This situation of foreign domination deteriorated dramatically with the arrival of European colonial powers in the 17th century and the acquisition in 1764 of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by Britain's East India Company.
Hindu revolutionary groups joined a popular anti-Congress opposition front formed around the concept of "Total Revolution" ("Sampoorna Kranti") promoted by Gandhian reformer Jayaprakash (J.P.) Narayan.
It is traditionally defined as the all-supporting law of the universe which God established at the beginning of time for the benefit of the world and as a guide to right action;[35][36] and which is followed by the learned and assented to in their heart by the virtuous.
[37] Dharma is seen as the sum total of spiritual, moral and social laws that bind man to his fellow men and to God, ensuring thereby the harmonious and efficient functioning of human society.
[42]) or what Mahatma Gandhi referred to as Ram Rajya (literally, Kingdom of God on earth),[43][44] in emulation of the example set by divine avatars such as Krishna and Rama.
[54] However, its actual beginnings may be dated to the last decade of the 19th century in which the revolutionary seeds of the 1857 events began to germinate, providing fresh impetus to India's national struggle of liberation from colonial rule.
This demand was formulated by Lokmanya Tilak and agreed upon by Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghose in 1905 and proclaimed by Dadabhai Naoroji in his presidential address at the Calcutta Congress in 1906.
As the situation has not found resolution and the ultimate goal – the establishment of a Hindu State or Ideal Society (Ram Rajya or Rāma Rājya ) – is yet to be achieved, the movement remains an ongoing process.
Although the primary methods of struggle employed by the movement have been constitutional and agitational, it has not been without its more radical factions which have attempted to achieve political goals through the use of armed force.
The starting point of the armed struggle is generally accepted as having been provided by the guerrilla campaign of 1879 which was led by Vasudev Balwant Phadke and aimed to establish a Hindu Republic in India.
[55] In the wake of these events, various underground groups emerged in the 1890s, aiming to initiate a national insurrection through acts of assassination carried out against leading representatives of the colonial state.
[57] The First World War (1914–1918) was seen as an opportunity to forge alliances with foreign powers opposed to Britain, such as Germany and Turkey, and a "Provisional Government of Free India" under Raja Mahendra Pratap was set up in Kabul in December 1915.
At the same time, however, frustration at the lack of progress in the political field has led to a revival in militant Hinduism, a notable manifestation of which is the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.