(a) The assertive nationalists had no faith in the British sense of justice and fair play. They believed that the British rule in India was not a blessing but a curse. They were convinced that the British had no honest intentions of introducing reforms for the welfare of the Indians. They realized that the British interests were different and clashed with the Indian interests. India could never grow and progress under British rule.
(b) The goal of the assertive nationalists was not selfgovernment in ‘gradual’ stages but immediate freedom (Swaraj) from British rule.
(c) The early nationalists had great faith in the sense of justice and fair play of the British. So they adopted peaceful and constitutional methods. They presented their grievances to the government and waited patiently for the government to pass laws to remove those grievances. They believed that the government would gradually give in to their demands. They promoted unity, spread political awareness among the people and built up a strong public opinion through meetings, lectures and the press. But the assertive nationalists on the other hand, had no faith in the constitutional methods followed by the early nationalists. Twenty years of prayers, petitions, appeals and resolutions and representations had failed to yield any concrete results.
