Gandhiji in South Africa

In this article, we will deal with basic questions which can be asked in mains exam like how South African experience influenced his role in future movements which he led in India and the racism debate ie whether Gandhiji was a racist or not.

Role of South African Experience of Gandhi

• Discrimination faced by Gandhi in South Africa directed at people of color like incident when he was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg after refusing to move from the first-class were a turning point in Gandhi’s life and shaped his social activism and awakened him to social injustice. 

• Tolstoy farm and Phoenix farm were precursor to Gandhi’s Ashrams in India like Ahmadebad Ashram
• Use of newspaper for political literacy and mobilisation. Indian Opinion was started by Gandhi in South Africa

• He learned that Civil Disobedience & Passive Resistance were more effective than traditional moderate methods of prayers & petition.

• Gained experienced of leading people from both genders, different religions, caste and social classes while facing resistance from both enemy and followers. Same he did in India. He spearheaded Khilafat Movement. He united people from different part of India and also paved the way for women in politics. He took break from the active politics for the emancipation of Harijans in India.

• He learned about the sacrificing  power of woman and role they can play in peaceful resistance and satyagraha. Hence, he asked women to join the protests and court arrests. [was influenced by feminist Millie Polak]

• Due to his experience in South Africa, he also realized the military might of British and was convinced that it can’t be challenged through force. Hence, peaceful means were the best way to defeat the Britishers.

Gandhi and Racism Debate

Gandhi didn’t embrace the Rights of Black people . Did it mean that he was indifferent to their cause.

• He didn’t do that because of Pragmatic Considerations. He was working in a terrain where there were large variety of Indians (area, class and language) . Just getting along all of Indians was huge task for Gandhi. Pragmatically , Gandhi didn’t take up cause of Natives because he was not in position to handle such complex movement.
• Moreover, Natives would not have accepted Gandhi as their leader.

Whether Gandhi was a Racist ?

• Initially, Gandhi was racist in some aspects . One excuse can be , everybody was racist at that time (but this doesn’t remove him from his sins) . In many other domains, Gandhi was far ahead of his times. Hence, Gandhi cant be said to be ‘creature of his times’.
• Gandhi was ignorant of the history of Black people. When his knowledge about Black people increased he started to write (especially in 1930s & 40s)  about India-Africa Solidarity. Hence, his views about Blacks changed during his lifetime.
• Gandhi was embraced by great many African leaders (like Nelson Mandella) . If Gandhi was such racist , why these great leaders admired and took inspiration from Gandhi . Hence, even leaders like Mandela were ready to excuse Gandhi of whatever his initial stand was and go ahead with his final stand .
• In 1936, Gandhi was visited by Afro-American Delegation at his Ashram . Gandhi said that next experiment in Satyagraha certainly would be taken by your people.

Hence, it can be said that whatever might be his initial views, his views in later parts of  his life weren’t racial .

As further reference, you can further refer the article by mrunal on his website. Click here to redirect to that article.

Gandhiji’s Ideology

This article deals with ‘Gandhiji’s Ideology   – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Influence on Gandhi

• Raised in Port City (Porbandar) : people raised in port cities have tendencies to look outwards. They are less insular. Being raised on coast and interior makes large difference on psychology of people.

• Jainism : Jains are people who adhere to idea of strict non-violence (ahimsa) . He was born in Porbandar where  people belonging to Jainism were living in large number.  

• Vaishnavism : Vaishnavism is very much associated with Bhakti / idea of devotion.

• His Parents (especially mother) : He learnt devotion from his mother. She used to hold on her Karwa Chauth fast even for 36 hours but didn’t break it until she saw moon. He learnt about fast from his mother  

• His engagement with dissenting Intellectuals . These intellectuals were infact thinkers who were marginalized by the west itself. He was trying to build a coalition to the other west and tell to world that there wasn’t just one west which was oppressing them but other west too which dissent such tendencies. In a way, he was also trying to change the course of  fight as – He wasn’t only fighting for Independence of Indians but also to free Britishers from their own worst tendencies.

These intellectuals were as follows

1 . HD Thoreau – On duty of Civil Disobedience

• He was perhaps the first dissenter in US in real sense
• When US entered into war against Mexico in 1840s, Thoreau objected this war of expansionism & he objected more to the fact that taxes which he was paying to state were used to fund the military. He wrote essay against paying such taxes & duty of Civil Disobedience
• Gandhi was moved by the idea of Thoreau that if the state has passed the unjust law , then your duty is to disobey that law (note – this doesn’t mean disrespect of rule of law in general).
• A law is unjust according to Thoreau and Gandhi if your conscience tells you that you cant obey that law and if you obey that law , you will violate higher law and that higher law is law towards god & fellow human beings.

But there was difference between Gandhi and Thoreau because Thoreau at no point of time was thinking having a collectivity in this Civil Disobedience by taking  society and nation as a whole . His civil disobedience was more of individual character & not collective.

2. RW Emerson

• Essayist & Transcendentalist thinker
• Gandhi took Concept of Individualism from him

3. John Ruskin

Art critic & wrote UNTO THIS LAST . He took idea of Sarvodaya (Well Being of All => Community Living) from John Ruskin’s Unto this Last

• Unto This Last is an essay on economy by John Ruskin, first published in December 1860 . Ruskin said himself that these articles were “very violently criticized”, forcing the publisher to stop the publication after four months. Subscribers sent protest letters. But Ruskin countered the attack and published the four articles in a book in 1862.
• This essay is very critical of capital economists of the 18th and 19th century. Essay also attacks the destructive effects of industrialism upon the natural world, some historians have seen it as anticipating the Green Movement.
• Unto This Last had a very important impact on Gandhi’s philosophy. He discovered the book in March 1904 through Henry Polak, whom he had met in a vegetarian restaurant in South Africa. Polak was chief editor of the Johannesburg paper The Critic. Gandhi decided immediately not only to change his own life according to Ruskin’s teaching, but also to publish his own newspaper, Indian Opinion & start  a farm where everybody would get the same salary, without distinction of function, race or nationality, which for that time, was quite revolutionary. Thus Gandhi created Phoenix Settlement.
• Gandhi translated Unto This Last into Gujarati in 1908 under the title of Sarvodaya (“well being of all”).

4. Leo Tolstoy

• Radical anarchist Christian  – Argued that Christianity and teachings of Christ are two separate things.
• Much before he made his acquaintance through correspondence, Gandhi read Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is within you in South Africa. Tolstoy denounced the accumulation of wealth by men and the wielding of political power because it led to many evils and participation in fighting or war. He wrote in book that evil must never be returned with evil, but with goodness.

5. Theosophists

Encountered with Theosophists (Madame Blavatsky , Annie Besant (in India) & Vegetarians) in England

• Theosophy is a religious /spiritual doctrine which argues that there is a way for the human beings to communicate with divine directly . England during that time had become epitome of industrial materialistic society where there was little room for the common people for spiritualism 
• These Theosophists were infact challenging the Christianity which tells a path of interaction with god which was mediated through Church.

Gandhian Ideology

Note : Gandhi’s Praxis

• Praxis = Evolution of ideas over time depending upon need of the thinker to negotiate with new situation & in the process inventing new ideas.
• Gandhi’s ideology was part of Praxis which kept evolving after learning lessons from experiences of life . In the process to make bridges with hitherto neglected people, Gandhi had to re-cast some of his political ideas in new language.
• Gandhi has himself said – His ideas kept on evolving with time. Whatever he said in last was his final conclusion based on real time experiences.

1 . Satyagraha

• Comprised of two words – Satya ie Truth & Agraha ie Force .  It is tool of nonviolent political resistance. It is force of truth.
• Chief aspect of Gandhian ideology
• Satyagraha was to be used so that by self suffering and not by violence the enemy could be converted to one’s own view . It was based on the premise of superior moral power of the protestors capable of changing the heart of the oppressors through display of moral strength
• Gandhi in his Satyagraha used Force of truth (and hence it was different from Passivity of Monks which didn’t use any force)
• Mahatma Gandhi consciously feminized India’s freedom struggle to win against the brute masculinity of British power using tool of Satyagraha .He saw his mother Putlibai and his wife Kasturba  use peaceful resistance against patriarchy at home. His mother would fast to put moral pressure on his father, and his wife would refuse any act that he asked her to do if she did not agree with it. He personally experienced the power that resists rather than destroys. He incorporated this knowledge into a political tool, satyagraha

2. Non Violence

• Non-Violence formed the basis of satyagraha
• Satyagraha could assume various forms-fasting, non-violent picketing, different types of non-cooperation and ultimately in politics, civil disobedience in willing anticipation of the legal penalty. Gandhi firmly believed that all these forms of Satyagraha were pure means to achieve pure ends. It excludes the force of violence because Man is not capable of knowing the absolute truth & therefore not competent to punish

Gandhi had following problems with Violence

• Epistemological Argument – Man isn’t in possession of Absolute Truth (death sentence and later found innocent) 
• Anthological Argument -How monsterous may person appear to us, there is always spark of divinity in him
• Pragmatic Argument -It doesn’t work
• Moral Objection – It creates a split between cognition and feeling 

According to Gandhi, Non Violence doesn’t need Violence to define itself. It would be narrow to define Non-Violence as absence of violence. It has far greater meaning .  According to Gandhi, Non-Violence is a mode of being, it is a mode of living and way of thinking . It means

• How you live in world without doing injustice to anybody,
• How to live without bleeding the earth’s resources and not taking what is absolutely yours (hence, present humans consuming more than what is actually their, is also Violence)
• How do you forge social relationships.

Gandhi advocated abolition of Arms Act (which criminalises Indians from owning Fire Arms) despite the fact that he was ardent advocate of Non-Violence . Gandhi’s argument was , there is no virtue in being non-violent , when you have no other option in life. The only way to demonstrate your adherence to the idea of Non-Violence is when you have the ability to actually resort to violence but you renounce that ability. 

By Non-Violence, Gandhi didn’t mean passivity or not doing anything at all. In his idea of non-violence, first of all no harm is to be done to anybody and if situation arises in which there is need to do harm, that harm should be done to oneself and not other.

• Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa evolved through confrontations with situations giving rise to moral dilemmas. For instance, Gandhi had to explain his concept in the context of war and to explain his own participation in the First World War. “When two nations are fighting,” he wrote, “the duty of a votary of ahimsa is to stop the war. He who is not equal to that duty, he who has no power of resisting war, he who is not qualified to resist war, may take part in war, and yet wholeheartedly try to free himself, his nation and the world from war.” He knew that some destruction of non-human life was inevitable. ( ethics IR)

3. Hind Swaraj

• Other feature was illustrated in his book Hind Swaraj (written in Gujarati in 1908)   and that was  CRITIQUE OF MODERN CIVILISATION
• This can be equated with Communist Manifesto of Communism. Hind Swaraj tells us about Gandhism like Communist Manifesto tells about Communism.
• It is written in dialogue form between Reader and Editor (like Plato’s dialogues & Upanishads)

Main Aspects pondered in Hind Swaraj

• Indians constituted a nation or praja since the pre-Islamic days. The ancient Indian civilisation-“unquestionably the best”-was the fountainhead of Indian nationality, as it had an immense assimilative power of absorbing foreigners of different creed who made this country their own. This civilisation, which was “sound at the foundation” and which always tended “to elevate the moral being”, had “nothing to learn” from the “godless” modern civilisation that only “propagated immorality”

• Real enemy was not the British political domination but the modern western civilization which was luring India into its stranglehold . Indians educated in western style, particularly lawyers, doctors, teachers and industrialists, were undermining India’s ancient heritage by insidiously spreading modern ways. He criticized railways as they had spread plague and produced famines by encouraging the export of food grains.

• Indians must eschew greed and lust for consumption and revert to village based self-sufficient economy of the ancient times. On the other hand, parliamentary democracy-the foundational principle of Western liberal political system and therefore another essential aspect of modern civilisation-did not reflect in Gandhi’s view the general will of the people, but of the political parties, which represented specific interests and constricted the moral autonomy of parliamentarians in the name of party discipline. So for him it was not enough to achieve independence and then perpetuate “English rule without the Englishmen”; it was also essential to evolve an Indian alternative to Western liberal political structures. His alternative was a concept of popular sovereignty where each individual controls or restrains her/his own self and this was Gandhi’s subtle distinction between self-rule and mere home rule. “Such swaraj”, Gandhi asserted, “has to be experienced by each one for himself.”

• These ideas  look utopian and obscurantist in the context of the early twentieth century.

It is not strictly correct to say that Gandhi was outrightly rejecting modernity as a package . Throughout his career he made utmost use of print media editing Indian Opinion (in SA) + Harijan & Young India(in India) & travelled extensively by railways (& becoming man of masses due to railways) . Yet offering an ideological critique of the western civilisation in its modern phase , Gandhi was effectively contesting the moral legitimacy of Raj that rested on stated assumption of superiority of the west

Gandhi : Parliamentary democracy doesn’t represent general will of people but of political parties.Gandhis alternative was popular sovereignty where each individual controls or restrains her/his own-self.

4. Swadeshi

• Gandhi advocated swadeshi which meant the use of things belonging to one’s own country, particularly stressing the replacement of foreign machine made goods with Indian hand made cloth. This was his solution to poverty of peasants who could spin at home to supplement their income & his cure for the drain of money to England in payment for imported cloth.
• It is interesting to find that despite his pronounced opposition to the influences of Western Industrial civilization Gandhi did not take a hostile view towards emerging modern industries in India. Gandhi believed in the interdependence of capital and labour and advocated the concept of capitalists being ‘trustees’ for the workers. In fact, Gandhi never encouraged politicization of the workers on class lines and openly abhorred militant economic struggles

5. On Caste System

Gandhis idea on caste and varna were not consistent but evolved throughout his political discourse. Superficially we could say that :

• Gandhi was against the caste system & untouchability as it existed in those times but was in favor of Varna System that wasn’t based on Birth
• Gandhi looked at this institution as division of labor & symbol of stability of Indian society from early times. According to him, Varnashram reduces unnecessary competition so is a viable model for India.

6. Gandhi and Women

Gandhi was of the opinion that women were superior to men in their moral and spiritual strength. They had greater powers of self-sacrifice and suffering. On this account, women were capable of infinite strength, which they only needed to realize and channel.

Gandhi wanted to introduce a softer kind of politics (simply putting women in power doesn’t mean softening of Public Sphere). Gandhi’s model was – Men must be men but they must cultivate feminine within them. Similarly , women must remain women but they must cultivate the masculine within them. 

Gandhi’s Critique of Masculinity

• His critique of Masculinity was tied to his critique of nation state . He was of the view that Nation State is the kind of entity which is masculine form of doing politics.
• Nathuram Godse in his speech – Most important reason for murdering Gandhi was he was indulging in all things which were feminine. If India is placed in hands of person like Gandhi having feminine traits within him, India would sink into despair. Only way in which nation can earn respect in the world is by becoming masculine and strong nation state . He also argued that things like fasting and charkha were characteristics of women and weak persons and leaders of strong nations must not indulge in such things.

Gandhi and Politics of Sexuality

• Sexuality is entire corpus of feeling & emotions that one have towards someone with whom one has attachment (not sex)
• Gandhi renounced sex but not sexuality. Gandhi had lot of female companions and he loved their company.
• Gandhi in later parts of life started to think sexual intercourse as act of violence.  

Gandhi had strong views on another key subject relating value of equality between the sexes. He was against gender bias in the training of children. He asserted that girls ought not to be taught to adorn themselves as that identified them as objects of desire without any other distinct human qualities. He was also of the opinion that housework must be divided equally between boys and girls as the home belonged to both. Also, both boys & girls ought to have vocational training in some occupation so as to assure them a future livelihood when need arose.

7. View on Trusteeship

• Wealthy could not justly claim their property & wealth to be theirs entirely. The reason was that they could not accumulate their wealth without the labour and cooperation of workers and the poorer sections of society. Hence, they were logically and morally bound to share their wealth in a fair measure with their workers and the poor.
• But instead of ensuring this through legislation, Gandhi wanted wealthy people to voluntarily surrender part of their wealth and hold it in trust for those working for them.
• He defines trusteeship in simple terms: “The rich man will be left in ownership of his wealth of which he will use what he reasonably requires for his personal needs and will act as a trustee for the remainder to be used for society.”
• Gandhi did not believe in inherited wealth for he was of the view that a trustee has no heir but the public. He did not favour compulsion in the surrender of riches because he believed that forcible dispossession of the wealthy would deny to society the talents of people who could create national wealth.
• His method was to persuade the wealthy to act as trustees, failing which satyagraha could be adopted. But by the 1940s, he had come to believe that state legislation would be necessary to ensure compliance with the principle of trusteeship

8. Ethics of empathy

• Unlike many contemporary liberal political thinkers, who put rights before duties, empathy and cross-cultural understanding are the ‘hallmarks of the Gandhian view of everyday politics.
• The heart of Gandhi’s ethics of empathy is to look within oneself, change oneself and then change the world. 

9. Views on Clothing for Indians

• Mahatma Gandhi wanted Khadi to be the national cloth. He believed that if Khadi was used by every Indian, it would go a long way in bridging the gulf between the rich and the poor.
• However his idea of scant clothes did not make much sense to
  • Most people who could afford better.
  • Dalits and the Christian converts who found Western style dresses as giving them a sense of liberation from age old prejudices.
  • Khadi was costly and even difficult to maintain.
  • Muslims too did not accept Khadi.
  • Elite women too did not find home spun Khadi very attractive.
• Congress leaders who were relatively well off switched over to Khadi because in colonial India Khadi symbolized the urge for free

It would be however misleading to say that Gandhi was introducing Indians to an entirely new kind of Politics. Mass movement organised by Tilak in 1890s ,activities of Punjab extremists & Swadeshi movement in Bengal had already foreshadowed the coming of agitational politics in India.  So far as mass mobilisation was concerned  Home Rule leagues of Tilak & Besant prepared the ground of Gandhi’s initial satyagraha movements (many of the local leaders of Gandhi’s early Satyagrahas came from  Home Rule league background)

Ghadar Movement

This article deals with ‘ Ghadar Movement – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Events during World War I (WW I)

• For revolutionaries striving for immediate complete independence, the war seemed a heaven-sent opportunity because
  • It drained India of troops (the number of white soldiers went down at one point to only 15,000)
  • Brought the possibility of financial and military help from German and Turkish enemies of Britain.
  • Britain’s war with Turkey (seat of the Khalifa) brought about close cooperation between Hindu nationalists and militant Muslim pan-Islamists

It was the one point of time when a successful coup d’etat appeared not impossible.

• WW I broke out in 1914 & provided new lease to national movement dormant since Swadeshi Movement : Britain’s difficulty was India’s opportunity

• Two major activities during WW I
  • Ghadar Revolution based in North America(to overthrow British rule)
  • Home Rule Leagues in India (To achieve Home Rule ie Swaraj)

Ghadar Movement

Early Arrivals in North America

• 1904 : West Coast of North America started to experience influx of large number of Punjabis & they were mainly land hungry peasants from Jalandhar & Hoshiarpur district coming here in search of means of survival . Many among those were ex- soldiers who earlier served here & came to know about opportunities that this land can offer
• Weren’t welcome there.  Many weren’t allowed to enter & those who were allowed had to go through racial abuse . White labor saw them as competitors & wanted law to stop this

Cause of concern for British empire in India

• Secretary of State for India  urged restrictions on immigration because he believed that the terms of close familiarity of Indians with Whites which would inevitably take place in America was not good for British prestige; it was by prestige alone that India was held and not by force.
• By the 20th century, political consciousness and the idea of azaadi from British rule had spread among Indians overseas. The British Crown did not want this feeling of revolution to spread to more Indians
• He was worried that the immigrants would get contaminated by socialist ideas
• Racial discrimination to which they were bound to be subjected would become the source of nationalist agitation in India

All this led to effective resistance on Indian Immigration into Canada in 1908

Spread of Revolutionary Ideas

• Although revolutionary ideas start spreading from as early as 1907 & main exponents were Ramnath Puri, Tarak Nath Das & GD Kumar  but in  1912 , fillip provided by visit to Vancouver by Bhagwan Singh, a sikh priest who openly preached to overthrow British rule from India . He was deported after 3 months
• Later , all activities  shifted to USA , because of free political atmosphere there with  Lala Hardyal as main leader.

About Lala Hardyal

• Political Exile from India
• Arrived in California in 1912 & taught briefly at Stanford University but soon immersed himself in political activity . He started giving lectures on anarchism & syndicalism
• Bomb attack on Lord Hardinge in Dec,1912 excited his imagination & his faith to overthrow of British rule by revolution was renewed . He issued Yugantar circular praising this
• Setup Hindi Association/Hind Association of Pacific Coast  in June 1913 in Portland & its first meeting attended by Bhai Parmanad, Sohan Singh Bhakna , Harnam Singh Tundilatt, Md Barkatullah  , Baba Gurmakh Singh , Rehmat Ali Shah . Association started weekly called Hindustan in Urdu
• He gave plan = Do not fight the Americans, but use the freedom that is available in the US to fight the British; you will never be treated as equals by the Americans until you are free in your own land, the root cause of Indian poverty and degradation is British rule and it must be overthrown, not by petitions but by armed revolt; take this message to the masses and to the soldiers in the Indian Army; go to India in large numbers and enlist their support.’
• Started a weekly paper The Ghadar
• Yugantar Ashram/ Ghadar Asharam set up as headquarters of all revolutionary activities in San Francisco. Ghadar Party with Hq at San Francisco also formed .

About The Ghadar

• Ghadar party started weekly called ‘Ghadar’
• Published in Urdu & Gurmukhi  
• Ghadar means Revolt so intentions clear from name itself
• Caption on Masthead : Angreji Raaj ka Dushman & on front page there was feature titled Angreji Raj ka Kacha Chittha enumerating all bad effects of British rule in India & tells about solution for that ie 
  • The Indian population numbers 7 crores in the Indian States and 24 crores in British India, while there are only 80,000 officers and soldiers and 40,000 volunteers who are Englishmen.
  • 56 years have lapsed since the Revolt of 1857; now there is urgent need for a second one.
• Most powerful impact was made by poems that appeared in The Ghadar & these poems were very revolutionary but at same time very much secular
• Soon reached to Philippines , Mexico, Hong Kong, China, Malay States, Trinidad, Honduras & India

This whole thing is termed as Ghadar.

Komagata Maru Incident

• Under the Continuous Passage Act, Canada imposed restrictions on  Indian Immigration by means of law that made necessary to made continuous journey from India to Canada to enter inside. No shipping offered such route .
• Nov 1913:  Canadian SC allowed entry of 35 Indians who didn’t came directly. Encouraged by this Gurdit Singh, Indian contractor living in Singapore decided to charter ship &  to take Canada Indians living in East & SE Asia . He chartered ship Komagata Maru (Japanese Ship hired from Yokohama) & set voyage carrying 376 passengers from Hongkong . But in meantime Canadians plugged loopholes that had led to SC judgement & when ship reached there they weren’t allowed to enter
• Funds were raised & protest meeting organised for their help, rebellion against British threatened but Komagata Maru was forced out of Canadian waters
• WW I broke in the meantime & British government made law that no passenger can disembark anywhere . They landed on Budge Budge near Calcutta & clashed with police in which 18 killed & 202 arrested
• Passengers on Komagata Maru – Total of 376 passengers and 340 among them were Sikhs

Sikhs	340
Muslims	24
Hindu	12

Outbreak of World War I & Ghadar Movement

• Outbreak of WW I provided them opportunity . Although they weren’t prepared but they cant let this opportunity pass by
• Leading activists met & it was decided that it is better to die than not doing anything
• Lack of arms would be overcome by going to India & winning over Indian soldiers to their cause . Ailan-e- Jung, a circular was issued & widely circulated

Activities of Ghadarites in India

• Government was fully informed of their plans & fully prepared to tackle them . On arrival immigrants were scrutinized – safe one allowed to proceed ,less dangerous ones not allowed to leave their village & most dangerous were arrested but many came via Sri Lanka & South India & succeeded in reaching Punjab
• But Punjab was different from what Ghadarites had thought & Punjabis weren’t interested in romantic adventure of The Ghadar
• Frustrated by attitude of civilian population, they turned their attention to army & made plans to set army on mutiny . They choose Rash Bihari Bose as their leader , sent men to contact army units & 19 Feb 1915 was decided as date of mutiny. But CID succeeded in penetrating organisation & take effective measures.  
• Ghadar movement was crushed & all leadership of Punjab arrested but Bose escaped . 45 were hanged & more than 200 sentenced to life imprisonment    (12 men of 23rd Cavalry also among hanged)
• Lot of persons escaped & they later formed  Punjab Kirti Kisan party , Workers and  Peasant Party of Punjab & became part of Communist Movement

Contribution of Ghadar movement : was it a Failure ?

Success or failure of a political movement is not always to be measured in terms of its achievement of stated objectives. But if success and failure are to be measured in terms of the deepening of nationalist consciousness, the evolution and testing of new strategies and methods of struggle, the creation of tradition of resistance, of secularism, of democracy, and of egalitarianism, then, the Ghadarites certainly contributed their share to the struggle for India’s freedom.

• Although most of the participants of movement were Sikhs but it was highly secular in character . Concern with religion was seen as petty & narrow minded
• Use of propaganda & critique of  British empire using Pamphlets and magazines to arouse youth against it was unique act.
• Another marked feature of Ghadar ideology was its democratic and egalitarian content. It was clearly stated by the Ghadarites that their objective was the establishment of an Independent Republic of India

Weaknesses of the movement

• They underestimated the strength of the Raj , both their aimed and organizational might as well as the ideological foundations of their rule
• Ghadar Movement also failed to generate an effective and sustained leadership that was capable of integrating the various aspects of the movement.
• Non-existent organizational structure; the Ghadar Movement was sustained, more by the enthusiasm of the militants than by their effective organization.

Formation of Muslim League and start of communal politics

This article deals with ‘ Formation of Muslim League and start of communal politics– UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

Mainstream Indian nationalism was growing under aegis of Indian National Congress but it failed to maintain its separation from blooming Hindu nationalism . This trend was first contested by Muslims.

How Muslims got unified ?

1. By end of 19th century , Muslims were  by no means a homogeneous community . There were important differences  in position & composition in whole of India . But colonial authorities while defining indigenous society for administrative management ignored such demographic diversity  & finer distinctions in regional philosophical orientations of South Asian Islam were also ignored . An image of homogeneous religiopolitical community was conjured up. Muslim population also began to look themselves through colonial image of being unified  &  cohesive & segregated from the Hindus .
2. Indian colonial census made religion its fundamental ethnographic category for classifying demographic & developmental data . Religion did no longer mean just a set of ideas but came to be identified with an aggregate of individuals united by formal official definition . Colonial knowledge of a redefined religion was incorporated into every structure that was created , every opportunity that it offered to colonial subjects – from educational facilities , public employment , representation in local self government bodies to legislative council

So far as All India Muslim politics was concerned , its leadership & main impetus came in late 19th century  from U.P. ( previously NW Province and Awadh) & to lesser extent from Bengal

Muslims in Bengal and North India : Differences

1 . Bengali Muslims

• Highly fragmented group & vaguely united by a common allegiance to  essentials of Islamic faith
• There was considerable economic difference within the community

Ashraf (Rich)	Urban – Urdu speaking elites representing the foreign  culture & boosted of their foreign origin . – They tried to preserve Awadh & Delhi court culture Rural – Bengali Speaking Mofussil Landlords – They were closer to Bengali speaking peasantry in their language , culture, manners & customs
Ajlaf (poor)	– Bengali speaking peasantry – Mainly residing in the swampy low lying areas of east Bengal

But Issue was

• Muslim community in Bengal unlike Hindus lacked a sizeable educated professional intermediary group which could close the hiatus between two sections of their population. Hence, a divide remained between  ajlafs & ashrafs

	% Muslim in govt jobs	% Hindus in govt jobs
1871	5.1	41

Changes from early 19th century

• Distinct Muslim culture started to develop at mass level through Islamic Reform Movements . These movements started to islamise & Arabicise the culture , language & daily habits of Muslim peasants by purging  whatever they thought to be unislamic . This gave lower Ajlaf a sense of social mobility & they could think of their mythical foreign origin. This certainly helped in political mobilization & strengthening their arguments of separate Muslim interests 

2. North Indian Muslims

• Here situation was slightly different . This was centre of Mughal rule & Muslim elite constituted privileged minority which was gradually losing ground to Hindus
• There were some large land magnates like Taluqdars of Awadh.  They were well represented in administrative jobs . But when Britishers changed official language to English from Persian , Muslims began to loose ground to Hindus who were able to adapt to situations fastly than Muslims

Year	% Muslim in subordinate jobs	% Hindus in subordinate jobs
1857	64	24
1886	46	50
1915	35	60

Polarization of Muslims in Bengal

• Although in beginning Bengali Muslim elites demanded a fair field & not exclusive privileges . They gradually changed their position & in this they were encouraged by colonial bureaucracy . Government also endorsed the policy of political exigency of rallying the Muslims as a counterpoise against the rising tide of Indian nationalism which was predominantly Hindu in participation . This policy was finally institutionalised in the partition of Bengal
• Earlier only urban elite was politically motivated & active but around 1905 in major towns of Bengal local Anjumans were formed in which close collaboration was formed between urban mass & Mullahs. These mullahs spread their message to villages & forged link between urban elite & rural masses .
• Because of Hindu revivalism & cow protection movement, fault lines were reinforced in North India . These reached in Bengal & culminated in riots of Titagarh, Talla  by end of 19th century .

• Social separation of two communities was further politicized by Swadeshi leaders by frequently using Hindu religious symbols & coercing Muslim peasants to observe boycott . Not all the Muslims were separatist or loyalist in beginning but Swadeshi movement soon put on them the unmistakable stamp of otherness
• Elite  conflicts over jobs which were very scarce in moribund colonial Indian economy

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s Movement

• Started a modernisation movement among the  muslims & founded for this purpose the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh in 1875 because after revolt of 1857, he found deterioration of condition of Muslims 
• His political philosophy revolved around the idea that Indian society was an aggregate of contending groups (Quams) brought together by a superior power which previously was Mughal emperor & now is Queen Victoria .The muslims as an ex ruling class were entitled to a separate position in authority & power in this new Cosmopolitan British empire . But for this they must educate themselves, acquire new skills which would empower them to assert themselves within new institutional setup of colonial india
• His idea of being muslim was not opposed to idea of being Indian but he didn’t visualise India as a nation based on individual citizenship , for him it was a federation of qaums or ethnic communities based on common descent. it was here his philosophy differed with Congress which imagined India as a nation based on individual citizen’s rights
• Sir Syed’s Aligarh college was a profoundly political enterprise to construct  &  consolidate among its muslim students the mentality of belonging to quam. Its curriculum  blended  Muslim theology with 19th century European empiricism that would prepare the new generation of Muslims for the advantage & opportunities of British rule
• He started his career as champion of Hindu -Muslim unity but later changed his stance and said that Hindu & Muslims were not only two nations but two warring nations who could never lead a common political life . The Anglo-Indian administrators were quick to respond to these apprehensions & strove to divide a wedge between the Hindus & Muslims . The three English Principles of MAO College ie Beck, Morrison & Archbold gave  pro-British & Anti-Hindu bias to Aligarh Movement. Hence, it was through British support, above all, that ‘a man whose religious views were so unorthodox that the majority of his co-religionists branded him an infidel was raised up as the advocate of his community’
• The other vehicle to spread Sir Syed’s message was Mohammedan Educational Conference which met every year since 1886 at different cities all over India . This was in direct opposition to Congress which he thought was an attempt to organise & consolidate the Hindu majority over Muslim minority . This majority phobia increased further because of cow killing riots in 1893 & hindu demand for legal ban on cow slaughter & Congress silence about it
• However, Sir Sayyid’s leadership was never universally accepted in the north Indian Muslim community. The ulama certainly did not like his thrust towards westernisation.

(Note – The initial British support for Aligarh was due not so much to the need for a counterpoise against Congress-type nationalism (which was not yet much of a threat), but to official fears concerning certain other trends within Indian Islam—the so-called ‘fanaticism‘ and anti-foreign mentality preached by some religious leaders, which often seemed to find a ready response among what Peter Hardy has described as the ‘pre-industrial lower middle class of petty landholders, countrytown mullahs, teachers, booksellers, small shopkeepers, minor officials and skilled artisans men literate in the vernacular   quick to be seized by religious passion.’ )

Other points about Sir Syed

• He reinterpreted Quran in the context of the modern thinking as he considered the holy book as the only authoritative text to materialize his goals. He called upon Muslims to forego their orthodoxy
• Social reformer – he persistently opposed practices like polygamy, subordinate position of woman in Muslim society , raised voice in support of woman education , opposed purdah system

Before formation of Muslim League

Before the formation of Muslim league , number of organisations for the protection of Muslim interests were formed

1888	Syed Ahmad Khan formed United India Patriotic Organisation (UIPO) – Lord Dufferin fearing that a Muslim has become President of Congress now Muslims will join congress called upon Sir Syed Ahmed khan to keep Muslims away from congress – He formed United India Patriotic Organisation and influenced Muslims to join it rather than congress
1893	With the help of Principle of Aligarh College (Theodore Beck) , Sir Syed formed Anglo Indian Mohammedan Defence Organisation
1899	Urdu Defence Organisation was formed to defend Urdu

Formation of Muslim league

• Because of reasons enumerated earlier – Bengali Muslims were coming closer to North Indian Muslims since 1899 , but events of 1906 brought them even closer
  • In Eastern Bengal , Lt Governor Bampfylde resigned & he was pro partition & pro muslim.  Since Boycott-Swadeshi movement was at its full momentum, there were chances that decision of partition would be reversed
  • In 1906 , SoS Lord Morley in his budget speech indicated representative government in India . This alarmed Muslim leaders across the board as they thought the new self government body would be swayed by Hindu majority
• Shimla deputation (Oct 1906) with Lord Minto – petition drafted by Aligarh leaders  (No Bengali Leader was there in Deputation) depicted Muslims  as separate community with political interests different from those of Hindus & demanded their legitimate right to Proportional representation . Success of deputation was morale booster to muslim politics . 35 delegates at Shimla Deputation decided to organise the community for independent political action
• Next annual meet of Mohammedan  Educational Conference was in Dec 1906 in Dacca . There was already a proposal from Nawab Salimullah of  Dacca about formation of a political party for Muslims . In the annual conference of MEC on 30dec 1906 All India Muslim league was formed with  its professed goal of
  1. Safeguarding political rights & interests of Muslims
  2. To preach loyalty to Muslims  towards British Government
  3. To further cause of inter communal amity

• Three persons instrumental in formation of ML were
  1. Nawab of Dacca (Salimullah)
  2. Aga Khan  – First President
  3. Nawab Mohsin ul Mulk

• Headquarters – Lucknow

• Between 1907-1909 , Provincial Muslim league was formed in all major Provinces & they enjoyed liberty to frame their own constitutions . Its London branch was inaugurated in  1908 by Syed Amir Ali & it played significant role in shaping the constitutional reform of 1909 ie granting separate electorate for Muslims.  This  provided an official legitimacy to their minority status

Hindu Communal Parties

• From 1870s – Hindu Zamindars , Landlords & other rich people began to arouse anti muslim feelings
• They accepted the flawed history written by Britishers –  Medieval Period was muslim period & tyrannical
• Save Hindu from Muslim cry
• Hindi vs Urdu Controversy : These Hindu nationalists gave it communal touch by declaring Urdu to be language of Muslims & Hindi to be language of Hindus

1 . Punjab Hindu Sabha

• Founded in 1909
• Attacked Congress arguing that  Hindu & Muslims are separate nations
• Hindu should team up with Britishers in their fight against Muslims
• Leaders : LAL CHAND (declared he is Hindu first & Indian later) 

2. All India Hindu Mahasabha

• First session held in 1915 under Presidentship of Maharaja of Kasim Bazaar
• Remained overall a weak organisation (compared to ML) because greater weight of secular intelligentsia behind INC . Also Britishers gave lesser concessions to them compared to Muslim communalists When Muslim league was demanding Pakistan . They were demanding Akhand Hindustan
• This attitude of Hindu Mahasabha hardened Muslim fundamentalists further

Main Leaders of All India Hindu Mahasabha

MM Malviya

• Mohammedans & Christians are converting Hindus  from centuries – Majority of Muslims in India are  Hindus who converted to Islam
• Muslims have larger representation than they fairly deserve – need to organise Hindus to counter that
• Behind Shudhi & Sanghatan Movements
• Since INC is political organisation , he tried to represent it as Socio-Cultural movement of Hindus

VD Savarkar

• Came after 1938
• Wanted to create Hindu Rashtra(nothing to do with Hindustan ) – Muslims can live here but as minorities

Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism (Phase-1)

This article deals with ‘ Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism (Phase-1) – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

• New political trend ie  trend of Revolutionary Terrorism came in 1907 primarily because they could find no other way of expressing their patriotism
• They were also led to ‘the politics of the bomb’ by the Extremists’ failure to give a positive lead to the people. The Extremists had made a sharp and on the whole correct and effective critique of the Moderates. They had rightly emphasized the role of the masses and the need to go beyond propaganda and agitation. They had advocated persistent opposition to the Government and put forward a militant programme of passive resistance and boycott of foreign cloth, foreigners’ courts, education and so on. They had demanded self- sacrifice from the youth . But they had failed to find forms through which all these ideas could find practical expression.
• They were more militant, their critique of British rule was couched in stronger language, they were willing to make greater sacrifices and undergo greater suffering
• They wanted quicker results & were result of failure of policy of persuasion of Moderates & Policy of low grade pressure of Extremists .
• Revolutionary youth decided to copy the methods of the Irish nationalists and Russian Nihilists and Populists. That is to say, they decided to organize the assassination of unpopular British officials. Such assassinations would
  1. Strike terror into the hearts of the rulers
  2. Amuse the patriotic instincts of the people
  3. Inspire them and remove the fear of authority from their minds.

Each assassination, and if the assassins were caught, the consequent trial of the revolutionaries involved, would act as ‘propaganda by deed’’

Their activities upto World War I (WW I)

1 . Maharashtra

Sedition Committee Report which came in 1918 observed that first indications of revolutionary movement in Maharashtra came in 1890s among Chitpavan Brahmins who were descendants of Peshwas. BG Tilak by starting Ganpati festival & Shivaji festival injected some pro-Swaraj & anti-British bias in politics of Maharashtra

1879	Revolt by Vasudev Balwant Phadke – Phadke was a Chitpavan Brahman and English educated clerk  . He seems to have been influenced by Ranade’s lectures on drain of wealth, experience of Deccan famine of 1876-77, and growing Hindu revivalism among Poona Brahman intellectuals. – In an autobiographical fragment written while hiding from the police in a temple, Phadke wrote how he had thought of reestablishing a Hindu Raj by collecting together a secret band, raising money through dacoities, and instigating an armed revolt through disrupting communications. ‘There is much ill-feeling among the people and now if a few make a beginning those who are hungry will join.’ Much of this clearly anticipates later revolutionary terrorism – Phadke’s band of forty included a few Brahman youths and many more low caste Ramoshis and Dhangars. The outcome was a type of social banditry, with the dacoits given shelter by the peasants. – After Phadke’s capture and life sentence, a Ramoshi dacoit band under Daulata Ramoshi remained active till 1883
1890s	Tilak’s attempt to promote militancy among the youth by his journals & by various festivals
1897	Lt Ayerst Murder at Poona, 1897 – First political murder of European – By Chapekar Brothers (Chitpavan Brahmins) Damodar & Balkrishna due to provocation by tyranny of Plague Committee on sending soldiers to inspect houses of civilians for plague afflicted persons – Although attack was targeted at Mr Rand (President of Plague Committee) but Lt Ayerst was shot accidentally. They were caught, prosecuted & hanged  – Along with them, Tilak was also persecuted on the charge of sedition for his writings & sentenced 18 months. His writings inspired Chapekar Brothers is accepted by experts too . On June 1897 he wrote in Kesari , ” Krishna’s advice in the Gita is to kill even our own teacher & our kinsmen . No blame attached to any person if he is doing deeds without being actuated by a desire to reap the fruits of his deeds. Get out of the Penal Code & enter the high atmosphere of Srimat Bhagvat Gita & consider the actions of great man”
1899	MITRA MELA founded by VD Savarkar (also wrote 1857 – The First War of Indian Independence) .
1904	– Mitra Mela merged with Abhinav Bharat (after Mazzini’s Young Italy) – secret organisation of Revolutionaries – VD Savarkar was young graduate from Ferguson College , Poona & availed Krishnavarma’s fellowship offer and left for London in June 1906
1909	Unpopular District  Judge of Nashik was assassinated  by Abhinav Bharat Society (with pistol sent by VD Savarkar)

2. Bengal

Revolutionary terrorism was developing here since 1870s , when physical culture movement became a craze & akharas or gymnasiums  were setup everywhere to develop what Swami Vivekananda had described as strong muscles & nerves of steel .

1902	– Anushilan Samiti :  Organised by Aurobindo Ghosh & Promotha Mitter ,  Jatindranath Banerji and Barindra Ghosh – Basically it was gym started after Vivekananda teachings  but gradually became secret society of revolutionaries – East Bengal counterpart was Dhaka Anushilan Samiti   led by Pulin Bihari Ghosh (Eastern Bengal outfits were more organised than Western Bengal outfits) – Philosophy – Force Must be encountered by Force
1905	– Aurobindo Ghosh published Bhavani Mandir giving detailed plan for organising revolutionary activities – Another book Mukti Kon Pathe (Which way lies the Salvation) exhorted Indian soldiers to supply weapons to Indian revolutionaries
1906	– Yugantar Group : founded by Barindra Kumar Ghosh  and Bhupendra Nath Dutt – News Paper called Yugantar also started – Group worked in close association with Anushilan Samiti
1908	Muzaffarpur Conspiracy Case – Murder attempt on  Kingsford , unpopular judge of Muzzafarpur but instead bomb was thrown by mistake on Mrs Kennedy’s carriage killing two english ladies   – Two revolutionaries who threw bomb were 1. Prafulla Chaki: later Shot himself 2. Khudiram Bose : boy of 15 tried &  hanged   Alipur Conspiracy Case Government searched for illicit arms in Calcutta & arrested 34 persons including Aurobindo Ghosh & his brother Barindra Ghosh . But after that sequence of murders started. – Narendra Gosain who turned approver was murdered in jail – 1909 : Public Prosecutor was assassinated  in Calcutta – 1910 : DSP of Calcutta assassinated when he was coming out of Calcutta High Court Atlast Aurobindo was released due to lack of evidences. He quit movement and took up religion
1912	BENGAL GROUP ASSOCIATION : – Bomb was thrown at Viceroy Hardinge II by Rash Behari Bose & Sachin  Sanyal at Chandani Chowk, Delhi – Many of his attendants were killed in this – Sanyal was arrested , tried and later released for sometime and in  that time he with Ramprasad bismil formed Hindustran Republican Army (HRA)  in 1924. Later he was convicted in Kakori conspiracy and died in jail. – Rash Bihari Bose was able to escape to Japan    Note – Sachin Sanyal wrote  BANDI JEEVAN (Bible of revolutionaries at that time)
World War I	– Here, Yugantar Group under leadership of Jatindranath Mukherjee (Aka Bagha/Tiger Jatin) conspired to start an armed rebellion against the Britishers – It depended on some of the agents who had already left India and gone to South East Asia eg Narendranath Bhattacharya (later became MN Roy , famous Communist)  . He established links with Germans to import arms and ammunition to Bengal which Yugantar party was to use to start more elaborate Arms Revolution. Ship carrying arms was to arrive at coast of Odisha but it was uncovered and ship was seized. Jatin died martyrs death in encounter

Important Notes :-

• The ‘revolutionary’ movement took the form of assassinations of oppressive officials or traitors, Swadeshi dacoities to raise funds, or at best military conspiracies with expectations of help from foreign enemies of Britain. It never, despite occasional subjective aspirations, rose to the level of urban mass uprisings or guerrilla bases in the countryside. 
• It was very much an elite action . This elite action postponed efforts to draw the masses into active political struggle. In a 1918 official list of 186 killed or convicted revolutionaries, no less than 165 came from the three upper castes, Brahman, Kayastha, and Vaidya.
• The intense religiosity of most of the early secret societies (a note which however was to partly disappear over time) helped to keep Muslims aloof or hostile. The emphasis on religion had other negative aspects too . The much-quoted Gita doctrine of Nishkama karma stimulated a rather quixotic heroism, a cult of martyrdom for its own sake in place of effective programmes: ‘The Mother asks us for no schemes, no plans, no methods. She herself will provide the  schemes, the plans, the methods .’ (Aurobindo in April 1908).

Did they achieve anything ?

• In terms of direct gains, they achieved little . Nor did they believe that assassinations or dacoities would alone bring India’s liberation.
• But they also achieved a lot
  • Hanging of Khudiram & Bomb Case Trial publicized by Press and immortalized in folk songs, fired the imagination of entire Bengalee population
  • When Morley Minto Reforms were announced in 1909 , many believed these concessions were given due to the fear generated by the revolutionary activities
  • Partition of Bengal itself was annulled in 1911 which might not have been totally unrelated to such pressures.
• They made a valuable contribution to the growth of nationalism in India. As a historian has put it, ‘they gave us back the pride of our manhood.’

Side Note – In 1911, when Partition of Bengal was nullified, capital of Raj shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. Hence, nullification of Partition should be seen more as sugarcoating measure . The Curzonian aim of weakening the Bengali Politicians was achieved in a different way and with much less resistance.

3. Revolutionary activities abroad

1 . Shyamji Krishan Varma

• He was native of Kathiawar & studied at Cambridge University & qualified for bar
• After coming to India he worked in several states but was disgusted by the attitude of political residents . He decided to work for India’s liberation from British oppression & chose London as his center of activities .
• Established India House in London  & Started Anti imperialist newspaper called THE INDIAN SOCIOLOGIST. Lot of British Sociologists including Herbert Spencer supported him
• He also started 6 fellowships of ₹1,000 each for qualified Indians visiting foreign countries
• Very soon India House became Center of Indian activities in London. A group of Indian revolutionaries including VD Savarkar , Hardayal & Madan Lal Dhingra became it’s  members.
• Many future leaders are to be born out of this India House

2. Madam Bikaji Kama

• Parsee Lady born in Mumbai
• Her husband was pro british lawyer
• Was in touch with Shyamji Krishan Varma & in London was secretary of Dadabhai (at that time Dadabhai was head of British unit of INC )
• Started Home Rule Society in London & newspaper Bande Mataram
• Participated in International Socialist Conference

3. VD Savarkar

• 1899: started  MITRA MELA
• 1900 : Described Revolt of 1857 as India’s first war for Independence. Wrote book entitled this too.
• 1904 : Mitra Mela merged with Abhinav Bharat   (after Mazzini’s Young Italy) .
• Graduated from Ferguson College , Poona & availed Krishnavarma’s fellowship offer and left for London in June 1906
• In 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra , roommate of Savarkar in London shot dead Col William Curzon Wyllie (political ADC to India Office) . He was hanged .
• Case was registered against Savarkar too as pistols sent secretly from London by V.D. Savarkar were used to kill the Nasik district magistrate in December 1909.  Savarakar was arrested & deported to India where he was sentenced for life . 
• Krishnaji Varma left London & settled in Paris

Activities shifted from London to Berlin

• London wasn’t safe to carry on revolutionary activities
• Anglo – German hostility bittered in 1909 & afterwards
• Revolutionaries started to concentrate in Berlin
• Main leader there : Virendra Nath Chatopadhyay

In later article, we will discuss Phase 2 of Revolutionary Terrorism. Click here to move to that article.

Indian Capitalist Class and Freedom Movement

This article deals with ‘ Indian Capitalist Class and Freedom Movement– UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Growth of Indian Industry

Till end of World War I (WW I) , sizable industrial enterprises came up in India & during interwar years, due to various reasons,  it further strengthened .

Reasons of Formation of Indian capitalist class

• Growing tendency towards  import substitution in consumer goods
• Growth in internal trade
• Shifting of internally accumulated capital through trade , moneylending & landowning to industrial investment
• Outflow of foreign capital creating space for indigenous entrepreneurs
• This development happened when Indian capital moved to industries hitherto not developed by foreign capital eg sugar,cement , iron & steel etc 

Note – Till 1944, 62% of larger industrial units controlling 58% of labour force were controlled by Indian capital & smaller industrial units accounted 95% control of Indian capital.

Important points to note about Indian Capitalist class & Nationalism

Economic development of Indian capitalist class in colonial period was substantial & different from usual experience in other colonial countries

• Modest growth in Indian industrialization took place not because of colonial rule but inspite of it . They were in no way junior partners of the Colonists and grew independently.
• They were not junior partners & came up with Indian capital

Attitude of Indian Capitalists towards National Movement

To consolidate their position, they started to organise themselves . Hence, Bengal National Chamber of Commerce came in 1887 & Indian Merchants Chamber in 1907 in Bombay.

1. Before World War I (WWI)

• Historians are divided about their attitude during this period
  • Bipin Chandra : Indian Capitalist Class had developed a long term contradiction with imperialism while retaining a relationship of short term dependence on & accommodation with it . In long run the capitalists desired the end of imperial exploitation and the coming of a nation state. They preferred a nationalist movement within the safe and acceptable limits not guided by left wing radicals but in reliable hand of right wing moderates
  • Aditya Mukherjee : He spoke of multi pronged capitalist strategy to overthrow the Imperialism & maintain Capitalism . They were afraid of organised labour , left wing radicalism and mass movement but as safeguard against these , they didn’t surrendered to Imperialism. Hence, they evolved a strategy to guide nationalist movement into path of constitutionalism & patronised right wingers in Congress
  • Marxist View : They viewed capitalists as matured class with well defined anti imperialist ideology in a way which suits them to maximise their profits
  • Gordon : He makes distinction between the merchants and the industrialists. While the merchants were nationalists but industrialists were the traditional allies of the Raj

Best Explanation : Indian Business men  were guided by pragmatic approach to issues as they arose maintaining the policy of equidistance or avoiding a tilt either in favour of Congress or Government for fear of antagonising or alienating either of them . At this time, they were not constituted as a class and didn’t pull together , had divided interests , clash of ideas and contradiction of strategies. Hence, we cant speak about this period in generalised term and this is reason why different historians gave different views.

• As far as the Colonial Authorities were concerned , the Indian businessmen were both co-operating and opposing at the same time and thus their attitude preclude any clear cut generalisation .

2. During World War

Attitude of the British Capitalists in India insisted on their racial exclusivism & autonomy  as they were averse to granting any concessions either to Indian politicians or businessmen. But these things didn’t brought Congress and business men on same platform rapidly .

• World War and the period immediately after it brought mixed fortunes for Indian business communities.
  • While the industrialists prospered due to wartime developments, the merchants suffered due to currency fluctuations . The rupee collapsed in December 1920, threatening the Indian importers with a possible loss of nearly 30 per cent on their previous contracts; but this helped the Indian exporters and mill owners.
  • The high wartime taxation affected everybody, but the particular changes in the income tax law hurt the indigenous joint family businesses, as their accounting system did not fit in well with the requirements of filling tax returns under the new law.

Marwari and Gujarati traders were aggrieved with the government’s taxation and currency policies but industrialists and big businessmen were less concerned, as the government was also trying hard to buy their support.

• The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms in 1919 introduced the system of “interest representation”, thus giving Indian business-along with labour-representation in the central and provincial legislatures. 
• Fiscal Autonomy Convention in 1919 and the promise of a policy of “discriminatory protection” after 1922 brought the hope of protective tariffs.

Therefore, when mass nationalism started with the advent of Gandhi, it evoked mixed responses from India’s business communities.

3. Non Cooperation Movement

• Marwari and Gujarati merchants
  • They were deeply religious, were drawn irresistibly towards Gandhi as they could find common ground in his Jain and Vaishnava philosophy. His emphasis on non-violence was reassurance against any kind of political radicalism; and his “trusteeship” theory legitimised wealth. Hence, they happily contributed for Gandhi’s constructive program. 
  • When the Non-cooperation movement started, the cotton merchants again supported the boycott movement and donated generously to the Tilak Swaraj Fund.
• But industrialists on the other hand remained silent, or opposed mass agitation outright. An Anti-Non-cooperation Society was started in Bombay with the blessings of Purushottamdas Thakurdas and funds from R.D. Tata. Small section of the capitalists, including Purshottamdas, openly declared themselves enemies of the Non- Cooperation Movement.

4. During Swarajist Times

• After 1922 due to the deteriorating economic conditions all sections of the Indian business community were drawn more closely to the side of nationalism, the industrialists included.
  • Wartime boom collapsed in 1921-22 and was followed by a slump in the industry throughout the 1920s.
  • Non-saleability of goods and large unsold stocks were accompanied by rising labour costs.
  • Situation for the Bombay cotton mill owners was further worsened by their dependence on imported yarn and the growing competition from cheap Japanese goods that started inundating Indian markets from around this time.

Their major grievance at this stage was against the 3.5% excise duty on cotton, for the abolition of which they now joined hands with the swarajists in the legislative assembly

5. Between Non Cooperation Movement (NCM) & Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)

• In 1921, the European Trading Organisations formed an apex body called Associated Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) . In response in 1927, the Indian capitalists despite their differences and clash of interests formed their own organisation , the FICCI with Purshottamdas Thakurdas at its helm.
• The battle-lines were further drawn as depression touched India with all its fury in 1929. The government was in desperate need of additional source of revenue & looked towards cotton duties. Cotton duties  were increased from 11% to 15% but nothing was done wrt increasing import duties from textile coming from Lancashire. This irked Indian Industrialists & drew widespread protest from the nationalists with Birla and Thakurdas resigning from Legislative Assembly in protest
• Other source of irritant was artificially fixed high Rupee-Sterling Ratio (1 ₹ =1.06 £ as prescribed by Hilton -Young Commission). The government tried to maintain this high exchange value of ₹ in order to ensure flow of remittances from India & maintain India’s creditworthiness. This was also favourable for British exporters to India but disadvantageous for Indian Exporters . Agricultural exports also suffered because of this . Businessmen wanted lower rate of 1.04 £ as best suited to Indian economic recovery and Currency League was formed  in 1926 with blessings of Gandhi. This currency debate was drawing Congress and Businessmen closer together on a common platform
• But traditionally business groups don’t favour agitational politics. They favour constitutionalism and pressure group politics and since after NCM ended, there wasn’t any agitational program going on, all was well between Congress and Business groups. They were jointly raising voice on raising duties on cotton piece goods against Japanese Competition, currency policy etc . Businessgroups were donating money for Gandhi’s constructive program and Swarajist’s campaign funds but dilemma of supporting Gandhi again came on scene when question of Civil Disobedience came to forefront. Many were still of the view that agitational politics was risky proposition but others believed that this was the only way of getting some concessions from the government. They were happy to hear the news of call of 1st Round Table Conference but their hopes dashed away when Congress passed Lahore Resolution of Complete Independence which sounded too radical. Yet they remained with Congress because of the fear of Communism and threat of continued Labour Strikes if they opposed Congress.
• Large scale labour strikes were going on under Girni Kamgar Union and due to red scare , Dorabji Tata offered proposal to form Indo-European political organisation of the Capitalists to contain communism. Birla and Thakurdas intervened against it and thus open rift with nationalists was averted.

6. During Civil Disobedience Movement

• Thus for various reasons , all sections of Indian Business class started to come near Congress from 1930 & Congress too was sensitive to their interests . When Gandhi announced 11 Points ultimatum to Irwin , it contained 3 specific capitalist demands ie ₹-£ exchange rate , protection of Cotton industry and reservation of coastal shipping for Indian companies (for Walchand Hirachand  and Lalji Naranji’s Scindia Merchant Shipping).
• But when CDM started their response was mixed .
  • Cloth merchants particularly importers supported it by refusing to use foreign goods for specific period
  • Mill owners were nervous and offered little support
  • Bombay industrialists like Tatas (Steel) who depended on Government orders remained skeptical
  • But complete neutrality would have been suicidal , hence FICCI supported principles of the movement & condemned police brutality
• The growing civil unrest not only hampered day to day business but raised the chances of social revolution . They clearly towards the end of movement wanted to get back to constitutionalism and leaders like Birla and Thakurdas preferred to play the role of honest brokers between Congress and the government. If Gandhi signed Truce with Irwin, business pressure was certainly one of the factor in that   
• Before the 2nd Round Table Conference, Government tried to win over business interests by offering them concessions but Thakurdas and Birla which were presenting business interests in Round Table Conference  strictly adhered to Gandhian line in all negotiations on economic matters.
• But they didn’t want to go back to agitational politics when 2nd Round Table Conference ended without result . When Congress announced second CDM in 1932, Business Community broke to various warring factions.

Note – Clear divide was there in Business interests. Each group wanted to secure their benefits which became clear in Lees-Mody Pact of 1933. In this, under the Leadership of Mody of Bombay Cotton Mill Owners , who produced coarse cotton , were prepared to accept preference to Lancashire. In the new policy, Import Duty was applied on Cotton with exception of Lancashire Cotton. Hence, Japanese Textile which competed with Bombay Cotton (Coarse) was to be charged with Import duty making them uncompetitive but nothing was done wrt Lancashire Textile which competed with Ahmedabad Cotton Mills . 

Side note – Why their attitude changed after Gandhi’s arrival

• His approach was non violent – capitalists always want peace to flourish their business
• Jain & Vaishnav tradition – most marwari & gujarati same
• His trusteeship theory legitimised wealth
• Although his ideology was not based on capitalist interest but since he was against class politics , these concepts were attractive to them & they happily associated with him

7. After Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)

• After CDM was suspended in 1934 , it was welcomed by all Business groups. But the major alarming signal now came from the strong rise of Socialism under Jawahar Lal Nehru , Subhas Bose and Congress Socialist Party . However, this Red Scare didn’t throw them into the arms of imperial authorities. Their strategy was to patronise the right wingers within Congress ie people like Vallabhbhai, Rajaji , Rajendra Prasad etc and throw lot behind Gandhi. Gandhians too were eager to get capitalist support and their financial backing to get their lost control over Congress back.

• Major interests of the capitalists at this juncture were to keep the Congress within the bounds of constitutional politics and to clip its socialist wings. For this, they were even prepared to meddle in the internal politics of the Congress. The ‘Bombay Manifesto‘, signed in 1936 by twenty-one Bombay businessmen, contained an open indictment of Nehru’s preaching of socialist ideals, which were deemed prejudicial to private property, and to the peace and prosperity of the country. Although it did not evoke support from any other section of the business community, it strengthened the hands of the moderates within the Congress, like Bhulabhai Desai and G.B. Pant, who put pressure on Nehru to tone down his socialist utterances. The Congress decision to participate in the election of 1937 and accept office thereafter brought the capitalists closer to it.

• Indeed, when the Congress formed ministries in eight provinces, it evoked jubilation and expectations from both labour and capital and the party had to continually balance between the two contradictory interests. During the first two years in office, trade union activities and labour unrest increased phenomenally in the Congress- ruled provinces, particularly in Madras and the United Provinces and the Congress ministries had to adopt a number of resolutions implementing the labour welfare programmes, which it had promised during the election. This irritated the capitalists no doubt, but what further added to it were the conservative economic and fiscal policies of the provincial governments. Faced with financial stringency, these governments had very little choice but to increase taxes, like the property tax or sales tax, which the business did not quite like. They now closed ranks and this alarmed the Congress high command. Therefore, by the spring of 1938, there was a remarkable change in Congress policies, as it tried to placate capitalist interests. The most authentic manifestation of this shift was in its labour  policy which resulted in passage of Bombay Trade Disputes Act , 1938 aimed to prevent strikes but tilted heavily in favour of Capitalists.

8. During Quit India Movement (QIM)

• 5 August 1942, four days before the launching of the Quit India Movement, Purshottamdas, J.R.D. Tata and G.D. Birla wrote to the Viceroy that the only solution to the present crisis, the successful execution of the war and the prevention of another civil disobedience movement was ‘granting political freedom to the country even during the mid of war . But when QIM started with this demand, they were reluctant to support and assured Viceroy opposition to that
• However, once the storm was over, they again came on side of Congress.
• Congress too after the defeat of QIM came under the control of conservatives which preferred  collaborating with the capitalists and remain strictly within the path of  constitutionalism.

Economic Planning & Capitalists

• Some business leaders actively participated in economic planning process initiated by socialist thinking of Nehru
• Under President ship of Bose , congress constituted First planning committee in 1938 & it included Thakurdas, AD Shroff, Walchand Hiracahnd & Ambalal Sarabhai
• Idea of planning was further evinced when in 1944 they independently produced what was known as Bombay plan . It anticipated in a real sense 5 year plans & industrial policies of future congress government 

But why they did this?

From Sumit Sarkar – more far-sighted sections of the bourgeoisie in an under-developed country would be quite ready to accept a measure of state regulation, planning, public investments in basic industries to create a favourable infra-structure for their own growth, and even ‘socialist’ rhetoric—so long as socialism did not mean wholesale nationalization along revolutionary lines. Subhas Bose’s initiative in starting a National Planning Committee in October 1938 under Nehru was thus quite eagerly accepted by Indian businessmen.

End words

• Quite significantly, the Indian capitalists never saw the Congress as their class party or even as a party susceptible only to their influence. On the contrary, they saw the Congress as an open-ended organization, heading a popular movement, and in the words of J.K. Mehta, Secretary, Indian Merchants’ Chamber, with ‘space in it for men of all shades of political opinion and economic views,’ and therefore, open to be transformed in either the Left or the Right direction.
• The maturity of the Indian capitalist class in identifying its long term interests, correctly understanding the nature of the Congress and its relationship with the different Classes in Indian society, its refusal to abandon the side of Indian nationalism even when threatened by the Left or tempted by imperialism, its ability to project its own class interests as societal interests, are some of the reasons (apart from the failure of the Left in several of the above directions) which explains why, on the whole, the Indian national movement remained, till independence under bourgeois ideological hegemony, despite strong contending trends within it.
• Thus, throughout the period under review the relationship between the Indian capitalists and the Congress remained strategic, issue-based and even pragmatic. The former’s commitment to nationalism  was not certainly about business interests and support for Congress was strictly conditional. But they were neither loyalists not unpatriotic and they agreed despite reservations with many aspects of Congress program

Socialist and Communist Movements during Colonial Period

This article deals with ‘ Socialist and Communist Movements during Colonial Period – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

• Socialism aims at ending exploitation of vast majority of helpless humanity by small, powerful minority & remove consequent injustices & inequalities from the society .These ideas became widespread after Russian Revolution
• In such circumstances,  some patriotic  Indian intellectuals & militants particularly those who have either lived in western countries or established contacts were drawn towards those ideas eg. Madame Cama, Shyamji Krishna Verma etc . They operated from abroad till World War 1 & were outside Congress framework & hardly made any impact on policies of Congress till end of Non Cooperation Movement (NCM) .But after that Socialist ideas began to influence INC.  Powerful left wing group developed in late 1920s & 1930s,  contributing to radicalization of national movement
• Socialist ideas acquired roots in the Indian soil & became the accepted creed of Indian youth whose urges came to be symbolized by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose.
• Two important powerful Left Parties emerged
  1. Communist Party of India (CPI)
  2. Congress Socialist Parties(CSP)

Reasons for Growth of Leftist Movement in India

Main reasons for growth were

• Industrial development in certain places like Bombay, Calcutta & Madras  leading to large & concentrated worker’s population in those places . Gradually  they started organizing themselves to demand better working conditions leading to emergence of Trade Unions
• On 7 Nov 1917,  Bolshevik Party led by Lenin overthrew despotic Czarist regime. Lesson learnt that if the common people — the workers and peasants and the intelligentsia — could unite and overthrow the mighty Czarist Empire , then the Indian people battling against British imperialism could also do so
• Socialist ideas began to spread rapidly especially because many young persons who had participated in Non Cooperation Movement (NCM)  were unhappy with its outcome and were dissatisfied with Gandhian policies and ideas as well as the alternative Swarajist programme.
• In 1919 , Third Communist International organised by Soviet government aimed at bringing communist revolution & establishing government of Working class all over world . This gave impetus
• First WW led to  high inflation but industrialists adamant not to increase wages of workers leading to their organised mobilization
• Since Nationalist movement also became mass movement ,  nationalist leaders saw potential to draw masses towards their movement through this . Lala  Lajpat Rai was first president of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

Condition of Workers

• Living condition was miserable
• They worked for 15 & even 18 hours a day
• There were no leave rule & no security of jobs
• They lived in dark,damp slums with no water supply & no sanitary arrangements
• In Coal Mines of Jharia & Giridh condition was even more miserable . They worked from 6 AM to 6 PM + woman & children worked underground + accidents leading to death was frequent & until 1923 government introduced no insurance scheme
• There was no provision of Provident fund . When they aged, were thrown out of job with no avenue of income

Attitude of mainstream National Movement towards workers

Whole process can be divided into different stages

1 . Early Nationalists

• Paid very little attention towards question of workers although truly wretched conditions prevailed
• Major reason for that was anti imperialist movement was in its infancy & nationalists didn’t wish to weaken common struggle against British rule by creating any divisions within ranks of Indian people
• Most of these leaders were from upper strata of society – western educated middle class which included categories of rentiers , professionals & entrepreneurs
• Upto World War (WW) 1, these leaders were just trying to win concessions by means of petitions , memorandums etc & hadn’t thought of raising mass movement

2. Later (towards end of 19th century)

Efforts were organised to secure better bargaining position vis a vis more powerful classes in common anti imperialist front but here two different approaches

Labour vs Indigenous Employer

– Were unwilling to take this question & denied any need of government legislation to regulate working conditions . They actively opposed Factories Act of 1881 & 1889 – But there were nationalist reasons for this because Britishers were doing this not for labour but to make Indian industries out of race by taking from them edge that they get via cheap labour of India + nationalists looked Indian Industrial growth as way to remove poverty .

Labour vs British Enterprises

– Scenario completely altered in this situation – No hesitation in giving full support to workers  because employer & employee were not part & parcel of same nation – Indian National Congress (INC) began campaign against manner in which tea plantation workers were virtually reduced to slaves – First organised strike in Indian history by signalers of Great Peninsula Railways in 1899 in which Nationalist newspapers & Tilak came in full support

Trade Unionism & Communism in India

Meaning of Trade Union

• Association of workers formed with purpose of improving the conditions under which they work in mills & factories
• These workers  were mostly illiterate &  didn’t have any idea in the beginning of forming Trade Unions and uniting themselves.
• There were a few ‘outsiders’ mostly intellectuals, who tried for years to educate and organise them in Trade Unions. Very often they became leaders of the unions.

1 . Early Attempts to improve workers conditions

• Towards the end of 19th century, Nationalist Intelligentsia began to associate itself with working class agitation but these were sporadic, spontaneous & unorganised revolts

Sorabjee Shapoorjee Bengalee	1878 : tried unsuccessfully to introduce a Bill in the Bombay Legislative Council to limit the working hours for labour
Sasipanda Banerjea	In Bengal, Brahmo Social Reformer, set up a Workingmen’s Club in 1870 and brought out a monthly journal called Bharat Sramjeebi (Indian Labour)

• All these activities were philanthropic in nature & didn’t represent beginning of organised working class movement

2. During Swadeshi Movement Period

• Number of strikes rose rapidly & many Swadeshi leaders enthusiastically threw themselves into task of organising stable trade unions, strikes, legal aid & fund collection drives
• Most  important feature of the labour movement during the Swadeshi days was the shift from agitations and struggles on purely economic questions to wider political issues of the day.

Bengal	– 16 Oct 1905 (day of partition of Bengal) –  workers of Jute Mills & jute press factories , railway coolies & carters all struck work – Burn Company Shipyard in Howrah didn’t permit its workers to participate in Fed Hall meeting & they went on strike
Tamil Nadu	In Tuticorin, Subramania Siva campaigned for a strike in February-March 1908 in a foreign-owned cotton mill saying that strikes for higher wages would lead to the demise of foreign mills.
Punjab	Rawalpindi :  Arsenal and Railway Engineering Workers went on strike as part of the 1907 upsurge in the Punjab which had led to the deportation of Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh. Perhaps the biggest political demonstration by the working class in this period

• This Period also saw faint beginning of Socialist tinge among some of Nationalist Leaders who were exposed to Marxist & social democratic forces in Europe . Eg : Dadabhai Naoroji

3. End of 1910s & start of 20s

AITUC

• Most important happening was Formation of All India Trade Union Congress in 1920
• Tilak developed close association with Bombay workers & played important role , from Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai came & he was first President whereas  Dewan Chaman Lal first General Secretary
• Urged workers to intervene in nationalist politics
• Lala Lajpat Rai was among first in India to link capitalism with imperialism & emphasised greater role of workers in fighting this combination
• Second Session of AITUC  moved resolution in favour of SWARAJ & said swaraj would be for workers & not capitalists
• Congress in its Gaya session of 1922 welcomed formation of AITUC & formed committee to assist its work

During Non Cooperation Movement (NCM)

• Railway workers extended full support to  NCM & Khilafat movement
• Nov 1921 at time of visit of Prince of Wales workers responded to boycott nationwide & in Bombay textile factories were closed with about 1.4 lakh workers on strike

After 1922

• Again  lull in workers movement & reversion to only economic struggle
• Wait till end of 1920s when it again revived with greater vengeance

Personality : MN Roy

• Original Name was Narendranath Bhattachareya &  born in 1889 in poor Brahmin family of Bengal . He was revolutionary Terrorist in early life & got educated from National University of Aurobindo Ghosh. During  WW 1 , wanted to bring armed revolution through German Arms along with Pulin Bihari Ghosh  but failed and went to USA.
• He changed name to MN Roy, studied Marxist literature extensively & became Communist. USA entered war from Britain side & was not safe for him to stay in US . He moved to Mexico where with Russian communist Borodin formed Communist Party of Mexico
• After war , on call of Lenin he went to USSR . He helped evolve  Communist International’s policy towards colonies . Lenin held that Communists should extend support to Revolutionary Movement carried by Bourgeois Nationalists against Imperialist Governments but Roy held that Bourgeois Nationalists were reactionaries & communists should carry their struggle independently forming parties of Workers & Peasants
• In Oct 1920 , came to Tashkent &  opened Military School for training Indian Frontier Tribes + formed  CPI  affiliated to Communist International in 1921

Peshawar Conspiracy Case

• Caliph Controversy happened in 1920 .  Thousands of Muslim Mujahirs (pilgrims) came to his school for training but it was closed by then & they were trained in Communist University of Toilers in Moscow
• When they went back , were arrested & tried under Peshawar Conspiracy case .  2 given 2 year imprisonment & rest 1 year hard imprisonment

4. Mid of 1920s & start of 1930s- Rise of Communist ideology – Formation of Communist Party of India (CPI)& Workers and Peasants Party (WPP)

• Independent of this, various communist organisations were coming up in India since 1920 & in Dec 1925 , they met in Kanpur to form CPI
• Constitution of Party was also announced aimed at
  • Attainment of complete independence 
  • Reorganisation of Indian society on basis of common ownership
  • Distribution of wealth in interest of whole community
• From 1926 , British Communists started to come India for organising Indian Communist Movement. But this infant movement continued to suffer various drawbacks
  • Suffered from paucity of funds
  • Suffered from paucity of cadre
  • British government was hostile towards CPI because of its revolutionary character & affiliation to Communist International
  • Privileged upper strata of Indian society was opposed to it

Workers & Peasants Party (WPP)

• From 1927 , Communists also started to organize themselves into the Workers’ and Peasants’ Parties (WPP), under the leadership of people like S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, P.C. Joshi and Sohan Singh Josh
• WPP were formed in Punjab & Bombay ( later found in Meerut too) & main medium of propagation of ideas was Press

Punjab WPP	Mehnatkash (Urdu weekly)
Bombay WPP	Kranti (Marathi Weekly)

• Communist influence on  trade unions was also increasing & they were playing important role in workers strikes( Kharagpur Railway factory Strike of 1928 & Bombay Textile Workers strike) . Communist Girni Kamgar Union(Bombay’s) membership reached 52,000  towards end of 1928. These strikes reached alarming proportions
• Government held Communist responsible for this . To contain & crush them government armed itself with Public Safety Ordinance for purpose of deporting subversive elements +  Trade Disputes Act for introduction of Tribunals for settlement of worker’s problems which practically banned strikes (Note: Bhagat Singh hona ne ehna acts de virodh ch bomb suteya si)

Meerut Conspiracy case

• Communists  were subjected to severe repression by government . In  March 1929 , 32 radical & political Trade Union Activists including three British Communists were arrested on the charge of conspiring against his Majesty’s government under the directions of Communist International . It was alleged that  these Communists wanted to deprive British Monarch his sovereignty over British India by means of general strike & armed uprising
• Basic aim of government was to behead the Trade Unions of leadership & to isolate Communists from National Movement . Soon it became cause celebre & defence was taken by JL Nehru, MA Ansari & Chagla . Gandhi visited them in jail to express his solidarity .  Speeches of defence in court were carried by newspapers familiarising lakhs of people about Communism . However, Britishers succeeded in one respect ie  growing working class movement was deprived of leadership
  • Later Guided by the resolutions of the Sixth Congress of the Communist International, the Communists broke their connection with the National Congress and declared it to be a class party of the Bourgeoisie. Moreover, the Congress and the bourgeoisie it supposedly represented were declared to have become supporters of imperialism.
  • Congress plans to organize a mass movement around the slogan of Poorna Swaraj were seen as sham efforts to gain influence over the masses by Bourgeois leaders who were working for a compromise with British imperialism . In   1931, the Gandhi-Irwin Pact was described as a proof of the Congress betrayal of Nationalism.

• 1934 – Communists renewed their militant Trade Union activities . There were strikes at Sholapur , Nagpur & Bombay . Government panicked & finding it difficult to control banned Communist Party in June 1934. But many Communist carried their activities in Congress & newly formed Congress Socialist Party

5. After 1935

• Indian economy began to improve after 1936 which earlier was suffering due to depression & in 1937, Congress Ministries formed arousing people’s aspirations
• In 1939, number of strikes went to 406( 156 in 1936)
• Important development of this period was the attempt made by the leftists and socialists to unite the trade unions and peasant organizations for a collective movement. Indeed it was the phase of the expansion of the trade union movement.

Congress Socialist Party & Socialist parties

• 1934 (same year when CPI was banned) : after end of Civil Disobedience Movement (CPM), section of Congressmen decided to enter into Legislatures to work for cause of Congress & Gandhi endorsed them. But there was other section who in response to this formed Socialist Party within Congress Organisation to prevent erosion of Revolutionary character
• Socialists believed in Marxism too but there were differences
  • Socialists owed their allegiance to Congress whereas Communists owed allegiance to Communist International
  • Congress Socialists were Nationalists whereas Communists believed in goal of International Communist Society
• Attracted by Marxism, Communism and Soviet Union, they did not find themselves in agreement with the prevalent political line of the CPI. Ultimately they came together and formed the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) at Bombay in October 1934 under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Minoo Masani with Sampurnananda as first President

Their Ideology (from Their Constitution)

1. To work for acceptance of Congress Socialist Party programme by INC
2. To organise workers & peasants for their own economic upliftment as well as for carrying on the movement for achievement of Independence & Socialism
3. Organise Youth Leagues, Woman’s Organisation & Voluntary Organistions & secure their support for CSP Programme
4. To resist any negotiations with British government on Constitutional issues

They adopted separate program for

Workers	– Freedom to form Trade Unions – Right to go on Strike – Living wages – 40 Hours of Work a week – Insurance against unemployment, sickness & accident
Peasants	– Abolition of Landlordism – Encouragement of Cooperative Farming – Exemption from rents & taxes on uneconomical farms – Reduction of land revenue – Abolition of feudal levies

Although now they were working with Bourgeois to achieve  Independence but their ultimate aim was formation of Socialist Society in India . CSP from beginning assigned itself with task of transforming Congress & strengthening it – in both ideological & organisational sense

For attainment of twin objectives of Socialism & Freedom they followed three lines of activities

• Inside the Congress,  they worked out anti-imperialist and nationalist programmes of the Congress as Congressmen
• Outside the Congress,  they mobilised the workers, peasants, students, intelligentsia and women for the cause of socialism
• They also sought to integrate the above two lines of activities.

Their Impact

• Mixed Reaction among  Congressmen

Gandhi	Rejected their idea of class war. Gandhi did not believe in the necessity of the abolition of Princely order, Zamindari and Capitalism. He wanted to bring about a change of heart in the princes, zamindars and capitalists so that instead of considering themselves the owners of the states, zamindars and factories they should behave as the trustees for their subjects, tenants and workers.
Left Congressmen	Like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose welcomed the formation of the Congress Socialist Party, although neither Nehru nor Bose joined the party.

• 1936 – three Socialists Narendra Dev , JP & Achyut Patwardhan inducted into Congress Working Committee . It was sure that Socialist agendas started to make up in Congress policies
• Politically & ideologically they were able to give congress a left leaning .  Faizpur session adopted an agrarian programme, containing such items as reduction of revenue, abolition of feudal dues and levies, introduction of cooperative farming, living wage for the agrarian labourers and formation of peasant unions
• Impact on Congress organisationally- 1/3rd votes in All India Congress Committee were of left & Nehru & Bose elected as President from 1936 to 1939 because of them
• Congress Socialists played an important role in the Kisan (peasant) movement. Through the efforts of Prof. N.G. Ranga, Indulal Yagnik, and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati the All-India Kisan Sabha was organised in  1936.
• Congress Socialists changed the Congress Party’s policy from aloofness to closer involvement in the affairs of Princely states. The Congress socialist activists also took part in the democratic movements of the people in the princely states against their autocratic rulers.

Failure of these movements

Despite the fact that the Left cadres were among the most courageous, militant & sacrificing of freedom fighters, the Left failed in the basic task it had taken upon itself— to establish the hegemony of socialist ideas & parties over the national movement. It also failed to make good the promise it held out in the 1930s. This is, in fact, a major enigma for the historian & reason for this can be

• Left invariably fought the dominant Congress leadership on wrong issues. It chose to fight not on questions of ideology but on methods of struggle and on tactics.
• Left also failed to make a deep study of Indian reality. With the exception of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Left saw the dominant Congress leadership as bourgeois , its policy of negotiations as working towards a compromise with imperialism & any resort to constitutional work as a step towards the ‘abandonment of the struggle for independence’
• It saw all efforts to guide the national movement in a disciplined manner as imposing restrictions on the movement. It constantly counterposed armed struggle to non- violence as a superior form and method of struggle, rather than concentrating on the nature of mass involvement and mobilization and ideology. It was convinced that the masses were ever ready for struggles in any form if only the leaders were willing to initiate them.
• Left parties, groups and individuals failed to work unitedly except for short periods. Nehru and Bose could not work together for long and bickered publicly in 1939. Nehru and the Socialists could not coordinate their politics. Bose and Socialists drifted apart after 1939.

Brief Sketches of Socialists

1 . JayaPrakash (JP)

• Born in 1902 in Bihar
• 1921 : Discontinued his study at Patna College to participate in NCM
• After that, he went to US for receiving University Education & did physical work to finance himself . There he came in contact with Communists & became marxist
• When he came back, he saw Communists in India were taking orders from Moscow . Although he appreciated Bolshevik Revolution but didn’t like this & joined Congress
• 1930 : was made President of Congress Labour Research Department
• Main role in formation of CSP

2. Ashok Mehta

• Born in 1912 at Sholapur to Prominent Gujarati Writer
• Educated at Bombay University
• Joined CDM & jailed at Nasik
• For number of years he edited CSP journal = CONGRESS SOCIALIST

3. Dr Ram Manohar Lohia

• Born in nationalist Marwari family in 1910
• Educated at BHU, Calcutta University & Berlin Uni in Political economy
• On his return Nehru made him incharge of Foreign Affairs
• He was influenced by Social Democratic Ideas of West & Gandhian ideas & didn’t believe in Marxism or Communism
• Founded journal CONGRESS SOCIALIST

Jawahar Lal Nehru & Socialism

• JL Nehru imparted socialist vision to national movement
• Nehru propagated the ideas of socialism and declared that political freedom would become meaningful only if it led to the economic emancipation of the masses
• He used his enforced leisure in jail, during 1922- 23, to read widely on the history of the Russian and other revolutions.
• In 1927 , he  went to Switzerland for treatment of his ailing wife & came in contact with various socialist leaders . Then he was invited to attend International Congress against Colonial Oppression and Imperialism, held at Brussels, and came into contact with communists and anti-colonial fighters from all over the world . After exchange of views, he realised that how the development of European capitalism, which required raw materials for industrial production and extensive markets for the finished goods, led to imperialism, and how European capitalism had fattened on the exploitation of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
• Same year he visited the Soviet Union and was deeply impressed by the new socialist society
• He came to conclusion that exploiters have their native allies in form of landlords & industrialists & even if country is freed from  Britishers those oppressors would keep on oppressing . Hence, national emancipation of colonies also included emancipation of masses
• In 1927 , whole Simon Commission episode started . When Nehru Committee report discussions were held, JL Nehru challenged attainment of Swaraj ie Dominion status  as goal  & demanded  complete independence . He was the first to move resolution in Madras session of 1927 demanding Real independence instead of mirage of  dominion status
• 1928, Jawaharlal joined hands with Subhas to organize the Independence for India League to fight for complete independence and ‘a socialist revision of the economic structure of society.’
• Lahore Session 1929 speech – “I am a socialist and a republican, and am no believer in kings and princes, or in the order which produces the modern kings of industry, who have a greater power over the lives and fortunes of men than even the kings of old, and whose methods are as predatory as those of the old feudal aristocracy.’ India, he said, would have to adopt a full ‘socialist programme’ if she was ‘to end her poverty and inequality.”
• He criticized Gandhi for refusing to recognize the conflict of classes, for preaching harmony among the exploiters and the exploited, and for putting forward the theories of trusteeship by the capitalists and landlords.
• But Nehru’s commitment to Socialism was given within a framework that recognized the primacy of the political, anti- imperialist struggle so long as India was ruled by the foreigner . Nehru, therefore, did not favour the creation of an organization independent of or separate from the Congress or making a break with Gandhi and the right-wing of the Congress. The task was to influence and transform the Congress as a whole in a socialist direction.

Women and Indian Freedom Movement

This article deals with ‘ Women and Indian Freedom Movement – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

The Women Question

• This question first aroused in the discourses as Western Observers like James Mill used  this to construct a civilizational critique of India .Hence, status of Woman became main focus of reforming agenda of modernizing Indian intellectuals in 19th Century
• They imagined a golden past where women were treated with dignity & honor & urged reforms to these traditions . Female Infanticide was banned , Sati was abolished & Widow Remarriage was legalized

Problem with this approach

• In all these cases, reforms were legitimised by referring to the shastras
• No women were ever involved in reform movement  . In Mani’s words, “women are neither subjects nor objects but, rather, the ground of the discourse on sati; women themselves are marginal to the debate”.
• It was the  middle class women and their issues that found greater focus in the process of the anti-colonial movement . The range of issues that came up in this situation was therefore demands such as women’s education, women’s representation in various bodies, property rights and so on. For an upper caste woman the matter of education and widow remarriage was significant while for the lower caste woman in the early twentieth century just the right to cover her breasts and to be able to go to the temple of worship or learning would mean a qualitative difference . But Lower Caste Woman never figured in the debates.

And all this reformist zeal ended with virulent Hindu backlash when Age of Consent Bill in 1891 sought to push age of marriage for woman from 10 to 12 . It was seen as invading the autonomy of native masculinity

Position of Women before Colonialism

• Women status in ancient India was never static & uniform
• Manu wrote that  both Shudras & Women were debarred from Vedic ritual rites & he gave permanent dependent status for woman to be protected by their father, husband & sons at different stages
• Immediately before colonial times , women were groomed to become good wives , serve their husbands as supreme god & expected to give birth to sons . If their husband die  , they were to spend their lives in strictest discipline of celibacy cherishing memories of dead husband

Muslim Society

• Simlar restrictions on Muslim women
• Two reform movements in Muslims
  • Islamic Revivalism by Ulama
  • Modernisation campaign by Educated Middle Class

both movements constructed SHARIF culture (sharif women were to be in Purdah)

For Hindu & Muslim women, this doesn’t mean only Purdah but multitudes of complex social arrangements which maintained social & not just physical distance between the sexes . By end of 19th century , the ideal of Purdah had become universalized for both elites & commoners & both Hindus & Muslims

Education Movements for women in 19th century

Agency of spreading Education lay with three groups

British  Rulers	– Colonial government since 1850s particularly Law member Bethune & Hunter Commission  recommended for women education
Indian Male Reformers	– Radhakanta Deb started  School Book Society – MG Ranade started Prarthna Samaj – Keshub Chandra Sen in Brahmo Samaj – Swami Dayanand’s Arya Samaj
Educated Indian Women	– Sister Subbalakshmi – Madras – Begum Rokeya Hussain – Muslim Women in Bengal – Pandita Ramabhai – Western India

But improvement in education didn’t improved social position of women remarkably  & answer to this lie in motivation behind programs to educate women

• Colonial Government wanted to educate women because it wanted Civil Servants to be married to educated women so that they didn’t have to face psychological trauma of split house-hold +  thought English educated mother would give birth to sons which would be loyal to the Raj
• Educated Indian Middle class males wanted  Victorian ideal of companionate marriage

Hence, new concept of womenhood became fine blending of self sacrificing Hindu Wife & Victorian helpmate . Education far from emancipatory further confined women to idealised domestic roles as good wifes & better mothers

But there were other rebels-like

• Tarabai Shinde, a Marathi woman from Berar, published a book entitled, A Comparison Between Women and Men. In this she protested against the fact that in a new colonial society men enjoyed all the rights, opportunities and benefits of change, while women were blamed for all the evils and were still bound by the old strictures of pativrata
• Pandita Ramabai
  • She formed Arya Mahila Mandal in 1881 in Pune to promote female education especially for child widows
  • In 1889 , she started Mukti Mission to give refuge to young widows deserted by their families. Later she started ‘Sharda Sadan‘ to provide vocational training , food and shelter to child widows.
  • She  was a social rebel in true sense. She was a Brahman woman who remained unmarried for a long time; she was well versed in the ancient shastras, married a man from a Sudra caste defying the restrictions on hyper-gamy, then became a widow with an infant daughter, refused to withdraw herself from public life, went to England to study medicine, and there converted to Christianity. As she asserted her independent choice and crossed the boundaries that Indian patriarchy had set on the freedom of women, she was equally criticized by the reformers and damned by the conservatives, as both considered her to be a social threat

Women & Freedom Movement

• Started with Swadeshi Movement but within accepted gender ideology in which home was rightful arena of women . They Boycotted British goods , crushed their glass bangles etc
• WW 1 – Saw two women leaders, Annie Besant (started Home Rule League & Presided Congress in 1917) & Sarojini Naidu who was delivering speeches since 1906 at Congress Sessions & led delegation to meet Secretary of State Montagu  to demand female franchise & also moved resolution in Congress Session demanding equal voting rights

Coming Of Gandhi

• Marked major rupture in women’s participation in nationalist movement . What Gandhi did was he changed focus from MOTHERHOOD to SISTERHOOD. Women was represented as no slave to their husbands & capable of making supreme sacrifices
• He realised in SA about power of self sacrifice of women & decided to harness it in service of nation . Sita- Draupadi – Damayanti were role models & Britishers were equated with Ravana. 
• But he too accepted what he called NATURAL DIVISION OF LABOUR BETWEEN SEXES. Roles he expected for them in freedom struggle were as mothers and supporters of men and as examples of selfsacrifice and non-violence, as spinners of Khadi, picketing at foreign cloth and liquor shops and by shaming men into action. Gandhi considered women most worthy in their traditional place and avocation i.e. concerned with household tasks and upbringing of children. Thus, the vision and imagination of Gandhi was coloured with patriarchal values.
• Gandhi accepted womens biological weakness but turned that weakness into power by glorifying their strength of soul.

Non Cooperation Movement (NCM) & Women

• Gandhi initially prescribed limited role but women claimed for themselves greater role
• Nov 1921 : thousands of women greeted Prince of Wales with demonstrations
• Wife, sister & neice of CR Dass stunned nation by participating in open street demonstrations
• At Ahmedabad, Bi Amma (mother of Ali Brothers) addressed 6,000  gathering of women to join men in picketing
• In Andhra , Durgabhai collected over thousand of her compatriot Devadasis to listen to Gandhi & they gave 20,000 in donation for the nationalist cause
• Although Gandhi himself wasn’t keen but women themselves took initiatives

Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) & Women

• Gandhi didn’t want to contain women in original core group of volunteers of Dandi March but in his way when he addressed meetings many women joined . Thousands of women got involved in manufacture of salt , picketing etc
• They joined in Parbhat Pheris & girls organised their own Manjari Senas in competition to Vanar Senas of boys.
• They carried on Gandhi’s constructive program of spinning cloth with Charkha
• In Chittagong Armoury Raid , Kalpana Dutta was prominent member of Indian Republican Army . Other women like Pritilata Waddedar also joined movement later.

Revolutionary Movement

• They were involved & many a times not only in supportive roles
• They were actually shooting pistols at magistrates & governors
• Durgavati Devi/ Durga Bhabi (wife of Bhagvati Charan Vohra) was prominent member of HSRA . She accompanied Bhagat Singh on the train journey in which he made his escape in disguise after Saunders killing.

Quit India Movement

• Significant Female activism
• All front rank male leaders were behind jails & women took charge
• Sucheta Kriplani coordinated non violent resistance & Aruna Asif Ali gave leadership to underground revolutionary activities

Communist Party and Women

• Ban was lifted from them in 1941 & back in 1920-30s various women were members which again began to attract them
• In Tebhaga movement of Bengal in 1946 under communists which demanded 2/3 produce to sharecroppers , women participated in large numbers.  Nari Bahinis or Women Brigades resisted colonial police with whatever weapon they could lay hand on & became martyrs
• Then they participated in Telangana Movement from 1946 to 51 against Nizam of Hyderabad .
• In most cases, they joined on their own , acted as secret messengers , arranged shelters & few of them took up guns . But communist leadership preferred to take only supportive & secondary role from women & couldn’t think of women outside the conventional structures of gender relations because they thought women became source of sexual immorality & indiscipline within ranks of rebels

Indian National Army (INA)

In 1943 , INA raised &  Bose decided to add Women’s Regiment under Rani of Jhansi regiment commanded by Captain Laxmi Sehgal.  They consisted of working class women of all classes & religions who were fully trained militarily for combat

Pakistan Movement & Women

• Pakistan Movement opened for Muslim women new space of political action
• In 1930s, they were participating in a united front with Hindu sisters to claim women’s rights but division appeared in 1935 when issue of reservation on communal basis came up . Some of leaders of All India Women’s conference refused to accept joint electorates when their men were not prepared to do so
• Muslim League also sought to universalize its politics & in 1938 started women’s subcommittee to involve Muslim women

End Words

• During struggle for freedom, they didn’t raise issues which affected them as women & their own goals were subordinated to those of national liberation, community honour or class struggle
• Some leading nationalists like Nehru believed that once political freedom was achieved , women’s question would resolve automatically after they became force with voting power

Some Women Associations

Women’s Indian Association	– Started in 1917 in Madras – By Margaret Cousins & Annie Besant
National Council of Women	– Started in 1925 as branch of International Council of women – Main leader – Lady Mehribai Tata
All India Women’s Conference	– To promote women’s education – Main leader : Margaret Cousins – Eventually got involved in nationalist struggle & lobbied for all sorts of women’s rights from franchise to marriage reform
Bharat Stree Mahamandal	– Started in 1910 – Opened branches all over India to promote women’s education – By Sarala Devi Chaudarani  (niece of Rabindranath Tagore)

About Some Women Leaders

1 . Aruna Asaf Ali

• Breaking the social conventions, married to a Muslim Congressman Asaf Ali.
• Went to prison during CDM and Individual Satyagraha.
• Hoisted tricolor at Gowalia tank after Maulana Azad’s arrest.
• In Quit India Movement , all her property was confiscated by the Colonial government
• Editor of  ‘Inquilab’ a monthly journal of Congress

After independence

• First Mayor of Delhi elected in 1958
• Posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna in 1997

2. Sarojini Naidu

• Graduated from London
• One of the first women to participate in Freedom struggle
• Under mentorship of G.K.Gokhale
• Later  participated in all programs of Gandhi, including Dandi March
• Served as President of Indian national congress.
• Participated in 2nd Round Table Conference
• Even her daughter Padmaja Naidu, 21, was arrested in  Quit India movement.

3. Madam Bhikaiji Cama

• Herself influenced by Dadabhai Naoroji
• She Inspired Indian youth in UK
• Ran newsletter “Bande Mataram” and organization “Free India Society”.
• Unfurled first national flag of India in Germany.

4. Sucheta Kriplani

• Born in 1908 in Ambala and educated in Lahore. Right from childhood she dreamt of free India
• In 1932 , she entered Public services and in 1939 , she joined Politics
• Impressed by her work to serve the nation, Gandhi choose her for Individual Satyagraha & was arrested for that
• In Quit India Movement , she went underground & carried on the movement. She founded Under Ground Volunteer Force for this
• Founded All India Mahilla Congress
• During riots at independence, she did work for resettlement of women who had suffered at that time

After independence

• CM of UP from 1963 to 1967 . She was first women CM of independent India

5. Kalpana Dutta

• Student of higher education from Bengal and hated English rule and language . She even wanted pledge of her school during childhood days to be changed from – To be loyal to God and King to To be loyal to God and Country
• After completing her school education, she took admission in Calcutta University where she came in contact of Revolutionaries .
• She conducted raids on government buildings but police failed to gather evidences against her
• Then she joined Surya Sen and was involved in Chittagong Armoury Raid.
• She was arrested & was released in 1943 . Then she joined Communist Party and married Communist leader PC Joshi

6. Pritilata Waddedar

• Born in 1910
• Very  intelligent student and did BA from Calcutta University
• Joined Surya Sen later . She conspired with Surya Sen to raid Night club frequently visited by English to avenge death of their comrades which police had killed in various raids. In counter attack , she was hit in her leg. She knew that she would be caught , hence she consumed packet of Potassium Cynide as per their plan.

7. Rani Gaidinliu

• Led political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas & arrested in 1932 at the age of 16
• She was released in 1947 after India’s independence, and continued to work for the upliftment of her people.

8. Rajkumari Amrita Kaur

• Member of Royal family from Punjab
• Graduated from England, influenced by Gandhi
• Jailed for Quit India movement

9. Rehana Tyabjee

• Member of affluent family, her father was a Judge.
• influenced by Gandhi, joined Sabarmati Ashram, NCM, opposed Untouchability + child marriage
• President of Youth congress
• Jailed for QIM
• First muslim lady to sing Vandemataram in Congress session

10. Cpt. Laxmi Sahgal

• Young medical student
• Became Captain of all-woman Rani of Jhansi regiment of the Indian National Army (INA) under Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Led the troops in Burma during WW2, but caught by the British army.

Caste Movement during Colonial Period

This article deals with ‘ Caste Movement during Colonial Period – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Modern History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

British Colonialism  and  Caste

• There is a debate on  transformation of Indian society under the impact of colonialism and its administrative mechanisms.  Part of this debate is whether there was continuity of caste system and other pre-colonial social-structures including caste OR it was mere product of British imagination.
  • Louis Dumont ( French scholar and writer of a famous book on caste, Homo Hierarchicus) based on study of certain texts presented image of caste based on purity and pollution & hierarchy . These values, according to Dumont, separate Indians culturally from Western civilization, making India a land of static, unchangeable, ‘oriental’ Brahmanical values.
  • Nicholas Dirks and others have challenged this notion of caste. They opined that Brahmans and their texts were not so central to the social fabric of Indian life. Brahmans were merely ritual specialists, often subordinate to powerful ruling families. The caste-based Brahmanical model of traditional India was an invention of the British Orientalists and ethnographers, according to this view

Was it a British construct?

• Starting from the Vedas and the Great Epics, from Manu and other dharamsastras, from puranas texts, from ritual practices, the penal system of Peshwa rulers who punished culprits according to caste-principles, to the denunciations of anti-Brahmanical ‘reformers’ of all ages; everything points towards the legacy of pre-colonial times. But at the same time , it is also true that there were many non-caste affiliations and identities too which determined position of any group . It was the colonial state and its administrators who made caste as a measure of all things and the most important emblem of traditions.
• William Jones translated and published Manu Dharma Sastras or The Laws of Manu (1794).  It became the main authority in imagining of Indian tradition as based on varnasrama- dharma (social and religious code of conduct according to caste and stage of life). Scholars have questioned the attempt to codify Indian social relations according to this single, orthodox Brahmanical text.
• The basic objective of the colonial state was to procure data about Indian social life so as to tax and police its subjects. From the early nineteenth century, the company officials turned increasingly to literate Brahmans or to scribal and commercial populations to obtain such information. Brahmans had an incentive to argue that India was a land of age-old Brahmanical values. They insisted that effective social-control and cohesion could be achieved only if hierarchical jati and varna principles were retained.
• Hence, Caste was not a fabrication of British rulers designed to demean and subjugate Indians but at the same time it wasn’t the only characteristic to define Indian society, point which britishers missed .
• However, this interpretation did serve the colonial interests as by condemning the ‘Brahmanical tyranny’ colonial administration could easily justify their codes to ‘civilize’ and ‘improve’ the ‘fallen people’.

Phase  1 of Caste Movement

• The moderate leadership was elitist, middle class. They definitely couldn’t take up the cause of untouchables. The extremist leadership was lower middle class and rested heavily on the support of caste people. So they too couldn’t alienate them by taking up cause of untouchables.
• The winds of change however couldn’t leave them isolated and in 1917, Indian National Congress (INC) passed a resolution condemning untouchability. But nothing concrete was done in this phase.

Factors Behind Mobilization of Lower Caste

• New Sources of Status under British Empire : There was a growing realization of the significance of the new sources of status i.e. education, government jobs, political participation and an awareness that these new sources of status too had been monopolized by the brahmans. In this the British policies and Christian missionaries helped a lot. In fact for some time it was believed that one way of protest against the caste disabilities was to convert into christianity but it failed for obvious reasons. But as a result organized caste movements began to grow in many parts of the country –
  • Ezhavas and Pulayas in Kerala,
  • Chamars in Punjab, UP and Chattisgarh,
  • Nadars in TN,
  • Namasudras in Bengal.

• Bhakti : Another important factor behind their mobilization was the spread of the message of bhakti. Thus following movements began to preach the message of Equality
  • Sri Narayan Dharma Paripalna Yogam (SNDPY) worked among the Ezhavas
  • Matua among the Namasudras
  • Adi Hindu movement among the chamars in UP.

• Sanskritization : There ensued a process of Sanskritization among the lower classes where those with social mobility ambitions chose to follow the customs of higher caste hindus like sati, child marriage, women seclusion etc.

• British Census :  Risley in 1901 Census  adopted a procedure to organize castes on basis of ‘social precedence’ . To the Indian public this appeared to be an official attempt to freeze the hierarchy, which had been constantly, though imperceptibly, changing over time. As a result of this, a number of caste associations emerged to contest their assigned position in the official hierarchy, each demanding a higher position and organizing their fellow caste members in the colonial public space.

• Reaction to Hindu Revivalism : At the same time the increasing hindu revivalist tendencies also alarmed them because if for the Brahman Hindus, the ancient age was a golden age and the present was a dark age, for untouchables it was the opposite.

1 . Brahmo Samaj & Raja Rammohan Roy

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) & Brahmo Samaj indirectly challenged the legitimacy of caste.
• Brahmo Samaj (1828) saw itself as an advocate of a new, universal, casteless religion. Paradoxically, however, Brahmos themselves became an exclusive endogamous community within Hinduism.

2. MG Ranade & National Social Conference

• M.G. Ranade founded a reformist organization, National Social Conference in 1887, aimed to persuade Indians to modernize their values & behavior. One of the chief aims of this was to campaign against the ‘evils’ of caste.
• But they did not regard every aspect of caste as an ‘evil’, to be annihilated. Nevertheless, Conference adherents were expected to endorse so called upliftment for the untouchables 

3. Jyotirao Phule and Satyashodak Samaj in Maharastra

• He wrote against Brahman privileges and domination in 1850s.
• He directly attacked Brahmanism &  represented Brahmans as Aryan invaders who conquered local indigenous people by force and concealed their act of usurpation by inventing ‘caste system’.
• In 1873, Phule established the Satyashodhak Samaj, an organization for challenging Brahmanic supremacy.
• He turned the Orientalist theory of Aryanisation of India upside down.” The Brahmans, he argued, were the progeny of the alien Aryans, who had subjugated the natives of the land and therefore the balance now needed to be redressed and for achieving that social revolution, he sought to unite both the non-Brahman peasant castes as well as dalit groups in a common movement
• But in the 1880s and 1890s, there were certain subtle shifts in the non-Brahman ideology, as Phule  focused more on mobilizing the Kunbi peasantry. There was now more emphasis on the unity of those who laboured on the land  and a contestation of the claim by the Brahman-dominated Poona Sarvajanik Sabha that they represented the peasantry. He appropriated Maratha identity to all the labourers of land and claimed that  Kshatriyas, who were the ancestors of the Marathas, lived harmoniously with sudras and asserted them in resisting Aryan assaults. But this emphasis on Kshtriyas led to diminution  of Interest in the mobilization of dalits.
• While kshatriya identity was constructed to contest Brahmanical discourse that ascribed  to them inferior status, it also inculcated an exclusivist ethos that separated them from  Dalit Groups who were treated once a brother in arms.Ironically such indigenous construction of identity also impacted colonial stereotyping as dalit mahars and mangs were no longer treated as Martial races and disbanded from colonial service in 1892.
• Satyasodhaks failed to evolve a unified and homogeneous sense of identity over a longer period. After 1919 Reforms,  there was a schism in the movement with the upper caste (but non brahman) elements breaking off to fight elections. In 1930s, it came close to Gandhian movement and merged into it and in this merger Kesavrao Jedhe played an important role.

4. Hindu Nationalists and Defense of Caste

• Hindu nationalists  resisted modernization of Indian social order. Although they sometimes deplored certain features of caste such as untouchability, they insisted that caste in its true form was essential to spirit of Hinduism. It represented a legacy of higher moral values from the national past.
• Vivekananda condemned the oppressive treatment of untouchables and other subordinate castes. Yet, he defended caste and varna hierarchy as a natural order and matter of national pride.

Phase 2 (1919- 1934)

• It ignored the question till 1917  and then took it up only when dalit leaders had organised themselves and were about to steal the initia­tive  from the Congress. Brahman domination of the early Congress, were much to blame for this inaction.
• By this phase, the character of Indian National Movement (INM) had changed. Masses were the key. Gandhi was a champion of lower classes as well. So he drew them in through constructive work. He also gave them the name Harijan and began to support the temple entry movements.

• Lower Caste Groups in order to assert themselves tried to appropriate collectively some visible symbols like temple entry, sacred thread, rituals, community pujas etc hitherto reserved for the higher castes.

Temple Entry

– Such movements were particularly strong in Kerala ,the most important being Vaikkom Satyagraha in 1924-25 and the Guruvayur Satyagraha in 1931-33. – There was Mushiganj Kali Temple Satyagraha in Bengal in 1929 – Kalaram satyagraha in Nasik in 1930-35.   Local and national Congress leaders actively participated in a few and organized satyagrahas and eventually won them temple entries. These temple entry movements created the widest possible unity. People from highest castes to the lowest outcastes broke social customs and fought together. People and leaders from all over the country flocked in and fought. All the methods of Indian National Movement were used.

Social Rights

– Apart from the religious rights, the lower castes also demanded social rights and when denied organized themselves.   – In state of Travancore,  Nadars were also not allowed to wear shoes, golden ornaments and carry umbrellas. Their women were not allowed to cover the upper parts of their bodies.  Under influence of Christian Missionaries, there was attempt by Nadar women  to cover their breasts like the higher caste women and this was violently resisted in 1859. This issue flared up again in 1905 between the Ezhavas and the Nairs in Quilon in 1905.   – In Bengal when the high caste Kayasthas refused to attend the funeral ceremony of Namasudras, they resorted to a boycott of working in their fields.   – In 1927  in Mahad, Ambedkar organized a satyagraha to demand water from the public tank.

• Then came the political mobilization and this was led by Ambedkar.
  • In 1927 , he publicly burnt a Manu Smriti.
  • He voiced his views against performances of traditional labour services and ‘village duties’ by the mahars.
  • Initially , He also advocated forced temple-entry . He took lead in the Kalaram temple-entry campaign (1930) at Nasik and in the satyagraha for drawing of water by untouchables from the Mahad tank in Maharashtra.   But In 1934 , he wrote to the Temple Satyagrahis emphasizing the futility of temple movements and instead urging them to focus on political representation and education. If political gates are opened, temple gates would automatically open.
  • He believed that Dalit grievances could be redressed only by a complete overhaul of Hindu Society and not just by a reformist approach.
  • In 1936 he founded Independent Labor Party to mobilize the poor and the untouchables and in 1942 All India SC Conference at Nagpur with  claim that Dalits to be separate from Hindus.

1 . Gandhi vs Ambedkar on Caste

• Gandhi distinguished between issue of untouchability and endogamy & dining restrictions. He wanted INM to focus on untouchability but not on endogamy &  dining restrictions because these were not disabilities imposed on Dalits and were practiced among Dalits and among caste people as well.
• Ambedkar asserted that untouchability was an outcome of caste system, so caste system should be abolished (Annihilation of Caste ). Gandhi believed untouchability was a product of thinking of ‘high and low’ and had nothing to do with caste system so caste system needn’t be abolished.
• Goal of Harijan Sevak Sangh (1932), established by Gandhi and his close associates, was to instill habits of cleaniness and social propriety in their untouchable beneficiaries and to wean them away from toddy-drinking, meateating and unseemly sexual indulgences. 

	Gandhi	Ambedkar
What to do with Caste System	Reform	Annihilate
Reasons	Reasons given in favour were that – 1. It leads to Division of Labour 2. Decentralisation 3. Job security	Reasons given to annihilate were – 1. It actually has led to Caste system became rigid 2. All the power usurped by Brahmins 3. For lower castes, only low grade jobs were available
Process	Change of heart of Upper Caste by educating them (through papers like Harijan) and temple entry	– Make law to punish those who practice it – Educate the lower castes – Also started magazines like Bahishkrit Bharat

• Campaign of Gandhi significantly undermined the moral  and religious basis of untouchability, but, as Bhikhu Parekh has argued,  it dignified the untouchables, but failed to empower them.

2. Communal Award of 1932

• When the Communal Award, 1932 gave separate electorates to Dalits, Gandhi opposed the communal electorates for Dalits and demanded that increased number of seats be reserved for them but they should be elected by everyone. He undertook 2 major fasts to press for his demand on this issue. Ambedkar on the other hand supported the Award while MC Rajah opposed it since he favored a joint electorate.
• After the Poona Pact ,there was a cooperation between Gandhi and Ambedkar for some time and it led to founding the Harijan Sevak Sangh but it failed to last for long.

But unlike Muslim breakaway politics, Dalit Self Assertion did not go very far and their politics was soon appropriated in the INM in 1940s

• Ambedkar found in 1942 All India SC Conference at Nagpur with  claim that dalits are  separate from hindus. But still it couldn’t break away Dalits from INM fold.
• One reason is that not many Dalits believed in his separatist politics and Gandhi had acquired immense popularity even among them. His constructive work programme naturally played a big role in allaying their concerns. This lack of mass support made his movement weak and he couldn’t play another Jinnah.
• In 1946 elections , his party won only 2 out of 151 reserved seats and on this basis Cabinet Mission could safely conclude that Congress was a genuine representative of the Dalits. Even now a furious Ambedkar tried to prove his base by trying to initiate a mass satyagraha but failed to get much support. Then Congress absorbed him into the Constituent Assembly by offering nomination to Ambedkar for a seat in the Constituent Assembly and then by choosing him for the chairmanship of the constitution drafting committee.
• Soon Ambedkar realised the futility of his association with the Congress, as its stalwarts refused to support him on the Hindu Code Bill. He resigned from the cabinet in 1951 and then on 15 October 1956, barely a month and a half before his death, he converted to Buddhism, along with three hundred and eighty thousand of his followers. This event is often celebrated as an ultimate public act of dissent against a Hinduism that was beyond reform

3. Madras Presidency Movements – Justice Party, MC Rajah and Periyar

• Here it was associated with creating a distinct Dravidian Identity as well. By the late 19th century, Brahmans consisted of less than 3% of the population but monopolized over 45% of the government jobs. They showed a public disdain for Tamil and the Dravidian culture and ethnicity. This motivated the Velalas to mobilize to uphold the Dravidian entity and in this they were aided by the Christian Missionaries who emphasized on the antiquity of Tamil and the Dravidian Culture. They also argued that the status of shudra was an imposed one by the Northern Brahmans  and caste system too was not indigenous to Tamil land

• In 1916, Justice Party was formed as a formal political party of non-Brahmans to demand for separate political representation of the non-Brahmans and it defied the NCM and participated in the elections of 1920. Naturally it won a big victory. But soon it became clear that it represented only the richer classes and thus its social base narrowed as the untouchables moved away under the leadership of MC Rajah. MC Rajah drew closer to Congress and even participated in CDM making it a resounding success in TN.

• Soon another movement, the Self Respect movement by EV Ramaswamy Naicker Periyar developed which was very radical and championed the Dravidian entity and Tamil language. He had left Congress in 1925 accusing it to be a Brahman organization and then worked to mobilize the Dalits. He believed that self respect was needed before self rule. Associating Sanskrit and North India with Brahmans, he launched scathing attacks on both.
• Periyar advocated outright atheism as the only true rational worldview. Periodically, the movement organized dramatic assaults on religions and priestly symbols like beating of priest and idols with shoes, and burned ‘sacred’ texts like Manusmriti. He turned Ramayna upside down and portrayed Ravana as the ideal South Indian king. He organized many programmes of temple entry .
• Unlike other caste movements, non-Brahmin movements in Madras showed signs of REGIONAL SEPARATISM. This became evident when in 1937 C Rajgopalachari proposed the introduction of Hindi as compulsory language in Madras. There were huge demonstrations against this and Tamil language movement spread from elites to the masses . This political campaign slowly propelled into a demand for separate ‘Dravida Nad’ .  
• In 1944, Justice Party of which Periyar was president changed it’s name to Dravida Kazhagam (DK) with it’s primary objective being separate non-Brahmin or Dravida Land