HOW QUIT INDIA MOVEMENT STARTED AND PARTITION OF INDIA

Quit India Movement and After
The failure of the Cripps Mission made the Indians frustrated and embittered. It was felt that time had now come for launching another mass movement against the British rule. Discontent of Indian people was increasing due to wartime shortages and growing unemployment. There was a constant danger of Japanese attack. The Indian leaders were convinced that India would be a victim of Japanese aggression only because of British presence in India. Gandhiji said, “the presence of the British in India is an invitation to Japan to invade India”. Subhash Chandra Bose, who escaped from India in 1941, repeatedly spoke over radio from Berlin arousing anti-British feeling which gave rise to pro-Japanese sentiments. 

The Congress under Gandhiji felt that the British must be compelled to accept Indian demands or quit the country. A meeting of the Congress Working Committee in

Wardha passed the Quit India Resolution on 14th July, 1942 which was later endorsed and passed on 8th August at the Bombay session of the Congress. The Congress decided to launch a mass struggle on non-violent lines, on the widest possible scale. Addressing the Congress delegates on the night of 8th August, Gandhiji, in his soul stirring speech, said:

“I therefore want freedom immediately, this very night before dawn if it can
be had …..I am not going to be satisfied with anything short of complete
freedom. Here is a ‘mantra’, a short one that I give you. You may imprint
on your hearts and let every breath of yours give expression to it. The
‘mantra’ is ‘Do or Die’. We shall either free India or die in the attempt. We
shall not live to see the perpetuation of slavery.”

But before the Congress leaders could start the movement formally, all important

leaders of Congress were arrested before the dawn of 9th August 1942. Congress was banned and declared as an illegal organization. The Press was censored. The news of the arrest of popular leaders shocked the nation. Their anger and resentment was expressed through numerous agitations, hartals, processions and demonstrations in all parts of the country. With most of the important leaders in jail, the movement took a different shape at different places. 

The people gave vent to their anger by burning government buildings, police stations, post offices anything that symbolized British authority. Railways and telegraphs lines were disconnected. At some places, such as in Balia district in U.P., Midnapore district of West Bengal and in Satara in Bombay, the revolt took a serious turn. Inspired by the ‘mantra’ of Gandhiji people were ready to make the supreme sacrifice. 

The British with its army and police came down heavily on the Indian people. The people were shot indiscriminately. The Quit India Movement became one of the greatest mass-movements of historical significance. It demonstrated the depth of national sentiments
and indicated the capacity of the Indian people for sacrifice and determined struggle.
After this movement there was no retreat. Independence of India was no longer a
matter of bargain. It was to be a reality.

At the end of the World War in 1945, the British government started to talk about the transfer of power to Indian Hindus and Muslims. The first round of talks could not be successful because Muslim leaders thought that the Muslim League was the only one who could represent Indian Muslims. The Congress did not agree upon it. In 1946, the Cabinet Mission arrived in India to find a mutually agreed solution of the Indian Problem. The Mission held talks with the leaders of all prominent political parties and then proposed its plan of establishing Federal Government in India. Initially the plan was criticized by all political parties, but later all gave their consent to it. When the election to the Constituent Assembly took place, the Congress won one hundred ninety nine seats and the Muslim league won seventy three.

 Partition and Independence of India

Differences soon arose between the Congress and the Muslim League concerning the powers of the Constituent Assembly. The League rejected the Cabinet Mission Plan in the middle of 1946. In September 1946, the Congress formed the government at the Centre. The League refused to be a part to it. Muslim League celebrated this day as a ‘Direct Action Day’ on 16th August 1946 to attain Pakistan. 

The conflict resulted in widespread communal riots in different parts of India. Thousands were killed in the riots, lacks of people became homeless. In the mean time, Lord Mountbatten was sent as the Viceroy to India. He put up his plan in June 1947 which included partition of India. In spite of strong opposition by Gandhi, all the parties agreed to the partition and the Indian Independence Act, 1947 came into being. It created two independent states in the Indian sub-continent, i.e. Indian Union and Pakistan. India got its independence on 15th August, 1947. At the stroke of midnight (14th -15th August, 1947), transfer of power took place.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

ACHIEVEMENT OF INDEPENDENCE (1935-47)
The British Government prepared a White Paper in March, 1933. On the basis of this White Paper, a Bill was prepared and introduced in parliament in December, 1934. The Bill was finally passed as the Government of India Act on August 2, 1935. The most conspicuous feature of the Act of 1935 was the concept of an All India Federation comprising the Provinces of British India and the Princely States. It was compulsory for the Provinces to join the proposed federation. 

For the Princely States it was voluntary. The members from the provinces were to be elected, while the representatives of the States were to be nominated by the rulers. Only 14 percent of the population in British India had the right to vote. The powers of the Legislature were confined and restricted. It had no control over defense and foreign relations. The Act protected British vested interests, discouraging the emergence of national unity, rather encouraging separation and communalism. All nationalists, including Nehru and Jinnah, condemned the Act.

The Congress session met in Lucknow on 25th April, 1935. Though the Act was
condemned, it was decided to contest the elections to resist British imperialism and to end the various regulations, ordinances and Acts, which were initiated against Indian Nationalism. In the 1937 elections the Congress swept the poll. Congress Ministries were formed in seven out of the eleven provinces. On March 18, 1937, the All India Congress Committee adopted a resolution on Congress policies in the legislatures. 

It claimed that the Congress had contested the elections “with its objective of independence and its total rejection of the new constitution, and the demand for a Constituent Assembly to frame India’s constitution. The declared Congress policy was to combat the New Act and end it”. The immediate effect of the coming of the Congress Ministries was a feeling of relief. Political prisoners were released and a large measure of civil liberty was established. Agrarian legislation was also passed and this provided considerable relief to the peasantry. Basic education was intended to be made free and compulsory for every child.

 National Movement during the Second World War
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the Congress attitude was one of sympathy, though it refused unconditional cooperation. The Congress demanded that “India must be declared an independent union, and present application must be given to this status to the largest possible extent”. The British did not agree and as a result all the ministries resigned in protest in 1939. A demand for Provisional National Government at the Centre was made at the instance of C. Rajagopalachari in 1940. It was turned down by the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow. In October, 1940 was launched the Civil Disobedience Campaign. Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the first to offer individual Satyagraha.

All India Committee of the Cabinet, with Attlee as Chairperson, was set up and a draft declaration was made. In March, 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps came to India with the draft declaration. It stated the British Government’s desire to grant India ‘Dominion Status’ at the end of the war. Complete Independence was not promised. There was no mention of a national government of the Indian people. The Congress rejected the offer. The Muslim League, opposed to the creation of a single union, found the scheme unacceptable, as it did not unequivocally concede Pakistan. The Cripps Mission failed.

The struggle for independence was carried on by Subhash Chandra Bose from abroad. He found the outbreak of the Second World War to be a convenient opportunity to strike a blow for the freedom of India. Bose had been put under house arrest in 1940 but he managed to escape to Berlin on March 28, 1941. The Indian community there acclaimed him as the leader (Netaji). He was greeted with ‘Jai Hind’ (Salute to the motherland). He tried to raise an Indian army and urge his country people to rise in arms against the British. 

In 1942, the Indian Independence League was formed and a decision was taken to form the Indian National Army (INA) for the liberation of India. On an invitation from Ras Bihari Bose, Subhash Chandra Bose came to East Asia on June 13, 1943. He was made president of the Indian Independence League and the leader of the INA popularly called ‘Azad Hind Fauj’.
He gave the famous battle cry ‘Chalo Dilli’. He promised independence to Indians saying, ‘tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe Azadi dunga’ (You give me blood, I will give you freedom). 

In March 1944, the Indian flag was hoisted at Kohima. Unfortunately, after that the movement collapsed. What happened to Netaji remains a mystery. It is said that he lost his life in an air crash in August 1945. But it could not be ascertained. The INA continued to occupy an honored place in India’s freedom struggle. The intense patriotism of Bose and the soldiers of the INA proved a tremendous source of inspiration for the Indian people.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALIST IDEAS

THE REVOLUTIONARIES
The reactionary policy of the British developed a deep hatred towards them among a section of the younger generation of India. They believed that India could achieve
independence only by an organized revolutionary movement. As a result, they organized secret groups to launch revolutionary activities against the British. Youths were trained in aggressive methods of violence as a means of strength against the British. They attempted killing of unpopular British officials, committed dacoities to finance their activities and looted arms. Many of them, therefore, chose the path of violence to gain independence for India. They were called the revolutionaries. 

The centres of their activities were Punjab, Maharashtra, Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Prominent among these revolutionaries were Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki, Bhupendra Nath Dutt, V. D. Savarkar, Sardar Ajit Singh, Lala Hardayal and his Gadar Party, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru, Sukh Deo, Chandra Shekhar Azad, etc. 

These revolutionaries organized secret societies, murdered many British officers, disrupted railway traffic, engaged in organized attack on British wealth. In order to overturn the British Rule through arms, Kakori Conspiracy was planned by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan and other team members of the Hindustan Republican Association in 1925.

 In 1928, Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was formed by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt and others. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb inside the Central Legislative Assembly on 8thApril, 1929 protesting against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill while raising slogans of Inquilab Zindabad (long live the revolution), though no one was killed or injured in the bomb incident. Following the trial in court of this and other cases, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in 1931. Their sacrifice provided an incentive to the people. They were regarded martyrs and became the symbol of national unity and aspirations.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALIST IDEAS
A significant feature of the twentieth century was the development of Socialist ideas in Congress and outside it. Peasants now started asking for land reforms, abolition of zamindari system and reduction in the revenue and debt relief. The All India Trade Union Congress which was founded in 1920 worked towards improvement in the workers’ working and living condition. It mobilized the workers to the cause of complete independence which helped the movement to be broad based. Some of the prominent socialist and communist leaders were M.N. Roy, S.A. Dange, Abani Mukhopadhyaya, Nalini Gupta, Muzaffar Ahmed, Shaukat Usmani, Gulam Hussain, Singaravelu Chettair, G.M. Adhikari and P.C. Joshi. 

They outlined the course of the revolution through transformation of individual strike into a general political strike, the development of spontaneous peasant movements, a nationwide movement for complete independence, as well as the spread of revolutionary propaganda amongst the police and the army. Struggle against imperialism was the rallying slogan. In 1936, when Nehru was the President of the Congress, he declared at the Lucknow Session
that the solution to India’s problems lay in the adoption of socialist ideas. Nehru was
deeply influenced by Karl Marx. Even Subhash Chandra Bose was influenced by
socialist ideas. Because of differences with Gandhi, Bose resigned from the Congress
and formed his own ‘Forward Bloc’.

THE COMMUNAL DIVIDE
The policy of divide and rule was inaugurated right in the days of East India Company when the Britishers were establishing themselves as rulers of India. You have read how the Company set one Indian ruler against the other and ultimately it became the undisputable ruler. You have seen that, in the latter half of the 19th Century, Nationalism started growing. Now the British government found it prudent to vitalize their policies of divide and rule and drive a wedge between the Hindus and Muslims. The British had looked upon the Muslims with disfavor and suspicion since the revolt of 1857. But now they realized that in order to counteract the growing Nationalism, time had come to appease the Muslims. The Government seized every opportunity to set the Indians against one another on the basis of religion and creating hostility between them. Ultimately, in accordance with this policy, separate electorates for Muslims were established. You have read about the formation of the Muslims League which sowed the seeds of communalism. You will remember that the league had been formed on the encouragement of British officials.

The Communal Award of 1932 was a continuance of this policy, because it allowed
separate electorates and reservation of seats to the depressed classes also. Separate
electorates were first demanded by the Muslims in 1906 and introduced for them under the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1907. This was done with a view to building up Muslim communalism as a counterpoise against Indian Nationalism. Under the Montford Reforms (1919) they were extended for Sikhs, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians, etc. Under the Act of 1935 seventeen separate electorates were constituted. In reality, communal electorates were an unmixed evil. They hampered the growth of national unity. The two-nation theory appeared in 1938 and was clearly communicated by Jinnah in 1940. Once, the demand for Pakistan was made, it received direct and indirect encouragement from British authorities. The immediate cause of the emergence of the demand for Pakistan was the refusal of the Congress to form coalition ministries after the elections of 1937. The county seemed to be drifting towards anarchy and ruin. Under the circumstances, partition was accepted as a ‘necessary evil’, the only way of getting rid of British rule and preventing a complete breakdown of law and order.

ENTRY OF MAHATMA GANDHI AND HIS PARTICIPATION IN FREEDOM STRUGGLE

Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi was a lawyer, trained in Britain. He went to South Africa in 1893 and resided there for twenty one years. The treatment of the Indians in South Africa by the British provoked his conscience. He decided to fight against the policy of racial discrimination of the South African Government. During the course of his struggle against the government he evolved the technique of Satyagraha (non-violent insistence for truth and
justice). Gandhi succeeded in this struggle in South Africa.

He returned to India in 1915. In 1916, he founded the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad to practice the ideas of truth and non-violence. Gopal Krishna Gokhale advised him to tour the country mainly in the villages to understand the people and their problems. His first experiment in Satyagraha began at Champaran in Bihar in 1917 when he inspired the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system. He also organised a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda districts of Gujarat. These peasants were not able to pay their revenue because of crop failure and epidemics. In Ahmedabad, he
organized a movement amongst cotton mill workers.

The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22)

Gandhiji by this time, was convinced that no useful purpose would be served by supporting the government. He was also emboldened by his earlier success in Bihar In the light of the past events and the actions of British government, he decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act in 1919. He threatened to start the non-cooperation movement in case the government failed to accept his demands. Why do you think Gandhiji protested against the Act? It was because the Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities and allowed detention of political prisoners without any trial for two years. Gandhiji wanted non violent civil disobedience against such unjust laws. The government paid no heed to it. Gandhiji, therefore, started his non-cooperation movement in August 1920, in which he appealed to the people not to cooperate with the British government. At this time, the Khilafat movement started by the Muslims and the Noncooperation movement led by Gandhi merged into one common confrontation against the British Government.

For this Gandhi laid down an elaborate programme-

 (1) Surrender of titles and honorary offices as well as resignation from nominated seats in local bodies;
(2) refusal to attend official and non-official functions; 

(3) gradual withdrawal of children from officially controlled schools and colleges; 

(4) gradual boycott of British courts by lawyers and litigants; 

(5) refusal on the part of the military, clerical and labouring classes to offer themselves as recruits for service in Mesopotamia;

(6) boycott of elections to the legislative council by candidates and voters; 

(7) boycott of foreign goods and National schools and colleges.

 Later, it was supplemented with a constructive programme which had three principal features: 

(1) promotion of ‘Swadeshi’, particularly hand-spinning and weaving; 

(2) Removal of untouchability among Hindus; 

(3) promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity. 

Due to this appeal of Gandhiji, an unusual frenzy overtook the country. A large number of people, dropping their differences, took part in this movement. Over two-thirds of the voters abstained from taking part in the elections to the Council, held in November, 1920. Thousands of students and teachers left their schools and colleges and new Indian educational centers were started by them. Lawyers like Moti Lal Nehru, C. R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari and Asif Ali boycotted the courts. Legislative Assemblies were also boycotted. Foreign goods were boycotted and the clothes were put on bonfire.

But, during this movement some incidents took place that did not match with the views of Gandhiji. The non-violent Non-Cooperation Movement, which started auspiciously, was marked by violence in August, 1921. The government started taking serious action. Prominent leaders were arrested. In two months, nearly 30,000 people were imprisoned. The outbreak of violence cautioned Gandhi. Mob violence took place on February 9, 1922, at Chauri Chaura village, in Gorakhpur district of UP. This was followed by more violence at Bareilly. Gandhi suspended his noncooperation on February 14, 1922. He was arrested at Ahmadabad on March 18, 1922, and sentenced to six years simple imprisonment. The non-cooperation movement failed to achieve success, yet it succeeded to prepare a platform for the future movements. After taking back the Non-Cooperation movement, Gandhiji and
his followers were busy in creative activities in village areas. By this he gave the message to the people to remove the cast based animosity.

C. R. Das, Motilal Nehru and other like minded persons hatched out a novel plan of non-cooperation from within the reformed councils. They formed the Swaraj Party on January 01, 1923. C. R. Das was the president of the party and Motilal Nehru the Secretary. The party was described as ‘a party within the Congress’ and not a rival organization. But, they could neither end nor amend the Act of 1919. In 1927, British government appointed a commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon. The Commission was appointed to study the reforms of 1919 and suggest further measures for Constitutional reforms. The Commission had no Indian member in it. The Indians boycotted this all-White commission. Therefore, when this Commission arrived in India, it faced protests all over the country. Black flags were shown, demonstrations and Hartals took place all over the country and the cry of ‘Simon go back’ was heard. These demonstrators were lathi charged at a number
of places by the British Police. Lala Lajpat Rai was severely assaulted by the police and he succumbed to his injuries. This agitation against the Simon Commission gave a new strength to the National Movement of India.

Meanwhile, Indian political leaders were busy in drafting a Constitution. This is known as Nehru Report which formed the outline of the Constitution. Among its important

recommendations were a declaration of rights, a parliamentary system of government,
adult franchise and an independent judiciary with a supreme court at its head. Most of its recommendations formed the basis of the Constitution of independent India which was adopted more than twenty years later.

 At the historic annual session of Congress in Lahore in 1929, the Congress committed itself to a demand for PurnaSwaraj or complete independence and issued a call to the country to celebrate 26th January as Purna-Swaraj Day. On January 26, 1930, the Congress celebrated ‘Independence Day’. On the same day in 1950 the Constitution of Independent India was adopted, making India a sovereign, democratic socialist republic. Since then January 26th is celebrated as Republic Day.

Dandi March

Around the same time, the government made a new law. They imposed taxes on the use of salt. This was opposed by the people, as salt was the basic need of the people. But, no attention was paid to demands of the people. During March-April,1930, Gandhi marched from his Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on the Gujarat coast for the purpose of raiding the Government Salt. The violation of salt law was his first challenge to the government. It was a peaceful march. Gandhi committed a technical breach of the Salt Law on 6thApril, 1930, when he picked up the scattered sea salt from the coast to break this Law. In this movement farmers, traders and women took part in large numbers. 

The government arrested him in May 1930 and put him in Yervada jail at Poona. The campaign had a significant effect on British attitude toward Indian independence. Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931 was one of its examples. Gandhiji also went to London in 1931 and participated in the second round table conference as the sole representative of the Congress but no settlement could be arrived at. Although, Gandhi’s arrest removed him from the active leadership of the movement, this civil disobedience continued. Special stress was laid on boycott of foreign goods particularly clothes.

The Civil Disobedience Movement, though a failure, was a vital phase in the struggle
for the freedom. It promoted unity among Indians of different regions under the Congress banner. It provided an opportunity to recruit younger people and educate them for positions of trust and responsibility in the organization as also in provincial administration, which was captured in the 1937 elections. It gave wide publicity to political ideas and methods throughout the country and generated political awareness even in remote villages.

RISE OF RADICAL NATIONALISTS,FORMATION OF MUSLIM LEAGUE(1906) AND MORLEY MINTO REFORMS(1909)

The mild policies of the Moderates in the Congress led to the rise of passionate,radical nationalists, who came to be called the ‘Garam Dal’. Thus the first phase of the nationalist movement came to an end with government reaction against the Congress on the one hand and a split in the Congress in 1907 on the other. That is why the period after 1905 till 1918 can be referred to as the ‘Era of Passionate Nationalists or Garam Dal’. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal (Lal-Bal-Pal) were important leaders of this Radical group. 

When the Moderates were in the forefront of the action, they had maintained a low profile but now they swung into action. Their entry marked the beginning of a new trend and a new face in India’s struggle for freedom. According to them, the Moderates had failed to define India’s political goals and the methods adopted by them were mild and ineffective.
Besides, the Moderates remained confined to the upper, landed class and failed to
enlist mass support as a basis for negotiating with the British.

The Garam Dal realized that the British were out to exploit Indians, destroy their self-sufficiency and drain India of its wealth. They felt that Indians should now become free of foreign rule and govern themselves. This group, instead of making petitions to the government, believed in organizing mass protests, criticizing government policies, boycotting foreign goods and use of Swadeshi (home-made) goods etc. They did not believe in depending on the mercy of the Britishers, but believed that freedom was their right. Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave a slogan ‘Freedom is our birth right and we must have it’.

In 1916 the two groups were again united with the efforts of Mrs. Annie Besant. She started working for the Home rule movement in 1914. She was convinced that India should be granted Self-Government. In 1916, Muslim League and Congress also came to an
understanding with each other and signed the Lucknow Pact. Later, Mahatma
Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose became the eminent figures of
Indian National Congress, who led the freedom movement of India forward.

FORMATION OF THE MUSLIM LEAGUE (1906)
As the radical movement grew stronger the British began to look for ways and means to break the unity among Indian. They tried to do this through the partition of Bengal and by sowing the seed of communalism among Indian people. They motivated Muslims to form a permanent political association of their own. In December, 1906, during the Muhammadan Educational conference in Dacca, Nawab Salim Ullah Khan raised the idea of establishing a Central Muhammadan Association to take care of Muslim interests. 

Accordingly, on 30th December, 1906, the All India Muslim League was founded. Another prominent person, Aga Khan was chosen as its president. The main objective of the league was to protect and advance the rights of Muslims in India and represent their needs to the government. By encouraging the issue of separate electorates, the government sowed the seed of communalism and separatism among Indians. The formation of the Muslim League is considered to be the first fruit of the British master strategy of ‘Divide and Rule’. Mohammad Ali Jinnah later joined the League.

MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS (1909)
Do you remember reading about the Indian Councils Act 1892, which enlarged the legislature by adding members to the Central Legislative Assembly? The Council Act
of 1909 was an extension of the 1892 reforms, also known as the Morley-Minto Reforms after the names of the then Secretary of State (Lord Morley) and the then Viceroy (Lord Minto). It increased the members of the Legislative Assembly from sixteen to sixty. A few non-elected members were also added. Though the members of the Legislative Council were increased, they had no real powers. They remained mainly advisory in character. They could not stop any bills from being passed. Nor did they have any power over the budget.

The British made another calculated move to sow the seed of communalism in Indian
politics by introducing separate electorates for the Muslims. This meant that from
the constituencies dominated by Muslims only Muslim candidates could be elected.
Hindus could only vote for Hindus, and Muslims could only vote for Muslims. Many
leaders protested against this communal electorate policy of the British to ‘Divide
and Rule’.

PARTITION OF BENGAL (1905)

 Curzon announced the partition of Bengal.

The reason for partition was given as an attempt to improve administration. But the real aim was to ‘Divide and Rule’. The partition was done in order to create a separate State for Muslims and so introduce the poison of communalism in the country. However the Indians viewed the partition as an attempt by the British to disrupt the growing national movement in Bengal and divide the Hindus and Muslims of the region. Widespread agitation ensued in the streets and in the press. People of different parts of India opposed the partition of Bengal all over the country. This opposition was carried on by organized meetings, processions and demonstrations etc. Hindus and Muslims tied ‘rakhi’ on each other’s hands to show their unity and their protest.

The use of Swadeshi (made in our own country by our own people) goods, business,
national education and Indian languages were encouraged. The new nationalist spirit of self reliance- shed the fear of repression including imprisonment and painful torture by the British rule. It was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who realized the importance of boycott as a weapon that could be used to paralyze the whole British administrative machinery in India. 

The boycott and Swadeshi movements were instrumental in the establishment of swadeshi enterprises - textile mills, banks, hosiery, tanneries, chemical works and insurance companies. Swadeshi stores were opened. Volunteers supplied goods at the doorstep of every household. The movement spread to all classes and groups of people. Everyone, including women and children, came forward to take part. The most active were school and college students. 

This made the British reverse the partition of Bengal and unite it in 1911. During this time, the role of Radical Nationalists in the Indian National Congress, who were called the ‘Garam Dal’, came to be appreciated. They tried to involve people from all classes and groups including peasants, worker, students as well as women. They succeeded in uniting the Indian people against the common enemy - the British. The young people were
roused to the highest level of patriotism and zeal to free their country. They helped in making people self confident and self reliant. They also revived the Indian Cottage
industry.

HOW WAS INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (1885) FORMED AND WHAT IS MAIN REASON BEHIND THIS

The Indian National Congress was founded by Allan Octavian Hume in 1885. Hume was a retired Civil Service Officer. He saw a growing political consciousness among the Indians and wanted to give it a safe, constitutional outlet so that their resentment would not develop into popular agitation against the British rule in India. 

He was supported in this scheme by the Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, and by a group of eminent Indians. Womesh Chandra Banerjee of Calcutta was elected as the first President.The Indian National Congress represented an urge of the politically conscious Indians to set up a national organization to work for their betterment. Its leaders had complete faith in the British Government and in its sense of justice. 

They believed that if they would place their grievances before the government reasonably, the British would certainly try to rectify them. Among the liberal leaders, the most prominent were Firoz Shah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Dada Bhai Naoroji, Ras Behari Bose, Badruddin Tayabji, etc. From 1885 to 1905, the Indian National Congress had a very narrow social base. Its influence was confined to the urban educated Indians. The early aims of this organization were limited only to communicate with British government on behalf of the Indian people and voice their grievances. It was rightly called the era of the Moderates. You will soon find out why?

 Initial stages of Indian National Congress
The congress placed its demands before the government always in the form of petitions and worked within the framework of law. It was for this reason that the early Congress leaders were referred to as ‘Moderates’. 

During its first twenty years the Congress made moderate demands. The members placed their demands before the Government always in the form of petitions and worked within the framework of law. It was for this reason that the early Congress leaders were referred to as ‘Moderates’ They asked for: 

(a) representative legislatures, 

(b) Indianization of services,

 (c) reduction of military expenditure, 

(d) education, employment and holding of the ICS (Indian Civil Services) examination in India, 

(e) decrease in the burden of the cultivators, 

(f) defense of civil rights, 

(g) separation of the judiciary from the executive,

 (h) change in the tenancy laws, 

(i) reduction in land revenue and salt duty, 

(j) policies to help in the growth of Indian industries and handicrafts, 

(k) introduction of welfare programmes for the people.

Unfortunately, their efforts did not bring many changes in the policies and administration
of the British in India. In the beginning, the Britishers had a favourable attitude towards
the Congress. But, by 1887, this attitude began to change. They did not fulfill the demands of the Moderates. The only achievement of the Congress was the enactment of the Indian Councils Act, 1892 that enlarged the legislature by adding a few nonofficial members and passing of a resolution for holding Indian Civil Services Examination simultaneously in London and in India. 

Many leaders gradually lost faith in the Constitutional process. Even though the Congress failed to achieve its goal, it succeeded in creating national awakening and instilling in the minds of the Indian people a sense of belonging to one Nation. They provided a forum for the Indians to discuss major national issues. By criticizing the government policies, they gave the people valuable political training. Though, They were not ready to take aggressive steps which would bring them in direct conflict with the Government. The most significant achievement was the foundation of a strong national movement. 

The Britishers who were earlier supporting the Moderates soon realized that the
movement could turn into a National force that would drive them out of the country. This totally changed their attitude. They passed strict laws to control education and curb the press. Minor concessions were given so as to win over some Congress leaders. The British Viceroy, Lord Curzon was a staunch imperialist and believed in the superiority of the English people. He passed an Act in 1898, making it an offence to provoke people against the British rulers. He passed the Indian Universities Act in 1904, imposing stiff control over Indian Universities. Curzon was out to suppress the rising Nationalism in India. This was evident from what he did in 1905.

WHAT IS NATIONALISM AND RISE OF NATIONALISM IN INDIA

The rise of Nationalism is reflected in the spirit of Renaissance in Europe when freedom from religious restrictions led to the enhancement of national identity. This expression of Nationalism was furthered by the French Revolution. The political changes resulted in the passing of sovereignty from the hands of an absolute monarch to the French citizens, who had the power to constitute the nation and shape its destiny. The watchwords of the French Revolution - Liberty, Equality and Fraternity - inspired the whole world. Many other revolutions like the American Revolution, the Russian Revolution, etc. also strengthened the idea of Nationalism.

Rise of Nationalism in India
For India, the making of national identity was a long process whose roots can be drawn from the ancient era. India as a whole had been ruled by emperors like Ashoka and  amudragupta in ancient times and Akbar to Aurangzeb in Medieval times. But, it was only in the 19th Century that the concept of a national identity and national consciousness emerged. This growth was intimately connected to the anti-colonial movement about which you have already read in lesson 4. The social, economic and political factors had inspired the people to define and achieve their national identity. People began discovering their unity in the process of their struggle against colonialism.

The sense of being oppressed under colonial rule provided a shared bond that tied different groups together. Each class and group felt the effects of colonialism differently. Their experiences were varied, and their notions of freedom were not always the same. Several other causes also contributed towards the rise and growth of Nationalism. One set of laws of British Government across several regions led to political and administrative unity. This strengthened the concept of citizenship and one nation among Indians. 

Do you remember reading the lesson Popular Resistance Movements? Do you remember the way the peasants and the tribals rebelled when their lands and their right to livelihood was taken away? Similarly this economic exploitation by the British agitated other people to unite and react against British Government’s control over their lives and resources. The social and religious reform movements of the 19th century also contributed to the feeling of Nationalism. Do you remember reading about Swami Vivekananda, Annie Besant, Henry Derozio and many others? They revived the glory of ancient India, created faith among the people in their religion and culture and thus gave the message of love for their motherland.
The intellectual and spiritual side of Nationalism was voiced by persons like  bankim Chandra Chatterji, Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Aurobindo Ghosh. 

Bankim Chandra’s hymn to the Motherland, ‘Vande Matram’ became the rallying cry of
patriotic nationalists. It inspired generations to supreme self-sacrifice. Simultaneously,
it created a fear in the minds of the British. The impact was so strong that the British
had to ban the song. Similarly, Swami Vivekananda’s message to the people, “Arise,
awake and stop not till the goal is reached”, appealed to the Indians. It acted as
a potent force in the course of Indian Nationalism.

Do you also remember reading about the establishment of printing press and how
it helped in wide circulation of ideas like liberty, equality and fraternity? All these
factors helped in the spread of Nationalism among the people of India.

Around this time many organizations were being formed which raised their voices
against British rule. Most of these organizations were regional in nature. Some of
these organizations were very active such as Bengal Indian Association, Bengal
Presidency Association, Pune Public Meeting, etc. However it was felt that if these
regional organizations could work jointly it would help the Indian masses to raise
their voices against the British Rule. This led to the formation of Indian National
Congress in the year 1885.

INDIA'S FREEDOM MOVEMENTS AND DECOLONIZATION AND POST 1945 DEVELOPMENTS

NATIONAL MOVEMENT OF INDIA FREEDOM

RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS AND IDEA OF SOCIALISM

THE KARACHI RESOLUTION OF THE CONGRESS

The resolution of the Karachi session of the All-India Congress Committee that was passed in 1931 was the first clear statement of the  socio-economic contents of the freedom movement. It laid down that the organisation of economic life must conform to the principle of justice, to the end that it must secure a decent standard of living.

The state would safeguard the interests of the workers and secure for them, by suitable legislation and in other ways, a living wage, healthy conditions of work, limited hours of labour, suitable machinery for settling industrial disputes and social insurance. 

Liberation of agricultural labour from conditions of serfdom and protection of interest of women workers were promised. Child labour in factories and mines was to be banned. Peasants and workers would be free to form unions. The system of land tenure would be reformed. 

Peasants were promised an equitable adjustment of the burden on agricultural land, immediate relief to the small peasantry through substantial reduction of rent and revenue, exemption in the cases of uneconomic holding and imposition of graded agricultural income tax. Death duties at a graduated rate over property above a limit were envisaged. Relief of agricultural indebtedness and control of usury – direct and indirect - were promised. Military expenditure would be reduced.  The state would also provide military training to its citizens. The ceiling of the civil servants’ salary would be Rs 500. The state would protect indigenous cloth against foreign cloth. 

The other indigenous industries would be likewise protected against foreign competition. Intoxicating drinks and drugs would be totally prohibited. Currency and exchange would be regulated in the national interest. The state would own or control key industries and services, mineral resources, railways, waterways, shipping and other means of public transport. When the Congress party came to power in several provinces in 1937, they tried to deliver on some of the promises. But they held power for a little over two years. Besides, there were pressures from European and native vested interests. The promises were only partially fulfilled. About twenty years after Karachi session, the Indian Constitution largely enshrined the promises made in 1931.

THE IDEA OF SOCIALISM

The Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917 created an interest in socialism in India and small socialist groups emerged in the urban centres.

Completion of the first five-year plan by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1934 created an enthusiasm for planning in India. In 1934 M. Visvesvaraya, a great engineer, published a book entitled Planned Economy in India in April 1936. The Visvesvaraya Plan could, however, be by no means called a socialist plan. In 1934 the Congress Socialist Party was formed within the Congress and Gandhi resigned from the Congress citing it as one of the reasons and alleging Jawaharlal’s open sympathy for the group. In 1935 the Communist Party of India was formed and immediately banned by the British Government. Most of the communists started working within the Congress Socialist party.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who had shown great admiration for socialism as early as 1928, delivered his presidential address to the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress announcing his conviction that ‘the only solution of the world’s problems and of India’s problems lies in socialism’. This statement created an ideological rift  within the top leadership of the Congress and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel issued a statement to the effect that he had ideological differences with Nehru on matters like the nature of capitalism. Patel wanted to contest Nehru for the presidency of the Congress in the next session at Faizpur. 

Nehru recounted his position stating that socialism was not his ideological plank for the Presidential election and Patel withdrew from the contest. In his Presidential speech at Faizpur, Nehru called for the building up of a powerful joint front of all the anti-imperialist forces in the country including  the organised workers and peasants. In the backdrop of the general (provincial) elections in British India this ideological debate is significant.

The Idea of Planning

It has been seen that the idea of planning had acquired popularity in 1934. Jawaharlal Nehru was succeeded as Congress President by another radical young  man, Subhas Chandra Bose. He set up a National Planning Committee with Jawaharlal Nehru as chairman and Professor K.T. Shah as secretary. The ideological tension that was brewing in the Congress resulted in Bose resigning its Presidentship in the next year. Still another year later the Congress Governments in Provinces resigned on the issue of the declaration of British India’s participation in World War II. The work of the National Planning Committee was interrupted but a number of subcommittees of the National Planning Committee prepared their reports.

In 1940 a group of industrialists led by G.D. Birla, prepared what is known as the Bombay Plan. The Plan envisaged the doubling of per capita income and trebling of national income in 15 years. It divided industries into basic and consumption goods industries and admitted the necessity of reducing inequalities of wealth. Among the measures suggested toward this purpose were imposition of death duties, reform of the system of land tenure and provision of the fullest scope for small and cottage industries as well as state control of the economy accompanied by state ownership of public utilities and basic industries. Economic control, however, was more important than ownership or management by the state., argued the Bombay Plan.

Towards the end of World War II, M.N. Roy, a leader of the Indian Communist movement and now a radical humanist, published a People’s Plan. Unlike the Bombay Plan it primarily emphasised agriculture and advocated nationalisation of land and liquidation of rural indebtedness. Future industrialisation would have to be primarily financed and controlled by the state. Expansion of production would have to be accompanied by changes in distribution in favour of the common people permitting an expansion of the total consumption by the community. Surplus production should be reinvested for raising employment and standard of living.

FOUNDATION OF INDIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT AND CONTRIBUTION OF GANDHI

The developmental aspirations of the people of India unfolded themselves through the various stages of the freedom movement. The violent resistance of the Indian people to the British rule in 1857 and the subsequent tribal upsurges were defensive movements against foreign rule. They were almost totally political. 

But the peasant struggles that occurred since the late nineteenth century had a clear economic perspective. They were against the oppressive land revenue system that came along with foreign rule even though the peasants were not always aware of the colonial mechanism and they often turned their wrath on the intermediate landowners like the zamindars and mouzadars.

After the consolidation of the British rule in 1858, new organisations and movements of the people came to the fore choosing ‘constitutionalist’ strategies. Landlords formed their own organisations to demand reduction of Government revenue claims.

Simultaneously nationalist leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, M.G. Ranade and R.C. Dutt  started critiquing the colonial economic exploitation. They argued that the main reason of poverty in India was the colonial exploitation. The end of colonial rule was necessary for the alleviation poverty in India.

FOUNDATION OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

In 1885 the educated elite formed the Indian National Congress as an umbrella organisation of all sections of the Indian people beginning with the demand for adequate representation of the Indians in the senior Government  services and the legislative bodies created by the Indian

Councils Act of 1861. Indeed, initially they did not take up the cause of the workers and peasants considering them as ‘local issues.’ But individual nationalists were engaged in ‘philanthropic works’ among the workers and the peasants.

The Indian National Congress was founded with a modest constitutionalist outlook and chose the strategy of petitions and persuasion rather than pressure and agitation. The earliest plea that it made to the Government was for the facilitation of the Indians’ access to the Indian civil service which indeed was an elitist demand. 

On the other hand, the organisation declined to take up the issue of  the condition of plantation and industrial labour which appeared to it to be ‘local’ issues even though philanthropists  and labour leaders were given platform. In 1893 the Congress demanded the uniform introduction of permanent settlement of land to save the landholders from harassment by the Government.

As early as 1895  Dr Annie Besant, founder of the Indian Home Rule League and a leader of the Indian National Congress, drafted a Constitution of India Bill envisaging a Constitution that guaranteed  to every citizen freedom of expression, inviolability of one’s house, right to property, equality before the law and in regard to admission to public offices, right to present claims, petition and complaints and the right to personal property. 

At a special session at Bombay in 1918 on the Montague-Chelmsford Report, the Congress demanded that the new Government of India Act contain a declaration of the rights of the Indians containing, among other things, equality before the law, protection in respect of liberty, life and property, freedom of speech and press and right of association.

In 1925 a sub-committee set up by the All-Parties Conference chaired by M.K. Gandhi prepared a Commonwealth of India Bill that demanded self-government for Indians from the village upwards – the village, the taluka, the district, the province and India. It also demanded the rights to liberty, security of dwelling and property, freedom of conscience and to profess and practise religion, freedom to express opinion, to assemble peacefully and without arms and to form associations or unions, free elementary education, use of roads, public places, courts of justice and the like, equality before the law irrespective of nationality and freedom of the sexes.

The Motilal Nehru Committee Report of 1928 incorporated all these demands and added the right of all citizens to the writ of habeas corpus’ protection in respect of punishment under ex post facto laws, non-discrimination against any person on grounds of race, religion or creed in the matter of  public employment, office of power or honour and in the exercise of any trade or calling, equal access of all citizens to public road, public wells and places of public resort, freedom of combination and association for the maintenance and improvement of labour and economic conditions and the right to keep arms in accordance with regulations.

It will be seen that, although the above demands had certain economic implications, the demands were essentially political and elitist. It was not until the appearance in the scene of Gandhi that the socio-economic problems of the common  people came to focus. Gandhi brought the common people into national politics. He had to reflect their aspirations.

GANDHI’S CONTRIBUTION

Among the earliest Gandhian activities in the socio-economic field were his visit to Champaran in Bihar to save the peasants from the exploitation of the British indigo planters, his initiation of peasant satyagraha at Khaira in Gujarat against high revenue demands of the Government and his intervention in the labour dispute in the Sarabhai textile mills at Ahmedabad. 

The first two moves related to the agrarian economy of the country in which about 95% of the Indian people were involved in the second decade of the twentieth century and clearly had an antiimperialist edge. The third related to industrial relation within an Indian-owned undertaking. Gandhi’s mediation and moral pressure resulted in a happy ending of the dispute.

The three episodes in the early life of Gandhi suggest that, whereas Gandhi took a clear antiimperialist position, he was in favour of solving class conflict within the Indian society through persuasion. He was not in favour of class struggle within the Indian society. In fact the Ahmedabad experience seems to have led him to pronounce his famous ‘theory of trusteeship’ that advised the owning class to behave as the trustees of the national wealth in the interest of the working class. In fact, it was probably due to his influence that the Ahmedabad Textile Workers’ Union kept away from the All-India Trade Union Congress when it was set up in 1920. Even the Congress leaders did not join it until the party’s Gaya conference in  1922.

While the Congress fought for the interest of the peasants and farmers many of whom  actively participated in its satyagrahas it was not until about the end of the  freedom movement that it raised the demand for land reform, that is, abolition of zamindari and other intermediary rights in land and grant of ownership to tillers of land. In fact, as early as 1893 the Indian National Congress had demanded permanent settlement of land (as in Bengal) in order to protect the  landlords against harassing extortions of the landlords in the ryotwari areas.

Gandhi’s ‘Substance of Swaraj’

On January 26, 1930 Congressmen all over the country took the pledge of complete independence as demanded in the Lahore Resolution of December 1929. On January 30, 1930 in Young India Gandhi laid down his perception of the ‘substance of independence’ as follows: 

1) Total prohibition. 

2) Reduction of pound-rupee exchange ratio from 1 shilling 6 pence to 1 shilling 4 pence. 

3) Reduction of land revenue by at least 50% and making it subject to legislative control. 

4) Abolition of salt tax 

5) Reduction of military expenditure by at least 50% to begin with. 

6) Reduction of salaries of the highest grade services by half or less, so as to suit the reduced revenue. 

7) Protective tariff on foreign cloth. 

8) Passage of the Coastal Traffic Reservation Bill. 

9) Discharge of all political prisoners save those condemned for murder or attempt to murder, or trial by ordinary judicial tribunals, and withdrawal of all political prosecutions. 

10) Abolition of the C.I.D. or its popular control. 

11) Issue of licenses to use fire arms for self-defence, subject to popular control. 

The demands, it can be seen, watered down the concept of complete independence envisaged by the Lahore resolution of the Congress. On the other hand, all of them, except the first, had an anti-imperialist edge. Further, except for the 9th and 10th demand, all of them had an economic bearing.

THE NATURE OF GANDHIAN ECONOMICS

It will be wrong to see the 1930 ‘substance of Independence’ statement of Gandhi as either the whole or the core of Gandhi’s economic ideas. Gandhi’s economic ideas cannot be fully discussed in the present unit. Suffice it to say that it was dynamic and evolved from his pamphlet on Hind Swaraj written in 1907 through a long course of his leadership of the Indian national movement.

Initially he opposed machines as instruments of imperialist exploitation and deprivation of the common masses of the people. Later he watered down his opposition to machines. All through his life, however, he insisted upon the spinning wheel which could give  the poorest Indian villager, particularly women, a means of independent earning.

Initially he opposed class contradiction by means of his theory of trusteeship and change of heart of the owners to solve the problem of exploitation. Toward the end of his life he appears to have grown disillusioned about the prospect of change of heart.

 He even ceased to emphasise the  need for revival of the idyllic self-sufficient village community. But he never ignored the common man and went on stressing the need for revival of the small-scale and cottage industry. It is interesting to note that the National Planning Committee’s sub-committee on agriculture headed by a Gandhian, J.C. Kumarappa, recommended an integrated policy of land reform beginning with abolition of zamindari and other intermediate rights and proceeding to grant of tenancy to the cultivator and imposition of ceiling on agricultural land holding.

THE GANDHIAN SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY

It is necessary to remember that Gandhi’s economic thinking was a part of his broader social vision of sarvodaya (upliftment of all), that was originally conceived as antyodaya (unto the last). Towards this aim he devoted a major part of his ‘constructive programme’ towards the abolition of untouchability and the upliftment of the people he called ‘the Harijans’ (now called ‘dalits’).  Though he did not present a separate economic programme for them, his Puna Pact with Dr B.R. Ambedkar gave them a political status in British India’s electoral system that was retained in independent India.

It has been already mentioned that the spinning wheel gave the women an amount of economic independence through their own labour. It should also be mentioned that it was Gandhi’s satyagraha that brought the women into the arena of politics and liberated them from their domestic bondages.

National Movements

The Indian National Congress:

• Formed in 1885 by A.O.Hume, an Englishman and a retired civil servant.His main political view to start INC is to play a safe game against educated Indians.

• First session in Bombay under W.C.Banerjee in 1885 (72 delegates attended it).

• In the first two decades (1885 – 1905), INC is quite moderate in its approach and confided in British justice and generosity.

• But British authoritarian leadership gave rise to extremists within Congress like Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai (Lal, Bal, Pal).

Partition of Bengal:

• By Lord Curzon on Oct 16, 1905, through a royal Proclamation, spilt the Bengal  into East Bengal, Assam and West Bengal.
•  Main objective was to set up a communal riots between Hindus and Muslims.
•  With this, National Uprising took throughout the country against the partition of Bengal.
•   The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was observed on October 16, 1905. Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis on each other’s 
• The newspapers played a significant role in the movement. The main newspapers were K.K. Mitra’s Sanjeevani,   S.N. Banerjee’s Bengali, Motilal Ghosh’s Amrit Bazar Patrika, B.B. Upadhyaya’s Yugantar, Bipin ChandraPal’s   New India, Aurobindo Ghosh’s Bande Mataram, Aji Singh’s Bharat Mata,

Swadeshi Movement (1905):

• Lal, Bal, Pal, and Aurobindo Ghosh played the important role.
• INC took the Swadeshi call first at the Banaras Session, 1905 presided over by G.K.Gokhale.
• Burnt the foreign goods at various places. Main importance of this movement is-self reliance

Formation of Muslim League (1906):

• Setup in 1906 under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk.
• Supported the partition of Bengal, opposed the Swadeshi movement, demanded special safeguards to its community and a separate electorate for Muslims.

Demand for Swaraj:

•  In Dec 1906 at Calcutta, the INC under Dadabhai Naoroji adopted ‘Swaraj’ (Self-govt) as the goal of Indian people.

Surat Session of Indian National Congress (1907):

• The INC split into two groups – The extremists and The moderates, at the Surat session in 1907.
• Extremists were led by Bal, Pal, Lal while the moderates by G.K.Gokhale.
•  Extremists didnt accept the Ras Bihari Gosh as the INC president,but they want Lal as the President.

Indian Councils Act or Minto Morley Reforms (1909):

• A separate electorate for Muslims started.
• The Legislative Councils were expanded.
• Members were allowed to present Resolutions, discuss Budget and put
  up questions
• The Viceroy’s Council’s membership was fixed at sixty members.
• The  membership of the provinces of  Bengal, U.P., Bihar, Bombay, Madras and Orissa  was  fixed  at  50  members  whereas  the  membership  of  the  provinces  of Punjab, Burma, and Assam was fixed at 30 members.
• The  Indian  were  included  in  the  Executive  Council  of  the  Viceroy  and  in  the provincial Executive Councils.
•  The  local  bodies,  trade  unions  and  universities  were  allowed  to  elect  their members.
•  Lt. Governors were appointed  in Bengal, Bombay and Madras. 

•  Govt making friendly relations with Moderates and the Muslims and suppressed the Extemists.

This  Reforms  gave  impetus  to  the  constitutional  development  in India and gave political awareness among Indians.It also gave strength to the Two -Nation Theory.

Ghadar Party (1913):

•  Formed by Lala Hardayal, Taraknath Das and Sohan Singh Bhakna.
•  HQ was at San Francisco.
• Ghadar was a name of Weekly news paper,started on Nov 1st  1913
• Due to outbreak of First World War Ghadarites thinking that it was an oppurtunity to free India from despotic Govt.

Komagata Maru Incident 1914 :

• Komagata Maru was the name of a ship which carrieda shipload of Sikh and Muslim immigrants from Punjab to Vancouver, Canada.
• But the Canadian immigration authorities turned them back after two months of uncertainty because of  Asian Exclusion Act of Canada Govt.They are not allowing Asians into their territory
• The ship finally anchored at Calcutta on September29, 1914.
• British Govt thinking that there are Ghadarites leaders in the ship,to spread the revolution activities in the India.22 people lost their lives clash with the British Police.