FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN INDIA

MODULE 1 – EMERGANCE OF NATIONALISM

Factors responsible for the growth of Indian Nationalism

The British conquest of India was followed by the establishment of a centralized

governmentwhich brought about political and administrative unification. In the pre-
colonial India the people werenot socially and economically integrated in the absence
of a unified national economy and efficientand extensive means of communication.
Common subjection, common institutions common lawsbegan to unite India in a
common bond. In the words of Edwyn Bevan, "the British Raj was like asteel-frame
which held the injured body of India together till the gradual process of internal
growthhad joined the dislocated bones, knit up the torn fibers and enabled the patient to
regain innercoherence and unity”. Thus establishment of political unity, uniform system
of administration,uniform reign of law and a uniform currency system generated the
idea of India as a nation.

1 Development of Means of Communication and Transport

Administrative convenience, military defense and economic exploitation were the

factors thaturged the British government to have planned development of modern
means of transport. The Britishconstructed a modern postal system and electric
telegraph all over the country. In the words of EdwinArnold, "Railways may do for
India what dynasties have never done what the genius of Akbar theMagnificent could
not affect by government, not the cruelty of Tipu Sahib by violence, they havemade
India a nation." The modern means of communications and transport enabled people
living indifferent parts of the country to maintain regular contacts with one another
which provided them notonly a sense of unity but also the facility to organize an all-
India movement

2 Impact of Western Education

Perhaps the greatest contribution of the British rule to the growth of India nationalism
was theintroduction of western education in India. It brought about a profound
intellectual transformation inIndia. Western education brought the Indians into touch
with the works of great European thinkersand writers like Milton, Thomas Paine, Burke,
J.S. Mill, Spencer, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau andMazzini and helped them imbibe the
ideas of liberty, equality, fraternity, democracy and nationalfreedom. The pioneers of
Indian nationalism were moved by the aspirations for self-government, forpolitical
power and representative institutions. The study of English language not only helped
buildup a democratic and national outlook, it also did a great service to the cause of
Indian nationalism byproviding a medium of communication for the educated Indians
throughout India to exchange viewson a national scale. It cut across personal barriers
and served as a lingua franca. Educated Indiansbegan to meet and discuss common
problems through the medium of English and to meet on acommon platform to devise
plans for independence of the country

3 Economic Exploitation of India

The British economic policy in India led to impoverishment of the country. The main
object ofBritish policies was a systematic destruction of traditional Indian economy.
The Indian reaction to thediscriminatory economic policy of the British government
was the rise of economic nationalism inIndia. India became a supplier of raw materials
to the British industries, a market for the sale of Britishgoods and a place for investment
of British capital. Indian economy was sacrificed for Britisheconomic interests.
Economic exploitation by the British was increasingIndia's poverty. The British Indian
administration was extremely costly. Systematic attempts were made to destroy the
indigenous industries of India to make room for manufactured goods fromEngland.
Gradually the people realized that it was drain of wealth from India which made India
poor.As all classes suffered economically because of the British rule, they realized the
necessity ofuprooting the British rule from India.

It gave a great impetus to the spirit of nationalism. Socio-Religious Reform

MovementsThe socio-religious reform movements also known as the Indian
Renaissance were the firstExpression of national awakening. They represented attempts
to revise the old religion in the spirit ofthe new principles of nationalism and democracy.
To quote or Zachaias; "The Indian nationalmovement was a part of the Indian
Renaissance of India which manifested in the form of a generalreform movement and
produced striking religious and social reforms long before it issued in amovement for
political emancipation."The Brahma Samaj, the Arya Samaj, the Ramakrishna
Missionand the Theosophical Society in their own respective ways, revived the glory
of ancient India,generated faith in Indian culture and religion and tried to strengthen
them by removing the evils.Similarly revivalism among the Muslims was provided by
the Wahabi Movement on the one side andby the personality of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
on the other. These movements breathed a new life intothe degenerated Hindu and
Muslim communities. They created self-confidence and inculcated a senseof self-
respect which in its turn brought dissatisfaction against the British rule. They preached
lovefor India and everything Indian. It promoted pa-Indian feelings and spirit of
nationalism.
4 Emergence of Modern Press and Nationalist Literature

Indian press played an equally important role in building and developing Indian
nationalism. Itis through press that the Indian nationalists spread the message of
patriotism and modern economic,social and political ideas among the people. The
Indian press has played a notable role in mobilisingpublic opinion, organizing political
movements and promoting nationalism. Despite governmentrestrictions news papers
like the Indian mirror, Amrit Bazar Patrika, the Pioneer, The Hindu, theMaratha,
Keshari, Bombay Samachar, Samachar Darpan, Andhra Prakasika etc. became a
powerfulinstrument of political education for the middle class and stimulated the
growth of national feelingby making public the grievances of the people and also by
exposing the failings and deficiencies ofthe foreign rule. B.B. Majumdar has rightly
remarked, "Western education and the Indian press werethe two of the most important
agencies destined to infuse into the people of India the spirit of nationalunity and to
inspire them to achieve independence without bloodshed." Nationalist literature in
theform of novels, essays and patriotic poetry played an important role in creating
national consciousness.Bankim Chandra, Rabindranath Tagore, Vishnu Shastri
Chiplunkar, Subramanyam Bharati and AltafHussain Hali were some of the writers who
infused the spirit of patriotism in the minds of the commonpeople.

5 Denial of Higher Jobs to deserving Indians

The charter Act of 1833 laid down that fitness was to be the criterion of eligibility for
jobs. Itwas again reiterated in the Queen's proclamation of 1858. But deliberate attempts
were made by theBritish to debar Indians from higher posts specially the Indian Civil
Service. S.N. Banerjee,Aurobindo Ghosh etc. were denied entry into Indian Civil
Service on flimsy grounds. In 1877the entrance age to ICS was reduced from 21 to 19
just to reduce the prospects of Indian candidatesfrom the Indian Civil Service. This
decision led to a countrywide agitation and marked the beginningof the unity of action
and solidarity of purpose. S.N. Banerjee started an all-India campaign forrestoring the
entrance age of 21 and for simultaneous ICS examination in India. It helped the
educatedIndians to unite for promoting their interests.

6 Reactionary Regime of Lytton and the llbert Bill Controversy

The regime of Lord Lytton as Governor General (1876-80) was full of reactionary
measures.Lytton held an Imperial Durbar at Delhi in 1877 to announce Queen Victoria
as the Empress of Indiaat a time when a large part of the country was in the grip of a
severe famine. He put on the statute book two obnoxious measures the vernacular press
Act and the Indian Arms Act. While the press Actintended to restrict the freedom of the
vernacular press, the Arms Act aimed to disarm the Indianpeople. Another
discriminatory measure was the reducing of the import cotton duties by five percentto
appease the Lancashire mill-owners. Then he reduced the entrance age to ICS from 21
to 19 whichantagonized the educated Indians. The llbert Bill controversy during the
period of Lord Riponexposed the racial bitterness of the British and united the Indians.
Ripon tried to abolish judicialdisqualification based on race

FORMATION OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS – 1885

The movement for India’s independence began with the establishment of the Indian
National Congress in 1885. Before the birth of the National Congress, a number of
organizations were formed. But most of them had limited objectives and their
influence remained confined to their respective regions. In order to draw the attention
of the British public opinion towards the welfare of the Indians in 1866, Dadabhai
Naroji established East Indian Association in London.Mahadeva Govinda
Ranade formed the Madras Mahajana Sabha in 1881 and also the Poona
Sarvajanik Sabha in 1867 for social reforms and national awakening. In
1885, the Bombay Presidency Association was formed under the leadership
of persons like Feroz Shall Mehta, Badruddin Tayabji etc. with the aim of
awakening national consciousness. However, among all these organizations,
the Indian Association established under the leadership of Surendra Natli
Banerjee and Anand Mohan Bose, actively attempted to form a strong public
opinion against the unjust policies of the British Government. It opposed the
Arms Act and the Vernacular Press Act of Lord Lytton. It also opposed the
reduction of the qualifying age for appearing in the Indian Civil Service
Examination from twenty-one to nineteen.

It organized a number of peasant demonstrations demanding reduction of the

rate of revenue. With a view of bringing representatives from all over India to
a common platform, the Indian Association organized All-India National
Conferences twice in 1883 and 1885. But the Indian public opinion could be
organized and articulated only with the formation of Indian National Congress
as a national forum.Allan Octavian Hume, a retired I.C.S. officer was
instrumental in the formation of Indian National Congress. He wrote an open
letter to the students of Calcutta university asking at least fifty among them
to be ready for making sacrifices for the cause of the motherland. Mr. Hume
met Lord Dufferin, the then Governor- General of India and decided to form
an association which might function on the model of the opposition party of
Britain. This association could be consulted by the British Government to
assess the Indian public opinion on various issues of national interest.
Moreover, this all India forum would work as a ‘safety valve’ for the escape
of great forces generated due to the British rule in India.
Hume invited eminent Indians from different parts of the country to meet at
Poona from 25th to 28th December 1885. But the venue of the meeting was
shifted to Bombay as Poona became infected with Cholera.The first session of
the All India Congress began on 28th December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal
Sanskrit College. Eminent barrister of Calcutta, Mr. Woomesh Chandra
Banerjee presided over it. Seventy two invited delegates from different parts
of India assembled in this first session. Mr. Hume was elected as the first
general secretary of the Indian National Congress. Nine resolutions were
passed in this first session. Though Indian National Congress made a very
humble beginning, yet it gradually developed into a powerful organization.
With its birth, the struggle for India’s liberation was started in an organized
manner. Mahatma Gandhi subsequently ‘made it a mass organization from a
class organization of few urban educated middle class people.

Aims and Objectives:

The initial aims and objectives of the congress, were1. To flourish solidarity
and friendship amongst the people of India.2. To eradicate all the prevailing
cast, creed, race or province related prejudices from the country.3. To
strengthen the feelings of National unity.4. Consideration of the opinions of
educated classes on the issues related to the problems of society.5. To
formulate guidelines for future plan of action in the public interest.It gave
representation to the people of different parts of India belonging to different
walks of life. National Congress attempted to fulfill their hope and aspirations.
India could be liberated from the British colonial rule by starting a non-violent
movement under the banner of National Congress.

SURAT SPLIT [MODERATES AND EXTREMISTS]

The Congress split into two parts-Moderates and Extremists in the year
1907 at the Surat Session of Congress, which was also popularly known as
'Surat Split'.Moderates believed in Liberalism and Moderate Politics. They
believed that the British rulers were merely unaware of the plight of the Indian
masses and that once they were made aware the British authorities would do
their utmost to improve the lives of the local populace. The Extremist leaders
firmly believed that the British had no interest of the Indian people in mind.
It was evident from the lackluster response from the authorities during a
plague or famine. Moderates wanted greater autonomy and self-rule while still
under the nominal rule of the British crown. Extremists wanted completed
independence from British rule. Moderates gave importance to Prayer,
Petition, Persuasion, and Philanthropy. Their demands were constitutional,
and so was their agitation. Their methods were regarded as ‘Passive
Resistance’. Extremists were radical in terms of their approach, and believed
in militant methods including but not limited to the assassination of key
personnel. Dadabai Naoroji, A.O. Hume, W C Banerjee were moderates and
Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal were extremists.

MODERATES- IDEOLOGIES AND PROGRAMMES

The moderate political activity involved constitutional agitation within the
confines of law and showed a slow but orderly political progress. The Moderates
believed that the British basically wanted to be just to the Indians but were not
aware of the real conditions.Therefore, if public opinion could be created in the
country and public demands be presented to the Government through resolutions,
petitions, meetings, etc., the authorities would concede these demands
gradually.To achieve these ends, they worked on a two-pronged methodology
one, create a strong public opinion to arouse consciousness and national spirit and
then educate and unite people on common political questions; and two, persuade
the British Government and British public opinion to introduce reforms in India
on the lines laid out by the nationalists.
For this purpose, a British committee of the Indian National Congress was
established in London in 1899 which had India as its organ. Dadabhai Naoroji
spent a substantial portion of his life and income campaigning for India’s case
abroad. In 1890, it was decided to hold a session of the Indian National Congress
in London in 1892, but owing to the British elections of 1891 the proposal was
postponed and never revived later.The Moderate leaders believed that political
connections with Britain were in India’s interest at that stage of history and that
the time was not ripe for a direct challenge to the British rule. Therefore, it was
considered to be appropriate to try and transform the colonial rule to approximate
to a national rule.

Contributions of Moderate Nationalists:

Economic Critique of British Imperialism:
The early nationalists, led by Dadabhai Naoroji, R.C. Dutt, Dinshaw Wacha and
others, carefully analysed the political economy of British rule in India, and put
forward the “drain theory” to explain British exploitation of India.They opposed
the transformation of a basically self-sufficient Indian economy into a colonial
economy (i.e., a supplier of raw materials and food stuff, an importer of finished
goods and a field of investment for British capital). Thus, the Moderates were
able to create an all-India public opinion that British rule in India was the major
cause of India’s poverty and economic backwardness.To mitigate the deprivation
characterising Indian life, the early nationalists demanded severance of India’s
economic subservience to Britain and development of an independent economy
through involvement of Indian capital and enterprise.The early nationalists
demanded reduction in land revenue, abolition of salt tax, improvement in
working conditions of plantation labour, reduction in military expenditure, and
encouragement to modern industry through tariff protection and direct
government aid.
Constitutional Reforms and Propaganda in Legislature:
Legislative councils in India had no real official power till 1920. Yet, work done
in them by the nationalists helped the growth of the national movement. The
Imperial Legislative Council constituted by the Indian Councils Act (1861) was
an impotent body designed to disguise official measures as having been passed
by a representative body.Indian members were few in number—thirty years from
1862 to 1892 only forty-five Indians were nominated to it, most of them “being
wealthy, landed and with loyalist interests. Only a handful of political figures and
independent intellectuals such as Syed Ahmed Khan, Kristodas Pal, V.N.
Mandlik, K.L. Nulkar and Rashbehari Ghosh were nominated.
Campaign for General Administrative Reforms:
(i) Indianisation of government service on the economic grounds that British civil
servants expected very high emolu merits while inclusion of Indians would be
more economical; on political grounds that, since salaries of British bureaucrats
were remitted back home and pensions paid in England, this amounted to
economic drain; and on moral grounds that Indians were being discriminated
against by being kept away from positions of trust and responsibility.(ii)
Separation of judicial from executive functions.(iii) Criticism of an oppressive
and tyrannical bureaucracy and an expensive and time-consuming judicial
system.(iv) Criticism of an aggressive foreign policy which resulted in annexation
of Burma, attack on Afghanistan and suppression of tribals in the North-West. (v)
Increase in expenditure on welfare (i.e., health, sanitation), education—especially
elementary and technical— irrigation works and improvement of agriculture,
agricultural banks for cultivators, etc.(vi) Better treatment for Indian labour
abroad in other British colonies, who faced oppression and racial discrimination
there.
Defence of Civil Rights:
These rights included the right to speech, thought, association and a free press.
Through an incessant campaign, the nationalists were able to spread modern
democratic ideas, and soon the defence of civil rights became an integral part of
the freedom struggle.It was due to the increased consciousness that there was a
great public outrage at the arrest of Tilak and several other leaders and journalists
in 1897 and at the arrest and deportation of the Natu brothers without a trial.
An Evaluation of the Early Nationalists:(i) They represented the most
progressive forces of the time.(ii) They were able to create a wide national
awakening of all Indians having common interests and the need to rally around a
common programme against a common enemy, and above all, the feeling of
belonging to one nation. (iii) They trained people in political work and
popularised modern ideas.(iv) They exposed the basically exploitative character
of colonial rule, thus undermining its moral foundations.(v) Their political work
was based on hard realities, and not on shallow sentiments, religion, etc.(vi) They
were able to establish the basic political truth that India should be ruled in the
interest of Indians.(vii) They created a solid base for a more vigorous, militant,
mass-based national movement in the following years.(viii) However, they failed
to widen their democratic base and the scope of their demands.
MODULE 2 – EXTRIMIST PHASE
RISE OF EXTREMISM
The political orientation of Extremist originated within the Congress from the
anti- partition Bengal agitation. When the British Government refused to annual
the partition of Bengal in face of mass protests of the people of Bengal arousing
sympathy of the Indian people that disillusioned many young leaders, came to
known as Neo-Nationalists or Extremists. The important extremist leaders
were Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo
Ghosh. They were called extremist because they believed that success could be
achieved only through bold means.
Reason for the Rise of Extremism
The failure of the Moderates to win any notable success other than the expansion
of the legislative councils by the Indian Councils Act (1892).The famine and
plague of 1896-97 was not eye opening for the exploitative policy for British
which degraded the economic condition of peopleColour discrimination Indians
in South Africa.The Russo-Japanese war of 1904 – 05 events play important role
in national awakening.
METHOD AND PROGRAMMES
The extremist goal was ‘swaraj’. This, at that time, either meant complete
autonomy and freedom from British control, or a total Indian control over the
administration but not necessarily a break away from Britain’s imperial
reign.This was in contrast to the moderates’ demand of only an increase in the
share of Indians in the administration and military upper echelons.The extremist
leaders involved wider sections of people in the movement. They involved lower-
middle-class people also.They did not stick to constitutional methods to protest
and demand. They resorted to boycotts, strikes, etc. They also burned foreign-
made goods.They believed in confrontation rather than persuasion.The Swadeshi
movement gathered momentum in India because of the extremists’ support. This
led to the establishment of Indian banks, mills, factories, etc.They were strongly
against British imperialistic policies in India.They took pride in Indian culture
and history. They looked at the ancient scriptures for inspiration and
courage.They believed in sacrificing everything including life for the cause of the
motherland.They opposed westernisation of Indian society by the British.Tilak
famously said, “Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it.”They were very vocal
in their opposition to the British rule, unlike the moderates who had faith in
British justice.They tried to instil self-respect and patriotism in the people by
invoking past heroes like Ashoka, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap and Rani
Laxmibai.They did not believe in loyalty to the British Crown.Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal (the first three called Lal-Bal-Pal
leading the extremist cause in Punjab, Bombay and Bengal respectively.)Other
leaders included Aurobindo Ghosh, Rajnarayan Bose, A K Dutt, V O C Pillai.The
government attacked the extremist leaders vigorously. Laws were passed to check
their activities and influence. The following laws were passed between 1907 and
1911: Seditious Meetings Act, 1907; Indian Newspapers (Incitement to Offences)
Act, 1908; Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908; and the Indian Press Act, 1910.
Tilak was sentenced and served in prison in Mandalay (Burma) for writing in
support of revolutionaries who were involved in the killing of two British women
(their original target was a British magistrate).
IMPACT OF EXTREMISM
Bal Gangadhar Tilak organized Ganpati and Shivaji festival to spread the
message of boycotting westernization in India. This was a major social reform
and had a larger impact on society.The slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall
have it” by Tilak was the talk of society.goods and national education was
boycotted which brought a major change in the economy of the country and gave
way to employment and various other opportunities for the Indians.There was a
major reform in education across the country as the extremists worked on
establishing National universities free from government control.

Partition of Bengal
The partition of Bengal was the most important event during the rule of Lord
Curzon. It was carried out mainly for the convenience of administration. Bengal
in those days was the biggest province of India extending over 1, 89, 000 square
miles with a population of 80 million. It was comprising of Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa and was under the central of one lieutenant Governor. After Lord Curzon
took charge as Governor General of India the discussion over the Partition began
due to the following issues:
 1. Vastness of Province: The Province was spread over the area of 1, 89, 000
square miles with the population of 80 million, which was too vast to be managed
by one lieutenant Governor. He could not make a tour for the whole province due
to its vastness once in his tenure.
2. Difference of Language: There was also the difference of Languages and
civilization of the natives of West Bengal and East Bengal. The natives of West
Bengal considered themselves superior in civilization to the resident of East
Bengal. The Condition demanded for the division of Provinces.
3. Need of the time: The division of Bengal was the need of the time to develop
trade in East Bengal and to promote the Port of Chittagong, which could be done
only by division of the Provinces.
4. Partition: The Partition of Bengal was thus calculated to restore efficiency in
the Government and administration on one hand and encouraged local initiatives
for progress and development on the other. Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal and
formed two new provinces of manageable size – East and West Bengal. East
Bengal consisted of Dacca, Mamansingh, Assam, Kaula, Rangpur, and Bogra
district, the Dacca was capital of East Bengal constituted a majority regions
comes under present Bangladesh, while the Bihar and Orissa constituted a
separate province to be called as West Bengal with the capital of Calcutta. East
Bengal contained a population of eighteen million Muslims and twelve million
Hindus. Whereas West Bengal had a population fifty four million of which 42
million where Hindus.
Annulment of the Partition
When Lord Harding assumed charge as Governor General of India Indians again
became active and sent a representation to him for the annulment of partition of
Bengal. He recommended the same to the British Prime Minister for Indian
Affairs. On the occasion of the visiting His Majesty George V to holding of
Durbar at Delhi on 12th December 1911 the partition of Bengal was cancelled.
The united Bengal was placed under a Governor and Assam was placed under a
Chief Commissioner.

Swadeshi and Boycott movement

The Swadeshi Movement had its genesis in the anti-partition movement which
was started to oppose the British decision to partition Bengal. The Government’s
decision to partition Bengal had been made public in December 1903. The official
reason given for the decision was that Bengal with a population of 78 million
(about a quarter of the population of British India) had become too big to be
administered. This was true to some extent, but the real motive behind the
partition plan was the British desire to weaken Bengal, the nerve centre of Indian
nationalism. This it sought to achieve by putting the Bengalis under two
administrations by dividing them (i) on the basis of language (thus reducing the
Bengalis to a minority in Bengal itself as in the new proposal Bengal proper was
to have 17 million Bengalis and 37 million Hindi and Oriya speakers), and (ii) on
the basis of religion, as the western half was to be a Hindu majority area (42
million out of a total 54 million) and the eastern half was to be a Muslim majority
area (18 million out of a total of 31 million). Trying to woo the Muslims, Curzon,
the viceroy at that time, argued that Dacca could become the capital of the new
Muslim majority province, which would provide them with a unity not
experienced by them since the days of old Muslim viceroys and kings. Thus, it
was clear that the Government was up to its old policy of propping up
Muslimcommunalists to counter the Congress and the national movement.

Formation of Muslim League and its Objectives

The partition of Bengal created a communal divide. On December 30, 1906,
Muslim league was formed under the leadership of Aga Khan, the Nawab of
Dhaka and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk to the notion to safeguard the rights of Indian
Muslims. Initially, it gets great support from the British but when it adopted the
notion of Self-rule then they get destitution from them. The Amritsar session of
the League, held in 1908, under the presidentship of Sir Syed Ali Imam,
demanding a separate electorate for the Muslims, this was conceded to them by
his Morley-Minto Reform 1909. Maulana Muhammad Ali started an English
Journal ‘Comrade’ and an Urdu Paper ‘Hamdard’ to propagate his anti-league
views. He also started ‘Al-Hilal ‘which served as a mouthpiece of his Nationalist
views.
Factor promoting the Muslim league
British Plan- Dividing Indian on communal lines and adhered separatist attitude
in Indian politics. For example- Separate electorate, Played caste politics between
non- Brahmins and Brahmins.Lacks of Education- Muslims were isolated from
western and technical education.Loss Sovereignty by Muslims- 1857 revolt
makes British to think that Muslims are dangerous for their colonial policy. As
they were established their rule after dethroning the Mughal rule.Expression of
Religious Colour-Most of the historians and radical nationalists glorified India’s
one side of our composite culture. They praises were biased because Shivaji,
Rana Pratap etc were paraises but they remained silent on Akbar, Sher Shah Suri,
Allauddin Khalji, Tipu Sultan etc.Economic backwardness of India- Lack of
Industrialisation causes acute unemployment and British attitude towards cottage
industry was pathetic.Objectives of the formation of leagueTo promote loyalty of
Indian Muslims towards the British government.To protect the political and other
rights of the Indian Muslims and to place their needs and aspirations before the
Government.To overcome on the feeling of hostility among Muslims towards
other communities.

Morley-Minto Reform
Morley-Minto Reform was another name of the Indian Council Act of
1909, which was named after the secretary of state and the Viceroy. It was
instituted to placate the moderates. According to this act, the membership of the
central and provincial legislative councils was enlarged. However, the number of
elected members in these councils was less than half of their total membership. It
may also be remembered that the elected members were not elected by the people
but by landlords, organizations or traders and industrialists, universities, and local
bodies. The British also introduced communal electorates as a part of these
reforms. This was meant to create disunity between Hindus and Muslims. Some
seats in the councils were reserved for Muslims to be elected by Muslim voters.
By this, the British hoped to cut off Muslims from the nationalist movement by
treating them apart from the rest of the nation. They told the Muslims that their
interests were separate from those of other Indians. To weaken the nationalist
movement, the British began to consistently follow a policy of promoting
communalism in India. The growth of communalism had serious consequences
for the unity of the Indian people and the struggle for freedom. The congress at
its 1909 session welcomed the reforms but strongly opposed the reforms the
creation of separate electorates on the basis of religion.The Morley-Minto
reforms did not introduce any significant change in the powers of the councils.
They did not mark and advance towards the establishment of a representative
government, much less swaraj. In fact, the Secretary of state frankly declared that
he had absolutely no intention of introducing a Parliamentary form of
Government. The autocratic form of government that had been introduced after
the revolt of 1857 remained unchanged even after the Morley-Minto reforms.
Features of the Act1
. It considerably increased the size of the legislative councils, both Central and
provincial. The number of members in the Central Legislative Council was raised
from 16 to 60. The number of members in the provincial legislative councils was
not uniform.2. It retained an official majority in the Central Legislative Council
but allowed the provincial legislative councils to have a non-official majority.3.
It enlarged the deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both levels. For
example, members were allowed to ask supplementary questions, move
resolutions on the budget, and so on.4. It provided (for the first time) for the
association of Indians with the executive councils of the Viceroy and Governors.
Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive
Council. He was appointed as the law member.5. It introduced a system of
communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of a separate
electorate’. Under this, the Muslim members were to be elected only by Muslim
voters. Thus, the Act ‘legalised communalism’ and Lord Minto came to be known
as the Father of Communal Electorate.6. It also provided for the separate
representation of presidency corporations, chambers of commerce, universities,
and zamindars.
NATIONAL MOVEMENT-POST FIRST WORLD WAR SCENARIO
After the First World War the Indian National Movement entered into a new
phase.With the emergence of Gandhi,the element of mass mobilisation was
introduced.Till the coming of independence three major mass movements were
launched;Non-Cooperation (1920-22),Civil disobedience (1930-34) and Quit
India(1942).Besides these mass movements the revolutionary movement,
peasants and working class movements and state people's movements also played
a vital role in the struggle for freedom.In this period sufficient emphasis was laid
on the socioeconomic content of Swaraj.The Communist Party of India and the
Socialist groups within the Congress pointed out towards economic emancipation
of the masses along with the importance of the struggle for independence
Impact of First World War on the National Movement.
The First World War (1914-1918) had a great impact on the National Movement
in India: a.Resentment among the Indians: The British government declared India
as an ally and a belligerent. Indian people and resources were used in this war.It
created great resentment among the Indians especially when they were not even
consulted before joining the war. b) Anguish among the Muslims: The British
were fighting against the Turkish Empire which was ruled by the Caliph
(Khalifa).The Muslims had great respect for the Caliph.The Indian Muslims
joined the Caliphate (Khilafat) Movement for the defence of Turkey against the
British. c) Peasant's unrest: During the war, the peasant's unrest also grew. These
movements helped prepare the ground for mass movement. d) Home Rule
Movement: Annie Besant joined the Congress in 1914. In 1916 she along with
Bal Gangadhar Tilak started the Home Rule Movement. The Home Rule League
demanded selfgovernment to the Indians. e) The Lucknow Pact (1916): In 1916,
at the Lucknow Session, the 'moderates' and the 'extremists' were united.Besides;
a pact was made between the Congress and the Muslim League to work unitedly
for their demands of greater share and power for Indians in the Executive Council
and election of members of the Legislative Councils. f) Emergence of Gandhiji:
Gandhiji emerged as the leader of the nationalist movement in India during the
First World War.

Home rule movement

Many Indian leaders saw clearly that the government was not likely to give any
real concessions unless popular pressure was brought to bear upon it. Hence, a
real mass political movement was necessary. Some other factors were leading the
nationalist movement in the same direction. The World War, involviag mutual
struggle between the imperialist powers of Europe, destroyed the myth of the
racial superiority of the western nations over the Asian peoples. Moreover the
War led to increased misery among the poorer classes of Indians, for them the
War had meant heavy taxation and soaring profit of the daily necessities of life.
They were getting ready to join any militant movement of protest. Consequently,
the war years were years of intense nationalist political agitation.But this mass
agitation coiild not be carried out under the leadership of the Indian National
Congress, which had become, under Moderate leadership, a passive and inert
political organisation with no political work among the people to its credit.
Therefore, two Home Rule Leagues were started ill 1915-16, one under the
leadership of Lokamanya Tilak and the other under ihe leadership of Annie
Besant, and S. Subra- maniya Iyer. The two Home Rule Leagues carried out
intense propaganda all over the country in favour of the demand for the grant of
Home Rule or self-government to India after the War, it was during this agitation
that Tilak gave the popular slogan: “Home .Rule is my birth-right, and I will have
it. The two Leagues made rapid progress and the cry of Home Rule resounded
throughout the length and breadth of India. The war period also witnessed the
growth of the revolutionary movement.Tilak's activities were confined to
Bombay Presidency and the Central province while Annie Besant popularized
this movement in the rest of India. The branches of the league were set up all over
the country. Tilak made a wirlwind tour of the country in 1916 and in his speeches
he said, "Swaraj is my birthright and I will have it’’.He said that Home Rule
through was the only cure of India's political ills and the grievances of the Indians.
He preached the idea of Home Rule through his two news papers - the Kesari and
the Maratha. Annie Besant also toured the country and created a lot of enthusiasm
among the people for the cause of Home Rule. She carried on the propaganda in
favour of it in the newspapers named New India and Common Weal. The
movement reached its peak in 1917.
The Government got panicky at the activities of the Home Rule Movement and
it thought of suppressing it with a heavy hand. The Government made use of
Defense of India Act to curb the activities of the agitators. Students were
prohibited from attending Home Rule meetings. Tilak was prosecuted for his
fiery and exciting speeches and his entry in Punjab and Delhi was banned.
Important leaders of the movement including Annie Besant were interned.
Various restrictions were imposed on the press by using the Indian Press Act of
1910. But the repressive policy followed by the Government only added fuel to
the fire. Strikes, agitation and protest meetings were organized throughout the
country. The government realized the seriousness of the demonstrations that
broke out in support of the Home Rule League. The Indians seemed to be
prepared to pay any price to achieve the Home Rule. Therefore to appease the
nationalists, the Secretary of State for India made a declaration on August 20,
1917 announcing the British policy towards India. He said, "The policy of his
Majesty's Government was the gradual development of self-governing
institutions with a view to the progressive realization of the responsible
government in India as an integral part of the Empire." As a result the Home Rule
Movement died out gradually.

Importance of the Home Rule Movement:

The Home Rule Movement has its own importance in the history of National
Movement of India. It was an important milestone in the history of the Indian
freedom movement. It transformed the national movement into the peoples'
movement as more and more people began to take part in it. It worked as a light
house when the political atmosphere in the country was full of disappointment. It
put new life in the national movement. It gave definite shape and direction to the
movement for Swaraj. It also influenced the foreign statesmen and several of the
American leaders. Many British members also supported the demand for Home
Rule to the Indians.

Annie Besant
President of Theosophical Society of India; founded Home Rule League in 1916
and demand self rule in India; became first woman president of Indian National
Congress. Annie Besant was a prominent Theosophist, social reformer, political
leader, women's rights activist, writer and orator. She was of Irish origin and
made India her second home. She fought for the rights of Indian and was the first
woman president of Indian National Congress. Annie Besant was born as Annie
Wood on October 1, 1847 in a middle-class family in London. She was of Irish
origin. Her father died when she was only five. Annie’s mother supported the
family by running a boarding house for boys at Harrow. As a young woman she
traveled widely in Europe and this widened her outlook. Annie Besant was
married in 1867 to a clergyman called Frank Besant. But the marriage did not last
long. They legally separated in 1873. Annie Besant had two children from the
marriage. After her separation Annie began to question not only her long-held
religious beliefs but the whole of conventional thinking. She began to write
attacks on the Churches and the way they controlled people’s lives. In particular
she attacked the status of the Church of England as a state-sponsored faith. Annie
Besant fought for the causes she thought were right, such as, women's rights,
secularism, birth control, Fabian socialism and workers' rights. She became
interested in Theosophy as a way of knowing God. Theosophical Society was
against discrimination of race, color, gender and preached Universal brotherhood.
To serve humanity at large was its supreme goal. It was as a member of
Theosophical Society of India that she arrived in India in 1893. She toured the
entire country of India. It gave her first hand information about India and middle-
class Indians who were affected more by British rule and its system of education.
Her long-time interest in education resulted in the founding of the Central Hindu
College at Benares (1898). She also became involved in Indian freedom
movement. In 1916, she founded Home Rule League which advocated self rule
by Indians. She became the President of Indian National Congress in 1917. She
was the first woman to hold that post. She started a newspaper, "New India",
criticized British rule and was jailed for sedition. After the arrival of Gandhiji on
Indian national scene, differences arose between Mahatma Gandhi and Annie
Besant. Gradually, she withdrew from active politics.
Ghadar Party
At the beginning of the 20th century, the burgeoning Indian Independence
Struggle had lead to a rise of nationalist sentiments not just in the Indian
subcontinent but also among students and emigres around the world belonging to
the same region. Revolutionary intellectuals like Lala Har Dayal (Born
on October 14, 1884) and Taraknath Das attempted to organize these students
while imparting nationalist ideasThe Ghadar Party, initially named the Pacific
Coast Hindustan Association was formed in was formed on 15 July 1913 in the
United States under the leadership of Lala Har Dayal, Sant Baba Wasakha Singh
Dadehar, Baba Jawala Singh, Santokh Singh and Sohan Singh Bhakna as its
president. The Ghadar party found a large support base among Indian expatriates
living in the United States, Canada, East Africa and Asia.

Activities of the Ghadar Party

Upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, some members of the Ghadar
Party arrived in Punjab to foment an armed revolution for the independence of
India. They were also successful in smuggling arms and inciting the Indian
soldiers in the British Army to mutiny. The resultant uprising, now known as the
Ghadar Mutiny was harshly put down by the British with 42 mutineers being
executed following the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial. Yet, the Ghadar Party
continued their fight against colonialism from 1914 to 1917, with the support of
Imperial Germany and the Ottoman Empire as both were part of the Central
Powers opposed to the British.Know the difference between Central and Axis
Powers by visiting the linked article.The party was built around the weekly paper
The Ghadar, which carried the caption on the masthead: Angrezi Raj Ka
Dushman (an enemy of the British rule). “Wanted brave soldiers”, the Ghadar
declared, “to stir up rebellion in India. Pay-death; Price-martyrdom; Pension-
liberty; Field of battle-India.Following the Komagata Maru Incident in 1914, a
direct challenge to Canadian anti-Indian immigration laws, several thousand
Indians resident in the United States sold their business and homes ready to drive
the British from India, bolstering the ranks of the Ghadar Party.

Legacy of the Ghadar Movement.

The Ghadar Movement began to lose steam following the heavy-handed British
crackdown. Upon the conclusion of World War I, 1917 the Ghadar Party
fractured into a Communist and a Socialist faction. Despite this setback, the
Ghadar Part was a source of inspiration for many revolutionaries of the freedom
struggle, the most notable among them being Bhagat Singh.The Ghadar
movement can be described as a tale of extreme valour, hard-work, toil which
touched the heart of every Indian settled in distant shores. The powerful speeches
by its leaders did shape the expatriate opinion against the misrule of British in
India. It truly qualifies for a major struggle which aroused the people to fight for
freedom and sowed seeds for any other future course of action.

MONTAGUE- CHELMSFORD REFORMS (Act of 1919)

The Home Rule movement and the rise of revolutionary terrorism mainly led the
British authority to pacify the rising tide in India. Chelmsford, the Viceroy of
India and Montague; the Secretary of Indian Council submitted a proposal in
1918 to the British Parliament. As a result, the Act of 1919 was
passed.Accordingly; the number of members of the Council of the Secretary of
State (Indian Council) was fixed at 12. Among them 3 were to be Indians and half
of its total members were to be chosen from among those who must have resided
in India at least for ten years. It limited the powers of the Secretary of States.The
Viceroy was empowered to nominate as many members to his Executive Council
as· he wished. The Councilors were nominated for five years. The Central
Legislature consisted of the Council of States and Legislative Assembly.The
Upper House or Council of States consisted of 60 members. Among them 33 were
to be elected and 27 were to be nominated by the Viceroy.Each province in India
was allotted a fixed number of representatives to represent in the Council of States
for 5 years.The Legislature Assembly or the Lower House consisted of 144
members out of which 103 were to be elected and the rest of the members were
to be nominated.The life of the Legislative Assembly was for 3 years.The
franchise of both the Houses was restricted which differed in different
provinces.The Viceroy was empowered to summon, prorogue and dissolve the
Chambers. The first Speaker was to be nominated by the Viceroy and after that
the speakers would be elected. The provincial Legislature consisted of only one
House known as the Legislative Council. The number increased now what was a
beforehand.The power of the Councils also increased a little. However, the
Viceroy had control over the Councils.The communal electorate system was
further enhanced. It created provision for 'separate electorates for Sikhs, Anglo-
Indians, Christians and Europeans. The Act of 1919 introduced Diarchy in the
provinces. Accordingly, the Rights of the Central and Provincial Governments
were divided in clear-cut terms.The central list included rights over defence,
foreign affairs, telegraphs, railways, postal and foreign trade. The provincial list
dealt with the affairs like health, sanitation, education, public work, irrigation,
jail, police and justice.The powers which were not included in the state list vested
in the hands of the Centre.In case of any conflict between the 'reserved' and
'unreserved' powers of the State (the former included finance, police, revenue and
publication of books and the latter included health, sanitation and local-self
government).The Governor had its final say.The Diarchy was introduced in 1921
in Bengal, Madras, Bombay, U.P., M.P., Punjab, Bihar, Orissa and Assam. In
1932, it was extended to the North-West Frontier Province. No doubt, the Act of
1919 reformed some of the maladies of the Morley-Minot Reforms of 1909, and
introduced .Diarchy. Still it was not free from short- comings. Limited franchise,
no clear-cut division of powers between the Centre and the States, Viceroy's
authority over every matter etc. were some of the defects of the Act of 19.19
which brought dissatisfaction among the Indians.
MODULE 3 – AGE OF MASS POLITICS
Gandhian Era
The role of Mahatma Gandhi in Indian Freedom Struggle is considered the most
significant as he single-handedly spearheaded the movement for Indian
independence.The peaceful and non-violent techniques of Mahatma Gandhi formed the
basis of freedom struggle against the British yoke. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was
born on 2nd October 1869. After he came back to India from South Africa, where he
worked as a barrister, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who led the Congress party, introduced
Mahatma Gandhi to the concerns in India and the struggle of the people.The Indian
independence movement came to a head between the years 1918 and 1922.A series of
non-violence campaigns of Civil Disobedience Movement were launched by the Indian
National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.The focus was to weaken
the British government through non cooperation.The protests were mainly against
abolition of salt tax, land revenue, reducing military expenses etc. Before returning to
India Gandhi went to England. In the meantime, the First World War broke out. In this
situation Gandhi considered it his duty to help the British government. He decided to
organise an Ambulance Corps of the Indians.
However, after some time due to differences with the British officials, Gandhi
dissociated himself from it. He received a Kaiser-i- Hind Gold Medal in the New Year
Honours list of 191 5. Gandhi reached India on January 9, 1915 and was given a warm
welcome for his partial victory in South Africa. In India, the moderate leader Gokhale
was his political Guru. He wanted Gandhi to join the Servants of India Society. But
Gandhi could not become its member because some members of the society strongly
opposed his entry. Gokhale had extracted a promise from Gandhi that he would not
express any opinion or political matters for a year. Keeping his vow, Gandhi spend
1915, and most of 19 16 touring India and visiting places as far as Sindh and Rangoon,
Banaras and Madras. He also visited Rabindranath Tagores' Shantiniketan and the
kumbh fair at Hardwar. All this helped Gandhi in the better understanding of his
countrymen and the conditions in India. In 191 5 Gandhi had set up an Ashram at
Ahmedabad on the bank of the Sabarmati. Here Gandhi lived with his close associates
who were being trained in the rigorous of moral and emotional life essential for a
satyagrahi. . At this time Gandhi took very little interest in political matters, and mostly
at meetings he spoke on his experiences in South Africa and the ideas he had formulated
there. When Annie Besant approached Gandhi to join her in founding a Home Rule
League he refused on the ground that he did not wish to embarrass the British
government during the war.
 In 1915, he attended the Congress session, but avoided speaking on important issues
like self government. Gandhi welcomed the unity move of bringing back Tilak and
others who were earlier excluded from the Congress. But at the same time Gandhi made
it clear that he did notbelong to any group. He attended the reunited session of the
Congress but refused to speak on issues which would have meant aligning himself with
a particular group. He spoke strongly on the indentured labourers recruitment and a
resolution was passed for the abolition of this practice.

Gandhian programmes

Satyagraha
M.K.Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 at Porbander in Gujarat. After getting his
legal education in Britain, he went to South Africa to practice law. Imbued with a high
sense of justice, he was revolted by the racial injustice, discrimination and degradation
to which Indians had to submit in the South African colonies. Indian labourers who had
gone to South Africa and the merchants who followed were denied the right to vote.
They had to register and pay a poll tax. They could not reside except in prescribed
locations which were insanitary and congested. In some of the South African colonies,
the Asians, as also the Africans, could not stay out of doors after 9 p.m.; nor could they
use public foot paths. Gandhi soon became the leader of the struggle against these
conditions and during 1893-1914 was engaged in a heroic though unequal struggle
against the racist authorities of south Africa .It was during this long struggle lasting
nearly two decades that he evolved the technique of satyagraha based on truth and non
violence The ideal satyagrahi was to be truthful and perfectly peaceful, but at the same
time he would refuse to submit to what he considered wrong. He would accept suffering
willingly in the course of struggle against the wrong –doer. This struggle was to be part
of his love of truth. But even while resisting evil, he would love the evil doer. Hatred
would be alien to the nature of a true satyagrahi.
He would, more over be utterly fearless. He would never bow down before evil
whatever the consequences .In Gandhi’s eyes, none was not a weapon of the weak and
the cowardly .Only the strong and the brave could practise it. Even violence was
preferable to cowardise.In a famous article in his weekly journal, Young India, he wrote
in 1920 that "non violence is the law of our species, as violence is the law of the brute”,
but that "where there is only a choice between cowardice and non violence. I would
advise violence .I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour,
than that she would, in a cowardly manner, become or remain a helpless witness to her
own dishonour”. He once summed up his entire philosophy of life as follows: The only
virtues I want to claim is truth and non-violence. I lay no claim to super human powers.
I want none’. Another important aspect of Gandhi's outlook was that he would not
separate thought and practice, belief and action.
His truth and none violence were meant for daily living and not merely for high
sounding speeches and writings. Gandhiji, morever, had an immense faith in the
capacity of the common people to fight. For example, in 1915, referring to the common
people, who fought along with him in South Africa, in the course of his reply to an
address of welcome at Madras, he said: you have said that I inspired these great men
and women, but I cannot accept that proposition. It was they, the simple-minded folk,
who worked away in faith, never expecting the slightest reward, who inspired me, who
kept me to the proper level, and who compelled me by their sacrifice, by their great
faith, by their great trust in the great God to do the work that I was able to do. Similarly,
in 1942, when asked how he expected "to resist the might of the Empire”, he
replied:"with the might of the dumb millions". Gandhiji returned to India in 1915 at the
age 46.He spent an entire year in travelling all over India, understanding Indian
conditions and the Indian people and then, in 1916, founded the Sabarmati Ashram at
Ahmedabad were his friends and followers were to learn and practise the ideas of truth
and nonviolence. He also set out to experiment with his new method of struggle.

Champaran
Gandhi’s first great experiment in satyagraha came in1917 in Champaran, a district
inBihar. The peasantry on the indigo plantations in the district was excessively
oppressed by the European planters. They were compelled to grow indigo on at least
3/20 of their land and to sell it at prices fixed by the planters. Similar conditions had
prevailed earlier in Bengal, but as a result of a major uprising 1859-61 the peasants there
had won their freedom from the indigo Having heard of Gandhi’s campaigns in south
Africa, several peasants of champaran invited him to come and help them
.Accompanied by Babu Rajendra prasad, Mazhar–ul-Huq, j.B.Kripalani, Narhari
Parekh and Mahadev Desai, Gandhiji reached Champaran in 1917 and began to conduct
a detailed inquiry into the condition of the peasantry. The infuriated district officials
ordered him to leave champaran, but he defied the order and was willing to face trial
and imprisonment. Thisforced the government to cancel its earlier order and to appoint
a committee of inquiry on which Gandhiji served as a member . Ultimately the
disabilities from which the peasantry was suffering were reduced and Gandhiji had won
his first battle of civil disobedience in India .He had also had a glimpse in to the naked
poverty in which the peasants of India lived

Ahammedabad mill strike

In1918,intervend in a dispute between the workers and mill owners of
Ahmedabad.Headvised the workers to go on strike and to demand a 35 percent increase
in wages But he insisted that the workers should not use violence against the employers
during the strike. He undertook a fast unto death to strengthen the workers resolve to
continue the strike. But his fast also put pressure on the mill owners who relented on
the fourth day and agreed to give the workers a 35% increase in wages.

Kheda
The Kheda district of Gujarat was on the verge of famine owing to failure of the
crops.The yield had been so low that the cultivators, especially the poorer section, were
unable to pay the revenue. But the government insisted that the yield had not been so
bad and that the cultivators should pay the tax. Gandhi saw the justice of the cause of
the cultivators and advised them to offer Satyagraha by not paying their taxes. Many
leaders, like Vallabhbhai Patel, Shankarlal Banker, Mahadev Desai and others, took an
active part in this struggle. The campaign came to an unexpected end. There had
beensigns that it might fizzle out, but after four months’ struggle there came an
honourablesettlement. The Government said that if well-to-do cultivators paid up the
poorer section would be granted suspension. This was agreed to and the campaign
ended.The Kheda Satyagraha marked the beginning of an awakening among the
peasants of Gujarat, the beginning of their true political education. In addition it gave
to the educated public workers the chance to establish contact with the actual life of the
peasants.

Rowlatt Act
During the years 1917 and 1918 Gandhi took little interest in all lndia issues. He
protested against internment of Annie Besant, and also demanded the release of Ali
brothers (Mahomed Ali and Shaukat Ali) who were actively associated with the Khilafat
issue. ~nlikkot her political leaders of the time, he did not take active interest in the
Reform proposals. But it was the British decision to pass 'Rowlatt Act' which forced
him to plunge nto national politics in a forceful manner. In 1917 the Government of
lndia had appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Justice Sydney Rowlatt to
investigate “revolutionary crime" in the country and to recommend legislation for its
suppression. After a review of the situation, the Rowlatt committee proposed a series of
change in the machinery of law to enable the British government to deal effectively
with the revolutionary activities. In the light of these recommendations the Government
of lndia drafted two bills and presented them to the Imperial Legislative Council on 6
February 1919. The government maintained that the bills were 'temporary measures'
which aimed at preventing 'seditious crimes'. The new bills attempted to make war-time
restrictions permanent. They provided trial of offences by a special court consisting of
three high court judges. There was no provision of appeal against the decision of this
court which could meet in camera and take into consideration evidence not admissible
under the Indian Evidence Act.
The bill also proposed to give authority to the government to search a place and arrest
a person without a warrant. Detention without a trial for maximum period of two years
was also provided in the bills. The bills were regarded by nationalist leaders as an effort
to conciliate a section of official and nonofficial white opinion which had resented
Montagu's Reform proposals There was widespread condemnation of the bills in the
whole country. Gandhi also launched his campaign against the bills. He said that the
proposed powers were out of all proportion to the danger, particularly when the Viceroy
possessed emergency powers of legislation by ordinance.
He also stated that they were instruments of distrust and repression,'nullifying the
proposed reforms. Moreover, he opposed not just the content of the bills, but also the
manner in which they were foisted in the country without regard to public opinion. He
formed a Satyagraha Sabha on 24th February 1919 in Bombay to protest against the
Rowlatt Bills. Its members signed a pledge proclaim~ngth eir determination "to refuse
civilly to obey these laws (i.e., the Rowlatt Bills) and such other laws as a committee
hitherto appointed may think fit and we (members) further affirm that in this struggle
we will faithfully follow truth and refrain from violence to life, person or property."
While launching the Satyagraha agitation against the Rowlatt bills Gandhi said: "It is
my fih belief that we shall obtain salvation only through suffering and not by reforms
dropping on us from the English –they use brute force, we soul force." Despite strong
opposition in the whole country the government remained firm. The Council passed one
of the bills, though all the nonofficial members voted against it. The Viceroy gave assent
to the bill on March 2 1, 1919. A group of liberals like Sir D.E. Wacha, Surendranath
Banerjee, T.B. Sapru and Srinivas Sastri opposed Gandhi's move of starting Satyagraha.
Their reason for opposing the Satyagraha was that it would hamper the Reforms.
Some of them also felt that the ordinary citizen would find it difficult to civilly disobey
the Act. Annie Besant also condemned the Satyagraha on the grounds that there was
nothing in the Act to resist civilly, and that to break laws at the dictate of others was '
exceedingly dangerous. But the younger and radical elements of Annie Besant's Home
Rule League supported Gandhi: They formed the main cadre of Satyagraha movement
in different parts of the country. In organising this Satyagraha, Gandhi was also asaisted
by certain Pan- Islamic Leaders, particularly Abdul Bari of Firangi Mah.11 Ulema
group at Lucknow, and some radical members of the Muslim League. M.A. Jinnzh also
oppsed the Rowlatt Bill vehemently and warned the Government of the dangerous
consequences if the government persisted in clamping on the people of India the
"lawless law". Gandhi inaugurated his Satyagraha by callingupon the countrymen to
observe a day of 'hartal' when business should be suspended and people should fast and
pray as a protest against the Rowlatt Act.
The date for the 'hartal' was fixed for 30th March but it was changed to April 6th. The
success of hartal varied considerably between regions and between towns and the
countryside. In Delhi a hartal was observed on 30th March and ten people were killed
in police firing. Almost in all major towns of the country, the hartal was observed on
the 6th April and the people responded enthusiastically. Gandhi described the hartaI a
'magnificent success. Gandhi intensified the agitation on 7th April by advising the
satyagrahis to disobey the laws dealing with prohibited literature and the registration of
newspapers. These particular laws were selected because disobedience was possible for
an individual without leading to violence. Four books including Hind Swaraj of Gandhi,
which were prohibited by Bombay Government in 1910 were chosen for sale as an
action of defiance againstthe government. Gandhi left Bombay on the 8th to promote
the Satyagraha agitation in Delhi and Punjab.
But, as his entry in Punjab was considered dangerous by the government, so Gandhi
was removed from the train in which he was travelling at Palwal near Delhi and was
taken back to Bombay. The news of Gandhi's arrest precipitated the crisis. The situation
became tense in Bombay and violence broke out in Ahmedabad and Virangam. In
Ahmedabad the government enforced martial law. The Punjab region as a whole and
Amritsar, in particular, witnessed the worst scenes of violence. In Amritsar, the news
of Gandhi's arrest coincided with the arrest of two local leadersDr. Kitchlew and Dr.
Satyapal on loth April. This led to mob violence and government buildings were set on
fire, five Englishmen were murdered, and a woman, assaulted. The civil authority lost
its control of the city.
On 13th April, General Dyer ordered his troops to fire on a peaceful unarmed crowd
assembled at Jallianwala Bagh. Most of the people were not aware of the ban on
meetings, and they were shot without the slightest warning by General Dyer who later
on said that it was no longer a question of . merely dispersing the crowd, but one of
'producing a moral effect.' According to official figures. 379 persons were killed but the
unofficial accounts gave much higher figures, almost three times of the official figures.
The martial law was immediately enforced in Punjab also on the 13 April

Khilafat Movement
During the First World War, Turkey joined the central powers against Britain. The
symapathy of Indian Muslims, who regarded the Sultan of Turkey as their spiritual
leader or Khalifa, was naturally with Turkey. After the war with defeat of Turkey,
theAllied powers removed the Khalifa from power in Turkey which aggrieved the
IndianMuslims against the British Government.Hence the Muslims started the Khilafat
movement in India for the resumption of Khalifa's position.
A Khilafat Committee wasformed under the leadership of Mahammad Ali, Shaukat Ali,
Maulana Azad and Hasrat Mohini to organise a country-wide agitation. The main object
of Khilafat Movement was to force the British Government to change its attitude
towards Turkey and to restore the Sultan. October 17, 1919 was observed as Khilafat
Day, when the Hindus alongwith Muslims in fasting observed hartal on that day. An
All India Khilafat Conference was held at Delhi on November 23, 1919 with Gandhi as
its president.The Conference resolved to withdraw all cooperation from the
Government, if the Khalifat demands were not met. Congress leaders, like Lokamanya
Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, viewed the Khalifat Movement as an opportunity to bring
about Hindu-Muslim unity against British. A joint Hindu- Muslim deputation met the
Viceroy on the Khalifat issue, but it failed to yeild any result.
The central Khalifat Commettee met at Allahabad from 1st to 3rd June, 1920 which was
attended by a number of congress leaders. In this meeting a programme of Non-
Cooperation towards the Government was declared. It was to include boycott of titles,
can oferred by the Government, boycott of civil services, army and police and non-
payment of taxes to the Government. Gandhi insisted that unless the Punjab and
Khilafat wrongs were undone, there was to be non-cooperation with the Government

.Non-Cooperation Movement
Non-Cooperation was a movement of passive resistance against British rule, whichwas
initiated by Mahatma Gandhi.To resist the dominance of the British Government and
advance the Indian nationalist cause, the non-cooperation movement was a non-violent
movement that prevailed nationwide by Indian National Congress under the leadership
of Mahatma Gandhi.This movement took place from September 1920 to February 1922
and initiated Gandhi era in the Independence Movement of India. The Rowlatt Act,
Jaliwanwala Bagh massacre and Martial Law in Punjab caused the native people not to
trust the British Government anymore.The Montagu- Chelmesford Report with its
diarchy could satisfy a few only.Until then Gandhi believed the justice and fair-play of
the British Government, but after this incidences he felt that Non-cooperation with the
Government in a non-violent way must be started.In the meantime the Muslims in India
also revolted against the harsh terms of the Treaty of severes between Allies and Turkey
and they started Khilafat movement.
Gandhi also decided to stand beside them.Gandhiji`s idea of winning over Muslim
support also helped in Non-Cooperation Movement of India. Gandhi had given a notice
to the Viceroy in his letter of 22nd June in which he had affirmed the right recognized
`from time immemorial of the subject to refuse to assist a ruler who misrules`.After the
notice had expired the Non-Cooperation movement was launched formally on 1st
August of 1920. At the Calcutta Session onSeptember, 1920 the program of the
movement was stated. The programs of Non-cooperation involved the surrender of titles
and offices and resignation from the nominated posts in the government body.It
included not attending Government duties,
Durbars and other functions, withdrawing children from government schools and
colleges and establishment of national schools and colleges.The people of India were
instructed to boycott the British courts and establish the private judicial courts.The
Indians should use Swadeshi cloth and boycott the foreign clothes and other
things.Gandhiji strictly advised the Non- Cooperators to observe truth and non-
violence. The decision taken in Calcutta Session was supported in the Nagpur Session
of the Congress on December; 1920.
The decision was also taken for the betterment of the party organization.Any adult man
or woman could take Congress membership for 4 annas as subscription.This adoption
of new rules gave a new energy to the Non- Cooperation movement and from January
of 1921 the movement gained a new momentum. Gandhi along with Ali Brothers went
to a nationwide tour during which he addressed the Indians in hundreds of meetings.In
the first month of the movement, about nine thousand students left schools and colleges
and joined the national institutions.During this period about eight hundred national
institutions were established all over the country.
The educational boycott was most successful in Bengal under the leadership of Chitta
Ranjan Das and Subhas Chandra Bose. In Punjab also the educational boycott was
extensive under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai.The other active areas were Bombay,
Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Uttar Pradesh.The movement also affected Madras. The boycott
of lawcorts by the lawyears was not as successful as the educational boycott was. The
leading lawyers like, Motilal Nehru, CR Das, Mr Jayakar, V Patel, Asaf Ali Khan, S
Kitchlew and many others gave up their lucrative practices and many followed their
path inspired by their sacrifice. Bengal again led in this matter and Andhra, UP,
Karnataka and Punjab followed the state.
However the most successful item of the Non-Cooperation was the boycott of foreign
clothes. It took such an extensive form that value of import of the foreign clothes
reduced from hundred and two crores in 1920-21 to fifty-seven crores in 1921-22.
Although some of the veteran political leaders like the Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin
Chandra Pal, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie Besant opposed Gandhiji`s plan but the
younger generation supported him fully. Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Mukhtar
Ahmed Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Abbas Tyabji, Maulana Mohammad Ali and
Maulana Shaukat Ali also supported him. In the month of July 1921, the Government
had to face a new challenge. Mohammad Ali and other leaders believed that it was
`religiously unlawful for the Muslims to continue in the British army` and they were
arrested for their view. Gandhi and other Congress leaders supported Mahammad Ali
and issued a manifesto.
The next dramatic event was visit of Prince of Wales on 17th November, 1921. The day
on which Prince boarded on Bombay Port the day was observed as a `Hartal Divas` all
over India. The Prince was greeted with empty streets and closed shops wherever he
went.The Non-Cooperators gained more and more energy at their success and became
more aggressive.The congress volunteer corps turned into a powerful parallel
police.They used to march in formation and dressed in uniform.Congress had already
granted permission to the Provincial Congress Committees to sanction total
disobedience including non-payment of taxes.The Non-Co operational movement had
other effects also which are not very direct.
In UP it became difficult to distinguish between a Non Co operational meeting and a
peasant meeting. In Malabar and Kerala the Muslim tenants roused against their
landlords. In Assam the labors of tea-plantation went with strike.In Punjab the Akali
Movement was considered as a part of Non-Cooperation movement.The Non-
Cooperation movement particularly strengthened in Bengal.The movement was not
only seen in Kolkata but it also agitated the rural Bengal and an elemental awakening
was observed.The movement reached a climax after the Gurkha assault on coolies on
the river port of Chandpur (20-21st May).The whole Eastern Bengal was under the lash
of the movement under the leadership of JM Sengupta.The other example was the Anti-
Union Board agitation in Midnapur led by Birendranath Sashmal.As the Non-
Cooperation movement proceeded the woman of India, especially from Bengal wanted
to take active part in the protest movement.
The women nationalists were assembled under the Mahila Karma Samaj or the Ladies
organization Board of the Pradesh Congress Committee of Bengal.The ladies members
of that organization arranged meeting and circularized the spirit of Non-
Cooperation.Women volunteers were enlisted to take part in the movement.The ladies
from many respected families led them.CR Das`s wife Basanti Devi and sister Urmila
Devi, JM Sengupta`s wife Nellie Sengupta, Mohini Devi, Labanya Prabha Chanda
played significant role in this movement.Picketing of foreign wine and cloth shops and
selling of Khaddar in the streets were the point of attention of this movement.The
Government proclaimed Sections 108 and 144 of the code of criminal procedure at
various centers of agitation. The Congress Volunteer Corpse was declared illegal.By
December 1921 More than thirty thousand people were arrested from all over the India.
Except Gandhiji, most of the prominent leaders were inside jail. In mid-December
Malaviya initiated a negotiation, which was futile.The conditions were like that it
offered sacrifice of Khilafat leaders, which Gandhiji could never accept. At that time
Gandhiji was also under a pressure from the higher leaders of Congress to start the mass
civil disobedience. Gandhiji gave an ultimatum to the Government but the British
Government paid no attention to it.
In response, Gandhiji initiated a civil disobedience movement in Bardoli Taluqa of
Surat district of Gujrat.Unfortunately at this time the tragedy of Chauri Chaura
occurred that change the course of the movement, where a mob of three thousand people
killed twenty-five policemen and one inspector.Gandhi was in support of complete
nonviolence and this incident was too much for him to bear. He ordered to suspend the
movement at once. Thus, on February 12th, 1922 the Non-Cooperation movement
totally stopped. There were limitations in achievements of Non-Cooperation Movement
as it apparently failed to achieve its object of securing the Khilafat and changing the
misdeeds of Punjab. The Swaraj could not be achieved in a year as it was promised. The
retreat of the February 1922 was only temporary.The movement slowed down
gradually. The part of Battle was over but the war continued.

Swaraj Party
Swaraj Party was established to fight the mighty force of British head-on. Mahatma
Gandhi was released from jail in 1924.He and his close followers, such asChakravarti
Rajagopalachari and Rajendra Prasad, occupied themselves with the constructive
programme, such as hand-spinning on the charkha, uplift of the harijans or members of
the depressed class. But not all the congressmen werewilling to abandon political action.
In 1922 a group had formed around MotilalNehru and C. R. Das that wished to enter
the government`s legislative councils andwreck them front within.
They were opposed by the `no-changers` who insisted that the 1920 programme, which
called for the boycott of council elections, should not bealtered. At the Gaya congress
in December 1922, matters came to a head. The `nochangers`prevailed, but early the
next year the `pro-changers` formed their ownparty.This party was at first known as the
congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party and latersimply the swarajya or swaraj party.The new
councils were inaugurated in 1921.The non-congress parties which hadentered them
had not been successful in influencing government policy. Andeventually diarchy
proved to be a failure. Provincial minister could not act effectivelyeven in `transferred`
subjects because the new safeguards made the governors moreautocratic even than
before. Only the Montford reform showed that the British werestill unwilling to grant
responsible governmentt.
Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru decided that the way to combat this situationwas to
enter the provincial legislative councils. Central legislative assembly carriesout a policy
of uniform, continuous and consistent obstruction, with a view to makegovernment
through the assembly and councils impossible would force the British togrant real
reforms. In a special session of congress held in Delhi in September 1923,a compromise
between no-changers and pro-changers was reached. The formerwould continue with
the constructive programme, whereas the latter could contestthe upcoming elections.
Gandhiji gave his blessings to this arrangement.Although they had little time for
campaigning, the swarajists did well in theelections.They became the largest party in
the central assembly and the dominantparty in two provinces.
For the next few years swarajist politicians obstructed official business in the assembly
and the councils as well. But there were positive gains too.In 1925 the swarajist leader
Vithalbhai Patel was elected president of the centrallegislative assembly. C. R. Das,
who had refused to form a ministry in Bengal, waselected mayor of Calcutta (now
Kolkata). In this position `Deshbandhu` did muchvaluable service for his
countrymen.The tragic death of C. R. Das in 1925 removed a great patriot from the
scene at acritical moment.The Swaraj Party, which had already begun to break
up,disintegrated quickly.
As usual, the people of discord were religion.Communal mindedMuslims isolated
themselves, while the so-called social activist began to cooperatewith the government
with a desire to safeguard Hindu interests.By Marchend the swarajists day in the sun
had ended.Block in their attempt to effect change;they walked out of the legislative
assembly.It has become a history in and out ofIndia.

Gandhian Constructive Programmes

Mahatma Gandhi was the modern emancipator of caste system of Hindu society. In
hiswritings in ‘Young India’ and ‘Harijan’ stressed on the problems of untouchability
and itsremoval from its roots. To him, Bhagavad-Gita has never taught that a Chandal
was in anyinferior than a Brahmin. According to Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu scripture
likeUpanishad, Bhagavat Gita, Smrities and other writings were not consistent with
truth andNon-violence or other fundamental and universal principle of ethics. We are
all the songsof same God.
To him, there was only one Varna in India i.e. the Shudras. He desired thatall the Hindus
voluntarily call themselves Shudras. Gandhi called them (untouchables) as‘Harijans’
which literally meaning is son of the God. For the upliftment of Harijans hefounded the
“Harijan Sevak Sangh”. To abolish the disparities between caste Hindus
anduntouchables was its main function. The Sangh is truly based on welfare of the
societyGandhi experienced social discrimination for the first time when he was in South
Africawhere he engaged himself against the discriminatory attitude of the South
AfricanGovernment against Indians. The problems were akin to that of untouchability
as migrantswere treated as inferior to the local population which enjoyed numerous
basic rightslegally not available to Indians. It was then that Gandhi realized the extent
of the impactof social discrimination on the underprivileged sections of the society
includinguntouchables.He thought it was necessary to reconstruct the life of the nation.
This was only possiblethrough alleviating the social status of untouchables. He always
considered untouchabilityas a cruel and inhuman institution.
 It violated human dignity.He did not believe that the imperial ambitions of Britain were
alone responsible for ourslavery but it was the negligence of our national duty which
was primarily responsible forit. As he always thought untouchability an evil in
Hinduism, he had no hesitation inHinduism itself Removal of untouchability was the
responsibility of the caste-Hindustowards Hinduism.Gandhi called upon the Harijans to
magnify their own faults so that they looked as big asmountains and they make regular
attempts to overcome them.
He said to untouchables,“Never believe that since others have the same faults we need
not mind our own. Nomatter what others do, it is your dharma to overcome the feelings
which you find inyourselves.” In the process of regeneration of the nation, Gandhi
waged an incessant war.He said, “If we are children of the same God how can there be
any rank among us.” According to him, there was only one Varna, in India, the Sudras.
He desired that all theHindus voluntarily call themselves Sudras.
He criticized those who would claim superiority over fellowmen. He thought there was
nosuch thing as inherited superiority. He was happy and felt satisfied to call himself
ascavenger, a spinner, a weaver, and a laborer. He was troubled to see the appalling
plightof untouchables in different regions of the country. Its eradication greatly agitated
hismind and he devised ways and means from time to time, through his speeches
andwritings.
Gandhi called Harijans as men of God and felt that all the religions of the world
considerGod pre-eminently as the Friend of the Friendless, Help of the Helpless, and
Protector ofthe Weak. He questioned that in India who could be mare friendless,
helpless, or weakerthan the 40 million or more Hindus of India who were classified as
“untouchables.”
Therefore, if there were people who could be fitly described as men of God, they
weresurely these helpless, friendless, and despised people.He said that if India became
free with untouchability intact, the untouchables wouldbecome worse under that Swaraj
than they were before the freedom for the simple reasonthat the weakness and failings
would then be buttressed up by the accession of power.
Mahatma Gandhi used newspapers including Harijan and Young India to propagate
hisanti-untouchability views. In his writings he stressed the problem of untouchability
and itsremoval from its roots. He felt that Hinduism, in reality, did not permit
untouchability.The Bhagavad Gita never taught that an untouchable was in any way
inferior to aBrahman. A Brahman was no more a Brahman, once he became insolvent
and consideredhimself, a superior being. Gandhi felt that untouchability would not be
removed by theforce of even law. It could only be removed, when the majority of
Hindus felt that it was acrime against God and man and were ashamed of it.The aid of
law had to be invoked when it came in the way of reform, i.e., opening of atemple. He
described the social position of untouchables as follows: “Socially they arelepers.
Economically they are worse than slaves. Religiously they are denied entrance toplaces
we miscall ‘houses of God'”.
Gandhiji never stopped fighting against untouchability. He considered it a blot
onHinduism. He said that a religion that established the worship of the cow could not
in allprobability countenance or warrants a cruel and inhuman boycott of human
beings.Hindus would never deserve freedom, nor get it if they allowed their noble
religion to bedisgraced by the retention of the taint of untouchability.He found Harijan
Sevak Sangh in 1932. G.D. Birla was its president and Thakkar Bapa itsSecretary. He
always preached among the Harijans, the importance of cleanliness, abstention from
carrion-eating and intoxicating drinks and drugs, requirement of takingeducation
themselves and giving it to their children, also abstention from eating theleavings from
caste Hindus’ plates.Gandhi, therefore, was concerned with the issues of Dalits no less
than any other leader.His heart went out to them and he worked very hard and sincerely
for their upliftment.The fact that he had many other tasks on hand did not stop him from
taking up their causeand he devoted considerable time and energy to bring an end to
untouchability.

Working class movements

In spite of the obstacles, the Communist Movement gained momentum. In 1927
inBombay and the Punjab the Workers' and Peasants' parties were formed. These parties
attemptedto propagate their ideology and programme through the use of press: The
Bombay Workers' andPeasants' Party brought out a Maratha weekly, entitled Kranti
(Revolution). The Punjab Workers'and Peasants' Party brought out an Urdu weekly,
called Mihnatkash (Worker). A Workers' and Peasants' party was also formed at Meerut
in a conference, held in October 1928. Thisconference was attended by the British
Communist, Philip Spratt. The conference passedresolutions, demanding: national
independence, abolition of princely order, recognition ofworkers' right to form trade
unions, abolition of Zamindari, land for the landless peasants,establishment of
agricultural banks, eight-hour working day, and minimum wages for industrialworkers.
In December 1928, an all-Indi rence of workers' and peasants' parties was held
atCalcutta under the president Sohan Singh Josh. Here three major decisions were taken:

i) ThisConference formed an Executive Committee, comprising leading Communists.

ii) TheConference emphasiz ternational character of the Communist movement and the
need liation ofthe Communist Party of India with international organisatio gue against
Imperialism and theCommunist International.This Conference asked the unists to carry
on their movement independently instead ofidentifying th th "the so-called bourgeois
leadership of the Congress" In the meantime the Commd their influence over the Trade
Union Organisations by leading the w rikes. The Communistsplayed a prominent role
in the Railway Workshop trikes of February and September 1927 atKharagpur. Their
influence sed over the Bombay Textile Mill workers. From April to October1928 t
orkers of Bombay carried on massive strikes, protesting against the wage-c trikes,
theCommunist Girni Kamgar Union played the most prominent role. as a tremendous
increase in thestrength of this Trade Union in 1928. By Decem its strength went up to
54,000 members, whilethe Bombay Textile Labour y the veteran liberal trade unionist
N.M. Joshi had only 6,749members. The strikes in industries ass ing proportions in
1928. During that year 31.5 millionworking days were It of the strikes. The Government
held the Communists responsible eindustries. The Government, therefore, planned
measures for cur ties. In January 1929, theViceroy Lord Irwin declared in his speech
before th ral Legislative Assembly: "The disquietingspread of Communist doctrines
causing anxiety". On 13 April 1929 the Viceroy proclaimed thedinance for the purpose
of deporting the subversive elements. Simult the Trade Disputes Act waspassed. This
Act introduced tribunals for sett workers' problems and practically banned suchstrikes
which "coerced" or caused hardship to the people.A few individuals being moved by
the miserable condition of the workers tried toimprove their working conditions. For
example in Bengal Sasipada Bane jee, a radical Brahmao,founded the working men's
club. He also published a journal, the Bharat Sramjibi (Indian worker) in 1874, and
organised night schools to spread'education among the jute mill workers.But he did not
form a trade union. Similarly in Bombay, N.M. Lokhande, started-the
weeklyDinabandhu in 1880 and founded the Bombay Mill-Hands Association in 1890

ThisAssociation, though not a trade union, put forward the demands of : reduction in
working hours,a weekly holiday and, compensation for injuries suffered by the workers
during work at thefactories. j B.P. Wadia, a close associate of Annie Besant formed the
Madras Labour Union in tApril, 1918. This was the first trade union in India. In
Ahmedabad, a centre of cotton textileindustry, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led a
strike of the workers in 1918. Referring to theconditions of the woker Gandhi wrote in
his autobiography (The Story ofMy Experiments withTruth) that "wages were low, and
the labourers had long been agitating for an increment".Gandhi requested the mill-
owners to refer the matter to arbitration but they refused. Gandhi thenadvised the
labourers to go on a strike. The strike continued for 21 days. Gandhi began a fast
but,after three days a settlement was reached. In 1920 Gandhi formed the Majur
Mahajan whichadvocated peaceful relations between the workers and their employers,
arbitration and socialservice.Trade unionism was slowly gaining ground through the
efforts mentioned above. In 1919-20there was a wave of strikes in many industrial
centres such as Kanpur, Calcutta, Bombay,Madras, Jamshedpur and Ahmedabad.
Thousands of workers took part in these strikes. It wasagainst in this background that
the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was formed inBombay in 1920. Lala
Lajpat Rai presided over the inaugural session which was attended byprominent
nationalist leaders and trade unionists like Motilal Nehru, Annie Besant, C.F.Andrews,
B.P. Wadia and N.M. Joshi. The All India Trade Union Congress was the
centralorganisation of the Indian workers. Although strikes became frequent in the
1920s, growth oftrade unionism among the workers was~athesrl ow. The Royal
Commission on Labour gives tworeasons for it:i) Differences of language and
community were factors that stood in the way of workersunity. In the Bengal Jute mills,
for instance, the majority of the workers came fromBihar and U.P.; and Bengali workers
were in a minority. ii) The jobbers and the employers were opposed to the growth of
trade unions. In1929, only 51 unions with 190,436 members were affiliated to AITUC.
But the majority of the workers were not yet organized in trade unions. The fear of
dismissalfrom jobs also kept the workers away from the trade unions.

Simon Commission
The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members ofParliament
that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutionalreform.The
Commission was named Simon Commission, following the name of thechairperson of
the Commission Sir John Simon. The Government of India Act 1919had introduced the
system of dyarchy to govern the provinces of BritishIndia.However, the Indian public
demanded for revision of the difficult dyarchy formof government. Moreover the
Government of India Act 1919 itself stated that acommission would be appointed after
ten years to investigate the progress of thegovernance scheme and suggest new steps
for reform.In the late 1920, theConservative government, which was in power in Britain
feared imminent electoraldefeat at the hands of the Labour Party. They also feared the
effects of theconsequent transference of control of India to such an inexperienced body.
Hence, inNovember of 1927, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin appointed seven MPs
(includingChairman Simon) to constitute the commission.The Simon Commission of
1919 was entrusted with the charge to look into thestate of Indian constitutional
affairs.The growth of the education and thedevelopment of the representative institution
in British India were the significantresponsibilities vested with the Simon
commission.The Simon commission was togive report as to whether or what extent the
principle of responsible governmentcould be established in India.The Simon
commission was also asked to enquire thefact that how far it was desirable to establish
Second Chambers of the locallegislature. During the enquiry, the Simon commissions
did snot however taken intoaccounts the relation of the British Government with the
Indian states and foundthe British Government extremely constitutional.
The Simon Commission created extreme dissatisfaction throughout the wholeIndia.
This was so because no Indian Members were included in the Commission.The Simon
Commission was an all-White Composition. Lords Birkenhead justifiedthe exclusion
of the Indians members from the Simon Commission. He opined thatsince the
Commission was composed by the Parliament, it was necessary that themembers of the
Commission should be from the parliament.The Simon Commission created enough
disaffection allovers the country andeverywhere it was hailed with black flags.A general
hartal was observed throughoutthe Country on the day the commission landed in India.
In such circumstance, theCentral Assembly was invited to form a joint Committee to
co-operate with thecommission. But however it refused to do so. As a whole, Simon
Commission inIndia was a complete failure.

The Nehru Report

It had the primary motive of assigning Dominion status to India within the British
Commonwealth.
The major components of the Nehru Report are:

1. Bill of Rights
2. Assigning Equal rights to men and women as citizens
3. Formation of a federal form of government with residuary powers in the hands
of Centre
4. Proposal for the creation of Supreme Court

Background
 When the Simon Commission came to India in 1928, it was vehemently
opposed by Indians especially the Congress Party for the lack of a single Indian
in the Commission.
 So, the Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead challenged the Indian
leaders to draft a constitution for India, implicitly implying that Indians were
not capable of finding a common path and drafting a constitution.
 The political leaders accepted this challenge and an All Party Conference was
held and a committee appointed with the task of drafting a constitution.
 This committee was headed by Motilal Nehru with Jawaharlal Nehru as the
Secretary. Other members were Ali Imam, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Mangal Singh,
M S Aney, Subhas Chandra Bose, Shuaib Qureshi and G R Pradhan.
 The draft constitution prepared by the committee was called the Nehru
Committee Report or Nehru Report. The report was submitted at the Lucknow
session of the all-party conference on August 28, 1928.
 This was the first major attempt by Indians to draft a constitution for
themselves.
Read about Indian National Congress Sessions & their Presidents in the linked article.
Recommendations of the report

 Dominion status for India (like Canada, Australia, etc.) within the British
Commonwealth. (This point was a bone of contention with the younger set of
leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose who favoured
complete independence.)
 Nineteen fundamental rights including the right to vote for men and women
above 21 years of age, unless disqualified.
 Equal rights for men and women as citizens.
 No state religion.
 No separate electorates for any community. It did provide for reservation of
minority seats. It provided for reservation for seats for Muslims at the centre
and in provinces where they were in a minority and not in Bengal and Punjab.
Similarly, it provided for reservation for non-Muslims in the NWFP.
 A federal form of government with residual powers with the centre. There
would be a bicameral legislature at the centre. The ministry would be
responsible to the legislature.
 Governor-General to be the constitutional head of India. He would be
appointed by the British monarch.
 A proposal for the creation of a Supreme Court.
 The provinces would be created along linguistic lines.
 The language of the country would be Indian, written either in Devanagari
(Sanskrit/Hindi), Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi or Gujarati in
character. Usage of English to be permitted.

Working Class Movement and the Formation of AITUC

The trade union movement in India forms a study of the working class, theirdemands,
response of their owners and redressal measures of the government. Inspite of the drain
of wealth from India and British apathetic attitude, the factoriesgrew on this soil.The
cotton mills in Bombay, the jute mills and tea industry grewup.The poor Indian mass
got employment in these factories as workers.Low wages,long working hours,
unhygienic conditions, exploitation at the hands of native andforeign capitalists made
their condition more miserable.
The first Factory Act of 1881and the Acts of 1891, 1909, 1911 etc. could not end the
plights of the working classpeople.The Russian Revolution of 1917 exerted tremendous
influence over the workingclass people of the world. By the efforts of the leaders like
N.M. Joshi, Lala LajpatRai and Joseph, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
was established in1920.Nationalist leaders like C.R. Das and V. V. Giri also joined their
hands withthis union.
With the emergence of socialistic and communist ideas, the left wingwithin the Indian
National Congress became active and leaders like Subhas ChandraBose and Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru also presided over the sessions of AITUC.With the recognition of the
trade unions by the Trade Union Act of 1926, the tradeunion movements in India gained
momentum.The fourth Congress of theCommunist International sent a message to the
AITUC to overthrow capitalism andimperialism. The left wing within the AITUC also
became very active.Therevolutionary of Muscovite group wanted to affiliate the
AITUC with the Red LabourUnion framed at Moscow.In the power struggle, the liberal
leader N.M. Joshi left theAITUC and formed another organisation named' Indian Trade
Union Federation.Under the Leftist direction, the AITUC launched vigorous
programmes against thecapitalist class. It foreshadowed a socialist State in India with
socialisation andnationalisation of the means of production.
It organised meetings for protecting thefreedom of speech, association, participation in
national struggle etc.The CommunistParty also flared up the flame. Though the
government passed several Acts to satisfythe workers, still they carried on their
programmes of strike and protest.The tradeunion activities were so rampant that in 1928
Viceroy Lord Irwin arrested theprominent leaders and brought them to Meerut for trial.
After trial, S.A. Dange,Muzaffar Ahmed, Joglekar, Spratt etc. were given transportation
or rigorousimprisonment.It aroused worldwide sympathy for the union leaders.
However, ithurled a terrible blow on the trade union activities in India.
Now the Leftists andRightists joined their hands and defended the case.During the
Non-Cooperation Movement, the British Government suppressed thetrade union
leaders with iron hand.The Socialist Party formed in 1934 wanted tocement coherence
between the moderate and the radical trade unions.During thepopular governments
between 1937-1938 the trade unions increased to 296. During Quit India Movement,
the Trade Union Movement went on as usual.The nationalistleaders failed to capture
the AITUC but the Communists had their hold over it. Afterindependence, the trade
unions are performing their rule as usual.

Trade union movements

Particularly the WPP [Workers and peasants party] of Bombay was successful in
mobilising trade union work. Itbuilt unions amongst printing press, municipal and dock
workers. It gainedinfluence amongst the workers of the Great Indian Peninsular
Railway.During 1928the WPP led a general strike in Bombay, which lasted for
months.At the time of thestrike, the Girni Kamgar Union was founded. Anti-Simon
struggleDuring the protests against the Simon Commission, the WPP played a major
rolein organising manifestations in Calcutta and Bombay.In Bombay it also
mobilised'hartal' (general strike) in protest against the Simon Commission
.1928 Bengal party conference

The WPP of Bengal held its third conference in Bhatpara, in March 1928. After
theconference the executive of the party published the conference documents in a
booktitled A Call for Action. In the book an argument is presented that
nationalindependence was not possible as long as capitalists dominated the
freedomstruggle.British intelligence sources claimed that Philip Spratt had been the
authorof the book.

Formation of WPPs in Punjab and UP

At a conference in Lyallpur in September 1928 the Punjab Kirti Kisan Party(Workers

and Peasants Party of Punjab) was formed by the Kirti group.Chabil Das, aLahore
propagandist of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, was elected president of theparty. In
October 1928 two WPPs were formed in the United Provinces.One of themwas the
Bundelkhand Workers and Peasants Party, with N.L.Kadam as its secretaryand
headquartered in Jhansi.The party held its founding conference in Jhansi onOctober 28-
October 29, 1928.Jhavwala from Bombay presided over the conference.The other was
the U.P. Peasants and Workers Party which was founded at aconference in Meerut. P.C.
Joshi was elected president and Dharamvir Singh waselected general secretary The
Meerut conference was attended by Philip Spratt,Muzaffar Ahmed and Kedar Nath
Sahgol.

All India WPP conference

In late November 1928 the WPP of Bengal executive committee met with PhilipSpratt
and Muzaffar Ahmed.They decided to appoint Sohan Singh Josh of thePunjab Kirti
Kisan Party to chair the All India Workers and Peasants Conference, tobe held in
Calcutta in December.The provincial WPPs attended All India Workersand Peasants
Conference in Calcutta on December 22-December 24, 1928, at whichthe All India
Workers and Peasants Party was formed. A 16-member nationalexecutive was elected.
The Bengal, Bombay, Punjab and United Provinces wereallocated four seats each in the
national executive. Out of these 16, ten were eitheridentified as CPI members or as
'communists'.R.S. Nimbkar was the generalsecretary of the party.The conference
discussed an affiliation of the party with theLeague against Imperialism.Spratt and
Ahmed urged the conference to approve theaffiliation of the party to the League.The
conference decision to postpone a decisionon the issue to a later occasion.
Meerut Conspiracy case

On March 20, 1929, arrests against WPP, CPI and other labour leaders were madein
several parts of India, in what became known as the Meerut Conspiracy Case.Most of
the WPP leadership was now put behind bars. The trial proceedings were tolast for four
years, thus outliving the WPP. Tengdi, the WPP of Bombay president,died whilst the
trial was still going on.S.S. Mirajkar stated in his defense that:"It hasalready been
pointed out to the Court that the Workers' and Peasants' Party was aparty inaugurated
with a view to establish national independence throughrevolution."Abdul Majid on his
behalf stated that:"If there is any resemblance between theCommunist Party and the
Workers' and Peasants' Party is that the immediateprogramme of the former and the
ultimate programme of the latter is one and thesame ... As both are revolutionary bodies
it is necessary that their nationalrevolutionary programme should resemble each other."

REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISTS
BHAGAT SINGH
The name Bhagat Singh has become a synonym of revolution. He was one of thegreat
revolutionaries who made supreme sacrifice for the nation. Thousands ofyoung people
sacrificed their lives in the altar of India's liberation struggle but thename Bhagat Singh
has a special place in the history of our independence.No otheryoung revolutionary of
India got much empathy in the minds of the people of Indialike Bhagat Singh. Still he
is an inspiration source for the patriotic people of ourmotherland. It is important today
to study the contributions of Bhagat Singh and hiscomrades when our country is again
falling under the grip of imperialism and itsdesigns.
Unfortunately Bhagat Singh did not have much place in the historytextbooks. There
was a concerted effort to underestimate the contributions ofrevolutionaries who
sacrificed everything for the liberation of our motherland.Bhagat Singh came from a
family of patriots and freedom fighters. His uncle, AjitSingh was a pioneer in opposing
the Colonization Act 1905 and had to remain inexile till the country gained
independence. His father also was an active participantin the struggle for the liberation
of the country from the colonial rule. While as astudent Bhagat Singh came under the
influence of the revolutionaries.The Octoberrevolution led by Lenin attracted Bhagat
Singh and he started to collect and read theliteratures about socialism and socialist
revolution.The years of the twenties ingeneral and those of 1928-30 in particular were
of great significant in the history ofIndia's freedom struggle.
Due to the failure of first non-cooperation movement, the revolutionaries of that period
were frustrated and started to think about some alternative action plan. Theformation of
the Hindustan Republican Association, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army and
the Naujawan Bharat sabha (All India Youth League) all happened during this period.
Bhagat Singh and his comrades were imbued with the ideas of revolution and socialism.
The manifesto of HRA says “The immediate object of the revolutionary party in the
domain of politics is to establish a federal republic of the United States of India by an
organized and armed revolution.The basic principle of this republic shall be universal
suffrage and the abolition of all system,which makes the exploitation of man by man
possible. In this republic the electorsshall have the right to recall their representatives if
so desired, otherwise thedemocracy shall be a mockery”.India could not think about
such ideas even aftersixty years of independence! The protest against the visit of Simon
Commission turned into violence. LalaLajpath rai died due to police lathicharge.The
country witnessed unprecedentedprotest rallies.Bhagat Singh and his associates threw
bombs in Central Assembly.Afew days' later bombs exploded in the Central Assembly
they were arrested.The trialbegan in 1929 July.The farcical trial ended in October 1930
awarded death sentenceto Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
The charge was conspiracy to overthrow theBritish rule and murder of a British official.
They accepted the verdict with raisingslogans.A few days before the execution Bhagat
Singh wrote a letter to the Britishauthorities demanding that as he and his two
condemned comrades were prisonersof war, they should not be hanged but that the
sentence should be executed by afiring squad of the British army.This was the
unconquerable spirit and stuff of whichBhagat Singh was made.The conduct of Bhagat
Singh and his comrades during their historic trial at Lahorecreated new precedents of
revolutionary behaviour.They were making use of theBritish courts as a forum to
address the people, broadcast their revolutionary viewsand ideology.
This was something different from the nationalist tradition set byMahatma Gandhi.
They appeared everyday in the nationalist press and every activityof theirs was watched
by lakhs of people.Their revolutionary declarations were alsodenied publicly but this
did not restrain them. Intent upon every aspect of BritishCourt, justice and jail
administration, they fought against every humiliatingrestriction, every discriminatory
rule and demanded proper status for freedomfighters in jail. They refused to be treated
as common criminals and demandedtreatment in consonance with dignity and prestige
of the freedom struggle. Duringthe trial days Bhagat Singh and his comrades were asked
to refrain from raisingrevolutionary slogans in the court.But they continued to shout
'Inqilab Zindabad'.They were beaten and handcuffed in the court; they were assaulted
with lathis tillthey bled profusely and fell unconscious.
Bhagat Singh and his comrades succeededin completely exposing the anti-Indian and
arbitrary character of British justice inIndia and the barbarities of the British Indian
jails.This was the aim of their fight forwhich they prepared to undergo all the
tortures.They turned their trial into a publictrial of the British government.In a joint
statement before the trial court, Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Duttexplained why they
threw the bombs in the Central Assembly. They said theirpurpose was not to harm
anyone but to expose the dependent character of theLegislative assembly which was
being paraded by the British as a Parliament createthe belief that India was being
democratically governed.
The statement further says'Aradical change, therefore, is necessary and it is the duty of
those who realize this toreorganize society on a socialistic basis. Unless this thing is
done and exploitation ofman by man and nation by nations is brought to an end,
sufferings and carnagewith which humanity is threatened cannot be prevented. All talk
of ending war andushering in an era of universal peace is undisguised hypocrisy”. In
the statementthey explained about their concept about revolution.
They said that” By revolution, we mean the ultimate establishment of an order of the
society which may not bethreatened by such breakdown and in which the sovereignty
of the proletariatshould be recognized and a world federation should redeem humanity
from thebondage of capitalism and the misery of imperial wars” Bhagat Singh
symbolized hisstruggle in the slogan he raised after he threw a bomb in the Legislative
Assembly ofDelhi- “Long Live revolution” (Inquilab Zindabad), a slogan totally
unfamiliar at thattime to the Indian people.
Bhagat Singh was not content with slogans.He embodied the indomitable courage,the
death-defying spirit, the capacity to sacrifice everything and unflinching couragein the
face of torture.In 1930 July Bhagat Singh told some of his fellow comrades injail said,
“This is the highest award for patriotism and I am proud that I am going toget it. They
think that by destroying my terrestrial body they will be safe in thiscountry. They are
wrong. They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They cancrush my body, but
they will not be able to crush my spirit. My ideas will haunt theBritish like a curse till
they are forced to run away from here. But this is one side ofthe picture. The other side
is equally bright.Bhagat Singh dead will be moredangerous to the British enslavers than
Bhagat Singh alive.
After I am hanged, thefragrances of my revolutionary ideas will permeate the
atmosphere of this beautifulland of ours.It will intoxicate the youth and make him mad
for freedom andrevolution and that will bring the doom of the British imperialist nearer.
This is myfirm conviction. I am anxiously waiting for the day when I will receive the
highestaward for my services to the country and my love for my people”. Now this is
theduty of the present day youth to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of Shaheed-e-
Azam Bhagat Singh by organizing revolutionary movement against neo imperialismand
neo colonialism. In this context the three slogans rose by Bhagat Singh and hiscomrades
Long live revolution, long live proletariat and own with imperialism -arestill relevant.
Surya Sen (1894-1934)
Surya Sen(March 22, 1894 – January 12, 1934) (also known as Masterda SuryaSen)
was a prominent Bengali freedom fighter, an Indian independence activist andthe chief
architect of anti-British freedom movement in Chittagong, Bengal (now
inBangladesh).He was born on 22 March 1894 in Chittagong district now
inBangladesh.He participated in nationwide non-cooperation movement as
arevolutionary. He was arrested in February 1933 by British and was hanged on
12January 1934.The Government of India released a commemorative stamp on him
in1977.Bangladesh issued a commemorative stamp on him in 1999.

Early life
His father's name was Ramaniranjan.A resident of Noapara in Chittagong, he was
ateacher by profession. He was initiated into revolutionary ideas in 1916 by one of
histeachers while he was a student of Intermediate Class in the Chittagong College
andjoined the renowned revolutionary group Anushilan. But when he went
toBehrampur College for BA course, came to know about Jugantar and became
moreinspired with their ideas. On his return to Chittagong in 1918, he organized
Jugantar there.
All revolutionary groups were using Indian National Congress asumbrella to work.
Consequently in 1929, Surya Sen became the president of theChittagong district
committee of the Indian National Congress.He continued toorganize the hardline
patriotic organisations and first became a teacher of theNational school in Nandankanan
and then joined the Umatara School atChandanpura.Hence, he was known as Mastarda
(teacher brother).By 1923 Surya Sen spread the revolutionary organization in different
parts ofChittagong district. Aware of the limited equipment and other resources of
thefreedom fighters, he was convinced of the need for secret guerrilla warfare againstthe
colonial Government. One of his early successful undertakings was a broad dayrobbery
at the treasury office of the Bengal Assam Railway at Chittagong onDecember 23, 1923.

Chittagong armoury raid and its aftermath.

His major success in the anti-British revolutionary violence was the
ChittagongArmoury Raid on April 18, 1930. Subsequent to the raid, he marched to
theJalalabad hills along with his fellow revolutionaries. After the battle with the
Britishtroops on April 22, he escaped from there.Surya Sen, being constantly followed
upby the police, had to hide at the house of Sabitri Devi, a widow, near Patiya.A
policeand military force under Captain Cameron surrounded the house on 13 June
1932.Cameron was shot dead while ascending the staircase and Surya Sen along
withPritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Datta escaped to safety.Surya Sen was always in
hiding, moving from one place to another. Sometimes heused to take a job as a
workman; sometimes he would take a job as a farmer, ormilkman, or priest,
houseworker or even as a pious Muslim.
This is how he used toavoid being captured.Either because of money, or out of jealousy,
or because ofboth, Netra Sen told the British Government that Surya Sen was at his
house. As aresult, the police came and captured him on February 16, 1933. This is how
India'ssupreme hero was arrested.But before Netra Sen was able to get his 10,000-
rupeereward he was killed by the revolutionaries. This is how it happened. Netra
Sen'swife was all for Surya Sen, and she was horrified by her husband's deed.She
feltmortified by her husband's betrayal of Surya Sen.One evening she was serving
herhusband food when a great admirer of Surya Sen came into the house. He
wascarrying a very big knife, which is called a "daa".
With one stroke of the dal he chopped off the head of Netra Sen in the presence of his
wife. Then slowly andstealthily he went away.When the police arrived to investigate,
they asked Netra Sen's wife if she had seenwho the murderer was. She said, "I saw with
my own eyes, but my heart will notpermit me to tell you his name.I am sorry. I feel
miserable that I was the wife of sucha treacherous man, such an undivine man as Netra
Sen.My husband betrayed thegreatest hero of Chittagong.
My husband betrayed a great son of Mother India. My husband cast a slur on the face
of India.Therefore; I cannot tell the name of theperson who took his life. He has
definitely done the right thing.You can do anythingwith me.You can punish me, you
can even kill me, but I shall never tell the name ofthe person who killed my husband.
Our Master-da will be hanged, I know, but hisname will forever be synonymous with
India's immortal freedom-cry. Everybodyloves him. Everybody adores him. I, too, love
him and adore him, for he is thebrightest sun in the firmament of Chittagong. Surya
means sun and he is truly oursun."Tarakeswar Dastidar, the new president of the
Chittagong Branch JugantarParty, made a preparation to rescue Surya Sen from the
Chittagong Jail. But theplot was unearthed and consequently frustrated. Tarakeswar and
Kalpana alongwith others were arrested. Special tribunals tried Surya Sen, Tarakeswar
Dastidar,and Kalpana Datta in 1933.Surya Sen along with his Tarekeshwar Dastidar
was hanged by the British rulerson January 12, 1934. Before the death sentence Surya
Sen was brutally tortured. Itwas reported that the British executioners broke all his teeth
with hammer andplucked all nails and broke all limbs and joints. He was dragged to the
ropeunconscious. After his death his dead body was not given any funeral. The
prisonauthority, it was found later, put his dead body in a metallic cage and dumped
intothe Bay of Bengal.His last letter to his friends, written on 11 January, stated, "Death
is knocking atmy door.My mind is flying away towards eternity ...At such a pleasant,
at such agrave, at such a solemn moment, what shall I leave behind you? Only one thing
thatis my dream, a golden dream-the dream of Free India.... Never forget the 18th
ofApril, 1930, the day of the eastern Rebellion in Chittagong... Write in red letters inthe
core of your hearts the names of the patriots who have sacrificed their lives atthe altar
of India's freedom

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Hindustan Socialist Republican Association before 1928 was known as theHindustan
Republican Association. It is reckoned as one amongst the Indianindependence
associations during the time of freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh,Yogendra Shukla and
Chandrasekar Azad were the key functionaries of HindustanSocialist Republican
Association. The group is also considered one of the firstsocialist organisations in India.
HSRA was invigorated by the ideologies of theBolsheviks involvement in the Russian
Revolution of 1917.Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was first launched
during a meeting inBholachang village, Brahamabaria subdivision, East Bengal.
Praiseworthy freedomfighters like- Pratul Ganguly, Narendra Mohan Sen and
Sachindra Nath Sanyal werepresent at the meeting.
The association was formed as an outgrowth of the AnushilanSamiti.The party was
established with the aim to organise armed revolution in orderto end the colonial rule
and establish a Federal Republic of the United States ofIndia. The name Hindustan
Socialist Republican Association was implicative after asimilar revolutionary body in
Ireland. During that period Gandhiji had declared to cancel the Non-cooperation
movementafter the Chauri Chaura incident. This decision of his created a lot of
rancouramongst the youngsters. Some of them had jeopardised their careers for
themovement.As HSRA was a revolutionary group, they attempted to loot a
train.Theywere informed that the train was transferring government money.On 9th
August1925, the revolutionists ransacked the train.This now famous incident is known
asthe Kakori train robbery.
As a result of the Kakori train robbery case, AshfaqullahKhan, Ramprasad Bismil,
Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri were hanged to death. Itwas an important setback for
the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association was aiming to create a FederalRepublic of the United States of India. But
later they changed their focus towardscreating an India based on the Socialist ideals of
Lenin and Marx. Bhagat Singhdeclared this at the Ferozshah Kotla Ruins in Delhi on
9th September 1928.Afterwards, the association was renamed Hindustan Socialist
RepublicanAssociation, from Hindustan Republican Association. HSRA in non-violent
protestadvancement against the Simon Commission at Lahore decided to support
LalaLajpat Rai. But in the protest procession, the police plunged into a mass
lathichargeand the wounds imposed on Lalaji proved life-threatening to
him.Thisincident were witnessed by Bhagat Singh and he swore to take revenge
.It was decided by Hindustan Socialist Republican Association that the attemptwould
be taken against J.A Scott, who had ordered the unlawful lathi-charge.Bhagat Singh,
Rajguru, Chander Shekhar Azad and Jai Gopal were given the chargeto execute the
plan. It was designed that Jai Gopal would signal Bhagat Singh andRajguru when J.A
Scott would come out of his office. At the appointed time, on 17thDecember 1928 at
Lahore, a British official J. P.Saunders, the A.S.P., a youngman of21 but a probationer
stepped out of his office. Raj Guru swooped on the Britishofficial with a pistol at Jai
Gopal`s signal. The bullet perforated through his neck andalmost killed him. Bhagat
Singh also rushed and pounced on him and fired four orfive shots.J.P.Saunders died on
the spot. Incidentally it was a terrible miscalculationon the part of Jai Gopal.
He failed to differentiate between Scott and Saunders.Chanan Singh- a head constable
came forth to chase Bhagat Singh and Raj Guru,but Chandra Shekhar Azad shot Chanan
down.The next day, Hindustan SocialistRepublican Association came forward in public
and in their proclamation said,"Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live Revolution). We don`t
enjoy killing an individual, butthis individual was ruthless, mean and part and parcel of
an unjust system. It isnecessary to destroy such a system. This man has been killed;
because he was a cogin the wheel of British rule.This government is the worst of all
governments."Another significant action carried out by the Hindustan Socialist
RepublicanAssociation was the Assembly Bomb Case.
The association adjudicated to burst ablank bomb in the Central Assembly in Delhi, in
order to express opposition againstthe tyrannical legislation and arouse public opinion.
Bhagat Singh and BatukeshwarDutt offered to carry out the bombing and get
arrested.The ideology behind the bombing was `to make the deaf government hear the
voices of its oppressed people`.Bhagat Singh also believed that `the only way to
successfully convey his message tothe public of India was to propaganda from Court`.
He believed that since allstatements were registered in Court and then promulgated,
they could benefitsupport for their crusade.
On April 8th 1929 when Vitthal Bhai Patel, President of the Central Assembly,moved
up to give his ruling on failing to get an authority from the government thatthe bill
would not be imposed retrospectively, a bomb was detonated near the emptytreasure
benches, followed by another bomb explosion.Panic predominatedeverywhere. Nobody
got killed as it was not thought of. The hall got filled withsmoke.Bhagat Singh and BK
Dutt started crying out "Long Live Revolution, Downwith Imperialism" as the smoke
cleared.They also threw red leaflets on the floor,which began with the slogan of a
French revolutionary "It needs a loud voice for adeaf to hear".On April 15th 1929,
police raided the bomb factory of HSRA. As a result KishoriLal, Sukhdev and Jai Gopal
were arrested.The Assembly Bomb Case trial wasstarted following this raid.
On 23rd March 1931 Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguruwere hanged.The great
nationalist Baikuntha Shukla was also hanged for murderingPhanindrananth Ghosh
who had become a government approver which later on ledto the hanging of Bhagat
Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.Baikuntha Shukla joined thefreedom struggle at a young
age and took active part in the `Salt Satyagraha` of1930.He was also associated with
revolutionary organisations like the HindustanSeva Dal and Hindustan Socialist
Republican Association.Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed in 1931, as
a result of theirtrial in the `Lahore conspiracy case`. Their death penalty gave birth to
tremendousagitation throughout the country. Phanindrananth Ghosh was a key figure
of theHindustan Socialist Republican Association.
By turning into an approver, hebetrayed the cause of the party. Baikuntha Shukla was
given the charge to executePhanindrananth Ghosh as an act of ideological revenge.He
completed it in asuccessful manner on 9th November 1932.As a result Baikuntha Shukla
wasarrested and tried for murder.On May 14th 1934; Baikunth was convicted
andhanged in Gaya Central Jail only at a young age of 28.Another key revolutionary of
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association,Chandrasekar Azad was killed on 27th
February 1931 in a gunfight with the police.
With the death of Chandrashekar Azad and the hanging of its popular activists,Bhagat
Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, the fate of the association was
yetindecipherable.Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was always in
theforefront of revolutionary movements in the northern parts of India.The
associationconsisted of younger generations of U.P, Bihar, Punjab, Bengal and
Maharashtra.The group possessed ideals, which were directly opposite to Mahatma
Gandhi`sCongress.
MODULE 4- TOWARDS FREEDOM

Civil Disobedience Movement

Civil Disobedience Movement, launched under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,in

1930, was one of the most significant phases of Indian freedom struggle.TheSimon
Commission, which was formed in November 1927 by the BritishGovernment to chart
and conclude a Constitution for India, included members of theBritish Parliament
only.As a result, the Commission was boycotted by every sectionof the Indian social
and political platforms as an `All-White Commission`. Theopposition to the Simon
Commission in Bengal was noteworthy.In disapprovalagainst the Commission, a
`Hartal` or Strike was observed on 3rd of February, 1928in various parts of the
region.Widespread demonstrations were held in Kolkata on19th of February, 1928, the
day of Simon`s arrival to the city. Further, on 1st ofMarch, 1928, meetings were held
simultaneously in all 32 wards of the city,spurring people to restore the movement for
boycott of British goods.

Mahatma Gandhi was arrested on 5th of May, 1930, just days before his projectedraid
on the Dharasana Salt Works.The Dandi March and the resultant DharasanaSatyagraha
drew worldwide attention to the Civil Disobedience Movement throughwidespread
newspaper coverage.It continued for almost a year, ending with therelease of Mahatma
Gandhi from jail and after the discussions at the Second RoundTable Conference with
Viceroy Lord Irwin.The crusade had a significant effect onchanging British attitudes
toward Indian independence and caused huge numbers ofIndians to aggressively join
the fight for the first time. The Salt March to Dandi andthe flogging of hundreds of non-
violent protesters in Dharasana, marked the efficientuse of civil disobedience as a
method for fighting social and political injustice.

On 8th of April 1929, members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican

Associationattacked the assembly chamber of the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi.
Inresponse, Lord Irwin published a Public Safety Bill. Moreover, on 31st of
October,Lord Irwin announced that the natural constitutional progress of India was
theattainment of Dominion Status. The Congress Party indicated its willingness
tocooperate in formulating a Dominion constitution. In November, measures
wereaccepted in such a way that Congress rejected the declaration.On 23rd of
December, Lord Irwin met with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru,Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Tej Bahadur Sapru in NewDelhi. Erwin
however, could not arrive at an agreement for framing a constitutionunder Dominion
Status. At the ensuing 1930 annual meeting of the Congress Partyheld at Lahore, the
Congress declared itself for independence rather than DominionStatus and authorised a
campaign of Civil Disobedience.
 Gandhi`s CivilDisobedience Movement came out as a march to Dandi, in
objection to the tax onsalt. Gandhi reached Dandi on April 6th, and explicitly violated
the salt law.On 18th of April, around one hundred revolutionaries attacked police and
railwayarmouries at Chittagong. Mahatma Gandhi condemned the raid, which had made
adeep impression throughout India. On 5th of May, the Government of India hadGandhi
arrested and lodged at Yervada Jail near Pune.Following the arrest ofMahatma Gandhi,
the British faced the full programme of Civil Disobedience ascomposed of Indian raids
on salt depots, refusal to pay taxes in chosen areas, spiritsand avoidance of business
with all British firms, disobedience of forest laws andboycott of foreign cloth.On 30th
of June, the Government of India outlawed the All-India CongressCommittee and the
Congress Working Committee.

Further, on 23rd of July, LordIrwin facilitated visits to Mahatma Gandhi and

Jawaharlal Nehru by two IndianLiberals, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Mukund Ramrao
Jayakar, for the purpose offinding ways to end civil disobedience movement. On 25th
of January 1931, LordIrwin authorised Gandhi`s release from prison and withdrew
prohibition of illegalityagainst the Congress Working Committee.Between February to
March, 1931, Lord Irwin and Gandhi met in a series of talksseeking settlement of the
issues originating from the civil disobedience movement.Inthe agreement reached on
5th of March, Gandhi agreed to discontinue CivilDisobedience as it embraced defiance
of the law, non-payment of land revenue,publication of news-sheets, termination of its
boycott of British goods and therestraint of aggressive picketing.The Government of
India agreed to cancelordinances opposing the movement, to release Indian prisoners,
return fines andproperty.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

This pact was signed between Mahatma Gandhi and the then Viceroy of India,Lord
Irwin on 5 March 1931.

Salient features of this act were as following:

1. The Congress would participate in the Round Table Conference.

2 The Congress would discontinue the Civil Disobedience Movement.

3. The Government would withdraw all ordinances issued to curb the Congress.

4. The Government would withdraw all prosecutions relating to offenses other

thanviolent one.
The Government would release all persons undergoing sentences ofimprisonment for
their activities in the civil disobedience movement.Salt Satyagraha succeeded in
drawing the attention of the world. Millions saw thenewsreels showing the march. Time
magazine declared Gandhi its 1930 Man of theYear, comparing Gandhi's march to the
sea "to defy Britain's salt tax as some NewEnglanders once defied a British tea tax."
Civil disobedience continued until early1931, when Gandhi was finally released from
prison to hold talks with Irwin. It wasthe first time the two held talks on equal terms,
and resulted in the Gandhi–IrwinPact. The talks would lead to the Second Round Table
Conference at the end of1931.In the March of 1930, Gandhi met with the Viceroy, Lord
Irwin and signed anagreement known as the Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The two main clauses
of the pactentailed; Congress participation in the Round Table Conference and cessation
of TheCivil Disobedience Movement.The Government of India released all satyagrahis
fromprison.

Round Table Conferences

The Simon Commissions in India induced the dissatisfaction throughout India. Itmet a
violent resistance in India and later the British Government organized for theRounds
Table conferences in order to take into consideration the demands andgrievances of the
Indians directly. Demands for Swaraj, or self-rule, in India hadbeen growing
increasingly strong. By the year 1930, many British politiciansbelieved that India
needed to move towards dominion status. As announced by theviceroy on behalf of the
Government of England on October 31, 1929, Round TableConference was convened
in London. After lengthy discussions, three basicprinciples were agreed in the
Conference and the British Government was made toaccept those principles.

Three basic principles were put forwards in the Round Table Conference.According to
the agreement, it was demanded that form of the new government ofIndia was to be an
All India federation.The federal government, subject to somereservations would be
responsible to the federal Legislature, according to theagreement. The provincial
autonomy was also demanded by the Congress in theRound Table Conference.
However, Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister,made a momentous
declaration on behalf of His Majesty`s Government. According tothe view of His
Majesty`s government it was declared that the responsibility of thegovernment should
be placed upon legislatures, Central and Provincial with certainprovisions as was
considered necessary.The absence of the Congress representations in Round Table
conference led to asecond session of the Round Table conference, where the Congress
representativeswould participate. Several efforts were made in that direction by Sir Tej
BahadurSapru and Sir M.R. Jayakar, which led to the famous Gandhi-Irwin Pact, which
wassigned in March 1931.
According to the Poona Pact, all political prisoners werereleased and the Civil
Disobedience Movement was called off.In the second Round Table Conference,
Gandhiji was appointed as therepresentative of the Congress, which was convened from
1st September to 1stDecember in the year1931.But the significant issue of the Second
Round Tableconference was to solve the communal problem, which was not
solved.This wasbecause; Mr.Jinnah inflexibility was secretly supported by the British
statesman likethe Secretary of State for India; Sir Samuel Hoare.Disappointed by the
result of thesession of the Second Round Table Conference, Gandhiji returned to India
andsubsequently arrested on his arrival in the country.Ramsay Macdonald announced
that in default of an agreed settlement as regardsthe respective quanta of representation
of different communities, the BritishGovernment would have to arbitrate their claims.
Subsequently, on August 4, 1932,Macdonald`s infamous "Communal Award" came
into existence.

The concept ofCommunal Award was related to the representation of different

communities in theprovincial legislatures. However the "Communal Award" declared
by RamsayMacdonald was partially modified by the Poona Pact. This was accepted by
theHindu rulers due to Gandhiji, who wanted to prevent a political breach between
theso-called caste Hindus and the Scheduled Castes.Consequently the third Round
Table Conference was again convened in London onNovember 17th to December 24th
in the years 1932. A White paper was issued inthe year March 1933. The details of the
working basis of the new constitution ofIndia were enumerated in the White Paper. It
was declared that according to the newconstitution, there would be dyarchy at the
Center and the responsible governmentsin the center. In February 1935, a bill was
introduced in the House of Commons bythe Secretary of State for India, which
subsequently passed and enacted as thegovernment of India Act, 1935.Thus the
Government of India Act came into existence in the Third Round TableConference. The
Government of India Act drew its materials from the SimonCommission, the report of
the All-Parties conference i.e. the Nehru Report, thediscussions at the three successive
Round Table Conferences, the detail enumeratedin the White Paper and the reports of
the Joint Select Committees.

Poona Pact

The Poona Pact refers to an agreement between Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and
MahatmaGandhi signed on 24 September 1932 at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune . It was
signed byPt Madan Mohan Malviya and some Hindu leaders and Dr BR Ambedkar and
some Dalitleaders to break the fast unto death undertaken by Gandhi in Yarwada jail to
annulMacdonald Award giving separate electorate to Dalits for electing members of
statelegislative assemblies in British IndiaThere shall be seats reserved for the
Depressed Classes out of general electorate. Seats inthe Provincial
Legislatures.Election to these seats shall be by joint electorates subject, however, to the
followingprocedure –All members of the Depressed Classes registered in the general
electoral roll of aconstituency will form an electoral college which will elect a panel of
four candidatesbelonging to the Depressed Classes for each of such reserved seats by
the method of thesingle vote and four persons getting the highest number of votes in
such primary electionsshall be the candidates for election by the general electorate. The
representation of theDepressed Classes in the Central Legislature shall likewise be on
the principle of joint electorates and reserved seats by the method of primary election
in the manner providedfor in clause above for their representation in the provincial
legislatures.

Central Legislature

In the Central Legislature 18 per cent of the seats allotted to the general electorate
forBritish India in the said legislature shall be reserved for the Depressed Classes.5. The
system of primary election to a panel of candidates for election to the Central
andProvincial Legislatures as herein-before mentioned shall come to an end after the
first tenyears, unless terminated sooner by mutual agreement under the provision of
clause 6below.The system of representation of Depressed Classes by reserved seats in
the Provincial andCentral Legislatures as provided for in clauses (1) and (4) shall
continue until determinedotherwise by mutual agreement between the communities
concerned in this settlement.The Franchise for the Central and Provincial Legislatures
of the Depressed Classes shallbe as indicated, in the Lothian Committee Report.There
shall be no disabilities attached to any one on the ground of his being a member ofthe
Depressed Classes in regard to any election to local bodies or appointment to thepublic
services. Every endeavor shall be made to secure a fair representation of theDepressed
Classes in these respects, subject to such educational qualifications as may belaid down
for appointment to the Public Services.In every province out of the educational grant an
adequate sum shall be ear-marked forproviding educational facilities to the members of
Depressed Classes.

Congress Socialist Party (CSP

was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by
Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism
of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India towards the
Congress. Influenced by Fabianism as well as Marxism-Leninism, the CSP included
advocates of armed struggle or sabotage (such as Yusuf Meherally, Jai Prakash
Narayan, and Basawon Singh (Sinha) as well as those who insisted
upon Ahimsa or Nonviolent resistance (such as Acharya Narendra Deva). The CSP
advocated decentralized socialism in which co-operatives, trade unions, independent
farmers, and local authorities would hold a substantial share of the economic power.As
secularists, they hoped to transcend communal divisions through class solidarity. Some,
such as Narendra Deva or Basawon Singh (Sinha), advocated a democratic
socialism distinct from both Marxism and reformist social democracy. During
the Popular Front period, the communists worked within CSP.JP Narayan and Minoo
Masani were released from jail in 1934.

JP Narayan convened a meeting in Patna on 17 May 1934, which founded the Bihar
Congress Socialist Party. He was a Gandhian Socialist. Narayan became general
secretary of the party and Acharya Narendra Deva became president. The Patna meeting
gave a call for a socialist conference which would be held in connection to the Congress
Annual Conference. At this conference, held in Bombay October 22–23 October 1934,
they formed a new All India party, the Congress Socialist Party. Narayan became
general secretary of the party, and Masani joint secretary. The conference venue was
decorated by Congress flags and a portrait of Karl Marx.In the new party the greeting
'comrade' was used. Masani mobilized the party in Bombay, whereas Kamaladevi
Chattopadhyaya and Puroshottam Trikamdas organized the party in other parts
of Maharashtra. Ganga Sharan Singh (Sinha) was among the prominent leaders of
the Indian National Congress Party as among the founders of the Congress Socialist
PartyThe constitution of the CSP defined that the members of CSP were the members
of the Provisional Congress Socialist Parties and that they were all required to be
members of the Indian National Congress.

Members of communal organizations or political organizations whose goals were

incompatible with the ones of CSP, were barred from CSP membershi] The Bombay
conference raised the slogan of mobilising the masses for a Constituent AssemblyIn
1936 the Communists joined CSP, as part of the Popular Front strategy of
the ComIntern.[3] In some states, like Kerala and Orissa, communists came to dominate
CSP. In fact communists dominated the entire Congress in Kerala through its hold of
CSP at one point.In 1936, the CSP began fraternal relations with the Lanka Sama
Samaja Party of Ceylon. In 1937 the CSP sent Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya on a
speaking tour of the island.The CSP had adopted Marxism in 1936 and their third
conference in Faizpur they had formulated a thesis that directed the party to work to
transform the Indian National Congress into an anti-imperialist front.[ During the
summer of 1938 a meeting took place between the Marxist sector of
the Anushilan movement and the CSP. Present in the meeting were Jai Prakash
Narayan (leader of CSP), Jogesh Chandra Chatterji, Tridib Kumar
Chaudhuri and Keshav Prasad Sharma. The Anushilan marxists then held talks
with Acharya Narendra Deva, a former Anushilan militant. The Anushilan marxists
decided to join CSP, but keeping a separate identity within the party.[5] With them came
the Anushilan Samiti, not only the Marxist sector. The non-Marxists (who constituted
about a half of the membership of the Samiti), although not ideologically attracted to
the CSP, felt loyalty towards the Marxist sector.

Moreover, around 25% of the membership of the Hindustan Socialist Republican

Association joined the CSP. This group was led by Jogesh Chandra Chatterji. The
Anushilan marxists were however soon to be disappointed by developments inside the
CSP. The party, at that the time Anushilan marxists had joined it, was not a
homogeneous entity. There was the Marxist trend led by J.P. Narayan and Narendra
Deva, the Fabian socialist trend led by Minoo Masani and Asoka Mehta and
a Gandhian socialist trend led by Ram Manohar Lohia, and Achyut Patwardan. To the
Anushilan marxists differences emerged between the ideological stands of the party and
its politics in practice. These differences surfaced at the 1939 annual session of the
Indian National Congress at Tripuri. At Tripuri, in the eyes of the Anushlian marxists,
the CSP had failed to consistently defend Subhas Chandra Bose.[ Jogesh Chandra
Chatterji renounced his CSP membership in protest against the action by the party
leadership.Soon after the Tripuri session, Bose resigned as Congress president and
formed the Forward Bloc. The Forward Bloc was intended to function as a unifying
force for all leftwing elements.

The Forward Bloc held its first conference on 22–23 June 1939, and at the same time
a Left Consolidation Committee consisting of the Forward Bloc, CPI, CSP, the Kisan
Sabha, League of Radical Congressmen, Labour Party and the Anushilan marxists. At
this moment, in October 1939, J.P. Narayan tried to stretch out an olive branch to the
Anushilan marxists. He proposed the formation of a 'War Council' consisting of
himself, Pratul Ganguly, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Acharya Narendra Deva. But
few days later, at a session of the All India Congress Committee, J.P. Narayan and the
other CSP leaders pledged not to start any other movements parallel to those initiated
by Gandhi. The Left Consolidation Committee soon fell into pieces, as the CPI, the CSP
and the Royists deserted it. The Anushlian marxists left the CSP soon thereafter,
forming the Revolutionary Socialist PartyOn the occasion of the 1940 Ramgarh
Congress Conference CPI released a declaration called Proletarian Path, which sought
to utilize the weakened state of the British Empire in the time of war and gave a call
for general strike, no-tax, no-rent policies and mobilising for an armed revolution
uprising.

The National Executive of the CSP assembled at Ramgarh took a decision that all
communists were expelled from CSP.[11]Members of the CSP were particularly active
in the Quit India movement of August 1942. Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru did
not join the CSP, which created some rancor among CSP members who saw Nehru as
unwilling to put his socialist slogans into action. After independence, the CSP broke
away from Congress, under the influence of JP, and Lohia to form the Socialist Party
of India.

GROWTH OF PEASANT MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

Peasant Movements are a part of social movements against British atrocities in the 18th
and 19th centuries of the British Colonial Period. These movements had the sole
purpose of restoring the earlier forms of rule and social relations. :

What caused the peasants revolt?

There were various reasons related to agrarian restructuring for peasants to revolt. The
reasons are given below:Peasants were evicted from their landsThe rent that the
peasants had to pay for their lands was increasedAtrocities by the
MoneylendersPeasants’ traditional handicrafts were ruinedThe ownership of land was
taken away from peasants during Zamindari ruleMassive DebtColonial Economic
PoliciesLand Revenue System was not favouring the peasants (Read about the different
land revenue systems in the linked article.)

MAJOR PEASANT REVOLTS

1. INDIGO REVOLT

In 1859–60 peasant farmers who grew indigo in the Bengal region of

northeastern India rebelled against the British planters who controlled the industry.
Their widespread violent rebellion is variously known as the Indigo Revolt, the Indigo
Rebellion, the Indigo Riots, the Blue Mutiny, or the Blue Rebellion. Indigo is a plant
that yields a rich blue dye. Before man-made blue dyes were created, natural indigo dye
was highly valued by cloth makers around the world. By the early 19th century, India
supplied the vast majority of the indigo imported into Britain. Much of that indigo was
grown by peasants in Bengal (a region now divided between India’s West Bengal state
and Bangladesh). The Indigo Revolt led to the near collapse of the indigo industry in
Bengal.

2. KOL UPRISING

The Kol uprising, Kol rebellion, also known in British Indian records as the Kol
mutiny was a revolt of the indigenous Kol people of Chhota Nagpur during 1829-1839
as a reaction to unfair treatment brought on by the systems of land tenure and
administration that had been introduced by British powers in the area. The Kol people
were joined by other communities including the Mundas, Oraons, Hos leading to some
authors also calling it the Munda uprising. The uprising was a reaction to the
appointment of a Political Agent to the Government in South Bihar and recently ceded
districts nearby around 1819. This resulted in many people moving into these areas
which were the lands of numerous indigenous tribes. These tribes had no rulers and
their lands were divided according to families that were bound by "parhas" or
conferences. With the application of new land laws, the indigenous Kols were exploited
by outsiders moving into the area and taking up agriculture and commercial activities
that were alien to tribal culture. Many of the lands of the locals were taken away as
securities for un-returned loans. The locals whose languages were unknown to the
settlers were physically tortured and mistreated in a number of incidents. Another
irritation was the taxation on the movement of products such as salt that were formerly
freely moved. Corrupt official practices and lawlessness followed. The masses of
common people, of whom the Kols were the largest in number, burnt the houses of the
newly settled people in revenge

3. MAPPILA REBELLION, MALABAR

The Moplah Rebellion, also known as the Moplah Riots of 1921 was the culmination
of a series of riots by Mappila Muslims of Kerala in the 19th and early 20th centuries
against the British and the Hindu landlords in Malabar (Northern Kerala). It was an
armed revolt. It was led by Variyamkunnath Kunjahammed Haji. There were a series
of clashes between the Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the colonial
government, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The heavy-handed
suppression of the Khilafat Movement by the colonial government was met by
resistance in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar. In the initial stages, the
movement had the support of Mohandas Gandhi and other Indian nationalist leaders,
and a number of clashes took place between Khilafat volunteers and other religious
communities, but the violence soon spread across the region. The Mappilas attacked
and took control of police stations, colonial government offices, courts and government
treasuries. Though the crowds who attacked and destroyed the public offices
in Eranad, Valluvanad, and Ponnani Taluks were Mappilas,
sometimes Nambudiris, Nairs and Thiyyas also acted as leaders in many parts
of Valluvanad. British historians, on the other hand, referred to the rebellion as
the Mappila revolt.

4. SANTHAL REVOLT

The Santhal rebellion (sometimes referred to as the Sonthal rebellion), commonly

known as Santhal Hool, was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand, in
eastern India against both the British colonial authority and zamindari system by
the Santhal people. It started on June 30, 1855 and on November 10, 1855 martial law
was proclaimed which lasted until January 3, 1856 when martial law was suspended
and the movement was brutally ended by troops loyal to the British. The rebellion was
led by the four Murmu Brothers - Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav.

5. MUNDA REBELLION

Munda Rebellion was a tribal rebellion lead by Birsa Munda in the region south of
Ranchi in 1899-1900. The revolt mainly concentrated in the Munda belt of Khunti,
Tamar, Sarwada and Bandgaon. It was called the ulgulan, meaning 'Great Tumult', by
munda tribals and sought to establish Munda Raj and independence. It ended
with suppression by British forces and the death of Bisa Munda.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT OF 1935

On August 1935, the Government of India passed longest act i.e. Government of India
Act 1935 under the British Act of Parliament. This act also included the Government of
Burma Act 1935. According to this act, India would become a federation if 50% of
Indian states decided to join it. They would then have a large number of representatives
in the two houses of the central legislature. However, the provisions with regards to the
federation were not implemented. The act made no reference even to granting dominion
status, much less independence, to India.With regard to the provinces, the act of 1935
was an improvement on the existing position. It introduced what is known as provincial
autonomy. The ministers of the provincial governments, according to it, were to be
responsible to the legislature. The powers of the legislature were increased. However,
in certain matters like the Police, the government had the authority. The right to vote
also remained limited. Only about 14% of the population got the right to vote. The
appointment of the governor-general and governors, of course, remained in the hands
of the British government and they were not responsible to the legislatures. The act
never came near the objective that the nationalist movement had been struggling for.

Features of the Act

1. It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces

and princely states as units. The Act divided the powers between the Centre and units
in terms of three lists—Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for
provinces, with 54 items) and the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items). Residuary
powers were given to the Viceroy. However, the federation never came into being as
the princely states did not join it.
2. It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its
place. The provinces were allowed to act as autonomous units of administration in their
defined spheres. Moreover, the Act introduced responsible governments in provinces,
that is, the governor was required to act with the advice of ministers responsible to the
provincial legislature. This came into effect in 1937 and was discontinued in 1939.

3. It provided for the adoption of dyarchy at the Centre. Consequently, the federal
subjects were divided into reserved subjects and transferred subjects. However, this
provision of the Act did not come into operation at all.

4. It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces. Thus, the legislatures of

Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces were made bicameral
consisting of a legislative council (upper house) and a legislative assembly (lower
house). However, many restrictions were placed on them.

5. It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate

electorates for depressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labour (workers).

6. It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act of 1858.
The secretary of state for India was provided with a team of advisors.

7. It extended franchise. About 10 per cent of the total population got the voting right.

8. It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency
and credit of the country.

9. It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission
but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission
for two or more provinces.

10. It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court, which was set up in 1937.

The main objectivity of the act of 1935 was that the government of India was under the
British Crown. So, the authorities and their functions derive from the Crown, in so far
as the crown did not itself retain executive functions. His conception, familiar in
dominion constitutions, was absent in earlier Acts passed for India.Hence, the act of
1935 served some useful purposes by the experiment of provincial autonomy, thus we
can say that the Government of India Act 1935 marks a point of no return in the history
of constitutional development in India.
Cripps Mission
Cripps Mission was deputed by British parliament in early 1942 to contain thepolitical
crisis obtained in India. The mission was headed by Sir Stafford Cripps, aCabinet
Minister.Cripps, a radical member of the Labour Party and the then Leaderof the House
of Commons, was known as a strong supporter of Indian nationalmovement. Cripps
Mission was prompted by two considerations. First, Gandhi's call for the Satyagraha
(literally 'insistence on truth', generally rendered 'soul force')movement in October 1940
was designed to embarrass Britain's war efforts by amass upheaval in India and needed
to be ended in the British interest. Secondly, thefall of Singapore (15 February 1942),
Rangoon (8 March), and the Andamans (23March) to the Japanese was threatening the
entire fabric of British colonial empire.In the face of these crises, the British felt obliged
to make some gestures to win overIndian public support.The Cripps offer reiterated the
intention of the British government to set up anIndian Union within the British
Commonwealth as soon as possible after the war,and proposed specific steps towards
that end. A constituent assembly would beelected by the provincial legislatures acting
as an Electoral College.This body wouldthen negotiate a treaty with the British
government. The future right of secessionfrom the Commonwealth was explicitly
stated.The Indian states would be free tojoin, and in any case their treaty arrangements
would be revised to meet the newsituation.

The offer dominated Indian politics for the rest of the war. Although the Britishofficial
circles claimed that the Cripps offer marked a great advance for its franknessand
precision, it was plagued throughout, and ultimately torpedoed, by
numerousambiguities and misunderstandings.The Congress was very critical of the
clausesregarding nomination of the states' representatives by the rulers and the
provincialoption Jawaharlal Nehru had desperately sought a settlement largely because
of hisdesire to mobilise Indian support in the anti-fascist war, while most
Congressworking Committee members and Gandhi himself had been apathetic.
Thisembittered Congress-British relations and things were then rapidly moving
towardsa total confrontation in the form of quit India movement. But Cripps blamed
theCongress for the failure of the Plan, while the Congress held the British
governmentresponsible for it. A chance of establishing a united independent India was
thus lost.

Quit India – Do or Die

Mahatma Gandhi again became active in the political arena after the outburst ofWorld
War II in 1939. On August 8, 1942 Gandhi gave the call for Quit IndiaMovement or
Bharat Chhodo Andolan. Soon after the arrest of Gandhi, disordersbroke out
immediately through out the country and many violent demonstrationstook place.Quit
India became the most powerful movement in the freedom struggle.Thousands of
freedom fighters were killed or injured by police gunfire, and hundredsof thousands
were arrested. He called on all Congressmen and Indians to maintaindiscipline via non
violence and Karo Ya Maro (Do or Die) in order to achieve ultimatefreedom.On 9th of
August, 1942, Mahatma Gandhi and the entire Congress WorkingCommittee were
arrested in Mumbai. In view of his deteriorating health, he wasreleased from the jail in
May 1944 because the British did not want him to die in prison and enrage the nation.
The cruel restraint of the Quit India movementbrought order to India by the end of 1943
although the movement had modestsuccess in its aim.After the British gave clear signs
of transferring power to theIndians, Gandhi called off the fight and all the prisoners
were released

Subash Chandra Bose and His ‘Mission’

Subhas Chandra Bose was most dynamic leader of India`s struggle forindependence.
He is more familiar with his name Netaji. His contribution towards India`sFreedom
struggle was of a revolutionary. Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23rd Jan,1897 in
Cuttack, Orissa, India. From his childhood he was a bright student and was atopper in
the matriculation examination from the whole of Kolkata province. He graduatedfrom
the Scottish Church College in Kolkata with a First Class degree in
Philosophy.Influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, he was known for his
patriotic zeal asa student. He went to England to fulfill his parents` desire to appear in
the Indian CivilServices. He stood fourth in order of merit. But he left civil Service`s
apprenticeship andjoined India`s freedom struggle. During his service with the Indian
National Congress, hewas greatly influenced by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Sri
Aurobindo. He did not agree withGandhiji`s methods of achieving Independence
through non-violence. He believed that theonly way of achieving Independence was by
shedding blood. He therefore returned toKolkata to work under Chittaranjan Das, the
Bengali freedom fighter and co-founder ofthe Swaraj Party. He was imprisoned for his
revolutionary activities on various occasions.In 1921, Bose organized a boycott of the
celebrations to mark the visit of the Prince ofWales to India for which he was
imprisoned for the first time. Bose was elected to the postof Chief Executive Officer of
the newly constituted Calcutta Corporation in April 1924.

That same year in October, Bose was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. At first, he
waskept in Alipur Jail and later he was exiled to Mandalay in Burma. Bose was once
againarrested on January, 1930. After his release from jail on September 25, he was
elected asthe Mayor of the City of Kolkata. Netaji was imprisoned eleven times by the
British overa span of 20 years either in India or in Rangoon. During the mid 1930s he
was exiled bythe British from India to Europe where he championed India`s cause and
aspiration forself-rule before gatherings and conferences. Throughout his stay in Europe
from 1933 to1936, he met several European leaders and thinkers. He travelled
extensively in India andin Europe before stating his political opposition to Gandhi.
Subhash Chandra Bosemarried Emilie Schenkl, an Austrian born national, who was his
secretary, in 1937 inGerman. Bose wrote many letters to Schenkl of which many have
been published in thebook "Letters to Emilie Schenkl", edited by Sisir Kumar Bose and
Sugata Bose. Subhas Chandra Bose became the president of the Haripura Indian
National Congress against thewishes of Gandhiji in 1938. He was elected as the
president for two consecutive terms.Expressing his disagreement with Bose, Gandhi
commented "Subhas` victory is mydefeat". Gandhi`s continued opposition led to
Netaji`s resignation from the WorkingCommittee.

He was left with no alternative but to form an independent party, the "AllIndia Forward
Bloc".In his call to freedom, Subhas Chandra Bose encouraged full participation of
theIndian Masses to strive for independence. Bose initiated the concept of the
"NationalPlanning Committee" in 1938. His correspondence reveals that despite his
clear dislike forBritish subjugation, he was deeply impressed by their methodical and
systematic approachand their steadfastly disciplinarian outlook towards life. The
contrast between Gandhi andBose is captured with reasonable measure in a saying
attributable to him ""If people slapyou once, slap them twice". Having failed to persuade
Gandhi for the mass civildisobedience to protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow`s
decision to declare war onIndia`s behalf without consulting the Congress leadership, he
organized mass protests inKolkata. The disobedience was calling for the `Holwell
Monument` commemorating theBlack Hole of Kolkata. He was thrown in Jail and was
released only after a seven-dayhunger strike. Bose`s house in Kolkata was kept under
surveillance by the British. Withtwo pending court cases; he felt that the British would
not let him leave the country beforethe end of the war. This set the scene for Bose`s
escape to Germany, via Afghanistan andthe Soviet Union. In Germany he instituted the
Special Bureau for India under Adam vonTrott zu Solz, broadcasting on the German-
sponsored Azad Hind Radio. Here he foundedthe "Free India Centre" in Berlin, and
created the Indian Legion consisting of some 4500soldiers who were the Indian
prisoners of war. The soldiers had previously fought for theBritish in North Africa prior
to their capture by Axis forces.

Indian National Army [INA]

The Indian National Army was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942in
Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to secure
Indianindependence with Japanese assistance. Initially composed Indian prisoners
ofwar captured by Japan in the Malayan campaign and at Singapore, it later
drewvolunteers from Indian expatriate population in Malaya and Burma. The INA was
also atthe forefront of women's equality, and the formation of a women's regiment, the
Rani ofJhansi Regiment was formed as an all-volunteer women's unit to fight the British
Raj aswell as provide medical services to the INA. Initially formed in 1942 immediately
afterthe fall of Singapore under Mohan Singh, the First INA collapsed in December that
yearbefore it was revived under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943
andproclaimed the army of Bose's Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (the Provisional
Government ofFree India).

This second INA fought along with the Imperial Japanese Army against theBritish and
Commonwealth forces in the campaigns in Burma, Imphal and Kohima, and later,
against the successful Burma Campaign of the Allies. The end of the war saw a
largenumber of the troops repatriated to India where some faced trial for treason and
became agalvanizing point of the Indian Independence movement.The legacy of the
INA is controversial given its associations with Imperial Japan and theother Axis
powers, the course of Japanese occupations in Burma, Indonesia and otherparts of
Southeast Asia, as well as Japanese war crimes and the alleged complicity of thetroops
of the INA in these. However the INA contributed to independence for India, asafter
the war, the trials of captured INA officers in India provoked massive public outcriesin
support of their efforts to fight for Indian independence against the Raj,
eventuallytriggering the Bombay mutiny in the British Indian forces. These events are
accepted byhistorians to have played a crucial role in hastening the end of British
rule.apan and Southeast Asia were major refuges for Indian nationalists living in exile
beforethe start of World War II. Japan had sent intelligence missions, notablyunder
Major Iwaichi Fujiwara, into South Asia even before the start of the war to
garnersupport from the Malayan Sultans, overseas Chinese, the Burmese resistance and
theIndian movement.

These missions were successful in establishing contacts with Indiannationalists in exile

in Thailand and Malaya, supporting the establishment andorganization of the Indian
Independence League (IIL).On 15 February 1943, the Army itself was put under the
command of Lt. Col. M.Z. Kiani.A policy forming body was formed with the Director
of the Military Bureau, Lt. ColBhonsle, in charge and clearly placed under the authority
of the IIL. Under Bhonsle servedLt. Col. Shah Nawaz Khan as Chief of General Staff,
Major P.K. Sahgal as MilitarySecretary, Major Habib ur Rahman as commandant of the
Officers' Training School andLt. Col. A.C. Chatterji (later Major A.D. Jahangir) as head
of enlightenment and culture.On 4 July 1943, two days after reaching Singapore, Subhas
Chandra Bose assumed theleadership of the IIL and the INA in a ceremony at Cathay
Building. Bose's influence wasnotable.
His appeal not only re-invigorated the fledgling INA, which previously consistedmainly
of POWs, his appeals also touched a chord with the Indian expatriates in SouthAsia as
local civilians, without caste, creed and religion- ranging from barristers, traders
toplantation workers, including Khudabadi Sindhi Swarankar working as shop keepers
– hadno military experience joined the INA, doubled its troop strength.An Officers’
Training School for INA officers, led by Habib ur Rahman, and the AzadSchool for the
civilian volunteers were set up to provide training to the recruits. A youthwing of the
INA, composed of 45 Young Indians personally chosen by Bose andaffectionately
known as the Tokyo Boys, were also sent to Japan's Imperial MilitaryAcademy to train
as fighter pilots. Also, possibly the first time in Asia, and even the onlytime outside the
Soviet Union, a women's regiment, the Rani of Jhansi regiment wasraised as a combat
force

The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny (RIN Mutiny)

The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny or the Bombay Mutiny was the revolt of the
Indiansailors.The sailors who belonged to the Royal Indian Navy on board ship and
shoreestablishments at Bombay harbour went for a strike and organised a mutiny on18th
February 1946.The whole mutiny involved 78 ships, 20 shore establishmentsand 20,000
sailors.This revolt subsequently came to be known as the RIN revolt. Itstarted as a
protest against their general conditions.The immediate reason for the outbreak of the
mutiny was their pay and food. Inaddition to that there were more elementary matters
such as racist behaviour byRoyal Navy personnel towards Indian sailors, and
disciplinary measures takenagainst the sailors who demonstrated nationalist
sympathy.The R.I.N revolt startedelecting a Naval Central Strike committee, Signalman
M.S Khan and TelegraphistMadan Singh were elected as the President and Vice-
President respectively. The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny was widely supported by the
Indian population. Theone day strike spread to other cities from Bombay and the Royal
Indian Air Forceand local police forces also joined this mutiny. Furthermore, in Madras
and Pune,the British garrisons had to face revolts within the ranks of the Indian Army.
Themutinying ships hoisted three flags which were tied together those of the
Congress,Muslim League, and the Red Flag of the Communist Party of India (CPI).

The flagssignified the unity and demarginalisation of communal issues among the
mutineers.The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny was called off following a meeting between
thePresident of the Naval Central Strike Committee (NCSC), M. S. Khan, and
VallabBhai Patel of the Congress. Vallab Bhai Patel was sent to Bombay to settle
thecrisis.Thus; Patel put forth a statement calling on the strikers to end their
action.Mohammed Ali Jinnah on behalf of the Muslim League also supported the
statementof Patel. As a result, the strike ended and in spite of assurances of the good
servicesthere were widespread arrests of the Congress and the Muslim
League.Furthermore,there were incidents of courts martial and large scale dismissals
from the service.However, after independence none of the dismissed returned into either
of the Indianor Pakistani navies.

COMMUNAL POLITICS –JINNAH- TWO NATION THEORY

The Muslim league was in the year 1906 which coloured thesubsequent history of the
national movement and had a far reaching effectin Hindu Muslim relations. It was the
first organised expression of the communalseparatism in the country. The
encouragement from the British governmentfostered the separatism ,the British
civilians like Colvin and Hunter exhortedfor a fair deal to the Muslims and to check the
growth of national feeling.The British policy of the divide and rule encouraged the
communal andseparatist tendencies in Indian politics. As per this intention, they came
outas a champion of the Muslims and to win over the side of Muslimzamindars,
landlords and the newly educated.The role of sir sayyid Ahamedkhan was notable in
the rise Muslimseparatist tendency, the ideologies and writings of the khan towards
theend popularised the tendencies and the preachings of the political intereststoo----
complete obedience to British rule. When Indian national congresswas founded, he
opposed it and also began to preach that since the Hindusformed the larger part of the
Indian population, they would dominate theMuslims in the case withdrawal of the
British rule. Relative backwardness ofthe Indian Muslims in education, industry also
contributed to the separatisttendency. When the educated Muslims found the very rare
opportunitiesfor them ,they developed a kind of resentment against the Hindus.The
extremist policies, programmes and the speeches and writings of somethe militant
nationalist had a strong religious and Hindu tinge.

Theyemphasised and identified Indian culture and Indian nation with the
Hindureligion, and ignored the elements of composite culture. The absence of acentral
political organisation to safeguard the Muslim interest against thepreponderance of the
congress was keenly felt by the Muslim leaders. Theviceroy at simla ,in august 1906
demanded that the legislative representation ofthe Muslim should be by the separate
electorate and representation should behigher than their percentage in population.The
formation of league produced far reaching consequences in thepolitical history of India.
it created the cleavage between the Hindus andMuslims .in 1908 the annual session of
the Muslim league opposed the congress resolution against the partition of Bengal and
pressed for arepresentation on a communal basis. The minto-morley reforms of 1909
acceptedthe demand for separate electorate for the Muslims, but there was a changein
the programme and demands on the Muslim league after 1911.
the revocationof the partition of Bengal gave a rude shock to league. The discontent
ofthe Muslim sprang from the foreign source.,Gandhi,the khilafat and noncooperation
tried to a Hindu Muslim unity in the 20s and 30s.During the 40s communalism and
sectarianism became more severein India. The partition of India was a logical
conclusion of the British policyof divide and rule to look of the communal problem in
India merely as aHindu- Muslim question as of religious antagonism between Hindus
andMuslims is misleading. The communal problem at its base was mereeconomically
and politically motivated than religious oriented. apart from theHindus and Muslims ,
there was a third party in the communal triangle ---the British rules. They created
communal triangle of which they remained thebase. The British were neither true
friends of the Muslims nor the foes of theHindus.The genesis of Pakistan was implicit
in the feeling of separatism .

thePakistan demand which accelerated the process of separatism and as a resultof the
poor performance of the league in the provincial elections of 1937even in the Muslim
majority provinces of Punjab and Bengal .the leagueleader Jinnah touched the chord of
the religious feelings of the Muslimwhich acted as a rallying force in Muslim politics.
The communalism underHindu mahasaba,RSS and the leaders like M S Golwalkar and
V D Savarkar.Their writings and speeches aggravated the Hindu communalism
andsectarianism .the demand for Pakistan and two nation theory of league, thedirect
action day which ultimately led to the partition of India andcommunal holocaust after
the partition too.In 1943 ,c Rajagopalachari ,who had resigned from the congress
in1942, devised a formula to hold talks with Jinnah on his demand forPakistan. The
main features of this formula were, Muslim league endorsesthe Indian demand for
independence and cooperation with the congress in theformation of the provisional
interim government for the transitional period.after the termination of the second world
war ,a commission shall be fordemarcating contiguous districts in the north west and
east of India wherethe Muslim population is in absolute majority .

In the areas thus demarcated,a plebiscite and shall ultimately decide the issue of
separation from Indianunion. If the majority decide in favour of forming a separate and
sovereign state,such a decision shall be given effect to without prejudice to the right of
theborder areas to choose between either State. Jinnah turned down Rajagopalachari’s
proposal as offering a mutilatedand moth eaten Pakistan ,but he agreed to discuss the
issue with Gandhi ,leading to Gandhi -Jinnah talks. Gandhi’s negotiate with Jinnah on
thebasis of Rajaji formula of partitioning India created a sensation andparticularly
provoked the indignation of the Hindu and Sikh minorities inthe Punjab and the Hindus
of Bengal .

as could be expected ,the most bittercriticism was made by the Hindu mahasabha
.savarkar asserted that theIndian provinces were not the private properties of Gandhiji
and rajaji so thatthey could make gift of them to anyone they liked. The talks were
inSeptember 9-27, 1944 and failed to reach an agreement. Gandhi held that theseparate
Muslim state should be formed after India was free; but Jinnah urgedfor an immediate
and complete settlement. The Gandhi-Jinnah talks did notbring the two communities
nearer each other, but two results followed. In thefirst place, Jinnah was on a high
pedestal and there was an inordinateaccession of strength to the Muslim league.After
the failure of Gandhi-Jinnah talks ,another attempt was made bythe congress and the
Muslim league to find a way out from the politicalimpasse.

The congress representative of the central assembly ,Bhula bhaijeevanDesai and his
Muslim league counterpart Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan andcame up with the following
proposals ,both the congress and league wouldjoin in forming an interim government at
the centre which would function asper the act of 1935,independent of the governor
general .the interimgovernment would have equal seats for representatives of both
parties withadequate representation of the minorities. This pact came to be known as
Desai-Liaqat pact. But it never got approval from either the congress or league,
andJinnah denounced the pact.About this time ,on February 18,1946, a section of
Indians serving in theRoyal Indian Navy ,known as ratings (non-commissioned officers
and sailors)mutinied in Bombay .they went on a hunger strike in protest against
untoldhardships regarding pay and food and the outrageous racial discrimination
,inparticular derogatory references to their national character. the ratings
tookpossession of some ships ,mounted the guns and prepared to open fire onthe
military guards. it was largely due to the efforts of vallabhai patel that onFebruary
23,1946,the ratings surrendered ;but not before hartals and strikesand even violent
outbreaks that had broken out in Bombay and elsewhereclaimed a death toll of more
than 200 persons. Besides the R.I.N Mutiny, the Royal Indian Air Forces also started
strikesin this period. The labour problem was another feature.The postal and
telegraph,railway workers were also went on strikes.

The peasants also rose against thehigh rents and for lands, tebhaga; the village of Bengal
was the most importantand notable in this character.On June 14, Wavell broadcast a
plan, popularly known as the Wavell Plan.the essence of the plan was the formation of
a new executive council at thecentre, in which all but the viceroy and the commander
in chief would beIndians. All portfolios except defence would also be held by the Indian
members.The executive council was an interim arrangement, which was to govern the
untilsuch time that a new permanent constitution could be agreed upon and come
toforce. To consider these proposals and to progress towards the formation ofthe
executive council, a conference of 21 Indian political leaders were invited tothe summer
capital of simla in june,25 1945.the leaders included MoulanaAbdul kalam azad, the
then president of the congress, M.A.jinnah the leaderof Muslim league, the leaders of
the nationalist party, scheduled castes,Sikhsetc.Jinnah, however, sabotaged the simla
conference. He objected to theinclusion of any non league Muslim in the executive
council, with the claimthat the Muslim league was the sole representative of Indian
muslims;thecongress therefore had no right to nominate Muslim member to the council
.

He also demanded, in addition to the retention of the viceroy s veto ,some

othersafeguards for the Muslim members, such as a provision requiring a cleartwo-
thirds majority in case of proposals objected to by muslim members. Thecongress
objected to these demands as unreasonable.Abdul kalam Azad who represented the
congress at the simla conference,is of the view that the failure of simla conference
marked a watershed inIndia’s political history. It immensely strengthened the clout of
the Muslim league.The new Attlee govt of Britain was to hold general elections in India.
In theelection results announced in December 1945,the congress made its presencefelt
in the central legislative assembly as also the provincial legislatures .

In the central legislative assembly ,the congress secured 91.3 percent of votes inthe
general constituencies ;the Muslim league won every Muslim seat.The cabinet mission
(march-may,1946) ,composed of three British cabinetministers –sirpethic Lawrence ,sir
Stafford Cripps and A.V Alexander were themembers. its objective was to set up
quickly a machinery for drawing up theconstitution for independent India and make
necessary arrangements for an interim government. After the meeting and discussion
with the Indian leadersand announced its recommendations on may 16,1946.

the demand forPakistan was rejected on the ground that it would not solve the
communalminority problem. In addition, partition would create many serious in
defence,communications and other areas. There was to be a union of India, consisting
ofthe British provinces and the princely states. The union government and itslegislature
were to have limited powers ,dealing with only defence ,foreignaffairs, and
communications. The union would have the powers necessary toraise the finances to
manage these subjects. The provinces would enjoyautonomy. The provinces were
grouped into three categories –A,B and C.GroupA was consist of madras ,united
provinces Bihar,central provinces,Bombay,and Orissa. Group B was to comprise (the
muslim majority areas) of thePunjab,sind,NWFP and Baluchistan;Group C was to
include Bengal and AssamThe congress agreed to the proposals relating to the
constituent assembly,but rejected the proposal regarding the formation of an interim
government,because the Muslim league had been given disproportionate
representation.the league at first accepted it but later rejected and turned to “resort
todirection action to achieve Pakistan”. there were communal riots in someparts.The
viceroy lord Wavell invited Nehru ,the leader of the largest party inIndia to form an
Interim Government, which was sworn in on September2,1946.
it was composed of 12 members nominated by the congress withNehru as its vice
president. It was the time since the coming of theBritish that the government of India
was in Indian hands. League at firstrefused to join the interim government ,but later
joined in it on 13 October.It became clear, however, that the league joined the interim
government notwork to sincerely and cooperate with the congress, but to paralyse
thefunctioning of the new government and it also boycotted the
constituentassembly.While the country passing through these uncertainties ,prime
ministerAttlee announced on February 20,1947,in the house of commons, that
theBritish would quit India after transferring ‘’into responsible hands not laterthan June
1948.’’He also appointed the lord mount batten as viceroy,successor of lord Wavell,
was the 34th and the last governor general andimmediately began to take measures for
transfer. but the Attlee’s proclamationaggravated the communal violence and
holocausts in different parts of India .itbecame a common sight and the partition became
inevitable. In the renewedcommunal violence all the communities –the Hindus, the
Muslims and the Sikhs–‘’vied with each other in the worst orgies of violence ‘’.the
conflagration soonspread from the Punjab to NWFP and other parts of North India.
Mount batten hold prolonged discussions with the leaders andconvinced them the
reality ,but the stalwarts like Gandhi and Azadvehemently opposed the partition .he
prepared a partition plan which cameto be known as June 3rd plan or mount batten plan
as it was presented inJune 3.as per this two new dominions came into being in the world-
Indiaand Pakistan. The plan laid the following procedure ,the provinciallegislative
assemblies of Bengal and Punjab would meet in two partsseparately, one representing
the Muslim majority districts and the otherrepresenting the remaining districts, to decide
by vote for partition of theprovinces. Sind and Baluchistan decision was to be taken
their respectivelegislatures. NWFP was to be made by people through referendum and
asimilar referendum was to be held in the sylhet district of Assam .princelystates can
either accede to or remain independent.Both congress and league accepted and agreed
the plan and the Indianindependence act was passed in July 1947. The act provided
setting up twoindependent dominions to be known as India and Pakistan from august
15,1947
Mountbatten plan
Lord Mountbatten (India’s last viceroy) proposed a plan in May 1947 according to
which provinces were to be declared independent successor states with the power to
choose whether to join the constituent assembly or not.

Mountbatten Plan Background

 Lord Mountbatten came to India as the last Viceroy and was assigned the task of
a speedy transfer of power by the then British Prime Minister Clement Atlee.
 In May 1947, Mountbatten came up with a plan under which he proposed that
the provinces be declared independent successor states and then be allowed to
choose whether to join the constituent assembly or not. This plan was called the
‘Dickie Bird Plan’.
 Jawaharlal Nehru (Born on November 14, 1889) when apprised of the plan,
vehemently opposed it saying it would lead to Balkanisation of the country.
Hence, this plan was also called Plan Balkan.
 Then, the viceroy came up with another plan called the June 3 Plan. This plan
was the last plan for Indian independence. It is also called the Mountbatten Plan.
 The June 3 Plan included the principles of partition, autonomy, sovereignty to
both nations, right to make their own constitution.
 Above all, the Princely States such as Jammu and Kashmir were given a choice
to either join India or Pakistan. The consequences of these choices would affect
the new nations for decades to come.
 This plan was accepted by both the Congress and the Muslim League. By then,
the Congress had also accepted the inevitability of the partition.
 This plan was put into action by the Indian Independence Act 1947 which was
passed in the British Parliament and received the royal assent on 18 July 1947.

Provisions of the Mountbatten Plan

 British India was to be partitioned into two dominions – India and Pakistan.
 The constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly would not be applicable to
the Muslim-majority areas (as these would become Pakistan). The question of a
separate constituent assembly for the Muslim-majority areas would be decided
by these provinces.
 As per the plan, the legislative assemblies of Bengal and Punjab met and voted
for the partition. Accordingly, it was decided to partition these two provinces
along religious lines.
  The legislative assembly of Sind would decide whether to join the Indian
constituent assembly or not. It decided to go to Pakistan.
 A referendum was to be held on NWFP (North-Western Frontier Province) to
decide which dominion to join. NWFP decided to join Pakistan while Khan
Abdul Gaffar Khan boycotted and rejected the referendum.
 The date for the transfer of power was to be August 15, 1947.
 To fix the international boundaries between the two countries, the Boundary
Commission was established chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe. The commission
was to demarcate Bengal and Punjab into the two new countries.
 The princely states were given the choice to either remain independent or accede
to India or Pakistan. The British suzerainty over these kingdoms was terminated.
 The British monarch would no longer use the title ‘Emperor of India’.
 After the dominions were created, the British Parliament could not enact any law
in the territories of the new dominions.
 Until the time the new constitutions came into existence, the Governor-General
would assent any law passed by the constituent assemblies of the dominions in
His Majesty’s name. The Governor-General was made a constitutional head.
On the midnight of 14th and 15th August 1947, the dominions of Pakistan and India
respectively came into existence. Lord Mountbatten was appointed the first Governor-
General of independent India and M .A. Jinnah became the Governor-General of
Pakistan.

Partition -its impact

As per mount batten plan The partition took place at the midnight of 14thand 15th
august 1947 in which the entire paraphernalia was also divided; thegeography,
administrative units, population, defence etc. the impact of partitionwas so profound
and prolonged. Lord Mountbatten went to Karachi on13thaugust and on the following
day addressed the Pakistan constituent assemblyand attended the inauguration
ceremony at Karachi. The partition raised somemajor issues in which most important
was the question of refugees. Bengal,Punjab and Delhi affected the serious refugee
problems and communal riots. Therehabilitation of the refugees was the important
challenge to face the newlyformed government. Displacement of millions of the people
and the separationof the minds of Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs, the question and
confusions ofthe accession of the princely states, either India, Pakistan or to be
independent.Though congress was committed to secularism and though Gandhi
stakedhis life for Hindu Muslim unity ,the congress was not able to a longterm strategy
to fight communalism in its different forms at the level ofboth politics and ideology. the
congress leaders naively believed thatreassurances, generous concessions and
willingness to reach a compromisewould solve the problem .

INTEGRATION OF PRINCELY STATES

Indian Independence Act,1947 contains the following provision regarding
IndianStates:All treaties,agreements,etc between His Majesty`s Government and the
rulersof the Indian States shall lapse.The words ‘Emperor of India’ shall be omitted
fromRoyal Style and Titles.The Indian states will be free to accede to either of the new
Dominion of India or Pakistan.Monarchy was abolished and hence, the princelystates
were to be annexed.In the National Provisional Government, SardarVallabhbhai Patel
headed the State Department. Patel and his chief aide, VP Menonappealed to the sense
of patriotism of the Indian princes and persuaded them to jointhe Indian union.The
annexations were to take place on the basis of surrender of three subjects ofDefence,
Foreign Affairs and Communication. Lord Mountbatten aided Patel in hismission too.
As a result by 15th August, as many as 136 jurisdictional statesacceded to the Indian
union. Kashmir`s Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrumentof Accession on 26th
October, 1947 and the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1948.V P Menon, on the other hand,
successfully negotiated instruments of accessionwith a number of small states of Orissa
with the Province of Orissa. On 18thDecember, the Chattisgarh rulers merged with the
Central Provinces.Between theperiods of 17th to 21st January 1948, Menon acquired
the agreement for scores ofminor states in Kathiawar to form the Union of Kathiawar,
which began to govern onFebruary 15. This set the pattern for the subsequent accession
and merger of manytiny remaining states over the next five months.For geographical
and administrative reasons, Baroda and Kolhapur were annexedto the then Bomaby
Province; Gujarat states were also merged with the BombayProvince.

A second form of integration of 61 states was the formation of the sevencentrally

administered areas. Thus the states of Himachal Pradesh, Vindhya Pradesh(present day
Madhya Pradesh), Tripura, Manipur, Bhopal, Kutch and Bilaspur wereformed. Apart
from these the states of United States of Matsya, Union of VindhyaPradesh, Madhya
Bharat, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan andUnited states of
Cochin-Travancore were also integrated to the India.However, the unification of
India was still incomplete without the French andPortuguese enclaves. The French
authorities were more realistic when they cededPondicherry (Puducherry) and
Chandannagore to India on 1st November,1954.However, the Portuguese Government
maintained that since Goa was part ofthe metropolitan territories of Portugal, it could
be in no way affected by the Britishand French withdrawal from India. When
negotiations and persuasions did not movethe Portuguese government, units of Indian
army had to be mobilized and Goa,Daman and Diu were liberated and annexed to India
on 19th December, 1961.Thus, after much toil Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and his aides
successfullyintegrated the Indian states to form a unified country.

MODULE 5- THE LEGACY OF NATIONAL MOVEMENT

Ambedkar and His programmes

B. R AMBEDKAR

Babasaheb Ambedkar is one of the foremost thinkers of modern India. His thoughtis
centrally concerned with issues of freedom, human equality, democracy and
sociopoliticalemancipation. He is a unique thinker of the world who himself suffered
muchhumiliation, poverty and social stigma, right from his childhood, yet he rose to
greateducational and phiIosophica1 heights. He was a revolutionary social reformer
whodemonstrated great faith in democracy and the moral basis of a society. He was one
of theprincipal critics of India's national movement led by M.K. Gandhi. He built civic
andpolitical institutions in India and criticized ideologies and institutions that degraded
andenslaved people. He undertook several major studies on the economy, social
structures and institutions, law and constitutionalism, history and religion with in a
methodologicalvigor and reflexivity. He was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee
of the IndianConstitution and defended its key provisions with scholarly precision and
sustainedarguments without losing sight of the ideals it upheld while, at the same time;
holdingfirmely to the ground. He embraced Buddhism, recasting it to respond to modern
andsocially emancipator urges, with hundreds of thousands of his followers and paved
theway for its resurgence in Modern India.Anlbedkar wrote several books. Unlike his
contemporaries, he had done alot of original researching on his texts. Apart from writing
the Indian Constitution as theChairman of its Drafting Committee and defending it in
the marathon debates of theConstituent Assembly, he wrote several books that reflect
systematic thinking. Apart fromhis doctoral dissertations on The Problem of the Rupee
(1923) and The Evolution ofFinance in British India(1925) he wrote Annihilation of
Cast , Thoughts on Pakistan(1940), What Congress and Gandhi have done to the
Untouchables (l945),Who were theSudras? (1946), The Untouchables: who were They.
And why they became Untouchables?(1948) , States and Minorities (1947), Thoughts
on Linguistic states (1955) and hismagnum opus The Buddha and his Dharma (1957)
are the most important. Apart fromthem he wrote numerous articles, submitted learned
memoranda, delivered lectures andcommented on the issues in the journals he
published.
Contribution to Constitution Making:
The Indian Constitution and its drafting process are often seen as synonymous
with Ambedkar. He was reagrded as the father of the Indian Constitution, and is
probably the most well-known of all Constituent Assembly members.

Ambedkar became a key figure in India’s constitution-making process due to the offices
he held and his interventions and speeches in the Assembly. He was the Chairman of
the Assembly’s most crucial committee – the Drafting Committee. Ambedkar was also
a member of other important Committees. As chairman of the Drafting Committee, he
had to defend the Draft Constitution which it prepared, and therefore intervened in
nearly every debate.

On behalf of the Scheduled Caste Federation party, Ambedkar wrote and

submitted States and Minorities document to the Sub-Committee on Fundamental
Rights of the Constituent Assembly. A mini-Constitution in itself, States and
Minorities framed strong social and economic rights.

Ambedkar’s interventions and speeches, on various aspects of the Constitution,

were insightful, well-reasoned and scrupulously researched. This won him the support
and respect of other members of the Assembly who allowed him to lead the
constitution-making project.

Later Contributions:
Ambedkar was appointed as the first Law Minister of independent India in 1947.
Ambedkar’s ideas as presented in the Hilton Young Commission served as an
inspiration behind the creation of the Reserve Bank of India.

In 1956, Ambedkar with 3,65,000 supporters converted to Buddhism, after having

devoted several years to studying the religion. Ambedkar’s re-invention of Buddhism
in the language of social justice is popularly referred to popularly as Dalit Buddhist
movement, Navayana, or Neo-Buddhism.

As a Scheduled Caste Federation party candidate, Ambedkar contested in India’s first

general elections from Bombay North Central constituency. The elections, dubbed as
‘the biggest experiment in democracy in human history’ by Sukumar Sen (then Election
Commissioner) saw Ambedkar finish fourth in the race – the unknown candidate from
the Congress party took home the seat. Despite his loss in the Lok Sabha elections in
1952, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
In the later years of his life, his health worsened, and he passed away on 6 December
1956 in his sleep at his home in Delhi. His birth date is celebrated as ‘Ambedkar Jayanti’
in the form of a public holiday. He was posthumously given the Bharat Ratna in 1991.

NEHRUVIAN ERA

Nehruji had a multi faceted personality. He had wide range of interests and had qualities
like rationality, humanity and respect for individual, independence of spirit and secular.
He wanted to inculcate these qualities in co-workers as well as people. Nationalism is
his foremost quality which even his enemies wouldn't deny. This he retained even after
1947.

He wanted to build a socialist society - equitable, egalitarian, just, humane with

democratic and civil libertarian polity. He tried to link his dual commitment to
nationalism and socialism. The most important task before Nehru was to build a nation
and neither of his two idols Gandhiji or Marx had any guidance on this matter. He set
upon his task with excitement and optimism.

Under his leadership India had an independent foreign policy which wasn't inclined
towards either of the two blocs - US and USSR. He also was responsible for the
economic policy of making the nation self-reliant and self sustaining. He set upon
building world class institutions in science and technology, develop indigenous
capabilities for research, public sector industries for strategic sectors and self
sufficiency in agriculture. Nehru believed that independence depended on economic
strength of a country.

The motto of Unity in Diversity was a good example of his ideology. He recognised
that the separatist factors like caste-ism, regionalism, communalism which had
transcended during the independence struggle had risen again. India had to embrace all
diversity and yet remain united. He succeeded in keeping the secessionist forces in
check and at the same time pushed forward the process of national integration and
nation building.

Five-Year Plans
Five-Year Plans (FYPs) are centralized and integrated national economic
programs. Joseph Stalin implemented the first Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union in
1928. Most communist states and several capitalist countries subsequently have adopted
them. China continues to use FYPs, although China renamed its Eleventh FYP, from
2006 to 2010, a guideline (guihua), rather than a plan (jihua), to signify the central
government's more hands-off approach to development. India launched its First FYP in
1951, immediately after independence, under the socialist influence of India's first
prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. he first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,
presented the First Five-Year Plan to the Parliament of India and needed urgent
attention. The First Five-year Plan was launched in 1951 which mainly focused in the
development of the primary sector. The First Five-Year Plan was based on the Harrod–
Domar model with few modifications. The Second Plan focused on the development of
the public sector and "rapid Industrialisation". The plan followed the Mahalanobis
model, an economic development model developed by the Indian statistician Prasanta
Chandra Mahalanobis in 1953. The plan attempted to determine the optimal allocation
of investment between productive sectors in order to maximise long-run economic
growth. The Third Five-year Plan stressed agriculture and improvement in the
production of wheat, but the brief Sino-Indian War of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the
economy and shifted the focus towards the defence industry and the Indian Army. In
1965–1966, India fought a War with Pakistan. There was also a severe drought in 1965.
The war led to inflation and the priority was shifted to price stabilisation. The
construction of dams continued. Many cement and fertilizer plants were also
built. Punjab began producing an abundance of wheat.
Many primary schools were started in rural areas. In an effort to bring democracy to the
grass-root level, Panchayat elections were started and the states were given more
development responsibilities.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Foreign Policy

Jawaharlal Nehru is considered to be the architect of modern India. Apart from

hiscareful handling of India's tumultuous domestic situation in the years
immediatelyafter the Independence, Nehru's major contribution lies in the field of
foreignpolicies.In fact, Nehru determined India's international profile to a great degree
inthe post-independence years, in his capacity as the foreign minister ofIndia.Jawaharlal
Nehru's foreign policy has been made subject to much controversyand debate, like his
economic policies. However, taken in the context of India's newlyfound status as a
democratic republic, Nehru's foreign affairs policies seem to beextremely apt.Socialism
can be said to be one of the greatest international influences on Nehru,but Gandhi's
ideals of Satyagraha also influenced him to a great degree.But hecommitted himself to
neither point of view in framing his foreign policy.Nehru'sforeign policies were
characterized by two major ideological aspects.First, he wantedIndia to have an identity
that would be independent of any form of overtcommitment to either power bloc, the
USA or the Soviet.Secondly, he had anunshaken faith in goodwill and honesty in
matters of international affairs.The firstpolicy led ultimately to the founding of the Non-
Alignment Movement (NAM). Hissecond faith was terribly shaken by the Chinese
attack of 1962, openly disobeyingall the clauses of the Panchsheel or five-point
agreement of 1954 between New Delhiand Peking.This breach of faith was a major
psychological shock for Nehru, and waspartially the reason for his death

.The Founding Principles of Nehru's Foreign Policy:

Nehru saw war and violent insurgency from very close quarters as a freedomfighter,
and he believed in neither. In his foreign policies, Nehru tried to guide Indiain such a
way, so as to steer clear from any form of violence and militarism.Herightly believed
that a newly decolonized nation must invest all its economic andlogistic resources
towards development and not defense and armament.Just like hiseconomic policies,
which were non-committal towards any ideological position,Nehru wanted to bring in
a healthy level of pragmatism in his dealings of India'sforeign affairs as well. He
understood that overt commitment to any of the two majorpower blocs to emerge in the
aftermath of World War II, would not serve India'spath.He therefore wanted to tread a
third path, which was not necessarily themiddle path. It should be remembered that this
dogged non-commitment of Nehru was not seensympathetically by any of the super
powers of either East or West at its initialstage.It was frequently termed as a kind of
international opportunism and wasaccused of 'neutralism' - a stance reckoned to be not
only dangerous but alsoequally immoral in the world of International politics.However,
the increasingpopularity of NAM among various Asian and African countries and
Nehru's growingstature as a statesman situation changed their views.India too benefited
from thisposition, as it managed to secure rebuilding grants from member countries of
eitherbloc. After Nehru's successful mediation in the Korean War and the Congo
problem,putting an end to a long and violent struggle, his status as a commendable
andefficient statesman reached new heights. Jawaharlal Nehru's theory of
ideologicalnon-commitment in a world that was rendered dangerous by the Cold War
wasappreciated by one and all.

Nehru and the Non-Alignment Movement:

The greatest success of Jawaharlal Nehru's non-committal international politicswas the

formation of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM). Nehru found allies in Tito,Nasser,
Soekarno, U Nu and Nkrumah at a later stage in his formation of this newalliance. An
alliance of newly independent and long colonized nations was not takenseriously in the
beginning, either by the Eastern or the Western bloc.However, theimportance of the
alliance was soon felt, and initially led to a great degree ofinternational pressure from
both parts of the globe.However, Nehru proceeded withhis mission undaunted.It was
great test for his courage and it was soon found outthat the NAM was not merely a
passive platform of neutral and inactive nations. Ithad clear objectives that included the
gradual decolonization of the world, and astrong statement that the member countries
were not party to the ever escalatingtension of the Cold War.The favored process of
decolonization as adopted by theNAM member countries was one of discussion and
peaceful agreement.On manyoccasions, NAM met with success, often under the
leadership of Nehru.Whoeversupported its cause was an ally and a friend.Nehru
preached a policy of issue basedalliance and not one based on political and economic
dogmas.He was proud of beingan Asian, and wanted Asian nations to be the primary
determinants of their politicalfate, not always guided by Western forces.Nehru's
unshaken belief in the force of international brotherhood was attestedwith his decision
to continue with India's Commonwealth status.

He was madesubject to much criticism back home because of the support he extended
towardsthe Commonwealth, particularly after the complication of the independence
issue bythe British government in the post World War II years, leading to the
unwantedpartition.However Nehru, always the believer in peaceful alliances and
solution ofinternational affairs based on discussions, went on with his ideals. Nehru and
the Kashmir Problem: Nehru's Foreign policies did not augur well whenit came to deal
with the neighbors. Kashmir was a perpetual problem, and he failedto reach any
successful negotiation regarding Kashmir with the neighborPakistan.Nehru had an
innate belief in honest fellow-feeling and politicalgenerosity.He tried to force a
negotiation with the Pakistani government through theUnited Nations. But the Pakistani
military rulers denied any peaceful agreement.Theoffer of a possible plebiscite was also
taken off in 1950.After India's dogged denial ofthe two-nation theory, a result in favor
of Kashmir in the Muslim dominatedKashmir would be a strategic disaster for India.The
Kashmir problem remainedunresolved, and not even Nehru's diplomatic expertise could
give any positivedirection to the problem. It still continues to be the one of the key
internationalproblems in South Asia.

National integration
According to the Indian independence act of 1947,along with the BritishIndian
provinces, the princely states of India also become independent. Princelystates were
free to join in the Indian union or to declare independence. Thisprovision of the act
created a very dangerous situation because 40% of territorywas under the princes and
which may again bring the disunity. In 1947,the future of the princely states became a
matter of concern. Many of the largerprinces began to dream of independence . They
claimed that paramount cannotbe transferred to the new states of India and Pakistan.
Rulers of severalstates claimed that they became independent, when British rule
ended.The national could hardly accept such a situation of disunity and rejectedthe
claims of any state of independence. They declared that independence forprincely states
was not an option; the only option to accede to India orPakistan on the basis of
contiguity of its territory and wishes of itspeople. The prime task of the new formed
independent government was theintegration of the Indian states. As a result of several
factors and the tact,wisdom, skill with which Sardar Patel handled the problem and he
wasrelentlessly assisted by V.P Menon the secretary of state’s department.
Patelassumed the charge of the states department on 27th June 1947 and Menontoo.
Patel appealed to all the princes to accede to the Indian union. Due to therising tide of
the popular movements in the states and the firm attitudeof Patel most of the princes
responded to the appeal and acceded to Indianunion by august 15th 1947.some of the
states joined in the constituentassembly in April 1947 and some of the princess stayed
away and fewstates like Travancore, Bhopal and Hyderabad publically declared
theirdesire to claim an independence status .but at the last three of the
states,junagadh,jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad did not join the union andthey were
acceded to the union by forcefully or with the will of the people.The ruler of Junagad,
nawab announced accession of his state toPakistan but the people state desired join
India. the popular movements ,theintervention of the Indian troops with the invitation
of shahnawas Bhutto andthe plebiscite favoured to India and accession. In the state of
Kashmir ruler wasa Hindu and population was Muslim. Hari sing did not accede either
India orPakistan and continue to be an independent ruler. The popular political forceled
by the national conference and sheik Abdullah wanted to join India andthe invasion of
the pathan tribes (pak army) compelled the ruler to accedeIndia and also agreed to install
sheik Abdullah as the head of the stateadministration .India announced that it would
hold referendum on theaccession decision in the valley and part of India. Hyderabad
was the largest state in India, ruled by the Nizam who wishedto become an independent
status with encouragement of Pakistan.Patelnegotiated with Hyderabad but the ruler
was strengthening his force. in themeanwhile the political developments in the state ;the
rapid growth of militantMuslim communal organisation,ittihad-ul-muslim in and its
Para military wingRazakars and the satyagraha movement of the state congress for
thedemocratisation made the turbulent situation. The disturbed activities of theRasakars
brought the situation very tense and Nizam continued to impart moreand more army.
At that time Indian army moved to Hyderabad on13thSeptember 1948,Nizam
surrendered and acceded to the Indian union inNovember 1948.thus integration process
was completed.