates were placated through concessions. For instance, the government offered reforms in the Legislative Councils and in the beginning of 1906, it discussed them with the Moderates even when a vigorous popular movement was going on.

The Split of 1907 dealt a blow to the Congress and India’s freedom struggle. Its consequences were the following:

• Loss of public support: The Moderates lost support in the eyes of the politically conscious and educated Indians who were more sympathetic to the views of the Extremists. With the passing of time, the Moderate group turned into a small coterie.
• Loss of momentum in the nationalist movements: In the absence of popular leaders like Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai etc., the Extremists were unable to create an alternative party, the Swadeshi and Boycott movements lost their leg, and by 1908, the nationalist movement as a whole declined.
• Victory for the British: The Moderates gave up the radical agendas adopted at previous sessions of the Congress at Banaras and Calcutta. To placate the Moderates, the British brought in the Morley-Minto reforms in 1909, which were more of an eyewash and with its separate electorate provisions, sowed the seeds of India’s partition.
• Rise of revolutionary terrorism: The Split left the national movement leaderless and directionless for quite some time paving the way for the first phase of revolutionary terrorism.

However, Indian leadership learnt from its mistakes and when a similar situation arose in 1924 with respect to the Swarajists and in 1936 between Nehru and Leftists, they remained united against the British despite their differences.