1937 Elections

The second phase of the Civil Disobedience Movement (i.e. from 1932 onwards) had not evoked a similar response from the people as the earlier phase had done. It was becoming apparent that this mass movement would not continue for long. With the mass movement on low ebb, there emerged voices within the Congress advocating a return to constitutional methods. In some quarters the revival of the Swarajist Party was also discussed. Asaf Ali and S. Satyamurti had raised this issue with Gandhi even during the period of the mass movement. Another prominent Congressman, Dr. M.A. Ansari was in favour of council entry. In 1933 Satyamurti formed the Madras Swaraj Party. K.M. Munshi, B.C. Roy and Ramaswamy lyengar also sought Gandhi’s support for the revival of Swaraj Party. However, at this moment Gandhi did not favour the idea of going back to constitutional methods.

Some Congressmen favoured council entry while a few others like Acharya Narendra Dev and Purshottamdas Tandon opposed it. This reflects the difference of opinion within the Congress with each side eager to influence and tilt the Congress policy to its opinion though not without Gandhi’s consent. As soon as the Civil Disobedience Movement was withdrawn, Gandhi gave a free hand to each side.

The section which supported council entry at this time was not exactly following the arguments given by the Swarajists, twelve years earlier. The Swarajists had entered the councils to wreck the constitution from within and had refused office. But now leaders like Rajagopalachari were advocating council entry which was different from Swarajists in two way:

i)     It was not meant to wreck the constitution or put obstacles in its smooth functioning. It aimed at making the constitution workable.

ii)    In the event of obtaining majority, office was to be accepted and ministries to be formed.

On the other hand there were Congressmen with Socialist leanings who opposed council entry and were not in favour of making the Constitution workable. The Socialists had earlier organised themselves by forming the Congress Socialist Party within the Congress. It is worth mentioning here, that the differences in opinions-though governed by ideological leanings - were considered internal matters within the Congress. As far as the Congress position vis-a-vis British imperialism was concerned it was always stated in one voice. For example the objectionable clauses of the Act of 1935 were condemned by the Congress with full support from all of its sections.

The issue before the Congress was to decide whether to contest the forth coming elections and accept office or not.

1935 act

In February 1935, the Secretary of State introduced a bill in the British Parliament for political reforms in India. The result was the Government of India Act, 1935, which drew upon a variety of sources such as: (a) the Simon Commission report, (b) the Nehru Report, (c) deliberations in round table conferences, (d) a White Paper introduced parliament, (e) report of the Joint Select Committee and (f) the Lothian report over franchise.

Provisions of the act

1.    All India federation: An all-India federation was to be established consisting of Governors’ Provinces, Chief Commissioner’s Provinces and the Indian states. Accession to the federation was optional to the states. There was to be an ‘instrument of accession’ laying down the terms on which a state joined the federation.

2.    Dyarchy was introduced at the Centre: The Governor-General was to administer defence, external affairs, ecclesiastical affairs and tribal areas with the assistance of a maximum of three councillors. He was to administer other subjects with the assistance and advice of a council of not more than 10 ministers of his choice who were to hold office during his pleasure. The Governor-General had special responsibilities in certain specified subjects like maintenance of peace.

3.    Federal Legislature: The Federal Legislature was to have two chambers, namely and Council of State and Federal Assembly.The Council of States was to be a permanent body, with one-third of its membership being vacated and renewed every third year. Among its members, 156 were to be elected members of British India and not more than 104 from the Indian states. The Federal Assembly was to be elected for five years. It was to consist of 250 representatives of British India and not more than 25 members from the Indian states. Elections to the Federal Assembly were to be indirect. Members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies had the vote on the basis of proportional representation with single transferable vote.

4.    Provincial autonomy

Executive

Executive authority was vested in a Governor to represent the ‘Crown in the Province. Administration was to be carried on by the Council of Ministers appointed by the Governor from among the elected members of the Provincial Legislature and responsible to that body. Ministers held office during the Governor’s pleasure and the Governor could also dismiss the ministry. The Governor had ‘special responsibilities’ in certain specified subjects such as maintenance of peace. Governors were given ‘discretionary’ powers as well as powers of ‘individual’ judgement.

Legislature

Election to the Provincial Legislature was to be directly by the people. The Legislature was bicameral in six provinces and unicameral in the rest. There was to be a separate system of representation by religious communities and groups. Seats were reserved for Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, scheduled castes and Anglo-Indians. There were separate communities for labour, landholders, commerce and industry etc.

Others provisions

*     A federal Court was to be established.

*     The new Constitution could be amended only by the British Government.

*     The India Council was abolished. Instead, the Secretary of State was given advisers.

         Criticizing the provisions of the Act, Jawaharlal Nehru said it was ‘a new charter of slavery’. He described the 1935 Constitution as a ‘machine with strong brakes but no engine.’ Jinnah said: ‘The scheme is thoroughly rotten, fundamentally bad and totally unacceptable.’

Towards elections

After a lot of discussion and debate the Congress decided in its Lucknow session of 1936 to contest the forthcoming elections for provincial councils. But earlier in October 1934, Gandhi had withdrawn from the Congress refusing 4-anna membership of the Congress. However, this did not mean that his hold over the Congress had weakened or that he was not guiding the Congress policy any longer. In fact whether a 4-anna member or not, his domination over the Congress continued.

Election manifesto

It was the task of the parliamentary committee to draft the Election Manifesto of the Congress. The manifesto aimed at “explaining the political and economic policy and programme of the Congress”. We list for you the prominent features of the Election Manifesto adopted by the AICC in August 1936.

i)     The Manifesto made it clear that the purpose of sending Congressmen to the legislatures was not to cooperate with the Government, but to combat the Act of 1935 and to end it. British imperialism was to be resisted in its “attempts to strengthen its hold on India.”

ii)    It highlighted the poverty of Indian masses particularly peasants, workers and artisans, and stated that “for the vast millions of our countrymen the problem of achieving national independence can give us the power to solve our economic and social problems and end the exploitation of our masses”.

iii)   The task of the Congress representatives was “to take all possible steps to end the various regulations, ordinances and Acts which oppress the Indian people”. They would work for:

       establishment of civil liberty,

       release of political prisoners and detenues, and

       undoing the wrongs done to the peasants, etc.

iv)  In relation to industrial workers the policy of the Congress would be to secure for them

       a decent standard of living.

       regular hours of work, and

       better conditions of labour.

The promises made included:

*     right to form unions.

*     suitable machinery to settle disputes with employers, and

*     protection “against the economic consequences of old age”.

       There were many other promises in the Manifesto, such as:

*     removal of untouchability,

*     equal status for women,

*     encouragement to khadi and village industries, and

*     satisfactory solution on communal problem.

The question of office acceptance was to be decided after the elections. Thus, the Congress was gearing itself for elections, and trying to reach a decision for the selection of candidates.

The Lucknow session was important from another point of view as well. It was during this session that the first meeting of the All India Kisan Sabha was held under the presidentship of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.

Faizpur congress

The next session of the Congress was held at Faizpur in December 1936, again under the presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru. A variety of issues were raised in this session. These were related to both the international and the internal situation. Nehru attacked Fascism in his presidential speech, and the congress passed resolutions condemning Italian aggression of Abyssinia and Japanese aggression of China. The Congress warned the people against the resources of India being used by British in the case of a World War. On national issues Nehru made it clear that:

The only logical consequence of the Congress policy is to have nothing to do with the office and the ministry. Any deviation from this would ... mean a kind of partnership with British Imperialism in the exploitation of the Indian people.

In this session Congress demanded the formation of a Constituent Assembly to frame a Constitution of their own. The question of office acceptance was deferred again. However, the most important thing which the Congress resolved at Faizpur was the adoption of an agrarian programme. The major features outlined in this programme included:

1.    50 per cent reduction in rent and revenue,

2.    Exemption of uneconomic holdings from rent and land tax and taxation of agricultural income,

3.    Abolition of feudal levies and forced labour,

4.    Cooperative farming,

5.    Wiping out arrears of rent,

6.    Modification of ejectment laws, and

7.    Recognition of peasant unions (Kisan Sabhas) etc.

This programme was however silent on the issue of the abolition of Zamindari and Taluqdari systems. The Kisan Sabha leaders, though welcoming the programme in general, criticised it on this ground for they felt that these systems were the root cause of peasant exploitation. They were supported by Socialist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan. Here it is worth mentioning that the Right Wing in the Congress was not in favour of Zamindari abolition. But there is no doubt that the Agrarian Programme was a progressive document, and as we shall see later, went a long way in rallying the peasants behind the Congress.

By this time the Congress membership increased tremendously. For example there were 4,50,000 members in May, 1936, by December 1936 the number stood at 6,36,000.

Congress ministries at work

The task before the Congress was a tremendous one - particularly in the light of the kind of expectations the people had from the Congress. A brief thematic account of what the Congress did during nearly 2 1/2 years in office is given below.

Political prisoners and civil liberties

The Congress, through its election manifesto, was committed to release of political prisoners and detenues. Many among them were in prison even without facing trials. The Andaman prisoners had informed Gandhi that they no longer believed in the cult of violence. The largest number of political prisoners were in Bengal-a non-congress ruled province. Gandhi went to Calcutta to personally negotiate for their release and after three weeks of long talks he was able to secure the release of 1100 detenues. In U.P. many prisoners were released - prominent among them were the Kakori prisoners. There were massive public demonstrations welcoming these prisoners. But the British Government disliked this. Gandhi, Govind Ballabh Pant and Jawaharlal Nehru while welcoming their release, condemned “welcome demonstrations”. Pant felt that such a response from the people could affect the release of other prisoners. And sure enough the Governors of U.P. and Bihar stopped the release of other prisoners. Just before the Haripura Session (March, 1938) the Prime Ministers of these provinces submitted their resignations over the issue.

The Congress position was clearly stated at Haripura that it would not hesitate in taking action in the “matter of violent crime” but as the prisoners had shed violence there was no risk in releasing them. Ultimately the Government had to bow down.

The Congress also worked for lifting restrictions on the return to India of political exiles like Rash Behari Gosh, Prithvi Singh, Maulvi Abdullah Khan, Abani Mukerjee, etc. However, it could not do much in this regard. The Congress was committed to civil liberties within the confines of non-violence. It was made clear that the “Congress will, consistently with its tradition, support measures that may be undertaken by the congress Governments for the defence of life and property”. The Left Wing in the Congress was opposed to such an approach and this resolution was termed as a defeat for them in the Congress.

The peasants’ question

The peasant problem was burning issue. Jawaharlal Nehru observed that: “The outstanding problem of India is the peasant problem. All else is secondary”. He believed that the formation of Congress ministries had generated new hopes amongst the peasants, whereas the big zamindars and taluqdars were “organising to resist this long deferred justice to the peasantry”. He stressed that “we must remain true to our pledges and give satisfaction and fulfillment to the hopes of the peasantry”. The Kisan Sabhas welcomed such a statement from the Congress President in 1937.

Tenancy legislation was taken up in all the Congress ruled provinces. The Right Wing did not want to go ahead in this without negotiating with the landlords and the position varied from province to province. For example, in Bihar the Congress signed a pact with the zamindars regarding the provisions of the Tenancy Bill. Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Azad had been instrumental in bringing about this pact. The Bihar Kisan Sabha was totally ignored and the pact was severely criticised not only by the Left Wing but also by those Congressmen who sympathised with the peasants’ cause. Prasad had written to the Maharaja of Dharbhanga that he “shall come in for a great deal of criticism from not only the Kisan Sabha but Congress in general and even perhaps the High Command”. It was at this time that a ban was imposed on the Congressmen for participating in Kisan Sabha activities in Bihar. In Bihar the Congress policy was to an extent pro-zamindari. The zamindars were confident that for their sake “the Kisan movement was being suppressed by the Congress”. On the other hand, the Kisan Sabha launched a number of struggles at regional levels to remind the Congress for implementing the Faizpur Agrarian Programme.

The situation in U.P. was different from Bihar. The U.P. Congress was dominated more by the Left Wing. The Tenancy Bill which was passed here was not given assent by the Governor even after two years of its passage.

In Bombay the Congress was successful in getting those lands restored to their original owners which had been sold to new owners as a result of the no-rent campaign during the Civil-Disobedience Movement.

In all the provinces, efforts were made to protect the peasant from moneylenders and increase irrigation facilities. But in most of the areas the zamindars remained in a dominant position. But on the whole, this was a period of tremendous awakening among the peasants, and they stood behind the Congress.

Labour

The Congress had promised better working conditions to the working class. However, its labour policy was influenced by the relations between the labourers and capitalists on the Gandhian principle of Trusteeship, but the Left Wing based them on class lines. In October 1937, the Labour Committee appointed by the Congress, gave a programme which was accepted by the AICC. This included:

•   holidays with pay
•   employment insurance,
•   leave with pay during sickness,
•   to devise way to fix minimum wages, and
•   recognition of such Trade Unions by the State which pursued a policy of peaceful and legitimate means, etc.

However, Bombay was the only province to undertake Labour Legislation. The Ministry introduced the Industrial Disputes Bill with the aim to prevent strikes and lockouts as far as possible. According to the workers this only meant a ban on strikes as a lockout was the most effective “weapon in the armoury of Capitalists for the exploitation of workers” against which the government could do nothing. The workers went on strike which was crushed by the Congress government with the help of the police. About 20 workers were killed in the police action.

This period also saw a massive workers strike in Kanpur where 24000 workers struck work in August, 1937 demanding higher wages and better living conditions. Here also the strike was condemned by the Congress leaders. When the workers started picketing, Nehru stressed:

If violence is resorted to, it cannot be expected that the government will not interfere and the army or police will not be called. The workers should remember that the government is very powerful and will put down violence by violence and that the workers will be subdued in no time.

Ultimately the dispute was settled by the Ministry. In Bengal the Congress supported the strike in Jute Mills (March-May, 1937). The Bengal PCC condemned the repression of Jute workers by the Home ministry which was a non-Congress government. During the TISCO workers strike at Jamshedpur Nehru and Rajendra Prasad acted as arbitrators between the Tatas and Workers. Over all, the left increased its influence over labour during this period.

Constructive programme

In all the Congress ruled provinces, sincere efforts were made to introduce prohibition; encourage education and give an impetus to village industries. These included:

1.    A vigorous campaign in favour of prohibition

2.    A grant of 2 Lakh rupees for Khadi and Handspinning by the Madras Ministry

3.    Honorary medical officers were appointed in hospitals

4.    Investment on public buildings was considerably reduced, etc.

5.    An advance was made in the field of education. An All India National Education Conference was held at Wardha (22 and 23 October, 1937). The Conference formulated a scheme which included:

*     Free and compulsory education to be provided for seven years throughout the country

*     Mother tongue should be the medium of instruction

*     Emphasis on vocational and Manual Training, etc.

On the basis of these guidelines Dr. Zakir Hussain submitted a scheme of Basic education to be implemented by the Congress Mnistries (2 December, 1937). This scheme included learning of basic crafts; proper knowledge of mother tongue; basic scientific knowledge, etc. In many provinces attempts were made to put this scheme into action. As a result of the Congress education policy the number of students as well as educational institutions increased. For example, in Bombay province the number of educational institutions was 14,609 and 1936-37 increased to 1,556,441 by 1939-40.

The other MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS of the Congress Ministries were:

1.    Reduction in salaries of Ministers

2.    The declaration of Fundamental Rights

3.    Welfare Schemes for Tribals

4.    Carrying Jail Reforms

5.    Repeal of Moplah Outrages Act

6.    Carrying out commercial and economic surveys, etc.

A very important feature of this period was the change in the attitude of government officials. They had to work under those very leaders who were earlier arrested by them.

Some problems faced by congress

There was a malicious propaganda carried out against the Congress by the communal parties. They accused the Congress of discrimination against the minorities, but such propaganda was carried out to political and communal overtones, rather than on factual basis.

At the same time, many opportunists joined the Congress during this period in order to seek advantages of office. The Congress was aware of such characters and Gandhi wrote frankly about corruption in the Congress in his paper Harijan. In many regions a drive was made to free the Congress from such elements.

During this period the Congress had two sessions. The Fifty First session was held at Haripura in February, 1938 under the presidentship to Subhash Chandra Bose. This session passed a number of resolutions related to international affairs as well as on the internal situation in India. However, it was at the next session (Tripuri) that the Congress faced a major crisis. This time an election was held for the President and Bose defeated Pattabhi Sitaramayya by 1580 to 1377 votes. This was regarded as a victory of the Left Wing, as the Right Wing had solidly supported Sitaramayya. Even Gandhi regarded this defeat as his own defeat. There were problems in the formation of the working committee and ultimately Bose resigned from the Presidentship.

The Congress Ministries resigned office in November, 1939 on the ground that the Viceroy on its own had made India a participant in the imperialist war without consulting the Congress.

Towards independence

Second World War 1939- 41

The sequence of events and the circumstances during the period 1939-1941 which led to Quit India Movement were as under

Attitude towards war

Generally speaking the attitude of Indians towards the World War can be categorized as follows:

i)     Since Britain was in trouble, India should seize the opportunity to gain freedom (propagated by Subhash Chandra Bose). This was to be done by:

1.    opposing the British efforts to mobilize India’s resources for the war.

2.    launching a strong movement against the British.The prime concern of the proponents of this view was to achieve India’s freedom and they were not concerned about the international situation.

ii)    India should not seek advantage of Britain’s problems. It should cooperate with the British in their war efforts unconditionally. Those who supported this view hoped that after the war the British would adopt a lenient view towards India in the light of her services, and suitably reward her.

iii)   There were many who considered Fascism as a greater threat to mankind, and wanted to help Britain in the War. But this help was to be conditional (Nehru). The conditions were India’s independence in the future and an interim government of Indians for the moment.

iv)  There were also sections who maintained a neutral position.

What did the Congress do in such a situation? Practically all of attitudes mentioned above were visible within the Congress, and it was a difficult task to steer towards a definite line of action. The Congress, at this juncture, offered full cooperation in the war, provided some sort of a responsible government was established at the centre immediately. As for the future, the Congress demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the constitution of free India. Thus, it is clear, that the section which was in favour of launching a movement against the British at this time, was not heard by the Gandhian leadership. Gandhi questioned the British, “Will Great Britain have an unwilling India dragged into the War or, a willing ally co-operating with her in the prosecution of a defence of true democracy?” He further stated, “The Congress support will mean the greatest moral asset in favour of England and France”.

Though Gandhi supported the Congress Working Committee Resolution of conditional support he himself was not for it as he stated later “I was sorry to find myself alone in thinking that whatever support was to be given to the British should be given unconditionally.” Gandhi, in his personal capacity, was repeating his attitude towards the British of the First World War days i.e. cooperation. But now things were different and one had to come above one’s personal views, Gandhi realised that his silence might turn out to be a “distinct disservice to both India and England” and he stated:

If the British are fighting for the freedom of all, then their representatives have to state in the clearest possible terms that the freedom of India is necessarily included in the war aim. The content of such freedom can only be decided by Indians and them alone.

The British were not prepared either to make any concessions immediately or make promise about the future-except a vague talk of dominion status. Defence of India Rules was promulgated in order to check defiance of British authority and exploit Indian resources for the War effort.

There were two opinions in Congress about the launching of civil disobedience. Gandhi felt that the atmosphere was not in favour of civil disobedience as there were differences and indiscipline within the Congress. Those advocating Civil disobedience were attempting to convince Gandhi that once a movement was launched differences would disappear and all would work for its success. But Gandhi would not agree. The Congress Socialists and the All India Kisan Sabha(AIKS) were in favour of immediate struggle. N.G. Ranga even suggested that the AIKS should sever links with Congress and launch and independent movement. He was, however, checked by P. Sundarayya from doing so. It was in such an atmosphere that the Congress met at Ramgarh in March 1940 under the presidentship of Maulana Azad who declared-

Indian cannot endure the prospect of Nazism and Fascism, but she is even more tired of British imperialism.

The Ramgarh Congress called upon the people to prepare themselves for participating in a Satyagrah to be launched under Gandhi’s leadership. But the Socialists, Communists, Kisan Sabhaites and those belonging to the Forward Bloc were not happy with the resolution. They held an anti-compromise conference at Ramgarh and Subhash Chandra Bose urged the people to resist compromise with imperialism and be ready for action.

There was resentment in India that Indians had not been consulted before the country was involved in the Second World War. To conciliate Indian opinion, the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow made the following offer on 8 August 1940. The announcement came on the day of the Battle of Britain. The declaration contained the following points:

1.    Immediate expansion of Governor-General’s Executive Council and establishment of an Advisory War Council.

2.    Minority opinion was sought to be preserved.

3.    There was to be a new Constitution drawn up by a constitutional body in which Indians would be represented. The new Constitution would come into effect after the war. In the interim, all parties and communities were required to cooperate with the British Government.

The Congress dismissed the announcement as of little consequence. It would not be satisfied with anything short of immediate democratic responsible government. Jawaharlal Nehru described the offer of dominion status as ‘dead as a door-nail’. Gandhiji expressed a view that ‘Government did not mean business.’ The Muslim League, however, welcomed the statement for its guarantee that minority opinion would always be protected.

Individual Satyagraha

Following Linlithgow’s the August offer, the AICC on 15 September, 1940 requested Gandhi to resume the leadership of the Congress. Under his leadership, on 11 October, the Congress Working Committee decided to start ‘individual civil disobedience’. The campaign had the following features:

1.    Satyagraha would be offered by a few selected individuals in every locality.

2.    Satyagrahis would demand ‘freedom of speech’ to preach against participation in the war.

3.    Before starting the fast, satyagrahis would inform the authorities of their intent.

At the start of the campaign, Acharya Vinoba Bhave made a speech protesting against the dragging of India into the war. By May 1941, an estimated 25,000 satyagrahis had been arrested. The Satyagraha lasted from 17 October 1940 to December 1941 and passed through four phases:

Phase 1, till mid November 1940. Only selected persons were allowed to offer Satyagraha. On 17 October 1940, Acharya Vinoba Bhave inaugurated the Satyagrah by delivering an anti-war speech at Paunar - village near Wardha. Bhave had been personally selected by Gandhi for this. His two other nominees Vallabhbhai and Nehru were arrested before they could offer Satyagrah.

Phase 2, from mid November 1940 to January 1941. Representative of CWC, AICC, and Central and Provincial Legislatures were allowed to join.

Phase 3, from January 1941 to April 1941. Members of local Congress bodies also joined. In this phase over 2,000 were jailed.

Phase 4, marked by protest of Rabindranath Tagore.

Individual Satyagraha expressed Indians’ strong political feeling and also induced the British government to accept more Indian demands.

World developments in the latter half of 1941 made the British more willing to concede some Indian demands. These developments were:

(a)   Unprecedented Japanese onslaught on South East Asian nations;

(b)   Pressure of China and USA on Britain to settle on some sort of agreement;

(c)   Pressure on the Government within the U.K. from members of the Labour Party, some Liberals and Conservatives, and from the press to be more accommodating.

As the war came closer to India, after Singapore, Rangoon and the Andamans fell one by one, the Cripps Mission was sent to India to negotiate with Indian political parties.

The Congress too was becoming conciliatory. The CWC resolution on 30 December 1941 at Bardoli, for example, offered cooperation to the Government provided Britain created conditions in which Indians could honourably fight for freedom and democracy. Indian liberal leaders like Sapru and Jayakar also appealed for immediate Dominion status and expansion of the Viceroy’s Executive into a National Government.

Sir Stafford Cripps arrived in Delhi on 23 March, with a draft scheme for settling the Indian political problem. The two part scheme (a) prescribed the procedure for formulating the Dominion Constitution and (b) laid down the immediate and interim arrangements during the war period.

In brief, the Cripps proposals were:

1.    Immediately upon the cessation of hostilities, an elected constitutional body would be formed for drawing up a new Constitution.

2.    Indian states would participate in the Constitution-making body.

3.    The Constitution-making body would be elected by members of the lower house of the Provincial Legislatures through proportional representation.

4.    Provinces would have to right to secede.

5.    The protection of racial and religious minorities would be ensured.

6.    The defence of the country would be in the hands of the British Government till a new Constitution was framed.

The Cripps proposals, however, did not satisfy any political party. The Congress objected

(a)   To the provision for local option which implied the acceptance of Pakistan,

(b)   To selection of state representatives by the rulers,

(c)   To defence being in the hands of Britain, and

(d)   To the Viceroy’s veto power.

(e)   To no suggestion for a national government.

(f)    To the implicit encouragement to anti-Congress forces like the Muslim League.