The dissatisfaction with British rule intensified in the 1870s and 1880s due to multiple reasons ranging from suppression to racial supremacy which took socio-cultural tones.

Events which triggered the intensification of dissatisfaction :

1. The Arms Act, 1878 - disallowing Indians from possessing arms.

2. The Vernacular Press Act, 1878 - was also enacted in an effort to silence those who were critical of the government. The Act allowed the government to confiscate the assets of newspapers including their printing presses if the newspapers published anything that was found “objectionable”. This instigated the intelligentsia which was the main body writing in such local languages to give a political dissemination and ideas to people about British rule. The main idea was to suppress any nationalist agenda.

3. Ilbert Bill, 1883 - there was a furore over the attempt by the government to introduce the Ilbert Bill. The bill provided for the trial of British or European persons by Indians, and sought equality between British and Indian judges in the country. But when white opposition forced the government to withdraw the bill, Indians were enraged. This was seen in terms of cultural and racial supremacy of British and thus got wider public attention and highlighted the attitude of Britishers towards India

4. Cultural Divide- Saligram Idol Case and subsequent imprisonment of Surendra Nath Banerjee also brought the deep rooted cultural divide between British and Indians, thus triggered the dissatisfaction.

5. Deccan Riots, 1875 - The movement began at Supa, a large village in Poona district. It was a market centre where many shopkeepers and moneylenders lived. In 1875, ryots from surrounding rural areas gathered and attacked the shopkeepers, demanding their account books and debt bonds. They burnt account books, looted grain shops, and in some cases set fire to the houses of sahukars (persons who acted as both a moneylender and a trader). From Poona the revolt spread to Ahmednagar. Then over the next two months it spread even further, over an area of 6,500 square km. More than thirty villages were affected. Deccan Riots Commission was established which produced a report to the British Parliament in 1878.

6. Increase in political consciousness - It began after 1850s, but it was aroused mostly by those political associations who came into being in 1870s-1880s. The important one are – Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, the Indian Association, the Madras Mahajan Sabha, the Bombay Presidency Association and Indian national congress.

7. Role of leaders – The early leaders like – Dadabhai Naroji helpd Indians in understanding the cruel and exploitative nature of colonialism, with the help of his ‘Drain theory’. Other leaders – R.C.Dutt (Economic history of India), Pherozshah Mehta, Surendranth Banerjee, S.Subramania Iyer, etc.

However the above events were unpopular among public and nationalist because :

1. Police posts were established in villages to frighten rebellious peasants into submission. Troops were quickly called in and many convicted.
2. There was lack of common political platform and consensus. Whatsoever, platforms were there, they were regional in character with limited outreach.
3. These events were regional in nature and thus they had limited scale of impact.
4. Support of Indians to Britishers – Moneylenders, Zamindars and certain group of intelligentsia, princely states.
5. Freedom of speech and expression were curbed, which denied the expression for intellectual nationalist and means of information for common people.

All these dissatisfaction and consciousness aroused by political association cumulatively led to establishment of Indian national Congress in 1885, which provided platforms to the leaders to address such causes and negotiate with the British Government.