Rewind: Tryst with destiny
As we mark the 77th Independence Day, it is necessary to draw lessons from our freedom movement which was mostly non-violent sans acrimony
By KSS Seshan
As India celebrates its 77th Independence Day, it is necessary for the present generation to recollect the saga of our struggle for freedom from British colonial rule. The Indian Independence movement was fought by and large in non-violent ways sans acrimony. Even at the height of the movement, Indian leaders exhibited a restrained disposition and made it clear that their opposition was against the British government that perpetuated colonialism and not per se against the British people.
The struggle was spearheaded by movements involving every section of society — peasants, workers, women and students besides political leaders. It thus differed vastly from the 19th-century nationalist movements in Germany and Italy.
There were early anti-British revolts and armed struggles in India from the very start of the Company rule, but they were mostly local and short-lived. The Great Revolt of 1857 was the most important of the rebellions that occurred against the East India Company administration and was, therefore, rightly hailed as the First War of Independence. Though the Revolt did not realise the aims and objectives, the sacrifices made by some of the Indian rulers during the upheaval roused feelings of nationalism. Nana Sahib, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Bahadur Shah and others became national heroes and their fight became a symbol of challenge.
The struggle for independence was spearheaded by movements involving every section of society — peasants, workers, women and students besides political leaders
Opposition to Imperialism
Modern Indian nationalism was a direct consequence of British imperialism. British rule in India was more than mere foreign political rule. It was colonialism, no more, no less. There was widespread de-industrialisation and economic underdevelopment in India, while there was ‘Development of Development’ in their own country at the cost of India.
The native population, thanks to the exposure to western education, came into contact with modern concepts like liberty, rights and democracy, resulting in the emergence of numerous socio-religious reform movements against the backdrop of a rising spirit of nationalism. It was not only the well-known imperialists like Dalhousie and Curzon who with their hardline reactionary measures incurred the wrath of Indians, even viceroys like Robert Bulwer-Lytton with their ruthless policies subjected the natives to humiliation and racial discrimination.
The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement witnessed the Hindu-Muslim unity much to the annoyance of the British who wanted to keep the two religionists apart
Establishment of INC
Ironically, the Indian National Congress (INC) that spearheaded the freedom struggle against the British was founded in 1885 by a Scottish retired administrator, AO Hume, to have a pan-Indian organisation that would serve as a safe outlet to ventilate their grievances. In fact, even before the INC came into being, there were quite a few associations like the Bengal Indian Association, Madras Native Association, Madras Mahajana Sabha, East India Association established by Dadabhai Naoroji, Indian Association of Calcutta and the Indian National Association established by Surendranath Banerjee in 1876 in Calcutta.
Right from the first session held in Bombay, the INC tried to build a strong public opinion to arouse public consciousness and national spirit among the people. For about 35 years from 1885, it followed moderate methods in the struggle for freedom. They pleaded with the British to introduce changes as they openly professed complete faith in British justice and fair play. Among the early moderate nationalist leaders, the most important included Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Badruddin Thayabji, WC Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, MG Ranade, Subramania Iyer and Madan Mohan Malaviya.
Assertive Nationalism
As the early nationalist Congress leaders wanted only to mitigate the evils but not to eliminate British rule, there arose in the rank and file in the organisation a powerful opposition to such sober and beggarly methods of ‘Prayer, Petition and Protests’ of the moderates.
The critics within the Congress gained ground and wanted to follow a more aggressive policy. These progressive leaders otherwise called, ‘Assertive Nationalists’ believed that any foreign rule was a curse and must be gotten rid of as a plague. Resultantly, a new younger group against the ‘old guard’ emerged within the Congress which advocated assertive methods. This new group wanted the Congress to achieve the goal of Swaraj by more self-reliant and independent methods. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipan Chandra Pal were prominent among such assertive nationalists. They declared Poorna Swaraj as their ultimate goal. Tilak went on record by declaring “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”. The three important components of the programme of the assertive nationalists were Swaraj, Boycott and National Education.
The humiliating treatment meted out to Indians in other British colonies like in South Africa created a wave of anti-British feelings. Further, nationalist movements in countries like Egypt, Persia, Turkey and Russia gave Indians fresh hope. Indian nationalists were inspired by Abyssinia’s (Ethiopia) repulsion of Italian forces in 1896 and the way Japan scored a stunning victory over Russia in 1905 in the Russo- Japanese war. The myth of European invincibility was shattered in the minds of young Indians. Nearer home, the repressive policies followed by Lord Curzon, the Governor-General, and the partition of Bengal that he effected in 1905 with a sinister motive to ‘Divide and Rule’ provided an impetus to the upsurge of extremism and assertiveness within the Congress.
Mass Movement
The Swadeshi and Boycott Movement also witnessed the Hindu-Muslim unity much to the annoyance of the British who wanted to keep them apart. After the partition of Bengal with the tacit support of the British, the Muslim League came to be established in 1906. This league ultimately sowed the seeds of communalism that finally led to the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan.
It was during this period that the country witnessed the emergence of several revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil and Batukeshwar Dutt. Their heroism served as an example to many and the national movement was not the same since then.
Great War
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 breathed a new lease of life into India’s freedom struggle. India decided to support the British war efforts with the mistaken belief that after the war Britain would repay India’s loyalty with gratitude. Besides men and materials, India contributed substantially to the war funds. More than one million Indian troops were sent overseas to fight for the British in as many as five battle fronts. However, the attitude of the British after the war was disappointing and the mood in India became more militant.
The events following the war contributed to the signing of the Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the Muslim League and the launch of the Home Rule movement. This war was a great educator and the Indian national movement was electrified after this.
Gandhian Era
With the emergence of Gandhi on the political scene in India, the freedom movement set definite goals on non-violent methods. Gandhi played an unparalleled role by roping in every section of the people in the freedom movement and emerged as the man he was, the Father of the Nation and Mahatma. Besides widening the social base of the participating elements, Gandhi infused moral values and spirituality into the national movement. He gave a new direction to the very concept of political struggle by enunciating the principles of truth, ahimsa and satyagraha. He also fought the twin evils of communalism and untouchability. He believed in the doctrine of trusteeship which meant that the wealth-owning classes should use their wealth for the welfare of workers, peasants and the needy, and consider themselves as mere ‘trustees of their wealth’.
Having returned from South Africa in 1915 where he worked for about two decades for the rights and individual liberties of the indentured Indian labour, Gandhi was highly suitable to lead. Before launching his major movements, Gandhi had an opportunity to test the political waters in a few localised movements during 1917-18. His first experiment in Satyagraha came in Champaran district of Bihar when he successfully led the peasants against the Tinkathia system in which they were forced to cultivate Indigo for the British planters against their will. In 1918, the cotton mill workers of Ahmedabad had an increase in their wages with Gandhi’s interference. Yet another movement Gandhi led in Gujarat was the Kheda Satyagraha when the peasants of the entire district were unable to pay land taxes due to severe famine conditions. Gandhi successfully got the postponement of the payment of taxes.
Gandhi’s foray into countrywide national movements was facilitated by a few ruthless and high-handed policies adopted by the British government. The infamous Rowlatt Act of February 1919 was aimed at curtailing civil liberties in the guise of curbing terrorist activities. Some of the provisions in the Montagu-Chelmsford Act passed in the same year also gave scope to the government to arrest anyone without a warrant and imprison without trial. The protests against such “Black Bills” led to the bloodcurdling and most heinous Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, when General Reginald Dyer ordered his 50 army men to fire on a peaceful protesting crowd in Amritsar leaving about 400 civilians dead and thousands wounded. The massacre sent shock waves throughout the country and turned millions of moderate Indians into nationalists.
Gandhi, promising his followers freedom in just one year, launched his Non-Cooperation Movement on 1 August 1920 which he believed would bring the British Raj to a grinding halt. For the smooth functioning of any government, the willing cooperation of the people is imperative and Gandhi wanted to deny such cooperation to the colonial government. There was euphoria everywhere. The Bardoli Satyagraha was an indicator of the success that was associated with the launch of the movement. However, with the Chauri Chaura incident, Gandhi, who opposed any violent methods, suddenly called off the movement.
Democracy in Locomotion
After the abrupt withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement, several Congress leaders were disappointed. They founded a separate party — Congress Khilafat Swaraj Party — in 1923 and wanted to contest elections to be held as per the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 and enter the legislatures. They were led by CR Das, Motilal Nehru and Vithalbhai Patel. Although there was little time for campaigning, the Swarajists did well in the elections by winning 42 of the 104 seats for the Central legislature. Vithalbhai became the Speaker.
As the Swarajists’ strategy was to wreck the ‘constitution from within’, they decided to oppose every government Bill. Whenever there was a Bill to be passed, the Swarajist members walked out en masse. This walking out was so frequent, that it was euphemistically referred to as ‘democracy in locomotion’.
After the much-publicised visit of the Simon Commission and its nationwide boycott during 1927-28, the Motilal Nehru Committee Report was prepared in 1928 in response to a challenge of Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, to Indian leaders to produce an acceptable Constitution. The report which contained aspects like Dominion Status, Federation, Universal Franchise, Fundamental Rights and Parliamentary Democracy stunned the British.
Salt and Satyagraha
Gandhi took up a more advanced agitation in 1930 to disobey the civil laws of the government and launched the Civil Disobedience Movement. Structurally, it was much ahead of the earlier one. No government can work when the people refuse to pay taxes. Gandhi tried to incapacitate the British government in India by breaking civil laws. Making salt without paying the tax was a part of his scheme of agitation. Of all the commodities under the sun, salt was chosen for the simple reason that it was a commodity that everyone — rich and poor — needed. Common salt symbolised the united opposition to British rule and the Dandi March he undertook galvanised the entire nation.
Indian nationalists were inspired by Abyssinia’s (Ethiopia) repulsion of Italian forces in 1896 and the way Japan scored a stunning victory over Russia in 1905 in the Russo- Japanese war
The Civil Disobedience Movement resulted in mass strikes, hartals and demonstrations all over the country. A significant development was the emergence of several women leaders — Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Kamala Nehru, Sarojini Naidu and Durgabai Deshmukh.
Perturbed by the growing national sentiment, the British convened roundtable conferences in London during 1930-32. Gandhi attended the second but there was no substantial outcome. In 1937, Congress ministries were formed for the first time in many provinces as per the Government of India Act, 1935. However, with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Congress ministers resigned necessitating another nationwide movement.
Final Phase
The Quit India Movement that Gandhi launched in 1942 was the last of the movements that he spearheaded. This movement also marked a significant development in the nature and content of the freedom struggle, particularly after the failure of Cripps’ mission (to secure support for their efforts in WW II). With the slogan ‘do or die’, it was not devoid of violent incidents and the government took repressive measures to contain it. The Quit India Movement attracted the attention of even the outside world. US President Franklin D Roosevelt in a letter urged British Prime Minister Winston Churchill the need for introducing constitutional reforms in India. Nobel laureate Pearl S Buck pointed out that the “entire world has come to know of the injustices India is facing”. The heroic struggle by Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army gave a great fillip to the ongoing national movement.
The Great Revolt of 1857 was the most important of rebellions that occurred against the East India Company administration and was, therefore, rightly hailed as the First War of Independence
After the Quit India Movement and the end of the war, it was obvious that granting independence to India was imminent and was a matter of time. With the Labor Party coming to power in Britain, the new Prime Minister Clement Atlee, in the House of Commons on 7 February 1947, made the historic announcement to withdraw from India. Independence did come to India on 15 August but with the price of partition.
The quintessence of the mood of the nation was well reflected by Jawaharlal Nehru, the newly elected Prime Minister of Independent India, who while addressing the Constituent Assembly poetically pointed: “Long ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in fulfilment, but very substantially”.
