ProtestNational and Dravidian movements
Annie Besant interned
· Ooty
The Madras government interned Annie Besant at a hill station for her Home Rule activities, provoking protests across India.
In June 1917 the Madras government arrested Annie Besant and interned her at a hill station in the Nilgiris, along with her associates G. S. Arundale and B. P. Wadia. The internment provoked nationwide protests and drew many new supporters to the Home Rule movement. Under this pressure, Secretary of State Edwin Montagu announced on 20 August 1917 that responsible government was the goal of British policy, and Besant was released in September. In December 1917 she was elected the first woman president of the Indian National Congress.
